Itinerary Indecision & Shiny Travel Things

She's making a list... she's checking it twice...

It's not my Christmas list, unfortunately.

Thank you, commenters on Monday's post, for encouraging me to look into travel vaccinations sooner rather than later!

I started gathering information and learned a lot from the CDC traveler's health site and from speaking with a woman at the Seattle Public Health Center. I just got new insurance — since I'm under 26, I was able to seamlessly hop onto my mom's health plan — and discovered yesterday that most, if not all, of the vaccinations I'll need will be covered. Hurrah!

But before I can determine exactly which vaccinations to get, I need to define my itinerary a bit further from its current state, which is: "Thailand, then anywhere!"

Oh, hum. Will someone please hand me some darts?

I have a few must-attend events in 2012 that'll require me to return to the States for a week each in mid-May and early July, which makes choosing my itinerary a bit tricky. I have to take into consideration weather, festivals I'd like to hit, tourist seasons and costliness of each country I want to visit, then try to arrange those countries into an itinerary that makes sense in terms of time and money.

"A year of traveling" sounds like a wonderfully luxurious expanse, yet I'm already worried about being short on time and missing out on things.

I definitely want to spend plenty of time in Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. I'd like to spend a month each in New Zealand and Australia, although I know they're more expensive. I've dreamt of visiting Greece and Croatia, but I don't know if I want to do Europe (again, money). Maybe Central and South America? And Africa would be amazing, but I feel overwhelmed by the thought of it.

I hear Iceland is nice, too, but it's all out there in the middle of the ocean by itself. Poor Iceland.

There. That's the jumble of thoughts in my head right now. I've never traveled outside of North America, so choosing where to go is proving to be difficult — I want to go everywhere! Feel free to add your two cents in the comments.


SHINY TRAVEL THINGS

While I'm getting rid of many belongings in preparation for my round-the-world trip, I'm also acquiring a few new ones to take along for the ride. Luckily I'm much more decisive when it comes to choosing these things than I am when trying to choose places to visit.

Here's what I've picked up so far. (Links point to where I bought each item, and none are affiliates.)


Canon PowerShot S95 digital camera

Hello, my precious. This arrived in the mail on Tuesday and I'm already smitten. I've used this camera before since my photographer friend has it, and it's been recommended by travel bloggers galore for its compact size and low-light shooting power. It also captures HD video!

I have yet to decide whether I'll take my incredible-but-large-and-heavy Canon Rebel T2i with me. (Keep in mind that I already have a 15" MacBook Pro to worry about.) Either way, the S95 has a guaranteed spot in my pack.


MOO business cards

I first learned about MOO business cards when I met Jodi Ettenberg of Legal Nomads and Shannon O'Donnell of A Little Adrift on a train from Seattle to Portland last June. How lucky was I, as a girl wanting to learn more about traveling, to randomly meet such awesome solo female travelers?!

Jodi and Shannon both had lovely MOO cards that featured stunning photos from their travels. They let me peruse all the cards and choose my favorites to keep. What could have been a basic exchange of contact information morphed into a fascinating conversation about the stories behind the photos. On top of that, the cards were thick and beautifully printed — much more memorable than the average business card.

A sampling of Jodi Ettenberg's MOO cards.

While this blog is not a "business" at all, I know I'll want to keep in touch with the folks I meet throughout my travels.

I chose 16 of my favorite photos, which were taken everywhere from Hawaii to New York City, to make up the front of my cards, and designed my own back. I like that the description — "Writer - Runner - Photographer" — is who I am, not what I'm paid to sit in a cubicle to do. I'll be thrilled when these cards arrive in a week or so.


***Attention, men: You may want to skip this next one. Don't say I didn't warn you.***


DivaCup

I had read about the DivaCup on a few healthy living blogs starting about six months ago, but I never considered getting one until I chose to pursue long-term travel. It's a menstrual cup made of medical-grade silicone that is used in place of tampons or pads, and Shannon has written that she loves it with every fiber of her being — read her great review for more information.

I haven't received this in the mail yet and can't say much about it other than what I've read, but it'll be a huge relief to not worry about lugging tampons around with me! Aaaand, end period talk.

***

I still have many items to pick up for my round-the-world travels — like, uhh, a backpack — but fear not. I've been poring over several resources and have a great idea of where to go from here. For example, both Jodi and Shannon have put together pages full of ridiculously helpful tips to aid round-the-world travel planning:

• Legal Nomads: Tips and Resources for Round the World Travel and Career Breaks
• A Little Adrift: RTW FAQ and Travel Planning Resources and Round the World Travel Packing

See what I mean about how I couldn't have met two more awesome people on that train?

And just one more thing for today: You all can rest easy knowing that this little guy has been permanently spared from my recent decluttering rampage.

Several reader comments and a frantic email from my mom convinced me to keep my childhood bear, Corduroy. I don't think I could have gotten rid of him anyway. Look at that sweet face!

The lesson here? Many possessions will come and go, but a few special things are simply irreplaceable.

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Do Life: Seattle and My DetermiNation!

I first wrote about Ben Davis in October 2010 in a post called Start taking your dreams very, very seriously. I was inspired by the video he made about his 120-pound weight loss and began following his blog, Ben Does Life.

I also took his advice, "If you want to do it, all you have to do is do it," to heart and set a goal to buy a DSLR camera and begin pursuing photography. I had ridiculous anxiety and self-doubts about taking up a new hobby, but decided to stop being silly and just do it.

Fast-forward to this past weekend. Ben visited Seattle with his dad and girlfriend to meet up with some of his readers and run an unofficial 5K. I brought my camera, plus Aaron and his camera. Together, we made this:


Do Life: Seattle from Devon Mills on Vimeo.

And took a bunch of photos, including this shot of me with both of the Davis men:

In an interesting way, Ben's weight loss inspired me to get my camera. I spent most of the meetup using that camera to try to capture the inspirational effect Ben has on others (and trying not to destroy it while running).

I'm just now realizing how things have come full circle. Life is funny, huh?

In other running news, I'm about to start training for the Seattle Rock 'n' Roll half marathon! I recently joined the American Cancer Society's DetermiNation team to train for the race and raise money, working toward a goal of $1,250 by June 10. My first team run is this Saturday at 8 a.m. (eek!), but I've already received my tech shirt and am super excited to rock it!

When I registered for the half marathon several months ago, I actually opted out of fundraising for the American Cancer Society. At the time, it seemed like too big of a challenge on top of actually running the race.

But, once again, I realized that I too-often say "no" to things just because they are outside my comfort zone. I also realized that nothing bad could come out of making this commitment. I might not reach my fundraising goal, but at least I'll have tried, done some good and made some new friends along the way!

I kicked off my fundraising efforts today and raised $111 with the help of several of my Tumblr buddies. Even Ben threw down some money and encouraged his readers to contribute! If today's donations are any indication, I think I have a good shot at meeting my ultimate goal.

If you'd like to support my efforts to raise money for the American Cancer Society and crush 13.1 miles in June, please visit my fundraising page to make a donation!

Anything helps, and each gesture of support gives me a fantastic mental boost as I go into training for my first half marathon.

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New here?

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Happy (early) Valentine's Day!

I set this goal last October. I made the purchase last week. And now, it has finally arrived!

My first digital SLR camera is a Canon Rebel T2i:

With a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens:

Which happens to make the camera look much bigger and scarier than it looks above with the kit lens. I handle it gingerly and cradle it like an infant. A very expensive infant.

But I've already accepted the fact that despite how impressive my newbie camera looks, someone will always have a bigger lens than I:

Jerk. I snapped this with my phone, by the way — I don't have a camera bag yet, and I'm too afraid to lug my unprotected infant all over Seattle like this guy does.

Just kidding about Aaron being a jerk, of course. He's the expert who recommended this camera and lens, and who found great deals on both through a photography forum he belongs to. He's also helping me learn how to use it and doing a great job as a (reluctant) model. Here's the first-ever shot I took, completely unedited for your viewing pleasure:

Hmm, there's clearly some progress to be made!

Even though I have much to learn, I'm so thrilled just to have the camera. I've been thinking about getting into photography for about two years, but only started taking the idea seriously when I realized that life is too short to waste time thinking about something when I could be doing it!

I had been stuck thinking that I needed a good reason to invest so much money into a new hobby. I didn't feel like I deserved to get a camera if I knew nothing about how to use it or if I wasn't planning to use it for anything more than just fun. I was also afraid I wouldn't be good at photography, and that the whole thing would be a waste of time.

Then I realized I didn't need a good reason to do it. The very fact that I wanted to do it was reason enough. Also, the question, "Why?" is nicely countered with, "Why the hell not?"

For a person who has struggled with self-doubt and a hesitation to try new things, "Why the hell not?" is a very helpful mantra.

For example: Here's a photo of asparagus!

WHY THE HELL NOT?

I promise I'll take some more interesting, non-green-vegetable photos as I figure out how to use this thing. I'm looking forward to a nice, sunny weekend day so I can take pictures of the townhouse in its full glory, and I'm also planning a jaunt around my new neighborhood to try to capture its quirky north-Seattle personality.

But for now, I leave you with asparagus.

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