Go Massachusetts!

Gay marriages are finally legal there. Congrats to all, best wishes, hope the celebrating goes on and on. in other good news, Fahrenheit 911 getting good reviews at Cannes, though no distributor in sight yet. Still, this means I will be able to see it whether it gets to theaters or just released on the internet.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/06/opinion/06THU4.html?ex=1399176000&en=303eb37bb2efdc64&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND

I cannot WAIT to see it. I hope for so many things about it, but it cannot possibly meet my expectations.

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0517-10.htm

Too bad Cannes is so far away. If it were LA or NYC, I'd be there. J

on the Londoner is keeping me abreast of the continuing travels in China. I love it, I know where he, Chiara, Fiona, and the others are. If only the Irishman kept up, but he has disappeared to the beaches of Thailand by now I think. I wish I were with them, but then my own adventures will be my own when I go back. I hope they stay in touch.

I think India is where I want to go most. For today, anyway. India, South America, more of Southeast Asia, and South Africa. I'll keep it small. haha

New baby watch, the Kennebeck kid is due in a week and now the Gibson-Thoele baby will be here in December. Fritz is that one, again just for today. I am off to pick up my own charges, canines are my preferred young ones! Two puppies to foster. That will be fun again, I haven't had pups in a couple of months. Perhaps, also, I will have a date this week? Dare to dream. We will see. Off to see the Jim Carrey/Kate Winslet movie whose name I cannot remember. Someone with the "Spotless Mind". Supposed to be good! Later.

What is Terror, Anyway?

Why is there a War on Terror, Terrorists, Elevated Terror Threat Level, etc, etc, and no real definition of "terror"? Aren't average, ordinary car thieves terrorists of some type? What about drunk men who beat their girlfriends- aren't they terrorizing someone and therefore terrorists? Aren't people responsible for prisoners who abuse their charges terrorists? That would cover civilian prison guards and military personnel as well, anyone who has responsibilities to prisoners and who treat those prisoners with disrespect or outright abuse. Terrorists and the war on terror? Sounds like nothing more than semantics to me. Since this is my journal for planning the Big Trip, I have to admit I have done very little in the planning. I have heard from London Jon, aka Jungle Jon who FINALLY left Bejing, God bless him. He has moved on to tae kwon do with some monks south of Bejing before heading to Shanghai. Seamy the Irishman is nowhere to be found, presumably on his way to Thailand. I won't hear much from him, but hope to perhaps see him in the winter in Boston/NYC. The plans will be further along by then, and perhaps I will be living closer to that area. New Haven? Hartford? All to be determined. Katie's graduation is the first step, then looking for jobs and apartments and determining affordability. So much to do!! Tomorrow is the graduation, then Steve Gibson's PhD graduation party, then Courtney and Tom's wedding and subsequent reception. All of this AND catching up on sleep. Looking forward to the sleep and and also to kickball, my first time in 3 weeks on the field. Softball begins next week, too. If the rain stops anytime soon, all of these events will go as planned. 'Til next week!

Jet Lag

How do people recover from being Half a World Away? I guess if you don't work the next day, its a bit easier to recover. Who is Billy Bender? There were 4 messages on my machine with urgent info for him. Does that sound like a cartoon character or someone who is actually wanted by the bank who was calling? Am I supposed to call them back to tell them that Billy does not exist? There weren't even 4 messages for ME, and the phone number is actually mine. I have been traveling for the last 3 days. I spent 56+ hours in transit, and slept only 1 hour of the last 30 of that 56 hours. I'm sure there's some type of equation there, and that this sentence would make sense to someone else who is as jet lagged as me- or maybe drunk. Jet lag is a lot like being drunk. Its hard to form sentences, you want to laugh a lot at things that are not at all funny, and most of the time you want to go to sleep. Now I am back in the real world, listening to Jim Rome and hearing that Bush is stupid and Rumsfeld may be forced to resign. That would be nice. The rain and storms that stranded me in Chicago (O'Hare) for 10 hours yesterday have followed me to St. Louis. Welcome home, here's a downpour for you!! It reminds me of riding a bike in the pouring rain in Bejing, only that was more fun. And now for the stream of consciousness and not necessarily interesting part of what I am thinking!!:::: Maybe its in the haze of jet lag that I have made some plans that I am going to put here. If its public and accessible to me anywhere, anytime, I will be more likely to keep it current and to follow through. I am going to plan to travel for at least a year, beginning the saving and scheduling process today, May 11, 2004. Maybe by this point in 2006 I will be ready. Two years ago this month, I set out on a 17-state, 2-province tour of North America. That trip was about 5 months in planning, I figure a larger scale trip requires about twice the planning time and 4x the saving money time. I've seen the US, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, and now a very tiny part of China. The next part of the goal is South America, Asia, and Africa. Australia is a possibility, but not top priority. Europe will have to wait, though I have more places to crash with friends in Europe than anywhere else. There is much to be determined, but now is as good a time as any to begin thinking of it!! If Bush gets a second term, somtime in the next 4 years would be the ideal time to live elsewhere. It he's succeeded by another buffoon, staying abroad is always an option.