Countdown: Three Weeks

Gosh, I'm totally not ready. My Russian is still sub-par and my Ukrainian is just slightly above non-functional. On top of that, I'm still dealing with contact issues. It's been three days and I'm already sick of my glasses. They are large and thick - so thick in fact that if you look at the edges of the lenses, you can see the back of my head. Replacing just that single contact is going to cost at least $400. That's the Lens Crafters price. Other places are way more expensive. By law (and it's a very sucky one), you have to have an eye exam every two years. That's $200 right there. The contacts are another $200. I'm gonna stick with my old-fashioned hard lenses, because unlike all other contacts, they don't need to be replaced. The lens that I lost on Wednesday was 17 years old. I kid you not. Gas permeable and soft lenses get replaced every year (or even more often than that) at that same $200 a pop. So I guess I'm resigned to that expense. I like my glasses. They really do make me look like Mr. Science, but I don't want to wear them all the time. The last few days, I've been feeling really tired and such and I'm sure it's because of the eye strain caused by the difference between my contacts and my glasses. So I'm just gonna head over to Lens Crafters at Westlake and make myself an appointment.

Trip-wise, I'm ready to go - technically. I mean, I've got my tickets and my new passport just arrived. It's quite elaborate. From cover to cover, it's totally American. It's got pictures of the Statue of Liberty, bears eating salmon, a locomotive, cows, some yokel out plowing his field, a riverboat, Mt. Rushmore and even the moon - although that doesn't belong to us. So yes, it's a cool thing to have. My picture is actually really good. I look perturbed and mysterious. It should go over well at Ukrainian customs. Other than suspending various memberships and obligations, I'm ready (technically) to depart. I just don't feel ready.

In other news, last night was our Jillian's trivia championships. I was actually pretty nervous for this one. It was this weird format where they take the top four teams (there were other teams participating as well) and give them four rounds of questions. The top two teams after that advance to play head-to-head. We placed third, so no head to head for us. Our downfall? Top ten hits from 2009. I hadn't even heard most of those tunes. Argh. It's really frustrating sitting there unable to help. So this season is over. The new season starts on April 22nd, the night before I leave. Am I gonna play? You bet. And then I'll leave.