January 1st, 2007
"New Year, New Beginning"
This is probably the last big update I'll send out. I was very
curious to know what I'd end up doing when I arrived in the
What have you done?
Two months with my parents in the small town I grew up in. Hanging out, running
on country roads, yard work, enjoying the end of a beautiful summer. Then I was
contacted about a job opportunity. I took it. Moved back to the big city, living
at my brother's house. Got back on the unstopping treadmill, a lot sooner than I
expected. But the path was drawn for me; I had only to recognize it and follow.
The last two months have been a whirlwind of work, visiting friends, and
traveling to
Do you miss travel?
No. It was a luxury to travel until I was ready to quit. I honestly haven't ever
wished I was still on the road. I still have friends on the road, and am very
happy to follow their travels from a comfortable chair. The traveling world is
so different. I often felt that people at home couldn't really comprehend it.
And now I know that that's true because it's the same for me, in a way.
How is it to be back?
Completely normal. Completely strange. Hard to say. I'm a bit of an
isolationist. I can't quite (and don't really want to) regain passion for
sports, malls, electronics, and other stuff that I used to feel part of but
don't anymore. I still fit in to this keep-busy-to-keep-from-thinking-too-much
society, but seem to (inwardly if not outwardly) take on the role of observer
more than participant.
Are you happy to be back?
I loved living with my parents again. I enjoy work. I enjoy living in the city
with my brother. I enjoy yoga and hot showers and a good bed. I enjoy commuting
and grocery shopping. But I don't see it all in quite the same way. It's been an
introspective few months, and I'm far from sorted out yet. While I haven't
succeeded in living the boring life I'd longed for, it's been good. And full. It
seems that I manage to fit years of life into short periods of existence. A
(ful?)filling, if exhausting, way to live.
Where was your favorite spot, and how many countries did you visit anyway?
I don't know, everywhere. Lots, 90-something I think.
Are you going to write a book?
I don't know. I'll think about it some day. I'd like to create something
tangible from these past years of existence. I believe it all has to have been
for something, and more than just an intensive personal rearrangement. There has
to be more to it than to come home, get a job, and move on as if nothing had
happened. We'll see...
What's next?
My dream of being a bit more settled is on hold. My company is transferring me
to the
I spend a lot of time imagining life, and am still very much an idealist, some
sort of slightly more sane modern-day Quixote perhaps. Few specifics, lots of
ideas, however impractical. I've not yet quite grown up, and still look for a
way to integrate my little fairytale world into this bigger, real one. As
always, everything's worked out perfectly so far, which is the same as saying
it's worked out the only way it can. I've no reason to think that will change,
and am eager to see what's around the next corner.
"Everyone's seeking the same thing: an imaginary place, their own castle in the
air, and their very own special corner of it." (Haruki Murakami)
"The face is familiar, but the eyes, the eyes, give it all away." (Tim Booth)
"Roland's lips parted in a humorless grin. 'It will work.'
'How can you say that?' Ted asked.
'Because it has to,' the gunslinger said. 'I see no other way.'"(Stephen King)
"Like I'm being shoved from behind by some huge heartbeat, I continue on and on
through the forest." (Haruki Murakami)
Away Awhile is hosted by Josh Trutwin.