4 days and counting

Well, I am on the tail end of my time at home. I booked my one-way plane ticket about 2 weeks ago, and then kind of forgot about getting things done for a while. That seemed like a big enough step at the time. Now, however, I am reaching the realization that there's a good handful of little details to take care of within the next few days.



Among these little details is packing- the end-all of annoying tasks to be completed. As we speak, I am washing up my clothes to seriously begin the job, however, the entire prospect is just so ominous. I can check two bags- 62 linear inches each, and 50 lbs. (70 if I want to pay an extra $50... we'll see about that). In these two bags needs to be clothes for all 4 seasons (yes, Korea has a winter), toiletries for a year, shoes (supposedly my size will be hard to find- and my feet aren't even that big!), gifts for my co-teacher, principal, etc., and all those fun miscellaneous things like a jar of peanut butter (apparently, not a commodity to be found abroad), spices (supposedly they flavor everything with chili powder), a few books, bed sheets (fitted sheets not to be found in Korea), and all those other little odds and ends that you need for living during the course of a year. A good friend of mine, who has been living abroad in Russia, advised to pack everything you think you need and then take out half because you won't need it, however, this is so much more easily said than done.



Also, my boss has been out of town for the last week and has left me in charge of the store, so I have been working a decent smattering of hours. It is good, in a way, because it has kept me from reaching panic-mode by giving me something else to focus on and stay busy with, however, I feel that I am very close to the realization that I don't have nearly enough done.



Amongst all of this, though, I have had some time for some fun. I had my birthday/goodbye party almost a week ago (my birthday and my departure are separated by about only a week). I had a good gathering of friends and family gather, and it was wonderful to see everyone together one last time before I take off.



Also, I get to have one last hoo-rah tomorrow, when I get to go see the Backstreet Boys at the state fair!! A really good friend was going to go to the concert on a weekend home from grad school, however, the trip got cancelled and she had to unload a ticket on a lucky recipient... me!



Buuuut, anyways, just a few more days and I will be outta here, so stay tuned, cause more excitement should be showing up here really soon! I leave you with this cherished image:

Backstreet's back, indeed; Happy Birthday, Laura!