Notes on some time spent traveling

Thanks to Jan Voss of Belgium for the photo here. Jan is quite a guy, he speaks four languages, has a Porsche and an Alfa Romeo. He is a great friend and Im very glad to know him.

 

If there is one thing I’ve learned from the different jobs I’ve held it is this:  If there is a stick lying around that looks like it is used to club something in the head with, then it probably is.  You better not lose that stick, don’t do it.

A very good friend of mine asked me a few weeks ago if it was difficult to travel.  I hadn’t really ever thought much about the difficulty of it all.  Hoping your planes align with your trains. Hoping the local anti-military protest doesn’t align with your bus and spending the night in the park or train station when it does, are all part of the game.   I told him the hardest part was the money aspect of it.  I’m four years out of college now and still $15,000 in debt from an education that I had every intention on using to make some sort of legit career for myself that paid actual money.  Its funny, I’m on the snail repayment plan (joke).  The more I think about it though I would say there is a bit of difficulty involved.  I am absent for alot of firsts back at home.  First concerts of friends bands, first teeth and words for my niece, first wheelchair for my dad, epic snowstorms and even more epic thunderstorms.  All things that I truly wish I could have been there for.  But its not the idea of the people and things that I do miss, its the idea of the possibilities that I might gain in return.  I have my mind blown everyday, everyday, even by the simplest things.  Im not a huge star person but there are constellations in the Southern Hemisphere that are not visible in the Northern, like literally stars I’ve never seen.  I get to see the sun rise everyday, and here, its the first sunrise in the world.  I meet people everyday that I thought I would never meet.  They are simple things really and at the end of the day they wont fill your pockets with much but god damn its a blast!  My dad said it best once “Its just money”.  You know they make it everyday in Washington D.C. at a big factory on a big machine, I’ve seen it with my eyes.  When I think about the time spent and the money spent and the effort I put into trying to save both, I find that somehow entire days went by without actually having accomplished anything.  I’m trying very hard to not think too far ahead of tomorrow because of all the things I cant afford to lose, today is the most valuable.  Because unlike money, the days are done and they aint making anymore in Washington.  So when you say “I’ve always wanted to travel.” I say that its not difficult.  Your own personal circumstances are likely where the difficulty lies, not everyone can just leave work or send the kids to grandmas.  I just think that its not important where you go or when you go or even why you go, just so long as you go.

I had a couple of small articles published in a journal since I’ve been gone.  I haven’t been able to read it yet but one was mailed to my parents.  My mom read it and told me she really liked them and just couldn’t believe that I was in New Zealand feeding fish.  Moms tend to like most things their kids do even if they aren’t that impressive.  I mean a baby could shit in its hand and smear it on the wall and moms would get a kick out of it.  Thank you very much mom!!!

Thats Jan in the yellow. The Germans made the cake. I asked how did they make it taste so good and the response was "Because we are German". Brilliant!!

Riding the bike and holding the cake, they said it was impossible.