Moral and Monetary Support:
I cannot even believe how much support I've received! You guys are the cats ass - so to speak. I figured I would get moral support from some friends and family and possibly some donations from my immediately family just trying to help me realize this awesome opportunity but so far as of 11 am this morning I have received the following donations - not to mention the numerous inspirational emails and messages that I have gotten showing me endless moral support.
Carla, Sam the Adventurer, Alex and Spencer LaFever: $20 Always the first to donate to any cause of mine. You guys have given me so many opportunities and support over the years I cannot ever begin to show my gratitude. Sam I think we can count the full $920 as a donation from you as well - the idea for this blog came from you back when I was to travel to Hawai'i and tried to get me to do something dangerously similar.
Poppa Doc: $300. This $300 pales in comparison to your reminder to me to get off my keister and go submit my passport application (good news about that to follow) but is fully appreciated nonetheless. This is in addition to you paying my rent every month which has made my eduction infinitely easier to focus on. Thanks again!
Winnie and Will Raferty: $100 I understand that you're very good friends of the family but I also understand that you might see me once a year so we might not be as close as if you lived locally. Like the people above you guys always seem to support me no matter how silly my cause may be (see: The Grease Jar.) Thank you so much.
Anonymous (to the public): $400. You know you are and so do I. I respect your wishes to remain anonymous to the public but that doesn't change how much I appreciate this donation. You guys have always been very supportive of my academic efforts but I think this contribution will more directly impact my education as a person than any previous contribution that you have made - not to say that they have not been appreciated fully. I could get into more detail about the opportunities that I've been given by you generous folk but I feel like I'd be giving away too many clues.
April Goodson (Porsche): $50. Not to demean any of the previous donations because they are all appreciated but these donations came from people who are settled in their careers and may be able to afford to donate. You, on the other hand, are in the same boat as a lot of people our age. We don't stay in as good of contact as we used to when you (and Holli) were living local but if I'm not mistaken you have two jobs and are doing school at least part-time. I found this donation particularly inspiring because you - I can only assume - are trying to make ends meet like the rest of us and still found a way to donate. I cannot tell you how shocked I was when I saw the email from paypal regarding your donation. You are scholar and a gentlewoman. I'll definitely keep you posted on my travels.
Barb Lord: $50. You mentioned as you gave me this $50 that it wasn't much but you wanted to donate. I'm sure that you and my dad share finances and that brings your donation up to $350 which is far more than generous. Not only that but it means a lot that you would think to donate to my cause. Thanks so much!
Grand total: $920.00
First off, this is absolutely amazing. I mentioned it before but I'll mention it again, I never dreamed of getting this much financial support for this trip. Thanks so much. Second, I'd like to say that I do not put these donations up here to compare them (they are all fully appreciated) or to make anyone feel guilty for not donating. Money is a great thing to have but it doesn't do me any good without inspiration and support from my friends and family. I know that I have thanked everyone personally who has given me moral or monetary support (or both) but thanks again to you all!
Passport Update:
I got a phone call at 8:30 this morning from the State Department telling me that my social security number had already been registered with a different passport. I began to freak out until the gentleman on the other end of the line explained to me that this happens from time to time and that all I needed to do was fax over a photo copy of my social security card and he would process my application and have it in the mail tomorrow. I will be sending that fax in just a bit and should have my passport either Wednesday or Thursday - excellent news for sure!
To Do's:
Just a brief list of stuff that I have left to do before I take off on Friday, October 2nd.
- Fax a copy of social security card to State Department
- Make reservation @ hostel in Porto (Ewan Simpson, my roommate on this trip and director of the Entrepreneurial Opportunity Center, has already booked a room for us in Lisbon)
- Fill out final Wright Global Scholarship Application.
- Buy plane ticket to Lisbon (just checked today, depart BWI Friday Oct 2nd at 1:20PM and arrive in Lisbon on Saturday Oct 3rd at 6:15 am. Grand total $627.40)
- Get required trip insurance.
- Talk to Verizon about activating my phone to go global. (have a feeling that this is going to be an expensive endeavor and I'll probably end up getting a pay-as-you-go phone over in Portugal)
- First formal Portugal trip meeting Wednesday at 4:30 PM
- Get on Anne Arundel County Public Library website and start learning Portuguese with their free subscription to Rosetta Stone. (Wish me luck with this one. I am usually pretty good at picking up accents but I cannot seem to be able to figure this Portuguese out.)
- Buy new case for my guitar (broke my at the beach this summer - you didn't think I was gonna go to Portugal without bringing a taste of my American late-night jam sesh's did you?)
- Buy new Kodak Zi8 Pocket 1080i HD Video Camera/Still Camera to keep you all visually updated on my travels. (I hope you don't think that your donations are going towards buying me new toys - I picked up a catering gig with my dad this weekend and made exactly enough to buy it. Thanks Pop and Barb!)
I'm sure there is plenty more on my list but I have a feeling that I won't know what that stuff is until I come to it. Oh yeah and this is not to mention the school work I have to do. Enough blogging for now. 'Til next time,
Mi.
P.S. If you simply canNOT get enough of my blogging (which I'm sure is doubtful) be sure to check out a new blog that I'm writing for at the University of Baltimore. I post every Thursday by 8 am - check it out. http://ubaltblog.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment