Coincidence

At 2:10 I get up from my computer and take a break; a stroll down the street for that shiny red can of refreshment. Upon return, I crack open the soda and mull over the term "Short-timer" as though it were etched into the window. Five minutes pass and the electricity goes off.

Its my last day at work.

Without electricity, our computers glow in the dark, but their batteries drain and our wireless routers are powerless. We're dead in the water and when they tell us we're out until at least four fifteen, we pack up and head out for an earlier than anticipated happy hour.

This is all coincidence, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Finding Gandhi

Every now and again I find myself itchin' to unplug, back away, and shake out. This means travel and it generally entails leaving a perfectly good job. In good faith, its tempered by finding a replacement so the employment transition is smooth.

I just spent fourteen months donating time and sweat to Powermand, Inc and now more than ever, my legs need a good stretch. Hence, the procurement of tickets to India and Nepal.

Powermand, however, isn't like most jobs I've walked away from. I actually have a significant interest in it's success as I've "invested" a lot of cash in the form of unpaid salary, aka stock. It also happened to be one of the coolest jobs I've had. I also want to work there again.

So the replacement needed to be top-notch. Stakes are higher this time around and as I applied for my visa to India, we recruited a well-known java guru: Gandhi. (We knew someone that knew him.)

So, now I take my leave and make my pilgrimage.

Watch my investment, Prashant Gandhi, my faith is in you.

Proof of Onward Tickets

By the way, the Maoists won. The Maoists beat the Marxist-Leninists in a democratically held election. That's great.

We have no idea where we're going, but we have onward tickets to prove we're leaving. Most countries require that. We wont take it personally.

Saving the World, One Vacation at a Time

Today, Nepal held a historic election. Jimmy Carter headed up some sort of committee to oversee it's success. The British tossed in fourteen million dollars and the world over sent delegates and goodwill.

I haven't done all my homework, but there seems to be a monarch, a Maoist fugitive rebel revolutionary, and everything inbetween.

There are a lot of pissed off factions. The monarchy can't even vote for themselves because they didn't realize they needed to register. In the months leading up to the elections, there have been bombs, fires, drive-by anger and a handful of walkup candidate assassinations.

Naturally, the election was declared a major success. In what scattered news I could accrue, there was one stolen ballot box, twelve voting centers closed down, one voting booth set ablaze, one candidate assassination, and countless black-eyes and scuffles (I presume).

We are going to Nepal. I want photos, she wants to donate her time to third world medicine. Perhaps we'll dedicate future time to participate in the democratic process, running a fire-proof voting booth, for example.

Perhaps we can save the world, one vacation at a time.

The Snow Shark

She ain't exactly jaws, just a giant toothy grin; a fin of golden curl.

They say you shouldn't look her in they eyes, they say her eyes are wild.

But all the same, when she kicks into the snow, she cuts it like a shark and I watch and I am at peace.

Avoiding the Crowds

"You're going in May?"

The travel agent needed to confirm what she thought she heard, but didn't make sense.

We don't like to stand in lines.

Taking the much hyped culture shock of India seemed way too easy. We figured we'd take all those sights, sounds, smells, and touch, bundle 'em up, put 'em in the oven of India's summer, and crank it up to a "freakin' hot" (in the words of my friend Kranthi Yemula) one hundred and five.

And then, check out the culture shock.

Cause my girl looks good in rivulets of sweat.

The agent booked the tickets.

Delhi is a city of thirteen million, but if it's too hot for the tourists, we should have the place to ourselves. Right?

National Geographic

Moved into a new office today. Walked the downtown waterfront at lunch and indulged with a smoothie for desert. The little cafe had a large stack of slightly used National Geographics under a sign that states "National Geographic makes you smarter. $1.00".

I paid the dollar and bought the February issue for 1970, my birth month.

"White-water Adventure on wild rivers of Idaho" covered the Middle Fork Salmon.

I covered that same river last year, here: .

This year, it's the Main Salmon, the "River of No Return."  For the second time.