I was thinking about making a Top Ten journals list, something I've never previously considered doing (if you discount Archipelago). The thing is, I read journals for more than one reason, and killer writing is not the only game in town. Sometimes it's a matter of reading a friend's journal out of interest in their life, or being fascinated by a stranger for a short period, or being curious about someone I've exchanged interesting email with. Sometimes killer writing is a component of those situations, but frequently it's not the main attraction. So creating a top ten list would of necessity leave out all sorts of journals I really enjoy, and it wouldn't tell you anything except who I consider to be a better writer than I am.
So I'm not going to do it. Instead, I'm going to list my top ten Things I Want To Do That I Keep Putting Off Doing For Some Unknown Reason. These are things I talk about wanting to do all the time, but somehow either time or money constraints (or fear or vanity) keep me from going through with any of them. My goal is to do at least five of them in 2001.
1. Take a painting or drawing class.
2. Visit a Gold Rush ghost town.
3. Take conversational Spanish.
4. Plant a rose garden.
5. Attend a ballet or modern dance performance.
6. Paint my living room persimmon red.
7. Sing in front of an audience.
8. Let my hair go completely silver.
9. Write a short story.
10. Volunteer at a local animal shelter.
Until recently I would have included "Take a cruise" and "Visit Rome, Florence, and Venice," but I'm doing both of those things this year. Wait, have I mentioned we're going to Italy in the fall? I desperately need to visit those cities for professional reasons. I sell an incredible number of vacations to Italy, half of which are honeymoons. It's really tough to pick the perfect hotel for a client when I've never been to the destination, and although I do this for all kinds of cities I never intend to visit (Regina, Houston, Phnom Penh), in my position as a leisure specialist it's important to have first-hand experience of the romantic destinations. It's how I make the sale, especially if I'm encouraging a client to take a more expensive option. Guessing what they'll get for their money is especially dubious when we're talking about Italian hotels because unlike the U.S. their hotel rating system is wildly variable.
Here, if you ask for a three star hotel you get something with big, clean rooms, private bathrooms, complimentary soaps and shampoos, room service, elevators, all the things we consider standard. In Italy, a three star hotel may or may not include a private toilet even if it has a private shower. You may have to take the stairs to get to your third floor room. There may be no restaurant in the hotel, so no late night snacks or morning coffee. You can't take any of those American standards for granted, nor should you, in a foreign country. I have be careful when I'm looking for a three star hotel to make sure it has what my clients consider essential. Some of those so-called three stars are real dives. Also, of course, it's hard to know if their location is safe, or quiet, or a little too interesting after dark unless I've been there. I worry about sending honeymooners to a darling little hotel which sounds great on paper but is in reality surrounded by Albanian refugee camps, or has beautifully decorated rooms which are the size of a shoebox with about as much insulation, that sort of thing. I'd hate to ruin anyone's vacation.
So you can see it's very important that I go to Italy. Yes, it's a sacrifice, but I must not shirk my duty to be the very best agent I can be. I am nothing if not devoted to my career.
I know. Words cannot express, eh?
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