Day 0: Preparing to leave
Trip Start
Aug 08, 2006
1
2
14
Trip End
Aug 23, 2006
Eugene,
Oregon,
United States
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Since the last time I posted, I've been swamped trying to get everything at work taken care of, and then in all my personal time trying to make sure I'm ready for a trip to unknown locations in a country where I don't speak the language, can't read writing, and don't have a clue what cultural sensitivities I'll be stomping on as I bumble along.
Rebecca asked me to bring several things with me that apparently she hasn't been able to find over there in adequate quality. Body wash, toothpaste, conditioner... various toiletries. Attempting to be the attentive friend and partner that I'd like to be, I said "Sure! No problem!" I aquired all of the items she wanted and added them to the quickly growing pile of "gear" that was sprouting in my room like some kind of chaotic REI-branded weed
A nice dance shot
.The plan was to take only one piece of luggage, a mid-sized day pack that should hold all the gear for 12 days without any problem. Clothes, toiletries, tech-gadgets to allow me to write these blogs, raingear, the works. I was going to stuff this one pack, then bring it with me on carry-on. Nothing to check, no baggage to get lost, everything always with you... A pretty sweet idea if you ask me.
Then wednesday night happens.
As it turns out, I was at work until about 3am reworking some wiring upstairs. I was driving home and breaking news on the radio covering the UK plot to blow up the planes. "Oh no" I thought, while simultaneously being quite impressed and proud of the law enforcement over on the other side of the pond. At the time I heard it, there were not a lot of details yet, but they did mention the ban on all beverages. So I went straight home, started reading all the news reports and realized that my plans to bring a single carry-on had just been changed.
Last day before the flight, driving all over town trying to find a big duffel bag I could put my packback in to check it
Another good dance shot
. (Last time I checked a backpad, it came back with 2 broken buckles, one side panel completely worn through and a broken zipper) I also needed to separate out all the carry-on items from the rest of the junk and find a bag small enough to pass checkpoints quickly, but large enough to hold the PDA, headphones, etc.Well, it's 8:30pm, only 13 hours until the flght and I'm as ready as I'm going to get. Time for the weekly ballroom dance at Gerlinger hall on the UO campus. One of my loves for the past 12 years, the past 6 of which have been spent with my best friend and dance partner Jamie. She's leaving for Denmark business school on the 21st, just a couple of days before I get back. So this is our last dance together until january. Gotta make a good going away party out of it!
Comments
Goodbye!
And a good going-away party it was. :-) Thanks for the dances!