4.6.11 Limbo

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...

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:

• 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...)

Somewhere in there, we have to shop for new teacher clothes, luggage, toiletries, teaching supplies, gifts for arrival, etc., and find time to say goodbye to everyone. If you're a Laramie local, you can tune into our farewell show on KOCA 93.5fm on this Sunday night (4.3.11) at 10pm.

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.

3.26.11 A Little Progress

 It has been a producive day. I had another person look at and test drive the car, and I sold all of my clubbells (like the pair at right). I sold my guitar, and also found a possible place to sell my drums. We are slowly getting rid of the things that can't go with us.

It's sort of depressing to let go of some of this stuff (especially the guitar) but it simply must be done. The only place I could store things is at my mother's home in Oregon, and I can't really justify the gas or the time to transport stuff there.

There is still much to do. I need to get rid of my king size oak bed, my 2 macebells, all of my kettlebells, and my other assorted fitness and grip training equipment (sledgehammer, sandbag, push-up board, etc.). The macebells and the other assorted stuff are sort of unique items, calling for a guy of a certain size, grip strength, and craziness, but kettlebells can be used by anyone. I currently have kettlebells from 8kg up to 32kg, and in the more common weights (12kg, 16kg, 24kg) I have pairs. I will make you a deal if you want to get more than one - as you can see below, they make a lovely set.

I haven't even thought much yet about how I am going to sell off/get rid of everything else. I get a little panicky when I think about trying to find homes for my 25 year collection of board games and RPGs, or all the books we both own, or my kitchen stuf, or the clothing that I'm not taking with me, or my bike, or my powertools, or...!

I'm going to go lay down now.

3.23.11 Pile O' Documents

According to online tracking, the package containing our pile o' documents was delivered to our recruiter on the afternoon of the 22nd. That was two days faster than promised by FedEx, so hopefully we will get our E2 visa numbers just a bit more quickly. This visa is pretty important - apparently if you don't have one, or the right kind, or even if you have one but you aren't teaching in the town it says you should be, you can be subject to instant deportation.

Once we have those, we send off another batch of documents (mostly copies of the original packet) to the Korean Consulate in San Francisco. Once they stamp our papers, we are good to go!

The mad rush to get rid of everything continues. I've sold some of the workout equipment, and I have a few people interested in my car - hopefully I can get it sold this weekend.  In the next few days I plan to sort clothes and other personal goods into several categories - keep, garage sale, Goodwill, and trash. I think we'll be renting a dumpster...

3.18.11 Postal Expenses

The pile o' documents has been sent. Here is another important tip for those thinking of teaching abroad - be prepared to incur some expenses during the application and hiring process. For example, to send this one envelope to Seoul was $74. Ouch. Now we await further instructions from our recruiter.

In the meantime, I am panicking over all the stuff for which we need to find new homes. If you have ever coveted any of my belongings, now is the time to make an offer. Need a king-sized bed? How about a semi-hollowbody guitar and amp? Perhaps kettlebells, clubbells, macebells, or a very sturdy pull-up rack are what you need?

There will probably be a garage sale in a few weeks, but I would rather start selling stuff now. If you are relatively close to  Laramie (i.e. Cheyenne, Fort Collins, Denver...) drop me an email - no reasonable offer will be refused, and for larger items I might even deliver. That is, until the car gets sold...

3.15.11 Everything Must Go!

Teaching abroad has been a dream of ours for some time, but the logistics of it are a bit more of a nightmare. Even if you think you lead a spartan student life, you still have a ton of stuff to get rid of before you go. Thankfully, we don't have much in the way of furniture, but we do have a lot of other stuff. From time to time, I'll post a pic or a video here of things that we have to part with. Today, it's my cajon. It's an entry level model from Latin Percussion, but it has a nice bass tone. I'll miss it; not sure yet if I'm storing it or selling it...