Andrea goes exploring again!

I'm not really sure where time is going at the moment. On Friday I finished my Acting Up job which seems incredible, as the last day of that seemd so far away and now it's gone. I have 3 weeks left at work before I go on annual leave prior to the career break and I know that will rush past too. This weekend I've started packing up of my flat. Have done a big chunk and so I'm feeling pretty confident that the 50 cubic feet unit will be big enough. I'd been a bit concerned about it but I called yesterday and they confirmed the unit reservation. I've just gone through another wobble about the trip, which threw me for a bit but now I've started with the packing, it's starting to feel real and the excitement has started to build. Recently I've made a few purchases and have had birthday presents that are things for my trip which I will share with you when I go back to my parent's house (they're there and I didn't get round to taking photos of ...

So, those who know me even just a little bit (it doesn't have to be well) will know that the amount of planning I have done for my upcoming trip is a little out of character compared to my usual 'organise the life out of it' self, something that is causing a level of consternation for those who are planning to pay me a visit whilst I'm away (you know who you are and yes I had realised!). So, with this weekend only 50% busy i.e. I only have plans on Saturday, I decided that Sunday will be a trip planning day.  I worked late yet again tonight and so quite rightly believed that this gave me sufficient grounds to treat myself and for once, I didn't choose Percy Pigs and G&T cans from M&S... Instead I went to Stanfords and treated myself to these beauties!! I already have one for Southern South America (South Southern America?) so I feel a good spreadsheet coming on and normal service resuming shortly!!

A few weeks ago I booked my storage unit but was well aware when I did so that I had a number of possessions that fall into the following categories making them unsuitable for the 50sq ft unit I've rented: 1. They mean too much to me to risk them being in storage; 2. I couldn't cope not seeing them for a year; 3. Plants; 4. Clothes and shoes! As such, I devised a cunning plan which involved me getting the train to my parent's house on a Friday night, driving my Dad's car back to mine on the Saturday, packing up the items in the list above, driving these back to my parent's house on the Sunday morning and then getting the train back down to London on the Sunday evening. Did you follow that?! And I enacted that plan this weekend.  Now I do appreciate that there are still quite a number of weeks until I go away but this weekend seemed the perfect one to undertake this endeavour for a number of reasons. Firstly, I didn't have any other plans that would keep me busy ...