Casting Off

3 weeks ago, I sold my car.  2 weeks ago I  gave away 90% of my belongings and left a comfortable home.  10 days ago I finally got a hard-won visa (15 pages of documentation AND my passport mailed to Houston and back!).  Last week I prepared, packed, and visited with my family.  Today, at this moment, I am sitting in an airport lounge in Portland, Oregon, with a one-way ticket to Thailand in hand.  I am on my way to a TESOL program and a 5 month teaching appointment.  Despite all the preparation, all the anticipation, I still can't quite believe I'm here.  There are somethings I'm not at all eager to leave behind, a relationship I'm not ready to let go, and many familiar things that I will miss.  But I am even less eager to wait for life to happen.  To hope amazing things come my way.  To hang out in a comfortable, familiar place waiting for the universe to deliver.  So here goes nothing...