One Giant Step…Is All It Takes

J and I bought our packs this weekend. A ‘100 Day Present’ of sorts.

We’ve discovered, as we plan on carrying everything we own on our backs for the next year, that there is much to think about when considering the pack to carry it all in.

Size is one consideration. At first I wanted the biggest bag I could carry (80L) as I worried about not having everything I might need with me. When I realized how heavy this might be I quickly switched to wanting the smallest bag (45L) possible. In the end, not wanting anything too heavy or too restrictive, I chose a bag in the mid sized range (60L). Read the rest of this entry »

 

Today is 100 days until we leave…I am beyond excited.

It just seems like an auspicious number. In the States they track the first 100 days of a presidency, in Korea they celebrate the first 100 days of a persons’ life so it seems natural to mark the 100 days until we leave.

I have to confess that the trip pretty much consumes my thoughts. I mean, it’s been on my mind since we first decided and has ebbed and flowed depending on what part of the planning stage we were at, but now it sneaks into most of my waking hours and I dream about it too.

When I wake up I think of all the different places I will be waking up.  What will the rooms be like? What will the beds be like? What will the bathroom facilities be like?

When eating I think of all the different foods we’ll be trying. Sometimes, when I’m eating something that is very familiar, I pretend I have never eaten it before and imagine how I might react to it if I hadn’t ever seen it before. 

When I’m at work I really just think about not having to work anymore (sorry girls!). About how this event, or that meeting, or that implementation will not involve me because it will occur past my leaving date.

When I’m working out, I wonder how I’ll stay in shape while we’re away. Will walking and hiking be enough? Do I really see us doing crunches and pushups. (No I don’t…sorry Erin!)

When I’m at Spanish class I imagine myself in Peru, Chile or Argentina getting by on the language I have learned. Will I remember enough to be understood? Will just trying be enough?

When I’m with friends I think about all the new people we’ll be meeting and friends we’ll be making.

When I’m relaxing in the evening, I think of all the different ways we will spend our evenings. We will be out exploring the local area, having dinner at a local resaurant or enjoying some form of entertainment.

When I’m sleeping, I dream about it all. Sometimes my dreams reflect fears that I have, sometimes they are just blissful feelings but always I awake with a sense of awe and pride that I am actually going to do it.

100 days. It’s really not that far off.

We moved last weekend and, more than once, I found myself feeling nostalgic.  Not for the condo - I don’t seem to be sad to see it go - but for Victoria. Even though we’ll still be here for 3 months and 15 days, I was already missing it. 

I think it was partly the weather. It was a nice, kind of sunny, day and I was imagining all the things that we wouldn’t be doing this summer. 

 

No riding with the Fat Bastards. We’ve ridden together most weekends for almost 10 years. Saturday would have been a perfect riding day - crisp and probably not too wet, or maybe wet, I wouldn’t have cared. I hope that we can find a bit of riding while we’re away so that I can feel that fabulous feeling when it all comes together on the bike.

 

 

 

No walking to downtown for no reason - even if the reason is always to stop at the pub for a pint or two. I think we’ll do plenty of walking, in plenty of towns, and drink plenty of beers that will remind us of those great unplanned afternoons at the pub.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No running along the waterfront at ‘the perfect time of day’ - for me, the perfect time of day is that magical dusky time right before dark falls. We may not run while we’re away but that magical dusky time falls all over the world.

 

 

 

 

 

No cocktails on the patio of our apartment/condo/basement suite on sunny, sunny afternoons. I guess we’ll have to substitute beaches, lanais, terraces…I think we’ll be fine

 

 

 

 

 

 

The feeling passed fairly quickly, and it hasn’t returned since, but I think it will. I think it should. As exciting as it is to be setting of on such a fabulous journey,  it doesn’t mean that I won’t miss my already fabulous life.

 

 

My good friend Glenda, who blogs at PaperScissorsRock, tagged me for a Random Amusing Challenge this week. Works well for me as finding time to write this week is challenging because we are moving on Saturday after a whirlwind three weeks of closing the sale of our home, finding a place to live, and packing, packing, packing.

The rules are thus: Go to where you store your photos on your computer. Go to the SIXTH folder and pick the SIXTH photo. Post that photo on your blog along with a SHORT story about it. Tag SIX people and leave a comment on their blog or email them letting them know you chose them.

I, like Glenda, had to bend the rules a bit to use a picture that would work. I started at the bottom of my files and counted six up, and then chose the sixth photo from the bottom.

This is the result. The annual Fat Bastard’s New Years Day Ride on 01Jan2009. After three weeks of snow there was some hope in the group that maybe we would be able to ride. As soon as we landed in the parking lot we all knew there wouldn’t be much riding but that fun would be had by all! We ended up pushing through the shortest route possible, hooting and hollering the whole way, had a snowball fight and finished it off with the requisite beers back at the truck. What a great day!!

This, in turn, leads me to introduce you to six blogs that I follow as I tag the following to continue on:

• Pam from GoSeeRunEatDrink. Pam has been blogging for a little while now, but only went public with her blog very recently as she shared her upcoming RTW trip with her family, friends and workmates.  Congratulations Pam! I’m looking forward to travelling along with you.
• Anna from AnnaGoesBananas. Anna is another fellow Canadian who is planning on moving to London very soon.
• Geoff from ItinerantLondoner. Based in London right now, he is also planning an RTW trip in 2009 - although he is already one of the most traveled people I read!
• Another good friend - Michelle from MichelleonMaui. Michelle and her family have spent the last 5 months in a mini retirement on Maui. They are now looking at returning ‘home’, and I’m interested to see what adventures they have next.
• Nathan from NathanShipleyTravelsTheWorld. Nathan is one of the most interesting travelers I follow - I tagged him in this challenge because I can’t imagine what picture he will post. 
• Dirk from MyMindsInk. Although he lost his job a few months ago, Dirk is optimistic and has started ‘The Project’ to find himself and his dream job. Interspersed are random musings on life.

Well, I better get back to packing - it’s not going to pack itself!!