no more slacking, it's time for packing

Good news, friends! I am officially listed on the SMOE employment list for September, 2010. That means that (assuming I'm able to bring my apostilled Master's diploma with me to orientation) I have an official job in Seoul this fall. Yipes! This also means that my teaching contract is on its way into my hands and my days in Chicago are officially quite numbered. Yes, exactly 4 weeks from today I am beginning my multi-leg journey to the other side of the planet.

If you are most people, your [correct] response is: "Wow! That's so awesome and exciting!"

If you are my dental hygienist in Florida, your response is: "Oh my, really? Korea? Is that the South one? Wow... [pained expression] that sounds interesting..."

Packing my apartment is depressing. I haven't reeeaaaaaally done a big move.... ever. I mean, I moved to college with a couple suitcases of crap. And I moved into an apartment with Mil where we acquired more crap. Then I shoved all that crap down the hall to my current apartment where I added to it a carload of even more crap, on top of which I've been piling more crap over the past 2 years. This means not only a lot of crap to sort through, but a lot of memories and attachments. I'm very connected to my objects. And while Buddha would nod approvingly at my current attempt to cleanse for this trip, personally, going from this:


to this:


is really just sad to me. I am sad to be wiping my entire life into a storage bin and skipping out to God-Knows-Where, South Korea, with only a couple suitcases and a somewhat hypothetical and nonexistent contract to cushion my fall. It's a scary heap of change, and I'm not afraid to admit that I'm a little anxious about it. I'm a planner and a do-er, and I rely on strong images and goals to push me through. Without even a little image of what this coming year will hold, I'm apprehensive, if also excited, to get going and take the journey.