Yeah, I went hunting once. Shot a deer in the leg. Had to kill it with a shovel. Took about an hour. Why do you ask?

So the last couple weeks went by in a blink of the eye. It seems that it was just yesterday that I was coming home from work with tar in places that should never require scrubbing with paint thinner. I was able to visit many of my relatives all over the country and even meet some some new ones down in Arkansas with Erin. So to everyone that I was able to see thanks for the great visits. To those of you I didn't have the time to see, sorry and you just need to come to Jamaica to visit me. I will miss all of very much. Just remember to keep on truckin'.

Fast Forward.... So we left this morning and it was pretty difficult to say goodbye. I must apologize to Sam and Matt as I barely acknowledged them being there at all. Sorry guys, thanks for coming. I sure feels good to have friends that will wake up at the butt crack of dawn to watch us get on a plane. So thank you to Shaggy, Jenny, Dover, Jim-Bobson, Mo, Sam, and Matt. You all are pretty fantastic. Also thank you to all the family members who where there too. I will miss you all. Bob, be sure to take good care of my mother. Pops, try not to work too hard and have some fun every now and again. Jennifer, I will miss you like crazy. It is going to be hard to think about Sweet Pea growing up and not being able to see all of it. Give her a big hug and kiss everyday from her Uncle Pat-ick.

Sorry that was bit sappy. I am in the hotel with Erin and we are both exhausted. Our plane was a bit late getting into Miami and we were rushing around trying to make registration. We made it, only to sit through damn near 5 hours of boring lectures. Considering I had not eaten anything significant all day I was growing very cranky and was beginnning to fantasize about punching fellow volunteers who asked ridiculous questions extending our meeting and keep me from dinner. Erin is saying the questions we good questions just not relevant at the time they were asked. But someone seriously asked if the 'emergency action plan' outlined what we did in the event emergency. Anyway we are waiting on our room service and will probably head to bed early. I love you all and will update when I have something else to babble on about.

Just as I was ready to submit this entry I witnessed a proverbial train wreck. The lady bringing our room service in biffed and dumped cheese sticks, marinara, and shattered glass all over our floor and Erin's khaki's. I wanted to go down to the front desk and have them clean her pants but she didn't want to get the room service lady in trouble. Whatev.

I have been Michael's number two guy for about five years, and we make a great team. We're like one of those classic famous teams. He's like Mozart and I'm like... Mozart's friend. No, I'm like Butch Cassidy and Michael is like Mozart. You try and hurt Mozart, you're gonna get a bullet in your head...courtesy of Butch Cassidy. Or instead of hurting Mozart you spill marinara all over her pants... you're going to get smoked.

Peace

The thing about me is, I'm better at hiding than deer are at vision.

I am not going to miss the grocery store. There are too many brands and nothing is organized according to my wishes--I can never find the Cheez Whiz. Plus you have to dodge the small children on leashes getting yanked back from the Power Ranger fruit snacks like star-shaped yo-yos. The realization that we are seriously leaving tomorrow hit me a few hours ago. Patrick has everything packed, no thanks to me. I sat in the corner coughing and feeling sorry for myself. My backpack is twice as wide and almost as tall as I am. So I am insanely excited, but also a bit sad. It is hard to say bye to you all! It was easier last night when I was slightly inebriated. I started to get all teary-eyed after leaving my grandma's, but then I randomly thought about when Joe Barnes told me that ugly girls join the Peace Corps and that made me laugh. I am going to go eat my cheesy potatoes now. Tomorrow I won't have to worry about leaving the house with dog hair all over my butt, because I'll be in Miami. I wanted to give some quick thanks, but then I realized that would be sappy and also it wouldn't be quick. So I love and will miss you all, and I want you to know I appreciate your support, especially this last week (Saint Samantha). I leave you with this thought from Michael Scott: "I was thinking that we could all leave tomorrow and do a convoy, you know? Convoys are really fun. Pull up next to each other…give each other the finger…moon each other… " How wonderful would it be if everyone was leaving? I could moon Dover all the way to Miami, it would never get old.

I have my own crossbow range... it's a perfect situation for me

Alright, so Erin may very well be the practical one, so I guess that would make me the impatient one. I have gone crazy waiting for clearances, invitations, assignments, but I have sunk deeper into my neurosis awaiting the 'Welcome to Jamaica' packet. I am totally cool not finding out where we will be living, what our monthly allowance will be, what we'll eat, and all that. But what the heck am I going to wear? The packet I await should at least give me some idea of what I should be packing. I read that business attire is the norm, but seriously who in their right mind is going to live in the Caribbean and rock out pleated khakis, a polo, and a pair of leather loafers? I get the whole concept of dress to impress and attire earning instant credibility... but seriously folks do you really think dressing like a preppy J. Crew model is going to help me resolve the AIDS epidemic?! If the Peace Corps was really worried about credibility gained from my attire, they would probably have better luck sending me out in my hospital scrubs.

Okay so like Erin I must apologize for any grammatical mistakes, verb tense non-synchronicity, and so forth. Just so everybody knows, I am planning my blog attack to be more of a Patricio stream of consciousness than a great literary work. So now that everybody is on the same page...

Getting back to Erin being the practical one... One would think that a blog about us on our Peace Corps experience to Jamaica would be titled with some sort of reference given to hmmmm... JAMAICA! Not that it needed to be Erin and Patrick's Jamaican Adventure of Fun, but how 'bout tossing Rastafarianism a bone or some kind Bob Marley ode. Not that I don't like the title, because I do, but if she claims the she's the practical one... how practical is our blog title? And Erin when you read this: 1) I do like the title and 2) just so you know I quoted Dwight K Schrute in my post title as well.

We are currently sitting a T minus 26 days until departure and as much as I will miss you all, I am very, very excited about leaving on this adventure. Well I figured since Erin posted I would too. Hopefully I won't be Jamaican her too crazy as we prepare to leave.

Patrick