March 22, 2005  11:40 AM

 As I prepared to head out to lunch, I noticed Allan had sent me an email.  “A Bizarre & Sad Communication” was the subject line of Allan’s message.  It was not a bit unusual for Allan, his subject lines are usually upbeat.  I quickly opened the message, reading that Alan had planned on taking a trip to China but unfortunately his travel partner, through a bizarre set of circumstances was not going to make the trip. Alan was looking for a travel partner to go to China.

The email could not have come at a better time.  I needed to take a trip and hadn’t gone on one for quite some time.  The previous fall, I went to Hawaii and the East Coast but the trip back east was about visiting family and the trip to Hawaii is another story.  Neither was a travel adventure where I could see new sites and experience new cultures.  The timing was perfect and so was the destination and experiencing the trip with my friend Allan would make it all the more special.

At lunch I found myself trying to think of a reason why I shouldn’t go.  The usual excuses of work, needing to attend to things around the house came up but I knew those were lame excuses.  After a year of home improvement projects, this year started a few surprises, they had been taken care of.  There was no reason not to go and in fact, the trip could turn the year around to make it a memorable one.

I remembered back to when I visited Hong Kong.  I kicked myself for not making the time to see mainland China. By the time I finished lunch, I knew I had made my decision.  I was going and although I told Alan to give me a day to think about it, I knew that sleeping on it wasn't going to make a difference.  

The following day, I booked the trip.