We're Moving!!!

Just as I'm uprooting and moving my life into a duffle bag & day pack, this blog is moving--over to a WordPress hosted site that is :D

After many inquiries among friends & colleagues it's apparent that WordPress will allow for richer content and better user experience and Blah Blah Blah. 

From now on go to LiveRightTravelFar.com to stay in touch and be sure to bookmark the site while you're at it. You can also sign up to receive notifications of new content (how zippy is that?!).

New posts coming soon: "Travel Happens" & "Ode to Portland"

Sidenote: I really am uprooting my life so things are a bit chaotic at the moment--patience please and send me happy thoughts!

Love y'all, it's been real!

~Lale (Lauren)

XOXO

I don't know why this girl is so cheery, moving is a pain in the arse!

Nostalgia & Anticipation

Living in the moment? Pshaw! I couldn't be further from living in the moment right now...

I'm sitting in that space of the kaleidoscope where I'm looking forward, trying to focus on the immediate future while past memories and friendships are rushing through the brain like a Hogwarts quidditch match. Yes, it may be beautiful but it is also awfully confusing...

Eugene, Oregon: This is where I started my Cascadia journey in 2004. I'm in Eugene today to see old friends, reinforce those relationships and then zip back north to Portland tonight for a going away fest (please come!).  

I've built a life in Oregon and many friendships since my wide-eyed arrival years ago. If you've ever called yourself a resident of Eugene you know that nothing seems to ever change here and that same comfort and consistency is present today as I drive around town and visit old haunts. (I snuck in that bar as a freshman with a fake ID, climbed that tree on a 2nd date, took Aya to the park for the very first time, drank beers on that porch, could always count on finding a friend and postponing studying at that coffee shop...)

I'll be going to campus in a few hours to take care of some academic business and also to hear a speaker discuss China's investment in Africa. It's nostalgia in that by attending an African Studies speech in Knight Library, I'll be reliving my life as an undergrad but it's forward looking because development, travel and internationalism are my immediate future.  The latter is increasingly occupying brainspace and I'm acutely aware of this shift from local politics to considering forces of change and empowerment in an international space.

Last night I told my friend Brodie (over cakes and tea at Sweet Life Patisserie) that I feel vapid with my imminent transition on the brain & always talking about this personal journey; sorry about that. I promise to soon become preoccupied with many a more interesting topic very soon dear readers. Please stay tuned and humor me as I wade through this odd Kaleidscope of backwards looking nostalgia and forward seeking anticipation. I promise to find myself much more in the present when it comes rushing to meet me at 600 mph & 30,000 feet ;)

"Friends remind us of who we truly are..."

In exactly two weeks time I will have already started my journey. Two weeks. 

Two weeks to wrap up my life here in Portland, disown many (most?) of my possessions, say goodbye to loved ones, tie up loose ends, pack my life into a few small pieces of luggage, visit my favorite haunts and take care of all of the business of dramatically changing a life. 

The fact that it's just two weeks blows my mind. It was months and months ago that I first conceived of this journey and months and months ago that the conviction of travel and change struck me. 

I remember it so clearly--perhaps because I knew it would turn out to be one of those prescient lifetime moments that always feels fresh and recent no matter how much time has passed--when the inkling of this whole journey first occurred to me: I was sitting under the covers in my cold room at the "Tweaker Frontier" mustering up the momentum needed to go about my droll day of being an office worker. I had been feeling intense frustration and disappointment at the "greyness" of my life; it was January in Portland, Oregon and I had returned from the sheer happiness of Ghana barely 6 weeks prior. 

In the time between Ghana and "my epiphany" I'd been shocked by how quickly the joy, vivaciousness, openness and exuberance for life has disappeared from my spirit only to be replaced by the aforementioned "greyness." It seemed all was grey: the skies were grey; my office building: grey; the MAX: grey; everyone's' jackets, computers, work bags: grey; my waredrobe: a rainbow of greys. My life not only felt monotonous but it even looked monotone. Everything grey, lifeless, unsatisfying and a stark contrast to the sheer bliss and "aliveness" that I had experienced so effortlessly in Ghana. 

In addition to the grey, my house had been broken into and robbed for the second time in less than six months, I'd had a horrible visit home over the holidays, I could do nothing right in my boss' eyes and any twinkle that my own eyes had all but disappeared. I could go on about how life felt unkind and ugly but I'll leave it at what I've already shared... In short, there was a conflagration of signs and symptoms that things--ahem, my life--simply was not working and I could either be miserable or choose to make a change.

So there I sat in my room cold, uninspired and stressed out about how would I manage to find another home? How would I go about relocating myself and my dog while also trying to revive some energy in my soul while also maintaining my priorities at work and getting through another intense legislative season?!? Yikes.

And then this moment of calm and clarity (AKA "my epiphany") came from some unknown part of my brain. In a nutshell what I heard was a calm wisdom saying 'isn't it so odd and unnecessary that I would spend so much time, so much anxiety and so much energy generating stress about moving and obsessing over all of these things when they're not ultimately that important and in fact in 1 years time most of these possessions will not even be mine?'  I was taken aback, it seems I was caught off-guard by myself..?

The more I gave myself the mental space to think about it the more clear this odd sentiment became. My epiphany evolved and further revealed itself to give me confidence in my future and to reassure me with certainty that my life would not be grey.  From that day onward I've had the strength and steadiness that comes with unveiling a plan that feels like it fits with the universe and adheres to that elusive sense of "how things should be."

Yes, I know that packing up one's life and departing what-is-known with no real destination or goal in mind is, err, unorthodox and perhaps even risky. Yes, doing such a thing is the very definition of "uncertainty" yet it feels like not only what I must do but the only thing that I can do. 

Which brings me back to the original title of this post: I have the good fortune to know some incredible and inspiring people. I even have the good fortune to call some of these people my friends. Tonight I spent time with an amazing group of people and friends from multiple arenas of my life to celebrate a birthday. Amidst the celebration the special birthday girl, a woman universally loved, esteemed and admired, shared the words you see at the top of this post: 

"Friends remind us of who we truly are (and sometimes we need that)." 

I felt inspired by tonight and redeemed in my love for these amazing people. Just like when I was in Ghana last November, tonight I've been reminded of glimpses of who I really am. It's something I fear I do not acknowledge enough outwardly so here goes:

Friends, I feel truly blessed to have you in my life. Thank you for all that you bring to the world, thank you for the gifts that you share, and thank you for journeying through the unknown with me.  Thank you for reminding me of who I truly am, especially when I need it most. 

Friends I will need you, your support, your love and your continued friendship on this journey that I am about to embark on. Please keep reminding me of who I am and please keep giving me a chance to love you and remind you of who you are.

With love,

~Lauren

p.s. Please  use the "Comments" section below to offer feedback, comments and create a dialogue. I would love to hear from you!



**Special thanks to Heather Brule (Happy Birthday!) & Lanie White. You are both blessings. I'm so glad that you two became friends :D **

Next Steps

Next steps are supposed to be fortuitous. Positive harbingers of what is to come. Hopefully indicative of good fortune, optimism and excitement just around the bend.

My next step feels nothing short of tragic. I won't even be able to contain the tears as I write this.

My next step is fundamentally one of separation. Yes of going in a new direction but it's not 100% welcome.

My next step brings me to tears and makes me sorrowful for the choice that I know I must make.

My next step is final and one I cannot come to forgive, even within myself.

My next step is to no longer have my dog, my companion, my pal, my roommate, my adventure buddy, my nuisance, my playmate, my loyal friend.


Aya has been with me for nearly 3 1/2 years and has seen me through countless moves, a handful of relationships, career transitions, travel, theft, breakdowns, sadness and stress.

She's been with me as I've succeeded in work, enjoyed creative triumphs in the kitchen, watched me mop, danced with me into the wee hours, accompanied me on walks, hid out from rainstorms, watched seasons of trashy TV, interrupted puzzles, chased down flied and pests, entertained, curiously observed my odd human habits (ahem, yoga, mowing the lawn, composting), created messes only to watch me clean them, observed friends come and go, partaken in drunken parties and beer samplings, given me silent feedback on my outfits every morning, taken advantage of my playful moods, taken advantage of my generous moods, my lonely moods, my vulnerable and my most happiest moods. She's cuddled with me through cold Portland winters, given me an excuse to stay at home on Fridays when friends are calling, inspired hikes on Saturday, backpacking trips on long weekends.

She's been here for life and the life has been ours and ours alone. Very little can compare to a girl and her dog. Aya will always be my dog and I will always love her dearly. I will always love the time we've spent together, the adventures we've shared, the roadtrips we've co-piloted, the friends we've made and though it sounds silly, the jokes and laughs that are the secret lore of girl and dog.

I'll miss her terribly and I know I'll never be able to get back the love I have in this one and true special dog friend.


I love you forever Aya the Adventure Dog. May you always find the greenest pastures.

With love,

~Your female human people friend 

Cultural Whiplash

I coined this 5-week period of my life as one of “cultural whiplash.” I’ve been zipping about Oregon, North America and Italy at rapid clip—each time quickly re-orienting myself to a new cultural and geographic reality.

It started with a close friend’s wedding in Nashville, TN (shout out to the happy *Robuck* couple) complete with honky-tonk bars, Elvis’ own gospel singer and historic hotels. My flight path then took me through Toronto, Canada for a short visit into settler’s history, International Hockey Museum and Brazil Day samba celebrations. Next up was Rome, Italy and a rainy foot tour of the Trevi Fountain, Palatine Hill, Coliseum and Pantheon. Following a high-speed train and high-speed Peugot convertible I was dropped into Tuscany for bucolic glory, reveling in the open top sunshine, wine tastings and succulent steaks tucked into beds of fresh truffles. The final Italy destination was the Amalfi Coast, a land of aquamarine extremes, sensational seafood and high-end euro-tourists. Finally, a quick stop through rough and tumble, gritty, smog filled, pseudo-African Naples on the way back to Rome.

Zoom! Roma to Portland, Oregon.

Zoom! Portland, Oregon to Pendleton, Eastern Oregon: land of cowboys, man-meat, boots, whiskey and old west manners.

Zoom! Welcome home: it’s Portland and it’s glorious and it’s passive aggressive and its beer is unrivaled.

Putter putter: I’m driving south along I-5 to Albany, Goshen, Eugene, Roseburg. There’s a beauty queen who is two C-sections and about 4 1/2 inch heels past her prime, Here’s an Oregon businessman who struck gold outfitting fastfood restaurants up and down the West Coast but still humble as a fern.  Welcome to Medford, it’s hot and the food ain’t great but we can jump curbs in our 32-foot RV.

Putter, putter: Welcome to Grants Pass, quirky bears [statues of bears that is] abound, the stately Rogue River cuts through downtown and here we are stationed at the impressive but under-hyped Taprock Restaurant and Resort with Southern Oregon’s best waitress (no joke—Jennifer won by a popular vote!).

This week it’s Klamath Falls, Lakeview, Harney County (Burns/Hines), then Bend, Oregon. Or it’s supposed to be; at the moment that is all in question due to mechanical troubles with the RV.

These travels and the subsequent roadshow are making me weary of the packing, unpacking routine that has gotten old. The road itself has been great and I love every facet of the cultural acclimatization it demands.  All this travel makes me hungry for my upcoming voyage but, for the time being, I’d really prefer to nest into the bosom of Portland fall, encircled by my friends and enjoying the simple charms of sleeping in the same bed for a few days in a row.

Haze of different Oregon towns and hotel rooms. The last semblance of a routine I’ll have for the next couple months.

----------------------

Here’s some good news: I bought my tickets today: IT’S OFFICIAL!!! I’M OFF TO MALAYSIA!!!

(more updates on Malaysia & SE Asia coming soon)

La Dolce Vita

My skin is salty and has started to "tan." I say "tan" because as a day-walking ginger "tan" is a relative term. I'm still pink-to-translucent in some places but overall am covered with a nice smattering of freckles and fair, sun-bleached hair. You could say I have a golden-brown Jackson Pollock tan ;)

DP, that's Dan Prince or Daddio Prince, & I have been gallivanting about Tuscany & now Amalfi Coast for 5 1/2 days. We've packed plenty of activity and sight-seeing into those days; not to mention stuffed ourselves full of some of the most decadent cuisine I've ever had the pleasure to graze upon.

Truffles Truffles Truffles. My father & I have a multi-year history of great meals together. There are a few select meals that really stand out in both our memories due to a combination of setting, ambiance, service, cuisine and company. One night at a Seattle restaurant (Cascadia) remains an all time favorite. We had the 7 course price fixed menu with wine pairings. In actuality two courses were palate cleansers, one a Douglas fir sorbet. Surrounded by deep wood and iron details, we lavished in the Pacific Northwest sensible glamor. Another was in the Rainbow Room in NYC where I had the single best salad of my life: Arugula with balsamic and Parmesan cheese. Simple. Beautiful, bouyant flavors.

Our journeys through Italy have quickly filled our top 10 and were we not setting off at this very moment for what no-doubt will be another exceptional and memorable meal, I would detail all of our recent dining and drinking extravagances... I'll save that for later.

Buon appetito! Off to Vivaro Wine Bar, Praiano, Amalfi, Italia.

I am a traveler

It feels good to be on the road!

I'm off to a marvelous period of gallivanting: Portland to Nashville. This morning Nashville to Toronto.

Toronto is a new city for me and new feels great. Everything is shiny, my eyes are wide and every interaction pregnant with possibility.

I was immediately struck with the diversity of the people and, of course, how gosh darn friendly everyone is--They're Canadian!  I found my way quickly through customs and was spit out directly to the information desk.  Toronto is what Germany would be if it were down to earth, laid back but still extremely invested in effeciency.

The mass transit is prolific, however less efficient that the smart airport. It took almost 2 hours to get into downtown where I met up with Boris from the Red Patch Boys.

He gave me a galliant albiet brief walking tour of downtown. My eyes were wide the whole time and our lips flapping in the wind as we jumped from subject to subject. Nifty town with towering skyscrapers and historical architecture all but overwhelmed by the horizon. It is the last day of summer here and the streets were packed with revelers. There was a distinct atmosphere of Carnival as it was Brazil day. I had no idea!

I certainly have more to say about all of this but alas my flight to Italy is boarding and I must be on it.  In brief: Nashville was better than ever and Boris' Toronto was an excellent send-off for Italy.

Cultural whiplash here I come!

The progressive check out of America’s most Progressive city

I’m steadily checking out of Portland. I can tell because I’m increasingly losing interest in starting new friendships, investing in non-starter friendships and my tolerance for pointless banter has hit a new all-time low. I just can’t be bothered, other things on my mind and thus  I'm preferring my own company, spending time at home and nurturing my better, more rewarding/reciprocal friendships. 

The larger point though is that Portland is a city of infatuation. To enjoy it, you must adore it and remain ever devoted to it. Don’t get me wrong it is fragrant and tantalizing with more temptation and indulgence than the average American city. However it is incredibly homogenized, exhaustingly self-affirming, and mind-numbingly preoccupied with it’s own bloated sense of grandioseness. I can no longer abide. 

Don’t get me wrong, I have enjoyed this city, loved it even and reveled in its treasures as if flipping in fresh, crisp waters after swimming for months in buoyancy of heavily salted marine waters. Lately though I've become too fatigued with the continuous effort and perpetual-motion required to keep the breathing orifices above the liquid.  It’s treading, both in the metaphorical and the existential sense.  I am fatigued of upholding the self-congratulatory affect and cooler than though exterior. The town no longer fuels me, and I think it’s starting to show.

Tonight I returned to REI to investigate luggage for the second time.  I settled on a swank and smart Victorionox rolling suitcase.  It’s smaller than other options capacity-wise but looks wholly more function, with a pleasing form to boot. I shall test out all my packing options while traveling Italy, refine my systems and then deploy them to lands that are the antithesis of Italy.  A flawed approach? Perhaps, but better than no approach at all.

I’m attempting a suitcase + daybag/pack approach that I’ve never had the courage to edit towards... Restricting myself to such limited luggage I’m sure will yield benefits disproportionally and will put the whims of travel in my favor. Less is more, and I’m aiming for 100 or less.

That giddy feeling

Yesterday marks the first day I opened up my Rough Guide Southeast Asia guide and started reading in earnest.  Earlier in the week I received an email from a travel agent who is assisting me in my cause of acquiring flexible, inexpensive and poorly defined tickets for my ambiguous itinerary.  My Kiwi friend Ping, whom I in Barcelona in 2008, uses Leah for all his bookings and suggested that she'd be able to sort through the quagmire of my wants and nebulous travel dreams.

I want to go for a long time--should I get a one-way ticket or refundable round-trip? I want to have flexibility to jet around SE Asia for a number of months and then be able to get to New Zealand when the time comes--what's the best hub to use for inexpensive & spontaneous travel? This corner of the world is unfamiliar and foreign to me, I don't even know where to want to go--what do you recommend? I have friends scattered in SE Asia--can you put together an itinerary that includes them? I'd like to get to NZ but I don't know when so I don't want to be bound to a departure date--can you make a flexible booking? I may decide to visit Nashville before I leave--which departure city is better: Nashville or Portland?

Yes. I am a travel agent's worst nightmare... Or, as a friend pointed out, I'm their dream client because I'm open to it all and will follow the advice given.  

Needless to say, I have not heard back from Leah so I suspect that in her mind, I fall into the former category of "nightmare."

This all got me thinking that yes, it's time I start actually learning about this place that will, by default, be my new vagabond home.  And with that, I cracked my guidebook and let the giddiness bubble up :)

Welcome to my blog!*

With multiple grand, sweeping, hyperbolic life changes characterizing 2012 and my imminent travel, I decided that tonight of all nights is the night I commence blogging my journey.

In actuality my journey really started long ago and involves my creation tale, to-date life story, previous travel encounters and some incredulous coincidences along the way; not to mention heavy doses of blind luck and infinite blessings which I dream to honor.  Those are all tales for another time and in time they will reveal themselves here.

The salient facts of the day are pretty simple:

1) I adore travel and am ever passionate and grateful to be a part of this global community.

2) My life thus far has been wonderfully blessed and leaves me with few regrets however it has become increasingly necessary that I seek my purpose elsewhere. Dramatic change is needed.

3) The stars have aligned! I'm off to Italy for the trip of a lifetime with my father this September. Two short months later I'm off to Malaysia and the welcoming friendship of distant friends.  From Malaysia I'll venture onward, who knows to which destination...

Lucky me. I hope you enjoy being a part of the journey. Thanks for reading.

~LaLe´ Princey

*I swear I read somewhere that when starting a new blog one is required to make that statement verbatim. It's buried in the google blogger fine print, for serious.