Last day at home or 'Why a Ken doll will be appearing in my blog'

To start off, here are the before and after photos of my packing yesterday:

We spent all day getting my stuff packed and evenly distributed so that no bag was overweight. I'm extremely proud to say that both of my check on bags are 38lbs, and I got everything I wanted to bring in them. I also wrote down everything I took and which bag things were put in so that if I need more of something or an item goes missing in transit I know what it is and can get it replaced. I'm not anticipating anything to be stolen during flights, (and all of the real valuables are in my carry on) but better safe than sorry.

In one of these bags is a Ken doll named 'Mike'. This is what he looks like:

Okay, so why is there going to be a Ken doll appearing in photographs while I'm in the Peace Corps? And why is his name 'Mike'? It all goes back to a prank my coworkers played on me last summer when I was on a short vacation. It is a well known fact that I have the habit of declaring, 'oh for the love of mike!' on the occasion of being frustrated or messing up, or what have you. I got this from an old Katherine Hepburn movie and it just sort of stuck. Anyway, so when I was gone, a few people in the office completely covered my desk in plastic wrap and taped a lot of stuff down. They also hung goldfish crackers and swedish fish from the bottom of some cabinets that are over my desk. Inside this little fish and plastic wrap den was a Ken doll with a small name tag stating, 'My name is Mike', and a dialogue bubble cut out on paper hanging from the cabinet with the statement, 'Oh for the love of Christine.'

I hid Mike in one of the offenders' desk.

This led to Mike appearing all over the office, a kind of hide a seek game where once he is found that person would hide him somewhere else for someone to find. The last place he turned up was in the gift my coworkers gave me at my 'send off' luncheon and the idea was posed that he go with me to Africa as a sort of 'Flat Stanley'.

So, long story short (too late I know), Mike will be appearing in various ways in pictures that I post here and on facebook as a lasting tribute to my awesome coworkers.

On a last note:

It's strange thinking it is my last day at home for a long time. My room is pretty much empty and everything is packed. I can't believe 191 days have passed. Nor is it any easier to believe that 27 months lie ahead.

Cheers,
Christine