Thaiger Bomb

I sit on an airplane again, this time from Bangkok to Phuket, and I ponder the unlikely turn of events that has led to this moment.  Two years ago, almost exactly, the idea came up in an ambitious puppy love-driven conversation over breakfast at a little diner in Moab, Utah.  Over the next several months, that idea developed into a savings account and tentative dates.  A lack of commitment to the adventure kept pushing the dates back, and life's obstacles gradually gave an entirely new meaning to the possibility of taking off.

Roughly six months ago as I was sitting at my desk doing the kind of fruitless work that makes a man crazy, I paused a long moment and said to myself out loud, "I need to get out of here."  The idea settled in again.  Not only did I need a change of scenery, I desperately needed to put to rest the notion that the responsibilities my father left behind when he passed away were a permanent fixture in my life.  At that moment though, I was mostly referring to my physical location so I committed to spending several weeks adventuring out on my own.

The experience was intense and eye-opening.  I managed to rediscover my sense of freedom, and for the first time in my life, I surrendered myself completely to love.  This phenomenon, that somehow generates absolute empowerment from the most vulnerable state of being, became my driving force to go out and explore.  I became very curious to experience life under this new light, and without the distractions brought on by the routine and habits of daily life at home.  So in mid June I bought a one way ticket to China for September 27th, a day that, coincidentally, has now marked the beginning of two of the greatest phases of my life.

Now here I am.  Two years in the making and under polar opposite circumstances of what I had originally envisioned.  But perfect nonetheless.