An exercise in patience...

I'm half-way to Japan!! One flight down, and one more to go!

Ok...in reality, I'm nowhere near half-way to Japan. I'm just in Chicago, but I'm trying to trick myself into thinking I'm half-way there for the sake of my mental health. :) The first 1.5 hour flight went by in a snap...so here's hoping the next 13.5 hour one follows suit! At the moment, I'm impatiently waiting out a 4.5 hour flight delay, and decided to belly up the $7.00 fee for an internet connection. Why such a lengthy delay, you might be asking? "Mechanical difficulties." FAN-tastic. Hope they get that puppy tuned up before we hop in and attempt to cross the largest ocean on the planet. :)

I'm surprisingly chill today, and I know it's due to a couple of good friends who have made the last 24-hours a lot easier on me...I'm so grateful! Even in a state of complete exhaustion, Will fought the desire to fall asleep in his bowl of pasta & kept me laughing/distracted from my nervousness throughout a send-off dinner last night. Then this morning, Michelle got up very early (on her day off!) to ensure that I got to the airport with my wits (and my overstuffed bags) about me. She even took it upon herself to tidy up a couple of last-minute items on my monster to-do list!! THANK YOU!!! Made a world of difference...

And now, with this "gift of time" that I've been given, I should probably work on my Power Point slides...oh, and eat the peanut butter that I had to wrestle away from the TSA guy. He took one look in my eye and thought twice about his little confiscation plan. :)