10 Days and Counting

So, yeah, went down to Chicago last week to get the visa. And that was... surprisingly easy. Just went in, dropped the stuff off Monday, came back Tuesday, and it was all ready to go. And, as always with pictures that actually matter, I look awful in my visa pic.

Meanwhile, have finally replaced my old sturdy phone of six years with an iPhone 3GS. Ironically enough, it was the cheapest option for getting a phone that would work abroad.

Laptop has a functioning battery again, and it's just working better overall, so I am quite happy. At this stage, I pretty much have planned out what's going with me, and am slowly (but surely!) starting to pack stuff up and get the last of the stuff that needs getting. Finally found out where I'm living as of today, too, and with a quick Google Mapping, it's about a half hour away from where I'll be taking classes, so that's not too bad.

All that needs be done is convert a significant enough chunk of dollars over to yen so that I'll be set for at least a month or so, figure out what my mailing address is gonna be, get tickets for the Tokyo Game Show (going both days, it converts out to $11 a day, which is pretty damn good), and, you know, do that whole packing thing, and I'll be ready to head out.

I'm really excited for this, but, at the same time, I'm scared out of my mind - I've been abroad once before, but that was for two weeks, which is nowhere close to four months, plus, it's gonna be my first real flight alone (though possibly my dad's going to be with me on the way back in December, so). Plus, I know I'm gonna miss all the people/pets I have back here, and not seeing them for four months is gonna be interesting (this is why we need to make sure that Skype is working on the family comps).

10... well, 9 days and counting, folks, until my ass-early flight.