t-minus 30 days...

or 31. depending on how you count.

either way, though, one month from now i will be setting out on the first leg of my trip. down to san francisco, where i'll be playing hurling for three straight days before setting out to LA, phoenix and the land of 100 degree heat. yay!

yeah, i'm a little apprehensive about that whole heat thing. we'll see how those pants work out, or if i end up strapping them on the back and forgetting about them until i get home (or get to south dakota in late september). but, there's nothing to be done. i'll have lots of water with me, and plenty of chutzpah (i don't know if i'm allowed to use that word).

how do i feel about this whole thing one month out? well, there's a mix of feelings floating around right now. i'm definitely excited, definitely nervous and a little anxious to see how this whole thing will turn out. i'm just at that point in the planning process where, though i know it'd be ok in the end and i'll have a great time, i kind of just want it to be over. or at least started. once things get going, they tend to be fine, it's just those final weeks of planning that really start to wear on me.

i'm starting to think about this trip as my walkabout. i think it's something that, sooner or later, i would have needed to do before i could really feel ok about "settling down" a bit. i don't mean buying a house and starting a family (those that know me can laugh at that image), but there are certain aspects of my life and my career that i've continually been putting off for reasons i couldn't really put a finger on. there are some other commitments that i've let get in the way, true, but there has really been a mental block that was telling me i haven't really lived yet. not that i think this trip will solve all my problems, but i think it will be a start. it will give me something to look back on and say i've done something, i was a little crazy in my 20s, i completed what should be the trip of a lifetime, and now i can start the next phase in my life.

whoo. got a little philosophical there. well, it may happen again before this whole thing is over. you have been warned.

on the practical side of things, i set up the tent today, and it still works, with all the parts and everything. i actually set the whole thing up (with rainfly) in under 5 minutes, and broke it down almost as quickly. it's a great little tent, and super easy to use. i'm really looking forward to the camping aspect of the trip. i also went to ride west BMW to try and find a sunstrip (a little tinted strip that fits on the top part of your visor), but with no success. that's the third dealer i've tried and failed to find one of these things. it's one of the last items on my list (and one of the smallest), and so far it's been the most elusive. curse you, little sunstrip. i will vanquish you before the end of august. mark my words.

ok, i'm cursing inanimate objects. that tells me it's time to wrap it up. until next time,

rftc,

scott