8 days to go...

To start things off, I really hope that I can manage to keep my thoughts/postings decipherable during this whole adventure.  As it stands now, my mind is in 27 different places at once as I prepare to head out east.  I've been thinking and planning this for so long, it is surreal that I am 8 days away from the actual beginning!  What started out as my crazy ramblings after an amazing trip in March of 2009 has metabolized into a huge first step in a new direction in my life.  Many thanks to my friends and family who have given me the strength and encouragement to begin something new...I couldn't do this without you!  Now...time to pack, move, repack, and start saying farewell to Chicago for a little while...