Due to Blogger's WONDERFULLY restrictive commenting options - how bout just the normal name/email/url maybe? - I used this identity. Then clicked on it to see what exactly it links to. And lo and behold! My life of a year and a half some ago. Such secrets, such secrecy. Well I am OUT and PROUD now, baby! And nope, nothing to do with sexuality...the big thing on the horizon that no one could know about was none other than this marvelous trip through Asia we're on!
My, what a lifetime ago. To imagine, having to cower in shame and sin, for daring to dream, and moreover...daring to do. What a wretched lifetime that was...to be sitting on the knowledge that we were plotting and planning and eventually would be embarking on probably our greatest endeavor of our lives short of having kids, and having to hide it, pretend it didn't exist. Imagine!?
It sounds ridiculous, but it was reality. Between the economic climate of the time and the unacceptable possibility of either or both of us losing our jobs prematurely if they knew we had plans to exit anyway and they needed another head for the chopping block, along with the general lack of enthusiasm, encouragement or support and downright opposition we would receive from some family members...our beautiful dream was kept as our dirty secret.
But nevermind all that. It is so far behind us now. It needn't resurface until we pen our memoirs and our books on the whole process and journey. Then it will need to, because undoubtedly it is a rocky and ridiculous path that others will have to walk across. Additionally, we want to start removing those rocks in general. So many of our friends and family would and did and do support, encourage, and cheer for what we were planning and are now doing; it isn't fair that a few can hold so much negative sway. But they can. And they do. The greatest sword against this unfairness is, as usual, none sculpted in violence or anger but education and empathy. I'll probably never live to see a day where all rocks on a winding path are removed in any regard; but I'll almost undoubtedly get to live a life where every day at least a few can be picked up and put aside.
Anyway, life is wicked good now. Sjoerd came and went and met Ray and we all had a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful 3 weeks together. Who says exes and exes of exes/current significant others can't all be best of friends! They can! And now we are free and open and living it up on the open (silk?) road through Asia. We've been on the road almost 8 months now, and the trip has been everything we hoped it would be times a thousand. From seeing the Dalai Lama to 9-day whitewater rafting trips through Nepal to the Taj Mahal to laying cheek-to-back on a tiger in Thailand, we've been going full throttle into some of the best days and certainly greatest memories of our lives and loving every second of it (except for maybe the day we had Delhi Belly the first week in India and thought we might die).
This blog did its job well; I'm still writing "professionally", as in writing and getting money for it, and that pulls in a little income every month. It's not much, but it's enough to, say, offset the costs to go pet the tigers again, which I think is good enough! Meanwhile, Ray and I are still working when we can to develop our real heart and soul, our site which I'd now like to direct your attention to henceforth: www.operationbackpackasia.com
All the best, and thanks for all the fish!
