on the road again

sometimes, you just have to give in to the wanderlust

so, once again, i'm off. back to norway and latvia for the summer, then off to oregon for jesse's wedding, and then.... back to maine. eventually. i think.

i'm excited, awed, humbled, and amazed that i have the opportunity to go back to norway and latvia this summer, on the same trip (under the auspices of the Navigators) that i went on last year. i knew in my heart that i wanted to go back, but it's only been in the past few months that my head realized that you know what, this just might be possible after all...

it's totally a God thing

life has been so busy as of late that it's only just now beginning to sink in that i'm actually going back. that i'll see some of the kids at Zosna camp again, see those majestic mountains and fabulous fjords surrounding Skjolden, sweat in a Latvia banya and freeze in a Norwegian lake, fellowship with some kindred spirits and reach out to some people desperately in need of Love, of Life, of the Lord. there's too much to describe, to many sights to see and people to visit and soccer games to play and mountains to climb and conversations to have around the campfire into the wee hours of the morning. i know it won't be exactly the same... but that's part of the reason i feel drawn to go back

so, once again, i'll be out of touch with the "civilized" world for a couple of months... sporadic access to e-mail/internet, unavailable by phone, and a little out of the way for a personal visit. feel free to drop me a line via e-mail, but don't expect a timely response. real, actual, honest-to-goodness letters would always be appreciated, too. but even more than communication from you, i would covet your communication with God on my behalf. please, please, if you can, pray. pray for safety, for strength, for wisdom in outreach and faithfulness in discipleship, for steadfastness in my personal walk with the Lord and for the capacity and impetus towards growth. pray for an effective ministry to college students in Norway, and to kids (many of them orphans) in Latvia. if you'd like more specific requests or information regarding the trip, let me know (by, um... tomorrow, since i leave on tuesday) and i'd be happy to fill you in some more

also, if you live in the u.s., and wouldn't mind letting a scruffy and bedraggled hobo crash your pad sometime from august on... that would be appreciated also. i'm going to try and be faithful about journaling over the course of the next few months as i'm traveling overseas and in the states, so hopefully i'll be able to recount the events once i arrive home... whenever and wherever that is


so, here goes nothing... i can only see part of the way down the road, and i don't know where it leads, but i know that this is the way. sometimes it's only by removing all of the things that we depend on from our lives that we can truly learn what it means to be totally dependent on God. that's my hope, that's my goal, and we'll see where this summer leads.


adios!

dog problems

(first things first: if you haven't yet listened to the album by "the format"with the same name as the title of this post, then you haven't yet experienced sing-along, pure-sugar-sweet pop music at it's finest. in other words... your loss)


dogs love me


generally speaking, i love them back


occasionally, their affection for me has created awkward moments: waking up to find a dog licking my face, realizing that i forgot to wash my hands in between being licked to death by a dog and eating some peanuts, having dogs jump all over you and attempt to greet you in traditional dog fashion (i.e., placing their nose where i would most definitely NOT like them to place it). but in general, dogs and i are on good terms

that all changed last thursday


for the first time ever (or, more accurately, for the first time i can remember), a dog bit me


granted, i'm at a higher risk for dog bites than the average person, given that my occupation of meter reader places me on private properties patrolled by dogs on a regular basis. however, my good relationship with canines, coupled with some common sense and a steady supply of dog biscuits, has allowed me avoid any serious incidents over the past 8 months

until last thursday, that is


i thought we were on good terms: i gave him a dog biscuit. he seemed happy. i walked up to the house, read the meter, and started walking back to my truck, when this dog decided to sneak up behind me and chomp down on my right thigh


(i'll admit it: i swore. although technically speaking, the phrase i used to describe the dog was less of a curse than it was an accurate description of his lineage)


so, being the rather stubborn person that i am, i decided to finish out my days work before i headed back to get it taken care of. little did i know that forms, paperwork, doctors visits, and shots were awaiting me at the end of my shift. apparently it's a pretty big deal if you get bit by a dog; this i did not realize, having never been bitten by one before

the last stage in the process finally came to a close today, when i finished the paperwork for the animal control officer (he complimented me on my incident report; apparently i did a good job of describing the vicious attack) and sent in what i think is the last form for the insurance company


the healing process is still ongoing, however. and i'm not talking about my leg; that's healing up fairly nicely. i'm talking about my relationship with dogs in general. i'm much less trusting; much more likely to treat an exuberant canine with suspicion; and, i carry my mace with me at all times now


i've also imposed a one-week moratorium on dog biscuit distribution. i tell every dog i meet why they're not getting one, too; i want word of this incident to circulate throughout the canine underworld, hopefully resulting in a fall from favor and ultimate shame and disgrace for the offending party



new policy: mace first, dog biscuits later

retirement is wasted on the elderly

i plan on retiring this coming may...


i prefer to use that phrasing instead of the much more succinct word of "quit," because "retired" has positive connotations. you retire when you've achieved financial independence and are successful; you quit when you're a job-hopper. after all, who says only old people can retire? besides, technically i fit the definition of the word:

re-tire, v, intr. "To withdraw from one's occupation, business, or office; stop working."


that's me.


so far, i've managed to retire twice in my brief working career; this may will mark the third time. the dates and events are as follows:

1. september '05. i quit... excuse me, i "retire" from a job i'd grown to despise, swear i'd never go back there again even if it was the last job on earth, and immediately set out on the great american road trip. one of the single best decisions i've ever made
2. may '07. retire from two jobs, and finally finish up the last few credits i need to graduate... the ultimate trifecta. spend a month and a half overseas in norway and latvia, and have an amazing time
3. may '08 (anticipated). planning on retiring from my current job and spending my summer in norway and latvia again, but with an extra slice of oregon (for jesse's wedding and hopefully some surfing) thrown on for a finishing kick. should be yet another epic summer

there you have it. now, if i could only manage to start drawing a social security check, life would be perfect...

winter = wicked awesome

i've been extremely effective lately at controlling my desire to write brilliant posts every single day. perhaps a bit too effective...

i absolutely love snowshoeing. i like it better than regular hiking by an entire order of magnitude (which is saying something), and it even ranks slightly higher than sledding in my "top five winter activities." which, in case you were wondering, are as follows:

1. snowshoeing
2. sledding
3. surfing
4. ice skating
5. drinking hot chocolate

i've done a good amount of 1, some of 2, and quite a bit of 5. unfortunately, it hasn't been a great winter for 4 because of all the snow we've been getting, and i haven't been able to do any of 3 in quite a while, which makes me very sad. i'm considering buying a surfboard trailer for my bike so i'll have a way to get down to the beach once the roads are a little clearer (and the weather a tad warmer), but for now i have to content myself with waiting and wishing

my taxes are done, the numbers are in, and it's official: i've maintained my streak (26 years and counting) of never making more than 20K in a calender year. and, if everything goes according to plan, i'll probably be able to keep that streak alive at least through this year

these boots are(n't?) made for walking

trouble has a way of finding you, no matter where you are in life


one of the major benefits of not having a car is the simplicity it allows: can i walk/bus/bike/hitch a ride there? if not, then i don't go. no car repairs to deal with, no insurance or car payments or paying for parking. all things considered, it's a great way to live


the only problem is when your footwear starts failing...


my boots have started to come apart. that's no huge deal, except that they're practically brand new (less than a month old). and the reason i bought these in the first place is because two other pairs simultaneously self-destructed, leaving me in a tenuous travel situation for a short while. i plan on exchanging this pair (i still have the receipt), but i hate to walk in there with a dirty, wet, and smelly pair of boots right after work and ask to exchange them for a new pair (assuming they have something in stock that is functional and that fits).


i thought transportation cares and concerns were supposed to evaporate without having a car... apparently i was wrong. but that's ok. i do have footwear, even if it's no longer waterproof because it's coming apart. actually, i have several pairs of boots/shoes/sneakers (all in various states of disrepair), which is far more than the majority of the world's population has available to them