[00:00.00]There were many details to consider.
[00:03.28] After choosing the company
[00:05.48]that I wanted to work for,
[00:07.00]I still had to take a long
[00:08.98] solemn look at my circumstances.
[00:11.60]I decided that I
[00:15.10]would sell my car,
[00:16.20]put my personal belongings
[00:17.83]in storage and rent my house.
[00:20.57]A lot of time and
[00:23.20]effortwas required to
[00:24.62]make all the arrangements.
[00:25.71]I decided to tackle
[00:27.80] one aspect at a time.
[00:29.54]The first thing I targeted
[00:33.26]was to sell my car.
[00:34.68] As a matter of principle,
[00:36.99]I felt that the value
[00:38.95]of the car would
[00:40.38]depreciate over the time
[00:41.36]I was out of the country.
[00:43.76]The sensible strategy was to sell it.
[00:47.04]Fortunately, my niece wanted to buy the car.
[00:50.44]I made a list of things
[00:53.51]to take with me.
[00:55.03]I was advised to
[00:57.01]take auxiliary lighting.
[00:58.31]I packed batteryoperated flashlights
[01:01.71]to be used in case of power failure.
[01:03.90]I included a waterproof jacket
[01:07.50]in case I needed to
[01:09.15]walk to school in the rain.
[01:11.00]I needed to sort my belongings.
[01:13.85]I had to decide what to save
[01:16.70] and what to pitch out.
[01:18.66]For example, I decided
[01:21.40]I no longer needed
[01:23.15] my typewriter, as I
[01:24.46]only used my computer
[01:26.22] for word processing now,
[01:27.41]so I decided to give it away.
[01:30.15]I made many lists and
[01:33.88]developed a code as a way
[01:35.73]to catalogue my possessions.
[01:37.59]As I packed items in cardboard boxes,
[01:40.98]I made a list regarding the
[01:43.50]contents on the outside of each box.
[01:45.47]I packed dishes in towels
[01:48.97]to protect them.
[01:50.39]Many times I had to
[01:52.47]undo a box because I forgot
[01:54.44] to list the contents.
[01:56.41]When I finally snapped
[01:58.49]the lid of a box shut,
[02:00.13] I sealed it with transparent tape
[02:03.20]and checked to be sure that
[02:04.73] it would not loosen.
[02:06.70]I also included another tag,
[02:09.76]which gave each box a number
[02:11.51]because all cardboard boxes look identical.
[02:15.23] I was careful not to
[02:18.73]abbreviate the names of items
[02:21.35] in the lists lest
[02:22.89]that would mislead me
[02:24.96]as to the contents.
[02:26.71]I continued with this method,
[02:29.01] which also created
[02:30.87] an index of items.
[02:32.08]It seemed the rational way to
[02:34.59]coordinate and organize things.
[02:37.22]I remarked many times
[02:40.39]during this phase of my preparations
[02:42.25]that I had not realized
[02:44.99]I had so much gear.
[02:47.50]At times I had
[02:50.24]to laugh at myself.
[02:51.44]My activities seemed like
[02:54.06]they would make a good script
[02:55.82]for a comedy.
[02:57.02]Maybe I should write a play
[02:59.54] about what I was doing
[03:00.96] and copyright it.
[03:03.80]It certainly would be good
[03:06.32]for a few scenes on a soap opera.
[03:08.62]On the spur of the moment
[03:12.12]I decided to loan my sofa
[03:13.98]and my rug to my niece
[03:15.73]who was moving to a larger home.
[03:18.14]That would mean a few less
[03:20.98]things to put into storage.
[03:23.06]I fulfilled my obligation
[03:26.45]to provide proof of good health.
[03:28.75] I had a chest x-ray taken.
[03:32.14]I had a complete physical examination.
[03:35.42] I had a dental check up.
[03:37.83]Because my health reportsall indicated
[03:41.00]I was in excellent health,
[03:42.53]all of the health care
[03:44.94]professionals I visited encouraged
[03:46.36] me to pursue my adventure.
[03:48.44]I renewed my passport,
[03:51.83]my proof of identity
[03:53.69]as a Canadian citizen.
[03:54.89]I knew that once I arrived
[03:58.29]in China I would also be
[04:00.26]registered with the Canadian Embassy |