Travel Time!

There are so many places I want to see and visit before I die.  And while I feel fortunate that I’ve already been to a number of them (Angkor Wat, Acropolis, and Westminster, to name a few) I haven’t even got close to all of the places I want to see.

Perhaps this urge to suddenly travel and explore is just an inner desire to escape from finals (Ugh!), but whether its from that or just another case of wanderlust setting in, I thought I’d share a few of my destinations with you.

Machu Picchu is an ancient royal estate high in the Andes of Peru.  The construction consists of megaliths that sit almost on top of a mountain.  Because it sits so high, the surrounding view consists of mountain peaks, green foliage, and steep cliffs.  Or at least that’s what the pictures look like and the stories say.  Either way, it’s truly a city set in the clouds.

I guess it’s not so much a destination as an adventure, but I want to go on an African Safari.  I love wildlife and it would be so fun to see some of nature’s most amazing animals in their natural habitat.  Just think of trying to sleep out on the savanna, under the clear sky and sparkling stars as the lion roars and the elephants bellow.

There’s not a lot of history with this next destination, which is usually something I look for in the places I travel.  I do love history and historical architect, but this place just offers, sand, sun and swimming. Ao Phra Nang Beach in Thailand would be the ideal place to relax, soak up the sun, read, snorkel and scuba dive.  I especially love the last two things.  Being underwater is like being in another world.  Take a look and tell me you wouldn’t want to spend some days just lying around out there.

I think Turkey offers the world traveler a number of options.  You have historical landmarks like, Hagia Sophia, amazing beaches that can be experienced on the blue cruise, shopping at the Grand Bazaar and natural landscapes that are diverse and beautiful.  Turkey truly has it all.  My only regret is that it’s so large that it would take a great deal of time and money, and since time is money, I think it would be really hard to see and do it all.  But a man can dream….

Where and what do you dream of seeing?

the Poet, the Musician and the Photographer

I started this blog because it was a required assignment in my Social Media class.  Originally my professor, Deirdre Breakenridge, wanted us to write about business communications, reputation management and public relations in social media.  Thankfully, she changed her mind and allowed us to blog about things we’re passionate about.  If you read my about page, you know that my interests are here there an everywhere, and while I’ve shared some of my thoughts about politics, fantasy and travel, I thought I’d share something different this time.

The other day I had a conversation with a friend about inspiration and thought that’s what I’ll blog about.  The interesting thing about inspiration is that it can come from anywhere and communicates a barrage of feelings.

Here a few of the things that inspire me.

And it came to pass that he rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it—In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children—and he fastened it upon the end of a pole.

And he fastened on his head-plate, and his breastplate and his shields, and girded on his armor about his loins; and he took the pole, which had on the end thereof his rent coat, (and he called it the title of liberty) and he bowed himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren so long as there should a band of Christians remain to possess the land—

Alma 46 12-13 

When I read this, I feel inspired to fight for the things that I love and cherish: my family, my friends, my country and my faith.  I don’t enjoy fighting, or war, nor do I wish to see death and destruction, but there are things that are worth fighting for.

There are a few songs that bring a tear to my eye every time I hear them.

While there are many versions of this arrangement, this is by far my favorite.  I’m far from perfect and this song inspires hope.

I’ve heard this song in many voices, arrangements, and styles, but I stand taller and prouder whatever the version I hear, whenever I hear it.

The men and women who’ve sacrificed, are sacrificing, and will sacrifice to defend the land that I love, will always inspire me.

I stand in awe of the universe.  The mystery and majesty of creation is inspiring.  The photos below create within my heart and mind the urge to explore, dream big, and never give up.

How long had man looked towards the heavens before he finally reached them?  How long will he look towards another planet before he reaches it? Too see these images are to believe in things that I cannot see, and acknowledge the beauty of things I don’t understand.

These are only a select few.  I suggest you take the time to see more.

So what photos make you dream?  What words have the poets penned that create a burning within your bosom?  What songs leave tears tumbling down your cheeks?

Confession: I have an Addiction

I have an addiction.  I’m able to put it off for months, sometimes even years, but it always comes crawling back.  Sometimes I try and fight it, to avoid it, and stay as far away from it as I can.  Other times I rush towards it.  I want it.  I need it.  And when I get it, I let it consume me.  Yes, I’ve called in sick for work, skipped classes, and even put off my family and friends to feed my addiction and wallow in its pleasure.

For those of you who have had an addiction, I know you, like me, occasionally look back and wonder when it all started and what led you to it.

For me, I was led to it early in my youth, around 1^st or 2^nd grade.  There were two things that influenced me to start down this path.  One I found at school, in the library, and the other at home, from my youngest uncle, whom I viewed as an older brother.

Those early years only fanned the flames, stirred my passions and created within me an unquenchable desire.  One I didn’t fully understand.  One that I couldn’t fully satisfy.

After years of anticipation, I tried it for the first time in 7^th grade.  It was just want I’d always wanted.  It satisfied the cravings I’d had for so long.   But I wasn’t fully obsessed until around the fall of my 9^th grade year.  From there it only got worse.  It followed me through high school.  I spent so many nights staying up past 1 or 2 in the morning, and hating myself for my weakness as I dragged myself though school the next day.

I was able to put it off for a few years while I was in living in Ukraine, but once I got back to the States, and had the time, the means, and easy access to what I needed, I found it, and I took it.

Even on my military deployment to Iraq I was able to find what I needed and feed my addiction.

When I returned to my studies I was able to put it off for the most part, indulging in it just a little bit during Christmas break, or between summer classes.  My desire for good grades out weighed my need for satisfaction, and I finally thought I was overcoming my weakness… but recently, I’ve fallen back into my addiction.  It’s not good, and it certainly isn’t helpful while trying to maintain my grades as a graduate student.

But what can I do?  I love fantasy.

Yes, that’s right.  I love fantasy books.  In fact, I’m addicted to them.  If I don’t read one at least ever 8 months, I go into withdrawals.  I shake and stuttered and yearn for the things I love: adventure, rich characters, amazing castles, incredible creatures, powerful wizards, and potent magic.

I think it started in elementary.  I loved the Eyewitness books.  My favorite books were the historic civilizations (Rome, Egypt, Greece) and the ones that covered the Dark Ages, knights and weapons.

On top of it, my uncle had a lot of Legos.  He’s eight years older than me, and when I was about 5 he gave me all of his.  My favorite ones were the castle Legos.  I could build armies and fortress, and have adventures and battles.  But as I got older, it wasn’t enough.
Around Easter of my 7^th grade year my parents bought me a book.  It was titled The Hobbit.

I was instantly hooked.  Here was something that satisfied me.  It was another world, and one I instantly feel in love with.  I realized that reading was my way to escape, to go on adventures, meet new people, make new friends, and see and experience new things.  Things I could never experience in the reality of our world.

After I read The Hobbit, I started The Lord of the Rings, and I couldn’t put it down.  I would read and read and read, until I realized I’d be reading the same page over and over.  That’s usually when I knew it was time to finally go to sleep.  I hated myself in the morning.

After I finished The Lord of the Rings, I needed something else.  I needed a new hit, a new high.  I didn’t have the Internet back then, so I couldn’t find a list of the best fantasy books, so I went to Barnes and Noble.  I spent my time gazing at book covers (since many just seemed to have endorsements, but no summary of the story).

Since then I’ve traveled to the world of Krynn, part of the Dragonlance series of books.  I’ve fought evil wizards with Richard Rahl from the Sword of Truth series, and I’ve gone on countless, quests, adventures, raids and battles in far distant places.

But of all the books and fantasy series I’ve invested time in, there’s one that’s not quite finished.  One that I started when I was 15 (I’m 30 now) and one that is almost done:  The Wheel of Time series.

In anticipation of the upcoming release of A Memory of Light, the 14^th and final book in the series, I recently started rereading all of the books.  They’re not small, averaging about 855 pages a book, but they’re so engrossing that I can’t put them down.  It’s become hard choosing (and it’s a tough choice) to do homework or feed my fantasy addiction.  Hopefully, as with other fantasy series, after I finish this I can pull back from satisfying my need for a while.  I know it wont be forever (I still have to finish Game of Thrones), nor do I want it to be so, but I’ve got to get back to studying. (Sigh)

What about you?  Are there any healthy, happy and distracting addictions you have?

Are there any other Wheel of Time fanatics out there?  It’s okay, trust me, you’re not alone.

If you’ve never picked up the Wheel of Time series, I suggest you do.  If you’ve never read fantasy, “it’s time to toss the dice.”

The first book cover is what sucked me in

A Place for Inspiration?

Online communities have created a smaller and more interactive world, where we can communicate with just about anyone, whenever we want, wherever we want.

Most of us use social media to share photos, comments and brief stories.  But lately, there’s been a lot of rancor on many of the social media platforms.  With the 2012 U.S. Presidential election just about a week away, the electorate, many of them passionate about their politics, aren’t afraid to engage in dialogue with those whose views are different.  That’s a good thing.  No one party, and no one individual, can claim to have all of the best ideas, dreams and thoughts.  The free exchange of ideas is what’s made this nation great.  We need discourse in the public sphere in order to expose new ideas to scrutiny and rethink old ones.  However, discourse in the public sphere, especially on social media sites, has the tendency to quickly deteriorate into something rotten.

I’ve known a number of people who’ve closed down their social media accounts, or defriended someone, until after the election.  They say that the overwhelming amount of political content, and arguments that abound on walls, discussion boards and tweets is unbearable.  In fact, many of them are beginning to view social media as less of an interactive and informative world, and more as world of discord, advertisements and propaganda.

While much of that may be true, especially during the political season, let’s not forget what social media can do when harnessing the power of people by eliciting an emotional response.  It can certainly cause harm, as we’ve recently seen in the Middle East.  But, it can also be a source of strength and good.  In Egypt, twitter was the catalyzed in overthrowing a dictator who had been in power for decades.  While both of these examples demonstrate that social media can cause revolutions and protests, pride and prejudice, I’d like to focus on what it can do for an individual.

All of our struggles in life are different.  Some of us have strengths which others could only dream of, while many of us have weaknesses that others cannot fathom.  But in the end, all of humanity, at some point, whether briefly, or throughout their life, will at sometime feel underappreciated, lonely or sad.  It’s a given.  So what can social media to do encourage and build up an individual?  It can “like,” leave a “comment,” share an “instagram,” “tweet” a phrase, or post a “YouTube” video to that makes someone smile, laugh, feel appreciated, rewarded or wanted.  It often doesn’t take long only a second or two, but it can make a difference.

Over the last few weeks there have been a number of things I’ve seen on social media sites that have tugged at my heartstrings.  So I wanted to share a couple of the things that have inspired me, hopefully helped the individual and speak to the compassion and kindness of humanity.

1. Parents and individuals who have shared their creative time, energy and effort in constructing Halloween costumes for people in wheelchairs.  If you’ve been on Facebook the last month, I’m sure you’ve seen one of these videos.
2. This is an older post, but with roughly 2,750,000 views on YouTube, it’s still a hit.  Ike, a high school student with down syndrome is given the opportunity to play and score.  The coaches are teaching these young men more than just football and winning and loosing.

Yes, social media contains dram and rants, political arguments and advertisements, but besides being a place where we can communicate and interact, it can be a place where we can inspire and strengthen.

What videos, tweets, or posts have you see that have inspired you, or benefited someone else?

First Debate Thoughts

As a graduate student studying Public Relations and Corporate Communication at NYU, I’m often talking about what individuals and businesses are doing, or could do, to better communicate and engage their audiences.

While we occasionally talk politics (especially with this being a Presidential election year) we mostly focus on companies and their communication strategies, or lack thereof.  After watching the debate with some fellow PR&CC students at a SideBar (they have the most amazing hot dogs) I decided I’d share some, but not all, of my thoughts (from a PR perspective) about the debate.

The much-anticipated showdown between President Barack Obama and GOP presidential challenger Mitt Romney took place on Wednesday night.  The debate was the first of three between the two contenders for the White House and offered Americans an unfiltered, all access view, of both men.

The debate presented each candidate with rewards and risks as the best spokesman for their campaign.  Mitt Romney, whose campaign was on a slow decline throughout much of September, needed a strong showing to simply stay in the race.  President Obama, who seemed to be finally pulling significantly ahead in the polls, needed a strong performance to finally knock his challenger out.

Both candidates tried to play down and mange their expectations prior to the debate.  Romney, who has been painted by the media and Obama campaign as “stiff” and “robotic,” had the greater challenge.  He had to overcome his communication problem.  President Obama, who is often viewed as one of the most eloquent Presidential speakers we’ve ever had, simply had to show up and by himself.  But, when the debate was over, it was apparent the President hadn’t shown up and that Mitt Romney was a good, if not great, orator.

Some simple media relation principles could have greatly enhanced and helped the President before, during and after the debate.

–   Before: Preparation/Rehearsals:  I can’t say this enough, “Practice, Practice, Practice.”  A few days before the debate President Obama was quoted as telling volunteers that he found debate preparation a “drag.”  By his performance, and the previous statement, it was clear that the President hadn’t taken debate practice and preparation seriously.  As the best spokesperson for his campaign, he should have engaged in rigorous study of facts and numbers.  Romney seemed to have an endless, well rehearsed, and oft used supply of them.  The President should have gone over his storytelling (its how voters identify with compassion).  In poll after poll the President leads when voters are asked if he can relate to their problems.  But after the debate, Romney came across as the more compassionate of the two.  Besides practicing against Sen. John Kerry, President Obama should have used and old trick of the trade and practiced in front of a mirror.  This would have greatly enhanced the use of body language, unquestionably his weakest area.  Managing body language is managing where you look, how you stand, and what pose or facial expression to take while not talking.  The Presidents body language should have been indicative of wanting a second term, but came across as wanting anything but to be there, debating Mitt Romney.

 –   During:  Body Language:  There are numerous studies stating that body language has a stronger impact on communication than the spoken word.  With an estimated audience of 65 million, President Obama’s body language came off as timid, lost, confused and at times arrogant.  If he wanted to do any one thing during the debate, it was demonstrate that he was a capable, competent and sure leader, however, his body language made him come off as anything but.  Even longtime supporters and liberal talking heads question weather he really wanted a second term.  Many of those comments weren’t because of his colloquial nature, but because of the way his eyes, mouth and posture weren’t supporting what he was saying.

–  After:  Honesty:  Politics is a game of persuasion.  Most American’s now days don’t trust the media, or politicians, to tell them the truth.  After the debate, President Obama’s surrogates and base, went livid on social media sites about the President loosing because he was so stunned by Mitt Romney’s lies (amongst other excuses: altitude, and body swapping).  This created backlash for two reasons:  Most Americans don’t like excuses.  When you loose, you loose.  Man up and admit it.  After watching the President clearly get worked over, and looking unprepared, coming up with an excuse appeared weak.  It would have been better to say, “I wasn’t as prepared as I should have been.  I will be next time.”  That’s an honest answer.  He might have even added, something like, “between campaigning and running the country, I didn’t find as much time as I would have liked to prep.”  That’s just some free advice, if it happens again.  The other reason, even if Romney was repositioning, (another excuse/claim by the President and his supporters) President Obama just sat there and let him get away with it.  Calling Romney out afterwards, when he could have done so to Mitt Romney’s face, makes the President look puny and feeble.  It calls into question the Presidents ability to deal with criticism.

A few other takeaways:

1-The media may have been most culpable in the Presidents loss.  The media hasn’t pressed, challenged and dug deep into this administration, namely the President.  Seriously, think of all the pointless, articles about Romney’s dog, or Romney’s statement after the Libya fiasco (especially when Kerry was daily politicizing the deaths of US service members in 2004) or the charge that he may be a tax felon, compared to the media never seriously challenging the President on security issues or jobless rates (and the plans to fix it, without spending tax payer money and raising the deficit) and almost any other issue about his record over the last four years.  We know more about whom the President is having parties (fundraising) with than what his plans are to get unemployed college graduates working.  What was the result of all of this?  A president who was, for the first time in a long time, confronted by someone who articulates is knowledgeable and not easily intimidated.  How did the President handle that kind of open and honest hostility?  Not well.  If the media had been doing this for the last four years, this likely would not have been the case.

2-The Democratic Party is taking my advice and making sure the VP practices, practices, practices.

3-Believing your own story.  You’ve all heard the old saying that if you tell a lie enough times, people will believe it.  I can’t help wonder if the Obama team started to really believe that Romney was a cold, dispassionate robber baron.  One who was stiff, robotic and uncompromising.  They’ve been characterizing him that way since last year, and maybe they really started to think that’s who he was, but that’s not who we saw.  They should have ready for whom Mitt Romney really is, a smart, well spoken, intelligent, competent, composed, compassionate man, who doesn’t suffer fools lightly.  According to multiple interviews of Romney’s friends, employs and religious flock, essentially those who know him best.

4-It appears as if Clint Eastwood was right.  He wasn’t just right… he was predicting the future.

Should Free Speech Include Words and Actions that Intentionally Offend Others?

With the Middle East currently embroiled over the clips from the film Innocence of Muslims, I thought this would be a great time to discuss a number of issues regarding free speech and government and societal responses.

1.  Should the Obama administration have asked YouTube to “review” the video?  And should Gen. Martin Dempsey have called Terry Jones and asked him to withdraw his support for the film?

No.  Though I understand their reasoning for doing so.  As a US soldier and some who has deployed to two predominantly Muslim nations, and has been in harms way, I know that the US leadership is concerned about the loss of both American military and civilian lives but, there is a greater issue than the loss of life: the loss of free speech.  When the government starts asking people to refrain from expression for fear of violent riots and mobs, we began kowtowing to the demands of extremist.  By the White House and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff trying to limit (even if just in a persuasive manner) the free speech of American citizens, we’ve shown extremists that the American government and people can be intimidated.

2.  Should free speech include words and actions that intentionally offend others?

Absolutely.  Think of all the things that offended different groups, cultures, races, ethnicities and religions, just to name a few.  If the government tried to regulate, or get involved every time one of these groups was offended, our free speech would greatly diminish.  As Americans, we have every right to the free exchange of ideas, even when they are sordid.  Whether it’s burning the Koran or portraying a religious leader in a negative light, that is our right.

How we as individuals and a society react is entirely up to us. Better to have the opportunity to react to offense, than to have the government try and suppress our 1^st Amendment rights, for fear of how we will react.

Furthermore, society on its own will decide what words and actions are appropriate for use in the public sphere.  We call it political correctness.  Just think of the words that you can and cannot say for fear of being labeled a bigot, racist or insensitive.  Society has take offense to certain phrases, words and actions and has, by and large, discouraged their use, often by criticizing and ostracizing those who go against the societal norms of limited free speech.

3.  Does our own (individual, societal and the US government) hypocrisy about offending different groups encourage this kind of behavior?

The remarks I’ve read on threads and on comment boards, from numerous media outlets, suggest that most people agree that the film in question is “insulting,” “derogatory,” or “offensive,” for it’s portrayal of Islam, and have condemned the film maker, while even if at the same time supporting his freedom of expression.  But do we discourage and condemn all insensitive behavior as it relates to religion, or just the ones that are catalyst to violence?

Take for example the Broadway hit, The Book of Mormon; winner of 9 Tony Awards.  Has any politician, government official, or mainstream media personnel come out to strongly condemn the show?  Or has society rewarded something that’s offensive to a small segment of the population?  How would Americans respond to offending Mormons if small fringe groups started murdering the actors and blowing up the audiences as they sat in the theaters?  Would local mayors and governors say that The Book of Mormon is “disgusting and reprehensible” as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said of the Innocence of Muslims?  Or, would they simply denounce the acts, without trying to persuade people from offending Mormons?

By surrendering freedom of speech and expression to angry mobs, terrorist or misguided individuals, who might be considered on fringe, are we only encouraging others to come forth?  When such groups see that expressing opinions on certain issues is forbidden, for fear of reprisal, are others not encouraged to take the same actions to suppress criticism, slander, offense and to the causes, beliefs or traditions they hold dear and sacred?

What Would You Wish For?

“What would you wish for?”  This was the topic of conversation as a group of us sat around getting to know one-another.

I wasn’t shocked or surprised to hear the traditional answers: “World peace.” “No more world hunger,” and “A cure for all the diseases in the world.”  I applauded and appreciate people who posses such compassion that if they had one wish, they would do something for the betterment of mankind.  At the same time, if we wish for such things, would we, as intelligent beings, really obtain our full potential?  Would we learn, without the struggles, to become better if we could simply wish a problem away?  I don’ think we could, but it would be nice to just get rid of our problems, or the world’s.  But that’s the very reason I think wishing for something so grand as “World Peace” is a waste of time.  Why waste a wish for something that we as individuals or society can achieve together?

I’m not saying it would be easy, or that we could even accomplish it in our lifetime, or many lifetimes, but if we really want such changes bad enough, can we not work towards them and make them realities?

Me? I want to wish for the impossible.  It might be selfish, and I’m certainly not doing anything for the betterment of the world, but there are things I could never do or achieve through any amount of effort.

When I was younger, I often wonder what I would wish for… invisibility… the ability to fly… to pull whatever amount of money I wanted out of my pocket, whenever I wanted (still kind of like that one).  But in the end, I’ve settled on the ability to travel in time.  How fun would that be?

As someone who loves historical events and architectural works, and romanticizes about far of lands in bygone eras, I think the ability to travel in time would be perfect for me.

I want to see how people lived.  I want to know how they built things.  I want to see what they did for fun, for work, how they slept, and what they ate.  I want to see history as it happened and know how it really unfolded.

There are a few caveats about my wish.

–       I can chose any place, in any time, to appear

–       I can always take a guest (what fun would it be if you couldn’t share the experience with someone?)

–       When I/we appear (where and whenever) I’m/we’re wearing attire that is suitable to the environment.

–       I/we can communicate in the language (both the written and spoken word) of the era I/we have traveled to

–       I/we get to take any small items (think camera, chap stick) I/we desire

So I’m curious to know, what would you wish for and why?  Be honest.  If making the world a better place is your wish, tell me why.  If its fortune and fame, tell me why you want it and what you would do with it.

The only rules to your one wish are the traditional ones.  If you don’t know what those are, you can find them here.

Start rubbing that lamp….

Journalistic Integrity

Today, while reading an article from The Atlantic, I began to question whether reporters, journalists, bloggers, newscasters and basically anyone in the media, who shares an opinion on politics, should be required to disclose their political beliefs up front.  In the article I read, Mitt Romney Drops His 3 a.m. Phone Call, James Fallows admits up front that he “worked for a Democratic president” and that he prefers the “Democratic position to the Republican” in almost all major policy areas.  This is not the first time I’ve come across a journalist or opinion writer who states their intended belief up front, but it was the first time I started to ask myself about the credibility of their opinion.

I’ll tell you what brought this about.  Last night, in my Communication Ethics, Law, and Regulation class, we were discussing what happens when companies pay bloggers, or people with large Twitter or Facebook followings, to write positive reviews or endorsements for their product.  Should such people be honest up front about being paid to promote merchandise or should they make no mention about what their real motivation is?  What are the consequences of each?  Our class, for the most part, agreed that we would like to know and distinguish between a genuine endorsement and a paid endorsement.  For us, the stake was trust.  In the ever-evolving social media sphere of influence, more people want honesty.  That’s not to say a company can’t pay to have someone review a product or mention it, but it should be honest.  If there are problems they should be brought to light.  If a car doesn’t function correctly, or a new gadget is not user friendly, make mention of that.  We want, and expect the truth.

Thus today when reading Mr. Fallows article I asked myself, should those same open and honest standards apply to the political opinion makers and influencers?  Do we want journalists to disclose their political beliefs?  For example, should they disclose:  1. Which party they belong.  2.  Who they have voted for over the last 3 elections.  3.  Who they plan on voting for in the upcoming election.

I think they should.  I feel like most journalists today try and slyly use adjectives and wordy writing, (to say nothing of the personal attacks) in subtle manner in order to persuade the reader opinions.  By being honest up front, writers can more clearly articulate why exactly they support (or don’t) about a certain policy or position.  No need for all the subtle words.  Nor do I think that by being honest about their political views journalists are likely to loose creditability.  By knowing where they are coming I’ll have a better understanding of what they are hoping to achieve and why.  I often have in-depth political discussions with people who have different ideas than I do.  I find those conversations enlightening.  In no way does knowing what someone’s political party or persuasion hinder their ability to converse with me.  In fact, knowing it means we’re having an open and honest conversation.

I would every much like to know what you think, so please, share your thoughts.

First Post

Since this is my first post I thought I’d just putting something out here to make sure I’m doing it right, and to give you an idea about what I’ll be posting about.

As my name states (herethereaneverywhere), there are a lot of things that I’m passionate about, and so, instead of trying to follow just one passionate, I figure I’ll keep my options open.  Each time I post, it may be about a different subject, or it may be about the same.  It might come in short intervals or it might be evenly spaced out over the week(s).  The bottom line is I do not intend to limit myself to one area.  As a person, there’s not just one thing that defines me, but many.  I believe people should be discovered, ideas exchanged and the world explored.

And so, I invite you to come along with me as we get to know each other, converse and make the world a a smaller place.