Life is based on a series of relative occurrences. Let me give you an example. In the month of March in New England, people will wear shorts when the temperature hits a balmy 45 degrees. (Most) people in New England are not crazy. They realize that 45 degrees is not the appropriate time to wear shorts. But when you have just sat through an often dreary three months of below freezing temperatures, all it takes is a sunny 45 degree day for you to bust out those white thighs. Give those babies some sunlight! So when Lexi asked me in the middle of the Redwood Forest, "how much taller are these trees then the regular trees where we live?" The obvious answer was way freaking taller, but ultimately I settled on 4. These trees that we ... read more

Some opportunities do not come around too often; so when they come, you grab them with both hands. I remember sitting in my job interview four years ago and hearing the words - "A couple of the guys are currently working in Australia, stick around, that could be you" And like Guinness, good things come to those who wait. It took me approximately 93 seconds to agree to working in Sydney for 6 weeks. It would have been 92 seconds less, but I had to take a sip of water and look like the contemplation was something that I had rationally thought about. One which I had made a pseudo pros and cons list in my head and had weighed out my options - PRO - you are about to go to Australia for a month ... read more

I must admit, there is a slight guilt that has swept through me for not writing a travelblog entry for almost 10 months now. A yearning to put down some memories and thoughts of my return to US, the re-igniting of a career and a relationship which had kindled at my time away, and continues to burn. It is not that trips have not been taken within this time lapse. One spectacular drive cross country which has let me see a whole other side of the United States and a few places in between. All the while setting up shop one block away from the beach facing the Pacific ocean. Not till now, had I wanted to pick up where I left off. Writing about some phenomenal experiences which I will never forget, and ones which ... read more

Disclaimer - I apologize for not updating for a while. Internet access was non existent while volunteering in Thailand which hit me off my blogging groove. Luckily, my trusty journal will assist in reminiscing the last unbelievable few months of my life. Statistics were always one of my favorite subjects as a business major and to put them to good use here - About 97.3% of tourists decide to take a river raft from the city of Guilin down the magnificent Li River to Yangshou in Southern China. I am proud to say that I was not part of this majority and decided to trek my way down…BEST DECISION EVER. Disclaimer - The 97.3% statistic may or may not be made up. The Li River in the Guangxi province in Southern China is a frequently visited ... read more

These seven simple words put the current situation into perspective. The situation I speak of is arriving into a music disco with men, women, dancing, beer, all your normal pawns in a crazy game of Saturday night chess…but something didn’t seem quite right. Something didn’t gel. Yes, there were more men dancing up on stage than women, but I have seen this before. Asian men like to dance. (Wes - that one’s for you). Many guys were talking to me and gan be’ing constantly, but as our table happened to be the only foreign table in the place, this is also normal. So what prompted this unusual comment? For now, I will keep you in suspense as before then I would like to discuss the major difference of ‘friend relations’ between Chinese and that of some(by ... read more