An Odyssey of a Cat (and her owners): Episode 3

The only USDA office we could visit was in the state capital, some 3-hour drive away. The last day they could process before we depart for Japan was Friday, that very day. Our departure date was Sunday, and that Monday was a holiday.

From 2am on, once we found out what lied ahead of us, we could not go back to sleep. First thing in the morning, we called the vet and squeezed in our appointment in the morning instead of the afternoon. We told them that we had to take the paperwork after the health check-up to the USDA office. The vet was nice and offered to look after Coco while we went and took care of business. We called the USDA office to make an appointment, and since it was the Friday before the long weekend, they told us they were going to close the office by 1pm. It was already 9:30am.

We were very, very, nervous. If something went wrong, then we would be stuck in the U.S. for 2 extra days. My partner drove all the way after a 3-hour sleep. The traffic wasn't bad, and we made it to the office, greeted by an officer oblivious of our mad morning. A 5-minute wait and $200 later, we had all the paperwork done. Complete.

That meant we were sure to be able to go back to Japan with the cat as planned. All exhausted and relieved, we decided to have lunch before heading back to pick up Coco waiting for us at the vet.

The return trip was the longest 3 hours on the road. My partner, who has a hard time to relax in the passenger seat while I'm behind the wheel, drove again. After a while, our sleepless nights began to strike back. We stopped for gas and also got coffee. Coffee seemed quite ineffective, and soon after, my partner got a 5-hour energy, the nasty caffeinated drink. It worked magic, and he was charged up...for a while.

In the 3-hour drive back, he consumed a total of three 5-hour energies. Not recommended.

We barely got back in time to pick up the annoyed cat who was left behind at the vet, and somehow had the crazy idea to go eat at a German restaurant I always wanted to try.

Sleep-deprived and caffeine-overdosed, my partner had to stop and throw up on our way to the restaurant. He could not even face the mountain of pork shank that I ordered...