Preparations of the perpetually busy

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Dear Diary, (that's all of you people...)

It is officially one month to D day.

I am sitting in my very small college room lamenting about the price of beds in small rooms all over England, and in Paris and New York.

I think i have begun this fine art of travelling down to its bare bones, but i think there is still alot of meat, and unnecessary (but tasty) fat to go. What do i mean?

Well i am, as most of you know, obsessively organised: case in point - a diary entry 1 month out, (yeah i know, as i said obsessive but i figure that most of you won't read it till i go - so there.) But even i have been finding it a bit of a struggle to get on top of everything. I haven't booked first nights in a couple of countries yet (one of my travel survival tips) and as always i live on an island so it takes a while to organise things with the distance an' all. I am not complaining though. I would like to be someone who is able to pack the morning of, with no plans, no worries and an unearthly ability to always find a place to sleep (I can think of only a few people ever who have been able to do this - all in the good book; but uhhh.... by God's grace i'm not......i'm organised...... i gotta stop worrying though (Phil 4:6) {and wear your tshirt Minski}

It has been a crazy 6 months and at least one person has questioned my sanity for attempting all this - but hey, life is for living and God has big plans. Between "that" thesis, "that" hospital visit and everything else one copes with in life.....planning this trip has been a feat of the off hours and the moments. But i am starting to get excited and i can't believe it is coming so soon.

For the before picture of all the countries i have visited before now, have a look at this map.
Visited Countries Map


I am only adding two new ones this time. On the whole though this trip is pretty different from the last time i travelled across the broad blue ocean on a fabulous SYD - LA flight where you get off at 9am Sunday morning looking like a zombie. (hopefully this time i will not need to be pushed around LAX in a wheelchair - but if i hadn't i would have missed the Texan ambassador - a US customs officer with an unhealthy obsession with Tequila and offal at the same time )

Finally, i am very proud of any of you who have made it this far through this entry; hopefully you'll hang in there - i promise photos, no group emails, a map to see where i am and hopefully some readable prose (who said Honour degree in English Literature means you can write coherently). Now before i go: a massive hug and kiss to my gandmothers who are hopefully reading this online. Ma, i am very proud of you.....who said you couldn't get with the email thing.

from the heat of the night that in ol' Canberra in early November,

Anna.

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