Panic mode well and truly set in while I was at work today. I kept thinking, “This time next week, I’ll be on a plane”. I had a quick look at my itinerary, all up I’m taking 24 flights, possible 26 if my return flight from Quito to the Galapagos has a layover in Guayaquil. That’s an insane number of flights! No wonder this trip is costing me a house deposit! To make things worse, I haven’t even left for this trip and I’ve already started planning my next one! History really does just repeat itself. I was planning this trip just before I embarked on my US/Canada trip back in ’14/15.

Naturally, because I wasn’t already strapped for time leading up to the epic trip, I decided to head over East for a conference. Things probably would’ve gone a little smoother and less rushed had I actually gone home and packed like I had originally planned the night before. But no, my life never seems to be that simple. A quick catch up drink turned into a “Where the hell am I and where are my pants?” moment. Don’t get too excited though, a gay friend was in town, and I woke up on the couch in his apartment hotel. A quick rush to send him to the airport, then straight to work, then home to pack for a 4pm flight! Talk about cutting things close, I pretty much just threw clothes into a suitcase, praying they were clean. All worth it though, it was a fun night catching up, and Sydney was just as great. I caught up with an old friend, woke up to more gay boys, hung out with a bunch of cute af dogs, blew people away with my work and may have gained a fan club. And then woke up next to another gay boy. Seriously, I should add “gay whisperer” to my Linkedin. It’ll be nice to one day wake up next to a girl. I can only hope right?…

Moving on, the past few weekends I’ve been hiking up in the hills to train up for Machu Picchu. It’s been pretty intense, but each hike gets a little easier. Of course, it would be a hell of a lot easier if we took the leisurely trail that all the picnicking families take, but no, we naturally hike up the asshole mountain biking trails and some random path we’ve dubbed “Hell”. The views are pretty spectacular though. I even bumped into a cute family of kangaroos along the trail last Sunday, I almost walked straight past them. Ended up with 3 blisters by the end of the day, but managed to hike 16km all up, doesn’t sound like much, but i’m still proud of it. It’s a hell of a lot better than 0km a few months ago. Still need to figure out this blister problem though.

In other news, I finally sent off my application for a fast tracked passport, sigh, there goes another $320. With getting my citizenship only just before I leave, and rushing to prep for my trip to Sydney, I didn’t get a chance to do it til I got back. Unsurprisingly, I look like a damn creep in my passport photo and cutting it a little too close for comfort, praying I can pick it up in the next 2 days. Oh well. Clearly the whole “trying to save money” thing isn’t quite working out the way I had planned, let’s just ignore the new sunnies I backed on Kickstarter, the new clothes and sleeping bag I got for the trip, funding myself to present at a conference over East, oh, and the god damn fine I got for not renewing Frankie’s registration with the local council. You better watch out cat, I’m going to get my $230 worth of cuddles from you before I leave!