Uncertainty and Sorting

I keep starting posts and then discarding them. The problem is, I have so many stories now; so many suggestions, hints, and travel tips, so many experiences to share that it is overwhelming to begin. I wish I could dump my memories and ideas onto the floor like old printed photographs and shuffle them around into a more logical layout. I am so visual, so tactile, that sometimes words are difficult. How can I share all the beautiful, crazy, haphazard adventures when I cannot show them to you? To some extent I can; photos are ever helpful but I need to figure out how to organize them and how to make the stories come to life. Connor, my unbelievably helpful, calm, and technology competent boyfriend, would say that I am doing it again. Stressing out, and getting myself confused, and scared when what I really should be doing is jumping in fearlessly and figuring it out as I go. The funny thing about this is that the fearless jumping is a closer representation to how I travel. I make reservations as I go, not far before, I never know where I will end up. I pack a carry on, that's all, make no schedules, bring no watch and use the sky and people around me to gauge the time. However, when it comes to putting the results out for people to see, I get stuck.

Therefor, to break this habit of allowing myself to get scared and stuck, I will just jump and keep on jumping until it becomes a habit in my every day life and not just in my travel life. Now, not to worry, I will still think my decisions out carefully and not do anything too crazy, I just wont let being scared of failing at things keep me from doing them. I will also be better at laying out goals and actually accomplishing them. Exciting things currently happening or happening in the very near future are as follows-

I am learning French and German! (I am just starting, so please don't ask me to say anything for a bit...)

I am going to Chicago next week. This is rather spur of the moment, but a couple of my teaching contracts have been delayed slightly and so I have a glorious bit of completely commitment free time to go visit a close friend from high school who shares a love for art, theater, good food, and adventure.

And, as often happens, there will be many mini trips to Portland and Eugene in the near future for dancing and exploring.

This blog will see a couple additions, (if I can figure out how to do what I want to do) including a list of things that I like to bring traveling with me with links to stories involving those items, a photo story section, and of course, the actual information from my Chicago trip.

So, with that, travel blog entry numbero dos is yours!

Jess