My Journey Begins Today

What a whirlwind; I'm not sure where to begin. Flew back from DC to Atlanta Monday morning, straight into meetings (mostly fun, actually) with epidemiologists, field staff, and my home office, picking up my gear and figuring out what gear to leave behind... Not to mention trying to remember the Atlanta roads and how to drive. Dern drivers!! And the gas shortage? It's for real. Cars line up down the streets at all hours of the day, and people are getting into fights over it. The desperation...how the American psyche is so tied to fuel!

Now, no one warned me about the culture shock of returning to Atlanta... My culture shock is always worse within the United States for some reason, and this is no different, although these two days of adrenaline-pumping preparation have kept me from thinking too hard about why my diet has instantaneously returned to beer, steak, and fried chicken.

I voted this morning; thank goodness for early voting. (Note to Georgia voters: you can vote early, M-F, 8am-7pm, from now till October 31st. No reason necessary. Check it out.) I'm very appreciative and giddy to have a voice in this historic 2008 presidential election (sorry to all those local/state candidates for 7-8 pages worth of elections I didn't know about...oops!).

And I have proudly managed to fit all of my check-in material into one, albeit heavy, bag. I was freaking out a bit last night about what stuff to bring with me, but then I stepped out of my body, kinda slapped myself, and told myself to get a grip. I'm going to have an amazing adventure and journey, no matter what I bring or don't bring. So chill! So I'm a-chillin' right now, a few hours before I've gotta get to the airport. I'm gonna go eat lunch...fried chicken anyone?