November 12 -Pre-Expedition Thoughts

MAN!  I can't believe how fast this is approaching.  You know, for a long time this was one of those things on the horizon, sort of a 'yeah, thats happening, but its so far away.'  When things are that far off, you don't (or at least I don't) let yourself think about it.  I was so caught up in the minutia of day to day living - 'what do I need to get done today,' 'what papers need to be graded,' 'whose picking up my daughter,' etc.  I may have been putting it off because this may be the grand adventure of my lifetime, and my subconscious wasn't sure what to do with it.  That's the way things go sometimes.  Well, I can say definitely that those days are done and its right around the corner.  Now, i'm thinking about it all the time.  I'm checking the packing list to be sure I have what I need for the trip.  I'm reading about the Great White Continent - a lot.  I'm watching movie after movie about the place.  And what's more, last week this cool little document bag arrived in the mail from National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions with all of the travel arrangements and some reading on the natural history of Antarctica.

Well, that made it real.

Melanie Brown - coworker extraordinaire - just gave me a mock interview to get ready for the Journal Inquirer one i'll be doing in a few minutes.  Sort of a practice session.  My response to 'what do you hope to have happen down there' really sort of locked into something important.  I hope I can be present for this.  I want to be in it 100%, not checked out, or tired, and in my head thinking about something else.  You know how that can happen sometimes?  You're in the midst of having this amazing experience, and you're thinking about what's for dinner, or that stuff you still haven't finished yet, or some conversation you've had with someone.  Thats what i'm talking about.  I want to be fully present. You only get to do this once, and I want to absorb it all. 

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