The hard part starts today

Hell Week - our biweekly work-time of peak intensity - is almost over. And a season is about to close in my life.

It's been a ghastly week, worthy of its name...technical failures, hideous hours...the aftermath yesterday evening felt like the final scene of The Towering Inferno, when the survivors are on the ground, staring up at the burning remnants of the tower. We were glad that we survived, but what a disaster, and what a mess to clean up.

My last official day "in the office" I never even made it to the office. I rolled out of bed and sat straight down at my PC at home at 6:30, and didn't get up but three times in 12 hours. So it was about 8 PM last night that I'd finally showered, put on clean clothes and headed down to the office to clean out my desk before the move to Ohio.

The staff had called several times during the day, saying, "So...aren't you coming into the office?" I kept saying, "I wanted to, but the work just kept getting in the way..." When I got to the office, there was a bag with some funny a mug from our client, signed by everyone, and some gag gifts as reminders of some of my more colorful comments. Not the way I would have wanted to leave, but that's the way of the world, I guess.

So the herculean task of packing up remains ahead. The books and the CD's are done, the and the rest of the stuff should go quickly - but I know my own rule, and the last 10% of the stuff always takes 10 times longer than it should...

I will be offline as of noon today (when they come to take the cable modem out) and into the most maniacal part of the preparations to leave. My farewell with my AA crew is this evening, and then two long nights before the load out on Saturday. My goal is not to encounter any puncture wounds (like I did last year, when I tripped and fell on the exposed corner of the of the bedframe) or back strain. Fortunately, I have hired folks to do the up-and-down-stairs work, so that should be good.

I should be back online late Sunday night from Ohio, and back "at work" Monday morning in my new virtual status. Pray without ceasing, please...