Time is Flying By...

And it begins...items for the yard sale pile up

Today was another busy day. My passport came in to the military travel office and we had to go pick it up. The last page of this new passport says that I'm entitled to stay abroad as long as John is on business. The passport is good for five years. They also returned my tourist passport (thank goodness).

Side bar: A tourist passport is the one most people are issued when they apply for a passport. It's usually good for ten years. The other passport is only good for five years and I didn't have to pay for it. I'm glad they returned my tourist passport because I plan to do a lot of traveling while I'm in Japan and I'd rather use my tourist passport for that.

Now that we have the passport, John can order our plane tickets. This means very soon, I will know 1) The exact day we leave the US, 2) The exact day we arrive in Japan, and 3) The airport we will be flying into in Japan. This makes me very excited because once we know our flight dates we can move backwards and figure out when we can move out of San Diego and visit my family. I can submit the 40 day entry notice for Wylee AND make reservations for Wylee's quarantine.

We also cleaned our second bedroom. We're having a yard sale next weekend. The plan is to work on a different room everyday, clearing out items we don't use and sorting things into piles for the sale.

Those two things, grocery shopping, and working out in the morning took up the whole day. When all was said and done, I looked at the clock, 4pm....the exact time I used to get off work. I'm actually pleased I'm as productive as I have been. I've been waking up at 6:30 every morning and accompanying John to the gym. Just because I'm no longer employed doesn't mean I get to laze around and be a bump.

I also want to take a moment and address the most asked question (aside from: Can I visit?)....have you started looking for places yet?

The answer is no. Unfortunately, it doesn't work in Japan like it does in the US (or Canada or maybe Mexico)...there is no craigslist or apartment websites. If there are, they often aren't meant for people like me....no not because of the language barrier, but because I'm a foreigner and there are certain rules for renting I have to abide by.....there's a process. Firstly, I have to go through an approved realty company and be shown around by a realtor. This is invaluable as they usually introduce you to the neighborhood and show you the highlights and transportation stations. Then you have to double-check the place is approved by the military, then there's a month long paperwork process (during which they hold the property for you).

The realtor websites often have samples of the types of houses they have available, but usually not the actual houses they have available at the exact moment. So, no, we haven't started looking for a place. We will get to that when we get there. In the meantime, we have a month long reservation at the Navy Lodge on base.