Time for bed...

Oh man, am I ever tired tonight! It was our big moving day today. For the first time since I moved here over two years ago, I no longer have a "presence" in Room #6 in the guesthouse :( It is truly the end of an era. (This is where you have a moment of silence to reflect upon the wonderful memories of all that took place in Room #6)...

Room #6 was the one that I shared with Grace, where she snuggled her hedgehogs while we sweated and watched endless episodes of "Smallville". It's where stayed up late into the night laughing and talking about anything and everything... until we realized how NOT soundproof anything is in that guesthouse! It's where I saw my first rat, and named him Templeton. It's where I learned to do my laundry by hand. It's where I spent countless hours splayed on my bed sweating away the afternoons before we had a decent enough generator to have any electricity in the afternoons. It was my first ever "hoffice" - home+office in the same room. Then, once we moved to our house (a long 45 second commute away), it's where I moved everything to make room for Jackie and Wes and Henry and Peter to squash in their desks so we could all have space to work! It's where Templeton's offspring have taken up residence in my desk drawers. It's where I've fought (and won a few, and lost a few) with numerous computers and printer cartridges. It's where we've met with Ministers and pastors and regular sorts of people to discuss everything and everything, from mother tongue based multilingual education to where to find more robust toilet seats. Ah, the memories...

And now it's on to a new chapter! Jackie and I spent the day clearing out the filing cabinets and cupboards, sweeping away two years worth of collected dust and rat poo, and trying to put it all back in some sort of order in the office across the way (which has, up to now, been used as accommodation by people from other organizations). Once we get it more set up (like, say, tomorrow!), I'll post a photo of my new office. It feels like a good new beginning - a good chance to have cleared away the dust and some of the cobwebs, to look back on how far we've come so far, and to look ahead to new and exciting things!

I now have my very own three-drawer filing cabinet to fill up with all the work that's coming, and a whole window all to myself. Personally, I think I have the best seat in the entire office, but that's just me. I have my desk in front of the biggest window, right next to the door, and, more importantly, right under the fan :) I no longer have to share my desk with everyone and anyone who wanted to scan anything, and I'm far enough away from the communal printer now that perhaps people will stop stealing the pens off my desk! And yet, I can still look out the window and see what's going on "out there" beyond my desk.

But man, I'm tired. It was a lot of work to cart all that stuff over to the new place, and to scrub it all down. I must have inhaled a few inches of dust today, and did I mention the rat poo? Do you want to hear something really disgusting (if you don't just skip the rest of this line...)... I found a tiny little bat carcass in my desk drawer today, too! I knew that the rats were still making it their home, so before I left for Christmas, I had taken everything out, and just left the drawer empty... I couldn't face it before now, so I had just left it closed... and today, when I opened it up... a tiny little bat carcass awaited me. But you'll be happy to know that I didn't take any photos :)

And on that note, it's time for bed... tomorrow I have some filing cabinets to organize :)