Here I was, agonizing about having to ditch the beijing trip because of price...so i cruised over to orbitz and found out just how small the price differential is between flying there from here and from SFO.

So yeah...that'll be a trip I take after I've secured a foothold on the outside...

"Move along folks, nothing to see here"

I've been thinking about my mood lately. I never really considered myself to have "mood swings" in the traditional sense...but it seems I do. I'd say it was sort of a bipolar disorder, but the more I think about it...it's more like I'm simply human.

When you put yourself above the general masses of humaity (yes I place myself above the seething population of rats and I'm not ashamed to say that) it's easy to believe that anything that happens to you is special, unique, or classified apart from the norm. The facts of the matter, however, are that while I may feel superior, I AM still a human, and these "mood swings" are really just a normal pattern of existance.

Everyone has up and down periods. I just happen to blow the meaning a little out of proportion. That's what you get for being all high and mighty and thinking "lofty" thoughts all the time. It's not all what's it's cracked up to be.

Jeesh...assuming, just for a second, there's a personalized diety with an active consciousness. It must be a real bitch to be that diety? Don't you think? I mean, I have enough hell just thinking I'm better...I can't imagine being a diety who is SUPPOSED to be better. not saying that such a diety IS better. If you ask me I would have to say such a diety would, by default, have to be flawed. Either flawed or party to a number of mean/cruel/evil hearted dispotions...
Just...imagine the superiority complex that diety would have?

Hmmm...I just realized that I can fly to Sydney for less than I can fly to Beijing! Perhaps I will visit the cousins after all?
I already know it's costs about twice as much to fly to oz from the states...

Jesus I just have too many travel plans to cram into 32 days of vacation time and my limited budget. I need to stop thinking up new destinations. What I need is to be deployed somewhere and not having the option of even taking my vacation time. That would sure make this all a lot easier! Fat chance of that though...not with my luck. 

current mood:  rushed
current music: Elliot Smith _either/or_ 
 

 
1:29p - Please? a little work? 
OK...so here I am, formally attempting to jinx myself on purpose: I haven't done shit ALL damn day. I am bored as all hell. Right now is one of thsoe times when I have a strong disfavor of my job because I have nothing to do. not a single phone call. not a single question. I (woo!) got two pieces of "distro" (paperwork to be distrobuted after an action is completed on it...this time it's post action and to the Military Police) in my box over lunch. yay me...a single trip to the copy machine and a reason to get out of the office in an hour or so. 

sigh.

the past few days I've been spending so much time on PCThiker and related sites that i haven't even wanted to do any research at home. I mean...i even ordered all the trail guides from amazon while at work last week.

sigh.

what i ought to do is talk to the DFAC NCOIC...well the "former" DFAC NCOIC, as the DFAC actually shut down last week -- see how I can go about ordering a few cases of MREs (meals ready to eat, i.e. "rations") to use for the hike. Each package is about 3000 calories. In other words...each package is a days worth of food, light weight, AND comes with a self heating element for the main entries--perfect for the PCT.

Getting these things from Uncle Sam 'ill be a shit load cheaper AND more convenient than any other food options. I won't be back in the states from more than a couple weeks before I step off...so I don't want to hassle with too much of the resupply logistics at that time. 

I wonder if I can get enough to last me the entire hike (about seven cases of 16 meals each)? May require a drug deal.

Then again...shit, just realized I will still have to pay to have it all shipped back to the states. grrrrrrr! being in oki and planning this thing just don't mix so well.

*sigh*

work? 

current mood:  bored
current music: Dashboard Confessional _The Places you have come to Fear the most_ 
 
 

10:22p - Trail weights 
Well...

work never happened. I did however get stuck in a meeting that I was forgot to be told about, and then wasted much time afterwards shooting the shit with the fellow jagolytes up at 10th ASG.

Once I got home I chatted for a while with insomniactacle sadgirlseven. What a blessing...my chat buddies are insomniacs. Yeah...that's just great. lol

I spent a lot of time on the PCT plans today.

Awesome! Preliminary planning has me at 45 lbs, fully racked out, with 5 days of food and water. What you can't tell from that view is the numbers of the specific items like trousers and socks 'n' stuff.

Granted a lot of those weights are approximates. I tried to guess high though...
And once I hit the actual mountains, water will be more abundant so I will carry less...and probably bone up on food instead to even out ;) Of course...i'll have to add the ice axe in there too so that'll offset things a bit. I plan on having that piece of gear shipped out to me at a resupply stop.

Note the absence of a stove. I plan on using the MRE (Meals Ready to Eat) self heaters--whether I can get 'em thru Sam or hafta shell out ~ $50 per case of 12 on the civy side, MREs 're my lunch (mainly trail food) and dinner plan of choice. Great thing about MREs is they can be eaten cold if you don't want to bother cooking so I could be there, walking along the trail, chomping on some beefsteak as i go, and then just eat the crackers and jalapeno cheese spread for dinner :)

Not to mention it will *definitely* cut down on the logistics regarding resupply packages. "Mom, Dad, I've printed the send date on each individual box. Please don't starve your only son by fogetting ok?"

:)

And yes, there are two tents listed there at the bottom. I'm unsure which one I'm going to go with. The kelty is almost a full pound heavier but...it's got more headroom...

I just realized I forgot to include the water purifier in there. That's another 11 oz.

Oh, and the biker chorts? Well I got me some big old muscular thighs from all the running and they rub (no, dead serious. it's muscle not fat...all the fat i do have is in me belly!) when I hike. The spandex is a comfort item.

Bloody hell I forgot the boonie hat and shades too--that's another 12 oz or so I guess.

See...this is why i need to be detailing all this out here, so I can help myself and remember what I'm forgetting.

:) 

current mood:  contemplative
current music: Ned's Atomic Dustbin _God Fodder_  
 

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