cupcakes & packing

You see before you a celebration, in sucrose form, of my having successfully obtained a visa. That's right: it's a visa cupcake. My mommy brought home three of these little guys yesterday and we had a mini visa-related party; if you've read my previous post, you may have some inkling as to why this even deserves such celebration.

Six days from right now, I will be on a plane that is somewhere over the Atlantic ocean. I still can't quite fathom leaving so soon. All summer, people have asked me when I was leaving and I've said, "Oh, not until September 22nd" in a flippant sort of and-isn't-that-ages-away? sort of tone.

Earlier this month, I had to emend the way I said it. Because suddenly I realized, hey, that's only three weeks away! Well looky there. And now I'm here to tell you: there's nothing that makes you realize how soon you're leaving the country than having to pack a gigantic suitcase full of everything you plan on owning for the next year. I have a running anal-retentive-type list on MS Word for exactly what's in my suitcase, what it's packed with (as I have a bunch of 2.5 gallon Ziploc bags with the air pushed out of them), and what it will match. I know, it's crazy, but I only have fifty pounds for it all, and that includes several anthology textbooks.

At any rate, we can safely say that freakout mode is engaged. But at the moment, I'm getting through it by slowly working through my packing regimen, leaving the house at strategic points so I don't go stir crazy, and liberally adding TotalFark Discussion into the mix. And cupcakes. Can't forget the cupcakes.