I finally get to make my trek eastward towards Nepal.
I have prepped as much as I can, and now just need to get everything into my suitcase and ready to go.
So far I’ve:
sprayed all of my clothes with promethrin
procured 76GB of memory for my camera
bought lots of mini-bottles of things at Target
made multiple trips to REI to get random things I never thought I’d had to buy
picked up books to donate to the schools we will be visiting
picked out my outfits and shoes for the trip
picked out movies for my mom and I to watch along the way
Now it’s just time to get all of my paperwork organized, get everything into its proper place/bag, and get to the airport tomorrow. So clearly, I’m focused on this task and am spending the evening in front of my TV watching “Bones”.
I’m getting excited and nervous. This should be a fantastic trip. It doesn’t mean that I will miss people back at home, because I will. As I’ve mentioned before, I will have some access to wifi so will post here as I can. Don’t be surprised if the posts are somewhat random – with a group of photos in one, a short video in another, and finally some text in a third. I will tweet if possible, and update stuff to facebook if possible as well. So, if you dont follow or aren’t my friend in either one of those places, head on over to the right side of this page and add me.
Ok, I’m getting really tired. Off to get stuff done and then head to sleep.
I’ll miss you guys over the next 2 weeks. Don’t let anything too fun happen on the internets while I’m mostly without service. 🙂
This is it. The final countdown. The last few days before I leave on my next big adventure.
I’ve done a fair bit of travelling in my day – but this is a trip unlike any other I have taken. I have never before needed vaccinations (thyphoid!) for my trips, or pre-prescribed antibiotics just in case. I have never needed to bring my own toilet paper and mosquito netting and super power bug spray on a trip. I have never needed to pretreat my clothes with bug repellent.
However, in spite of all of this, I am looking forward to this trip. The two week break from my normal life routines will be a welcome refreshing break – not that I don’t love what I do here at home, but sometimes you just need to unplug and recharge.
I still have a fair bit of preparation to do, like figuring out which clothes and (more importantly) which shoes I am bringing, but I think I have a good start with my trip to REI today and my trip to the camera store last weekend. My rented wide angle lens will be here on Wednesday and I have all my camera stuff ready to go. I’m slightly disappointed that I won’t be able to use only my backpacking pack for this trip – but I’m still going to try to travel as lightly as possible.
Now for the information that people have been asking about – where are you going, and how long will you be gone. Well, without further adieu, here is the rundown of my trip.
This sums up my feelings about today (and certain things on other days. . .).
I woke up feeling like my allergies beat me up last night with a blunt object. Time to sleep and hope I feel better soon. Seriously, ragweed, you need to go find somewhere else to do your thing – you’re no longer welcome here in Minnesota.
Watched some season premieres last night before I headed to bed at 915pm. May post some thoughts about that later. Oh yeah, and tonight is the Glee season premiere, so I will likely have some thoughts about that.
I hope no one else is suffering from allergies like I am today and that everyone is having a good day.
In a change from recent years, I’m actually going to watch the Emmys this year. It has been awhile since I’ve watched an awards show on TV. However, I have been watching a few of the shows that are up for nominations, so actually feel like I can watch and actually know a bit about what is going on and have some opinions about the shows and who should win. And no, I’m not naively thinking Glee is going to sweep – I have other shows that I watch and like that are up for awards too. Not to mention that the 1st most famous person from my hometown – Jane Lynch – is hosting. Got to support my fellow Dolton native.
Without further delay, here are my picks for the 2011 Emmys:Â
Outstanding Drama Series – Mad Men Outstanding Comedy Series – What do I want to win? Glee  What will win? 30 Rock Outstanding Actress in a Drama – Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama – Christina Hendricks, Mad Men Outstanding Actor in a Drama – John Hamm, Mad Men (although I could be happy with Hugh Laurie from House too) Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama – John Slattery, Mad Men   Outstanding Actress in a Comedy – Who do I want to win? Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation or Tina Fey, 30 Rock  Who will win? Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie   Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy – Jane Lynch, Glee Outstanding Actor in a Comedy – Who do I want to win? Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock  Who will win? Steve Carrell, The Office Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy – Chris Colfer, Glee(but I could see someone from Modern Family sneaking in here)   Outstanding Variety, Comedy Or Musical Series –  The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Outstanding Reality Show – Top Chef (but I could see So You Think You Can Dance with a win here) Outstanding TV Miniseries or Movie – Downton Abbey   Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy – Matt Damon, 30 Rock   Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy – Who do I want to win?Kristin Chenoweth, Glee  Who will win? Tina Fey, SNL or Gwyneth Paltrow, Glee Outstanding Leading Actress in a Mini-series or Movie – Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce   Outstanding Leading Actor in an Mini-Series or Movie – Greg Kinnear, The Kennedys Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Mini-series or Movie – Paul Giamatti, Too Big to Fail Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Mini-series or Movie – Maggie Smith, Downtown Abbey
My guess is that I will get approximately 3 of these correct, and that Rory will beat me. His guesses are here. Feel free to leave your own guesses in the comments.
In other news, we’re approximately 3 days out from the season premiere of Glee, and shockingly, I am a bit excited. However, before we get to Tuesday at 7pm (CT), I need to finish watching season 2. I actually missed a number of the episodes when they originally aired due to band practice (wow – am I a music nerd much?) and/or they ended up getting booted off of my DVR, so I have a few to catch up on. Granted, I know most of what happened, but still, I want to see them first-hand before we dive into season 3.
I know many people have said that they’ve drifted away from Glee and that season 2 was lame at times, but I think that season 3 is going to be much better. There have been a number of reports that they are going “back to basics” and not doing the over-the-top themed episodes and focusing on plot lines and such. Granted, I’m a sucker for campy over-the-top musical numbers, but I can always appreciate good dialouge, plot lines, character development. I think they’d probably take away my Broadcasting degree if I didn’t appreciate the latter over the former.
Also, let us not forget, a new season of Glee means that we get new Glee music! Yes, I have all of the music from the last two seasons & the 3D movie soundtrack and yes I listen to them often (but not all of the time), so this is very exciting for me. I love showtunes and campy over-the-top covers, so this is right up my alley. Plus, to be honest there are some gifted (and not so gifted *cough*Finn*cough*) singers in the cast, so it’s not bad to listen to either. So far, I’ve heard 5 tracks, including one from a new cast member, and I am liking what I hear. Great mix of pop and Broadway – and that’s all I’m going to say about that. 🙂
Outside of the world of watching TV, I’ve been spending time working on a big event I am helping plan in October, and also prepping for my trip (more on this soon!). I’m somewhat happy with the cooler weather that has settled upon Minnesota. It is keeping the ragweed under control, and making it easier to sleep. Can’t wait to see the leaves change either. However, I will freely admit, I am not ready for it to snow. I will get there, just not yet.
Alrighty – off to cook some breakfast for dinner. Have a great weekend!
Watching this gave me chills. What an inspiring educator and place. I’ve been to Las Vegas a number of times, including visiting a school where a friend of my mom’s was the Principal, and this is a city that definitely reflects the current economic situation. However, in spite of this, it is amazing what one person with an idea, some hard work, and a desire to help others can do.
