Short-term visa has arrived (long-term visa to come in Thailand)… Ticket is purchased… I’m leeeeeeeaving ooon a jet plane… June 2nd I fly from LAX to Bangkok!!!!!!!!! Can you tell I’m excited? My life is super busy right now (as always) – finishing up my graduate degree, finishing up itineration responsibilities, finishing up everything – and it’s hard to organize thoughts in my head, especially […]
Radio Revelations Part II – Three Measures, Culture, and “Travelin'”
More things I’ve observed and learned from listening to the radio: 4) Three measure max: I can usually tell what song is starting by hearing the first three measures. This is helpful when the song is one I don’t like – my fingers quickly flip to a different station. 5) On Culture: Listening to the radio gives me great insight into contemporary culture. Songs reveal what people […]
POP!!! … flap flap flapflapFlapFlapFLAPFLAPFLAP
This is what I heard at 9:44pm while driving on Highway 60 from Fontana to Moreno Valley last Thursday night. And so began the tire adventure… At first when I heard the loud pop, I figured it was my water cooler lid blowing off – sometimes the container has problems adjusting to altitude changes. But then my car tail started to wiggle, and I heard […]
Radio Revelations Part I – Genes, Santana, and the 5-Station Hypothesis
I’m in the car a lot. I think we’ve already established that fact longggg ago. I love music, and usually have music playing wherever I am. Thus, I listen to a lot of radio. Radio makes me think about a whole host of things, which I will share with you. Feel free to laugh at me. I won’t mind, I will never find out. 1) On […]
Only in California…
Itineration all over America is similar to some extent, in purpose and often in strategy. Still, there are some days on my journey that are uniquely “Southern California.” I had one of those days on Monday. Back in October I wrote about freeways (see this post), and some things never change. On Monday I woke up at 4:30 to be on the road by 5 […]
Travelin’ Woman
In September and October, I went to… San Diego, Lakewood, Costa Mesa, Oxnard, Simi Valley, Lake Elsinore, San Bernardino, Camarillo, San Luis Obispo, Whittier, Port Hueneme, Downey, Commerce, Hawthorne, North Hollywood, Hemet, San Jacinto, Desert Hot Springs, Indio, La Quinta, Fullerton, Corona, Irvine, Los Angeles, Northridge, Pismo Beach, Arroyo Grande, Santa Maria, La Mirada, Torrance, Westchester, Sunland, Arleta, and of course Ventura. If your city isn’t […]
Which is YOUR favorite freeway?
When I met with the itineration specialists in Springfield back in March, they were concerned about me raising support in Southern California. They said, “Oh the freeways there are so bad! It’s going to take you a long time to get places, all that sitting in the car…” I don’t know if they meant it to be discouraging, or if they are just used to […]
Three Whirlwind Weeks
I got back to California on Saturday after spending three weeks in Springfield, Missouri. It was a great–and busy–time, as my days were full of classes on culture, renewal services, and spending time with old and new friends. Some HIGHLIGHTS: – My roommate Laurel Parmley, who is also going to Thailand and has spent two years there working at an orphanage – Getting to know […]