I'm off!

Well, the day has come. It's a good thing I paid for my ticket a while back, because the past couple days I've lost my nerve to the point of wanting to just call the whole thing off, which seems just as absurd and ridiculous to you as it did to me. But thanks to friends encouragement and the grace of time, now I'm simply anxious.

In my musings online, I came across this clip from the movie "An American in Paris," which I unfortunately haven't seen. I will let you all know how it compares to the real thing :) Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvglHa_P9BA

Packing

I thought I'd begin my blog documenting the essential pre-trip preparation: packing. I began today and as I will be gone for four months, it was no small task but. I know some people consider packing to be just a big chore, but I was just having SO MUCH FUN! LOOK!

Unfortunately, I got about half-way through and I ran out of room. I didn't know what to do! I just couldn't do without all ten of those pairs of jeans, my pillow, my teddy bear I got for my seventh birthday, my poster of the Constitution and my unicycle! CRISIS! 

Just then, my mom came in and surprised me with a new suitcase! It's just beautiful and now I can fit 

everything I need!

And the best part is it can do THIS 

Ha. I wish. 

Unfortunately, when I finally get everything in my suitcase and attempt to zip it, it will probably look more like this:

But I must say that I did enjoy the bit of packing I did today. Of course I don't leave for nine more days and packing anything at this point is probably rather pointless, because I will probably end up with so much junk that I will be forced to unpack and repack several times, but I still wanted to get started. 

        For some reason whenever I take a trip I never really feel like I'm leaving until I pack, which usually ends up being the night before I leave. My room always begins a huge cluttered disaster and always ends with an empty closet, a clean white carpet, and a full suitcase. Maybe its just the neatness that pleases me, but I think it's more the feeling that the abstract trip I've been talking about, this space of x number of days where I won't exist in the daily routine I'm used to, is about to happen. Silly, but true. 

         I invite each and every one of you to join me on my adventures in Paris and beyond. Of course, I wish I could take all of you with me, but hopefully this will allow you to join me and understand everything a little better than the watered down three sentence explanation I will inevitably give when I return. And of course I would LOVE to hear about you and all your adventures wherever you are, so send me an email if I don't get to you first.

Until next time...