Another bit of "OMG is this woman just frickin' reading my mind or what???"

I was finally catching up some of the other blogs I read and came across this awesome paragraph from Beth.

"The thing is, as I bopped about a new town and found my way along unknown streets and hunted for places I'd read about - I liked my life, at that moment. A lot. I liked that me, who can find her way in a place where I know no one, nothing. Nothing but unknowns around every corner. Where my only mission is to see things - find this bus, know which street is next...and it will take you to a certain place...An adventure with only my wits to guide me. I felt very familiar to myself, and dear. It's been so long since I've been that. And I came back and I didn't want to stop being that person who could honestly say to herself, every minute: I can do this. I'm certain I can do this. Not a doubt in my mind."

See, she went to San Fransisco and that was just a little bit of what she had to say about that...(so far...I am working my way through her posts chronologically...)

And the thing is, is that I took myself to San Fran a couple of years ago for a night. I was motivated by the fact that an author I admire was going to be speaking at a bookstore in Berkeley about a book that she wrote/put together that included something from yours truly.

Yup. Moi'. The book is called "The To-Do List. From Buying Milk to Finding a Soul Mate, What Our Lists Reveal About Us" by Sasha Cagen.

(I'll get into the whole thing about how my contributing to this book came to be some other time)

Suffice it to say that at that particular time in my life, I felt like having an adventure, a travel adventure, where I took myself out of my little world and saw more than my own backyard. My trip to San Fran was definitely one of the most challenging trips I've taken by myself. I prepared well and yet still was overwhelmed (but in a good way!) for the reality of having to find my way around the city and the various districts. I took the BART (the subway), the MUNI (the streetcars, light rail and cable cars) and buses around all through the night and into the next day. I had to find my way from one destination to the other with only my notes and some maps to help. I managed to get myself from the airport all the way into the city and out to Berkeley, then back to the city and then onward to several areas of the city including the Richmond District, the Castro District and Haight District.

It is terrifying to be in a strange city and having only yourself (and the kindness of strangers who will point you to the right corner to stand on to catch the bus/trolley/cable car) to rely upon. But I did it! I got myself to most of the places I wanted to go and it felt amazing to know I could take care of myself in a new environment.

I'm way overdue for this kind of experience again. I guess I'll have to start thinking about where next to go on another solo adventure. (Solo is best. You only have yourself to worry about or get mad at if you get off track or get a little bit lost)

So see? Another thing that Beth wrote that had me just speechless because of capturing words I didn't even know I wanted to say until I read them.

Way cool.