Where's the Pogey?

My decision to leave Bermuda was both easy and complicated.  I say easy because part of the deal in coming here is that you are only here as long as the employment sector lacks someone Bermudian with your skills.  You cannot buy property.  And so psychologically, this has always been a temporary adventure, not a move, yet I would be lying if I didn't say it has also felt like a true home these last 5 years.  I say complicated because I chose to leave even though there was still a job for me, and that choice involved more than one factor.  I am getting better at listening to my intuition and following what I want to do and balance that with what i should do.  And I am beginning to suspect I have a nomadic soul.  I have said many times that Bermuda called me here, the sound of waves on Elbow Beach and tree frogs singing haunted me to the extent that I simply had to get myself here.  And so it did not surprise me when a similar moment inspired absolute surety and clarity in my soul that it was time to come home.  That moment involved me in Saskatchewan, having come home for my nephew's high school graduation, remembering that I had put all these nice new patio chair covers that I found in my sister's garage on their chairs for the overflow of guests.  When she noticed, she said she had planned on returning them as she didn't like them enough, and that's why they weren't put out.  It was only later when I heard the crack of thunder that I realized everyone had come inside to avoid the downpour.  This lead to me racing barefoot across the wet grass in my fancy new dress trying to cart multiple bulky padded chair covers to the safety of the garage.  Outside in the thunder, lightning, and rain, my heart stood still for one beat and a little voice inside of me said "home."  It seems home can be many places, at the same time, and that is a lesson I have learned as an expat.  Bermuda is home.  The Canadian Prairies are home.  A patch of land dubbed "Eden North" is home.  Home is wherever your heart tells you that you need to be right now.  And so the decision was made.  I returned and handed in my resignation on my first day back at work.  I gave one year notice, both to help them find a replacement, and to give myself time to everything I love on Bermuda one last go.  To enjoy every holiday one more time, every season one more time.  For example, my favorite tree in the Botanical garden only flowers once a year.  The longtails are seasonal.  One year to say goodbye.

And so, that one year has transpired, the last 8 or 9 months you may have followed through this blog.  My last day of work was Tuesday, July the 8th.  It went a little bit like this.

cake and fried chicken -- delicious!

A tribute to my special but bizarre passion for Mycology

special  cards with special well wishes inside

A nod to my cat lady-ness

A special pink sand necklace in the shape of "Lab Star" and a gift certificate to go to a new camera lens!

A photo filled daytimer to make me weep during the winter months

A super awesome thank you card from the students who enjoyed my long explanations of...everything

And the final team photo

After work was followed by a bit more of the same, but different, and right in the midst of Germany annihilating Brazil in the World Cup Semi Final.

And so, on July the 9th, I embarked on a new venture....being ungainfully unemployed.  Call it an extended vacation, but I am free to roam about the island without a work schedule for the rest of the month!  The Canadian in me needs to say, there is no pogey for me (aside, pogey is a slang word for cash from the government unemployment insurance program when you find yourself without work).  In fact, I am not sure that Bermuda even has a pogey program, but if they did, I would also not be eligible.  Nor would I be in Canada since resigning a job disqualifies you from pogey.  But it would be nice.  Oh well!

I thought that my first day of unemployment would feel like this.

Yes, that is indeed a long tail.

The plan was lay in every day, have coffee, go for a run, go to the beach, go take photos, and repeat daily.  Well, my first day of unemployment looked a little more like this.

Yeah, i opened my eyes to this disgruntled greeting

The cats were kind enough to let me sleep til 9, although sleep may not be the correct term for that period where I am physically in bed unable to move because the mini tiger has managed to fall asleep on both of my arms and she wakes up grumpy so I can't move, and one panther is alternating inserting tiny claws into my back to see where the "on" button is on his sleepy human, and the other panther is belting out a mournful song in cat about the Great Cat Famine of 0730-0830 09JULY2014, a clear tragedy in which he was sure he would die.  And people wonder why I drink so much coffee.

I did get a quick "congratulations of becoming a BUM" email, where BUM stands for Bermuda Unemployed Medical staff, a crew which is currently in Bali on their quest to tour the world without working for as long as possible.  While they are very keen to have me join them and teach me how to live 6 months with one change of clothes, wash underwear in the sink, and eat deep fried bugs, I graciously declined both because my meager savings will barely get me to Bali and pay for the medical treatment of the stroke if they tricked me into eating a bug (boys never grow up), and 3 cats don't fit in a backpack.

I am out of time today, I need, yes NEED, to get to the beach, but I will post about my first day off very soon.  Have a great day yourself!