Roaming About

A Life Less Ordinary

Category: Ideas (page 19 of 20)

Do I have a Condition or Do I Waste Away?

July 25, 2016 / / 10 Comments

I hate waste. I hate wasting. And, most of all, I hate wastefulness. Is it just me?

When I walk in nature (or in town) and I see garbage lingering in the woods or along the curbs, I am appalled. What is so hard about throwing trash in a provided bin – even if it is placed a few steps away – or carrying it back out of a park or forest and dispose of it at home? Why does anyone have the need to throw empty cans, wrappers or plastic bottles through open car windows, while any gas station (or your own house) has a trash can? Do these ignorant soilers really prefer to drive or walk in a littered environment instead of a pristine one? Do they not care that their neighbors or fellow citizens have to roam amongst trash?

Some people do not care where they dump trash... This photo was taken near the Western Portal of the Hoosac Tunnel

Some people do not care where they dump trash… This photo was taken near the Western Portal of the Hoosac Tunnel

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Recap of My Book Writing

July 6, 2016 / / 24 Comments

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) encourages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement or anything really about their writing. Starting this month, they have added a question as a prompt to get the juices flowing: “What’s the best thing someone has ever said about your writing?” It has been a while since my last “book update”, so today is a good day for some insights and an answer to that question.

The Background

As some of you know, my biggest passion is traveling. Since graduating at 22, I have been on the road or on the water full-time for 14 out of the 18 years. I’m not sure whether to count our current lifestyle of house and pet sitting as traveling, since we are semi-settled “abroad” (for me anyway), but still explore different parts of the country while at it.

The other thing I have been doing most of my life is write. I have always enjoyed writing and have been pretty engrossed by it since I started my first diary at the age of 10. Continue reading

Reblogging: Great Britain, RIP by Al Lane

June 27, 2016 / / 18 Comments

The result of the Brexit vote/referendum in the UK has shocked the world and its impact is global and immediate.  The Brits regrettably (and regrettingly?) have decided to leave the EU.  We all suffer because of it. I am disheartened by the way politicians misrepresent the truth and by how people don’t think critically and for themselves anymore. I fear for this right-wing trend to continue everywhere and hope the US, among other countries, will learn from the UK’s “mistake”.

My blogger friend Al is a writer, poet and citizen from the UK, who did an interview with me for his Dirty Dozen series recently.  He put his sentiments in words that make total sense. I have decided to reblog his post from yesterday on Roaming About, because of the insights it presents, and because I stand by his side. My intended bog post for today about visiting the biggest mountain in Massachusetts on Sunday will be postponed until later this week. You can see Al’s original post and comments here.

This great video by British comedian and HBO television host John Oliver also hits the nail on the head…

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A – Z Blogging Challenge Reflections

May 13, 2016 / / 22 Comments

A-to-Z Reflection [2016]

Yes, I know, you probably have had enough of the whole A-Z thing after being exposed to it almost every day of April. Yet, a conclusion is a good way to find closure, even when blogging daily and following a theme.

Why did I participate?

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Y is for Yearning

April 29, 2016 / / 28 Comments
Day 25 of the A to Z Blogging Challenge – Thoughts on Being a Nomad

Yearning to be in the tropics again - yoga under the palm trees in Kuna Yala, Panama

Yearning to be in the tropics again (yoga under the palm trees in Kuna Yala)

Everyone has an addiction (or two, or three), a yearning for something. An attraction that rarely, if ever, fades. As a nomad, mine is travel. One look at a world map or globe and my eyes are fixed, my heart beats faster and my thoughts wander to all the places I would like to visit and experience. I think “There is so much to see in this world!” and I immediately wish to pack my bags and jump on a plane. Every. Single. Time. Continue reading

X is for Xenophilia

April 28, 2016 / / 26 Comments
Day 24 of the A to Z Blogging Challenge – Thoughts on Being a Nomad

X… the most difficult letter of the alphabet. If my A-Z Blogging theme would have been “amazing places I visited as a nomad”, a couple of favorites come to mind, like Xcalak and Xpu-Ha in the Yucatan province of Mexico. That would have been too easy, though… Maybe next year?

Carnaval in Grenada, Caribbean
Taqueria in Mexico
Village in Kuna Yala, Panama
Market, Guatemala
Local transportation in Kuna Yala

Instead, I am talking about a new (to me) word: xenophilia. It means being attracted to foreign cultures, places, people… a positive syndrome to have when you are a world traveler. Continue reading

V is for Variety

April 26, 2016 / / 18 Comments
Day 22 of the A to Z Blogging Challenge – Thoughts on Being a Nomad

One of the biggest attractions to living as a nomad is the endless variety it offers. All the possible means to get around, any level of accommodation imaginable and many spots on our globe are yours to explore. When the world is your oyster, literally, you never run out of options to entertain yourself as a traveler. Is there anything more exciting?

Playing with dolphins in Moorea

Playing with dolphins in Moorea

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U is for Unique

April 25, 2016 / / 24 Comments
Day 21 of the A to Z Blogging Challenge – Thoughts on Being a Nomad

The nomad lifestyle is not only adventurous and an embodiment of freedom, it is unique as well. In the United States, where usually only two weeks of vacation time is granted, people are not used to traveling far or frequent. Most Americans don’t have a passport (and, as I learned recently, millions don’t even have any form of ID!). So, while few people travel abroad, even fewer do this long-term. I can’t blame them, the US is huge and there are a lot of amazing places to visit. They are missing out, however.

The early days of Mark and I...

The early days of Mark and I… above the Grand Canyon

In Europe, the travel bug (and vacation time) is a bit more prominent and some graduates celebrate earning their degree with a year of backpacking. Continue reading

T is for Time

April 23, 2016 / / 22 Comments
Day 20 of the A to Z Blogging Challenge – Thoughts on Being a Nomad

There is one thing every long-term traveler has: time. It is the commodity – together with memories – that makes us rich, in a non-monetary way. What people on shore, living their super busy lives, grasp for in vain, always wishing they had more, nomads have plenty of. Time is at your fingertips when you travel indefinitely. But, keep in mind that much of what you want to achieve will require a big chunk of that seemingly imperishable time!

Time... it always goes fast, except at the dentist.

Time… it always goes fast, except at the dentist.

Since our sailing adventure is the one freshest in my mind, I am thinking back about what having time meant to us those eight years. Time allowed us to … Continue reading

S is for Sailboat

April 22, 2016 / / 41 Comments
Day 19 of the A to Z Blogging Challenge – Thoughts on Being a Nomad

Readers of my blog during the A-Z Challenge have probably noticed by now (as friends, family and loyal readers of Roaming About have long known :-)) that my husband, Mark, and I were living on our own sailboat Irie not too long ago. The summary can be read elsewhere on this blog and the entire eight years of our cruising life is documented on my other (sailing) blog It’s Irie, but, this is the gist of it…

Anchored in pretty Moorea, French Polynesia

Anchored in pretty Moorea, French Polynesia

A sailboat is the perfect way to travel to remote places (like tropical islands in the middle of the ocean), inaccessible – or exorbitantly expensive to visit – with other transportation methods. Continue reading

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