231

I can never help but do the math.

On my long (really short) walks home from high school, I would count the number of steps needed to take me away from school and back home. Then I’d count how many steps I would take on average per cement sidewalk square, multiply that by the rough number of squares there were, and compare the product to the exact number of steps I was actually taking.

Like I am sure most people do, I calculate which jug of laundry detergent gives me the most value for my money, navigate the figures around caloric intake, and determine the average amount of time it takes someone to text me back. Like I’m sure most people don’t, I sometimes catch myself counting how long it takes me to inhale and exhale (and it is a little nerve-racking to discover that those numbers don’t always match up), and I practice basic grade four multiplications.

If I decided to “do the math” to find out how much time I spent adding, subtracting, and dividing, I think I’d conclude that it is, on a general basis, a severe waste of my time.

Regardless, I’m doing a little math:

My last day of third year was April 26, 32 days ago. Summer is flying by. Assuming I will have classes on Tuesdays next term, my next is 99 days away.

So far, I’ve accumulated 87 university credits, with just a handful more to go.

There are 217 days left until January 1, 2013 and, here’s the big one, about 231 days until I leave for the UK.

Although it’s too early to tell the exact date I’ll be leaving, I know my semester at the University of Central Lancashire is set to start near the end of January. This will be the furthest away I have ever been from my sunny seaside city of White Rock, at some 7,600 kilometres. It will almost be the longest I’ve been away: If the math (and my plans) check out, I will be off learning, adventuring, and satisfying my curiosity for four months in Preston, England, and then for another four months in Some Country, Europe.

Given that I have consistently thought about this trip every day, for the past umpteen days, I figured I would do the math and figure out how much longer I’ll be waiting for. And so the countdown begins…