Everyone has a place they've always thought of in their mind's eye as paradise. For me, for the longest time (I'm not sure why or when it started) it has been San Francisco.

So a few weeks ago with a broken collar bone forcing my ski trips cancellation and an Air Canada seat sale providing the last bit of needed motivation, I booked tickets and went about having a spontaneous adventure.

I don't think I've ever had such an incredible time. You can see the photos here, or miniaturized
in the slideshow below.

I can only say it so many times. You should go. It is such a beautiful city.

It's no secret to anyone that my siblings and I are worlds apart on essentially everything.

Generally, I identify much more with my parents and my friends than my brother or sister. Where the tremendous differences were originally seeded is not entirely clear. However, it can be said without a doubt that those subtle seeds did indeed blossom into something resembling polar opposites.

That said, I will admit this post is more of a vent than some reckoning with the reality of my intrafamily-intersibling dynamic. It's been 6 months since my brother moved in and assumed the role of room mate. Unfortunately, the only thing to celebrate at this 6 month mark is that I've finally lost my patience. The grocery runs, the stacks of dishes, the litter of pans left about are stinging. But perhaps worst is that even with a broken collar bone, the sole responsibility of cleaning, shopping, and laundering has fallen to me.

Only 2 more months I suppose.
San Francisco in 7 days.

Setting Off

The last year without a doubt has been brutal. It's worn me down further than anything before, but now the end really is in sight.

On Valentines Day Eve we did something fairly insane.
We booked tickets, leaving for Frankfurt on Apr 20, and returning from London on May 26. Not bad for transversing half the world I suppose.

Despite the fact that departure is 2 months away, I'm almost ready to scream with excitement. I'm finally going to get to backpack Europe. I'll finally make that tour through country I've only seen in movies, the stuff that serves as the backdrop to fairy tales and Fantasy. I'll be hiking in the Alps, skiing in the spring and drinking until I can't hold anymore.

I remember the rushing vacuum that filled my space after I graduated math. Of course I had jobs lined up within the depths of the government and I could have done well enough, but disappointment hung in the air from having done something that lacked my passion. Yet, that paled in comparison to the disappointment I distinctly recall of no grad trip.

Yaaaa! I'm finished! Thank you Mr. Chancellor for my Degree! Poof!!
That was it. Everyone went off to grad schools elsewhere immediately and none of my other good friends were yet finished school. I didn't have an exit sequence.

Now, I've finished something I love... or perhaps the ERTW brainwashing has finally taken hold. Either way, everything I've ever wanted (in modern times) is finally falling into place.

So with tickets bought, I've splurged on the lonely Planet guide of Western Europe. At the top of the list as Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Greece.

Now where else, what else, and how much :)

Ah well.
This will all really have to take a back seat for a week.
I'm going to San Francisco next weekend, and the finally plan for indulgence still needs to be hammered out.

hmmm: beach, aquarium, run the golden gate bridge, get hammed at fisherman's wharf, dance with my girlfriend in as many places as I can, and perhaps, If I get the balls.... surfing.

just got a fleeting thought.... where was I last term at week 5? :)