Lift off!

It's finally here! I'm leaving Tokyo in a few hours and winging my way to Las Vegas. Saturday was a major countdown at work and everyone was calling me "short-timer." Of course, I added to the drama by ticking off the number of lessons I had left to teach: 11. . .10. . .9. . .8. . .7. . .6. . .5. . .4. . .3. . .2. . .1. . .LIFT OFF!!!

I'll be gone for nearly a month, thanks to the kindness of my boss! Vacation couldn't come at a better time, considering Tokyo is heating up to the hot liquid state. Even early in the morning it feels like someone's wrapped the city in a hot, wet, steaming blanket. Pure misery! This is my third summer in Tokes and I'll never get used to it.

Las Vegas has been hot, too, but at least it's dryer. The day after arriving, we'll throw our stuff in the car and head for some cooler weather in Seattle where we'll visit friends and family for a week and then head back down to Vegas. One of the guys at work asked if I was nuts to be spending 20 hours or so in a plane and airports, only to arrive and hop in the car for a two-day road trip! "Nah," I told him, "just glad to be heading for cooler weather!"

So, yesterday I spent the whole day trying to shove a ton of stuff into two big bags. My tiny room looked like a clothes bomb had gone off but I forgot to take a picture of it. I even had laundry hanging to dry across my entire sliding door because it was too steamy outside to expect it to dry anytime soon. Amazingly, it all dried in time to get packed!

I've been slugging down Airborne cocktails the past couple of days, hoping to stay well. There have been several summer colds making the rounds at work, and I'm just being cautious.

I'll have my laptop with me on the trip, but don't know if I'll be taking it to Seattle or not. Will try to keep blogging whenever I have a chance, and posting those "26 things" pictures!