Jon's first post - I need to go to sleep...

Hello all,

It's Jon here.  It's about 3:00 AM on January 2nd and I'm thinking about going to bed.  I have almost everything packed and my room is cleaned up for it's 5-month vacancy.  I put my beloved car "Sweet Dee" in storage today and it was sad to say goodbye.  It really hit me today.  I said goodbye to some really good friends and that was what made it click.  I talked to Ashley and she thinks it won't hit her until we get to the airport and I though the same about myself but it really sunk in today.

Even though it finally hit me that I'm gonna be on an island in the middle of an ocean for five months, I am super excited.  I don't have anything to be nervous or scared about.  I'm really anxious and excited to finally land in Hilo and get a bit of sleep before starting to explore town and hopefully meet some friends.

It's going to be a great journey and I can't wait for it to start, but for right now it's bittersweet.  Saying goodbye to Sweet Dee and a bunch of my good friends was tough, but hey... I'm going to Hawaii; I can't complain.  I didn't mention, but this might be a good time - it's 7 degrees outside right now in Rockford, Iowa where I live and it's 65 degrees in Hilo.  :)  And one more thing, my writing is not very good - you'll all get used to it soon.

Talk to you all again soon!


Thanks!
Jon Laudner