0 0 Day!

Yesterday I had the rare opportunity to cross the equator AND the prime meridian at the same time!  For a brief second I was spread out between all four hemispheres.  My friends and I were well prepared for the occasion with noise makers, drums, and whistles for the exciting moment.  Unfortunately I only have video of the experience so no pictures to post.  If I did have pictures you could see the lines drawn across the ocean to show where 0 0 is!  I guess you'll just have to take my word for it.  :0P

I was going to write an entry about classes and ship life in addition to the 00 celebration, but I'm way too tired for that at the moment.  Today was a rough day of my joints being ouchy so I'm also trying to limit my typing activity until things get better in that department.  I'm looking forward to tomorrow because it's my favorite class and I'll hopefully be feeling better.  :0)

Oh, but before I sign off for the night, I do want to share some exciting (for me) news.  I got paired up with another class for the Vicarious Voyage program (the SAS thing where I'm pen pals with a class or group in the states).  And it's a first grade class!  I'm so excited!  Everywhere I've been going, I have taken pictures with this lego doll I brought thinking I'd make a slide show to give to teachers when I got back.  But now I can use the pictures for Vicarious Voyage!  The teacher I'll be working with seems really nice and excited that I want to include her curriculum in my letters.  I also have been sending activities (coloring, drawing, word searches, etc.) and a "Day in the life" series that follows a kid throughout their day in each country.  I'm having so much fun with this!  Here are some pictures I'm sending to the kiddies with my mini travel buddy.

And one of me doing my best to dress as a steryotypical tourist who just went to Africa.  hehe

I have one somewhere of me doing the same thing after Brazil, but I can't find it at the moment...

Good night.  :0)

P.S.  I'm formatting this to be accessible when I send it, but I have no idea if that formatting always stays in tact when the entries are published.  So if there is tiny font size or things look a bit whacky, I apologize and will fix it once I get back home and have access to the internetz again.  Thanks for bearing with me in these technical difficulties.  :0)

Less than one month!!!!!!

I got a small taste of limited technology use the past two days because my old computer broke.  (RIP Mr. Mackey).  It was slightly annoying but more relaxing than anything.  No computer meant I couldn't waste tons of time on reddit or refreshing the SAS facebook group page.  My productivity went way up.  I hope this bodes well for 108 days with no internet that I've been fearing for months.  Anyway, saying goodbye to my faithful old computer was sad since I've had it for almost six years, but I am relieved that I have a new laptop that won't go kaput in the middle of the ocean.

In case you were wondering my new computer is called Mr. Mackey Jr.

But more importantly, I found out that I was accepted into all of the field programs that I signed up for!  When a field program fills up, the spots are given to people on a lottery system.  Either none of my trips were full or I got lucky because I'm good to go!  :0)  Here is the final list:

The time until SAS gets shorter as does my SAS related to do list.  I sent in my medical history form on Monday and will send a copy of my transcripts in to SAS tomorrow.  I have to go over the embarkation paperwork and the Vicarious Voyage paperwork tomorrow as well.  On Thursday I have what I hope will be my last doctor's appointment before I head off.  I'm going to ask about going to high altitude (Tibet) with dysautonomia/medications and I need to get prescriptions for 110+ days of my meddies.  I'm actually not sure how that process works, but I imagine that there is some protocol in place for situations like this.  I'll have to report back when I find out.  Best of all, I finally get to start thinking about packing.  I'm not quite going to pull out the suitcases yet, but I am starting with my packing strategy.  (Which mainly consists of trying to convince myself that I don't need to bring my whole room with me.)

Less than one month to go!!!!!!!    

T minus 34 Days and Counting!

     First of all, a little update on my first world problems.  :0)  I finished finals and am almost done with my grad school apps.  I can't wait to click the submit button and get some quality family time in during the holidays.  I've pretty much  been a grumpy hermit locked in my room trying to get everything done, and am really missing out on spending time with them.  Almost there!

My awesome family just for the record. 

      Now onto the real stuff.  I wanted to share this awesome program I get to take part in during the trip called Vicarious Voyage.  Usually SAS sailors get paired up with a classroom to correspond with during the voyage.  I'm doing things a little differently (what's new) and have been paired up with a group for chronically ill kids and young adults instead.  I'm really excited because it's never been done before and I think it will work out really well.  One thing most people don't realize about being sick is that it is way stinking boring.  I would read travel blogs during my bed-bound days and it helped pass the time.  Now I'm hoping to give back.  (No way to make that sound less corny...)  The group I chose was, of course, the Dysautonomia Youth Network of America.  I've been a part of the group since my own dysautonomia diagnosis in 2008 and will really enjoy working with them.  One more excellent thing to be excited about.

     Just really quick before I sign off to finish those grad school apps, I wanted to let you know that you can subscribe to my blog via e-mail!  (You don't have to be a blogger member to get updates.)  There is a box on the right hand side under the blog's archive where you can sign up.   

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