List of Things To Do

I've suddenly realized that I'm leaving on my trip to Africa in about three weeks and I've not even made any lists of things to do and take yet. Well, not in any official capacity anyway.

You should have seen me about six years ago, when I first started travelling. I knew what I'd be wearing on that trip six months before I left. I researched travel web sites obsessively and hung out in travel chat rooms trying to glean information. I had notebooks of jotted notes about this or that historical site and probably drove all those around me barmy talking about where I was going.

But just the other day someone asked me at work, "So where are you going this year?" AND I haven't yet gotten around to renting "Out of Africa". So I must be improving. Or regressing. Depending on how list-makey and relaxed about it I truly want to be.

Let's see....batteries for my camera, more sunscreen, fill the prescription for Larium, get a duffle bag to hold our sleeping bags, pick up foreign currency at the bank...hmmm it seems there should be more. Ah! Bug Spray! Don't forget the bug spray, whatever you do! :)

I was gardening over at Sharon's (an odd job to earn money for this trip) and as I was crawling around under the shrubbery tearing viciously at the evil choking morning-glory vines there, I felt something nip me. I slapped the small of my back and killed the little blighter. First mosquito bite of the season: I have been blessed so far otherwise.

And my thoughts went like this: this little Canadian bug bites me and gives me say, West Nile virus, but, as I'm off to Africa and will probably be bitten by all manner of plague-bugs it will be ironic if I come back with some virus and blame it on some poor blameless African bug.

You know, that makes me sound a little bit paranoid, but I'm not actually worried much about bugs and marauding hippos and such on this trip. It's more things like flight schedule screw-ups and lost luggage that get me antsy.

When I got my prescription for Larium (which is supposed to lessen your chances of getting malaria) I asked my doctor about the possible scary side effects that I'd heard about. Delirium, nightmares, rash, and er.... suicidal depression.

Well, he hemmed, it was true that this drug has been associated with such things, but the serious side effects were not that common. And much better than actually getting malaria. " Besides", he added thoughtfully, " I already know you are a risk-taker. Otherwise you wouldn't be going on a camping trip in the Serengeti".

Me? A risk taker? I actually felt quite pleased with myself for a moment.