Goodbye iPads

Decided today to sell my iPad and iPad mini; will only be taking a phone on my RTW trip. For awhile I considered taking the iPad mini and phone with me but typing on it isn't much faster than typing on a large screen phone and it would have been just another piece of technology to charge, update, and keep track of; not to mention the weight (trying to stay below 22 pounds luggage). The main drawback of not taking the iPad mini is that I won't have a reading device.

It feels great to get rid of these two pieces of technology. Between frequent notifications for updates, frequent need to enter one of multiple Apple ID passwords (which I typically forgot), periodic syncing, backup, transferring purchases prior to syncing, and having to keep track of and protect  these devices, the work and worry attributed to them outweighed the benefit I received. Gazelle offered $130 for the iPad 4th generation and $55 for the iPad mini 1; not a lot but frankly I was considering just donating them so I'm good with getting anything for them.

Not sure what to do with the laptop; may try to sell it too or store it in my storage unit. My plan is to upgrade to the iPhone 6 or 6 plus; once preorders are open (later this month) for the new iPhone 6s and 6s plus, it is my understanding prices for the iPhone 6 and 6 plus will be reduced by about $100. Not sure whether to get the 6 or 6 plus but both have larger screens than my current 5s so I'm hoping to get by with just one device and one charger during my trip:) Eventually, I'd like to get rid of my phone; we'll see what the next 10 months bring:) The pursuit of a simpler life with fewer material possessions continues...

 iPad and iPad mini separated by power charger for lightning cord. (still haven't figured out how to rotate photos in this blog but you get the idea:)

Productive morning

Its still Sunday morning as I write this and already I've gone for a slow jog, sold my diving regulator to a guy through Craigslist, moved stuff between my two storage units, and gave my mountain climbing gear away to a friend who is an instructor at the Colorado Mountain Club and who will put it to good use. Each time I give stuff away, I'm amazed how much I acquired over the years. I was so wasteful; some of the stuff I've gotten rid of was barely used.

Biryani Pot Restaurant Review

Dined at the Biryani pot restaurant http://www.biryanipotusa.com/# last night with dear friends. Its been awhile since I've eaten out so I forgot to photograph our meals, but they were all delicious and I highly recommend trying this Indian restaurant. Although it is a franchise, it felt like a local, family-run restaurant. We arrived around 7pm and the restaurant quickly filled up shortly afterwards; 90+% of the customers were Indian, a good sign the food is authentic:)

The food was prepared with care and each entree was brought to the table as it was finished. The portions were huge, the color contrast was beautiful, the prices were very reasonable, and the food was delicious.

Morning Walk

Went for an hour walk this morning in my former home of Lone Tree Colorado and saw something new. The South Suburban trail system is one of the best I've experienced as I've traveled the country; it connects neighborhoods and the natural environment.

Being Present

Its not easy to live in the present moment for extended periods. Its easier for me now that I'm not working and am no longer living the hectic work/family lifestyle. I see things now that I never noticed before. To be clear - I'm not always present and I have many faults so my intention is not to criticize.

Maybe I'm just more aware now but there seem to be a lot of  people who sit in their parked cars/trucks staring at their phones with the motor running. I don't mean at stop lights; I'm talking about parking lots, driveways, and other destinations. The other day I parked next to a person in a parking lot who was staring at their phone with the motor running. When I came out of the store about 20 minutes later, they were in the same place, still staring at their phone, and the motor was still running. This seems to be a common occurrence.

Yesterday, I was coming back from the gym and came across a stopped school bus with its lights flashing and its stop sign extended. So I stopped and waited for about 5 minutes as several kids (looked like middle school but I'm not a good judge) approached the bus. As cars started to line up behind me and in the adjacent intersections, several kids casually strolled toward the bus (from some distance away) while staring at and/or texting their phones.

I'm not criticizing anyone with this blog but I can't help but wonder what the world would be like if we were all present/awake all the time.

Goodbye to Topper

In anticipation of selling my truck, I put the topper on consignment today with the company that sold it to me. I'm hoping to come out ahead by selling the topper separate from the truck. The topper worked well and the T-wedge increases the covered space. I used my truck to help my nephew move into his new apartment at CSU this past weekend; his bike and lots of supplies easily fit inside the bed. The truck rides a lot rougher without the topper or any weight in the bed:)

One more action checked off my to do list before leaving the country:)

They used a forklift to remove my truck topper.

World Smile Day

Every heard of World Smile Day? I've been thinking lately how powerful a smile is and how many people (I used to be one of them) spend so much of their day not smiling; wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone in the world set aside one day a year to focus on smiling, including giving others a reason to smile. Well, according to this website (see link below), Harvey Ball thought of this idea long before (1999) I did and October 2nd 2015 is World Smile Day. Don't know if this is true but the idea of a World Smile Day seems like a good one.
http://www.worldsmileday.com/index.php/article-index/item/363-welcome-to-the-world-smile-day-website
Of course you don't need to wait until October 2nd to make someone smile:)

Twitter

Have posted a few tweets (my handle is @henke_rob). Aside from the fact my digits are too clumsy for the phone's tiny keyboard, I think Twitter may be a better (compared to blogging) tool for keeping in touch during my travels but I'll keep the website (robsjourney.com) and do both (Tweet and Blog) for now. Blogs are great for longer (Twitter has 140 character limitation) communications and it is easy to load photos; still need to figure out how to add photos and videos to Tweets.

Twitter vs. Blog

It may be too complicated to blog/maintain my website (robsjourney.com) on a mobile phone so I'm thinking of using Twitter, instead of my blog, to keep in touch while on my RTW trip. Stay tuned...

What to bring: Phone, Laptop, Tablet, Kindle

Unfortunately, it seems important to take a cell phone on my upcoming round-the-world trip:). I'm traveling light (taking one carry-on bag weighing no more than 10kg/22 lbs - the limit for many airlines) so taking my laptop is out of the question. But, what about a tablet and/or Kindle? I've decided not to bring the Kindle since it only has one function; it requires a different power cord than my phone; and because there is a Kindle app for the iPad. 

My iPad mini uses the same power cord as my phone and basically provides a bigger screen for typing/viewing/reading; my dilemma is whether this bigger screen is worth the added weight and worry of keeping track of another electronic gadget. I'm leaning towards not bringing the iPad and instead upgrading to the larger iPhone 6. The biggest drawback I see to not bringing the iPad is the inability or difficulty reading my Kindle books, travel guides, etc. on the smaller phone screen.

Sometimes I feel guilty when I focus on such trivial decisions.

Care Taking and House Sitting

Several websites exist for care taking or house/pet sitting properties around the world; I've used the following sites:

http://www.caretaker.org
http://www.caretaker-jobs.com
http://www.trustedhousesitters.com

Theoretically, care taking and house/pet sitting seem like an economical way to live and/or travel; however, like most things, the details are a bit more complex.

I'm considering house sitting during my round-the-world trip. I've seen some interesting house sitting ads from around the world (most ads are in Europe), including the countries I'll be traveling to; however, I suspect the chances are slim the timing will work out. Also, most house sitting opportunities I've seen involve pet sitting and while I love animals, the responsibility of daily walks, feeding, etc. of pets is more than I'm willing to commit to. Also, most ads I've seen require the house sitter to have a motor vehicle as they are in the country and/or not within walking distance of town/shops.

Although people still contact me about my interest in care taking, I've stopped actively looking for opportunities. Since I don't need a job, the positive aspect of care taking for me was the opportunity for new experience. However, similar to some of my former clients (when I was a consultant), my limited experience with care taking tells me that owners significantly under estimate the amount of work/time required to take care of their property:)

Swimming with altitude

I swam my best time (45 minutes) ever (for a mile) last Friday; this was at sea level (Maryland) in a 25 meter indoor pool. Yesterday I arrived in Colorado and decided to swim this morning (after yoga class:) at the Lone Tree Recreation Center. LTRC has a 25 yard indoor pool with 3 lanes. I shared the end lane; swimming against the wall is not my favorite but after 4 laps I had the lane to myself and swam the 36 laps in 47:10. I was expecting a slower time and felt a bit tired but other than having to do 8 more turns (36 vs. 32 laps), it wasn't as hard as I anticipated. Both the Maryland and Colorado miles were between a 200m/yd warm-up and 200m/yd cool-down with my swimmer's snorkel. Of course there is a little difference between 1600 meters and 1800 yards but this isn't the Olympics so whose counting:)

My day is off to a great start - meditation, followed by yoga, followed by swimming:)

Passport

Thinking I'd taken my passport with me, I've been a bit worried of late when I couldn't find it among the belongings I took to Maryland. After looking through everything in vain, my last chance was that I'd left it in my Colorado storage unit. So when I arrived in Colorado today, searching through storage was my first task. It took awhile (it was in the last box I opened:) but I am now reunited with my passport and very happy indeed. My flight to Japan leaves 9/29, which is probably just enough time to get a new passport but the timing would have been close.

Where do you live?

Something my brother-in-law said made me think about the subject of "home". He expressed concern that I wouldn't have a home to return to following my round-the-world trip. So when I wrote my previous blog (Half Way Home), I thought about his comment and my use of the word "home".

Since selling my Colorado home and launching this journey in March 2014, I've stayed at my sister's house in Colorado, hotels in various states, my other sister's house in Illinois, my Airstream in 8 different western states, and most recently, a care taker house in Maryland. My nomadic lifestyle has opened my eyes to how fixated society is on the expectation that everyone have a permanent "home" address. This expectation presents a challenge for nomads like me but it also caused me to think how difficult it must be for the homeless and immigrants. From getting a library card to using a credit card, to getting a passport, to everything in between, it sometimes seems that every daily function requires or is linked to an address. Despite what some refer to as the digital, global economy, our regulations and systems still largely require a "brick and mortar" address; seems so archaic. We have mobile phone numbers that go with us wherever we go, including when we switch carriers; hopefully, there will come a time when we no longer need a permanent home or mailing address.

One complexity of my journey for a simpler life is how do I answer seemingly simple questions from people I meet or need to deal with, like... where do you live? where are you from? what is your mailing address? In one sense, these questions are similar to - who are you? Just as "you" (the self) is always changing, so is my location. I'm fine with the changing self and nomadic lifestyle but evidently the world is not ready:)

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining; just been dealing with this address issue a lot lately and suspect I'm not alone so thought I'd blog about it. How much more difficult this issue must be for homeless people and immigrants. 

A meditation analogy - One reason following the breath is such a great method for meditation is because your breath is always with you. Likewise, wouldn't it be nice if our bodies could serve as anytime/anywhere identification:) Wonder if we'll ever see widespread use of biological marker identification (e.g., fingerprints, DNA, etc.) replacing addresses, drivers licenses, passports, SS numbers, PINs, passwords, etc. as identification. 

Half way home

After a wonderful visit with my younger sister and her husband, one of their daughters (my niece) and her husband, and my younger brother and his wife, I left Illinois this morning to continue my drive to Colorado. After driving 400+ miles, I made it to Salina, KS where I'm spending the night. My brother said it rained 26 inches in Missouri this past June so I wasn't surprised when, despite the forecast for no rain, it rained the last hour of my drive through wet MO; it continued raining through Kansas City and most of the way to Salina, KS. The midwest looks very green for August:)  Friends tell me its also been a very wet summer in Colorado so I'm looking forward to green landscapes the rest of my drive:)

Having dropped the trailer in Illinois, I'm making great time and expect to arrive in Colorado tomorrow afternoon. I no longer need the trailer because I gave the furniture, rugs, shelving, and some baking supplies to family. It feels good knowing family will make good use of these things; even better is the freedom I feel with fewer material possessions. Can't wait to give away more when I get to Colorado:)

Still looking for a place to rent for the 5 weeks I'll be in Colorado.

On the road again

Left Maryland this morning before 7; after about 8 hours and over 450 miles, I'm spending the night in Dayton, OH. Plan to drive to my Sister's house (Google maps says about 360 miles from Dayton) in Illinois tomorrow to unload and turn in the trailer. After spending the night in Illinois with family I'll hit the road Tuesday morning for the remaining drive to Colorado. My Sister's house in Illinois is about half way between where I was staying in Maryland and my other Sister's house in Colorado. The total distance is a bit over 1700 miles but the 2nd half should go faster since I'll no longer be towing the trailer (75mph as opposed to 55mph while towing).

Book Review: Why the World Doesn't Seem to Make Sense by Steve Hagen

This is a thought-provoking book about life. It opened my eyes but I sometimes still have trouble seeing.

Book Review: How to Raise and Ox - Zen Practice as Taught in Master Dogen's Shobogenzo by Francis Dojun Cook

I learned a lot from the essays and translations in this book. I find it best to read this type of book slow and repeatedly; it sometimes takes awhile for things to sink in:)

Social Media

To further simplify my life, I'm deleting my LinkedIn and Facebook accounts. Never used them much anyway, especially since retiring:) So if you don't get a response to me via these networks, you'll know why.

What to do in retirement?

Evidently, some people get bored in retirement. Indeed, some books about retirement stress the need to develop hobbies while still working so one has something to do during retirement. This advice may work for some people but I find retirement taking me in a totally different direction from interests, hobbies, and plans I developed while working.

Learning is my retirement hobby. I've probably read more books during the past year than I read in the last 5 years while working. Reading a book until I want to stop instead of stop reading a book because I needed to get up early for work the next day or because I thought I needed to do something else, is one of the greatest pleasures of retirement. These days, I'm never without 2 or 3 books and often find myself rereading good books; something I never found the time to do while working.

I'm also taking online courses and listening to audio tapes. There is so much I don't know and my thirst for knowledge seems unquenchable.

Round-the-World

Planning my next move involves many moving parts but it is finally coming together. International travel challenges include not overstaying the various time limits for in country without a visa (90 days in Japan but 30 days for many other countries) and the prohibition (without a Visa) on one-way tickets (result of 9/11). For these reasons, booking a one-way ticket to Japan (original plan) became problematic so I decided to book a round-the-world (RTW) trip with Japan as my first stop.

Departing the last week of September from Denver, I'll stop in Japan, Singapore, and Frankfurt before returning to Denver the end of June 2016. United (and probably other airlines as well) put all sorts of limits on a RTW itinerary when booking with miles but the cost savings make it all worthwhile:).

The key, I discovered, is to keep the RTW itinerary simple (a few major destinations) and use these destinations as bases for additional flights (not part of the RTW itinerary) to neighboring countries. My RTW itinerary is to spend 2 months in Japan, 3 months in SE Asia, and 4 months in Europe and Africa. Once I arrive at one of the 3 destinations on my RTW ticket, I’ll purchase additional local flights to neighboring countries; for example, from Japan, I’ll fly over to South Korea for a week or so; Singapore will serve as a good base for visiting Southeast Asia countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, etc.; and Frankfurt will be my base for visiting Europe and northern Africa.

Of course the best laid plans... so stayed tuned; I hope to keep my blog going during my travels but need to confirm I can access/modify it from my phone (not taking computer or tablet) internationally.

Summertime

When I moved to Maryland for the summer I sought a place where I could meditate, swim/workout, and bake. My meditation practice has never been as regular as it is now; 2x/day plus Saturday group meditation. Except for a family reunion travel day, I’ve been swimming 1 mile 3x/week and working out with weights and/or jogging 3x/week. And I’ve given away so many baked goods that folks are probably more than ready for me to leave town:)  I also began serious study (formal classes) of Buddhism this summer; something I hope to I continue in my travels.

Living in the Present

A passage from my current book (How to Raise and Ox - Zen Practice as Taught in Master Dogen’s Shobogenzo by Francis Dojun Cook) describes my BP- (Before Present:) lifestyle quite well.

“We can lose a whole lifetime by dwelling on where we were in the past or where we wish to be in the future.”

Getting ready to move

Intermittent Internet connection and preparing for my move are why I haven't blogged much lately. I continue to swim, workout, and caretake while planning my upcoming move from Maryland and international travel.
More soon....