WOW! Long time with no update! Im back in the USA

Well, basically Im back in the USA!

I was getting a little bored living my dreams with no waves. OK, OK... basically I should have pushed on but I had been hanging out with the previous owner of a Wharram Pahi 42' catamaran that Im in love with. He hooked me up with the current owner who is moving to Colombia for awhile and the new owner needs a captain for the trip.

I have been talking with him and basically we came to an agreement about the trip and some work that needs to be done on the boat. So Im headed to Panama City, FL to live on the boat for a month or so while I get the boat ready. Then sometime at the end of Feb or mid March, we will be heading off to Colombia.

Im pretty excited about this trip and the timing is great. Ive talked to friends back where I was in Mexico, apparently still no waves!!!!!! This whole thing is about adventure so I will follow it wherever I have to go.

Im suffering a little heartache though. So many goodbyes and brief welcome homes. I got to see my family and friends for about 4 or 5 days and now Im heading off into the horizon once again. Im missing one of my best friends pretty badly as well and saying goodbye to her is always hard. But the thing Im finding it the hardest to deal with is not having my dog by my side. I left her back in Texas with my parents for awhile and its very hard after traveling with her for 3.5 months and being with her every single day and night. I love that dog... more than I knew. So with a heavy heart, I push on...

Why I Plan to Quit Everything to Travel...

This seems to be a recurring question in my life lately from friends and family and its becoming quite an annoyance. So many people just refuse to believe that there is any other way than our pattern...
1) finish highschool
2) goto college or learn a trade
3) get married
4) buy a house
5) have kids
6) work 30 years paying for said house (usually falling down by now) and children
7) retire and hopefully you aren't too old to do the things you used to when you were young.

I however argue that there are many many more paths of life than the one that 98% of the population choose. Those paths can be opened by doing some basic reading and just learning to open your mind to something other than the normal or what is accepted as normal. When you really let go of everything... you see that there is no normal or "right" way. I even have an argument for the criminal up in my mind somewhere...

The path I have chosen for my life extends from several things I believe in. The entire cookie cutter existence just literally makes me want to puke when I think of the massive amount of mediocrity that it is. I believe people choose the above path because its easy. Life is easy when you just work and slave away, paying the man and buying into every single trend out there; a revolving door of payments if you will. Most people's argument for working 30 years to retirement is based upon the fact that most secretly hate it and regret how successfully they have brainwashed themselves into believing working is the key to happiness. Just remember kids, the things you own will end up owning you.

Another scary thought for me is marriage. I come from a family so huge because of divorces and remarriage that I would need a king size bed sheet to draw you a tree and that's working in a size 10pt font! Every Christmas I have to meet and relearn the names of some shithead new additions to my family when I really want to pull them to the side and politely inform them to enjoy it while they can, they probably wont be around next year. I plan on doing the world and my family a favor and never marrying. Another scary marriage thought for me is all the work that is now suddenly necessary to keep the wife happy. That is all I see from my friends... "I have to install this"; "I have to fix this"; "I have to go shopping for...". They have traded their personal time and freedom for a relationship which is supposed to be fair and balance... and all I usually see is work work work work work. Here is a note to the female readers... we don't want to spend our entire weekend fixing shit for you. I enjoy my freedom to the max and relish every single second of it... I don't plan on giving it up any time soon.

Children are another thing I'm avoiding like the plague. Much of this stems from my previous argument of time (if you haven't noticed a trend Ill point it out, I'm EXTREMELY selfish with time) and a huge belief that the world is horribly overpopulated. Every time I use Google Earth searching for waves and I just see massive amounts of deforestation, even in our own great country, for cash; crops and room to expand I just want to run away. There isn't much left out there people... and I challenge you to explore Google Earth and just see for yourself. Check the Azuero peninsula of Panama, look at Indonesia and you will see whole islands stripped.

A home is something I consider to be the biggest waste of time out of all of these things. When I see the construction methods we use in this country I cannot help but think that these homes are thrown together as fast as possible and they will last just long enough to be paid for... then its time to spend another 150K (Texas has wonderfully realistic and UNinflated home values for my California readers, 150K will get you 2500-3000sq/ft in the right area around here) and do it all over again. REVOLVING PAYMENT/DEBT CYCLES ARE WHAT THIS NATION IS BUILT ON! Buying useless shit. The "must have this" disease is rampant in this nation and we all could live such simpler lives if we didn't believe or invest in such stupid ideas. Doesn't it preach this in the Bible for all you do gooder Christians out there??? I could live the rest of my life in a camper and be happy with that. Is there something wrong with me? Maybe. I look at "living", the actual acts of sleeping, showering, eating, and breathing as just things we have to do. When you realize you can sleep in anything that is 6ft long and reasonably comfortable, a 3000sq/ft home suddenly isn't necessary.

Ok.. so you don't buy into any of the arguments I have just posted right? Fine.. here is a simple list for those of you looking for a simple answer because...
a) thinking and learning this much just makes your head hurt
b) your favorite TV sitcom they have you addicted to (instead of living life and educating yourself) is on and you need to finish this quickly

1) I'm getting old.. I know I know, I'm only 25 but its just a feeling ok? I KNOW I cannot do some of the things I used to when I was 16...

2) Most people don't know this about me but when I was 21, after some intensive testing it was determined that I needed back surgery for some shit in my lower vertebrae. The doctor advised I wait as long as I can for this... and there isn't a day I have that it doesn't hurt. I'm in a loosing battle with time on this one. Sure, I could work and retire at 50, but will I still be surfing? Doubtful

3) Ready to live my life as I see fit. No one can tell you how to live, so why do we all follow an imaginary road with as far as I'm concerned, some pretty shitty road signs and paving.

4) Because a whole world of adventure is awaiting me out there... and I just KNOW I'm going to be horribly angry when I get killed commuting to work, never getting my first retirement check.

My Bday!

Today is my bday! Yeaaaaa!!!!!!

So I havent written in quite awhile yeta again and I hate that. I have been mobile blogging from my phone but when I just checked today its obvious the emails have not been making it, so now I get to figure out that mess. Yay.

Hahaha... so what has been going on you may ask? Well... nothing lol. Same shit! Riding the bike, working, saving money. thats about it.

I did goto Bandera again after the sailboat race that we lost. We had to withdraw along with 74 other boats, 1 boat sank and a trimaran lost its mast. It was a heck of a storm that nailed us out there, a very strong early season cold front.

Ive hit a new high in my savings and its looking AWESOME! Lets just say... half way there baby!

Ive been looking at vans for my trip and I almost bought one last weekend but I didnt like some of the things that were wrong with it. Ive kind of settled on a Chevy custom van from the 90s , early 90s. Think a-team almost but that was 80s, they all look the same. I want to strip the back and build it out the way I want. Im talking solar panels, mobile wind gen im trying to build and a nice place to live. Im really excited about this project and I feel like this whole thing, now 2 years in the making, is finally starting to come together.

Retirement, Ticking Clocks, and Bullshit

Im about 3 seconds away from knocking this damn clock off my wall. I have been listening to and watching this thing since December when it was put there after our office remodel. Ugh!

TICK!
TICK!
TICK!
TICK!
TICK!
TICK!
......

BOOM! *sound of a shotgun blast to the clock*

that thing just reminds me all day of the seconds of my life ticking away that I can never get back.

tickticktickticktickticktick

Im having a bad monday if you cant tell. I mean, everyone has a bad monday but this one is exceptionally bad. At this point... I just want some waves. I will wear a wetsuit if I have to and for those that know me, they know that I HATE cold water.

My boss shutdown all possibilities of a vacation before October. We are restructuring our network with the help of a company. It will be a MESSSSSS! The summer swells in october are starting to dwindle so no point in traveling south... just save your money David. Im selling 40 hours of my vacation back to the city to get a little more cash on the books. I think I might have overestimated my driving miles so basically... I have a small surplus of cash. Maybe I can stay longer??

Loosing Weight,Birthday Parties and Wierd Dreams

So Ive been trying to get on this health kick and get my ass back in shape and its working out ok. Ive seriously cut my caloric intake and totally 180'd my diet and so far with just that Ive dropped about 7lbs in 2 weeks. Now I get to bring some exercise in and start toning up and Im pretty excited as its been awhile since Ive had a good workout routine. I wish I was closer to the surf because I would just surf every morning before work but thats a wish. I also got myself on a no alcohol for 1 month kick but then I had to break it because of a friends birthday party this weekend.

So we decided to throw an all out bash for Matt saturday night as he and Adam drove in from Austin. It started at Mollies around 8ish and around midnight we migrated to a friends house. Wow! It was getting full on crunk and I didnt sleep until somewhere around 7am.... trashed. I went oldschool and picked myself up an Old E 40oz from the store along with some sparks and an 18pack of budlight. It was a total blast and I got to see a lot of people I havent seen in years. Hell its been almost 2 years since I had seen Matt or Adam. Gotta start spending time with my homies... im not gonna be in the US much longer :) countdown in progress...

So I had a very wierd dream last night about some NASA styled boatyard that was being built. I accidentally got in the way and caused a huge trainwreck of machinery (18wheelers, forklifts, and my truck)and it reaaaaallly sucked. Then they were setting up these huge like oil platform leg things to raise into the air. I happened to be standing on one when it "shot" up into the air and I was stuck for a few hours like 150ft in the air. I finally jumped and lived but dont ask me how but I clearly remember having a HUGE fucking fear in the dream because I hate heights and something like that would probably just kill me from fright. Then I went on to party in Vegas (just saw "The Hangover" last night) where I met some girl. Like always in my dreams.... the deal was never closed and I awoke with a longing feeling like I had really met this girl and I now have a crush on some fantasy girl I created somewhere. Maybe in another parallel dimension she exists from my thoughts.

As for that countdown I mentioned.... yes... its coming. I have set a tentative date for May 2010 but I might bump by a few months for some more cash. Here is my basic breakdowns for right now.

Main Idea
-----------
Spend 2 to 3 years driving to at LEAST Panama and maybe further south, then return home, sell everything I own, fly to Australia and live out there for a while.

Total Money = 33K

Breakdown
------------

1) Least Expensive
65k Miles driven at 20mpg = 3250 gallons of gas
3250 x $4/gallon = $13,000 gas total
13000/36 months of travel = 361/month in gas
$361/$4(gallon) = 92 gallons/month
92 gallons/month x 20mpg = 1840 miles/month allowed to drive
so basically $13,000 for gas

2)Middle Expensive
65K miles driven at 15mpg = 4333 gallons of gas
4333 x $4/gallon = $17,332 gas total
17332 / 36 months = 481/month in gas
$481/$4(gallon) = 120 gallons/month
120gallons x 15mpg = 1800 miles/month alowed to drive
so basically $17,332 for gas

Wrap up
--------

travel/month option 1
Hotel = $100
Food = $180
Car maint = $50
Misc = $100
-----------
total $430 X 36 months = $15,480 + $13,000(gas) = $28,480

option 2 = $15,480 + $17,332(gas middle expensive) = $32,812

These are some high numbers so Im going to have to work with some of this. This also doesnt include getting some gas money from other traveling surfers so its based on a 3 year solo trip. I guess I could cut down on the amount of time Im there but why in the world would I want to do that????? Still crunching numbers....

Catch Up!

Well its been a while since I have written anything and now Ill have to play catch up. You know.. I have noticed that when a lot starts happening in my life and I havent blogged in a while, I actually dread blogging everything. So, I procrastinate and just let it build up a little more and then the next thing you know, I havent written in a month! So, Im going to take it easy on myself and recap quick and dirty and well, skip a bunch of parts.

I went sailing a few times on the hobie cat the past couple of weekends and its safe to say Im really addicted to it! The speed is hard to describe and when you get everything trimmed perfect and your body weight is perfect you just flyyyyyyyyyy!!! I really want a Hobie 16 so I can take another person in comfort but it just isnt in my budget right now. We shall see what happens :)

So... I went sailing down to Port Aransas like 3 weeks ago and we spent 2.5 days offshore on our way down and about the same on the return trip home. This was my first bad trip offshore and it showed me just how crazy it can be out there. I realized just how hard single handing is going to be and just how important certain things on a boat are ie. an engine. Near the coasts the commercial traffic is just incredibly dangerous and engines and other people on board help make it a tad safer... I dont know. The other thing is just how violent the world seems to be getting. Cruisers are being killed everywhere and that makes me nervous too... imagine that? Me... Dave Rich actually a little nervous by all the cruisers getting chopped up with machetes.

Ive decided to focus a little effort back into just driving for my getaway and I already feel like Im betraying the faith. I love the ocean and I love sailing... I dont know.. Maybe its just not my path for right now. I found an awesome mini-bus for sail in the Kemah area that has been converted into a small motorhome. Its a 98 chevy 1-ton with 36K miles on her! The owners are asking $3500 and it has hot water, sink, stove/oven, small bed, fridge with freezer, and rv ac! The problem? around 10mpg...... UHHHH!!!!!!!! I plan on driving over 100K miles and at 10mpg and $3/gallon, thats $30K JUST IN GAS! So, now Im looking a little more "15-20"ish.... that will help a lot! Plus the van simply will not fit into a shipping container for shipping overseas when Im ready to get off this continent. Just have some thinking to do....

DAMMIT... I always say that! thinking is just getting me no where! Ugh... I need to start acting instead of thinking. Ive got 12K stashed... and by this time next year Ill be sitting around 30K. So Ive set may 1st as my tentative quit date... we shall see how it goes.

The Battle with the Boat

Well, Im about to start placing orders for parts today so I can start getting everything repaired. I have to replace the sheeves at the top of the mast after I broke one and Im doing them all out of a strong desire to not have my halyards (ropes that raise and lower the sails) get caught in the top of the mast again. Its going to to be fun I can say that much. The haul out is scheduled for the last week of march but it might get bumped, we will see.

Work has been a blast. Im still fighting my way through BDD and its just driving me nuts at the moment. Its hard to dedicate a lot of time to it when your manning the help desk as well. I keep getting stop 7B errors which I believe are directly related to HAL incompatibility issues. Hehe, tech talk, sorry.

So for a response to the comment left to my last post, I will delve a little into the "alternative forms of living" question that was asked.

I have been fighting and analyzing the idea of what we do with our lives for the past few years. The whole shebang, Buy a house, buy a car, get married, have kids, pray they do something great, and move on. I believe that there are alternatives to this and avoiding this path is not necesarily a bad thing. After all, it is my life right? I look at many things that are happening in our world. Pollution, Blind consumerism, capitalism, neopolitical movements, globalization and I realize that the innocence of the world is gone or fading very rapidly. We now have access to almost any part of the world, instantly at our fingertips. Almost everyday, weird and obscure languages, perhaps once part of a beautiful and flourishing culture, are dying in favor of the international business language of english. Afterall, to rise from what is considered "poverty", you must beable to speak english to do foriegn business. To hang on to ones roots and cultures is almost a death wish for some peoples.

I try and live on the minimums. At times, I could do a lot better, I think everyone could, but trust me, I dont have a lot. I dont have an iPod, no gaming systems, no new car, no fancy cell phone, none of that mess. My dreams and desires have me living on the minimums, living life and seeing the joys that life and actions, not objects can bring me. Some people relate this to being very religious but thats not my case. I have an understanding that material objects end up in a dump and thats all they do. I have my material comforts, dont get me wrong, but Im very picky when I buy one, I make sure I can maxamize its usage. I traveled through Mexico and Guatemala for 2.5 months, 73 days with a friend, my car, our surfboards, and a tent. We slept in the dirt, in the car, in the tent, often covered in sweat for almost the entire duration. In 73 days of traveling, we slept in a room of some sort for only 10 days. We lived on street tacos, PP&J, cans of tuna, and ramen noodles. We ate good when we wanted to, but we enjoyed our basic foods almost as much so we decided to stick with the basics. We lived among the people and got to know them very well. I found this to be an amazing experience and it has completely changed my ideas about "travel" and "vacations". In Guatemala, we would watch tour buses full of rich Americans come through town as they "window watched", rolling slowly down the streets. They dare not leave the safety and comfort of their airconditioned bus, these Gautemalan's would surely murder them for their money. Its true, I was a victom of an attempted robbery; half of it my fault. I should not have slept there, lying prone under a palapa next to a fire. I should have slept with my machete as I always did, but I chose not to. Perhaps God was teaching me a lesson in faith and just how fragile our bodies are, and how quickly life can be taken from us. That robbery, the stabbing, the punk that got away before Joe could take an arm from him with the machete didnt change a thing about my view on people from other countries, especially Mexico.

My ideas of living now are changing a little. More and more news has come out that supports my idea of living to the max. I believe we as humans have had our time here, but we have betrayed our planet enough and the repercussions arent too far off. Im not talking about Global Warming or any of that political hype crap. I believe we might see a complete ecosystem collapse within our lifetimes if we continue at our rate. Im looking more and more into living "off the grid" and just trying to enjoy whats left of our beautiful world. Sailing is showing me how possible this is. Im working on my next trip, the drawing boards are up, the plans are rolling. Where I will sleep, eat, and visit; Im not sure. However, I do know that it will be an epic trip, either by sail or by van. Im planning at least Mexico, all of Central America, and possibly shipping the car/sailing into south America and exploring through there, especially Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia. My strive to see the world, to surf, to live my life not confined to an office is still strong. My spirit has not been crushed while I am doing my time in the 9-5, or 8-6 in this case. It is providing a means to put some long terms plans together for the ultimate escape. My head is still above the water.

Ill post some more pictures of sailing soon.