Lag time.

Its been almost a full moon since my last blog post b/c the internet out here has been killing me with its creeping, crawling, dragging pace. I haven't been able to upload images to either flickr or the blog its so bad. As I'm attempting to be a good blog host however, I'll try to give an extremely abbreviated update on what I've been up to for the last few weeks with the carrot dangling promise that I'll be able to get the blog posts online soon. Then I'll leave you with a few passages by men who know much better than I how to twist the tongue and dip the quill.

Since the last post I was joined by my sister Whitney in Greece for about a week, visiting the small yet steep island of Hydra with its shy donkeys and numerous cats. After that we were off to Meteora, Greece, a place north of Athens that is known for its monasteries perched precariously on top of steep stone pillars. Heading back to Athens, we were joined by my girlfriend Megan and able to spend a day or two together before Whit had to head back to the States and school. Megan and I shipped out to join a very protective pack of dogs and loud construction workers for a bit on the Greek isle of Santorini, getting numerous free gifts by being the first "customers" of the year. It was so wonderful to see familiar faces and be able to speak English in full sentences with border line good grammar. I was off solo again to Egypt, where I currently am right now. Most of the week was spent with an incredible architect and new friend named Nashwa Ibrahim in the Sinai Peninsula near St. Katherine's Monastery in a small town named El Milkah. She as well as some other passionate individuals are doing a lot of experimental construction techniques using the local Bedouin tradition of building. Now I'm back in Cairo for one more night before I head off to Turkey for the next quick leg. Sorry for the super quick snippets but look forward to adding more very soon!

Here are the previously promised quotes I've ran across on my train/bus reading. Its odd that when you have something on your brain it always manages to pop up into whatever you're reading over.


"It is true, there are innocent pleasures of country life, and it is sometimes pleasant to make the earth yield her increase, and gather the fruits in their season, but the heroic spirit will not fail to dream of remoter requirements and more rugged paths."

-Henry David Thoreau

"With other men, perhaps, such things would not have been inducements; but as for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas and land on barbarous coasts."

-Herman Melville