Having Things to Look Forward To

It's a well-researched fact that just the act of planning something like a vacation lifts the spirits and promotes better mood. So it is that this summer is a busy one for me, featuring a return to Chicago for Pitchfork Music Fest; and then a 2+ week trip to Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia, that is now well along into planning stages. Of course, if one can look forward to such things, one can also look beyond such things, to a post-summer time of no plans, no trips, and winter cold. Alas, the cost of said trips is quickly draining my accounts and will render me unable to travel by my 30s, but until then, I shall endeavor to make the most of my still relative youth. Dealing with the realities of both aging, and financial reckoning, is something that makes it appear as though the next decade of my life will not be a particularly pleasurable one, but I suppose that is not terribly new or unique. We can not see the future, but I can see, finally, the future reality of visiting another continent and more countries, something that I have been planning, frustratingly, for many years. One only hopes that everything goes well.