Relocating to another country is as exciting as nerve wrecking as thrilling as taxing as mishmash and I am going short on adjectives.

The day it was decided that we are moving I could not stop imagining ourselves all decked up entering the airport gates celebrity style minus the paparazzi (wish I have it one day). While I am still pondering what to wear during passage I was stirred back to the fact that it’s just a months time and we (read “I”) have to sort the whole house amass.

Moving to another country is not all about packing your bags and boarding the flight. First and most important thing, since I was quitting job for this transition my HR friends had to answer a hella of queries. When will I get my FNF, how do I withdraw my PF? What about my letters? And blah blah blah ..

While I was still decoding my HR friend’s equivocal responses; came another grueling.. all my resident accounts and investments may also get a status revamp if I get one. ufffff .. this NRE NRO NRI stuff sounded oddly mystifying. Secretly I was too excited about my to-be NRI status but to be honest.. Abhi nahi banna NRI..

Oh.Oh. how could I forget, the disconnections and cancellations. From Dudhwala to Internet, all were to be apprised about their timed services. Special notice period is for the lifeline of Indian households, we saw a spectacular episode when they were notified. The drama was so stroppy that I had to finally pay them off with double salary despite the standard notice.

Time was flying by and I was doping out on my economics when commerce started poking me. Let me tell you the economics lessons I got were way easier than the commerce that came with complimentary physical training exercise.

I started with an organizer app listing stuff and adding reminders but that simply obfuscated my brain. I got down to the old conventional method. Picked up a pen and small pocket diary and went on for next 30 mins just jotting down every single thought that crossed my mind. To add to my agony, my diary looked worse than a doctor’s prescription.

Next action plan, shopping. I never found shopping so exhausting. It was one thing I used to love, waiting for paycheck and spending it ‘wisely’ on all the latest trends but now the list was like never ending. Starting with bags, what size bags, what brand, what dimensions and a few more pounds of doubts. Somehow I managed to get the apt ones, thanks to Amazon prime delivery.

Now the real saga starts. Filling in those bags. Since those bags arrived I have been packing unpacking repacking over and over again. Nevertheless, I got some good (again, read unsolicited) advice from Mr. Husband on “how to pack effectively”. Sadly, due to his so-called strict schedule there were only theory sessions, I wish he could do some practical too.

Ahhhhhh and the remarkable co-operation by Mr.Tot, who would run away with the bubble wrap or just decide to sit on the open half filled bag or randomly try to help me pack by putting all the kachra stuff inside the bags. Remember you have to unpack and repack.

Irrespective of all this, I did manage to hoard up the bags with only “the essentials”; that’s what I kept saying to save those items from getting discarded in the name of “23 kgs se zyada heavy ho Gaya”. Thanks to the wrapping vale Bhaiiya, my bags are safely encased and off to checkin.

Now the time has finally come and I am here waiting with Mr. Tot and Mr. Husband, for the boarding to start. It was not all beer and skittles but indeed a whole of gleeful month.

Looking forward to an exhilarating time ahead exploring the unexplored. Bye for now.. wish us a happy journey. See you all next time from a new continent. Love.