More rain today...slogging around through the mud is definitely starting to affect morale a little. Everyone is a bit temperamental, on edge, and generally unhappy. The smokers are maybe the worst; there are no covered areas where they are allowed to smoke, so it is a real endeavor to smoke a cigarette...their nicotine levels are dropping dangerously low for their attitudes, I am afraid!
I have no idea what to write about today...I made myself a deal while I was lying in bed this morning trying to get to sleep (it is hard to fall asleep when everyone else is starting to get up). If I can drop down by 25 pounds (from where I was at New Years) by the time I am off hitch the next time (end of April, I believe) I am going to take a trip somewhere. I am not yet sure where to go, but I was initially thinking about the Grand Canyon, Zion, and Arches. It has been a long time since I have been out to those parks, and I would love to explore them a little more, as I have never spent any real time in any of them. I haven't been backpacking in a while, so I think it would be kind of nice to have a backpacking trip to congratulate myself on solid progress on one of my big goals for the year. I think this goal is challenging and yet certainly achievable...I have dropped 5 kg (11 pounds) since I came out onto crew, so I am actually well on my way already. 14 pounds should be pretty easy in 13 weeks, I think, particularly in light of the fact that I have lost 11 in just over three. I am hoping that I can just destroy this intermediate goal, because I will be within sight of my New Year's goal once I make it past this point.
Another trip possibility would be to head to Istanbul and then Romania for a couple of weeks instead of the National Parks out west. Bogdan lives in Romania and has offered to show me around the country a bit, sadly, the only time we will ever share time off is after my next rotation here. He said that he would show me much of the country including Walachia and Transylvania, and I can handle a few days of Bucharest on my own. I have always been an enormous fan of Romania, and I have always wanted to go there. Unsurprisingly, this want originally came from my extreme interest in vampires and vampire lore, and Romania is, of course, the home of the fiction Count Dracula...it is also the home of the real Vlad Dracula, also known as the Impaler. Really, everything that I have seen about the place makes me want to visit...Bucharest is often talked about as the wilder, darker Prague. I have always been drawn to Eastern Europe as it seems exotic and strange and just a little dark, a little risky. I am thinking that I have an opportunity as long as I am assigned to a field crew to see some places that I might not get to otherwise visit, so I hope that I can figure out a way to at least take a couple of short trips while I am out here. Romania is definitely on the top of my list. Istanbul is another place that I have always longed to go...it is the gateway to Asia...the crossroads where Europe runs into the Middle East. I am intrigued by its history and would love to see the sights...just seeing the Hagia Sofia in real life would make it worth the trip, I believe.
Another place that I want to visit while I am working "offshore" would be Thailand. Everyone that I know who has been there has simply loved it and most describe it as the most beautiful place they have ever been. High praise for sure...I want to see for myself. And then, of course, there is Nepal...I have always dreamed of Everest (a climb will be in my future, I hope), but a trek to the basecamp will satisfy until I have the experience and $70,000 to afford the climbing permit. India calls to my soul, as does Malaysia, New Zealand, and the whole continent of South America. And then there is Antarctica...a life goal to stand afloat its iceshleves for sure.
As you can probably tell, I am currently under the influence of the travel bug. I think part of it comes from being cooped up inside of these walls for so long, and I still have more than two weeks to go. UGH! A change of scenery is so very in order. I will definitely try to get a field day this week so that I can get outside of the walls even if only for a little while.
That is all I have for now...it is getting late and I still have a lot of work to do...until next time, good day!
I have no idea what to write about today...I made myself a deal while I was lying in bed this morning trying to get to sleep (it is hard to fall asleep when everyone else is starting to get up). If I can drop down by 25 pounds (from where I was at New Years) by the time I am off hitch the next time (end of April, I believe) I am going to take a trip somewhere. I am not yet sure where to go, but I was initially thinking about the Grand Canyon, Zion, and Arches. It has been a long time since I have been out to those parks, and I would love to explore them a little more, as I have never spent any real time in any of them. I haven't been backpacking in a while, so I think it would be kind of nice to have a backpacking trip to congratulate myself on solid progress on one of my big goals for the year. I think this goal is challenging and yet certainly achievable...I have dropped 5 kg (11 pounds) since I came out onto crew, so I am actually well on my way already. 14 pounds should be pretty easy in 13 weeks, I think, particularly in light of the fact that I have lost 11 in just over three. I am hoping that I can just destroy this intermediate goal, because I will be within sight of my New Year's goal once I make it past this point.
 |
| Sweet castle...Bogdan says that they are everywhere! |
Another place that I want to visit while I am working "offshore" would be Thailand. Everyone that I know who has been there has simply loved it and most describe it as the most beautiful place they have ever been. High praise for sure...I want to see for myself. And then, of course, there is Nepal...I have always dreamed of Everest (a climb will be in my future, I hope), but a trek to the basecamp will satisfy until I have the experience and $70,000 to afford the climbing permit. India calls to my soul, as does Malaysia, New Zealand, and the whole continent of South America. And then there is Antarctica...a life goal to stand afloat its iceshleves for sure.
As you can probably tell, I am currently under the influence of the travel bug. I think part of it comes from being cooped up inside of these walls for so long, and I still have more than two weeks to go. UGH! A change of scenery is so very in order. I will definitely try to get a field day this week so that I can get outside of the walls even if only for a little while.
That is all I have for now...it is getting late and I still have a lot of work to do...until next time, good day!
No comments:
Post a Comment