Whining

It’s very early in the morning.  I am drinking coffee and listening to this just gorgeous music from Italy.  The artist is Ludovico Einaudi and the album is called Divenire. I feel very grown up and a little bit centered listening to this, which is an odd place for me. Usually I am more psychotic and spastic.

It’s a beautiful summer day. Should be in the low 80’s today.  Seattle is just about perfect in the summertime. I should just wallow in the sunlight and the music for a while, but my fingers keep typing so I must have something to say here.

I have this rather horrific birthday coming up in 10 months.  It’s really freaking me out.  I keep waking up in the middle of the night all panicked that I have not done anything with my life and it’s almost over.  The only thing that ever gets me calmed down when I get like this is thinking about traveling. Somehow I feel less bad about myself when I think of all the places I have been.   It’s been 10 months since Barcelona.  10 months till my birthday. In between are some trips to California and of course this is the year I go to Hawaii 3 times. This very significant one is haunting me. 

First I can’t afford to do anything.  You try going to Hawaii three times in one year and figure out how to pay for it.  I am drowning in debt right now.  That has never stopped me before however, so I may as well fantasize about what to do next year.  I’ll probably just charge the whole thing anyway.

Initially there were three targets:

·         Spain

·         Italy

·         Asia

Spain got broken down into The Basque Country with a day or two in Barcelona or Madrid and maybe a day or two in Paris because why not?  I am fascinated with Basque culture, the food, the mysterious language, and the fact that they are the direct descendants of the Neanderthals.  I like to think that I have Neanderthal blood in me and that is why I always feel like I am coming home when I am in Europe.  Now that I am off the anti-balding medicine and my body hair is coming back I feel my Neanderthal blood surging.

Italy means just simply Rome.  Cacio e Pepe.  Bucatini All'Amatriciana, Frascati. Nuns.  This is hard because I am still so not over the Amanda Knox thing. Yes, that was in Umbria, but Rome is the capital right?  But Cacio e Pepe…..naked statues….deep fried artichokes….so hard. Mark wants to do Venice for some future birthday.  Does that change anything? What to do?  If my parents would go along I would do Rome, but they hate traveling with me because I am impossible to travel with. Ugh.  I feel like Natalie Imbruglia.

Asia was always a distant third. Mostly because I am a big chicken.  Europe is pretty easy. Everyone speaks English, there are subtitles in English on most signs, and my French and Spanish are good enough to read things.  Asia scares me. I wouldn’t be able to read anything. I can count to 20 in Okinawan but that’s all I’ve got.  Yes, they speak English in Hong Kong and Singapore, and I would love to see and eat my way through either of those cities.  But when I think about where I would want to go right now it would be Tokyo.  Shaky irradiated Tokyo.  Nope, not this time.  I would want some kind of super food based tour that would cost way too much.  I will get my Japan fix in Waikiki in December and Asia will have to wait.  Maybe I can get a trip to Beijing for work.

So, if it’s anything then it’s The Basque County or Rome. What I should really do is just go to Hawaii like a normal person.  It would be way cheaper and I could probably get some of my family to come over. 

Well, that was therapeutic.  I am almost done listening to the entire album, I am wired on coffee, and I feel like I just went on a little trip. 

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