22 days to go! I'm seeing my to do list shrink daily, and I'm somehow managing to live in the ongoing chaos that is my room--and my life.

I've learned that it's not that my new bank is an evil entity (well, maybe they are), but just that it's all about finding the people who really can and will help you, and are up for the challenge of finding creative solutions to your problems. The woman in the L.A. branch I went to had no interest in helping me for some reason--maybe she was having a bad day, or was cranky from not having eaten lunch yet. But a guy in the S.F. branch bent over backwards to help me in exactly the ways I needed--I have no idea why he was so helpful. Maybe we bonded because of his tongue stud and my nose ring. The woman in L.A. said, "Yes, we have that form, but I can't give it to you." When I explained that my parents were in New Jersey and I was in California, so we couldn't both sign the form in person at the same time, she looked at me as if no one in the history of the United States has ever lived farther than 10 miles from their parents. The guy in S.F. said, "Let me print out that form so you can look at it and send it to your parents. I'll ask so-and-so over here if there's anything else you need to do. And here, here's an extra in case you mess something up. And let me give you all the forms to fill out for the Rollover IRA so you don't have to come back, even though I don't work on the investment side. And I'll have this great, mellow guy named xx call you to set it all up." Amazing. This has also taught me that if you don't like the answer you get the first time, just ask someone else! A good lesson for my trip.