Still haven't heard from the Korean consulate or the travel agent. Looks like we won't be leaving Saturday as planned.
In some ways, this is great, because there is still a metric ton of work to be done. We need to say good-bye to everyone, finish selling the expensive stuff, ditch the rest, take old clothes to Goodwill, deep-clean the house, complete the paperwork for the animals, buy a new carrier and the requisite traveling supplies, wash clothes, weather-proof boots, change our addresses, acclimate the animals to their kennels, finish graduation paperwork, and pay my parking ticket. And then, when that's all done, we need to actually pack. And while all this is happening, I'm also trying to get a new key made for my car, do work for my assistantship with the English Dept., and read and take notes on a book that's essential for my thesis. So, in some ways, it's great that we have a few extra days.
And at the same time, it really. Is. Not. Because, emotionally, I've already left the building. I am ready to shake some small-city dust off my feet now, thanks. The prospect of my adventure being delayed, even for a few days, is making me a lot crankier than it should be.
Not to mention that all this indecision makes it hard to actually accomplish anything. I should be busting my butt right this second, sorting my clothes or taking notes or something. But because I have no firm deadline to finish things by, I'm spending my time on other things. Like the Internet. Like I'm doing right now.
Okay, okay, I'll get back to work...
Showing posts with label packing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label packing. Show all posts
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Saturday, April 2, 2011
4.1.11 Visa Numbers
As of late last night, we have our E2 Visa numbers. Now we begin the mad scramble to get everything done for departure. Our employer would like us to arrive in Jeonju on the 11th - that means departure by the 9th at the latest. Here is a partial list of what must get done in the next 8 days:
Because of all of this, posting here may be sporadic. We will return to regular posting as soon as we can - once we get to Jeonju we will need to figure out the internet situation, and then we will bore you all with a photo dump from the trip.
- Make arrangements for our interview with the Korean Consulate in San Francisco.
- Finish paperwork for the animals
- Finalize the sale of my car
- Finalize airline tickets
- Get carriers and supplies for the animals
- Sell, store, give away, or trash everything we aren't taking with us.
- Convert some USD ($) into SKW (₩)
- Final packing
- Pay off the remainder of our lease and bills
- Clean our rooms (we would like to get some of our deposit back...)
Because of all of this, posting here may be sporadic. We will return to regular posting as soon as we can - once we get to Jeonju we will need to figure out the internet situation, and then we will bore you all with a photo dump from the trip.
Friday, March 25, 2011
3.24.11 The Woman Talks About Clothes
Now that I've finished burning myself a cheerful shade of pink in Disneyworld, I finally have the time to chime in on this blog. I've been taking a stereotypically feminine approach to this adventure by addressing the most pressing issue first: what clothes I'm taking with me. A mighty reduction of the wardrobe is required.
I've done something similar before, when I lived in Jordan for two months on less than 50 pounds of luggage. I found that I actually quite liked having all of my worldly possessions fit into a single suitcase. The problem is that "packing for two months" doesn't have quite the same panic-inducing effect as "packing for a whole year," and that since I studied in Jordan my style has become significantly more elaborate. Lace takes up more suitcase space than nice, practical khakis.
Today I spent the afternoon tearing through my closet, creating large, messy piles on the bedroom floor that are still lurking there, waiting for me to pick them back up and shove them back in my closet. Contrary to how the bedroom looks, though (sorry honey), I've actually accomplished quite a lot.
I've disposed of almost anything that isn't black and, therefore, automatically matching. Sorry, pretty yellow shirt. I'm trying to make sure that almost all of the clothes I'm bringing are appropriate for work as well as recreation. Good-bye, see-through blouse. No cleavage allowed, so I'm ditching anything too boobalicious and sewing lace inserts into my more modest V-necks. And I'm beginning to come to grips with the idea that it may not be possible to take all of my many and varied skirts. Definitely still struggling with that one.
These criteria have left me with approximately a suitcase-full of inky flounces. Of course, that's not counting underwear, socks, shoes, stuffed animals (don't judge), our purple tapestry, my tea cup, the special Advent calendar I've been sewing, or any of the thousands of things I'm sure I haven't even considered yet.
The worst part is that, like everyone else who hasn't taken Thoreau's advice to heart, when I think about moving to a new country and starting a new job...well, the instinct is to acquire rather than to reduce. Ebay and etsy, you're not helping. Stop distracting me from the important parts of moving to Korea, like double-checking paperwork for the animals and looking up consulate interview requirements. You've been warned.
I've done something similar before, when I lived in Jordan for two months on less than 50 pounds of luggage. I found that I actually quite liked having all of my worldly possessions fit into a single suitcase. The problem is that "packing for two months" doesn't have quite the same panic-inducing effect as "packing for a whole year," and that since I studied in Jordan my style has become significantly more elaborate. Lace takes up more suitcase space than nice, practical khakis.
Today I spent the afternoon tearing through my closet, creating large, messy piles on the bedroom floor that are still lurking there, waiting for me to pick them back up and shove them back in my closet. Contrary to how the bedroom looks, though (sorry honey), I've actually accomplished quite a lot.
I've disposed of almost anything that isn't black and, therefore, automatically matching. Sorry, pretty yellow shirt. I'm trying to make sure that almost all of the clothes I'm bringing are appropriate for work as well as recreation. Good-bye, see-through blouse. No cleavage allowed, so I'm ditching anything too boobalicious and sewing lace inserts into my more modest V-necks. And I'm beginning to come to grips with the idea that it may not be possible to take all of my many and varied skirts. Definitely still struggling with that one.
These criteria have left me with approximately a suitcase-full of inky flounces. Of course, that's not counting underwear, socks, shoes, stuffed animals (don't judge), our purple tapestry, my tea cup, the special Advent calendar I've been sewing, or any of the thousands of things I'm sure I haven't even considered yet.
The worst part is that, like everyone else who hasn't taken Thoreau's advice to heart, when I think about moving to a new country and starting a new job...well, the instinct is to acquire rather than to reduce. Ebay and etsy, you're not helping. Stop distracting me from the important parts of moving to Korea, like double-checking paperwork for the animals and looking up consulate interview requirements. You've been warned.
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