A very nice change of pace

A year ago I was sitting at a remote hostel having Thanksgiving in Canoa, Ecuador.  My friend Diego and I just finished our second surf session of the day and we found ourselves drinking wine, staring into the beach and thinking life can't get better.

Then it does.  A year later, I'm visiting my friends Jason and Carrie in Vermont at an off-the-grid farm, which is their latest caretaking gig.  About five years ago, I met the two in Los Angeles for our Peace Corps staging event.  Throughout the years, I'm glad to have stayed in contact as they traveled from NYC to Palau to Shanghai.


If you list where they've traveled, you would say they find great places to go.  I think they make the places they go great and Vermont was no exception.  The food was amazing and the company even better.  We hiked untouched snow, went fishing/canoeing, built a snowman and continued to fill out our days and evening.

Among the many things I learned...

• How to use snow shoes
• How to use gaiters
• How to play 31 (cards)
• How to play Chinese Monopoly
• How to play Bananagrams
• How to split firewood with an ax
• How to use a chainsaw
• How to sharpen a chainsaw

Among all that, I came with little notice on a holiday and they also drove out over an hour to pick me up/drop me off.  It makes me thankful that I have friends like that.

Updated with pictures!

Ice cream for dinner, one of the many benefits of being an adult!

I love being an adult, I get to have ice cream for dinner :)

Plus I get to have my own place!  This is two weeks after moving into a place in NYC (I was living for a week in a hostel looking for jobs, exploring the city, and finding a place to live)

The place I ended up finding is a small studio in Queens and it's about a 35 minute ride to get to work, which is over on Wall St. in Manhattan.  I guess I'm starting to grow up because when I sign a lease now, I feel happy (that I snag a sweet place) instead of getting depressed (that I'm stuck somewhere).

I can't believe that just a couple weeks ago I only had two backpacks and now I'm almost settled in!  Big thanks to Josephine for helping me out with her car in a crazy Costco run! :)

There's a small kitchenette, which I've used to do some cooking already.

I put together this bed from IKEA; it looks simple, but there were so many parts and it was a little difficult building it solo.  I love the swivel LED lighting; there's something about functional and clean designs that really intrigues me.  I still need to put up some posters when I get a chance.  I'm thinking of getting another "upside down world map" poster similar to the one I had in San Diego.

I plan on programming a lot (as a side hobby) now that I'm settling in.  I can't wait for Android's Ice Cream sandwich to come out.  I've also looked at the things I own in a whole new light; how often do I use something?  Depending on the frequency, I should spend my resources accordingly.  At least that's my justification for getting an Aeron chair...