Procurement, tribulations, and the process
This morning I bought a sleeping bag 
. I got them for fairly cheap the bag on Sierratradingpost.com and the stove on rei-outlet.com .
The sleeping bag should allow me to sleep better (no night sweats from cooking in a too warm sleeping bag) and the camping stove should allow me to cook worry free. Julia had told me about these Beverage Can Stove cooking stoves that you can build. They run on alcohol, they are a really good idea, though one site talked about the lack of durability and them not being great for extended trips, so I spent a little more money, although not much, and a lot less time (as this stove I don't have to build). Now for some juicy stuff.
I talked to my current employer last night after work. I wanted to give him plenty of notice about my trip and leaving. It did not go well. I'm not going to go into details, but basically I was told that he would have to think about what he's going to do. Their were some others statements made as well. But this is all that I'm going to write about. The truth is, I understand the frustration.
But I keep asking myself, "If I die tomorrow will I regret this." And every time the answer is hell no. I definitely wouldn't regret this. I feel like I am making the right decisions. I was offered a full time job at another place of employment. Accepting the position would mean that I couldn't go on the trip.
I was incredibly torn, and in fact I still am. This job had been a dream of mine for the past 4 years. But I've been thinking about doing this ride for 9 years. This ride to me signifies my continual development and challenges. It feels to me like the right decision, and that I must listen to and trust.
