Travel plans...

I have called the local pharmacy and ordered a larger prescription of Tricor for my trip.

I have, for the most part, decided what clothing I'll be taking...I travel light.

I have my cameras ready with extra memory cards. I am taking both Canons (Rebel and SureShot)

I am compiling my email and phone list and will laminate that.

I have my Global SIM card for my cell phone, which oddly enough, does not work around here. No cell phones do...

What I need to do is Xerox both my passports, and have the copy place shrink down some material for my photo-essay project.

I will only be spending a short amount of time in Greece, for a couple of reasons. The first is cost. Although Greece is a relatively inexpensive place, it can get a bit pricey for lodging in the larger towns and cities, especially as summer approaches. The second is that my work will deal primarily with the last fifteen years after the Yugoslavian Civil War so my material is in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, and Serbia. I don't know if I will get to Serbia, but I'll try, if only for a couple of days.

I'm not going there to ghoulishly take pictures of death and destruction, but rather rebuilding and growth.

It's also really cheap to have a great time.

So, just a few assignments to finish up and then off I go next Thursday. I'll post a few before then.


Johnnyboy

Luxury solutions to luxury problems...

For the past few months I have been experiencing automatic shutdowns on my Toshiba Satellite. It only happens after I have been playing DVDs for a spell (from 1 hour to 20 minutes) and the PC gets too hot, and I mean hot! Then, 'POOF!' Black screen, no power. It's only protecting itself...anyway, I troubleshot the thing for a while, cleaned the very dirty fans, put it back together and, unfortunately, no change. So I think one of the fans is cooked, which means repairs on a 3 year-old model. Who knows how much that will be...

I'll wait until I get home in June and have it looked at. Thankfully I have my little notebook sized PC that I have plugged in to the monitor. It works great! I have transferred all the bookmarks and updated my files from the old unit as well as updated my virus protection from ZoneAlarm. The only downside is that for some reason the display settings are not being remembered when I shut down, so each time I boot up I have to readjust the display to a single monitor and change the resolution. Still, these are luxury problems.

I have handed in all my homework except for my science class and one last paper for my European History tutorial. I spoke to my mentor and she and the professor both told me to take an 'incomplete' for this class and hand it in in June after I return. To be honest I told them both that I really hadn't prepared properly for the work and could not hand in a good piece. I am leery of the word 'incomplete' but I am now aware that it is a tool used to guarantee a better piece of scholarship rather than a black mark against me. I'll bring the book I am reading for material with me to Croatia and have it read soon enough. I think I'll use a Cybercafe and Google Documents to make notes and maybe even begin the work while I'm away. This way I can come home and essentially edit instead of brainstorm.

I leave for Croatia next Thursday for an AA convention there and in Greece. Then I am back in Croatia to travel around the country and take many pictures, some of which you all will see!

I am taking a working holiday. Yes, this is the epitome of a luxury problem.


Johnnyboy

Ooops...

Sorry about the picture size...This should be better...

Johnnyboy

A new blog...

I have signed on to Travelpod.com and will be using that for my travel blog while I am away. It has a neat 'map pin' function which allows me to pinpoint my location on the road. the url is here
so log on and drop me a line. I have made only one entry as a beta with the map pin showing the precise location of Somewheresville...So now you know, but I feel I have very few people reading my humble entries.

Anyway, back to work.

Here's another archeological bit...

See ya!

Johnnyboy

Papers done, photo-art, and luggage obssesions...

So I am still dealing with the last little hacks of this cold, which has now decided to camp out in my sinuses and lungs. That means a trip to the doc again for some anti-biotics. I have to kill this thing before I travel overseas.

Two of my four final papers are finished! That means with two weeks left in the semester, I have to write two more pieces and I will be finished. I was getting stuck in the world of 'trying to impress others' instead of pleasing myself. Now I am back on track and enjoying my work once again.

These are two pictures of some local archeology...Actually they are part of a series called 'Archeology 1' that I am shooting as a way to exercise my eye to observe the special in normal circumstances. One is called 'Archeology 1--Holy Wheel' and the other is 'Archeology 1--Shades of Red'. They are pretty self-explanatory.

I have an obsession. It's about luggage. Not suitcases (God forbid!) or even those weird little rolling suitcases thingies, unless of course you own one in which case, they're OK. What I am talking about is the Search for the Perfect Shoulder Bag. This is the item that carries my life minus clothing. By this I mean passport, money, cameras, notebooks, pens, tickets, etc...I have quite a few, most of which have worn out or otherwise served their purpose. I have a new one on the way which may suit my needs. It's slightly larger than my current messenger bag, which I am using for school. It is non-descript, sturdy canvas with a wide strap, and several side pockets. It may be, however, that I hate it and send it back immediately.

I'll keep you informed.


Johnnyboy

Pulling out of a nose dive...

It seems sometimes that I set my goals too high, or expect too much of myself, or something along those lines. My therapist speaks of this as walking across a space on a 6' x 4" board: If the board is only 5 inches off the ground, there is no problem. Elevate the thing 5 stories between two buildings, however, and the tension, stress, etc...becomes all the greater for the height. That's what I do. When I'm at those heights, I make the mistake of looking down while traversing the space. Bad idea. Then I have doubts, fears, trepidations, and all my bogey-men come back to haunt me, led by The Critic inside my head and his terrible committee. I become trapped, crippled, and unable to navigate my way out of the simplest of dilemmas.

Thankfully it never lasts long, because I know the truth: I can do 'it', whatever 'it' is. What it takes is the grace and gratitude to reach out for help, talk to people, and get this stuff off my chest. This I have done, and I am well on my way back to sanity and academic productivity. Thank you, everyone, who has listened and shared with me.

Spring is here, and here are the crocuses to prove it. I took these pictures this morning, along with this watery scene typical of spring in Somewheresville.

Tonight we are supposed to get snow, although the Weather.com predicts rain. It's sunny right now, but cool.


Johnnyboy

feeling better, detaching with love...

Just a quick one--I have to buckle down and get some work done. Yesterday proved to be a fruitless day for homework, but I rested, and finally my appetite returned. I was on the mend! I also had the best night's sleep in almost 4 days last night, which left me feeling good this morning.

I woke up to the fears, anxieties, and regrets of the alcoholic in denial and struggling to manage a life without the tools or knowledge of how to use them. For this I practice quiet detachment and the Three Cs--
I didn't Cause it, can't Control it, can't Cure it. So I let it go.

I have been watching 'Firefly', the Joss Wheddon show set in a 500 year future. I really love the sci-fi/cowboy-western combo, and I'm sorry that it never went beyond one season and a TV movie.

Anyway, back to the EU...


Johnnyboy

Much better, thank you...

I went to a Step meeting last night instead of class. It's alright. Class would have been a 3 hour driving commitment plus 2 1/2 hours of attendance...No brainer, really in my condition.

Afterwards I came home and realized that I was very feverish and probably shouldn't have driven. I was also a little dizzy and chilled, so I bundled up in a sweatshirt and pants and crawled under the covers, shivering the night away.

I woke up around 3AM and noticed immediately that wasn't cold anymore, and that I was covered in sweat. I guess my fever broke--thank you Tylenol!

So today is another 'East Does It, But Do It' day for me. I might skip my home group meeting and stay home and work on school assignments. I would like to finish this EU paper by Saturday...Plus I have tons of reading to begin chipping away at.


Johnnyboy

Achy, coughing, sick...

So yesterday I woke up with a scratchy cough. Later at school, the cough was more pronounced and I began to feel feverish. By the time I drove up the driveway, I was definitely in for a bad time, and I fell asleep around 10PM and slept until 9AM this morning. I'm not feeling great, but I have too much work to do to stay in bed all day. If I make it to a meeting tonight, it will be a miracle.

I learned something wonderful yesterday about writing theses. I had been struggling with a paper for my European History study on the EU, and was very disconsolate. I spoke to my instructor and she told me that I should try writing the paper, getting all my ideas down, and then see what the thesis is. This was a revelation! All my life I had been writing papers the wrong way around. She assured me that this was alright to do and that she completed all of her graduate work that way. What a relief!

Anyway, I cough and my head hurts. Time for more Tylenol and maybe a lie down. the two hours spent in front of the computer has begun to tire my eyes and wear me out.

Stay well!


Johnnyboy