thailand

Focus

/ Sloan / 4 Comments

I’m having a hard time focusing on what is directly in front of me. I SHOULD be doing: packing, organizing, sending my visa, enjoying Oregon for the last month I have left… but what am I actually doing? Watching a movie and looking up places to travel in Thailand, looking for places to travel after Thailand, trying to decide if I should come back to the States after my stint in SE Asia, trying to decide if I want to get a real job or try and continue traveling some way, some how.

 

While on my run yesterday I looked ahead at the opposite side of the Valley; it was rolly horse and wine country. And then I looked behind me; mountainous, lush…well, mountains—full of trails, wild life and switchbacks to climb. For the first time in a while I looked at them, I realized their beauty. When you see something every day you don’t realize how amazing it is until it’s almost gone. I love those mountains, I haven’t taken advantage of them and should be using them every day, but most days I’m not.

I’m unable to focus. I’m so excited to get going and get out of here that I’m not living every moment I have left in Oregon. I’ve always been bad at living in the moment, being where I am—I will be focusing the here and now on for the next 29 days. Yes, I have a lot to do, but I also can’t wish these precious few weeks away.

 

Or at least trying to be.

Coffeeeeeeeeee

/ Sloan / Leave a comment

The first thing I do every morning is push the button on my coffee pot to start the brewing process, of course this is only if I remember to prep the coffee the night before—most night I do and I’m ever so thankful for my dad for teaching me this wonderful life lesson.

Next, I get on my computer with coffee, breakfast and emails. Not that I get important emails, but sometimes I do, or I check Facebook, Facebook is super important. Next I dink around on the internet, chat with my Mum and some other friends on Gchat. I’m generally up early enough that my east coast friends are at work and bored and I’m just waking for the day, so my grogginess and their coffee induced hyper is the perfect way to start my day.

Eventually I brush my teeth and put my running clothes on—I run, workout do something, then come back and start something else before work. I love my routine. I’m a very routine oriented person. Which is part of the reason I’m so scared of Thailand—I’m going to be thrown out of my routine completely and that’s a scary and exciting thought. I guess we’ll just have to see what my new routine will consist of…

New filter on my camera phone–OR it’s just broken…OR I’m purple and green in the morning–who knew?

 

Well, I’ve been up for about 2 hours now, drank a pot off coffee, I suppose it’s time to go run. What is your morning routine like? How did you deal with it when it got thrown off by… life?

Connections

/ Sloan / Leave a comment

As I loaded onto a plane the size that Ron White would describe as a pack of chewing gum, we left Oregon, our nose set for east.  I said goodbye to the mountains and was looking forward to greeting Lake Michigan and it’s cool breeze that it always has to offer. Touching down in Grand Rapids I was excited to go ‘home’, every asked me if that’s where I was going, home. This is a foreign term for me, was Michigan home? Was South West Michigan home?

My dad, since I was a kid, has always called me his Child of the Planet, I was eager to travel, always hungry to see and do and learn more. So I never learned to be at home anywhere. Where are you from? Is a question that gets blank stares from both my brother and me. This isn’t a bad thing, I wouldn’t change my nomadic childhood for anything. Not only my childhood, I’ve continued that lifestyle into my adulthood.

My trip’s purpose was to be a bridesmaid for my friend in her wedding, it just happened to be a month before I’m leaving for SE Asia, perfect timing to catch up with everyone back in Michigan. I left Oregon excited to see Michigan, I was in Michigan for a week and didn’t dream of Oregon once, didn’t think about the mountains, the trees or the crazy hippies that dance around the courtyard at the Co-op. I was completely in Michigan.

Discovering my lack of connection to Oregon was disturbing. I always figured I would love the west coast and never want to leave. Realizing that I don’t think I could move back to Michigan was also disturbing. I’m realizing as I grow up that I don’t know where I belong, I’m like that kid that eats lunch in the bathroom—no where else to go. I guess Thailand is my bathroom? (okay, bad analogy…but you get it, right?)

I’ve never felt at home, so I just keep moving in search for that connection with some place. I’ve got the wanderlust, we know that, but is it such a bad thing? I’m moving on from Oregon, maybe I’ll return, maybe I’ll leave it behind forever.

I’ve moved on Michigan for the time being, I love the lake, I love the people, but the land is flat and love high elevation. For now I guess I’m just super excited about this adventure afoot. Oh yeah, I also bought my plane ticket yesterday, so this is REALLY happening!!!!!

 

Let's get real, this is why I actually came to Michigan

Let’s get real, this is why I actually came to Michigan