Want.

There are all little things I still need to get:

• earplugs,
• advil cold-and sinus (which apparently I couldn't get at Target in Pennsylvania without going to see a pharmacist... dang Meth-heads)
• rubber door-stop (apparently good for unlockable doors)
  
• lens covers (i keep losing mine)
• small inflatable pillow (i have a pillow phobia, must take my own)

Then there are the things I don't necessarily need but want:

• off-camera shoe flash cord
• 17-40mm lens
• gorilla tripod
• more memory cards! MORE MORE!!!

My creditcard and bank account are already whimpering. And I just got an email from my temp agency that it'll cost about 1800 bucks for the health insurance for the next 4 months. Rad.

I packed my butt off last night. Let me tell you it's hard to pack in a tiny apartment. I've started piling boxes on my couch. I've gotten the living room done and most of the bathroom and bedroom. I've tackled a small percentage of my kitchen and desk area -- those will be the main targets this evening. I just want to be done by Saturday morning so when anyone (oh please please please please!) shows up to help on Saturday afternoon, it'll take no time at all.

Oh and I bought ingredients for whiskey slush so that's a go! Except now that I think about it, I packed the containers needed to make it. Smart. Very smart.


Hmmm, I'm suddenly concerned that my plan to take two external harddrives might not be such a good idea. I thought perhaps I could keep them in separate bags and put all photos on both in order to have a secure back-up (as well as make cds/dvds of photos and send home). But now I'm concerned about viruses attacking the hard drives/photos when i connect them to strange computers. If I can find something to upload photos directly to my external harddrive. Or I should have gotten a portable photo-reader thingie.

UGH!!! The consulate still has my visa! They're holding it! They sent it to the media department because I wrote "television production" as my occupation and now they think I'm a journalist and they don't like journalists! I'm going to completely lose it. They seem unconcerned -- that it should be returned at any moment to the out-sourcing office, but I don't know what to do if they don't return it soon. They gave me a number to call at the media department to help move it along but I just got a beep when I called. This is so so sooooo not good.

Does anyone else find it funny...

...That the Indian Consulate has outsourced their visa applications service?

I dropped off my passport and materials on Monday a.m. Visa was supposed to be ready Tuesday afternoon. According to website, it's still with the Consulate instead of with the out-sourcing people. I'm starting to panic a little. I just called, they still don't have it. "Try back at 5:30. We're working on a batch that was returned from the consulate now."

Had my final round of shots today.

Picking up malaria meds this evening.

Tried back at 5:30 -- nothing. It looks like unless I can sprint through the China Embassy on Friday, I might end up having to get my stupid Chinese visa in Bangkok. Awesome.

Tick tick tick...

Truck is booked.

Storage space is booked.

Gak! Where is the time going?

Open wide.

Off to the dentist now. Haven't been in 4 years -- or maybe 3.5 -- since just before leaving LA. Terrible. Soooo not looking forward to this...

Close one...

Stepped off the curb today onto a chunk of ice. My right foot wobbled sharply, turning inward. I heard a faint crunching pop. A shot of pain. I gasped and limped across the street, for a moment completely terrified. The pain subsided pretty quickly -- not a sprained ankle, but I have to admit I almost completely lost it. I've only sprained my ankle once before and I was hobbled with ice-packs for about 8 days and limping with an ankle brace for weeks afterwards.

Can you imagine???

?

What made me think this was a good idea? Seriously???? What??? Almost four months in non-English speaking countries? With jungles and deserts and malaria and questionable hygiene and no pizza. What is wrong with me? I just got off the bus at 104th st in Manhattan because I was too busy reading to notice I was THIRTY BLOCKS PAST MY APARTMENT. This has never happened before. Even when I've fallen asleep on the subway I've still woken up right at my stop. In three years I've never gone past my stop. At least not on the train. Tonight I kept looking up but I really thought I was still in the 60's. I have no idea what happened...

I'm freaking out. I feel like there are squirrels doing back-flips in my stomach. Big furry squirrels, their hair squeegeeing the sides of my belly, their tiny pin-sized claws perforating my lining. I want a big fluffy blanket to clutch to my face and curl up in a middle-aged ball.

There's too much to be done; it can't possibly be all done in time. Packing, organizing, packing, organizing.

In two weeks it will be 2:16 in the afternoon on 3/06. I'll be most likely into my second hour of attempting to explore Mumbai. The first day of the rest of my life, as they say...

I can totally do this....





Right?

I am...

..freaking out.

As long as I'm busy, I don't think about it. But when I just stop and sit and think about the fact that in 3 weeks (WEEKS!!! THREE WEEKS!!!) I'm going to be waking up in a Mumbai hotel room right about now. Waking up, listening to the unfamiliar traffic. Preparing to go out and face the first real day of the trip of of a lifetime. My first real day on the other side of the planet. Far, far away from everyone I love.

Three weeks.

Oh jeez....

It's Friday night...

Amanda's birthday party starts soon. But I'm still at work and have some more stuff to finish up so I'm going to make this short.

It's been one of those days - you know, when you look up and it's 4 p.m. and you haven't eaten? So now it's 7, I still have another 30 minutes of work at least and I'm drinking a beer out of my boss' fridge. Speaking of his fridge, must not forget to take Typhoid vaccine (in pill form) out of there before I leave. But how to keep cold until I go home tonight? hmmm.

Shots weren't too bad. I've discovered in the past couple of years that in order to not focus on how much the needle hurts, I pinch myself - generally in the soft fleshy part of my inner thigh or inner upper arm. You'd be surprised at how little you feel the needle when you're controlling pain to another part of your body. Weird, I know -- but try it next time. I think I started when some doctor said the needle feels just like a pinch. So I tried to recreate it and you can actually pinch yourself pretty hard and not be too bothered. Oh, and this isn't like grabbing an inch of skin and pinching -- just grab a teeny bit. Try it! Feels kind of like a shot, yeah? But not so bad because you're doing it yourself. All right, I'm probably officially weirding you out. Anyway, this method has come (and will come) in handy this week since I had 3 shots on Monday and will have at least 2 more this coming Monday as well.

Have decided to go with Doxycycline for malaria prevention. There's just no way I can do $900 dollars by going on Malarone at 8 bucks a pill. Doxycycline is about 18 bucks per 50 pills. Unfortunately, its side effects include photo-sensitivity (sunburn easily), heartburn (don't lie down within 2 hours of taking it), nausea, and... ick... yeast infections. I asked the doctor if she meant a yeast infection when you first start taking it (because that's not too bad). No, she said, you could have one the entire time. Fun! (::adding cranberry pills to list::). Problem is, much like penicillin (which has the same side effect), doxycycline is an anti-biotic that wipes out all that pesky bacteria. I'm sure the women know this, but guys (if I haven't already lost you, because God knows you probably don't want to know anything that goes on below our belt unless it has to do with you - ew! girls are grody!), there are also good types of bacteria. And when ALL the bacteria is gone, there's nobody left to fight off the real bad guys like those yeast jerks. So... awesome.

Anywhoo...

Packing of the apartment is going along. A broker (::gag::) came by on Tuesday with a young woman. She measured my apartment while I was getting ready to go out. Quietly, she asked what the apartment was going for. I perked up my ears and heard the broker say it was going for (300 dollars more than I pay) per month!!! Holy CRAP. Maybe I should keep my shoebox...

Last Friday my toilet stopped flushing so the Super stopped by while I was at work. The next day I couldn't figure out where in the world all the folded-up empty boxes I'd brought home the day before had gotten to. Here I was planning to spend the day packing, but I no longer had any boxes. Then I realized that the Super had probably thought they were garbage and taken them down to the trash. So that was a bit of setback.

I'm going to have to really get in gear this weekend as next weekend I'm going home with a small crew of folks who have expressed interest at one time or another in visiting my hometown. Should be a good time. Can't wait to take them to The Jukebox. Grannies be gittin down to Fiddy there. It's amazing!

Need to purchase trip insurance immediately.

Okay. So much for short post.

Happy Friday!

Today...

I get my shots.

Urrgh.

Not so great with the pointy-pointies. And it looks like I'm going to get stabbed multiple times for variety of nasties I'm going to be facing. Yeesh.

Hep A & B
Typhoid
Japanese encephalitis
etc.

This ought to be a fun-filled day.