Galavanting around the Garden route

Beautiful coastal landscape, a region of vineyards renowned the world over, high end homes, strip malls, navigating as helpless pedestrians in a car culture... our trip along the Southern California African coast was fascinating and energizing.

I remember learning about South Africa politics as a child.  This proud bastion of legal racism drove my late great uncle Pat crazy with frustration.  He explained the concept of Apartheid in words simple enough that I could grasp it, but never in such a way that I have ever been able to understand it.  The task of making those laws itself proves their insanity.  When creating inhuman laws for humans, the details keep compounding complexity well past the point of absurdity.  They could make a law that said blacks and whites had different legal rights ... but what about mixed-races?  Or people that weren't 'native' but also weren't exactly aryan?  Before long high courts had to develop long list of criteria, as absurd as 'if the hair is curly enough to support a pencil then they are black.'  But when that petty distinction can have a massive impact on everything about how a person lives, one has to wonder if the high court had to weigh on on whether hair straighteners were a legitimate way to 'change races.'  At some point, I've got to believe, that even the people creating the laws realized how ridiculous it had gotten.


At the time I couldn't understand why Pat thought a man thrown in prison a generation ago would still be able to change things.  But in the final years of his life Pat got to live in a world where that man, Mandela, was released and helped rebuild South African law from the ground up.  Unfortunately, there is more to ending discrimination than law and that was a reality that kept screaming out to Erin and I while we travelled along the legendary 'Garden Route.'  The major cities along the coast are immaculate, well guarded, and look like a beautiful cross between Europe, California and an army base.  Without exception people were kind, friendly and engaging but the constant reminders of economic segregation hung in the air.  Cities the hummed with activity during the day shut down at night, when the last bus to the townships took the workers back to the townships and others barricaded themselves in each night.

The Garden route is aptly named as it had some of the most spectacular fauna I've seen anywhere in the world.  South Africa has barely 1% of the worlds landmass, but nearly 10% of the worlds plant species.  In some parts of the Colorado Rocky Mountains you can hike all day and see only one or two species of trees.  In South Africa, its almost impossible to open your eyes without seeing a dozen.  The topography itself is magical, we sat on top of a cliff and watched surfers and a couple whales play in the bay for over an hour.  We camped on empty beaches that looked like an artists rendering of 'the ideal beach.'  We saw dozens of different types of birds on long hikes out of the back door of our 18th century Dutch farmhouse.


It was a remarkable and worthwhile trek through half a dozen destinations, but halfway up the coast both Erin and I were craving something a little more 'cultural.'  We'd heard legends about a formerly independent nation hidden inside of South Africa that only South Africa recognized.  It sounded like a fascinating place.  It was far poorer than it's "neighboring," country but also without the painful history of Apartheid.  But that is a story for another blog post....

  

Inspiring and Incredible Iceland

In 2002 I was stranded on Iceland with little but the clothes on my back.  In this spectacularly expensive country I was very nearly broke and all my bags were so anxious to get home from a year abroad that they skipped my extended layover and went directly to NY.  But, in the way things often do when traveling on a shoestring, it worked out.  This time it took the form of an Australian guardian angel who'd made entirely too much money working off the coast of Norway for a year and wanted a friend to explore with. It was only a couple days and I got just enough of a taste of this fascinating country to swear I'd be back.
Erin, as it turns out, has lifelong attraction for gnomes and surreal landscapes so we pleaded with the airline until we got our one hour layover in Reykjavik extended by a week.  The only problem was, Iceland is so spectacularly expensive that it really is out of reach to a couple who just quit their nice jobs to work in Sub-Saharan Africa.  This time the guardian angel took the form of some despicable American money managers who'd thoughtfully imploded the world economy a couple years before.  Iceland has a tiny population and too many people worked in international financial services.  With few resources other than surreal natural beauty, wool and hot water the economy of Iceland crumbled and the Kroner halved in value relative to the dollar.  What was once impossibly expensive, became merely extremely expensive and we booked the flights.

The Blue Lagoon

The legendary Blue Lagoon is a small lake of opaque water that bubbles up from ground so hot that they built a power plant on top of it.  Instead of burning mountains of coal to power their cities, Iceland has clean and inexpensive geothermal energy.  Coal plants generate massive amounts of waste which sometimes causes disasters, like the TVA slurry spill in 2008 that dumped tons of toxic chemicals into the water supply in Tennessee, crippled the local ecosystem and will cost nearly a $billion to clean up.

Bathing in industrial waste

In Iceland, their system works differently.  In 1976 they built a geothermal powerplant outside of the capital city Reykjavik.  Like the coal plant, it too constantly spills out a byproduct.  The difference is, people started bathing the hot mineral water the geothermal plant produced.  Before long, the bathers noticed that it helped with health problems and the minerals did wonders for their skin. So, while in Tennessee they'll be cleaning up their disaster for generations, in Iceland they built a luxury spa next to the power plant and sell mineral creams worldwide as high end skin care products.  Call me crazy, but I like their system better. Although geothermal power plants only work in volcanic regions, it would work well in parts of the US.

The Laugavegur Hike

It's impossible to describe Iceland without talking about the landscape. It's also impossible to describe the landscape 

The oldest democracy (~930AD) is located on one of the newest landscapes on earth, a country that grows about an inch every year as the the North American and European continental plates pull apart.  There aren't many species of plants and animals because its an isolated island that was buried under a massive glacier during the last ice age. That seems like a long time ago, until I found that about 10% of the country is still under ice today.


When I came to Iceland the first time I was intrigued by the landscape, but mostly only saw it through the bus window. One of the many benefits of being with a Colorado girl is that she craves mountains and insists on making time to be in the wilderness.  We'd heard of a legendary four-day 53km backpacking trip in the south east.  Thanks to the devious machinations of gnomes we only had three days free to do it, which was disappointing until Erin noted that since the sun never sets we could hike all day (uh oh!).  The landscape is quite unlike anything I'd ever seen before.  Even within the hike itself the views were so unique that every couple hours it looked totally different.  Rather than describe it with words, click below for a slideshow of our pictures (or click any picture to get to our Flickr site).


It was a tough hike, and the weather ranged from sunny and pleasant, to intense hailstorms. Most of the time we were alone, but the route itself is divided by public campsites every 12-16 km apart.  Although they offered little but flat spots for a tent and an outhouse, they were a godsend when trudging through occasionally brutal weather late into the daylit night.  It was an amazing and rewarding trek.

Although we were disappointed not to have seen any gnomes in Iceland, they did pilfer some of our stuff along the way.  They got my camera charger, and a passport... but at least they had the decency to give the latter back.  Next time we're in Iceland, I'm going to have to capture one.

An apology!

   To the handful of you diligent enough to be checking this site regularly with hopes of a brand new post from any one of the countries we've been in 'til now, I'm sorry!   The Journey has been spectacular thus far... and ranged from a happy homecoming, UNBELIEVABLE backpacking in Iceland, romantic adventures traipsing around Europe, and an spectacular introduction to Africa.
  Unfortunately, what this trip hasn't had (yet) is good or reasonably priced internet.  It's either painfully expensive, or terribly slow (and when we're lucky, both!)
    Fortunately, that'll hopefully change when we get to Tanzania (in a week!)  I've got a lot of pictures and stories to share!
  
             
  

Hopecoming Hijinks

This journey started with a visit to a place so unique, so off-the-beaten-path, that most travelers will have never heard of it.

Erin and I visited it for several reasons, but one of those was that this place like our future home in Tanzania.  It has a pre-British Colonial history that still has an influence on life today. In it's day this relatively small city was the capital of one of the wealthiest empire states the world has ever seen.  But even today, it's possible to be attacked by wild animals in the heart of the downtown.   

The other reason to visit Albany, NY is that it's been the launching point for every trip I've ever made.  My folks, and many of my oldest friends still live there.  We had a few other rounds of frantic 'Oh my God, this is the last chance to buy___ before moving to Africa' shopping sprees (following similar runs in Colorado, and followed by others in Amsterdam, Paris, and yet another 'last chance' opportunity in the cosmopolitan Cape Town. ).

We had a wonderful time, and it was the first chance Erin and I had to breath after our frantic departure from Denver.  We went hiking in the Adirondacks,  Mom threw us a Bon Voyage party, and Dad took us to a spectacular bridge over the Hudson river.  In Colorado they call it a river if you can't jump over it, so its nice to see what a river that nearly a mile across looks like. 

It was great to see so many old friends, and even better to see them doing well. 

PS) Getting pictures uploaded and organized from the road is still a challenge.  These pictures aren't linked to a broader album yet.  I'll fix these, and breath new life into my Flickr account , when I can sit down with a laptop and quicker connection.   

Dramatic Departure Demonstrates Devotion

We always knew leaving Colorado would be hard but we had no idea how hard.  A couple months before, when I put in notice at work, we debated whether I should take the last week off.  We thought it through, confident in the fact that we were already both better prepared than either of us had been before.  We weighed having the time to say goodbye to our home state casually versus the economics that one weeks income in Colorado is roughly comparable to one years rent in Tanzania.

So, it turned out, I made the first spectacularly bad decision of the trip two months before we even left the country.

Somehow life accumulates.  When Tyler and I moved to Colorado we both fit everything we owned comfortably in a small minivan but somewhere along the way I picked up enough things to fill up a small mountain kingdom.  Erin had even longer to collect things, including a small house that we simply could not fit in either backpack.

Suddenly two months was two weeks and we just barely got someone to agree to rent the house.  We both have tons of family and friends in Colorado to say goodbye to, and only one small box tentatively packed. Recognizing our predicament, I did the most logical thing... get into the worst bike accident of my life.  My right elbow hurt to even think about picking up anything the same week we had to pack an entire household into storage, which immediately preceded carrying our whole life halfway around the planet, all while scrambling to tie up loose ends from a full time job.

It was while drowning under this massive sea of stress that we discovered what we will really miss about life in Colorado.  While we started wondering if what would happen if we simply missed the flight, our people came out of the woodwork.  Neighbors, family and friends stepped up and spent long hours packing, cleaning, moving and keeping us alive.  We couldn't possibly have done it without their help.  As it was, we weren't able to stop moving for the last week, and even then it came down to packing our backpacks the morning our flight left.  If any one of our heros hadn't offered to help, we literally would not have made it.

It was an awe inspiring display of spontaneous community, and by the time we finally got to breath a sigh of relief on a plane flying out of Denver we were both in tears.  Thank you all so much, and you are why we already miss Colorado.

An African Adventure (and Alliterations!)

I have always wanted to go into the Peace Corps.  And I almost did, twice.

An ill defined dream of living in a mud hut kept me pushing through to the grueling finish line of an undergrad engineering degree. The idea of development work was why I got interested in building with local materials, renewable energy systems and Buckminster Fuller. That spring, I got my posting... To teach chemistry in Tanzania. It sounded like a magical place, home to Africas tallest mountain and the Serengeti national park.  I was excited about the prospect, but a bit disappointed too.  After a years of academia, I wanted to go out an build something not stay in school (although on the other side of the desk).  I didn't go, there was too much going on at school to leave so I promised myself that I'd wait until I had some skills to share.

And then, as it does, life took over.

Over a decade later I'm about to fulfill my promise... in two days Erin and I are leaving our lives in Colorado and moving to Iringa, Tanzania.  I'll keep this blog updated with how we get there, and what we find when we arrive so drop by my new virtual home once in a while to say hi!.

... And here we go again!

Hi all, I know it's been quiet hereabouts, but I'm back in Latin America and loving it! I've take lots of pictures, and have a lot to say, but will have to wait 'til I'm back and home in a couple weeks.
But until then, just know I'm loving the cigars and classic cars!
~Micah

Real power isn't who takes orders, its who does favors.

More than a feeling

There has been a lot of concern, as of late, about Obamas appointments. For the first 'progressive' president in a generation, he has been appointing staff from across the political spectrum, ranging from Robert Gates, the current Republican Secretary of Defense to stay in office, and rival Hillary Clinton coming in as Secretary of State.

Barack Obama kicked off his presidential campaign by writing a book, Audacity of Hope about this topic. It was an eloquent, and passionate screed against the ‘smallness of American politics.’ How the government today is so fossilized by partisan disputes today it is crippled. Not only is there a Republican/Democrat divide, but there are the extremes in both parties fighting to assert dominance. Obama burst into the national scene targeting this very topic, in his 2004 convention speech (“There is not a red America, and a blue America. There is the United States of America!”). The thesis of that entire book was that this partisan rancor has to change, and that can only done by meaningfully bridge the gap. In other words, get ‘buy in’ and advisors from across the political spectrum.

Obama suggested he wanted to change these political litmus tests (talk about audacity!) but knew he needed to win an election in a partisan society, so he ran a campaign dominated by vague phrases so he could be anything to anyone… Change & Hope (as if everyone else was pushing Stagnation & Despair). He’s said himself in his books and speeches, that people perceive him to share their values even if he doesn’t. There is something about his charisma that makes many of us (myself very much included) feel he agrees on everything important without him ever actually saying it. Obama ran on a feeling… and feelings are not legally or politically binding.

So, contrary to the Obama that I (and many liberals) felt was running, the Obama that is starting to assert himself is the one that he told us he would be. Although he has been against the Iraq war since he ran for the Senate he asked Hillary Clinton, an unapologetic supporter, to run the state department (the office that plans our foreign policy.) Today she can walk into a room and say ‘I, like most of you, supported the war. Now we need to get out.’ It’ll be an opportunity for political redemption for people across the political spectrum, even for those that had the spectacularly bad judgment to get us in the mess in the first place. The main thing that the ‘extreme anti-war liberals’ will have to show from this appointment is an end to a horrible, expensive, bloody never-ending war.

Personally, I think that counts for a lot.

Discovery of an entirely new direction

Before I moved back to Colorado, I never really understood the point of ritual. When I ask my devout Catholic friends 'Why?' their first answer is never about Heaven nor Hell, it is simply 'tradition.' That seemed harmless enough, but also seemed pointless. Why wake up early every Sunday morning to see something that you've seen before, and that you will always be able to see again?

Don't get me wrong, as a fan of a multicultural world I've never wished (most) human traditions would disappear, I just saw little reason to play a part in them myself. In Japan I joined in an intricate 'Tea Ceremony,' and found it fascinating and amusing. About 800 years ago a man dedicated his long life to 'perfecting' the art of making tea and has been subsequently mimicked by Japanese ever since. It's a long, tedious, detailed process to make cup of gritty tea that could be replicated (more or less) in 20 seconds with a teabag and a microwave. I appreciated it as something cultural that I could attend to get a 'Japan experience' but what could possibly be in it for eight long centuries worth of Japanese who just want something hot to drink?

It took me about a decade and a half after that to figure it out, but it's starting to make sense. Every holiday since I moved to Colorado, I've been a part of some unique family rituals. They are loosely based on Native American traditions adapted heavily by my uncle Stephen. One such tradition, that crops up on every major holiday and gathering, is a prayer to the six directions. In a nutshell, everyone faces each direction (compass direction + up and down) offering a prayer to what we find there. For example, towards the East we pray to the direction where the sun rises, the great plains, and the possibility of new beginnings... etc. After that we each, in turn, wave sagebrush smoke over us as a spiritual cleanse.

When Tyler and I moved to Colorado we dutifully joined in on these quirky family rituals to try to fit in as the prodigal sons from east, but before long I caught myself craving them. There is something I find incredibly powerful each and every time we do it. Every time I play a part I feel connected in some vital way to me, and the others there, doing the same ritual both into the past and into the future. To an outside observer, or a surly teenager, it is nothing more than an incantation spoken into a suburban backyard. And although that may well be accurate, it misses huge impacts in how it can inexplicably change how each participant sees the universe. The effect, for me, in some way fuels energy, focus and understanding that do alter how I face the world. When on Thanksgiving this year I felt myself connected to Thanksgiving '07, '06 I couldn't help but get an understanding of personal, and community evolution. I can't begin to explain it, but I can no longer deny it.

Beyond the personal benefits, rituals like this have a powerful way of connecting people. Although I only started a few years ago, I've been able to watch new people brought into it. Last year I brought my Chinese friend Zhuolun, this year his new wife Katie came too. When people circle up and we start the prayer new people fidget unsure of what they're supposed to do. Somehow, by the end, everyone involved feels a measure closer to the others and that comfort stays with them, long after the ritual is over.

It doesn't really matter why these rituals have such power. What matters is they have it.

For all the power of continuity, this year the ritual changed. Stephen took inspiration from a Lakota speaker and added a whole new direction. In addition to praying East, South, West, North, Up and Down we now also take a moment to focus Inside. It seems apropos, obvious in retrospect, but it also represents a brand new dimension in my spiritual evolution. Going into a new year, I'm looking forward to finding out what something so simple actually means.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey buddy, can you spare a dime....

... or $5 Trillion, so I can get a hot meal. Thanks!

I'd just like to say, kids are great. They have that wide-eyed innocence and naivete about them and they're quick to help out a friend in need (even if they haven't been born yet!) I just wish I had kids, so I could take out credit cards in their names.

Curious what I'm talking about? These bailout bills that keep showing up in the news are staggering in scope and I just found a blog post that puts them into context.

If we add in the Citi bailout, the total cost now exceeds $4.6165 trillion dollars.

People have a hard time conceptualizing very large numbers, so let’s give this some context. The current Credit Crisis bailout is now the largest outlay In American history.

Crunching the inflation adjusted numbers, we find the bailout has cost more than all of these big budget government expenditures – combined:

• Marshall Plan: Cost: $12.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion
• Louisiana Purchase: Cost: $15 million, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $217 billion
• Race to the Moon: Cost: $36.4 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $237 billion
• S&L Crisis: Cost: $153 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 billion
• Korean War: Cost: $54 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 billion
• The New Deal: Cost: $32 billion (Est), Inflation Adjusted Cost: $500 billion (Est)
• Invasion of Iraq: Cost: $551b, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 billion
• Vietnam War: Cost: $111 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 billion
• NASA: Cost: $416.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 billion

TOTAL: $3.92 trillion

This doesn't mean we necessarily should not do it, leaving the next generation a crumbled economy helps no one. It does mean that we should expect and demand that the bailout should have a massive impact on how humans live on the planet.

As we sell the next generation of Americans into desperate debt the least we can do is leave them a well running planet. Or, perhaps, we should just continue to funnel resources to the greediest generation of Americans in history, the Baby Boomers.

Awakening from a Coma

Shocking fans world wide LiveDeliberately awoke today from a coma. In mid 2006, for no apparent reason, this wildly popular blog keeled over in front of friends and family and lost consciousness. Initially, all assumed it was a joke and the blog would soon be up and alliterating. As the days stretched to weeks, then months and years the gaunt frame of this once vibrant blog was only a pale shadow of its former glory. It lost weight, withering into the generic 'blogger' template. Aside from a short bout of delusional ranting in 2007 not a word has been heard from this once mighty internet pulpit. Until this moment.

I just blinked my eyes awake...bewildered by the bright lights of 2008. My last memory was something about a pool table and a dream in 2006, but that seems like a lifetime ago. So, what've I missed? Huh? An Obama is a what? Really? OK, OK, Wise guy. You almost had me believing that America was about to elect him president, until you pushed the joke too far with hints that the 'very experienced' Republicans chose a weathergirl to be VP. Cute. Seriously, who has Clinton chosen as her running mate?

It turns out, Micah has been a little more active than I have. When we fell silent he had just netted a dream job, and was anxious to plunge into life in Denver. Home was a Koi pond with an adjoining building, and the job was doing energy modelling of buildings at a little consulting firm. It had everything Micah was looking for interesting projects, brilliant colleagues, and meaningful work. It had everything, except passion.

Micah and Tyler moved into a large apartment in the up and coming part of Denver called Five Points, and were soon joined by their lovely cousin Crystal. This trio made the house home, and invited dear friends to use it as an entree into Denver. Peter, Holly, and Raph also started their Denver stories at that mansion on Glenarm.

Micahs 'dream job' didn't work out for anyone. Feeling down, because he had found the career he'd been preparing for since the last millenium made him miserable when he did it. Micah chose to to go into the Peace Corps and signed on with a tiny nonprofit called iCAST to pay the bills 'til the plane left... but didn't quite leave. iCAST gave Micah an opportunity to do more of things he hoped, with a lot of luck and hard work, he might do in the Peace Corps. It quickly became the best job he ever had. His coworkers are dear friends, and the projects were dizzying in scope and variety. Micah taught farmers how to make biodiesel, sited wind turbines, tutored students, upgraded homeless shelters, and generally working tirelessly to shrink the gap between fantasy and reality. The world woke up, green turned hip ... and iCAST quintupled in a year and a half.

In addition to the deliciously frantic pace during the week this blog was left all alone on weekends too because of the big lumbering giants to the west. In the grey northeast, blue skies can make a compelling argument to drop everything and go outside. In Colorado there are blue skies 300 days a year and Micah still can't resist going out to play in the mountains. Somehow, with good fortune and a tall tale about Herbert Hoover Micah met his muse. Erin is a teacher who has built her life around chasing hope, dreams and passion all over the world.

Micahs era at iCAST ended with smiles and hopeful handshakes. Today Micah spends his days talking to utilities about how they can make more money by polluting less.

But this, and the rest of the tale, is a story for another day. The ice has been broken, and once more this blog will share the unfolding saga of the Brothers MacAllen.

Micah MacAlien

cliff dwellings of the mole people

I know it's been a while since the last post, but I have a good excuse.

I had to return to my home planet to see if anyone else had survived the supernova. Nobody did, aside some from foul smelling mole people, so I came back to Colorado.

I've only been gone about a week, but all this traveling at relativistic speeds, makes about a week for me equivalent to over a year for earth bound mortals.

Did you miss me?

Delicious Denver Daydreams and Delightful Delusions

It's been a while since I last blogged, and much has happened so I've got a lot to recap. When last I wrote I was living in Colorado desperately looking for work I could believe in. Much has happened since then, so I've got a lot to catch this blog up on.

I made it back to paradise. Last night I was lounging in a hammock on the north coast of Colombia, sipping a warm beer and chatting in my near-perfect Spanish with a lovely bikini-clad Argentinean. Looking for work up in Colorado was entirely too stressful. It turns out unemployment is more work than work but pays a lot less.

Having gotten fed up, I went back to Parque Tayrona, a coastal rainforest with unbelievable beaches that Tyler and I visited way back in October. Through some outrageous good fortune, several characters from the trip were there. Andy and Io were kicking up their tired feet after the long hike in, Ben was smoking rollies, and Wim figured out some way to make Beef Medallions in the tiny beach kitchen. Patricia made the long trek north across all of Brazil to be there for my vacation from unemployment.

Last night, while watching the lighting across the Carribean Patricia motioned, with a smile, to come a little closer. I slid close enough enough to smell the salt water drying from her hair. She leaned over to whisper in my ear, winked, and said,

"BRAA-BRAAA-BRAA-BRAAA-BRAA-BRAAA,"

...in that obnoxiously electronic way she has. Really loud. Right in my ear. As I blearily blinked my eyes awake all I could think was: "that isn't very adorable at all."

Home under a pool table

It was my cell phone screaming at a painfully early hour. And I wasn't in a hammock being gently swung by a Caribbean breeze. I was waking up on a mattress under a half a pool table in my aunt and uncles basement in Colorado. But thats only part of it; the alarm clock was going off because, get this, I had to go to WORK!
So, which life is real? And which is the fantasy? Truth be told, it's not entirely clear to me. While in Colombia Tyler and I spoke a lot about what we wanted out of life. Although thouroughly enjoying our time in paradise, we also fantisized about our ideal life after the trip was over. We imagined ideal jobs, ideal living situations, and ideal lifestyles. With little to limit our daydreams we'd spend entire days chatting about any life we could imagine. Tyler imagined himself leaping into an entirely different career path. I imagined a career of using technology to mitigate the damage due to technology. We talked about businesses we wanted to start, political campaigns we wanted to run, and how we'd both get in Mr. Universe shape. We both wanted to live in Colorado, a fanciful place we both left as children. We daydreamed about getting a kickass apartment, downtown, together. It all felt vaguely outrageous, ridiculous daydreams for a couple homeless drifters.

And it is still anticipation, but now it is wobbling on the precipice of plunging into full reality. Last June Tyler and I gave up nearly everything stable in our lives for a broad lifechanging experience, of which the trip to Latin America was only a part of. We wanted to restart everything, to find entirely new anchors to build brand new lives around. And now, over the past two months we've been building the context that will define what new chapters of our lives will be written about. We moved to Colorado, inserted ourselves into a large family network, both got jobs BETTER than we daydreamed about, and are due to move into our kickass downtown Denver apartment in one week.

So which is the dream? Hanging out in a hammock looking out at the Carribean with dear travel buddies or living well while watching outrageous daydreams turn into reality in front of my eyes?

PS Speaking of daydreams turning into reality, does anyone out there ever imagine living in the fantasically cool city of Buenos Aires, Argentina? You could study tango, learn Spanish, or just live in a city that everyone who visits loves? I'm asking because Patricia lives in a cozy apartment in heart of the city and she is looking for a housemate. She is really friendly, has lived in BA for most of her life, is well-travelled, internationally minded, speaks fluent English and would be an all-around great person to live with (I wish I could!). It's a great deal at $200/month so if you are curious at all check out some some pictures and then write to me (MicahMacAllen@LiveDeliberately.org) so I can put you in touch.
PPS She also promises to never wake up her new housemate by screaming "BRAA-BRAAA-BRAA-BRAAA-BRAA-BRAAA" in their ear. If only I was so lucky

Naturally Networking

    There is a lot of information out there about how to go about getting a cool job. There are tons of books, thousands of websites, and billions of people with jobs that could clue me in as to how to go about it. Now that I'm in this game, I've been sampling enough of those resources to discover that 99% of them share one piece of advice that I didn't want to hear. They almost universally say the most important thing is "networking." I hate that term. It sounds so cold and calculating, like you're treating people as opportunities rather than humans. I want my dream job, of course, but I worry that I don't have it in me to be like that term sounds.

    After the trip I went to Massachusetts to visit with my former boss and friend, who started asking about what I wanted to do now. After I talked a bit, he mentioned that he had a few friends that were doing cool related stuff in Colorado and asked if I'd like to speak with them. Hell yeah! This can't be networking though, it is just taking up a good friend on the offer of a favor, right?

    Speaking of friends, last weekend, I had a chance to connect with a couple old pals. Shawn came out from California to visit Tim and I, and we had a long merry weekend. It started with a visit to the Coors brewery in Golden Colorado, proceeded through a couple wild nights, and finally ended up on a pleasant Sunday afternoon in the park; Shawn teaching me a little Cappoeria while Tim sprinted continuously for an hour and half in his amateur soccer league.

    I've known Tim for longer than almost any non-family member. He has been living in Denver for most of this millennium. The two of us have some remarkable similarities. We were both: born in Colorado, moved to Guilderland, NY in time for middle school (where we met), love cycling, love the outdoors, are handy with math/science stuff and care about environmental issues. We even kind of look alike, a description of one of us given to the police would get us both in the lineup. It's no wonder we ended up friends. The similarities, however, don't end there. Tim is graduating this weekend with a degree in building systems engineering, his focus on sustainable design and energy efficiency. This, oddly enough, is almost exactly what I did in school. So now we are both looking for the same sort of job in the same region at the same time.

    If I really was a cold hearted networking machine I suppose it'd be a good time to end the friendship and engage in a ruthless competition. But, we're just too good of friends, so instead we've decided to use eachother as respective resources towards our common goals. It is, thus far, the coolest thing that's happened to me in this whole job search. I studied what I did in school because I earnestly believe that it'll be up to my generation of engineers to use appropriate technology to save us from ecological woes. The fact that someone whose intelligence and passion I've respected since middle school came to the identical conclusion is profoundly validating. And, honestly, I'm sure there will be jobs for us both. The earth needs all the help she can get right now.

    So, job hunting is no longer as lonely as it was a couple weeks ago. Now I've got someone to swap leads with, read over resumes, and empathize with the ups and downs of the search. And one day, hopefully soon, we'll both be hired somewhere spiffy and each have the other as an ally doing something related nearby.

Wait a gosh darn second.
Is "Networking" just a fancy word for friends?

Charming Chicks

    The MacAllen Brothers have been in Colorado for over a month now and so far the trips good luck has been holding. I have however, fallen behind in telling our traveling tale, so let me catch you up on this past month.

We're blessed with kindhearted relatives scattered all over the state who we've been leaning on as we struggle to get to our feet. Most helpfully, we've spent the bulk of our time at our aunt and uncle's house in Lakewood, a suburb of Denver. They've been wonderful, generous, thoughtful and didn't hesitate to invite two furry travelers and all their possessions into their home.

    As further evidence of how fortunate we are when we're together is the amazing fortune we've had with housemates thus far. I mentioned before our delighted surprise when we returned to Albany to find that Madre MacAllen had rented out spare rooms in her house to, as it turned out, two lovely ladies. Well, within a week at Buz and Nancy's home in Colorado we found ourselves sharing the house with a dozen cute chicks. Sweeeeeeet!

    We've spent much of the last month running around visiting people and have checked in with many of our family and friends, save a few stragglers we're still trying to hunt down. A lot of folks insist on seeing us, personally, before they'll trust that we're actually here. You see, I'd been promising to move to Colorado "very soon" ever since I was getting ready to come back from Denmark in 2002. One thing kept leading to another and I didn't get out west for longer than few brief visits. Tyler joined me in issuing earnest, but untrue, promises when two years ago we jointly declared we'd be here for good in 6 months. It's not really our fault as the MacAllen brothers aren't known for our sense of direction; we moved to Colorado via Central and South America.

    We're here now and are working hard to commit ourselves to this state. Although we're both proud bicycle commuters, neither of whom have owned a car for years, it didn't take long to come to terms with the fact that the wide open spaces of the west make for a hell of a lot of pedaling. Despite a very respectable mass transit system here in Denver, so much is out of reach to one without a car. So, last week, the MacAllen brothers both went in on a shiny '95 Honda Accord. I almost pity the nice guy we bought it from. He had no idea he was dealing with a team that had spent most of the last year bargaining with Latin Americans for everything from food & accommodation to package tours. We smiled, chatted, and ended up talking ourselves into a 30% discount from the asking price.

    Even more has changed than the spontaneous existence of the motorized MacAllens. The earth very nearly shifted on its axis when it suddenly saw Tyler shed his beads, and looking rather dapper in a suit, on his way to an interview...

...And one morning I woke up and decided that the key to finding true love, a meaningful career and the solution to world peace was to drag a very sharp blade over my shaggy face.

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I feel Naked!

Rambling to the Rockies

    It took me 23 years to do it but I finally moved back to Colorado. Tyler and I just moved to the Mountain state from New York, a round trip starting a little before Christmas in my sixth year when my family moved the opposite way.

    We almost didn't make it anywhere back in 1983; on our way to NY we were caught in the worst snowstorm seen in years. When the engine of our tiny Honda Civic stalled out under a thick and falling blanket of snow on a desolate stretch of highway our our eastbound motion disappeared but more importantly it took the heater with it. The car was tiny, so small that when our family of four moved across the country we didn't have room for luxuries like winter coats or boots. We huddled as much as we could, but it got cold really fast. A guardian angel trucker eventually picked us up and brought us to the nearest motel but I still see the look of fear in my mothers eye when she tells the story. Happily, I was oblivious to everything. My biggest complaint about the whole experience was that my feet were freezing when I had to walk across the snowy parking lot of the motel in sneakers.

    Tyler and I both travel light or at least we thought we did. We've lived out of a shrinking backpack for much of the year and returned home to purge even more. We intitially figured that because our family of four could move to NY in a little Honda Civic the two of us would surely be able to move back to Colorado in something similar. But, the more we piled stuff up the more we saw it wasn't to be. Our computers and camping gear alone would fill out a trunk so when we added a couple guitars, three bicycles, a couple dozen books we couldn't bear to part with and a feast of Madre MacAllen cookies we reluctantly gave up. We rented a mini-van and still just barely fit it all.

    The ride itself zipped by as quickly as 30 hours of mostly flat straight highway could. We drove in shifts, listened to a Harry Potter audiobook and daydreamed about what we're getting ourselves into. One odd highlight of the journey is a random rest-stop we pulled over in Iowa, the Herbert Hoover memorial rest stop.

    I've been fascinated with Hoover for years, much to the chagrin of those I inflict Hoover trivia on. His life was incredible. He went from working in the bottom of a mine to being the most highly regarded international expert on mine engineering in the world within ten years. He found a treasure map to an ancient and lost chinese treasure mine and then proceeded to find it ( organizing the defense of a city during the Boxer rebellion along the way). Although he was a Republican he was also a pacifist, so when WWI broke out he focused his formidable energy and resources on keeping european non-combatants fed and healthy. By the end of the war he brought 34 million tons of food, clothing, and supplies to people in twenty nations. He was elected president on the strength of his massive humanitarian achievements and then muddled up his presidency so badly it soured his reputation ever since (even though he did equally amazing stuff after). He is one of the few people that has ever walked the earth that can count the human lives they've personally rescued in the MILLIONS. So, as I walked around his Memorial rest stop I couldn't help but think one thing... "I hope no one ever tries to remember me with a rest stop."

    Undeterred, but slightly exhausted, we finally made it to the state of our birth. Tyler and I rolled into view of the mountains listening to John Denver's Rocky Mountain High trying to imagine what'll happen next.

Courageous Convoy to Colorado

    When I hit the post button on this blog the MacAllen Brothers will officially be back on the road. We've spent the last five weeks reconnecting with our roots in the northeast and time has flown by much faster than we'd thought it would.

    Our long streak of good luck has continued unabated. When we learned, while in Peru, that Madre MacAllen started renting out rooms of her house we were a little nervous. We needed to remind ourselves where we came from, and there is nothing like stranger housemates to turn a home into a house. We arrived home to discover that our new housemates were two lovely and talented art grad students named Lisa and Mihee. The awkward introductory phase lasted all of 3 seconds before their sweet and friendly nature took over and made us feel like we had returned home to dear friends. Although we've got the relaxed daily schedule of the broke and unemployed we found our selves spending the month running from one merry reunion to another.

    I have a selection of former lives to return to, so I chose another of my favorites and revisited the Pioneer Valley, Massachusetts where I lived for two years before the trip. I caught up with old friends, stayed with a sweet and generous dancer and generally just thrived on watching spring arrive to one of my favorite areas in the world (which means we had a 3 week winter this year, I should migrate below the equator every year!). I went in to my old office one day to check in with friends there, and accidentally fell back into my routine. It took me three days of going back to my old job all day to help catch up with a deadline of theirs, reacquaint with that whole "work" thing and remind myself of what a good life I had. I really miss everything about the valley but mostly the people.

    Such a wonderful time at home made me wonder if leaving this side of the country again was a good idea. But the wheels were already in motion. Tyler and I had rented a big van, loaded it up with all our worldly goods and are momentarily going to leave for a mad dash halfway across the country to Colorado. Is it a good idea? Methinks the universe approves and it's letting me know by a bit of chronological mathematical magic. We officially will transition from this life to another at time so special it won't happen for another hundred years...

...It is exactly 01:02:03 04/05/06

An Albany And Amsterdam Ancient Affiliation

My hometown Albany, NY

    The difference between traveling and vacationing is who returns. After a vacation I return recharged and refreshed but ultimately the same person who left. A traveler, on the other hand, lets the experience wash over and change them. Coming home after trip like ours can be one of the most intense experiences of the entire journey. Suddenly we're somewhere that I know should be familiar but it's changed because there is a different person seeing it.

    For example, the Albany I left was nothing special. It was just the city I grew up in. But last weekend I wandered downtown with a friend to catch the St. Patrick’s Day parade and snapped pictures of the amazing architecture until my camera’s battery died. The city felt both familiar and foreign but it was also familiar to something foreign which blew my mind.

    Downtown Albany has many brownstone buildings; tall narrow buildings clustered so close to that they can lean on one another. The architects had to show their creativity with only the facades, the windows, roof gables, and other architectural details on the narrow wall facing the street.

    That makes it look like another cool city I have visited in my travels, Amsterdam. In the Middle Ages the city of Amsterdam charged property tax not based on the size of home, nor the plot of land, but it's frontage to the street. So, the narrower the house is the less they needed to pay. When the architects were limited by width they went to great lengths to make the facades, windows, and the roof gables distinctive.

    Coincidence? Not really. A little detail from the dusty recesses of my memory floats up. In a middle school I learned that that the Dutch colonized much of New York, and founded Albany, long before they gave it to the English. They established some cultural traditions, like our annual Tulip festival, as well as built buildings. They created places like they knew, like home, like Amsterdam. And even after the English took over the next generation designed buildings to fit the already existing feel of Albany. In other words, Dutch.


Amsterdam, Holland the former capital of my colonial city

    A highlight of traveling in Latin America was the countless colonial cities we visited. Throughout the trip I wondered what it must be like to grow up in a place influenced so much by an ancient European power.

It wasn't until I got home that I realized that my hometown, and a house I lived in, was shaped by a Dutch tax code from the Middle Ages..