The Hunt...

Trust me
It's Paradise
This is where the hungry come to feed
For mine is a generation that circles the globein search of something we haven't tried before
so never refuse an invitation
never resist the unfamiliar
never fail to be polite and never outstay your welcome
just keep your mind open and
suck in the experienceand if it hurts
you know what... it's probably worth it
you hope, and you dream
but you never believe that
something is going to happen for you
not like it does in the movies
and when it actually does
you expect it to feel different
more visirale
more real
i was waiting for it to hit me
i still believe in paradise
but now at least i know it's not some place you can look forcause it's not where you go
it's how you feel for a moment in your life
and if you find that moment it lasts forever
it lasts forever
lasts forever

A farewell visit from T-Bird

This past weekend T-Bird aka TommyDigital aka one of my closest friends aka Tom Moran flew to CO From NY for a farewell visit prior to my departure to India. The weekend was action packed and felt way too short. T-bird got up on skies for the 1st time ever and managed not to kill himself (barely), and then we were privileged to see a free show by Rusted Root at the foot of Cooper Mountain (Check on the footage on my video link). The music and camaraderie was uplifting!

DISCLAIMER...PLEASE READ!!!

I recently had an interesting debate with friends about narcissism. Is it narcissistic to write a journal about your life/encounters and share it??? Like anything you are entitled to and I hope you now and always form your own opinion. The purpose of this site is to share pieces of myself with people that I care about. I often talk about layers and intend to use this site as a vehicle to expose parts of myself some of you might not know about. Through that, perhaps others might feel compelled to do the same…I want people I value to know me and I know that I don’t always do a good job of sharing. I could ask you to suspend your judgment and view this page objectively but that is not how humans are built and only a few choose to buck the system. As I venture half way around the world for at least 18 months, I thought a few of you might want to know how I am doing.

All this to say, my purpose is to share my journey not be judged or self promote.

New Life...

This past week I returned to the DC area for two reasons. One, to close a five year chapter in my life and the second, to welcome the birth and new life of Jalen Moore Roy born March 14th, 2006 (Son of my cousin Caity and her husband Jason). After five years of working for Booz Allen I decided it was time for change. Up until now I have not been good with goodbyes and my pattern was to avoid them. There have been many times I have done this and never seen people again...Which I regret. So I decided to face my fear and go to Mclean and personally say goodbye to individuals that have positively impacted my life. It was not easy, however the feeling of closure I received was well worth it. So that part of my life is over and in the same timeframe I was greeted by a healthy, beautiful baby boy! When I 1st meet Jalen I was flooded with thoughts and emotions... he was so pure, untainted by the world and an abundance of possibilities ahead of him...and then I thought about his future, the world he was entering and the challenges of raising a child while also having to balance your own hopes, dreams, and desires. It has occurred to me in the past and was solidified this past weekend that raising a child can be a pure demonstration of unconditional love.


With so many things consuming my thoughts this past week the one constant was the joy of new life and the possibilities it holds. Whether it is the birth of a child, the beginning of a relationship or job, going to a place you have never been, choosing to let go of something or someone that does not serve you, blah blah blah...

The bottom line is new life can conjure up feelings of fear and once you breakthough those it can be extremely liberating and invigorating.

Food For Thought...

Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine. I got to thinking one day about all those women on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible. How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word "refrigeration" mean nothing to you? How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched 'Jeopardy' on television? I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, "How about going to lunch in a half hour?" She would gas up and stammer, "I can't. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain." And my personal favorite: "It's Monday." .She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together. Because North Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches.. We live on a>sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect! We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Steve toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace>the living-room carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college. Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to>ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of "I'm going to," "I plan on," and "Someday, when things are>settled down a bit." When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Rollerblades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord. My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy. Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT>to......not something on your SHOULD DO list. If youwere going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting? Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's errat ic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask "How are you?" Do you hearthe reply?When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the>next hundred chores running through your head? Ever told your child, "We'll do it tomorrow." And in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say "Hi"? When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift....Thrown away... Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over.

"Life may not be the party we hoped for... but while we are here we might as well dance!