Ho-ly CRAP that's a long flight! But I'm on solid ground, and writing this (thankfully) from my own private bedroom where I'll be staying for the next 3 weeks. That flight, direct from Chicago to Shanghai, was 14 hours long. At around hour 3, I was feeling pretty all right because that's about when they announced that we'd be fed all the lid-long day. 2 lunches and 2 snacks, and I do love me some airplane food so that was a plus. Around hour 7, I hated life a little bit and fell asleep realizing that I was only half way through it. But, the second half actually flew by, betwee 3 movies, a little gaming and a serious nap. The hotel that Disney has us in reminds me a lot of the freshman dorms at ... read more

With nine days to go before my tentatively-set departure, I am actually two days from the point of no return. My visa application has been submitted to be picked up on Thursday, so it’s really just another game of hurry up and wait. Meanwhile, I’ve been feverishly studying Mandarin via Rosetta Stone… but I still can’t figure out how “一只狗大” (“a large dog!”) is ever going to help me survive. Except maybe in that very particular situation wherein I am ironically being chased and/or consumed by a large dog. It could happen. The process of language acquisition indeed continues to be an enigma. Anyway, I understand that there continues to be issues with subscriptions to this here blog. That’s part of the point of this update: I’d like to make sure those get cleared up before ... read more

Dear Friends and Family, It's been awhile since I've written. In some ways I'm sorry for that, in others - you're welcome for me not loading up your inboxes ;) To some, I just added you in order to provide a long-overdue update that I've promised multiple times. Feel free to remove yourselves and to hate me for violating your privacy ;) These 2 months have been fascinating, despite my imprisonment in my own boredom and frustrations with feeling like I've grown down and not up... the fact of the matter is, I'm not bored thanks to working literally 7 days a week and having this elaborate schedule that spans over 5 different jobs that I am working. And the truth is that, by returning to my roots and starting over, I've made one of the ... read more

...in order to discover your own roots. There were opportunities in Boston: they taught me to push myself. There was power in Geneva: it taught me humility. There were sights to be seen in Paris: they taught me to keep looking. There were mountains in Vienna: they taught me to keep climbing... but reminded me how it felt to look West. And everywhere, there were people: they were my passion - they taught me how to serve. It's been an interesting couple of months, hasn't it? I spent the 3 months prior to this one trying to recognize the path below my feet. Tried to content myself, empower myself and find my "it". I swore to myself, 5 years ago, that I would break free of Thornton, Colorado - that I was bigger, better, faster than ... read more

Well, my friends - this is the unexpected end of my blog from Europe. After my conversation with Karin last week, it was announced by Gerald on Saturday that they had already rented out my downstairs apartment to someone who would be moving in October 1. While this was quick and surprising, it was not entirely unwelcome, nor entirely shocking. I saw something like this coming and believe to the fullest that it is for the best. I survived a weekend of cleaning and packing and have just gotten off the phone with my travel agent who got me on the first flight out tomorrow - 6:35am, in fact. So, it would seem that I will be spending the night at the airport... which may actually be more comfortable than the couch that I have been ... read more