As I sit at a gate at SFO, waiting for a hop down to LAX where I catch the Time Travel Express to Sydney, the fact that I’m leaving for a whole month doesn’t seem quite real yet. It’s a strange feeling. No anxiety or stress, but an odd feeling that I’m not prepared to be traveling for a month. Sort of like those dreams where you show up to school or some public place, then realize you’re wearing nothing but underwear.
There’s an excitement somewhere in the back of my mind. But I haven’t been able to pull it to the front yet. Maybe it’s because I’ve been sick the last few days, forcing me to back out of projects, and delaying packing and last-minute errands until the true Last Minuteâ„¢. The excitement will come though, probably when I step off the plane and start hearing that wonderful Australian accent everywhere.
Regardless, I’m on my way. I’ve dreamed of going to Australia since I was a teenager, and now it’s finally happening. The conference is only a few days away, the visuals for my talks are basically complete and ready to go, and I’m so looking forward to meeting everyone at Web Essentials.
I’m not sure yet how often I’ll get to post travel updates here. I’ll have my laptop with me the first week, but I’ll leave it Sydney to shed the weight for the rest of my travels. Besides, there’s too much to see and do to be working with a computer.
So here I come. September 27, 2004… I’ll never know ye. See you on the flip side.