Getting Ready + Lonely Planet

In less than a week's time, I'll be away for a few months.

I've already bought what seemed to be the last remaining copy of Lonely Planet Europe on a Shoestring at Fully Booked at Rockwell. I made a reservation of it over the phone, while none can now be seen in their Lonely Planet bookshelves when I dropped by to pick up my copy. Whew! 'Cause Powerbooks, National Bookstore, Bibliarch and A Different Bookstore don't carry this title. And since I've used the same guide last 2005 (my friend's copy, in Madrid...) and it saved my ass when I arrived before sunrise in the south of France (but that's another story), I still preferred to get its latest edition for my trip this time, instead of its counterparts by Rough Guide or Let's Go.

I also bought my second Lonely Planet travel journal there as well. The first being what I used in 2005 while in Europe. I like this travel journal of theirs 'cause it's spiral-bound, just the right size, with a soft sort of leather cover (so the journal doesn't easily get dog-eared whenever I stuff it in my bag), has a world time converter, journey details form, etc.. The one I had last 2005 was used up. There was no blank page left by the time I got back home.

my Lonely Planet travel journal atop the table of my seat inside

the Eurostar TrenItalia train at Venice going to Rome, 2005. On top
of it is the remainder of the sandwich I had ordered from the Buffet
food court at the Venice railway station. It's the same sandwich I used
to feed the pigeons that pecked me at Piazza San Marco. haha!

Am glad I saw its latest edition at Fully Booked when I picked up the Europe on a Shoestring guide (especially since the other booksellers I mentioned above don't sell it). Though I wonder if I'll get to use this one up as this time around, I'm going to Europe for work, and can travel at weekends only.

Am gonna do my errand shopping tomorrow after work for this trip. I don't plan on going out this weekend except to go to North Park for lunch or dinner with my family. There's no North Park or wanton noodle soup with Hong Kong-style noodles where am going in Europe I think. hehe! I'll really miss it, hence North Park, the only decent Chinese restaurant near my residence. I expect there to be a lot of different kinds of potato dishes on the menu while in Europe. Huhu! :( I think I'll die! haha! :D

I'll be packing up on Sunday I guess. And hope not to reach up to 20 kg for the check in luggage weight 'cause I expect to be bringing more stuff back here. Which means I might be wearing jeans and runners on my departure since they're both the heaviest items to wear; and thus lighten the load of my check in luggage. *Sigh* I don't really enjoy wearing jeans that much. I actually have only 4 pairs of blue jeans. The latest one is 2 years old or more already. The Lonely Planet guide I bought is easily 2.5 lbs heavy, but I'll be stuffing that in my hand-carried backpack.

I'm also having second thoughts about bringing my Mac notebook. 'Cause am already bringing another laptop for work. Argh! If I don't bring my Mac, then it means I'll be doing some serious file transfers between the two notebooks. How tedious! I hope I don't forget to copy anything else that needs copying from my Mac to my work laptop. Waaa! Am gonna miss using my Mac. *Sigh*

To prepare for Germany, am meeting up with my German friend before I leave. Was supposed to meet today but we both got up very late, despite setting up our alarm clocks. Pasaway! hahaha! Well, I hope we make it on time next week.

While in Europe, am not sure yet if I can go jogging regularly, if at all. Or swim. Will know once am there. The hotel has a pool but it's gonna be creepy if I'll be swimming laps alone at night. Might just have to get used to it I guess.

Going Away and Packing To Do List

I need to do some packing this weekend. Before I leave for new places.

Am moving to a new place while going overseas for a work assignment for some months, and have lots of stuff to pack. Ack!! Books, knickknacks from my desk (which I still want to know where they are when I get back from overseas), CDs, DVDs, stuff on my desk, clothes, toiletries, accessories, bags, etc... Too much stuff! Huhu!

Am bringing my Mac with me overseas though. Even though I'd have another laptop for work. I couldn't leave it. And am not even an obssessive and overly proud Mac fan. Hmmm.. I am just used to working with this notebook a lot. All my stuff are there: photos, blogs, mp3s, finance matters, lists, etc.. Which also means I might have to buy a notebook sleeve for my Mac for protection even when inside the laptop sleeve of my North Face backpack. Duh.

Apart from the requisite cold-weather pieces of clothing, I need to have/bring the following books:
- Lonely Planet Europe on a Shoestring
- Lonely Planet France/Paris or
- Lonely Planet Germany
- The World is Flat v2.0 by Thomas Friedman (if I haven't finished reading it by the time I leave)
- Time magazine issue which I need to finish reading as well
- a fiction by Arturo Perez-Reverte

Also won't forget to bring the following gadgets:
- my nifty Canon digital camera
- my Sony Ericsson W800i mobile phone/camera/walkman
- my USB thumbdrive
- the chargers for my Mac, camera, and phone
- all the compactflash cards for my camera

Have to suspend my Time magazine subscription while away.

I don't think I'll be going out much while away. Only plan to visit maybe two to three cities of priority (in France, Germany and the Netherlands) and the rest depends on convenience, boredom level, or work schedule. If only the Schengen visa already applies to the Czech Republic, would have added Prague as well. Tsk! Oh well. As long as I get to visit at least two of my target cities, then am happy and good to go. haha! I can be a homebody for the rest of the weekends of my stay and just take photos of nearby places at work. I just wanna do some photography stuff, and eat healthy while away but also try local stuff (beer, wine, not so much cheese, that long French bread, etc. haha).

Since am packing stuff, the thought entered my mind that maybe next time, I'd be packing 'cause
am leaving my workplace. Not too happy about the thought of being just one among so many bees. Does not seem so interesting anymore. Would get routine too, or tiresome. it has certainly crossed my mind. So I guess eventually, I will shift work again; with something that's more broad and not limited to IT but still interesting. I already know what it is. Hehe! Just a long-term plan for now. Food for thought!