I'm Addicted...to Travel Porn

You heard me right...travel porn. And it's not what you think. I don't need to go to therapy...I just need to see the world.

It's back to real life here in Pittsburgh after a week in Jamaica and as I sit here at my new, somewhat adult job at the Wood Street Galleries for the second day, I am already restless. I've spent my day surfing the Web for airfare deals (ignoring any for American Airlines), hotel packages for Thailand, hostels in Holland, festivals in Germany...I can't stop.

I haven't been as fortunate as some of my friends and acquaintances who have flown to every part of the globe in which I wish to find myself- India, Kenya, Amsterdam, Nepal, San Francisco,Portland...but I have been here and there. I've ventured to NYC, Washington, D.C., New Orleans, San Antonio, Hawaii and, most recently, Jamaica. Every time, I leave those places feeling as if I am leaving home. It may seem strange, but a hotel bed is where I sleep best and sitting in an airport terminal is when I am the most excited. Living merely out of a small suitcase with only a bare minimal selection of clothing makes me high.

I told you...it's a drug.

The sights (often ghastly yet mesmerizing) of New York City at 3 am, the sounds of Bourbon Street in New Orleans followed by the amazing tastes at Cafe du Monde as the rain pours down around you, the crashing waves in Hilo Bay and the scent of tea tree mint shampoo used to avoid bugs in the mountains of Kalopa State Park, and the peaceful beats of Bob Marley entering your ears as you cruise along the northern coast of Jamaica...this is love and I can't get enough.

I look out the window here in downtown Pittsburgh thinking, "There must be something else out there." And I know there is because I've had a few tastes and it tastes delicious. As a recent college grad with thousands and thousands of dollars in loans to pay off (hello, deferment!) and one part-time job with slowly forming photo shoots, I don't have the luxury of globe-trotting just yet. However, I will not let my addiction go unfed. I will feed the beast what it yearns. I will make my trip (sadly, my last one) to Nelson Ledges where I will jump off of the cliffs into the quarry after spending the day lying on my raft in the water as a reggae band plays in the distance. I will venture to Toronto on a 6-hour bus ride to merely walk around a new city for two days. I will attend AllGood for the first and probably last time, returning home undoubtedly covered in dirt and tie-dye and stained with good vibes and body paint.

Irresponsible may be the word some people in my life may use but that is the farthest from the truth. Tell me of your addictions, your loves, your desires and when you see your smile reflecting back to you in my eyes, maybe then you will understand my obsession. Until then (and until I can satisfy this awful desire with an around-the-world ticket), find me a rehab for those like me who cannot get rid of my collection of travel porn.