102 days, 15 hours, 15 minutes, 55 seconds

it still doesn't seem real, yet it's coming at me like a train at full speed. they say that even if you're on the right track you have got to keep moving or you'll get run over. (random quote from i don't know who. i originally wanted to use it as a pick-up line on some guy sitting by himself in Clarke Quay- pick-up lines are used by girls too! i don't want to give the guys the upper hand)

if you are wondering what i'm talking about, it is the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. a ten month long circumnavigation to fourteen ports, although Clipper hasn't yet decided on quite a few of these ports in an attempt to make the host ports pay up for the honor. 

i am leaving Singapore on the 10th, which will give me four days to recover from jetlag before starting my training in Gosport, UK, which will be THREE WEEKS LONG. dear god, i hope it isn't too cold, i am accustomed to sauna temps. 

i found out on Sunday which boat i've been assigned to- surprise surprise it is Uniquely Singapore. everyone i've met so far is lovely, but i do not feel patriotic towards the place that has denied all my sponsorship requests >:I 

what to pack? i have a scary looking balkalava that will keep me warm in stormy weather, and will double up for my occasional bank robberies, plenty of fleece, lots of blank diaries to record my experience and to note valuable lessons.

odd shaped suntan marks have persuaded me that leggings and long sleeved UV tops are THE MOST IMPORTANT THING you should have in warm weather. they still haven't faded, even after 3 months. 

i'm also having to choose a university course before i go. so many people i've met on the Clipper race are engineers, and it may be an option for me since i have A's for physics and Maths, i also have A in Art. i may do architecture. 

but then again what i really want to do is write fiction books. i know that neither of these courses will help significantly with the writing- unless i want to write manuals or exciting books about a spy going under cover as an architect (sorry for the cliche, i'm rushing this post a little)

back to the sailing- 

what kind of boat will it be? fiercely competitive? a party boat? 

who knows. there are stories of people assigned to do nothing more than bring presents aboard to distribute half way through- magazines and chocolate. i think i would be most happy with a fantasy book to escape a little, solid weeks spent in the same place are bound to make me restless.