Random thoughts

Around the World

It was Chris' birthday/bon voyage celebration last night at Tony's place. I haven't really gotten the chance to get to know this group that well but they're really nice people and so much fun to be with.

So Chris is quitting his job, giving up his apartment, selling most of his belongings and traveling for at least a year. A year! God, the courage these people have to just up and leave like that! I mean, how can someone just give up his main source of income so he can do something that will drain his money?

I have to admit though, the 'around-the-world' idea seems so inviting, so poetic, so Hollywood. I have this picture of Chris with a good-sized backpack just walking the streets of India or Nepal or Morocco, or some other far-off place I've only seen in pictures. I have this image of him coming back a changed man, with a long Rip Van Winkle beard and a wooden walking stick, talking all kinds of wisdom about the world. Haha! And of course I would imagine him having a different accent, and not saying, "dude" and "stoked" as we've been used to.

I've always wanted to travel around the world, and I think I still do. But I don't know if I actually want to do it as radically as Chris is doing it. I'd first have to have a crazy amount of wealth to be comfortable doing that. I know though that once I get my papers in order and find myself in a much more stable situation, I'm going to be spinning that globe with my eyes closed and pinpointing a location then saying, "There. This year I'm going there." Maybe it won't all be in one go, but I'll try to make it around the world.

posted by Cathy at 3:12 PM