Maxwell's Lost Again

Six days. Six days and I’ll be on a plane to Thailand. I haven’t packed. I’ve hardly planned. I’ve finished about half of what I wanted to finish in my time at home. In spite of all lack of preparation, I’m ready. Bank accounts are in order and tickets are bought, there’s really not much one needs. A few favorite t-shirts. My laptop so I can fight for and against being productivity. My travel guide and a few other books (Sightseeing, Walden, and The $100 Startup).

In my last trip I found that all of my planning got tossed aside and I went where I felt. It is most definitely necessary to research the places you want to go and to know how much time you’ve got to spend there, but these things can change as quickly as you meet new people and learn new things. I forget exactly how it goes, but the phrase “when you plan, god laughs” always comes to mind when I do such a thing (attempt to plan). I tried to come up with a 5 year plan for myself. That went a few different ways. I’m looking to make this a formative trip, but the only thing I really have control over is my attitude towards everything. And that only to a certain extent. When I miss a flight or lose a belonging, I merely whisper to myself “tranquilo, al-tidag”. No worries. It’s not the end of the world, and if it was, well, we wouldn’t really be around to do too much worrying. So live and learn and let life go on. Try to keep your head up when things go wrong, because just as assuredly as things will go right, some things will go wrong.

This was written four days ago. I leave for Thailand the day after tomorrow. More to come indeed…