I’m all alone.

Well, sort of. I am in the lounge at Brisbane airport after a wonderfully fun and productive day with our suppliers. Lunch was magnificent. I got through a little bit of work, found out that we have to travel to Munich mid October for a European conference. I adore the team here in Brisbane. We can speak candidly and I trust them. Beyond that, their product is beautiful and kicks ass.

 

So after a day of comfort, friendship, and social and business interaction, I find myself alone (except for my constant companion social media).

 

I like it.

 

People watching is the activity of choice. It is really quite fascinating just observing people living their lives. Airport lounges and airplanes have become like my natural fucking habitat lately, so I am almost watching my environment unfold like a skip on a record. It isn’t déjà vu. It is just mind numbingly familiar.

 

There’s a couple next to me, pre-kids. They look to me like they are about 18 years old but I guess they’d be around 30 or so. She’s playful and he’s got all the trimmings of a mega nerd. Watching her tease him is making me miss Grumpy.

 

I walked up to get some sparkling water and sweets, and overheard a large group of 7 or 8 people who were obviously on the third or fourth round of drinks. Sounds like they are at the pitch and finance stage of an interesting start-up project. I liked what I overheard very much:

 

“Listen, we just have to tell them that we aren’t fucking assholes. The world is full of assholes, and we’re trying to do something fucking amazing!”

 

I say that all the time. I liked him. Another day I’d have certainly introduced myself and joined them for a drink.

 

There’s also a woman who looks as though she’s in a lot of pain. She’s had a fair amount of work done and has expensive sunglasses and perfectly coifed bleach blonde hair. She also has a walking stick. I wonder what her story is. Perhaps she’s recently suffered a small stroke. The pain after such an event can be crippling.

 

Everyone has a story. Often, I muscle my way into that story in places like lounges and hotel bars. I find people fascinating. I’m fed by the connections I make as I crash, head first, like a bull in a china shop through this life.

 

I’m keeping myself to myself tonight though, and just watching. Watching, and fabricating stories for those people who pique my attention.

 

In a few hours I will land in Auckland, and arrive home to an empty house. I’ll sleep for four or five hours if I am lucky, then collect my daughter from the friends who are watching her while we are away. I’ll arrive in my office, feel loved and overwhelmed, and I’ll try and makes some useful decisions and observations. OH! And I will also be hosting our friend Zac, who I met years ago, standing in line for the key-note speech at a WWDC event in San Francisco.

 

The hours will melt into days, weeks, months and years. Adventure, heartache and euphoria will all be frequent companions.

 

For now, I’ll just post this train of thought and throw in my ear buds and listen to some Gorillaz, as that’s the kind of night this feels like. A Feel Good Inc. kind of night.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

XXOO