This is an exciting time. I have a cocktail of mixed emotions flowing through my mind. I’m about to leave on the biggest trip of my life in one week, but I don’t know if I’m ready.
One one hand, I look back to where I was a few short months ago, and I’ve really made enormous progress. I’ve purchased a splitboard and countless other pieces of back-country equipment, I’ve done a pile of reading and taken a course on crevasse rescue, and I’ve done tons of standard travel preparation such as booking flights, getting vaccinations, and reading about my destination (I’ve also checked out the mountains and harbors in Antarctica that I’ll be visiting in Google Earth: way cool).
However, my mind is still pulsing with the critical next steps which need to take place before I can leave. I have long way to go, and a short time to get there… No, that’s not quite right… that’s a Jerry Reed song. What I’m getting at is it’s time to make things happen! No more wandering aimlessly in Wikipedia for endless hours, no more angry birds*, no more yielding to my inner “Lazy Brian” (who never wears pants and spends his time watching TV); it’s time to take ownership of my time and get an action plan!
First step is to take my own advice and brain-dump into a notebook. The times when I’ve felt stressed and have done so have always left me feeling… well, relieved. Seriously though, next time you feel overwhelmed, just start writing out everything that’s bothering you; followed by an action plan for each. I’m always surprised by how many of the things I worry about are something I have absolutely no control over.
Once I have that done, the priorities will certainly become clear. Oh, look: right now I’m supposed to be playing dress up with my gear to make sure it all fits (and pretending to be snowboarding, making wooshing noises, obviously).
Well, time to get back to the task at hand. “Woosh, woosh, woosh …”
* I just got an iPhone about a week ago and it has very much made preparing for for this trip easier. I’ve been putting all my preparation notes into Evernote so I can access it anywhere, whether it be a shopping list, or things to do while I’m out etc. The downside is how much addicting the arcade games are. Meh; lesser of two evils I guess.
ski7c 