I hate stress. It hates me. Some people perform well when they feel like their feet are in the fire, almost as if the added pressure turns them from a lump of coal into some kind of shiny diamond or something. I don't get it really. Two things tend to happen to me when I'm feeling stressful: my fingernails get short and ragged, and I eat cookies. A lot of them.
Everyone has their own coping mechanism with elevated stress levels, be it exercise, crack cocaine, or meticulously dusting the tops of doorways. Me personally: I become a milk-and-cookie monster. Seriously, I've been known to polish off an entire bag of Oreo cookies in a single sitting. Today, it was Safeway brand sandwich cookies, but they're no safer than their black-and-white comrades. This is what stress makes me do.
I'm not the most organized person, so it's been difficult for me to simultaneously coordinate my efforts at finding a job, a reasonably-priced apartment in this highly sought-after place, and a cell phone (out of necessity, not desire). I'm also planning a trip to Germany and Easter Europe next May, and struggling with the best way to help a good friend who is going through tough times. I always say it's better to be busy than bored, but I guess it's worth acknowledging that there is a limit to what I can juggle, and I'm not far from it.
I've gone to every scuba dive shop in Monterey in search of employment, with some success. There are apparently a few boats that need the occasional divemaster to help out on their trips, which sounds like a good fit for me. The downside (of sorts) is that the boats only hire divemasters that are independent contractors. This means that, in order to be employed by them, I need to have my own liability insurance (on top of the diving injury insurance I choose to have), my own dive gear, and a license to practice business in Monterey.
Oh geez! That reminds me that I need to buy new fins and a mask! Cripes...
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Soy turkey, midnight futbol
I'm back in Oakland, having chosen to come up and have Thanksgiving with my good friends John-Paul and Andrea Tyler. Since moving to California in 1989, it is the first time that my family hasn't had Thanksgiving with Rickey (a longtime friend of the family, who has a passion for goofiness and a penchant for making incredible stuffing). The Tylers have been inviting me for Thanksgiving for a few years, and so I thought that this would be the best year to take them up on their offer, seeing as how all tradition has been foresaken anyhow! Though the dinner was vegetarian (gasp!), it was quite wonderful and I call it a smart move on my part to come here.
Yesterday was the first time that I'd played soccer in goodness knows how long. Around 5 o'clock in the afternoon, John-Paul, his brother-in-law Christian (originally from Ecuador), and I met up with a couple of guys to go play on a turf field near UC Berkeley. One of the guys, Lass, is from Ivory Coast, while the other, Imad, hails from Morocco. What fun it was, playing around with people from such varied backgrounds. Although any one of them, including Mustafah (also from Morocco), whom we picked up later, can kick my ass up and down the field, it was still great fun hanging out with those guys.
But wait! There's more...
JP had heard about a group of people who play soccer at midnight every saturday at a nice lakeside park near his house. And so, as you know I would, I stayed awake with him and went down there to check it out. Now, I'd never tried playing soccer in the middle of the night with no lights, on lumpy ankle-breaking grass, and with a smattering of what might have been grenade craters throughout the field, but it was interesting! Only 9 people showed up total, but it was a good group of young people who aren't too serious and just want to have fun. I think they all know each other from Narcotics Anonymous, because they just had that kind of look about them, and they were discussing how they quit using. I think the soccer gig is a healthy nighttime diversion from the temptations of drugs and alcohol, and it was really fun hanging around with a group of people who seem happy just to be alive and well.
Tomorrow I return to Carmel. I'm going to head down to the Monterey harbor and see about getting a job on a diveboat there. I might even go kayaking with Jenn to the Point Lobos Reserve, which I've been looking forward to for awhile now. Yay!
Yesterday was the first time that I'd played soccer in goodness knows how long. Around 5 o'clock in the afternoon, John-Paul, his brother-in-law Christian (originally from Ecuador), and I met up with a couple of guys to go play on a turf field near UC Berkeley. One of the guys, Lass, is from Ivory Coast, while the other, Imad, hails from Morocco. What fun it was, playing around with people from such varied backgrounds. Although any one of them, including Mustafah (also from Morocco), whom we picked up later, can kick my ass up and down the field, it was still great fun hanging out with those guys.
But wait! There's more...
JP had heard about a group of people who play soccer at midnight every saturday at a nice lakeside park near his house. And so, as you know I would, I stayed awake with him and went down there to check it out. Now, I'd never tried playing soccer in the middle of the night with no lights, on lumpy ankle-breaking grass, and with a smattering of what might have been grenade craters throughout the field, but it was interesting! Only 9 people showed up total, but it was a good group of young people who aren't too serious and just want to have fun. I think they all know each other from Narcotics Anonymous, because they just had that kind of look about them, and they were discussing how they quit using. I think the soccer gig is a healthy nighttime diversion from the temptations of drugs and alcohol, and it was really fun hanging around with a group of people who seem happy just to be alive and well.
Tomorrow I return to Carmel. I'm going to head down to the Monterey harbor and see about getting a job on a diveboat there. I might even go kayaking with Jenn to the Point Lobos Reserve, which I've been looking forward to for awhile now. Yay!
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Change of pace
I spent a lot of time riding around on bicycles of widely varying make, model, and maintenance while on my Big Trip. In Asia, they were mostly one-speed bikes for girls, complete with bells, baskets on the front, and low-crossbars so as to avoid indecency whilst riding around in a skirt. I got a lot of funny looks from young people, who laughed as I rode by on my cute pink bikes, and it was great.
I was never one of those kids that spent hours every day zipping around the neighborhood on my big brother's bike. Heck, I didn't even learn how to ride a bike until I was 11 years old, and I'm still not convinced that I've gotten any better. Nevertheless, one of the things that has changed since returning to Santa Barbara is that I really enjoy biking around town. It's really not that big of a city, yet there are a lot of really interesting and beautiful things to see in it. Just this late afternoon, I went out for a sunset ride at my favorite time of the day, hoping to capture some photographs of the cities landmarks (the courthouse, the Old Mission, etc.) for no reason other than because it was pleasant.
Part of what I learned from my travels is that there are certain things that I want in my life, in order for me to find my greatest contentment. When I gaze into a glass ball, looking for glimpses of my future, here are some of the things I'd like to see:
-every day, weather permitting, I ride a bike from point A to B. Car? What car?
-I've got a labrador retriever. The dog's color (black, yellow, chocolate) isn't important, but my little fur-faced companion is of the short-limbed, block-headed variety. He comes to work with me every day, is a menace to cheese, and demands cuddles from everyone he knows.
-I live, or have lived, in a foreign, non-english speaking, country. Occasionally, old ladies from the neighborhood come by the see if my hair is red naturally, or the result of some chemical perversion.
-I've got another companion, but this one of the two-legged variety. I never call her "my girlfriend", but rather, "my partner" because she and I are a tag-team, a partnership. The words, "Coming home" means, "Coming home to her".
-etc.
So yeah, as time goes on and I experience more things, I come to better understand the lifestyle I want to lead. Maybe the pieces won't all come together at the same time, but for today I'm enjoying the fact that pleasant bike rides are a part of my daily routine.
I was never one of those kids that spent hours every day zipping around the neighborhood on my big brother's bike. Heck, I didn't even learn how to ride a bike until I was 11 years old, and I'm still not convinced that I've gotten any better. Nevertheless, one of the things that has changed since returning to Santa Barbara is that I really enjoy biking around town. It's really not that big of a city, yet there are a lot of really interesting and beautiful things to see in it. Just this late afternoon, I went out for a sunset ride at my favorite time of the day, hoping to capture some photographs of the cities landmarks (the courthouse, the Old Mission, etc.) for no reason other than because it was pleasant.
Part of what I learned from my travels is that there are certain things that I want in my life, in order for me to find my greatest contentment. When I gaze into a glass ball, looking for glimpses of my future, here are some of the things I'd like to see:
-every day, weather permitting, I ride a bike from point A to B. Car? What car?
-I've got a labrador retriever. The dog's color (black, yellow, chocolate) isn't important, but my little fur-faced companion is of the short-limbed, block-headed variety. He comes to work with me every day, is a menace to cheese, and demands cuddles from everyone he knows.
-I live, or have lived, in a foreign, non-english speaking, country. Occasionally, old ladies from the neighborhood come by the see if my hair is red naturally, or the result of some chemical perversion.
-I've got another companion, but this one of the two-legged variety. I never call her "my girlfriend", but rather, "my partner" because she and I are a tag-team, a partnership. The words, "Coming home" means, "Coming home to her".
-etc.
So yeah, as time goes on and I experience more things, I come to better understand the lifestyle I want to lead. Maybe the pieces won't all come together at the same time, but for today I'm enjoying the fact that pleasant bike rides are a part of my daily routine.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Getting restless
I'm getting the itch. It's the itch to get off my ass and do something interesting. I've been half-heartedly hoping to land a job here in Santa Barbara, but it doesn't look like that'll happen. I've been staying on a friend's boat in the harbor, in exchange for some very menial labor, which would make living in SB very affordable. "Unfortunately" though, it looks like I'll be going to Plan B: living and working in Carmel.
Back before I left to travel, when I was working on the dive boat Conception (here in SB), I met a really nice guy from Carmel. Mike is a high school teacher there, as well as the instructor for the school's scuba diving program. When he came on the boat with his daughter (then, one of his students) as well as a few other kids from his Scientific Diving class, I got to chatting with him and it came up that I often find myself in Monterey/Carmel to go diving myself. He offered to have me stay with him and his wife anytime I'm there. Well, since then I've made several trips up there under the pretense of going diving. To be honest, I enjoy spending time with Mike, his wife Patti, and his daughter Nancy so much that I take any chance I get to spend a few days with them.
Anyways, they have once again opened their home to me temporarily, should I choose to relocate to Carmel. It seems like a fantastic opportunity, and so I'm hoping to go up there around Thanksgiving, land a job, and get set up in the Monterey area for awhile. With any luck at all, I'll find a full-time job and save up enough money to go to Germany next May for Matthias and Melli's wedding, and go travelling a bit afterwards.
If history is any guide though, whatever plans I make now will bear very little resemblance to the reality of what actually happens. It's okay though, because I like the unpredictability of it all.
Maybe I should just buy a lottery ticket...
Back before I left to travel, when I was working on the dive boat Conception (here in SB), I met a really nice guy from Carmel. Mike is a high school teacher there, as well as the instructor for the school's scuba diving program. When he came on the boat with his daughter (then, one of his students) as well as a few other kids from his Scientific Diving class, I got to chatting with him and it came up that I often find myself in Monterey/Carmel to go diving myself. He offered to have me stay with him and his wife anytime I'm there. Well, since then I've made several trips up there under the pretense of going diving. To be honest, I enjoy spending time with Mike, his wife Patti, and his daughter Nancy so much that I take any chance I get to spend a few days with them.
Anyways, they have once again opened their home to me temporarily, should I choose to relocate to Carmel. It seems like a fantastic opportunity, and so I'm hoping to go up there around Thanksgiving, land a job, and get set up in the Monterey area for awhile. With any luck at all, I'll find a full-time job and save up enough money to go to Germany next May for Matthias and Melli's wedding, and go travelling a bit afterwards.
If history is any guide though, whatever plans I make now will bear very little resemblance to the reality of what actually happens. It's okay though, because I like the unpredictability of it all.
Maybe I should just buy a lottery ticket...
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
The next chapter
It's been more than two months since the conclusion of my trip around the world. I'd planned on the last blog entry being the last, but I've actually missed writing down my thoughts as I go about the business of finding my place in the world. I find that chronicling my plans, hopes, successes, and failures allows me to focus in on the things that are most important to me at the moment. I also enjoy reading back over previous entries in order to see the paths I've taken to get where I am today. To that end...
A couple of weeks after returning home, I began a west coast road trip. On the northward leg, I stopped in Carmel, Oakland, Arcata, Portland, and Seattle. From there, I flew up to Anchorage in order to meet up with my brother Gabe and head up to Denali National Park together. My good friend Jenn, from Humboldt State University, and her husband K.C. were working up there for the summer season. It was one of those situations where several things came together at once: I was able to go adventuring with Gabe (I'd invited him on my big trip, but he was unable to join me), I hadn't seen Jenn in nearly two years and missed her, and I'd always wanted to experience some of Alaska's natural beauty. It was a great trip, and all my goals were met and surpassed! Running around the Denali tundra like nutcases, leaping into the frigid waters of Wonder Lake, and stuffing our faces with more wild blueberries than a person has any right to...it was great! And seeing Jenn turned out to be even more fun than I'd expected, because she and Gabe got along so well. Most people that know him think I'm lying when I say that he's the funniest person I know, but it's true. He's very selective in who he allows his proverbial hair down with, but for whatever reason he and Jenn were just as goofy and fun as I'd come to love and. It was really wonderful knowing that they each got to see the best of each other, especially when I'd talked them both up so much beforehand.
After nearly a week in Alaska, Gabe flew back to Sacramento and I returned to Seattle to start the return leg of my journey, southward. In both Seattle and Portland, my objectives in visiting were: a) become somewhat acquainted with the highly reputed cities, and b) scout out the area for consideration as potential places to live. My basic conclusions are thus: I enjoyed both cities (Portland more so than Seattle), but I don't know that either is right for me at the moment. Nevertheless, I met some wonderful people, got the explore the cities a bit, and got a sense for what it might be like to live and work in either city.
The stops in Arcata, Oakland, Carmel, and Davis were all of a more social nature. I have good friends (or brother, in the case of Davis) living in each and I took the excuse to stop by and spend some time with each of them. Over the last few years, I've been fortunate to forge treasured relationships with some amazing people. Thus it was really fun seeing the "scuba people" at HSU, the Guardino family in Carmel, my brother and his girlfriend in Davis, and of course the delightful duo of John-Paul and Andrea Tyler in Oakland. I'm a lucky guy.
I'm still here in Santa Barbara, sort of in limbo. I've recently decided that, at some point, I want to become certified (through TEFL, most likely) to each english as a foreign language. This would hopefully enable me to combine work and play by teaching english in countries that I am keen to experience: Peru, Japan, Slovenia, South Africa, etc. This "career" path could open a whole lot of interesting doors for me. However, I've decided to wait to take the course until after Matthias and Melli's wedding next May (YAY!). That way, I'll have no obligations to limit my time there. Aaron Beaton (another great friend, from Australia) has informed me that he'll be attending the wedding as well and so now we're planning some trips to Eastern Europe (okay, well that's my hope anyways) afterwards. I'm so excited about the whole glorious situation!
So basically I think I'll just try to find some odds and ends work either here in SB or, preferably, up in Monterey. That way I can save money for the trip to Germany, and whatever comes after. It's a very exciting time for me right now, and I'm incredibly grateful to be in the fortunate position I'm in!
A couple of weeks after returning home, I began a west coast road trip. On the northward leg, I stopped in Carmel, Oakland, Arcata, Portland, and Seattle. From there, I flew up to Anchorage in order to meet up with my brother Gabe and head up to Denali National Park together. My good friend Jenn, from Humboldt State University, and her husband K.C. were working up there for the summer season. It was one of those situations where several things came together at once: I was able to go adventuring with Gabe (I'd invited him on my big trip, but he was unable to join me), I hadn't seen Jenn in nearly two years and missed her, and I'd always wanted to experience some of Alaska's natural beauty. It was a great trip, and all my goals were met and surpassed! Running around the Denali tundra like nutcases, leaping into the frigid waters of Wonder Lake, and stuffing our faces with more wild blueberries than a person has any right to...it was great! And seeing Jenn turned out to be even more fun than I'd expected, because she and Gabe got along so well. Most people that know him think I'm lying when I say that he's the funniest person I know, but it's true. He's very selective in who he allows his proverbial hair down with, but for whatever reason he and Jenn were just as goofy and fun as I'd come to love and. It was really wonderful knowing that they each got to see the best of each other, especially when I'd talked them both up so much beforehand.
After nearly a week in Alaska, Gabe flew back to Sacramento and I returned to Seattle to start the return leg of my journey, southward. In both Seattle and Portland, my objectives in visiting were: a) become somewhat acquainted with the highly reputed cities, and b) scout out the area for consideration as potential places to live. My basic conclusions are thus: I enjoyed both cities (Portland more so than Seattle), but I don't know that either is right for me at the moment. Nevertheless, I met some wonderful people, got the explore the cities a bit, and got a sense for what it might be like to live and work in either city.
The stops in Arcata, Oakland, Carmel, and Davis were all of a more social nature. I have good friends (or brother, in the case of Davis) living in each and I took the excuse to stop by and spend some time with each of them. Over the last few years, I've been fortunate to forge treasured relationships with some amazing people. Thus it was really fun seeing the "scuba people" at HSU, the Guardino family in Carmel, my brother and his girlfriend in Davis, and of course the delightful duo of John-Paul and Andrea Tyler in Oakland. I'm a lucky guy.
I'm still here in Santa Barbara, sort of in limbo. I've recently decided that, at some point, I want to become certified (through TEFL, most likely) to each english as a foreign language. This would hopefully enable me to combine work and play by teaching english in countries that I am keen to experience: Peru, Japan, Slovenia, South Africa, etc. This "career" path could open a whole lot of interesting doors for me. However, I've decided to wait to take the course until after Matthias and Melli's wedding next May (YAY!). That way, I'll have no obligations to limit my time there. Aaron Beaton (another great friend, from Australia) has informed me that he'll be attending the wedding as well and so now we're planning some trips to Eastern Europe (okay, well that's my hope anyways) afterwards. I'm so excited about the whole glorious situation!
So basically I think I'll just try to find some odds and ends work either here in SB or, preferably, up in Monterey. That way I can save money for the trip to Germany, and whatever comes after. It's a very exciting time for me right now, and I'm incredibly grateful to be in the fortunate position I'm in!
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