No Matter Where You Go...

Hello from HKO. It's March 10th, about 8:00 am here...

Before I left for DIA on the evening of the 8th, I got a call from my friend Ed. He called to wish me well on my journey and to remind me that "no matter where you go, there you are." Right.

My flight out of DEN was delayed over an hour. I had been counting on a decent layover in SFO to get from the Frontier Airlines arrival gate to the International Terminal, to check-in at the Cathay Pacific desk, get through another security checkpoint, get to my gate and board a big 747.

I got to SFO with less than an hour before my flight to Hong Kong. It was about 12:30 am (on the 9th, which I think was yesterday... or yesterday here) when I made my solo run across terminals with my heavy carry-on over my shoulder. Note to self... next time: wheels.

Running through this huge, vacant, spaceship of an airport -- no one around but a few bored vacuum pushers -- I started to laugh. Ed's reminder the day before had sifted to the top of my thoughts. There I was, all my myself. There I was, running toward unfamiliar territory. I was never so happy that in the unfamiliar places to come, I would be there. I was happy to know that the resources and abilities I've built and been blessed with would be there, too.

Previously, I'd thought of the "no matter where you go" sentiment to be more of a warning. How refreshing (and ironic) to realize a comforting, positive spin.

I had a realization in the car with kind driver Betsy on the way from my house in Denver to DIA, that I was hurling myself across the world, and would not be near anything I knew for a full month. Literally nothing would be familiar to me: weather, food, music, language, customs, transportation, smells, time-zones, etiquitte, flora, fauna, etc.

At least I know that no matter where I go, I will be there. That's nice.