Day 0

it's the 4th of May, and well as they say, may the fourth be with you (me in this case). I'm at the Centurion Lounge at the San Francisco Airport, about an hour before I start boarding my flight, to embark on a journey that will take me to Europe, for three weeks. That's one loaded statement, filled with achievements, that in the moment feel very small, or rather insignificant. But if I look back to any point in time, where my younger self was told that he'd one day be in a lounge at an airport, I'd accept it with a blink of an eye. It was always fascinating when I saw people do it, or talk about it. And today, here I am. To add to this, i'm traveling solo (for most of it) to Europe, no mean task in itself, and although I haven't successfully (we'll get to what success of a trip would mean in a bit) begun, let alone complete, the trip, I ought to take a step back and appreciate the intent, and the action to undertake this in the first place! 

To say that this trip is under-planned, would be an overstatement. If you asked me three months ago, how I imagined my life to look like in May, I would have told you that I'm on my way to India (for good), and plan to take a vacation with my girlfriend in some corner of the world. Well, the wheels to transfer me back to India have encountered some friction, and the relationship has come to a complete standstill — that's just a fancier term for a breakup. It was in these circumstances, along with my general discontent and unwillingness to spend my birthday in the land of the unknown (America, if you're guessing), that I planned (overstatement) to visit Europe. And it feels that way, impromptu, in every sense. I don't know what the mood or vibe of the trip is going to be, and more importantly what direction I want my mood and vibe to take. I'm here, that's the most important thing. Or well, it's a start.

The broader plan was simple. I intended to work (um, really?) for the first week, and take the next two weeks off. When I say "work", I had hoped that things would be relatively relaxed, with no escalations that needed my attention. I was mentally prepared for this, and was completely thrown under the bus, of my own making, when things started getting piled on me. Getting assigned work was one thing, but I was, and am, more disappointed with my reaction to it. I pretty much froze up. The rosy-picture I had in my mind — where I would be wandering (among other things) the streets of Amsterdam, with little work on my plate — seemed to be floating away. Determined, or rather stressed that I was, I spent the nights prior to today debugging tirelessly, all in the hope of getting as much out of my way as I could. And I did get my reward, with large pieces of code working the way I (or maybe God) intended. This helped me free-up some mind space to hopefully cherish the time I would be traveling. And there, I have it. Cherising the time I spend, is one direction I definitely hope this trip gravitates towards. For well, what's the point otherwise?


May 3, the night before, 1058PM, after successful debugging

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