Wolfgang Puck Express burnt my $13.50 personal sized pizza.

I’m okay with that.

I’ve been throwing back Asahi’s on draft.  I have no idea how much they cost, but I’m sure it’s ridiculous.  I find solace in the fact that I haven’t had Asahi before–yet another new experience.  They’re starting to really accumulate.

There’s a box of Unisom sitting on my passport.  I bought it from a gift shop here at the International Terminal because there wasn’t a drug store between my work and the airport.

The active ingredient is Diphenhydramine HCl.

That’s Benadryl.

Give something a new name, a new color, and tack the word “Sleep” on the box, and you can create something new out of the otherwise mundane.

I winced forking over $8.65 for 8 pills, knowing that could likely buy me a dumpster of Benadryl from Walgreen’s.  Even the expensive Walgreen’s by my house in Echo Park.

I’m going to miss Echo Park.

Los Angeles is a lot of things, but there’s no denying it’s beautiful, or at least it used to be.

My life here is wonderful.

A year ago today there is no way I could have said that.  What’s the point of all of this?  Why bother when human nature is destructive and the universe is dying a slow death to entropy?

Today I’ve found peace, acceptance, and meaning.  Yes it’s possible to imagine things being even more amazing than they are now, but when I look back just 4 years ago, sitting around my parents’ house in my underpants–underemployed, World of Warcraft obsessed, persistently drunk and high, and worst of all living in Toledo, it really gives one perspective.

The idea of taking a 17 day voyage across a foreign country would have terrified me a year ago.  If I’m being honest, it still does to an extent.

Day to day life is on autopilot for me.  I wake up, get to work 15 minutes late, leave work 15 minutes late, get home, waste my life away on the internet, and then walk down to the taco truck for dinner.

Even with the joy and frustration of being in a relationship, and as things change and minor crises unfold, I’m somehow both over and underwhelmed with  a perpetual feeling of serenity and control.

I sometimes feel like Krang from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Simply a brain pulling levers to control a robot body.

I suppose this sojourn into the unknown is a bit of a test for myself, and I’ve admittedly stacked the deck.

In 12 hours I’ll land in London.  I’ve planned to meet a friend in the city center when I arrive.  I’ll meet up with a different friend the next day.

I don’t have anywhere to stay.

Monday morning, I’m flying from Gatwick to Inverness in the Northern reaches of Scotland.

I have no place to stay there either, and no itinerary for the rest of my trip.

I made the joke a couple months ago that I thrive amidst chaos.  If my self assessment rings true, I’m throwing myself right into my wheelhouse.

I’ll see things I never imagined, run out of time and miss seeing the things I hoped, meet countless people, drink in dozens of pubs, and hopefully learn something that will change the way I think about the world.

I’ve got nothing with me but a backpack:  2 t shirts, a pair of jeans, 3 days of socks/underwear, and a rain jacket.

My tablet lets me travel even lighter than usual.  A bluetooth keyboard makes writing bearable.  My new Canon 7D means I can take some amazing photos along the way.

Chaos and disorder are calling my name, along with my third beer, which is slowly getting warm.  Perhaps I should get used to it as I head to a land rife with warm beer.

How long before my flight do I take these renamed Benadryl?

I’ve got to hit the ground running, and I can’t afford to be jet lagged.