D-day minus 5 months and a bit...

In a few days there are only 5 months left until I am planning to do my last working day, and about 5 months and a week until I'm planning to change my apartment for a backpack, my high heeled boots for trekking shoes, my 9-5 (or rather 9.30-7) working day for adventure, planning for conferences to planning for where to go next or preferably to 'no planning at all', a pay check to slowly - hopefully - eating through my savings.

5 months!!!!! How did this happen? I remember a morning that feels like it happened yesterday, when I calculated the time left and realised there was still more than 7 months to go. And 7 months sounded like loads of time! Now, there's only 5 months left - and somehow 5 months sound like a very short time indeed. I mean, 3 months have already passed since the birth of 2010 and what have I done in these 3 months??? Well, except for some cool days skiing, and a lot of days kind of working, the answer has to be: dodilidodili close to nothing!

But in the 5 months left before I leave, besides organise 4 conferences, prepare 2 publications of participants papers, budget and oversee the translation, editing and printing of 7 national context analysis papers, oversee the financial side of one of our external offices, prepare 2 financial and narrative reports, create project proposals and find funding for projects that I will not be here to implement (somehow now that I am soon to leave, I have loads of ideas that for once my boss is actually listened...), and prepare for handing over my projects to someone else (sort through 5 years of mail, papers, information on my personal drive etc).

Besides all that work related stuff, in these 5 months I also have to find time to do the following preparations for the trip:

- get a thousand and one vaccinations,
- find a backpack, well once I've decided what size and type I want - why do I feel that this might turn into a last minute buy?
- find the right shoes (trekking, sandals, a 'nice pair'),
- get visas,
- get e-banking,
- get a first-aid pack,
- chose clothes and stuff to bring,
- get a thousand small and not so small stuff (Swiss army knife, zip-lock bags, packing tubes, day pack, rain jacket, sports bra and underwear, earplugs, flash light, duct tape, journal, money bag, travel towel..... and so on),
- decide if I want to bring a computer, and if so, chose what model,
- find someone to rent out our apartment to (for a bizarre period - possibly 2 months sharing with N, 6 months by themselves, 4 months sharing with N),
- go through all my books, clothes, papers, shoes and other stuff and get rid of a big part (a third at least? ouch!!), packing up the rest (the plan is to store it all in our basement but it's not very big),
- find a good but not too expensive health and travel insurance,
- get flight tickets and decide what system to go by (RTW ticket, or single tickets or....)
- decide on what country to start from... (a small, kind of tiny, decision ;))
- decide on what country to meet N in...,
- choose the language school(s) (thinking about possibly doing 1 month intensive Spanish in one country, and then a second month in another country - hence allowing me visit, during weekends, and get to know at least 2 countries during the first 2 months),
- learn some Spanish before leaving (optional, but would be very good),
- etc, etc.

In addition I should also supposedly try to get rid of my arachnophobia before I leave!!? This came as a suggestion by a couple of friends who do not understand that to get rid of my impossible fear of spiders, I will most probably have to put myself under the obligation to have to touch a spider at some point, and probably a BIG spider - now why on earth would I want to put myself through that? I mean, going through therapy means a most definite obligation to touch spiders! Travelling through the areas I want to go to, means a possible risk of having to touch a spider... Hopefully a very tiny risk. A lot bigger risk will be to have a big spider in my hostel room - but the answer to that would be very simple - I would just have to move to another hostel! :D

And of course, I shall also try to enjoy spring, meet friends, travel for Easter, travel 4 times for work, travel for Ascension, and then in the summer, say goodbye to family, extended family and friends - meaning trips to Sweden, Slovenia and Portugal! Plus a wedding in Greece.

Hmmmm am I the only one that just got severely stressed?