Bye Bye

---

I've spent my final few days in the United States editing Kate's thesis, so we can leave Dublin on schedule. As a result, I'm an expert on female Muslim suicide bombers. After reading the 70+ pages multiple times, I've learned they bomb for the dudes. Sigh. Love hurts.

I might have to pack Kate's bag for her when I arrive in Dublin, so she can hand in the thesis, but I think I'm prepared. After grumbling about the boredom of the suburbs for a few days, I came to peace with the isolation and enjoyed a few weeks of reading on the couch, pooping on a regular toilet, raiding the fridge, drinking water from a tap, driving a car, etc.

Although I apologized a lot in the F.A.Q., I'm going to continue the apologies in this post. I was raised Catholic; I'm addicted to all forms of guilt, including preemptive guilt. For that reason, here are my two newest apologies:

For misspellings, grammatical errors, and a lack of capitalization.
TravelBlog doesn't have a spell check feature. Generally, I'm not a big supporter of spell check because I think people pay little attention to its corrections, and it causes laziness, but I think it would be a help in this situation due to limited time and screwy keyboards. I'll be just as upset as you are to discover spelling and grammatical errors when I have time to reread my entries, so feel free to email me and point out mistakes as you find them to save me the embarrassment of having something horrible posted for weeks. Also, I made an attempt to type everything in caps between the time I decided to take this trip and the time I departed, but I failed frequently. Capitalization requires thought and adds a few extra seconds to each sentence. I revert to lower case under pressure, so the majority of my posts might be lower case. You've been warned.

For the nerdy attire you're going to witness, over and over again.
The shoes are the worst part. They have been chosen for comfort. Most of them were broken in after I moved to the suburbs because I was too ashamed to wear them in Brooklyn. I know this trip isn't about fashion, and I've never been overly concerned with how I look, but it will be odd for me to wear the same clothes day after day after day. Furthermore, my legion of suitors may be distraught by the sweat stains on my dusty body in every photo. Don’t fret, boys; I’ll wear nothing but evening gowns upon my return.


Stupid stuff aside, I’m excited to visit these cities/countries/continents. As I’ve said before, it’s one thing to hear about issues affecting other areas of the world and sympathize on the most basic human level, it’s another once you've visited those countries, met the people, and experienced the lifestyle. Perhaps I’m dense and self-absorbed, but I need face-to-face contact to feel connected.

Farewell, U.S.A. I’ll miss you. Check the blog frequently and remember that if, at any point, you want to join us, we’ll greet you with open arms.

Your favorite Goodwill Ambassador (yes, you love me more than Angelina),
Moria

---

Comments

[Matty G]

Tech Wear
Hey darlin. Don't worry, you have built up a crazy amount of style points over the past couple years. Having to resort to tech wear attire for functionality is always a pity apearance-wise, but you'll be really happy when you haven't taken a shower for eight days and you're trying to hike through a monsoon. God speed!

[allyson]

miss you
i hope your planning on taking pictures missy! i'm sad you won't be in nyc when i'm there next month. safe travels and i'll be checking the blog often. you know i'm addicted to the internet!