It’s good to write again. Let me rephrase that: it’s good to have something to write about again. As a scientist I don’t get to write for fun often, and the right side of my brain is rejoicing at the opportunity, while at the same time making its discontent with the left side known by giving me a bad case of writer’s block. So let’s get this started. And just an FYI: this one is going to be LONG. I will try to keep the next entries shorter.
For those of you who don’t know, I graduated from Oregon State in June of 2010, and in July of that year, moved to Modesto California to take a paid internship with Gallo Wine. I didn’t know much about wine, but the internship was for chemistry so I figured it was right up my alley. As luck would have it, it was, and I took to it with enthusiasm…after weeks of training, countless minor screw ups, an unfortunate incident with oxalic acid, and lots of support and encouragement from my co workers.
While there, I lived with three other interns, and it was their idea to apply for a temporary crush job in the southern hemisphere: the seasons are reversed, so they harvest their grapes later in the year. I had applied to graduate school during the internship, and a southern hemisphere crush job seemed like an ideal choice for me. If I got into grad school then I would have nine months to occupy before school started in the fall, and a temp job would fill a good part of the gap, and I would be back just in time for summer. If I didn’t get into graduate school, a southern hemisphere crush job would still work, I would just apply for work once I got back. I thought it was a long shot, but I applied. And, well, here I am.
After moving back to Oregon in November after the internship with Gallo was over, I got a job working for one of my California roommate’s father, who owns a mobile truck washing company. While I am very grateful for the work, I hope to never have to work that job again. Washing trucks in the middle of an Oregon winter is far from anyone’s idea of fun—in fact, I can remember thinking that I would rather be painting houses—but it earned a decent paycheck and it passed the time, which is all I wanted in the first place. My last day on the job was February 23, which was exactly one week ago.
The first part of week 0 was spent doing last minute shopping, reading the guidebook, establishing a plan of action once I land in Christchurch, and packing my bags. I have two bags: one 85 liter camping bag which has all of my clothes, guidebooks, and sleeping bag in it, while the other bag is my small day pack, which has my laptop, journal, camera, and the other additions to my travel-boredom-fighting kit. If needed, I have enough room in my large pack to consolidate packs if needed. Anyway, the productive part of week 0 lasted only the first day and a half; you need to realize that I did quite a bit of preparation for this trip while I was working for the truck wash company, as a way of taking my mind off how much I hated my life. I’m kidding, but only partially.
The second part of my week, with the exception of the going away shindig with a few friends that happened on Saturday (February 26), has been spent not spending money. It’s just as boring as it sounds. With all due respect to my awesome friends in Portland, for the time I was here I would have rather put the money toward my New Zealand adventure than go out for drinks, or go see a movie. I just sat at home, read, and hung out with my mother. A spectacularly interesting life I have lead thus far, I’m sure.
In the last few days, the scope of what I was about to do really hit me. The following journal excerpts illustrates this quite nicely:
”I tell people that the shock and awesomeness of what I am about to do hit me as I was packing my bag. I realize now that I was lying: As I sit here, staring at these blank pages, trying to put my thoughts into words, listening to Pandora with one ear and the Oregon raind with the other, I realize that I am really going to miss this...I’ve been telling people that this will be the biggest adventure of my life to-date. This morning was the first time I realized the implications of that statement (3-1-11).”
The morning of March 2 (the day of my flight) was the worst of it. Initially I was terrified: I had no trouble sleeping the night before, but the moment I woke up my heart started pounding. The adrenaline kicked in at 8:30 that morning. I couldn’t eat breakfast, and every time I looked in the mirror I saw this expression on my face that was somewhere between nervousness, excitement, and surprise, and every time I saw myself the same two words would come out of my mouth: “Holy shit.”
Thankfully, I got a call from a good friend wishing me well, and it went a long way toward calming me down. It’s always nice to be reminded that your friends have your back. As I calmed down, I went back to simply being excited…really, really, incredibly excited…with a touch of terror thrown in:
“What I am feeling right now is more akin to the massive case of the jitters you get right before you do something like ask a girl out for the first time, or the first time you jump into a lake from really high up. It’s anticipating the inevitable plunge into the unknown: you really want to do it, but you don’t know what is going to happen when you do, and you can’t turn back once you take that step…I think terror was a poor choice of adjective. I am not terrified, I am in suspense. My life is unfolding before me and I am watching it from the edge of my seat, wanting with every fiber of by being to know what happens next (3-2-11).”
And with that, I packed up, ate a fantastic lunch of spaghetti, Italian sausage, homemade meatballs, homemade marinara sauce, green salad, and Italian bread, and departed for the airport. In the words of the immortal, ever-inspiring Bilbo Baggins: “I am quite ready for another adventure.” And as it turns out, I can now add a few words of my own to commemorate the occasion.
“Fuck it. If I’m about to jump off a cliff into a lake, then I’m throwing a backflip on the way down (3-2-11).”
That’s all for now, talk to you all again in a week!
-DK
PS: Before I made this blog, I assembled what I believe to be the single greatest adventure playlist known to man in the weeks leading up to my trip. You can find my note regarding this on my facebook, and contribute to it if you like. I bring this up because this playlist, this 10.6 hour long, %100 solid gold playlist that you all helped me create, is too good for just one person. I had to share it:
Here is how you make it work in your iTunes:
1) Click both links and download both files (each file is about 450MB, so this may take some time)
2) Extract each folder from the .zip files you downloaded.
3) Open iTunes. Click File>Add Folder to Library. Find the folders you just extracted and click “Select Folder.” This will add all of the music on my playlist to your library.
4) Lastly, Click File> Library>Import Playlist. There is a .txt file titled “Ultimate Adventure” in the file titled “Ultimate Adventure part 1” that you extracted in step 2, select it and click Open. This will import the playlist as it stands at the beginning of my trip. iTunes will find all of the music you just added and put in a new playlist on your iTunes titled “Ultimate Adventure.”
I hope you enjoy it as much as I have been.
EDIT: I finished this blog while waiting for my flight from LAX to Brisbane, but did not upload it until I got here to Christchuch, because I don't trust free public WiFi hotspots, and neither should you.
