ONE WEEK- JUST ONE.

ONE WEEK!

I can't believe it's this close. Now things really are going to start going...

I gotta finish packing, because it's one week away! AHHH!
I gotta photocopy all my important documents, and figure out how to conveniently carry everything so I don't curse at my luggage. (The handbook's words, not mine.)
I gotta pick and choose between my shoes! That'll be a sad day... I'll just buy some there!

I can't believe it's here... now I'm kinda freaking out cause I gotta do laundry! Ohhhh boy. :)

It starts!

Lindsey left today! What a weird feeling! I believe she'll be arriving in Atlanta pretty quick here. (Kirk has been behaving lately, which explains why I'm up before 10.) Anyways, Linds left last night (or early this morning, 6-ish), after we all said goodbye at like 1:30 in the morning. Crazy lateness. My friend Stu is leaving for LA today too! Everyone is splitting off it seems. Well good luck to all in their travels! It'll be weird not being able to talk to or see everyone on a normal basis. I'll appreciate you guys more this way haha!

Urggg my house's thermostat is set on a program so that when everyone goes to work it gets colder... it forgets that I'm still here!! Frigid man.. frigid. I've tried overriding it but those stupid machines don't listen to anyone. So here I am, cold.

My friend Katie gave me a going-away gift, which is pretty tight, because it's stuff I'll for sure be using on my flight to Fiji. (Thanks Katie!) I needed a journal fa-sho... and the markers are supes cute! :) :)

Anywho... the schedule continues on in monotony. Packing practice today, plus cleaning my room. I went to the mall and Target with Steph yesterday and got some cool stuff. :) (ALL-RIGHTY THEN!) And we'll be having a Grammy party on Sunday, which will be fun before she goes back to school. Eep school. I forget I'm going to Australia to study... what a concept. ;)

Anyways, I should probably get on with my day, seeing as it is now the time I would normally be getting up, courtesy of Kirk. :)

Here's a picture for ya:

My lovely fabs- I'll miss you guys!
From left, Katie, Linds, Steph, and myself

Hope you lovelies have a splendid day! And to those already in AUS (or Fiji): JEALOUS!!

Haiti we can see your halo...

Yea so the whole, going-to-bed-by-11 thing, didn't work out.
I bet we all saw that coming... including me.
Last night sucked, because I was in my bed by 12, which is an improvement, and when do I wake up? 6!!! SIX IN THE MORNING! Could I get back to sleep? Noooooooo. Why? Who knows?!?!

Stupid insomnia. I'm going to give it a name. Kirk. Kirk has been plaguing me for far too long. Ridiculous.

Anyways so I did yoga this morning, which calmed me down and it felt really good. :) If you ever are in need of yoga, but don't want to go to a class, YouTube it! Yay YouTube!!

So Lindsey leaves for La Citta Eterna on Wednesday. Two days! I'm going to miss you Linds! You're going to have the best time of your life! (And I'm looking forward to that collage of gelatos you told me about!) It's going to be weird being on a separate continent from your friends and family. Thank god for Skype.



Anyways, I have generalized packing done for Fiji, but thanks to Linds I am now equipped with a healthy list of things I'm bringing. I hate weight restrictions.

BUT I'm super super excited for Fiji. I can't wait to be tan again. People have been telling me I've been looking pale lately, which is shocking for me, and I hate that. I've always been tannish. I need tannnn!

Alas. I should get on with my day. Time to go to Tarjay and get some stuff, and then Linds and I have our camera class tonight! Hooray camera class! I'll finally figure my camera out! 'Bout time!

Later loveskis.
PS. I know I talk about the same things in practically every post, but that's because nothing really excited has happened yet... just wait until I get there!!!!

OH and please keep donating to Haiti through the Red Cross or other established organizations! Things like this don't just go away!

Haven't Met You Yet- Michael Buble

I went to the zoo today. LOVE that place... seriously. I'm sure everyone there is like... really? Go do something else, because I visit so often. Oh well.. haha! Anyways, it was lovely, and I miss my gray-faced and fuzzy friends dearly- and the trainers of course!!

So plans are coming along- we finally finalized housing for real this time. :) Finally. Heh. Fiji is done too, and I believe I'm sitting in a window seat. Woop woop! Even though all I'll be able to see pretty much is ocean the whole way. Oh well, I like looking out the window, and I can sleep against it (plus!).

I have tried packing again, and it's definitely a lot lot lot easier with a regular suitcase, though I'm still bringing my internal frame backpack for smaller trips. :) So I'm excited about that. I'm really excited to get my tan back. I feel like I haven't been tan in 4 years, and that is far too long for me!

Other than planning and seeing people before I leave, nothing much has been happening. I still have my self-diagnosed insomnia where I can't seem to sleep before 1:30 in the morning. Sucks because then I wake up at 10:30 and feel like I've wasted my day. I'm going to try to be in bed by 11 tonight. We'll see how that goes. My friend Lindsey leaves for Rome in a week, so that'll be weird to say goodbye to her, but she'll have so much fun. :) Good luck Linds! (I promise I'll get my Cheesecake Factory food from you tomorrow or something!)

Anyways, I have not eaten lunch yet, and so I think I will make myself some Spaghettios. Yum haha! (I can just hear people going 'ewwww')

Love love love love love love.
PS Listen to the song in my title- it's really good!!!

Random Fact: I don't like tomatoes, but I like ketchup!

Hello my friends, and creepstas of the internet. :)
I hope you're all good and well. I've been doing well as of lately, because Fiji is finalized! Huzzah! Thank God I have a plan that I'm comfortable with, and am excited about.

I'm super excited. I originally wanted to go to Fiji, so I'm happy it has worked out. I strongly believe that things are always OK in the end. If things aren't OK, then it's not the end. And I definitely feel OK about this, so that's a plus.

I've been shopping a lot, with my mom, and have discovered the wonders of my new credit card. (Don't worry, I only used it once to make sure it works, and I'm secretly terrified of the thing.) Needless to say, it's nice to know that I have it if I need it.

Since Fiji is a-go, and I'm no longer backpacking through all of NZ, I can bring an actual suitcase! Even though I'm also bringing my backpack... it'll be super handy for weekend trips to Sydney and whatnot. I'm really excited, and I just hope that my classes allow me to take said weekend trips.

Speaking of trips, my parents and I have been discussing what to do when they arrive to visit me in March. So far, I might be going to NZ with them, but I'm definitely going to Kangaroo Island. The name is pretty much self-explanatory, but it's this sweet island off the coast of S. Australia (just south of Adelaide) that is literally crawling with the native species of AUS. COOL. My camera is definitely going to be getting a workout there. I'm still figuring out how to work everything on it, so I should probably practice...

Anyways, update on my current life:
Today the Vikings played the Cowboys and pretty much destroyed them, thus earning a spot in the NFC championship! (34-3) Goooo Vikes! I'm not a hardcore Vikings or football fan, but I am excited about that. I don't think the team's come this far in a long time- thank you Brett Favre (who I call Fav-rah). Then later today I visited my Gmama (grandma) who seems to be doing well, and really took a liking to my monkey face. :)

My book count is 4 in 4 days. Woo! I'm taking a break though, because it's not exactly helping my seemingly fast-developing insomnia. Oy. I'll work on that.

Anyways, the plan is now I leave for Fiji on Feb 6th, and get there the 8th. Then Feb 12th, I fly into Sydney.

Oh life, what an adventure. Feel free to drop a line lovelies!

Kelsey Lynn

Insomniaaaaaa

Yep, I definitely have insomnia. Or at least a late-night insomnia where I don't sleep until it's at least 1 in the morning. Oh well.

I've been reading a lot more. I forget how much I love to read. I've always thought it's a little weird that I read so quickly, but I get really caught up in books, and especially if it's got a fast storyline, then I read faster, and I can't help it. Who'd have thought reading could take you over... I've read two books in two days. And all in about 2 hours each...

Well that was deep. Anywayssss, about the trip, seeing as that's the whole reason I even have a blog, heh.

Fiji plans are almost finalized. I'm very excited. I've always wanted to go to a place that's this tropical and the water is that crazy blue. It's my favorite kind of blue.

I got jean shorts today. I really like them. I think I'm going to go to Target (pronounced 'tarjay' in my mind) tomorrow and look at a new swimsuit. Hum tee dum. I'm thinking I have to get a new suitcase, seeing as my talented self broke the zipper on my other one... a result of my compulsive overpacking I've told you about.

My thoughts feel very scattered right now, so I think Imma gonna try to get some sleeeeeeep.

Byeeee zzzZZzZZZZZzzzzzzz

Changes changes changes.

So, here's an upside-downer for you.

I am not going to New Zealand.
I am not leaving in 8 days and 19 hours.

Instead, I'm leaving some time after that, and I'm going to Fiji. Weird huh? All this whirlwind madness happened today. Though most of it is not fully planned or booked yet. My traveling partner is unable to make the trip to New Zealand or Australia due to circumstances where she is needed at home, which is totally fine- I understand that completely. It's just a bummer that she won't be able to, you know, travel. But I promised her I'd take lots of pictures for her and that everything works out the way it's supposed to.

I've had a dull headache for the majority of the day, and I don't ever get headaches. I think it's the stress. Time for bed, before yet another day of planning a whole new trip. Hm...

I'm very tired.

Urg blahhh!

Packing attempt #85738
Results: TOTAL FAIL.

I'm very bad at packing.
VERY very bad. And clearly very frustrated... seeing as I don't want to look like the frumpy American tourist, and I want to have the clothes I actually like wearing. Does my backpack allow this? Nooooo. Oh well. Tomorrow's another day, and my mom is going to help me! This has proven to be a much bigger challenge than I predicted...

I wonder if I'll be able to understand the Aussies... and the Kiwis...

Today's challenge:
Packing trial # 56478
Or so it seems.

I went to REI yesterday with my dad and we got me some hiking-ish shoes. They're more shoes than hiking, but they're pretty hardcore. I also asked the guy in backpacks if he thought my pack was big enough for what I'm attempting. He said if I go any bigger, the pack will just be huge and really difficult. So I'll stick with it I guess. Eep. I'm just worried about fitting my shoes in there. I've decided I officially don't like trying to be a minimalist. It's too hard for me haha.

So Tricia and I are going to get our bus passes when we land in Auckland, so that'll be good- then we don't have to worry about them mailing it to us. Convenience is of the essence. I feel like I have a lot to do, but don't really have to get it done just yet. Which is stupid because I am getting stuff done, it just feels slow. It's hard for some reason. Maybe that's because I'm backpacking beforehand... I don't know. Hmmm...

My dog is snoring again. I am going to miss his fuzzy blond self. Which reminds me, I should probably print out pictures I want to bring with me...

My mom and I were on Google Earth yesterday looking up where stuff was in relation to my apartment place down there. I'm pretty close to what I'll need, which is sweeeeet. I'm going to have to get used to riding the train though... which will be weird. Ten bucks says I get lost. Haha probably not a good thing to think. I hope I get tan. I miss being tan.

ANYWAYS. Should probably commence my packing trial now. Off with me.

A New Year!

2010.
Man, back in the day, 2010 seemed so futuristic. And yet, here we are, and I'm still wondering where my flying car is at. Oh well, I've got bigger adventures planned!

So, updating from my last post. I officially have a place to live when I'm down under! It's a huge weight off my shoulders, seeing as the original plan was to have me show up in Newcastle and look for a place once I got there. No more! I have a place to stay! I'm beginning to calm down a lot about it. I know I say that a lot, but I was really freaking out, so the calming down comes in waves.

Yesterday I bought more compression bags for my clothes. Those things work miracles I tell ya. For compulsive overpackers, they are wonderful. It makes me feel better knowing that I can bring more of my stuff then and have it take up less space. Today I'll probably do another trial run of packing. Hopefully it ends better than the last time.

I spent the weekend at my cabin, along with my parents, my mom's siblings and their spouses, and my grandparents, plus two of my friends. AKA 13 people. In a two-bedroom house. It was really fun though. We played a lot of Trivial Pursuit. It's really hard to play though when the game is a 1981 version and we weren't born until 1988 and 1989. We worked through it though. :) Anyways, it's already 11 in the morning and I don't feel like I've done much today. So off I go!

Kels