T minus 2.5 weeks

We are wrapping up at work this week and the feeling is kind of strange. As of next week I will no longer have a routine, no place to be every morning. In a way it’s very liberating but at the same time it’s also scary. My blackberry was turned off last week and I had to borrow a cell phone from my mother-in-law. I really appreciate her lending me her phone but it’s definitely not a blackberry. It’s amazing how attached you become to your belongings. BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) was something I used on an ongoing basis and it was a very easy tool to keep in touch with everyone. Of course all my work emails came in to my blackberry and I was able to see who’s emailing me and if there is anything I need to action right away. When I told people my blackberry was going to be turned off they asked “what are you going to do now??” and I didn’t know how to answer the question. I told them I was borrowing a phone until we leave and that I would text them. “Text? That’s so old school…who texts anymore?” I don’t know. The first day the blackberry was turned off I had 2 phones with me; my old one and my new one. I just couldn’t let go. On the second day I left it behind at home but I felt naked. Everywhere I looked people were on their Blackberry’s. I felt like a loser. On the elevator, at the mall, on the bus…everyone was on a blackberry. I had a constant need to check my phone for messages or emails, but every time I looked the only new thing was the time. No messages, no emails, no voicemails. The upside was I got excited anytime I had to check email. I knew there would always be something waiting for me, until I finally realized it wasn’t a present but an email. A work related email no less. And the excitement wore off. I have been blackberry free for a week now and I think the withdrawal is done. Don’t get me wrong, I would like to still check something every few minutes and look important doing it, but a Samsung phone just doesn’t have the same effect. Now when I’m talking to people face to face I’m actually listening to them and not thinking if my inbox is filling up or if someone has just sent me a BBM. It really is liberating.

At this point in our preparations I thought I wouldn’t even be able to focus on work and only think about the trip. Unfortunately I have discovered that is not the case. Perhaps it hasn’t hit me yet but I don’t feel like I’m going on any trip anytime soon. So many things still need to be taken care of and wrapped up at work. Will I really be able to finish it all this week? When I’m home however, it’s a different story. It’s a nagging feeling that I wish this week would just end so I can focus on the trip and have that excited feeling. We have the travel books our friends and family have so graciously given us, and we have been reading them in preparation for the trip and getting excited.

I have been researching destinations, weather patterns and diving locations. October is a tricky month in Thailand because of the Monsoon season so finding a place where it’s not raining is tricky. After speaking with some people and doing some research I think we’re going to the East side (of the South West side). The islands there, Koh Samui and Ko Phangan are apparently not affected by the monsoons as much as the West side of the coast so hopefully that will be the case when we get there. We land in Bangkok on October 14th and we’re spending 3 nights there adjusting to the time change and just exploring the city. After that we will be looking to catch a train south to the islands. That’s the plan right now anyway. We have had so many plans over the past few weeks of what we’re doing when we get to Bangkok that I wouldn’t be surprised if it all changes again. But that’s the fun part of planning a trip. The options are endless! I can’t wait to see where we end up.