Preparing to leave on a jet plane

I'm looking forward to continuing my gaijin blog when I get to Korea. I always have fun trying to explain the customs and practices of another culture to friends and family back in the United States. These things, in addition to taking lots and lots of pictures, serve as a wonderful souvenir for myself and help jog memories when they get too old to come willingly.

I still haven't managed to start studying Korean, which will cause problems if I don't get started soon. I did make the effort to order a textbook to help me teach myself after I asked a couple of my friends what books they used in school. The book should be here Friday, along with a USB charger for my Nintendo DS--which appears to be the only one of my electronics that will not be able to survive the voltage of a Korean outlet. The next most important thing on my list is getting socks. You can never have too many, and right now I have far too few. I mean, what good are immunizations going to do me if I don't have socks to keep my feet dry and disease free?

I have a new found love of the state of California, which in addition to providing me with weeks of gorgeous weather and beautiful scenery is now putting my tax dollars to work in a way that I actually understand. I was worried about going to the local clinic to get a needed check-up, but when I got there I found out that not only was the appointment free of charge, but I got a year's worth of medication at no cost to me. I was so happy I made a donation--$25 is still a fraction of what I would have paid with insurance alone. I can almost forgive them for ruining my phone on this happy day.

small things

I do love California.

Despite the fact that I'm sleeping on a couch in an office that doubles as the rec room, and despite the fact that I think my cat's fleas are trying to eat me alive, I'm enjoying my few weeks of living at home. My parents have a nice house--I have a balcony and a TV in this little office, and the fridge is always stocked with good food. I even have a library card so I can check out as many books as I can possibly read.

Still trying to get everything in order for my big move next month. I've had some problems fighting with the CA Department of Justice and the CDC, but all that pales in comparison to the terrible tragedy that befell my phone last week. It came, it saw, but in the end the ocean conquered. I have a new phone now, but its nowhere near as awesome as my old phone. I suppose its not a big deal since I'm not going to be in the country long enough to really care about this phone. Bleh.

No expectations

A friend of mine wrote a post recently about people who use blogspot or livejournal or whatnot tend to focus their angsty dark thoughts and consequently drive away readers with their whining. I hope I'm not whining, but then again, I also don't think I have the problem of having readers, so no one cares what I write or why I write it, and I kinda like it that way. Obviously this isn't my main venue--I mostly stick to journals because it looks prettier and forces me to really think about what I put on paper. I like not writing for an audience. I'm sure that there are occasional readers here, but I don't know them and chances are they don't know me. So here's my salute to no expectations! Wooooo!

I leave Saturday for San Diego to spend some time with my family and get my documents together for Korea (the job I interviewed for over the phone a couple weeks ago). I'm excited that I get to go, despite any apprehension about moving across the Pacific and living somewhere I don't speak the language. I still have time to learn I suppose.