Life Is A Slow Harold

Love it when stuff like this happens. From my tumblr last night.

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:20:46 -0500

Love it when stuff like this happens.

From my tumblr last night.

The Green Arrows - No Delay (Part 1) I just watched this...

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:32:40 -0500

The Green Arrows - No Delay (Part 1)

I just watched this weekend’s SNL (I can’t get enough of Zach Galifianakas) and it made me want to listen to The Green Arrows some more.

One of my dad’s pies before going in the oven during...

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 01:29:55 -0500

One of my dad’s pies before going in the oven during Christmas 4 years ago. Is it sad that I already miss Christmas?

Times Square can seem insane at times, but it’s really...

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 21:59:55 -0500

Times Square can seem insane at times, but it’s really just a mini-Tokyo.

Little girl in Times Square.

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 21:46:31 -0500

Little girl in Times Square.

More from Times Square.

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 21:42:03 -0500

I got a new camera in the mail on Thursday, so Marcy and I went...

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 21:35:00 -0500

I got a new camera in the mail on Thursday, so Marcy and I went to Times Square to take some photos. She used my old Rebel, I used my new 7D. The goal is to get used to it before my next trip.

March 2010 Challenge: Advice

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 17:13:52 -0500

Great improv advice! I was in the same state many times, and it really helped to recharge my batteries in the “real world” to get through it.

iamachilles:

In May 2006, I had no confidence in my improv. After taking classes for a year-and-a-half, I felt like I was only getting worse at performing. I sent the following e-mail to some of the teachers and coaches I’d worked closely with at the time to seek their advice.

Read More

Every year I find out about this the day after…. and the...

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:24:01 -0500

Every year I find out about this the day after…. and the rage inside me…. oh the rage. No longer! This year I found out almost a full week ahead! This Sunday I shall go throw colored powders at Indian revelers and eat chaat!

I got bored last night….

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 16:58:05 -0500

I got bored last night….

What Paul Simon and Vampire Weekend are trying to be…....

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 02:55:00 -0500

What Paul Simon and Vampire Weekend are trying to be…. Nothing wrong with that.

Nhengure - The Green Arrows

selleckwaterfallsandwich: Featured Sandwich: Meatloaf

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 14:46:21 -0500

selleckwaterfallsandwich:

Featured Sandwich: Meatloaf

Found this at City Sub on Bergen, figured someone might be...

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:16:39 -0500

Found this at City Sub on Bergen, figured someone might be needing his/her services.

Music is one of my main inspirations for travel, and Lhasa de...

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 15:02:00 -0500

Music is one of my main inspirations for travel, and Lhasa de Sela is one of my favorite travel inspiring musicians. Whenever I listen to her, I have the strong urge to be out somewhere incredibly foreign to me where I’m forced to learn new behaviors and ways of living. Her voice is unique and rich, and her songs are beautiful and mysterious, a rare combination.

She passed away this New Year’s Day from breast cancer at the age of 37. Before making Montreal her home, she grew up as a nomad out of a school bus in the US and Mexico. Wherever she is now, I’m sure she’s still living a full life.

Lhasa de Sela - Anywhere On This Road

One more day here in CO and I’m not ready to leave....

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:08:28 -0500

One more day here in CO and I’m not ready to leave. Here’s a little video on what I’ve been up to out here.

Spent the day in Breckinridge skiing for the first time in 10...

Sun, 03 Jan 2010 19:48:40 -0500

[Flash 10 is required to watch video.]

Spent the day in Breckinridge skiing for the first time in 10 years.

We stayed the night on a whim at a slope side lodge. Matt talked them down from $350 to $129 for the night. It’s amazing what he can do.

My Own 2009 Recap

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:49:30 -0500

This is the end of the year for us living in the West, so I suppose I should do a recap. It’s been 2066 in Nepal for a while now, I already celebrated Thai New Years in Thailand, and China still has some time to kill in whatever year they are still in. I started this year clean cut, working with hedge funds, wearing khakis and button down shirts. Now I’m bearded with long hair, biking and working on odd projects in coffee houses to pass the time, and wearing jeans and button down western shirts - a return to my days before New York.

When I turned 29 at the end of last year I told myself I needed to do some things that I had always talked about doing before I turned 30. My main goal was the Himalayas, I couldn’t relax until I had seen them. Mid-February I put in my two weeks. Mid-March I did a quick trip to Paris and London, two of my favorite cities in the world, as a celebration. A week later I was in Tokyo. Now I’m a day into my 30s, and living globally feels more like a potential way of life than something to get out of my system before turning into a responsible adult.

I already blogged the whole trip on this site, so I won’t go over all the details again, just a quick list of highlights from the end of March to the end of July:

the depth and insanity of Tokyo
the stone in the belly of the Buddha in Kyoto
cherry blossoms
getting kicked out of the Tsumago by a Japanese school teacher who spoke no English
spending Thai new years with Thai kids partying in the streets throwing buckets of water on passersby
learning Thai kickboxing behind a building in Bangkok from a father of a kid I played with
watching and listening to Tibetan Buddhism prayers in Rumtek
monkey stealing my glasses in Simla (for the story)
Bodhnath
Buddha’s birthday in Ki Gonpa
drinking tea in the home of Kashmiri immigrants and Spitian townsfolk
traveling with my sister for 2 weeks
dancing with Gorkha separatists in Darjeeling’s main square after the election results
getting to secretly see an ancient copy of the Tibetan Book of the Dead
swimming with elephants
trekking and volunteering in Ladakh
making friends in Ladakh
being the first foreigner (according to the head lama) to visit a gonpa in a restricted area of Nubra Valley
basically everything about Ladakh
Sikhs in a closed up shop crowded around a computer watching Michael Jackson videos on the day of his death
the beauty of Sydney
making music with Tim in Australia

Am I bragging about my travels? Yeah, probably, but I had a pretty fun year. The hard part of the year was the return. Regular life is suddenly duller than before: taxis aren’t speeding through crowds of men and cows, street signs are in English, and I don’t have to boil my water. There were great moments in the second half of the year, most notably all the beautiful weddings: good friends (Anil, Nathanael) and my sister (Emily). Now the challenge is making life less regular with what I do with it back home.

Photos:

In Newport, Oregon, my Grandpa talks about how life in the Navy...

Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:24:27 -0500

In Newport, Oregon, my Grandpa talks about how life in the Navy would take him away from his family for over a year at a time. The waiter interrupts me with some devastating news.

Christmas Eve after the rest of the family went to bed.

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 15:08:13 -0500

Christmas Eve after the rest of the family went to bed.

It’s pretty awesome outside tonight.

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 03:55:25 -0500

It’s pretty awesome outside tonight.