Celle – My shadow on stilts!

My best friend is… ME! Me always accepts anything I do. Me is always supportive. No matter what crazy ideas I come up with, I can always count on Me to go along with it. I have been through a lot with Me. Wherever I go, Me is always there.



I never feel like I am being held back by Me. Some people get very negative about things I want to do, they even say it's impossible or that I can't do it, but they'll never convince Me.



Me is always happy to sit where I like to sit at the movie theater. Me never complains about the hotel I choose when I travel. When I drive, I never hear Me complain about how fast or slow I am going, or criticize when I miss a turn. Me likes all the same movies I do, listens to all the same music I do, and loves all the same foods.



Yeah, Me is definitely the best friend I could ever have.

Area 51

Oh, that's a dangerous game!



I'm sure the author probably intended for people to succumb to their insecurities and ask someone for some sort of critique of their personality, or some physical trait. But I don't have those insecuritites.



In fact, I don't care much what people think of me, so I'd be tempted to ask people really embarrassing, personal questions about themselves.



Evil, I know. But it doesn't have to stop there! With a few minutes of thought, a person could get past such fun, but petty, manipulations and do something even more meaningful with a question that's guaranteed an honest answer…



For example, I could ask Colonel Sanders what his 11 secret herbs and spices are.



I could ask G. W. Bush why he allowed 9/11 to happen.



I could ask what is really hidden at Area 51, but I would have to ask the right person, since the only guarantee is an honest answer… not necessarily the truth.



If I knew who to ask, I could find out who killed Kennedy.



I could ask Dick Cheney how much he got from the devil when he sold his soul.



It might be fun to ask Rick Warren or James Dobson to answer if they honestly believe the things they teach, especially if I could ask them in front of all their TV viewers, but the answer wouldn't change anything.



It might also be fun to ask Rush Limbaugh or Glen Beck if they really believe any of the horse defacate they say, but again, unfortunately, the answer would not change anything.



No… the unfortunate reality is that the truth doesn't change anything. Perception is everything. Belief is everything. Learning the truth is mostly pointless.



And so, I think if I had the power to ask one question and get an honest answer in return, I would gather up as many people as possible, turn my head to the sky, and ask "God… do you exist?"

Photograph of Women Working at a Bell System Telephone Switchboard

Could I live without the internet for a month? Yes. Absolutely. I lived without it for 25 years! What's one month?



But would I want to live without it for a month? No. A month without internet would be an incredible setback for me. It would mean no ability to update my blog. It would mean no communication with several friends around the world. It would mean greatly reduced access to my language learning and practice. None of these things are the end of the world, but all are significant to progress on my goals in life.



Moreover, a month without internet would have a major impact on a lot of other things I do. I would have to send out bill payments by mail, whereas I currently pay all my bills online. I would have to go to a ticket counter or a travel agent to book airfare, whereas I do that online (usually at least once per month). And I don't have any idea how I would find and book hotels without a travel agent.



I don't use a phone book, but I could if I needed to. I don't own a dictionary or thesaurus, but I live a few blocks away from a library. I do have a few maps of my city, so I could still find things without Google maps.



I don't think I would write any letters. They're not a replacement for email. I would probably make more phone calls and send more text (SMS) messages.



And a positive effect would be that I'd probably get out more and just walk around and do things… however that would probably result in spending more money. In fact, in general, I can see how giving up the internet would end up costing me a lot of money in many ways!

flip flops

All pet peeves are weird, aren't they?



Eating noises irritate me – especially potato chips. I don't know if that's weird, though.



I definitely hate the way people push to be first in a line that's going nowhere, like being the first to board an airplane with assigned seating, or pushing toward the door on a bus when everyone in front of you is getting off at that stop anyway. I'm not sure how weird that is, either, but it's really annoying!



People who punch everything. They're irritating. Like when you're in a public restroom, and the guy next to you slams the flush handle instead of just pressing it, or punches the button on the hand dryer. Dude, you don't have to kill it!



Okay, how about flip-flops? That's probably weird. I hate flip-flops. In fact, I actually have diminished respect for people wearing them. If you want me to have a serious conversation with you, you can't be wearing flip-flops at the time. I will not take you seriously. You'll be talking, but the whole time, I'll be thinking about how disgusting your feet are!

If I had to choose one quote that I live by, it would be this: "Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing." That's actually just the ending of a bigger quote from Helen Keller.



The whole thing goes like this: "Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing."



But it's hard to choose just one favorite, because there are several quotes I love. However, I suppose there is a clear theme to those that are important in my life.



For example, Eleanor Roosevelt is credited with saying: "Do at least one thing every day that scares you." And of course her husband famously said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." One has to imagine that they shared an adventuresome and fulfilling marriage!



Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Always do what you are afraid to do." That was good, but in another place he said it even better: "He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life.”



The secret of life he's referring to is lurking there in all of these quotes, but is revealed to the world in this quote from Marilyn Ferguson: “Ultimately we know deeply that the other side of every fear is freedom.”



In the end, those are your options in life: fear or freedom. Every time you experience fear, you are faced with that choice. You can only experience freedom when you conquer fear. Which is why, as Helen Keller said, "Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing."

10 years from now, I hope to be living in another country… or in several countries, as a permanent traveler. I want to earn all of the money for my cost-of-living from my web sites and online work, only taking jobs for extra money, and never because I need them.



By this time, I expect to speak 10 languages fluently, in addition to several languages at various levels of non-fluency. I expect to be a published author and photographer, and someone who is well acquainted with the world. I expect to be married and raising one or two children, and that the wife and kids will also be multilingual, and world-aware.



That's quite a lot, but the main thing is that these are not very materialistic goals. I have no idea idea or expectation of being rich or poor, or of having expensive cars or anything else. I'm happy to grow most of my own food, if that's how life turns out, but I'm also happy to eat in restaurants every day. I'm content with owning inexpensive properties in poor countries, but I wouldn't mind having luxurious properties in rich countries, too.



In the end, it's not "things" that make me happy… it's experiences, relationships, and accomplishments.