Griddable

What’s on your to-do list?

Thursday, January 21st, 2010 in: News

8 days left before I’ll once again be on a 747 bound for Japan, only this time, I have no return ticket. I’ve spent the past few months slowly gearing up–both literally and figuratively–for the journey that lies before me. I’ve stocked my backpack with all sorts of compressible goodies, trying to achieve the most versatility with the least amount of equipment. I’ll be doing a test-packing this weekend, now that I have all the gear I’ve convinced myself I’ll need for the next year and beyond. One thing I’ve noticed through all the preparation, the mental aspects which I had overlooked at first have shuffled their way to the foreground. Trepidation, fear of the unknown, heartbreak and healing, strengthening friendships, and guilt for feeling like I’m leaving behind all these things, running away from those friends. From my family. From Sacramento. From my life.

But I’m not really escaping from anything. My life follows me wherever I go, and I take with me all all of the attachments I’ve built in my past, along with my expectations for the future. This mental baggage can really weigh you down if you aren’t careful.

So, despite my to-do list being a mile long, the task I’ve found myself dedicating my time to is not on any list. I’ve been cultivating strong ties to all of you, my friends and family and acquaintances and strangers. Not because I’m about to leave, but because everything in life is temporary, and the only thing we leave behind are our footprints on those whose lives we’ve touched.

I’m not escaping anything, I’m taking you all with me. I’m carrying all of you in my heart, and instead of weighing me down, it’s lightened my load tremendously. I’m sure I’ll repeat this many times, but thank you all, for being a part of my life. I carry your footprints with me to places where your feet may never reach, though I hope they do someday. Our time together has meant more than I can put into words, whether we spent years getting to know each other, or just an afternoon.

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Cat’s Cradle

Friday, January 15th, 2010 in: News, Travel

So this is the last time I would expect to start reading a novel, but when I came back from LA with Mark he had a handful of Vonnegut books that I couldn’t resist. He read aloud some brief but poignant excerpts from “God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian,” which only whetted my appetite. I noticed he had a copy of Cat’s Cradle, a novel I remember wanting to read when I finished Slaughterhouse Five in 9th grade, but never having the time. Now that I have no time to spare, I pick it up and start reading; I was no longer driving at that point.

This morning I started, and I almost finished it by dinnertime, managing to squeeze in a whole day of good food, meaningful conversation and slacklining. I always thought I got too absorbed in books and they would distract me from the stuff I need to do, but I realized that I need to read, I need access to these thoughts so I’m not stuck with just my own. And the best part, it makes me feel even more productive.

Back to this book, because it’s so engrossing. Vonnegut understands the brevity of the human attention span, so his chapters are barely more than a page apiece. Theoretically, you could leave off at almost any point. It’d be easy to pick back up, if it weren’t so difficult to put it down in the first place. He has such a rich imagination and comfortable writing style that you can’t help but just sit and get absorbed in his universe. In this particular book, he conjured a religion based on lies, to reflect the absurdity of a life that assumes it isn’t based on lies. Just after the dedication pages, the following is written:

“Live by the harmless untruths that make you brave and kind and healthy and happy”

So many pearls can be found in this book. I’m going to read some more right now.

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The trip

Friday, January 8th, 2010 in: News, Travel

So, I guess I should tell you what’s going on.

I got a call from Hiro, a good friend I made in Japan. He’s graduating from CSU Chico’s school of business, and moving back to Japan to set up a website to sell yo-yo’s. This would be kind of strange, if he weren’t a former world champion, and one of two Japanese yo-yo masters. He asked if I was interested in working with him on this site, in exchange for a free trip to Japan. Being the marginally employed freelancer that I was, I jumped at the opportunity. I had yearned for an excuse to go back, and travel alone wasn’t good enough.

Having just suffered the first of many rounds of heartbreak, my plans for Japan slowly started to expand to encompass other countries. I had a lot saved from when I had a “real job,” and was trying to decide whether to pursue a graduate degree or a career path, and this third door opened up, as if to remind me that my options are limitless. I’m a young guy with a lot going for me, and few things really tying me down to Sacramento other than family and some good friends. I realized that this world has so much more to offer, and I need to see it for myself.

And so my journey begins. 4 months of preparation, gearing up, gathering documents, formulating plans and determining major destinations: Revisiting friends and family in Japan. Studying Mandarin in Beijing, then travelling around China making use of it. Seeing Lhasa. Climbing to Everest base camp. Hiking the Annapurnas. Living in monasteries. Learning yoga in India. Surfing and deep water soloing in Thailand and Vietnam. These are just a few things I’ve decided that I’m going to do.

So here I am, just a few weeks from my departure date. I’m trying to finish all my preparations and see as many of the people I care about before I go. This is getting harder to do. I feel like I’m preparing myself for reincarnation, and it’s sad to leave this body behind, but it has to be done. There’s no turning back. I’m going.

The countdown begins. 3 weeks exactly.

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New Beginnings

Friday, January 8th, 2010 in: News

Welcome, dear friend, to my new website. No doubt you have found your way here because you somehow know me and my plans. Over the next year and beyond, I hope to keep this site updated with my thoughts on a variety of subjects, mostly brought about through my experiences abroad, but occasionally they will probably come from seemingly nowhere.

A little about the site:

It’s gone through several incarnations, and hopefully this one will last me for at least the upcoming year. My last site, paper-machete.com, ran on Movable Type until the templates got borked and I lost the motivation necessary to fix the problem. So I took the easy way out, by completely revamping the site and switching to WordPress. Nothing like reinventing the wheel every time you get a flat!

I’ll be reposting some of my old content from my old site periodically, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to be kept very busy writing about my new experiences. I’m reluctant to use the term “travel blog,” because I don’t really consider myself much of a blogger.

A little about me:

I’m 25 years old, I graduated college a few years back with a degree in Graphic Design and Japanese, and as luck would have it, I’m going to Japan at the end of this month to work on a website for a friend I made back when I studied in Tokyo for a year. It’s funny how things come together sometimes.

I am a collector of skills and hobbies, because I love learning new things and I like to experience and enjoy as much life has to offer as possible. Some of my current major areas of interest include rock climbing, slackline, yoga, martial arts, and yo-yo. I’ve figure skated, danced the tango, and played a variety of sports. There is so much more I wish to try.

I’m hoping this next year gives you a glimpse of what I’m about and my development as a person. It’s going to be an interesting ride.

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