We're alive and living the dream in Istanbul...next stop Mykonos

I've got this growl in my tummy

People give you the advice that when you're going on a trip, set out what you think you will need and pack half of it. With that in mind, I made up a list of what I thought I should bring with me on the insane trip we're about to take...I will be gone for 47-ish days. So my list had about 2 weeks worth of clothes in hopes that I could make a sink into a washing machine somewhere along the way if I couldn't find a place to actually do laundry. Fine.

My "large" backpack would not zipper close. Probably because there's a towel and a sleeping bag in there plus a tightly packed duffel for the obligatory 'stuff' I will undoubtedly accumulate along the way. although each is far less than 6 inches in diameter. Fine.

Out went a couple dresses, a couple tank tops...Backpack now closes but looks to be one sock away from bursting...mind set must change. Fine.

Another dress flew out, more tops retreated to the floor, towel switched for one that rolled up about 2 inches smaller, plane attire changed to maximize clothes usage at the expense of comfort...Backpack closes, looks bloated but content, weighs in at about 30 lbs. Perfect.

Now I just have to do something about the disaster that is my apartment.

Well, I built me a raft and she's ready for floatin'

Studying for the last final of my UW career, Eurail pass in one hand, coffee in the other (makes it hard to take notes, but that's ok). If I could be more excited for the next 2 months...scratch that...next 7 months...nah...the rest of my life, I think I would disintigrate into a little pile of shivering joy and anticipation.
Ok...perhaps too much caffeine has affected me a bit. Sad? yes...Going to cry sometime this weekend? Definitely...Going to skip down the street and hug my friends too tightly and display my incredible--although sometimes covert--goofiness? You betcha.

All the things that flow through my mind

Went to the last class I will ever take at UW-Madison. I scoffed at a question a girl asked a little too loudly so that the people around me stared at me and then fell asleep a little...It doesn't make sense to start swimming in another direction right as you go down a waterfall...

Done. Now I just have 10 online lectures to watch and some tests to take.

More importantly I have some boots to drink, Mickey's pancakes to eat, Terrace sun to soak up and most importantly some love to give my buddies. All day, I walk down the street and stop myself from stretching my arms wide open, spinning around and trying to inhale as much of this place as I can. I have gotten really weird.

all running inside

So...if you were to raise a vegan baby...could he not drink his mother's milk? I don't get it.

Nobody gonna slow me down, oh no

Putting that post up on nomadlife just made our trip very real...and very awesome.

Don't be afraid to lose control

As I scrubbed the dirt of yesterday off my feet, I realized that something about the day held some closure for me. Being a crazy college kid during Mifflin, boozing and dancing and running and losing things and being ridiculous...I had a great time. It's been a fantastic time.

come on sugar let me know

I'm really flip-flopping back and forth about graduating. One minute, I'm on the verge of a panic attack, focusing on breathing, eyes watering at the thought of not being around these people that I see everyday, that I love seeing everyday, in this city that I love. Just writing it makes my heart beat faster and forehead furrow with anxiety. The next minute I'm skipping along, enjoying the sunshine and the huge number of possibilities that I have before I go to school. Working, travelling. Right now the future could hold Greece, Turkey, Macedonia, Italy, France, Spain, Philippines, India, Malaysia, Tibet, either Tunisia or Morocco depending on Ali, and various US stops. Man. Sounds like a really amazing 7 months. But the forehead is still furrowed.

I'm not in the same spot as most of my friends in that they are getting jobs. I'm going for more school. I will be working in Door County which is awesome and going on amazing trips, but none of that takes away from how much I'm going to miss what I have now. Sometimes you just have to take how you're feeling and shrug your shoulders and just let it be. When I tell some people how I feel they say, "yeah but, think about this" or blah blah blah. Some people don't seem to understand that it's ok to be anxious and sad about your life changing, even when you know the next chapter just gets more exciting than the one you're currently on. Or I should probably just stop talking about it.