Travel

You might not believe me but I hate traveling! Ok, the traveling itself is not what I hate. I hate the preparation. It seems like I can never just want/need to go somewhere and book a flight. It always feels like a logic puzzle with way too many variables. And then there's always the stress of finding a cat sitter. Not to mention packing. You'd think I'd be good at all of it by now. I've traveled more than most people. But it never feels any easier.

The current trip is back to eNYC. Yeah, I know -- wrong time of year for me to be there. I'm really trying to brace myself for the cold and focus on all the positive things about going there. And the last thing I want to do is complain about the weather the whole time I'm there because that gets old really fast. It will be cold; I will feel the pain of the cold. Ok, I think that's one thing people don't quite understand. That to me, cold feels painful. It's not just uncomfortable; I feel like I'm in pain. And when it's below 75, I start to feel that way. And my body is strange so that once I get cold, it's hard for it to warm back up and takes a long time of intense heat. I will try not to complain about my pain, but I wish people wouldn't say things like "it's not *that* cold".

Anyway, I look forward to seeing all the shops decorated and even the big tree in Rock plaza. It's really hard to be in the Xmas spirit here when it's in the high 80s and sunny every day. I love the weather here but having lived most of my life on the East Coast, it just doesn't feel like Xmas time. I look forward to feeling comfortable hanging out with friends, enjoying good food, shopping for all the items I can't get here, seeing my family, not having to clean the litter box.

I want to see some photography while I'm back. Galleries, museums, burlesque show. Some cultural stuff. I don't want it to just be about shopping and eating although it's hard for it not to be about that when I'm so deprived of those things down here. It's like Masl0w's hierarchy of needs or something and although I appreciate art and culture and ate it up when I lived there, trips back to the US have become more about meeting the basic needs.

Ok, let's see if I can get a flight booked with frequent flier miles.