Wow, so I’ve been so busy with hanging out with people and camping out in springs and planning my trip that I did not realize that I am leaving NEXT FRIDAY! There are times where it crosses my mind and my heart jumps in my throat and I feel like I am going to vomit, and then there are times when I get wildly excited. I can’t understand the distinction between the two, but nothing is stopping me now. I have pretty much packed my bag, I just have to add a couple more clothing items, lotion and bug spray, and my electronics (netbook, ipod nano, and very basic cell phone) in my backpack. I weighed it today and with most of my stuff in there, it is only 16 lbs, which is under my goal of 20 lbs or less!
My Gregory Jade 38 litre backpack.
The thing that is weighing my pack down the most is probably my steel mesh bag protector, which is 1.5 or 2 lbs, but I am cheaping out in pretty much all of the hostels I stay at (a.k.a. the cheapest dorm rooms, possibility of no lockers), and I would rather not worry about my netbook and personal items while I’m away. My netbook is my mom’s anyways, I gifted her a Mac for her birthday and she hasn’t used the netbook once since then, but still… I bought a packing cube and rolled up all of my clothes, which has really helped conserve space, my backpack looks pretty small! I won’t have a daypack either, just my purse, which is rolled up into my backpack in my picture, so I think I’m doing good so far on space and weight!
Work is making me very sad. I really will miss everyone there, and they all just keep worrying about me and saying that they’re going to miss me and asking me questions about my trip. My manager brings it up every once in a while and they are all just so attentive and interested, and I have never been around so many good people who care all at once. The company I work for is screwing over the commission system again, so it seems that I am getting out at the right time, but I feel bad for everyone there. This Friday is my last day, and I would like to think that I will be stoic and professional, but I will probably break down in helpless tears and ugly cry all the way home.
I’m going to list the stuff I’m packing hopefully in the next post, I have to help Samantha pack before she’s actually off…I worry about her because I’ve been to a 3rd world country (or close to it, Russia every 3 years) village and I’ve been to places with limited English and questionable directions, yet she has not, and I would not leave her alone in a foreign country. I’m sure she would fare well, but I would worry nonetheless.
I have been stalking things to do while Samantha is with me and when I’m over there, and I’m planning bungy jumping, activities with elephants (per Samantha’s adamant requests to ride them), getting certified in scuba diving in Koh Tao, attending the Full Moon Party in Koh Phagnan, a 10 day meditation, and getting my first tattoo, a Sak Yant tattoo from a monk! I have to find more things to do to spread out throughout the trip, but those are my goals so far. I don’t know why, but I have had a stroke of luck making more money at work, which is allowing me to actually accomplish fun things in SEA rather than just starving in cheap hostels (which would have been fine by me anyways).
The only problem is that my wrist still hurts when I try to pick stuff up (from my accident), and my recent MRI showed a herniated disc, which explains the pain that shoots up and down my left leg. It is affecting my daily life, and I’m trying to stretch it out and work it out as much as I can, but I really just want to have a normal backfor this trip… This trip is a time for me to be more selfish than I have ever been in my life, and I want my biggest worries to be where I am staying the next upcoming night and what way should I wear my awesome convertible dress. I have spent so much of my life worrying about schooling, a career, a significant other, EVERYTHING but how I feel. This is my chance to worry about no one but myself.
I may or may not be a little inebriated in this post, which will happen the last 2 weeks that one is in the US and all of a sudden, everyone wants to hang out and drink to your well-being, so I apologize for my scattered thoughts!
KZinSEA 