Month: February 2014

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Down to the wire!

All sorts of happenings (and mishappenings) over here! This is our last weekend down on the Chattahoochee. The “storage” movers come on Monday, Chuck graduates on Tuesday, and the final round of movers come on Wednesday. The cleaning lady comes on Thursday morning, inspection is Thursday afternoon, and then we are out of here Friday morning!

Currently, I’m most annoyed at Craigslist and the vet clinic. I’ve “sold” our washer and dryer about 3 times this week, but the buyer always backs out before even seeing the damn things. It has to be gone by Sunday, so I dropped the price and am carefully waiting to see which of my two pending offers comes through at this point. I’m tired of being stood up!

As for Annie – I heard from the Japanese quarantine services, and apparently she needed to be vaccinated for rabies TWICE after the insertion of her microchip (she’s was vaccinated once after they put it in.) The poor thing is practically glowing with antibodies already (and I have the blood test results to prove it), but I got an emergency appointment for Monday afternoon. I can only hope it still counts! It’s too bad I can’t trust the vet to know what they’re doing and I’m having to scramble before we leave the state… oh well. So long as I get her into the country, and she doesn’t have to stay locked up for 6 months after all this effort, it’ll be good…

BUT! I am excited to be moving on. There’s a lot that needs to happen, but I am ready. Plus – Chuck and I head to Europe in 10 days!! Woohoo!!

#tbt Hair show disaster of 2005… Black and white dye job. Gross. Never mind that they did this without my permission and I was headed to London for an internship in 2 weeks. No big deal!

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Some days, I love my quiet life in yoga pants, with no alarm clock, snuggling with the Bean, and taking my French lessons. Other days, I really miss being a professional who engages with and contributes to something every day… taking on the world in 4-inch heels!

Maybe I am meant for part-time work. Three days a week! Americans are notorious for working too much, right? 🙂

But, I also like money… so there’s that.

A Midnight Journey to the Past

Even though we’ve seen it before, Chuck and I watched “Midnight in Paris” last night, to get us in da mood for our upcoming journey to France! I’d forgotten how good it is. Not only is it quirky, charming, and visually pleasing, but it poetically captures nostalgia in a way you don’t think about very often.

Throughout the movie, characters wish they lived in another time – a time each perceives as a “golden age.” One wants to revisit the 1920’s Jazz Era, while others pine for the Victorian Belle Epoque, and still others yearn for the Renaissance.

I know the point of the movie is that every era has its light and its darkness, but it’s still fun to consider – which era would you revisit, if you could take a midnight journey to the past?

10 Japanese Travel Tips for Visiting America

Advice the Japanese give their own countrymen on how to handle the peculiarities of American culture.

“NOBODY IS IMPRESSED BY HOW MUCH YOU CAN DRINK. IN FACT, SHAME ON YOU. THEY HAVE FREE TIME ALL WEEK LONG! THEIR VENDING MACHINES ARE RIDICULOUSLY LIMITED AND DISHONEST. THEY TEND TO HORSE LAUGH, EVEN THE WOMEN. BUT DARN IT ALL, THEY’RE SO WEIRDLY OPTIMISTIC YOU JUST CAN’T STAY IRRITATED AT THEM.”

This is hilarious!! Oh man, Japan’s gonna be great.

10 Japanese Travel Tips for Visiting America