Sarge the Gnome Joins the Trip

Today was my last day at work before I leave for the Spring 2011 voyage about six weeks from now. I needed to stop working early to have surgery and recover in time to sail. My wonderful friends at Mines presented me with a cute little 6 inch gnome that can travel the world with Liz and I to document our adventure. Origin of the gnome: every Monday seven of us gather at lunch to discuss and re-live each episode of The Amazing Race, hence the acronym ARDG (Amazing Race Discussion Group). Everyone signed the bottom of the gnome and now they will enjoy watching "Sarge," as he's been dubbed, visit all the great places we visit. Thank you Esther, Dan, Gary, Heather, Angie and Peter; you now can vicariously venture out across the seas with Sarge. And you even provided some packaging for gnome safety during rough seas ... how thoughtful. Guess protective packaging for Liz and I is up to us!

Sarge the Gnome

Our passports were returned this week complete with visas to four countries. That was a load off our minds and a relief! Everything seems in order. We also visited the health department and got booster inoculations for Typhoid and Polio at the advice of the public health nurse. Time to take a break from SAS preparations and enjoy a nice family Thanksgiving ... everyone coming to our house this year.

SAS and ISE - what a supportive group!

My October ended with a frightening experience that i feared would end my Spring 2011 adventure before it began. On October 24th as I was recovering from what I thought was a very bad case of flu, I suddenly went downhill fast. Luckily Liz talked stubborn old me in to visiting the emergency room at about 8 pm that Sunday night. To my surprise, I was diagnosed with complicated diverticulitis and admitted to the hospital for three days of IV antibiotics. I had never been in the hospital (except to visit other unfortunate souls) since I was about five! The advice was to return in six weeks to have surgery.

So of course the next thing was to begin counting the weeks until the SAS Spring Voyage to make sure I can recover in time. Wow was it a tight timeline -- no room for error or complications or I wouldn't be going. The doctors agreed that as long as recovery was smooth, I could sail with my ship mates with no problem. Sunny (the Dean of Students) and I corresponded about my situation and she consulted with ISE leadership and came to the conclusion that with the chances of complications throwing the proverbial monkey wrench into the works being so low, they would roll the dice and stick with me. I'm feeling great and it's a relief to know that we can continue to plan for the voyage.

Now that's a whole 'nother story. Two months out and so many details to prepare for ............

We got a surprise e-mail from Anne, who is going to be the psychologist on board and discovered that she lives only about thirty minutes from us and we want to get together to share all of our pre-voyage planning. Anne sounds like a wonderful person who we will enjoy travelling and sharing the voyage with. She is a counselor at CU-Boulder, but I won't hold that against her just because I am a dyed in the wool CSU Ram.

We finally have the final list of field prorams for all the port countries. We have two weeks to get pre-registered for any that are in Dominica, Brazil or Ghana and any other sthat involve overnight travel. Homework, homework, homework!!!!!!!!