Just 5 more months

So Christmas is almost here..and the trip is now just 5 months and 1 day away from starting..that coupled with a day off yesterday, this morning off and only a few hours of work tomorrow morning, it's a pretty darn great week!

The tent arrived this morning after a bit of confusion with GLS who couldn't locate the building - it should have gotten here last week but the courier for some reason didn't try to call me and I only figured out what was happening when I thought to check the tracking info on their site. All's well that ends well though :) There I am snoozing on my morning off and the phone rings with a jolly voice telling me he'll be at the front door in 10 mins to deliver a package if I'm available to take it. Hell yea I say..tis Christmas after all and I love opening presents (though this is technically one I bought myself). Disappointingly, the guy was not very Santa-esque..he had a hat..but it was a brown baseball cap. Not a bit of red and white to be seen.

I've not tried to pitch it yet (if I start I'll get halfway through, bored and abandon it in the living room..not the best idea when I've gotta sort out the present piles into bags for delivery later. The tent seems pretty light which make me happy..not sure how much carrying I'll have to do with it along the way but I reckon once I hit Oz, I'll be posting it along with my Thermarest & any other awkwardly shaped items I don't necessarily need back home. The question will be whether they go surface mail or something quicker because if I get the career break extension I'm hoping for, then who knows how soon after I get back to the Emerald Isle I'll need them :) All will be revealed in September '09!

The planning is at a bit of a stand still because I was doing so much reading about other people's adventures I was getting a bit depressed about how far away mine is, and how quickly it'll pass by before I'm due back to same old same old. I know I've some travel book to unwrap at Christmas so I reckon I can restart the reading in the new year to see what other wonderful things are out there to be done but limit the amount of reading I do until I'm at the 3 month marker. I have to sort out a new passport and call the doctor about vaccinations etc, but these are January tasks :)

I've had some interesting chats with people about the trip of late. I've become one of those people who's started responding to the weird people in the bus/dart/taxi who strike up a conversation with me and when they ask if I've any holidays planned I beam and explain the adventure. Some think I'm mad, some are horribly jealous... One taxi man a few weeks back reckoned he'd book in on the OzBus too because there's no money in the taxi game anymore and he'd be better off sitting on a bus being driven around than driving people around Dublin and putting up with traffic. Another suggested that in order to experience Australia properly I need to go to work there, which isn't really on my plan. He reckons I won't get a rounded view of the place unless I do it and suggested either fruit picking or the traffic diversion jobs that he reckons are freely available. We'll see! The best suggestion to date was from two sisters I got talking to at a party in early December who suggested that instead of flying from Sydney to Perth I should take the train. It takes a few days but goes via Adelaide..perfect much? Apparently it's better to do it Sydney to Perth rather than the reverse..though I'm not sure I understand that logic as I assume the train goes on the same track in both directions?!? Anyways, I reckon it's something I'm definitely on for (or am at this point in time having not spent longer than an hour or so on a bus in the last 18 months). I took Amtrak from LA to NYC a few years back and it was brilliant..I didn't enjoy the lack of shower facilities too much, but I'm guessing after the lifestyle I'll become adjusted to on the overland to Oz journey I'll be less concerned about that this time around..or if money's not too tight I might see about a sleeper carriage :)

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas, and the happiest of New Year's for 2009!