Currently feeling quite a range of emotions these last few days. Pretty much you name I probably feel it. Excitement for our adventure ahead, Exhilarated and non-stressed from not working anymore, Sad when I look at my cats and when my friends/family say they are going to miss me, Overwhelmed with making sure everything we need to do before we leave gets done, I even feel a bit nervous and scared. Have never done something like this before… but at the same time feeling very eager to shake things up and experience new things and just live in the moment.

I’m already feeling more alive, more in-tuned with myself, happier, and open minded and we haven’t even left yet!

Our final preparations are going well. Just rented out both our Vancouver condo and our Calgary loft all within the same hour. That is really the last major item on our list aside from moving our belongings out of our home. Feels great to have that weight off the shoulders.. and we have plans to move our stuff in 1 week. I already feel liberated just thinking all my possessions will just be in my backpack after that.

Well, I’m feeling like I should get back to packing our home up…

In the blink of an eye our trip planing frustrations have begun to diminish and we can see the end of this roller coaster ride! Lots of things to report. 

First and foremost: 

We are now showing our condo to potential renters! Yup, that’s right finally we have gotten somewhere with our condo board and being allowed to rent our place out. Well maybe I should rephrase that… due to them doing NOTHING within 3 weeks from our hardship request the Vancouver City Strata act trumps our buildings own strata act and we are legally allowed to rent. Just another example that procrastination gets you no where. No matter who you are. Hopefully we can find a great renter with ease.

Know anyone in Vancouver looking for a swank pad? Check out our rental listing on craigslist!

Second and probably even more exciting:

We have ourselves a departure date!! We get on our first airplane of many for the next year on June 19th. Destination: Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Yah, I know.. not quite over the pond yet… but a friend is getting married and since we are leaving around that time anyways… why not attend? Got ourselves a sale on Westjet and voila! Bonus: we get to see a ton of our friends and Scott’s Dad/Laurie right before we take off. 19 more days to go!!!

#3 in the news list:

This is my last week of work!! Only 5 more days and then I’m off to experience the longest long weekend of my life… (until I retire). Tonight is my last Sunday (for at least a year) thinking about having to wake up and go to work in the morning. I wonder if the week is going to fly by or feel like it’s going in reverse. 

And last but not least:

Our trip preparations are moving along quite well. I’m feeling way less stressed about everything. It’s now becoming more tricky planning our final social events with friends and family… the days are filling up quick! 

Check out our giant to do list. Feels pretty good to see a bunch of things crossed off! 

Here is our new updated list of things we need to do for the next 19 days: (bolded items are most important for this week)

• Continue to save money
• Sell remaining items on Craigslist/Ebay
• Fix Post Author Problem
• Create email signatures
• Fix baseboards in closet
• Detail Scott’s car
• Sell Scott’s car
• Get new glasses for Scott
• Get oil change for K-Rad & Scott’s car
• Clean K-Rad
• Rent out Condo and Loft
• Photocopy all required ID
• Fill prescriptions
• Post Calgary Loft Rental
• Finalize packing list
• Buy any remaining needed travel gear
• Get travel insurance
• Book plane ticket to Europe
• Plan out out trip itinerary better
• Research destinations and make info pages to go with
• Get any Visa’s we need right now -Russian applications sent
• Unlock iphone
• Exchange Scott’s ipod
• Continue to download music and shows
• Transfer files from Dee’s computer to Scotts
• Continue to pack
• Buy some food and litter stock for the cats
• Cancel newspaper, cellphone, internet, hydro, bank accounts, Scott’s car insurance
• Re-Direct Mail
• Eat and drink remaining items in the cupboards/fridge
• Give any thing we don’t sell to Scott’s mom
• Move our stuff to Dee’s parents
• Retouch up any needed paint
• Clean Condo
• Change K-Rad insurance to storage
• Take cats to Carole
• Pack our bags
• get on a plane!

Terry sat in silence as I laid out my plans to take my leave of absence. I laid it out pretty good.. needed a year off to go travel, see the world and experience life.. to rejuvenate and de-stress.  As I finished he seemed to get madder by the second and started yelling about the economy and taking time off.. it was such a bad idea… After a couple minutes I had enough, threw some papers in the air and stormed out of his office and hit the road…

That was my worst case scenario going through my head as I drove to head office in the morning,

I really wasn’t sure how this meeting was going to go. It could go either very good or very bad, and I really hoped it wouldn’t be the crazy story I had just envisioned. I’ve worked for my company for almost 10 years and really needed a break, so as I told my boss Terry my request he seemed a little shocked at first. He then broke out into a huge smile and said “I think it’s a fantastic idea, your going to have a great time!” Terry went on to say he had taken a similar trip before he was married, and it taught him a “university education of the world”. That you’ll learn more about yourself and other cultures than you ever thought possible. We ended up talking about traveling for 30 minutes. We needed to get the business of moving Alex into my position, transferring my residuals to Alex, keeping my medical and having my job when I get back with my residuals and client base. A tall order but in the end everything was agreed on.

I have to say it was far less dramatic than I envisioned, and a fantastic experience. It’s a great relief to break the news to the boss and have him be enthusiastic about your adventures. A couple tips if your going to ask for a long term sabatical or leave of absense:

• Give your company lots of notice. We felt that 45 days was cutting it a bit short.
• Talk to your boss before anyone else, they deserve to hear it from you in person and not over an email or phone call.
• If your going to ask for your job back or some special circumstance, be prepared to sell your self a bit. Put together an elevator pitch – a 60-120 second commercial about yourself. When you first sit down give them the pitch – how long you’ve been with the company, some of your achievements, mention positive reviews, etc. Your goal is to get your manager to remember instantly all the positives of why he’s going to help you out.
• Spill the beans, say your taking a leave and give your asks. Be honest and lay it all out, trying to be as clear and specific as possible. In my case I wanted to have my friend Alex who works with me promoted to a full outbound rep, get my residual payments transferred to him and then returned when I came back and my position will be here for me.
• Because your prepared, your more likely to get it all. Please note this list is my formula and is only guaranteed to work on every third person.

Have you taken a long leave of absence from your work? How did you and your boss handle it? We’d love to hear, just write a comment below!