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Published: January 2nd 2007
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Packing!!!
Not all of this came with me, though the weight of my bag would have indicated otherwise! My day started 3 hours later than I intended for it to begin! I set the alarm so I could take a brief nap (at 3:30AM) and while I should have gotten up when my alarm went off the first time @ 4:30, my body had other needs and so I set the alarm to go off one hour later…and the next time I opened my eyes it was 8:00am!!! Now, if I had made better use of my time in the weeks leading up to this day this would not have been a problem. I, however, am a procrastinator and for all of you who know me well can stop shaking your head at me…I still managed to get everything done before my flight took off, I just didn’t have time to pack as carefully as I would have liked.
First thing on the agenda for the day was Family Christmas with my dad, his wife, my brother, sister-in-law, 2 nephews and niece. We had a nice family breakfast and opened presents; the kids had a blast as usual - I mean what kid doesn’t like opening presents! Thanks again everyone for the great gifts, I’m excited to wear
Goodbye California, Hello Uganda!
Thanks Nik for coming to the airport! See you in London soon! my new earrings when I get home! ? My nephew, Nathaniel (5 yrs next week), got his hands on a digital camera and when around taking pictures of everyone…that kids has got some talent! Chris, email those pictures to me when you have a chance!!!
At 11am I left Family Christmas and headed back to my house to pack. Yep, you read it correctly, 2 hours before I supposed to be leaving for the airport I still wasn’t packed! (This is the procrastination I was speaking about…) Thanks to my mom and roommate (Laura, I love you!!!), I managed to get everything into bags, well almost everything…I had to do some repacking while we drove to LAX and I’m still not sure that I didn’t forget something… We stopped on our way to pick up my friend Nicole (a.k.a. Nik)…I was glad that she could come and drop me off w/my mom!
We made it to the airport at about 2pm and it only took us about 35 minutes, which is incredibly fast for the LA freeway system, even on a Saturday (and no, my mom wasn’t speeding - if you know her, she typically drives 5 mph
Saying goodbye to my mommy!!!
Thanks for getting me to the airport! I'll miss you!!! slower than anyone else…thanks mom for getting me there safely!!) I still had to make room in one of my bags for a couple of things, so I did some repacking when mom parked the car; Mom and Nik are starring at their watches, wondering if I am going to make my 5:20pm flight.
With everything packed as well as can be expected at this point, we walk across the street to the terminal. There is very little traffic at the International Terminal, which again is very perplexing…it’s 2 days before Christmas - usually the airport is packed! We walk in and there it is - the line we’ve been waiting to see. The line was still long, but it appeared to be moving quickly (note to future travelers that no one told me: if you are traveling British Airways check in from home and just drop your luggage when you get there…this will safe you about an hour waiting in line). Mom and Nik take a couple of pictures with me and then we say our good-byes.
At that moment my trip became real…I was about to spend the next 30+ hours traveling alone…me, ALONE!!! My eyes
Sunset at LAX
Waiting to board the plane, I caught a nice sunset at LAX. welled up for a moment when it hit me…up to this point I hadn’t really processed much about this trip…I guess it was time to start processing! LOL
I was concerned about how I was going to get all of my luggage through w/out paying an arm and leg for the extra baggage. A British Airways employee was going through the line putting tags on all carry-on luggage. My luggage breakdown looked like this:
* one large pack (for Uganda)
* one large duffle bag (for Uganda)
* one 50lb box (for my host family in Uganda)
* one small pack (for my stay in London/Paris when I return in January)
* one carry-on backpack (w/laptop)
Once the BA employee got to me I was prayerful that things would work out w/the least amount of cost to me. With the amount of luggage that I had one of two things would end up happening: I would either have to check it all to Uganda or check the luggage to London and then re-check it to Uganda; neither of these choices excited me. I asked if there was any way possible for me to carry on the backpack and the small pack, as that piece of luggage would be staying in London…I had plans to store it at the hostel where I will be staying on my return trip. She clarified that the small pack would be taken off the plane and out of the airport and when I said yes she agreed to let me carry both pieces on, as long as it wasn’t making the second leg of my trip with me…yes, unnecessary expenses averted! ?
Everything else went smoothly…I grabbed a snack, made some last minute phone calls, then I took a sleeping pill before I boarded the plane, but seeing how tired I was I’m sure I didn’t need it. The flight was full! I managed to stay awake long enough to eat dinner (turkey, stuffing, baby potatoes, a roll and some yummy dessert thing), but once my tray was cleared I was OUT and stayed asleep for most of the flight. The flight was uneventful!
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