Year of Travel and Exploration

2011 was a year of travel, fun, exploration and adventure. I managed to collect quite a few pictures of Facebook friends that I traveled around to meet. I even went so far as to marry one of them. I owe you guys some stories from the year gone past about my travels and I hope to get to work on that soon. Things have been like riding a roller coaster for the whole year so I have not even given a thought to having a blog and that someone might stop by to see what is up from time to time. I hope you all had a good 2011 and have a better 2012. I am also working on a piece to share with you that has "Kelly's Guide to a Better Life: Part 1" as a working title. I have had some fantastic enlightenment over the last few months and I think it is my responsibility to bore everyone I can with this knowledge.

The Edge of the World

While I have not fallen over the edge I have peeked over it briefly. Yes, I am still alive and kicking and have been very busy living my life while being delinquent in updating my blog. I promise to post something soon.

A Little One

Seemingly unstoppable, 
the dimension of our own making. 
There is never enough yet 
you are taking too much. 
Always running out of, 
I just want to yell time out.

Thanks

Thanks for stopping by. I am working long hours for a while so might not get to make anymore post in a while. I can tell you though there is plenty of stuff to make me want to. Keep coming by and I will put something up for you to read soon.

Just a Little Rant for You

I can't recall being this completely disgusted with the US government since Ronald Reagan was in office. The only word that properly describes what our government has turned into is an Idiocracy. Everything our politicians say gets repeated with the term "Job Destroying" tacked onto it. Every government agency that was intended to protect the citizens has had its funding cut to the point that it is totally useless. Over 50% of the tax dollars collected are going to the "Defense Budget" and that is the only thing that seems to not be getting much in the way of cuts. Looking into my crystal ball I can see that the way things are going there will be even a higher percent of the tax dollars going to defense and that is one thing that I don't think I can live with.

I am secretly shopping for a new country to live in just in case it gets any worse.

Another Poem

Step Off


when all words have lost their meaning
the only sound that I can hear
is the gentle breeze of your breath
that swirls wildly down my collar.

my thoughts washing out with the tide
exposing the sands of frustration beach
placing my palm on my cheek
I look down in disbelief.

Weathering the Weather

This has been an unusually hot summer this year which brings about all kinds of wonderful questions about what could be causing the extreme weather. I really enjoy reading and hearing about all kinds of theories and myths about this place we live and what lies ahead. I am, however, rapidly losing my sense of humor about our politicians denying we have some problems that need to be solved and they should stop worrying about which public action committee is going to give them money so they can get elected again. The most annoying part is watching them try to enforce austerity measures while our economy is barely moving. Putting the pinch on the less affluent citizens is not exactly where I would be getting the money to pay the bills. Since we have record profits being made by companies that are creating jobs overseas while so many are out of work here it would only seem logical. Then again, these are the same anti-science politicians that deny our climate is changing, why would I even think they understand math.

Weekend of Rest

For a long time I felt that I had to make the most of the weekends and that is one thing I still abide by. I made the most of the weekend past by catching up on the sleep that I have missed out on for the last several months. Being somewhat famous for being an insomniac, it is such a treat to be able to spend an entire weekend actually getting sleep. What a joy to sleep late and then follow it up with a nap which is celebrated with yet another nap. There are tons of opinions about where or not you can catch up on sleep or not but I really detest these kinds of assumptions. Sleep is sleep and you either can or you can't. For those whose all too often can't it is best to do so when you can. Sleep is about healing and should be done so as needed.

Sleep is such an interesting topic to discuss with people because you can hear all kinds of stories. Some people absolutely must have their X hours a night or they cannot function. There are also those who manage to get by on  sometimes very little for days at a time. Some people even wake up more tired than they were when they went to sleep. I am one of those people. I have done sleep studies and bought equipment that is supposed enhance my sleep experience and I still find it to be elusive more than not yet there are times that I can sleep for the better part of a day without a thought. How do you sleep?

How Things Change

At the beginning of the year I began a project to visit at least 10 cities to give me some writing projects. This project seems to have morphed into something really different. The project has turned into meeting as many of my facebook friends as I can this year. I have traveled to many places already this year and have even more on the schedule as the year progresses. The biggest trip so far has been my trip to Switzerland and Germany back in May. I have posted many pictures on facebook and have neglected my blog, I have regrets but I will soon try to establish the routine of updating again. I will try to get some pictures and stories from each of the trips posted some time soon. My apologies to those who have stopped by to find I have done nothing in several months. I have a new desire to work on my blog so hopefully I will give you lots of new stuff soon.

One Place I Will Not Go

Odd Start for 2011

My apologies for not keeping up. This year has started a bit odd for me. I do have some travel stories to tell but and still in the middle of sorting out some other issues. Hopefully I can get something posted before too much longer. The malcontent travel project is off to the races though, should be a fun year once I get everything organized.

Eccentricities in Ten Cities

I thought a great way to start out 2011 is to create a contest. That seems to be a popular thing to do on blogs. I am too much of a procrastinator to mail stuff to anyone so what should I do for a contest? Well, I have some vacation time I will need to use later this year. I also have friends that live in some interesting places around the world. Ah yes, I have the contest and how to make it possible for several people to all win. I can't promise everything will work out but I am going to make an effort to follow through if at all possible.

Here is the contest.

Leave me a comment telling me about something close to where you live that I should travel to and visit followed by me writing about the experience. This is a really open contest because if I chose to go where you suggest, you have the option of going along, meeting me for coffee, or just telling me how to find it and not meet at all if that is more comfortable. I am after the experience of seeing things I would likely never know about otherwise. So, you ask what kind of information does he need to select the winners? First I need a little information about the place of thing I should see. Second I would like for you to decide which way I write about it, as the malcontent, as the lonely traveler, or as something experienced with friends. Of course the amount of winners will be determined by how I can schedule the trips and how many I can afford. I am willing to attempt a few hops around Europe if there are some good suggestions.

Why is he willing to spend money to go somewhere like this? Being a world class procrastinator I have a really difficult time trying to decide on where I should vacation. If someone can peak my interest in going to see something the I am willing to consider it. There are a few places that are automatically on the list as far as cities but I am open to specific things with  in the city that you might feel worthy of some commentary. My goal is to visit 10 different place that someone else suggested in the year 2011. I actually got this idea when talking to someone about Flat Stanley and a trip this friend was taking him on for someone else. Well I'm far from flat, but I would like to see things I have never see, take pictures and document the experience.

Now, I'm sure that this is a new experience to have someone volunteer for you to tell them where to go but I'm going to make a best effort to accomplish as much as possible. Everyone have a little fun here and let's see what we can come up with. I also welcome my blogger friends to engage in a similar project, even if you just post where you plan to go and have people tell you what to see when you are there. Let's make it a smaller world. I am really looking forward to seeing new things and hopefully letting the malcontent see a few things around the world. Comment away and I will try to keep this updated fairly often.