All Shot Up and Nowhere To Go

I got my last shot today. Typhoid Fever. I got the Yellow Fever shot yesterday. I was supposed to get it on Tuesday, but after making the appointment with the Wake County Health Department two months in advance, they didn't bother telling us they were out until we waited in line half an hour, then waited for the nurse, then went through the whole list of place we're going. I ended up wasting a large chunk of my work day for that. So we found Passport Health close by, who had the vaccine, and got in and out in short order.

I honestly don't remember why we didn't get the Typhoid Fever shots when we were getting all the others, but I took care of that today. So now I'm all shot up and don't have anywhere to go for another 69 days.

Around the world in 75 Days

No, it doesn't take 75 days; that's how long before we leave. The crown (it's on my tooth, not my head) is working out pretty well, and the exercise seems to actually be helping somewhat (with my weight/fitness, not my tooth). I need to go through my clothes, shoes, etc. and see what I've got and what I may still need. I've gotten used to the synthetic tee shirts, as opposed to cotton. I'm going to have to get more of those, whether for the trip or not. They dry a lot quicker and feel much cooler.

I got some insoles for my hiking shoes. I probably should have gotten the Superfeet, or something more support oriented, but I went for comfort instead. I wore them for my daily walk yesterday and they felt pretty good. I'll have to try them a few more times to be certain they'll work for me.

I got a case for my laptop. It's a little bulkier than I really wanted, but it provides pretty good padding and space for the mouse and the external hard drive. I'm also getting a sleeve to provide extra padding, and a way to carry the laptop when I don't want to carry the bigger bag.

Teeth and visas

I got my permanent crown. It actually does feel somewhat better than the temporary. I hope it continues this way. I really don't want a root canal. The way things have been going for me dentally, it probably wouldn't help anyway, and I'd end up having the tooth extracted. I don't want to be gumming my food on the trip.

We got our visa kits in the mail over the weekend. It contained applications for visas to India, Cambodia, and Tanzania. The one for Tanzania wanted the applicant's father's name and husband's name, but only for women (heh, heh). TCS is taking care of all the other countries. For these, we have to send the applications, our passports (!) and a check for hundreds of dollars to a travel document service. They promise our passports will be back two to three weeks before the trip.

My wife is driving two hours each way to get my father's visa kit and mail it and ours off today. I'm hoping the estimate of getting the passports back two to three weeks before the trip is a worst-case scenario, and having sent it off well before the deadline we'll get it back earlier than that. I'm not going to feel comfortable until I have it back in my hands.

One word of advice in case you're copying an Indian visa application: It's two-sided, so make two-sided copies. We missed that and had to go back and make more copies. My wife also forgot to sign her passport. Probably not a big deal, but she had already made copies of it for various purposes and had to go back and make more copies of that, too. Oh well, at least Kinko's (now FedEx Office) is close by.

Personal preparations

As part of the trip, and general self-improvement, my wife and I have been trying to exercise and lose some weight. We've started walking every day about three miles. I just don't feel like walking is really that much exercise, though, whatever the experts say. It's better than nothing, but I don't see any improvement in my general well-being or endurance. Also, I'm not losing any weight. I'm trying to watch what I eat and drink, but I'm stuck at about 200. So I guess it's time to start starving myself, and do some exercises on top of what my wife is willing to do (I like the Biggest Loser workout video, but I can't get her to stick to it). I am going to lose at least ten more pounds (no comments about a few trees in a forest). Maybe if I can break this plateau, I can lose even more.