T-7 Days: How will it all fit?

My first ever blog - quite the momentous occasion. Just the sheer thought of all the future write-ups that I'll be posting over the next 7 months makes me rather excited. In one week's time I'll be leaving London to travel around the world for 7 months. It's quite surreal to think that this is actually happening. I've not really had a chance to get excited about it until now: On a sunday afternoon, while home alone. I might as well savour this moment since come tomorrow, I embark on my final week at work and a rather hectic one at that, in the build up to my final big project: The Leadership Programme's Graduation Weekend. I suspect the next time, I'll be able to stop and appreciate these wonderful emotions of excitement and anticipation, will be while I'm on the plane to New York.

So I figured I'd try putting together everything that I hope to pack (notice how I use the word hope!) . I'm currently compiling a list of all that I think I'll need and shortly, I'll be putting it all into piles in the room next door. My thinking is that I'm unlikely to find anytime to do this during the week and next weekend I'm away running a residential event so that's a write off too. But atleast this way, if I remember things that I forgot, I can add them to my piles! The only thing I'm struggling with is figuring out how I'm going to fit all of this stuff into my modestly sized backpack. I know what you're thinking: "You're meant to be a traveller so just man-up and pack light" - but it's not that simple for me. I'm trying to pack for a whole variety of settings and climates. I need stuff appropriate for camp including resources for my divisional programs as well as clothes suitable for weekly thunder storms in the Poconos. I need stuff suitable for backpacking round New Zealand and Australia as well as the hot climate of the Philippines. I need stuff suitable for a winter in Tokyo plus bits for karate training. And then I need stuff for trekking up Mount Everest in the new year.

Anyway, I suppose my best bet is to just get on with it and figure it out along the way. I now look forward to my last week in England. A week filled with goodbyes, farewells and drawing things to a close. Possibly not my most exciting blog entry I'm sure you'll agree but none the less, I felt it worth sharing! Here's to an exciting 7 months ahead!