Today marked the start of my 4 week holiday from work. At the end of this week, I will be going on my first international holiday. In fact, this trip is going to be a lot of firsts for me: my first international flight, my first time taking a full 4 week holiday from work, and the first time Mat and I will have travelled somewhere together for 2 weeks. I suppose I could get technical and say it was the first time I’ve been on holidays with my family for 2 weeks (since I left home at least), first flight lasting longer than 4 hours, first time I’ve needed a passport etc etc. Perhaps it’s just easier if I sum it up and say that this holiday is going to be a huge first for me.
I’m feeling the stress too. I’m constantly thinking of things that I need to do, if I have everything covered etc. I’ve done the essentials – I have a passport, I registered for a Visa waiver for the US, flights/accommodation booked, and travel insurance booked. It’s the smaller things – what do I need to pack? Am I allowed such and such in my carry on bag? What have I got to do at home before I go? Is my dog Turbo going to be taken care of? But to be honest, I think I’m just making a fuss because I’m just so damn excited. If I’m not thinking of what I need to pack, then I’m googling where I want to go and what I want to do when I’m over there.
The lead up to the holiday has been interesting. I’ve been fighting a cold for the past fortnight, and sucking down the lemsips and tablets to make sure it doesn’t hit me. It’s worked too, but coincidentally a flu pandemic has just hit the planet. The swine flu. I’m pretty sure I don’t need to post a link because everyone has heard it/read it/become so sick of it they don’t want to hear any more. I tossed up with getting a flu shot but in the end decided against it – I never have flu shots and every year I’m fine. The flu shot also doesn’t deal with swine flu, so really it would almost be pointless. I’ve also had a cold sore which has thankfully now gone away. I think there was something else too, but come today, my health is pretty good so I’m happy!
Courtesy of twitter I was directed to a packing application that would allow me to create a list on my phone (or edit any of the template lists already created) and tick the items off as I packed them. When I get home I’ll be sure to post a full review of the app and whether it helped me. Hopefully I won’t forget anything, but if I do, I’m sure I’ll be able to find somewhere to buy it. Speaking of purchases, I sure have bought a lot of stuff in the lead up to this holiday:
- The big one – a brand spanking new video camera
- Camera accessories – camera bag, additional battery, new tripod with horizontal panning (worked out to be over $300 worth of accessories)
- New luggage – Mat and I only had a single old bag we’d been using for small trips, and it was pretty much dead. Definitely not something we could travel overseas with.
- Noise cancelling headphones – I’m expecting these to be my saviour when I’m on the plane
Of course there’s lots of small items not worth mentioning (small toiletries etc). When I look back at the list I’d made last year for the holiday, I’ve actually done pretty well! I’ve purchased 2/3 (camera & luggage). I didn’t buy a mini laptop (although Mat did once give me permission to buy one), but I’ll have my iphone to use, and will borrow my sisters laptop to transfer videos from my video camera onto my external hard drive.
All I’ve really got left to do before we go is pack my bag, hand my itinerary to a friend, and go! This week will be difficult to get through, I’m just itching to get to the USA. So I beg of you, is it time to go YET?
