Lazy indeed

One of the best things about being on vacation is the ability to wake up whenever you feel like it. I'm really not a fan of schedules, although I see the benefit to them. Nevertheless, I love not having one. These days I tend to wake up at a decent hour, but since there's really nothing that I have to do, I usually take my time getting going. Today, for instance, I didn't have breakfast until noon, and so I'll probably end up only having two meals. This is probably not a bad thing given the food marathon I've been on since arriving in Thailand.

I'm at an interesting point in my journey. Two countries down, probably two more to go. I'm hoping to avoid as much of the winter weather as possible, so perhaps another couple months on the road. But I'm looking forward to seeing friends and family again, and to hanging out in Portland, which by any standard is a really cool city. I didn't really have a goal for the trip, just to explore really. I guess part of me was hoping I'd figure out what it is I want to do with my life, but that hasn't exactly happened. I know that I'm very lucky to be able to make this trip. I've heard people say they wish they could do something like this and my response to that is, "Why not?" If you really want to do something in life, I think you just have to do it. Granted, there are many external factors that affect us all, but I think the greatest obstacle is often ourself. I know this is true for me. I know that what I'm doing seems like it's so freeing, and in some ways it is, but in other ways so much freedom can be scary. There have been times during this trip when I've felt absolutely paralyzed by indecision, on the smaller scale of "Where do I go next?," but also on the larger scale of "What am I doing with my life?" The first question is so much easier to answer! In some ways I envy people who have been able to choose a career path and stick to it. But then, to each his own, as they say. There's no use trying to force a square peg into a round hole. That's me, I guess, the square peg. But as my friend says, "If everything were easy and we were all the same, then life would be bloody boring!" Cheers to that!

Tomorrow I hop on the slowboat to Laos, spending one night in a village before arriving in Luang Prubang. I'll try to have it all figured out by the time I arrive there. ;)


Lollipops for sale at the market in Chiang Rai. Fortunately I didn't want one, so I didn't have to decide. ;)