Preparations

Step One: Application -- check!
Step Two: $$ -- check!
Step Three: Airline Ticket -- check!
Step Four: BUNAC Blue Card in the mail -- just got it today!

COUNTDOWN TO LONDON: 12 days!

I am at once terrified and excited. London -- my dream, "jolly ol' ", "there's no place like London" -- it's all grime and accents at its grittiest, grandeur and glamor at its shiniest. I'm ready to become a part of it. I'm giddy as old-time immigrant setting sail for New York.

So at the moment, I'm sitting on my sofa in Reseda, still in my jammies. It's after 4 o'clock... I haven't done much today except delight in the ordinary tasks of laziness. I played a little World of Warcraft, answered a few emails, watched an episode of Psych... The dogs are sharing in my laziness, too. Angel's napping in my bedroom and Major's snoozing in the kitchen. I'm thinking I may get dressed and play a little Kingdom Hearts. Maybe I'll have a cup of tea. My parents are out for the day (work), so I'm pretty much left to my own devices until 5-ish.

Tomorrow I'll be going to Disneyland with my mom. It's been a long while since I went with her, though that used to be always the case. It was always my mom, Kim, myself and -- very rarely -- my dad, too. Ever since Megan and I started getting the Costco tickets (four each), we'd go together and save one for a trip with our sisters. I didn't use my extra with Kim this time; anyway, I look forward to tomorrow -- it's one more thing I can share with my mom before I go away for half a year. And we'll be as silly as possible.

It's hard to say how quickly the time will go. When I went away to Florida for 5 months, time passed gradually. Though I wouldn't have traded the experience for anything, homesickness often creeped up on me. This time, it'll be longer. And I don't even know where I'll live or work -- not yet. I've waited years for this. I'm up for the adventure.