Matthew and I left East Hampton this afternoon only to be stuck in traffic for almost two hours just to get off the island. We had dinner plans with my former colleagues from International Paper at Andrea's house for 7PM. Needless to say, once I was in the clear of getting pulled over for speeding, I did my best to make up the time. Factor in the normal rush hour traffic and the whole journey took almost four hours. It was insane but we were pretty happy when we arrived at Andrea's house. Matthew took off with Andrea's daughter Ally to bounce 
on the trampoline in the stifling heat while the adult were busy drinking margarita's in Andrea's fabulous new kitchen. It was really great to see all of them after a year. So much has happened to each of them. Mary is now with Pitney Bowes, Charlie is with CIT, Deborah is with ATMI, Melinda is with Factset and Andrea is General Counsel for GlobeOp. I am still the domestic goddess extraordinaire living in a foreign country overseas.It seemed like it was just yesterday that we were leaving International Paper to move onto the new chapter of our lives but, it was two years ago that the transition plan was announced and our lives have changed along with it.
The week is drawing to a close and the reality of Matthew and I returning to our home in Shanghai is sinking in. I've been busy redistributing the items in our luggage over and over again but it doesn't seem to help. I can't figure out where all the stuff came from. Ok- I know how it happened but I can't seem to recall it being that much. I am now considering leaving things behind with my in-laws to store in their attic until we return. I've even considered shipping things but realize that it will be way too costly to ship the items overseas- even if I used the cheapest way to get there. Then there's the...we're not sure if it will arrive factor. We've had packages that were sent to us by family and friends not arrive. We don't know where it goes. I have a theory but, not one that I would dare print. You get the picture.
So, tomorrow will mark my final meal with my friends and family. We'll start fasting afterwards so that we'll lose all the weight we've gained these past two months. Unless, I can get Tony to agree to pay for plastic surgery which would allow me to stay here longer. Hmmmmm.
