Success!

I know all of my blogging re: Epic Trip to Asia is going to get super old but, seriously, check out how beautiful this is:

Three months. That's my life for three months. Twenty-five pounds of stretchy fabrics, solid toiletries, and sheer deliciousness.

*insert me squealing with delight*

Seriously, how sexy is my backpack?

26 Things: Go See Shakespeare in the Park

No Al, I'm going to make YOU an offer.

***

Even though I'm about to embark on a three-month trip to Asia, I am sure going to miss New York. In the summer time, there are about a gajillion things to do, from catching a Yankees game to walking over the Brooklyn Bridge to amazing summer concerts and shows. One of the more revered traditions is put on by New York's Public Theater, a non-profit theater company. Their summer repertoire brings A-List celebrities (Anne Hathaway! Meryl Streep! That funny, red-headed guy from Modern Family!) to the stage to perform alongside brilliant career actors in performances of two of Shakespeare's plays. Oh, did I mention it's free?

Because it's free, there is a tradition of waiting for HOURS in Central Park until they start handing out tickets at 1pm. Legit, people bring tents, camp out starting at midnight the night before. There is a very strict code about leaving the line to go to the bathroom and under NO circumstances can someone join you in the line. All for free Shakespeare tickets. I thankfully avoided this by waiting in line at the alternate location, the Brooklyn Children's Museum (I'm so sneaky!), though I still had to throw down my yoga mat somewhere around 8am. Al Pacino was on the ticket that night and there was no way I was missing him reprise his role as Shylock the Merchant in The Merchant of Venice (I also secretly hoped that he would throw a HOOAH! in there).

You might not believe that waiting in line for 5 hours could be so, but it really was lovely. The weather was unbelievable and it was the perfect way to spend a day, regardless of the fact that I wasn't lounging in the park or on a beach towel. I sat with some hilarious people who make waiting for SITP tickets a yearly tradition and who have told me outrageous stories of sitting in line when it's downpouring or waiting all night and day only to be the first ones in line that didn't receive tickets.

Once I had received my two tickets, I headed to Central Park to meet a friend, and we proceeded to take our seats (unbelievably close!) and watch the 3-hour performance. And Al? Well, it was awesome to see him, since he is such an iconic actor, but, as my friend so sagely put it, "It was like watching an actor playing Al Pacino playing Frank Slade from Scent of a Woman playing Shylock the Merchant." HOOAH!

What summer traditions do you guys have? Unless Justin Timberlake is playing Romeo, I'm not sure I can be persuaded to do this one again.

What Three Months in Asia Looks Like

Editor's Note: The sharpie did not make it into my backpack. The nailpolish, however, did.

***

See the above photo? That is going to be my life for the next 3 months.

Sure, it doesn't look like a lot. A few tshirts, a skirt here and there, neurotically organized Ziploc baggies with the contents of each written on it with Sharpie marker (I may be carefree but, dammit, I'm organized).

How, do you ask, did I go about packing, then repacking, then re-re-packing, my backpack so that I don't grunt under it's weight or be out of luck when cute Australian surfers ask if I would like to sink piss with them (it means to have a beer! I swear!)?

1. Black. Look at the color combos up there. Do you see any reds, pinks, or oranges? No. And that's because I want to match all the time, no matter what. Okay, I may have gone a little nuts with that one purple tank top, and my rain jacket is green, but other than that, we're talking jewel tones and black here, people. And also, black hides everything. EV-ER-Y-THING (I'm looking at you, Pad Thai grease stains).

2. Bathing Suits = Underwear. As a backpacker, you have to be flexible. Sleeping in hostels, not having towels available, lukewarm showers. Underwear is small, sure, but when you're not close to a laundry, bathing suits can double for undergarments in a pinch. And let's be honest here: if Ke$ha can rock bikini tops 99% of the time, I'm all about making it a backpacker fashion statement.

3. Solids. I'm talking both wardrobe-color-wise and toiletry-wise. Since we've already addressed the wardrobe piece of it, let's look to the toiletries that I'll inevitably need while building fires in the Vietnamese jungle (hah!). I spent more than I should have in solid shampoo, conditioner, lotion, face wash, and perfume at Lush but you know what? I'm going to be clean, I'm going to smell like a girl, and my hiking boots will not have shampoo all over them. Solid toiletries. Get on it, people!

4. Convertible items and dresses. Sorry, guys, but the ladies have you beat in the multipurpose clothing category. See that little green roll at the top? That's a skirt, but it's also a dress, and it's so thin I can wind it into a scarf. Or the black roll immediately to the right is a maxi dress that is completely appropriate for traveling by train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, shopping for bangles in Phnom Pehn, visiting temples in Ubud, or fist pumping with said Australian surfer hotties at the beach clubs in Kuta. And maybe jumping on the back of their dirt bike for the ride back to the hostel (not like I've thought this through or anything). And the best part of backpacking solo is that I can wear it every single day and not have anyone ask me if I've ever worn that dress before.

5. Nailpolish. I'm self conscious about my feet, probably because I have horrible runner/dancer feet and the only thing that makes them look good is a pair of boots. But since I'll be in Asia for three months and likely living in flip flops 98.9% of the time, I've brought along a bottle of red nailpolish to keep my pedicure fresh, to help me feel a little more like a girl, and to feel a little bit fancier even when I'm schlepping a 25 pound backpack around the Ho Chi Minh airport at 4am. And since you asked, yes, I'm tempting fate by bringing red, and no, you cannot say you told me so when it spills all over my backpack and ruins everything that I own.

6. I have a huge sense of humor. So I wear the death out of that purple tank and rip 17 holes in it. Or I match a tshirt and a skirt and my red canvas Toms and look mildly ridiculous. Who cares? Sure, I may not win any fashion awards (although if we could start a competition for hiker fashion, I'd seriously reconsider bringing this tshirt), but I probably won't care when I'm watching the sunrise over Angkor Wat or floating through the Mekong Delta (until 10 years from now when my kids look at all of my pictures and ask me what was I thinking with my ridiculous outfits and my long hippie hair). That's what travel is though, right? One giant adventure, rife with challenging situations, and almost guaranteed to go wrong at some point.

At least I'll match. And I will definitely smell good.

What do you guys pack when going on long trips? Anything I've left out? Let me know, and quick! I'm leaving in 4 days!

Things I Should Be Doing

Yes, I should be devoting this beautiful, sun-drenched Saturday morning to writing my Foreign Service Personal Narratives, but instead I'm taking a page out of the lovely Sarah Von's Yes and Yes blog to take the "What Kind of Font Are You?" quiz.

Because obviously that's more important than enjoying one of my last Saturdays in New York City before I start traipsing the world in my Havianas or writing five, 200-word essays that could determine my next career path right? Right?!

Oh well, I'm going back to my Dunkin' Donuts. For the rest of you late-starters, take the quiz.

Oh and for the record, I'm Cooper Black Italic. A little jazzy, a little heavy, with some casual curves, and no hint of sharpness about it. Sounds about right :)

What font are you guys? And any ideas on how to make essay writing on this wonderful Saturday a little more exciting?

Life Changing Situations that Involve Country Hopping

People!

It's official!

I've done a crazy, life-changing, spontaneous event. I have booked myself a Round-the-World ticket and, on August 3rd, am headed out to Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

I'm quitting my job to travel! I thought to myself. Immediately followed by, I'm so spontaneous!

(Please note that all exclamation points are an attempt to distract you all from the fact that I haven't posted in about a month! How am I doing?!)

As nervous as I was to click the "Purchase" button on the website, I will say that my life has actually kind of neatly puzzle-pieced itself back together upon my arrival. After giving my notice this past Monday, my boss, though wildly supportive of my decision to travel, offered me my job back in November.

What?! Travel to Asia for three months with (most) benefits intact and come back to a job? Yes, please!

And my super-kind, very-generous brother (who has recently been made aware of this blog, and is probably now a reader) offered his second bedroom up to me as a place to live temporarily until I can no longer stand his preference to sit around in his boxers 23 out of 24 hours of the day or I lose 80% of my hearing from him listening to Iron Maiden on repeat. I'll be taking bets as to which will come first.

I promise to be a better blogger, especially now that I have a whole NEW aresenal of hilarious, challenging stories that are going to take place the next few months. So far? Today I called the Vietnamese Consulate at the UN to see how quickly I could obtain my visa. The man on the phone said 7 days (nowhere on the website is 7 processing days indicated). I asked about expedited processing and he said "Hm. No, I don't think so. Seven business days." I pleaded that I was leaving New York very soon and needed my visa as soon as possible. He then said, "Okay, next Friday." Uh, what?

It's also possible that I actually called the dry cleaner, but oh well.

What advice can you give me for traveling abroad? I've already spent my life savings on an iPhone, so do you guys have any $3-a-night hostels that I can check into upon arriving in Thailand?