Down to the last 50

There are now 50 days left until the trip starts. Not 8 months like it was at the assessment day, not 26 weeks like the start of the original countdown, a mere 50 days. 

 

Surprisingly, unlike my normal efforts for pre trip preparation, this one seems to be going quite well! I am now the proud owner of some plane tickets (to the right place and everything), a travel insurance policy so comprehensive I am tempted to break a leg just to test the luxury of my recovery and the most comfortable thermarest ready for my jungle hammock. Bring it on Malaysian jungle - I'm ready for ya!

I have also managed to sort something else out to take a load off my mind - I have guaranteed to return to work on my return in September. I mentioned earlier about having told my boss - after with I had to wait an agonising two weeks to find out if I had a job or not! I made my peace with this thinking, if nothing else, the Raleigh experience would help me find another job quite easily. After 3 rounds of approval from escalating levels of management committee it was eventually agreed it would be a great opportunity, a benefit to the company and myself so they're giving me the time off to 'better myself which doing something worthwhile' - how lucky am I?!! As a result of my request, the company are examining their CSR policy and are developing a charity work leave policy around what I've asked for (and to protect the terms of my employment while I'm away) so future employees can go off on their own adventures too. So not just a win for me - the others can thank me later :)

So the remaining tasks of the final fifty mean finishing off my equipment shopping, get all my medicine, get fitter physically and go to my training weekend next weekend. That's when I FINALLY meet my team, find out more about the specific project I'm doing in Borneo and learn some very essential skills. Hopefully then the whole thing will start to sink in!

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Falling into place

So, Borneo/expedition prep updates have been fairly minimal as well, nothing has really changed! This is often the way with something with a long build up: there's the initial excitement and the immediate pre-travel preparations but otherwise, things aren't that changeable from day to day.  As a result, the fact that I'm even going away seems completely unreal, almost surreal in fact but, with just over two months to go, I can however think of a couple of things which is making everything sink in a little more.

Firstly, I have now booked my flights. I am fully paid up, itinerary printed off and flight numbers confirmed to go on my trip. I leave on the evening of July 8th and arrive back on our shores on the 4th September. Seems like hardly any time away really, but I know it'll feel like I've been there forever once I've thrown myself into project life. I managed to get an amazing deal on my travel through a travel agent friend of mine, which means the money I've saved can go towards more useful things than in flight meals - mosquito repellent and sun screen!

Secondly, I have also bitten the bullet and informed my manager of my plans. There were various reasons why I haven't informed them before now, these largely come down to my worry about not being able to go for whatever reason, my differing feelings over whether I wanted to keep my job or not, and plain old fear when it came down to it. I was very nervous about the reaction of my manager as after much consideration, I decided I would like to come back to my job, so would be asking for unpaid leave. In the current economic climate I felt the request of two months off, including 6 weeks unpaid leave is somewhat cheeky, but, once I've made a decision I like to commit and , as many friends reminded me, there's no harm in asking. 

I know my company has a policy against sabbaticals if you've been employed with them for less than 4 years (I've only racked up two!) so was expecting the worst, however, given the fact that it's a charity project, I'll be learning great new skills, AND it's not very long in the grand scheme of things, my manager seemed very positive we could work out some way for me to stay.  This was music to my ears, even if I do have to resign for whatever reason, at least I know they want me to stay, and will be fighting my corner! It was great to know I have the support of my boss, and the fact he recognised what a big deal the trip is for me, and realises how much a better employee I could potentially be on my return (providing I odn't get malaria). There's no definite answer either way yet, but just have the secret off my chest is a relief enough in itself.  I've hated feeling dishonet, so I'm glad I can now share this with my colleagues rather than act sheepish when asked about my summer plans! 

I will keep you all posted as to how things work out, but at the moment it's looking pretty good so, watch this space...

Money, money, money...

Y'see... the thing I've noticed most in the run up to all of this is how much I am thinking about money. It is constant. What I spend on injections, what I need for equipment, what I need for tickets, what I need to cover my rent while I'm away... blah, blah, blah it's NEVER ENDING! However, in all this financial trial and tribulation some good stuff as happened, as you will see from looking over to the right at my handy little justgiving.com gadget. I have managed to raise a fantastic £1,500.27p which goes straight to Raleigh and covers me for the trip - hurrah! 

To celebrate the end of this financial burden, and to start thinking about the trip properly as it's only 3 short months away now, I celebrated with some Borneo shopping. I get a lot of people asking me if I'm excited yet or not, and the truth is, not really! It's been on my mind for so long, and I've been preparing mentally, physically, financially for a while so I had kinda run out of steam thinking about it. Going out today to dedicate some time and money to the things I need, and imagining what I'll need them for, certainly stoked the embers of my excitement.

Want to see my purchases....

So, my big fear as some of you may have guessed is getting malaria or some other hideous tropical illness. Due to Malaysia's high humidity there are mosquitoes everywhere so I will be fending them off with plenty of repellent and one of these lovely things...

That's right, a mosquito headnet. If you yourself fancy a bit of widow chic, don't despair! You too can be the owner of one of these for a bargainous £8. Sexy, huh?

I also got some less ridiculous looking things. I treated myself to a pair of practical sunnies, i.e. not £5 from H&M as I will need to protect my eyes in the tropics....

 What a poser!

My lovely friend Christine treated me to a camping pillow as it will make a huge difference to my comfort levels and therefore overall mood for the time I'm away....

Not only is it nice and comfy, but it also colour co-ordinates wonderfully with my 'giant' trek towel, which folds up to the size of a A5 diary and is 6x lighter than a normal towel (ideal when you're carrying everything you have and space is an issue)...

It also has a map of the world on it in green in case I get lost - very handy.

All in all, a fairly exciting couple of days!