21st birthday - Oshkosh

21st birthday - Oshkosh
Originally uploaded by Mix Master.

It sure looks like I am popular.

I've got to run to keep from hiding, and I'm bound to keep on riding

Perhaps I should clarify:
NYC: Now - ___
Cairo: ___ - late December

I am feeling optimistic about how things are turning out, though I can't say I wasn't optimistic before. It is always nice to be assured once in a while.

What is the best way to learn Arabic?

I am now in the @US national office in NYC. I will be here until I get matched or approximately one week, whichever comes first. Tomorrow I will strap on my wheels, procure some batteries for my cd player, and check out this place. I hope to find a cheap hookah bar to rest at. I will make a hilarious attempt to live super cheap this week. Seventeen dollars at my first stop (Whole Foods) doesn't give a good outlook, but I salvaged a little dignity turning the purchase into about two meals.
The Salaam Preparation weekend is worth mentioning. I had many of my questions answered. There was a noticable buzz of energy created by all the budding exchangers. It seems like a great group and I look forward to crashing Egypt with them, inshallah. I finally got to talk with Jen and Youssef in a more casual setting, which was a teacher used to say, was nice. Suzanne made a pleasant cameo.

Since Bruni has been whining, I will bring up the proposal that has been sitting in my mind. It stands as a proposal for nomadfest II, likely over this New Year's celebration.
The Original back in April was such a success another attempt seems necessary.
Candidate locations are Turkey (Istanbul), Cairo, Mali, or Nigeria, though I am still soliciting locations. It must be easy to fly into, have a good proximity to other nomadlifers, and also be cost-effectively aswesome. Cairo stands as a good one since I can organize a nice trip to an oasis. Turkey is nice because it is probably the most versatile and has all the venues: hookah, drinking, sites, beach etc. Everyone would be happy. I am looking for ideas and general interest. We could also do something crazy like a multi-country tour.
Beuller?

I know you're different, you know I'm the same

The extent of my near future is quite vague, but predictions look like this:
Washington DC May 27-31
New York City May 31 - ?
Egypt ? - early January

I will be leaving in about six hours. I guess I shall starting packing with a bit more vigor.

Saddle up

Bag arrived. It is huge, but will suffice for my immediate needs.
This day is filled with the usual: packing, traveler's checks, etc. Keep it casual.
I will be in Wisconsin for another 20 hours or so.
I am not matched yet.

here's the hitch, your horse is leaving

The last night at The Lodge was, in all hilarity, a near perfect culmination for the year. I am still amazed at the ending.
I guess tomorrow I should pack.
All the good-bye's have taken their toll on me today.

nomadlife: see you when i see you

My stomach

...hurts.

But I'm not hung over.
One might say I got rocked like a hurricane.
Thanks go out to all the well-wishers.

Do you remember when I was falling and calling your name out?

Love. As was discussed last night, for better or worse, love makes people blind. Sometimes that isn't always the best thing. I am not sure if I have ever felt love. For me, it represents a complete dedication to someone, it's when you realize that complete devotion to another, be it a friend or a lover. I sometimes question people who preach how in love they are, then go behind the other's back or forget about them when convenient. This is why I am not sure if I have ever felt love. Perhaps I think of it in a more intense way than others, I'm not sure. What I do know is people toss around the idea way more than they should.
Eventually I will realize these feelings for another, and we will spend the rest of our lives in each other's arms.

Until then,
fuck that shit. It's my 21st birthday.

Here we go Round Two!

Life is only as stressful as you make it.

In excellerated efforts to make it to the Gmail home page, I in fact ran into this.
On a similar note, if your fingers become too dexterous, "dodyg" becomes "dodgy."
I think the Australians use that word.
My mother and I take different approaches to the required preparation for my trip. It sometimes causes the water in the kitchen to boil faster.

Quick Decision

Just bought a big backpack on ebay for 86USD. I figure I can't go wrong. I had already been fitted and liked this brand, so we'll see what happens. At the very least it will get me through college and will be a good first experimental bag.
It's a Lowe Alpine Contour IV - 5400 ci.
Might be a little big for my needs, but whatever. I just needed a bag. I hope it arrives in time.

remember

Godafredo

"don't let school get in the way of your education"

Grades, always cramping my style. I wonder what four semesters of 4.0's will do for the olde GPA... will be so much easier now that physics isn't in the picture.
Can't hurt to try.

It should be apparent that I am bored. Read a nice article about my main man here.

Tic Tok in Atomic

Sometimes you just need a memory.

I woke up at 10:40pm after a three hour nap, a bit confused as to why said action was allowed by the Front Office. Now, 6.5 hours before I have to get up, I am wondering how I'm going to sleep. I am heading to the north side of the lake to look at traveling backpacks tomorrow. I need to have one ordered by probably Friday for it to get here in time. I leave in eight days. I don't have a plane ticket outta here yet.
Any major recommendations on supplies I should take with me? I've never been off home soil for more that 12 days, much less six months. Much hilarity is planned. I want to get a job at a street mart or something when my time for study rolls around. I will keep a journal there.

For the Money

What is the true price of gaining international experience? It is a question I have always asked myself. Acquiring those experiences for a college aged person takes incredible sacrifice and incurs a high opportunity cost. At what point will the stakes be too high to make that next plunge into some unknown country or to revisit some now familiar faces residing in a far off land? Is it worth missing a week of school, rescheduling a midterm for the day after you return, and clearing your bank account, jeopardizing next month’s rent? Is it worth all these sacrifices in every aspect of life? I pondered these questions as I sat on a Boeing 7-whatever-7, heading to Brazil with a backpack, 500USD in my pocket, none in my bank account, and maybe an ounce of trepidation.
I entered the conference with two major goals. One, to bring back information on international initiatives and then second, to also contribute my perspective in their ongoing development. This goes without mentioning the goals of developing a couple meaningful relationships, learning other LC practices yadda yadda yadda. I found my experience allowed me to lead several group discussions pertaining to member development, which fit into the overall developments of the AIESEC Experience and learning programs for project based exchanges. After learning the realities and general mindsets of my Latin American colleagues, we discussed strategies for promoting long term planning and goal setting among the young members of their LC’s. It was not long into it when a few of us became familiar and decided to set up a Yahoo group to continue the discussions after we parted our separate ways.

Upon returning home, I brought several gifts to my LC. In one hand I offered the three main initiatives: AIESEC Experience, Culture of Excellence, and Global Branding. In the other sat a plethora of opportunities to get involved. One member will now be coordinating an LC effort to recruit for the Explora program while another will now be experiencing it in September. Then stored in my pockets were the pages and pages of stories, some about the pinpoint precision with which I led discussions, some about the heart-break of leaving my (second) declared soul mate, some perhaps a bit embellished, all waiting to burst out upon eager ears. Let us also not forget about the Brazilian delectables, safely stowed in my backpack, awaiting the perfect moment to show their beautifully crafted forms.

As I sit now, days before I head off for the uncharted waters of the Middle East, I know there is no price too high. My bank account (and its overdraft sidekick), though miniscule at best, still holds its head high in defiance of the abuse it withstood. The tests will become a nostalgic memory of a distant college life. There are many lands, however, left unconquered, and I intend to see them enter my radar. As I run off to somewhere new, I take with me the memories, laughter, and faces of a land that is now not so distant. That, we all know, is priceless.

End. Start.

Our last big hoorah at the Lodge went down in history this past weekend. It was quite exhausting. Arnaub came down Friday, followed by BG and The Dode on Saturday. Claude and Kristi also made their grace known. Mikey K even made the trip, showing up at about 2:30am. I need to find his blog again. It was great to see these cats before I get outta Dodge for a while. T-rent went out in a suitable fashion. Think Casino Night or Ice Fishing if you need a reference as to where his state of mind was. Even I was impressed.
I've been back home for nearly twenty four hours, but I've been bored since about hour twelve. I have made a list of things to do in order to keep myself busy. The hall near my room is lined with piles of clothes to get rid of. It is harder to throw away a shirt I've paid for than one I never layed down a bill for. I need to find a good backpack, one I can travel and go backpacking in.
We are having the last Lodge Party on May 24. It happens to mark the 21st summer of my life, and also will act as a going away party for myself and the Messiah. All are invited, it will be epic in its own right.

festering

Spent a nice few hours at Kristi's, chatting with her, her roommate, and Claude. A nice relaxing time. Good shisha, good rhum, good conversation. It was a man's shisha.
Now, sitting in the dark, I feel restless. Several knots are left untied, tomorrow it shall commence. Today I enjoyed many hours of zero commitments, zero reasons to exist.
One knot must wait longer than it should.
But I am still ready to go.

For a friend

Giselle
Originally uploaded by Mike W..

Similar to tiklod, I have a friend who is interested in studying international relations here in the US. I am looking into what institutions are good to study such a subject, and so I seek the wisdom of all the nomads. Any suggestions?

Yes, she with me in the photo.

through the revolving doors

Allegedly I survived finals. Three in one day, though sounding real sexy, is pretty tough. The one I studied least for (and potentially most important) came out the easiest.
Sweet.
As this year comes to a close, people start to drift their ways. One by one the Lodge diverge to three continents. One ending is another beginning, some say.
I now have time to read.

All of us will need better skills in listening, communicating, and facilitating groups, because these are the talents that build strong relationships. It is well known that the era of the rugged individual has been replaced by the era of the team player. But this is only the beginning. The quantum world has demolished the concept of the unconnected individual. More and more relationships are in store for us, out there in the vast web of universal connections.
Margaret Wheatley - Leadership and the New Science
Berkana Institute

It's the small thingies

I went to the coffee machine to rejuvinate. I had to get change first, which was good; a crowd of dark-haired ladies had blocked access to my machine. Three were helping the other decide if she should get "low-shug," big or small, was it a glass or a shot? latte?
The change machine initially rejected my dollar.
I think they might be done now.
I get full throttle.

So much style without substance

Well, one test, one violation of my personal space.
How much can I learn in the next 36 hours? We shall see.

No hero in your tragedy

People in the library are a lot quieter at nine in the morning.
Three more hours until my second test, then I have 48 hours until a three test succession.

No Costa Rica

Damn.

I had a dream of a winter garden
a midnight rendezvous
silver, blue, and frozen silence
what a fool I was for you

I had a dream of the open water
I was swimming away out to sea
so deep I could never touch bottom
what a fool I used to be

You're so money and you don't even know it

Study date with a beautiful baby that probably wants to party. She can come alone or bring a few of her beautiful baby friends, I won't mind.
Noodles are done.

hold your fire, keep it burning within

You feel tired... but that song comes on, the rhythm matches your heart, baseline bumping your pulse, and you feel alive.

more blogger

Pissed off (mad) scientists blog their gripes with the director of Los Alamos

a small step

Univeristy of Wisconsin heading slowly creeping into the realm of community driven information depots.

You too, Brutus?

The greeks are out in force this evening. I'm always curious what they are highlighting.
The reason a physics education is so great is that it teaches you how to approach a problem, not explicitly how to solve it. This is the exact reason why it is so difficult to learn: there are very few exact methods and laws. All conceptual. Thus, instead of knowing the answer and figuring out how to get there, you know how to get there and then figure out the answer.
It is better than math because you are actually learning to use the math to your advantage, not just pure mathematical laws or theorems. Take the tools (math, understanding of what's kinda going on), apply them to a problem (physics) and get your mastery (the school of thought).
My only regret in leaving.

Question I

Where can I go to get good internet radio for free with media player.

it looms

I've got one week and just over nine hours to amend all the mistakes and poor choices I've made in the past fifteen. All solutions to physics homeworks have been printed. Comedically, an AB is theoretically within range.
Last lab of my life was last night. As would be expected, it was my longest ever: five hours, ten minutes.
To be fair, we finished up three different reports.

he's got trouble with his poison, but you know he'll find a cure

I am fascinated by people who never can never live with another in their life.
It was rapid fire, but at the end the only ammunition left was the invitiation, still unfired.
Whenever I come home I get a little droopy eyed.
I am also fascinated by people who can never live without.

heaven's unearthly estate

Some people have told me their illusionary fears about the Middle East.
This, of course, is why I must go.
Dig?