I made it.

I finally made it to Cali, but it wasn't as seamless as one would think. I firstly was incredibly overweight with my check in luggage, and being a hoarder at heart who oozes impracticality I decided to not send the excess luggage home with the family... no I proceeded to sift through my bag in the middle of the airport and stuff what I could into my carry on. 4 carry on's later I was getting a serious warning by one of the flight attendants for abusing the rules. I was happy to take that as it meant I didn't have to part with anything. After we sorted all this out I said goodbye to my beautiful family. I really can't fathom that I am going to be gone for 8 months. I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared. But it's now or never. After the rocky start I then had my name called out over the airport loud speaker. Secretly one of my worst fears. Super embarrassing. Everyone whips their heads around and fixes their gaze on you. Walk of shame comes to mind - I felt like I was walking home in the daylight after a big night out - stiletto's in hand. And as the icing on the already some what ugly cake I had an arduous flight with a 60 year old retiree, drinking like a fish. With each additional drink his confidence and inhibitions grew and so did his inappropriateness with me. Mile High Club... I think not Trevor. I officially hate window seats and will never offer someone a piece of gum before taking off. Lesson Learned. Despite a crazy start to my trip, everything has improved leaps and bounds. It is all up from here.