Argh!

Holy shit, time is flying by quite quickly and I am starting to feel the edges of a little bit of panic. It's not yet full blown, and maybe it's a good thing that I can feel it to spur me on and get all my shit together. I managed to get some more packing done last weekend, and filled my bin up to the rim this week, so I feel like I'm getting somewhere. Also booked the carpet cleaners yesterday, and got my hair cut today! I was a bit nervous about that actually, as my usual hairdresser very inconveniently left the salon I normally go to and of course they weren't about to tell me where she went. The Vogue online forums came to my rescue though, they're very useful when you need to investigate a new hairdresser or beautician etc. Anyway I'm very happy with my new hairdresser and she's cheaper than my old one, hooray! I can only hope that she's still around when I get back to Perth.

She was also quite efficient, leaving me with plenty of time to get home and make chicken pies for bookclub tonight. I've not tried this recipe before, or indeed made any type of pie before, so we shall see what happens. In any case, I've cut little chicken shapes out of pastry to put on the top so at least they should look impressive. I just hope the shapes don't morph in the oven into raptors or something.

When I got home there was a big parcel in the mail box!!! My excitement was tempered by the fact that the name on the parcel was not mine. Nor was the address. I am "36 B" and it was addressed to "636" which I guess is similar to "36 B" if you are dyslexic. The parcel is now with its rightful owner.

Count down to departure: 16 days

OK - the plans thus far...

Right, well now I've got this baby set up I had best get the first post written to put the creative juices to use before they dry up. My ticket is all paid for and my itinerary sorted - I am off Friday 1 August! It is a mere five weeks away so I am beginning the brick shitting process as I realise just how much I need to achieve in that period of time. Luckily I have a list! One cannot fail when one has a complete and comprehensive list to follow, here's hoping that mine is not actually sketchy and inadequate.

I paid for the hotel for my two day stopover in Tokyo today, and then decided to check TripAdvisor to see if I had made a terrible mistake. Most people seem to think the hotel I have chosen is quite decent, and I really only need the room for sleeping in so things look good in this department. Well, some reports said the bed was too soft for comfort, others said it was hard as a board, one person said it was super lumpy (ew) and the rest said it was fine so I hope that the laws of probability will work in my favour. If I happen to get the lumpy bed I guess I can always request a room change and maybe score an upgrade to the hard as a board one.

Count down to departure: 37 days (eek!)