Originally started in July for an AT trek but redrafted during and for travels made during Labor Day Weekend 2008 - I think I am a relatively stable and calm person. But recently I find myself to be short-tempered and have been generally grumpy to anyone I come in contact with. I've been trying to figure out the source of my anger and can't really pin my frustrating behavior on anything specific. I think I really need some time off.
It has been refreshing to be on the road again. I left Washington early yesterday evening for Labor Day Weekend and progressed northward in the dark. I found my mood lighter the farther I got away from people - co-workers, friends - anybody. I've been so charged up lately I would even blow up at people I care for.
I drove through a rainy Pennsylvania and arrived in the Catskills at half past midnight. It was extremely late to make camp, but I managed to put up my tent and crawled in to rest my body. But tried as I did, I could not fall asleep. I don't know if it's my life, my dying father, or the hard rocks I neglected to clear under my tent, but I laid wide-awake until a little past 03:00.
25 July, 2008
17 July, 2008
16 July, 2008
14 July
On Bastille Day I found myself a delightful voyeur at the French Embassy in Washington, DC. Although I was with a large group of friends, I was rather detached and busied myself with absorbing all the colors; there were so much to take in, the history of 14 July, La Marseillaise, and all the cheese, pâté, wine, champagne, music, and dancing!
On events like this I often find myself conflicted; do I let go, have fun, and be with friends or focus on taking photos? Not that I take great pictures, but to document my experiences, I often find myself stepping back and removing myself from the event and location. It is as if I am looking at what is happening through a frame or a television rather than experiencing it myself. I didn't have a camera on Bastille Day, but I wanted to record everything in my head.
On events like this I often find myself conflicted; do I let go, have fun, and be with friends or focus on taking photos? Not that I take great pictures, but to document my experiences, I often find myself stepping back and removing myself from the event and location. It is as if I am looking at what is happening through a frame or a television rather than experiencing it myself. I didn't have a camera on Bastille Day, but I wanted to record everything in my head.
02 July, 2008
Changes in my South America plan: maybe/probably
Dad's condition is getting worse and he is now in the hospital to receive further treatment. I can't imagine how much physical and mental stress mother is going through taking care of a man who haven't quite cared for her during the past 10-15 years.
I feel very selfish about thinking about revising my plans for South American travels while my parents are going through the toughest challenge of their lives. But the reality of the matter is forcing me to delay my departure and probably changed the entire nature of my planned stay in Argentina. Rather than basing myself in Buenos Aires, enrolling in a Spanish language school, and traveling a week or two out of each month, I will have a much shorter time in South America and will have to decide how to reformat my travels. Perhaps I will content myself with two, maybe three months and simply travel by bus to see the continent. Also - an invitation from my new-found friend Eduardo from Medellín is tempting me to visit Colombia.
On another note, I heard this poem on the Writer's Almanac podcast and couldn't help but giggle the whole way home while stumbling from the bar the other night.
I feel very selfish about thinking about revising my plans for South American travels while my parents are going through the toughest challenge of their lives. But the reality of the matter is forcing me to delay my departure and probably changed the entire nature of my planned stay in Argentina. Rather than basing myself in Buenos Aires, enrolling in a Spanish language school, and traveling a week or two out of each month, I will have a much shorter time in South America and will have to decide how to reformat my travels. Perhaps I will content myself with two, maybe three months and simply travel by bus to see the continent. Also - an invitation from my new-found friend Eduardo from Medellín is tempting me to visit Colombia.
On another note, I heard this poem on the Writer's Almanac podcast and couldn't help but giggle the whole way home while stumbling from the bar the other night.
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