Leaving on a JET plane

...don't know when I'll be back again.

I swear, I will never get tired of that pun.

Next stop, JAPAN.

Packing, Part II

Much as how papers have rough drafts, my packing also had a similar rough draft phase. The initial weight phase. My 28'' suitcase weighed in at 65 lbs. while the smaller suitcase, the 24'', weighs in at only 40 lbs.; the weight limit per suitcase is 50 lbs. I haven't packed my suit yet. Or extra deodorant. I'm pretty sure I'm shipping things.

I also found out a little bit more about the city I'm going to. Takahashi has one of the twelve remaining original castles in Japan up on the mountain. A lot of people take the taxi up and then hike back down, but I have the feeling I'm going to be hiking both ways. It is also the least visited out of the tweleve, so I'm guessing it might be in better shape. I'm excited though. :) It also has a Mickey D's (for those homesick pangs) and several 7-11s eheheh. Not that I'm planning on eating a lot at McDonald's. I'm really excited for the Japanese food.

In other, happier news, my bug bite has gone down significantly in terms of swelling. Hooray! It still itches though. I think bugs just like me.

The Art of Packing

I finally went out and found replacement suitcases, since my huge old red one saw its last days on the Boston family reunion trip. Poor thing lost the zipper (completely!) from the front pocket as well as the pull tab from the main zipper (and was replaced by a keychain instead). Seeing how I was going to Japan for like, a year (or more) I figured it was appropriate to get a new one instead...

This probably means that I should start packing soon huh. Hm. Yes. I will get to that. Before Wednesday, since a) People are coming over and b) Ladies are coming to clean the house.

Also, the Vacaville Outlets are fantastic. That's where we found my suitcase (along with a bunch of other things...). I never had the stamina to shop there before. I would always get cranky and exhausted from spending any time greater than ten minutes there. Which we always did, cause I think it's my mother's favorite place to shop, or one of them. The fact that I now can last that long (and actually had a little bit of fun) and didn't end up cranky or with a headache is a sign that truly, I have turned into a woman.

That being said, I guess shopping all day (from like, 2 or 3 until 9) took a lot out of me because I promptly fell asleep in the car on the way back (in the middle of a conversation, no less). I didn't even notice when we stopped at the garage in Walnut Creek to drop off Jeana at her car.

I don't know why, but I've also just been so freaking tired all the time lately. Those online diagnosis surveys would have you think that I was depressed. But I'm not, I swear. I'm really excited. I haven't even gone over to Japan yet. And I'm pretty sure I'm going to be fine. Maybe it's just all the excitement catching up with me. Oh, and maybe the fact that I'm constantly staying up late to play Plants vs. Zombies or read and then waking up really early because we're doing something or because my room is a freaking oven as soon as the sun rises.

...Nah. That couldn't be it.

Color my world

I'm back in the bay again, after a detour to California Adventure to see the World of Color and a tiring car ride back home. Highly highly highly recommend going to see World of Color. It's completely amazing. The water show in itself is crazy - blows the Bellagio right out of the water. But then, you add in the lights and the color. Wow the color. Wow. It was like a thirty minute piece of sheer mind blowing awesomeness; I was the happiest child ever. There was color and fire, and the spectrum they displayed combined with the pictures and the movie clips was pretty amazing.

But wait, there's more. Then you add on the fact that it's Disney, with some of the best clips in Disney and Pixar cinema (including Wall-e :D ) AND the fact that Disney does soundtracks quite beautifully and you have a freaking amazing piece of work right there. The marriage of soundtrack and water and color worked perfectly; Disney movies that didn't necessarily grab a piece of the visual show played a part in the audio track, such as Hunchback of Notre Dame and (my favorite part) So Close from Enchanted. It's a sad song already, but somehow they found a way to make it EVEN SADDER - so sad that I stood there, tears streaming down my face, as we were sprayed with water from the show.

I would also recommend that, if you go, you definitely see this show. Hands down my favorite thing in both parks. To see the show though, you have to get fastpasses to get into the viewing areas. Or, what I'd recommend doing, is eating dinner at either Ariel's Grotto or the wine place (if you're willing to spend a little money) and then you actually get into the preferred seating area (though you still want to arrive a little early for that so you can get prime spots without heads in the way of your show). Also, if you decide to go up there, you will most definitely get wet from all the water that's being sprayed high up in the air. The preferred seating is really nice though - front and center, and you don't really have to rush to get a spot (as much).

But yeah. World of Color. Go see it. I'll probably have pictures up sometime soonish, but still pictures don't do it justice. I also gave up taking pictures part way through because I was like, hm, I'm going to enjoy watching the show instead of taking pictures. The ferris wheel is also pretty awesome - a show almost unto itself since it's there constantly changing color like a really cool loading screen haha.

Conclusion: World of Color = Jessica's Dream Show

In other news, I leave in less than a week! AH! CRAZINESS. I don't feel like I'm ready at all. There's so much I want to do before I leave, but I can't. It's like I'm at the edge of a plane, looking out, getting ready to jump off. I know eventually, I will just have to take that jump, whether or not I feel prepared and just hope for the best.

That day is Saturday. Six days remain.

One Day

It's finally starting to hit me that I'm leaving for like, a year (or more!) and that I won't be able to hang out with people the same way when I get back as I did before I left. And it makes me a little sad, but people move on with their lives, we make new friends and find circles to hang out with and do stuff with. Life goes on. With or without you.

I will miss the RPG club parties in particular. They were always fun, and I always felt welcome and -I don't know if this is the right word- safe. Like I could just relax, since there was never this feeling that I needed to impress anyone or conform to anyone. I could say anything and do anything and I would simply be accepted for that. Parties were always fun. I always wanted to stay longer.

But today was my last day of hanging out with people, and it's made me realize that hey, I'm leaving, and hey, I have pretty awesome friends down here (and in general). I'm going to miss everyone. It hasn't quite felt like I was just packing up all my stuff and shipping off to a foreign place until now. O.A.R. does a song called "One Day" that epitomizes the fear that I've been trying to push away by not thinking about how I'm up and moving my life to somewhere new. The people who I know will help pick me up again if I fall, they'll be thousands (thousands!) of miles away where all they can do is listen, if that (thanks to time differences). I know JET has a fantastic support network. And I'm sure I'll make friends. But the thought that this chapter of my life is ending, and the characters I've met and befriended in this part may or may not end up in the rest of my story makes me want to go "Hey wait! Pause! I'm not done with this part of the game yet! I haven't done all the sidequests and I want our friendship to stay the same!" A naive, and wishful thought.

As my room slowly empties, it gets harder and harder. It is as if each thing I pack is literally packing away my precious memories of this place, my friends, and everything that has made me love San Diego. Cause I'm not going to lie, but this place wouldn't be the same without the people I've befriended. It almost makes me wary about returning to here after we've all dispersed (or well, probably not all but a lot of us).

Here is to you, my friends, for a kickass awesome five years. Thank you for the memories - and may we make more of them in the future. I will miss you.

Love, Jess

One more day

...before I go up to NorCal via LA (and Disneyland - I'M SO EXCITED.) It feels like nothing is packed yet. I might be screwed. I'm so bad at planning right now, my mind is in a million and one places. I wanted to try to go up to LA a day early, but it's looking now like that might not happen. Raarrrg.

I have way more clothing than can fit in my suitcases for this trip. This is a problem. A very large problem. I think I will solve this by shipping a bunch of stuff over, but I don't know how to choose between sweatshirts. I mean, I'm basically going to send all of my cool/cold weather clothing over since all my summer and business clothing is taking up all my space in my luggage.

I am happy though, cause I have managed to throw away/get rid of/donate two whole bags of clothes. Yikes that's a lot of stuff. And I *still* have more. Amazing. The biggest space taker right now I think, are all the darn sweatshirts I have. But I can't bring myself to part with any of them.

My desk is not disassembled yet. o.o Crapperrrrrrrrrs. I still have all the furniture in my room. I should probably move some of it downstairs, or something. So that it looks like I'm more ready to move. I feel bad about cluttering up our downstairs though, since Steph is still here.

And I still have to clean! ARG.

I also got this envelope from the FBI. We're supposed to send it straight to the consulate, but I'm pretty sure that it has a paper telling me that my payment didn't go through and can I please send it again. Most frustrating experience ever. Well, no, that's a lie, maybe not the most, but it's really really annoying.