Today is a milestone... two weeks to go!

Today feels like a milestone. It marks the day where I have exactly two weeks left of a contract that has lasted months, and a series of contracts that has kept me away from home for nearly half a year. 6 months is a long time to be away!

Normally two weeks isn't a special milestone. But for the next two weeks I'm training my replacement. My replacement, an old friend and long time associate, arrives Sunday evening. This means that any and all work assigned from now on is technically his to do. My job will be to guide that work... but it's on-the-job training from here. No more work for me.

That's a really good thing since I have lots to do and wrap up just in terms of my own life. I've got scuba diving, of which I want to get as much in while I still can. But I also have to finish up the requirements for my Divemaster course. That means an entire day of skills exercises in the pool and writing five exams in the next two weeks. Oh, and the paperwork! Lots of paperwork.

While I'm doing that I need to plan my return trip home. It's going to be a multi-leg journey, driving from Boston to Montreal to Niagara Falls, then flying down to Atlanta to catch my flight through London to Amsterdam. Two days of driving and 3 days of airports and flights. Ouch!

But through this whole experience I must also keep looking for work!!! I've sent some applications, but have many more to do. And job hunting (aka "finding the next gig") is always a bit of stress and worry.

Yet right now I feel no stress, no worry. It's the last day when I have to helm the work ship alone. Soon the new skipper will be here to take over. I'll help a bit with navigation, review the ship's logs, and add advice. But I won't really be working.

In addition, the next three weeks will be packed full of visiting family and friends at every step of the way. Some old friends, some new friends from earlier in this trip. But all of them people I care about and am looking forward to seeing again.

Today is a milestone because from here on my "work" involves only those things I care most about. Friends, family, travelling home, and a few scuba dives at night. What more could I ask from a milestone?