Sleep deprived already

...and I'm not even on the plane yet. Oh, the joys of putting off packing until the last minute, combined with multiple loose ends to tie up from my old life (with some limited success). I'm in the Seattle airport now, gate S15, and we board in about 45 minutes; I figured I'd take advantage of the free wi-fi and post a final US-based blog before leaving--*really* leaving--for Taiwan.

Today was wonderful, but complicated. My parents and I got to the Eugene airport plenty early and began wrangling my massive heap of luggage to the ticket counter--which was, as it turned out, closed. When we finally did get an employee there, she informed us that, because my connecting flight in Seattle left 15 hours after I got in, rather than 12, I could not check my bags all the way through. In addition, she informed us that I would be re-charged baggage fees in Seattle as, contrary to the information I found on their websites, each airline charges individually, even though they're partnered. Unfortunately, that was to become a recurring theme.

So I said goodbye to my parents and set off for Seattle.

Once there, my dear friend Anna met me at the airport--fortunately sans bags, which I left in the unclaimed baggage area--and we set off. After a stop to see and say goodbye to Melanie and Marissa, we got stuck in traffic, and as Anna maneuvered through the black-coded freeway, I tried my hand at coordinating a pick-up for Flavia, and a meet-up with Lindsey. Eventually, after a long wait and a few false starts, we all ended up at a lovely little park overlooking the Puget Sound, with scrumptious Red Mill hamburgers. Because hey, if you're going to do American food, you've got to do it right!

After that we headed out to the place Anna is housesitting, to walk the dog up to Bustle for a great cup of coffee, where Mollie joined us. Then it was off to Theo Chocolates to meet Annika and buy a few last-minute gifts for my carry-on.

Annika, brilliant person that she is, then reminded us that it was a Saturday night, and that City Church had a service, so we drove off for Kirkland, where we had a great time. Then, after a quick stop to see Angie, we explored downtown Kirkland in search of a restaurant, before settling on a Mediterranean place which, while my food was delicious, was otherwise disappointing. We were there for waaaay to o long, but we finished in just enough time to go by Zoka's for one last coffee. :)

Then it was time for very sad goodbyes, and Mollie drove me to the airport, where I got to relocate and reload my luggage, and then discover that EVA has a weight limit on their carry-on items, and that mine was almost twice as heavy as the limit--meaning I had to either unload half my bag into one of my other bags, and pay the extra weight fee, or check it as ANOTHER extra bag. And, being overtired, I misunderstood the ticketing agent and thought he meant I had to put it ALL in my other bag, so I now have 4 checked bags! Talk about expensive. Thank goodness for extra first-month funds.

Overall, though, it was a fantastic last day in the US for a while--got to see some wonderful friends and do some great Seattle-y things one last time. And it was all at a pretty leisurely pace in beautiful weather--unheard of, at least around here! But,  beginning tomorrow/Tuesday (since I lose a day on this flight due to the time change), today's warmth will be ordinary, and maybe even a little cool.

Boarding in 15 minutes. This is surreal.