The stability of impermanence

Since my freshman year of college, a year hasn't gone by where I haven't had to pack up my things and move. There is a strange familiarity in seeing my life spread out on the floor of my apartment, being divided into "keep" or "throw away." The transient state of moving feels a bit like home itself, if that makes any sense.

This time it's a little more difficult, though. The cost of shipping things home is nearly triple the cost of shipping it out, so I'm being forced to leave behind a lot of clothes, letters and memories I would have preferred to keep.

I move out of my apartment next Sunday (the 2nd). I say goodbye to my students starting next Tuesday(the 4th). My last day is next Saturday (the 8th).
It's all happening too fast, with a pinwheel of emotions whirling around - sadness, anticipation, excitement, nervousness, hope...

I'll be spending a month in Japan, after my work is finished, just traveling and saying goodbye to the country and people that I love. And, I'll finally have the chance to write in more details about my plans, upload a lot more pictures and catch up on some seriously overdue correspondence.

But...enough about the future. Let's talk about the past...namely, my fantastic vacation last week.


It was fantastic.

Me and three of my best friends...





Here...



And here...



And here...



Can't say I really wanted to go home. Dawn said that by the end of the trip I had a look on my face that she'd never seen before...calm. Lol.