I’m setting off for ABQ in fourteen days.

Today I realize that this is not a very long time. By now, I’ve uprooted and headed out and been on the road so much and so many times, that fourteen days seems like an eternity. And still, the next fourteen days will fly by . . . it’s times like this when it seems I’m sliding down a giant rope, feeling every moment whizz by fully. And having an awareness that the end of the rope is coming - and quickly, yet focusing on and enjoying fully the wind in my hair and the rush of velocity.

Which means - I’m not slowing down while I’m still here . . . I’ll fit in as much skating, hiking, time with friends and leisurely naptime as I possibly can right down to the last morning. And then - poof! The rope ends and the free fall begins. Once you get over the fact that your arms aren’t wrapped around the rope anymore, the free fall is no longer scary . . . it’s the next adventure!

If there’s one question I heard the most last year, it was that one. That’s one reason why I’ve started this blog. Whether it’s a road trip, a work assignment, camping or backpacking, I find the most joy out of life when I am on the move, on the road and meeting people or seeing and experiencing something new. And last year, well, it was just really difficult for anyone, sometimes myself especially, to keep up with whose couch I was crashing or which hotel was home. I lived, worked and played in nine cities from August to December of last year alone and I figure that this often wild ride should be documented.

My home base is Venice Beach, California. I live in a little bungalow with Frank the cat who takes care of the place when I’m not around. I roller skate from pier to pier on the boardwalk every single day that I can when I am home, because often I find I’m not home, and missing my skates. I was ready to chill in Venice for a bit after landing home in December and relax . . .

But I just got my latest assignment. I’ve known sketchy details for about a month now, but I’m making an official announcement. I will be temporarily relocating to Albuquerque for some months. I’m excited about the prospect of working and living in such a beautiful landscape. The land there has spirit and depth. Work will be intense, but I feel like I won the lottery when it comes to co-workers and career, so even on the difficult days, I’ll have a smile on my face.

So I have T-minus three weeks and counting to get my life rounded up - and parts of it will go to ABQ, parts will stay behind. I don’t worry too much about the particulars, because just like taking off for a five day journey, the details kind of take care of themselves. I’ll find a place to live, I’ll figure out what to do with all of my stuff. I just try not to get in the way by thinking about any of it too much.

1. House-sitter runs out for a wine opener at midnight.
2. House-sitter runs out for cat food at midnight.
3. House-sitter runs out for cheesecake, albeit the frozen variety, at midnight.
4. I am able to resist the midnight desert wine and frozen cheesecake.
5. I am able to resist round #2 of my own personal Iron Chef competition.
6. I wake up easily with a misty LA morning sunrise - so beautiful!
7. Very attractive male friend drops me off at LAX in the early morn.
8. Same very attractive male friend offers to pick me up upon my return to LAX.
9. Spare key set found in coat pocket while at security checkpoint after I thought I’d lost them.
10. The discovery of a type A 40-par light bulb in my purse when going through security makes me giggle. Giggling needs to happen more at airport security.

Tis the night before leaving and the rhythm is always kind of the same. I haven’t even packed my backpack yet. That comes later. My plane leaves in eight hours. What’s really important to me right now, though, is cooking and laundry. And then there’s the endless minutia of details that will all fall gracefully into place as they always do. Sleep will also come later.

I just played an Iron Chef match with myself. The goal is to use up all the produce in my fridge before leaving. I just made a delicious spinach, mushroom and feta couscous. Drat! I just wasn’t able to use everything. So in a couple of hours I’ll probably get really crazy and take that bag of carrots and that bag of celery and the renegade onions and all the fresh garlic I can find and make some sort of minestrone and freeze it for when I return.

I have to put all of my laundry away and grab the select few well-thought-out articles of clothing and accessories that I’ll be taking with me. This trip is only five days long, so I’ll carry only my Italian army backpack and I’ll try to keep it as light as possible. As a general rule for myself, I do not check baggage. Traveling light is a fine art in my opinion, so be sure there will be much more on this topic in upcoming posts.

I never sleep much the night before a journey and usually wake up well before dawn. When I do wake up, the first thing I’ll do is change the bedsheets. This is out of courtesy to my house-sitter*, this time around. But even when I don’t have a house-sitter, I always put fresh sheets on my bed and clean my house before leaving. This is so that when I’m out there in my travels, I can push my body to exhaustion and come home caked in dirt and grime, knowing I’ll be sleeping on clean fresh sheets.

*I recommend house-sitters like my friend Ryan. Every time I come home after he’s been watching my place, my floors are much shinier than I’ve ever been able to get them on my own. What a deal!