Extended Travel Frustrations

The struggle of getting somewhere without control of your transportation can be frustrating. As some of you may have read, the trip to Wisconsin was untimely and stressful. I learned last night around 6p that my train home to San Francisco had been cancelled and re-scheduled for Tuesday night due to severe weather storms. In a twisted sense, this is another unexpected layover, lasting a full twenty-four hours. Unlike my previous layovers in Klamath Falls, the Ditch, Pasco, and Spokane, I have the luxeries of heat and running water, virtually an endless supply of food, and a mattress with pillows. But what is similar among those unexpected layovers is that I was anxiously waiting for the chance to move again, to make progress towards my ultimate destination. When I accepted the attitude “I’ll get there when I get there,” those anxieties dissapeared and I was able to enjoy my journey. Without leaving tonight, that anxiety of not moving, of not making that forward progress, is creeping back into my head. Yes, I’ll get there when I get there and I have no reason to rush; I have no obligations to meet once I get back. I see how empty this area is, how little there is for me to do here, how little has changed among my high school friends and what we do for fun, and I compare it to the excitement of the City and living on my own and meeting new people. I see the opportunity to escape the life I led for the life I’m trying to create for myself and I want to take it but I think: Opportunist or Escapist?