So the new year has rolled around and you’ve probably read a thousand lists about how to streamline your life and focus your attention like a “freaking laser beam”. But really how important is this? How important is it to remove distractions like Facebook or constantly checking your email to increase your productivity? How important is it to focus on a single task at once? If you are anything like me then you’ll know that it is really important.

I am distracted by everything possible…

• Facebook
• Email
• Clients
• Twitter
• My children
• The kid across the road
• The cloud drifting across the sky

Anything that can possibly divert my attention ensures that my focus is nothing resembling a laser beam.

So I have taken this opportunity to round up some of the articles that I thought were honest and straight forward articles on how to focus your attention on your work so you can get out from behind the laptop (or whatever you do) and get out and enjoy your location.

Here are a few articles that you should take a read through to help you focus your attention for the months ahead.

Reducing the Noise in Your Life

Christine Gilbert - The Uncomfortable Truth About Being Productive

Pico Iyer – The Joy of Quiet – this post is mentioned in Christine’s post and is definitely worth a read

Goals and Goal Tracking

Lifehacker.com – Five Best Goal Tracking Services

Aherk.com – Aherk! is a goal-oriented self-blackmailing service. With this app you set a goal for yourself. You then upload an incriminating photo of yourself… Perhaps the one you took of yourself in the bathroom mirror naked and flexing your muscles, or the one of you at that New Year Eve part where you were so drunk and the bottom of your skirt was under your armpits…

If you complete the goal (and your friends agree) then nothing happens, but if your friends vote to say you didn’t complete your goal then the incriminating photo is published on Facebook. I don’t think I would need any more motivation than people potentially seeing me starkers flexing my grossly inadequate biceps.

If you do you Aherk.com let me know you experience with it. Did you achieve the goal you set? Or has the world seen that truly hideous photo of you?

Joshua Fields Millburn – 100 Days With No Goals

Productivity Tips

Copyblogger.com – 31 Pro Tips for a Successful, Satisfying, and Insanely Profitable 2012

Timo Kiander – Effective Time Blocking Techniques To Boost Your Productivity

Morellos Marelisa – 17 Ways to Be Happier in 2012
This article is a little general for me but I thought I would include a least one generic list of things to do.

Ali Luke – Are You Making These 7 Productivity Mistakes?

My 2012

I certainly need to start taking some of this advice as I have a massive 2012 planned. I am currently in Bulgaria, about to go skiing for 10 days and then we head to Western Europe for 3 weeks before heading back to Malaysia in the middle of February for some sun and warmth after a European winter. I have to say it has been a massive shock to the system after almost 2 years of temperatures over 30 degree Celsius.

Our 2012 plans

• February – Return to Malaysia
• April – flights to Sarawak, Borneo for a week
• May – flights to Sri Lanka for 3 weeks
• June/July – possibly flights up to China
• September – we are considering flights to Australia for 3 months
• December – Canada/US to start hopefully 12 months of travelling around in an RV

What are you goals or travel plans for 2012. Why not share them with us in the comments below.

For many people who want to become location independent the most burning question is, “How will I make money while I’m on the road?”  A career in writing is often one of the first that comes to mind.  I mean, writing is obviously portable, doesn’t usually have to be done at a specific hour, and can be easily sent via electronic means.  If you’re at all active in social media you have probably seen many people who claim to be traveling the world while they write.  Some are travel writers, others are writing on other subjects.

But what does it take to become a career writer?  Does it require a special background or is it something that can be jumped into from a variety of directions?  And what are the chances you could make enough money to support yourself on the road writing?  Finally, what would it take to become a “travel writer” and get free hotel stays or vacations in exchange for your work?

I’m proud today to present to you four writers who are location independent.  They’re here to answer some of the questions I just posed, share their experiences and tell us whether we could do what they do.

Let’s start with Sharon Hurley Hall.  Sharon is currently living in Barbados with her family. She has written for numerous entities including Ms. Ileane Speaks, Park Ride Fly USA, and PiggyBankPie.  You can see her full list of publications and services at Sharon Hurley Hall.

A lot of people who would like to become location independent consider writing as a career.  You have made that happen.  Can you tell us how you got your start in writing and whether you had educational or professional experience that helped you in the beginning?

Before moving to an island, I first went freelance, but I must admit to having an ace in the hole. You see, I’d already had about 17 years’ experience as a writer, sub-editor, editor and journalist, including about five years teaching journalism, so I didn’t have much to learn in the way of basic writing skills. When I decided to freelance it was a matter of learning to write for the web (my friend Suzanne James of Inspired Author helped with that) and toughing it out till I got some clients.

How did you go about getting your first writing assignment?

It was a case of ‘throw everything and see what sticks’. I started blogging, I signed up for Guru, Ifreelance and Rentacoder, I scoured Craigslist and Deb Ng’s Freelance Writing Jobs site and took any opportunity that came my way. Although all of these contributed to building my writing career, my first paid writing gig as a freelancer came from a personal contact – one of my former students who was promoting a band for a charity. He didn’t feel confident enough to write the story himself (he was still at university), so he asked me to do it.

How long were you writing before you became location independent?

It was just about a year, but the plan had been in place for about four years. We’d chosen our dream location and were in the process of sorting out somewhere to live. Once that was done, we moved to the Caribbean. Ironically, this was just about the time my writing career really took off, so when we moved I had to sit in an room using two empty suitcases as a desk while we waited for furniture to arrive.

What are the issues for people who would like to travel while they maintain a writing career?

The key issues are connectivity and reliability. Although it’s nice to think you can go anywhere, if you have a thriving career, you’ll need to go somewhere where you can guarantee having good internet access. Having a decent laptop or computer and a reliable backup solution is also a must as you need to be able to access your files wherever you are. But reliability is also about buckling down and doing the work you need to do to fund your lifestyle – sometimes that means putting a day trip on hold to meet a client deadline, but it’s worth it for the peace of mind it brings.

Many people dream of being a “travel writer”.  What I mean by that is getting trips, hotel stays, or cruises paid for as part of their writing profession.  What does it take to make this happen?

I’m not really a full-time travel writer (more a writer who travels), but I’ve managed to get trips to interesting places through an unusual route – working as a journalist for a trade magazine, which I did for about 18 months. Trade magazines mean trade shows – and someone’s got to cover the news. That gig took me to Mexico, Chicago, London and Bahrain. And because I’m location-independent, I have been able to visit family and friends in other places while carrying on with my writing career.

Do you have any advice for someone who would like to write professionally and travel the world?

It is possible to write and travel and make a success of both. All you need are self-belief and sound planning.

Next, please meet Thursday Bram.  Thursday not only writes but also advises freelancers on how to earn money and be successful in their careers.  She’s had a variety of writing gigs including travel writing.  See more about Thursday at ThursdayBram.com.

A lot of people who would like to become location independent consider writing as a career.  You have made that happen.  Can you tell us how you got your start in writing and whether you had educational or professional experience that helped you in the beginning?

I started freelancing in high school and continued in college due to the fact that writing was not too hard to fit around my class schedule. It wasn’t difficult to just pick up and move my computer across two states, which got me started thinking about how I could write anywhere. In fact, I did exactly that and studied abroad for a semester, continuing to freelance all the while. My degree was in communications, but I could have continued writing with or without the degree.

How did you go about getting your first writing assignment?

My first writing assignment actually came from my mother, who ran a small magazine. I could either write for her or do the dishes — easy choice in my opinion! After that, I picked up writing for local newsletters and other small publications and worked my way up to some bigger gigs.

How long were you writing before you became location independent?

I pretty much considered myself location independent after I graduated from college. I’m back in school right now (working on my master’s degree), so I’m only location independent between classes. But my husband’s job requires quite a bit of travel (for months at a time, at points) and I generally go along when I’m not in school.

What are the issues for people who would like to travel while they maintain a writing career?

Be prepared for everything. I’ve submitted work by typing it out on my cell phone before because I couldn’t get internet any other way. Just making sure that you can fulfill your contracts can be the biggest problem — and it’s one that is crucial. That means preparing for anything that might get in the way of your ability to work.

Many people dream of being a “travel writer”.  What I mean by that is getting trips, hotel stays, or cruises paid for as part of their writing profession.  What does it take to make this happen?

I’ve done some travel writing — and mostly it requires being willing to work harder than in a lot of other freelance writing gigs. There are so many freelance writers who want to be travel writers that you have to find some way to set yourself out from the crowd. It can be done (I know several freelance writers who earn a full-time income from travel writing), but it’s hard work.

Do you have any advice for someone who would like to write professionally and travel the world?

Make a budget and stick to it! Freelancing has its ups and downs in terms of income and when you combine that with your travel schedule, you have to have a good grip on your money. Your budget doesn’t have to be particularly frugal, provided you’re pulling in enough income to cover it, but it needs to include building up savings — what if you get stranded somewhere you can’t get a good internet connection to send out work over? You have to have enough money available to get you to the next place you want to go.

JoAnna Haugen is an avid writer/traveler.  One of her goals is to visit all seven continents.  She writes about her travels at Kaleidoscopic Wandering and also keeps a site for her professional writing at JoAnnaHaugen.com.  She has been published in Copia Magazine, Bootsnall and National Geographic Traveler among others.

A lot of people who would like to become location independent consider writing as a career.  You have made that happen.  Can you tell us how you got your start in writing and whether you had educational or professional experience that helped you in the beginning?

I have a degree in public relations and jumped into a marketing career right after college, both of which incorporated a great deal of writing. I joined the Peace Corps shortly thereafter and when I returned, I found another job and also took a class through the mail on how to write for children. It was through that class that I learned how the magazine industry worked and how to pitch articles. I applied what I learned in that class and sold an article on a college-related issue to a publication I still write for today. From there, I branched out to other publications, writing styles and genres. I had a full-time job up until about a year ago, but one of the reasons why I was able to become a full-time freelance writer is because I did freelancing on the side for a few years before that. While I was working at a “real” job, I built relationships with several editors, started a blog and a website, became active on social media, learned more about the industry and then, once I was making a small side income, I quit my job altogether to focus on writing.

How did you go about getting your first writing assignment?

I wrote web copy when I was a marketing specialist right out of college, and my very first paying magazine article was for $.10 a word for one of my alma mater’s college-specific magazines, which I did right before I left for the Peace Corps. My first job once I returned stateside gave me the opportunity to write a column for the company’s newsletter, and I wrote for a local arts and culture publication for no pay, but by then I’d built up a nice portfolio of clips. It wasn’t until I learned about queries and the editorial process through my mail order class, however, that I finally figured out how freelancing actually worked. I landed my first traditional freelancing gig with a hard copy query letter (the only job I’ve gotten via hard copy query to this day). The article was about how college students could take advantage of their resident advisers in the dorms for College Outlook. It was published in the fall of 2007.

How long were you writing before you became location independent?

I’ve been writing practically forever. I’ve kept a journal since the third grade (yes, I haul around a heavy trunk filled with hand-written journals). I originally wanted to pursue journalism in college but went the public relations route because I thought it was more practical. I made a little bit of money off of a few articles in the fall of 2003 but didn’t actively try to sell anything else until 2006. My first sale of my current freelancing life happened in late 2007, and from there I began to take freelancing seriously. I juggled freelance writing and a full-time job until October 2009, when I began working for myself full time.

It’s important that people realize that I don’t only pursue travel writing. I write for many different industries on several different topics including athletics, health, business, writing, animals, the environment and philanthropic topics. I am a ghost blogger and copy writer. I’ve edited books, and I hold editing roles for two different publications. I do all of this in addition to writing about travel for print and online publications.

What are the issues for people who would like to travel while they maintain a writing career?

One of the things that I find most convenient is that most places are wired, which means I can stay in touch with my editors and clients regardless of where in the world I am. But this also means that it is very hard to take a real vacation for two reasons. The first is that I really can’t be unplugged. When just about every hotel and hostel has internet connection, there’s no good reason why I can’t check my email, but that also means I can continue to work and make money, so that’s also a good thing. Also, as a travel writer, I always have my eyes and ears open for a potential story. I’m always snapping photos to accompany those stories. The downside to that is that it’s easy to miss what’s going on around me as a result. Sometimes I have to remind myself that it’s okay to put the notepad and camera away and just absorb a place. But let’s be honest, they’re never too far away.

Many people dream of being a “travel writer”.  What I mean by that is getting trips, hotel stays, or cruises paid for as part of their writing profession.  What does it take to make this happen?

It takes a lot of work, time and perseverance. If I ever figured out how much I make per hour on my travel writing, I’m sure I’d cry. Being a travel writer is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It requires writing for publications that pay below what you’d like to be making so that you can build a portfolio and credibility. It means spending time on social media and at conferences making connections and getting to know people in the industry. It means underpromising and overdelivering. It requires work at weird hours in weird places when you’d rather be sitting by the pool or sleeping on an airplane. You have to talk yourself up honestly, but also help to promote others when it’s not your time to shine. It also means you should say thank you, because there are a lot of people who help travel writers get where they are, and a small token of appreciation goes a long way.

Do you have any advice for someone who would like to write professionally and travel the world?

Become a travel writer because you love to travel and you love to write, not because you might get press trips and it’s glamorous. And don’t feel like travel writing is your only option. With global connectivity, you can write about just about any topic from almost anywhere in the world.

Serena Makofsky is a woman whose blog, Have You Seen the Dog Lately? sealed the deal on my decision to choose Oaxaca, Mexico, as our second destination last year.  Her description of her son’s first day of school along with her subsequent warm responses to my questions made it clear that Oaxaca would have viable educational alternatives for the kids if we went there.  Serena developed her writing career unexpectedly after arriving in Oaxaca.  She has since become very active and created a viable income source for her family.

A lot of people who would like to become location independent consider writing as a career.  You have made that happen.  Can you tell us how you got your start in writing and whether you had educational or professional experience that helped you in the beginning?

I’ve always written, and started my career writing friends’ essays in high school for cash, I’m sorry to say.  While the ghost writing industry has flourished in the meantime, I’ve worked my way into other niches.

How did you go about getting your first writing assignment?

I landed a staff writer job for a fake travel magazine in 1990.  We used computers like typewriters, printing out everything and sending pamphlets to clients.  I doubt the magazine ever made a dime, but rounds of investors came through like clockwork, until the dot.bomb of 2000 hit.

How long were you writing before you became location independent?

I’ve written on and off all my adult life (a couple decades now), but moved abroad, to Oaxaca, with the intent of teaching English, not writing.  When the teaching job fell apart, due to the school owner deciding not to pay for my work papers, I scrambled quickly to revive my writing career as I had only one ongoing client.  I landed a great new client within a week, and had a six-month stint writing pop culture articles before securing a long-term contract to write curriculum for English language-learners.

What are the issues for people who would like to travel while they maintain a writing career?

I think being location independent helps me as a freelance writer.  “On assignment in Oaxaca for xx magazine” catches editors’ attention.  Writers should have a lightweight laptop and excellent online and print clips.  Oh, and learn to live ever-so-cheaply.  I can support my family of four in Oaxaca purely on my freelance income, but I would have to work many more hours to accomplish the same feat in Oakland, California, my home town.  I also recommend people on a long-term expatriate plan consider selling their homes and possessions stateside to simplify their finances.  I think that real estate and cars are what hold back a lot of people from making the leap to the expat lifestyle.

Many people dream of being a “travel writer”.  What I mean by that is getting trips, hotel stays, or cruises paid for as part of their writing profession.  What does it take to make this happen?

I’m not a travel writer per se, though travel, culture, language, and expatriate issues show up in many of my articles.  I think the freebies are the easiest part of the gig to get, and the hardest part is persevering with daily marketing to attract good, ongoing clients who pay fairly and on time.  To score the swag, polish your clips and send them to the Convention and Visitors Bureau, press board, tourist authority or other association of the locale of your choice.  These entities often run fam trips–familiarization trips–for travel journalists.  Other potential sources include airlines, cruise lines, luxury hotel chains, and high-end spas.

Do you have any advice for someone who would like to write professionally and travel the world?

The two go together famously!  Roll in marketing and pitching as part of your work day, read up on professional sites such as Media Bistro, and endeavor to write and travel with style.

Many thanks to all four women who graciously agreed to do this interview with us.  We appreciate you taking time from your busy schedules!

If you’d like to meet these women on a more personal level, join our NuNomad Tribe and “friend” them. The majority are members!

Featured photo: Tnarik

There is nothing like living from 1 suitcase for a year in 2nd and 3rd world countries to make a person realize how little we really need in life.  On our recent year-long journey, my daughters and I did just that.  OK, maybe one suitcase and one carry-on each to be specific.  Amazingly, we found that we had over-packed for the first leg of our trip and actually lightened our load for the second half, taking a few pounds less each in our designated suitcases.

Unlike many location independents who sell everything before taking off, we kept our home in the states.  My husband was not traveling with us so he held down the fort.  We also used the empty bedrooms left behind as rental opportunities and brought in enough rental income to offset the rental expenses abroad.  What this meant was that at the end of our journey we returned to our original home and our original STUFF.  Yes, STUFF in capital letters because that’s exactly what it felt like – a ridiculous amount of unused and un-needed objects.

I never considered myself a “shopper” and definitely not a “hoarder”.  I have always been diligent about going through our things every season, disposing of ruined objects and taking bags of things to Goodwill.  I’ll wear my shoes until there are holes in the soles before I drag myself out to by new ones.  I love clean surfaces and you would have no trouble walking through our home due to clutter.  I think I would fall on the low end of acquirers when compared to the average American.  And yet the STUFF seemed to pile up faster than I could deal with it.

So when we returned to the states I made a personal commitment to simplify our lives by paring down to only the necessities and not purchasing anything superfluous.  And here’s where I made 2 interesting discoveries.

1. In some ways I am a hoarder.

2. There is a fine line between frugality and hoarding.

You see, I started with our bathroom cabinets.  Here is where, in our house, you will find toiletries and medicines.  What I found was many duplicates of things.  Instead of a bottle of lotion, I had 3 or 4 bottles of lotion at various stages of emptiness.  Instead of a box of Tylenol, there were several half empty ones.

What was going on? I mean, I pride myself in using things up before buying new and not accumulating.  Here’s my best guess.  I think that often things were getting lost in our cabinets because they weren’t organized sufficiently, leading me to believe, for instance, that we didn’t have something (like lotion).  I would then purchase a new lotion.  Alternatively, I am guilty of going shopping before taking a careful inventory and then buying things that I think we don’t have only to find out later we did have.  The half empty bottle of lotion would then sit unnoticed forever in the back of a cabinet, only to be joined in the future by a second half empty bottle. If I did at some point see the old bottle, I’m sure I saved it out of the voice of frugality in my head that says, “waste not, want not”.

Scarily, the same thing was going on with our medicines.  Having raised 3 children in the last years it was amazing how many outdated medicines we had accumulated.

It was time for Sherman’s army.  I swept through the cabinets armed with garbage bags and immediately disposed of everything out of date.  I then began sorting things by type and found we are actually quite rich in toiletries.  I could have thrown out all but one of everything but I am still a firm believer in “waste not, want not” so I chose another path instead.

I chose to organize with military precision everything that was still useful and make a commitment to finish these things off one at a time and purchase nothing new until the old is used up.  At this point I think I have a years worth of body lotions and lip balms and probably enough perfumes for my remaining lifetime.

“So”, you may say, “you still have a lot of STUFF, Carmen. What’s the difference?”

Here’s the difference.

After throwing out everything that was outdated, ruined, and/or just plain gross there is significantly less STUFF.  But more importantly of the stuff that is left, it is highly organized, easy to access and to see.  Because of my new organization it is much easier for me to know whether I, in fact, do need to buy something new or not. In the last couple of months I have purchased 0 toiletries with the exception of toothpaste and shampoo when needed. Oh, and toilet paper, of course.

I am happy to say, I just finished off my first half empty bottle of lotion yesterday, have sent it to recycling and have moved on to number 2.  One less bottle in the cabinet!

So, where does the “feel rich overnight” part come in?

In the past, because I did not have a good grasp of what we actually owned it was very easy to think we “needed” something.  It followed, then, that it was very easy to purchase because of that sense of need.

Going through our things, taking control and getting a good sense of what we have, I realized that we actually have very few needs.  In fact, in many cases we have more than what we need.  We’re actually rich.

From that sense of “richness” I have a diminished urge to purchase when I go to the store and we’re saving money because I’m not making unnecessary buys.  I also feel freer to use things (like perfume) that I used to save as “special” because I now realize I have plenty and don’t need to save into eternity. This makes me feel “rich” as well.

I’ve now completed going through the house bathrooms and medicine cabinets.  I intend to continue with my quest until I’ve hit every nook and cranny of our house and garage. By the end we should be feeling like millionaires!

If you’d like to sense “richness” in your own life, here are some step I would recommend.

1) Make a strategy for going through your things.  Tackle one area at a time so you don’t get overwhelmed.

2) Arm yourself with garbage bags.  You can mark the bags using Sharpies so that some are “trash” and others are “donate”.

3) Give yourself a 3 second rule.  You may hold each object for 3 seconds before you make a decision.  Keep, Junk, or Donate.  Don’t let yourself get stuck.

4) Completely clean out whatever area you’re working on (cabinet, drawer, closet) until it is empty.  Then clean the area thoroughly by washing/sweeping/mopping or giving it a new coat of paint. This will ready it for your newfound organization.

5) Sort your remaining items by type and return them to the space only in a new orderly fashion.  Use labels if helpful to designate space for things.  Keep everything as up-front as possible so things can’t hide from your sight.

6) Force yourself to do a quick inventory of what you have before every shopping trip so that you don’t duplicate in the future.

7) Use your things in an orderly fashion, sticking to each one until it is completely used up and then disposing of/recycling the container before you move on to the next.

My goal is to pare down to only 1 of every necessary item we own and to be sure everything we own is necessary. Want to make a goal of your own?

Photo by: Slimmer Jimmer

Ricardo recently made a connection with a member of Lonely Planet’s Long Haul who had written a post that seemed to strike a chord with the readers there.  He kindly agreed to adapt it for our blog and we’re pleased to present it to you here.

Most of the time on lifestyle design and travel enthusiast blogs you’ll find a lot of cheer leading for stuffing your 3 shirts in a backpack and taking off to never look back.  This is very different and comes from someone who has lived the life so many of us are interested in.  It’s something to think about and we feel it’s only right to present as many different experiences to you as possible.  Many thanks to Trespassers W for allowing us to use his post.

[adapted from a post by the author on the Lonely Planet’s ‘The Long Haul’ forum]

I used to find The Long Haul’s tagline ‘Don’t know if you’ll ever make it home?’ rather romantic sounding. Actually, I still do. Images of being a citoyen du monde, or a devil-may-care drifter, or member of the jet set, what have you, it’s all exciting sounding. But after just a few years of living overseas, doubts about those rosy interpretations are beginning to creep in. Like many that post on this forum, asking how they too can flee their current lifestyle, I idealized life abroad. But reality is more complicated than I anticipated.

This post is not a complaint, more of a growing realization of what I’ve got myself in to. I’m the equivalent of someone who goes out for a twenty mile hike wearing wingtips and is surprised to find that they have foot issues at the end of the day. Certainly I don’t want to grumble; we are here because we want to be. We still have a house back ‘home’ and two cars (well, more like 1.5 cars by now) are stored in the garage. We could easily return if we wanted to. What’s keeping us here is simply that we want to stay more than we want to move back. So is there a problem?

China (where we live) is not an easy place for a foreigner to make into a permanent home; the difference between cultures is large, it’s hard to integrate, the environment can be demanding. We’re making good progress, studying the language, the children are in public schools, we’ve got driver licenses… but it’s unlikely to match the sense of belonging we would have in more western environs for quite a while. On the one hand, the challenge of living here is part of the appeal. Every day is an adventure. However, I’m finding that the cost of losing a home doesn’t go away just because the benefit of life here is so great. The cost and the profit, the gain and the loss, sit there next to each other, each to be felt in their own ways. I’m sure in time this place can become a home, the path towards that is clear: make friends, become a part of the community, and so on. But the more exhilarating the cultural leap, the hard those steps are to make.

The key word in the forum’s tag line is ‘home’. That question, ‘Don’t know if you’ll ever make it home?’ Does this mean: Will I make this place a home? Will I ever return to my original home? Would it still be home if I did? ‘Home’ at the heart of how most of us define themselves, but moving half-way around the world makes the question ‘what is home?’ difficult to answer.

These are good questions to be confronted with, but they weren’t on my agenda when we moved overseas. Obviously the only answer is, home is where I hang my hat (if I had a hat). But that’s a different type of ‘home’ than the one I left behind. I mentioned that one reason to live here is the desire to face new challenges, to extend ourselves beyond what the old home would allow. But ‘challenging’ isn’t part of how I define ‘home’. Maybe it should be. I’m coming to see that ‘home’ is a concept I need to make for myself, rather than trying to see if this place meets some standard definition of what is a home. Some days that’s easier to say than to do, of course. Hence the post here, I suppose.

Is there any point to this post? I don’t think so, maybe I should delete it. Life is good, and if Allah wills and the levy holds, it may even get better. What I am sure of is that I don’t mean this post to dissuade those looking for a path away of their current homes. It’s human nature: the costs of harboring an unrealized dream are almost always higher than the costs of making that dream come true. It’s not logical, but there it is, it’s part of what makes us human. So come on in, the water is fine (just don’t drink it). And be ready to face some questions you haven’t even envisioned yet.

Photo by: My Hourglass