The Prowl for Prague live updates: Installment One

12:11PM: What am I forgetting? I should probably go help dad with the lawn. One more mowjob for the ages.

1:33PM: The McGuirks, Mullin, and Bobby came over for farewells. I really have a hard time with these goodbyes. Not sure when I will see them again or where they will be or what they'll be doing next time we meet. Heavy duty.

Having studied abroad in Dublin the semester before I was in Spain, Bobby suggested a tour of the Guinness factory during my 13-hour layover-blowout extravaganza. Intriguing

2:00PM: Mom has decided that the 4th of July and my departure day is an ideal time to apply caulking to the molding in the upstairs bathroom shower. I take my last shower in the US outside.

2:49PM: We depart. Temperature 87 degrees Fahrenheit (not sure what that is in Celcius, maybe I'll learn this time around). Kourtney would not let go of the bear hug. Brandy was indifferent. Mom expressed her opinion on European marriage. Much too soon.

3:03PM I93 split. The gravity of the day is suddenly palpable.

3:14PM A plane flies overhead. Not sure is the rumbly in my tummy comes from nerves or the lunch I ate entirely too fast. Likely the former, but it's not a fear of flying. Again, it's the gravity thing.

3:17PM A billboard featuring another hilarious Snickers pun eases the tension.

TIME UNKNOWN: The drop-off and parental goodbye. After all the speculation and predictions, it went very well. Dad may have been more emotional than mom, surprisingly.

3:32PM: I check in with Aer Lingus. Thankfully, my bag is under the 20kg limit. The pleasant foreign lady behind the counter found herself confused by my two first names-name. She addressed me as Richard. Please, call me Dick (what I should have said).

Though they are separate flights 13-some odd hours apart, she arranged for my baggage to be forwarded on to Prague. In the process, she had to advise not one, but two of her coworkers to accomplish this to satisfaction on her computer screen. To say that I am skeptical that I will find my bag safe, sound, and timely when I get to the other side is an understatement. So it goes.

3:59PM: A seemless pass through security! Who knew. No issues with the chops, scrutiny of the one way ticket, and THANKFULLY, no colonoscopy as predicted by Uncle Gerard.

4:01PM: Middle age married couple arguing about who forgot to pack the toothpaste as we all struggle to put our shoes and belts back on and gather our personal effects.

Hubby: "I can't manage your personal toiletries, I have my own to worry about."
Ol' Lady: "But we're married."

To mom: Fear not your son's marriage anytime soon.

4:41PM: Listened to my first U2 track to get in the mood for Dublin: "One Tree Hill."

5:02PM: A 6PM flight within the hour. Dublin here we come.