Going, Going, Gone (Soon)!

It is hard for me to believe that our departure is in a matter of hours. With last minute preparations in check, it is soon time for me to get some well needed shut-eye before our flight to Chicago.

The majority of my day has been spent attempting to pack everything into my luggage. With several shirts, shorts, and pants, I'm inclined to believe that I need to stop "hoarding" my possessions and continue asking myself "Are you that crazy for bringing what can only be described as a different shirt for each occasion?" I think the most appropriate answer would certainly be "Yes." The whole experience has been like completing a Tetris puzzle or Rubiks Cube, and while it can seem bothersome at times, I get this tingling feeling whenever I figure out a good way to pack everything. The one valuable tip I have discovered is that with very soft fabrics like certain t-shirts, rolling them certainly takes up a lot less room than simply leaving them folded. I think I have rolled so many shirts that they can easily stack into a nice pyramid! The biggest worry on the back of my mind is perhaps trying to find the right balance of luggage weight. From vests, to suits, and even heavy shoes, space hasn't been as grave a concern as the weight of it all. I believe I spent a good hour trying to weigh each valuable luggage bag we had to find the perfect balance of weight versus space!

One of my several attempts to forge a manageable suit of luggage.

However, when luggage isn't on the back of my mind, getting some final preparations finished is! From visiting the dentist to picking up that final piece of medication, the entire day has been spinning around my head.

The day finally wrapped up with a wonderful dinner with my family as a sort of note on which to send me off to the East Coast. Many of my friends and family know me as a big eater and with a full rack of ribs to munch on, I certainly didn't disappoint on anyone's expectations! And after the meal concluded, I could almost feel my stomach expanding, adding "visit a fitness center" to my mental list of the hundreds of possibilities I could experience on my trip to Cornell.

A slightly haphazard and candid photo of my family as we ate.

After all the final tasks before I depart were finished, I finally got that downtime to just lay down and relax. When I did, I just wanted to take a nap and magically wake up at El Cerrito High, prepared to leave and embark on my adventure. But I suppose a regular nap and car ride will suffice.

T Minus 2 (Days) and Counting

The final count down to Cornell begins and I can say that I am very excited. All the clothes I intend on packing lay scattered across my floor; my suitcase is empty, and roughly 10 packing lists cover my bed. I cannot seem to finalize (in my mind) the outfits and miscellaneous things that belong in my suitcase. I think I have been to Target a million times and each time I forget something I needed. Being a Bay Area kid I have never experienced “real” summer weather, which makes packing for Ithaca and the 90 plus degree weather rather difficult. But now it is crunch time. My suitcase must be filled by Monday, and I must be at El Cerrito High School at 3:15 Tuesday morning.

As today is Father’s Day I am starting to realize how much I am going to miss my parents while I am gone. I have (thanks to my Dad) learned how to do my own laundry, but that does not at all mean I have confidence in my laundry doing skills. Is it awful that I am a little more worried about doing my own laundry than I am of the course? I guess I can attribute that to the wonderful background knowledge I (think I) have.

Until Chicago, over and out blog readers.