2001-06-08 - 2:59

The answer

Last night's inspiration lasted through today, so I did indeed book a flight to Philly with the intention of buying a ticket from a scalper for Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Sometimes, I surprise myself.

I'm assuming that the 76ers won't win the next three games and there will be a Game 5. (I couldn't fly down for an earlier game in the middle of the week and miss work.) If they do, I guess that I'll trade my ticket in for a credit with US Air.

I did some more research and I'm starting to get a handle on the whole trip. I reserved a room at a hotel that's close enough to the airport, the arena, and other city attractions. I also looked into the transit system, which seems to be fairly extensive.

The plan is to fly in on Friday, get to the hotel, get my hands on a ticket for the game, and watch Philly triumph. I have all of Saturday to check out the city. I have no idea what I want to see, but I'll come up with something before I go. (I'm sure that I'll return with some more nice pictures.) On Sunday, I have enough time to catch my flight home without rushing, but not really enough to do a lot else.

Life is going well when I can make something like this happen on a whim. I became a Sixers fan when I was about 12 years old; and for all the years that followed, I never imagined that I'd be in the Philadelphia crowd for an NBA Finals game. (For most of those years, it would have taken a strong imagination to envision the Sixers in the finals, but that's another story.)

Growing up in small town Nova Scotia, I never gave any thought to living and travelling anywhere else. It's so cool to be able to get out there now. And I know that I haven't travelled a lot (just within Canada and the U.S.), but it's more than I would have expected when I was younger.

That concept really hit me when I took my vacation in L.A. with Liam. When we met in high school, I never would have thought that seven years down the line, we'd be checking out Santa Monica Beach and climbing over the rocks where Kirk fought the Gorn. (Heheh.)

Even a few years back, I don't think that I would have pictured myself flying to New York City by myself to see a concert on two days notice or suddenly deciding to take a shot at an NBA Finals game.

Obviously, in those student days, a lack of money held me back; but I also hadn't been out in the world enough to gain the confidence in myself to take the initiative like that. Now, I'm happy to say that while I am a little too complacent day-to-day, I'm not too slack to follow through on an inspiration.

J.