Today is the day before we leave. The process of really, truly coming to grips with the fact that we’re leaving is one that has happened in tiny and unexpected ways. As I was cycling around the neighbourhood saying goodbye to everyone, it suddenly struck me that I’d be leaving the bike behind. Not that this was a surprise, or the first time I’d had the thought, naturally, but anyone who knows me will understand what a blow it is not to be able to ride for such a long time. My legs are going to atrophy and look like sad little human legs.

The last ride around the city was a study in contrasts - the poignancy of last sights of familiar places alternating with reminders from drivers that nearly everyone in Toronto is a big jerk. It was interesting making my goodbyes. Of course my friends and family will have or have had calls and visits, but it’s amazing how many incidental people you accumulate in your life, and how long it takes to track them all down and tell them goodbye. There are a few I hope will stay in touch - Marlene and Aisha the Subway girls, Andrew from the gym, and Emily the cute sushi waitress. Aisha and Andrew I especially hope to hear from, since I wasn’t able to say goodbye in person.

We threw together a nice fish dinner afterward, and after I managed to install the new barbecue burner without blowing us all up. I’d fobbed the barbecue off on Nicola and Suzanne, but seemingly the only thing holding the old burner together were the lava rocks, because when I removed those, the burner disintegrated into flakes of rust. But all’s well that ends well. I’d owed Sheryl a fish dinner for her help demolishing planter boxes, and I probably owed Nicola another for putting up with us taking over every flat surface in her home and completely disrupting her life. Sorry, Nic. Er… we love you?

I worked every spare second and through a lot of the night on the sites, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that they’ll never be finished before we leave. If I can just finish off the Flash-based centerpiece, then I can leave the computer behind and finish all the rest from whatever computers I can find later.

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