Reflections on the Journey

Sitting in the sun back in Palo Alto and easing back into the unfinished masters & house renovations. To be honest, I never really thought about the masters or the house while traveling, I never got bored, never pined for my own bed, and came to the realization that the peak of civilization is a good, hot shower whenever you want. You can see some pictures from the travels by clicking this link to my Picasa web album site -- there is one set of photos for each country. Below is a pic that epitomizes each place for me.

Seville - life lived outside, warm and inviting. Narrow streets meant for walking, turning corners and suddenly seeing a doorway, an insight to another life.

Dubai - life lived inside. This is my favorite picture of the people in the mall viewing the people in the ski slope. None of the malls had windows onto the outside world -- what's there to see but other buildings and the dirty remains of a desert? And during the hot, hot summers windows become impractical. The ski slope is the Dubai we see on news reports -- this is the Dubai the emir wants us to know about. Not the crowded, congested Dubai where many live, or the endless apartments of Sharjah and Ajman. This picture of the ski slope reminds me of Second Life -- people standing around, unconnected to each other, watching and waiting for something to happen.

And then there is Paris -- romantic and cold (in all aspects of that word.) What more can I say? It was lovely to experience Paris with my partner, Peter as he re-experienced places of his youth, walking familiar streets, eating at familiar places. Unlike Dubai (which changed everyday) Paris was essentially the same as 20 years ago.

I'm at a loss of how to get this masters done.

Loss of momentum, loss of desire, and I question why I was doing this in the first place.