a history of me

It's late and I'm still packing but I couldn't leave New York, the United States or all my friends and family without a farewell post.

Today involved a lot of moving back and forth. My first stop was one last workout at the club. Despite not working out yesterday and eating and drinking too much over the last 48 hours, I dropped a little more weight. Final score for this summer: 213 pounds, a full 24 less than when the nutritionist first weighed me on June 28. I've still got a long way to go but I feel pretty good about what I've accomplished. I certainly didn't come close to the lofty goals I set for myself a month ago but I plan on keeping this up. I trust twenty pounds in nine months will prove an easier task!

After showering and a few phone calls I went up to my hometown to pick up my laptop from Ben and perform some last-minute installations of important software. Given that Ben is operating a wireless high-speed network in his house it was pretty painless. I just sat in his room and downloaded any files I needed off of the Internet. Of course, he had plenty of stuff for me on discs to use as well. Scott dropped in for a few minutes before I returned to the city. We all said our goodbyes although Scott will be on a flight to Japan on Tuesday so I'm sure I'll see him again very, very soon. Ben, on the other hand, not soon at all.

I made it home in time to have dinner with Hyde. In keeping with the idea that I should eat cuisine that will be hard to find in Japan, I had Mexican for dinner and a very nice spot at 62nd & 1st called Mañana. We had another long conversation that covered our religious backgrounds, the merits of blogging and various personal stories that I cannot share. It was a fairly long walk back to her place and as we drew closer I thanked Hyde for making this summer so great. I know that might confuse some of you but my thinking is this: meeting Hyde and falling in love with her was a wonderful experience to have. It's been a very long time since I felt liked I loved anyone and I didn't like having a hole like that in my life. Hyde may not love me in return but we are good friends and I plan on maintaining that relationship during this trip.

After I got home I got some last goodbyes over the phone from my mother and sister. I also called Mike's girlfriend Sarah who had been out of the country for a few months up until last weekend. I wanted to talk to her before I left the country myself. She was very encouraging and I enjoyed hearing her kind words. Sarah, if you read this, please feel free to leave comments now that you're back home! It'll go a long way to keeping me focused on my trip.

I probably won't get much sleep tonight but I've got plenty of time for that on the flight tomorrow so no big deal. I just wanted to tell everyone that this summer was terrific. Of course, it wasn't at all what I expected it would be but it ended up being better than I could have hoped. Seriously, which would you rather have: a summer of working a shitty part-time job and eating alone or my summer of first dates, high adventures and genuine love? My ride may have been a little rocky at times but I can't imagine trading it for anything. OK, maybe the weather could have been nicer but that's out of my hands.

The bottom line? This is not the end. This is a beginning.

Feit...out!