Gearing up

The past couple of days I've been mentally planning for my upcoming trip back to the states: what I have to and want to bring back and for whom, the dreaded 12+ hour trip (through Newark this time, a first for me), where I'll be staying and with whom in Los Angeles and North Carolina, the things I must buy and want to buy because they don't exist down here (or are too expensive), the road trip to Arizona and Las Vegas to register my fingerprints (to facilitate finding teaching jobs in those states as well as California), items that must get fixed (laptop, pocket watch) because they cannot be fixed here (or are too expensive), and the time spent relaxing in the sun at the beach. Of course, I'll be communicating with Andrea on a regular basis via Skype, which makes that much easier.

I leave here July 1st in the morning and return July 18th. I'm looking forward to seeing some people.