NA na na NA na na NA NA -- THUN-DER!

[This is the post I would have published if I had been on top of the blog from day 1.  Leaving day.]

At 15 minutes before my dissertation defense, I could be found loudly singing this intro to ACDC's Thunderstruck while dancing around the conference room wildly pumping my fists into the air.  At least, that's how the Chair of my committee found me... It was also this refrain that I imagined would play as I pulled out of the driveway in Toronto to begin my internship year in Thunder Bay.  Instead, my husband was excited to put on a "randomized playlist" he created.  So as we sat in the 4:30am darkness, instead of defiant triumph we heard:

"A salvation army band played, and children drank lemonade..."

For those of you who didn't grow up in the 80s, these are the first words to Life in a Northern Town by Dream Academy.  And for those of you who don't know me very well, it cued instant tears.  Sobbing.  I couldn't believe I was leaving my home - the first place I had ever truly felt at home in my life.

Soon the sobs and alternative folk rock would be drowned out by the yowling of a geriatric kitty cat who, though relieved we weren't going to the vet, was prepared to harmonize for the entire 2 day road trip.  Here is a picture of her with Mr. Husband in the MacDonald's parking lot when we stopped for breakfast:

We arrived in Sault Ste Marie that evening and basically passed out.  But not until having a bite to eat and meeting some friendly bears:

The Soo, as it is called, is just gorgeous.  I wished we could have stayed awake to enjoy a hike or something.  But as we were up at 3am, it just wasn't going to happen.  The next day, we planned to haul ass to our final destination.  Looking back, what I remember most was that I just couldn't believe I was actually doing this -- leaving.

So, there will be a handful of posts that come quickly now, to catch us up to present day.  I had planned on setting up a wordpress blog, but for reasons uninteresting even to myself, it's not happening.  I'll stick with blogger for now and hopefully some of you will follow along and keep in touch, because I really freakin' miss you.