I Feel the Need

I feel the need to write something. I'm not sure what to write. Almost all of my thoughts - and even dreams - lately have been tied up with transition. Finishing the school year. Going home. Doing everything I need/want to do this summer. Then coming back. And a new school year starting. It's going to be a whirlwind, and I want to be as ready for it as far ahead of time as possible.

I spent last Sunday in Jogjakarta buying gifts for everyone I could fathomably get to see in America. Like, I was there for 15 hours. But I got all my shopping done in ONE DAY. One glorious, maddening day. I just treated it like Christmas Eve. But then I got nervous about my baggage allowance and how I might not even get to take any clothes back with me if I bring all these gifts. So I put everything I bought in one heaping laundry basket and weighed it. Just under 50 pounds. I still have half my luggage left open. This is good news.

I feel like I can't get ahead at school. Our accrediting organization is doing a big official visit next school year, and there is TONS of documentation and stuff we have to have ready for that. And we waited until now to start working on it. So every time I feel like I'm ahead, 20 committee meetings get called and more gets piled on. I haven't even started thinking about finals yet, and they are less than three weeks away. WUT?

I'm also translating a book trilogy from Indonesian into English, and my goal is to have the first book finished before I leave. I also did an engagement photo shoot for a couple from my church this past weekend, so I need to sort and edit all of those pictures. There is also so much stuff that I do at my church that I need to hand off to other people for the time I'm gone.

Long distance travel is kind of like a garage sale. It seems easy in theory. Slap some prices on your junk and wait for people to come buy it. Throw your clothes in a bag and hop on the correct plane. Simple. But once you get into it, you realize there are 100 little details that sometimes aren't so little that you never considered, and trying to take care of all those details will take charge of your every waking moment until the big day, when you will wake up with a sick stomach and just pray that you did everything you needed to do because now time is up.

That is how I feel about travelling. It is obnoxious and I really hate it. But every once in awhile it is oh, so worth it. I can't wait to be home.