Peter 1, Frog Buggerers 0

For anyone who is confused, the Frog Buggerers are what I shall now call the French bureaucrats who thought to scorn me. Did they win? Hell no! Everything is now in order to get my visa, and the last great hurdle to my epic journey across the sea is surmounted. Like Erik the Red, I shall lead an army greater than any ever seen upon the face of Middle Earth and I shall break down the walls of Troy, and yea they shall mourn the loss of the great civilization of the Yamato. Wait... mixing historical arguments again. Nevermind.

In any case, I'm off to France. The good news is I'm off to France. The bad news is now that I have the logistics in order, I have to get my finances in order. That means taking money out of my savings, paying bills, getting a new debit card (because my current one will expire in January 2009 - while I'm still in Europe) and not least I need to pack! Oh my, I've got a bit to pack yet. And I have to write thank yous to my underwriters, and goodbyes to my entourages, and the dreaded "In Case of My Being Taken Hostage" letter revealing the location of the $16.5 million I have buried in the lake for just such an eventuality.

Today at the Fund, when I found out the news, I did a little dance. I also raised about $2,000 today (it was more like collecting dues than actually convincing anyone to give who hadn't already) and finished up my drawing. Two things dominate my time spent at the fund - drawing and now, playing TravelIQ or whatever that game is called. TravelIQ or whatever that game is called is a game on Facebook that requires you to pinpoint on a map of the world or various continents certain cities, monuments or events (for instance, Panama City, the Aswan Dam, or the Battle of Hastings) and you're judged on how far off the mark you are in your pinpointing and how long it took you to do it. In my first game, I beat all but 7 of my 100 odd friends playing. In the second attempt, I have beat all but one. My coworkers remarked at how skilled I was, one of them saying, "Jesus! What are you, a geography major?!" to which I replied that I was. She was only slightly less impressed. I think I'm cool. The rest of my time is spent drawing, the products of which I give to my friends. Also, I really hope my boss doesn't read my blog. And Martha, you're not allowed to inform Zach of my blog's existence, nor to my nefarious activities.

Helen asked me why the Q&KaBam! Time had gone away, and like a vestigal organ, it has receded into history. Mainly, I'm too lazy and I already write a bloody lot per entry. Speaking of that, that's all I'll say for now!