OK everybody,I’m typing this at DIA. We’re sitting at the gate but they’re about to start boarding. Once we get into the air, we’re planning to settle in with some wine and watch movies, and it sounds like Year One is first up. Aren’t we classy?
Anyway, thanks again for all the help, support, excitement, and well wishes. We’ll miss you guys!
HERE GOES!
-Julia
4 Days! Yikes! Actually, I’d be a lot more freaked out if I hadn’t published my last wedding gallery for the season tonight, effectively finishing my pre-trip work. A trip or two to the post office, a few phone calls, some changed outgoing messages and we’re all set! I’m sure there will be 99 last-minute things we completely spaced or never anticipated, but that’s how it goes.
On to this week’s highlight: The bon voyage party. As I said above, I forgot to take many pictures. At all. I brought the big camera and even set up some lights. But then I forgot to use them. But here’s what I did manage to get:
Chicken Satay - YUM
Lots of great food- Chicken Satay Skewers, Green Curry, and beer. The food was delicious and the drinks refreshing. I largely credit this lady:
www.chefjulia.com
Julia also had the fun idea of hiring a henna artist to decorate any of the guests who were interested. She had a line of people waiting all night! Here’s Julia’s:
Pretty nice, but I’m afraid the overall best-in-show for the night goes to Aaron:
Slumdog Thousandaire
So all in all, a great night. Lots of crazy things happening at once. Introducing our families, catching up with friends we haven’t seen, and answering the question of the night, “Are you excited?”. It was really a great time, but if you’re reading this you were probably there. Thanks for coming! And thanks again to Donna & Ray for hosting!
-Brian
13 days to go, so it’s time to start thinking about packing. But if you’re the type that likes to seriously overthink your packing, you started about a month ago. You might have even put together a mind-blowing multimedia presentation to show people what you’re taking. Like this one:
In case you missed that:
You can click on the image above to view it in Flickr, and see what all this junk is.
As of this posting, I am officially moving out of my house. The walls are bare, the living room is in boxes, and the bathroom contains, literally, shampoo, conditioner and a toothbrush. At the moment I’ve retreated into my bedroom, which is still relatively intact, and am trying to convince myself that just because I am moving out of a house and into a backpack, I will not be entirely homeless.
Cozy, isn't it?
Giving up my house (permanently) and my cats (temporarily) is turning out to be really tough for me. I’ve been lucky to live in a wonderful little cottage near Wash Park for the past 3 years, and I’ve grown quite attached to all its little nooks and crannies. This is the house I moved into because I was sick of moving around, the house that fit like a glove from the day i moved in. It’s the place I’ve lived the longest since I left home for college, and in 9 days, it will belong to some guy and his chocolate lab. By that time, I probably won’t care, but tonight, I feel like I’m in an earthquake.
It’s worth mentioning that I HATE when people use the dictionary as a jumping off point when approaching a topic because they can’t think pf anything better, but in this particular case, I think it’s relevant. Looking up ‘adventure’ yields more than a dozen definitions, and all of them mention things like boldness, daring, excitement, and danger. A little discomfort, it seems, is par for the course.
Can I pull it together and get my life into a bunch of boxes in the next few days? Of course I can, and I will. I suspect that once that’s done, my remaining trip prep will feel pretty mild by comparison. In the meantime, though, I’m calling it a day. For one more night, I will sleep in my own bed, with its soft, old sheets and the purple velvet duvet that I love. I will eat egg drop soup and play laser pointer games with my cats until they get tired. I will think of all the the good times I’ve had in this place, and tomorrow, I will take a deep breath and leave it behind,so the adventure can begin.