.....
We're off! I'm sitting on BART, our wonderful public transit system that covers only about *half* of the Bay Area (::sigh::). Fortunately, we live *right* next to one terminus of the line that takes us all the way to the airport. Actually, it drops us off at the Internaltional Terminal at SFO, which is literally right in front of our check-in counter! Woo-hoo!

Of course, *getting* to the train station is a but of a hassle... **puff puff** Keep running! Aargh! I forgot something. Honey, did I bring the curling iron? My makeup? **huff huff** Ugh - I forgot the camera battery! Wait, did you lock the door? Bye, Bella! (She's our kitty.) Don't get too fat!

But, it's all worth it. This year we're *both* going (yay!). We haven't done Japan together in 6 years. That first year without Diane was *tough* for me. I bought this very laptop I'm using now so that we could video chat with Skype. And Bella came along to keep Diane company! (Yeah, I know, creative name for a cat owned by tintinnabulists...)

It's great to be together, but it makes packing and getting away just a *little* more challenging to get away. Amazingly, we managed to fit all of our stuff in *one* suitcase - concert clothes, 2 weeks of changes (uh, yeah), girlie things, shoes (don't forget the boots!), toiletries, lots (and *lots*) of kleenex, ..., all that in our one suitcase. Of course, we also have four carry-ons which are stuffed to the gills. ::sigh::

Of course, all that stuff (junk) that the bags a tad *heavy*. It's *cold* here now (mid-40s), and it's always fun to run with a heavy coat on, get sweaty, and then have to stand around in the chill waiting for the train. Then again, it's pretty durn cool to be sitting on a train, knowing that when you get off you'll be a short plane ride away from **JAPAN**.

Can't complain (too much). Signing off,

---Jason