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DATE: 05-04-2005

Well, I've now quit my job, moved out of my apartment, and am under a week away from taking off. Don't ask me what I've packed yet because.... I haven't. My poor parents - I have several boxes strewn between the garage and a few bedrooms as I make the final decisions on what is packed, what is stored, and what is cut. Central Triage for my life's collection of random items. (If you don't know what Central Triage is, you are lucky and I will not explain). ;)

It's odd how I oscillate from feeling like an irresponsible spoiled brat (why the hell should *I* have this opportunity to travel?) to as though I'm going to grad school or embarking on some enormous adventure which will make me grow so much as a person and why the hell would I *not* do this now that I can? So I am doing it, but yes, on some terms I actually feel guilty for even getting to this point. I'm sure that will pass! To some extent at least... I sure hope the "irresponsible" part passes...

I think it's important to write down your dreams. It's easy to forget them. It's easy to get sucked into what seems important at a certain time for a certain aspect of your life, whereas if you look at the big picture, life passes by all too quickly. Just like how in a job you want to have a clear vision and objectives, we should do ourselves the favor of putting the same energy into general life objectives. My key objective has been and is that I would like to see the world and understand other cultures. I want to be challenged by other ways of thinking and be reminded that we are actually animals and that life, however messy, is an OK thing. Time to get out of an essentially sterile environment and walk into a dirty, very real world. I will be uncomfortable. There will be bugs in my bed. I may get worms in my stool or lice in my hair. These are things to deal with, and I'm sure I'll hate it at times... but in the end I think this will all give me a perspective on life that at this point I can't even imagine. Hence the learning / personal grad school part, as well as the heavy focus on volunteer work. We'll see how it goes! Hopefully I'll graduate.

For the record (my own memory) and for anyone who's thinking about traveling like this, I will try to jot down notes of what's going on at each stage of prep and actual travel. This week, a lot will happen on the packing front.. but some of the other prep things that have happened recently include:

Things I've done in the past couple of weeks...

Bought Camera (hasn't arrived yet.,. so excited)
Organized bank accounts
Sold Motorcycle
Sold a bunch of other stuff.. most of my clothes, books, etc.
Donated a bunch of stuff to goodwill
Moved out of apartment
Got Int'l driver's license
Bought Travel Medical Insurance
Finished up vaccine shots
Got first aid kit items (while I still had insurance)
Cancelled some Credit Cards, opened others (check to see how much they charge for converting from one currency to another... it makes a difference!)
Organizing music / Ipod
Changed addresses everywhere (PO box with a bookeeper)
Fixed up/tweaked backpack (A friend of mine helped me and put grommets on the top of my pack so I can string a lock through and actually close the top portion of my pack)
Bought shoes, daypack, and really a bunch of other stuff... I'll post my pack list once I'm packed! :)

Things I think I will miss (note "things," not people):

Pancakes
Pizza
Easy access to Quiet
Paycheck (!!)
Easy access to laundry
Sonicare toothbrush (no, I'm not sponsored to say this)
My car, Fred
Ability to drink water from the tap
Skiing
The Cascade & Olympic Mountains

Things I'm glad to get away from:

Traffic (esp road ragers)
No time / fast pace
Paperwork (not sure I'm really getting away from this)
People who compete for power
Computer screens
Rain & gray Seattle skies

--I'll be sure to update both these lists as currently it's late and this is off the top of my head. The idea here is to note what I think I'll miss and in about three months or so, write what I *actually* miss. Let's see if they match. :)