The impetus for this trip was multi-fold...
1. It's been WAY TOO LONG since I went anywhere. I haven't left the country for fun since I returned from the Pacific sailing trip, June 2010.
2. I had about 75k United miles absolutely burning a hole in my proverbial pocket.
The 'what' and the 'why' of this trip are interesting too. I'm tempted to not disclose as it's somewhat private, but the story just won't make sense if I don't. This trip is a date, a first date, a somewhat blind date.
Every once in a while I do the online dating thing to date outside my social circle. Back in late Oct/early Nov I put my hat back in the ring. There was the usual string of perfectly "fine" fellows, but no spark to speak of upon meeting in person.
When the dating site paired me up with James (name changed) who was a 94% match, I was interested. I sent him what I like to think was a clever note. He replied, and a series of long messages ensued. Now, my normal and stated rule is to go for a meetup after a couple of positive messages. His profile mentioned doing some travelling, and his notes came in at odd hours. I hoped he was a night owl who had neglected to update his profile. But alas, no, when I asked, "hey, where are you right now?" He replied, "Australia, on my way to Thailand for ~3 months, followed by a tour of SE Asia, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc. through August of 2012." Shit.
I'm not really sure why I kept writing. My best friend would probably tell you it's because I'm only interested in unavailable men. I'd like to think not, but my track record might betray me. In any case, our correspondence continued and I found myself looking forward to every note from him...all the while churning through the online dating meetups with little interest.
James is in his mid-late 30's, and Bay-Area identified. He's a very talented software engineer (so says his LinkedIn profile which I unabashedly stalked), as well as a relatively-known DJ. He had decided to take a year off to travel - my kind of fella.
We started skyping here and there despite the 15 hour time difference. Between you and me (:-)), I wasn't school-girl head over heals, but I definitely enjoyed his company, we got along well, and I thought of him often. His tales of Thailand made me supremely jealous, and left me wondering why I ever bothered coming home. (Bank account, oh right!) From what I gather, Thailand and the surrounds are one of the few desirable areas left to travel on dollars a day.
So, I return after my tangent to the 'what'/'why'.
He started dropping hints of my coming out for a visit. I started eyeing my frequent flyer mile balance and corporate calendar (gross, can't believe I just said that). A Feb. trip seemed too...I dunno....rushed (?) for our very unique "relationship", but June and Indonesia seemed both too long to wait and too close to Burningman. March and Cambodia started to take shape. And as quick as I could look up the miles flights, they'd be gone. So in fear of losing my last chance, I hurriedly booked the trip around Dec. 28.
Sure, I could've planned another solo adventure, but I'm tired of travelling alone, at least for now. And, I'm feeling very affectionate these days, but the online dating round proved unsuccessful (locally, that is).
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| Carry-on Only! |
Even if James reads this I don't mind saying I have few hopes/expectations for "us" and the future. Sure, it'd be awesome if this blossomed into something. But for now I'm just looking to go have a lot of fun on a pretty random and wacky adventure. Regardless of what happens, it'll make for a fabulous story either way. It already has, in my opinion.
Stay tuned...
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