11 Weeks

I looked at the calendar yesterday and found that I will leave in exactly 11 weeks from Monday. In other words, I will leave in slightly less than three months. Stated either way, it is an exciting fact.

I purchased my ticket for my impending cross-country train ride yesterday. It will take me five days to get to Oregon, which is considerably more time that it would have taken had I chosen to fly there. However, I do not like the thought of flying for numerous reasons, and going on the train makes the trip seem more exciting and adventurous. Luckily, the route seems quite reasonable (i.e., there are no overnight waits for connecting trains and no extremely early morning departures), and there is plenty of time in between the three trains that I will have to take to allow for late trains (which are almost guaranteed on Amtrak; one train I am taking is estimated to be on-time only 40 percent of the time). I will not be able to take my bike, however, as one part of my trip only allows for carry-on luggage. That is not to big an issue, though, as I can probably buy a bike if I really need one once I leave home.

I have recently decided to stop dodging the question of where I am going to school and to tell people that I have a job lined up at a horse farm in Oregon. This seems to be a satisfying response to the few people I have told this.