I'm off!

So first some housekeeping. After a good ol' chat with my dear friend shazzle, I've fixed a couple of things on this page. First, I've enabled comments for non-blogger members, so please people, talk to me, let me know you're reading. Second, I've gotten rid of that annoying list of links nobody cares about down the sidebar. Now there's nothing at all down the sidebar. I think that's better.

My flight leaves on Sunday morning, at 10.45am, which is nothing short of respectable. I fly Dublin-Chicago, Chicago-Miami, Miami-Tegucigalpa. This is interrupted by a night in Holiday Inn, Miami Airport West. Now, on the subject of travel, and again on the off chance anyone's reading, tell me what you think of this:
I've bought two books for the journey, and to keep me company in the coming months. The first is That They May Face The Rising Sun by John McGahern, because nothing can bring you home more powerfully than McGahern, even if you're not from rural Ireland. The second is The Great War for Civilisation by Robert Fisk because it's big and readable and gripping and informative and even, I hope, important. The question is, is it the sort of book I want to bring through US immigration? Twice?
I'll let you know what I decide.

How am I feeling, people tend to ask. Up until last Tuesday or so, I'd say blank. I was concerned with what I knew: packing, catching up with people, cleaning my house, going to the doctor. The vista from the time I left Dublin airport was completely unclear, so I didn't worry myself excessively about it. I had occasional anxiety dreams about missed flights, arriving in the wrong country, and once about Somali militia chasing me around a hotel for allowing the Venezuelan debutantes to escape; but mostly I felt next to nothing about my impending trip. Today, I feel excited.

I packed this afternoon, dug out the deet-heavy insect repellant, the dioralyte and motilium, my bikini and swimsuit. These are symbols of adventure (rather than emblems of disease and poor hygiene, tropical threats). I've been meeting my future colleagues at meetings over the past few days, and their conversation is gripping and especially challenging. The work I'll be involved in is good work, interesting work, and the office I'm going to is incredibly dynamic. It's this simple. I'm living the dream. Really I am.

Of course, abandoning Simp isn't easy, and nor is it fair. Happily, we've been focussed on the play this week, which I've seen three times - I'm growing to enjoy it more every time. When I'm gone... he'll go back to working anti-social hours and eating nothing but apples, which his friend dilbot assures me can be no cause for concern. I'm concerned for him anyway. You people out there, you'll watch out for him, won't you? Check once in a while that he isn't slumped over his computer, a rat gnawing the apple butt still sitting in his limp hand. I worry about him you know. Geeks shouldn't be left unsupervised for too long.
Whatever did he do without me??