Jock's TravelBlog Because sometimes I go places

Portland, OR

I've been making a pile of things I know I will need for the trip. The first think I put down were two black notebooks. Each is about 3 inches by 6 inches and less than a quarter of an inch thick. I like to carry notebook at all times. Even when I have a PDA or whatever electronic devices on me, I carry the notebook. Paper never looses charge or reboots. You can tear off a page and give it to someone else. You can press things between the pages. It's taken a while to find one that fits my lifestyle. I don't always wear a coat, so it needs to fit in my pocket along with everything else I carry. It took a while to find the right on for my needs, but the Moleskine trim notebooks work well.

My current notebook is nearly full. I will retire it before I leave. Almost nothing will need to be transcribed out of it. Most information spoils faster than unrefigerated eggs. The current one has a todo list for the trip. It is currently 3 pages long, There is nothing that unusal on the list, just lots of little things that are useful when you are on a trip. Just all the little things I want for trip. I like to think that I have the skills to get by in any urban center, but there is nothing wrong with stacking the deck. I will admit that my list contains more photographic equipment than most peoples.

Last week I crossed "Visit Doctor" off the list, and it hurt when I did. It had been 10 years since I had my last tetnus booster, so it seemed like a good idea to get up to date, and I had a perscription I needed renewed before the trip. The last thing I ever want is a migrain on a 20 hour flight. Since I'd had a nasty run in with an infection recently, so my doctor didn't want my immune system to take any chances. I also walked away with perscriptions for emergency antibiotics and some anti-malarials.

My insurance didn't cover any of the innoculations. I guess they were willing to risk that I might get Typhoid. I was not. The bill wasn't pretty, but it wouldn't have stopped me from going. Nor will the recent advisary that Americans keep a low profile. I am more excited about this trip than I can express here. Nothing is going to prevent me from going, and nothing is going to prevent me from exploring. Nine days won't be enough to understand Mumbai, let alone India, but I am going to do my damndest to walk away with a piece of the puzzle.

Besides I'm now imune to so many things I feel like a superhero. Five days and counting...