Day Two - The Move Back Home

First reaction to the announcement that we were packing up and heading back home - disbelief.

• Are you out of your mind? People take ages to get here and you want to head back now?

• Show your spine dude? Stick it to the INS. Give it time and things will work out? If they don't just go underground.

• Exactly what do you plan on doing when you get back home? Do you have any firm offers?

• How does Amin feel about all of this?

Second reaction to the announcement - how can we help? Here is a list of things that immediately came to mind.

a) Packing, repacking and packing again. How can you possibly pack four years of memories all by yourself. You can't so it nice to have atleast one close friend or member of family around for the sentimental types. For the more objective minded, opt for movers and relocaters that do the packing up for you. You will save yourself time, stress, supplies and tension.

b) Going back home sale. Everything else that you don't want to ship back home. From stale DVD's to Kitchen tables. Book's don't sell well at all so if you have any attachments to your collection of Dune, bring it back with you. DVD's sell well in pairs and in buy two get one free combos. Ethnic stuff from pillow covers to corner tables to throw away rugs move very quickly irrespective of how aggressivly you price. Carpets don't no matter how cheap you lable them. We asked friends at work, in the neighbourhood, the neighbourhood and every one else we could think of. Advertise shamelessly. Will even dropped by and took pictures and posted them online with our Moving Home Sale email.

c) Kids and daycare. Try getting anything done with two toddlers in the house.

d) Cars for sale. Here is a tough one. Do you pick one of the numerous online auction sites or just advertise in the decades old Post (substitute local edition of your newspaper). Pick the post and plan on running the adds for atleast two to three weeks.

e) Final shipment to Karachi. You get what you pay for. Stay away from anyone advertising or referred to you online or via an online relocation site. Just as bad as an online dating service. Good old yellow pages and an office that you can visit and judge in real time mode is far more preferable than the fly by the wire act that we got stuck with. More on this later.

f) Farewells and Goodbyes. Won't have time to organize one so if someone is kind enough to invite you, don't decline. You never know when you will see your friends again.

g) Food. Forget cooking. Dominos and Papa John rules.