Bought Some New Luggage and Some Visa Delays

Well, I'd checked before to see what was up and how to apply for a visa, but the cosulate pages differed, so I didn't think much of it over the past two weeks. It seems you do need to submit your official sealed transcripts to the consulate. Who knew? So I don't have a copy of them, but emailed TWU about it and should be able to run up there and pick them up tomorrow morning and from there I can overnight it to Houston and after Houston recieves it, the processing time is 2-5 days with an interview. Add to this another day for overnight processing and thats 3-6 days from Friday.

I'd been planning on leaving the 21st, but am doubting that at this point. The thing is that I don't know what sort of hurry the school is in and whether they would want me to fly on Saturday or Sunday with the resulting additional costs. I was really liking this flight because it was direct and I'm not sure if the school will pay for a direct flight when one with connections costs $200 less. Hmmm, I do worry about Luna, she's a whipper snapper alright and I'd like to minimize the time she must stay in the kennel. Already with the direct flight, she would be in the kennel 19 hours. The cheapest flight would have her in the kennel for 23 hours. I don't mind this more me, but I worry for her. I hope the vet can suggest something I can give her to keep her calm and what about water? I know the baggage area is climate controlled, but should I put water in the crate since I know water helps them regulate body temp and stuff. Decisions, decisions.

Now a benefit of not leaving for a further 4 days is that I would have more time to get ready to leave and redistribute stuff and so on. Hmmm. Balance is good I suppose. The benefit of the consulate interview is that I get to go down to Houston and see my nephew one last time and get another 'one last' road trip.

lol

So Garden Ridge sells luggage. Who'd a'thunk it? The largest sold for $30, then $25, and $20. I got a matching set of black luggage with white polka dots. Yes, its hopelessly trendy, but I happen to like polka dots, so I figure that's okay.

I got the 28 inch, and 26 inch bags for check in. I know that for Korean Air, your luggage must be smaller than 107 inches together. I thought about getting 2 of the big ones, but that was 112 inches. Bummer. Now that I'm no longer sure what company I'm flying with, I can't count on any one specific thing. I did get the 19 inch carry on bag that should go up in the area above the seats and a small laptop bag that will go in front of me. Either that or whatever else I decide to do.

So I was going to go an entire year without sewing, then I saw a picture of a street market selling cloth and changed my mind pretty quickly. I picked up the Janome Sew Mini and its so cute. I kida want to mod it pink before I leave in honor of the Kenmore Mini Ultra that is no longer sold :(, but that looked cute and on par with the Janome, except a little bigger.

Cool, so I also picked up some generic Airborne and Germ MD in honor of Korea, and a 4 month supply of Claritin since that should be enough. I don't usually use it for more than a couple of weeks at a time and I'm hoping I'll only need a couple of months worth for Korea. I also picked up some space saver bags and some earplugs and eyeshades and some allergy eye drops. Hmm, so I went shopping last night and spent a lot of money. But I want to be prepared and will be. :)

Goals for the YEAR

I guess I can call these New Years Resolutions as easily as anything else. I do like to make goals and changes in my life. This is one reason that even though I've applied for a librarian position in Korea on base, I'm not to terribly sure I want that job. I've lived on base before and it can seem really insular and I'm looking forward to not have regular access to Western products, to living in another culture, to being forced to communicate in another language, to staying in a studio apartment, and to teaching kids. None of this would be easy while workin as a librarian on base. Now, the benefit of the on base job is taht is pays $50,000 a year. Another detraction though is that I'd probably be expected to stay there for a long time and really settle down whilst I'm kinda not sure if I want to stay in Korea for longer than a couple of years.

But I digress (often).

Goals
Soda-free year/drinking much water
Daily walks with the Luna-meister
Lose weight
Eat more healthily and consistently
Learn some Korean
Make new friends
Practice piano twice a week
See the major site of Korea, including Jeju.
see either Japan, China, Thailand, or Mongolia. Preferably 2 of the 4 during my 2 weeks off each year.
Contact family once a week at consistent times.
So this is it. I'm a try for these things and can probably do that.

Still No Updates

Yes, still no updates. Due to the holiday of the past week, I've not got my registration number yet. I do hope I get it soon. Maybe I won't be flying out on the 21st. I can wait until the 26th and that'll give me more time to get everything ready anyway. I wonder if I should get an acclimation certificate for Luna since the low in Korea seems to be hovering in the teens and Korean Air won't let your dog fly if the temp is under 20 degrees. Now the thing is that teh flight gets in at 5:30 in the afternoon and the high is in the 40s now so even though when Luna boards the plane, the temp in Korea is too low, bu the time we land, it will be warm enough. Hmmm.

Also, I'm contemplating buying little boots and a rain jacket for Luna. I know it rains a lot in Korea and with us staying in an apartment, I'll still need to take her on walks to keep her happy and sane no matter the weather. Maybe I should get her a regular coat as well. Hmmm

So the planner in me has worked out a possible average schedule for a week in Korea. Yes I plan WAY too much and rarely do my plans work out, but planning is just so much fun. You know?

Monday
6:30 wake up
6:30-7:15 Luna Walk
7:15-7:30 shower
7:30-7:45 makeup and clothes
7:45-8:00 breakfast
8:00-5:00 work
5:00-5:30 Luna walk
5:30-6:00 Dinner
6:00-7:00 Yoga/Pilates/Ballet
7:00-7:30 paperwork/grading
7:30-8:30 Grocery shopping
8:30-10:00 tv/whatever/laundry
10-10:30 Luna walk
10:30 sleep

Tuesday
6:30 wake up
6:30-7:15 Luna Walk
7:15-7:30 shower
7:30-7:45 makeup and clothes
7:45-8:00 breakfast
8-5:00 work
5:00-5:30 Luna walk
5:30-6:00 Dinner
6:00-7:00 Weight Training/abs stuff and muscle work
7:00-7:30 paperwork/grading
7:30-10:00 tv/practice piano/whatever
10-10:30 Luna walk
10:30 sleep

Wednesday
6:30 wake up
6:30-7:15 Luna Walk
7:15-7:30 shower
7:30-7:45 makeup and clothes
7:45-8:00 breakfast
8-5:00 work
5:00-5:30 Luna walk
5:30-6:00 bellydancing
6:00-7:00 Go out to Dinner
7:00-7:30 paperwork/grading
7:30-10:00 tv/whatever
10-10:30 Luna walk
10:30 sleep

Thursday
6:30 wake up
6:30-7:15 Luna Walk
7:15-7:30 shower
7:30-7:45 makeup and clothes
7:45-8:00 breakfast
8-5:00 work
5:00-5:30 Luna walk
5:30-6:00 Dinner
6:00-7:00 Kickboxing/turbojam
7:00-7:30 paperwork/grading
7:30-8:30 Grocery shopping
8:30-10:00 tv/practice piano/whatever
10-10:30 Luna walk
10:30 sleep

Friday
6:30 wake up
6:30-7:15 Luna Walk
7:15-7:30 shower
7:30-7:45 makeup and clothes
7:45-8:00 breakfast
8:00-5:00 work
5:00-5:30 Luna walk
5:30-7:30 shower take a nap and get ready to go out
7:30-9:30 go out to a movie
9:30-12:00 go out to a club or something
12-12:30 Luna walk
12:30 sleep

Saturday
9:00 wake up
9:00-10:00 Luna walk
10:00-10:30 Brunch
10:30-11:00 shower and get ready for the day
11:00-3:00 see something in Seoul or nearby and have lunch while out and about
3:00-5:00 shopping if necessary
5:00-6:00 Luna walk
6:00-6:30 Dinner
6:30-9:00 tv/practice piano/whatever and get ready to go out
9:00-12:30 go out and whatever
1-1:30 Luna walk

Sunday
8:30 wake up
8:30-9:00 Luna walk
9:00-9:30 have breakfast
9:30-10:00 Get ready for church (bring lunch with me)
10:00-4:00 Church
4:00-5:00 Luna walk
5:00-6:00 Kickboxing/Turbojam/dance aerobics
6:00-6:30 Dinner
6:30-7:30 Paperwork/grading
7:30-10:00 whatever including sending out emails and updating the blogs
10:00-10:30 Luna walk
10:30 sleep

So I'm seriously planning on being a healthier person in Korea. I mean, I have to be with bringing Luna. She's going to need those walks. We were both happier and healthier when I was walking her every days. It's just so easy not to take them on walks when you have a yard.

So what will I try to eat to go with my newly healthy lifestyle?
Well, I'll eat the free lunch at the school, the director told me teachers were highly encouraged to eat it since we eat with the kids and getting anything special makes the kids whine for it. Understandable.

Okay so for breakfast I'm thinking a peice of fruit or dried fruit if fruit proves too expensive and eggs since I haven't heard anything about eggs being rare or expensive in Korea.

Lunch during weekdays will be whatever the school serves and on Saturdays it'll be whatever I eat out. On Sundays, I'll bring something with me to eat on the train or at the church before leaving and returning from church. It'll have to be portable and preferably not needing refridgeration or needing anything special. Maybe just a snack of veggies or healthy chips if possible, maybe with dip?

Anyway, dinners should be something lower in sodium since I know Korean food has a lot of sodium in it and I probably don't need any more. Maybe my dinner should be the non-Korean food of the day like pasta with pesto or curried chicken.

Aside from the daily eating stuff, I'm going to try to go the year without soda. Can I do it?

How are allergies in Korea going to be?

I think of this today because here in Dallas the weather in balmy and this wonderfully balmy weather helps pollen and stuff to grow. Now I get seasonal allergies usually in the beginning of the Fall and Spring. It's not bad the rest of the year. I just have to get through a few weks a year of sniffling, sneezing, snorting, and sore throats(why do these words all start with S like Sallie?) Hmmmm. Anyway so I hear that allegies are usually worse in Korea. What will that make for my already occaisonally debillitating hay fever. Seriously last year at around this time I couldn't function for 2 weeks and it actually led to me seeing a doctor and getting some prescriptions that took a week to be useful.

I continued to use them for a month and stopped and still felt fine. The doctor prescribed Zyrtec and Flonase. Zyrtec is now available without the prescription and its even available in a Equate versions :celebrate: so I've been taking that and Contact D for the past few days and they're keeping me function because with preparing to move to another country, writing Capstone, and doing all the stuff I normally do, I don't have the time to wallow. Bummer.

My Sister had my clothes :weep:

So I happened :cough: into my sister's room this morning and found 4 of my favorite dresses and several of my favorite shirt. Should I be happy that Kat has good taste? No. So this allows me to consider still more clothes whilst deciding what to bring with me to Korea. Also, this is the Chinese New Year, so I suppose I can't expect any more news on my visa until next week. C'est la vie to coin an icky French phrase.

Possible Packing List Iteration 1

So the point of blogs is so people can know what up with me either in Korea, or in this time leading up to my time in Korea. So right now there's nothing I can do about the visa or plaqne ticket. Things will happen when they happen and I'm finding other things to obsess about. So maybe I'll worry less about clothes since a friend of mine who happens to be Korean-American told me I could still find clothes in Korea and not to worry too much about it. We also have a firm time for her to be my guide to Korean restaurants and shopping in DFW.

Okay on to the list of what comes with me to Korea:

Carryon
Laptop
Laptop power cord
Cowon D2 power cord
USB2 Cable
Digital Camera
Cds and DVDs (limit 50) in a 50 cd wallet
Extra AA batteries
Small toiletries kit containing shampoo, conditioner, spray bottle of water, bodywash, body cream, perfume, deoderant, toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash, hair gel
First Aid kit containing: sleeping pills, Aleve, Multivitamin, bandaid, alcohol wipe, allergy pills, midol, ginger pills
face mask
ear plugs
Set of undies (bra and panties and socks)
long sleeved shirt
pair of pants
fleece blanket-pink
neck pillow
Leash
wet ones
anti bacterial hand lotion
Luna toy
contacts lens solution
glasses
contact lenses case
yarn and crochet hooks

Purse
Wallet containing credit cards, drivers license, cash, bank cards, emergency contact info, etc
Cowon D2 with headphones
Sonia Kashuk Makeup Kit
Makeup brush kit containing mini kabuki, concealer, eyeliner, eyeshadow, blush, brow/eyelashes Luna Paperwork
Copy of passport
perfumed spray(generic Happy)
1 pair of sunglasses(white)

Luggage 1 bigger one
6 cardigans
1 nice dress(swirly)
5 day dresses (red, green, flowered black, blue, teal)
1 sundress (purple paisley)
1 pair of tan slacks
1 pair of gray slacks
1 pair of brown slacks
2 pairs of plaid slacks
3 pairs of comfy jeans
5 t shirts
5 long sleeved t shirts
4 button down blouses
2 button down short sleeved blouses
4 slong sleeved jackets
1 jean jacket
2 jean skirts
4 shorter sleeved jackets
2 black skirts, 1 aline and the other pencil
2 navy blue skirts, 1 aline and the other pencil
1 dark brown skirt
1 purple pencil skirt
4 undershirts
12 bras
21 pairs of panties
6 pairs of tights
4 pairs of panty hose
2 pairs of mittens
2 scarves
2 wooly hats
2 slips
1 half slip
1 camisole
1 flannel robe
1 flannel night gown
1 lightweight sweatshirt jacket
6 pairs of dress socks
6 pairs of exercise socks
3 peices of glassware (don't worry its pretty heavy duty and durable)
Some family pictures
Cowboys stickers, pins, and pennant
Texas postcards, stickers, and pencils
Book on English Grammar
English Korean phrasebook
2 pairs of high heel pumps(tba, tba)
2 pairs of peep toe pumps(black and red)
2 pairs of heeled sandals(brown and snake)
1 pair of tennis shoes (pink)
2 pairs of flats(plaid, black)
1 pair of nice comfy shoes(brown)
2 pairs of sandals(tba, tba)
1 pair of flip flops(purple)
3 glass peices(white, blue, yellow)
Triple Combination and JS book
1 Vase (glass)
1 small rug(oriental)
1 tablecloth(tba)
1 coffee mug(fav)
1 cup(fav)
1 big towel
2 pairs of sunglasses(cats eye and black)

Luggage 2 smaller one
2 pairs of yoga pants
1 pair of sweat pants
1 sweatshirt
1 sweatshirt jacket
4 types of foundation (EDM, Cover Girl whipped, CG TM, TBA)
4 eyebrow pencils (NYC, L'oreal brow fantasy)
10 lip products (MAC lippie, Coty lipsticks, some lipglosses, Rimmel loud mouth charmer, Rimmel Soak, Rimmel Just So, TBA)
10 Eyeshadows ( L'oreal golden, YvesRocher peachy, EDM green and maroon and starry night, GB taupe and purple. Ulta set, WnW set,purple eyeliner stuff)
6 lip/eye Pencils ( brown, gray, purple, green, black, red, pink)
4 blushes (EDM pink and siesta, peach, Ulta red)
6 Powders (CG pressed powder, Colorstay pressed powder, EDM silk, EDM sunscreen, coty loose powder, tba)
6 Concealers(EDM concealer, 2 MK concealers, Revlon cream concealer, EDM concealer sunlight, tba)
4 Primers (3 MK and 1 Black Radiance)
2 body sprays (japanese cherry blossom, rice flower and shea butter)
2 body lotions(japanese cherry blossom, rice flower and shea butter)
3 perfumes(tba)
5 Nail polishes (light blue, red, maroon, pink, orange)
Nail polish quickdry spray
eye makeup remover pads
2 bottles of Contact len solution
Tazorac
Benzaclin
2 Face washes (Garnier)
2 Face lotions (Eucerin)
4 face serums (Almay)
1 facial care kit
Hair Reconstructor
1 deep conditioner
1 shampoo
2 curl creams (Garnier, tba)
2 straightening creams(tba, tba)
glossing stuff
round brush
2 combs
6 dove or secret deoderants
6 months supply of Night and Days
Extra Biomedics 55 too
Extra lens case
Jewelry
Luna brush
1 year of heartworm meds
1 year of flea meds
2 squeaky toys
1 package of treats
Enough food for the weekend
1 rope toy
Extra DVDs and journal
2 toothpastes
1 electric toothbrush with extra backage of heads
1 thing of floss
1 sewing kit
2 compacts
2 purses
1 pink exercise bag
bobby pins
hair ties
ribbon
any makeup samples recieved too

Box 1

2 swimsuits
2 pairs of business shorts (brown and plaid)
2 pairs of exercise shorts (gray and red or blue)
4 tshirts (with words on them)
4 sundresses(blue and white checked, TBA, TBA, TBA)
1 pair of flip flops(tba)
1 apron (brown and yellow)
2 Foundation(TM, TBA)

Box 2
4 sweaters(tba, tba, tba)
1 pair of jeans
2 skirts(tba, tba)
flat iron brush
1 floppy hat
2 pairs of sunglasses
second electric toothbrush with extra heads
3 packages of floss
1 purse

Box 3
Shampoo and hair conditioner
2 eyeshadows
2 dresses (blue polka dots, tba)
5 Shirts(tba, tba, tba, tba, tba)
2 pairs of pants(tba, tba)
1 pair of heeled shoes(tba, tba)

Box 4
Memory books and whatever other momentos will fit in the box

Wearing

Maxi dress

cardigan

ballet slippers

tights

Coat

bracelet

earings

necklace

Crated with Luna
Leash?
Toy
Water dish as ice?
Food Dish?
Package of food for 24 hours

Whew, okay, so I like my stuff. This is the current ideal. We'll see what really happens when I've got all the clothes out and have them all ready to go and everything else too.

Nothing New to Report

Nope, but I'm going to try to update regularly, even if I have nothing to say. :shrugs: Hmm, maybe I should try to be more productive of soemthing. I still have a lot to do in terms of my room and Capstone is next week, so its pretty much shot. This means I have this weekend and a week and a half to go through all my stuff and decide what comes with, what will be shipped, what stays and what goes. Whoa man. I suppose going through the garage would be a good use of this afternon so I can try to organize at least my stuff and put a lot find an area for the garage sale stuff so everyone can contribute. Ugh, maybe I need more boxes?