"I ate the last mango in Paris,
took the last plane out of Saigon,
took the first fast boat to China
and Jimmy there's still so much to be done."- J. Buffett
Some of those "damn, this is what it's all about" moments:
At the YoHo bar in Salisburg having "Dancing Queen" come on and instantly travelers from every corner of the world
are on top of the tables singing arm in arm until close in the early morning. Being stuck on the wrong side of the river in St. Petersburg after the bridges have gone up at 4am,
and with the other tired drunken souls, being forced to see the ships go by in the white night.
Over Christmas break, having just been reunited with my classmates from Duke, seeing the sun rise through a window
as we board the plane in Hong Kong to go to Vietnam.
Driving through the Fijian highlands with my own private guide (because no one else showed up
for this tour), local school kids waving as we go by, with the "Lonely Planet" theme song in my head.
Sitting in a cramped seat on a mini-bus of wide-eyed strangers, we drive through the Australian outback,
listening to Sting and Crowded House over the speakers.
First full day in China, not understanding a damn thing anyone can say but looking like
I should, walking through the chilly post-sunrise air and life in Tianamen Square.
After a day of seeing the sites in Rome, sitting around on the Spanish Steps late in the evening
listening to the small group if guitarists serenade our crowd of strangers to the classic "More than words."
A chilly Swiss night in Montreaux singing "Bohemian rhapsody" in the shadow of the Freddy Mercury statue on Lake Geneva
with my new Dutch friend Marielle.
Snorkeling around the underwater bungalows at our resort in Moorea, running into some new friends in the water as the sun
goes down, and as I get back to our room and look through the window seeing Sonja curled up and sleeping
peacefully on the bed. What will we find on the next trip?
Europe 1997 Austria, Venice, Prague, Budapest Russia/Estonia
May 1998
Germany
October 1998
Southeast Asia Tokyo, Hong Kong, Ho Chi Min City, Kuala Lampur, Singapore, Bangkok
January 1999
Jamaica
Fiji/Australia
May 1999
Asia
Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, Osaka, Kyoto
October 1999
2008 comes to an end
Downtown Austin as seen from my balcony
"I hope I never get cynical. I think you need youthful energy, excitement, and optimism in life. There is a lot I want to do, and the more cynical you become,
the more you sit on your butt and do nothing." - L. DiCaprio
2009
"Recession is when a neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours." - Ronald Reagan
"As I've gotten older, I've become aware that time is fleeting. I don't want to waste whatever I have left. I want to spend it with people I love,
and I want to do things that really mean something."- B. Pitt
St. Martin/Maarten, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Bart, Tortola, Half Moon Cay
also UGA vs #1 UF
November
"I'm a good worker, I'm a hard worker, but I'm a world class vacationer."- W. Harrelson
"Not everybody has to like you, only one team has to like you. I’m so blessed to be able to go play there."- Tim
Tebow on his new employer. Well said.
Jimmy Buffett concerts Houston May 20th Dallas May 22nd
Bob Schneider at the Paramount New Year's Eve
"And it ain't no crime, it's just dreams we're stealing- Anything to get more of this feeling.
You take the high and I'll take the low, We'll get there before you know.
We ain't got no time to waste, We got too much life to taste." - B. Schneider
Those "It's a small world" moments:
Near the end of my stay in London, while having a beer at a near by pub with some classmates- eyeing
a girl and she is eyeing me. Comes over to introduce herself and it is a girl from my high school
class, Sheri Horowitz.
Standing on a street corner in Saigon- and as one of thousands of scooters go by, someone riding on the back of one yells
out my name. Turns out to be my Fuqua classmate Rakesh.
Standing in the immigration line to leave Capetown, I see my co-worker Barbie standing a few people
in front of me.
Checking in for my flight to the Bahamas, my friend from middle school Mark Engel is a few
people behind me with his family going to the islands as well.
Missing my friend Eleanor's wedding since I'm heading off to Rio, but meeting up with her in Buenos Aires on her
honeymoon.
"What lies in the future is a mystery to us all
No one can predict the wheel of fortune as it falls
There may come a time when I see that I've been wrong
But for now this is my song..."- K. Carpenter
