Well... after 3+ months of excitment and anticipation the time has come for me to commence this journey. In 6 hours I'll be heading to the airport and off to circumnavigate planet Earth. (It really does sound more dramatic when you call it "planet Earth," don't you think?).
I spent all day today choosing shirts & pants, and then putting them all away and going with different shirts & pants (I did this 4 times). I counted and recounted the numbers of pairs of underwear I planned to pack (29). And then I looked at my dining room table, full of "stuff" and started to worry. There was no way it would all fit into two bags, and weigh less than 100 lbs. Somehow the travel gods were with me, b/c it all fit with room to spare. I even had some extra space for the last minute add ons like Rainbow's End Trail Mix (the BEST ever from TJ's). I'm quite sure I will be the only dinosaur on the ship using a DiscMan instead of an iPod. I came to the conclusion that while I am generally a disorganized, messy, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of guy... I am really travel-anal. Yes, I said travel-anal, and it is a funny expression. Feel free to borrow it and claim it as your own. I swear I spent at least an hour crosschecking 3 different sets of packing lists. But I'll be damned if I'm not prepared for any eventuality. (Erupting volcanos? no sweat!).
The last little gift I received for my journey comes courtesy of Jennifer Gamble, my new colleague and friend. She just got off the Fall '06 voyage and was incredibly helpful as I geared up for my trip. She gave me a wrist band that is printed with the phrase "Ready for the World!" And that's just what I am. So when I wake up in the morning (at 4am, yikes!) I'm gonna slap on my bracelet and then I'm off to see the world.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Contacting Drew @ Sea
Now that I am a full-fledged big-time 30-year-old adult (grey hair and all), I think that I'm entitled to a mid-life crisis. Rather than buying a fancy car I can't afford, or dating a teenager (I can't afford), I'm going to travel instead. I wanted to make sure that everyone had my contact info. If you get an itch to send me a little note, picture, card, funny newsclipping, etc... I'd really love it.
You can try emailing me at drew_adelman@hotmail.com, but my internet time will be severely limited, so you may not get a timely response. Your best bet is to send me something the old fashion way... Elvis stamps and all. The address info is below.
The U.S. Post Office recommends sending international mail AT LEAST two weeks in advance. Please keep in mind that mail service in other countries may vary. WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND that letters be sent via AIRMAIL only and that you DO NOT SEND PACKAGES. In many cases, packages are held up in customs or the local post office and excessive duty is charged. Many times packages are not received by the intended recipient onboard. We also recommend that you do not enclose currency in the mail. The port agent in each country will make every possible effort to deliver mail to the ship however, the Institute for Shipboard Education will not assume responsibility for any undelivered or lost mail.
TO SEND MAIL TO DREW PLEASE ADDRESS IT AS FOLLOWS:
Drew Adelman C/O: MV Explorer
Arrival Date
Port Agent Address
San Juan, PUERTO RICO, Arrive Feb. 7 (send mail by Jan. 24)
Cruise Plus Service & Sales
Fernandez Juncos Avenue
San Juan, PUERTO RICO, 00909
Salvador, BRAZIL, Arrive Feb. 17 (send mail by Feb. 3)
Oceanus Agencia Maritima
Av. Estados Unidos, 397, Room 601-604
40018-900 Salvador, BAHIA-BRASIL
Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA , Arrive Mar. 2 (send mail by Feb. 16)
John T. Rennie & Sons
PO Box 702, 1 Thibault House
8000 Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA
Port Louis, MAURITIUS, Arrive Mar. 15 (send mail by Mar. 1)
Ireland Blyth Limited
1 Queen Street, P.O. Box 53
Port Louis, MAURITIUS
Chennai, INDIA, Arrive Mar. 25 (send mail by Mar. 11)
J.M. Baxi & CO. 52 Rajaji Salai
Chennai-600 001, INDIA
Penang, MALAYSIA, Arrive Apr. 2 (send by Mar. 19)
Inchcape Shipping Services SDN
4th Floor Unit 4B
Wisma Saw Chong Thuah
39-c, Pengkalan Weld
10300 Penang, MALAYSIA
Ho Chi Minh City, VIETNAM , Arrive Apr. 9 (send mail by Mar. 26)
General Forwarding & Agency
5th Floor Osic Building
8 Nguyen Hue Avenue
D. 1, Ho Chi Minh City, VIETNAM
HONG KONG Arrive Apr. 17 (send mail by Apr. 3)
Inchcape Shipping Services (HK) Ltd.
Units 1802-1805, 18th Floor
N° 3 Lockhart Road
Wanchai, HONG KONG-CHINA
Qindao, CHINA, Arrive Apr. 21 (send mail by Apr. 7)
Penavico Qingdao
21 Wuxia Road
Quingdao, 266002, P.R. CHINA
Kobe, JAPAN, Arrive Apr. 25 (send mail by Apr. 11)
Inchcape Shipping Services
Kenryu Bldg II, Room 303
6, Kaigan-dori, Chuo-ku
Kobe-shi, Hyogo-Ken 650-0024, JAPAN
Honolulu, USA, Arrive May 7 (send mail by Apr. 23)
Inchcape Shipping Services Gentry Pacific Center
260 North Numitz Hwy, Suite 103
HONOLULU, Hawaii 96817, USA
You can try emailing me at drew_adelman@hotmail.com, but my internet time will be severely limited, so you may not get a timely response. Your best bet is to send me something the old fashion way... Elvis stamps and all. The address info is below.
The U.S. Post Office recommends sending international mail AT LEAST two weeks in advance. Please keep in mind that mail service in other countries may vary. WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND that letters be sent via AIRMAIL only and that you DO NOT SEND PACKAGES. In many cases, packages are held up in customs or the local post office and excessive duty is charged. Many times packages are not received by the intended recipient onboard. We also recommend that you do not enclose currency in the mail. The port agent in each country will make every possible effort to deliver mail to the ship however, the Institute for Shipboard Education will not assume responsibility for any undelivered or lost mail.
TO SEND MAIL TO DREW PLEASE ADDRESS IT AS FOLLOWS:
Drew Adelman C/O: MV Explorer
Arrival Date
Port Agent Address
San Juan, PUERTO RICO, Arrive Feb. 7 (send mail by Jan. 24)
Cruise Plus Service & Sales
Fernandez Juncos Avenue
San Juan, PUERTO RICO, 00909
Salvador, BRAZIL, Arrive Feb. 17 (send mail by Feb. 3)
Oceanus Agencia Maritima
Av. Estados Unidos, 397, Room 601-604
40018-900 Salvador, BAHIA-BRASIL
Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA , Arrive Mar. 2 (send mail by Feb. 16)
John T. Rennie & Sons
PO Box 702, 1 Thibault House
8000 Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA
Port Louis, MAURITIUS, Arrive Mar. 15 (send mail by Mar. 1)
Ireland Blyth Limited
1 Queen Street, P.O. Box 53
Port Louis, MAURITIUS
Chennai, INDIA, Arrive Mar. 25 (send mail by Mar. 11)
J.M. Baxi & CO. 52 Rajaji Salai
Chennai-600 001, INDIA
Penang, MALAYSIA, Arrive Apr. 2 (send by Mar. 19)
Inchcape Shipping Services SDN
4th Floor Unit 4B
Wisma Saw Chong Thuah
39-c, Pengkalan Weld
10300 Penang, MALAYSIA
Ho Chi Minh City, VIETNAM , Arrive Apr. 9 (send mail by Mar. 26)
General Forwarding & Agency
5th Floor Osic Building
8 Nguyen Hue Avenue
D. 1, Ho Chi Minh City, VIETNAM
HONG KONG Arrive Apr. 17 (send mail by Apr. 3)
Inchcape Shipping Services (HK) Ltd.
Units 1802-1805, 18th Floor
N° 3 Lockhart Road
Wanchai, HONG KONG-CHINA
Qindao, CHINA, Arrive Apr. 21 (send mail by Apr. 7)
Penavico Qingdao
21 Wuxia Road
Quingdao, 266002, P.R. CHINA
Kobe, JAPAN, Arrive Apr. 25 (send mail by Apr. 11)
Inchcape Shipping Services
Kenryu Bldg II, Room 303
6, Kaigan-dori, Chuo-ku
Kobe-shi, Hyogo-Ken 650-0024, JAPAN
Honolulu, USA, Arrive May 7 (send mail by Apr. 23)
Inchcape Shipping Services Gentry Pacific Center
260 North Numitz Hwy, Suite 103
HONOLULU, Hawaii 96817, USA
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Happy 30th Birthday to ME!!!
Happy Birthday to ME!! Today I turned 30 years young. It really crept up on me. It's almost funny how unprepared I was for my own birthday. One would think that on such a big birthday occassion as this, I would be ready to celebrate and make a big deal out of the event. The truth is, it surprised the hell out of me. I made no real plans other than dinner with my sister & brother-in-law. No parties, no gifts... no real celebration of any kind. But I am not at all bummed out. I will be celebrating for teh next 3 1/2 months as I travel around the world. I'm going to think of Semester at Sea as my birthday present.
In a sense, I did get a gift in the mail today. I got notification from Semester at Sea that I got all of the trips I applied for. I am SOO stoked b/c I was really specific and careful about the trips I selected. So now I know I am going to be checking out Rio for Carnival, going on a tented safari in South Africa's Kwazulu-Natal Game Reserve, visiting Cambodia & Angkor Wat when I visit Vietnam, and checking out some awesome sites in Puerto Rico. How lucky am I?!?! Now I can start planning my sky diving adventure in Cape Town. That's my real 30-year old present.
I'm only 5 days away from boarding a plane and beginning my journey. I can't believe the time has almost arrived. I've spent the last few weeks obsessing about all the details and worrying about so many aspects of the trip. Somehow, this past weekend, I stopped freaking out about everything. I'm juuuust about ready to go. All the stomache butterflies must have crept out my bellybutton while I slept, b/c I'm starting to feel pretty zen about everything.
My dining room table is practically breaking under the weight of all the things I need to somehow fit into my luggage. I am going to start praying to the travel Gods to help me get everything to the Bahamas. Heck, if it can snow in Arizona (as it did in Tucson two days ago) then I am sure that I'll get all my chonies to Nassau!!
Love to you all!
-D
In a sense, I did get a gift in the mail today. I got notification from Semester at Sea that I got all of the trips I applied for. I am SOO stoked b/c I was really specific and careful about the trips I selected. So now I know I am going to be checking out Rio for Carnival, going on a tented safari in South Africa's Kwazulu-Natal Game Reserve, visiting Cambodia & Angkor Wat when I visit Vietnam, and checking out some awesome sites in Puerto Rico. How lucky am I?!?! Now I can start planning my sky diving adventure in Cape Town. That's my real 30-year old present.
I'm only 5 days away from boarding a plane and beginning my journey. I can't believe the time has almost arrived. I've spent the last few weeks obsessing about all the details and worrying about so many aspects of the trip. Somehow, this past weekend, I stopped freaking out about everything. I'm juuuust about ready to go. All the stomache butterflies must have crept out my bellybutton while I slept, b/c I'm starting to feel pretty zen about everything.
My dining room table is practically breaking under the weight of all the things I need to somehow fit into my luggage. I am going to start praying to the travel Gods to help me get everything to the Bahamas. Heck, if it can snow in Arizona (as it did in Tucson two days ago) then I am sure that I'll get all my chonies to Nassau!!
Love to you all!
-D
Saturday, January 6, 2007
23 days..... OMG!
Happy New Year. Welcome 2007!!!
T-minus 23 days until I leave for the big voyage. Oh... My.... GOD!!!
I can't believe it's almost here. Three months ago, when I got the news, I was SO ready to get on the ship and DO this. Now that the reality is so close at hand, there feels like a million details that need to be handled before I'll be mentally prepared to leave. I guess it will all work itself out. (Do I have a choice?). At least the small things are falling into place. I am now the proud owner of a lovely pair of olive green Crocs (thanks Laura & CR for the suggestion and Stacy for the Xmas gift) and a rockin' pair of Merrells (thanks Leigh for the idea & Julie/Reed for the gift). I have a money belt, and sea sickness bracelets, and well... a lot of "stuff." Now if I can only figure out where to purchase some peace of mind (and a side order of sanity, please?).
I repeat: Oh..... My...... GOD!
T-minus 23 days until I leave for the big voyage. Oh... My.... GOD!!!
I can't believe it's almost here. Three months ago, when I got the news, I was SO ready to get on the ship and DO this. Now that the reality is so close at hand, there feels like a million details that need to be handled before I'll be mentally prepared to leave. I guess it will all work itself out. (Do I have a choice?). At least the small things are falling into place. I am now the proud owner of a lovely pair of olive green Crocs (thanks Laura & CR for the suggestion and Stacy for the Xmas gift) and a rockin' pair of Merrells (thanks Leigh for the idea & Julie/Reed for the gift). I have a money belt, and sea sickness bracelets, and well... a lot of "stuff." Now if I can only figure out where to purchase some peace of mind (and a side order of sanity, please?).
I repeat: Oh..... My...... GOD!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
