goin to california with an aching heart

When the virus of restlessness begins to take possession of a wayward man, and the road away from Here seems broad and straight and sweet, the victim must first find in himself a good an sufficient reason for going. This to the practical bum is not difficult. He has a built-in garden of reasons to choose from. Next he must plan his trip in time and space, choose a direction and a destination. And last he must implement the journey. How to go, what to take, how long to stay. This part of the process is invariable and immortal. I set it down only so that newcomes to bumdom, like teen-agers ain new-hatched sin, will not think they invented it.

Once a journey is designed, equipped, and put in process, a new factor enters and takes over. A trip, a safari, an exploration, is an entity, different from all other journeys. It has personality, temperament, individuality, uniqueness. A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.

-- John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley

Monday I leave Cleveland, temporarily, for San Jose, California. Apple gives out a number of scholarships each year to its Student Developers to attend the Worldwide Developers Conference. I received one, and so I travel to San Jose. Unfortunately, my university's administration won't allow me to change one of my final exams, so I miss Sunday's student mixer and Monday, the first day of the conference. On Friday, after the WWDC is over, I'm heading down to Burbank (near LA) for a few days to catch up with some friends, then back to Cleveland for Senior Week and graduation.