And so it begins

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Woke up this morning snuggled wetly against my husband and with a strange cat under my arm... Shiloh. We were in the basement guest accommodations of our friend B in Clarksville, Indiana. Mission: to hangar the motorcycle for the next year while we are in India and see B and S, play some games and drink some inappropriately named beverages. B is also the keeper of our paperwork while we are gone. The travels have begun.

Friday went well - it was my last day at work after a year and a half of contracting for Robert Bosch Measuring Tools North America (representing Manpower, oh the economy). I received flowers, cake, a lovely card signed by dozens and many hugs and well wishes. To all of you, everywhere, sorry - this was the best job EVER. I freakin loved it and was sorry to go. So there. No place is perfect but it was blessedly, or at least immediately, free of cocaine, Jesus freaks, tantrum throwers, overt harassment of varying types and irretrievably mean people. And after New York City, it was a cakewalk to Strauss to navigate the corporate takeover, resistant old guard and desperate disorganization. With luck, I'd like to return.

This is not to say we are ready to go. My Visa paperwork has yet to show up from Auroville, where it subsequently needs to be filled out and dealt with legally. I shall be doing this personally in Chicago, I guess. Stacey's Visa paperwork has been filled out and sent off... into the sunrise in D.C. Hope that comes through soon. We also need a letter from Auroville stating that his fieldwork is non-offensive, we need our immunizations (scheduled for Wednesday). His research in absentia and, oh yes, school loans, still need to come through as well. Plus the flights. We still don't have our plane tickets, as we've heard that one is not to bother with tickets unless the Visa is in hand. So, we wait.

But not idly. We've made our travel plans for the U.S. before even leaving, having friends on standby to notify us of official letters, incoming checks and contact lenses sent by mail. We plan on traveling to MN, WI, IL, IN, OH, NY and MA before boarding for India. Hopefully we will not be enjoying mead around some fire in Upstate NY when I get the call that my Visa paperwork has arrived - in Indiana. This will almost certainly be the case, however, circumstances are so overwhelmingly demoralizing at the moment that happily, I cannot even comprehend them. So I'm ok.

Oh my gods, I quit my job...

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