Procrastination

Procrastination: to put off intentionally the doing of something that should be done

Those of you who know Mary and I might say that we are typically far from the sort that might procrastinate, you might even say that we are too organized, anal retentive or well planned. But when it came to the biggest trip of our lives - our first time around the world, we intentionally and habitually put off every necessary thing that we could, until the very VERY last minute.

The roots of this trip started over four years ago, a combination of the beginning of college and an early life filled with travel, sparked the crazy idea that we have now chosen to embark on. Every year the list got longer and more ambitious. Then the day came when our ambitions crashed head first into reality! School was over, we made it through 207,000 lbs of red salmon at fish camp, the CPA and the GRE and then there was only three weeks left until we "wanted" to leave for our journey. We had no tickets, only half the visas, and no vaccinations to guard us from the natural dangers that plague the route we have chosen. However our idealism and confidence went unfazed.

We started with the vaccinations - not the ticket - and after three weeks of Japanese Encephalitis, Rabies, Tetanus, Polio, Yellow Fever, and Typhoid; there were the 300 malaria pills each, the doctor assured us we would be safe. The ticket came next, with only two weeks until our desired departure, we went to see Tom a travel agent that we found totally randomly at American Express Travel across from Fred Myers on Abbott. Tom is a kind, elderly gentleman who told us when we first met him that there was no way that we would be able to do the trip we wanted. This was the first low of procrastination of the trip - which we might not be able to go. However after four hours, a switch of airlines and a little altering we were able to make it work. The final put off, the visas finally had to be addressed with only one week until departure. Our Vietnam visas had to be to UPS by 12:30PM on Saturday August 22 in order for them to be expedited and sent back to Alaska on Wednesday, at 11:00 Jimmy and I were at the house with Johns car on empty, no printer, and the wrong visas application! We raced to Jim's house printed the right form all the while Jimmy was yelling at the printer for printing to slow, got back in the Subaru and raced to UPS only to realize that we did not have my passport picture, time 12:25, Jimmy was back in the car to the house and back in five minutes we shoved everything in the envelope by 12:30 and a few seconds realizing the new low of procrastination of the trip. One day passed and the realization that we still needed our Indian visas set in, nervous of not getting our passports back in time we concocted another hair brained idea of flying to California on Friday, picking up our Vietnam visas in San Francisco and racing across town before 11:00 AM and delivering our passports to the Indian consulate for same day visa processing. We kissed our families’ goodbye four days earlier than expected and were off to San Fran. Everything seemed smooth enough upon arrival, we collected our passports from the Vietnamese jumped into a cab only to arrive at the wrong Indian consulate office, we were redirected to the right place and soon enough we were standing in front of a consulate official who told us we had the wrong form, again! We were able to quickly reroute this problem back on track.

Anecdote from Jimmy’s point of view – Indian Consulate office. After realizing we had the wrong forms and hurrying to complete the correct ones on the online system within the consulate office, two Indian men with virtually no English vocabulary for assistance ask Mary. And well, of course Mary could not pass up the opportunity to help someone with a problem and leaves me stranded to complete both forms in seven minutes flat while she uses pictographs and hand gestures to get the two Indian men through the forms, oh and the best part is they finished first and got through the line before us.

Mary’s point of view – These two gentlemen gave us there business card, they do herbal therapy in San Francisco, and told us to contact them when we travel to India and they will arrange an airport pick up for us and help acclimate us to the India when we first arrive.

All in all we were able to get through the line and back to the consulate by 5:30 to pick up our Indian visas allowing us to travel to India.

There was also an added bonus of traveling to San Francisco, we were able to see long time and extremely loved friend Judy!

The next morning we left San Fran, headed to LA and spent our last 36 hours with Martha. We arrived at our hostel, booked on HotWire for cheap, which we soon found out only had one bed; all the rooms in the hotel only had one queen size bed. Again we made due sleeping three across in the bed like sardines. After a little California sunshine and fun we had to go, the time had come, as we sat at the airport I was 60% nervous 40% exited, which is better then when I left AK and I was 90% nervous and 10% exited. Jimmy maintained the whole time he wasn’t a bit nervous – but we all know he was a little. We boarded our fourteen-hour flight direct to Sydney, accompanied by fifty USMCs off for training, and the trip was really beginning, it was really going to happen no matter how long we procrastinated or put things off.

So now here we are in Sydney Australia looking out at a beautiful sunny day with not a care in the world. But alas, something will happen worth telling you all about so stay tuned…