Preparations

I am now in the throes of preparations, wading through reams of paperwork to get my loans from several different servicers deferred  (oh, the joys of the federal financial aid system changing while I was in school), and gazing with naive expectation at the heaps of stuff I have sorted out to take with me, but know will never actually fit in my luggage. And all the while, I am trying to mentally prepare to say goodbye to friends, family, and country in a matter of three days.

Oh, preparations.

On the plus side, I got a new Moleskine planner the other day (organization nerds, join me in celebration!). And, since making a beautiful to-do list in it, I feel more productive already. And, honestly, I AM more productive--got to check quite a few things off my list today.

But still not enough.

 As of right now, I've given up packing for a while--it just got too stressful. My big bag is full, and I do mean full--70lbs--and my medium and small ones are getting there, though not yet weighed. Yet, with all that fullness, I still have random crap scattered all over the family room and my bedroom. And by 'random crap,' I actually mean 'stuff I don't really want to think about ever leaving behind.' Stuff like shoes, books, clothes, photo albums, coffee mugs (not to worry, though, my coffee beans, grinder, cone, and filter are all packed), cookbooks, and English measuring utensils (I make enough cooking mistakes with the right implements). 

Also, my poker set. It weighs a ton, so I probably won't be able to take it in any case. But it will be missed.

I've never been great at decisions. Add a time limit, multiple weight limits, and multiple unknowns (How much space will be in my apartment? How much stuff will the apartment already have in it? How easy/hard will it be to navigate Kaohsiung airport? Would it be better to ship stuff later?) and I'm pretty much a mess.

Goals for tomorrow: decide what third piece of checked luggage to bring, buy gifts to bring for local English teachers and host family, finish packing.

Okay, that last one's a stretch. But it's got to happen sometime...