wanderlust is in the air

Do you ever fantasize about giving your boss the one-fingered salute and riding off into the sunset? Do you think that your life would be more meaningful if you were doing something, anything, other than copying information into a spreadsheet? Do you enjoy traveling, have a decent ability to write, and think that travel writing is a dream job? Then the book "Do Travel Writers Go To Hell?" might just make you re-consider the merits of sitting in an air conditioned office all day. The author tells the tale of leaving his office for a travel assignment to NE Brazil, on less than a shoestring budget, something that passes for a Western moral compass, and a sense of adventure.


I read this book alongside of my own adventure here in DC. As I fantasized about documenting my travel adventures as a FT gig, instead of <insert any regular job here>, this book got my travel bug re-inspired. Fortunately, Chris showed up on Thursday evening we went to Founding Fathers (Yummy!) in his first few moments here and then went to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (where money is made!). Instantly, I was reminded that to have the lifestyle of the comfortable and laidback, I'd need to stack a few more of those pallets of cash before saying sayonara to any desk job. Through reading this book, I have two more jobs that I can tell my manager I'm not interested in: professional blogger or a travel writer.


Towards the end of the book, the author recalls as a child being told not to talk to strangers and contrasts this with the stories he read in Spanish class of two young students hanging out on the plaza. Like the author, I have learned that I meet the most interesting people by talking to strangers. For instance, on Saturday while at Crepes-A-Go on "P" Street, I met a nice woman who works for the EPA. We share a sense of travel adventure, an interest in learning more about the world around us, and get a great sense of satisfaction through a good meal. Chris, of course, instantly was entertained as we swapped stories and watched while my fragmented existence was haphazardly laid out before her. He hopes that we become DC buddies in my final weeks here. Similarly, while back at the same restaurant today, I met some gentlemen who were quite distraught about the loss of Federer at today's tennis match. They made me smile and I wondered how my friend Evelyne was coping with the loss.
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It's the end of the evening on Sunday and I just returned from the gym. I continue to reflect on the travel book. I am happy to have a few close friends to whom I can turn, with whom I share laughs, and in whom I can confide. But I also have an intense case of wanderlust. I enjoy the randomness of encounters and the connections I make through the adventures. I love being able to say to a new friend, "hey, I know someone else who has in the same interest... you two should really talk." My case of wanderlust is severe, and I have no intention on taking a presciption for its cure!