I painted my nails today.

Howdy//hi//hello.

So this evening I found out that I actually do have a place to live while I'm down under! It was a bit intimidating for quite some time there because the original plan was that I would fly into Sydney, train it up to Newcastle, and THEN start looking for housing. Creepy thought for a hometown girl who really really really has enjoyed living in the same house for 20 years of her 20-year life.

I'm calming down about it all. I think I've kind of set a reputation for myself as a worrier and a planner. I would really love to be more spontaneous, but I just love being safe that much. :) Weird concept I know.

Anywho-ha. The countdown now reads 20 days, 19 hours, 37 minutes, and 56 seconds. It's like a wakeup call. I really need to start seeing people before I jet off.

OH and I tried packing today... ha. Hahaha. Hahahahahaha. Ha. Haha. That was fun... needless to say. I'm definitely going to be depending on those vacuum-seal bags that make your clothes flat. All my friends know that I have issues with shirts. Lots and lots of shirts. But I just want to be comfortable. I will be living there for almost 6 months you know. What a weird concept. Yea so I'm totally planning on video-blogging parts of my trip out there, so the world will be able to see my sleep-deprived insanity unfold! It'll be excellent.

TO DO:
Get hiking boots
Get vacuum-seal bags (a lot)
Get wool socks (for hiking boots)
More sunscreen?
BUS PASS! (eep! forgot about that one!)

... I think I'll have to buy a pillow when I'm down there... *sigh* I wish I could bring my snuggie. Who knows, maybe they'll have an Aussie version!

Go the Distance... thank you Disney.

QUICK update.
I used an online calculator thingmajig that calculates distance between two points using latitude and longitude. I will be approximately 8,953 miles away. EEP!

That's a lot of mileage!

Anywho, still planning the madness that will ensue in 24 days! Gosh!

Kelsey

(PS) it makes me think of the song 'Go the Distance' from the Disney movie Hercules... hence the post title... hehe.

THE FIRST ENTRY...

Oh goodness.
Where do I begin?
Well, my countdown says I have exactly 28 days, 19 hours, 41 minutes and 58 seconds until I leave. How frightening is that?! I don't feel prepared, but I know as soon as Christmas is over my parents and I are kicking into high gear with planning everything. I'm becoming a bit more calm about it all, but it's still a daunting thought for me.

I am going to be living by myself in a foreign country for 158 days. 5 months. Eep!

At least it's a place they speak English. I can only imagine what I would end up saying if I went somewhere where they had a different language. I have a hard enough time speaking English correctly.

I am really really excited about sightseeing though. I could easily see myself going to Australia and just spending all my time standing and looking (and photographing!). Think about it- how many 'must see' things are there in Australia! A LOT. I can't wait to see them.

Alas- first things first. I am going to New Zealand beforehand for 2.5 weeks. :) Now that is really going to be something. I don't know what to expect, so all I can do is just be an open book. And even before the New Zealand adventures happen, the plane adventures happen. I still don't know exactly how long my flight is, but I know it's going to be a bit longer than the one from Chicago to Milan I took in the 10th grade. (With a disco party thrown by small children- but that's another story.)

Since I seem to run out of creative, interesting things to say (it is 11:56 PM...) I will now post my to do list. I have about a million of them laying around, and should probably condense them... and everyone knows I won't do that. Oh well. :]

TO DO:
Buy lots and lots of sunscreen (due to the large hole in the ozone over the continent)
Buy hiking boots (I'll be hiking a lot!)
Finalize bus passes for NZ
Finalize housing
Finalize courses

Final final final. Lots of finalizing. This is definitely not my final entry, so stay tuned folks! (I'm a total dweeb.) :]