Yeah, they're both for me.

Hey, it's noon somewhere.

Yes, you are freaking out... man.

Bonus points to anyone that gets the title quote...

Anyway, everything is packed and ready to go, I've got a cab reserved for an ungodly hour and I'm hoping I can manage to calm down enough to catch a few zzz's. My emotions have been up and down today, I just have to tell myself that 2 months is not a lifetime - it's too easy to get caught caught up in the things you'll miss rather than the excitment that is coming.

For instance, I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone at the Korea site and to trying kimchee. I might even try the "Squid doused in the fire of a 1000 suns" that Shakes keeps raving about, but probably not the Squid Jerkey... and I've been warned repeatedly that Sea Cucumber is NOT a vegetable, so that might be out. But there are lots of other things to look forward to.

I've never been to a city as big as Seoul. I mean, the logistics are mind-bottling - how do you fit 10 million people into 200 square miles? According to Wikipedia that's 44,000 people per square mile... I hope my neighbors use their Dial. And then there is the history: a sort of history that we westerners just can't fathom. For comparison, Portland was settled in 1843. Notre Dame Cathedral was finished in 1077. But Seoul first appears in the books in 18 BC. I can't wait to see the buildings and temples that have been around for nearly 2000 years. Now, that's what I call quality craftmanship.

And this concludes our lesson for the day. The next time I write I'll be on another continent and in a very different timezone. Keep your fingers crossed that someone remembers to pick me up at the airport!

The Final Countdown

Dropped Sabine off at V's tonight and I'm a bit sad. It's amazing how quiet the house is without her little claws click-clacking over the hardwoods. And it smells a lot better without her constant gas...just kidding (sort of). I miss her already but know she is in excellent hands.

So, there is less than 48 hours until my departure and everything is coming together. I got my new laptop today and spent most of the day fixing all the stuff the IT guys messed up. I guess I'm good to go as I've managed to successfully log in from home and have skillfully mastered the Photobooth application - something that could be highly addictive.

Yesterday I went to the Mac Store seeking the elusive 17" laptop bag. They had several very nice but overpriced bags that I was willing to purchase, but didn't because the sales guy was such an ass. Yes, I passed on a sale out of spite. Sadly, I have no conviction and I went back this afternoon to sign over my firstborn in exchange for said bag. It should be very handy for carrying all my crap to and from work- it even has a special place for my ipod!

Pretty much everything else is taken care of too, with the exception of packing. I've always been a last minute packer so I'm not too worried about it. Besides, ya'll know I don't wear anything except black tops and jeans - it's not like I'm really going to miss some critical piece of wardrobe.

Murphy's Law Strikes Again

I woke up energized this morning and ready to cross things off my list. I had grand plans of getting a bunch of work done before heading out for a long lunch break at the emissions testing center, followed by a few shopping errands. So, I logged on to DEQ's website to get directions and, low and behold, they are closed on Mondays. Okay, initiate plan two - move DEQ to tomorrow and take care of the shopping today with V. Everything was going swimmingly until we hit the parking lot at Target and discovered that I had a flat tire. Ugh, here I am, ready to leave for two months and I have to deal with all this automotive crap for a car that will just be sitting in my drive way. Go figure.

Anyway, it turned out okay. I bought some fix-a-flat, dropped V at work and took the afternoon off determined to clean up that to do list. I got the tire repaired and they must have sensed the crazed look in my eyes because they didn't charge me. I made all the other stops on my list, got quotes for airport shuttles and, although I haven't found a new laptop bag, I'm confident that I've done enough shopping. I even came home and took a cat nap. Now, let's just hope that stupid car passes emissions tomorrow.

P.S. A little icing on my day - I just got that speeding ticket in the mail and it's 200-fricking-dollars! For 10 miles over the speed limit? That's $20 a mile people- how on earth is that justified? It's not like I was driving through a playground of children!

When in doubt - Eat!

It's been a rough week and to counteract the stress I've eaten my way to hapiness. So much for watching the weight - I'll have to save that resolution for next year but what else is new? In terms of trip planning things are simultenously coming together and falling apart. For everything I get done something else pops up in it place...but at least it's moving.

Had a bit of a meltdown today and spent close to two hours venting to my boss. I feel better knowing that she is aware of the challenges we are up against, even if she might be powerless to change them. On the good news, an email from Shakes and my little meltdown have resulted in me getting a better computer to take with me. Score one for the good guys.

I had to do a tutorial on the expense tracking system today and apparently whoever designed the tutorial doesn't have much faith in the users. The tutorial was "hosted" by an animated aircraft named Planey - something that I would have been really impressed by if I were, say, seven years old. Anyway, I made it through to our destination with Planey's help and now I am an authorized user. Unfortunately, the program doesn't work on a mac so I won't be able to use it anyway. I'm going to end up FedExing my reciepts over and my boss gets the pleasure of itemizing every one. Sucker.

My passport & visa arrived at HQ today so I should have them in my grubby little hands tomorrow and my new itinerary has been confirmed. I picked up my meds at the VA and it *only* took an hour and twenty minutes. One thing the VA pharmacy is good for (besides cheap drugs) is making you appreciate how precious your time is.

Finally, I took Sabine to the vet and she is okay - she has some swelling on her left ear that hasn't gone away and I wanted to get it checked. The doctor thinks it's either irritation from when she got nipped at the dog park or it's from violently shaking her head due to allergies. Either way, she was not very concerned about it and Sabine must be okay because today she not only learned to type, but she started her own blog! Check out the link on the right. Special thanks to Auntie V for helping her out - it really made my day!!

Did you get the memo?

It seems that everyday another item comes up that needs to be addressed during my trip, and I'm starting to stress out. I'm soooo tired of the corporate red tape and worried about the lack of support network. I'm irritated that new projects keep popping up for the LCC, when they can't even handle what they've got right now. I'm concerned about taking on "training" tasks while not receiving any back-up for my regular workload. April is the busiest month for me in my normal category, usually leading to mad amounts of overtime. Last year I had 2 temps devoted to help me and barely made my deadlines. This year I have no temps, 3 more styles and have to re-name all of my carryover product...supposedly I can use the LCC to help me, but isn't their lack of training the reason I'm going over there in the first place?

To top it off, one of our PLM's told me a story about being tricked into eating "cows blood soup" while out in Korea. When he asked if that was tofu floating in it they explained it was coagulated blood & mucus. Yumm-o. I'm down to try new things but if anyone tricks me into eating something gnarly I have no problem retaliating with projectile vomit.

**Footnote: The LCC is the new PA team in Seoul. We use a lot of acronyms at work - I have a binder with at least 3 pages of them and I swear we come up with a new one every week. My personal favorite is MIU. It's what I do when someone submits an URGENT request but doesn't explain what they need. I just Make It Up.

*Update*

So, after speaking to my colleague (see link on right for Shake N Bake) that just arrived in Seoul, I'm switching my flight out of Portland for an earlier one. Due to a delayed flight he ended up missing his connection, spending the night in San Francisco and then having a 5 hour layover in Tokyo. So, I'll be leaving PDX at 730AM...maybe I'll be taking a cab to the airport afterall.

Also, it's snowing there, our hotel rooms are decent but the hotel is kinda sketchy, Jeeves doesn't speak a lick of english and the city is "odiferous." Interesting.