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Archive for December, 2006

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Happy New Year

Sunday, December 31st, 2006

2007 is here in just a few hours.

I had my going away party last night. It was nice. I decided that last night was my NYE celebration so tonight I’m taking it easy. I tend to like doing NYE quietly.

I went over to my grandparent’s for dinner tonight and got to say good bye to them. My grandma seems really excited for my trip. She gave me prayer card for St. Christopher who is the patron saint of travel. I thought it was very thoughtful and regardless of my beliefs I have no problem honoring her wish to keep it with me in my pack while I’m traveling.

May the Almighty and merciful Lord direct us on the road of peace and prosperity, and may the Angel Raphael be our companion on our journey; so that we may return to our home and loved ones with peace, refreshment, and all joy.

St. Christopher, patron of travelers, pray for us, and protect us from evil.

I leave in less than 72 hours and I actually think I’m ready. I don’t know if the world is ready for me yet. With the current situation in East Africa, bombs in Madrid and Bangkok, it seems to all be hitting really hard right now. My next post should be my final “pre-trip” entry and pretty soon I will be signing in from exotic locations.

Posted in Pre-Trip | 2 Comments »

One More Week

Tuesday, December 26th, 2006

1 week to go. Christmas is over and New Years is coming up this weekend. I have a limited amount of time to get all my last minute stuff taken care of. I haven’t been sleeping well the last 2 weeks since I left work. This is probably a result of not NEEDING to be up early as well as some anxiety.

I’m going to be booking my first 2 nights in Nairobi tonight that way I’m not stressed out on arrival and can recover from the long flight. I usually love to fly but I’m not looking forward to 2 back-to-back 8 hour hauls.

Christmas was good. I got a few things that I needed from my mom to help me out and a little bit of cash. Lets see, I still need to get my visa photos this week, take care of some legal stuff, get a few more items and I should be all set. I want to be all done by the weekend so I don’t have to worry about it with New Years Eve.

The situation in Ethiopia seems to be ok right now but I’m keeping my eye on it every day until I leave. They declared war on Somalia this week and have troops advancing to the capital but as far as I can see this is going to be a war fought in Somali soil and not Ethiopian. Either way, I’m going to register with the US Embassy upon arrival and keep up on the local news while I’m there.

Posted in Pre-Trip | No Comments »

Monday Update

Monday, December 18th, 2006
I thought I'd be updating every day since I left work but it had been a busy weekend with hanging out with some co-workers at Bennigan's on Friday night as well as football on Sunday. I really enjoyed Friday ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in Pre-Trip | 1 Comment »

Stability in Africa?

Wednesday, December 6th, 2006
Who really knows how this is all going to turn out but for the time being, good news is coming out of central Africa. Today the Democractic Republic of Congo sworn in it's first elected president in over 40 ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in Pre-Trip | 1 Comment »

Bank of America is AWESOME

Wednesday, December 6th, 2006
I have heard a lot of bad things about Bank of America from different people but I have yet to see where the problem is. Last night I called customer service to see if I could get international ATM ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in Pre-Trip | 1 Comment »

Why Now?

Tuesday, December 5th, 2006
From the immortal words of James Hetfield of Metallica: Rover, wanderer, nomad, vagabond, call me what you will. I have posted this in a previous trip travel blog but I thought it was intergral in my planning for this trip so ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in Pre-Trip | 1 Comment »