Day 2

Okay, so I'm completely lame. I stayed at Kathleen and Collin's again. I spent the entire day putting music on my iPod. I was talked into staying another night so Kathleen and I could watch Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix (she really had to twist my arm with that one).

So since there is no interesting news, I will post a couple of pictures from the last few days...

Day 1

Anyone that considers themselves a Six Feet Under fan will appreciate my first little story. I left my mother's house at around 9:30pm. I was listening to a mix that I had made for an ex c0-worker. I had no idea what was on the cd.
A Jimmy Eat World song came on that I really enjoyed, so I played it twice. I was approaching the freeway on-ramp as the song was ending and I wondered what the next song was going to be - the song to officially start my road trip as I sped onto the freeway... Just as my tires literally hit the highway, Sia's "Breathe Me" started to play. If you watched the entire series, you know this is the song that ends the very last episode - it begins as Claire drives away and we see flash forwards of every person's life. So there is the first little sign of an interesting adventure ahead.

Anyhow... I arrived in Chicago where Kathleen and I met up with Amy and John at Club Foot. What a cool place! They had little toys all over the bar and on tops of walls and shelves. The music was great. We had a pretty low-key night. Kathleen and I ended up going to Continental at 3 just to see what was going on there. The DJ was crap and being that it is St Patty's Day weekend, people were sloppy drunk. Kathleen seems to attract the most obnoxious and ugly men. This screaming mountain man would not leave us alone - even after she asked him to lower his voice and stop spitting on her. lol

We made our trip to Ihop after Continental and got home around 5:15am. I put some earplugs in, eye mask on, and promptly fell asleep. I woke up at 1pm today feeling rested for the first time in weeks. Kathleen, Collin and I met up with Amy, John, Jay and Amy's sister for brunch. We decided to spend the rest of the day in pajamas watching tv. I'm going to spend the night here again and load the music onto my ipod. Tomorrow I will make a plan for my next stop.

PS I discovered that vests actually keep you warm - and they have no arms to rub on my sore elbow tattoo!

Departure

I haven't a very significant amount of time to write, as I desperately need a nap before heading to Chicago. I just wanted to let it be known that my car is packed. The bike is on the bike rack (holy god was that an ordeal). I've got food in my stomach and in my car, and I've seen everyone that needed to be seen. The only bummer is that my grandparents weren't home when I stopped in to say goodbye.

I am at my mother's house at the moment. She is going to let me nap in her bed for a bit, and then I will be on my way to Chicago to stay with Kathleen and Collin tonight. We will be at the Continental later...

I will write more and explain my reasons behind this epic journey when I'm further along.

Preparations

Somehow over the last few years I have forgotten how to keep people updated.


So anyway, I've had to postpone my moving date twice now. I'm pretty much set to go... I've got to go through my stuff once more and slim down my clothing selection so it all fits in one suitcase. I've decided that I don't need all 7 pairs of ROOS to travel with. Some of them can stay at my mom's. I'll be cleaning my car out early next week and strategically planning how to pack my belongings into it (and still be able to sleep in the back if need be).

There are a few things I'm still worried about. 1) I don't have a lot of money. 2) My car has 181,000 miles on it. 3) I don't want someone to break in and steal the rest of my stuff.
I am fairly certain things will be alright, though.
I have enough to get to Florida for sure (the VERY roundabout way). Once I'm there, I can work and save up some more cash before moving onward.
The car thing, well, just keep me in your prayers! Everything that we know about has been fixed in the last few weeks. I'm going to glue the rest of my good luck toys and figurines to my dashboard in the next week so if you have something you want to contribute, or you want to help out let me know. I'll be adding bumper stickers as well.

If you feel like helping me out in any way (charity!), I would gladly take gift cards to food establishments. I bought myself 1 bowl, 1 plate, 1 knife, 1 fork, 1 spoon, 1 paring knife, and a small cutting board so I can still buy groceries (cheaper and healthier than eating out). I have a small collapsible cooler to keep things for a couple days. However, I won't have access to kitchen facilities unless I'm staying at someones house. So Cracker Barrel breakfasts start to look like unobtainable luxuries...

Anyhow, I plan to keep you informed with posted images of my current location:
This is where I'm starting off.
Feel free to email or comment whenever you wish. It will be good to hear from people (especially after my last road trip, when after 2 days I was starting to talk to my stuffed animals propped up in the front seat...)

And fyi, I've got an aircard with Verizon broadband service and an adapter to charge my laptop in the car - so I should always be able to get in touch via the web (as long as there is a cellular signal to pick up). Ahhh, technology is fan-fucking-tastic.