Currently we are in stage 1 of my nation wide tour prior to depature. Still in Seattle. I'm really liking this town. That may be because I have no responsibilities. I get to wander around whenever I feel like. Strange where the mind wanders. At home I drive everywhere, here, it's all about the walking. I'm thinking that this is a good thing b/c in Nepal, no car, no other way to get around beside taxi's. I think that I'll learn the city pretty quick. This is my second time in Seattle and I have gotten it down rather well. Tomorrow I head home for the reaminder of the jet set life. Gots to go. More later.

Been a bit since I last posted. Seems that I am on the final stretch of my time here in the US. I seem to be trying to connect with all the people that I know before I go. I'm not totally sure why, but I just feel that need. I'm Seattle right now visiting Nellie, I had a HUGE party this past Saturday wherein' I got blitzed then did a few......minorly ( :D) dumb things. Well at least that is a change from the past. I guess I just want to be able to see all the people that I really care about before I take off next month. It's been fun so far, seeing all the different groups of people that I know congragate, mingle, the diversity of friends that I have is pretty nice. I'm already starting to miss home. I spent three hours walking around Seattle today, wandering in a direction, just to see what was there, then back over this way. I'll learn how to navigate the streets of Kathmandu, unfortunately they don't have the space needle to use as a reference point. Such is life. That's all for now.

Well this is it. Today is my last day of work before.......What? The rest of my life? This is the first day of the rest of my life. Wow. The so-called end of an era. It doesn't seem like the end. I suppose that when I get up tomorrow it may, but perhaps not. Perhaps next week. I have been a part of this business for over 10 years. My life has been centered here. It will always be in my blood and my soul. .............nope, still doesn't feel like it's happening. Or perhaps it is, having never lost a job (or had another one for that matter) I don't know what it feels like to leave one. There is no sense of impending doom, merely the sense of stepping through a door into another room, with more doors, more options and opportunity to truely see what is in this world for me. I suppose that when I am dead, any obituary should read that I was a grocery man first, started life as meat clean up guy, worked my way up to checker and clean up guy, then closer and checker and clean up guy, then order writer/closer/checker/clean up guy, this list could go on and on and on. I have become an integral, but not unreplacable part of this institution, a part of the lore that is "the vill". Stories will be told of the early mornings, and the long hours, but I hope, mostly about the way that I always have a smile to wear and one to share, even in the pre-dawn hours.

I've added a comment section now. (thanks seppo!!!!) So you can tell me what you think of what I'm putting up here. I skipped the iPod, went for a cheaper option. Got the camera, Nikon N70 used, if only I could find an owners manual. Met a friend of a friend who spent two years in Nepal with the Peace Corp, lots of good stuff from that conversation. Apparently there is a disease that will make you REALLY tired, not hungry, and depressed. Great. I hope to avoid that. In other good news, the food is spicy. VERY SPICY, steve-0 spicy. My poor, poor stomach, perhaps I will have to begin drinking milk again in order to combat the upset stomach. Wow, I sure am going to miss this place.

Oh, a few sites to check out:
Good overall view of Nepal http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/np.html
Nepal News: http://www.kantipuronline.com/php/paper.php?id=2
Still thinking about how the digital camera is going to work over there. Not sure how I'm going to be able to charge it. I'd like to be able to take pics and post them on Ofoto or some other website, but just not sure if it's practical. Researching a camera, and MUST buy an iPod, don't think that I could survive without the music to keep me alive..........

And it's offical. The nervousness is HERE. It seems to arrive in waves, creeping futher up the beach. I feel soon there will be a flood. I saw a movie called "The Spanish Apartment" last night, and that seemed to start it all. The main character was going from Paris to Barcelona for a year of graduate school, and the scenes of him leaving, the nervous apprehension, the sense of an ending, really hit home for me. I knew this was coming, tried to prepare for it, but how? I asked steve-0 about how he dealt with homesickness in Mexico, apparently email will have a rush for me like never before. I can already picture myself making phone calls just to listen to people's voices on VM. I keep reminding myself that this was coming and that it will pass. Like going back to school, but different, same but different. So I march foward, dragging along the butterflies.