Drokpa Journal

Well, it looks like it’s been a couple of months since my last update, so I figured it was about time to put fingers to keyboard and come up with something…anything.

I ended up getting off the Russian vessel on March 6 and was able to make it all the way to Montana that same day. My only thought at the time? “Good riddance to bad food!” I’ve definitely packed on a bit of weight back here in the land of edible food.

In the month-and-a-half since my return I’ve been mostly trying to get everything in order so I can work and travel for the remainder of 2007. That’s entailed all sorts of mundane things like getting new contacts/glasses, updating some of my travel clothes/equipment, getting a Montana drivers license, getting police clearance for a Brazilian visa, and getting my laptop repaired. I’ve also helped dad occasionally as he built a large addition to his garage, so we’ve sheet-rocked and sided that. Next up is quite a bit of concrete work.

If all goes well with visas I should be heading offshore Brazil around May 9th for my next job. They’ve had nothing but problems on the survey so far, and in 7 weeks have collected virtually no data. Right now they’re awaiting new equipment, which could take 3 weeks to clear customs, so I think my start date may be a moveable target. As is my end date. I need to have August off as I’d already planned a bit of traveling, but my current 6-weeks working followed by 6-weeks off on this project would have me back on the vessel in August. I’m still waiting to hear if they have someone else who can take my place, or whether I’ll be working 12 straight weeks in order to get the time off. Working 3 straight months, every day, and being on-call 24 hours a day in case of problems, would be tiring, but quite honestly right now I think that’s the best option. If I end up doing it, you can ask me in August if it really was the best option!

The other noteworthy thing I’ve accomplished this break is to finish my Blurb book of Tibetan photos. It’s fun to see your photos turned into an actual hard-cover book! Mine is an 8 X 10 inch, 176 page book of photos, with a few brief write-ups on some of the more important sites in Tibet. So far it’s been well received by the few who have seen it. To check out the cover and first 15 pages for yourself, to purchase the book, or to simply see what Blurb is all about, follow the link below by clicking on the book cover:

And with that, you’re up to date. I hope all is going well in your part of the world, and maybe next time I’ll be writing from a different vessel somewhere offshore Brazil. At least I’ve heard the food is better, so that’s a plus!

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