The Last Week: Day 2

It's all pretty much ready folks. I've made a pile of things next to my suitcase that I hope to stuff inside it. I've gone through the kitchen and cleared out stuff and put some things into a box.

By this time tomorrow it will be less than 30 hours in Korea, and then it's bye bye. I think I have said all there is to say about how I feel. I'm just kind of ready now to hop on the plane, get Tom through to the other side and start things. I was happy to see Tom lick his water bottle feeder that is attached to his carrier. This gave me hope that he will hydrate himself during the flight, but then got me a little concerned he may need the bathroom. Ah well!

I also successfully registered for my first two classes as a graduate student! This gave me a lot of excitement for what's to come. They are, "Linguistics for Language Teachers I" and "Adult Learners". Two classes that I think will be a good start, and they meet on Tues and Weds. Student life, here I come!

Tonight I'm meeting a friend for dinner and that will be a nice last thing to do.

It's quiet in here.

The Last Week: Day 4

Today was all about work, work, work. I got up and immediately went ahead with cleaning behind all the furniture. I found a lot of dust and cat hair all mangled together. Things in here sure do look a lot cleaner now. After I whisked through the living space I tackled the kitchen. Everything needed a good scrubbing including the refrigerator.

When I moved in to this place (two years ago) it wasn't as clean as I'm making it now. But I know who is going to move in and I don't really want to leave someone with a dirty place. It sucks to move in somewhere and then have to clean it to make it comfortable. I suppose I am putting money into my good karma bank!

While I was cleaning I started to think that it would be a good idea to reduce the weight more on my suitcases, so I ended up going to the post office for one more box. But that's it! Everything is pretty much empty in my place now. What I need to get by on for the next few days is out, so it really feels like I'm moving now.

I met another friend for dinner and had a lovely last time. I can't believe tomorrow is going to be "day 3" and then I'm almost out of here. Time flys, it really does!

Last night I felt a twinge of sadness that I'm leaving behind a lot of memories here. I'm hoping the withdrawal I feel from leaving Korea is something I can get through. But I'm up to the task and making new memories back in America! :)

The Last Week: Day 5

I've come to the conclusion that I'm not traveling back to America, but moving. If I were traveling there then I wouldn't need to send off six boxes and try to squeeze what is left into two suitcases. But because I am moving, I am sending everything I own to a faraway location.

Today I cleared out my living space and put it all into my suitcases. Turns out I'm going to need that third one. In the end things are starting to look more and more empty in my little apartment here. Someone came by and took the last bookshelf away. Also with all the boxes gone space is opening up.

I thought I would get to dusting behind furniture and cleaning out areas today but I think my motivation will come tomorrow. I'm meeting up with a friend for dinner as a one last goodbye.

As I was walking home from Lotte Mart today (had to pick up more vacuum seal bags), a family was passing me by. One of the younger kids in the group said, "Oh Waygookin!" I closed my eyes but then put on a smile and gave a friendly wave at everyone. While I was walking away I couldn't help but think that could be the last time I have that experience. Which is both good and bad. I'm not really going to miss being singled out based upon my nationality. But at the same time it was a quark of Korea that you couldn't get pass.

Also I confirmed today that Korean Air allows pets under the plane no matter what the season. A few people on this pet Facebook group kept saying it might be a problem, but I knew it was okay. Just four more days, Tom! Are you ready?!

The Last Week: Day 6

Even though I don't have to wake up early anymore to head into work, Tom still wakes me up. He does it gently by first meowing in my face and then laying his paw on my chin. Then he slowly drags his paw away so that his claws catch my skin and wake me up enough. It's okay to get up early and feed him cause I can sleep in for the next two hours. Or when he wakes me up again for his treats. Who needs an alarm clock, when you have a cat?

I prepared my last box for shipping, which contains some blankets I want to take with me. I don't know what it is, but Korean blankets are really warm and I thought why not hold on to them for more years? I also moved a bookshelf closer to the door that somebody is going to come by and pick up. This revealed a lot of dust and cat hair, so cleaned that up. Then I headed out to the local Vet to pick up Tom's flying papers, which I am going to need to make copies of before I go. Afterwards headed to the small grocery store to pick up some items I need for the rest of the week.

When I got back home I did a little more cleaning but felt really tired from yesterday. So today was mostly spent resting and contemplating everything ahead. I got a lot of cuddle time in with Tom, though.

It definitely feels like spring is heading it's way to Korea. The days are getting a little bit longer and the temperatures are heading out of the 20's (Fahrenheit). I know I am going to miss seeing the blooms here but it's time to move on. :)

Packing Logistics

I've been spending the past 24 hours figuring out how to get all my stuff to Seattle without paying more than I should. I might have too much stuff to begin with, but I've been here for five years. I have summer and winter clothes to take with me, along with my art stuff. It piles up!

I did a "mock packing" yesterday to see if I could fit all my clothes in two suitcases and not be overweight. Turns out things were too close to the edge. The maximum weight is 23 KG and after I would add all my knick knacks and stuff it would have gone over. So I took out my summer clothes and put those in box, since it should still be mildly cold in Seattle when I get there. Thankfully I have a military friend who is kind enough to ship these boxes out to America. I believe this will be cheaper and faster than using the Korean postal service.

However, I already sent three boxes to my family's house back home. Two of which already arrived. It doesn't really cost too much to ship out from the Korean post office, but just makes me a bit nervous when it goes by ship.

So now I've got it down to that one suitcase is empty and the other half full. My winter clothes are still hanging up in my closet but should fit nicely now without a problem. This extra leg room will be helpful for whatever packing surprises might come.

I also needed to ship my carryon luggage (a rolling backpack type thing) because I'm going to need my hands free at the airport. So I went out and bought a laptop backpack that wasn't too expensive. Something to just get me through this transition.

Tom certainly did not enjoy the frenzy of packing I was in lately. Because I am using vacuum seal bags to get all my clothes in a box, he hid from the noise. Sorry, Tom!

Well two more days of work left...wow time is flying!

Getting Five Years of Stuff Down to Two Suitcases

 After five years here, stuff starts to accumulate. I'm talking about books, souvenirs, memorabilia, and just anything else I've held onto over the years. So I've been sorting things lately and making one big pile of "donate" and the rest is being packed into boxes to be shipped across the ocean. I found it the cheapest to send via "surface" or by ship. But the weight limit for each box is 20kg or 44lbs. So trying to meet these requirements is a little tough.

This small pile pictured above is the stuff I am hoping to take with me along with my clothes in two suitcases. Speaking of clothes, I have a lot! Since Korea has four or really two seasons (hot and cold) I've accumulated quite the collection. However, I am going to let go of a lot and hold on to the essentials. Some of it's old and worn out anyway.

How does one get rid of their stuff here in Korea? Back home you would call up the Salvation Army and they would pick up anything if it's in boxes. They have the Salvation Army here in Korea, but I have yet to try it. So we will see if that works out. In the meantime I have a nice huge pile of clothes, books and stuff growing in my laundry room closet.

What's left besides my "stuff" is a lot of kitchen wares, items and also furniture throughout the house. For some reason I filled up my space here with 3 bookshelves, desk and chair, microwave stand and a large TV stand. All of which will need to go, as you can see by my previous post. Hopefully people will come and buy this stuff or it can be donated. The worse case scenario is just giving it up to the front of the building. Instead of donating it themselves they tear left over furniture apart and get rid of it that way.

I also notice I have a lot of art supplies including sketchbooks and other materials. Also I have my portfolio that I need to figure out how to get back home, either with me or by shipping.

Thankfully I have till February to liquidate it all and pack up my two suitcases for the move. Our school's Christmas vacation is coming up next week and so that will give me plenty of time to start squaring away these tasks.

Seeing and going through all my stuff made me realize how much I settled into living here in Korea. I'm sure if I had planned on just teaching a few years and moving back, I wouldn't have accumulated so much. Oh well! Time to head back home and start piling on more! ha ha

Moving

Yesterday I moved in to my new place, which I am in right now. Oddly enough there is still internet connected in here. Not sure how long that will last, but of course I am enjoying it. However, I did leave my laptop charger at JH's house so can only work on it for so long.

I hope to put up pictures and a video of house #4. This place has character since the building is 20 years old. I already knew the building was old before I moved in, but I was hoping that my place would have been renovated. Besides new wallpaper the place probably looks the same as it did way back when. The set up is pretty good with two major rooms, a small bathroom and a little room for laundry. I even have a "balcony" area as is common for Korean apartments.

Unfortunately, the place wasn't super cleaned and there are large amounts of dusty areas that I have been cleaning. Even though I miss living in a newer building with snazzy equipment I kind of like the vintage feel. Or I am just telling myself positive things so I don't freak out. But really I lived in hell (house #2) so this place is just fine.

I go back to work Wednesday and tomorrow will get my boxes of stuff. My new place didn't come with several things including a microwave, TV, desk and shelves. Either the school will cough these things up or I'm going to have to invest in it. Already JH is helping me find used stuff to buy.

Guess I am just trying to keep busy since I am starting to get really nervous for my new job. But I'm also really tired! Jetlag is biting my butt. sigh

Ok ... will update again with pics.

I Was Overweight

I'm talking about my check-in luggage. Winter clothes plus my art supplies and everything else made for two very heavy suitcases. I am sure I could have packed better and gotten rid of more clothes, but for some reason I didn't do that this round. Of course I paid for this mistake at the airport when I found out. We had to pull the suitcases aside and repack one to make it heavier than the other. This way, instead of paying 200,000 for each overweight suitcase I just paid for one.

The flight home wasn't too bad, but I certainly was surprised at the gate. As we boarded the plane I looked out to see it and noticed that it wasn't an Asiana plane but a United one. The ticket I bought was an Asiana ticket, although I did notice it was a carrier of United. My thinking was that the plane was going to be Asiana, boy was I wrong. There were significant differences in flying an American owned company versus an Asian aircraft. For starters there weren't any personal TV displays. Movie watching was left to aisle TV's, and whatever they picked. Our in-flight entertainment consisted of Eat, Pray, Love and some kind of mildly-scary movie. I listened to Eat, Pray, Love for the first few hours of the flight while they served us dinner. This meal wasn't spectacular and there were only Western style choices. Although, I was complaining about always having either BiBimBop or steak for dinner, I really missed the Korean option.

After the lights went out and people settled down more I took into my usual flying routine. That is of covering my eyes with an eye-mask, putting in ear plugs and snuggling up with my neck pillow and blanket. My seat-mates were a Grandma and a Grandpa, which was cute at first until they decided to talk for two hours while I was trying to sleep. After awhile I was beginning to wonder if they were ever going to get tired and shut-up. I figured out a strategy, which was to get up and go use the bathroom, which by the way we were seated next to. Thankfully, this idea worked as I when I got back to my window seat, the Grandpa was walking up and down the aisles for exercise and Grandma was resting in her spot.

I think the trick to sleeping on a plane is to move around till you find a comfortable position. It seems the body knows what to do at that point. I believe I got in about two hours sleep, not completely restful but worthy. The flight was actually kind of short coming in at just barely 10 hours. I'm not sure if flying during the winter time means the winds are better or something.

Anyways, I learned two lessons from this trip. One, that you should double check the baggage restrictions and two that you should try your best not to fly United Airlines.

Cozy

From the words of my boyfriend, "Don't worry, it will take just 30 minutes to clean." I gave him a serious look and told him no. I explained we needed to make it clean so I get my money back. The truth is I don't even know if the cleaning has anything to do with getting my deposit back. From what I gather it has more to do if items are missing or broken. Oh well. I wanted to make sure that the new teacher and my old coteachers saw me as a clean person who doesn't just leave them with a mess.

Once we got all the stuff out, like suitcases and other such things, it was a lot easier to start. We scrubbed, scraped and washed off the past year. Finally, around five o'clock we looked around and knew we were finished. I was going to clean my trash bins but gave up due to just not wanting to clean anymore.

The sad part about cleaning a place and having it look so minimal is that you wish it was like that everyday. Every time I do this I say I am going to be cleaner and better in my new place. haha!

The new teacher is getting a lot of bonuses. For one I left my curtains, since we were too tired to stuff them in the car. Along with the cleaning supplies, an ample amount of toilet paper and even a cheap sketchbook, the new teacher is getting more than the usual empty office-tel.

I am currently relaxing and enjoying the good life at my friend's house till Wednesday. Ah time to get on a plane again. I'm starting to think about what to do with my free time, books to read, things to make...:)

In Transition

Yesterday I said goodbye to the Principal and everyone. Actually, the dinner was nice but some of the things they said made me really frustrated inside. They commented on that stuff in the past and that they understand my character. It bothered me that they didn't really thank me for the work I put in for a year and the relationships I built with the students. Ah well!

So I got to go home early yesterday, which was great since I started the final packing. I really have too much stuff! This morning after some more packing I took Tom over to his brother's house for his three month stay. Beforehand, I just sat and watched him play. Oh I am going to miss him!

They are giving me all day today to move out and clean, thankfully. But I am already bushwhacked from yesterday and not sleeping too well last night. All I know is that I need to put the past behind me, learn my lessons and feel the excitement of having no work till March! Yee-haw!

Faster at the End

This highly scientific video demonstrates two coins going down a funnel. I would like to point out that my life right now feels like one of those coins as they get to the very end. Notice how it goes faster and faster and then just plunks into the dark hole. Well, when you are finishing a job, getting ready to move and are very close to the end date, life can feel that way.

I've got pretty much everything packed, except for dishes and cleaning supplies. I was going to put my stuff in storage but JH talked about it with one of his close friends and they agreed to keep my stuff at their house. How nice of them! I offered to pay them a monthly sum, but was told they'll take a nice dinner, instead. So JH has been picking up boxes and slowly moving them over there. 

I am a bit worried about Tom as on Saturday he will make the switch to my friend's house where he will stay till my return. His brother is there so maybe he will be okay, and I know this person takes good care of hers. I suppose I am just sad to not have my little warm fur ball with me as I move along. Just hoping when I pick him up later that it won't be too traumatic for him.

Work is thankfully coming to an end at this school. I feel so happy inside that I don't have to come here anymore and sit in this small office. I wish I could blurt this out loud so they can see why I am so happy, but I restrain myself. Tonight is my goodbye dinner with the Principals and English staff. But my ex-coteacher (the very old one) from last year will be there. Sigh~ I really don't want to have to talk to her and pretend to give a sh*t. But I also don't want to leave looking bitter. Guess I'll just suffer through one dinner and be on my way. I got everyone thank you cards and a little gift (except no gift for old lady and new foreign teacher). 

As for my students some of the 6th grade classes have responded with cards and little notes and gifts. It has been really touching and makes all the crap I endured at this school melt away. I wish them the best and hope I have influenced their lives in some way or another.

Not much else to report on, just biding my time till tomorrow when I can say "Goodbye!" to this school and all the people here.

Emptiness

Sorry for any lack of blogging. As you can imagine I am busy with moving and paperwork.

In the meantime, I woke up this morning with a bug bite on my right hand index finger. It's not terrible, but just makes me wonder what crawled around and bit me in the night. Or if it happened before I went to sleep. Oh those mysterious bug bites.

hehe

Boxes, Tape, Scissors

How many times have I moved over the course of my adult life? In college I moved from dorms to roommate house-shared living.

So it is that I got good at packing my stuff and remembering where everything went.

Out here there is really only so much you can accumulate that will fit into your shoe-box sized home. Nevertheless, I have gathered quite a good chunk of books and other odds and ends.

I have packed up so far mostly the non-essential stuff using one of my three suitcases to store a lot of it.

JH is letting me store my stuff at his house's storage facility till I move into my new place in December. This weekend he helped me pack and take apart a desk I own.


Oh here is the MP3 player I won for that blogging contest. I haven't really opened it yet, but think it would be fun to turn it into like a "mix-tape" sort of thing and give it to JH every now and then as a treat.
After packing and watching Season 2 of Lost (I am catching JH up) we had lunch nearby at a typical Korean restaurant that serves the usual set of food.

We went to the park nearby and played Scrabble until JH won. He is getting really good at the game and although I let him use his cell phone dictionary I know it is helping him build his vocabulary.

Afterwards we went back to my officetell to rest. However, I spent the rest of the time hitting the panic button as I thought about everything that is to come.

Ah yes, you are probably curious about the goshiwon situation.

We found a suitable goshiwon in the Konkuk University area of Seoul, which is on line 7. If people have told you that a goshiwon room is very small believe them. Because a goshiwon room is indeed very small. Actually the ones we looked at were on the pricier end of the goshiwon spectrum.

The first goshiwon we checked out the rooms were very small but had a built in shower in the room. The floors were separated by sex. There were several kitchens but the bigger one being on the top floor. The location was semi-okay, with a love hotel nearby and a galbi restaurant underneath. They offered me a room with a window that looked out onto a neighboring roof top. However the window was kind of small.

We wanted to see a few more before making a decision and found another goshiwon in the area. This one was pretty much similar but I felt was in a somewhat cleaner part of town. The rooms were a bit bigger and appeared to be more clean. The room she showed us had a window that was big but it looked out onto a brick wall of the building that is adjacent. And yes it includes a built in bathroom.

There was a small kitchen on the same floor and a laundry room nearby as well. This one was actually more expensive, although they provided cooked rice and eggs for residents. I decided to go with this one since it seemed more comfortable and I guess a little bigger. I put down my deposit and will send the rest via wire transfer before I move in next Saturday.

I have to say that I feel sorry for anyone who has to live in a goshiwon for a long period of time. I am really grateful I only will be living in one for a month. I see now that if I did stick with my plan to wait till February that I would have gone insane staying in a goshiwon.

So anyways I started to panic a bit this afternoon as I realized that I am going to be moving. Thankfully JH is patient with me and talked me through how everything is going to be okay and end up better.

He really is a saint and I can't believe sometimes how well he handles my insecure tantrums. Thank you!

Well I have more packing to do and get everything ready to move out. I still haven't signed the Yongin contract so I can imagine they will be sending me some paperwork soon, actually I hope so!

All in all, at least this signals the last days in Sanbon and the start of my future. Since I will be living in Seoul for the next month if anyone wants to get together during the week or weekend lemme know ^^. Trust me I will not be wanting to spend all my time in my goshiwon room.

;)

Mini Vacation with BK

Just back from Sokcho which is in Gangwon-do a north-eastern part of South Korea. Where I had a lovely mini-vacation with BK. The place has a lot of history in relation to being so close to North Korea and the DMZ area.I am really tired from our travel and so do not have the strength to elaborate on all that we did. But I will say that it was great to see the East Asian Sea, spend time at a Water Park (Waterpia) and be with my sweetheart. Only bummer was the bus ride back was suppose to take 3 hrs but took 7 hrs instead, because everyone who went to the mountains for skiing decided to come home at the same time. (traffic jam)


Anyways the place was beautiful and one highlight I thought was seeing the mountains as we drove past them. Korea's geology is still so fascinating to me.Of course, though, visiting the East Sea (If you are Japanese you would say "Sea of Japan". ) (Rolls eyes) Was special to me because it means I can add on another body of water to places that I have visited. Plus I took home some shells.

Maybe before I leave for Japan on Tuesday I will have time to write and post more. For now it is sleep and then packing for Tokyo!

Ready, Set, Go

Ah the wonders of packing. So I have been preparing for my trip to the Gunpo Winter Camp in Chungyang. Actually I don't really know where this place is, oh the excitement! (meaning I am unsure whether I really located it through Google.) haha

Packing is easy of course because I will only be gone 4 nights and 5 days.

But I need to get a few more things before I head off tomorrow.

So today I went to Emart and bought some snacks to take with me for the bus ride.

Silver thing in the back is a bag of cereal. In front and to the left are breadstick snacks, in the middle are grape fruit snacks, mandarins next to that and behind them are some Dr. You wheat choco-cakes. All of it yummy and diverse. ;)

After Emart I went home and counted the number of sweaters I had to see if they would last 5 days at camp. I don't really know what the weather will be like there. Also I had to take into consideration that they may make us do "sports"...which means being outdoors. So I need to bring with me my warmest sweaters. I have been slowly building up my sweater collection to survive the winter here. But I noticed I needed about 1 more warm sweater.

That is why I headed out to go to my favorite sweater shop here in town. But they only take cash so I went to the bank first:
The Best Sweater Shop in all of Korea!:

This tiny place packs one heck of a punch of finding real sweaters here in Korea. Sure you can find sweaters at other shops and department stores here, but usually they aren't very thick or they are very pricey. For a while there I lost hope that I would ever find a "normal"sweater. For example, you typically find sweaters here that have the arms cut off, or are too thin to provide actual warmth.

So one day I saw this store and said to myself "what the heck?!, Let's go in." And boy was I blown away! Sweaters that are thick and long at prices like 16,000 to 24,000 Won (about $18-$26 USD). Of course I wasn't buying brand name stuff here. They also have a lot of the teenage cute wear, for example hoodies with little bear ears on top.

These are the items I bought today, all under 40,000 Won!

I really like the long sweaters here, because they warm up my bum and gives a good look, I think.

This one I won't really count as a sweater because it is not woven. I will use it as an undershirt for one of my more thin sweaters.

Well everything is packed into 2 tiny suitcases and nearly ready to go. I am sure this camp thing will be fun and probably a refreshing change of pace. However I have to get on the bus tomorrow at 8:10 Am. Hmph to early starts! Luckily the meeting point is in my neighborhood. ;)

Ok well have a fun week everyone till I get back!

628

My last hours in my windowless cave are getting close, because I am moving to a window room tomorrow!

After talking about it with my coteacher she called up the office-tell owner and made an agreement. I am to move into room 628, which is straight across the hallway.

Although, I was hoping to move to a whole other building due to this one is kind of dingy, the new place will still be a lot better because of the window. I have already seen what the room looks like and it isn't any different, except the bed has above it shelves.

Anyways, I will move in after work tomorrow and I look forward to finally settling in to my new home here in Sanbon. I can get some plants and maybe a pet fish.

Goodbye, fake window!

New Neighborhood

Looks like the place I have been given is planted right in downtown Sanbon, off the subway station.

It is also conveniently located near an Emart, so I can expect my bank account to dwindle.

As of now I am trying to arrange my moving day. I need someone to help me move and BK will not be available till 6pm Saturday. So far I have Roboseyo saying he can help me, but I need to confirm a time. If I don't hear from him I am going to have to give the pick up times for when my boyfriend can do it. Great more anxiety! haha~

Anyways, it is going to be interesting Saturday. Because I will move my stuff into the hallway so the cleaning Ahjumma can clean the place, and then the new teacher will move in. I already asked the new teacher if I could keep some of my stuff still in the apartment till my pick up comes. And she said no problem.

That is what is on the plate these days. Yes I feel excitement and relief to be leaving my hagwon. But a little broken hearted for seeing some of the kids go. Ah well~

Falling into Place

Sometimes when everything appears to be working well, I take a step back and ponder the fragility of the moment.

I have about 2.5 more weeks left at my hagwon and have been preparing for my move. Already you can see boxes in my little house with books and other things in them. It isn't a lot, generally I just didn't want to stuff these things into my suitcase again.

But the most advancements I have made is in the area of getting a new job. A lot of paperwork has come through.

The criminal background check from the FBI came back clear, so now I am having my father to notarize it and get it apostilled.

To apply to SMOE I needed two reference letters, both of which have come in as signed documents.

And miraculously, my hagwon supervisor actually gave a good recommendation to the recruiter I am using, this will give me a somewhat good reputation.

So it seems to me that everything is ticking along at a smooth pace. Yet there is still much more to ponder. Going with SMOE I will make less money than I do now, but have more vacation. Also going with SMOE means I won't really know where I will be working until February. You do get to state your preference of placement, but that doesn't mean you get what you want.

However, staying in Seoul and being on the public school system, I feel, should end up working out. Of course, I know there are many horror stories of SMOE workers just as there are for hagwon workers.

I haven't signed any contract yet so there is still time to change my mind and wait for GEPIK or something else.

All in all, though it is a relief to know all these little things are working well.

Also, I haven't got a partner to travel with me for my tourist visa, but that is okay because it will still be an adventure.

Requested Items

The supplies I brought with me of hair gel, curling hair conditioner and face wash, brands that I treasure are getting depleted everyday. So being the pack rat that I am I have requested my Family to send me a replenishing package with the following items inside: Also on this list are:

• Turmeric (a spice)
• Herbamare (an hippy spice)
• A jar of Pure Golden Maple Syrup (if possible)

And if my Dad could pack in California sunshine or green grass that would be nice!

Flying Joy

To make sure I don't spend too much time through the security check point I am making sure that my carry-on bag doesn't contain any "no-no" items. The website TSA Travel Assistant tells me the following:

• All liquids, gels and aerosols must be in three-ounce or smaller containers. Larger containers that are half-full or toothpaste tubes rolled up are not allowed. Each container must be three ounces or smaller.

Ok I have some lotion in a once container...I better check whatever else it is I am taking.

• All liquids, gels and aerosols must be placed in a single, quart-size, zip-top, clear plastic bag. Gallon size bags or bags that are not zip-top such as fold-over sandwich bags are not allowed. Each traveler can use only one, quart-size, zip-top, clear plastic bag.

Only one! All right ziplock now is the time to prove your worth!

• Each traveler must remove their quart-sized plastic, zip-top bag from their carry-on and place it in a bin or on the conveyor belt for X-ray screening. X-raying separately will allow TSA security officers to more easily examine the declared items.

Hmmm I hope I remember to remove my ziplock bag for screening.

I think if most of my stuff isn't airline safe than I can just purchase some in flight necessities in the Duty Free area. For example I would like to have some toothpaste with me to keep myself fresh.

In addition to just the normal line of stuff someone carries with them on a plane I am also packing all my prescription meds (for my Crohn's) in my carry on. TSA has just a part of their site dedicated to this.

• You may bring all prescription and over-the-counter medications (liquids, gels, and aerosols) including KY jelly, eye drops, and saline solution for medical purposes.
• You are not limited in the amount or volume of these items you may bring in your carry-on baggage. BUT if the medically necessary items exceed 3 ounces or are not contained in a one-quart, zip-top plastic bag, you MUST declare to one of our Security Officers at the checkpoint for further inspection.

Hmmm red flag here. So far my meds are being kept in a Tupperware plastic container.

I will see if they all fit in a zippy.
Looks like they do but it is really ugly!

Okay, so I think that takes care of that. Now I am taking all my meds as carry on because I am too paranoid to let them fly under the plane. Now, I wonder if I can have one ziplock bag for my meds and one ziplock bag for liquids? I think the safe thing would to just have one ziplock bag and few liquids, and just rely on the Duty Free area for the rest.

Wait a minute I just read further that:

Non-liquid or gel medications of all kinds such as solid pills, or inhalers are allowed through the security checkpoint once they have been screened. We recommend, but do not require, that your medications be labeled to assist with the screening process.

Further more there is a section called Hidden Disabilities which highlights my condition. To sum up what is important to me here are the highlights:

• Medications must be labeled so they are identifiable. Check!
• Medications in daily dosage containers are allowed through the checkpoint once they been screened. Check!

Hmm I think just making sure everything is organized, labelled and able to be inspected clearly will work. I have feeling though that this may slow me down through check-in.

If I do get slowed down I hope that gives me enough time to find my gate and also do a little shopping for necessities before I go. :) Also I think I may need to find a seat to collect myself, as I know my emotions will be running high.