Just another day on Earth
So, leaving for the USA on Friday in the afternoon, from Helsinki, via Reykjavik to New York. I'm in Turku and trying to pack, but it's like I've never packed before in my life and there's just stuff everywhere and I can't decide on what clothes to bring. Yesterday I finished the last of my studies, sending in a course-diary (one day ahead of the deadline, oh my!), and a few hours ago I fixed my travel-insurance, and now all that remains is for me to pack.
I can't believe we're going! And it just struck me -- the excitement! -- instead of the dread I've been feeling. The whole trip has felt really distant, and I've felt sort of guilty for not feeling more happy than scared and paranoid about it. And then I've felt sad about leaving the boy behind (both sad and frustrated, since for some reason I've got it into my head that it's silly to be sentimental. But damn it, I'm allowed to be sentimental about going away and being apart. Heh, a little sentimentality isn't malplaced considering I'm going half way around the world, is it?). Anyhow, we started planning the trip almost a year before, bought the tickets half a year ago, and after that it's just been studying and deadlines -- the whole trip sort of slipped my mind -- and now suddenly it's here. And I'm finally excited!
I've bought a new travel-diary, all empty and ready to be filled with random scribbles and wierd pictures. It's a black Moleskin in the journalist-notepad format (I can have it horizontally), and I love it! I also went and exchanged some euros for a bunch of American dollars, and oh golly are they American; Presidents and "in God we trust" and all of that, and some weird pyramid with an eye?
I'm also planning on buying books in the US! Since we'll probably have a lot of time on our hands, just sitting in a car, I might manage to finish Dan Simmons' Hyperion pretty quickly, so I'm gonna indulge and buy something from a bookstore in New York. And just the fact that I'd have bought a book in New York is sort of amazing. Yeah, I'm excited now. The Empire State Building, Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge.. And my brain hasn't even gotten as far as to think about all the places along the road to Miami! Heh, as we came to realise with Jutta: who the hell thought it was a good idea to let us go to the USA? Why didn't anyone stop us?! And now look, we're going!
J. Karjalainen: Lännen Jukka - Amerikanlaiva
(finnish immigrant-song about the boat to America)
The son of a work-mate of my Mom's is also flying to the US, and -- to my surprise -- the same day and the same route down the coast as we are. He's traveling with friends, and staying for 3 weeks, rather than four. I don't know him personally, but I remember him from school, and so I sent him a facebook message, wishing him good luck and telling him about our plans. I got an answer, he wished us good luck as well, and it seems they had also planned to rent a car, but realised too late they'd need a credit card of their own to do so. They were thinking of taking the train instead. Poor guys -- but, it also made me realise how freakin' well-prepared we are :P
In my mind I've inserted this sort of blank space in time between studies ending, and work starting: "oh right, won't be in Finland then", so I've always just jumped right past the USA-trip, and thought about when I've gotten back already, as if it's just this inconvenience that I can't do anything about. Anyway, work starts on the third of July, a few days after we've gotten back. Gonna be at Elverket in Ekenäs again, but only part time, watching the gallery (thank god). There's a design-exhibition, really neat, quite different, and probably a pain in the ass to guard. I managed to go to the opening of the exhibition last Thursday, and got horribly drunk, had a lot of fun, with an insane circus in my head/morkis afterwards. Heh, maybe it really is a good idea for me to leave the country for a while? :D
(entry-title from Brian Eno's song Just another day.)