Gear Change Up

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Settling in...

A lot of emphasis on this thing is the travel. The logistics of moving from place to place, the packing, the crashing in a random bed, the getting up and moving on. Always trying to move on to the next item on the agenda, and making sure I´ve done so without leaving any socks behind.

Having a place to stay for an extended period of time during a year when you are supposed to be traveling is an under appreciated luxury. Not having to keep everything packed. Not having to keep everything oragnized in a Nazi-like fashion. I moved into my studio student apartment at the University of Girona-Montilivi, and luxuriated in the space. I have two drawers, a closet, my own bathroom, my own kitchenette, a table to eat on, a desk with a lamp, bookshelves above my bed for all five of my books, and a bookshelf across the room to put all my cycling stuff on.

Granted, my entire space is about 12´ by 14´. But that´s the biggest single I´ve ever seen, not to mention it´s so much bigger than my backpack. I´m not the kind of person that does well living in a confined space. I must have everything laid out so I can see it. Supreme organization, or as my mom calls it, a ¨mess.¨ And now supreme organization has its own three dimensional space to work with. It´s so nice waking up in the morning and knowing that I can go out and ride, and then have a place to come back to that is my own. Even in a foreign country, there is a little piece of it that I can call my own.

So I celebrate. I completely empty my backpack and throw it on the top shelf of my closet, knowing that for the next 37 days it will be of no use. I fill each drawer with something. I lay all my notes out on my desk. I organize my cycling gear: tools, gloves, toe covers, and helmet on the top shelf; shoes, windbreakers, and legwarmers on the bottom. I decorate, and put up my map of Spain on the empty wall. I go out and buy myself something special. Like crackers.

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