A day of many lasts

You can see the smiles are there but not quite. The final day at the office. Lunch with my colleagues and bosses.  For almost four years I have worked, partied, laughed, and argued with these people. And today was the last day when all of us could sit together, share a meal and talk.

May 23 turned out to be a sad day. Thankfully, it was expected. I knew this was going to be a day of many lasts in Norway: last day with friends and colleagues, last day at the apartment, a last glimpse of the places I have been used to seeing on the daily commute and a final taste of the things I have been used to doing in this country.

And a tiring day it was, too. Particularly the final cleaning of the apartment before handing it back to the owner turned out to be a real pain. Seven years really took its toll on the place, and only when I got down on all fours and used elbow grease to clean the apartment did I find out how  dirty it really was! No wonder I was having allergies all the time!

And this is the last picture of M15. Well I never really took many pictures of the place where I lived. But this is how I want to remember it. Not the apartment itself, but the staircase I have used every single day for the last seven years to get to the third floor where the apartment was.

Seven years is longer than any relationship I have ever had! And like any relationship life at M15 was not always a bed of roses. Fights and a breakup with the ex, arguments with my best friend, plumbing issues, freezing temperatures in the evenings, etc. But it was my home. And I am grateful that I got the opportunity to live in that apartment and have very nice neighbors.

And speaking of nice neighbors, I finally got a visit from Mio's sister, Nala! I guess she, too, finally found out that I was leaving, so she was waiting for me by the staircase when I was coming to pick up the last of my belongings. I was able to spend a few minutes with her and take some photographs, before I finally had to leave.

And with that, four years working at Elixia Nordic AS, and seven years living at M15, have ended. I am now checked in at Thon Hotel Astoria in the center of Oslo. It is now May 25, 2013. The time is 11:15AM and at this same time tomorrow, I will be at the London Heathrow Airport awaiting the second of three flights I will need to take to get to Manila.

A new chapter of my life is about to begin. And while yesteday was a day of many lasts, what lies ahead are many, many days of firsts.