A Journey Begins

(Using my phone)

I'm lying in the v-berth on Iolanthe, my dad's smaller sailboat moored opposite the boat on which he lives in South San Francisco. I'm staying here tonight to save me from the frustration and uncertainty of making the hellish morning drive to SFO from Modesto in commuter traffic. Tomorrow morning I will leave for Peru, reuniting with an old friend and surely having a grand little adventure of a vacation. I'm excited, nervous, anxious, exhausted, and honestly probably a bit manic. I'm ok with all of that though. To experience life we have to avoid the comfort zone. We have to be awkward and uncertain. We have to get comfortable feeling uncomfortable.

What my monkey mind is doing right now:

Did I pack too many clothes? Did I forget anything? Are my boots going to hurt by the third day of hiking? How bad is my altitude sickness going to be? I hope we find a place that makes good cuy (like I'd know the difference). I can't wait to try the anticuchos. I wonder if people at home would eat cow heart if I made it for taco Tuesday. I know I packed too much. What should I leave behind? Does it just seem like a lot? I guess this is the first time that I've carried all my shit in a backpack. Whatever. I'll make it work. I hope that the wilderness guides are nice. I hope I lose some fucking weight on this trip. It's going to be nice and cool. I hope I'm warm enough at night while we're in the bush. I need to remember to stretch between flights while we're traveling. My hip is going to hurt. Fucking stupid ambulance hip.

I'm setting an intention to quiet my mind during this trip. Getting back to regular meditation has made a noticeable difference recently. What an opportunity.

I should try to sleep.