Thursday, February 23, 2012

Making It Up As You Go Along

I'm on a business trip for my DJ this week.

Being on a trip like this necessitates eating out all three meals of the day. It also means crowds (my hotel is in Waikiki) and waiting, sometimes for about an hour, just for a table. This means I do a lot of people watching.

As an author, people watching is an interesting pastime. Where are these people from? Are they here on vacation? Honeymoon? Getting engaged? Everyone has a story to tell and most of them are willing to share it, especially after they've had a few drinks at the bar while they wait for their table.

I'm a naturally quiet person, however, especially when I'm around people I don't know. So I sit back and just listen to all the conversations around me. Some talk a mile a minute. Some sit and watch, as I do. Some are loud and boisterous, surrounded by their friends and family and enjoying their vacation. (As I write this, two families who've never met are sitting behind me laughing and carrying on. Their only commonality? Seattle. One family is from there, one family used to live there.)

In a way, this cause a bit of an ache in my heart  See, my family has never come on the many business trips I make here (this is my 10th trip here since 2006). So while I am here with people I know--co-workers--I've never gotten to experience relaxing here with those close to me.

Instead, I'll just sit here and make up stories.

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