Thunderbolts and lightning

Tonight is the night that I was going to send out the URL to you all, and write a nice long message welcoming everybody to nickilovesdrama, but it is starting to storm outside and I'm paranoid about having my computer plugged in. And, of course, I'm behind on my packing, so I best keep this short.

I have spent all of today packing, buying those last few essentials (somehow I remembered slippers, but not a spare printer cartridge), and having last meaningful phone calls with family and friends. I enjoy pointing out to people that I'll only be gone since Christmas After dinner I spoke with Sam tonight and she was nice enough to say I sounded "mellow" which I took as a compliment. I must admit that the nerves are beginning to set in. I have traveled overseas before of course, to London even, but never with this much luggage. Heleas pauvre Yorrick! The complete works of Shakespeare will be left behind in favour of socks and other unmentionables. I even contemplated stuffing a few unmentionables into the empty cavity of my printer (the printer will go underneath, the printer cartridges fly coach) but decided that a few inches of empty space were an even trade for buying a new printer in pounds.

My parents were good enough to take me to Pasquale's one last time, ostensibly to buy a new shirt: "Heaven is where the police are British, the lovers French, the chefs Italian, and it's all organised by the Swiss, hell is where the chefs are British, the lovers Swiss, the police are German and it's all organised by the Italians." I think I screwed that up, but in my defence Pasquale's also does offer over 200 beers from 19 countries. :) When I've told people that I was leaving for London, their reaction was inevitably "wow, that's going to be so...exciting" and I came to really dislike that word. "Exciting." What's that? A band-aid word that covers "wow, you're really going to live on British cuisine for a year" and "wow, you're really going to give up your car and become a poor starving student again?" all in one word. But now...well, yes, it is exciting isn't it? I mean, these butterflies that keep agitating down there aren't doing it because we're going to Chicago for pizza tomorrow. It is exciting. And I can't wait.