The Long-Time-Coming Post

I still haven’t gotten airport timing down. I mean, I haven’t been late to a flight – yet (surprising, I know). But I end up getting here waaaay too early. I am expecting long lines at security, longer lines to go through American clearance – and so far I have been wrong on both fronts. Which leads me to sitting at the airport, a successful 3 hours early.

So here I am, in Calgary Airport, waiting for my last flight home. My little sister is picking me up from the SFO airport - if y'all don't have a sibling willing to pick you up and drop you off at an international airport, you probably don't know what true familial dedication and love feels like. (Thank you sissy!).

The good thing about waiting in an airport for 3 hours is that it gives me time to fix up and finish this post. I am in a much better headspace this morning to write than I was last night. This is probably due to the 2 cups of coffee and first night of 8+ hours of continuous sleep I've had in God-knows-how-long, but you know, semantics.

Before I get sucked back into the routine and comfortable sorrow that I have perpetuated as my daily home life, I want to savor and revel and enjoy every last minute I can while I'm abroad. I don't want the humdrum of repetitive living to ooze in and sour my writing or color my memories with the wistful 'I wish I was there' vs the grateful 'I am still here'. So I've compiled my notes from the last 6 weeks into a few separate blog posts, an opportunity for your enjoyment and for me to relive my memories. Not sure when those will be published - but they will (eventually), I'm positive.

When embarking on this trip, I initially made a commitment, with the help of my therapist, to write/publish once a week. This was a very doable goal - until I actually started traveling, and ran into a few, uh, challenges. Some of the difficulties: I couldn't figure out why the website's email auto-notifications weren't being sent out (still working on solving that), the thought of uploading my copious amount of pictures to the site and labeling them feels so overwhelming, and mostly - the biggest and most important difficulty I faced- was because there was so much going on. Fringe was happening in Edinburgh (I saw 30 shows, some people saw 60+), events with WifiTribe (who I am now fully in love with and invested in, we're mostly not a cult), and finishing with the castle tour and hostel stays throughout Ireland (who can focus on writing blogs while staying in a haunted castle?). I chose to prioritize those experiences over my blog, and I figure this is fine - plus I have an appointment with my therapist next week to strategize staying committed in the face of FOMO ;).

So, what to expect? Here are the names of the 3 additional blog posts about my travels plus a wrap-up conclusion with my next travel plans. I hope you enjoy reading them – I’ve enjoyed planning them out, and especially naming them.

If there is anything in particular you want to hear about from my trip, please let me know!

1) Choices (aka My Awkward Self-Destructive Attempts at International Dating and Other Decisions)

2) Lost, Found, and Souvenirs

3) Words and Names and General Ramblings of Things of Great Importance to Me but of (potential) Little Importance to Others

4) Not a Conclusion but a Guidance for Future Adventures (and Other Things I've Learned)

Thanks all! Thanks for reaching out, with comments, thoughts, and general hellos while I’ve been traveling. I am looking forward to my next round of trips – and to seeing some of you in person on my temporary respite home. And to sharing my past 6 weeks of adventures with you all.

I miss you all - and hope you are doing well, making kind changes, and saying hi.

See you soon!