Hi everyone! Since I shared my big news in my last post, I have been completely overwhelmed with the support and positive wishes from everyone. Last week was somewhat the “perfect storm” as I shared the news with my family, colleagues at work, AND the blog/social media – for the first time, this trip finally feels real and there’s no turning back now!
After the excitement simmered down, it hit me that I have two weeks to get everything together. It’s been a crazy whirlwind of errands, paperwork, wrapping up my job, packing/moving, and farewell meet-ups.
One event was wrapping up the lease of my studio and moving in with Joe. I’m keeping my stuff at his apartment while I’m gone (#bestboyfriendaward). It was a little sentimental spending my last night at my studio – it was my favorite apartment I ever had! But that aside, I’m genuinely excited to have this home to come back to and take this step forward with Joe after my trip. ❤
Because things have been so busy, I actually got the mover’s help to pack all my things too. I felt a little bougey getting this service, but it was the best money I ever spent. I paid for one extra hour of work that would have taken me 2 days!
It took a lot of energy to NOT go overboard with decorating the apartment. Every part of me wanted to kick off this huge decorating project like I did at my last studio, but knowing I was leaving in 2 weeks, I held back. 😉 We did put together this gorgeous plant jungle in our bedroom which I’m very pleased with.
Over the weekend, I had a farewell party with some of my closest friends in SF. Rene’s boyfriend has a beautiful family home in Atherton, and she offered it for a barbecue / pool party. I was so touched by Rene for putting this whole shindig together – Rene is actually a professional event planner, so you know her parties will always be a good time.
The whole crew came out for the big farewell. We were all happy to see each other for the first time since the holidays. I’m so grateful for this amazing crew and I’ll miss them a lot, but I know time will go fast and we’ll all be together in Hawaii in a few months!
A friendship bracelet-making section to cheer on the 49-ers. 😉
Aside from the party, the last two weeks have been filled with smaller meet-ups with friends / colleagues. My good hometown friend, Jason, came up from LA and we got to catch up. We got breakfast in the Mission and hung out at Dolores Park. Jason and I have known each other since 6th grade and he’s one of my oldest friends. For as long as I’ve known Jason, he’s dreamed of living in California. So I was so happy when he finally moved out here a few months ago!
You know you have a good friend when you’ve seen each other’s awkward middle school phases…my, how far we’ve come. 😉
Of course, the one person I wanted to spend the most time with was Joe, as quality time seems more precious now that we’re getting down the wire. We’ve been cherishing every second together by doing some of our favorite activities in the Bay, such as our favorite hike in Marin (and where we went on our third date!).
And dessert runs in Japan Town. 🙂
In between all the excitement, a lot of my time has looked like this. I’m only booking my first week in Singapore and will go day-by-day from there, but the amount of errands is endless! Flights, visa applications, COVID tests, insurance, packing, getting my finances in order…I feel like I’ll finally be able to breathe once I physically cross the border. 🙂
The next time I blog will be in Singapore!! Have a fantastic week and thanks for reading along as always!
I Run Like A Girl 