in case anyone reads this who doesn't know me, all you need to know is this: i'm a lawyer, i briefly lost my path toward public interest/service/policy work and, after waking up one day and realizing that the legal work i was doing was not what i wanted my career to be and then spending about one year searching endlessly for THE job in a horrible economy filled with free deferred law firm associates, i decided to shake things up. after 29 years of running high speed toward personal and professional goals, i put on the brakes and quit my job to "live the dream" (at least that is what everyone i tell my crazy plan to tells me i am doing) and figure i should probably write about it.
so...first up is 6 weeks in europe. i'm doing what i like to call a mature backpacking trip. i'm not going to fly by the seat of my pants and crash in dorm style hostels because, to be completely honest, i'm too old for that. (evan, if you read this, don't worry...i'm completely prepared for hostels, camping, and whatever comes our way in NZ and Aus. you told me not to be one of those solo travelers sitting alone at cafes reading travel guides so a little planning was needed here).
also, as a woman traveling mostly alone, i feel a little safer having at least a room of my own on each of my stops. i'm doing a lot of shared bathrooms though. if you know me and my bathroom germ phobia you might question my ability to handle that. let me assure you, i've confronted my fears and i'm ready (although don't quote me on this if a later post rants about filthy restrooms..i reserve the right to be skeeved out).
this so-called mature backpacking trip is taking A LOT of planning. basically since my last day of work 2 weeks ago i've been as busy learning and organizing as i was 4 years ago studying for the bar exam. i even typed out my itinerary in table form and spent over an hour estimating the total cost of my trip, the estimated cost of my train travel, and whether a eurail pass is a ripoff (the answer, for me, is yes). and let's not forget the actual purchase of a backpack, travel appropriate clothes/shoes (read: durable and easy to handwash while retaining a bit of style), and various necessities. the cats have been a big help with all of this.
in the less than 2 weeks i have left until i leave i have to: figure out how to freeze my US life for 6 weeks, make sure all my bills get paid, deliver my car to my parents' house in NH so she doesn't die on the philly streets while i'm gone, strategically plan how to pack everything i need into my backpack (this is probably going to be my greatest challenge), take care of a million other little things not even remotely worth mentioning AND, perhaps most pressing, i have to make the final decision regarding the chopping off of my hair....what do you think?
me vs. posh spice:
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