Packing

Near the end of the film, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, the Elves emigrate to the West because Middle Earth enters the Time of Man [and Woman]. In my case, I’m not emigrating but paying a two-week visit to the West, which in this case would be the continent of Australia. I doubt I’ll meet any Elves but you never know.

Back in October, my older brother Roman visited my Christchurch residence for 10 days, so it was decided that I would do the same and see his place in Canberra during the summer months. However, Canberra will be the last city on my Down Under visit – the first two will be Sydney & Brisbane. This will be my first time in Australia (my family have already been there twice) & my first overseas trip in the last year of the first decade of the 21^st century.

When it comes to counting decades, I count the right way: 0-9, 10-19, 20-29, and so on. The 1980s were the years 80-89, the 1990s were the years 90-99, and the 2000s are 0-9. I find it laughable that there are people who still discriminate & deny the existence of zero, a number that was created by Indian scholars in the 9^th century CE [source: Wikipedia]. I wonder if they also deny the existence of their children during the first 12 months after birth because they are 0 years old.

Although I’m having high hopes that my trip will be a success, I’m not taking any chances and have prepared for the worst. Airline travel in the post 9/11 world may be the safest but it is not the most efficient and/or enjoyable. (My flight to Sydney takes off at 7am meaning I have to be at the airport at 5am – go figure). Gravol to prevent vomiting, ear plugs to drown out crying babies, a book & MP3 player for entertainment, and an extra change of clothing in my carry on bag if my suitcase someone gets ‘lost’. I don’t want to suffer a lost baggage crisis like the one London Heathrow’s Terminal 5 experienced in March 2008. I’m flying after the regular summer holiday rush and the flight is scheduled to be 3 ½ hours long but the spiteful duo of delays & cancellation may make a cameo appearance. Preparing for the worst also prepares you for the best.

While having fun & snapping plenty of pics in the Down Under, I’ll do my best to find an Internet café and keep you, the BLOGing public up-to-date because a two-week blackout sounds too big & damaging (similar to the 31-day transit strike that’s plaguing my hometown). I may be only to publish texts and have to forgo the addition of photos until I get back.

Until then, I have to get back to packing and order a very early taxi to give me a lift to the airport.