Unforseen Obstacles

As is often the case in life unforseen obstacles appear before an anticipated clear path. Whether it be a Tsunami, a melting down of a nuclear reactor, or a family crisis one must adjust, cope, and hopefully make the right decisions to move forward.

As of now I’m sticking with my original travel plans but I’ve been navigating obstacles. Things haven’t been going as smoothly as hoped. I’ve bascially got two weeks to get it together and all in all I’ve got the important stuff covered such as managing my resources, obtaining visa’s etc. I haven’t been particularly efficient but chores are getting done.

The trip I am about to embark on will be fairly lenghty and upon my return I’ll most positively be headed a different direction. Once I get going I’ll definitely be in store for an exciting ride upon the ongoing adventure of life. If your life doesn’t feel like a cool adventure then your missing out. That is unless you don’t much care for adventure. Live now, you never know what can happen.

The other day I found out that a man I worked with for two and a half years in Aspen is currently in the final stages of ALS. We are the same age. The last time I saw him he was a healthy athlete but now his life is almost done. I read a blog that he wrote with an optical system. He wrote about how he was at a party and everyone was talking about problems at work etc.,. He couldn’t talk but wanted to say, “Geezz, What would you rather be doing?” Naturally you can’t have everything the way you want it all the time but I can totally relate to what he said. My personal mantra has always been, “live life now.” Once your born the clock starts ticking and no one knows how much time they have. Life is gift, use it wisely and live it fully.

I cannot finish this post without addressing how bothered I’ve been by todays current events. The recent tsunami, Japanese nuclear crises, and uprisings in the middle east add to an uneasy feel to the world in which we live. There’s really nothing good about what’s happeining in Japan and whether or not the changes in the middle east will amount to a better sitiuation is open to debate. Personally I’m sick of war. Sometimes it’s justified but more often than not I believe there’s a better way. As far as the nuclear crisis goes I’ve always been anti nuclear and what’s going on in Japan is the reason why. The more I travel the more I feel connected to world events beacause ultimately it affects us all.

The world is getting smaller and smaller. People really need to learn how to get along and we need to quit going against nature. I’m really feeling like an idealistic Greener these days. If you don’t know what a Greener is, its someone who graduated from one of the more unusual American Universities. The Evergreen State College, Olympia, Wa. Me? Class of 1989...

Booked A Ticket , Dropped Off The Passport

Busyness is a demon that devours time like a lion. Unfortunately it's a necessary evil that everyone must battle at some point or another. Balance can be an elusive concept when so much to do becomes the focus. Work, taxes, things to be done, gotta go and see you laters add up to a rapid passing of time. Where has the last two weeks gone?

I booked a ticket, dropped my passport in the hands of foreign consulate, and fell asleep with my nose stuck in a Lonely Planet Guidebook. My plans are ambitious, resources barely suffice, but in a little less than a month I'll be on my way to places with names like Yangshuo, Lahsa, and Ulaanbaatar.

I'll start my Journey in Hong Kong then make my way across southern China and if possible Tibet. From there I'll travel north and east to Beijing. In Beijing I'll take a train to Mongolia then Russia. Once in Russia I'll make my way across Eastern Europe into Western Europe and back to France where I intend to do some more walking.

All of this will have to be done on a tight shoestring budget with my biggest expense likely being the train from Beijing to Moscow. The intention is to travel for 5 months but finances will dictate whether it will be possible or not. I've booked my flights with airline miles which gives me a lot of flexibility, without added expense, if I need to cut things short.

In the meantime I'll continue along with a hectic pace but hope to more or less wrap things up a few days before I leave so I can catch my breath before the long flight over. For now its back to work...