[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
24 Hours to Go…I’m gonna Need Sedation! With apologies to Joey Ramone
In 24 hours I will be boarding a plane bound for a three week vacation to the Philippines by way of Taipei, Taiwan.
I cannot believe I am typing this and it’s not part of a fictional story or screenplay.
We will be traveling, and by we I mean with my good friend David Dawson and his mother Carlota Dawson. We will be staying with their relatives near Manila. Don’t ask me where exactly, I don’t know and I don’t want to butcher the names.
In my 48 years I have traveled to different parts of the United States. Most recently, to Florida for a wedding of two friends from high school. A first for me. I had never been to Florida, but I have never left the country nor have I ever needed to get a passport. Another first.
I have lived in San Diego and San Clemente, California for several years all within spitting distance from Tijuana, Mexico and never once did I ever venture across the border.
Now, this opportunity has practically dropped in my lap. I thought it was just whimsey. “Hey Steve. Why don’t you come with us?” “Oh, sure. No biggie. I’ll just have to get the time off from work and get a passport.” Did I mention this was all transpiring just 30 days ago? I didn’t have a plane ticket and I was requesting the most time off from work I have ever taken. Luckily, I had accrued more than 300 hours of paid time off in my six-plus years at DirecTV. That was approved. OK, now the passport. It took a week, but I got that too.
There is a quote from humorist Ashleigh Brilliant that fits what I have been feeling the last 30 days. “My life would be incomplete without stress.”
So here I am typing this blog 30 days later. The schedule at work has been adjusted and I have adequate coverage of my shift. I have sufficient medications for the time away. I still have to get cash in the morning and some lighter clothing. Apparently, the Philippines were built very close to the sun and all of my clothes were designed for more temperate climates.
Venturing into an unknown has always given me pause, but how can I pass up such an opportunity? I am excited, nervous, scared, worried, you name it. If I had to describe my mood in one word, it would have to be, “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA”
To be continued…[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
