Entries this day: Do_soon Panic-pack Tomoko_Lion_Karaoke found_my_sandals! packing,_cont.

Do soon

12:23am JST Tuesday 13 December 2005

1. fix TJ Bike's flat back tire (!)

2. * strew everything across Jesse's living room

3. sort stuff between take on PB, give away, and leave at Kellie's.

4. get packed

5. * meet Tomoko at Lion in Ginza

6. check my Japanese bank account balance

7. confirm that my Japanese bank card will work overseas

8. * confirm that my credit card will work overseas

9. * get a box for my suitcase

10. * arrange to have bag delivered to ship
    pick-up tomorrow twixt 6-8pm

Panic pack

9:58am JST Tuesday 13 December 2005

Ack. I sure am not really motivated to do any of these things. They are basically easy though,... it's just the mental block! Okay, I'm going to work on sorting and packing.

Ready... go!

11:33am JST Tuesday 13 December 2005

I've gotten a good start on things.. There's a terrific dispersal of items in Jesse's living room. Going through old letters now, some from before Japan. One envelope of white feathers from Chez.

When I think of her, I light-heartedly call her silly, sending her good wishes and hopes that she knows she is loved.

1:37pm JST Tuesday 13 December 2005

Now eating the chicken I cooked(*) yesterday. In 2 hours I've culled through a lot of letters, removing cards that are mostly pre-written with just a tiny note in them, removing a lot of envelopes and flattening the actual letters for flatter keeping in my acid-free box.

(*) I really did cook it, but at Jesse's request, to keep it from going bad in the refrigerator. He's been slowly(!) teaching me how to cook.

A bit ago, I arranged for the pickup of my box to be taken to the ship. That triggered it for me. I'm sailing on PB.

Again.

I've been singing the 49th departure song in my head. なつかし, and I'm getting pretty damn excited.

Tomoko Lion Karaoke

9:55pm JST Tuesday 13 December 2005

Just got back from a lovely dinner with Mr Sumida and Tomoko at the Ginza Lion. We had two things of cheese fondue and roast beef and fried oysters and I had four glasses of orange juice. Lovely and delicious.

We did two hours of karaoke after that; I did several Eminem songs: "Just Lose It" "Business" "Ass Like That" "Lose Yourself" and "Mosh" and LL Cool J's "I need love" and a few others - "A Whole New World" in duet with Tomoko. Good times; good times.

found my sandals!

11:39pm JST Tuesday 13 December 2005

wow.

I'm glad I hadn't declared them officially missing on here and berated the screeners at the airport... though I had done that in my mind. I was wrong; my sandals were in a super secret pocket in my suitcase. I'm so happy to have found them!!!!

packing, cont.

11:41pm JST Tuesday 13 December 2005

I'll call the discovery of the sandals, plus the construction of a box to cover my suitcase the top of the hill of packing, a task that must be completed by 6pm tomorrow, when the takubin company may come over to take the box to the ship. Allll my junk is strewn across Jesse's living room, and I've not got to choose what stays, what goes, and what goes to donation.

There's a small trick of needing to keep enough stuff to ride TJ Bike around for 6 days of freedom before the voyage..