Back in Orange County after a week away in Seattle area and a 3-day camping trip in Big Sur, CA. It is finally hitting me that I don't have to "work" anymore. I suspect it will take a little while for me to get into a daily groove.

One of my goals everyday is to continue learning a new language everyday. Today, I completed Lesson 9 (Of 32) of Pimsleur Spanish I. I can't spread enough kudos for how good a language learning method Pimsleur is. The recall without having to work to memorize anything is excellent. While it is only a start, I am beginning to feel quite confident in saying basic Spanish. Learning a language is both exciting, powerful, and somewhat scary. I feel like getting on a plane now to South America. (I have to wait until March??) Although I'm sure I could practice it around the corner in Santa Ana,CA or with many of the service workers in the area -- although that certainly wouldn't feel quite as exciting.

Freedom! What a feeling! Today, is the first day in the first week of the next chapter of my life. I have been waiting for this day long enough. While I am excited, I am also relieved and anxious. Relieved from having to sit in a cubicle (Or office) being a slave to a computer for hours a day and participating in the accompanying corporate "lifestyle." It can be very draining on a soul. And a slow death of the spirit. (More on this subject later)

Anxious - because I am eager to continue working on trip preparations. In the Join the Circus part of this website I'll talk about my preparations for the journey ahead -- not just the logistical trip planning, but the preparation of my mind and heart for what I will encounter. And finally excited. Excited to be a step closer to experiencing and absorbing all the natural and human wonders of this world as well as developing all the ideas that have been churning away like a storm in my mind for the past few years.

One of the biggest adjustments that is occurring right now is my relationship with time. While I very seldom wear a watch - now I am even more free from the tyranny of time. Save the time of nature's seasons or the time when I want to be somewhere in the world to be witness to a special event. I don't believe many people (Adults?) in the "Modern world" realize just how much they have given up by continually marching to time measured in seconds, minutes and hours.

...I am in the Seattle area right now. Recharging my batteries back where I spent my latter years of "growing up" (Teen years / early 20s) before getting on to the business of preparing for my future travels. Tomorrow - my father and I head to Mt. Rainier to visit my mother. We'll be staying up at the Paradise Inn. then heading over to the Sunrise area of the park to do some incredible hiking.

Thanks for visiting!