TechZati

I almost forgot, I took the “L” into the city a couple of times. The first time I went all the way to Comisky park.  Bad area.  Everyone was like…”If you’d gone another 5 minutes you would have been in a really bad situation.” I hardly even noticed.  What I did notice was that within 1 stop people went from being mixed to almost all black.  Too bad people segregate themselves.  Everyone on the train was amazed that I went that far.  What was so odd to see was that once you got into a more poor area, people would capitalize on your misfortune.  Misfortunate preyed on others – fewer options I suppose.

Another thing that has blown me away is talking to Dad.  He supports me in what I’m doing by traveling.  He even brought up the idea to work really hard and then travel!  I told him that was what I was planning on doing and he thought it was a great idea.  I think he’s come to terms that I’m not a screw up and I’m going to be OK.  I know they understand, not necessarily like it, but hopefully they understand.  I mean, they should, I get it from both of them. I know they worry and miss me – to have parents care is the most security I can ask for.

So I’ve been walking around town and being a couch potato.  I don’t think I”ve watched so much TV or slept in so late this whole year.  I have been hanging with Dino a little.  We’ve been going out to eat and bars.  We went to “Little Italy” the other night.  Wine, the whole bit.  It was delicious.  I’ve come to the conclusion that to enjoy yourself in Chicago – you need $$!  But, I had an excellent time.  There definitely something about people raised in a big city that can grab your attention and hold it forever. We rode around town on his motorbike, in the rain.  So it’s dumping and we’re cruising around – laughing our butts off.

The other night we went out for sushi.  It was excellent! We basically got drunk on sake and had a great time.  We had a bit of a discussion about people worth respecting – all about being real.  Not to psychoanalyze, but it all goes back to people thinking for themselves – too many followers in the world?

I think, thinking for yourself is great, but you have to know how to enjoy yourself while you’re doing it. What I’m slowly realizing is that people are too repressed and I’m one of them.  That’s why I find totally open people so interesting. D’s philosophy is to try and make everyone he meets smile.  Thus the sake/sushi.

The waitress we had was hilarious.  Twoward the end of the meal we ordered a beer.  We’d been giving the waitress a hard time (nicely) and she busted our chops.  She got us a couple free sake’s.  When we ordered the beer, she said “Japanese way is to put an orange in the beer.”  So she brought us a couple of oranges and we threw them in.  It actually tasted pretty good.  When she walked by again we told her it was pretty good.  She then proceeded to tell us she was joking – ha!I laughed so hard I almost cried.

I could easily get lost in Chicago.  If I were more of a “poet” I could be a starving artist here.  But I’m not, so oh well.   It’s almost time to go.

October 28, 1995

The last couple of days have been relatively sedate.  Dino took me around Chicago on the back of his motorcycle. I was in awe!  Dino live near the gay part of Chicago.  As he jokingly puts it “gay boys on one side, lesbos on the other.” I’ve been spending my days lounging around and I’m ready to GET ON IT!

I saw Beverly and Betty here.  They are both going to school at the U of Chicago.  Crazy girls – dramatic.

I think I’m losing it.  I feel like I need more excitement.  I think I’ve got some mental barrier which is inhibiting me from letting loose completely.  I don’t think it’s so much of what people will think of me -but how to enjoy myself. Do I feel free?  Interesting question, I don’t feel it completely in my heart.  I need to take a bigger chance at something in my life.  Travels may solve part of my feeling, but I need something more.  What makes me feel ultimately blissful?  Perhaps I’ll never know.  Desire to live on the edge and be extreme.  Not for the sake of perception, but a drive to do more.  Ok, idle talk. But there’s definitely a difference between stupidity and extremity.  Maybe all I want to do is be able to tell a good story.  So my life is a story. What am I worried about?

October 25, 1995

I made it to Chicago, finally.  Though I probably shouldn’t have rushed.  The last 6 days I spent in Madison, WI.  Now THAT is a college town.  Living with 8 girls is a pain in the ass!  I don’t see how girls can live with girls.

Now I’m in Chicago crashing with Dino.  But for some odd reason I’m feeling like I’m trying too hard. Possibly intimidated??  I think what it is, is the whole aspect of being back among a city.  Since I’ve left Alaska, I’ve hardly watched the stars where it seemed like I did it everyday in Alaska.  Perhaps it’s just the attitude of people.  Last night we went to watch a guitarist, MelvinTaylor [at Rose's].  He’s probably the best guitarist I’ve ever seen or heard  Dino was not joking that when his fingers moved you could barely see them, blur. The other people I was with were just sort of there.  No big thing.

October 17, 1995

I left Menomonie and went back to Hudson.  Watched a Green Bay Packers game on TV.  I think the excitement everyone brings to their home team is amazing.  The Pckers won and it made everyone’s day. To top it off Minnesota lost.  That made everyone’s day that much better.

After the game Todd took me bow hunting. BOW HUNTING!? We got all camo-ed up – war paint and everything!  We walked into the woods and Todd set up a tree-stand for me.  We were about 15 feet off the groung.  We were up there for about 2 ½ hours.  No deer, but we did see some wild turkeys.  We heard them rustling in the bushes and I got so excited to see Todd shoot a buck, but just turkeys. Later that night we went spot lighting.  These guys really get into hunting.  I can see the thrill.

The last couple of days I’ve been helping Sparky re-tile his parents garage. We started off sitting in his hot tub drinking coffee.

October 14, 1995

I’ve been in Wisconsin a little over a week and I’ve had a fantastic time. The first night, I drove into Hudson and gave Chad a call, got his phone number in Stout – Menomonie, WI so I cruised over and he took me out.

Then I spent the weekend in Hudson, I drove in with Chad.  I spent the night at his parents.  They have a gorgeous house and they raise Arabians.  I can’t believe I’ve been here this long.

Anyway, the next night I spent at the Blaise’s. Everyone here is extremely friendly. I can’t believe how genuinely nice and generous people are.  Chad’s a little OCD I think. All these guys are pissed because he doesn’t drop by anymore.

I watched Mark’s brother Matt motor cross race, he crashed a couple time and end-oed once, a little scary.

I’ve actually been spending more time with Doug and Mark’s roommates than I have with them.  They took me mountain biking and too me down some serious hills (I think).  We ended up jumping off a trail into a creek.  Then we rode across a couple railroad bridges.  Olaf is a neat guy.  I know he thinks what I’m doing by traveling is pretty cool.

But the winds of change are blowing me, and I guess it’s time to move on.

September 26, 1995

I’ve come to the conclusion that I hate driving.  Perhaps it has got to do with the fact I’ve driven 14,000 miles in 4 months! Coincidence?  Definitely.  I’ve been giving much thought to the precise reason I want to stay in Alaska.  I’ve done much tossing and turning and I think the conclusion is that I don’t want to make excuses for coming back early.  I’ve been agonizing over the decision to stay, and last night I almost had myself talked out of it.  But today, I’m in Valdez and have had a wonderful day.  The weather’s beautiful (perhaps a sign I should stay – taken with a pound of salt, of course).

Valdez is gorgeous.  This feels like “Alaska” to me.  And here if I were to stay, everything would have worked out great.  Unfortunately my EMT class is in Seward.  At this point I’m hoping there’s going to be a trend of small towns where I can find the same stuff – job/ housing, etc.

But I did come here from Wrangell St. Elias – an obscure national park on the way to Valdez.  By far one of the more beautiful  ones from what I thought.  Yes, I think I could learn to like Valdez.

September 20, 1995

We just got back to Denali from the excursion to the Brooks.  It was very odd.  While we were backpacking, we’d stopped in the middle of the day for lunch. I parted ways with Jim, Rob and the other two in the middle of a valley.  It felt like in a book with a parting wave, we went our different directions.  It struck me as peculiar that meetings with different people can be so transitory. Just like that, they’re out of your life.

September 17, 1995

Well, let’s see – as of today, I’m just driving back from Prudhoe Bay.  It’s as far North as anyone can drive.  You can almost see the Arctic Ocean, but due to oil refineries, they won’t let you go the whole way.  But I must digress.

After Denali, we went on our way to the Brooks Range in Northern Alaska [above the Arctic Circle]. I talked Frank ?? into coming up with me (Go Front Desk – Hey!).  We were supposed to meet Rob, Jim and a couple other guys from the kitchen (Erik and Jason) – never saw them in Fairbanks.  So, Frank and I drove up to the Arctic Circle.  Just out of Fairbanks the road turns to dirt and it’s dirt all the way up to Prudhoe Bay.  At the circle we camped for a night and watched the Northern Lights above us.  They look different than further south, most likely because we were under them.  Across the sky they stretched like rays of light coming from behind the mountain.  Pretty amazing.  There was frost already forming on the ground when we went to sleep.  It was twilight forever, at lest until 11:00PM at night.

The next morning we set off for Atigun Pass in the Brooks.  Didn’t make it.  The road had collapsed and we had to turn around.  We had seen a huge slab of granite on the side of the road and decided to go back and climb it.  Immense.  We hiked around the backside of it to get around to the top.  We scaled through this chimney and split into 2 directions.  I thought we could meet at the peak.  Well, I was wrong.  I reached a point where it flattened out and the ridge went out and way up to the right.  Frank was already walking along the ridge looking down on me.  Well, no way to go but up.  I was going to hike down and around following Frank’s route, but it was so long – at least and hour and a half.  So, I looked up.  To my left, the cliff didn’t seem to be so steep and I decided to go up.  Do or Die was the feeling – literally.  I got up about 20 feet and looked down – WRONG idea!  If I had fallen I would have gone over the saddle and off the cliff – a few hundred feet.  “Do or Die and don’t look down!” I kept climbing up.  Fortunately, I knew how to climb.  The whole face had loose and weak rock.  Every hold I had to test.  Solo climbing.  I can see where the thrill is, but you’re fuc*ed if you mess up.  I went up close to 250 feet and finally made it over the top.  What a relief!

Hiking along the ridgeline was incredible – the ridge was almost concave and very narrow.  The cliffs dropped off into sheer elevation.  I finally caught up with Frank, we could see the whole Brooks Range from the top.  On our way down, we saw the other four guys drive up.  the Subaru Erik and Jason bought was a riot.  No passenger seat and no backseat.  So 1 person drive and three sat in the back.

The road was still out when we drove up to it.  So we turned around and camped in a truckers pull-out.  The [northern] lights were out again and it was beautiful.  It was hilarious to be camped in a truck stop.  It got pretty cold that night.  The next morning we drove on.  Atigun Pass was really not that far away.  The Brooks Range is actually pretty small.  the highest peaks are only in the 8-9000 foot range. Quite large, granted, but not tremendous. Beautiful weather – we stopped to decide exactly what we wanted to do.  Everyone leaned toward driving to Prudhoe Bay.  Thus was it decided.  Prudhoe is definitely an industrial oil refinery.  It was almost like the twilight zone.  Tons of machinery and buildings, but no people.  We finally found a place that directed us toward food and gas.  Food was our main concern.  We ended up going to one of the hotels – and I use that work loosely – and talked to the chef.  Jim and I got a bunch of beans, butter and staples for everyone  He wanted $40 but I was able to get him down to $30. Of course he pocketed the money, but at least he was chill about it.

We ended up camping in an airstrip. What comedy.  Rob was saying “Well, we’ve camped at a truck-stop, now an airstrip in the Arctic – perhaps we should get a little more extreme.”  Quite fitting, I think.  It was a riot camping there with the air tower flashing behind us and a half-moon lighting our dreams, we went to sleep.  The next morning (today) we started the drive back to the Brooks.  I thought I saw a musk-ox and we pulled off to the side. (Be aware of soft [road] shoulders – mental note).  We got stuck, a huge semi had to pull over and pull us out.  So now, we’re parked on a lonely road waiting for the others to catch-up with only trucks and a few other vehicles passing us every little while.  This is the road to nowhere in the Arctic Wastelands.

What were you doing 14 years ago today? Well, I can answer that for myself. You may have started seeing posts titled “14 Years Ago Today;”  categorized as such and under “Travel Journal.”  These are a collection of entries from my written travel journals capturing my travel adventures across five continents.

These start as a wayward musing about graduating college and leaving for Alaska 5 days later.  The story is journey through some of the most incredible years of my life.

I’m transcribing my entries word for word. They’re not meant to be articulate with good grammar. These were written stream-of-consciousness to capture the exhilaration of the moment, magic of the experience and both the romantic idea and the gritty reality of a traveler. Written in locations like mountain tops, open fields of wildflowers, jungle hostels and the odd tea house, these tales capture some of my most memorable, magical moments in a few lines.

Some may know me as the well-dressed digital mind at Ketchum, others may know me as the foot-loose and fancy-free globe-trekking backpacker.  Regardless of where anyone is in their life, I hope that sharing these adventures will inspire others to get out of their comfort zone, break convention and experience the world.