Ride

Hey, I just got back from a mini vaction and it felt great. I bet most of you joined the Peace Corps because you want to help out people in third world countries or you just want to do good in general right? Well that is the general assumption of why most people join and dedicate two of their years to whatever country they are assigned. I decided that on Easter Sunday that I would go on a little drive to see the little world around me that I have never payed much attention to before I go out and see the big world that I have never seen before except for on tv or in magazines. Well my little journey was quite a little adventure to me because I saw things in people that I had never seen before and I met the most kindest people out in Kansas who really took care of strangers. I got stranded in a little town when my theromstat went out on me and these people in this little town took care of me and it were so nice to me. It was a really good drive because it allows you to clear your head and think about all kinds of things when you have no particular destination to get to with no particular time that you have to get there. It felt really good to drive and see all the sights around me. I enjoyed all the people that I met on the way and all the sights that I saw. I think that it really helped me clear my head about some stuff that was bothering me and everybody should get a chance to do a little drive because it will give you a bunch of clarity about all kinds of things. It did me anyway. So if you do make sure that you grab a bunch of cds start you car up and let your mind wonder. I hope that you do before you go or maybe even have a set destination in mind. If you do make sure the first thing you do is listen to "Ride" by the Carey Brothers because it is really good.

It's not quite dark yet, but it is getting there.

I have like six and a half weeks left until I officaly leave for Washington DC and then off to Kenya. I must say I am pretty excited and a little sad in the process. I am sad because I want to have a little bit of resolution to everything, but that won't happen I know. I have to just enjoy as best of resolution as I can get. If you are reading this and wonder what you do when you know that you are so close to going, wel for starters, you have fun. I recently went to the east coast to hang out with a friend, see DC, Maryland and made another friend in the process. I had never seen the East coast and my friend was gracious enough to take off work and show me the east coast and what Philly is like and I got to see the New Jersey Turnpike twice which brought back flashbacks of the Sopranos opening credits which was kind of cool to say I have been there. Sometimes you just have to go out on wins and do fun stuff that you have never done before because honestly why not. I being a big film buff, made a list of films that I wanted to see before I go and have made it through most of them so far. Hang out with friends because you won't see this people for over two years and when you get back, things won't be the same because people get married, move to other places and who know what else. I have been traveling back and forth all over seeing people and the best part of going away is to have a big bash called a going away party or a dinner which ever you prefer because it is a chance to say goodbye to everybody that you want to invite and see because you may not see them for a long time and that provides a sense of closure sort of. Also a chance to have a lot of fun and have an excuse because I am going away. also what to do is to find some really good music and listen to it while doing stuff around the house like washing dishes and think about how good it sounds. Like the titel of this blog is in reference to Bob Dylan's time out of mind because of how good one of the songs is. It seems like there is a clock that is counting down the day until you are leaving, but it is a good clock letting you know that you will do good things and accomplish great stuff. I will have two friends in Africa that I know of already, one is kind of in Zambia and the other is kind of far away, but I will still visit them equal amounts because they are both great friends and it will be fun to travel long distance in order to see them and what they are up to. I hope that I can do some good over there and actually make a difference, but I guess that if you have the mentality that you will, then you will make a difference over which I have the mentality that I will make a difference. I can't wait for it and for me to go to Kenya. I have only one thing holding me back know and that is time and the time is running down towards my favor for a change. I just know need to figure out what to get other than my sleeping bag, backpacks, duffle bags, and the new mp3 play that I just recently purchased that allows me to hold 10,000 songs which should keep me occupied for quite awhile.

More Than A Feeling

I was kind of worried when I sent back my re-passport/visa in the mail because after I sent it in to fedex, I realized that I just put the Peace Corps as the address and not where it should go in the Peace Corps. So I waited an entire week before I decided to call and see if they got it and if it was the right thing or not. I called and was expecting to hear, well I enver got it and you will have to go get chased by an old man again, but rather no I didn't hear that rather we have it. He said the same thing that I thought that it was crazy that he wound up with it rather in some internal department. I guess they saw the name and guessed where it went. I was so happy because now I am officaly done with all the things. I had to turn in a article about me so they could put in the paper that I was going to the Peace Corps and I was a little indecisive about that because I didn't want it to be in the paper in the first place. I don't want to broadcast, hey I am joining the Peace Corps everybody because then it makes it seem like I am trying to show everybody what I am doing and I don't want to do that at all. I would rather just go and the people that know I am going, know and the others just don't, but not tell everybody about it. Still I guess it is cool an all. I am still happy that I am almost done with everything and I only have four weeks left until I go to Philly which I am pretty excited about and done with my silly job.

Who Knew?

I recently filled out all my Visa info and thought man that was way too easy. I then went to a post office to have them give me the stamp on it for it to be improved and pay the thirty dollars. Well they stamped it with a mail ink stamp and I knew something wasn't right. I called the mail people and they said oh, it is okay. I called the travel agency and they said it is okay. So I sent it in and found out it was wrong. I was unsuprised that I got a call saying I had to do it all over again. So I called the mail people and talked to somebody who knew what they were talking about. He told me where to go, I went there and was sitting for my turn and when it was my go, this old man starts yelling you weren't next where did you come from. I was like I have been here the entire time and was here way before you were. He gave me a dirty look and then said Oh I must of missed you. I thought that was weird. When I got up there to pay for it and get it filled out, she told me to pay by money order or check, I had neither. I had to run home and back again all within an hour or else I would have to come back another day meanwhile it is snowing outside. I got back with like 5 minutes to spare, fill out my info sign it and pay for it. Then run to Kinko's to fedex this letter and then I realized after I fedexed it with my own money, I may have sent it to the wrong place, but I cross my fingers I didn't. So I will find out if it was accepted or yet I have another attempt at getting a passport. Only time will time and if I have to go again, hopefully no old men with canes and anger isssues that are partially blind.

A Happy Blog

I am happy to post a happy blogg on my blogg. I am happy because I have all my plan pretty much layed out before I go to Kenya now. My last blogg was a little bit of me being mad about some stupid stuff and me venting my anger. I figured out that I am going to visit my friend ed in La sometime in April and go visit my friend Cassandra in March who is also joining in the PC and should be finding out where she is going pretty soon. I am also happy to report that I am pretty much done with all of my PEace corps paper work. I have to have the mail people sign my visa sheet tomorrow, then put it in the mail and then I am done with everything until May when I leave. Yes, I can't wait and am counting down the days until I go to africa. It will be cool when I go there because I will get to see my friend Lyn and hang out with her in Zambia and then when I find out where Cassandra is stationed, I will go visit her too. It will be cool to because we are both going to go visit other parts of Africa when we are both done with the PC and see other parts of the world that I haven't see before. Africa is a beautiful place and it will be cool to travel around it and see other parts of the country whether it be Egypt, Camerron, Mosembique, or any other part of it. IT will be an awesome trip. I can't wait. I can't wait to go to LA and see all the sites there too. Awesome. IT will be so cool to see Philly and to see what media is like and hang out with Cassandra. I have never been to Philly and heard how cool it is there. I will just have to see what it is like there. I can't wait.

I had a partial false hope the other day that taught me an excerise in patience and faith because I got an email saying that I was actually cleared to go and was pretty darn excited about it. I thought after onths of not knowing where I was going, I would finally know where I was going and the exact date I was leaving since one of my friends is leaving to go to Zambia on his coming monday. I thought man I can finally tell people when they asked where I am going where I am going instead of saying well i don't know because they haven't told me yet because it makes me sound like I am lying to them when in reality I don't really know where I am going or what me date will be when I actually leave. It is frustrating, but still true because after thinking that I would know, now I still don't know and am knowwhere nearer to knowing where I am going than before, but according to Tom Petty "Waiting is the hardest part", he was of course refering to something else, but it is still true in appliance to other stuff too. I may not know for another month or two or three or I could find out next week. It is so ambiguous that I have no way of knowing when I will know. I just have to be paitent and check my email and see if they emailed me and not bug them all the time because eventually I will be knowing where I am going and when, but until then, I will just have to tweedle my thumbs and check my email a lot in order to see what is happening but until then, I will be patiently waiting to see what happens.

Peace Corps Introduction

I graduated from college and had this huge thought lingering over me which was, "What do I want to go with the rest of my life?" It seems like some kind of thing that begins at movie you go to see in a theater, but instead this is real life with real actions and things can't be rewritten after they are done and realize that they suck. So instead of trying to get a job that I might actually hate, I decided to do something unconventional and really unexpected, I decided to join the Peace Corps. I thought man wouldn't it be good to do something that I actual want to do in my life instead of doing what others expect of me. To take control of my own life and destiny and do something that will make me a better person in life and help others in the process. So I decided all of this the last week of dead week at school. I just left my last class I would ever attend at a university in awhile and then procided to walk over to the Peace Corps building, grab a Peace Corps application. It seems all to weird to actually be true because don't most college kids have a plan for what they want to do when they leave college and yes most do, but how much percentage of their plans or dreams actually come true and then that is the reason why I wanted to join for. I know that I may no get to do what I want to do in the real world or even be able to enjoy what I would do in the real world, so I got the application put it in my backpack, walked home opened my backpack and started to fill out the forms like a madman bent on some mission and to some destination that he had no idea where it would lead. I filled it out in the hope that I would get accepted and the pure faith that I could do something that I had wanted to do all along, but never been able to do. Just some dream that I put into the back of my mind. I was doing what I wanted to do with my life and not caring about what would happend if I didn't get in because that was not an option of even an afterthought in my mind because I somehow had this feeling deep down that this was what I was suppose to do with my life even if it ment 2 years or longer because I was suppose to do this.