The Countdown Continues

     It's Summer! Today is May 25, 2012. Or in my eyes almost June, meaning almost July, meaning almost August! How long exactly you ask? I'll add a link that says the exact time and date that Jamie and I will be taking off on those silver wings.

Time and Date Countdown  (<-- click)

 (If this doesn't open for you, it says 83 days, 10 hours, 55 minutes, 27, 26, 25...seconds, and so on)
     I have so many emotions running through my head that its hard to explain even one of them. If someone asks if I'm excited, the nervousness takes over, but if they ask if I'm scared, the excitement sets in. All I can do is trust that I made the right decision when I thought things through in my more sane days, not so much right now when I'm in panic mode. In the last few months throughout this process I've learned how important it is to "trust your first instinct and don't second guess yourself." Every time I made a big decision I would feel confident in it...only until someone brought up if I were reallllly sure that I thought x, y, and z through all the way. After crumbling to the questions and rethinking everything, I would always be led right back to my first conclusion, this is the best option. I've put all my brain power into thinking through the outcomes of everything I'll be faced with and everything I'll be leaving behind (for the time being). The decision to move to Perth for a year had the least amount of negatives and the highest amount of positives. In Perth, I could have my cake, and maybe eat a finger full of frosting too; while the other choices gave me a smaller piece of cake with no frosting. I think you'd take the bigger piece with frosting too!
     A conversation about feeling the need to explain myself and my decisions came up recently with my sister and the advice she gave me made me feel so much more at ease. The opinions of my family mean more to me than they realize. I know they support me because they know I wouldn't let a day go by without thinking things through 100 times, but to really have their encouragement means the world to me. I think I go into explanation mode as my own kind of encouragement too. As stated in the entire paragraph above, I'm very happy with my decision, but being happy with the choice I've made doesn't quite decrease its magnitude. I have to keep reminding myself that all will be okay. And just because its the most difficult, doesn't mean its not the best one for me (see, explanation mode again). Day by day the magnitude increases. It's like looking at the mountains from Orange County and thinking, "they look like little hills!" but as you get closer you start to ask yourself if you're really strong enough to make the climb. I don't know if I'm strong enough to run up the mountain without stopping a couple 100 times along the way, but I know that the incentives waiting for me at the top are enough to keep me going. Not only do I have Jamie waiting with open arms, but I have also breached the gateway to traveling and exploring the world. Two dreams wrapped up into one! For quite some time now I feel like I've been living in a little bird cage that we call Orange County. I had my chance at freedom when I went to San Francisco for a year but flew right back into the cage when plans changed. I feel like this opportunity has opened the door for me once again and it's my time to take it and fly. I'm going to end with this because I feel like I've given way to many metaphors for one day. Have a fabulous weekend, everyone!

 Jamie just sent this picture to me today and I think it captures the scenario perfectly :)

Tough Choices

     Last weekend, for Mother's Day, I went to my grandparents house in Temecula. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family that gives me unconditional encouragement and support. The suitcase that they found for me is absolutely perfect! It's larger than I expected and in pristine condition. Bonus! After discussing the inventory of items I want to bring to Perth with my eldest sister, Katie, and my Oma, I realized that the little things like books aren't really necessary objects. We decided that they were items of comfort and not objects that I couldn't live without. Books can be found anywhere, and lucky for me Jamie's sister, Karis, loves to read so I'm sure I might be able to borrow a book or two if the need is really there. Clothes, shoes, and toiletries are the only essentials I'll be bringing with me to the Southern hemisphere...and maybe a few picture frames...and electronics...and the big stuffed animal elephant my dad gave me for Christmas? Oh dear, here we go again.
    Something a bit easier to pack I'll definitely need to bring is a confirmation printout from the health insurance company. After the swap meet a few weeks ago, my dad and I sat down and looked through dozens of websites to find the lowest rates with the highest amount of coverage for Australian visitors. We decided that a company called "Bupa" ( I know it sounds funny to me too) had what I was looking for. The insurance package I chose costs $26.44 per "fortnight," or per every two weeks. It covers pretty much every hospital stay need I'll need (or hopefully not need), and also covers extras like doctor visits, general dental, optical, pharmacy, and well living, plus much more. What is well living you ask? That includes gym memberships, yoga, pilates, swimming lessons, first aid courses, etc! Crazy, right?! The one thing that I am a bit concerned about is the fact that excess co-pays are not covered. To be honest, I don't know very much at all when it comes to medical details and what-not but I know that a co-pay is the amount you have to pay before the insurance takes over...right? So that means I could pay $300 for one doctor visit? Or more!? Everyone cross your fingers that I don't get sick or have an accident that involves the hospital because this stuff goes right over my head!
     To add to the rest of this madness, I was recently told that the English class I had taken last year, does not meet the requirements for graduation and GE certification. What does this mean? It means I can't get the degree that I've been working very diligently to attain because I need to take a class that does meet the requirement. The options: Take the class during summer and have less time to spend with my friends and family before leaving, or I could wait until the Fall 2012 semester and take it as an online class while in Perth. The latter being my first choice. As silly as it sounds, this trip is about gaining confidence in my independence. I hope to someday sooner than later to gain residency in Australia so that I can attend a university and get my bachelors degree. Yes, I went to SFSU last year so I know how it is to not have my mommy holding my hand the whole way through, but that was only one year. This is life I'm talking about. I want to prove to myself more than anyone that I am able to do this. I digress; the reason I want to do the online class while in Perth is to have a small intro to how well I handle myself in a life where I am both a full-time student (or part-time for the time being), and simultaneously as a wide-eyed tourist where the new continent is my playground! Make sense? I feel like I'm trying to hard to make my point and convince you all that I really do have some method to this madness, so I'm going to end with my favorite quote as a reminder to myself: "Without a struggle, there can be no progress."

Mile-high Shipping Costs

After having a lovely breakfast together, my dad and I went to the local swap meet to find things we don't really need. Well, that's only half true. I'm looking for another large suitcase. Nothing special, it can be used, dirty, whatever. I just need something with a zipper to get my immense supply of clothing to Perth. Fortunately I have my grandparents keeping their eyes open for me. We were able to find a small one but still keeping our fingers crossed for the really big ones! While perusing the aisles, I was a bit hesitant of buying a suitcase without having stopped by FedEx or UPS yet, but I didn't need to worry too much because in the end we didn't find anything anyway. On our way home I figured that was as good a time as any to get those international shipping quotes. First stop: UPS. Take a guess...just throw out a number...any number. You'll probably need to double it. They quoted me four hundred some-odd dollars to send a 16x16x16 box of approximately 30 pounds (which is probably on the low end of what it would actually weight)!! So with this number in mind we headed over to FedEx. I can't even say that it got better. With the same amount of weight, in a slightly bigger box, I was quoted five hundred thirty nine dollars!! I mean I get that they're taking a box half way around the world but, sheesh! So here's my last option, pay seventy dollars to take an extra bag with me on Air New Zealand. And I gotta tell ya, seventy dollars is actually looking pretty good right now! I think sometime soon I'm going to do a "practice" pack to see how much stuff I really have. I think I'm most worried about the random stuff I'd like to take with me like books, and shoes! I almost forgot about my shoes! They weigh a ton all together! Oh here come the worries, although I'm not really sure why. I do have about three large suitcases with Jamie's and mine combined so I'll probably have enough space. Hopefully! Maybe..? On another note, I said in my last post that I was going to figure out all the financial details next. The problem is, I'm having a hard time figuring out exactly what I'm looking for! Jamie told me I should get a traveler's check to bring over but I'm not really sure what that is or how it works so there's a bit more of research I'll have update you on later. But for now, Happy Cinco de Mayo!!