pre-trip anxiety sets in

2 weeks and 3 days to go (Miss Anxiety decides to move in in the shape of a laptop for the rest my journey...)
This really is a log about my security blanket...my Mac of course 

Since New Year's Day, I’ve been watching Youtube videos ad nauseam in preparation for my 'never say never' epic mountain climb. As soon as I’m about ready to vomit with all the queasiness brought on by routine glimpses on my Mac and office calendar, watching the date creep up on me, I stumble upon yet another video-sharing website called Vimeo.  When there's a moment of calmness  in between online searches, catching another round of the latest videos posted of the Machame Route, of packing tips, reading articles, others' blogs, I have to remind myself that, look, its only 5895 meters, (wait, I rather prefer going by feet), over 19,341 feet, so BIG DEAL!  Pshhhaw Girl! (ok, sarcasm doesn’t help the nerves).  Knowing the exact height of this mountain is also indicative of how many times I've been staring at computers. So, why am I all fired up on finding new clips of the same route? Am I really just seeing images of a few AMS-affected aliens walking on what looks like the surface of the moon? Perhaps there could be something or someone lurking behind a tree or rock that I should be looking out for as a star team player while on the climb? What I really need is to step away from the laptop then, slowly tell myself  that hey,  its just an over-glorified hill, slow-motion films that were set up at  movie ranches off the foothills of the San Fernando Valley, what snow, that’s fake snow, those aren’t real people, they are just  actors! What I really should be telling myself is to stop pressing the replay button and go jump onto an elliptical machine for goodness sake... 

Well, I’ve got a little over two weeks to go, I can see the town of Moshi at every other blink (here i go again...) I’m so ready to go (mentally not physically -can I ever be that super fit?) I can honestly think of a million and one things I should be doing right now. Meanwhile I'm sharing my precious time. Could I be glued to the computer right up until I’m boarded and seated squarely in my seat (which is ironic reading this journal again, the seat in economy class on the second flight that day made my every part below my hips paralyzed and form-fitting, I never went to visit the lavatory).  

Did I mention that Vimeo shows all videos of the Machame Route in HD and these videos won’t be accessible on the plane?  Exactly!

 Note to mom or sister - when dropping me off at the terminal, please confiscate my laptop, just like your insurance broker would throw in a sales-pitch and say  “we'll give you a peace of mind.” But in my case remember, I never buy insurance, so you both ARE my peace of mind!

Still insistent dear reader but I do wonder if my hotel in Moshi will have a computer with wifi? I better go check on that. I suspect more than likely it will. Certainly it won’t be like y experience while vacationing in Fidel Castro’s Cuba, right? HA! Well, there’s a story I won’t get into but let’s just say, I should have done my research long before assuming the internet is easily accessible worldwide, even in communist countries, no? 

TODAY: now in Moshi, I did find there was free wifi IN MY ROOM! and at excellent speed. Yes, to my current satisfaction, my laptop escaped confiscation at Pearson. How else would I blog while my adventure is still fresh in my mind?