The Next Bold Move – Me Vs. The World

At the gym in Al Asad there was a kid who worked there. He was from Nepal or India or Sri Lanka or somewhere in that part of the world. He mopped the floor every morning when Achilles and I were doing lunges and squats. It made the exercises more treacherous than [...]

In high school I took dance lessons, well continued dance lessons as I have been dancing ever since I could stand.  My siblings and I took lessons from Nancy Rhines, or Dancy Nancy, as my mom used to say to differentiate between our dance teacher and our neighbor Nancy (who wasn’t really a neighbor at [...]

This is it.  I’m coming to the end of this trip quite rapidly.  It’s weird to think that so much has happened in such a short amount of time.  Just 3 months ago I was getting up to go into work for another Thursday and now I’m getting up in a foreign country facing a [...]

During a ‘Women of Al Asad’ meeting in Iraq a female Colonel (at the time Colonel select) whom I admire so much, said something I will never forget.  One of the young Marines was talking about having a boyfriend and being in Iraq and different duty stations.  How do you keep the spark alive when [...]

Obama’s campaign slogan was all about change and hope.  Don’t get me wrong, I hope he can change a lot of things in America that have gone wrong or been ignored in the past. There is no doubt that America, as well of the rest of the world is in dire need of a lot [...]

Funny, flying into the airport today was all too familiar.  Even going through customs felt like second nature.  I shared a cab with a guy from Sweden.   He was much more argumentative with the price than I usually am, but then again I just get ripped off and take it as part of being a [...]

I just want to add that I have a horrible head cold and just want to stick my head in the sand and call it a day.  So if the below blog seems harsh just blame my cold and the rain for my short temper today!

Now, I am only 27 years old.  Just 27 years on this lovely earth, but I think I have experienced far more than most 27 year olds which gives me the right to blog this post.  Freaks.  I do not mean like the bearded woman and the world´s strongest man from the vintage circus ads.  [...]

Since I returned from Bocas I haven´t really done anything of note to write about.  I tried to go swimming, but got distracted by the joy of sleeping in the sun (I think I was a housecat in a former life).  I did meet an interesting, if not crazy, old guy who is a war [...]

17 February 2009. 1132. Hugo and Maria´s house – in the computer room. Listening to Eddie Vedder “Into the Wild” soundtrack.
I started this trip as a vacation.  I really wanted it to be just that.  The psychic threw water in my face and made me realize I could lie to everyone else, including myself, but not [...]

“I have asked you twice and still don´t know where you are going to be on valentines day,” a woman says into a cell phone at the Om Cafe on Boca del Tores island, Panama.  She is eating alone and talking loudly.  Obviously an expat from the states.  She rambles on about a haircut and [...]

I was thinking today about faith and serendipity. . .
It was too serendipitous that when I was feeling lonely and estranged from the world that I would happen to be directed to a man who opened his home and family to me.  Most people would not just willingly go stay with a stranger, but thats [...]

Well, my imagination definitely got the best of me.  My day on the high seas was less Captain Jack Sparrow/ Capt Mike and more of a realization why I hated working for the government. 
The day started with a brisk walk down to the offices.  Maria, the wonderful woman who has opened up her home to [...]

The first ingrediant in my recipe for A DAY IN THE LIFE OF LIBBY is you have to be alone.  People aren’t as friendly to groups of people.  Why should they be.  You aren’t in the business of meeting people if you have someone with  you.
Second you have to look as absolutely lost, which you [...]

Some good advice from a world traveller when I was feeling down the other day was to find something that reminds me of the comforts of home.  In Iquitos it was watching a rerun of Friends and having a Coke out of a glass bottle.  My dad used to work for a natural gas company [...]

It´s a Sunday night and as my dear friend Deb likes to say, I´m spinning.  I´m stuck on the same thought process going in a downward spiral of self loathing and there´s nothing to do to stop it.  All I can do is sit here and let the thoughts exhaust themselves.  That´s where I´m getting [...]

And we´re off.  We take off through a small town filled with locals watching us.  They watch, but they´re not really staring like we are out of place, more like they know what we´re in for and have pity on the white folk treking through the mountain.  We hike up and are reassured by Eduardo [...]

The characters -
Eduardo:  Our insane guide who, albeit a very nice and fun young lad, really needs a new job.  By the end we concluded that his English was good, but not good enough to battle the variety of accents and curiousities in the group.  This was also his first, and likely last, trek during [...]

I made it back to Cuzco tonight.  Machu Picchu was an amazing sight.  As far as the “spiritual journey” goes - like most things in life it really was the journey as much as the destination that was enlightening (and cold, wet, extremely dangerous and a blast).  I will post about it all very soon.  Right now I need [...]

Well, since my intentions of this entire trip (and now spiritual journey) was to reach the ruins of Machu Picchu.  I figured I should probably make my way up there before I leave.  Of course, because I never do anythng the easy way and I´ve been known to procrastinate, I didn´t make any plans to actually get [...]