It will be mine…oh yes, it will be mine.  The Wavesport EZ river-running play boat.  Took it for a test paddle this weekend, baby rides like a Cadillac, super smooth.

All the rain meant good news for lots of boaters.  It turned out to almost be too much rain, making some usual spots unrunnable because the current was too fast, and the added risk of fallen debris making things a bit dodgy.  Still…I speant all day Sat. paddling in the rain, adding a new roll called a back-deck roll to my repetoire.  Also bought a discounted dry-top, so I should be able to paddle till almost Thanksgiving!!!  Oh what fun!!!

Topic: neighbors

There’s a world map right next to my desk, and I spend a good part of the day staring at it.  I’m hoping fairly soon to know where every single country is, so if you gave me a blank map, I could fill in every single country, and all the major seas, mountains, rivers, etc.  So if the tv show Carmen Sandiego were to come back on the air, and I made it to the final round where you have to place the red lights on a blank map, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second.

The BBC had a report on the growing problems arising between Northern Morocco and Southern Spain.  Many Africans have been travelling from as far south as Ghana, up hundreds of miles through difficult desert terrain, with the hopes of making it to Europe.  The reporter pointed out how many of these Africans only had a vague sense to “head north” to reach a land where they might have some opportunity to make money.  Like Cubans washing up in Miami, Southern Italy is seeing boats of Africans arriving at its shores as well. 

As our Preisdent, George W. Bush would say, “We need to fight the problem there so we don’t have to fight it here.”

Many of these Africans have no intention of leaving Africa forever.  There aim is to go to where they can get an education and make money, so they can help family, friends, and their community back at home.  I had a friend I waited tables w/ in Baltimore who was from Nigeria, who was also studying nursing.  His goal was to return home and live an African life once he had completed his degree here.

The book I’m reading is about refugees from Southern Sudan.  It’s funny reading about some of the issues facing the non-profits and volunteers who support these refugees.  From helping them get apartments, to teaching them how to use can openers, to how to properly shake hands at the end of a job interview, there has to be someone there to guide them along the way.  Kind of inspired me to look into “adopting” a refugee myself, and give some basic assistance in exchange for the experience and something to do after work.

New Zealand I believe still lies in my future, but is it my distant, or not-so-distant future, I can’t yet say.  I began reading an article in Men’s Journal about Phil Jackson, who came out of coaching retirement after a motorcycle ride around the Kiwi Islands…”Motorcycle and the Art of Zen Maintenance,” the article was called, a play on Robert Pirsig’s book.

I want to kayak every weekend for the rest of my life…that much I know for sure.  And if I’m not…I want it to be because I’m cycling, hiking, or doing something else outdoor adventurey.  For now…I’m in a pretty good situation for getting the experience I need.  It’s still difficult since I have no car or gear yet, (and once I get my boat…how the hell am I gonna get it on a train or what else will I do w/ it?) but…as my finances grow over the year, options will begin to open.

I had a brief conversation w/ my sister about my “vagabonding plans.”  We’re at least getting to the point where we can agree to disagree about lifestyles, but I think I’m slowly starting to present clearly what I believe in.  I recognize people’s rights to live in anyway they please, but for me, I’ll often sacrafice comfort for cash, stability for adventure, and common sense for individualism. 

My new career goal is to work for and sell adventure travel / eco-tourism packages. 
Along w/ this…my new life goal is to experience as many personal adventure travels as possible. 

Rolf Potts writes in “Vagabonding,” that work is part of the gestation period for long-term world travel.  It’s a time to save and build a budget, to tie up loose ends, to make plans.  I now forsee a possible departure around Sept. of ’06, seemingly a long time away, but a great amount of time for these travels to gesticulate.  All this time to build momentum and anticipation.

I have gotten myself into a few routines that have been good.  A reading routine combining two books, one fiction, and one non-fiction.  A morning work-out that gets me to work energized, and should have me in respectable shape come spring and summer.  A daily routine of reading the world news, and trying to keep up w/ sport.  A new writing therapy I’ve designed for myself, in lieu of mediation or any other kind of spiritual practice.  Hopefully begin volunteering 1-2 days after work, outdoors on the weekends. 

What I’m missing now in terms of experiencing the “typical” 20-something life, my own apartment, weekends chasing tail, will slowly begin to pay dividends in achieving the life I want to live.

Topic: Embracing it all

I’m embracing this book, The Lost Boys of Sudan, which follows the lives of 4 refugees from Sudan who end up in Atlanta, trying to re-start their lives.  The book is written by a journalist and is giving me a great background in the history of Sudan and helping me to understand not just the present day situation there, but other politics regarding refugees and int’l relief.

For example, it’s interesting to note that until the mid ’90′s, only about 1% of the refugees accepted by the United States were from Africa.  Black political pressure and Clinton began to change those figures.  But…why were so few refugees coming from a part of the world where there was one of the greatest needs for refugee relief?  Of course, it’s because humanitarian aid is generally a country’s #2 priority, behind political and economic motivations.

In Central America during the 1980′s, Nicaragua, Guatamala, and El Salvadore all had people suffering from human rights violations.  Yet America only accepted refugees from Nicaragua.  Why?  Nicaragua was being run by Marxists, and the US gov’t wanted to highlight the abuses of that gov’t, while Nicaragua and Guatamala were run by right-wing politicians.  All 3 governements were awful, but we wanted to highlight the one w/ the economic positioning we opposed, so we took in Nicaraguan refugees to highlight their gov’t.  Same reason we took in refugees from Castro’s Cuba, but not Haiti.

There are many factors involved in the Sudan refugee crisis.  The largest is religion.  The north is largely Arab and Muslim, the South is African and Christian.  As we’re seeing around the world today, the Muslims in power want Muslim law to be supreme in their land, and aren’t just looking to knock on doors to convert, they’re looking to knock on heads.  So they have been for nearly 50years, on-and-off, been raising hell for the Africans in the South.

The varrying African tribes have been forced to trek into neighboring countries Ethiopia and Kenya, to find refuge there.  The long treks have divided families, and have resulted in many deaths from starvation, dangerous river crossings, and from Arab militia.  The North and South have only just recently agreed to peace, although the western region of Darfur is still facing problems, not to mention recovering from the effects of all the violence and relocations.

In other news…

I cleaned my room like a mad-man last night, throwing out old trinkets and papers, and dressed up my room a bit so it has a coffee-shop feel, and organized my books neat so it looks more like a Barnes & Nobles.

Had a wonderful conversation w/ my dad’s best friend Steve, who came over for dinner the other night.  He poked me a bit to think about my life, although he is very similar to me in terms of living life a bit differently than the rules say you should.  His big question for me:

“What problem do you want to solve?  That’s the key.  Don’t worry about what job you want to do, or you’ll just end up bouncing from prefession to profession, but what problem do you want to solve?”

I thought about it for a while.  I’ve clearly been pretty focussed on solving problems, but have obviously taken on problems that were too big, focussing on helping too many people in too many ways.  Steve gave me another bit of advice:

“First focus on helping one person.  That’s what I do as a teacher.  Then go for 2, then 3, and as you can, keep growing from there.  Figure out how to help a small number of people well.”

What proble do I want to solve?  I’ve realized I’m not going to solve any monumental societal problems, even minor ones.  But…I started thinking about the question another way, and thought, “The problem I’d like to solve is how to help a small number of “young adults” 1) experience life abroad 2) experience an adventure.”

I don’t want to re-create the wheel.  I don’t want to push for all people to do things a certain way.  I simply want to be a part of a program, that takes high schoolers, or those tired of college, and have them do something abroad. 

Which is basically what my current company does and I feel like an idiot for not doing more w/ it.  But they’re mostly helping individuals find jobs abroad.  I’m more interested in travel abroad, and / or doing grassroots work abroad.

and i’m spent…

Topic: bullets

-stomach bug early Sat. morning…was sick every hour, on the hour, from 2am, till 2pm on Sat….obviously sucked, plus missed my weekend on the water

-recovered on Sun.  enjoyed some football, enjoyed conversation at my friend GB’s, about various things.  He just got back from Thailand, described it as one of the most peaceful places he’s ever been, most likely from the Budhist influence on people there.  Talked about health care, decided that I should research if I could get free health care from a universal health care providing country by becoming a resident or citizen.  That way…next time I get a stomach bug, I won’t fear going to the doctor because of the bill.  And just as important, won’t let the fear of getting sick force me away from work I’d like to do…or the option to not work for a while.

-Tues. and Wed. off for Jewish New Year…finally, there is some good in religion!

-playoff baseball starts tom.  GO CARDS!!!