Cambridge Journal: Day -1

So here I am just hours away from getting on the plane. Yesterday I had my last day of summer school at KU, and according to Blackboard I got me an A. I celebrated the end of class with some peanut butter and chocolate ice cream which is my favorite. After that I went out to Raytown to get one last session of D&D in with my regular gaming group, though since a a family illness kept one person from showing up we ended up talking about Warhammer minis and Doctor Who instead. Still, good stuff, and something I need to get every week. Today I traveled up to KU to get in some kendo before I left, and because I hadn’t seen my KU club mates for a while.

I’m currently doing some last minute things, and it’s pretty late. That’s the sort of person I am, though. I wouldn’t have been able to sleep anyway. I’m excited about all this, but not giddy, if that makes sense. Right now I’ve just got to much going on to really stop and think about it, but it’s very, very cool that I get to do this.

Talked to the AT&T people yesterday, then called the bank to tell them my cards would be traveling out of the country so they wouldn’t get suspicious and shut my account down. They did that before when I ordered a bunch of stuff from Japan, and they didn’t bother telling me about it. It’s not a very nice surprise when you’re somewhere and your card doesn’t work, but that time I happened to be at the gas station on the corner that also has a branch of my bank right there so it was no big deal. Having that happen in England could have been disastrous. They made a note of it and gave me a different number to call in case of emergency, and that was good.

There are some things I’m going to miss while I’m gone. One of my best friends in the whole world is opening his own pizza shop, for example. We’ve been talking about him doing this for sixteen years, and he’s actually going to be a business owner. Growing up sucks most of the time, but not always, and this is a great example of that. I’m also going to miss the 4th of July celebrations. Fireworks are one of my favorite things ever, and I don’t think the British are very big on celebrating Independence Day, which is coincidentally the day I’m arriving in London.

And I’m suddenly thinking of things I hadn’t really put much thought into before, if at all. How am I getting from Heathrow to Cambridge. There’s a bus or a subway, right? Will I have to buy a blanket and pillow for my bed or do they come furnished? Will my bags check straight through to England or will I have to recheck them in Chicago and Canada (yes, I will be in Canada for a layover). Is it really as likely that I will get stabbed as the travel advisory KU issued me suggests? We will find out these things together, you and I.

I doubt I will be putting in another blog until Sunday at the earliest, though I’ve also got a surprise for my regular readers right about then as well. But until then, I’ve got some stuff to do before I take my power nap.

Reviresco!