GasLand

The whole video for GasLand can be be found on HBO. These assholes that are killing our water supply, giving healthy people unknown diseases, and ruining the land must be stopped. What is it going to take, for people to take up arms and start killing CEOs of these gas exploration companies? Sadly to say, i would do nothing but applaud. We are seriously fucked up that we will make a few bucks today to ruin the land and water supply for thousands of years. Score another one for lobbying, un-checked capitalism, and pure greed.

Here is an interview with the director of GasLand...

Watch the full episode. See more NOW on PBS.

Remote Jobs

I'd really like to find a job that i can do remotely, from anywhere in the world. Doesn't have to be full-time or super-high paying, just something that i can do from anywhere with an internet connection. Anybody have any great ideas??

Ghost writer

Just finished reading the book ghost writer. It was an excellent book by Robert Harris, a fast read too. I'm super excited to see the movie on DVD which comes out in August.

Here's the trailer....

Cool Work performace video

rafting pics...

Costa Rica is awesome

We are having a great time. The house that we are staying in is absolutely amazing. Its like something off of MTV cribs, and i wouldn't mind making it a regular thing to keep coming back to it. We are in Jaco Beach, about a block from the beach.

Yesterday we went white water rafting, and it was pretty intense at times, then on to Manuel Antonio beach.

In a few minutes we are getting picked up for a horseback riding tour.

Lots of fun stories to share when i get home and see everyone.

Top 5 day of my life

This was a fantastic day. We got picked up at 8 am and taken to the arenal volcano which is about a 3 hour drive from the hostel.

We were really lucky to have an awesome driver, Miza, who has to be one of the best tour guides in the country. We saw lots of animals including toucans, went to a tiny cigar factory where Travis got to hand roll a cigar while i pet the goats in the yard, and see lots of other cool stuff on the mountainous drive to the volcano.

The coolest thing we got to do was go to was go to the Baldi hot springs resort near the volcano. i went to a hot springs pool near Napa last time i was in California, but this was on a whole new level than that experience. Besides the many different hot springs pools they had, they had an awesome hot waterslide where you went so fast it was scary. In fact, the last time i went down, i was going so fast that i lost control and knocked my head and lost conciousness for a brief second. Glad i woke up quick, because the lifeguards watching over the slide exit area looked in no hurry to jump in and save my ass.

Besides all of the cool stuff we got to do, i think the best part might have been the time i spent talking with our guide. I sat in the front of the van the whole time and picked the drivers brain, learning lots of spanish, and all sorts of other cool stuff about central america. I think if i could spend another few months with him, i could be pretty fluent really quickly. He was a great guy, and a great teacher. When we left him today, we all had this weird feeling becasue he really made us feel like we were part of his family. At the end he said that he felt he like he had some new sons, but said he especially felt like he made one son in particular, referring to me.

Tomorrow we leave for Jaco beach after lunch.

Pura Vida

costa rica

made it safely to costa rica. at the hostel now, just had a great lunch.

i will post more tomorrow or tuesday after our trip to the volcano tomorrow..

Back in DC

Back in DC yesterday safe and sound. Was a long flight but glad it all went smoothly, and I only got searched like 5 times at 2 airports. Getting out of the Tel Aviv airport is no joke.

I look forward to catching up with everybody, and now that i have some time I'll work on getting the pics from Israel up on Picassa and post a link here when its completed.

Jerusalem

Went to Jerusalem today. Reuvi was sick so Dayna and i took a small van thing that sits about 12 people. Its only about a 50 minute ride from Tel Aviv.

It's certainly a lot different in Jerusalem than in Tel Aviv. Its extremely religious, very crowded, and very old looking. It was cool to get to see all the structures that were many thousand years old, and they have a distinct look because they are all built with a white stone. Some of the stone actually still has bullet holes and other remnants of past battles still on display.

We went to the old city today where its divided into 4 quarters. Arab, Jewish, Armenian, and Christian. Women have to cover up there, and you can't wear something like shorts and a tank top. Unless of course you're a guy, you can wear whatever you like, and u spit on the women who violate the rules. What a bunch of fucking idiots....no wonder all the groups who don't have any respect for women live in such awful conditions with little advancement opportunities. They god they are out-breeding all of the "other" people in the world at such an alarming rate.

We first went through the Damascus Gate into the Arab quarter. There were a bunch of stores, basically a giant market. The passageways are narrow, and everyone is trying to sell you a rug, souvenir, candy, or maybe even a small child if you are a skilled negotiator. Then we went to the Joffa gate which is the entrance to the Jewish quarter. Being with an Israeli Jew, i certainly felt a little more comfortable there. We went to the Western Wall, which is a very special place for the Jews. Its a giant wall where you can write something in a piece of paper and stuff it in between the cracks so god can read it. It was kind of cool to see everyone kissing the wall and crying while they prayed.

While we were at the wall they just happened to have a graduation ceremony for the Israeli army. It was really interesting to see so many soldiers gathered in one place, most being between the ages of 18-20. Many of them were playing little games with each other before the ceremony, laughing, cracking jokes, and looked to be having a good time. Its a bit strange to know that these are the kind of innocent kids sent to war because of decisions generally made by out of touch older folks. Sometimes i think we (definitely I) forget how much just like us those people are out there fighting and they would much rather be at home goofing off with their buddies just like the rest of us.

As their graduation ceremony was going on the famous Dome of the Rock mosque (big golden dome) started one of its daily call to prayer times over the loudspeaker. It was like a scene from a movie with the Army chanting its loyalties to Israel right in front of us with the Mosque echoing its prayers in the background.

Jerusalem was definitely an interesting place to visit. Its cool to say i've been to the birthplace of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism....for the history part of it anyway :)

Not much to post

Haven't posted anything the last couple days because i got really sick. Had to have a Dr. come on Friday because my cough was so bad and he said i have bronchitis. I slept most of the last two days and didn't do anything exciting.

Feeling a little better today though, so might be able to go to the beach or something. I think we are gonna do Jerusalem and the dead sea on Monday and Tuesday now instead.

Fun Day

We had a really cool day today traveling up the west coast of Israel from Tel Aviv Acre. Abba rented a car, so it made it possible, so thanks sababa abba!


View Larger Map

I think the link for this map may not be the best, sorry. U can get a better one on google directly i'm sure.

We first stopped at a place called Ceasarea. Its an ancient Roman port city that started to be built up over 2500 years ago. It was really neat to see all of the old stone that has been there for thousands of years, a hippodrome for gladiator fights and chariot races, and also an amphitheater that seats 4,000 people and is still used today.

From there we headed to a Druze village in the town of Daliyat el Carmel. The druze people have their own relgion and ethnicity, and are not only located in Israel. They are a peaceful group, and are known for their hospitality. We had lunch there...hummus, falafel, pita, egglplant, and more. The falafel was the best i've ever had. Actually the whole meal was amazing now that i think about it.

From there we headed up to Acre, an arab town towards the top of the country. It was quite an interesting dynamic to be there to say the least. I generally feel very comfortable in plaeces, but i have to say i was slightly nervous walking around there as an American with two Isaraelis. It was a very toursity area, and we had to walk through some places that made your heart pump a little faster than normal. I have a diffent level of respect for how some people must feel back home becasue i haven't often been in a situation where i stick out like such a sore thumb. I'm sure if it wasn't safe, abba wouldn't have taken us there, but if that is the safe part, i can only imagine what its like going into some other parts of Israel.

Still fighting this cold...hopefully it goes away soon and i don't get Dayna sick first. Tomorrow we are going to Jerusuelum, so that should be a pretty cool experience.

Estoy Enfermo.....

In Tel Aviv. Landed at 4AM local time.

We got up today around noon and went to the beach and walked around. The beach is amazing here, such a beautiful day, beautiful skies, beautiful people. After spending a few hours on the beach, we went to a restaurant overlooking the ocean, then walked to Jaffa to the Arab market.

I'm so impressed with the city. The culture here is so different, the people so unique. It's far different that i pictured, because all we hear about back in the states is the Arab/Israeli conflicts, suicide bombers, etc.

I really love it here so far, and Dayna wants me to extend my trip by at least a few days...i might take her up on the offer if she isn't sick of me by then. Both Dayna and I are really sick tonight, but hopefully that ends soon so we can go to Jerusalem, the dead sea, and lots of other cool spots soon.

Shalom.

on the way to Tel Aviv

Rode the train back from Frankfurt today and am waiting at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam for the flight to Tel Aviv in a few hours.

It was really great to get to spend time with Dana, Robbie, and their friends/family. They could not have been more hospitable, and it was really great after a few days in Amsterdam to spend time with them. Dana's wife Tanja is awesome, and their 2 year old son Jaden was quite fun to play with. I tried to kidnap him and bring him with me, but wasn't able to sell them on the idea.

Spending the time in Germany definitely makes me appreciate a number of things more in the states that i never considered before. First of all, everything is expensive as hell over here. Gas is like $9/gallon, food and housing is expensive, taxes are generally higher, there are less options for most things, and wages don't seem like they are better than the U.S. All in all, we have a pretty sweet deal going back home on most things, and I'm certainly going to appreciate next time i go to the restaurant and order a glass of tap water without being charged 2.50 EURO.

My camera is officially dead, but when i get to Israel, I'll get some more so i can upload some pictures.

Germany

In Germany now. had a great daz with Dana and Robbie, my cousins. Thez couldn't be more hospitable.

Have some pics that i'll get loaded soon hopefully.

Way too many beers and glasses of wine to be typing now, especially on a German keyboard where half the letters aren't in the correct place.

Only a few more days til Dayna and Abba!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thoughts about last night

Fernando Yamasaki (my jiu jitsu teacher) said that when you are in Amsterdam you have a complete sense of freedom. I didn’t fully understand what he meant until last night. I’m not sure there is a place on earth where you are as completely on your own as you are here to do whatever you want without fear of embarrassment or penalty.
There are so many others here looking for the same thing, knowing that the friends they make will probably only last for a few minutes, hours, or maybe a couple days at the most. I think its that common connection and sense of adventure of so many of the travelers here that allows us to form a bond so quickly. Yesterday I started hanging out with was named Becca at the coffee ship because we were the only two people here. She was from Florida and we became fast friends. As we went around to different places, we invited more people to join us in whatever we were doing, and it everyone was super chill. After hanging out for just a few hours, I felt this overwhelming feeling to protect her as if she was my sister, especially when we were in the red light district, and to make sure she got home safely to her hostel.

I wanted to take some pictures of the girls in the red light district in the windows for the everyone who wanted to see what that looks like, but you can’t do it. Well, you can, but I was told that the penalty for taking pictures is that the girls come out, smash your camera to pieces, and then dump a cup of piss on your head. I can deal with the pee on the dome, but don’t want to loose the camera for the rest of the trip. Some of the girls in the windows, many of them actually, are just stunning and could easily be on the cover of Maxim. For people who are interested in that, I’d suggest spending a few extra dollars and coming to Amsterdam rather than blowing your money in the states. You can sleep with a dream girl for 50 euros for 50 minutes (can't imagine most guys need more than 2 minutes with some of the girls), and maybe you can negotiate that even lower. That's like the cost of admission, a cocktail, and a 4 minute lapdance at a strip club back home. I can’t imagine anyone who ever comes to Amsterdam wants to take a trip to Vegas ever again.

Today my body is pissed at me for pushing it really hard last night, but my mind is thanking me for the experience.


Oh yea, forgot to mention that i went to the "sex museum" yesterday when i got here. Figured i'd at least go to one museum since everyone is so caught up in telling you great they all are and why they are worth 20 euro. The sex museum was only 4 euro, it was alright. I'd much rather go hang out with people and walk around outside than look in the museums to be honest.

Time to get out of the coffee shop and out into the beautiful weather we got today after a cloudy day yesterday.

Late night thoughts

I wrote this last night when i got home but couldn't upload it til this morning because i didn't' have internet.....

That was one of the top 5 most amazing days/nights of my life. Time just kind of blended all together and for most of the night i couldn't tell you what time it was within a 6 hour time frame. I guessed once, and i was 7.5 hours off i found out later..

I just got back to my hostel and its about 3 AM Amsterdam time. I have had so many crazy adventures tonight it is unreal. I wanted to type some down on the computer before I forget them.
I did the whole Amsterdam experience tonight and it was awesome, minus the whole 50 euro for the girl in the window thing. Met so many interesting people and had a great time. My battery died in the camera but I cant wait to see some of the crazy videos and pics tomorrow.

One pervasive thought that I can remember tonight was the constant battle of living in the moment vs. trying to remember or hold on to the energy at the peak times of the night. Sometimes I would think of friends/family back home and how I couldn’t wait to share experiences and ideas with certain people and I would try to hold on to a thought in order to remember it later. Then there were times when I felt that energies and thoughts were passing though and I wasn’t holding on to anything…..wasn’t spending more than a split second on any one individual thought. Even though I could only do that for brief spurts at a time during a narrow window of time, it was an amazing feeling. It was for very brief moments of time living completely in the present. If I could figure out how to incorporate that idea into my daily everyday life, that would be something special. It would be a huge step in the path of achieving bliss, keeping all negative thoughts and energies away by letting them almost instantly pass on before they have any time to resonate, dwell on, or react to.

Here in the Dam

Well, I guess I was destined to make it Amsterdam after all. Everything turned out to be perfect timing, and the departure went off without delay.

I got to talk for about 90 minutes with a guy from England while waiting for the departure flight. He came over for a 4 day business trip and he’s been here for 11 days. His wife has 3 little kids at home by herself and is 8 months pregnant with their 4th child. He was a cool dude, and had some amazing stories, including how his British accent got him laid 5 out of 5 nights in his first trip to the states as a 24 year old at Mardi Gras.

I got to my hostel about an hour ago, and finally got to lock one of my new bags in a locker. I've walked a lot today already so now I'm at the "dolphins" coffee shop getting some free wi-fi and partaking in the Amsterdam activities that would make a lot of people back home wish they were here too. It's pretty amazing what you can order here legally.

Below is the link to the photo album of my Amsterdam trip so far and i'll keep updating it. I think Picassa allows you to sign up for email updates when new pics are added if you're feeling ambitious. I don't find myself that interesting that i'd even want to read my blog if i was you, so i can't imagine anyone wanted to get updates of my photos, but if you do, knock yourself out. Already made some friends at the coffee shop, so i should probably stop being rude and typing (its hard to concentrate anyway) and get back to hanging out with them.


Click here for the Amsterdam photo album

Shadow adopted

I forgot to mention that after 5 months of fostering her, Shadow finally got adopted this past weekend by her new mom. I think that she is going to a really good home, and it turned out to be pretty good timing since I'm leaving for the trip tomorrow. Of all the dogs we've had, i've never loved one or been more attached to one than Shadow. She had an amazing amount of love to share, and i hope she enjoyed her time at our house because we certainly will miss her.

A lot of people ask how we can foster dogs and then give them up for adoption after becoming attached to them. Usually it goes something like, "i love dogs too much, i could never do that." I have no doubt that one day i won't be able to control myself when someone makes that stupid comment, and they are going to get a quick right to their jaw (i don't apologize in advance). It is extremely difficult to give the dogs up, but it allows us to save more dogs from being put to sleep, so it isn't really about us, its about the animals and doing what's best for them.

Over 4 million dogs are euthanized in the U.S. alone every year because of over-breeding puppy mills, not spaying and neutering them, and neglectful ownership. I hope everyone encourages their friends to adopt and save lives and hopefully someday end the ridiculous of puppy mill breeding and careless dog ownership.

Getting excited for the trip

I'm getting pretty excited for the trip now that its only a few days away. This afternoon i partook in some "activities" in order to get me ready for Amsterdam....you know, looking at tulips and reading history books on Van Gogh :)

Hopefully the volcano gods stop throwing ash into the air for a couple of days so teh flight isn't canceled on Tuesday afternoon.

Later people...

A few days in....

Well, 2 full days into retirement. So far its been amazing, mainly because its been the 4 most perfect days of weather anyone could ask for. I'm not sure if that's a sign or not that I made the right choice, but it can't be a bad omen, right?

I already feel the creative juices flowing again, which i think is in part due to the weather, and in part due the fact that i will have no choice soon but to start to be creative in order to make this little plan work a little longer.

I'm really fascinated right now with learning some new things. Today when i was sitting in the hot tub, i couldn't stop thinking about electricity. It something we take for granted, but is obviously so important. I don't know the first thing about it, but I'm gonna read up on it a little, and maybe even sign up for a class if my interest is still perked afterward. I'd really like to learn how to make sushi too (vegetarian rolls of course)...i only eat it like 5 times a week, so i mine as well learn.

What I'm really intrigued by is learning how to grow crops. I think its so amazing how we can plant things, watch them grow, and harvest them in order to sustain ourselves. Just planing a few tomatoes and herbs in my small garden gives me great satisfaction, and I'd like to really learn more in the coming months on it. Food is such a major part of our lives, yet most of us including myself no so little about it, especially compared to past generations. As the Yellin family would attest to, I've been half-jokingly been talking about selling everything and going to work on an organic farm for a long time now. I still think that would be awesome, and something I'd love to do.

Anyway, im rambling now, i guess that's what happens after a day of hot tub, 2 hour drive, jiu jitsu class, bike ride to Georgetown and back in the sun. I can barely keep my eyes open.

Thanks for all of the comments after the first post...i appreciate it!

The Next Chapter...

As most of you know by now, my last day at work is March 31st. Vocus has been very generous to me, and I appreciate the opportunity here and the great friends i have made in the last 3.5 years.

I have gotten the question at least 50 times already as to what I'm going to next, where I'm going to work, and why i would even consider quitting my job at such a young age (28), so i thought the first blog post in my new adventure would be a good place to address it. As i've told many of you before, i think that blogs are the absolute best form of communication for this type of thing, because they are the least intrusive. If you want to read it when you are bored or feel like checking in, that's great. If not, no worries...i won't bother you with email blasts, texts, or phone calls.

To be honest, i don't have a defined plan of what the next steps will be. Some days i want to work with dogs, others i want to work at a hedge fund, and other times i want to move somewhere warm and work on an organic farm. The one thing I'm certain of is that i don't want to focus the prime years of my life on saving for retirement since I'm certainly not smart enough to predict if I'll even make it to that point or when the "retirement" time should be. How much money is really enough to live comfortably and never work again? Is it $10,000, $100,000, $10 million? I don't know the answer. I am certain though that I would really hate to get run over one day on the way to work by a bus on the beltway because i was rushing to get to my cubicle for some conference call that i didn't even want to be on. I figure now is a great time to experience some things that I've always wanted to do, because money can be taken away, the gift of health can change at any time, but real life experiences can be remembered and shared for the rest of a lifetime. I definately don't have as much money as you might think, and certinaly not as much as i should hve after making a number of extremely poor finanical decisions the last few years in both the stock market and in housing. Instead of letting that get me down though and trying to save back up to get back all i've lost, i view it as kind of a sign that now is the time to move on and try something different, gain a new perspecitve on life, meet new people, see different parts of the world, and possibly even find a new career path that excites me at the moment.

Most of us spend so much time at our jobs that they become a large part of our identity. For some people their job is the majority of their life... they gossip about it with co-workers after hours, may have a significant financial interest in their company, and get depressed with just the thought of loosing their position. I have to admit, that I feel very safe and secure here at Vocus. Its hard to walk away from a place where you have so many friends, a guaranteed paycheck, a great boss, and everything else. The longer i stay though without trying anything new, the harder it gets to make a transition and explore the next chapter in my life. I want to be careful not to get trapped forever in any place because there are so many interesting things out there in the world worth exploring I'm sure...the majority of which I'm almost certainly not even aware of yet.

On April 20th I'm leaving for Amsterdam. After a few days there, I'm heading over to Germany to stay with my cousins who have lived there their whole lives. After a couple days there, I'll go back to Amsterdam for a day or so before flying to Israel to stay for a little over a week with my sister-in-law Dayna before flying home on May 5. On May 22nd I'm flying to Costa Rica for a week.

I'll try to post things during traveling to stay in touch, and depending on the level of interest in the blog, maybe I'll keep it going afterward. I'm looking forward to reading your comments.