Move abroad...everybody's doing it!

Is it just a sign of general globalization or a shift of power, energy and general "center-of-the-universe"ness from the US to anywhere but that's causing what feels to me like a mass exodus of young, urban, US-born and educated professionals from the US? I feel like lately I've been inundated by news of friends or acquaintances moving abroad - Singapore, China, Dubai, Paris, London, Tokyo...

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Less than 5 weeks till I take off for Asia and less than 7 weeks left of my funemployment. Funemployment is the word of the year - and honestly, although I don't wish the initial emotional trauma of unemployment on anyone, if you can swing staying funemployed for a bit, it's kind of a wonderful gift. If not for my funemployment, there's definitely no way I would have traveled to Thailand, Singapore, HK, Macau, Japan, Korea, China, NY, DC and LA in the last four months...while still getting paid! I recall after returning from my RTW trip last summer saying to someone who asked if I missed traveling or if I would do it again that if I were ever to do a massive amount of traveling again, ideally I'd like to go somewhere, come home for a week to rest and see friends, go somewhere again, come home again for a week, etc. And that's exactly how it's been for most of 2009. Which is why I definitely think there is some truth to my grandma's warning that if you say something out loud, God might hear you and grant your wish, so don't say anything you don't mean. The events of the past year have definitely made me think there's something to her advice.

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Is it ridiculous that I spent last week buying "necessities" for Tokyo - 8 boxes of cereal, Charmin ultrasoft toilet paper, dental floss, toothpaste, Pantene shampoo & conditioner, etc.? It's not exactly as if I am moving to a third world country and I'm sure Japan has tons of cuter, if not superior, products. I'm moving to the city with the most Michelin stars in the entire world and I insist on taking my Quaker Oatmeal Squares and Fiber One cereal. But honestly, I love cereal - there's no other breakfast in the world I can eat everyday, not even a flaky Parisian almond croissant or perfect eggs benedict or chilaquiles. And Charmin toilet paper is the world's superior toilet paper because of it's unbeatable softness. And when I was in Seoul, for the life of me I couldn't find a roll of dental floss and it nearly drove me insane. What can I say, I like what I like and I'm loyal to what I like.

IMHO, these are the best of the best:

Toilet paper: Charmin ultrasoft
Paper towels: Bounty
All purpose cleaner: Clorox Greenworks natural all-purpose cleaner
Dental floss: Johnson & Johnson Reach mint waxed
Sunblock (body): Neutrogena Fresh Cooling Body Mist Sunblock with helioplex SPF 70
Sunblock (face): Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch Sunblock with helioplex SPF 100+
Body lotion: Bliss body butter (lemon & sage) or Bath & Body Works body butter (Japanese cherry blossom)
Facial lotion (day): La Prairie Anti-Aging Emulsion with SPF 30
Facial lotion (night): La Prairie Cellular Night Repair Cream
Facial wash: Bliss Fabulous Foaming Face Wash
Lipcare: Chapstick
Toothpaste: Aquafresh Advanced
Shampoo: Pantene
Conditioner: Pantene
Cereal: Kashi GoLean Crunch, Quaker Oatmeal Squares brown sugar, Honey Nut Cheerios, Fiber One Honey Clusters, Honey Bunches of Oats, Paul Newman's Own Blueberry Pecan Cluster
Water: Volvic
Soda: Coke Zero
Milk: (only in Korea) Seoul Milk Lowfat Organic
Ice Cream (commercial brands): Dreyer's Green Tea, Haagen Dazs Coffee, Ben & Jerry's Mint Chocolate Cookie, Ciao Bella Eleni's Oatmeal Cookie, Breyer's Strawberry or Cookies n' Cream
Ice Cream (boutique): Humphry Slocombe's Secret Breakfast, Sketch's Earl Grey or Jasmine Tea or Grapefruit Granita

On the subject of favorites, I recently had a fantastic wine at Dosa on Fillmore - a Tempranillo by the Singh Family Cellars. It was one of my favorite wines ever but unfortunately can't seem to find a place to purchase it online. Please let me know if you know where I can get a bottle (or ten)!