To Uncertainty & Beyond!

This is the end beginning of the road.  I’m going into my last week of gainful employment.

It was a good run.  I was with the company for five years.  With a little luck, maybe they will even take me back someday.  It’s clearly better to take a leave of absence, but isn’t that asking a bit much?  “Hey, I’m going to go have fun for a year while you guys pick up my slack.  Mind holding my spot?  You’re cool with doing all of my work, right?  I’ll bring you back a T-shirt or something. “

Sure.  See how that goes over.

Kim could have just told her students to work quietly in small groups for the next 200 periods.

It will be strange to let go of the ol’ routine.  As we have sold our belongings and wrapped up work, life has remained basically the same as usual.  Crawl out of bed, go to our jobs, come home, have some dinner, watch LOST, discuss our smoke monster theories, second guess our gear, read about Asian elephants or something, and go to sleep later than we should.  Repeat.

I imagine the new routine will go something like this:

Wake up.  Untangle Kim from her mosquito net.  Mess around with the blog on a painfully slow connection.  Put on pants (at some point).  Walk down to the market for some fruit.  See a temple or two.  Horribly botch the local language in a futile attempt to “blend in”.  Find a place to live for the next few days.  Wash some clothes if absolutely necessary.  Drink a beer.  Haggle with a cab driver over 75 cents.  Repeat?

I especially like the beer part.  Let’s repeat that step several times.

Moving on is a good thing though, and it will be a very memorable year.  But first, we have to sell our shit.

Need a slightly used mattress?  How about two cases of expired toothpaste?

It’s very easy to over think this trip.

How hot will Marrakesh be in late August?  What if we get to India during the wet season?  What if our MacBook is stolen?  Do they have frozen custard in Vietnam?!

I’ve become particularly obsessed with our travel gear.  I’m constantly second guessing my shirts, and I have read countless Amazon reviews and travel blogs to find the very best moisture-wicking undershirts or socks.  I mean, how could I possibly enjoy Angkor Wat if I’m not sufficiently wickt?

Don’t even get me started on hat selection.

I keep reminding myself that I won’t care about the rayon-polyester blend of my pants when I’m swimming off Koh Lanta or regret not buying that carbon fiber tripod when we’re at a random Indian wedding.  We already have the right stuff.  We just need to enjoy our last weeks in Chicago and try to see everyone before June 5.

But…don’t you just love that exomesh daypack?!