a Geographer's Place

As I sit here in my IKEA Poäng chair amidst boxes, I’m reminded how it’s the simple things that really make my life enjoyable. I have very few things . And what I do have are good quality items. I've learned to pursue good quality over the years. It’s a personal choice, but I’d rather have one very nice thing than a dozen mediocre things . Living in apartments for the past several years, I’ve seen a lot of people come and go, and most folks have very large trailers. I’ve always wondered how they fit all that stuff in a tiny 600 or 700 square foot place—even 1000 square feet. My mind then wanders to how they acquired all that stuff. Where do they store all that stuff? And WHY do they store it? Is it something in our genetic code that says, “Look…we might need this in the future, so we’d best keep it…” Sure, I see the logic in that genetic trait. But unless you’re consistently using the stuff, why keep it? I have a great friend who LOVES books. She always reads the latest novels....

After returning from Europe for the first time, I made a self-pact; a goal, really. I told myself I was going to visit at least one country per year of my life. If that meant I had a few years where I had to miss, that was okay. It could be made-up by traveling to more than one country in the following years. The only thing I wanted to avoid was being 85 and having only visited 60 countries (try visiting 25 countries when you’re 85—you’ve probably already visited all the “comfortable” countries!) I’ve been pretty good with this goal since then. As of today, I’m five countries short of my goal. But the only reason why I’ve missed the goal the past few years is that I’ve visited some countries more than once (and some several times). I view travel as a way to destroy stereotypes. It’s also a terrific way to learn, grow, and expand the mind. Especially if you really get into the place (like, avoid staying at five-star places the entire time because it removes you from everyday fol...