The Final Countdown

Suddenly, I leave for Japan tomorrow.

For the last few months, it's been a thing (in my head) that happens "in a while."  Three months, a couple months, a few weeks - then, somehow, it jumped straight to "Wow, this is really happening SOON."

I'm mostly packed - I think/hope, and haven't forgotten anything critical.  Probably.  I'm trusting that my new employers have a good plan for getting us all settled in and trained, since they've been organized so far.  I keep telling myself to just be patient with all the nonsense at the airport - and then again at the airport on the other end.  I (mostly) know my lines.

Our apartment here feels like home.  We have routines, spots we prefer to sit on the couch, art on the walls.  It isn't quite done, but it's done enough.  It's the reference point from which I calculate distance and travel time now.

What will I miss most?

The weird balancing act of being a scrappy looking-for-work actor:  Scouring audition listings for worthwhile projects, the weird roller-coaster of hope and disappointment, the little frustrations and delights of every show or film that seem SO SIGNIFICANT, the times I run into an old friend at an audition or a rehearsal.

Our cats' weird personalities:  Savini, who just wants me to stay still so he can clamber into my lap, fall asleep, and drool all over my hands.  Isi, who will happily grumble and chirp her way through an entire conversation, and loves to burrow under the blankets at 6 AM.  Calamity, who's still kitten-fascinated by the world, and wants to climb everything and chase everything and run from everything, and so, so gentle.

Simple times with my wife:  slouching around in our bathrobes with coffee in the morning, separately checking our email and assorted websites before getting on with the day.  Scrounging Netflix for a hopefully-good movie, and knowing we'll have pretty much exactly the same reaction to whatever we find.  Walking to the park for some lazy reading in the sun.

The familiar, I suppose.  Super secret about me which will surprise nobody:  I don't like new things.

This year will either get me over that forever, or drive me so crazy that I'll spend the rest of my life at home, only eating frozen pizza and tortilla chips, watching old Star Trek on Netflix.  We'll see.