Luggage and thoughts on the next eight months

Jack, myself, and my brother Andy

My bags are finally packed. It's not easy to figure out how to travel for six days in a row when you're stuffing into a 20" suitcase "business professional" clothes and what you might be wearing out on the town in strange new cities you've never been to: New Orleans, LA; Houston, TX; Sacramento, CA; Oakland, CA; Phoenix, AZ. In places like Houston I should like to wear cowboy boots and pearl-snap button-ups; in Phoenix I'd want to look retired in a swimsuit and a Hawaiian shirt.

The past week I've shopped around for luggage, looking for a sturdy suitcase and a decent carry-on bag that could hold all the paperwork necessary for my job, my laptop, and a day's worth of clothes in case my luggage gets lost. Today Jack and I went to Fred Meyer looking for some quality luggage for about half-an-hour until we decided we were hungry and got burgers and beers instead. This week I'll be traveling with Jack's suitcase and my laptop bag that carried me through college, along with my "tech-kit," a fifty-pound trunk that holds the contents of my audio-visual responsibilities. I've decided I hate luggage and think I might just wear the same suit on the plane, on the job, and at the bar.

I wonder what stories this blog will have to offer by May, when I'm getting home from my last flight as a Program Manager and back to a regular work week. Some days I'll be flying across the country, other days I'll be driving two or three hours to the next city. Sometimes I might have to book a train ride if flights are canceled, and I may even get to ride a limo here and there if there's no other option. In any case, leisure time will be scarce and sacred and without friends or family. Still, I look forward to my time alone "on the road" and know the different perspective will allow me time to figure out what I miss and what I don't: i.e., I'll be that much closer to "finding myself" in a world where it's easy to get lost in routine and everyday comforts like a change of clothes or a familiar high-five.

This is the first and most difficult entry for me to write because I don't know what to expect once I'm gone but for now it's Saturday night so I'm going to see the Tea Cozies at the Blue Moon and celebrate my introduction to becoming a nickel-plated wayfarer...