And the clock is ticking

We are less than 12 hours from (scheduled) take-off. You might think that we are still awake because we are finishing up last minute packing. But, you'd be wrong, we are actually following advice for getting over jet lag: don't sleep tonight, so you will on the plane tomorrow. (I am not sure that grouchy and sleep-deprived and dealing with international check-ins is the best way to begin our trip, but....) We are, of course, using the extra time to work on our tetris skills (read: trying to maximize each inch of our bags' space).

I must confess that I ended up in my 60L pack instead of my 35L pack, which I wanted to take. I did fit everything into the 35L, but there wasn't really room for much else (at all!). I blame Reid for downsizing from his 65L to a 36L and, thus, making me carry all my stuff. Sigh! I don't suppose I should start whining yet, because I haven't lugged my pack a block. I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities to bemoan my pack size somewhere between China and Egypt.

And now that we are on the eve of taking off, the excitement is setting in. I think we have managed to complete 98% of the items on our to do list, so tomorrow (almost) all we have left to do is get on a plane.

I should also use this post as an opportunity to make a plug for 1-800 Contacts who delivered contacts to us in less than 24 hours after we ordered them and only charged us $13 for the expedited shipping. We were more than impressed by the customer service, which included an actual person answering when we called to place the order.

Alright, I think I am going to sign off and investigate why Reid is unpacking (and repacking??) his bag again for like the 6th time). Next time we update we should be on our way to China.

On packing

Packing takes a lot longer than you anticipate. Especially when you are simultaneously packing all your personal belongings to be stored for five months and a pack to live out of for the next five months. Oh, and whatever you need for the week before you leave and what you might need when you return but before your stuff has been delivered from storage (wedding? starting work before we find a place to live?).

Despite all the complexities that these pragmatic concerns raise, the most difficult part for me was the emotional aspect. Probably because I hadn't expected it to be so difficult to part with all my stuff for five months. I like my stuff, but more than my affection for it, it provides me with a sense of security and control which I have neatly packed away in boxes which are sitting in a basement somewhere. I don't have a home anymore. We just have to trust that for the next five months we will make do with what we can carry with us. Rationally I know that we will and I even suspect that when we return all the stuff I lovingly encased in layers of paper and bubble wrap will seem like gross excess. But not yet.

Rationally I am looking forward to experiencing life without the burden of ou household items. I am excited to take on the world, just my husband and me. My rational self may have been ready and willing, but my emotional self was't on board. Which I realized little by little and finally accepted when I ended up in tears this morning mourning my stuff and unable to find what I needed to pack for my quick weekend in NY (I may also have been feeling guilty about leaving my husband to collect the last odds'n'ends and finish cleaning our apartment--thanks honey).


So, after all the laments, what are my take-aways?
(1) Start packing early (much earlier than you think you need to). Next time I would worry less about getting things in boxes and start with sorting. If we had we probably could have made some extra money from the stuff we are donating by selling it on Craigslist.
(2) Organize!! I don't have any tips on this one because although we tried to keep track of what we needed when, it all ended up in the same big pile of stuff that wasn't going to storage. Not so helpful.

(3) Acknowledge your emotional self. I didn't even consider the emotional aspect of our decision to leave behind everything familiar and, as such, I was prepared to be sidetracked from crossing things off our to do list by the enormity of what we are undertaking. If I had dealt with this sooner perhaps it all would have gone a lot smoother.

Around the World in 157 Days!

Hello!

I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that we have finally settled on a [rough] itinerary for our around the world adventure. The bad news is that we don't have a catchier name for it than "our around the world adventure" yet. We are working on that part though (circumnavipalooza?).

We went to passport health today and a mean lady jabbed us full of a strange host of tropical diseases. I am hopeful that we will both be over the yellow fever, typhus, tetanus and diptheria by tomorrow morning and ready to make a quality start on packing up our apartment.

In the meantime, we would love any suggestions, comments or jealous stares you'd like to throw our way on our planned itinerary:

4/15: Depart Washington to Beijing
4/16-4/20: Beijing
4/20-4/27: Shanghai (Visit Trey)
4/28-5/03: Hong Kong/Yangshuo
5/04-5/20: Southern Thailand/Beaches (scuba certification)
5/21-5/25: Northern Thailand (cooking class, trekking, temple-going)
5/26-6/07: Laos (Gibbon experience, slow boat down the Mekong)
6/08-6/12: Cambodia (Angkor Wat)
6/13-6/19: Vietnam (Halong Bay, handmade suits)
6/20-7/09: Bali
7/10-7/12: Singapore
7/13-7/19: Johannesburg/ S. Africa
7/20-7/31: Tanzania/Zambia (Safari, Victoria Falls)
8/01-8/12: Egypt/Jordan (Pyramids, Petra)
8/13-9/02: Turkey (Cappadocia, Blue mosque)
9/03-9/08: Greece
9/09-9/13: Ljubljana, Slovenia
9/14-9/16: Munich (Visit Kunklers)
9/17: Return to Chicago