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What NOT to do

Welcome, dear readers, to PB & J's (that's Patty, Brian and Jack) first post on our first blog about our first move to Korea.

The next time I get the chance to consolidate a house in the suburbs and move overseas, I'll have a quick answer: No.

The last three weeks have gone something like this: Wake up ridiculously early, like 7 a.m. Instantly feel the panic race through me (way better than coffee). Grab a pen and starting writing lists, to replace the ones I wrote the day Farewell, house on Long Island. before. Worry: Who will take our cat? Will my boat sell? How will I pay my last U.S. bills?

Well, it wasn't pretty and we missed almost all our deadlines, but we got on the plane for Seoul on Friday morning. I'm going to blame this on lack of sleep and the fear of the unknown, but if real men don't cry, then I'm an imposter.

On Saturday, after our brother-in-law Joe came down from Albany to help us move all the big stuff to a 10X14 storage room in Bay Shore (thank God for the illegal immigrants we hired), I went to work. On about five hours sleep, we headed to our last day of church in Queens. Tears during the ceremony, tears during the goodbye cake after the ceremony, tears at lunch, tears at a farewell dinner. Oh, the humanity.

I got choked up the next night, too. A farewell dinner at Newsday. Although the whole thing never once felt real, the combination of beer and speeches was too much. Of course, the next day -- the last one at Newsday -- I had to stop after telling the whole newsroom that I saved my pass when I tried out, so I could always say "hey, I tried out at Newsday."

I think I choked up the next day during a Bounty commercial. I don't know why.

That night, my aunt from Boston, heretofore to be known as TGE (The greatest ever) came to our door for our last dinner on Long Island. She and my uncle stepped into our living room, which had no furniture. They unrolled a white tablecloth, candles and a white silk flower centerpiece. Next came the silverware, then the main course: Lobsters, already cooked and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with the crust cut off for Jack. An oasis in a sea of chaos.

I think they looked around and said to themselves, is tomorrow REALLY your last day? We hadn't finished packing for Korea or the house ... and we had ONE DAY left. The storage place closed at 8 p.m. Thursday and that was it.

So, I got up REALLY early (6 a.m. or so) on Thursday and drove our minivan to a local shop. It needed its yearly inspection, before we handed it over to strangers (friends of Joe) to use until we get back. I thought I'd wait there and then drive it home so it would be loaded and ready to go when the storage place opened at 9.

Then came the dreaded words. "Could you come back here?" That's NEVER good, if it's from a mechanic. He pointed out the flaws and told me that besides needing new shocks, struts, brakes and tires, the van was ready to go. I asked them to just forget the whole thing, and I'd do the inspection "later" because I had to have the van back to move. TODAY!!!!!! However, the van was officially being held ransom. I was told they are not allowed to let it go with the inspection out of date and work needed. So, I had to pay their ransom ($1700) and rented a moving van for the day.

All day was a race against the clock. Jamming stuff into an already overcrowded room. Giving stuff to our neighbors, the Rubios. We were supposed to meet Patty's brother in Queens for a farewell dinner with friends at 8. By the time we cleaned the house and got there, it was 10:30 p.m. The friends were just leaving.

The next morning, we arrived early to get our paper tickets from Delta for the flight to Seoul. That's when they told us a one-way ticket was not acceptable without the proper visa. I had called ahead of time -- even talked to someone in Korea -- and had been told a one-way ticket was OK. Well, it's not. I had to buy a $3,000 (refundable) return-trip leg. Oy.

We took the trip bareback, which means no drugs for the baby. He did surprisingly well. Tears of joy.

PHOTO: Above, this is the absolute MOST that you are allowed to take an international flight with 2 adults and 1 toddler. Actually, it's one bag more. The Korean Airline clerk gave us a break ...