And so it begins!

Well, here I am in DC at the hotel and tomorrow starts the whole ball rolling. It's like this...

Finished the house and got to Denver and flew out to Vegas. I was lucky enough to have really good company on the day I left so it wasn't nearly as depressing (but still stressful from all the dealines) as I thought it would be.

Got to Vegas and spent a few days with Ryan and the family and they helped me to start and finish all my packing. I am 20 pounds underweight, and so is my luggage. HAHAHAHAHA! Oh stop, you know it's true. I have no idea where I went wrong, but I packed everything I thought I would need and still had room to spare. The final buying spree was way too expensive, but I will make up for it by living on a very meager income for the next 27 months.

Here are my packing tips for staying under the weight limit: Do not bring anything that you will run out of in a month or two. If you don't need it after that, then you don't need it now. Don't bring things that you will re-supply in country. Just buy them there to start with. Bring a bunch of camping junk so you will feel more prepared. There.

Boarded a plane today and here I am in DC. I have already seen the Washington Monument and the Pentagon...although only from the air and the back of a taxicab. My taxi driver had a LOT to say about US politics and how he thinks the Peace Corps does not pay enough to be worthwhile. He was in the army in Afghanistan. I guess their army pays pretty good, or at least good enough to make you want to come here and pursue a lucrative career driving a taxi. :P

Had dinner tonight with a fellow trainee and our pre-staging rep. This is going to be awesome. I can tell already!

Here is my story of woe, just so you won't think everything is roses: My lamp didn't work in my hotel room, so I swapped the lightbulbs with another lamp in the room. In doing so I broke the bulb in my hand and cut myself pretty good. I think I may die. Wouldn't you know it.

Here is my story of un-woe: My laptop hooks up to the LCD TV in the room so I can write this without looking at a tiny screen. Yea!