Stay true to the dreams of thy youth

To begin with, here's a light-hearted video of me shooting a Chinese K-54 handgun. Yeah, yeah, I know, you're thinking "Wait, he's a liberal, he probably supports gun control laws in the U.S." It's true, I do... but it was in Cambodia... and it was really fun... and my aim was pretty good!



One of the greatest joys about travel, is that it allows you to really sit down and examine your life. Many hours spent on buses, airplanes, ferries, and elephants provides plenty of reading time. However, when that gets old, sometimes there is nothing better than just sitting and thinking about yourself, life, the future, or whatever else you may fancy. Journaling also provides the chance to analyze themes in your life.

While traveling, a lot of the experiences in life are magnified. Being forced to live, eat, and sleep with the same people in a whole new range of potentially stressful situations brings out both the best and worst in people. I wanted to share a few of the lessons and things I have learned about myself as yet... a little more than half-way into my trip.

Certain weeks, when the price of traveling rises, I begin thinking about money, and the budget that I'm set with. As I think more about it, I become grumpier and more stressed out, and instead of enjoying what is around me, I think about how much it will cost, or what else I will have to forgo in order to make up the deficit in funds. Although being smart and responsible about money is a part of life, I often stress out too much about it, when I know that things will come together in the end.

Another big thing that I have learned over the last few months, which I am working on, is that I do not respond to criticism well. Now, clearly there are two types of criticism, constructive comments said in love to help improve a person, and other comments said as a joke, or an annoyance, or just out of sheer stupidity. Most of the comments are of the latter group, and probably couldn't really be called "constructive," but I've found when they are directed at me, I get annoyed quickly and snap back at the person doing the exact same thing to them.

On a more positive note, I've also noticed that I am more bold and confident in situations that demand it, and laid back and flexible when the time is right as well. Rolling with the punches, while still accomplishing what needs to be done.

A good example is what happened today to Topher and I. About a week ago, we bought a return ticket from the island of Koh Tao to mainland Thailand, with plans to return after about five days. Today, we took a different ferry back as the one we purchased tickets on originally was out of commission due to BIG waves in the channel. We were told we would get a refund.


When we get to the office around five this evening, we find the correct lady, who after making us wait 20 minutes while she sells tickets to other clients, instructs us that she can only give us 250 baht back (about $7) of the roughly $21 we spent on our ticket. However, even though our bus to Malaysia leaves tomorrow morning at 6 am, we could wait until her boss returns the following afternoon to get a larger refund. Only problem was that would require us to miss our bus, and spend an extra day in a port town... After about an hour of debating, smiling, and coaxing, we managed to get a larger refund, a hotel room, and our tickets extended all the way to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She gave a bit, we gave a bit, and we ended up reaching a good conclusion.

The last week has been filled with everything except me writing blog entries (sorry). We just happened to find ourselves in paradise, on a slice of Thailand called Koh Tao, where we swam, snorkeled, cave dived, scuba dived, rode motorbikes, and ate cheap Thai food washed down by local beer. Did I mention it was paradise? (What was that, 2 feet of snow in Denver this week...?). It's not quite going to be a white Christmas here in Southeast Asia.

I promise to be more punctual with my blogs, as long as the internet stays cheap. We lost one of our men this week... Carson left us today to catch a bus to Bangkok before he returns to the States in a few days. We'll miss him. Tomorrow, on to Malaysia for Christmas, Singapore for New Years, and on the 2nd of January, I hop a plane to my old stomping grounds: Egypt. I've got a month and a half ahead of me of seeing old friends, studying Arabic, more scuba diving, and good old fun.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to Everyone!

... oh yeah... and I crashed a motorbike (although the wheelie may have been worth it)... All the bones in my body are broken, I'm typing with my tongue... actually, I'm fine, and after $10 of repairs, so is the bike.