I can't believe I board the plane in 36 hours. I'll arrive in Hong Kong at about 3am PDT, which is when I normall go to bed. So that will work out well. It's odd to realize that this is my second to last night on the continent. I feel like I should be out whooping it up, going crazy, making a little trouble (and not getting caught, of course). But I'm here, packing, sipping a beer, and contemplating what the meaning of it all is and how I should feel about this last night at "home." Bittersweet? I'm currently somewhere [View Full Entry]

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Not much to report. I slept, I ate, I made many, many phone calls and got a lot of last minute things done. Whew. I still have to pack though. details... On a bright note, I am extremely excited because I finally figured out how to do one thing: type in Chinese in any program. Like email. Or google. 这个。 My nerdy self is going to go and study my flash cards some more. And then maybe I'll sleep early. Big day ahead of me tomorrow! (not to mention more Olympics!!) [View Full Entry]

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Well, after much tweaking, the previous entry is now up in its entirety. I had problems with the pics, and then there was a huge lightning storm (sorry, no pics this time), so thank you loyal subscribers for your patience. And I'm most pleased to see that I have more than one! I feel wildly popular! I'm in the process of adjusting my sleep schedule. Since I essentially need to move it back 9 hours from AZ time, it seemed like a good idea to lob off about half of that so that I'm only moving it 4-5 when I get [View Full Entry]

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For once, I am feeling unverbose. If that's a word. Spell check says, "no," but I say to heck with that. I'll probably use this opportunity to post way too many pictures of sunsets, walking tours, and my favorite: lightning (taken tonight). My arrival in Phoenix was hot. Shocking, I know. First I was warm. Then I felt like all my nose hairs had been singed off and it burned to breath. Then I wondered why anyone in their right mind would pay a fortune to live there year-round. I have a new-found appreciation for humidity. Prescott is like Eau Claire, [View Full Entry]

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It's official: I have no keys. These past few weeks have been nothing short of a whirlwind. I deliberately pushed it off as long as I could. I knew once things started, it would be one long string of dominoes, and I really wanted to enjoy life as it was for as long as I could. Finally, it hit me: I move out and pack the POD in 2 weeks. I have company coming in the middle. The clock is ticking... One by one, friends came over to help me empty out my fridge and closets. Without them, there's no way [View Full Entry]

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The Lost Memory Card About 20 miles outside of Sedona, in the old mining town of Jerome, we fortunately stopped to check out the shops in town and I flipped the camera on to get ready to take some pictures since the view was great only to realize the miniscule micro-SD card was missing. I ripped into my briefcase, not in the laptop either. Uh oh. I had just been messing with it at l'Auberge, trying to download the pictures onto the laptop harddrive, wondering why the computer kept locking up when I referenced the F: drive. We called the bunch [View Full Entry]

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We waved goodbye to the spectacular Californian coastline turned inland and were back in the mountains. Poor old Tommy had his work cut out, climbing up and down and zig zagging this way and that. Our next destination was Death Valley, doesn't sound very appealing. We left the threat of the great white behind and only had to contend with rattlesnakes, scorpions and tarantulas. Our biggest worry was conking out in the middle of the desert but luckily we got through and made it to the aptly named Furness Creek campground. Spent our first night literally under the stars (I think [View Full Entry]

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Howdy y'all. I'm out in the wild west now- it's been a long drive. I got to Prescott at about 8 PM last night to meet Daniel. Supposed to pick him up at a campsite just outside of town where he was hiking with some friends, so I got directions there from one of his friends in town. After some travails finding the place, I was alarmed to find no one waiting for me there. To make a long story short, they'd somehow got turned around up there in the woods, unbeknownst to me. So after much waiting and deliberation, I [View Full Entry]

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June 2006 Mountain Camping Trip and Visit to the town of Jerome, Arizona It was a great day for a camping trip to the mountains. I live only 6 miles from the Mingus Mountain Range and the road winds up from 5,000 at my place in Prescott Valley to Potato Patch Campground at 7,000 feet. The temperatures are always about 10 degree cooler during our summers which make it a great place to do some hiking and just relax in the cool woods with friends. There are great hiking trails like Woodchute that wind along the mountain tops with great views. [View Full Entry]

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I came to Prescott Arizona for a two week visit. I have been here four and to say it has been a life changing experience would be an understatement. As I sit here on the eve of a trip to the Grand Canyon I have a desire to be articulate about what the loss of my mom has meant. All I can manage at this early date is to let the wave of sadness wash over me. Time will have to be given its due before meaning can be understood and then shared. What has carried me over these last few [View Full Entry]

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