Clean House

I don't have much to post today other than I have officially started the first two phases of packing. Yeah, that's right, there are phases. At this point, I'm not entirely sure how many of them there are, but I'm thinking it's somewhere around five. The first phase mainly consisted of going through all of my clothes and finally getting rid of the ones that either don't fit, are too old, or I never wear on a consistent basis. A giant trash bag and donation box later and I have finally whittled down my wardrobe to a size that I think will fit into the two suitcases I am allowed to bring on board.

The next phase involved shopping for clothes to supplement my lack of professional outfits. I know this may seem counter-productive to the first phase, but trust me, I was in serious need of some pieces that made me look like I should be taken seriously. For some reason I don't think my "I *skull and crossbones* Pirates" shirt from Disneyland would do the trick. Not that I don't intend on wearing it if the occasion happens to arise.

In other news I finally got my passport back from San Francisco with my VISA stamp attached.

This whole time I never really appreciated the fact that I was being granted entrance into another country until I saw the full page stamp in my passport. All of a sudden this adventure has become very real and in just three short weeks I will be wheeling my carry-on (okay, more like carrying since I'll be taking my backpack... I just wanted to sound cool like the other travelers) down the international terminal to my gate and saying so long to the good old U. S. of A. and hello to my new home. The anxieties that I have been able to supress since June are coming back with a vengence and I hope that my trip to Portland next week will help calm my nerves and bring back the level of pure excitement I was feeling just a few hours ago.