Update

It's the end of March (!) and time for an update on the to-do list:
1. Sell my (seemingly magic pudding-esque) stuff: About half the stuff has either gone or is promised to people. Of the things left I'll be taking only a few to my parents' place. Everything else is going to the Salvos or on the street.
2. Either give away or store those things I can't/won't sell: See above.
3. Get the car repaired and sell it: It got repaired and, with the very kind help of a mate, will hopefully be sold in the next week. Phew!
4. Contact my service providers (phone, internet, bank, etc) and other companies I'm associated with and either cancel my membership or ask their advice on what to do: This is on my list for tomorrow afternoon.
5. Find out if the working visa has been approved: Done. Approved. Hooray!
6. Move out from Glebe into my parents' place in the southern highlands for the last week in Australia: This is happening on Monday week, and dad's driving down with a large trailer to bring back a heap of stuff.
7. Race at the NSW Dragonboat State Championships: Less than a week to go until we're racing at Penrith. The team, despite missing a few experienced and strong paddlers, feels pretty good and we might even get two full mixed teams on the water. Unheard of!
8. Have a party (more of a want than a need): We did, last night, and it rocked. Big thanks to KT for organising it and to everyone who was there for making it so much fun. I have to say though, the conversation I had with my brother at 2am was one of the more bizarre experiences of recent times...An outpouring of genuine emotion that I'd never seen from him, and a demonstration of his willingness to bridge the distance within the family. Kudos to Matt for having the courage to accept his part and try to make amends. Hopefully, as with his wedding to Jos, this will be a permanent step in the right direction.
9. Review my French class notes and cram before the flight: Yeah, okay, so not everything is going according to plan. But I bought a revision book and plan to spend the 27 hours to Paris making good use of it.
10. Find a job in Paris: Not much luck, I'm afraid. But I'm optimistic and quite looking forward to trying something/s new.

Aside from all this I'm catching up with friends, working until next Friday, planning things to do and people to see while in Europe, and generally feeling more and more excited about the trip.

T-minus 12 days!