Wrap-Up

[Note: I’ve peppered this final edition of Spring Forward with some of my favorite pictures from the many I took on the trip.]

I began this trip with lists, have used lists throughout the journey, and now cannot seem to end without using lists. I thought about lists the whole trip.

But before I get to these final lists, I have a couple of thoughts about the trip in general.

This next bit may sound a big smug, and if it does, I apologize ahead of time, because smugness is so very unattractive. But here goes anyway.

I mostly feel good about the trip because I pulled it off so well. While it’s true that I feel like fear causes serious constraints on my life in many areas, I don’t think you could say it does in regards to travel. For whatever reason, whatever bravery I have comes to the fore when it comes to putting myself into unfamiliar surroundings.

I never freaked out when I was navigating a strange foreign city, whether on foot or underground in a subway. I never panicked when all the conversation around me was in words I couldn’t understand. I found ways to enjoy each new strange place I visited.

Also, since I’ve learned to be a careful traveler, my journey was not beset by lots of negative events. Or, to be more specific:

I never missed a connection on a flight, train, or bus.

I never had a problem with a hotel reservation.

I never had a problem with my passport or my Russian visa.

I never had a bag lost or stolen.

I never had a gadget lost, stolen or broken, and remember, I was carrying a big expensive camera, two lenses for that camera, two handheld portable gaming devices, a phone, a laptop, a mouse, a keyboard, headphones, etc.

And now I’m home. Actually, I’ve been home a week. I’m mostly glad to be home.

I have felt a bit weird, though. I’ve felt a bit disoriented, sometimes a bit blue. I’ve been tired and uninspired. Some. A lot of this I think I can mark down to jet lag, but there’s also simply trip lag. Being away from home for twelve full weeks is pretty extreme.

Reentry into my apartment was made even odder by the fact that I’m now the only person living here. My roommate of four years moved out while I was gone. This sounds a lot more dramatic than it is. I knew Steve was moving, and moved on perfectly good terms. He never intended to stay here for four years when I invited him to stay with me when he was unfairly kicked from his longtime apartment in 2007. He’s been a great roommate.

In fact, there’s some symmetry here, because Steve moved in in March 2007 while I was traveling in Asia for the same client I was in Europe for when he moved out. It’s a little like Mary Poppins coming and going when the wind changes in a certain way.

Another thought I’ve had a lot over the last week is that I’m basically at home wherever I am. In this sense, as horribly pretentious as I’m sure it sounds, I’m really a citizen of the planet. I’m happy to be back home in LA, but in some ways it’s just the next place I’m hanging my hat. This is not a bad thing.

I’m so grateful for the gift of this trip. I’m grateful to the client that made it possible, and for all the colleagues along the way that made the project such a pleasure to work on. I’m so thrilled to have had the opportunity to see so many beautiful and fascinating new places.

I’m also extremely grateful to you, Dear Reader, for taking this journey with me!

Books Read on the Trip

Arthur and George by Julian Barnes
Zoe’s Tale by John Scalzi
The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley
Riding the Bullet by Stephen King
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterling
On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
The Stollen Bacillus and Other Stories by H.G. Wells
The Reluctant Mr. Darwin by David Quammen
Role Models by John Waters
Born Standing Up by Steve Martin
50 Reasons People Give For Believing in a God by Guy P. Harrison
Eiger Dreams: Ventures Among Men and Mountains by Jon Krakauer
Three Cups of Deceit by Jon Krakauer
Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia 1600-1947
You’re Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop to the Coffee Shop by John Scalzi
This Will Change Everything by John Brockman
A Fist in the Hornet’s Nest by Richard Engel
The Epoch Index by Christian Cantrell
Venom by Christian Cantrell
Fallen Dragon by Peter F. Hamilton
Mysterium by Robert Charles Wilson
The Perseids by Robert Charles Wilson
The President’s Brain is Missing by John Scalzi
Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett
Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett
Starbound by Joe Haldeman
Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper
The Frozen Sky by Jeff Carlson
Out of the Black by Lee Doty