Learning to decompress

Dad just mentioned to me a 'rugged independence gene' that we share that could be effecting my romantic ventures as of late; BUT this post will not indulge in romance (except to comment on Romanticism as a field of thought and a genre I enjoy) but rather my general condition and how I have dealt with another possibly hereditary hyperactive - exercise happy, always moving trait.




Riding a bike - or some sort of exercise - has been my only form of escape and route to relaxation. Since compressing my T6 vertebre almost two months ago, the recovery period and limited physical activity has caused me to search for other ways to chill...




And one of those strategies seems to be an obsession with my new laptop and some more blogging so the following is a self indulgent update for my devoted audience In the past few months I have: witnessed a fellow cyclist and road racer from Quito being zipped up in a body bag after a fatal hit and run accident with a local bus (see previous post); survived another school year (that makes five years I have been calling myself a teacher - pretty close to a profession!); written some unit and lesson plans; broken my T6 vertebre; visited PA for a wedding; climbed Sincholagua,






Coming down Sincholagua in Cotopaxi National Park

part of Pasochoa

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, and El Virgen to hot springs in Papallacta;









indulged my romantic side by watching the new Johhny Depp movie and reading some Tom Robbins both regarding mysticism and magic.





“Ambivalence is a bigger nuisance than schizophrenia. When you’re a schizoid, each of your two personalities is blissfully ignorant of the other, but when you’re ambivalent each half of you is painfully aware of the conflicting half, and if you aren’t careful, your whole life can turn into a taffy pull.”










Another Roadside Attraction, Tom Robbins















credit: Ecuador




entertained a visitor










given a facelift to this blog to tribute an epic summer of 2004 cross country road trip that can only be mentioned here with this frequently rehearsed dialogue:

"Hey, yeah, welcome to ________, what was your name?"

"Oh, I'm Phil and this is Will, and they are Stew and Steve"

"Will and Phil and Stew and Steve, Ok..."




and more




Plans for the summer include: working with Timmy Global Health in Tena, visiting Yasuni Reserve, and looking ahead to my next teaching post ... stay in Ecuador or venture out to other countries --