Quality Paper #8: 1000 Places to See Before You Die

The title is pretty self-explanatory, don't you think? This book and its cousin, 1000 Places in the USA & Canada to See Before You Die, both by Patricia Schultz, are hopping on and off the bestseller bay like fleas in a Long Beach apartment. On the one hand, it's a pretty cool travel guide outlining the must-see destinations that might otherwise pass you by. On the other hand, it's creepily a part of that odd niche in the market pandering to, encouraging, and encouraged by those who feel like, if they could just check off enough boxes on their to-do list, they could finally be content. As a side note, today we added to the new QP table Eat This!: 1001 Things to Eat Before You Diet. I hate puns, so I didn't laugh loudly at this for several minutes.

So today is July 3rd, 2007. It is officially 59 days until the wedding. I was thinking about this the other day, back in the blissful calm of a full 62 days of planning and prep, and I realized that this kind of anticipation is kind of a new one for me. Part of it, of course, is that I've never gotten married before. That's obvious. But I think an even bigger part is that I've never really counted down the days until something started before. In recent years, I've counted the months and weeks and days until the end of the term or graduation means leaving friends-- the end of an era. There's been the baited breath waiting for an upcoming release: a book, movie, or album that when I was finally basking in its presence, would make the next few weeks sparkle a little more brightly-- the end of anticipation.

And here I am, half-nervously, half-excitedly, half-disbelievingly (I'm multiracial. I'm allowed.) watching the weeks march off my calendar. And it's amazing because what I'm waiting for isn't really the wedding. The wedding's just one day. It's gonna be rad, don't get me wrong. But what it really is is the start of something new-- a new phase of life that I'm completely stoked on entering into with the awesomest guy in the world. I couldn't ask for a better Lewis to my Clark and, luckily, I don't have to. It's kind of neat that I'm not trying to stuff a bunch of "last times" into the next 59 days. I'm not counting down to the end of anything. What I'm really looking forward to is standing at the top of a mountain with my best bud at my side and looking around for a bit, then stepping together in a direction that's ours to discover.

What a lucky duck I am! What a great set of explorers we'll make!

$19.95