87 days until trip begins
I officially bought my plane tickets today from Airtreks so the countdown begins. I leave for Easter Island on March 2 from New Orleans, LA. I only bought tickets for the first 6 months of my trip and I will buy the remainder on an as need basis. Work also informed me today that I will be transferring to Louisiana next week to work at our plant there until I go on my trip. This is great news for me. I was originally going to quit my job on January 31 and move to Louisiana anyway to live with friends and my parents as I finished making arrangements for my trip. Going to Louisiana earlier will allow me to begin my final trip preparations earlier. This means I can work longer and save more money. It is basically the best of all worlds for me. YAYYYYYY!!!!
Before I leave for Louisiana on Sunday, I have quite a few things I have to finish up here in South Carolina. Thursday night I take my last final exam and finish the PMBA programs at USC. This moment will be 28 months in the making. Let’s here another YAYYYYYYY!!!. My roomate and I are throwing a Christmas party Friday night. This will probably be the last time that I get to see my friends that I have made here (simulated crying and sniffing in text form). Instead of doing the responsible thing and studying Tuesday night, I helped my roomate and some of his friends decorate for the party. Bear Reading, Snowman peeking from clock, Christmas Tree . Above are some pictures of the decorations for your enjoyment. Some of you will recognize some of the decorations.
As my last day at my current job approachs things are getting quite interesting. Apparently news of my trip has created quite the buzz. Every person I approach asks me about it. It appears that the news of my impending departure spread like wildfire. I don’t know if this is because I am well liked and people are interested in what I am doing or just that everyone is so excited to see me go that they can’t wait to tell someone else about. For the moment I think I will believe in option one. Its better on the ego. At any rate the jokes have also began. Most of them involve me leaving a trail of illegitmate children spread across Asia. The most unique involves me marrying multiple women at one time while climbing Mt Everest. (Don’t ask. We have some creative people at the plant). I was planning on departing the plant with just a sedate and dignified parting email. BUT OH NO, my former boss wouldn’t hear of such a thing. We are now having a goodbye lunch on Friday which I am sure will involve quite a bit of Barry bashing (sorry I couldn’t resist the alliteration) and more shall we just say unique? jokes. Despite my complaining I am looking foward to it. It should be fun.
On a final parting note, I thought I would post an updated trip itinerary. It has changed somewhat from my first post.
March 2-10: Easter Island
March 10-17: San Fransisco (I have to return to LAX anyway for my flight to my next destination)
March 17-31: Fiji
March 31-April 10: Cook Islands
April 10-June 10: New Zealand
June 10-August 10: Australia
August 10-October 10: Hong Kong/China/Tibet
October 10-November 15: Nepal
November 15-December 1: India
December 1-December 7: Singapore
December 7-February 7: Thailand/Cambodia/Laos
February 7-April 7: France/Great Britain
Instead of flying from Thailand to Europe, I am considering taking the Trans-Siberian railway from Mongolia through Russia to Europe. A lot at this point depend on the strength of the US dollar and how much money I have left at that point.
Tags: Countdown, Leaving work, Trip Preparation
cjun
December 7th, 2006 at 9:41 am
You’ll be back in LA??!! That rocks… you didn’t put in a date, but sounds like you’ll be back here really soon… may have to come see me….nrnrCongrats – it sounds like things are really working out for you!
December 9th, 2006 at 10:23 am
Glad to see everything is falling into place. As I mentioned last night – take lots of photos and keep us informed on your travels.
Please have a safe journey to LA!
Sincerely,
Dogwood
December 14th, 2006 at 4:07 pm
Hey sounds like alot of fun and a great experience, you might think of taking up being a world history, or geography teacher when you get back. By the way my father works with you he sent me your blog page I will try to put it out there with some of my friends.
Sincerely
Andrew
(son of Bob Schoonover)
December 17th, 2006 at 6:02 pm
Thanks, having a bigger audience will give me more of an incentive to write