I should probably start packing

06 June 2011

It was after my alternative break in Miami that I decided to become a blogger. I latched on to the idea of writing a social action blog... a kind of, change the world and write about it idea. Definitely a head in the clouds, I have all the time in the world fancy. Reality, as always, sets in and the bog of schoolwork that left little time for freelance writing, let alone making the world a better place, turned my plan into a no go.

Summer, thank goodness, eventually peeked its way through, and following a week of smushing my cramped dorm room into four cardboard, storage boxes, I returned home. Free time was suddenly all my time. I spent my first few weeks home writing a reflection of my past year, my way of documenting my experiences in addition to giving me a project to work on. The piece became the post that started my first blog… home to my rambles, the serious and reflective type.

It’s been a mere month (well, minus a week) since the launch of my first blog. Never too soon for baby number two as The Girl with the Traveling Blue Shoes is officially up and running. This time around though, a theme is in order. My travels and my blue shoes to be exact.

I purchased my blue shoes from Primark, a large and relatively cheap department store amid the range of pricey shops on London’s Oxford Street. Oddly, I had had a dream the night prior of these shoes, so I didn’t hesitate to lunge them into my cart when I saw them in the store. (They were around five pounds… I’ve kicked myself since for not buying multiple pairs.)

I wore them for the first time on my last day in London. The picture on the left of the page is actually from that day; I was sitting on the steps of the National Gallery, eating my packed lunch and gazing ahead at Big Ben, barely visible in the distance. I liked how the photo I had taken had come out, and I decided to continue taking photos of my shoes with a notable landmark as a backdrop. The plan eventually morphed into a combo blog/ picture idea, my new way of documenting my travels, themed.

Just in time, really, as I leave for Sydney, Australia in nine days. 
I’ll be interning at a social media-marketing boutique for six weeks and plan to extend my travels following the completion of my program. All of which will be documented via this blog.

It’s nine days away.

To- do list: 
1) Pack
I need to master the art of light packing. My goal is to fit my wardrobe into one, albeit large, suitcase. 

2) Research Sydney attractions 
I really hate to admit it, but my knowledge regarding Sydney is limited to the harbor, the zoo and the ferry. For someone obsessed with lists/ plans, I’m also weirdly last minute about setting my itineraries and doing my research. I have an issue with getting bored with ideas easily; I’d change my list of attractions often if I had time to dwell on it. So last minute works. But I should probably research before leaving. 

3)   Start praying that I don’t blow through my bank account while abroad
Aka, start planning wisely.

4)   Practice saying “G’day” 
According to my father, it’s what they all say down under.

… but that may not be the case.

No worries, I’ll let you know in a week and a half.