Things are falling into place. We have all our big furniture sold. Got our car sold (in ONE DAY). Got a new pair of glasses (way cheaper in CR). Got my teeth cleaned (also way cheaper). Still figuring out the transfer of money thing. We transferred $200 as a test and a magic $15 was subtracted by another bank that the CR bank used as a middle man. And the bank here in CR can't tell us whether it was a flat fee or a percentage. They offered to do an "investigation" which would cost US $14 and take a week. Seriously? You don't even know your own fucking policies? Anyways.

Packing has been going well but I feel like there's SO MUCH left to do. I'm sure there is. I want to try to keep it to three checked bags because the airline is charging for every bag. Of course San Jose is the only airport in all of Central America that charges bag fees for the airline we're flying. *sigh*

We're flying through Miami and so I decided to look up reviews for entering with an immigrant visa for the first time. Looks bleak. Most people reported spending 4 hours in immigration. We have a 6.5 hour layover so that'll be fine, but of course not ideal. Those reviews are from about a year ago so I don't know how much I trust them. I know when I flew through Miami in May they had a new kiosk system that I'm sure cuts down on a lot of wait time. Everyone has had awful MIA experiences except for me, I sure hope it stays that way!

I'm starting to think about the things that I'm looking forward to in the USA. Most of them are small things- like right now I'm baking cookies and the oven is a piece of shit so I have to rotate the cookie sheet halfway through otherwise the cookies in the front under cook and the ones in the back over cook. Also looking forward to putting toilet paper in the toilet instead of trashcan. (gross-->) So yeah, just small stupid things that I'm going to be like "YESSSSS!!!" when I get there. And I'm embarrassingly excited to see my puppy again. Miss her!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm also getting excited about possibly staying more long term at my mom's house in NC. See the big reason I didn't want to was because my mom's husband's elderly, dementia, bipolar mother was living with them. But now they've found a "community" for her that is really close by and that she LOVES. Hopefully she'll be moved out before the end of the month. Now I'd like to stay for a few months to see if my SO can find a good job. My mom is already hooking me up with a sub job at the school where she works. I'd get $75/day, which isn't great, but it's flexible and it's SOMETHING. I'll also teach some swim lessons and if we're around when swim team season comes (winter, yeah I don't know why swim season is in winter) I can help her coach. So I'm set. We have a place to live for FREE. And I'm confident my SO can find a job nearby. I haven't talked to him more about staying in NC because he's all nervous about packing and leaving and such. We'll talk when we get there. With my mom and her husband, who can be very convincing.

Tomorrow I have a kind of going-away party at the salsa club where my SO and I met. Awww I'm going to wear a ridiculously Latin dress- it's tight, short, with mesh and covered in sequins. Yesss. I'm a little worried though because something I've learned about ticos- they are flakes. I hate to say it, but it's true. I mean I'll invite 15 of my closest friends and maybe three will show. I know it will hurt my feelings if (when) my friends don't come, but I need to start getting over it now. Ticos don't really understand the importance so that's that. I need to dance with my SO, drink guaro (the national drink) and have a great time!

Think that's it for now. Gotta finish up these cookies. Maybe watch a movie tonight with my SO. (Something I will miss- pirated DVDs. No real video stores in this country. You can call and ask the store to burn a DVD for you and it'll be done in 15 minutes. And they're $2 each. High quality.)

Have a great night!