Revenge of the Return of the Misc Box, Part II: The Boxening

Well, readers, I'm sure you're just as aware as I am that it has been a long time since we've exchanged electrons here on the blog. Like a long time. As usual, I will offer no excuses other than: life has become busier than usual.

Sure, Gerry, you may say. But that's true of all of us out here in the world, watching American democracy teeter and Hollywood greenlight remakes of movies that were great the first time around.

And you're right. We're all busy in our own way.

My particular way of being busy these days is another international move.

Mrs. Blog and I, now joined by Little and Littler Blog, as I guess I'm calling them, are moving to Singapore. And I have a new job, with another global news organization. New climate, new restaurants, new weird-but-iconic statues.

Weird-but-iconic merlion.

It's a whirlwind, moving a family. A real maelstrom of stress, planning and preparation. All you can do is keep putting one foot in front of the other, logistically and mentally speaking, until you're at your new home. At least that's the theory. We haven't arrived at that home yet, so I can't say for sure.

An artifact of previous international moves has been the existence, at the end of a day of packing up a home, of a catchall box. It's not full of one type of thing (like glasses) or even stuff that all goes in the same room (like the kitchen). No, it's a Misc Box that holds stuff you want to take with you but isn't easily categorized.

This time around, it doesn't look like we'll have one of those. That's partly because Mrs. Blog is an expert at organizing, and partly because this move will be the best supported in terms of relocation services. I won't go into the boring details, but it does appear that everything--regardless of categorization--will be neatly packed away, only to rematerialize in our new Singapore pad.

Instead there's a mental Misc Box. We've been here six years--my longest stretch in anyplace that's not Chicago or Kansas City. We have roots and friends and two little kids who were born here. What the movers can't take, but what I'm bringing with me, are those things. Those relationships, memories and experiences--good and bad--we found in Hong Kong. They'll always be with me, even if they defy categorization.

And so off we go. Soon we'll hop on an airplane, shake the dust of the 'Kong from our shoes, and embrace the future (which may or may not be devoid of chewing gum).

Hong Kong hasn't been perfect. But it's been home.

Sic transit gloria mundi.

Or as they say in Hong Kong, "Bye bye!"

Return of the Misc Box

As I described here, when we left Chicago, all of our careful packing ended with a pile of relatively unrelated items and an empty box. If we couldn't think of anyplace else it belonged, it went in that container: the Misc Box.

Now, as we leave Abu Dhabi, we are left with another Misc Box. (note: the boxes are smaller this time, so there are actually two)

Packing it is a matter of necessity. We can't take everything in suitcases, we don't need everything with us before we find an apartment, so it makes sense to ship it and store it. That's the only consideration.

But I wonder what they will be like to unpack? Will we be wondering why there are a handful of wall socket adapters, some playing cards and a bag of garam masala tucked into a springform pan? Will we be excited as we pull out a game we had forgotten about? Unfurl a poster we were thrilled to find?

I don't know the answer. But I can't wait to find out.

Misc Box

While moving from Chicago, a phenomenon emerged in which, as the deadline for the movers' arrival galloped closer, carefully organized moving boxes became, well, a little less carefully organized. House slippers? Throw 'em in the misc box. Power cords? Put them on top with the toothbrush holder. And so on.

And so this post, dear reader, is a bit of an e-misc box. There is a lot going on this week. The Car of the Blog is in the hands of a Lebanese mechanic named Mike. Fortunately we don't need a miracle--just a repaired coolant leak.

Similarly, the Itty Bitty Kitty Committee has returned as the Scots have headed to India for a week of R&R&curry.

Much larger, but still avid cuddlers.

And finally, it has come to my attention that my description of visiting Egypt and Jordan was slightly less than descriptive. That's because I was hurried and sleepy it is really too much to cram into a single post. Cairo itself is worth its own post... as are, in their own way, the Pyramids, all the ruins and tombs of Luxor, the niftiness of "finding" a 2,000-year-old sarcophagus underfoot, Abu Simbel, Petra, the Dead Sea, even restaurants in Amman. I have been toying with a long post about the annoying baksheesh tradition in Egypt (in which no good deed goes unpaid-for).

That's not even counting all the photos I need to borrow from Mrs Blog's computer to use with all of these.

So be patient. And understand that you might see a very enthusiastic post about the Red Bull Air Race next week before I get through all of the stuff from the trip.