My Journey

Stranded in London..

stimms78 — Wed, 1 Sep 2010 01:43:00 GMT

Sorry to keep you all waiting! I know its been a while. What a long strange trip its been so far... I finally have time to sit and write. Why? because my 4 hour layover in London turned into 4 days..wich now officially is going to be 7-14 days. I am the only person in the world it seems that did not know you need a visa for India ahead of time (something 2-3 days if I got it in the U.S.) All the Indians here at the airline and the visa place are like are you serious? and Im like yes. Sorry I didnt get the memo that I need to apply for a visa like im applying for a car loan or something. I should have figured a country so poor would want to make a few extra dolloars on who ever visits. You learn something new everyday!

Heres a quick re-cap of where Ive been. Im not sure where we last left off but I met my friend in Rome from the states, it was her first time in Italy let alone Europe. So we went up to Florence- then Chianti and Sienna..and a few other towns I dont remember the names of but it was Tuscany and it was amazing. After we went to Ponza. As I look back I have great memories with my friend. I only wish I knew they were great times because I wanted to strangle her at many points through our adventures. (Mouse No offense..but you know this is true..)Constant bickering like a married couple..but we survived and had a ball! So after she went to Rome to fly back to the states, I flew to Germany to visit my cousin Joe. I should have went straight to India but had the travel bug and want to see everything!. So My cousin meets me at the airport in Dusseldorf and we go about a hour into a town that isnt really German..its more Turkish and Muslim..Very interesting. Ohh..as I get off the plane Im the only one in shorts and a t shirt thinking its going to be summer like Italy and it was actually freezing cold..so I wrapped myself up in my handy free Delta blanket that I had in my bag. So for a week, I was in a basement apartment with my cousin that loves to smoke. My allergies were a mess. I was eating kababs and Doners wich are typical muslim food there and really couldnt find anything german...and it turns out shnitzel isnt anything exotic like I imagined..its a fried pork patty basically. mmm no thanks.. Ok fast forward a week of that and I decide since Amsterdam is only 2 hours away by train I have to go! I mean Have to go..no choice there...

Amsterdam is the most amazing city ever. Im in love and want to go back and spend more time there at some point in my life. Forget what you hear about drugs and sex and crazyness. Now imagine a city that is pedestrian friendly and bike friendly and has loads of transportation like the subway, bus and trams. There are more bikes than people and the family car there is a wheelbarrow type bike with a giant holding area in thr front loaded with kids. Nice Dutch familys ringing there bells to alert the tourists that yes they are in the bike lane and will get hit if they dont get out of the way! Ok so also there are canals all over the place so it seems everywhere you turn you cross over a bridge or walk along a canal wich is sooo pretty and relaxing. As far as drugs and sex, yes you can buy a joint in a coffee shop but its not in your face like you would think, usually you see young hippy types smoking and chilling out talking sharing ideas. The sex part really is just the red light district wich is quite classy..its a street with a small window at street level and there is a girl in a bikini type outfit smiling hoping to get a customer to come in. Literally haha.... They dont bother anyone...its very amusing. So..I couchsurfed for the first time where you meet someone from another part of the world than you and sleep on their couch. In exchange, for the couch you make a new friend and get inside info on the city that noone else would know. My host Marc was the nicest guy with a super cool apartment in Amsterdam. He taught me how to make sushi (wich is easy and cant wait to make at home) and I taught him patience LOL..He did come out of his way to help me when I was lost with my bag of groceries..It is a confusing city I will say..I got lost many times..but its my favorite place ever. So this brings us up to the part where I talk to my friend in India, I buy the ticket online and 2 days later I fly for a layover at Heathrow Intl. Airport for a 4 hour layover. Then im to land in Dheli 9 hours later and take a 10 hour bus ride to the base of the Himilaya mountains to meet my friend that is patiently waiting for me. Well That was the plan and heres ther reality. I make my transfer on my way to the new plane and cannot board because I have no visa. What? a visa..So that was friday night and sat and sunday the embassy is closed. It also turns out that monday here is a bank holiday (im trying to find out what holiday it was and not a single person knows but everything is still closed). So Im to wait till tuesday and everyone tells me the visa should take 2-4 days... So Im walking around the airport hungry, confused..and needing some sort of plan.

Then I spot them. The nicest barefoot, dreadlock good energy people I could ever meet at a airport. So I chat and have some dinner. They were there picking up their father and his plane was delayed 5 hours and they were in the pub waiting..and waiting.. So I was invited to come home with them until I sort out my situation. We meet the dad and his wife and pile into the V W van (me in the trunk) (in a foreign country lol) and drive a hour, and we talk more and go to sleep. I awake in a Dream. Ive been transported back 400 years to an old English Estate that is right out of a fairytale. They work for the Organic farm that is set up on the estate and live in a cottage just next door to the main house. Im in awwww... A river, horses, a stable, a boat house, a main house, tons of cottages with workers for the farm, and a huge organic garden bursting with fresh fruits. Pinch Me..actually please dont! So Im meeting all sorts of artists and musicians that live on the estate and the other night we had a party. And Im thinking a party like back home with a keg and bad music and people getting trashed and passing out. Nope not here, it was like the commercial from hidden valley ranch with lots of vegis, face painting and everyone playing intrumnets like the flute, guitar, claironet, tamborine and fiddle. As it gets dark we light a fire and all camp around it..some are singing old folk songs..its Brilliant! (the word everyone says here)

So today is tuesday, I just got word that my visa will take 7-14 days and now arranging where Im to stay (possibly talking to the man in charge of the farm and asking to work in exchange to stay till my visa arrives) also my friends around the world are calling friends they know in London if I can stay with them..So if you know anyone that I can stay with in London..please send them a email for me :)

I will upload pictures at a later time- Im getting tired and cranky xoxo ..need..food..

Whats goin on here?

stimms78 — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:14:00 GMT

I hope you could read my journal entries..its a mish mosh but its hard when you dont

have internet access everyday..I must visit my cousin and borrow his internet stick that plugs in my laptop to upload my data and it costs by the kilobyte..or something not really sure but think hes hoping I hurry up here (im at his bar)...Untill next time !!

Like father like son..

stimms78 — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:09:00 GMT

Workin on the house..

stimms78 — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 17:59:00 GMT

I See Dead People..

stimms78 — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:34:00 GMT

Trying something new...Dont feel like re-typing everything..

Photos: Ponza

stimms78 — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 01:37:00 GMT

Heat Wave!

stimms78 — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 01:31:00 GMT

7/19/10

Its day 3 in Ponza and still no internet connection. Im writing this in my laptop and figure when I get to a Wi-Fi spot I can upload it.

Everyone is complaining of how hot it is and I agree. It seems some kind of heat wave has hit Italy especially Ponza. We have no air conditioning here so we deal as best we can. Cold showers help and taking a swim in the emerald waters also help. It seems that my dad is a local celebrity in Ponza because everywhere we go we stop or get stopped to say hello. Everyone loves my dad and he is happy to be back home. We eat lunch and dinner at relatives or friends homes and eat well. My friend Naomi is coming to Italy August 5th and we will travel around together. Im happy that she is coming and for us to share some memories together. The house here is in need of maintenance and I will spend this week sanding, stuccoing and painting. I finally found some internet and uploaded the last few entries just now that I had saved. Its only been 3 days here in Ponza and it feels like its been weeks. Im wondering how my friend Naomi will fare with the rocky terrain and hot humid climate. Whatever happens we will always remember it when we get old.

"Stazione Grande! - Stazion Grande!"

stimms78 — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 01:29:00 GMT

7-16-10

The rocking of the boat gave me the most amazing and much needed sleep I’ve had in a very long time. I got to take a hot shower standing up in out private bathroom. We woke up early and went to the cafe to get some morning coffee and to our dismay they were cleaning up the machines, with no other travelers in sight. We thought we were still at sea and in actuality we were at dock and everyone had already disembarked the boat. Once my father and I realize this we kick it into overdrive, scramble to get our belongings back at the room and high tail it off the boat to catch the shuttle to the train station. Unfortunately we have no idea where the shuttle pick up stop is and apparently no one else does including people that work there. So we are walking back in forth the port and are told the shuttle already left and there may be another but no one is sure. My dad is stressing out (as usual) and I’m trying to calm him down. How does this man travel alone every year? That I can’t figure out because when we are supposed to go up he wants to go down if we are supposed to go left he thinks we should be heading right. We run into a disheveled Chinese woman that speaks very little Italian pushing a heavy cart that is an old baby carriage rigged with her belongings. She repeated “stazione grande” “statzione grande”…big station ..She was looking to get to the large train station to head to Rome, to take a bus to her next job. She was a leather worker that works in factory sewing leather upholstery . She is in Italy working doing anything she can to make money. She says there is no money in Asia and trying to make ends meet.

Finally a bus pulls up, the doors open and the most moody bastard comes out and says “YOU MISSED THE BUS- I AM GOING HALF WAY TO THE STATION THE REST YOU WILL WALK” in a mean sounding Italian. “IM LEAVING IN 10 MINUTES” he walks off- the three of us are happy that we found the shuttle mean or not. He comes back, we begin to drive, Chinese lady saying “stazione grande, stazione grande” to him and he says “SHUT UP!” I’m in shock this is how the customer service is in Italy, or lack of. A few minutes into the trip, out of nowhere he grows a heart and tells us he is going to take us all the way to the Train station! Then as we are leaving the port, sees 2 tourists looking lost (probably Dutch) pulls the bus over and sends my dad out to tell them we are going to the station and if they want a ride. They do and we all head to the station. I’m thinking this is going to be an hour or so ride and ten minutes later we arrive. We just make the train with 5 minutes to spare. It’s the local to Rome.

The Rome train station is a mess of trains and people. There is no information desk. The train schedules all say conflicting things and we have trouble finding the correct train to board. After 45 minutes of investigating we find our train and board.

It’s packed, no air conditioning and my dad takes up 2 seats and people are getting upset. Eventually I situate us and let someone sit in the extra seat. It’s been a long day and its only 11am. We endure the train ride to our stop and greeted by my dad’s friend Gian Carlo a taxi driver. We make a few stops running errands and board our boat to Ponza. We are greeted by someone I’m related to somehow and driven to our final resting spot. We made it. I go around visiting all my cousins and some introduce them self to me telling me we are related. It’s been 3 years since I’ve last been here and nothing has changed as it never does in Ponza. People sitting on there stoop gossiping, the bus honking his horn as he comes around the corner and the sound of scooter engines fill the night. We have arrived.

Leaving Sardinia

stimms78 — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 01:25:00 GMT

7-15-10

(Since there is no Internet connection these are back dated and will post when I get a connection)

Today is the day we are leaving Sardina. I’m sad to go- but also a bit relived because I thought I was never getting out of this place. I didn’t sleep much last night because of the heat and wonder how am I going to survive India? This is all a test to get me ready for that. I talked to my cousin Joe who lives in Germany and want to visit him in the near future since I haven’t seen him in about 9 years. At the same time I can see Germany as well. We said our goodbyes to my Aunt and cousins. My cousin Anna takes us to an old friend of my dads that I guess used to be the captain of the yacht that my dad worked on as the chef when he was in his glory days in Ponza. I guess rich people would charter a yacht with crew and go to all kind of exotic places. My dad got to travel all over the world working on these yachts.

We arrive to his place near the port and I’m in love with the house and property. It’s an eco friendly dwelling with passive solar lighting, solar heated water tank and solar panels for electricity on the roof. Also he has an amazing garden that is all organic. I’m told to stay away from the cute dog because he has a tendency to snap. The cat likes me right away and follows me around most of the time i'm there. His wife fixes us all some food, fresh tomatoes (the first of their crop) fresh mozzarella, fresh arugula from the garden, some cucumbers, local red wine- local cheeses and some other stuff I cant recall. I was in ecstasy eating all the fresh tasting veggies all from their garden. I’m still smiling now as I write this from how fresh everything tasted. It’s been a while since I had food that tasted the way it was intended from the earth.

We get a ride to the sea port to board our boat that will take us to the mainland. Of course I wanted to fly and take the 45 min flight but since my dads first love will always be boats, we are taking the 9 hour ride throughout the night and should arrive at 7am. Sitting in this bed in our cabin with air conditioning feels great and sure I’m going to get a good nights sleep (finally). The P.A. keeps paging some guy to go to the main desk and says we are leaving port soon (in Italian of course). I keep thinking they are going to call our cabin or someone is going to rush in because I accidently hit an emergency do not push button the first 5 minutes of me being in the room. I can’t help it- I was pushing everything looking for the light switch. It’s been about 30 minutes since then and no one could care less. Tomorrow is going to be a long day of travel with dad and I need all the rest I can get.

We are taking a shuttle from the port to the train station. Then a train to Formia, a taxi from out taxi friend Gian Carrlo to the port, taking a speed boat to the island where we will be greeted by family and driven up the windy roads to our destination. It’s always exciting when the boat approaches Ponza because the port is one of the most beautiful ports I’ve ever seen.

Super Size Me!

stimms78 — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 03:45:00 GMT

Yesterday we went to the beach again this time bringing my father. We had a great time and had an idea to send my mom with my friend who wants to come August 5th. So we are making some calls and sending out the message to everyone to try and convince my mom to come. I'm sure she would love to come with my friend once she gets over the initial shock of saying yes. Later on we would travel to the Amalfi coast because my friend is obsessed with going there and know my mom would adore it. The beach really takes a lot out of my father and I and when we returned I was wiped out from the sun. Usually at night after my cousin gets out of work (around 12) he picks me up and we meet up with his friends. Its fun to hang out with the locals and people watch. This time I went to bed and left a message on the magna doodle (like a etch-a-sketch) for him not to wake me. That was the first night I stayed in and finally woke up at my usual time at 8am. The past other days I was sleeping until 11 or 12! The days are hot and long here with not much to do. I'm passing the time spending it with my 4 year old second cousin who does not sit still or stop talking for 5 seconds! She is the cutest kid ever and def. a handful for my cousin Anna (Adriano's sister) because in addition to taking care of her, she has her sick bed ridden mother to attend, work full time as a nurse and is going to school for her 2nd masters degree. I'm very very impressed. Here is a Pic of my cousins kid (nicknamed Pipi (peepee) calze lungo...pipi long stockings cause shes kinda a of a terror)

Dad and I walked down to town and found a electronics store and between the two of us asking questions, explaining what we want, and the clerk looking all over the store for stuff that I dont think even existed, think we drove the poor guy bonkers- then not buying a single thing. I am def. my fathers son.

I'm losing my mind because I spent 20 minutes searching for my 2 small bars of soap so I could shower before dinner. One is a body bar, the other a face bar. I don't leave them in the bathroom because I'm hoping they will last me 3-4 months. I search my room where it is usually placed, nothing..in my dads room..nothing. In the bathroom under the sink? no. In my room again under the bed? No..in my bags..no, I know they fell out the window when my dad tried opening it.. I look down to the street...No...whats going on? I'm losing my mind! Its about 95 degrees, no air conditioning and everyone is waiting downstairs for me to shower. I'm searching and searching and searching and decide its been stolen. That's the only logical solution. Who wouldn't want my Burts beez organic body bar and my oatmeal face bar from America right? I didn't see anything like them here at the store..could it have been the lady that helps my cousin with chores today? I mean she is related to them but I don't know her.I saw her doing some sweeping and mopping around the bathroom. Its hot. I'm sweating wanting to take a cold shower. I'm sick that someone stole my soap. What is going on? Is that is under my dirty T-shirt where I usually leave my soap..Found it.

Now showering in Italy is a whole story all in itself. It's not like showering in the states where you turn on the water, jump in the shower and half your hands free to lather up, because there is no shower curtain, and no wall mounted shower sticking out of the wall. Its a big deep tub against the wall, with a long cord connected to the sprayer that sits on the faucet like the old days, but its common here for the today days. I'm so confused how to stand and hold the shower wand and also lather and rinse with out making a mess of water all over the floor. My hair needs to be soaked and lathered and rinsed. The first few times I create a small ocean on the floor and I soak it up with a towel. I do some investigating with people on how the proper way to bathe and its a series of sitting, rinsing, putting the sprayer down, standing and only rinsing your lower half, sitting, rinsing.. up down up down. You think I was doing Yoga or something, especially down ward dog when rinsing my hair. I got It. I'm pretty good now. Little to no mess. I'm adapting fine.

We are all using disposable plastic tiny Dixie cups for our beverages. That's driving me nuts. A) Im into the whole green thing, B) all I want is to be super sized so I can fill it once and be done with it. Everyday I put my name on one so I can re-use it and everyday I find it gone. I open the cupboard and there's more little tiny glasses. Ity bitty teeny weeny glasses (we call them shot glasses lol) So I'm constantly refilling my Dixie. The people are short, the cars are compact and the drinking cups are tiny. So enjoy that next drink you have and take a nice long sip for me :)

The Art of Pizza

stimms78 — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 23:09:00 GMT

Italian pizza making is truly an art.I was lucky enough to help my cousin last night work the pizza station because on weekends its very busy and manning a wood burning oven is a very tedious task for one person. Opening up the dough, putting sauce and toppings, turning others in the oven already cooking, opening more dough, taking out pizzas all takes a man that is quick. The Wood oven needs attention kinda like a small child. Constant care, cleaning and makings sure nothing gets left in too long. I got the dough from the holding area, he opened them up, I put the sauce and cheese and toppings. Then He would put it in the oven and unlike American ovens that take about 10-15 minutes to cook, the Wood brick oven takes about a minute in a half, then needs to be turned half way around to cook the other side evenly and then taken out after another minute. A second or two more, could end up with a black charred unwanted pizza. They should be flaky and paper thin with an array of gourmet toppings. All the usual suspects were there but some interesting toppings I thought was creamy Gorgonzola cheese that's dolloped on, smoked salmon, crab meat, dried caviar powder, grilled zucchini and eggplant, baked potatoes, french fries and egg (that's cracked in the center and cooks in the oven). So it was a dance between my cousin and I stepping out of each others way (or more me knowing where to move to) when he would put a pizza in the oven because the palate has a extra long handle to reach the very back of the oven (about 6 feet). We did 130 pizzas last night- and everyone was unique as the person who ordered it. My favorite was a pizza called the pizza mans special- where it was a surprise, what ever the pizza man felt like making. The oven is pretty much situated in the dining room so It was neat to see people eating and enjoying the pizzas that we made. A few people came up complimenting my cousin on how great they are and thing is the best town. I also loved to watch the waiters running around stressed because that's something I know all to well. After we closed about 11:30, we made our own pizzas and I didnt hold out on the toppings I put on my own. I did Sardinian cheese, lite onion, supersata (kinda like peperoni but way more tasty and gourmet) creamy gorgonzola, roasted peppers and a few mushrooms. Molto Stupendo! It was amazing! Tonight is Sunday and Im going to help once again for it will be another busy night. Ciao Ciao

I gotta Job..

stimms78 — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 20:18:00 GMT

I am sitting at Adrianos (my cousins) work place on a terrace overlooking the Sardinian country side. There is a nice breeze, I am in the shade and do some writing in my journal. My tummy is full from the latte and nutella filled pastry that we had at the cafe in the park next to his job. He had to come into work to do some prep work (he is a pizza man) and so I brought my sack with books and music- to relax. Two days ago we went the the beach and it was amazing. Emerald green water and the mountains were in the background. My cousin went in with a fishing spear gun and cought 2 dragon looking fish that we had for dinner that night. I used skype on my mobile using the internet and made some calls that went through great for 3cents a minute. I think Im going to stay here for 5 more days and then going to Ponza the island my family is from. My friend in India is not doing so great and the airline lost her luggage. We will meet up at some point in the trip just not sure when. She wants me to rush out now to meet her but its too expensive to go now since I want to stay here some, then migrate in that area. I have a cousin in Germany and think I may visit him since flights are cheap. At night after my cousin gets out of work we go out to the bars and meet up with his friends. All the Euro guys are so open and not macho (at least my American standards)- they wear man bags and fanny packs and kiss each other on the cheek and ride 2 guys on 1 motorcycle or scooter- that would never be seen in the states. Im totally loving it. I feel like I belong here more and more. Though my gaydar is really off because its really hard to tell whos gay and whos not- but what ever Im here to visit family and relax and that is what I'm doing. As I listen to everyone talk at the bars I hear that the economy is bad, there are no jobs, they hate their jobs and there is nothing to do for fun. The world cup is always a topic of discussion with whom ever you meet- and it seems everyone has a tattoo or piercing and no one thinks anything of it. Sorry my entry is not so great because I'm still recovering from last night- which was a fiasco! We went to some hole in the wall bar that the theme was caskets and bones kinda dark and goth but fun. Later in the night there were words said between 2 groups of girls and the next thing I know the entire bar is outside watching a fight! I mean hair pulling, nasty Italian words being said, even a few punches! I just sat there in aww and took it all in. Eventually the guys jumped in to hold the girls back...It was fun but im not really into fighting so I was glad when we finally went home at 6am! and then I had to run errands with my other cousin at 9am so I should take a nap because tonight I am working with my cousin at the restaurant helping him with the pizzas. Pizza here is a art that takes time to make, then after its cooked needs more time and attention because they add more gourmet stuff to it- and everyone orders there pizza a particular way (kinda like when we go to starbucks and say all those crazy words to order some crazy concoction)which takes lots of time from the pizza man. So I will be assisting, working the brick oven, turning the pizzas and taking them out of the oven- getting paid 40 Euros about 60$ us dollars..that's fine with me since things are so expensive here. Everyone complains about gas prices but they pay 1.45 a litter, and I think its 4 litters to a gallon so they are paying about 5$ a gallon for gas. Something else I notice is it seems that the health craze thats sweeping the states has not hit here at all- they all (75%) smoke cigarettes and prefer soda to water- I tried ordering a bottle of water because its what I like- and was forced to get something like juice or soda by my cousins boss..I didnt want to offend his generosity..Whatever- Im off to take a nap and get some rest before work tonight :)

My crazy flight and crazy people!

stimms78 — Fri, 9 Jul 2010 03:35:00 GMT

The adventure has started. So we are 3 hours into the flight from NYC- all was going smoothly- on time departure just had a beverage- things were looking good until the pilot come on the loudspeaker "folks this is your captain and due to a navigation issue we cannot cross the atlantic and need to turn around and emergency land in Boston." WHAT! are you kidding me? Def the lesson from that is no matter what on my trip there are some things I cant control. Of course from all the news I read my mind thinks they find another person on the do not fly list and thats why we are turning around- like the times square guy they cought right before taking off. I swear Im not paranoid just a realist- so for the next hour lm listening to my father cursing me for choosing Delta, Delta itself and who ever made this plane with the defective navigation system. Funny a minute ago- he was sinking into his plush seat commenting on how nice the flight is, how great delta is etc. So for the next few hours back im listening to his meltdowns and then he takes the whole blanket and puts it over is head (like when you put a parrot to sleep at night) Of course people are staring at this mummy under the blanket next to me. So he looks like a crazy person, there is a screaming baby the entire trip and the smell of the bathroom that is pungent behind me. Im already over it! So we land- the plane is clapping ( I have no idea why we should be landing in Rome not Boston! So we see a worker enter the front of the plane and then we see the captain of the plane with a uniformed cop walk back to the plane and arrest someone and he is escorted off. !!I told you im psychic! I new it was bs what they were saying!! I just knew it! so then the plane is all awake wondering what just happened. Of course the pilot and flight attendants don't mention any of it. They still claim there is navigation issues (its a brand new plane) and we are stuck for another hour grounded. Finally we take off- I have no leg room- the baby still crying and my dad in and out of his hibernation. every 5 minutes my dad is telling me what time it is in Italy, and when we were supposed to have arrived, and how many hours we are late. I get it dad. I get it. I cant sleep- and have visions of this plane exploding in mid flight- I hate to fly and thank god that esp didn't occur. We land my dad thinks we are going the wrong way to get our bags but were not- he grabs the first red bag off the belt convinced its his- but its not- i have to coax him to put it back on the belt- we do. It doesnt come back around now he thinks it was his bag and someone else got it- I get my bag- hes more pissed thinking his bag was stolen. Finally his real bag comes- he is quite now. We go to get tickets to Olbia which is in Sardinia and along that journey he manages to loose our little paper bag full of food. I swear god is going to make me a saint for the patience that I have for my father. I really think he is beginning to show signs of Dementia along with his A.D.D. We finally land again- greeted by my cousin. I see my sick Aunt bed ridden and its sad we both cry when we see each other. Its been a long few days to get here but in the end its always worth it. I am in love with Italy and see myself living here. Live laugh and love is the mantra and Im ready to sign the dotted line.

Photos: Sardinia

stimms78 — Fri, 9 Jul 2010 03:15:00 GMT

Packing for my trip

stimms78 — Mon, 5 Jul 2010 17:47:00 GMT

I'm leaving tomorrow and the clock is ticking.. trying to remember anything that I may forget- im trying to pack light (every website says pack light pack light pack light) so Im PACKING LIGHT!! Im hoping to be away for 3 months. Sneakers..check. flashlight..check plastic spork...check...the list goes on and on. I talked to my buddy already out there and she is in India already!! wait for me!!! anyways just wanted to write something here to see if this works...