Starting Again!

Yeah, I know, I haven’t written on this thing for a really really long time. Believe me, it’s crossed my mind numerous times, especially because I’ve received quite a few emails asking me why I haven’t written, and I don’t really have a good excuse. But, I do know that once you fall behind, if you intend to start where you left off, the task seems to become overwhelming and then I end up putting it off again, and then, all of a sudden you’re more than a year behind.

Right now I’m in the US, and the quick story is, since my Europe trip last year, I went back to Japan to work the autumn season, then I spent a few weeks in the US, went down to Argentina for 3 weeks, then to Brasil for 3 months, basically to see if I could make living there a realistic possibility. The answer was a big fat no, but it was a very complicated, long, drawn-out process – my feelings towards Brasil - and when I say Brasil, I am referring to the land itself, the people, the culture, the food, the music, everything – are extremely complex, and it is nothing short of a love-hate, addictive, can’t live with it can’t live without it relationship. I’m still sure that the whole deal with Brasil isn’t over yet – that chapter closed, and another has followed since then, and I’m pretty sure there will be more to come.

Anyway, I left Brasil, took a week-long rejuvenating eating and seeing loved ones holiday in Mexico, passed through the US and back I was in Japan at the beginning of March. An insanely busy spring season, Hong Kong for the Asia Yoga Conference in June, along with a quick visit to Vietnam, 2 weeks between Taiwan and Bali in July, and the rest of the year until November was spent in Japan. The first time I’d spent this much time in Japan, and really started to grow roots in Japan. It’s WEIRD. I never thought that that would happen in Japan, but for a multitude of factors, it worked this year.

And so I left Japan, confused, conflicted, ready to go, wanting to stay, and arrived in Los Angeles on a crisp sunny morning, and the same exact feelings came pouring down. As I walked the walk I had done hundreds of times before, from the bus stop at Lincoln and Rose, stopping by the burrito stand, having that delectable kick of guacamole and cilantro at 9am, taking my shoes off at exhale, and then stepping onto the sand, I thought, I could live here again.

A week later and I’m on a plane back to the east coast, where I spent the years from when I was 5 to 18.


And now I’m at the airport in NYC, waiting to board my plane to India. And the past month has been a whirlwind rollercoaster, the end result of which is: I want to spend more time in the U.S. California just makes too much sense. Except for the making money part…hmm. So although I am thrilled and excited and overwhelmed with what will happen in India, I am majorly looking at just staying and exploring options in California. So as of today, December 9, 2009, the plan is that I’m spending the next 2.5 months in India, then I will go via the US back to Japan in March to work for 3 months, explore the possibility of doing a Thai Massage certification at Wat Pho in Bangkok, and then…try to move back to California. Perhaps make a documentary with Molly. Perhaps look into environmental activism. Perhaps look into yoga. And most certainly look into the organic vegetarian/vegan food scene, and, oh yeah, spend time playing in the sun.