Motion blur
I have wanted to write for days. Did I mention I envisioned this week would be maddeningly frantic???
Wednesday I helped a best friend of mine finish packing and moving boxes into a storage container. He recently divorced his partner of nearly 12 years. Part of me wishes I wasn't going, so I could be here for him. We ended the day over dinner at Gordon Biersch (cheeseburgers and oh-so-yummy garlic fries -- a bit of a tradition for us), and Resident Evil: Apocalypse. We were going to see Shaun of the Dead, but the Moviephone times were incorrect, and RE was scheduled to start in five minutes, so... It was fine. You can't go in expecting too much.
Thursday was my last dance class at the Century Ballroom, and it was sad to say goodbye to my fellow salseros. I was taking mental pictures of the ballroom all evening. I've had salsa, lindy and tango classes there for the last 2.5 years, and I adore the instructors and it is my favorite place to salsa dance in Seattle. I've been to numerous other places, and they just don't compare in size of dance floor, dancing and atmosphere.
I went out to drinks with some friends [who were unable to make my going away party] last night. I was exhausted and was planning on leaving by 10.30ish. However, we met up at a little dive bar downtown that has videogames and pinball, and a couple of the guys started playing a hunting game. OK. So we moved tables. I'd played that game only once before, and didn't do too well. So, I started playing the game next to it. I don't remember what it was called, but it was a shoot-up-the-terrorist game. I discovered that [according to that game] I generally have an 85% shot accuracy, I can clear a room of terrorists and USUALLY not hit the civilians or law enforcement, and my style of shooting alternates between the occasional headshot and the much more common groin shot. In the game, the guy terrorists would grab themselves and double over. The guys I was with commented on my predominant target with awe and cringing. The only other woman in the group did ok at the hunting game (I tried it, and interestingly, I do better at shooting skeet and frogs than I do at shooting larger targets like bucks). I sooo wish I'd had my camera last night. The expression on her face when she was concentrating and shooting was priceless. I've known her for a couple years and I've never seen that face. I ended up staying out much later than I intended, and I had a great deal of fun.
It's been sad to see people and say goodbye to them. It really started hitting me on Wednesday that nearly everytime I see a friend now, it will be the last time I see them for a year (unless they are one of the several that have talked about visiting me in Argentina or one of the ones stopping by to see me today, too). It can be very sad because I dearly love my friends. However, I'm also looking forward to all the new friends I will meet travelling, and I know that I will probably be coming back to Seattle to live and that we're all not really that far apart.
Today, I am frantically trying to get some last minute things done and am seeing my mother and a couple friends. The bigger issue today, is to do my laundry and re-pack and lighten my backpack. My backpack is currently stuffed, and there are still a few toiletries and a couple books I need to pack. Also, my backpack is insanely heavy. I put it on my back for a couple minutes after I zipped it up last night, and my back was mildly sore for an hour afterwards... My roommate picked it up, and estimates it's about 75 pounds. Shoot. Me. Now. I'm glad I have a backpack on wheels. I will definitely be reassessing my packing today, and seeing what I can remove. I won't be moving around in Argentina too much, and I know I will shed some of the clothes as they wear out, but still... I'm thinking that instead of packing a Space Bag of smaller clothing, that I will just have someone either mail it to me or have it brought to me by someone that visits me. I also have to remember that while taking a pair of jeans sounds appealing, the weather will be hot there. I rarely wear jeans in summer, so I took them out of the bag. I expect the weather will be in the high 70s/low 80s while I'm there, and I need to keep this in mind as I re-pack today. It's just so hard packing for a year. I want to take clothes I enjoy, even though I know I can buy things along the way. Did I mention previously that while I am a light packer overall, it doesn't start out that way??
I have not been getting enough sleep for days. I sleep for maybe six or seven hours, and then I wake up. I'm exhausted and my body just won't give in. I sleep fine when I do, but six or seven hours is not enough this week. Each morning, my mind automatically clicks to "ok, what do I need to pack" and "x days until I leave". Every day, my mind is spinning with details, things to do, things to pack, general stress about the trip and general stress about saying goodbye to my friends All Day Long. And now I'm starting my period today. Oh, the joys of that during long flights. I'm expecting that I will get to Florida and then sleep in my hotel rooms. I sure hope so, otherwise I will be a wreck when I get to Argentina.
It's been raining off and on this week, and I've loved it. I'm going to miss experiencing the rest of Autumn. One of the reasons I like rain in autumn is that it always seems the leaves on the tress are a little more vibrant after the rain. It's likely just the rain washing off dust and car exhaust, but it is such a lovely effect. I'm also a Seattle-ite that just loves the rain.
My final thought/wish for this morning: Please don't let Mt. St. Helens have a massive eruption today or tomorrow morning. Please.
Wednesday I helped a best friend of mine finish packing and moving boxes into a storage container. He recently divorced his partner of nearly 12 years. Part of me wishes I wasn't going, so I could be here for him. We ended the day over dinner at Gordon Biersch (cheeseburgers and oh-so-yummy garlic fries -- a bit of a tradition for us), and Resident Evil: Apocalypse. We were going to see Shaun of the Dead, but the Moviephone times were incorrect, and RE was scheduled to start in five minutes, so... It was fine. You can't go in expecting too much.
Thursday was my last dance class at the Century Ballroom, and it was sad to say goodbye to my fellow salseros. I was taking mental pictures of the ballroom all evening. I've had salsa, lindy and tango classes there for the last 2.5 years, and I adore the instructors and it is my favorite place to salsa dance in Seattle. I've been to numerous other places, and they just don't compare in size of dance floor, dancing and atmosphere.
I went out to drinks with some friends [who were unable to make my going away party] last night. I was exhausted and was planning on leaving by 10.30ish. However, we met up at a little dive bar downtown that has videogames and pinball, and a couple of the guys started playing a hunting game. OK. So we moved tables. I'd played that game only once before, and didn't do too well. So, I started playing the game next to it. I don't remember what it was called, but it was a shoot-up-the-terrorist game. I discovered that [according to that game] I generally have an 85% shot accuracy, I can clear a room of terrorists and USUALLY not hit the civilians or law enforcement, and my style of shooting alternates between the occasional headshot and the much more common groin shot. In the game, the guy terrorists would grab themselves and double over. The guys I was with commented on my predominant target with awe and cringing. The only other woman in the group did ok at the hunting game (I tried it, and interestingly, I do better at shooting skeet and frogs than I do at shooting larger targets like bucks). I sooo wish I'd had my camera last night. The expression on her face when she was concentrating and shooting was priceless. I've known her for a couple years and I've never seen that face. I ended up staying out much later than I intended, and I had a great deal of fun.
It's been sad to see people and say goodbye to them. It really started hitting me on Wednesday that nearly everytime I see a friend now, it will be the last time I see them for a year (unless they are one of the several that have talked about visiting me in Argentina or one of the ones stopping by to see me today, too). It can be very sad because I dearly love my friends. However, I'm also looking forward to all the new friends I will meet travelling, and I know that I will probably be coming back to Seattle to live and that we're all not really that far apart.
Today, I am frantically trying to get some last minute things done and am seeing my mother and a couple friends. The bigger issue today, is to do my laundry and re-pack and lighten my backpack. My backpack is currently stuffed, and there are still a few toiletries and a couple books I need to pack. Also, my backpack is insanely heavy. I put it on my back for a couple minutes after I zipped it up last night, and my back was mildly sore for an hour afterwards... My roommate picked it up, and estimates it's about 75 pounds. Shoot. Me. Now. I'm glad I have a backpack on wheels. I will definitely be reassessing my packing today, and seeing what I can remove. I won't be moving around in Argentina too much, and I know I will shed some of the clothes as they wear out, but still... I'm thinking that instead of packing a Space Bag of smaller clothing, that I will just have someone either mail it to me or have it brought to me by someone that visits me. I also have to remember that while taking a pair of jeans sounds appealing, the weather will be hot there. I rarely wear jeans in summer, so I took them out of the bag. I expect the weather will be in the high 70s/low 80s while I'm there, and I need to keep this in mind as I re-pack today. It's just so hard packing for a year. I want to take clothes I enjoy, even though I know I can buy things along the way. Did I mention previously that while I am a light packer overall, it doesn't start out that way??
I have not been getting enough sleep for days. I sleep for maybe six or seven hours, and then I wake up. I'm exhausted and my body just won't give in. I sleep fine when I do, but six or seven hours is not enough this week. Each morning, my mind automatically clicks to "ok, what do I need to pack" and "x days until I leave". Every day, my mind is spinning with details, things to do, things to pack, general stress about the trip and general stress about saying goodbye to my friends All Day Long. And now I'm starting my period today. Oh, the joys of that during long flights. I'm expecting that I will get to Florida and then sleep in my hotel rooms. I sure hope so, otherwise I will be a wreck when I get to Argentina.
It's been raining off and on this week, and I've loved it. I'm going to miss experiencing the rest of Autumn. One of the reasons I like rain in autumn is that it always seems the leaves on the tress are a little more vibrant after the rain. It's likely just the rain washing off dust and car exhaust, but it is such a lovely effect. I'm also a Seattle-ite that just loves the rain.
My final thought/wish for this morning: Please don't let Mt. St. Helens have a massive eruption today or tomorrow morning. Please.
posted by Shana @ 9:29 AM
1 Comments:
At 10:15 AM,
Just Me said…
Leaving is stressful but, by now, I hope that the travelling feels like fun. Look forward to the first blog from Argentina! Gee, I'm getting wanderlust, reading your blog and Raul's...
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