the scary part

i'm moving to china in less than a week. i've done the responsible part of the trip and my visa is stuck in my passport and my plane ticket is purchased. i've done the sad part of moving and said my goodbyes to my friends and the life i've grown accustomed to in georgetown (to think i won't be drinking soco, much less in lc 412, for months and months...). and now it's time for the scary part. no, no i'm not talking about the actual move to china. that's the easy part. that's the part i decided was a great idea last time i was in china. that's (if all goes as planned) the part that makes all these other parts i'm talking about worth it. 

but for now, i have to pack. 

perhaps some of you can remember a tricia moving story or two? the day after graduation i was supposed to be out of my apartment at 2 pm. i didn't pack in advance. at all. my parents dropped me off after breakfast and some minor setbacks around noon. i proceeded to shove everything i own, with little to no organization, into trash bags, which then went into my car. i'd say it was a good two or three weeks before these trashbags made it out of my car and into my new room. and those were the lucky ones. i am 100% certain that there is at least one trashbag in my car currently that was placed in there on may 11th. packing is just not my forte. 

in addition to packing, i have to pare down my wardrobe. i get two 50 lb suitcases. for a year. and as clothes aren't the only thing i'm taking (shoes, handbags, a towel or two to get me started, a year's supply of deodorant and other personal hygiene items which are unavailable in china, various other things one might need in life), i pretty much only get one suitcase for clothes. yes, yes i have done this before. i only had two suitcases for my semester in shanghai. i also got sick of my wardrobe about two weeks into the semester. and now i have to add teacher clothes to my wardrobe, which means less everyday clothes. at this point, if i were to be able to take all the clothes i wanted, i would probably have about 4 or 5 50 lb suitcases, without taking the weight of the suitcase into account. cool.

this should be a fun week....