It’s been a furiously-paced month. So much has happened. So many important events. And not just events pertaining to the Olympics, though they’ve been remarkable too.

Where to begin.

Well, let’s start with the big news. I feel that now, finally, I can come right out and tell you that we are moving cities. Indeed, in April, we will be moving to Vancouver. It was because of complicating circumstances regarding my own and my wife’s current employment that I was remiss to fully disclose this announcement earlier on. But it’s not that I didn’t want to tell you. We’ve been incredibly excited about how this has all come together, and were itching to share the news, but we knew it was in our own best interests to hold off until all the pieces were in place. The position that I accepted which led to my resignation from my most recent job involves moving back to the west coast, which is something we’ve wanted to do for years now – clearly I’ve made no secret about this desire several times on this blog.

We’ve already listed and sold our house. That happened a couple of weeks ago. We listed it, received an offer a couple of days later, and then somehow kept that offer in the mix for another week to see if any others would arrive. They did not, though we are satisfied with what we earned.

Prior to, and perhaps you could say during this period, we’ve been “spring cleaning.” Clearing the house of its junk and dust, and meeting the demands that things like open houses put on you. We’ve done this expertly; each week filling our recycling and garbage bins, with little to no stress involved in the finishing touches the night before we were listed. Our house remains clean and quite bare, with only the items that we will move and those destined for Kijiji still in our keep.

We’ll be spending next weekend in Vancouver scouting properties with a realtor who’s been keeping an eye on things for the past six weeks. While no one looks forward to a change of address, the stress of both selling our house and the prospect of moving are easily sedated by the fact that we’re going back to BC. Certainly, all of our efforts to date have been worthwhile, with more to spare.

It’s been four weeks since giving four weeks’ notice announcing my resignation from my current position, which means that yesterday was my last day. Leaving my position of four and a half years, I was asked by my colleagues whether I was excited, or sad, or anything. I didn’t really know how to respond. Still somewhat in shock about the decision that my wife and I have made in initiating this transition, I think the best way to describe my emotion was melancholy. I remain a fan and passionate about the magazine I worked for, and wish it and its staff nothing but the absolute best success in the years to come. I had a great send-off yesterday, which was the culmination of a very amicable final month, where I was able to put a defining finishing touch on my work. I only wish I could have helped train my replacement, however that person has not been found yet. But I must let it go. And I’ll be able to with what will amount to six weeks off between this and my next employment. That said, obviously much of it will be spent packing and cleaning.

I’ve decided that during my time off I will work on a project that will help me leave Calgary on a positive note. While I have never disguised my sour taste for this city, it would be good for me and it to come to terms before I leave (likely forever this time). Despite being born in Calgary, its lustre has somehow worn off for me and I’ve become very jaded – from the dirty brown and grey landscape that dominates eight months of the year, to the rightest-wing social and political beliefs of any city in Canada, to the cultural symbolism of its cookie-cutter homes and suburbs, to having as little sophistication as it does coastline. Five years ago, I thought I could return and find that it was a better city than I remembered, or worst case, try to help transform it in some way, but neither worked out. Anyway, I think I’ll try to find some enduring images of promise and hope during my self-imposed vacation, as a legacy so to speak. My project will be to shoot a series of memorable photos of the places in, and character of, Calgary that I like and have come to appreciate. I doubt it will be a very big series and needless to say I’ll put some miles on the car putting it together… But I digress…

Similarly, I will probably do a post in the near future about what attracts me to Vancouver, and what parts of it I am looking forward to. Such exercises, along with finding time to do some serious thinking and soul searching both with my wife and on my own, will be important in advance of these wonderful changes.