So long, farwell

It's finally here. Holy crap.

In a mere 8 hours I'll be saying goodbye to my parents, and entering Atlanta airport with 63 other excited, nervous and equally tired young people. 11:35AM eastern time I'll depart for Minneapolis, where I'll have a short layover before my final flight at 3:05PM to Narita airport, outside of Tokyo. We'll land at 5:05PM Tokyo time -- 4:05AM eastern time. God I hope I survive this...

The past days, weeks, months have flown by so quickly. All summer my departure to Japan has seemed so distant, so I never gave it much thought. It honestly didn't start to sink in until about a week ago, when I realized I was spending my final days in Chapel Hill, and that many of the people I was saying goodbye to I might never see again. Despite all this sadness, my final days were nothing short of perfect. Saw a beautiful OAR concert with Guinnie and Patrick on Sunday and one of the best SOJA shows I've ever seen with Guin, Alisa and Mike on my final night. What's more, I got to see everyone I wanted to see right before I left -- left no loose ends, which feels good. Endings are difficult, but closure always makes them a bit easier to swallow. I did really well with most of the goodbyes, very little crying was involved, mainly cause I know I'll see many of these people again. My one low point came when I said goodbye to my kitten and left my house in Carrboro for the last time. I love that house so much, and it wasn't until I walked out of it that it really hit me that I'm gone.

So, I'm on to bigger, maybe better (who knows?), definitely scarier things. I'm excited, I'm terrified. Either way its gonna be a crazy adventure, and I can't wait to share it with you all when I return (or WHEN YOU COME VISIT). I'll post again as soon as I get a free (and rested) moment in Tokyo, although it may be a few days. Also, I'd love to hear from you, so leave comments or drop me an email or facebook message -- my weary soul will need it! Love you all!

Get in on that Gnaw

We're steadily closing in on my final week in Chapel Hill before I depart for Atlanta (on the 26th) and ultimately Japan (on the 28th). Its finally starting to sink in that I'm seeing some of my friends for the last time now, and that they may very well move away before I return in a year or two. Chapel Hill won't be the same when I come back, and neither will my friends, or myself for that matter. I find this thought pretty unnerving. I'm notorious for striving to maintain a comfortable, unchanging existence -- I've been known to put up with people's crap for far longer than I should so as to preserve a (usually false) sense of comfort. And now I'm about to throw myself head first into an extremely uncomfortable situation. I'm partly excited, because I know this sort of instant, extreme change will be good for my character. I'm also slightly terrified, because I know extremely abrupt changes are something I have trouble dealing with. Whatever happens, I'm certain I will come out of this experience an incredibly badass person.

Another down side to this whole moving business is that I have met so many awesome people in the last few months. That always seems to be the way with me -- as soon as I meet people that I really mesh well with, either I or they move on to something new. It happened pretty much every year of high school (I was friends with Seniors every stinking year) and now its happening again. I just hope I can stay in touch with everyone. You all know you can come visit me ANY TIME. Really. Please come visit me -- you'll have a free place to stay in Japan, so you'd be crazy not to.

Speaking of really awesome people, I met of number of them this past weekend at the All Good music festy in West Virginia. It's comforting to know that I can meet wonderful people anywhere and any time. All Good was definitely the most fun of all my festivals and concerts this summer (mainly due to the awesome company), and it was the perfect way to end my summer music circuit. When Sunday finally rolled around, I didn't want to leave, especially since I knew I might not see the incredible folks I camped with ever again. We talked about meeting up at another festival next Spring or Summer, and I certainly hope that happens -- I need to see you all again!!!! You all better keep in touch so we can make sure that happens.

Wanted: Spocket

Both me and my good friend Damien have problems with losing things. We're notorious for absent-mindedly setting things down, and so we've discussed multiple times how utilitarian and wonderful it would be to have a pocket in your skin. It could be conveniently placed on the inside of your upper arm, so that things would less likely fall out. Always with you, you'd never lose a thing (like, ahem, one's keys). Patrick recently pointed out that it would probably accumulate a lot of funk, which is certainly a drawback. Think the pocket lint in your rarely-washed sweatpants is bad? Or the lint in your belly button that always has a slightly off odor (but that you still smell every time you pick it out -- you know who you are...)? Despite this, I still stand by the skin pocket (spocket?) I'm tired of losing everything important on my person within minutes of arriving anywhere. And a spocket is a heck of a lot easier than just paying attention.

As you can tell, I've spent my recent days pondering extremely eloquent things. I *do* have a lot to write about concerning leaving for Japan -- two weeks is all I've got left! But seeing as its well after my bedtime, I'm afraid it will have to wait.