Ponderance

I don't think "ponderance" is a dictionary-approved word, but I decided to attach to it the same meaning as "ponderation", so it's at least a me-approved word.

The title describes my current state. I sit in front on my desk at 3:11AM, probably the last night I will do this in my apartment #1309 in Austin, TX. And I find the thought of this to slow down my thoughts and actions. And I wonder "Why does this happen?" I hypothesize that, when imminently facing change, people may react with careful consideration, evaluating their situation and alternatives frequently, trying to optimize the results of their decisions. Which is very understandable, since a changing environment is naturally prone to producing drastic changes, either positive or negative, and thus the stakes are much higher for any entity involved in said environment. Anyway, I now feel like that. Thoughtful, careful, but in low-energy orbit.

I wait for the dryer to finish its drying cycle. My recently-washed clothes are now inside it, rotating and falling, rotating and falling, drying off with a steady flow of hot air. I imagine being inside an activated dryer would be like going into a sealed sauna in the shape of a moving hamster-wheel with fans. The said batch of laundry is probably the last batch I will do laundry in here in Austin, TX in at least 3 months. I slightly mentally shudder with the thought. Though I'm a solid advocate of change, I am nevertheless slightly shaken with anxiety when I am faced with it myself. I guess it's part of the fun of it all. :)

Tomorrow Tuesday 21st of April, 2009, at around 6AM, I will be inside the airplane that will lift me up and take me to Chicago, IL, where I will visit my family for several hours before riding back to the aiport and taking another plane that will safely land me on Dublin, Ireland on the 22nd of April at 8AM.

Oh, the dryer's done. I better go there and fold my clothes then...

And now they are folded. And I ask myself "why don't you go to bed yet then?" And I answer myself: "Because your blog entry isn't finished yet!" How expected of a blogger to have a monologue with himself about his blog, and then to blog about his monologue, and then comment upon his blogging of his monologue, usw (und so weiter) until meta^N-blogging level, where the limit of N is positive infinity. (Guess who's been reading calculus derivations lately?)

So here is my current status: I have about 24 hours before my trip begins (including car ride and airport wait). I have my new used Patagonia MLC backpack I bought from Mr. Trevor Wright, apparently a very experienced traveler whom I contacted through a Craigslist posting, for $70 ready to pack up my recently-folded-and-even-still-warm clothes and the other things I intend to take on my trip, such as my red scissors, my swimming goggles, my recently-bought-for-$0.97-plus-tax-at-Target 70-page spiral-held blue-cover notebook, two combination locks, a bandage for my ankle, a toothbrush, a deodorant, a comb, those little scissors useful for nipping nose hair, a Canon A590 camera, a Duracell AA/AAA battery charger, the case for my glasses (would that be a glasscase or a glasses-case?), my recently-bought-for-$130-because-its-screen-is-cracked-but-still-very-functional 8GB 2nd Gen iPod Touch, my USB-powered hard drive, a power outlet, lots of useful cables (USB, Ethernet, etc), a portable computer, and of course my visa-ready passport and the proof that I am a legal resident alien in the USA.

I'm thinking of taking a blanket with me if it fits in both volume and weight (weight restrictions in Ryan Air (the airline I'll probably be using in intra-european flights) limit carry-on bags to 10kg (22 pounds)). I don't want to overpack, but if I have to sleep somewhere cold, I'd rather have something to wrap around me and keep me warm all night.

But hopefully, I won't need to spend nights in cold, dark, unfriendly-looking alleyways in Europe. There's this wonderful site called Couchsurfing that allows you to contact people all around the world and ask them whether you can surf on their couch! It's a great site! It fosters international interaction, friendship, and travel by allowing people from all over the world to meet while traveling, and at the same time reducing lodging costs! It's AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!! I like it. :) Can you tell I like it? :) Yay.

I have already successfully contacted people in Dublin and Madrid, and am now aiming for Barcelona! They all seem like happy, energetic, willful people, and I like that! I hope they like electronic music too - then we'd be all set! :D

But now I should go to sleep. My brother's sleeping less than 2m from me and he needs to go to work tomorrow. Good night! Will try to post again soon.

Aaaand... we're back on the air! Live, from Austin, TX, I give you... Antonio!!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you so much, wow, what a crowd we have here tonight! Let's hear it for Austin! WOOO!!! Let's hear it again!! WOOO!!! One more time!! WOOO!!! All right, all right, that's enough for now.

So it is now Monday April the 20th, 11:53AM, and for some reason I am still blogging instead of packing up. I don't know what keeps me... maybe because I do stuff quicker under pressure. As if I like to wait until it feels that I would just have a little bit of extra time margin left to do everything I have to do before the "deadline" (in this case my flight time), and then I suddenly just jump up and do everything hurriedly, feeling that the reward of doing it all is the satisfaction of having finished everything in much less time than you would usually expect someone to take to do it. It feels the same as when I did school homework and college projects... "like in ye olde days...".

But this is a very important trip and I really don't want to screw it up. Hence, I'll start packing right after this blog entry. Most importantly, I'll end this blog entry very, very soon.

And now I start. GO!