My year begins

It's 1:36 a.m. Central Time and in a few minutes (hopefully) I'll go to bed and in a few hours (hopefully!!!) I'll wake up and board a plane that will take me to my new home halfway around the globe. But I feel I must write this while everything is fresh in my memory. Today (or yesterday, I suppose) was an eventful day encompassing an amalgam of emotions and I believe either is the prelude to or is one of the most pivotal days of my life.

I spent the morning packing, unpacking, and repacking. *It just struck me that I have to discontinue my membership to the Y. dang, I knew I forgot something!* On the positive side, I got a full arm workout: I must have lifted those 50 lb. bags at least ten times each just to make sure that they weren't overweight. Hopefully that did some damage to my upper-arm flab. My worst nightmare right now is that I won't be able to fit my carry-on in the overhead compartment & will have to pay a load of money to check a third bag. Great, now I really will dream about that. grrr...

When I finished packing, I showered and headed to the bank to wrap up some business. Then I stopped by work to say good-bye to everybody. While I was there I saw Ra-mama through the window and decided to enjoy my last scaring in the States. I hid behind the counter and jumped out at her as she rounded the corner. Had I predicted her response, I probably would have opted for another course of action. She jumped a bit, shrieked, and slapped me in the face. One fluid motion. All instinctively. Some people just freeze when they're scared, some scream, some cry. Not Ra-mama. She don't take no crap. Her brain tells her to slap, then it processes what the eyes input to recognize who or what scared her. When her brain processed who I was, her jaw dropped and she said, "Oh, Monica, I slapped you! I'm so sorry!" and she hugged me and kissed me on the cheek. The hug was ok, but the kiss...I could have done without. When my brain processed the fact that she had slapped me, I started laughing. It was quite a shock, and I found it hilarious.

I went to Al's office and we decided to meet at Borders later on. Then I had to go. JB had called up to arrange a meeting so he could give me my going-away present, and I, as usual, was running late.

I got to Dunn's only five minutes after our scheduled time and found JB at the computer, replying to a message I had posted. I sat at the computer next to him and replied to him. We are such geeks.

Coffee #1
I got a mocha iced coffee drink and we sat outside and chatted for about an hour. The great thing about chatting with JB is that I'm comfortable enough with him to tell him anything, and JB is unfortunate enough to know some of the secrets I don't tell anybody else. Yeah, JB is one of the few people I'll share my feelings with. (Thanks JB if you're reading this; you're a rockstar. No wonder the Greek & I always fight over you. ha!) It was sad saying good-bye & knowing that I wouldn't see him for probably a year.

Coffee #2
I got home and had an iced coffee. Then it was dinner time.

By dinner, I had four hours of packing and one good-bye under my belt, so I was feeling anxious, nervous, and depressed. Right in the middle of dinner I started thinking about how it would be my last dinner with my mom for a long time, and I cried. In a public restaurant. How embarrassing.

I stopped by Best Buy to pick up some flash drives. I decided to leave my computer, but need to take my important documents with me. I spoke with Uncle Paul & Imo; they'll be coming to Korea over Chusok so I'll see them in two months.

Coffee #3
I met Al at Borders determined to get juice, and she had already ordered an iced coffee for me (my friends rock!). We used to get the Kahlua mudslides, but they changed their drink vendors, as I had found out on my last trip. So the "drink that's kinda like the Kahlua mudslide" is now our drink of choice, and there was one sitting there waiting for me, in all of its chocolate-drizzled whipped-cream-topped glory. We chatted for about an hour, lightheartedly, skirting around but occasionally delving into deeper issues.

She said that Ra-mama had mentioned slapping me in the face, but didn't have the details as she was in a hurry to get out the door (like me, she had been running late). Such an invitation required elaboration, and I acquiesced. In a particularly dramatic reenactment, I swooped my hand to demonstrate the athleticism of Ra-mama's slap. I think the story was funny enough itself, and so did Al. To add to the humor, however, my hand happened to swoop my coffee all over my leg, foot and the floor. Shock. Pure shock. Followed by laughter, then Al running to get napkins, and me whispering intensely, "hurry hurry this is cold." The laughter continues, but we're both kneeling down trying to clean the floor, Al in a skirt and me in coffee-drenched jeans, while futilely hoping to avoid the attention of other patrons. The Borders employee hurried to help us clean up, then kindly asked me if he could get me another drink. That's really sweet! I spilled the drink, but he was nice enough to offer another. I was finished, though, and declined.

As we exited the cafe, Al told me how much she would miss me. We had spent so much time together in the last few months and our friendship had deepened considerably, and we had shared our griefs and advice. We hugged. By this time, I had four hours of packing, a stomach-ache-inducing dinner, one good-bye with a pseudo-brother, and 1/2 a good-bye with a pseudo-sister under my belt, and when I saw tears in her eyes I just broke down. I cried all the way home.

Once home, I did the unthinkable. I unpacked and repacked again. Yeah, I just went there.

I called my big bro and he actually picked up! I was kinda surprised. We talked about work and said our good-byes.

The Greek called and we talked for about an hour. (I keep talking to people for about an hour!) She gave me some pointers on internet phoning (or poning) that I'm gonna research. At 8.5 cents a minute from Korea, it's worth some research! Last night we had hung out at Dunn's and the Pumphouse, but we didn't get a chance to really talk since we were too busy getting JB to emphasize that he hates us. :) And... the conversation ended with another good-bye.

Three coffees, three best friends, one brother, and four good-byes. Tomorrow two parents, one cat, one home, one nation and five good-byes. 11 loved ones = nine good-byes + two see-you-soons. It's dismal math.

People keep telling me that I'll make new friends once I get to Korea. I know this, but I still regret leaving those I love behind.

I'm such a sap today. Next time I'll be better.

Three coffees have taken their toll, but I'm starting to get tired. Good night.