Preparing for take off

So I leave Friday, which seems terrifyingly soon. I have been trying really hard not think about it though, while still going about preparing to leave (which has obviously been a little difficult to do but somehow I seem to have managed it). I finally got some information on my host family. I'm going to be staying with a 64 year old divorcee who's three children are suppose to live relatively close by. Her son actually owns furniture shop next door to the house. She also rents a room in the house to a 24 year old man named Daniel who is studying industrial engineering and who has a wife and three year old daughter who live in the south of the country. The whole set up sounds pretty interesting. I think that I'll get the chance to meet a lot of people living in this particular homestay and the whole situation sounds a lot less stressful than I was imagining it to be. Since this woman is already renting out a room to someone else I think I'll feel like a lot less of an imposition to her while I'm living there. (I know she had to sign up to have me come live with her, but even so I can still imagine myself believing that I am totally putting her out just by being there.)
My brother has been saying that he wants to meet up with me during my long layover in Texas, so I'm excited about that. It will be insanely early, so I am not entirely confident that our meet up will actually take place (since I get the feeling that anything before 10am doesn't really work for him, not that I blame him for this sentiment). Any possible opportunity to see him though is worth getting excited over.
I'm done with work now so I'm just going about my business getting prepared to leave. My friend Cat left today for Missouri. Actually as I'm typing this she is probably on her way to the airport. It's really too bad that she has to leave this week. She'll return just days after I've left for an entire month and a half. I wish we could have had this week to spend together but oh well, that's just the way things go.
Chev sent me some awesome pictures of Costa Rica in an attempt to get me excited about the trip and I have to say that the monkey pic in particular really did do it for me. Thanks Chev!

Final Days

So today is my last day working in the music library, which means that my departure date it coming up pretty quick. I feel like I've actually accomplished a lot working here, more than I expected to anyway, and although it's been terribly boring I am definitely going to miss the hoards of intense piano music readily available for me to fill the silence with. I've rather enjoyed that, as well as the ability to spend countless hours surfing through links when I probably should have been cataloging, oh well.
I'm not as freaked out about leaving for Costa Rica anymore. I'm still nervous as fuck, but I'm not completely terrified. I'm getting tired of being here and I know that it will be a good experience for me to get out and break away from my comfort zone. It's a little sad though because I've really enjoyed spending time reconnecting with old friends and spending time with some new, local ones. It's surprising sometimes, the people that you find yourself reconnecting with are not always the ones you expected to. With Cat (my bf from high school) leaving this weekend though it's probably good that I'm about to take off. Otherwise I would just be sitting around desperately trying to make plans with the stragglers left here (everyone eventually leaves during the summer time because it is just too damn hot to stick around).
So my plans so far are this:
Spend Friday afternoon with Cat before she leaves
Drive down to the San Diego area on Sat to meet up with an old friend from elementary school who I haven't seen in years (it will be expensive but worth it)
Spend Sunday and the rest of the week up until Friday getting things in order and packing
Try not to freak out
Go to as much of my group as I can before leaving (and hang out with the wonderful people from it)
Get everyones address and email so that I can write
At some point watch 27 Dresses with my Mom because she really seems to want to do that
Hopefully spend a little more time with local friends
Enjoy the city's fourth of July celebration
Drive to LAX that night and be off
Then I will meet up with my brother in Texas (figures crossed) during my five hour lay over and then fly to Costa Rica where the adventure will begin

So now I have less than a half an hour until my work day is over and then I'm heading off to meet Pablo to be his makeup model for his latest job interview. (He is an aspiring makeup artist.) If he does anything totally crazy (which he has been known to do) I'll be sure to get some pictures. I'll keep everyone posted on my increasing (or decreasing) level of preparedness for the trip. Wish me luck as I try not to freak too much.