I wish I liked eggs

My experiences in Saudi have been quite limited so far. Perhaps the most interesting event was the ride from the airport to the hotel the evening of my arrival here in Riyadh. Apparently the appropriate way to drive is to floor it at all times. When approaching a vehicle in your lane on the highway, one should repeatedly flash the high beams, accelerate to the rear of the car in front of you, and pass them when they are 3/4 into a lane change. The first time this happened, I could probably have smelled the cologne of the drive in the car we passed if both of our windows were down and I was not holding my breath and bowels!

Mohammed, my driver, is not an aggressive man. He is tall, lean, and soft spoken. But he drives his Toyota van like he is in hot pursuit of someone who has just stolen his life's savings. During the drive he taught me a few phrases in Arabic. marḥaban Riyadh; welcome to Riyadh. Dahabba - go, šukran - thank you, lā - no, naʿam - yes, and a few other words that I have since forgotten. I wanted to ask him how to say. "my god, slow down argh!" But I kept that to myself.

In any event, the rest of my time here has consisted of downloading and watching movies on my laptop, the occasional email, and a few walks around the hotel. It is hot in Riyadh. Very hot. So hot that you could could cook eggs on the sidewalk. I don't like eggs. But that is how hot it is. 

Saigon, Vietnam is hot too. There are just 2 seasons: Summer and Wet Summer. I think the hottest day I ever experience in Vietnam is about the same as the evenings here. No joke. Of course there is not of the humidity that existed in Vietnam. But for what Riyadh lacks in humidity, it makes up for in pure heat.

Just before I left NC I took a bite of a ghost pepper to see what all the fuss was about. Don't try this, fyi. The ghost pepper is to a bell pepper what Riyadh is to Vietnam or Thailand in terms in heat. 

Until next time

Marcus in Arabia or Marcus in Mesopotamia. Not sure which I like better yet.

Conflict

Since 2009 I have been doing my best to live "In The Moment," just like the name of my blog. In these last 4 years I have seen and done more than I had ever imagined a poor kid from the hood could ever do. And yet I often feel empty.

Living in the moment means keeping both mind and thoughts focused on what is happening now.
To not take for granted the series of moments that accumulate to make a life.
To always say yes to experiences and adventures and new friendships.
To communicate your desires and feelings.
To express yourself with your actions in all that you do.
To do.
To do something.

This has been my mantra and my driving force. And it has worked for me. The thing about living for now is that when you look back there are little if no regrets. But there are some. One the one hand, the rush of living in the present and trusting that life will sort itself out is immense. I have experienced a high from doing that is not too different from that of a person searching for the perfect drug. My drug is travel.

And like the high seeker, sometimes I don't think about the consequences tomorrow will bring. I don't have a plan for the future. When I allow myself to think about the long term, there is some sort of emotional disconnect. Partly because I am not guaranteed tomorrow, and partly because I could never have predicted the turns my life has already taken.

My friend Valerie recently asked me what propels me to constantly be in motion, one foot here and another out the door. I am seeking the high.

Getting off of a plane, boat, taxi, tuk-tuk, songtheaw, ferry, xe om, or bus in a new country or city activates all of my senses at once.

New language.
New foods.
New smells.
New architecture.
New customs.
New music.
New people.
New opportunities.

It is like being reborn with a tabla rasa but keeping all of your knowledge and experiences. It is this moment, that is my driving force. And it can only be satiated by change. I sort of feel like Dexter and his dark passenger. But this passenger brings joy and whimsy.  In any event, I still plan to live in the moment, but I hope to reflect more on what may come and has happened.

Marcus in Mesopotamia

In just over 24 hours from now my move to Saudi Arabia begins. That last sentence isn't exactly true, but it is close. My move probably began when I was in university and I fell in love with a Turkish girl from Germany.  That was the moment that the idea of my existence on this planet changed from a local North Carolina prospective to a more global one.

There were many steps along the way. First I dreamed of Europe. And then of Japan. Then I went to Europe. My dream of Japan became a life in South Korea; living and working in South Korea's second largest city, Busan. It is a coastal port city with more than 4 well used beaches, 24 hour access to food and drink, and the kind of friendships that stir the soul into motion.

Some time and place later, I have been to 16 countries so far, including an amazing, interesting, and also terrifying year living in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Tomorrow the adventure continues as I have packed up my life in the USA and will be boarding a plane for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Full circle. I never married the young Muslim girl I fell in love with so many years ago. But now I find myself on the precipice of moving to the birthplace of Islam. I guess it is not exactly a circle. My life has spiraled more like the famous Fibonacci numbers with every event in my life being the sum of what has come before. Yet still moving in a circle so that I never lose sight of where it all began.

Marcus heads to Mesopotamia in 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 ......

Shifting Sands of Time

It was December 23, 2012 when I arrived back in the USA after a hiatus of sorts. The world was supposed to have ended and yet it was my best birthday ever. I missed this place.
I missed the wide streets.
I missed the giant oak trees of my old neighborhood.
I missed the graying hair of my mother.
I missed the hair of my grandmother that is turning white.
I missed the smell of summer rain storms in the South.
I missed the familiar wittiness of so many quirky friends.
I missed the micro-brew.
I missed the Common Market and other shops along Central Avenue.
I missed driving down the highway.
I missed the quiet.
I missed everyone speaking in English.
This list is not exhaustive, only a start.
A month from now I will be boarding a plane for the distant sands of Saudi Arabia. There is so much that I will miss from home. There is so much that I will miss from South Korea and Thailand and Cambodia and Laos, and Vietnam.  Home is where you are your happiest and I have been happy in so many places with so many faces and people I will never forget.

Here is to hoping that Saudi is like everywhere else I have been: good people and good times.

Ah, I have missed the uncertainty of travel and now I am feeling it again. It is good to be home.

Spirit Journey

I am starting a new tour guide service for SE Asia. Primarily it will be Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand.

Spirit Journey

Wet Winter Wednesday

Antifreeze in my veins-

bones bend

under pressure of winter winds

and driving rains-

my skin, cracked like desert plains-

melody within keeps me sane-

without hate or disdain-

smile and skip

like childhood games.

Sweet Melody

Her eyes were fixated on the skies 

just above the eastern horizion

and my hands were focused on her legs

just beyond her thighs and

she sung a sweet melody

that made me want to cry but

her soul was so pure

my eyes remained dry

I couldn't look away

no matter how I tried

i lived a life and a half

every time she sighed

once she turned away from me

and something in me died

but I gathered myself like a man

and took it all in stride

contented by the fact that

her smile had never lied

my sweet melody

Everything is poison

Everything is poison

the foods we eat

the bed we sleep

the dusty wind

my cracking skin

the diet coke

life's dying hope

everything is poison

a life of sin

Phnom Penh

this cigarette

all my regrets

what we remember

what we forget

everything is poison

aspartame

the holy name

waging war

being poor

everything is poison

exhaust fumes

pending doom

metorites

diet sprite

high fructose

we eat the most

everything is poison

a homeless face

no saving grace

the corporate ladder

nothing matters

everything is poison

and yet

i will not quit

breathing in

making spit

pumping blood

made of mud

cause everything is poison

but life is the cure

And So the Sun

The sun sets in the west

some distant place

also my - home

vast flyovers

winding hills

snow filled balleys

wind swept plains

the stagnant decay of 

simple living

we grow fat from

the filler in KFC

and Mickey D's

consume factory made food

with delight

our waists grow

matching the distant

horizon

where the sun sets

in the West.

I long to head west

beyond the setting sun

if I am lucky

and fast

Arrival will be as the sun

rises in the East

shining on fileds of soy and rice

watching the glisten of

early morning fishing lines

catching sunrays

wrangling in food

made in nature

true delight

the enduring cycle of 

simple living

test and tuned by

time and tradition

Yes, the sun sets in the west

but rises in the east

finding a beginning in the end

reborn in the 

crimson glow of 

A new day

bittersweet rebirth

perched atop a spinning world

with two distant lands 

that both feel

like home

Why, How, When

I used to ask WHY
until I learned the excitement of asking HOW
But HOW has been replaced with WHEN
And it turns out that the answer is usually NOW - do something, Spirit Journey