We have reached the point of no return. We are wrapping up the final details of our pre-travel arrangements. Travel insurance. Renter's insurance. Dumping clothes and belongings at Goodwill. Finding a place in our house for all of our plants (so they can avoid the inevitable cold during February). The days are a blur of chores, last-minute visits with friends, and too many "what if's". We have a week and some change before we step onto a plane and spend 22 dreadful hours with our asses glued to a seat.

Did I mention that I hate to fly?

It's true. I can't stand flying. It's similar to my irrational fear of heights, which is similar to my irrational fear of sharks. But flying is the worst, really. Once take-off is complete, I sit white knuckled and grumpy until we've made it safely to the ground. It wasn't until a few years ago that someone suggested sneaking valium on a plane.

"Wash it down with a strong drink," he told me.

Flying has never been the same since. But rather than smuggle drugs past security like a cheap mule, this time around I had a conversation with my doctor who graciously wrote out a small prescription for Xanax.

He smirked when he handed it to me.

"This is gonna knock you out for a bit, but keep your mind occupied once you wake up....maybe an inflight movie?"

I suspect that I'll opt for the strong drink instead. I'm a movie snob, too, but that's another story.

Books and music are definite "must-haves" on any long trip. I'm bringing the following paperbacks to "keep my mind occupied":

Taking the Path of Zen by Robert Aitken - since I'm going to be surrounded by Buddhism everywhere, I may as well get in touch. I've always wanted to explore it further and, perhaps, learn to live in the "now" rather than dwelling so much on the past and future.

Tao Te Ching by Lao-tzu - I read it once and really enjoyed it.

The 25 Most Common Sales Mistakes... And How to Avoid Them by Stephan Schiffman - Did I mention that I'm in sales? Music has always been my passion, but let's face it: it doesn't pay the bills quite like sales. More on that later.

The Parrot Who Owns Me by Joanna Burger - My wife got this for me many years ago, and she's gently chided me since I've never read it.

All of these are small, lightweight paperbacks that (hopefully) will keep my backpack easy to manage. On top of keeping this blog, learning the language, and trying to avoid silly mishaps, I don't think I'll have that much time to read.