Go!

Greetings from Amsterdam, the first leg of my travel to Uganda. I'm sitting in the lobby of the hotel where there is wireless access, looking out at the cold and rainy street.

I did get out earlier today, walking through jet lag and checking out the Flower Market--Bloemenmarkt--thanks to a tip from Paula D. The photo is of a selection of bulbs available for purchase, some of them pretty scary-looking.

I'm pleased to say that I did get everything packed and I have not yet said, "Oh no! I forgot to bring X!" My suitcase weighed in at 36 pounds, and I have to admit I'm pleased about that. Especially as a surreptitious look at the travelers around me showed that their suitcases weighed in the 33-35 pound range.

Off to get some dinner before jet lag claims me for good.

Get ready

I'm leaving for Uganda on Monday. Actually, I'm leaving for Amsterdam on Monday and Uganda on Tuesday, if you want to be technical about it. All I can say for sure is that right now I am surrounded by lists of things I need to do. I'm happy to say that the major tasks have been crossed off (ticket, passport, visa, shots, paying my taxes). Now it's the little niggly things that need to get done (buying pens and memory sticks, packing nail clippers and neosporin, paying the last PG&E bill) and they are driving me crazy. Not because they are important to remember, but because they aren't. And yet they are on my list.

One of the things on my list was "set up blog," and I can now cross it off. It's a very satisfying thing, crossing one more thing off my list. There's lots I want to write, but there's lots still on my list (such as "pack"), so if I add more to this blog before I arrive, I will be pleased. But I make no promises.