Korea was floated as an idea. Korea, South Korea, was casually mentioned. Korea was talked about, then discussed, then discussed seriously, then for real, then for real for real.

Korea was decided on. Korea loomed. We were about to leave, soon to depart, almost but not quite gone, and nearly on our way. We were preparing, planning, packing, moving, waiting. A summer's half was swallowed up.

And then it happened, half-assed. Kowloon* took off, and Mantos** stayed behind.

Now Kowloon's seeing the big world, diving into new things. Me? My days are largely confined to a living room in a suburb outside of Toronto, semi-squatting in front of my laptop, playing a physics-based online flash game, and compulsively checking my inbox for some strand of transcribed excitement abroad.

It won't be like this for long. This stint begins with a small step, and then a somewhat larger one.

* Not her real name.
** Not my real name.