the countdown.

now that the countdown to india is almost at its end, i have suddenly found a million loose ends to tie prior to departure. the next 30 hours or so will provide much needed motivation. lesson plans, packing, shopping, work, church, cafe, paying bills, cleaning, getting a new roommate... sleep is overrated, right? well, judging from monday night, possibly not. somehow, though, i feel like staying out till 2 celebrating ed's and katie's birthdays on a monday... before an international trip... after two drama-filled, emotionally charged days at work... might have been more stress (read: comic) relief than sleep would have provided.

my true dilemma is: falling asleep? not a problem. staying asleep? another issue altogether. i'm a stress thinker. the combination of early mornings and brain activity for me are never a good thing. it's fortunate i only have one more morning before i step on the bus, then the plane, then the other plane, then the train... then the soil in kalavai, tamil nadu. it's getting a little out of control, and i don't know how much more i can take of my mind spinning for hours before my alarm clock goes off.

in many ways, most of you know i've been ready for this trip since i came back last year. i just found out that i'll be writing the team blog while we're there, so you can track our progress over here for the next couple of weeks and of course see updates back here when i return. my sister is loaning me one of her DSLRs for the trip, so i'm STOKED to have good pics to share!

in other life updates... changes will be coming soon. i can tell you more later after my trip, but i can say they're really only good changes. God's definitely brought me to them, so how could i think otherwise?

well, i think that's all. in the midst of all of this (or perhaps i should say, in the midst of IT), lent continues. i plan to be practicing some "putting on" disciplines while in india. the end result may reach some of you, hopefully.

for now, peace, love and adequate sleep to you all.