monday, january 12, 2004
Setting forth
So who is the orange guy?Well, my friends, meet Ganesha the lord of and destroyer of obstacles. He is petitioned for siddhi, success in undertakings, and buddhi, intelligence. He is worshiped before any venture is started be it project or travel. Otherwise he also holds the reigns as the god of education, knowledge and wisdom, literature, and the fine arts. Which isn’t bad work if you can get it.
And, given what I’m about to walk into, I need all the help I can get. Because, to be honest, I’m scared shitless. I’ve been a bundle of anxieties and over-reactions for several days now. I have a lot that I am trying to accomplish with this venture and the safety net is minimal if there at all. No pressure.
But it is kind of like every breaking news story I’ve ever raced out on. I never have any idea how the hell I am going to handle getting all the information and reporting done and in on time. Usually there is a lightening moment of panic and sheer naked fear when I start trying to strategize. Then I make myself stop.
I work best on an instinctual level in such situations. Planning ahead would do nothing but stifle me from rolling with the situation. it also would be putting a preconception on the situation – a deadly danger for a reporter because that’s how you get the information wrong.
The best piece of advice I ever got in this profession was very early in my career by a former journalist and now attorney in south Louisiana. I had called to ask how to handle a group who had threatened to sue me over my coverage of an issue. He gave me the basic pointers but i was still very concerned. "Cliff," he said. "Sometimes you just have to take your balls in your hand and go forward."
So here is hoping the blind jump into the unknown works out as planned, or at least close enough to keep things rolling for a change. So I should be out the door in about 30 and in the air a few hours after that. Sometime on the cusp of Wednesday i should step off the plane in Lima, Peru. And then it's off to points beyond.
But with my man Ganesha taking up the slack everything should be just fine.
more: Klephblog info | Observations | Peru
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