vedana.net

A Tiny Update

My apologies for the extreme lack of updates, I've been a bit busy lately. On December 11th I bought a car (2001 VW Golf, 4-door, 5-speed, indigo blue, hello DEBT!). Her name is Kamala; read Hesse's Siddhartha for context. Jack and I left Marietta on the 16th to drive out to California, aiming at arrival on the 20th, in time for my cousin Sarah's wedding on the 21st. All went as planned, pictures from the drive are here and wedding pictures are here. I'm staying with my Aunt for the time being, until I find employment and get a place of my own.

Before that, however, I'm making a tiny detour to Thailand and Burma for about 5 weeks. I'm rendezvousing with some NZ mates in Bangkok on December 29th, then we're flying to Burma on January 1st for the two-week Vipassana Yatra. Burmese visas allow for 4-week stays (it's a military dictatorship), so we're planning on using the second half of our visas to see more of the country. Then it's back to Bangkok on January 28th, and I'm flying back to San Francisco on February 3rd to start the job hunt.

Some of you may be wondering, "Where the @#$% does this @#$%ing @#$% get the @#$%ing cash to do all this @#$%ing traveling?" Understand that I've tapped into the last of my financial reserves to make this trip happen, as it's a once-in-a-lifetime (or beyond) opportunity. Spiritual seekers among you will understand; Goenkaji is leading the pilgrimage. When I get home I'll be broker than a joke, and desperately in need of employment. Ok?

On another note, I have new digits, courtesy of T-Mobile: 650-861-xxxx. The T68i is a wicked little phone- call it (international callers add a +1 in front), text it, or email it (xxxxxxxxxx@tmomail.net, where the x's are my ten-digit number minus the hyphens). There's no coverage here at my Aunt's place (we're in a Redwood forest in the mountains south of San Francisco), so I've gotta drive a couple minutes for reception. My plan has free nation-wide long distance, as well as free nights (>9pm Pacific time) and weekends.

Merry Christmas to you all, but don't expect too many updates while I'm gone. Read this and you'll understand why. Oh, and there's a heap of new pictures (listed at the right) if you're interested.