Trip Tightness

There's a tightness in my chest. I'm going to call it nervous excitement. I have just a bit left to decide upon and pack and I'll be ready to go tomorrow. I'm heading out around 8am. I like to get to the airport early. My flight to Minneapolis is at 12:15pm, where I'll meet up with Sal. I don't think I'll be able to fully relax and be on vacation until I see her at the gate. We then fly to London Gatwick where we'll catch a train to London King's Cross (Platform 9 3/4?) and then another up to York. If we arrive at 2pm on Wednesday afternoon (as per my schedule) I will have been travelling 22 hours. I think I'll need a nap.

Here's our itinerary with links to Google maps:
Nov. 15-16 York
Nov. 17-18 Bacup with Elizabeth's wedding in Rawtenstall and reception at Samlesbury Hall
Nov. 19 Keswick in the Lake District
Nov. 20 Chester
Nov. 21 Cardiff, Wales
Nov. 22-24 Bath with a day trip to Stonehenge and Avebury
Nov. 25-29 London via Salisbury

We probably won't have internet access until we get to London but I doubt I'll be posting until I get home. I'll have lots of photos to organize and willl try to post some over the weekend.

Okay, enough procrastinating. I better get back to my suitcase.

Seriously Stressed

I thought that getting the magazine off to the printshop yesterday would make today and Monday rather stress-free but I was wrong. I feel like crap and wish I could just go home. There were tiny changes to all three files I had sent last night so I had to re-send them all this morning. Then I had to change one file to be able to print onto tabloid paper here. I had a long list of things I need to do before leave I Monday and my boss just added a couple more things. Ugh. I really need to take a break for lunch. My tummy is yelling.

I did stay late last night working on directions for the car part of our trip. I made screen shots of the roundabouts and other intersections, put them together on a couple pages with written directions, printed them out and highlighted our route (stay to the left!). Sal will be driving so I'm the navigator and need to know where we're going. I fear the roundabout though. I hope Sal is more confident.

Words Overheard Today

Today during staff meeting, a new co-worker used three words not normally heard in everyday conversation.

iterative: relating to or involving iteration: the repetition of a process or utterance. • repetition of a mathematical or computational procedure applied to the result of a previous application, typically as a means of obtaining successively closer approximations to the solution of a problem

cogent: (of an argument or case) clear, logical, and convincing

salient: most noticeable or important; prominent; conspicuous

It was refreshing.

Highlights of My Day

• Walking down the street behind a very, very pungent street person
• Discovering there's a Starbucks Drive-Thru beside the mall
• Buying feminine products at Target
• Finding some cool gloves for my trip
• Enjoying my new shoes
• Getting an email from Sal saying she hasn't gotten a new vacuum since 1994
• Being surprised by a mouse who was trying to share my desk
• Eating a superb steak burrito for lunch (with lettuce added from my fridge)
• Figuring out I can get a two-day electronic transfer of funds for no fee from my credit union as opposed to waiting for days for a check
• Thinking of ways to spend my over-$3000 36-month CD that matures tomorrow