Departure Part Deux

I departed in stages...Dallas to Cleveland to New York to London. I decided to hit up NYC for a couple of days for two reasons.
1. Flights from NYC to London are cheap
2. My best friend Caroline lived there

The only flaw with this plan was that I was left to wonder the great city alone while Caroline was slaving away for the man. Usually I wouldn't have minded the solitude but at this particular time I think it would have been better for me to have company, and for that company to constantly reassure me that everything was going to be ok. But it was the way it was.

The day before I left I chatted with my dear friend Court, somehow she was able to say just the right things and really gave me the courage I lacked. In thanks I purchased a Martha Stewart postcard which i promptly posted a mere 2 years later.

Saturday was the big day but my flight wasn't until 9pm. Unfortunately, I was still a mess of emotion. Pretty sure I cried in front of Caroline, pretty sure this shocked her and pretty sure she had no idea how to react. Then the hr finally came to hail the taxi and take the drive over to JFK. Saying the words "International Terminal," made it all that more real...in just a couple of hrs I would be on my way.

I flew over on Virgin Atlantic, sadly this experience would forever spoil, no other transatlantic flight would ever compare. Now for some reason the UK decided to implement completely different carry on regulations than any other western country. US regulations say you can have a carry on and a personal item...UK regulations say only ONE carry on this includes your personal item. But thankfully the Virgin Atlantic ticket agent took care of it for me and checked my extra bag in with no charge.

My plan was to make it through security and run the clock down talking to friends and family. Promptly after making it through security I lost all reception on the cell phone...isn't that life. So after some quick calls on the pay phone (how ancient does that sound) I said goodbye to the outside world and tried to grasp what was about to happen.

While I waited to board I charge up my laptop...I was kind of concerned that I hadn't bought the right adaptor or that I had misjudged and needed a some other kind of gadget to convert everything alright so I wanted it fully charged.

Once again I give all my praises to Virgin Atlantic! It was a red eye flight and thankfully it wasn't full so I was spread out and get sleep in between all the food they kept passing out.

And then we landed...(Flash to the opening scenes of Love Actually at Heathrow)

Departure Part Un

Departure Part Un was not a pretty one, infact it probably tops my list of most pathetics moments ever! At some point, a couple of days prior to my departure, the emotions and stress of the unknown had gotten to me, and I began crying and I basically didn't stop til I was awaiting my flight out JFK to Heathrow.

Departure Part Un was not even a real departure. I was simply flying from DFW to Cleveland to visit my dad before stopping off in NYC for a couple of days. As much as I wanted to just enjoy the days before I couldn't, I was overcome with uncertainty and anxity.

So there I found myself at the DFW airpot and boy was I a sight to behold. I had totally lost it, I was literaly sobbing in public...something I had never actually done before. I am sure the ticket agent was very surprised about my emotional state, after all for all she knew I was just flying to Cleveland. I was having second thoughts about the finacial investment I was getting into and was really really freaked out about moving to a foreign country I had never been to and a place where I knew no one. But I knew that if I backed down I would regret it forever.

I somehow managed to pull myself together, say goodbye to my mom, pass through security and board that plane. Two years later I can say it was one of the best, if not best, decision I have made in life...it was just the beginging and I was in store for a great adventure.

Purpose

The purpose of this blog is not to dwell on the past but instead to properly document my life, travels and experiences abroad. Hemingway said, "Never write about a place until you're away from it because it gives you perspective." Hemingway didn't begin work on A Moveable Feast until years after he had moved away from France so I am confident his advice is sound. Things that seemed minor and mundane at the time have now become things that I treasure and miss.

So my plan is to recount my experiences chronologically beginning with my departure from Dallas and concluding with my arrival back.

I figure it will give me a chance to go back and give proper detail to my experiences and then when its all done I am to get it printed. I hope you will all enjoy and hope you will find it entertaining.