radio silence

Moments, moments now. On the verge. Just a fistful of hours remain as I nearly complete my inevitable acceleration towards escape velocity, soon to careen free from the inertial bubble that is The States. I know that my communications thus far have been pitifully intermittent, and the horizon sees them only becoming more so. The phone is getting turned off this week, and interpoo access on the other side will hopefully dwindle dramatically (if all goes according to plan). Aloha grid, you have served me well.

After learning to surf in San Diego (surfing is fun, hard work and surfer girls are very, very hot), camping in northern Minnesota (getting lost in the cold, dark wilderness sucked, but clambering up that frickin mountain was totally worth it - also, fires should be built *before* it gets dark; it's far more difficult when you can't see what you're lighting on fire), partying in Los Angeles (they party hard, no messin around), swim training in Chapel Hill (think leaner, sinewy, and way faster than before, which, relative to now, was basically a constant state of near-drowning), and a beautiful, week-long beach wedding on Cape Hatteras (I survived unhitched), we are now mere moments away from finally achieving intraplanetary orbit. It's so close I can taste the atmosphere.

After I alight on the far side of the planet in Thailand, I'll be almost perfectly jet lagged by the twelve hour time difference (vs EST), but I'll be sure to report in as soon as I can on the trials and tribulations of life on a beach. We can shoulder our hardships together (flip-flops or barefoot? swim or dive? the blond or the brunette? both?) and rejoice.

I miss you all dearly, hope you are well, and my next toast will be to you, my absent friends.