A Long and Hard Day of Travel - Day 1

(NOTE: I couldn't figure out the internet situation yesterday so I just typed up my post in Word and I'd put it up when I had the internet under control. So this is yesterday's post. - Today's will be up later!)

August 24, 2013:

Let me begin by saying that I cried when I had to leave my dogs. Yup, I’m that girl.

       Ok, that being said, I figured that leaving on a red-eye was going to make this trip a piece of cake. I would just drink a glass of wine, take a Lunesta, and ‘goodnight Irene’, see you in London. But no. The plane was, not only the biggest plane I’ve ever seen, but gave its passengers the smallest amount of room in the history of aviation. Seriously, ridiculous. I finally dozed off and the guy next to me woke me up because he had to pee. Typical. Now I couldn’t fall back asleep. So I’m minding my own business playing Jeopardy on my iPad and all of a sudden a man collapses in the aisle on his way to the bathroom and lands right in front of me (well, to the side of me.) Like no joke. One woman starts calling for help mind you it’s like 3:00am and everyone is sleeping), while I leap out of my chair to do what I can to help. I try to assess if he has a pulse to see if I have to flip him over and start CPR. I thought he had a heart attack or something. AND WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN FOR GOD’S SAKES! Finally, the flight attendant comes and is at his feet while I’m at his head and tells me to help her flip him. Now you have to understand that I am working with about a square foot of space. I couldn’t even wing out my elbows too far because I was knocking them into the seats and people and whatnot.  Needless to say, he came to before we had to start CPR or anything and I was just holding his head in my lap and he was probably like “What is going on? Who the hell are you?!?” Long story short, he was okay. But who could sleep after that?!? Certainly not me. We were lucky we didn’t have to resuscitate me after a scare like that!

      Hence, I didn’t get any sleep. Once in Heathrow I had to reconfigure all of my suitcases so that one fits inside another so that I only had to lug two huge suitcases around as opposed to two big ones and a small one. And my backpack. (Yeah, this girl didn’t pack light.) I was able to get onto the Tube without too much trouble, but navigating the world once out of the Tube as I tried to get to my hotel was HELL ON EARTH. Seriously. It’s only a few blocks away from the station, but that’s if you know where you’re going! What the hell did we do before cell phones and GPS systems? Oh, and did I mention that it was pouring out. Yeah, you should have seen the looks I was getting pushing these two monstrous suitcases through the streets of London while looking like a wet rat. I was sweating, grunting, huffing and puffing. So sexy.

       Well, thank goodness, I finally found my hotel and it’s cute. Nothing to write home about, but it’s sufficient. Just what I need for right now. But better than the room itself is its location. Primo! Once I settled in, I went for a walk and discovered that I already love this city. It’s just so darn cute. And the people are cute. And their accents are cute. And their galoshes are cute.  Everything – CUTE.

      Later on, I brought back some Indian food to my room and chilled out for a bit while watching Harry Potter on my computer. Because what else do you do on your first day living in London but watch Harry Potter?!?! And the finally, I had to talk myself into going to the bar to grab a pint (because I admit, it’s weird going to the bar alone) but I felt like I needed to celebrate my epic day of travel, my arriving safely in the UK, and my upcoming adventures in this awesome city.

       Plus, the bar had free wi-fi.

I see another novel in my future...

     I think I am going to write a novel based on my upcoming excursion to the UK and call it In Search of Mr. Darcy.
     I'm hoping for it to be more creative non-fiction more so than fiction. haha. Either way, I'm digging the title.
     Just a thought.

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I'm Leaving, Tomorrow!

Don't lie. You just sang along with the title of this blog, didn't you?? Haha, don't feel bad, so did I.    
    Okay, so it's finally here. I leave tomorrow night on a red-eye flight to London, England, my new home for the next four months. All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go. (Oh man, I'm really on a roll. Teehee.) I'm getting a little nervous but overall, I think I'm ready. Especially since I'm armed with some valium just in case I have a panic attack. (I'm only a little kidding.)
    To be honest, I'm not really nervous per se, just anxious. I just want to be there already. All of this preparation and waiting and running around is exhausting - both physically and mentally. I am just ready to be settled in and start my adventure. But then again, I guess this is all part of the 'adventure' so I really need to embrace it.
    Hmm... what else? Oh! I just want to say how incredibly blessed I feel to have such awesome friends and family who rally behind me no matter how far off the deep end I dive. I can't get over the outpouring of love and support that has been non-stop since I concocted this crazy idea (and have been there through all of my crazy ideas - and trust me, I've had a few!). I truly am so lucky. And I believe that it is because of this love and support that I feel like I can do these kinds of things and take these kinds of leaps because I know that no matter what happens, I'll be welcomed home with open arms and a strong drink. And there's no better comfort than that!

Two Weeks?!? Where Did My Summer Go?!?

   
      Ok, so I leave for London two weeks from tomorrow. HO. LY. COW. How is it here already? Not that I'm not excited, but dude, I thought that I had ALL SUMMER to prepare for this endeavor and POOF, summer's almost over and being a procrastinator has once again kicked me in the ass.
I haven't packed a thing.
I just booked my accommodation today for my first week of stay.
I still need to figure out my health insurance situation.
What the hell is 'power of attorney'?!?
Call my banks to inform them of my trip?
I renewed my passport, right?
How am I getting all of my makeup in my suitcase??
Ahhhhh!!!!
     I thought all I had to do was get on a plane and then run around England like an idiot! (This is still not far from the reality of what I envision is actually going to happen, FYI.) Responsibility? Logistics? Dammit all. Not that I'm complaining, because I promise, I'm not. I'm super excited. Really. I'm just having the perfunctory pre-huge-life-altering-experience meltdown. No biggie. Anyway, so now that I've secured that I have a place to go to once I get off the plane, I think I'm in better shape and can thus, relax a little bit. The rest is just gravy, right?
    It's already midnight?? Oh sweet Jesus...

It's Official - I'm Off to a New Chapter of My Life!

     So the big news that I couldn't reveal a few weeks ago is that I tendered my resignation at my job and am preparing a voyage to the great unknown! This, I know, is a little crazy. For one, in today's job market, no one in their right mind would leave a job without having another already in line. But I've never claimed to be in my 'right mind' so, there goes that. Also, by not having another job lined up, my lack of health insurance kind of puts me in a lurch, which is a little freaking terrifying.
      But for some inexplainable reason based on a feeling I can't ignore, I know that this is the right decision for me. And in even bigger news, I am contemplating moving somewhere far, far away... like London. Maybe Florence? Or Montreal? Prague? I don't know, but that's what's so exciting! I have nothing really tying me down here. I'm not married. I don't have kids. I have a family that will support and love me no matter where I go. And I have always had an insatiable need to explore along with a wild hoard of ants-in-my-pants that have never enabled me to sit still for long. It all adds up to a perfect reason for me to go and live a little. I've spent too much time putting my life on hold for too many reasons. First it was my weight. Then my family obligations. And my schooling. And my job responsibilities. And so on and so on...

     The prospects of the next few months are exciting. The promise of new adventures and new people keeps my mind content while I finish up my last few weeks here at work. The only pitfall is that, depending on where I go, I may not be able to work without a work visa, which would severely deplete the funds I've worked so hard to save. I clearly don't want to blow my nest-egg in only a few months, but if I don't spend (some of) it now on a big adventure, then I could conceivably die with all my money just sitting in a bank somewhere and me never taking the chance to really live. I do understand that I need to be responsible, but I've spent my whole life being responsible and I want to test my wings and my own fortitude to just do something that I want to do without over-analyizing the crap out of it. And hey, if it doesn't work out, I'm a one-way ticket away from life as I've always known it. So what do I have to lose? Nothing, that's what. So I'm researching, and planning, and getting very excited about the next stage of my life. Wish me luck!

A Brand New Adventure To Come...

     I can't say much about it right now, but I am planning a BIG adventure. Like huge. Like possibly life-altering. (No, not a sex change or space travel, don't get crazy with yourselves.) But something that I have really always wanted to do and have been too pragmatic (and, I'll admit, maybe too scared) to actually pursue. I can't speak about it yet (sorry to be cryptic) but as soon as I can, I'll post an update. Oooh, a cliffhanger! So stay tuned.... it's gonna be good!

Here We Go Again...

    So here we are, already deep in the throes of Spring. Man, how did that happen? Wasn't it just New Year's? Sheesh. Well, maybe I lost track of time (and my life) because, as always, life is too busy to even describe. But one of the reasons for my hiatus (in blogging and in my fitness) is that I had my gallbladder removed back at the end of January and recovery was, let's just say, less than fun. (Yay for hyperbole!)
     As I may have mentioned, I am a full-time high school teacher, for which I had to be out for almost two weeks, so catching up on things was challenging. And I am also a full-time grad student, with a rigorous curriculum that was kicking my incapacitated ass! Fitness? Healthy living? What is that? Sadly, I am one of those people, that when stressed out, eats anything I can get my hands on - chips, fast food, small children... anything convenient really. And so thankfully, though I haven't noticed a great increase on the scale (a few pounds at most) I have felt friggin' awful. It's been hard regaining my energy, but I'm certain that my lack of diligence in watching what I eat and by not nourishing my body with good foods, I am just allowing myself to fall more and more behind the eight ball. Anyway, so no more excuses. I really gotta get back on track. And not just for the weight aspect, but because I FEEL LIKE CRAP! And I'm noticing more and more that it's a vicious cycle. If you don't take care of yourself, you feel like crap. And because you feel like crap, you don't wanna take care of yourself. You see, there it is, problem solved. I just need to break the cycle!
     My sister, who has always been super buff, was recently telling me about a three-day cleanse that worked wonders for her. Now, ordinarily, I don't buy into these 'quick-fix' theories. Trust me, after spending my whole life overweight, I've pretty much tried'em all and still ended up no better than I had started (and often, even worse!) But she tried it and said that she found it to be successful and I really want to purge my body of all the crap in there. (Not literally... well, I mean, I guess literally too, but more metaphorically. haha.) Once she forwards it to me, I'll post it and then post updates. I anticipate that I'll begin it Monday.

Update: Clearly, I didn't do the cleanse or else I would have written about it. But basically, it looked disgusting - like eat four hot dogs for breakfast kind of disgusting. Yeah, I might just want to get my ass running again instead. What kind of "cleanse" wants you to eat four hot dogs or even one hot dog for that matter?!? Don't they know what's in those things. Gross.