Before I Go

We're off to Germany tomorrow, which is really exciting. This is my first trip there, and I'm looking forward to seeing the big sights as well as noticing the little things.

I'm also looking forward to writing about my experiences. I won't be blogging while on vacation, but I'm bringing my journal and plan to write a bit while out and about. It's my hope to write a few blog entries about the trip, but not in a "we did this, then did this, and then went here" sort of way. Instead, I hope to capture specific moments, or look at certain things in detail. We'll see how it turns out.

Basically, I want to use my vacation time to bring a little more writing into my life. I remember being a kid, sitting at the Apple IIGS in my parents' basement and writing stories. There was a blatant rip-off of Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile (Murder on the Mississippi), a sweeping epic of two friends through life and death (Unforgettable), another blatant rip-off, this time of the Little House series (This New Land, complete with detailed passages of meals), and so on. I'm not saying I was any great writer; I just remember how excited I used to feel when I sat at the computer and started to write. I could say anything! I could create whatever I wanted! I've been remembering those nights lately (and if I remember right, a lot of them were summer nights. Setting sun, cozy isolation...), and the memories make me want to recapture that feeling. Just me in a darkening, quiet room. Alone with that universe we all have inside our heads.

Okay, for the record, I did not start this entry with the intention of mooning over my childhood writing habits. I only meant to tell you that I was leaving for two weeks and would return with stories from Germany. I like the diversion though, I like it. I'll go to bed and feel a little melancholy and a little inspired. Good combination.