It's 6:44
I'm on a plane heading for Amsterdam, Tallinn being my final destination, weird
how it's cheaper to fly in the wrong direction.. Macro economics.. Anyway, one
of the things that I appreciate about traveling is the forced change of pace, a
loss of control in a comfortable way. It is an opportunity to think, read and
to observe. Maybe it is not as much an opportunity as a sentence.. There's very
little else to do. Maybe if one was determined to waste the opportunity, one
could bring movies. But I rather enjoy this forced change of pace. After having
my coffee, I though of an episode that happened some trips ago, which was of
little interest to me at the time. A man reached out for his coffee, and burnt
himself on the cup. Now mind that other people, myself included had received
cups of that same coffee, it was hot, but not particularly so. I now reflected
upon this incident and thought that it maybe show something about expectation.
I wonder, if you, in the very instant you reach for that cup of coffee, expect
it to be very warm, but you overdo it, you overshoot your expectation, so you
actually expect it to be burning hot, and so, as you feel the heat of the cup,
your expectation seems to be met, and you overreact, thus, burning your fingers
on the cup, causing you to drop it and spill coffee all over yourself. Maybe it
is the opposite, maybe you've totally forgotten that coffee is supposed to be
hot, and you are so surprised that it's warm that you believe you have been
burned by it, leading to the same reaction. I wonder, if both scenarios could
be valid (at separate times, of course).
Books
I'm reading Larry Niven's "Limits", I'm under the impression that it is a
collection of short (and shorter) stories, but I'm only a few pages into the
first one, and so far that alone looks like it has the potential for being a
full novel. I like his writing, it's direct, efficient and yet elegant. I think
that I will continue reading now.. I won't be able to publish this before I get
back online anyway, and it's not like there's a line forming of people waiting
to read it anyway. I expect to update this journal some more today.. Because
writing is (can be, ought to be) a product of thinking, and as I previously
mentioned, thinking is one of those things for which traveling leaves time.
Co-passengers
One of the doubtful privileges granted to the frequent traveler is an insight
into the behavior of people from other cultures. I find it interesting how it
may be that it is in particular the British who are the worst to travel with?
If you encounter loud, drunken people in an airport in Europe, they are with
few exceptions going to be British. You will encounter rude and very sober
Russians, you will encounter the deeply alcoholic, but quiet Norwegian, and
the silently drugged Polish, but somehow being trapped on an island of damn
hooligans fosters the British traveler who most disgracefully manages to
combine all of these traits. Hopefully some good will come of their exit from
EU in them being barred just a bit more from disturbing civilization.
It's quite interesting to note that these are among the travelers who has
the least command of any language resembling English. I'm certain that the
vast majority of Brits traveling are just wonderful and quiet people of whom
I make no note, and so I am sorry to put them in the British box in this rant,
but it is a consistent enough observation. I also do not blame the quiet ones
for not making their kinsmen "shut the fuck up", as I'm certain that would
result in a broken lip instantly.
