Tag Archives: Old Towns

That test you passed… not everybody does. Welcome to the afterlife.

As the years ware on, I get increasingly worse about taking photos. Like, really bad. I have so many nice pictures from my first trip to Estonia; I guess that’s why I figured I didn’t need to take any more of the main attractions. It’s not as if they’ve changed much in 3 years. But anyways, I flew to Estonia to start a job, to actually move to a place and have a sense of permanence for the first time in years. Continue reading That test you passed… not everybody does. Welcome to the afterlife.

I paint flowers so they will not die.

Going into 2019, I was in the mood for familiarity. It just wasn’t the time for ambition, so rather than navigate deeper into South America or try to deal with the Wifi at some seaside town, I opted to keep it simple and put myself in a position to live near the beach and get some work done. So for the first few months, Playa del Carmen (so the family could come down and get their dive certifications) and Mérida (for after they leave, because I heard it was chill) were going to be the major basecamps. Continue reading I paint flowers so they will not die.

Come freely. Go safely; and leave something of the happiness you bring

Despite its nice parks, Bucharest was still a bit urban for my liking, and I was happy to escape. Away from Wallachia and into Transylvania. Super excited about that, as I’m just a huge Twilight fan. It’s like Dracula, but better. So what better way to celebrate one of the greatest novels/movies of the century than to visit the famed motherland of the vampires.
Continue reading Come freely. Go safely; and leave something of the happiness you bring

We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.

Ambition really strikes when ordering plane tickets, and that ambition lead me to think it was a good idea to do a double red eye. First, from Rio to Lisbon, where I would spend a day, and then from Lisbon to Bucharest, where I’d stay for a while. I still think it’s a nice idea in theory – Lisbon is a great city to spend a day – but it definitely makes for a tiring trip. Continue reading We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.

I like looking at everything from far away, except you.

My annoying-on-paper flight from Buffalo to Charlotte to Miami to Lima to Montevideo went about as smoothly as I could have hoped. My Lima to Montevideo flight was scheduled to take off at 11:59pm, but we ended up watching fireworks from the runway for a few minutes before taking off. It was interesting to see New Years from the sky, and fireworks aren’t really shot very high. Continue reading I like looking at everything from far away, except you.

Fear is not real. The only place that fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future.

After a few days in the hostel in San Jose, it was time to start making my way towards Panama. There were a couple people also going in that direction, so I had some sustained social interaction from place to place over the next week. The first stop on that trip was Puerto Viejo, which is on the Atlantic coast in Costa Rica. Continue reading Fear is not real. The only place that fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future.

Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.

I managed to avoid any excitement my last couple weeks in Riga, sticking to my familiar walking paths and coffee shop hopping. I did take a walk over to the markets on the weekend, which were quite large and busy. One building was completely filled with meat – did not last long in there. But I wish I had gone earlier, as there were huge stalls of vegetables as well.

Continue reading Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.