Thursday, February 20, 2014

Packing and Such

Thanks to the snow storm we are experiencing I have been trapped in the house because really, who wants to drive when the roads look like this????!!


After watching way too many reruns of Law and Order on TV I got bored and decided to start strategizing on packing. Prior to moving from my old apartment I had decided to get rid of a lot of my stuff because I wanted my move to be stress free.

For some reason I just don't like having too much stuff so I always ensure that my wardrobe is small. Whenever I buy new clothes I end up donating my old ones just because I don't want to accumulate stuff plus I do get bored very easily with my old clothes after a while.

These are the clothes I have now and I still need to give away some, considering I will be traveling with only one backpack and a carry on. I have to be really creative with packing.

PS: My winter stuff is not included here. I tend to keep the bulky coats separate from my lighter clothes.



These are the shoes I currently have since I donated a lot when I was moving from my old apartment, my winter boots are clearly not included here. Since shoes tend to be bulky I am thinking I may have to make do with 3 pairs for my trip but I have yet to decide which 3 will make the cut.


I hate packing so even though the stuff I have doesn't appear to be much, I am not looking forward to the task. Hopefully the packing cubes I bought will help keep everything organized and compact.

Keep in mind I also have to include toiletries and some personal effects..........hmmm? anyway, I still have about 2 weeks left before my trip so why am I even stressing about packing now? I will save it for the last week.

Sunday, February 16, 2014

It's Been A While

I know I haven't posted something on this blog for a while now but I have been so busy I almost forgot that I had a blog! of course my posts will be a lot more frequent once I start my trip so hang in there because I am sure there will be a lot to write about.

In the meantime my "to do" list is getting shorter and I am so happy about that. Today I actually checked off another big item on my "to do" list, I finally bought a new laptop! a fabulous one at that, I bought a MacBook Air and I am so in love!!!! for the past 3 hours I have been playing around with it trying to familiarize myself with it's features and so far I am loving it!


I also bought a Universal Travel Adapter, I wasn't really looking for one but when I came across this one I had to get it. Not only was it dirt cheap because it was on sale but It's compact and conveniently disassembles to fit whichever outlet present.



That's it folks, just busy wrapping things up nothing exciting yet. I can't believe March 7th is right round the corner, it's crazy how fast time flies!

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

In The Spirit of Tradition

In a month's time I will be celebrating my birthday and in keeping with my own personal tradition, I will be celebrating it in a different country that I have never set foot in.

When I turned 30 instead of having a freak out moment thinking of how old I was getting, I decided to celebrate my birthday in a big way. I wanted to do something that I would always remember fondly so I went ahead and bought a ticket to Portugal because for the longest time I had always wanted to visit Portugal.

I was supposed to travel with one of my good friends but she could not make it so I ended up going solo. It was my first solo trip and I had an amazing experience! the confidence I gained by traveling alone to a foreign country where I knew no one, was priceless. I decided to make this an annual fun tradition.

If I was getting older I was going to do it in style and have fun while at it. This was the beginning of amazing experiences and adventures.

March 2010 - 30th birthday in Portugal


March 2011 - 31st birthday in Israel


 March 2012 - 32nd birthday in Peru


 
  March 2013 - 33rd birthday in Colombia



In the spirit of keeping up with my fun tradition, this year I will be celebrating my birthday at a place that I have never been to before. My 34th birthday will be celebrated in..................................Panama! that being said, I will officially start my big adventure in Panama as opposed to Colombia as originally planned.

I will fly out to Panama on March 7th, spend two weeks there then fly to Colombia. I hope my 34th birthday will be fabulous and full of amazing adventures as my previous birthdays. Thanks to this tradition I always look forward to my birthdays.

Saturday, February 1, 2014

New Beginnings

Yesterday was my final day at work and even though I will miss some people, I am happy that this particular chapter in my life has come to an end and a new chapter is about to begin. I am really looking forward to what awaits me and I have this strong feeling that everything will work out just fine.

I bought my ticket already and I will be heading out on March 7th, it's official y'all! so what will I be doing for the whole month of February? I will for sure not be sitting on my butt at home counting days till departure, I will be tying any loose ends to make sure I leave my affairs in order and I will be doing a side gig to make money in the mean time.

I have been doing this side gig for years now and it pays decent money.......traveling is an expensive hobby, I had to fund it somehow. So since I will have free time in February, I figured why not make money until I leave the country right? besides, the hours are pretty good, there is no long term commitment, it's very stress free and it will not get in the way of my preparations at all. What can I say, I never hesitate to take any opportunity to earn some money.

I finally got my passport back with 48 new pages added on. There was no sophistication in how those pages were added to my passport, you can clearly see where they stuck the new pages. It's actually funny but who cares about aesthetics, I got enough pages to spare for new stamps from all the amazing places I plan to visit. I also got my renewed driver's license so that's another item off my "to do" list.

My accommodation in Colombia is all set, I will have a lovely room mate that I met through a friend and to make matters better she is Colombian so she will show me the ropes and help me with my Spanish. Since I plan to spend about 3 months in Colombia, I am glad I will get to live with a local and immerse myself in the culture.

I found a buyer interested in my car and I am glad my car will end up with someone I actually know. I really love my car but it's got to go. We were able to strike a deal that I get to continue driving the car until I am about to leave then I can transfer the ownership. This works out perfect for me!

So far things are falling into place very well and I hope they continue to do so. I keep thinking of one of my favorite lines from Paulo Coehlo's book, The Alchemist.  "when you want something all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it." I think Paulo Coehlo is onto to something here because the universe sure is my best friend right now.