Non-Anticipation

This is Wednesday afternoon. On Friday morning we head out to the airport to fly to Ho Chi Minh City, first stop on a 23-day jaunt to Southeast Asia.

When I mention this to friends or family I hear some variation on:
“You must be excited.”
“Are you excited?”
“Are you looking forward to it?”
“Are your bags packed?”

To which my honest answer is “no,” “no,” and “no.”

How can that be? What’s the matter with me? I must be some kind of jaded jerk.

Here’s the thing: I live in the present. I don’t look forward with great anticipation to an upcoming event. When it happens and it’s great I totally enjoy it. I can really get into it. But before that – fuggett it.

Let’s look honestly at my Friday/Saturday excursion. After dealing with the annoyance of airport security I spend almost a full day flying half way round the world. Even if the food and service are good, that’s still a long time in a stuffy airplane. Then, voila, I arrive and it is about midnight. The first bonus of my trip is to fall into a bed and hope I sleep.

I know, I know. That’s a small price to pay for having a chance to see new places and be in new cultures. But we’re not talking about the payoffs. We’re talking about being excited about something before it happens.

So excuse me if I’m not bubbling over with enthusiasm. And besides, I’ve got a few things left to do before I leave.

I don’t expect to post anything on my blog while I’m away. I will have something to say when I return. There you go – you can look forward to it.