As one who has been camping for 12 out of the last 15 nights, this joke struck me as funny. This was forwarded to Kami by her dad. She forwarded it to me...
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went on a camping trip. After a good meal and a bottle of wine, they were exhausted and went to sleep.
Some hours later, Holmes awoke and nudged his faithful friend.
"Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see."
Watson replied, "I see millions and millions of stars."
"What does that tell you?" Holmes said
Watson pondered for a minute.
"Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Timewise, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, I can see that The Lord is all powerful and that we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have, a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you?"
Holmes was silent for a minute, then spoke.
"Watson, you idiot, some asshole has stolen our tent."
Sunday, May 17, 2009
No Longer Homeless...
Yesterday, I moved into a downstairs room in a large townhouse in Silver Spring --> HERE <--. The neighborhood is called Middlebridge Village. It will be my home base, at least for a couple of months, while I try to do some work for my friends at PushButton, and try to find a permanent job up here. It’s in a quiet neighborhood – the entire neighborhood is a cul-de-sac, and the street itself is a cul-de-sac within that neighborhood. It is almost exactly a mile from the Glenmont Metro station. It is a short distance from good shopping (not just one, but TWO Trader Joe’s). I think it’s a good situation.
There will be four other people living there. Three upstairs and two downstairs. There is a woman named Leslie living downstairs. I haven’t yet met her. There are two females and a male living upstairs. They all seem pleasant, quiet, and busy with their own lives.
I am still in the process of putting things away and arranging.
Last night, after packing up my campsite at Greenbelt Park (after a week of camping there), and moving into the townhouse, I went to a place just a mile down the road called the Stained Glass Pub. I had a meatball sub, and a couple of beers. By the time I got out, it was dark and raining. After one turn out of the parking lot, I had no idea where I was! It’s exactly what I wanted. Everywhere I go, I have no idea where I am. I must constantly process new places and street names. It is just as much of a challenge as I had hoped it would be. Especially in the dark. And the rain.
For those of you who are wondering, I did make it home. Although today it took me forty minutes to find the Starbucks where I currently sit, even though it is just 7 miles from my new home. Shortly, I’m going to be really brave and attempt to go grocery shopping. I may end up in Virginia…
There will be four other people living there. Three upstairs and two downstairs. There is a woman named Leslie living downstairs. I haven’t yet met her. There are two females and a male living upstairs. They all seem pleasant, quiet, and busy with their own lives.
I am still in the process of putting things away and arranging.
Last night, after packing up my campsite at Greenbelt Park (after a week of camping there), and moving into the townhouse, I went to a place just a mile down the road called the Stained Glass Pub. I had a meatball sub, and a couple of beers. By the time I got out, it was dark and raining. After one turn out of the parking lot, I had no idea where I was! It’s exactly what I wanted. Everywhere I go, I have no idea where I am. I must constantly process new places and street names. It is just as much of a challenge as I had hoped it would be. Especially in the dark. And the rain.
For those of you who are wondering, I did make it home. Although today it took me forty minutes to find the Starbucks where I currently sit, even though it is just 7 miles from my new home. Shortly, I’m going to be really brave and attempt to go grocery shopping. I may end up in Virginia…
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Fire...
(written during the evening of Wednesday, May 13th)
For those of you - maybe random people - who stumble across this blog and wonder what it is, I can only say that this is a document that describes my attempt to create a new me. If you know me, then I suppose you already understand. I have left the only place I have called home during my adult life, left family and friends and career, and decided to see if I can conquer the unknown. I am not ascending Everest or dog-sledding to the North Pole. This unknown resides within me. What will become of me if I strip down to the bare essentials and start again? It is a New Clothing Enterprise that may result in a new me on the outside, but will surely result in a new me on the inside (visit the Thoreau quote in the header of this blog).
I have with me only what I can carry in my car. I always have just enough clothing and shelter to stay warm, and just enough food to last for a day or two. It is no coincidence that I decided to begin this journey from my old town to my new one by camping in forests and parks along the way. Primitive camping starts with the most basic question; do I have what I need to survive until tomorrow? That is exactly where I wanted to start.
I am no Daniel Boone. I don’t hunt my supplies or make them. I buy them. And the ultimate irony is that I sit here now, on a chilly night, warmed by a small fire, typing on my laptop! I guess the concept of “basic” needs has been redefined over the millennia. I can’t help thinking, every time I sit near an open fire, how much it must have changed the lives of ancient man, how much it must have redefined their idea of basic needs. Suddenly there was protection from wild animals, warmth where it had been cold, light when it had been dark.
I departed Gainesville, Florida and have arrived on the wooded fringes of Washington, DC in search of my own fire. Here I am, despite the laptop, and, yes, the cell phone, sitting near the smoky flames, wondering if my New Clothing Enterprise will be successful. The longer I stare into the fire, the more I think I can classify this Enterprise as a success simply because I have tried. Failure would have been sitting and doing what I had been doing; toiling in a joyless routine, suffering from the lack of a challenge, feeling my brain rot inside my head.
The campfire is almost out now. That I can light again tomorrow. It is time to rekindle the fire within.
For those of you - maybe random people - who stumble across this blog and wonder what it is, I can only say that this is a document that describes my attempt to create a new me. If you know me, then I suppose you already understand. I have left the only place I have called home during my adult life, left family and friends and career, and decided to see if I can conquer the unknown. I am not ascending Everest or dog-sledding to the North Pole. This unknown resides within me. What will become of me if I strip down to the bare essentials and start again? It is a New Clothing Enterprise that may result in a new me on the outside, but will surely result in a new me on the inside (visit the Thoreau quote in the header of this blog).
I have with me only what I can carry in my car. I always have just enough clothing and shelter to stay warm, and just enough food to last for a day or two. It is no coincidence that I decided to begin this journey from my old town to my new one by camping in forests and parks along the way. Primitive camping starts with the most basic question; do I have what I need to survive until tomorrow? That is exactly where I wanted to start.
I am no Daniel Boone. I don’t hunt my supplies or make them. I buy them. And the ultimate irony is that I sit here now, on a chilly night, warmed by a small fire, typing on my laptop! I guess the concept of “basic” needs has been redefined over the millennia. I can’t help thinking, every time I sit near an open fire, how much it must have changed the lives of ancient man, how much it must have redefined their idea of basic needs. Suddenly there was protection from wild animals, warmth where it had been cold, light when it had been dark.
I departed Gainesville, Florida and have arrived on the wooded fringes of Washington, DC in search of my own fire. Here I am, despite the laptop, and, yes, the cell phone, sitting near the smoky flames, wondering if my New Clothing Enterprise will be successful. The longer I stare into the fire, the more I think I can classify this Enterprise as a success simply because I have tried. Failure would have been sitting and doing what I had been doing; toiling in a joyless routine, suffering from the lack of a challenge, feeling my brain rot inside my head.
The campfire is almost out now. That I can light again tomorrow. It is time to rekindle the fire within.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Symbols...
At all times I wear a necklace with two silver pendants that have symbolic meaning for me. Whenever I become aware that they are there, or see them dangling from their chain, it strengthens my resolve to follow the path I have chosen. Very few people know about these symbols that mean so much to me, so I thought this would be a good time to share…
Allez -
I bought this in June of 2007, and then got a silver necklace to hang it on. I don’t think I’ve taken it off since. It is inspired by a necklace that Johan Bruyneel wore during the 2004 Tour de France. Loosely translated, allez (pronounced ah-LAY) means “go for it!” I try to use it as a constant reminder that reward requires risk, and that the two are often directly correlated. I never want to NOT do something, and then spend years regretting it or wondering if I should have done it.
Some book I was reading not long ago mentioned the success – in private life - of combat veterans after World War II. The nation, rightfully so, provided them with the means to achieve – the GI Bill – but the guys themselves still had to go out and do it. I recall one anecdote, specifically, in which a hearty veteran said that, after the war, he started a business, made some money, risked it, lost it, made it again, lost it again, then made it back again. All the while he was unconcerned and not afraid to continue to follow the path of his own choosing. As he said, “I woke up in the morning, I was still alive and no one was shooting at me.” Risk, it seems, is relative to those who have been exposed to the ultimate risk - in combat. The point was – they achieved, in many cases, because they were not afraid of failure. When one fails, in civilian life, they are still alive, and, in all likelihood, no one is shooting at them.
That is what “allez” means to me. Go for it. Don’t be ruled by fear of failure or the inability to take risks.
Ankh –
This is the classic Egyptian symbol of life, sometimes thought to resemble the “key to life.” I added this to my necklace in December of 2008. By this time, I had pretty well decided that I would make the Big Move - what has become my New Clothing Enterprise – and the ankh reminded me that our needs, when it comes right down to it, are simple. I don’t need a fancy car or a big home or food from expensive restaurants. What I need is to be alive – to live. After that, everything else is a bonus. It is my way of reminding myself to focus on experiences rather than things.
I have been fascinated, for a while now, with outdoor sportsmen – specifically hikers and mountain climbers. Most of them have a hard time explaining what it is, exactly, that gives them satisfaction from weeks spent in the wild, or from ascending high mountain peaks. I often think of a quote from a mountaineer named Dick Bass, who had a very difficult time summiting Mt. Everest, but made it. “That mountain gave me peace," he said. "Not a superficial sense of well-being, but the peace that comes from going through the fiery furnace, by God, hanging in there, and coming out alive. And as long as there's life, there's hope.”
As long as there’s life, there’s hope. I can’t say it any better than that.
Allez -
I bought this in June of 2007, and then got a silver necklace to hang it on. I don’t think I’ve taken it off since. It is inspired by a necklace that Johan Bruyneel wore during the 2004 Tour de France. Loosely translated, allez (pronounced ah-LAY) means “go for it!” I try to use it as a constant reminder that reward requires risk, and that the two are often directly correlated. I never want to NOT do something, and then spend years regretting it or wondering if I should have done it.
Some book I was reading not long ago mentioned the success – in private life - of combat veterans after World War II. The nation, rightfully so, provided them with the means to achieve – the GI Bill – but the guys themselves still had to go out and do it. I recall one anecdote, specifically, in which a hearty veteran said that, after the war, he started a business, made some money, risked it, lost it, made it again, lost it again, then made it back again. All the while he was unconcerned and not afraid to continue to follow the path of his own choosing. As he said, “I woke up in the morning, I was still alive and no one was shooting at me.” Risk, it seems, is relative to those who have been exposed to the ultimate risk - in combat. The point was – they achieved, in many cases, because they were not afraid of failure. When one fails, in civilian life, they are still alive, and, in all likelihood, no one is shooting at them.
That is what “allez” means to me. Go for it. Don’t be ruled by fear of failure or the inability to take risks.
Ankh –
This is the classic Egyptian symbol of life, sometimes thought to resemble the “key to life.” I added this to my necklace in December of 2008. By this time, I had pretty well decided that I would make the Big Move - what has become my New Clothing Enterprise – and the ankh reminded me that our needs, when it comes right down to it, are simple. I don’t need a fancy car or a big home or food from expensive restaurants. What I need is to be alive – to live. After that, everything else is a bonus. It is my way of reminding myself to focus on experiences rather than things.
I have been fascinated, for a while now, with outdoor sportsmen – specifically hikers and mountain climbers. Most of them have a hard time explaining what it is, exactly, that gives them satisfaction from weeks spent in the wild, or from ascending high mountain peaks. I often think of a quote from a mountaineer named Dick Bass, who had a very difficult time summiting Mt. Everest, but made it. “That mountain gave me peace," he said. "Not a superficial sense of well-being, but the peace that comes from going through the fiery furnace, by God, hanging in there, and coming out alive. And as long as there's life, there's hope.”
As long as there’s life, there’s hope. I can’t say it any better than that.
Getting Oriented...
Sunday/Monday/Tuesday – May 10th, 11th, 12th - For the sake of convenience, I’ll lump these three days under one entry. It really has been a matter of just getting oriented. Saturday was tough – coming down from the mountains into the city, and then meeting up with people from Gainesville in the middle of DC. Talk about disorientation!
So, by the time I woke up Sunday morning in my tent in Greenbelt Park (Greenbelt, Md), I just needed to breathe and look around. It was a beautiful day, so I decided to drive straight down US 1 into the city – assuming that Sunday traffic in DC isn’t too bad. It was a pretty easy drive, and I ended up a few blocks east of the Capital building – looking for the place that hosts Gator gatherings up here – the Pour House. I drove around, then walked around, then drove around some more.
Drove down US 1, took a left, and this appeared in front of me:
By Monday, I had found a Starbucks (for easy internet access), a laundrymat, a grocery store, etc, etc. I began scouring Craigslist for places to live, and got a surprise call from my former co-worker at WRUF, Mel. He was in town with his wife (who was attending a seminar)! Made plans to meet him at the Smithsonian on Tuesday.
We spent a few hours wandering around the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History, then sat and ate and caught up on developments in Gainesville. All in all, a pleasant afternoon in the city. I rode the Metro all the way from the station nearest my camp (Greenbelt), and it worked out great. I think I’m finally getting the hang of that too.
My immediate goal is to find a place to call home for a while (besides my tent!).
I must say, though, that if anyone wants to play tourist in DC, and do it cheaply, this campground is perfect. It is just a couple of miles from the Metro station, and it’s only $16 a night. Try finding a hotel in DC for that! Many of the major attractions in DC are free, so you can really do the nation’s capital on a budget if you choose.
I’m looking at three apartments between today and tomorrow. We’ll see what happens…
So, by the time I woke up Sunday morning in my tent in Greenbelt Park (Greenbelt, Md), I just needed to breathe and look around. It was a beautiful day, so I decided to drive straight down US 1 into the city – assuming that Sunday traffic in DC isn’t too bad. It was a pretty easy drive, and I ended up a few blocks east of the Capital building – looking for the place that hosts Gator gatherings up here – the Pour House. I drove around, then walked around, then drove around some more.
Drove down US 1, took a left, and this appeared in front of me:
By Monday, I had found a Starbucks (for easy internet access), a laundrymat, a grocery store, etc, etc. I began scouring Craigslist for places to live, and got a surprise call from my former co-worker at WRUF, Mel. He was in town with his wife (who was attending a seminar)! Made plans to meet him at the Smithsonian on Tuesday.
We spent a few hours wandering around the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History, then sat and ate and caught up on developments in Gainesville. All in all, a pleasant afternoon in the city. I rode the Metro all the way from the station nearest my camp (Greenbelt), and it worked out great. I think I’m finally getting the hang of that too.
My immediate goal is to find a place to call home for a while (besides my tent!).
I must say, though, that if anyone wants to play tourist in DC, and do it cheaply, this campground is perfect. It is just a couple of miles from the Metro station, and it’s only $16 a night. Try finding a hotel in DC for that! Many of the major attractions in DC are free, so you can really do the nation’s capital on a budget if you choose.
I’m looking at three apartments between today and tomorrow. We’ll see what happens…
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