Disaster Strikes!

So yesterday morning, Michael and I got on the m60 bus as 5am and headed to Laguardia for our flight to Shanghai. Sadly, we never made it on the flight, because when we got off at the airport, the bus rolled away with my passport, visas, and wallet. Begin one of the most physically and emotionally exhausting days of my life. After several hours of calling MTA and arguing with Air Canada lady, we managed to reschedule our flight for Saturday morning and accept that my purse is probably not coming back.

Here is the scenario as we pull out of Laguardia: It's 9:30 am, I've been up since 4:30am after approximately 3.5 hours of sleep, and I have 30 hours to acquire a new passport and a new Chinese visa with no money, ID, or cell phone. Looks like it's time to initiate operation "Call Mom."

Luckily, my mom met me at the passport center downtown around 11 with all the documents I would need, and we managed get an appointment for a same day passport. 4 hours and one exhaustion and starvation induced breakdown later, I picked up my shiny new passport, complete with a new photo of me half asleep in a Duane Reade.

Now I am waiting to pick up my new Chinese visa. Despite this unforseen catastrophe, it seems like everything is going to work out after all, thanks to to my Michael's patience and my mom's saintliness.

Countdown to Asia

Michael and I are 3 days away from our 2-3 month trip across Asia! Here is our tentative (and rather ambitious) itinerary:


View Asia Trip Fall 2009 in a larger map

*Don't mind that pin in Turkmenistan, I am having trouble figuring out this whole google maps business. I've also added this map to the sidebar, where I will be updating it with dates and photos.

Having spent the last 5 weeks caught up in the stress of moving out of my loft, caring for my mom during her shoulder surgery, and helping my slightly demented cat switch homes, I'm suddenly shocked at how excited I am! I mean, this is kind of a big deal, right?