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Showing posts from 2015

Struggle

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We are all struggling right now, in one form or another.  Some of us are struggling with addictions like coffee, exercise or the lack there of.  There is a sense that things are changing  by the minute.  I cant help but think about my parents generation where they worked for a company for many years and saved a bit, and then retired.  Some people didn't do that and worked until they couldn't work anymore. Now we are in the new age.  Everybody is losing faith in the corporate model.  People are quitting their jobs, it seems to follow their own dreams.  We jump jobs more than we jumped puddles growing up as kids and the result.  We are constantly looking for that next thing.  We are looking outside of ourselves for something that exists inside of us.  The problem is that the thing that exists inside of us, will never pay us money. I read all these articles of people quitting their jobs to pursue "their inner passion".  Part of me says, "Hey thats a great

Three Pairs of Shoes

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That is all I own, well in the shoe department anyway.  I used to be so concerned with stuff and appearance.  I always had nice watches, nice pants and jackets and nice shirts.  I dressed well and felt like I impressed.  The question is, who was I impressing? Myself or those around me? Moving to Eugene nine months ago, everything changed.  I got rid of every suit I owned.  Every nice shirt was donated to goodwill.  I gave all the pictures that had been in my family for years and years, away.  I kept two boxes and removed the rest.  I got rid of the excess in my life and became a true minimalist.  I left for 3 months and went to India.  It was going to be a life changing trip and I planned to travel an see as much of India as possible.  As you all know, that didn't happen.  I ended up primarily in Delhi and a few days in Chennai.  I got to see two of my cousins and watched lots of Bollywood movies.  I fell in love with the culture and even though there are 24 million pe

Become a DO'er

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I have kept my peace long enough and I am SO tired of the phrase "My vote doesn't matter"  This is a bullshit cop out because you are too lazy to get off your ass and read about the issues that are affecting our country.  Yes, I am calling you a lazy fat ass.  You are one or the other or both. I have watched the younger generations flop around on the deck of a fishing boat as if they just got pulled out of the ocean.  They bitch and complain about the lack of leadership in the country, and yet when you ask them if they voted, the all too familiar phrase, "my vote doesn't matter".  The fuck it doesn't.  My professor in college once said, you are either part of the solution, or you are part of the problem.  The problem as I see it is we are lazy.  You see we have these stupid phones that we walk around with that make us "stupider" because we take pictures of our food because its so beautiful, or we snap selfies and see how many likes we can

India, Oregon and Other Stuff

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Christina and Don for 4th of July So I have been back from India for a week and it has been a very warm welcome home. I have to say that I will miss my family in India for the moment. I am really happy to be with family here in Eugene. We went to Alton Baker Park  and had some great food, a delicious beer and watched the fireworks. I love the feel of Eugene.  Its small enough that you can pretty much get anywhere by bike and the longest its taken me to get down town is like 10 minutes.  I don't remember getting to LA that quickly when I lived in the valley.  I will say I took my written drivers test 3 times.  I failed it the first 2 times because I didn't read all the answers.  I finally passed it on the 3rd try.  What is it they say, "Three times a charm".  Maybe that will be true with marriage too, oh wait, I have only been married once.   I have started to really enjoy the small town life.  I can walk to starbucks or Market of Choice.  There are ba

Blast from the past!!!!

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So sometimes, you think about someone and "poof" they pop into your life again.  I was thinking about an old friend from my junior year in high school.  His name was Jesus Morales.  I met him at a huge transitional time in life.  I had moved from Mississippi in the middle of my tenth grade year to St Pete.  I was dropped into a school called Gibbs High School.  I wasn't familiar with a lot of people and made a few friends here and there.  I met some really nice people who seemed genuine and nice and offered to include me in their groups.  I wasn't a social butterfly like I am now so it was a challenge.  When I finished for the summer a few months later, my dad advised we were moving to another district.  That meant I would have to start all over again with friends. We moved into Pinellas Park and the year was 1987.  I found out my new school was going to be Northeast High School.  We moved into an older complex that was closer to my dads office in Tampa, clos

June 16-10 days left in India

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I officially have 10 days left in India.  I didn't get to do as much as I wanted but I realize now that my purpose wasn't to do what I wanted but rather what was needed.  I got a sense of closure from that.  Sometimes travelers go somewhere and aren't able to see the things they wanted to see. Maybe their journey takes them where they need to be.  Wants and needs are two separate beasts and if you don't feed the wants, the needs will show you some pretty amazing stuff. Where do I start with Delhi. Heat is obvious as it is always hot here. The saving grace is the rain.  When it rains for just a bit, its like Delhi gets a well deserved bath and you can begin to appreciate the city again.  Everybody said, "Get out of Delhi, its ugly" and to be honest that is probably why I stayed so long. I am ugly just like Delhi in some ways and was able to still see the beauty here amidst all the filth. The history far outweighs the bad of this city. When you get h

1 and done?

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So as I prepare to leave india, I have to say it has been an experience.  There have been some magical moments and some moments that I wish never existed.  I have seen the good and simplistic lives the people here desire to live.  They live all their lives well below their means and they are a proud people.  They love to show off photos and they are blown away by the fact that I am from USA.  I find that the more you listen and shut the fuck up with your own expectations, that is where the magic of india begins. From the start, i had grand intentions of seeing all of india and spending months here, but rather got stuck in my fear and stayed in my comfort zone.  I didn’t go to all the places I wanted to see or do the things that I wanted to do, but that is okay because India will wait for me.  She gave me a taste of her magical deliciousness and the smells, the sights the sounds and for all the bad I saw, I felt her good, deep within the spirit of my soul.  There were magical mom

May 20 A month of India

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So I start this writing as I start many others, deep in the thought of what should be, vs what is.  My life is going exactly as it should.  I am right on par with my budget, maybe slightly off because of a few nice meals here and there.  I thought I would have enough to last for 3 months or 4 but I way underestimated my needs in that regard.  My budgetary skills failed me. Regardless it has been fun and I have seen a lot. The train from Delhi to Chennai was 32 hours. When I first boarded the train, i thought there is no way I will make it, however, after time and just accepting what was, I settled in. I got some food and snacks at the train station to keep my hunger at bay.  I did try a new snack which is identical to a cheeto, but set up with all the masala spice…yowza was it good.  I ate the whole bag the first night and the second day I stopped a food guy with chips to see if he had more.  He did and I was in love with the masala-ol (like cheeto, but my new word).  Its like a d

Reflections in India, my trip so far

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So most of you have seen the google plus updates.  I haven't been adding many lately as I have just been regrouping at the hostel. With temperatures in the 100s, it is hard to do anything outside for long periods of time without lots of shade and lots of water. At my last hostel, I met a friend named Mark and we spent lots of time hanging out, eating, suffering the heat and enjoying the pillow room (Mark hasn't seen the best of it as the projector and sound were set up yesterday---AMAZING).  I have to say that I know for certain that Mark and I will be mates for a while.  I knew when meeting him that he and I just hit it off.  Our conversations were good and he's got a great heart.  We spent lots of time talking about our travels and the places we have been.  We stopped at mcdonalds often to get ice cream and we consumed mass quantities of water.  He offered great insight into things that I would normally never thought about.  We had great

India: Visit To Akshardham

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So today I took it easy.  I decided to catch up on some of my writing and just reorganize.  I found out yesterday that Jake will be here on the 5th. (Update: He said they are getting tickets now and will be here shortly) I was thinking about biding my time here in Delhi but think it will be better spent traveling.  I was also contemplating that I could easily live on $25 dollars a day.  The expensive part would be the train travels around. So I put together a group of my hostel friends and told them we were going to Akshardham. I advised everyone we would be leaving at around 3:30 or 4.  Since many were planning their travels and sightseeing, I knew it would be crazy getting everyone rounded up in time.  At around 3 pm everyone started coming back from their activities.  I also realized while two of my friends were getting ready that we may not make the timing of Akshardham. Originally I thought it closed at 5pm.  Lucky for me, it was 6:30 was last entrance time. So i g

Final Visa Update and Travel Stuff...

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Thursday, April 16, 2015 VISA UPDATE:  This has been a rollercoaster ride if I have ever been on one.  “Everything will be alright in the end, if its not alright, its not the end”-John Lennon So I sent my passport in last Monday.  I had to change my ticket because I did not have enough time to turn around my visa to get it back on the 8th. I was a good and tracked my progress online with the daily updates that were sent.  I was able to change the tickets to the following friday (surely that would be enough time to turn around a Visa).  By Friday, hopes were high.  I was sailing into the weekend.  This was the update: Friday: Date: 4/10/2015 Your Documents have now reached CKGS         application centre from the Embassy / Consulate. Your document(s) is         being sorted and will be ready for shipment shortly. Please continue          tracking your application status online. Your AWB Number is          1Z0946X98400230358 The weekend passed an