How are you? How are you feeling? Are you excited? Are you ready????

Of course I am excited to leave IN THREE WEEKS. It feels a little surreal...

I am back at home spending time with my family and friends. I get a sense of normalcy and familiarity when I am at Chili's with my high school friends, or sitting at El Torito with las Comadres, or laying out in the backyard with my mom catching up on all the family chisme; it's like I'm on a holiday break only this time I don't go back to Seattle and I'm leaving on this 8 month trip around the world in three weeks. In fact, I don't live in Seattle anymore... all my belongings are at my parent's house and soon they will be in Moreno Valley. My parent's are going to move out of their home in La Puente; we've been living here for about 20 years and when I return, they'll be 40 miles east of here...where will I go when I return? There are a few things I need to think about when I'm on the trip but for now I am focusing on paying my bills, setting up auto-pay and making sure I have a few logistics down (ie, where am I going to sleep when I land in Tokyo September 15th?) Maye that will be it's own entry: all the details of leaving the country for 8 months- so many details to figure out! This is what I need to figure out so that I can stress just a little less when I'm heading out.