Packing and packing

Didn't sleep for 23 hours yesterday.  Maybe from the excitement, or maybe it was the caffeine.  In other news, diet vanilla pepsi is delicious!!

With all that extra time, I managed to pack my entire closet (thanks for the company and assistance, ma!), pull out the suitcase, get one of those vacuum sealer bag kits to store stuff, donate a bunch of clothes and furniture, spend extra time with the dogs and cat, and even study!  Haha, ok, maybe I made that last one up.  And stuffed animals are really creepy when they have all the air sucked out of them.  Next I have to figure out how to fit everything I'll need into one or two bags.  Which I'm sure will involve the vac sealer, and lots of jumping on top of the suitcases.

Found a place for the car, too (thanks dil!) so I won't have to shell out for storage, which is a massive help that I really appreciate!!  I'm going to miss the Si.  Six MT gears, two cams, and a pair of dyno cuves of pure driving enthusiast perfection.  Driving isn't common in Japan since they have such an incredibly efficient, effective public transit system, so I'm trying to stock up on my daily zen while I can! 

But, I save the best for last.  First the background: I've been so worried about money, with not having my engineer's salary in a foreign country.  How am I going to afford, well, anything?  Read on...

And now, the most awesomest thing ever:

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I'VE BEEN NOMINATED FOR A 80000 YEN/MONTH JASSO SCHOLARSHIP!!  ~$980 PER MONTH!!! 
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Holy balls!! That's the best news I've had all week! :)

Pre-Departure To Do List

Wow, there's a lot of stuff left to do!  What have I already done? 

• Renewed passport
• Bought plane ticket
• Arranged temporary housing accomodations
• Tendered resignation
• Saved!!

Let's see...

• Put the car in storage
• Put cell contract on "active hold"...I learned you can pause the service without cancelling it and racking up the charges
• Pack enough to carry, but no more!  First I have to figure out what I need to take...
• Figure out how to sneak my kitty into the country (legal disclaimer: kidding)
• Schedule last minute appointments
• Convert dollars to yen...stop falling, dollar!!
• Set up PayPal account for friends
• Learn Japanese >.>
• Uh...whatever else I'm forgetting

Brain...scattered...can't think.  TBC

3 WEEKS AND COUNTING!

So I did it.  I quit my day job and bought a one way ticket to Japan!


SO EXCITING!!


Reckless?  Maybe.  Terrifying?  Yes!  Guaranteed to be (one of) the best times of my life?  Absolutely! 


Wish me luck!