Thursday, August 26, 2010

The Calm before the Storm

So this is my first blog. I'm not exactly sure what this is going to become other than an account on my travelings this year. To be honest, I think I'm using this as much as a journal as I am anything else, but you are more than free to read my musings (I just used 'as' three times in six words). In any case, if you don't know by now, I was pretty fortuitous in my medical school selection because the University of Virginia accepted too many people last year. In order to shrink the size of the '14 class, they incentivized taking a year off--something I had always thought about doing--and so here I am, about to embark on a roadtrip of the United States to discover this amazing country, the people that inhabit it, and myself.





Alright, now that that introduction is done, onto my trip and how it relates to the blog. In order to build suspense for my readers (if there are any), I'm not going to tell you where I am headed. For a few weeks, I probably won't have internet access, so you might get several posts in a day and silence for a week--you'll live. Basically, I only have two concrete deadlines on my trip, and like any good alumnus of the University of Georgia, they both revolve around the Dawgs. October 2nd, I hope to be in Boulder, Colorado, and Thanksgiving Day, I hope to be back in Athens.





So, if you've done the math, you now know that my trip will be more than two and a half months long. What should one pack for a two and a half month journey? I wish I knew; here is what I am packing:





1) Car (1989 Nissan 240SX ~166,000 miles: I'm too lazy to check the exact number right now, but I'll let you know. The car will be known as 'Forest' from now on because at one point in its life, one of the headlights would not open. This corresponded in time with the release of the movie Last King of Scotland starring Forest Whitaker who has a lazy eye).





2) iPhone 3G (google maps, 1170 songs, 14 podcasts, my itenerary, and of course the boggle ap)





3) Dell Inspiron (no idea what the model number is--is that bad?)





4) Clothes (5 pairs of shorts, boxers not briefs, 10 t-shirts hopefully that number grows on the trip, 6 other shirts, socks, 5 pairs of shoes)





5) Food (24 granola bars, 100 slim jims, 36 chicken raman noodles, 6 canned chickens, 8 cases of spam, 16 vienna sausages, 1 peanut butter)





6) 25 lb. dumbells (to guilt myslef into staying in shape)





7) Somewhat broken inflatable air mattress





8) Camping gear (fly reel and flies, gps, pots and pans, water purifier, knife, camelback, tent, sleeping pad, sleeping bag, matches, butane stove)





9) Camera (2 actually--though neither one really works, so iPhone might do this job as well)





10) 1000 Places to See before You Die: US Edition





11) Other books (I'll update you on these as I go)





12) Car battery jumper (1989 Nissan 240 SX)





13) Jumper cables (1989 Nissan 240 SX)






14) 16 AAA maps






15) Moneys (~$3000)


I suppose those are all the essentials for a three month roadtrip--stay tuned to see if that's true.

2 comments:

  1. YAY! That sounds so adventurous, Cullen! :D I hope you and Forest have a lot of fun.

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  2. GOOD LUCK! I will waiting in suspense for your next post ;) Better see you when you get back.

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