I enjoyed last night’s performance of Die Fledermaus a great deal. This was true even though I didn’t feel like going when I left, even though it required driving at night on a scary stretch of road (that is, the kind of road that triggers my agoraphobia), even though I had rather dreaded going.
Since I do have a spot of agoraphobia, I need to remind myself that I enjoy things once I get there. I often now regret skipping things. True, looking at a week like the one coming up, filled with meetings and such, leaves me disgruntled. But I know that there are some good opportunities in the pack, and that I will enjoy them.
I must also put in some anticipation time on my business trip. Travel, as researchers have confirmed, is most pleasurable in the anticipation and recollection. “The reality,” Regina Nadelson said, “has more to do with losing your luggage.”
I’m going to Indianapolis, a place I have never desired to visit. But also a place I’ve never been, so a stroll around town will be a new experience. Since it’s a conference, I’ll mostly be in the hotel, but The Eiteljorg Museum of Native American Art is half a mile from said hotel. The Artsgarden is even closer.
The list of things I have to do before I leave is daunting, but I will work this week to look forward to the trip and enjoy the delightful anticipation of travel rather than the anticipatory anxiety.