Fast and Furious

78!  Days!  7-8!

These past 2 weeks have been much about the work involved in going to Japan.  Japanese government requires a pile of documentation for prescription medication as well as OTC medicines.  There are also very strict rules about what can be brought into the country, even for personal use.  Any medications brought in must be cleared by the government first through a lengthy set of paperwork and documents from your current doctor.  And there is a limit on the amount of medication you can bring into the country.  In my situation, this is going to be, I hope, fairly easy since my medical condition has a fairly typical treatment protocol.  So I will have to obtain a doctor almost immediately to continue my current medications.

But I must also get one for E because she also has an epi-pen for her possible allergy to strawberries.  Any medication which involves a syringe also requires declaration.  In addition, only a 2 month supply of vitamins (I take several supplements) can be brought in.  And no, you can't mail yourself medication from home.  They do check the packages and you can be arrested on the spot for breaking the law.  Wow, scary stuff.

In addition, we have to change our medical insurance because the current insurance doesn't cover anything outside of the US.  What a headache.  That means possibly needing to locate new doctors here as well.

And pile on to this the plan to sublet our condo out while we are away.  I've left that little project to Kurt.  He hasn't yet been very successful in getting much done with it.

And let's see, there seems to be a pile of other things that need doing, like getting E's school evaluation complete before she leaves for Louisiana on April 18th.  And finishing her school work ahead of time since I know nothing will likely happen once she is with her father for 6 weeks.  I'll be fortunate to get back a daughter with some semblance of a brain.  I could be wrong, I truly hope I am wrong for E's sake.

Oh and let's not forget federal and state taxes for 2 different states and the pile of itemizations I will be doing for the medical expenses last year.  Add to this my current graduate statistics class, the normal household chores, E's classes (gymnastics, soccer and swimming every week), the packing planning, the plethora of doctor appointments we have each week and some where in there I usually walk 30-40 minutes every day.  It's a lot on our collective plates and no wonder we feel overwhelmed at the prospect of leaving in t-minus 78 days.

78 days!  Holy cow!

In those 78 days we also have a trip home for little brother Adam and Enny's wedding and an 18 day stay in Europe just before we leave for Japan.  It's going to be a fast and furious April and end of May.  Japan packing better be largely together before we leave for Europe since there are only 8 days between our return to the US and our departure for Japan.  And Grandma Pounders is escorting E back on June 5th.  This will be Grandma's first visit to Boston.  I hope we have lots of time to enjoy her visit when she is here.

78 days!