The first post I made on my last trip to Guatemala was about waiting.  26 days before my next trip to San Pedro La Laguna, I find myself waiting again.  This time, I’m not waiting for someone else.  This time I am waiting in anticipation.

Short Timer is a term usually reserved for someone who is resigning or retiring from a job.  As their departure grows nearer, their productivity and focus declines.  In my youth, I gave two weeks notice at a couple of jobs, only to be asked to leave before the two weeks was up, because I had become virtually useless.  I have seen the same happen to other people.  When I was traveling frequently for McGraw-Hill a few years ago, I was consumed during the last couple of weeks before a trip by the desire to leave right away.  It wasn’t that I wanted to be away from my home or my family, but rather that I was so looking forward to the adventure that I wanted it to begin immediately.

Today I find my situation to be a combination of anticipation and productivity decline.  This trip is the culmination of years of planning and preparation for a documentary project featuring the Mayan elders in the community where I have studied Spanish for the last decade.

I still have a lot of preparation for the project.  I need to learn the ins and outs of my new camera.  I need to learn the program I will use to design pages for the book I am making.  I need to coordinate with the people I will be working with in Guatemala.  I need to talk to my bank about how I can transfer money down there without paying exorbitant fees.

My short timer status is getting in the way of all of this.  If I could leave right now, I would, even though I’m not prepared.  Even though I still need to work for the next three weeks to pay the bills.  I am ready to be there, making it happen.

So far, my procrastination hasn’t taken me to the point of urgency on any of the things I need to accomplish before the trip.  It is, however, taking all of my dwindling will power to keep on track, so I will likely find myself scrambling for something at the end of the month.

Stay tuned for posts from Guatemala beginning in April.