This is It!!

I just want to thank my wonderful husband for putting up with me! He is the most patient, understanding person I know, but still tells me how it is, even if its hard to hear and I love him so much!I think moving is one of the most stressful situations to go through and I know he heard a lot about it from me. I never thought that there would have to be so much preparation just to leave and go away for awhile. It seemed like for every 1 thing we checked off our list, 3 more were added. But now...we are done! Or, almost...but at least most of the tedious things (besides applying to jobs) are done with. Tonight we get to celebrate with our families and eat delicious food that we're going to miss, thanks to the best cook I know, my Mom!! Brad and I are so excited for our trip and we are going to miss everyone so much!

Kathleen

Damn Tetanus Shot

Kathleen and I recently went to the doctor to update our vaccinations.  It had been over ten years since my last Tetanus shot (I needed protection from the bite of a rabid, six-year-old child - long story), so I needed to get the Tetanus vaccination in addition to my second dose of the Hepatitis A vaccine.  It was a very simple procedure - one shot in each arm.  I'm not afraid of needles, and the actual shots didn't really hurt.

But dammit!  It's been over 48 hours and my left arm still hurts.  The pain from my last Tetanus shot was gone in a matter of hours, but this one just won't quit.

Dammit!

Correction: The Worst Part is Moving. Definitely Moving.

After moving for a solid four days, Kathleen and I are finally done putting our stuff in storage.  I think I can say with almost 100 percent certainty that moving is the most unpleasant thing on this Earth.  Never has the knapsack tied to a stick life seemed more appealing.  While it is a truly abhorrent process, I never want the fear of moving to stop us from going where we want to go.

We still have many things to get done before the trip, but at the rate we're checking things off the list, we might even get to relax during our last couple days in America.  Five more days!

Brad

The worst part is definitely moving. In the last 8 months I have moved 4 times. Compare that to not moving once (except up to college) for 22 years! While the knapsack life may be appealing, staying in one place for a long, long time (eventually) sounds really appealing. But now that we can see the end of the tunnel, it is definitely worth it. Now we just have to check the rest of those things off our list and enjoy ourselves and the people we're going to miss.

Kathleen

The Worst Part: Waiting

13 days and counting.

This morning, I purchased our JR rail passes, tickets that will allow us to travel all over Japan for a discounted price.  I'm not sure if I've ever been on a train that wasn't parked at a museum, so Japan's public transportation system will be an interesting experience.

Kathleen and I both have three more days of work, and we can't do much packing until we're done working. We're slowly checking things of the "To-Do" list and counting down the days.

Brad