Who Was I?

This year marks five years since I had my (thankfully) mild heart attack.

An 'anniversary' that came, and went, only a few days ago.
Sigh...
This month, therefore, seemed to me to be the right time to announce my early retirement on LinkedIn, that business-orientated social media juggernaut.
It's something I've been thinking about for some time, of course, but this made my decision 'formal', if you will.
And when I pressed 'post' on that announcement, something strange happened. I felt elated, like this great weight had been lifted from my shoulders.
Somewhat weird, I’ll grant you, but a great feeling nevertheless!

Show some love on LinkedIIn

Having done that, from my 1,500-plus followers, I noted those who 'liked' my post, and diligently replied to each and every comment.
I also noted that many who'd asked for advice down the years; many I'd hired or promoted during my 35 years in IT; and many I'd worked with over those decades, hadn't even bothered to like my post.
Disappointing: I'm only human, after all!
Several weeks later, I thanked all of those who'd liked and/or commented on my post. They were, after all, one of the major reasons why I'd so enjoyed my long career.
And I also thanked the majority who hadn't bothered to like and/or comment, as they'd vindicated my decision to now leave my career behind me.
And didn’t they start popping out of the woodwork after that!
I deleted my account 24 hours later, feeling vindicated all over again.

Planning and Execution

I've always found it's best to plan, plan, and then plan some more.

It keeps the blood pressure down, and that's a good thing at any age!

So, my 'Moving to Modica' document is, at 11 pages long, a list of what needs doing, and when, prior to leaving London.

Under pressure

Covering everything from telling our Aussie-based landlord (ironic!) the bad news, through sourcing a mover, getting our medical records, to cancelling Netflix. And now, with less than a week to go, we've managed to tick off most of what needs doing.

Now we've done this a few times before, but that's not too shabby. Most of what's left has to do with selling our car, and taking final readings of various utilities.

Happy days!

Then there's the 'Applications in Modica' document which, at 16 pages, is both longer, and more stress-inducing, I have to say.

This covers engaging some needed local expertise (competenza locale), getting ourselves a short-term rental contract (contratto per uso transitorio), and sourcing a Health Insurance Card (Tessera Sanitaria).

Through getting an Italian driving licence (patente di guida), an Electronic Identity Card (Carta D’Identità Elettronica), and opening a bank account (conto bancario).

The 'biggie': The Certificate of Regularity of Stay (Attestazione di Regolarità di Soggiorno), which is essentially a resident's certificate.

And, after all of that, there's the 'attestazione di iscrizione anagrafica', a new document needed to prove we're allowed to live in Italy post-Brexit.

A ‘blizzard of bureaucracy’, but we've planned for it!

The Dreaded 'C-Word'

Which is, of course: Coronavirus.

Timing is everything

Apologies, and it may sound terrible, but talk about good timing! F'sure it's something you can plan for, but just as often it simply happens.
Like in our present case.
On September the 21st, the UK's Joint Biosecurity Centre recommended the COVID-19 alert level be moved nationally from Level 3 (epidemic in general circulation) to Level 4 (epidemic is in general circulation, with transmission high or rising).
A recommendation backed by all of the UK's Chief Medical Officers.
Coming after an extended period of lower cases and deaths, the number of cases is rapidly rising again. And, only making matters worse, to quote an oft-quoted quote here: 'Winter is coming.'
By now, after six long months, we all know what this means, of course: More restrictions.
The UK government will be announcing these soon.
Why 'good timing' for us then? Because we're flying to Catania in Sicily this Saturday, on a one-way ticket.
So what's the situation like there? Are we talking 'frying pan to fire' here?
Well, no actually.
Except for Sardinia, the situation is much as it was when we first visited back in July. The only difference being masks must now be worn outdoors between 6pm and 6am.
Need some stats?
In the UK, it's 70.7 cases per 100,000, whereas in Italy it's 34.0. Or, putting it another way, here it's around 3,500 cases a day; there, it's 1,500.
Not good, but way better there than here, you’ll agree?

More Soon ... from Modica!