And then there was one

In one week and three hours I will be sitting on a plane headed to Helsinki (via London). It will be the beginning of 97 days of adventure and exploration. The amount of things on my to do list is still much longer than I would like with such little time left before departure. The last week and a half was busy with Rob and Erika's wedding in Grand Forks, a weekend of pure insanity on a house boat on Shuswap Lake, and a nice dinner at Quilchena Ranch just outside of Merritt to celebrate my Mom's birthday. All three events were good times, but did not help in any way with the trip preparation. Today I have started to pack my belongings in order to put them into storage while I'm away. The packing process makes me realize how much useless junk I have accumulated over the years. I have boxes that have not been opened since they were packed 5 years (and 3 moves) ago. If I haven't needed the stuff in that long then what are the odds I'll ever need it? I also have to find a way to pack over 3 months worth of stuff into one 70 L backpack. I've never had a problem packing light for trips, but this trip is almost 5 times longer than any I've been on in the past. I will also have to pack two seasons worth of clothes as it will be fall while I'm in Europe and then will be beach weather once I make it to Thailand and SE Asia. I guess sitting here writing this entry isn't helping with either issue so I'd better get back to it! One week, two hours and forty minutes to go...

August 16: 3 Weeks + A Day

This is the first post of my 2011 travel adventure to Europe and SE Asia. I have set-up this blog for two reasons: 1. to use as a journal to document my trip 2. to keep those who are interested updated as to my whereabouts and goings on. As I sit here right now I find myself three weeks and one day away from my departure date (Sept 7). My mind has turned into a three way cage match between excitement, the ever growing "to do" list, and nerves. The excitement is the obvious part: who wouldn't be excited to travel the world for 4 months? The list of prep for the trip is longer than I anticipated and it feels like a full time job. The final entrant in my mind's battle has caught me a bit off guard. I can't help but think about how much my world at home will change during my time away, and how I will cope with those changes upon my return. I'll be getting on that plane and leaving behind several major life uncertainties. I have no idea what I want to do when I grow up and after 6 years of post university work experience I feel even more uncertain than the day of my graduation. I will be leaving behind my beloved family and the support network that has been there whenever I've needed them. I'll have Skype and several other pieces of modern tech to bridge that gap, but nothing is quite like a hug when you're feeling a little down. That same support network has recently seen some health scares, and tossing another 4 months of age onto that pile is not an exciting prospect. I don't expect my world to wait for me and be the exact same when I get back. If I wanted everything to remain the way it is, I wouldnt have made the drastic changes in my life (selling condos, leaving job etc).  You always here that the only constant in life is change, and I don't think thats ever been as apparent to me as right now. It is a 3 way battle in my mind and despite the musings of this post, excitement is still winning!