packing list

+ 1 fleece jacket
+ 1 warm hat
+ 1 pair of gloves (with rubber grippies on them)
+ 2 bandanas
+ 1 camo baseball hat
+ 1 straw brim hat
+ 3 button up work shirts
+ 3 pairs of nice slacks
+ 2 polo shirts
+ 1 tie that matches all shirts (brown)
+ 1 pair good shoes
+ 1 pair rugged shoes
+ 1 pair tavo sandals
+ 3 toothbrushes
+ 3 disposable razors
+ 1 nail clipper
+ 1 bike helmet
+ 1 nalgene bottle
+ 1 bicycle u-lock
+ 1 flashlight
+ 1 towel
+ books: soduku, logic puzzles, anna karenina, war and peace, the brothers karamazov, the glass bead game, back on the fire, the dragons of eden, french-english dictionary,
+ 35mm camera
+ led flashlight
+ compass
+ toothpaste
+ soap
+ 1 high-quality poncho
+ leatherman-like tool plus a couple bicycle-maintenance necessary tools
+ battery powered travel alarm clock
+ money pouch
+ cassette walkman + a handful of tapes
+ solar powered battery charger + batteries for electronics
+ sewing kit
+ 3 belts
+ 1 shitty sleeping bag (perhaps a nice ultra-light will fall from the sky?)
+ 1 33 lb 14 oz backpacking tent
+ waterproof jogging pants + jacket

all of this surprisingly fits well inside my two checkable bags, although i haven't chosen which casual clothing i plan on taking. my bags fit to just about the maximum size allowed, plus i'm taking a regular backpack as carry on. i can't decide if i should pack up my army duffle pack for travel or...not?

in other shitty news, someone stole my bicycle out of our garage. this is a bigger deal than you think, i spent countless hours toiling over that bicycle and it was like a child to me. a part of my body.

someone who i will be spending my time in madagascar with made a facebook group for us!

that's exciting to get a look at the people i will be with so that we can all bounce things off each other. it's a bit intimidating though because most of these people seem more capable than i. but i'm self-deprecating.

it seems like joburg might not work out as perfectly as i've been hoping. i guess i should stop hoping and expecting and just wait and see what happens. it's already september 6th (a birthday i can't forget but want to), 22 more days. 22 more days.

itenerary

it seems that i get to spend a day in johannesburg, south africa in-between the united states and madagascar. there is the origins centre there at witswatersrand university, and its a place i've wanted to go since i first started studying human evolution. the opportunity to actually go there seems to me just another favorable omen towards this whole project. well, hopefully go there. south africa! madagascar!

my staging is in philadelphia. i've not been there, so that should be cool to have a couple evenings there. fly out of ole jfk. i've never flown so far, 17 hours on a plane? damn.

i'm going to miss someone a lot, the reality of my impending departure is getting heavy in that sense.