Happy New Year!

Perhaps it’s too obvious to say, but, well it’s true: this year has gone by far too fast. It feels like it’s only been a few months since bringing in the new year in Peru. And while this year, I’ll be spending New Years Eve in the slightly less exotic Washington State, I’m glad I get to spend it with family and old friends.

It’s been a wonderful, if not slightly strange year. It was the first year I didn’t know exactly what I would be doing any given day, week, or month. And not too surprisingly, everything worked out, despite some personal concerns regarding the sort of fly by the seat of my pants situation. And in fact, this sort of willingness to change directions at any moment has provided a multitude of opportunities I may not have been able to have, had I dug in roots and made definite plans. It may seem trivial, but for a slightly-compulsive-overplanner such as myself, it was a much needed lesson in just chilling the heck out.  Continue reading →