Dopplegangers

The most interesting part of traveling alone and reflecting upon home is that I keep seeing look alikes of my friends and loved ones. In a pub, walking down the road, at a cash point. I want to stop and say hello but then I realize they are talking to someone else in Italian.

Adventure #3: Trains

My first day of train travel and lightning storm messed up the electrical. ALL stations between where I am and where I'm going are at a stand still. Apparently a train is stuck on the tracks and can't move. So I am sitting in a great big building with my bag and a wet raincoat with many others sitting with their bags and wet raincoats.

In other news I have a new favorite city name: Dorking.

A horse! My kingdom for a horse!

I spent the afternoon sitting in a cafe drinking some tea when I thought I should walk about and see what was around. What I found was a Chipotle and I was hungry. As I ordered my burrito with too many "what's?" to the person assembling my lunch the young man who rang my order up asked me how my day was going. He was American and he could tell I was as well. I said my day was going fine. I asked him how his day was. He said great, that he was going to go see Kevin Spacey in Richard III. I was stoked. I asked him where and I promptly figured out the quickest route to the theater.


I queued up for a ticket and was sold a return 2 minutes before curtain. Thank goodness I'm quick at peeing. It was amazing. And I had a great seat too, only for 20 pounds! The show starred Kevin Spacey as Richard III and the production was directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty fame). Wowie. I'll be honest to say I didn't know the storyline beforehand so everything was a surprise, but the constant deaths of all the characters weren't. I think I need to stop reading so much Song of Ice & Fire for a while because I kept drawing too many comparisons. Ask me, if you're interested. Most of you aren't.

Adventure #2: More alone than usual

I am sleeping in an 8 bed room and have not been sleeping all that well the past two nights.  Last night I went to bed around 11pm thinking that I'll try to get a good night's rest so I can go do awesome things in the morning.  But it doesn't fail, I wake up around 5am totally awake so I decide to read for a bit because breakfast won't open for awhile and nobody is awake to talk to.  After 30 minutes of reading I try to go back to bed so I can go eat some toast before it's all gone from the kitchen.....

.....Suddenly I wake up with a start to the sound of drums.  What?  I hear a parade outside my window.  Not right outside, but I could very well hear everybody cheering and drums going and brass being blown.  Then I sit up in bed.  Every single bed in my room, save mine, is empty.  All those people I sort of knew, gone.  Their belongings are gone.  The seven beds were made up with new bed linens.  Even the shower was clean.  It is suddenly 12:30pm and I have missed breakfast, 7 people packing up and leaving after getting ready, a cleaning person making up all the beds including my top bunk, and half of a parade.  I guess I was more tired than I thought.  I wish I could say I took some Tylenol PM to help me sleep but I didn't.  That extended sleep was au naturel.  Now I must depart, the guy on the computer left of me reeks of bad cologne. 

 

The adventures I am sure will keep coming so please keep reading.  My first week of travel is done!

I'm here and rested

Yesterday I flew in, exhausted, not sleeping on the plane to face off with the gentleman in customs. I honestly didn't think I'd be asked so many questions like how much money I have, why I can take off so much time from work, if I had a return ticket, where else am I going. I got flustered and started sweating, probably from the lack of sleep, but eventually he let me go. Checked into my hostel, crashed, then re-grouped to wonder about.

I found some big named sights like Big Ben and got lost somewhere around Picidilly. I think my favorite part of England so far is how well people are dressed! Men in nice fitting suits and women in sharp looking outfits. Makes me want to step up my game.

I've met some nice people in the hostel but I'm not going out of my way to make best friends just yet. I'm still dazed at the fact I have over a month ahead of me with no obligations. I can do whatever I want whenever. Now I'm waiting endlessly for a bunch of men in red outfits to walk and change places, just like they do everyday.

Adventure #1: Conversions

It all started when I left SFO super early several days ago. When I put down my bag on the scale somebody was doing the same next to me. I was amazed the scale next to my bag said 56 pounds! So I had it in my sleepy head that I somehow really overpacked and was carrying 56 pounds comfortably on my back. I was stressing in NYC on how I'd get rid of 6 pounds so I didn't have to pay extra. I did all I could. I arrive at JFK early so I could weigh my bag to be within the 50 lbs (23 kgs) limit. I was at 24 lbs. What? I did it again. Then I thought. Real hard. Turns out when I first weighed my bag in SFO my bag weight showed up next to the other scale and the guy next to me was he one with the 56 lbs bag. I'm less than half the max weight allowance. This is going to be a long trip in the metric system.

NYC: The appetizer to my trip

Well, my time here in NYC is coming to an end. I've had a great time with old friends, wandering about aimlessly, and taking it all in. Its been hot, well, its been warm. Today it even rained a bit and I got some good use out of my skirts. I spent a good time at the Met yesterday which I loved and got lost several times in Central Park. I even saw old coworkers from SFDS (Ms Phillips and Ms Harris) and we got lunch! Kate has been a wonderful host to have me on her couch for four nights. Now that I have experienced NYC in both the ultra cold months and some summer time action I can honestly say that I don't have that desire many young people have to live here. It is nice and busy, but sometimes too busy for my taste. Everything is so BIG and it does not need to be.

Now I need to re-pack to fly to London. On my flight from SF to NYC my backpack weighed 56 (!) pounds, but I have to get it to 50 or below to fly across the Atlantic. My first of many trials I will need to outwit on my trip. I am thankfully not as nervous as I was while I was in SF, I think now I just want to be there. Everything is in order and I have a window seat. Let's do this!

Weathergirl

From here:

To here:

To this:

One of these things is not like the other....

Wait, how many shirts do I REALLY need to pack??!?

From right now I have 3 days and 9 hours till I board a plane for NYC. I have a fun weekend planned with SV and Zuparko, but until then I have work to do. I keep packing, folding, sorting all of the items I think I need then adding or subtracting. I am almost there. My closet is the cleanest it has ever been since I moved in. I pray the maintenance guys come in tomorrow to fix not only the broken oven but also the light in the closet that has not worked in 8 months.

Today when I got home from work it was a lovely sunny afternoon so I sat in my papasaun chair to read with the window open blowing in a light breeze and Ness curled up on my lap. Eventually we fell asleep. For the next 55 days I'm going to miss these afternoons but hopefully when I get back Ness will remember who I am so we can fall asleep reading again.

My nerves are subsiding, mostly because there is to much to do before I leave.

Want a postcard?

Then send me your address and I'll try my damnedest to write and mail you one. But Grandma gets one first, thems the rules. So after her comes everybody else.

Also, HI MOM AND DAD! I know you read this. And don't worry about sending me your address, I've got that one memorized. But you two will also have to wait till after Grandma gets her postcard mailed.

Less than two weeks

I am in the final days of the school year and that nervous ball of energy in my belly is growing larger. Today I took the backpack, on loan to me from my dear friend Shannon, for a test run around my apartment. After stuffing it full of mostly dirty clothes to try and get a feel for a fully stuffed bag I feel good. I also realized my packing list is way too large. I was toying with the thought of bringing my laptop with me on my trip but that went out thewindow once I realized the weight of everything I need for my trip on my back; taking the laptop is a terrible idea (I should have taken Andy's advice). It'll take a lot to get used to for having so much weight on my back when I travel.

I have a new girl to stay at my apartment. I may meet her beforehand which would be helpful. Sadly for the four days I am in NYC KT Hartman will be out of town but I'll have Henry and I will get to spend LOTS of time with Zuparko. If you are a friend reading this who lives in NYC and would like to see me, tell me! My dates in NYC are 18th - 22nd.

End of the school year and goodbye parties are all lined up, I just need to make sure I get everything done that needs to be done. I need another pair of pants. I need more kitty food. I need to scrub the heck out of all my floors. I need to do loads of laundry. Want to help?

Oh, and I got a summer haircut. Like it?