Quick update from the terminal

Sitting at my gate at Logan International. Got through security with Elsa no problem, no oversize luggage fees (!!), and managed to snag breakfast before plopping myself down and hooking up to wifi.

Elsa's been a peach, surprisingly. Aside from her usual three seconds of "NO NO NO" every time she has to go back in the carrier, she's been great. Not a peep, not a whine, just a lot of curling up with her nose pressed to the mesh closest to me. Her breathing's a little fast and her heart is off the charts, but she's doing far better than I thought she would. The little furball never fails to impress me with her adapting skills.

Also, I gave her chunks of ham from my breakfast sandwich. I think that helped.

We start boarding in ~20m. Take off half an hour later.

Another update to follow in DC if there's wireless.

Realized I forgot to cross-post this: On the subject of care packages

A lot of people have asked what HP and I would like in Japan. Offers of sending clothes, books, etc. are very appreciated, but what we'd like most is far less functional. =)

Japanese high schoolers are super excited about american things. Like stickers, novelty toys, and the like. They make great prizes for doing well or putting in extra time in the English Club. That kind of thing. For example, stampers that stamp American things, magnetic poetry things, stickers with English words on them, classic american dentist's office toys that stick to walls, etc.

Seriously. Imagine Japanese high schoolers with these.

Also, holiday items are awesome. If you'd like to send halloween decorations or costume accessories or other silly things, great! Even if they have the holiday in Japan, seeing how Americans celebrate it is a good teaching point. Nothing big is necessary, but sometimes the cheesier, the better. =) I don't know if they let you ship candy, but if they do...

Well, they don't have pine trees, so we'll have to hang them creatively. No problemo.

In brief:

- Stickers and cheap novelty toys!

- Things with English words on them!

- Holiday-specific products!

For bonus points, if anyone has an old copy of Apples to Apples they'd be willing to donate or can get their hands on one cheap, we'd be happy to compensate for shipping. =) This one is something we'd really, really like to have as a teaching tool. [this may already be taken care of, we'll see!]

Anything you would like to send our way would definitely help with the kids.

You can address it in English no problem. You might have to take a few minutes to fill out a customs form, though. 

Comment with your email, and I'll get your our Japanese address!

And the penultimate stop is leapt over.

Elsa has her clearance and her stamps from APHIS. Everything went through.

this confetti gun could only be more epic if it shot out more confetti guns.

Last step: Inspection in Japan.

T minus 13 hours.

T minus one day.

I have photocopied my SS card, passport, visa, marriage certificate, residency certification, and birth certificate.

I have converted a big chunk of cash into traveler's checks. And photocopied their serial numbers.

I have compressed everything I'm bringing (there is a small box of winter [ha! cooler weather, really] clothes) into a duffel bag and a suitcase.

Elsa's carrier is set and ready, complete with bribe.

My uncle (who owns a limo company) is sending a driver to bring me to the airport on Wednesday at 5:30am.

My appointment with APHIS is tomorrow morning at 10am.

Left to do: A little packing, deposit a check, some online stuff, trip to PetSm*, few hours at work, figure out how my paychecks will go to Japan, shower.

Looking at everything I've done, I'm surprised I'm as calm as I am. I'm sure I'll be freaking out the day of, but...

Still.

Where did I get the courage to do this?

How to restore my faith in humanity in three easy steps

Rhode Islanders were like "Eh, close the windows and bring the cat in."

Step 1: Have a hurricane knock out power to your vet the day of your export exam.


I have to admit, I had a meltdown when it occurred to me that my vet, who had all of Elsa's medical records, wouldn't have access to them two days before I left the country.

I hated that Japan requires the exam to be within two days of departure.

I hated that most of the area around my vet got power back within twelve hours, but not my vet's office.

And I especially hated that Elsa would likely not be able to come across, after all the work, time, money, and emotional investment that the process had cost me.

As anyone watching my twitter or facebook feed will tell you, I broke. I was in tears for at least an hour, completely unreasonable. Until I wore myself out and passed out for a few hours. Elsa didn't give a crap, as she was tucked away nicely in her bed.

This morning at 8am, I began my barrage of calls.

The cape is very important.

Step 2: Find a very popular vet clinic who will squeeze you in


I had made at least a dozen calls looking for USDA-accredited vets in the area, and most practices that had them said "We won't know until the vet comes in at X:XXpm, sorry."

But finally, I found Povar Animal Hospital, one that my mother used to frequent as a child, who not only squeezed me in at 5:45pm, but as part of the export exam prep, called APHIS and verified my appointment and paperwork for me. They asked if I could come in early to drop off the papers for them to check as well as fill out the New Client papers, and I came by with the export forms, titer results, and a Box o' Joe and carton of munchkins for the staff. There were audible cheers as I put the boxes on the counter.

"When someone saves your ass," I said, "it's nice to at least buy them coffee."

So I went around doing errands for a while, accomplishing only a few but very important things, then swung back around to pick up the furball. The clinic was very pretty and very clean, the staff was great, and as I paid for the visit, I checked the receipt.

They only charged me the cost of her vaccine and the export exam. No new client fee, no office visit, no nothing.

"We waived it for you," the tech said. "Special circumstances and all that."

Yeah.

Step 3: Government Officials who really understand


I had previously spoken to the APHIS office, who told me that in order to endorse the papers, they'd need to see her rabies certificates for each vaccination.

Which were on my vet's computer. Which was without power.

Well, fuck.

I called this morning and explained my circumstances, and the woman (who I now know as L*) said that while the certificates were procedure, the circumstances merited a little... leeway. My vet had signed off on the vaccinations provided for the titer, which was good, and the paperwork had the manufacturer and expiration dates for each one.

 If I could bring in whatever documentation I had, she said, they'd make it work somehow. If my vet got power back before my appointment and they could get the certificates, great.

I could have cried.

Seriously my life.

In Summary:


After a hurricane comes rainbows and kittens.

But seriously, not only did I get a last-minute lifesaving replacement vet, but also a very compassionate APHIS employee who saved me from a panic attack.

Project Elsa-Beast is fully back on track, less than 12 hours after total system failure. What a mindfuck.

T minus five days

I'm in a surprisingly peaceful state of mind right now. My YAY:OHNOES ratio at any given time is about 50:1, which is remarkable for a bouncing ball of neurotic tension like me.

I went on a shopping spree for new clothes for Japan. Lightweight, breathable fabrics, less low-cut jeans, layering tanks, that kind of thing.

And bras. Because Japan a) will not have my size and b) puts frills on everything.

Why would I want frills there? Why?

So the essentials are there. I also shipped across 90% of Elsa's supplies to arrive by Monday or Tuesday, and the dog food will arrive at Adam's door any day. I switched her to the new stuff here as well, and she goes bonkers over it. The cats try to steal it, too - so taste is clearly not an issue.

The Animal Quarantine Service has been awesome. A few days ago, I received this e-mail:
---
Dear Sxxxxx Xxxxx,

Have you prepared the certificates for your pet ?
If there are any omissions in the certification when you arrive in Japan,
the animal must be returned to the exporting country on your own responsibility
or undergo a detention inspection at our facility for the necessary quarantine period up to 180 days.

We can check your certificates before your arrival.
Could you send the following documents to us before getting endorsement by fax or e-mail (within 1MB)? (It is too difficult to correct them after getting endorsement.)

1.Form A, Form C 1/3, Form 2/3 and Form C 3/3.
2.Certificate for Rabies serological test issued by the designated laboratory.
3."APPROVAL OF IMPORT INSPECTION OF ANIMALS"

Note: These original documents are required when you arrive in Japan.

I would appreciate your response.
田中　咲子/Sakiko Xxxxxx
---
I was like "Proof them for errors before I get there? OKAY."

So all of her paperwork checks out, and I just need to have my vet and APHIS fill out their respective sections.

AND my visa is in my passport and ready, AND I got my approved Yakkan Shomei in the mail, AND I made copies of my birth certificate, passport, marriage license, and tax exemption letter.

My schedule for the home stretch:


Today: Omiyage shopping, farewell party, packing
Tomorrow: Packing, banking (travelers checks ftw), do any and all last-minute clothes alterations
Sunday: Packing, movie with Dad
Monday: Elsa's vet evaluation
Tuesday: Elsa's APHIS appointment, work
Wednesday: Fly out of Boston at 9:30am. Arrive in Dulles at 12:30, arrive in Tokyo 3:00pm local time,
arrive in Okinawa 8:45pm, where HP, his aunts (!) and his boss (!!) will pick me and Elsa up from the airport.

I've tried to keep my schedule relatively free to leave wiggle room for last-minute things, like shopping or paperwork or mental breakdowns.

All in all, though, despite the incoming hurricane? Everything's pretty okay so far.

Stresses building up again

Yakkan Shoumei bounced back to me. Resubmitting today. Grr grr grr.

But on the bright side, hitting the bike trail tomorrow with papa. Biking through Colt State Park = endorphins and sunshine and exercise and no paperwork required.

FREE AS THE GODDAMN WIND BLOWS

I am planning more Dad-Dates while I'm here, as he'll be hardest hit by my absence. I'm taking him to the Boston Aquarium next week and picking up my passport while I'm at it.

Meanwhile, my mother is stressed to high heaven from the practice wearing down on her and I think no small measure of having an extra person living in the house. She's snapping a lot and becoming more and more erratic, so I'm taking a step back. It's a shame that I have to keep my distance, seeing as I'm moving away in under three weeks, but still. Being a daughter and working for her just means that there are now two places for me to irritate her, so the best solution is to just stay quiet and out of the way. She'll be fine when I leave, so I don't have to worry about the quality time as much as I do with others.

At least I now know where I got my rampaging instincts from.

Also, I've decided that I'm pretty much done traveling. Even taking hour-away trips has become taxing, and short of the trip I'll be taking to re-home the snake, I'm trying to limit them as much as possible.

And the stress level seriously sucks.

And the first of it arrives!

HP asked, as the first contact he had with me after arriving, for me to send little american toys or stickers or something to use as prizes for the kids. Sure, I can do that. No big. My childhood dentist had a huge bucket of novelty toys in his office from one of the stores here in RI.

I wonder if Japanese high schoolers would be into dinosaurs or sticker tattoos...

But this morning, I woke up to this email in my inbox:

---

From: [HP]

Subject: Know what would be really nice to have?

Message:

Ibuprofen.

Bring lots.

I forgot my deodorant, so I'm using the spray stuff.  It seems to be working okay, and even if you brought some, I'd still need to convert eventually.

But ibuprofen.  Please be bringing lots of that.

---

Flat-rate shipping box, here I come.