Preparations

[This is the first blog I've done, which I guess makes me a blog virgin... Cool! Sounds messy... Anyway, here goes!]

This week has been tricky...
Last week was exciting, partly due to not being at work (fantastic though the IT department was - in fact I miss it, despite the excitment), and partly due to the fact that I'd been bouncing back and forth to Flight Centre to pester the nice lady there about when/where/how long to go.

This week has been more stressful. Now I've actually got the tickets I HAVE to go... which means I ought to be getting ready... Like start packing. Right after I've finished this blog... Maybe... In a minute... After I've checked my emails...

Seriously though, I've been buzzing around like the proverbial blue-bottomed fly trying to get everything ready; visas, ESTA, International Driving Licence, flight socks, credit cards, small bottles of things to get in my hand luggage, spare glasses.
Ah - spare glasses...
Following much frantic scrabbling it seems that my spare pair are either broken or absolutely awful!
No spare glasses then. Hmph...
Not helpful.

So, in between dashing to the shops to get mosquito repellent and sunblock, and looking at my suitcase and having moaning panics about how little space I've got to put clothes, shoes, souvenirs in and still be able to carry my luggage, I've been scouring opticians in Hertfordshire. Not wanting particularly to look like a naughty secretary or some fashion-led Gucci victim brandishing a pink poodle, it has taken me a while to find a decent pair of specs I like... Fortunately the pair I have found are at a lovely little local optician (keep it local) who, unlike their disorganised and non-delivering high street brethren, have promised me a pair of shiny new specs (with snazzy subtle sunglasses to slip on) by next week (just days before I leave). Hurrah!
Big problem sorted then. Now just have the other big problems to sort out, like, credit card pin numbers, sterling or USD travellers' cheques, and most importantly, which shoes to pack...

Now all I need to worry about (apart from the packing - eek!) is what I can and can't take into Australia, which is mainly anything cultivable or organic (muddy boots, wool, tea, snacks... wtf?!) and what I can and can't say to the nice man at US Customs, Dept of Homeland Security (imagine the accent), who is going to want to take my blood, hair, urine sample, eyeball print, fingerprint scan, buttock imprint, nasal hair stamp, body cavity acoustics...

*sigh*

;)