Knoxville Farewells 2013 - take 1

Michelle and I would like to send out a big THANKS to all that shared in the going away festivities our last weekend in Knoxville. We had a blast and really felt the love. You will all be missed and we look forward to reconnecting with you soon.

It had been a long week and these goodbyes were bittersweet. On the one hand we were both SUPER EXCITED about starting our journey to Sweden. This journey is something that the neither of us could have ever imagined would be taking place after Michelle's time at UT. On the other hand we were going to be saying good bye to lots of people that we have come to love and treasure in K-Town.

We were glad to see some old faces that weekend. It is always fun to spend time with new and old friends in K-Town. Hopefully we can do it again soon.

We will always look back on these photos and remember the fun times we had with all of you. Remember our door is always open in Sweden... OK not really open because it is SERIOUSLY cold here, so just knock. Hej då!

Packing 426 Haywood

When we found out that we were going to have movers show up and move us, we had no idea what we were in for. The movers were scheduled to arrive on Thursday, February 28 and Michelle and I had quite a bit of work ahead of us but we were up for the challenge.

We started in the shed. If you didm't know by now we are moving to Sweden. With that being said what kind of yard tools do you take to Sweden? Who the hell knows, so that part went pretty fast none of it was going. I won't bore you with an itemized detailed list of what we decided to pack from the shed, but it wasn't much. Anything that did make the cut got brought into the house and put in the guest room. That info will be important later.

Over the next several weeks leading up to the 28th we took some time every evening to go through rooms, closets, boxes, drawers, and God knows what else. You never really realize how much useless crap you have until you have to go through it all. We paired down quite a bit, we had to since we were only going to be getting a 20' container. Michelle's folks were kind enough to offer us some storage space at their house while we are "out of town." We had to make some hard decisions but were able to get everything ready for the big day.

The movers arrived around 8:30 AM. There were three of them and they brought a giant truck. After they arrived I showed them what was getting packed and what wasn't. They divided and conquered and got done in about 5 hours. One guy took care of the kitchen and some odds and ends. Another got the living room, office, and master bedroom. Remember me mentioning earlier about the guest room? In the several weeks it took us to go through everything, the guest room became the catch all room. One of the guys got that room, and we never saw him agin. I guess there is a chance he got wrapped and then boxed so he may end up in Sweden, guess we'll see. They finished boxing everything but the furniture and left around 1:00 PM that day.

 

On Friday two of the movers returned to load the truck. The crew leader took a very detailed inventory of all of our goods as the other guy started to load the truck. The guy that started loading the truck single handedly loaded everything on the truck that day all by himself, with the exception of our king size mattress, it was pretty impressive. While the guy loaded the truck the crew leader finish the packing lists and then began wrapping furniture. He did an amazing job (I guess we'll have to see if it actually makes it here in one piece before I say amazing), but seriously you could have dropped this stuff of the roof of the house and it would have survived. There were two guys that showed up a little later to crate our glass table top, TV, and giant mirror. Each got crated separately and it was a whole production. These guys had things done in about 4 hours. Michelle and I then waved goodbye to all of our belongings and hoped that they survive the trek across the Atlantic.

Unfortunately I didn't take a lot of pictures that day. I think the main reason was I was just so impressed with the whole operation I just took it all in. I will however be taking several pictures of the unpacking process. Who doesn't want to see some real Swedes organizing their stuff, right? Hej Då!

ABC: The End of an Era

Friday March 8, 2013 was a rough day for me. The day started like any other day. I woke up, showered and didn't shave. Michelle greeted me in the very empty kitchen with my green tea and sent me on my way. I knew that this would be the last time I would be making the trek to Jefferson City this early in the morning.

I always looked forward to this time of year, the time of year when I would climb in the Jeep and make the AM work commute with daylight. I knew that even though the time would "spring ahead" soon, and I would be back to driving in the dark for another month, that this was the time of year when the warm weather was just around the corner. Those that truly know me would tell you that I am a Jerry Garcia fan for life. With that being said I knew that I was going to need a little help from Jerry to get me through the day. I listened to JGB from San Fran 3-8-80 on what seemed like the shortest commute to work ever that morning. I was feeling good when I arrived at work, but I knew that it would not last. I had too many goodbyes to make today and I was not looking forward to any of them.

I worked until a little after 9:30 and then decided that I had put it off long enough, it was time to man up and get this show on the road. I walked through the warehouse to the production area first and said goodbye to so many people that had made me feel welcome the first time and every time I stepped foot in American Book Company. The list is too long to mention everyone, so I won't. To those of you that read this blog, if I missed speaking to you that day is was not intentional. I enjoyed working with everyone at ABC and I wish you all the best.

I do want to share a funny thing that someone did say to me that day. It went like this. Me: Hey guy, it has been a pleasure working with you. Good luck to you and your family in the future. I hope that everything works out for you here and outside of work. Guy: Thanks, you too Chris. So where is it you're moving to? Me: Sweden. Guy: Oh... yall flyin or drivin? Me: ?????? LMAO!!!

I enjoyed the time I spent at American Book Company. I met a lot of great people and had some fun and challenging times. American Book Company helped me provide for my family for several years. Although I would love to stay and see what the future there would bring, we all must move on at some point. Michelle and I are off to begin our next chapter in life. I don't think that either of us ever thought that Sweden would be our next stop, but here we go! Thanks to everyone that I worked with over the years. I am sure that at one point or another we shared a moment and if you ever want to reminisce, look me up.

Hej Då!