Tag: adventure
Motorcycles in April
The one positive thing I can say about my tendency towards travel mishaps and misadventures is that it gives me almost unlimited blog post fodder. With that, I present the latest chapter, in which my […]
Tales from the Trenches of Standby Travel
A couple of weeks ago I was trying to get out of town on standby. You know how sometimes there will be a perfect storm of glitches? This was one of those days. One advantage […]
To Be Young Again
I’m told I have some funny stories in me, and so begins a blog series of funny/poignant/ridiculous/illuminating stories from the archives of my brainpan. I’ll start with this one – in which my sister and […]
How to Do a Live Story
I missed my Wednesday post this week, but I have a reason. I was hard at work on a story for the Moth Story Slam. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s an offshoot of […]
Please Stand By
As an airline employee I am entitled to unlimited free travel on flights operated by my employer. This probably sounds like a wonderful perk, and it is, but it’s not the unfettered joy it might […]
No Excuse Needed
If you participate in any sort of organized fitness, the concept of excuses comes up from time to time – if, for example, you decide to skip a workout. Or eat a doughnut. I used […]
Postcards from the South – Part IV
Continuing the story from last week, after consuming half the contents of an Applebee’s I visited the Publix for snacks to get me through the next day’s ride, then returned to my hotel room, which, […]
Postcards from the South Part I
My new job has sent me to a city, far from my home in Seattle, to learn about the Airbus 330, one of the planes in the fleet that I see frequently in Seattle. I […]
Random Thoughts of a Jet-Lagged, Newly Minted Night Shift Worker
I just started my night shift hours hot on the heels of 2 weeks spent 9 time zones away. I’m adjusting, but barely, so here’s a collection of random thoughts. I spent most of my […]
Happy Dreamversary, Me
One year and one day ago, I was just over a week out of Microsoft, and sitting in my first day of class in the Aviation Maintenance program at South Seattle Community College. I was […]
“Do What You Love” – Nice Work if You Can Get It
Last week Slate ran this article. Its point is that the aphorism to “do what you love” is steeped in the oblivion of privilege and that it’s insulting to those who must, simply, work. Given […]
A Master Class in Travel: Kampala, Uganda to Maputo, Mozambique Overland -Final Exam-Part I
This week we have a guest poster, my Africa travel companion, Mr. K. If you think you know the answers, please post in the comments. I’ll post the key later this week. Choose the one […]
Africa Overland Part XIII – Flat Tire in Malawi
At the end of our last installment, we had just gotten past a road blockage on the way to Senga. Not too long after we stopped for gas and cash in Mzuzu. Getting the gas […]
Africa Overland – Part VI: Bihamuralo to Itigi, Tanzania
At the end of the last Africa Overland installment, we were just departing Bihamuralo, Tanzania, where we spent our first night on the road. K had examined the map and suggested that for this second […]
Are You Productive, or Are You Just Busy?
I have been thinking about this lately, because as I have become less busy, I have become protective of my free time, not because I require vast tracts of empty space on my calendar for […]
Africa Overland Part V: Biharumulo, Tanzania
(Correction – my traveling companion, K, reminded me that our friend in Biharumulo was named Daniel, not Patrick as I remembered.) At the end of the last installment we were making for Biharumulo, Tanzania, hoping […]
Africa Overland – Part IV: Tanzania
At the end of the last installment, we had just stopped for a photo op at the Equator, a couple of hours from our first border crossing, into Tanzania. Next to the acquisition of the […]
Africa Overland – Part III: South from Kampala
At the end of the last installment, K and I had, by dint of persuasion and gratitude, procured an important certificate from Kampala Interpol. By this time it was close to 6:00 PM and we […]
Africa Overland – Part I: Red Tape in Kampala
Once upon a time, not too long ago, I road tripped through the lower third of Africa. It all started when a friend left a job in Uganda for a job in Mozambique. She moved […]
In Which I Bond With a Small Conifer
Airplane school is taking up all my mental energy right now, so I am posting from the archives of my life’s odd happenings. Once upon a time, I skied at Mission Ridge, in Eastern Washington. […]
A Refreshing Foot Bath in the Land of Smiles – Part IV
When we left off, I was standing under a street light on an unfamiliar residential street, trying to glean information from an increasingly soggy map. From behind me I hear a voice ask me if […]
A Refreshing Cocktail in the Land of Smiles – Part III
We pick up the story as I am drinking an iced coffee, with a plan to turn the cup into a gas funnel. Alas, it’s not that simple. I have encountered the world’s strongest plastic […]
A Refreshing Cocktail in the Land of Smiles – Part II
The story left off as I approached a gas station in Pattaya, Thailand, hoping they might fill a bottle with gas for my pooped-out scooter. As it turns out, while everyone seems inclined to be […]
A Refreshing Cocktail in the Land of Smiles – Part I
Recently I took a short trip to Thailand, which included a couple of days in Pattaya. When I was invited to Pattaya, I was intrigued, imagining a few ramshackle cottages at water’s edge, delicious food […]



