Getting ready

Today was devoted to go around and see a few friends, as well as to finally pack up. With a bit of smart packing, I could fit my stuff in what you can see in this picture (yes, it is a frighteningly small piece of luggage). 

So, finally that special feeling that you get when you are about to leave is starting to linger around me. 

I have been lucky enough to travel in most of the developed world chasing the technology allure, and it is so easy to get to the point where it does not even feel like you are traveling. Having just returned from a quick hop to California, once again I just realized how eerie it is to feel sort of at home the moment you get your rental car in Los Angeles. And, needless to say, all the pampering of business travel contributes to develop that pleasant familiarity with all the places you have been more than once. As I was saying, it is very easy to take that sort of travel as a routine. 

But now I am already thinking about tomorrow: flying to Tashkent, getting to some really different place, then another one, then another one... It is that subtle feeling between excitement, anxiety & expectation.

Oh, and just not to make this too serious (and in case you are curious), here's the table from which many of these posts have been written, just as it was looking this afternoon as I was getting ready.

(written in Rome)