"I am an International Business Man on an International Business Trip"

I am typing this first official blog post as I am waiting in LAX for my flight to Sydney, Australia. Unfortunately, LAX is a bad sport and doesn’t have free wireless internet, so this post will be put up the moment I have the opportunity to do so. (And I’d also like to state for public record how difficult it was to navigate this place. I mean, really? Vague signs? Sometimes no signs at all? Having to leave security and go back through? It’s a good thing I was able to team up with a group of random travelers to navigate this place. But I digress…)

Those who love How I Met Your Mother (hereafter HIMYM) will recognize the title of my post from one of the early episodes as Barney attempts to explain his way out of a suspicious situation with airport security.

Those who know me are fully aware that my track record with TSA is long enough to merit its own scrapbook (they’re just jealous of my darker complexion). Fortunately, no such problems existed this time, but if they had, I would tell them exactly what Barney did: that I am an international business man on an international business trip. I admit, although I’m flying to New Zealand (NZ) for work, my mind has been racing with the possibilities that lie ahead for exploring the country and experiencing everything that it has to offer.

 Up until recently, I had remained relatively calm about the whole situation until about 5 or 6 hours ago when I realized I’m taking off to a country I’ve never been to, saying “see you later” to everyone I know and love, and starting a job unlike any I have done before within a culture completely new to me. My mini-freakout lasted about 10 minutes, and then I remembered that I’m heading to NEW ZEALAND. (Other sources of stress relief: talking to Emma Vierheller (my partner of 3 ½ years), talking to Brendan George (my partner of 4 ½ years), and finishing up the last chapters of the Hunger Games trilogy (and I was happy about who Katniss ended up with).

But first, I must endure a 15-hour flight to Sydney, a 4-hour layover, and a 3-hour flight to Auckland (the city I will be living in for the next two months). Ouch. But I’ve got a new laptop, a Kindle, and the Pacific Ocean to keep me company. Here’s to the next two months, and a whole lotta airplane peanuts.