vacation all i ever wanted

A week and a half ago, I was pretty sure that spring break was going to be boring this year. I hadn't planned anything, the new SXSW wristband distribution system meant that this Austin resident couldn't get one, and I'd pretty much given up on anything big happening.

What a difference a few days makes. In a couple of hours, I'm taking off for Kosovo. Yes, for fun. 'Cause, you know, what says SPRING BREAK 2008! like ten days in the Balkans? Woo-hoo!!!

Admittedly, this is crazy. But you may recall that Steve the Lawyer just moved to Kosovo to nation-build. He's picking me up at the airport tomorrow afternoon (oh, it's a long, five-airport way to Kosovo, kids), and we're spending the weekend in Macedonia. Then I'll head on to Albania, Montenegro, and maybe Bosnia-Hercegovina or Croatia before winding back to Pristina to head home. What can I say? The ticket prices dropped and it seemed like a good idea.

(Since Steve the Lawyer just moved there, he asked if I would mind bringing along a few things he can't get in Pristina. Of course I'm happy to bring whatever he needs, and to bring stuff for his colleague. So for the last three days, I've cemented a close relationship with my UPS carrier, and the most unusual items have been arriving on my doorstep. Among the items in my definitely-overweight luggage: thirteen international law books, four pounds of Starbucks coffee, three boxes of Girl Scout cookies, about 2200 Q-tips, a bottle of Beaujolais (not quite sure what to do with that one), six bottles of contact solution, a stack of New York magazines, and four boxes of fiber-rich bran cereal. Customs should be a blast.)

I do have one other motivation for making this trip: it's going to let me reach a longstanding item on my to-do list: visiting 30 countries before I turn 30. About this time next week, I'll celebrate reaching that goal by smiling on top of a mountain in Montenegro, or dancing out in Sarajevo, or enjoying the beauty of the Adriatic coast in Croatia. This is a go-with-the-flow kind of trip, and I intend to enjoy every minute.

Blogging will obviously be fairly limited for the next ten days. I may post occasionally, but I'm trying to take a real vacation, and that means getting away from the computer as much as it means getting away from work. See y'all later!