2 Steps Forward, 1 Step Back = Progress

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I'll first start off by saying that I have awesome friends. Erica, who lives in Germany, has completely taken care of all the arrangements - lodging, travel, and tours - that we're going to need while I'm there at the end of April. I mean, she was a woman on a mission, and I'm still getting suggestions from her for things to do and see while we're in Dresden. Also, the place we're staying in Dresden has a Trabi for a bed ; once she found that out, and I expressed a desire to stay in the room with the Trabi, she made it happen. Weird things always happen to us when we're together, and the Trabi is only the beginning.

I bought traveler's insurance this morning. That's the first time I've ever bought any, but I will be gone for 11 weeks. It's from MedEx, and if anyone knows whether that's a good policy or not, don't tell me, since I've already purchased the policy, and there's no refund. It covers me for medical expenses, including dental; lost luggage; emergency evacuation - I'm guessing for both natural and political disasters; and trip cancellation due to family emergencies. I've experienced the delayed luggage before (2 days' worth), and I'd hate to know I completely lost it all. With the way things are going in some countries, I guess you can never be too safe when it comes to emergency evacuations. Also, my parents are getting older, and I had a good bit of internal debate on whether or not to cancel my trip altogether back in December. Things improved, so I kept forging ahead with it. But it could easily turn around while I'm abroad, and I'd rather be able to come home without worrying about lost money on top of everything else, ya know?

Air Baltic sent me yet another email this afternoon, informing me that my flight had unfortunately been rescheduled. But it was my flight from Latvia this time, unlike the last change they made. This one is much trickier, since it's to London, and I'm connecting through London to fly to Malta via Air Malta around noon. So if they mess with the RIX-LGW flight in just the wrong way, I will need to reconsider this Baltic excursion. I hope that it works out, because I really want to see Latvia and Lithuania. Anyway, the flight was rescheduled for 15 minutes earlier than it had been, which is totally fine. I still have over 2 hours between flights.

Not related to the trip directly, but still going to affect my mindset in some ways for the next few months: The lady who owns the house I rent called me this afternoon while I was at the doctor's, so I couldn't respond. Her voicemail informed me that if I couldn't find a roommate for next school year before I left for Europe (um, 10 days from now), then I should just plan on finding somewhere else to live for next school year. I'm not really pissed by that, but it is a bit unexpected. I mean, that's 5 months away, and I'll still have over 2 months between my return and the end of my lease. I'll never understand the rental cycle in a university town. They want people to sign a lease in February for a living situation that won't begin until August. Why do they need someone to sign in blood 6 months before they plan on moving in? For college students, I can understand. They can be flaky, and they might not even come back to school in the Fall. But I'm over 30, and I imagine that there is absolutely no need to get this taken care of so early anywhere else besides a college town. I'm not a college student, and I don't need to live with one. So why am I being treated like one??? Sorry for the rant, but I needed to vent. If I have to move out, I'll just have to find somewhere cheaper to live (which should be pretty easy, given my situation). And since I'm not taking classes in Athens, GA, anymore, then I really have no limits on where I can go next...

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Comments

[Erica]

Dresden
The only other thing I can think of that I might want to do there is visit the Hygiene Museum. : ) Besides, it is much more fun to think about Dresden than student papers! You also might want to see what Air Malta can do. Air Malta frequently codeshares with British Airways. (Also, the Maltese beer on board is tasty, but skip the Kinnie!)