Almost There.....

Ok, progress has been made.  I have a flight booked to get me back to Chicago.  I was originally thinking about taking the train, but  the costs of the two were comprable and it would take roughly ten times longer to reach Chi-town by train.  If I wasn't so eager to hit the road I'd have been stoked for the train ride, but I'd rather get to the bike ride sooner.

I've also ordered my panniers.  There's a problem though:  They probably won't arrive until Monday, which is the day I fly to Chicago.  SO *hopefully* they arrive before I have to leave my house to catch my flight.  If not, I guess I'll have to improvise.

Otherwise, I think I'm set.  I could still use some bike shorts, but they're so darned expensive I think I'll wait to get them later in life.  I'll just have to toughen up my bum.  If that fails, maybe I'll break down and buy some shorts on the road.

And of course, we each have our touring bikes:

Annie's Bike

Jessi's Bike

Still Not Ready!

Ahh!  We leave in just days and I'm still not ready to go!  I don't even have my train ticket yet!  So much to do!

I've been reading many books, blogs, and articles about bicycle tourists over the past year, and nearly all of them mention not practicing riding their bikes fully loaded before setting out on their trips.  I had been thinking that was a silly mistake that I wouldn't dream of making, but I was sooooo wrong.  There's no way I'll be taking a test trip-- I still don't have my panniers!  I thought it'd be just the little things that would be last-minute, but indecisiveness and a tight budget have caused me to delay ordering my saddle bags.  So, no.  No test trip.  I'm officially like most other cyclists.  Go me?

2 Weeks to Go

It's July 1-- which means Annie and I will leave Chicago on our bicycles in exactly 15 days.  Today marks the beginning of the "Annie and Jessi bicycle across the country" blog posts.  We will strive to update daily, at least with pictures.

There's still so much to do!  I still have two more weeks of work to wrap up.  Annie and I still have several more items of gear to obtain.  Plus there's general life happenings to document.  So, for the next two weeks you'll get to read about all the prep work that goes into a month-long bike tour.

I bought our maps today.  We still have to figure out what route we'll take to Minneapolis, but we'll be covered for the route after that.  We're heading towards Seattle, so after Minneapolis we'll cross Minnesota into Fargo, then across North Dakota and Montana into Glacier National Park.  From there we might cross into Canada for a bit to check out some of Alberta, then head west again across Idaho and Washington.  Depending on how we're doing on time, we'll spend a few days in the North Cascades National Park before heading down Puget Sound into Seattle.  From there it'd be great to spend some time exploring Mt. Rainier National Park and Olympic National Park.  And who knows?  We might consider extending our trip a bit longer to make it down to Portland, Oregon.

I write that now to compare our planned route to our actual route.  This is our first bike tour, so we're not quite sure what to expect.  We value the journey more than the destination, so we've already embraced the possibility that we won't make it to Seattle within our time frame.  That would be just fine as long as we give it a go and have a glorious time while trying.

Now, onto our packing list.  We're aiming to pack LIGHT.  Neither of us is interested in hauling unnecessary items up mountains.  So, here's our bare-minimum packing list for the two of us:

• 1 two-person tent
• 2 sleeping bags
• 2 bikes
• racks and rear panniers for each bike
• 2 gallons of water-carrying capacity
• maps
• 2 helmets, lights, and other safety items
• a day's worth of food for two people
• change of clothes
• rain gear
• spare tubes and spokes
• bike repair tools
• toiletries 

It will probably expand, but that's where it's at for now.

Onward

2011 is nearly over, and I'm reminded of a post I made back in June.  In it, I acknowledged that I had a rough start to the year while challenging myself to have a better second half.

As it stands, I was somewhat successful: I've made many positive changes since June.  For one, I have a job.  Being unemployed weighed very heavily on my mind all my last year of college and the first few months after.  So that's a big deal.  With my job came other unexpected perks-- I've always wanted to live somewhere warmer and near the water, which of course I now do.  (Note because I can't say it enough: when I left Biloxi it was in the 70s whereas it's currently snowing in Indiana.  Yeah.)  I'm getting good experiences both professionally and socially (and sometimes intellectually), so that's also good.  My biggest joy for the year was adopting Biloxi.  And she continues to bring me joy.  So yeah, definitely an improvement from where I was last June.

At the same time, I'd hoped I would do better in some areas.  For one, I'm still working on recovering from my illness last spring.  There was a part of me that thought I'd be better by now, but that was an ambitious goal.  I'm working on being ok with that.  I'm just tired of all this and the uncertainty it brings.  I'm ready to be healthy again.  I'm also disappointed in my current living situation.  I miss my apartment and living alone, even though I save tons of money and have a more active social life.  I generally think I can get along with anybody, but some of my roommates have been challenging that thought.  I've thought about moving back out, but if I'm patient my roommates will change in a month anyway as the old interns move on to new adventures.  So basically, I have to hold out just one more month.  I *can* do this.

What it comes down to is life is too long.  Point is, life is too long to spend it tolerating rudeness or cruelty or deceitfulness.  You end up spending years and years with people being rude, cruel, and deceitful towards you.  How can you enjoy life like that?

2011 still has one big show in store:  Ringfest!  Yep, it's actually happening this year.  This week, even.  Even though I have wonderful new friends in Mississippi, no one can top my childhood friends. I love them so much.  Seeing them all again might be enough to erase nearly every negative memory from 2011.

Fall

It's autumn in Mississippi.  The weather is cool and sunny, some of the trees are changing color, and everyone is eagerly planning their Halloween costumes.

I'm moving into a new house next weekend; today I started taking some things over.  It should be a good move.  Lots of benefits.  For one, the yard is fenced-in, so Biloxi will have a place to play outside (at least as long as the chickens are in their coup).  It's closer to work, and I won't have to cross a bridge, so biking every day is much more feasible.  It's also on the peninsula, so I'll be within a 5-10 minute walk of both the sound and the back bay (currently I'm just close to the back bay).  I'm looking forward to taking morning rides/runs along the sound; it's really pretty and about the only place in Mississippi where the sidewalk is wide enough for a bicycle.  Of course, my cost of living will drop since I'll have roommates again.  Roommates are also nice just in terms of being social.  I happily have many friends in my current apartment complex, but I usually eat alone and I'm the only one available to let Biloxi out when she needs to go.  It'll be nice to have people around most of the time again.

So I'll be cleaning/packing/moving this week.  My parents are coming to visit this week, too, so that will be a nice change of pace.  Not the most exciting post, but it's what I have.  :P

Humbled

I found out last week that there were over 100 applicants for the job I currently have.  I had no idea.  And I'm too dumbfounded to make any sense of the information.

I'd never imagined I could be competitive in the job market.  Ever.  I mean, I know I've had some opportunities that others haven't, but I don't necessarily connect those opportunities with being more competitive.  Especially in my current job.  I work with truly amazing people who inspire me; in no way am I on their level.  I kind of thought I was hired because I was easy and convenient.  It never crossed my mind that they might have actually wanted me.  I'm just a crazy kid barely keeping her shit together-- how did I end up being selected out of over 100 people for a job that tons of people in my profession wish they could have?

I partially know the answer: one of my friends told me some of the applicants were over qualified.  So that makes sense.  And others were perhaps under qualified or not a good fit.  *Maybe* that would narrow the applicant pool down to 50.  I also know one of my friends put in a good word for me when I applied.  I'm convinced that's what made the difference, though it's hard to believe I was chosen even with someone saying, "Hey, you should be sure to read my friend's application."  His words must be very powerful.  

And now I feel a bit of pressure, too.  I mean more pressure.  I want to do well.  I always have.  But now I also need to do well to prove I was a good choice out of those 50.  To uphold whatever kind things my friend said to convince my boss to read my resume.  To do justice to the other 49 or so people who really wanted to be here but aren't.

All of this makes me feel profoundly humbled.  This past year I've been learning some hard lessons about not getting what I want, so I was genuinely shocked when my friend told me I should apply for this internship, which seemed to be (and is) pretty much exactly what I wanted.  Nothing else had worked out, so why would this?  I was even more shocked when el Jefe offered me the job.  To think of the level of despair I was in before I knew about this job in comparison to now. . . . How could I have been chosen?

I've been going around so inwardly-focused and contrary I missed the opportunity to fully comprehend just how lucky I am to be here.  I remember something I posted a few years ago when I was in Egypt when I was kind of in an opposite state: I was completely happy and fully aware of my fortunes.  I'm so ashamed that here I am now, just as fortunate-- if not more fortunate-- and I haven't taken the time to fully appreciate my circumstances.  I've been taking everything for granted.  I'm ugly, spoiled.  How could so many truly wonderful people have gone out of their way to help me?  How can I ever repay you all?  I don't even know where to begin.

Maybe I should begin by asking your forgiveness.  You have all given me these opportunities, and I haven't been even remotely as appreciative as I ought to be.  I'm sorry.  Please forgive me.  I promise to try to do better in the future.  Because really, I am grateful to be here; and I'm constantly aware that I didn't get here alone.  You have made all the difference in the world to me, and I thank you for that.

Images from the Coast

Some pictures to share from the Gulf Coast:

The path down the "canal" where I walk Biloxi

More of the same path

The "pond"-- it's even stocked with fish

My first loaves of bread in my new home

Dining room, pre-furniture

Living room

Kitchen

Fireplace and entry (left)

The bayou where I've been working on a restoration project

Bayou restoration

More bayou restoration

A bridge at a nearby arboretum

Bridge detail

After one of the heavy rains from Tropical Storm Lee

The water rose over the inlet pipe (it's usually about halfway up the pipe)

A family take a walk between downpours

Loxi liked watching the storm from the balcony

Here you can see how she has to sit funny because her body is long and her legs are short