I have a confession to make. For the last while my writing has been lackluster, uninspired drivel with no real purpose or direction. From this day on it changes – new environments demand new perceptions. Yesterday, I boarded a creaky old 767 that flew me direct from Winnipeg to London, England. I’ve been planning my journey to Europe for the better part of 4 years – basically since I got back from a year and a half in Australia. Planning, well that’s a generous word. How about a nebulous idea with absolutely no preparation, a flight date, a mad scramble to pack, a series of drunken and not so drunken nights with friends, regrets, hopes, loves, losses and all that fucking jazz. I love to procrastinate, but let me tell you – preparing for an extended journey is something you should be doing months before your departure, not days.

At my age, I really should be thinking about settling down. You know what I’m talking about – the whole career, mortgage payments, big screen TV, car, wife, family etc. I feel drawn though towards a nomadic lifestyle. One with no roots, one with travels and sight-seeing and meeting new people from different countries. Tania, my best bud’s girlfriend reminded me today that all the world’s a village; I wish to explore every nook and crany. There’s just something about being on the road that’s exhillarating. Any traveller can tell you that the unknown road ahead becomes a sensual companion; something that thrills as it fulfills and disappoints. When you’ve visited a foreign country, it’s hard to hold onto your preconceived notions. You’re forced to evaluate everything you’ve ever heard or seen on TV and reconcile that perception with the reality of the society around you. For example, today there were more terrorist bombs. Contrary to what I thought would be a ripple of panic, an event on the tip of everyone’s tongue, I encountered no such meme. Everyone was sort of going about their business, and if their tube had been affected, they found another way home. Maybe it would have been different if the terrorists had been competent, but as it turned out these copy-cats had neither the intelligence to make a bomb nor the balls to take their life with it. Maybe that’s a good thing.
At any rate, my voyage across Europe will start here in Jolly Old England before proceeding to Amsterdam after a week or so. I plan on spending a month enjoying the sights, sounds and tastes of the oh so notorious “A’dam”. Afer this, I will be making my way to Romania, hopefully finding an apartment and friends from my WW game. I plan on spending around 6 months (give or take however long my money lasts) before returning to the UK to work on my holiday maker visa. My goal in Romania is to write a book as I believe that this is really the only thing I can do well; my goal for this journey of mine is to “stir shit up”. Times are rapidly changing around us as new facets of our “war” become apparent to us. This conflict, this fracas between western and eastern religion is one purely of ideology, and I find myself a warrior armed with my own unique perception. If we don’t change the way we look at the world, then we’re all going to the figurative hell in a handbasket. This *really* won’t be a world that we want to bring future generations into. I’m not claming any kind of special knowledge, however I do have faith in my own view. Faith in my faith to battle faith in theirs. Ideology is the hardest river to divert, yet with patience and vision it can be changed. That’s my plan. Grandiose, ego-terrific, a little bit mad, but hey, that’s pretty much me in a nutshell.