In less than forty-eight hours, I will be jet setting across the Atlantic Ocean toward my home for the next eight days: London, England. I'll be visiting one of my close friends from high school - Caitlin - who is in graduate school there.

Caitlin and me - 2006

I recently decided to blog about my week in London to chronicle my experiences and to share them with my family and friends. I've never written a blog before and haven't even read many, so bear with this novice blogger. In fact, shortly after I decided to write a blog, I visited the trustworthy Dictionary.com to make sure I was on the same page as the rest of the world. Here is what I found:

Blog - n. - a Web site containing the writer's or group of writer's own experiences, observations, opinions, etc. and often having images and links to other Web sites.

Fair enough.

I am looking forward to this rare opportunity to engage in some creative writing. And what better place to do so than in London - the city that bred, became home to, or inspired so many influential writers throughout the span of history? Now I'm no William Shakespeare, Virginia Woolf, or Charles Dickens, but I at least hope to keep you interested for the week.

As of right now, there is one main obstacle standing between myself and London (if you don't count the three thousand or so miles of ocean): packing. For those of you who know me well, you know I can be disorganized and somewhat scatterbrained at times. Well, those qualities are certainly reflected in my packing skills. Every time I am home in Connecticut, I will pack my own suitcase only to watch my Mom unpack it and repack it in a much more logical fashion. She always manages to magically create an extra foot of space, turning my bulging, overflowing suitcase into the bag from Mary Poppins.

Did I mention I'm really great at packing?

Anyway, I am off to wrestle my belongings into my suitcase. Wish me luck.