The Grand Plan

"Mom, I'm moving back home."

My statement was met with silence. It was several seconds later before my mom replied "Oh I see. Why don't you stay where you are for a bit longer?"

Uhhhh ok. Not exactly the reaction I was looking for. In my mind, I imagined my mom and dad crying with relief, to know that their youngest daughter would be coming home to the family nest. Just a tad bit different to reality. Just a tad.

"No mom, I really want to move back home. I miss you guys."

Silence again.

"Mom? Are you there?"

Muffled noises. Then "Oh ok dear. We miss you too."

Again, not quite the warm reception I had hoped for.

Oh well. My mind was made up - I was going to move back home. I just needed a plan to make it all work.

When I first moved out of home, it was all pretty simple - I had no significant personal ties, no bills of my own to worry about, no job (why did I move out again??!).

Now, I have a fixted-term tenancy agreement for my apartment, a job, bills to pay. I needed to work out how to re-direct my current mailing address so that I could still receive my monthly (and tearfully boring) insurance magazines.

Most importantly, I had to figure out how to bring all my stuff back to my mom & dad's house.

At this point, I would like to mention that my apartment could be best described as an "empire of non-practical things". Not that I collected junk. I just had a lot of useless things.

I lived several hours away from my folks. So even with my moderately-sized four-wheel-drive, I wouldn't be able to see through the rear window if I crammed all my belongings into my car.

So the need for a Grand Plan was absolutely necessary.

After much deliberation, I concluded that my plan of action should be:

1. Look for a new job;

2. Secure a new job;

3. Quit my current job;

4. Call mum & dad to warn them that I'd be home soon;

5. Re-direct my mail;

6. Cancel telephone, electricity, contents insurance;

7. Terminate tenancy agreement;

8. Call mum & dad to warn them that I'd be home soon;

9. Pack for 3 consecutive weeks;

10. Ask an understanding friend and/or relative if I can borrow their car;

11. Ask a willing and gullible buddy to help me pack my stuff into two cars;

12. Call mum & dad to warn them that I'd be home soon;

13. Beg a friend and/ or relative to make the 7-hour journey to my parents' house by driving a car full of my stuff; and

14. Be really nice to my willing and gullible friend/ understanding and naive relative for 2 weeks.

Sounds simple enough, right?

I just needed to kick-start the Grand Plan by tackling #1 on the list - looking for a new job.