Spin the Globe, Point a Finger

When Pulpo and I first moved into our apartment, the first thing we did was put up a world map. (Actually, the first thing we did was paint. But then we put up the map.) We covered it in colored coded pins for places we've been, and we stuck in big white flag pins for the places we wanted to go. The debate over which countries would receive a white flag pin was intense. These were going to be our priority countries. Funds would be allocated. Lists and timelines would be drawn up. We took it seriously. I campaigned hard for Mongolia (I had just seen The Story of the Weeping Camel), but alas, my bid was rejected. Pulpo countered with Morocco, but I vetoed (mostly out of despair over the crushing defeat of Mongolia). Mysteriously, Greenland managed to get a white flag pin. In the end, we had about ten white flag pin destinations . . . And we've never gone to any of them.

We could have. We've gone lots of places since The Great Map Debate of '08. But instead we went elsewhere. Inevitably, when people see the map in our apartment, they say, "Oh, are these the places you're going to go next?" And we don't really have a good answer, other than, "No. In fact, we think the white flag pins might be cursed." We came to this realization one night while tossing around ideas for our honeymoon. We were talking about a place we'd both like to go and I said, "Hey, maybe we should put a pin in the map for it!" Horrorstruck, Pulpo said, "No! Then we'll never go there!" My reaction: "Ooooh, that's true. Nevermind."

When I think it through though, I'm about 99% sure that evil spirits haven't possessed our map. I think the problem is much simpler: we took it too seriously. We almost always pick our travel spots based on what we're excited about in the moment. Sometimes they come out of the blue. And there isn't much discussion. When Pulpo was working overseas last year, we planned to meet somewhere in the middle for a week. Here's how we decided where to go:

Me: I'm not sure where we should go.
Pulpo: Let's go to the Philippines.
Me: Why the Philippines?
Pulpo: Why not the Philippines?
Me: Good point. Let's go.

This is pretty much how we make every travel decision. There's no debate. I could get excited about a trip to our backyard, and Pulpo is up for anything. Which is good, because some of my ideas are a little out there. (If you're ever in Szentendre, Hungary, there is a marzipan museum, and in it there are Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and a life-sized Michael Jackson made out of marzipan. Amazing.) Anyway, the point is that it's much more exciting to decide on a whim than to consult the methodically negotiated map. So that's what we do. The big white flag pins are a buzzkill. Which pretty much makes them useless. Which means maybe there's hope for Mongolia yet!

Of course, the budgeting, booking, and logistics are not done on a whim, but that's a whole other subject, about which I will never write a blog post. Why not? Because it's about as riveting as an encyclopedia on various kinds of wheat. (Translation for wheat geneticists: Not very exciting at all, but have a good time with your freaky wheat.)

And now for two side notes . . .

When I first started the blog, I thought maybe five people would be reading it, so I didn't think there was a real need to consult Pulpo when I came up with his pseudonym. I was wrong on both counts, so I have to state for the record that Pulpo strenuously objects to being named Pulpo. He would have preferred Oso. And he has a point. He bears a greater resemblance to an oso than a pulpo. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, I suggest Google Translate (Spanish to English).

And the second note: I have written and posted this whole blog entry while on a flight to Los Angeles. I have never been on plane with internet access before. I bet this is how the pilgrims felt at the end of winter.