Polar Date 6/24/08
Today when I awoke I thought I can now say, "Today I leave.” I’m struggling with anxiousness, anticipation and the fact that I’m not ready to go. I have a lot of little details to attend to – here’s my list: 1. Buy last minute things for the trip, although I’m sure I’ll forget something. 2. Pack, repack then pack again. My goal is to take 1 bag and 1 carryon. 3. Get the dog’s nails clipped. 4. Finalize arrangements for having my fish at school taken care of. 5. Finish adding e-mail addresses to my contact list. 6. E-mail Doni, my P.I. to see if she wants me to bring anything up to Toolik with me. 7. Return the tv I borrowed from one of my Scarlett teacher buddies when our tv died. 8. Check with everyone on the expedition for possible Live from IPY dates. 9. Contact the Ann Arbor News and Ann Arbor library to make sure they are on-board with the expedition in terms of promotion and advertising the link to the expedition. 10. Load up my iPod with songs and podcasts from my other computer.
The plane leaves at 3:13 p.m. I hope I make it!
Here’s my work on item #2 (Pack, repack then pack again). Does it look like this will fit into the bag?
Trying to pack for one month in the Arctic is a challenge. Not as many clothes as you would imagine - primarily gear to keep warm and dry, including a bug jacket to ward off mosquitoes.