T-Minus 12

Dauntingly empty "my-whole-life" carriers *pft*

Here I am, 12 days until I leave home and fly to jolly ole' England to start grad school.  See that lovely suitcase and backpack?  That's as far as I've gotten in the whole "pack my entire life away " thing that I'm supposed to be doing.  Those two empty pieces of luggage are terrifying.  I know this isn't the first time I've packed for an overly-long trip, but I currently don't feel any more experienced than I was two years ago before leaving for Oz.  So that's fantastic.

There are also a slew of other pre-departure things that I need to be doing.  Cleaning, travel documents, bus tickets, goodbyes...it's all pretty daunting.

But let's talk about goodbyes.  I would like to say "You really find out who your friends are when you are about to travel 3,500 miles away from home for an indefinite period of time."  Unfortunately, if I said that I would be one depressed little girl.  I realized a few weeks ago that hardly anyone is seeking me out to say goodbye.  Not that I expect masses at my door or anything, but a little effort here and there would be nice.  I have a few friends who have gotten in touch so we can say our goodbyes, but that's it.  Even my own family is oddly silent on that front...And now with all these other things I need to do to get ready, I'm thinking that I'm just going to cut my losses.  Oh well.

On a happier note, I'm going to see one of my good friends from college tonight.  I have a few little gifts for her, and I'm really excited to meet up since we haven't seen each other since graduation in May.

Hopefully by my next post I'll have some more packing and important things figured out.  Wish me luck!

-RJ