Now that I think about it, I should have given access to this blog to my friend Gwen. She could be my editor... The closer I get to departure, the less time I have to edit my posts for spelling and grammar. Once I'm posting from a Blackberry, that will probably go right out the window...and you know how those kind of things irk me. Sigh...
24 hours to go before I'm on the plane and I still have a few things to do. So what am I doing right now? Wasting time. I got up early, blew off the gym, and am watching the news and surfing the internet. Ok, so I'm doing last minute laundry, too, but am mainly shirking my packing duties. Yes, friends, It's my rarely seen procrastination mode. While looking up what the weather was going to be for the next few weeks in Nepal, I came across a Blog of the EBC Trek by NASA employees in 2008 and scrolled through the posts for 45 minutes trying to pinpoint where they were staying, what they were eating, were they freezing or sick or tired? Were there hot showers at certain teahouses? The same thing I've read about on other blogs for the past few years. I check the weather: Kathmandu is a balmy 82 today. Lukla is forecasted to be in the mid 60s during the day this week. By the time I am up to Lobuche, it will possibly be 40 and rainy during the day and snowy and ZERO at night.
24 hours to go before I'm on the plane and I still have a few things to do. So what am I doing right now? Wasting time. I got up early, blew off the gym, and am watching the news and surfing the internet. Ok, so I'm doing last minute laundry, too, but am mainly shirking my packing duties. Yes, friends, It's my rarely seen procrastination mode. While looking up what the weather was going to be for the next few weeks in Nepal, I came across a Blog of the EBC Trek by NASA employees in 2008 and scrolled through the posts for 45 minutes trying to pinpoint where they were staying, what they were eating, were they freezing or sick or tired? Were there hot showers at certain teahouses? The same thing I've read about on other blogs for the past few years. I check the weather: Kathmandu is a balmy 82 today. Lukla is forecasted to be in the mid 60s during the day this week. By the time I am up to Lobuche, it will possibly be 40 and rainy during the day and snowy and ZERO at night.
My devices are all charging on the counter, my packing mostly done, my passport and ticket checked and re-checked. Today will be spent mostly focusing on the kids, who have been accordingly prepped for my time away. I'm sure they will be fine, I'm just not that sure they will be able to identify the feelings they might have, such as "missing" someone. They promise to send emails, talk to each other, look at photo albums of us together, follow the blog/leave comments. They plan to keep a journal of the things I am missing while I'm away, including taking pictures and video to share with me when I return.
Not only am I excited to see Mount Everest up close, I am excited that I will walk in the shadows of Ama Dablam, a nearby mountain with a distinct shape that dominates the skyline for several days during the trek. It is pictured in the above photo- and yes, I cut it off! Ugh, I don't have time to crop it correctly!! Steep ridgelines and a short flat summit area between them. Ama Dablam means "Mother's Necklace" with the ridgelines being the chains to the glacier's "pendant" in the middle.
Not looking forward to the boredom of the plane trip- 14 hours to Seoul, Korea with another 7 on to Kathmandu.
The focus of the next month will be curiosity, open-mindedness, sense of humor, flexibility, mental toughness, and staying well. Thanks to everyone who has helped me with my journey in some way big or small. The moon and stars have had to align to make this possible. Let the fun begin!
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