Oh dear.

The day of my departure draws near.


In preparation, I just had my Hep A and Tdap vaccination.
My arm still hurts.

=[

I also finished my oral Typhoid vaccination, which is actually just a series of pills you take, not an injection into the mouth like I had originally thought.

Sweet relief!


However, they didn't make me sick, either, which actually stresses me out a bit. A friend had told me the oral Typhoid vaccine was awful, and results in nausea and general dreadfulness. I can deal with that--I would rather deal with days of pain than have a small poke in the arm. C'mon, wouldn't every one? But, most likely because I have bowels of steel, I encountered very little unpleasantness. Which makes me wonder if the vaccine had actually worked.

What if I killed the little bugs that live in the capsule (It is a live vaccine, though the creatures that live within are probably not as adorable as I picture them) while I was waiting for the bus on a freezing cold day? The pharmacist had repeatedly told me they had to be REFRIGERATED, not frozen, not room temp. I felt fine after taking the pills--I couldn't feel anything crawling around in my belly.


Killing nice little bugs that prevent disease isn't the only thing I am worried about.


Applying for my Indian transit visa is another thing. Not only do I have to pay $50 to transfer flights in India, but I have to send my passport off in the mail and have it processed for 7-9 days.
But the visa also expires within 10 or 15 days after you receive it, so I have to perfectly time sending it in.
Not too late, or else I won't get it on time and won't even have my passport and thus can't even leave the country.
Not too early, or the visa will just expire.
I am stressing out about this.

And then there will be my 31-hour flight.
Urrggghehehrehggh.

There is a famous quote by Jorge Luis Borges:

"I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.”

I agree with this sentiment (to an extent: I used to work in a library, and it wasn't quite Paradise. Yes, I am sure Heaven will be filled with an endless supply of books, but I hope that it won't also include people jacking off in the stacks and smelly, slightly serial killer-ish looking people sleeping on the couches), but I would like to add an addendum:

"I have always imagined that Hell will be a kind of airport."

You can go ahead and quote me on that one.

I hate flying.
I am not afraid of terrorists or turbulence or plane crashes.
I just hate all the waiting around and being crammed into a small space for hours and having to share a teeny tiny bathroom with a bunch of strangers.
However, I do appreciate the alcohol and cute little TVs.

I am bringing sleeping pills and leftover Percocet from when I had my wisdom teeth removed this last winter.
I hope whoever I sit by doesn't mind me serenading them (I wrote a song for my Grandma's dog..and then growled at him and terribly frightened him--I can apparently make horrific expressions when I am under the influence of certain substances).

I also had my lovely boyfriend buy me The Best Travel Pillow Money Can Buy as a Christmas gift. That is all I wanted, but he even threw in some chocolates =]


In addition to my previously-listed worries, I am also nervous about being eaten by a leopard.

Or being bitten by a cobra

Or whipped to death by the tail of a monitor.

But I would also love to see all those creatures!! I really really want to see a leopard. And I want to see a snake-charmer with a cobra. Not so thrilled about the monitor, but sure, why not? If I have the opportunity to see one, I'll take it.

I also REALLY want to see one of Sri Lanka's giant leaf insects!

Sooo coooool.

Other than those worries, I am looking forward to my journey and suspect I may survive.