It’s getting really down to the wire here in Minneapolis as I close out my final week.

I am trying hard to find the perfect place to live temporarily in Austin when I arrive a week from today, but not having the greatest of luck. I am hoping to find a short-term sublet in a fun area that’s close to restaurants, bars, shops, and bus lines so I can get to know the city. Most of the places being offered are surprisingly not near the U of T, but in quiet residential neighborhoods. I have options of renting rooms in houses, duplexes, or entire apartments or even entire houses… it’s just very few of them are in the precise locations I wanted. Once Lauren eventually arrives, we’ll find something more permanent.

While I will be working my final week full-time at MB, I will not be working my final days for the company after all. We are close to a deal that would keep me on in a contract role. MB would purchase the Adobe Suite for me to keep, and I’d first work it off and then start earning an hourly rate. It’s win-win for both sides; they don’t have to train someone new in and pay me benefits or as much money, and I maintain my side income that I’ll be losing from no longer DJing, in case things don’t work out as expected.

Austin is pretty amazing in that everyone I’ve talked to has nothing put overwhelmingly positive, glowing things to say about the city. One person warned me about an excess of homeless people in a particular area of town, and one person said traffic can get ugly on I-35, but beyond that, it has just been one great thing after another.

For now, the plan is to see off all my friends at Walsh’s big backyard BBQ on Friday night, and then I’ll be taking off for South Dakota Saturday morning, where I’ll get the car tuned up for the big drive. I’ll probably spend one night on the Glanzer farm and hit the road early Sunday morning. The 1,080-mile drive should take between 15 and 19 hours. I’ll plan to stop for the night in Kansas or Oklahoma.

I’ll try not to dwell on leaving Lauren behind for now. There will be enough time to sulk as I see her in the rearview mirror as I drive away!