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Well after over a year of planning I am finally on my way to Tanzania, I look back over the last year and chuckle. It seems like only yesterday I was climbing my first 14er (Mt Democrat) in preparation/training/life transformation for this trip. I owe a lot to many people for allowing me to grow both as an individual and as an employee, this process has taken much longer than the past year but it has altered my life forever and made me a much better person in the long run.
I wake up every day and pinch myself and say how lucky I am to do the things I love to do which will have an impact on many aspects of communications both commercially and for the warfighter in future communications/network/satellite architectures.
I should just warn you all now for those that are in close contact that my mind jumps around just a little bit so if you get lost you can always drop me an email and i will add the proper clarification so that you can continue to enjoy my adventure. (Future Poster Child for ADD)
The last 24 hours prior to my departure was like watching an old VHS movie a dozen times knowing exactly what was going top happen, after a year of planning, buying nearly every brand of hiking boots, clothes, packs trying to find out what worked best for me now was time to second guess all of my very detailed and painful research ;-] needless to say after sleeping only 5 hours I got up at 1:30AM to not really change anything but only add to the bounty of outdoor gear already packed in my living room, besides the two massive bags of my gear I am taking two very large bags of clothing mostly summer type shorts for a local orphanage in Tanzania, I hope to have time toy visit it after my climb as I will be staying a day or so after my climb to relax and soak it all in. And incase you are wonder all of the gear that did not make make it into my personal bag is packed and will be donated to the porters that will make our trip a success.
I had scheduled a limo/suv to pick me up and drop me off at the airport at 0400AM, My dear friend Kirk said during lunch cancel that I will pick you up, for those that know me in my personal life I am somewhat of a loaner and usually just wing it on my own, plus I am very time sensitive and just freak out if my plan/schedule is put in jeopardy ;-)
(Personal note: Just finished some fruit and cheese and the nice attendant left me the bottle of port, I think she was tired of filling my glass and for all of
my geek friends I live my ZAGG Mate)
Well I guess that is enough history other than I did climb 21 14ers this summer and Quandary 6 times and the last by myself in the snow and each one has left me amazing memories that I will never forget.
Back to the present I quickly realized that while flying KLM meant 2 less stops that it was not going to be easy when Kirk pulled up to the curb side bag check and they said no INTERNATIONAL check-in )(*&^%$#$%^
Try putting 4 very large bags, a 80 pound back pack and a 30 pound messenger bag full of geek shit on one 4 dollar cart ;-))))) However the Delta agent was very accommodating and quickly allowed me to pay for the excess baggage and I was on to the security line. In the past year I don't recall not checking my bag and only taking a small carry on. The lines were long but I am a Clear member so that was a plus until they gave me shit about my (large) backpack that barely transited the X-ray machine, the harassment interrupted my thought process and I forgot to remove 1 gallon bag of liquids which far exceeded the stated acceptable allowance..... oh shit I made it through with all the liquids in my bag ;-) While I immediately thought the worse that #$@%#$@ TSA cannot even spot a gallon bag of more stuff than one can imagine from bug spray to shaving cream, However after telling one of my friends he mentioned that most countries have stopped the limitations on liquids and that the United States while not officially admitting to this change is not enforcing the rule... otherwise please fire the O2Bandit that allowed me to enter the Denver Airport without the proper screening.
Ok enough for now I think I have drank enough port to make my book on string theory to make sense ;-0
On a side note I would like to congratulate the entire Ice Cube Team for the successful deployment of such an amazing telescope and I cannot wait for the results!!
For all of my english major friends and grammar snobs (Brett) forgive me now while I could blame it on the ZAGG Mate that is not the case as it has never been one of my top ten to fix.
Location:Departing Denver
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