T-2 and oh my god...

I know I said I wanted a challenge, but now as I sit here less than 48 hours from liftoff, I am really wondering what I've gotten myself into.  I mean, WHAT was I thinking?  Yes, I am a bit overwhelmed by the prospect of China but I think some of that is just that I'm overwhelmed with other things.  My ear is still blocked, with no real resolution other than "you can still hear, that's good".  My knee is still problematic, and there's the fighting with insurance for every last PT session owed me.  And just when I think all things may be turning my way and I can leave mentally unencumbered, what's that I hear?  Oh yes, the cat (god love him, he's 14 today) has diarrhea.  Will the fun never stop?

So that's why I broke down and called my poor abused primary care physician and asked for something to take the anxiety off this big old flight (13 hours and 45 minutes, if you're keeping track) from Chicago to Beijing, and maybe even back again (10 hours Shanghai to San Fran, 6 San Fran to Boston).  Hey, this isn't childbirth here, doing it naturally isn't going to win me any awards, make me a hero or make my newborn MENSA material.  Sure, I've got an adult version of the fun bag all packed, except instead of Tootsie Pops, Madlibs and hockey cards, I've got 5 movies, 2 books of Sudoku and logic puzzles, 9 magazines and 10 protein bars.  But somehow, I think it'd be nice to stretch out in my compression stockinged legs in those three extra inches of legroom in Economy Plus and just relax rather than fret about how much godforsaken time is left on this flight anyway?  If you know me at all, you know I have a tendency to dwell.  So I medicate as much for those around me as for myself.  Believe me.

I think it occurred to me on Thursday night when I used Flight Tracker to see where my flight was at that point in time, a whole 7 hours after take-off.  And damn, it was just over Alaska, with all of the Russian and northern Chinese coast still to go.  "IS THAT ALL?" I actually yelled at the monitor.  With that one piece of knowledge, my dwelling began in earnest.  That's why I screamed called for help.

Sunday found all my stuff packed except for what needed to be cleaned, used, charged, worn between then and Wednesday night.  I have one more trip to CVS to pick up the aforementioned prescriptions.

I've downloaded a VPN which should in theory allow me to post freely on Facebook and this here blog, but you never know. I'll be back here when I can.

And if this post doesn't clue you in that I've just about lost my marbles, I don't know what will....  ;-)

Happy 14th birthday to my furry boy...I'll miss you when I'm away!