After I arrived at Murphy’s house last week I didn’t do much for the first few days – I mostly stuck to the couch either sleeping or drinking, occasionally walking over to Cuca’s for a burrito.  With our intended date and time of departure being Wednesday evening, we decided that we’d better get a few things done this weekend.

The first and most important item in our checklist was to have a party at Murphy’s house on Friday night.  The kitchen featured a European dance party while the backyard scene devolved into a vodka-fueled, furniture-destroying shitshow.

Most of Saturday was a write-off but by the evening we got back on track, pulling the car into the garage and pulling everything out of it to take inventory of what we had and what we needed.  I left Nova Scotia with two plastic boxes, one containing camping gear (mostly cooking utensils) and one containing things we might need to address car-related issues – jumper cables, a socket set, screwdrivers, duct tape, etc.  We combined what was already in there with some things from the garage to put together a pretty good collection in each box, taking note of what we lacked.

On Sunday we hit a couple of sporting goods stores, buying a few things that included:

• A first aid kit.  Neither of us actually know first aid, but hopefully we’ll be able to MacGyver something up if need arises.
• More camp fuel.
• Footwear for both of us.  Murphy needed a good pair of walking boots while I was in desperate need of flip-flops.  I normally don’t wear the things but the benefits of having a pair dawned on me while showering barefoot in state park restrooms last week.
• More bug spray.
• A collapsible spade useful for many things, particularly for digging latrines while we’re camping rough.

We also picked up a few extra lights – an electric lantern, an extra headlamp, and this “tactical” flashlight which, when slammed bulb-first into someone’s face or neck (or any body part, I suppose), collapses to focus the pressure onto three rather unpleasant pieces of thin but sturdy metal:

To celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival, we had another party on Sunday evening.  Taiwanese BBQ, mooncakes, cupcakes and plenty of drinks.  I tried Taiwanese beer for the first time – a nice, refreshing lager, perfect for the warm weather.

There are still a few more things to wrap up before Wednesday, but with Murphy receiving his international driving permit today from AAA, they’re mostly details at this point.  I’m trying to shake some of the rust off the Spanish I invested some time learning last year (but have neglected for most of this year), and we may try to get creative to address our car’s lack of air conditioning this evening or the following.