tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-202742142016-04-05T22:11:29.468-07:00Thoughts, reflections and things better left unsaid...Kyle Fieldhttps://plus.google.com/109942804449959820925noreply@blogger.comBlogger98125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274214.post-20369517452527956862016-04-05T19:43:00.001-07:002016-04-05T19:43:41.000-07:00"You have cancer" Those words hit me like a sledgehammer to my chest...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">"You have cancer." Those words hit me like a sledgehammer to my chest. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">December was a difficult month for our family...and specifically for me. In the first few days of the month, I found a lump in my testicle that was later identified as being cancerous. After a surgery to remove it and an array of tests, I'm officially </span><span class="il" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">cancer</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> free but it was a crazy couple of weeks and it really shook me. </span><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I didn't share this broadly back then because the word 'cancer' sounds like a death sentence. While I wasn't freaking out, everyone else would have and frankly, that would have just been more for me to deal with and I knew it wouldn't help. Cancer is especially scary when the words "You have..." come before it...but through the process, I learned that it doesn't have to be that way.<br /><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">You see, I had testicular <span class="il">cancer which</span> is very survivable with roughly a 98% survival rate but I didn't know that at the time. I just knew that I had cancer and that frankly, scared the crap out of me. A bit of research calmed me down a little but I still felt like I had this black cloud hanging over me. As I worked through the various doctors visits, I only gained certainty that I had cancer at first...then realized that all cancers are different and even within cancers of a certain region (like the testes or breasts), there are tons of factors and the reality is that most people - around 2/3s - survive cancer.<br /><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I'm not sharing this for sympathy - I'm doing great now and was back to 100% relatively quickly after we worked through the surgery in mid-December to remove the cancer, but rather, I'm sharing my story to let you know that finding out that you have <span class="il">cancer</span> is not a death sentence. We should talk about it as a society to kill the stigma surrounding it and encourage more people to do proactive checks. Pretending cancer doesn't exist or that you won't get it only makes it worse.<br /><br />When people don't know about the risk or how easy the checks for cancers like testicular cancer are...they don't check for it and that only gives the cancer more time to do damage to your body. I didn't know about self-checks and only found it by chance. Testicular <span class="il">cancer</span> specifically occurs in men (obviously) between the ages 15-40 (not so obvious) which I had no idea about but wish I had. I had naively assumed that cancer was something that happened more commonly as we age...but that's not the case for all cancers.<br /><br />That's what I wanted to say...and I know that more than anything, you're probably just feeling relieved right now. Somebody else had cancer but they made it, right? I'm glad it wasn't me. That works...almost. 40% of people will get cancer in their lifetime...that's a fact.<br /><br />And 40% is no small number. Think about it - that's one in every 2.5 humans that will get cancer. Because of that, I encourage you to do a self check and to build that in to your regular routine. For men, it's easy to check for lumps - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmrsDBfNKBY">here's a quick (and humorous) video that shows you how</a>...and for women, here is an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6wpOnf2ORg">intro video that explains self examination practices for breast cancer</a>. There are plenty of videos on YouTube that provide additional details and perspective so please - take this quick step to get informed...then take action :)<br /><br />These basic checks avoid what otherwise might be a more serious matter and give you what you need most to fight against cancer should it come to that - time. Let's drop the awkward or uncomfortable stigma around cancer and join together to take action today. Get informed and if you want to talk...I'm here.</div></div>Kyle Fieldhttps://plus.google.com/109942804449959820925noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274214.post-32433904055248172162015-07-28T16:22:00.000-07:002015-08-31T14:20:13.741-07:002015 Guatemala: The Road to Mach<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Where to start. So yeah, the bus. After a fun filled day in Lanquin (and boy was it packed to the gills with fun, adventure and team time!), we boarded the bus for a very long ride. I think it wound up being around 10 hours and I would love to say that it flew by...but it just didn't. What it was though...was quality time. Being displaced in Guatemala...being in a new country, a new culture...without any cell phone reception or a data plan or friends, family, our favorite blanket, our beds, our shower...those comforts...we were off kilter, off balance but in a beautiful way. <br /><br />You see...that very same discomfort is what started to bring us together. We were all from a place that we were used to...a place we called home with the comforts that go with it...the routines we had built and become used to and truthfully that we knowingly abandoned to head out on this journey to something...somewhere in the wonderful country that is Guatemala. We had seen it in pictures and maybe heard stories but now we were in it...together. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X-Znnm8OOo8/VeNaLiN2duI/AAAAAAABbaw/z-MrPh1gEl0/s1600/bus%2Bride.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X-Znnm8OOo8/VeNaLiN2duI/AAAAAAABbaw/z-MrPh1gEl0/s400/bus%2Bride.jpg" width="226" /></a></div>We came to learn, to grow, to be stretched, to smell things that were not pleasant, to smell unpleasant (as happens on a bus after 10 hours), to be hungry, to share food, to be each other's comfort...together. it's tough if not impossible to put the formula that is a team trip to guatemala into words...but it's real and it's not always easy but it's so worth it. We were being stretched...being shaped...being melded into something beautiful. On one level, two important things that happened on the trip were - 1) we became, were shaped into, grew into an authentic community and that's nothing to scoff at. It's VERY tough to replicate here in the US where we have all the comforts we're used to. If we get thirsty, turn on the faucet, pickup a bottle from the back seat...no biggie. <br /><br />In Guat, you don't have those options. you have to share to make it work. you have to accept things from others to get by. of course you can have some of my bug spray. Yeah, the sunscreen is over there. No biggie - you can have the last tortilla. I'll take the uncomfortable seat for the next 4 hour stretch - you relax and get some rest. Let me bang on the concrete floor for a few hours...please. I want to help. Let me do it. I'll drive. You relax. and LOVE...just love. It becomes something different when you're reliant on one another. It's a team thing. It's a body thing...a community thing. and it's beautiful.<br /><br />Taking a break from the gushing there's also the flip-side. I'm an introvert so talking with people, being with people, connecting and being real with people takes energy. That's not saying that I don't like it because most people are great and it's a good time but from an energy standpoint, it drains my batteries. In my normal world, that's no problem. But in Guat where there's 29 people in tight quarters, working hard, emoting, smelling, eating, playing, stepping on toes, crawling over each other, grabbing each other (scott!) for 14 DAYS...my batteries run low. I know that I'm that way and I'm super ok with it but it needed to be managed. so by day 10 or so, I was done with people and I was very thankful and greedy about any downtime we had. I spent many mornings walking around by myself because I need that time. I need ME time and that was a scarce commodity on the trip.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sx76l2Bx6LU/VeNf6D8tcvI/AAAAAAABbbA/-gCd2DZ2kKg/s1600/roadtomach.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sx76l2Bx6LU/VeNf6D8tcvI/AAAAAAABbbA/-gCd2DZ2kKg/s400/roadtomach.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>So yeah, we're on the road to Machaquila. There was an angst in the air. We all knew that we were on the road to the place where we were going to do the most work. To get our hands dirty and open up our hearts to some Guatemalan kids and that it was going to be rough. <br />We arrived in Mach and it felt like home from the get go. Spirits were high but we were exhausted and as we took our room assignments, we lazily looked around at the "eco resort" we were staying at, unsure. It may sound fancy, but this place was rough - even for me and I consider myself a pretty easy going guy when it comes to living conditions. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3neEUAq8cvc/VeOPFy07shI/AAAAAAABbcU/tdpEahRvpMw/s1600/Machaquila.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3neEUAq8cvc/VeOPFy07shI/AAAAAAABbcU/tdpEahRvpMw/s400/Machaquila.jpg" width="340" /></a> Mach ~ the big Red Dot</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Our rooms were in the rainforest - literally and had vines going up the sides, giant trees right outside which is fantastic. BUT...that comes with getting all up and personal with nature. Regular sightings of giant bugs in our rooms...6" locusts (grasshoppers), a myraid of moths, mystery roaches or all sorts on the floor, noises from here and there that came from something living and my favorite on our second to last day - a snake. I saw just the tail of it as it slithered from our bathroom into the space under the floor of our room and it was unmistakable. That wasn't a confidence builder but we made it. <br /><br />The next morning we loaded up and headed off to the orphanage on what was to be quite honest, too short of a trip to get there. I didn't have time to do my final mentally prep work and arrived a bit awkwardly. I didn't really want to get out of the car, unsure of what was inside the orphanage but like cattle, we shuffled in, assaulted by what we saw. This was the first time anyone from our group had been there and you could feel it. Kids everywhere - some 56 kids in total - wandered around the gated property. You could tell it was their place and they felt at home but also that they were used to outsiders coming by...whether to drop off another child, to talk with the couple that ran the place, to serve for a bit then leave...it was clearly their place and they were trying to figure out who/what/why we were - it was tangible, in the air. <br /><br />the awkwardness was shattered when a little boy named Noah (if I recall correctly) ran up and just started giving huge (for him) hugs with his little 2 yr old arms. A bundle of joy and a huge smile, he cracked the ice and flipped the dial from awkward to OMG I'm going to cry. From that little dude radiated a love and an equal measure of "PLEASE LOVE ME!" that it was painful and the utmost joy at the same time. He ran around from person to person, smashing us open in a matter of minutes.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EAGePKx-tqQ/VeNiGjHfJJI/AAAAAAABbbM/R6eD3OThGSQ/s1600/flossing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EAGePKx-tqQ/VeNiGjHfJJI/AAAAAAABbbM/R6eD3OThGSQ/s400/flossing.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>The other kids gradually did the same but in a more rote fashion, out of obligation more than affection but we had already crossed the line. We were ready to love on these kids in any way we knew how...and we did.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gh3unWn_wRM/VeNikwYcmvI/AAAAAAABbbU/RNNgTH_g2ys/s1600/reading.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gh3unWn_wRM/VeNikwYcmvI/AAAAAAABbbU/RNNgTH_g2ys/s400/reading.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />We intuitively split into two groups - most of the women went to work with the kids - teaching them to brush and floss their teeth, singing and doing crafts with them...just loving on them and getting to know them. Most of the men gravitated toward one of the 3 physical labor projects - starting to chip away at the areas of the concrete floor that were damaged and eventually repairing them, replacing a few toilets that had stopped working and building a new structure up the hill from the orphanage which they would use for church gatherings, devotions and storage. None of the work was easy and only a few of the group had done much work in those fields but we all charged in with as much energy as we could muster.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bulFF3ItWfs/VeNjBxUjoVI/AAAAAAABbbc/Se18sCeR8Oo/s1600/concrete.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bulFF3ItWfs/VeNjBxUjoVI/AAAAAAABbbc/Se18sCeR8Oo/s400/concrete.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u2gGtip4yOg/VeNjH9KTg3I/AAAAAAABbbk/B-Dgr_NaQPo/s1600/construction.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u2gGtip4yOg/VeNjH9KTg3I/AAAAAAABbbk/B-Dgr_NaQPo/s400/construction.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>As we worked, the kids in the orphanage continued to feel us out. There were 56 kids in the orphanage ranging from babies (3 mos old) to 17 with two older girls of 22 and 27 that needed special care and were not ready to be on their own. Bear in mind that this place was run by an older married couple - just two of them - and they were making do. Two people can only go so far. thinking back to my posh setup at home where Sokny and I occasionally struggle with just our two boys, I couldnt imagine doing life full time, 24/7, 365 with 50+ kids. It's just insane. On top of that, they don't get any support from the government. From what I could discern while we were down there, they raised funds from the community via a sign posted at the entrance to their property that solicited donations as well as likely significant funding from another western church based organization. Needless to say, they struggle. Their meals were much the same as what an average guatemalan eats - black beans, tortillas and on good days, meat. While we were there, we saw a few cow heads that they were butchering and cooking as well as a few other odds and ends that have likely never made it to my table in the US.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iOAJy_1up8A/VeNju1LzcZI/AAAAAAABbb0/hQ3BkRaUD7s/s1600/cooking.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iOAJy_1up8A/VeNju1LzcZI/AAAAAAABbb0/hQ3BkRaUD7s/s400/cooking.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uFCr-aZl1DM/VeNjsK8NQjI/AAAAAAABbbs/7_StPQ3ht70/s1600/butchers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uFCr-aZl1DM/VeNjsK8NQjI/AAAAAAABbbs/7_StPQ3ht70/s400/butchers.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Anyhow...the kids were everywhere. some played, some did crafts, some sang and ran around but others wanted to work. It felt like they were yearning for that father figure. To learn a trade, to do something well and to be commended for it. To learn, to love and to be loved. It was tough and I struggled with this. I'm very task focused and for a long time, I was getting frustrated by them as they constantly grabbed any spare tools and started banging, scraping, and just being in the mix of the work. I'm admittedly slow in this area and it took one of our younger team members - Tim - to sit down and be patient with a few of the boys as they painted on some of the primer for the concrete for me to realize that we were not just here to work (as I said, I'm not the brightest...even when on a trip built for us to serve). After getting over my frustration at the fact that the job would take 3 times as long with the kids helping, I saw how he was mentoring them, loving them and teaching them. They just wanted to be near us, to help, to be validated and Tim did that. <br /><br />With that example, we all started pulling the kids into the work. Fathering, mentoring, teaching and just spending time with the boys that wanted to get their hands dirty. We ripped out toilets, they helped carry the left overs out of the building. We chiseled concrete, they held the chisel. We cleaned up bathroom floors that were in dire need of cleaning...they were in there with us. On it went, side by side. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wslvTprwhLc/VeOPzRGcIpI/AAAAAAABbcc/fI3o8d11eIA/s1600/crafty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wslvTprwhLc/VeOPzRGcIpI/AAAAAAABbcc/fI3o8d11eIA/s400/crafty.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WOEzQvbqTjY/VeOP2An9KmI/AAAAAAABbck/rK7znINvl9U/s1600/music%2Bman.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WOEzQvbqTjY/VeOP2An9KmI/AAAAAAABbck/rK7znINvl9U/s400/music%2Bman.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LUS7xw8u4UU/VeOP2CMqqRI/AAAAAAABbco/rC9RZPyBd4s/s1600/loving.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LUS7xw8u4UU/VeOP2CMqqRI/AAAAAAABbco/rC9RZPyBd4s/s400/loving.JPG" width="400" /></a></div></div>Kyle Fieldhttps://plus.google.com/109942804449959820925noreply@blogger.com0Machaquila, Guatemala16.3839145 -89.443486216.3534465 -89.4838267 16.4143825 -89.4031457tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274214.post-88393144015704507642015-07-25T17:57:00.000-07:002015-08-16T18:00:29.208-07:002015 Guatemala: building a new community<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Waking up in the morning in Lanquin revealed an amazing valley. because our group is so large, they put some of us in the overflow housing which was a 5 minute ride up the hill. it looked like what would be the retirement house on the hill for whoever owns the little hotel place we're staying at. Right on top of the hill overlooking fruit tree orchards and the entire valley. 270 degree views of lush green hills, accented by darker pockets of rainforest. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QGn3bhNY6pQ/Vb7uC15azzI/AAAAAAABajs/DTunL6SFj20/s1600/IMG_20150723_073455.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QGn3bhNY6pQ/Vb7uC15azzI/AAAAAAABajs/DTunL6SFj20/s400/IMG_20150723_073455.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><a href="https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipM0QJvWayr1HY_9KUbhHQ9_nLsaVggpECbogGkT"></a><br />After taking time over the last few days to acclimate to the Guatemalan culture and get to know the team a little, this was to be a time for us to crack the ice and play together but first - breakfast. we walked down the dirt road a kilometer or so to the main hotel area then down to the community area on the river. The morning light revealed that the river was wide and flowing with a power that we just don't see out on the south west coast of the US. So much water, moving in a living, churning mass with a tiny waterfall trickling down on the opposite bank. <br /><br />As the team trickled down to the breakfast area, the buzz about the day began to circulate. This was to be a day of play with the team with the first item on the agenda being a float session down the river in inner tubes. In my head, I began to question the water quality of said river but quickly learned that this river came straight out of the earth - literally. The river swelled up from an underground cave which we would be exploring later in the day.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WZOSYvRHTr0/VdEwt-MGTKI/AAAAAAABbHk/1b9U5ziYFsE/s1600/IMG_1447.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WZOSYvRHTr0/VdEwt-MGTKI/AAAAAAABbHk/1b9U5ziYFsE/s400/IMG_1447.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />I rushed to finish my breakfast and eagerly boarded the truck that would take us up to the start of the river and our tubing adventure. After getting used to the area a bit, jumping into the chilly river washed any hesitations about the trip away. Emotions ebbing and flowing between being on vacation and a nervous anticipation of the work to come moving through me as we began to drift down the river in tubes. Laughter and levity...taking in the beauty and splendor of God's creation...being God's children filled with Joy, ready. <br /><br />In the moment, I loved it but thinking about it after reaching the shore, these moments of pure joy weighed heavy on me. "did we come here for a vacation? this is too much fun...when are we going to do some real work? This is not what I signed up for!" but looking back at the end of the trip, I realized that these first days were crucial to first helping us unwind from our lives back in the states, to connect with our new team and fall in love with the country of Guatemala. These days helped us to live, talk, speak, breathe, eat in the NOW. to BE on the trip...to remember that we are God's creation, living for Him...but that those moments are held in tension with being God's child. to experience the people, places and things that He built for us and revel in them. to be joyful, happy, to love, to emote... and yeah, the journey we travelled individually and as our new team was crazy! 10 hours in a bus or SUV with no cellphones, laptops or bubble zap games to distract made for some great talking time...great time to dig into what each of us is about...to remember that we are all down here for a reason and to share our passions. why are you here? why am I here? what has God done in my life / what is God doing in my life / what do we hope God is doing in us down here? we collectively travelled not just the windy, dusty, bumpy rainforest roads but also the windy, scary, fun, hidden paths in eachothers lives. we shared and listened...dreamed and bubbled over...laughed and cried a bit together. community...shaping...connecting...wow.<br /><br />The river really was great. I couldnt get enough of it...even after getting off the tubes for the next group to run down the river I spent the downtime running up the river then floating down...swimming across exploring, jumping, splashing...oh the joy! it was as if I were a boy again just taking it in. <br /><br />When everyone had made it down the river, we jumped in the cars and headed off for part two of our adventure for the day - Semuc Champey. I didnt really understand what this place was having unintentionally left my itinerary in my hotel room in Antigua...I embraced the not-knowing and just rolled with it...and this place blew my socks off! ok, I wasnt wearing socks but I really did enjoy this place. We started with a 1km hike to the base of some beautiful falls along a raging river...<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u7iYdDlfO_E/Vb7tsvNisXI/AAAAAAABaho/z8zkM9pCgac/s1600/IMG_20150722_125524%257E3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u7iYdDlfO_E/Vb7tsvNisXI/AAAAAAABaho/z8zkM9pCgac/s400/IMG_20150722_125524%257E3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-44QxwpsBYsY/Vb7tgswOUQI/AAAAAAABbHA/-CbbMEZ6e5Y/s1600/IMG_20150722_125045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-44QxwpsBYsY/Vb7tgswOUQI/AAAAAAABbHA/-CbbMEZ6e5Y/s400/IMG_20150722_125045.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />then split off for the overlook. Basically climbing up the side of the valley, we quickly gained elevation until finally emerging at a beautiful overlook with the pools of Semuc Champey glistening below. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vGpa7GO-cos/Vb7t_JfLSiI/AAAAAAABajQ/TxQVnEfqCaM/s1600/IMG_20150722_133701.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vGpa7GO-cos/Vb7t_JfLSiI/AAAAAAABajQ/TxQVnEfqCaM/s400/IMG_20150722_133701.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Semuc is a unique place in the river where the raging mass of the river actually goes underground (a FREAKY sight!!)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.freewheelings.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/P1175030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.freewheelings.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/P1175030.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><br />The pools that Semuc is known for are actually above this section...where yet more water streams down from the valley and forests above into natural limestone pools with a very mellow flow of water and gentle falls. Pictures just don't do it justice but here are a few of mine and stock online pics to share some of the beauty:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://41.media.tumblr.com/4f723e6bb6059c042a3dbfa4c76cc0bb/tumblr_n9mumpqMzt1svx5guo1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://41.media.tumblr.com/4f723e6bb6059c042a3dbfa4c76cc0bb/tumblr_n9mumpqMzt1svx5guo1_1280.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s03g19xixbw/Vb7tvdP36HI/AAAAAAABah8/b-pRbxrn7wY/s1600/IMG_20150722_130742%257E2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s03g19xixbw/Vb7tvdP36HI/AAAAAAABah8/b-pRbxrn7wY/s400/IMG_20150722_130742%257E2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PTAMdo15gTQ/VdEreB1dCxI/AAAAAAABbGk/XrTGDocTiGI/s1600/IMG_1326.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PTAMdo15gTQ/VdEreB1dCxI/AAAAAAABbGk/XrTGDocTiGI/s400/IMG_1326.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cbD8b1DOxKw/VdEr4cmDrFI/AAAAAAABbGs/arCY_OfOk28/s1600/IMG_1329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cbD8b1DOxKw/VdEr4cmDrFI/AAAAAAABbGs/arCY_OfOk28/s400/IMG_1329.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> We enjoyed lunch at Semuc and had time for an awesome baptism of a few team members - Ariana and Paul. It was a beautiful afternoon in a heavenly setting. As the afternoon began winding down, we started our hike back to the vehicles.<br /><br />Semuc is a local gem and as such, has it's share of tourism though the remote locale helps keep this number down. Because there is a lot of cacao grown in the area, local kids can be seen selling pucks of chocolate - fresh roasted and ground up with sugar and flavors. I bought way too many of these and ended up eating a similarly indulgent number but it was just too good. We hopped back on the SUVs with a few on the roof for good measure and headed back to Lanquin. <br /><br />The final adventure for the evening was exploring the aforementioned "start of the river". In reality, this was a few things...the cave where the river comes blasting out of the earth, an underground grotto with fast flowing water (ie, dangerous/don't get pulled under or you die/freezing straight-from-the-earth water) and oh yeah, home to 23 million (plus or minus a few thousand) fruit bats and they were just waking up. We hike up into the cave along a well defined path (assuming you had a headlamp and we did) about a kilometer before stopping and turning out the lights. Our pal Hugo explained that the Mayans believed this was a holy place where they could pray to the spirits of the underworld. It was essentially an altar and one that was still in use as evidenced by the plethora of candles and soot that lined the walls and ceiling. It was intense and after some history, we turned out all the lights and sung a few worship songs. It was an intense pitch black...one that we almost never see. No stars, no lights, nothing...just black. our song echoed through the caverns, augmented by the flight of the waking bats. They fluttered about as we let everything go...nerves on edge by the history of this place...the intense dark...the days events preceding this...and the anticipation of what was to come...and just belted out a few worship songs. Intense...check out the pic:<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://writergirlkp.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/black-windows_542931.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://writergirlkp.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/black-windows_542931.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Just kidding...but seriously...it was can't-see-the-hand-in-front-of-your-face dark. After some soothing silence, we hiked back down and split off on an offshoot climbing down a guano covered offshoot down to the grotto. It was neat seeing the water flowing out of one wall then under a ledge on the other side of the small chamber but I had no desire to get in the water. A few of the team did and spread lit candles around the chamber. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IuBrC9v30Dg/VdEwtPeseuI/AAAAAAABbHU/IDhSwXhR4LE/s1600/IMG_1419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IuBrC9v30Dg/VdEwtPeseuI/AAAAAAABbHU/IDhSwXhR4LE/s400/IMG_1419.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cikdFQ5fHTc/VdEwsCFy1cI/AAAAAAABbHQ/D_o4s3tihM4/s1600/IMG_1446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cikdFQ5fHTc/VdEwsCFy1cI/AAAAAAABbHQ/D_o4s3tihM4/s400/IMG_1446.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />After the intensity of the grotto and the caverns, I was excited to be near the exit of the caverns again. As dusk turned into night, we sat at the exit of the caverns as the bats rushed out to feed on whatever fruit they could find. I was blown away by the sheer volume of animals leaving and exhausted from a packed full day of adventure. <br /><br />The next morning, we packed up and headed out to what would be the majority of the trip, work and emotion in Machaquila...</div>Kyle Fieldhttps://plus.google.com/109942804449959820925noreply@blogger.com0San Agustín Lanquín, Guatemala15.5752827 -89.98017820000001215.567634700000001 -89.990263200000015 15.5829307 -89.970093200000008tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274214.post-88259899837068765272015-07-21T23:27:00.000-07:002015-08-12T23:31:15.448-07:002015 Guatemala day 1-2: unpacking<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />Prologue...<br />I had planned to blog realtime in/from Guatemala but my laptop decided that it didnt want to work for the vast majority of the trip. As such, I'll be unpacking and sharing the adventure after the fact in a series of blog posts. This first post is the only one that I was able to write realtime...after just 2 days in country...as I was beginning to unwind from normal life and connect with the team.<br /><br />...Unpacking..<br /><br /><div class="p1">so Guatemala</div><div class="p2"><br /></div><div class="p1">we have been here two days now and now it’s starting to feel like we’re on the cusp of doing some work. The first day we understandably took the day to recover as our red eye flight brought us into the area at 7am we started with a nice breakfast then headed back to check into our hotel for the night. After a short time and a bit of exploring Antigua, we boarded the bus and cars and headed up to an overlook of Antigua which was framed by a nice old cross with the Volcan de Agua in the background. It was a nice way to let the fact that we were in Guatemala start to soak in. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H5LvjKrdKtE/Vcw3soE0y-I/AAAAAAABa6A/g8Yb9G1zCo4/s1600/IMG_20150720_130822BUS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H5LvjKrdKtE/Vcw3soE0y-I/AAAAAAABa6A/g8Yb9G1zCo4/s400/IMG_20150720_130822BUS.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="p1"><br /></div><div class="p1">I fell asleep for a bit on the way up which was a great way to start to catch up on much needed sleep. After some time at the lookout, we drove through Antigua and up a steep set of switchbacks up to our lunch spot which was amazing. it also featured an overlook of the city but from the other side of the valley. the restaurant itself was a farm to table setup with the farm on premises - the restaurant was situated in the middle of the farm with fruit and vegetables growing all around. </div><div class="p1"><br /></div><div class="p1">The afternoon rains hit as our food arrived so we migrated off of the amazing overlook patio to the safety of a higher, covered patio…then the rain really started coming in and with an amazing display of lightning and thunder which was quite the sight as it lanced across the valley, booming along the way. We started opening up conversations with the members of the team - getting to know each other in baby steps as is so often the case for introverts like myself. The combination of not having constant connectivity…distractions that we so often overlook in our lives back in the states and the content face time with each other made talking the natural thing to do. </div><div class="p1"><br /></div><div class="p1">Slowly realizing that we are all here to do the same thing…to experience the same thing…to do the same work…to just let God work in us, through us and among us is a powerful connecting force and opened into discussions, blossoming relationships that are just the beginnings of foundations that will strengthen our church, the kingdom and each other. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fsflnXDO4mk/Vcw4Whq3YaI/AAAAAAABa6I/-pKyO0cfDhU/s1600/IMG_20150720_182227%257E2ANTIGUA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fsflnXDO4mk/Vcw4Whq3YaI/AAAAAAABa6I/-pKyO0cfDhU/s400/IMG_20150720_182227%257E2ANTIGUA.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="p1"><br /></div><div class="p1">We had more time to explore the city then wandered down to the Whiskey Den - a local establishment owned by one of the many partnerships forged in the early days of Bryan and Wayne’s travels to Guat. Not my thing but I found a nice ice cream place to grab a scoop to pass the time. Dinner was another nice spot around the corner and more of a calorie filling formality as we were all exhausted to the point of wanting to skip altogether but for the simple need of calories. </div><div class="p2"><br /></div><div class="p1">Finally returning to our rooms, I showered and changed…washing my clothes in the shower with me then retiring to post the days pics and check for messages on google. </div><div class="p2"><br /></div><div class="p1">I started the day early and walked out into Antigua for some early exploring. Everyone else was still sleeping so I found a few places online that looked interesting, checked the map and headed out. Both spots were closed so I just ended up making rounds, getting familiar with the layout and grabbing some bread to accompany the cafe from the hotel lobby. Made for a nice break from the team which is something I need to be intentional about to let my brain sort through things and also got some semblance of a workout in. </div><div class="p2"><br /></div><div class="p1">After breakfast, we packed up and headed out towards our destination for the day - Lanquin. Infrequent breaks were mandatory for a group our size but we finally ended up making it to the destination around 830pm or so. Lots of driving…some dirt roads and a few folks riding on the roofs of the 3 SUVs, highlighting the potholes and random bats flying about as we descended into the valley of…something. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YAqlPe1v468/Vcw3GPAD4wI/AAAAAAABa54/fUf8AzKBou8/s1600/001%2Bguat%2Bentry%2B1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="376" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YAqlPe1v468/Vcw3GPAD4wI/AAAAAAABa54/fUf8AzKBou8/s400/001%2Bguat%2Bentry%2B1.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="p2"><br /></div><div class="p1">It was pitch black as we arrived at what now feels like paradise. We are setup at a hostel built up the slope of a steep riverside with the community room overlooking the river. a fantastic dinner was setup for us with tons of flavorful vegetarian options over candlelight. </div><div class="p2"><br /></div><div class="p1">Walking down onto the dock on the river reveals a fast moving REAL river with LOTS of water that we’re going to attempt to ride down in inner tubes tomorrow. Kinda freaky not knowing what’s in there but whatever…not the first not the last small challenge…let’s do this! </div><div class="p2"><br /></div><div class="p1">Bug spray is our friend down here as the mosquitos are drawn to the water and the bats to the mosquitos. No internet here tonight…i guess they shut it off at night or something so updates will have to wait but that’s ok. feels like and sounds like a club here as the team unwinds and mingles…letting the cares of life wash away. </div><div class="p2"><br /></div><div class="p1">It’s great knowing that sokny and the boys are hanging out in philly right now…a great distraction for them and a great parallel adventure. Time for some more water and downtime then sleep…somewhere...eventually.</div></div>Kyle Fieldhttps://plus.google.com/109942804449959820925noreply@blogger.com0San Agustín Lanquín, Guatemala15.5752827 -89.98017820000001215.567634700000001 -89.990263200000015 15.5829307 -89.970093200000008tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274214.post-19057852063782398952014-12-12T09:41:00.000-08:002014-12-12T10:00:18.209-08:002014 Mercedes B-Class ED Review - the first month<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=20274214" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=20274214" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=20274214" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=20274214" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2PuRsgcCCYw/VIsszpgzmvI/AAAAAAABLHI/FcSAragohfM/s1600/bclass_stock.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2PuRsgcCCYw/VIsszpgzmvI/AAAAAAABLHI/FcSAragohfM/s1600/bclass_stock.png" height="165" width="400" /></a></div><a href="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-zzOXyuwls7A%2FVIspgo-AqQI%2FAAAAAAABLG8%2FWdzPnvaqZDM%2Fs1600%2Fscreen_2013-Mercedes-Benz-B-Class-EV-Concept.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Making the Switch </span></b><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">A month ago, my wife and I traded in our aging gasmobile for the newly introduced 2014 </span><a href="http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/vehicles/class/class-B"><span style="color: lime; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive EV</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">. I considered myself to be an educated EV consumer but still had quite a few learnings - some good, some bad - in the first month with our EV. Though the majority of our learnings were not related to the car itself, but more generically to the transition from a gasmobile to an EV, that’s where I’ll start.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Home Charging<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Charging up your EV at home is one of the great benefits of EVs as it means that there is no need to stop at a gas station anymore! The Level 2 “charger” most EV buyers think they need for their garage is not actually a charger (The actual charger is onboard the EV itself), but rather an EVSE or “Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment” which is just a fancy term for the hardware that 1) Provides the right connection from your local power source to your EV and 2) Talks back and forth with your EV through the charging process. In our case, as with most EVs in the US, our charger has the J1772 plug on it which plugs directly into the charging port of our B-Class. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BamEicJ70ZU/VIsmBLbx-ZI/AAAAAAABLGE/5gfGfeP81wk/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2014-12-09%2Bat%2B11.15.24%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BamEicJ70ZU/VIsmBLbx-ZI/AAAAAAABLGE/5gfGfeP81wk/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2014-12-09%2Bat%2B11.15.24%2BAM.png" height="200" width="172" /></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Level 2 residential chargers range from $600-$1000+ and after a bit of research, we went with the </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CXXCVLI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: lime; font-family: "ArialMT","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Schneider Electric EV230WS</span></a><span style="color: #094fb2; font-family: "ArialMT","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">for $599 (it has since dropped to $488) from Amazon because it was rated very highly and allowed us to mount the charging end separately from the actual EVSE unit. This unit also allowed us to put a standard 30amp plug on it vs. hardwiring it which allowed us to use our existing 220 volt dryer outlet. </span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=20274214" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=20274214" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=20274214" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=20274214" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=20274214" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">It is not necessary to install a Level 2 EVSE in your home to charge your EV - you can use the 110 adapter that is included with the EV but we wanted the extra flexibility to more quickly charge up and to have the option to keep the 110 charger in the car at all times, just in case. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Remote Charging<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">In the first few weeks of getting our EV, we wanted to charge every opportunity we had. Range anxiety is all the rage in mainstream media so plugging in everywhere we possibly could just felt good. We soon realized that this was counterproductive as there’s simply no need to charge when popping out for dinner or to grab some groceries. It also blocks a spot for other EV drivers who might be farther away from home and need the spot to charge. On top of that, most public charging stations require payment whereas home charging is powered by our solar panels (free! with our California net metering). <o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"><br /></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Knp87FRvoSs/VIsmEzRQ6RI/AAAAAAABLGQ/69yBHuk9ehA/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2014-12-09%2Bat%2B11.17.44%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Knp87FRvoSs/VIsmEzRQ6RI/AAAAAAABLGQ/69yBHuk9ehA/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2014-12-09%2Bat%2B11.17.44%2BAM.png" height="331" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">To offset our increased electrical usage, we will be adding several more solar panels to our current installation to fully offset our increased usage. The B-Class is one of the least efficient EVs on the market in terms of miles per kWh with its rating of 2.5. mi/kwh In our first 750 miles, our actual average is 2.9 mi/kwh and based on that, we will need another 7.6 panels to power our EV for the estimated 8900 miles/year we drive. We are already producing more than we need, so we will be adding 5 panels next month to put us back in the green.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">One unique challenge EV owners have is the large variety of charging networks out there. After test driving a few charging network apps, we have found that the crowdsourced </span><a href="http://www.plugshare.com/"><span style="color: lime; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">PlugShare</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"> app (Web, iOS, Android) has the best overview of the entire public charging network and includes chargers from many of the big networks like<span style="color: lime;"> </span></span><span style="color: lime;"><a href="http://www.chargepoint.com/"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Charge Point</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">, </span><a href="https://www.blinknetwork.com/"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Blink</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">, </span><a href="http://www.evconnect.com/"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">EV Connect</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"><span style="color: lime;"> </span>and </span><a href="http://www.nrgevgo.com/"><span style="color: lime; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">NRG’s eVgo</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"> as well as personal charging locations! Wanting to build capability and make the most of our EV, we have signed up for several different charging networks - each of which has it’s own unique way to charge - some with set monthly fees, others with a price per kWh or per hour, etc. It’s been an interesting process but the net takeaway is that here in Southern California, there are lots of chargers in lots of areas we frequent. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">To date, we have only charged at Level 2 chargers but plan to give Level 3 / DC Fast Charging a go in the next few weeks. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Plug-In America has a great overview of EV charging </span><a href="http://www.pluginamerica.org/drivers-seat/understanding-electric-vehicle-charging"><span style="color: lime; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> that I found especially helpful. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Exterior<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6K0mMDBmMcI/VIsmECa0VUI/AAAAAAABLGM/-BYENdnKl6M/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2014-12-09%2Bat%2B11.19.21%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6K0mMDBmMcI/VIsmECa0VUI/AAAAAAABLGM/-BYENdnKl6M/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2014-12-09%2Bat%2B11.19.21%2BAM.png" height="241" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Digging in to our specific EV - the Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive - it looks and feels a lot like a normal car. In fact, this is the same B-Class that has been sold overseas as a gas mobile for many years, with the same exterior and interior with the exception of the minuscule “Electric Drive” badge. As an EV/Solar/Sustainability fanatic, this is one of the things I was <b>not</b>a fan of as I want our EV to roam the streets screaming “No gas needed, thanks” or “Suckers…I’m running on sunshine”…but alas, it was not to be. Some drivers (my wife included) just want a nice looking “normal” looking car which just happens to be an EV and the B-Class is a perfect fit. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Interior</span></b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">In our search for the right EV, we found the B-Class seating to be the most balanced for our needs. The front seats felt a bit less roomy when compared to the BMW i3 whereas the rear seats had MUCH more room than the i3. The B-Class seats 5 while the i3 opted for in seat cupholders, reducing it’s capacity to 4. Finally, the rear seats in the i3 are accessed through the split door which requires the front door to open before the rear passengers can enter/exit. As we have two little boys (3 and 5), I was not thrilled at the prospect of their nagging at me to open my door before they get in or out each and every time. Check out a more thorough comparison of the two in Ted Kidd’s review </span><a href="http://cleantechnica.com/2014/10/07/bmw-i3-vs-mercedes-b-class-electric-exclusive/"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Under the Hood</span></b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Px1qBxnd6ww/VIsnsnuaSLI/AAAAAAABLGk/46HlhahhvLQ/s1600/scree_bclassED_underhood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Px1qBxnd6ww/VIsnsnuaSLI/AAAAAAABLGk/46HlhahhvLQ/s1600/scree_bclassED_underhood.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">While the B-Class looks and feels like a normal car, when you pop the hood, things change. The B-Class’ electric motor, batteries, charger and supporting EV systems are all made by Tesla, shipped from the US to Germany for assembly. While I’m not a car fanatic (at least not the gas powered ones), I feel a sense of pride that Mercedes came to a US company for their first EV. This was a feature on the plus side for me as Tesla is making waves in the EV world and I’m happy to be a part of that revolution. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Driving the B-Class</span></b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">With the normal looking exterior, the accelerator of the B-Class houses a fun secret - instant torque! This is difficult to put into words for non-EV drivers but suffice it to say that the accelerator on this (and most other) EVs is responsive. When you step on the pedal, it jumps. Continued pressure results in a very smooth acceleration up to whatever speed you desire. I occasionally treat my kids to a ride on the roller coaster and pound the pedal down to the ground on the way to pre-school resulting in what feels like a quick boost on a roller coaster. Granted, they’re too young for coasters at this point, but the sentiment is spot on. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">The B-Class has 3 driving modes - Sport, Economy and Economy Plus. Sport offers the most responsive accelerator with a corresponding reduction in range as a penalty for the fun had when driving. In Sport, the B-Class has no problem chirping the tires off the line or even from 15 mph if that’s your thing. I personally try to put it in Economy Plus right off the bat which maximizes mileage and minimizes my risk of extra traffic tickets. It’s fun to drive in all 3 driving modes and it’s great to have the option for a different driving experience at the click of a button. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Range</span></b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">As I mentioned, this particular configuration results in the least efficient EV when compared to others available today with an MPGe rating of 85/83 with most others coming in at 100+. This is largely due to the fact that the B-Class was not built from the ground up as an EV but rather a converted gas mobile. This is most evident in the weight - at 3935 lbs, the B-Class is no featherweight. For comparison, the BMW i3 which was purpose built as an EV comes in at 2853 lbs (without the Range Extender). The B-Class pays a further penalty for being a former gasmobile as extra battery capacity was required to haul around the extra mass. The B-Class’ battery is rated at <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">One neat thing about EVs is the Regen…short for regeneration - where the car uses the car’s momentum to generate electricity when braking. This is old hat for Prius owners as this technology has been the bread and butter of hybrid battery charging for years now but this EV takes it to a new level. When you’re driving along and accelerating, the car drives as you’d expect, pulling power from the battery to the motor…but the second you take your release pressure, the regen kicks in and begins charging the battery, slowing the vehicle. It’s an odd feeling at first but after a short time driving, feels natural. It gives a new degree of control over acceleration and deceleration with a single pedal. The regen is so strong that it will slow the vehicle down almost to a stop without the need for brakes, putting all that kinetic energy back into your battery. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">What’s great about regen is that it extends the real-time range of the B-Class beyond it’s battery-only range of 87 miles. Just how much of an extension depends on personal driving style and terrain (hills vs flat, freeway speeds vs stop and go driving, etc). We live up on a hill and regularly make it to the freeway onramp 3 miles away with an extra mile of range. Conversely, we have a ~1000’ climb on the freeway that across 2 miles, zaps 5-6 miles from our range. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Cost Savings<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">One of the big selling points for us was the monthly cost savings and being a bit of a data nut, I was eager to track our savings – both financially and in the sheer reduction in dinosaur goo (aka gasoline) usage. My calculations showed that we would save approximately $100 / month of our $130 gasmobile fuel bill. Having solar panels on the roof, I was excited to see how much of our driving would be offset by our current overproduction and how many more panels we would need to fully offset our EV usage. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">For my calculations, I used the actual production averages from our existing 12 panels over the last 12 months and used that to estimate the number of panels needed to cover 8,000 miles of driving per year (Low) and 12,000 miles per year (High). The chart below shows that in Southern California, the annual output from 1 panel on the roof is roughly equivalent to 1,000 miles/year in the Mercedes B-Class ED.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Estimated Usage and Savings<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1026" type="#_x0000_t75" style='width:230.25pt;height:194.25pt; visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square'> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\field.ka\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image006.png" o:title=""/></v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3bqpPshp8b4/VIsoZKXAz9I/AAAAAAABLG0/aRuAoQd-z0k/s1600/screen_BclassED_specs.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3bqpPshp8b4/VIsoZKXAz9I/AAAAAAABLG0/aRuAoQd-z0k/s1600/screen_BclassED_specs.png" height="269" width="320" /></a></div><br />I have split the “savings” into EV savings which represents the savings in moving from a gasmobile to electricity at retail rates and the savings from the solar panels which get to claim savings from not having to pay the retail rate for electricity, as part of their own return on investment.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Savings in the last 3.5 weeks of November:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_1" o:spid="_x0000_i1025" type="#_x0000_t75" style='width:425.25pt; height:34.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square'> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\field.ka\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image007.png" o:title=""/></v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NADptu9RWQk/VIsoXjt6a9I/AAAAAAABLGs/oAW2CcSpDg4/s1600/scren_bclassED_SavingsTD.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NADptu9RWQk/VIsoXjt6a9I/AAAAAAABLGs/oAW2CcSpDg4/s1600/scren_bclassED_SavingsTD.png" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"><br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Summary</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Overall, we are thrilled with the B-Class. We went into our EV purchase with our eyes open about the pros and cons of EVs and couldn’t be more pleased. We filed for the $2,500 California state rebate which will show up in 6-8 weeks and will be including the $7,500 federal tax credit in our 2014 tax return. The Mercedes B-Class felt like a great value for a Mercedes when compared to other the after-rebate prices of the other EVs on the market.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div></div>Kyle Fieldhttps://plus.google.com/109942804449959820925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274214.post-63570673062109512732013-06-14T13:01:00.002-07:002013-06-14T13:01:49.394-07:00Reduce, Reuse THEN Recycle<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">We have it wrong folks...we have been doing things with our minds flipped backwards for too long so I'm going to take a minute and straighten a few things out. This whole Reduce, Reuse, Recycle thing has been mixed up. I was basically raised to think that the little triangle of arrows meant recycle. We didnt talk the reduce or reuse parts, but those are the most important! We can't get where we need to go by just recycling...we have to start with steps 1 and 2. So let's dig in to it...<br /><br />Before cutting straight to the "throw it in the blue bin" part, we first need to back things up to the store...to your house where stuff gets used and/or tossed in the trash. Grocery bags are a good example...these are very handy when you're leaving the store, unpacking the basket into the car and then from the car into the house...then, after that 30 minutes of use, we are often done with them. I know what you're saying "no, no...that's not the end of their use. I use them as trash bags". Yes, you are still hitting on number 2 - reuse...but reduce comes first. These are extraneous. They don't add value but come at an extreme cost. We use TONS of these things (which are made from petrol) and they all end up in the trash. Non compostable, essentially non biodegradable...just trash. Terrible. There are tons of stats out there, but this isn't my point. My point is that instead of recycling them (which many stores now offer), or reusing them (which is better than tossing them)...we should first strive to eliminate the need for them...and other things that aren't necessary. Start with thinking about how you can reduce what you consume, then optimize by reusing and if necessary, recycling. <br /><br />This was the philosophy on which I'm gradually optimizing our home energy usage and yes, it's ok that it's a process. Life is a process and we're all at various stages along the journey but what's great is that it's a win win...the more you learn, the less you consume overall, the more you re-use and the less you recycle (though you're hopefully still recycling a higher % of your overall consumption than previously). So yeah...think about "waste" in your life...things that you could live without or "reduce" your consumption of and do it. Remember....Reduce, Reuse THEN Recycle :)</div>Kyle Fieldhttps://plus.google.com/109942804449959820925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274214.post-72410265224731938012013-06-13T14:01:00.000-07:002013-06-13T14:01:02.547-07:00The Life Efficiency ConsultantContinuing along my journey towards self realization and onward towards an overall more efficienct and sustainable lifestyle, I feel that I have happened upon a title that roughly summarizes a job that I would enjoy. The "Life Efficiency Consultant". Y'see...I dont like charging people for things that I'm passionate about and that generally works. What's beautiful about improving the efficiency/sustainability of one's life is that it generally comes with cost savings. Assuming the customer is actually interested in making changes...installing PV Solar Panels have a very attractive ROI...replacing the daily commute machine with a motorized bicycle...aka scooter saves substantial money...replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact flourescent bulbs or better yet LED bulbs pays for the bulbs very quickly and saves tons of money in electricity. I documented my own expenditures and savings and everything paid itself off within a few months and since making the initial improvements, I have gradually been moving from CFLs to LED bulbs, starting with the high usage areas of the house. <br /><br />So yeah...life efficiency consultant. That's me. Not quite anything I would call a part time job or even a formal engagement at this point, but definitely something I can do and will gladly help anyone do for free. Paying too much for your monthly electricity/natural gas/gasoline bill? Hit me up. I love this stuff. I'm not the master of any specific area but from what I've experienced and read...a few quick and easy changes that come at almost no lifestyle cost can vastly improve the efficiency and sustainability of your life.<br /><br />Cheers!Kyle Fieldhttps://plus.google.com/109942804449959820925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274214.post-27687003329244473892013-06-10T10:00:00.001-07:002013-06-10T10:02:51.429-07:00home efficiency<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">one of the things that has always attracted me to the idea of sustainability is that for the most part, it's is a cost savings. if your car gets more MPG, you spend less on gas to go the same distance. if you replace traditional incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs at home, you spend WAY less on electricity and typically save what the new bulbs cost in the first year. if you install solar panels on your roof, in 5-11 years (depending on if you go the DIY route or have someone engineer and install your system), it pays out and you are rocking on clean, free energy. <br /><br />In that sense, sustainability resonates with a lot of who I am and how I operate...not to mention the environmental benefits of burning less gas in your car, using less electricity to light your home or generating clean, free energy from the sun vs coal, natural gas, nuclear or other not-so-pleasant means of producing electricity. <br /><br />When we moved in to our new home, upgrading bulbs, reducing lawn watering times and installing more insulation were just a few of the things I did as we were still unpacking. It just made sense to me. As such, our 1760 sq ft house started off with a monthly electric bill of $60/mo...in California where we pay $.12/kwh off peak and $.14 peak power rates...much higher than much of the rest of the country. So here, it just makes sense to make our homes as efficient as possible, then offset whatever we do use with solar panels. It blows my mind how many folks out there pay upwards of $150/month on power bills. I really dont know where the power goes but it seems that most people have just adapted to spending tons of money on power. <br /><br />Maybe this is my niche...I'm passionate about improving the efficiency of homes. After a few months of working through the house on my own, I looked up and found a company that performs home energy assessments and spent $300 for two guys to come into my house for a few hours and check the efficiency of seals, look for opportunities to better insulate my house, upgrade windows, etc. They were basically a front end for a construction company who saw efficiency as a means of entry for their construction business. Good idea...but they didnt turn up a lot that wasnt pretty obvious on the surface. Be sure that your doors and windows seal (which they didnt do a good job of identifying), seal your attic from your living space including all upper floor outlets (which can leak air to/from the attic vertically) etc etc...<br /><br />I suppose what keeps me from wanting to move forward with this in a business sense is that the reason I want to do it is to educate people and to help them understand how easy it is to make huge improvements in their home energy utilization...taking home efficiency to the next level. Home energy usage makes up ~22% of total energy consumption per the EIA (<a href="http://www.eia.gov/consumption/">http://www.eia.gov/consumption/</a>) with the average home using over 11kwh/year so that's a pretty significant chunk of the power we generate each year. Reducing usage is a great first step at making our way of life sustainable and that all starts with education :)</div>Kyle Fieldhttps://plus.google.com/109942804449959820925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274214.post-47071308262133793652013-06-06T06:21:00.001-07:002013-06-06T06:26:25.568-07:00Sustainability - Reduce<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">This week was a good week in terms of reducing our family carbon and water footprint, accomplishing several reasonable sized projects that had been on my list for quite some time:<br /><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>This past weekend, I installed a new dishwasher. Our old dishwasher had stopped working and seeing as how newer dishwashers are more energy efficient - our new dishwasher is estimated to only use $20/year in energy - and use less water, it was a win-win for the family. On top of that, most modern dishwashers actually use less water and heat energy than washing the dishes by hand. This is likely not true for me as I am very stingy with the water when doing dishes...but in general, installing a modern dishwasher is a good way to reduce your household energy and water consumption. </li><li>New (to me) Electric Dryer - Some friends of mine had recently moved into a new place and didn't have a need for their old electric dryer. By old, I mean almost brand new :). It was roughly 2 years old and in great shape. You might be thinking "you dummy, everyone knows that gas dryers are more energy efficient from a total energy standpoint" and I couldn't agree more. It is definitely more cost effective to dry clothes with natural gas vs. electricity however, I cannot create natural gas at home whereas with solar, I <i>can</i> generate free, clean electricity dang near every day of the year which allows me to dry my clothes for free with an electric dryer...assuming I can offset the electricity used by our new dryer. It did require running a new 30amp/220 circuit and installing a special 30a outlet in our garage which was a bit of a hassle but we made it work and now it's drying clothes like a champ. Electric dryers use between 2 and 6kwhs/load so it will cost us $.12*5.6kwh = $.67/load until we offset that usage with solar. </li><li>New home LED light bulbs - When we moved into our home a little over 2 years ago, one of the first things I did was to install compact flourescent light (CFL) bulbs everywhere. On average, this provided a home energy usage reduction of over 75%...moving from 60 watt incandescent bulbs to 13 watt CFLs, from 40 watt bulbs to 9 watt CFLs and so on. I also bought some cheap 1.5 watt LED bulbs and replaced the 8 decorative lights out front of our hose with them. The previous owner had already swapped them out for CFLs running at 13 watts but it was still almost a 90% reduction in usage. These improvements already left us in pretty good shape in terms of power usage with our average monthly bill coming in at just over $50/month. To continue that improvement trend and to move away from CFLs which contain mercury vapor and have to be disposed of as hazardous waste, I have been slowly purchasing LED bulbs, testing newer technologies, better brands and more recently at lower price points. With this latest order of home supplies, I added in 2<a href="http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=203991778&R=203991778"> Cree 6 Watt LED bulbs </a>to the mix. These are 40 watt equivalent bulbs but I was replacing 15 watt CFLs with them, so it was still a reasonable improvement. These bulbs are the first by a mainstream manufacturer that are under the $10/bulb price point (at $9.97ea) which is a big deal for the industry. Cree is one of the leading manufacturers of LED modules and make a lot of modules for flashlights, expensive home retrofit kits and similar products. I have been placing the LED bulbs in our areas of highest usage, starting with the living room and now working my way back to the kitchen where I placed these 2 new bulbs. They are putting out enough light and are instant on vs CFLs which do not come on at full brightness...taking a few minutes to warm up before they get to full strength. Another energy win for the house :).</li><li>Electric Lawn Mower - This is actually a net energy increase for our house...when we first moved in, I was a bit too optimistic and bought a push mower without thinking about 2 critical factors - our yard is not small...in fact it is fairly large for this part of california. We have covered some of it with a patio extension and installed some "eco-lawn" but it's still a lot to do with a push mower. This resulted in the yard not getting mowed which is bad press for any husband. I finally got around to taking action and ordered a new black n decker electric mower. This again is not in line with the norm which would be a gas mower...but as with our dryer, I can (and am already doing so) generate electricity for free whereas I have to buy and burn gas. Win for the environment and win for my husband cred...though that does mean I'll be spending this weekend mowing :)</li><li>Removed Wine Fridge - This one cost me major relationship cred. With all of the electrical work needed to setup the new 30 amp / 220 volt circuit for the house, I took the opportunity to pull out the wine fridge that came with our house. We aren't wine drinkers and were basically using it for storage with a bottle of champagne, some dessert wine and the requisite bottle of chardonnay sitting around on top of which we had tossed 2 cases of Starbucks coffee drink leftovers from a recent family get together. As it was a built in, I pulled it out leaving a gap in our cabinet facing. We need to find something to put in there and I know I'll be taking flak until then but it was the right thing to do and reduced our energy footprint further. </li></ul><div>Overall, I'm very happy with the progress we made this week as it was the culmination of lots of work, planning and saving and ready to get on with the next items on the list. Next up: 5 (or 7) more solar panels for the roof. I broke our solar purchase and installation up into 3 phases to slowly move us over to solar power while also waiting for the massive cost improvements in the solar industry to kick in (while also riding the last few years of the 30% federal tax credit on solar systems installed that are over 1kw). These next 5 or 7 panels will more than double our solar generation and crank out more green energy to the grid. </div></div>Kyle Fieldhttps://plus.google.com/109942804449959820925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274214.post-26163168685372784422012-11-14T22:19:00.000-08:002012-11-27T13:34:16.945-08:00India - day 3 udaipur and day 4 jaipur, rajstan, india 2012.11.13<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="MsoNormal">day 3 Udaipur and day 4 Jaipur</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-80KH1iKYhhc/ULTlk1Is_0I/AAAAAAABGGo/3VID5TanjUg/s1600/Udaipur-Jaipur_Map.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-80KH1iKYhhc/ULTlk1Is_0I/AAAAAAABGGo/3VID5TanjUg/s320/Udaipur-Jaipur_Map.gif" width="304" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">i took a bus last night to Jaipur which is farther north and east of Udaipur, still in the Rajasthan state. it's way more touristy than any of the previous cities and as such, quite a bit of the town is dedicated to bazaars or open air shopping markets. just about everything bought and sold in India is from these strip mall storefronts that hang out into the street. it's a pretty bizarre experience…so many people, so many goods for sale…it's just in your face 24/7. bikes, scooters, buses, cars, pedestrians, cows, elephants, camels, horses, horse drawn carts, motorcycles…anything and everything is in the street going every which way. anything and everything is for sale, i asked my driver in Mumbai about drugs he said yes…they are a problem…they are easy to get and everyone is doing them. that's not awesome…and some random guy in Udaipur confirmed that by offering to sell me a joint lol. i suppose that part is pretty much where we're at in Washington and Colorado now…that's a bit breakthrough. i'm still in disbelief that they'll be selling mary j in liquor stores or whatever to anyone over 21. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-emBg2prXR24/ULTmSQa9isI/AAAAAAABGGw/yt3HH4iUAbM/s1600/550275_10152285176705444_965682531_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-emBg2prXR24/ULTmSQa9isI/AAAAAAABGGw/yt3HH4iUAbM/s400/550275_10152285176705444_965682531_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Festive Diwali Colors in Udaipur</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">so yesterday i was a huge mess. i spent the morning walking around Udaipur….checking out the awesome shops and sampling food on the way up to their famous temples and the grand palace (i'll have to look up the formal name for it later). it was actually quite a hike through narrow alleys with motorcycles and scooters zooming by all the time. they are known for their miniature paintings in Udaipur so i went to one of the artist schools and got the full rundown of how they make them, what goes into making each of the colors and the whole bit. it was pretty interesting…and almost makes me wish i was more into collecting/buying/whatever art. its just not my thing i guess… </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rXvhUMea6Xc/ULTmfFRVoNI/AAAAAAABGG4/4WuNPLjrdMo/s1600/319064_10152285173895444_724862215_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rXvhUMea6Xc/ULTmfFRVoNI/AAAAAAABGG4/4WuNPLjrdMo/s400/319064_10152285173895444_724862215_n.jpg" width="297" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Delicious Fried Street Food in Udaipur</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">i really felt like i connected with the people of India in that town. i can't put my finger on anything specific, but it was nice. the palace was amazing and huge…the best part was that Udaipur has another smaller palace out in the lake that you can see from the main palace. it felt like it was just a royal city. i'm more into looking at the outside of the palaces and capturing the symmetry and beauty of the form so looking from the main palace out a tiny window to see another palace that looks to be floating on the lake was just awesome. there was even a very Arabian (or at least my personal definition of Arabian) boat out in the lake that i captured. it was fantastic. lots of great shots, good food and stuff. the downside of Updaipur on the hill is that i was zonked out after that…around 2 or something which made for an interesting wait for my 9 pm bus to Jaipur. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UrZChBJksp8/ULUetph65oI/AAAAAAABGHI/51q4vaNSBjw/s1600/IMG_7121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UrZChBJksp8/ULUetph65oI/AAAAAAABGHI/51q4vaNSBjw/s400/IMG_7121.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Udaipur Palace Entry...Looking Out</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">after the palace, i went back the to agency where i bought my bus tickets and sat on their bench for a few hours and just zoned out. i knew i wanted to get some food before my bus and maybe take a taxi up to the palace area to see the area all lit up with the Diwali lights but wasn't sure how much energy i could muster to pull that off. i ended up grabbing a nice meal (for something like $3), sitting more, reading a bit of my book and just feeling miserably tired. i was like "i'm in India and all i want to do is shower and sleep but i can't do either." i considered going to ask a hotel or hostel if i could rent a room for a few hours but figured the awkwardness of that request + the language barrier would have put me over the edge. and i'm cheap. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hOIUC2x7IC8/ULUffD3hO8I/AAAAAAABGHQ/BUX80oQ5YAg/s1600/IMG_7093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hOIUC2x7IC8/ULUffD3hO8I/AAAAAAABGHQ/BUX80oQ5YAg/s400/IMG_7093.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Painting on an interior wall of the Udaipur Palace</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">i finally boarded the bus at 9 pm and as i was getting settled, this Indian guy came up to me and started making small talk. where are you from. america. oh, Obama. yeah, that america…and the usual…then he was like "are you Christianese?" i laughed a bit and said yes, i'm christian. over the next hour or two, we talked about how he was also a christian, his whole testimony, my whole testimony, how he's working with campus crusade for Christ in India….working with 6 of 30 villages they are working with…his family, my family…what i do at church how long I've been there, denominations, ministry in India (because WTF)…i can't imagine translating what we do as ministry in the us into a functioning ministry in India. in the US, the only other religions that constitute any significant percentage of the population are different variations of Christianity - Catholicism, Mormons, church of Christ scientist…and on and on…so it's not too much of a stretch to step out and learn about them building tangent knowledge onto a core of christian understanding. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c6WsM5eYpVg/ULUg9gvO0XI/AAAAAAABGHY/gL4COu3DRIA/s1600/IMG_7083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c6WsM5eYpVg/ULUg9gvO0XI/AAAAAAABGHY/gL4COu3DRIA/s400/IMG_7083.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Udaipur "Floating" Palace with awesome boats :)</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">in India, there are TONS of religions. i talked to a Hindu priest today and he said he has been a priest for 20 years and he still doesn't know all the gods in the Hindu religion. that just doesn't compute for me. what? you don't know all the gods and you're a priest? it's not just another religion, it's a TOTALLY different type of religion. there's also Zoroastrianism, Parsi, Muslim, Buddhitst, Jain and i'm sure many others, on top of the ones we have here. he said that part of the reason Christianity takes off when someone in a town is converted is that it really pulls together the community…instead of having 4 different religions that nobody in town is fully committed to, they just get on fire for god and it blows up. not sure if that's translating here as well as he shared it in his broken English…but it feels like a huge mission field out here. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7pwb9FQ7YLA/ULUhxKXbWAI/AAAAAAABGHg/iUmxecoTjvQ/s1600/IMG_7127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7pwb9FQ7YLA/ULUhxKXbWAI/AAAAAAABGHg/iUmxecoTjvQ/s400/IMG_7127.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't forget to Open Your Shoes!!</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">i also realized how limited i am in my current ministry abilities. i have a decent idea as to what needs to go into a successful high school ministry but still haven't' put all of the pieces together in a full, working ministry that really does what i know it can do for our youth and leaders. I feel good that we are headed down the right track but don't have any successes under my belt to lean on. building on that, i don't yet have any ability to translate ministry for high school age youth to an adults ministry. i think i have enough kid-savvy to translate to children's ministry and that's always been a passion area of mine…but scaling up to adults…whoa. maybe it's the extra pressure of preaching to peers vs teaching from my experience as an older kid….maybe it's the money bit…dunno for sure. the bar is definitely higher. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QdSvhd0kWEo/ULUiQjAzzII/AAAAAAABGHo/mt4p28P0ewE/s1600/IMG_7154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QdSvhd0kWEo/ULUiQjAzzII/AAAAAAABGHo/mt4p28P0ewE/s400/IMG_7154.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stand Selling Diwali Decor</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">so money. let's tangent for a bit. we should not give out of obligation, but in response and as an act of worship. my personal giving strategy has historically been to give a lower % directly to the church through auto-deduction…then flex the rest to adapt to needs of the moment (united way giving, high school ministry, fundraisers, missions giving, etc) I have never been one to keep tight books but every once in awhile i do go back and mentally add things up and see how i'm doing. it's worked well for me so far and i like that it gives me the flexibility to respond to God's calling. it allows me…forces me…to keep the door open to giving in the moment. we need to be stable givers to our church and i highly encourage people to use the auto-bill pay or whatever function to tithe. but on top of that…i think it's super important to give as an act of worship. think about it…pray about it…or just leave the door open in your head to giving when you feel something tugging on your heart. one of my core interactions with the bible and one of the more powerful is that when i feel something tugging on my heart to respond and i actually do. as a general rule, i don't give money to panhandlers…which has been a challenge here in India with missing limbs, 6 kids hanging off their arms, medical needs and the like. panhandlers, especially when it's routine, just don't make me feel like i should give. i don't believe them, i'm just not moved to respond to 99.9% of their "give me money" things. but every once in a great while, i will. when it feels right. whatever…that's me. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l9dKeTZtH-w/ULUiycrziVI/AAAAAAABGHw/-Rqb5Csp26g/s1600/IMG_7105.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l9dKeTZtH-w/ULUiycrziVI/AAAAAAABGHw/-Rqb5Csp26g/s400/IMG_7105.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the Gates at the Udaipur Palace</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">i suppose i mention that because the guy i met said he only gets 2500 rupees per month from his mission team. that's like $50. he has a wife and a child and was actually going to Jaipur with 4 other guys to a ministry conference. that tugged on my heart so i get to go look up Suresh in Udaipur with Campus Crusade when i get home. its not going to be easy…might not even be possible but whatever. challenge the impossible. stick it to the man :) <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lHDus7vAGOo/ULUje_v51II/AAAAAAABGH4/UvJy_h4IHbQ/s1600/IMG_7187.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lHDus7vAGOo/ULUje_v51II/AAAAAAABGH4/UvJy_h4IHbQ/s400/IMG_7187.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lake Out Front of the Amber Palace, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal">so yeah, another night of pseudo sleep on the bus last night. landed in Jaipur with help from my (yet again) one English speaking guy on the bus :). they don't call out the stops in English…and i never know exactly which stop i need to get off on…so without them, i would've been hosed. anyway, so it worked out and i landed in jaipur. i just started walking, determined to find out where i was based on the map from my guidebook and i did :) that felt great. nothing was open at 7 or whatever am so i went and grabbed a chai and chilled around the main circle in town for a bit. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oZusI92Af3A/ULUkcTScULI/AAAAAAABGIU/ZCWO4_KErRY/s1600/IMG_7237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oZusI92Af3A/ULUkcTScULI/AAAAAAABGIU/ZCWO4_KErRY/s400/IMG_7237.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interior Gate of the Amber Palace</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">i resolved to find out how to take the city bus so asked which bus went to the "amber palace" (the big destination in Jaipur, 12 km outside of town proper). i received a positive response in some other language and hopped on. the bus would cost 10 rupees or just less than 20 cents. fantastic. i rode it out, the bus packed out and the drivers (they have a main driver and another guy that recruits people to ride and collects payment) made fun of me for something that they thought was funny. they asked for my payment and asked for 20. i was like no, its 10. i gave them 10 and they jokingly pressed me for more. to respond jokingly, i gave them some of the change i was given at the Korean airport. i was like, there, that's 100. :D they were fascinated by the money and i showed them a few more coins. it was fun to break down the language barrier without really verbally communicating. i gave them 5 more rupees to make light of it and hopped off the bus.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bVwmGjbYadE/ULUj-kidM6I/AAAAAAABGIE/IgPcV5ggUyY/s1600/IMG_7206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bVwmGjbYadE/ULUj-kidM6I/AAAAAAABGIE/IgPcV5ggUyY/s400/IMG_7206.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starting the hike up to the Amber Palace</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">the amber fort is huge and not what i was expecting. it reminded me of one of those Tibetan monolithic monasteries up on the hill. the amber palace has a lake and gardens down below and what looked like the great wall of chine (India?) running out from it in many directions. I went and toured, and took to humming a deep bass note which resonated differently in each of the rooms…fun. i had a great time hiking up to (and what a hike!!) and touring the grounds. one of the big attractions there is to pay for an elephant take you to the top. i think it was only like $18 but the line was seriously a football field long with tourists. they get bused in an out…living out their packaged experience as happy as can be. it's probably a safer way to consume India as a tourist but seems so fake looking at them in their tourist buses, eating together being ushered around….whatevs. after running down most of the stairs from the palace, i hit the little town at the bottom, just past the palace. i was shocked that NONE of the tourists were there. well…at least not outside of their vehicles. i had some nice friend pea/lentil balls, a samosa and a deep fried, breaded sandwich thing. tasty :) while i was ordering, a beefy turbaned guy (i think he was in Indiana Jones) asked me where i was from (america. oh, Obama?) and helped me understand what i was about to eat. it was great to be on the receiving end of some local insight :) i sat back and snacked on it, picked up a water and waited for the local bus to come through again. i went back into town, saw more local sights and shopped a bit. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Eo-1-l8KdjY/ULUk6jMA5mI/AAAAAAABGIk/4A2JRt-VF4g/s1600/IMG_7280.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Eo-1-l8KdjY/ULUk6jMA5mI/AAAAAAABGIk/4A2JRt-VF4g/s400/IMG_7280.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking out the back of the Amber Palace</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">i ended up in what turned out to be a fundraising gift shop for one of the local temples. after viewing some silver and other wares from one of the local vendors, (and complaining all the while how tired and thirsty i was) he took me up to this shop (which was empty at the time) and said here, just relax here and drink your water. it was fantastic and peaceful. there were rugs, carvings, pottery, statues and the usual touristy stuff but i just loved the feel of the place. i loved that he literally said here…make yourself at home, really. he told the guy running the shop to leave me alone and chastised him multiple times for talking to me. it was a nice change from the earlier part of the day filled with "hello sir, come here" "look at this" "great deal, just for you" . i relaxed there for a bit and bought a little Ganesha statue (the Hindu elephant god) and talked with the priest a bit. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kFjCS41L_VA/ULUkN-j2QoI/AAAAAAABGIM/HnysyvbFGjw/s1600/IMG_7224.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kFjCS41L_VA/ULUkN-j2QoI/AAAAAAABGIM/HnysyvbFGjw/s400/IMG_7224.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hallway inside the Amber Palace</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">i walked (way further than i expected) to the main bus station in town, bought a ticket to Delhi at 4 pm and settled in for 1.5 hrs before it left. i had some fun discussion with a few local shop owners who, after buying a soda, invited me to sit in their seats behind the counter to enjoy it. i love that hospitality and trust. it's like immediate friend/family status is granted. i'm convinced it's not just the customer factor either. it's genuine…fantastic. India. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iDgijx9mcQI/ULUkpZ1dyVI/AAAAAAABGIc/F1yK7kqa7JI/s1600/IMG_7259.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iDgijx9mcQI/ULUkpZ1dyVI/AAAAAAABGIc/F1yK7kqa7JI/s400/IMG_7259.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking out the front of the Amber Palace</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">capping that off, i'm on the bus to Delhi now. i should be there ~9 pm where i can go on the hunt for my hostel and see if they actually held my reservation. but whatever…it's just 1 more night :) if everything works out, i should be going on a Taj Mahal tour tomorrow from Delhi, all showered and cleaned up, ready to roll. i even bought a shaving razor and might take a dent out of this beard tonight. on that…a random guy called out to me today as i walked by "hey ginger beard! i had a ginger beard professor at university" I was like cool and kept walking. i get sooooo many random hellos and even Hindi words yelled my way…i just smile, keep walking and throw a shakra (hang loose) or thumbs up or whatever. i'm feeling good about this thing…(probably shouldn't say that…with my luck the bus will crash or hit a camel on the way to Delhi)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x4WT5qAqQNU/ULUlkw-yC3I/AAAAAAABGI4/JyuXj548e-s/s1600/IMG_7299.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x4WT5qAqQNU/ULUlkw-yC3I/AAAAAAABGI4/JyuXj548e-s/s400/IMG_7299.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Famous Pink Palace in Jaipur</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">cheers!<o:p></o:p></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div>Kyle Fieldhttps://plus.google.com/109942804449959820925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274214.post-21324276193076987202012-11-13T06:10:00.000-08:002012-11-27T13:35:19.696-08:00India - Day 3, 6 AM<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="MsoNormal">day 3, 6 am - north of mumbai</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6NLW2-oPK8Q/ULOnpOPQr6I/AAAAAAABGFg/9vtw6g3p7aY/s1600/Mumbai-Udaipur_Map.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6NLW2-oPK8Q/ULOnpOPQr6I/AAAAAAABGFg/9vtw6g3p7aY/s400/Mumbai-Udaipur_Map.gif" width="380" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">so the whole train thing didn't exactly work out. i knew i was wait listed and that the train was the only major piece of my itinerary that wasn't fully baked...and it didn't work out. I made it up to #7 on the wait list but didn't make the final cut. the whole train was sold out on all classes. I was immediately mobbed by a bunch of shady characters who wanted to "help" me get on the train. at first i was stoked though wary of their eagerness to help (oh this is that friendly Indian attitude people always talk about!!)...only to very quickly realize that they were just scalping tickets. locals pay ~$45 for the ticket i wanted. i had put down $78 at the foreigners rate, they were asking $180. i explored a few other options by train but finally called in a lifeline by calling the driver who had been taking me around Bombay. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-raFsFFa0Kbg/ULOi9yDyo3I/AAAAAAABGE4/Q3MmyMplJEA/s1600/207568_10152285148675444_2038520255_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-raFsFFa0Kbg/ULOi9yDyo3I/AAAAAAABGE4/Q3MmyMplJEA/s400/207568_10152285148675444_2038520255_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal">as i waited for him to come pick me up, i sat out front of the bus station with the porters, hoping that the scalpers would leave me alone if i did so (they did). the porters offered me a seat on one of their baggage carts which i gladly accepted. i had been mulling about the train station with my pack on for the last 2 hrs and was stressed and over it. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tDg9cdv7AJs/ULOjATbogXI/AAAAAAABGFA/lFrX-XnS1mw/s1600/561483_10152285151355444_1722676090_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tDg9cdv7AJs/ULOjATbogXI/AAAAAAABGFA/lFrX-XnS1mw/s400/561483_10152285151355444_1722676090_n.jpg" width="400" /></a>their offer opened the door for conversation, starting with the typical "where are you from" which always leads to a response of "oh...Obama". it's crazy...but everyone, literally everyone i tell that i'm american responds with that. my driver actually started quoting off facts about how minorities and women gave Obama the election...how Indians think we're crazy that we spent 6 billion on the election (Indians are not alone in that perspective...i'm still like WTF about it...but anyways). back to Mumbai central...the porters turned out to be Muslim which only became awkward when their second question/comment was "bin laden laden laden". I was like...yeah...uh...it's crazy what kind of emotions went through my head. i was like wow...i'm alone, surrounded by Muslims and you bring up the fact that my country took out, very publicly, one of the leaders of your religion. that definitely created some tension and fear in me, i'm not gonna lie. they kept moving physically closer to me as the conversation progressed which might have been a cultural thing...but it also invaded my cultural thing but whatever. one of the guys noticed my "seek justice" bracelet which, immediately following the bin laden bit just felt weird. i was embarrassed by what we did. it's just incongruent. i mean i get it...but still, how is it ok for us to issue a hit on someone like that. yeah yeah, sometimes you just "have to" whatever. next, he asked about my pink breast cancer awareness bracelet which at least relieved some of the religious tension...but brought on a whole different kind of awkward. they were actually friendly and not at all aggressive...but wow. my driver showed up after a few minutes of me staring off into space trying to appear disinterested in more discussion. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EaZEOCGy97M/ULOk1wypc4I/AAAAAAABGFQ/2KVZlFvW7OA/s1600/Bus_Image_6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EaZEOCGy97M/ULOk1wypc4I/AAAAAAABGFQ/2KVZlFvW7OA/s400/Bus_Image_6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I took an Eagle AC Sleeper Bus 14 hrs north to Udaipur</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">whats not so hot about this particular turn of events is the small fact that the bus company didn't have any buses running to the places i actually wanted to go - Jaipur and Delhi - but got me close (7-8 hr bus ride away from Jaipur) by putting me on a bus to Udaipur (that was some fun back and forth...i was like Jaipur? he responds Udaipur. like no, you idiot, it's a diff town LoL). Udaipur is still a great step in the right direction...something like a 14 hr bus ride north from Bombay (Mumbai)...but i have no idea how i'll get to either Jaipur or Delhi when i get there.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UaRKprkxFkM/ULOoQKblZGI/AAAAAAABGFo/977sMx2SFis/s1600/561476_10152285152530444_228666563_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UaRKprkxFkM/ULOoQKblZGI/AAAAAAABGFo/977sMx2SFis/s400/561476_10152285152530444_228666563_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tuk Tuk from Udaipur Bus Station into Old Town</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">that combined with the fact that i still haven't showered since arriving in India had me in quite a state. after boarding the bus, i immediately passed out...around 630 as my body is still adjusting to the massive time difference we transferred buses once where i kinda freaked out and jumped up quickly from my nap to follow the one guy on the bus who spoke any English as i knew i was going on the same route as he was. i then fell back asleep for several hours until i woke for the first potty break and let me say...if you think roadside stops in the us are bad...well....yeah, let's just say that they are several orders of magnitude "not better" here. there are squatty potties and normal urinals but it just smells horrible. after, i'm torn between not washing my hands (the whole don't drink the water thing) and washing them. i ended up washing them and realized that i had hand sanitizer in my bag :) i'm just glad it was dark because the potty smelled (and it wasn't a porta potty...it was a full blown bathroom) like something died in one of our porta potties minus that blue pseudo clean porta potty smell that at least attempts to cover the horrid smells. i just tried to get in, do my business and get out without breathing too much of it in.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-klbHhMyDtC0/ULOolgbEGfI/AAAAAAABGFw/S7ZMGBgZQao/s1600/29807_10152285154695444_1655148142_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-klbHhMyDtC0/ULOolgbEGfI/AAAAAAABGFw/S7ZMGBgZQao/s400/29807_10152285154695444_1655148142_n.jpg" width="297" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old Udaipur Alley</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">i ran back to the bus and jumped in my bunk, not wanting to be left behind. it's actually a fairly nice bus. as we started moving again, i was again overwhelmed by fear and a feeling of total helplessness...that i'm off in some "Arab" country...with dirt roads, trash everywhere, a foreign language and a few Christmas lights strung up here and there to celebrate the festival of lights...and that's all probably very true...but what i realized after several hours of that is that i'm just sitting here living in fear. this is basically what i love t challenge others to do and what I've said i want to challenge in myself - fear. not just any fear, because we should be afraid of cobras, ninjas and great whites...but unwarranted fear. fear because we do not understand. i should not be afraid of "Muslims" i should not be afraid of people with turbans or people who speak a different language and look at me like i'm weird. i am weird. i'm the one who speaks a different language...i'm the outcast, travelling halfway across the world to India. so i'm challenging my fear and not based on any conscious realization or enlightenment that I've had but more so on the basis of my faith.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8gJehZDiCy4/ULOowxMye_I/AAAAAAABGF4/bhF3UeE53bI/s1600/319005_10152285158035444_397482688_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8gJehZDiCy4/ULOowxMye_I/AAAAAAABGF4/bhF3UeE53bI/s400/319005_10152285158035444_397482688_n.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking under the Festive Udaipur Diwali decorations</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">one of my favorite verses is 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 "'my grace is all you need. my power works best in weakness' so now i am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. that's why i take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, persecutions, hardships and troubles that i suffer for Christ. For when i am weak, then i am strong." this verse resonates deeply with me because it helps me to see that God never had it in his plan for me to be good at everything and very clearly tells me that its on purpose. i look at this like 2 line graphs, overlaid (cause i'm a dork like that)...when i'm doing something i'm naturally good at...maybe computers...maybe in debate class whatever...i can do that all on my own and i can do it well. God has given me all the tools that i need to do it well. i don't need to lean on god in those moments...so lets say that graph is 100% me, 0% God (or maybe 95/5 ;) ). in those moments, i can glorify god by doing my best and working as hard as i can to glorify the god that built me the way that i am. on the other end of the graph as my strengths are at or near 0, that's where i don't have a choice but to lean on God. those are the moments i hate because i'm awkward and to be honest, stubborn in those (these) moments. that's when i don't have a choice but to lean on God and just give it up. "God, i don't have what it takes to glorify you in this moment, please work through me to glorify yourself through me." those are the moments when God does amazing things and we are humbled. when we give it to him to take charge "dude, you know i'm lost here/frustrated here/pissed off here/afraid here. please help!"...he is glorified because he gets to work. we humble ourselves, he is glorified and in return, our faith is built. win...win...win win win. anyways. it's in taking that step and acknowledging that he is working...that we want him to work...and need him to work that we are reaching out to him and he loves that. its like when Asher asks me to help him put his shoes on (because "dad, i can't")...i love it. it just melts my heart.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tmABjZlVocQ/ULOpCZIAH1I/AAAAAAABGGA/ceuY24jZa5E/s1600/531034_10152285164375444_373711326_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tmABjZlVocQ/ULOpCZIAH1I/AAAAAAABGGA/ceuY24jZa5E/s400/531034_10152285164375444_373711326_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Udaipur Temple Detail</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">so yeah...in saying that, in these moments where i'm living and acting out of fear, i'm resisting what God wants to do in me and through me in the moment. and there have been a lot of those moments on this trip. I feel pretty dumb that it took me this long to realize what i was doing and how i was reacting...i was out here like "I got this...this is where i show everyone how strong i am and how bold i am" nope buddy, you couldn't be more wrong. this is where i get humbled and get to give it up to god to hold me up, to work through me and to glorify himself. plant yourself on your fat face Kyle...<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lNgXeTxaQ8A/ULOpP5-z3YI/AAAAAAABGGI/l_QTeXP6YNo/s1600/3447_10152285172535444_508912787_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lNgXeTxaQ8A/ULOpP5-z3YI/AAAAAAABGGI/l_QTeXP6YNo/s400/3447_10152285172535444_508912787_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colorful Old Udaipur</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"> we just stopped at another roadside stop and i realized why the toilets smell so bad...they aren't actually toilets..you pee into them...it drains on the ground under the urinal...and drains to a pipe that just runs onto the ground outside...holy moly batman...not awesome. i'm just glad i haven't been eating more otherwise i would have had to go number 2 and experience a whole different level of pleasant. this place was a dirt lot with a cement building in the back and the pottys on the side. the back building had a kitchen where i ordered a "sala dosa" and a tea for a little less than a dollar. the sala dosa was like a large crispy crepe served with 2 dipping sauces (well...i have no idea what they were for, i dipped :) ). one tastes like a spicy tomato soup, the other was creamy and fresh. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Or7KwXR_454/ULOkRbhQQ6I/AAAAAAABGFI/F4adRvNLV-k/s1600/150243_10152285151515444_626254252_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Or7KwXR_454/ULOkRbhQQ6I/AAAAAAABGFI/F4adRvNLV-k/s400/150243_10152285151515444_626254252_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bus Station with Awesome Pottys and Food</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">i ate it quickly so as to not be left behind...and ended up having some time left over to sip my tea and talk with the English speaking guy. he said we are 2 hrs out from Udaipur. we have formally entered the state of Rajasthan (pretty sure i totally horked that spelling) and the land has shifted to something much more familiar to me. the tropics of the south have dried up to something almost completely resembling the familiar Santa Maria landscape of dry, rolling hills with trees resembling oak and eucalyptus. it's borderline desert with farming communities dotting the hillsides. there are a lot of cows and similar beasts roaming the hillsides as the sun comes over the horizon.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U1Zmds6-dKU/ULOpcBdgXDI/AAAAAAABGGQ/cQX_r6B4nQE/s1600/559005_10152285171600444_416993018_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U1Zmds6-dKU/ULOpcBdgXDI/AAAAAAABGGQ/cQX_r6B4nQE/s400/559005_10152285171600444_416993018_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Udaipur Palace</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">these guys love to use their horns (the cars)...it's effectively the only form of traffic control in existence and simultaneously means "hey i'm passing" "get out of the way" "i'm in front" "seriously, move" and other fun interpretations...no matter what time of day. i'm excited for this leg of the journey to wrap and see where i land. it's supposed to be cooler up here which is very interesting. i think we are headed into some large desert that crosses from India to Pakistan which adds it's own layer of foreboding to the mix. map it and you'll have a better idea than i as to where i am :) i have a single map with Udaipur on it...so i roughly know where i am and where i need to get...but it feels odd. anyways...<o:p></o:p></div></div>Kyle Fieldhttps://plus.google.com/109942804449959820925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274214.post-86682335909591639152012-11-11T00:16:00.000-08:002012-11-26T09:45:08.282-08:00India - Day 2 Part 1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">day 2 part 1 - mumbai (bombay)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W0u9M4ObV2I/ULOqBwc-wqI/AAAAAAABGGY/acqDRdoNhmo/s1600/Mumbia_Map.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W0u9M4ObV2I/ULOqBwc-wqI/AAAAAAABGGY/acqDRdoNhmo/s400/Mumbia_Map.gif" width="380" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal">Its midday and I'm back at the hostel. I have actually been here more times when i didn't have an active reservation than when I did. I slept way too much last night...from 1 or 2 until 9 then another attempt at 1230 or so...I think i picked up a few more hours of sleep after that but spent the majority awake. gotta love my body saying that it's 12 pm when it's actually 12 am :) <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K_jFM9WrvlE/ULOgjqkuOjI/AAAAAAABGEo/rTpKasUbxgc/s1600/63133_10152285137185444_83856825_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K_jFM9WrvlE/ULOgjqkuOjI/AAAAAAABGEo/rTpKasUbxgc/s400/63133_10152285137185444_83856825_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vegetable and Fruit Market</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">I had my first hostel community experience last night...an Asian guy named kit from the U.K. and a couple from...well, they were white, not sure where they were from...but we all somehow started chatting about this that and the other...kit was out on business (in Pune, where I hope to be in a week) and took 2 extra weeks to travel around. the couple was coming up on the close of their 5 month (!?!?!) south east Asia trip, hostelling and limping around to different countries. it was shocking at how similar our stories were..and not at the same time. i guess a lot more people around the world have the same type of desires to get outside their normal culture/life for a bit. i find myself desperately clinging to those things that i'm used to...that i love to play with when i'm home. my Macbook is now my friend...my iPhone, the last holdout of my day to day life in the us with pics of family, the all too familiar Facebook and the like. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">on the next adventure, i'm pretty sure i wont be taking as large of a backpack, nor as many things. I picked up some detergent, soap and shampoo today which will make tomorrow that much nicer. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JgVeKK78rB0/ULOgURBubUI/AAAAAAABGEQ/81y6D4zp3XM/s1600/408000_10152285104810444_1421759840_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JgVeKK78rB0/ULOgURBubUI/AAAAAAABGEQ/81y6D4zp3XM/s400/408000_10152285104810444_1421759840_n.jpg" width="296" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of many Mumbai Slum markets</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"> this morning, my driver from yesterday met me out front and we immediately hit the slums. it was an affront to all my senses as we started out walking through the vegetable and fruit markets. he must know me as he skipped the fish and meat markets today. the veg/fruit markets are different as they just throw any bad stuff into the aisles...where customers, cows and the like trample them down into a not so friendly on the nose muck. the shop owners frequently toss out the few English words they know in my direction in an attempt to sink a hook and get a response. i awkwardly nod, say hello or wave...but still just feel like i have a glowing sign over my head saying "this guy doesn't belong here and isn't sure what he's doing"</div><o:p></o:p><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b79Dk6nrP8I/ULOgZpUEtPI/AAAAAAABGEY/nRdTjux5I30/s1600/59082_10152285120025444_1190147472_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b79Dk6nrP8I/ULOgZpUEtPI/AAAAAAABGEY/nRdTjux5I30/s400/59082_10152285120025444_1190147472_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mumbai Holy Water</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b79Dk6nrP8I/ULOgZpUEtPI/AAAAAAABGEY/nRdTjux5I30/s1600/59082_10152285120025444_1190147472_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b79Dk6nrP8I/ULOgZpUEtPI/AAAAAAABGEY/nRdTjux5I30/s1600/59082_10152285120025444_1190147472_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b79Dk6nrP8I/ULOgZpUEtPI/AAAAAAABGEY/nRdTjux5I30/s1600/59082_10152285120025444_1190147472_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b79Dk6nrP8I/ULOgZpUEtPI/AAAAAAABGEY/nRdTjux5I30/s1600/59082_10152285120025444_1190147472_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b79Dk6nrP8I/ULOgZpUEtPI/AAAAAAABGEY/nRdTjux5I30/s1600/59082_10152285120025444_1190147472_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b79Dk6nrP8I/ULOgZpUEtPI/AAAAAAABGEY/nRdTjux5I30/s1600/59082_10152285120025444_1190147472_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">We drove around much of northern Mumbai today and I realized how glad i was that i had found this driver. he took me to an area of holy water...it's a big pool in the middle of some beachfront slums (yeah, i was shocked) where legend has it, one of the Hindu gods shot an arrow into the ground to create a well of water. it hasn't been dry since...and that was over 3000 years. it was a fantastic retreat...lots of kids, families and the like just living life. several kids played cricket, others bathed in the holy water (with the ducks of course) while others took the seeds out of chilis...it felt like a great day where people were just living. community...vibrant life...ahhhh...</div><o:p></o:p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HFjp74GuEwQ/ULOgea0nNXI/AAAAAAABGEg/HB-UKzbvRu8/s1600/522251_10152285123955444_1735709608_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline !important; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HFjp74GuEwQ/ULOgea0nNXI/AAAAAAABGEg/HB-UKzbvRu8/s400/522251_10152285123955444_1735709608_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holy Cricket Game Batman!</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">i have been living off of bottled water vs using my filter as it's cold when i buy it. the heat has been off and on...but when it's on, it's oppressing like no other. i'm a wuss...i don't like heat (and i don't think it likes me). </div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">i had some great daal and paneer chili for lunch (with cold coke, no ice) which was fantastic. i'm hoping this train ride will give me a chance to clear my mind and prepare me for my 7 days in Delhi. assuming i get a seat, i plan to read up on the city, read some of the books i brought and take in the scene. i don't know...that sounds like i have way more of a plan than i do...i have no idea what i'm doing for 6 of the next 7 days (i reserved my trip to the Taj Mahal as you have to reserve tickets a day in advance and i didn't want to have to worry about it). i really want to find a spot where i can chill and take in the scene...maybe that starts at the hostel...it definitely could have here if i were staying longer. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ANDr3S_LwSc/ULOiR_6YxZI/AAAAAAABGEw/fqpIQhD1vvI/s1600/407768_10152285132615444_1184121687_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ANDr3S_LwSc/ULOiR_6YxZI/AAAAAAABGEw/fqpIQhD1vvI/s400/407768_10152285132615444_1184121687_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mumbai is a city inside of a tropical jungle</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">not sure what I'm looking for here, not sure how to find it...whatever.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">i suppose i'll head back down to the car and see whats up. it's approaching the warmest part of the day here...yay :)</div></div>Kyle Fieldhttps://plus.google.com/109942804449959820925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274214.post-84224676262143952862012-11-10T09:19:00.000-08:002012-11-26T09:44:44.574-08:00India - Day 1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">day 1 - mumbai (bombay)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W0u9M4ObV2I/ULOqBwc-wqI/AAAAAAABGGY/acqDRdoNhmo/s1600/Mumbia_Map.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W0u9M4ObV2I/ULOqBwc-wqI/AAAAAAABGGY/acqDRdoNhmo/s400/Mumbia_Map.gif" width="380" /></a></div><br /><br />I arrived in Bombay at 2 am and gradually eased out into the city. I really didn't have a plan for what I was going to do with my day (going along with the whole "i'll just feel it out" deal) and that hit me square in the face when a guy came up and asked me where I was going. I was like...ummm...I don't really know. I changed some money and got in line for a prepaid taxi and really wasn't certain where I was going to start my day (at 3 am) as most things would still be closed. I settled on going to my hostel even though I wasn't actually going to check in until 3 pm for the night. The ride out of the airport and through the various districts of the city shattered my preconceived view of the city and left me feeling horrible, naked...raw. Coming out of the airport, the slums were overwhelming, overflowing onto the streets, burning trash here and there with tons of stray dogs wandering around cleaning up after the day, searching for food.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UlSbAlFgGKY/ULOXflmZhEI/AAAAAAABGDA/dA5YoWeRx_8/s1600/15060_10152285111135444_1033306499_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UlSbAlFgGKY/ULOXflmZhEI/AAAAAAABGDA/dA5YoWeRx_8/s400/15060_10152285111135444_1033306499_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mumbai Slums</td></tr></tbody></table> </div>The slums are not so much an area of Mumbai, but more of the idea that where ever there is land that nobody else wants to live on for one reason or another, there will be slums. they are packed in around the airport, next to the train tracks, behind businesses...the overflow of human life, finding, creating a home where none was before. Rolling out of that, we hit the freeway and toured through the night. I felt lost in the sprawl of it all. I hadn't done my research on Mumbai and really didn't know if my driver was taking me somewhere to be beaten and mugged or to my hostel. truthfully, i wasn't sure I would know any difference between the two. We exited the freeway and pulled off into the area of the city where my hostel was. I realized that my intention to abandon as much of the western world as possible was a screaming success as I was greeted by more slums and peopled lined up sleeping on the streets. Back in Ventura, we have homeless people...quite a few in fact...sleeping on the streets but this was different. At home, we assume and are mostly correct in doing so, that most are drunks or crazy or druggies...and have come to grips with that.<br /><br />Here in the "Fort" area of Mumbai, there were families lined up on the streets. there were working dads who live so far away from home, that they sleep on the streets where they will setup their vending stands in the morning, there are moms, dads and babies just crashed right there in front of me. and they have nothing. at home, homeless people have jackets and carts of stuff...here, they are just curled up with a blanket and a simple bag of necessities right on the sidewalk. not tucked in a corner, but lined up as if they had rented that slab of concrete/dirt/asphalt and it was theirs.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zdFPIwapvy8/ULOYXfYTCoI/AAAAAAABGDY/DguBwAP08GI/s1600/378476_10152273139000444_1788589069_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a> After a bit of searching we found my hostel. the guys were asleep and the bars across the door were locked but my driver didn't even hesitate to go ring the bell and wake them. I went in and the only available sitting area in the place was where one of the staff normally slept on the hard floor and actually where I'm typing at this very moment. I felt horrible and only managed a few awkward apologies before sitting down to do who knows what.<br /><br />It was 5 am and all I had was lots of jet lag, a reservation for a bed later that day and my backpack. I dug through my papers and found some notes that I had brought to hopefully put some sort of shape to my perspective of the trip. I found a map and gladly reviewed that and got my bearings...I realized where my hostel was in relation to the rest of the city and read up on some of the things to do. <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2mhHbHSi-E8/ULOYkCN3H9I/AAAAAAABGDg/miCJenh69Vg/s1600/575046_10152273139485444_640112781_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> After applying a liberal amount of bug spray, I finally ventured out into the city and started walking. It was 7 am and nothing was open. a few people were waking up from their sidewalk beds and brushing their teeth, scratching themselves in totally appropriate areas for everyone to see and basically doing exactly what I would do on a normal Saturday morning...in my bedroom.<br /><br />After walking several blocks, I managed to discern that the direction i thought was north was south and vice-versa and hastily retreated to the home beacon that was my hostel. everyone there was still sleeping so i ventured back out, intent on making a day of this. I hit a few points that reaffirmed the direction i was going was correct and started feeling better about things. I stopped and bought some bottled water, then stopped at another spot for some tea and fried bread things which I later found were filled with a delicious spicy vegetable curry mix. The sun was rising and I had warm food in ma belle...things were improving. I meandered around and found my way to the famous Taj Mahal Hotel where I encountered a gentleman who offered to give me a tour.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-svfNqi8egvI/ULOZRNIrj6I/AAAAAAABGD4/vmPVcUFPC5I/s1600/561756_10152273227705444_715986473_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-svfNqi8egvI/ULOZRNIrj6I/AAAAAAABGD4/vmPVcUFPC5I/s400/561756_10152273227705444_715986473_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Famous Victoria Terminus</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Given that I was running on some hybrid of zombie airplane sleep, jet lag and Chai tea and knowing that the day was only going to continue to get warmer (it was ~70 when I arrived and expected to hit highs in the mid-90's), I gladly negotiated a deal for a 3-4 hr tour of some of the typical tourist sights in Mumbai. We went from place to place seeing some amazing sights...but I felt like I was back in tourist mode, consuming this rich culture just for a photo. I accepted that given that I really wanted to see some of the sights and didn't want to walk to all of them. After a bit of that (I'll post pics and more thoughts later), he took me to one of his favorite food joints and shared a meal for 360 rupees ($6.50) including extra naan, rice and 2 sodas (no ice).<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BgVvVw3L7K0/ULOZDlKaEmI/AAAAAAABGDw/NKyjAn1ic8w/s1600/387772_10152273165685444_1525791307_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BgVvVw3L7K0/ULOZDlKaEmI/AAAAAAABGDw/NKyjAn1ic8w/s400/387772_10152273165685444_1525791307_n.jpg" width="296" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An Elaborate Jain Temple</td></tr></tbody></table> <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IIT1cRmJIgw/ULOY9t09drI/AAAAAAABGDo/0v6fYe0wX8Y/s1600/155943_10152273156960444_1958707960_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IIT1cRmJIgw/ULOY9t09drI/AAAAAAABGDo/0v6fYe0wX8Y/s400/155943_10152273156960444_1958707960_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mumbai Coastline</td></tr></tbody></table><br />He dropped my at my hostel where the friendly staff checked me in and I settled into my bed. The room is a bit of a prison in that they offer a minimalist bed, blanket and have bars on the very small windows. I share a room with 2 other guys and have lockers for our things. I slept for a few hrs and woke at 9 pm...now not sure what mode my body is in or what i'm supposed to do. onward and upward...another adventure is just around the corner...actually, i heard the place on the corner has reasonable rates on cold beverages. :)<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QbrW4gcNHlo/ULOZit6IasI/AAAAAAABGEA/RcBh331keno/s1600/535524_10152273233600444_304779886_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QbrW4gcNHlo/ULOZit6IasI/AAAAAAABGEA/RcBh331keno/s400/535524_10152273233600444_304779886_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Traveller's Inn Dorm </span></td></tr></tbody></table></div>Kyle Fieldhttps://plus.google.com/109942804449959820925noreply@blogger.com0Fort, Mumbai, India18.9346619 72.836777618.9271519 72.8269071 18.942171899999998 72.84664810000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274214.post-34353510732094825222012-09-01T21:38:00.000-07:002012-09-01T21:38:03.370-07:00poisonSeek Justice Strive to be better today than you were yesterday Dream beyond the possible to achieve the impossible Rise above the storms of today to see the blue skies ahead I may have had some bad mexican food today...my stomach is not feeling very nice at the moment. I realize that I like going to the same places to eat because I know what to expect there...I will even order the same thing once I find "the dish" that I like...over and over again. today kinda solidified the reasoning behind it for me...we went out to eat in santa barbara for lunch and dinner, spending somewhere close to $60 for the two meals. Nothing fancy but lunch was pretty bad and dinner was just ok. Seems like a huge waste of an opportunity to eat some great food. or maybe trying a new place is an opportunity to find a new favorite place. I guess I go with both lines of thought every now and again. today was not an awesome day to try new food. inspiring, right? but good food can inspire. if we have good food at each and every meal, that becomes our new mean...par...average and it takes something extraordinary to make a splash and actually hit our conscious radar. good food becomes the expectation. similar to our health. when we are doing fine, we take it for granted, dont even think about it...until we get food poisoning or the flu...then we just think/dream about those days when we werent sick. which brings me [mentally] back to life. when life is going well overall, we dont even bat an eye. we dont realize how good we have it...how much of a luxury it really is to walk out of our house (that we have equity in and are purchasing, in southern california, where we worry about which variety of palm makes the yard the most tropical), get into our newish hybrid (which connects automatically to our phone/mp3 player and continues playing our favorite music, gets great fuel efficiency and runs without fail 99.99% of the time) and roll down the hill (which boasts fantastic views of our town, the beach, the islands and surrounding mountains - all framed by palm trees) to a local cafe where we buy an over priced drink, sit in air conditioning and browse the web for more overpriced media on free wifi... then when we lose our job, or find out we have cancer, get in a car accident or something, we just want normal again. but that's not what you want. that's definitely not what i want. when we have "normal" we are bored. you simply arent built for normal. truthfully, we are physically built for something totally different than this life that we live...but I'm not going there right now. We are mentally built for something else. you see, we did not craft this idea of normal which we have completely bought into. someone else dreamed it up. the idea of the "american dream" is truly a construct and I think it's pretty darn self-absorbed and boring. I know there are people in the US who dont have many of the things that are outlined in the american dream manifesto...who struggle just to get by each and every day...but that's not the norm. lately people complain that "the 99%" have been ripped off...the media is telling is that there's this other 1% who control everything and use the rest of us to get what they want. there are definitely those out there who are doing just that...but the way it's pitched...it's messing with our minds. it's telling us that we have something coming...and that "they" stole it from us. it's just BS. the vast majority of americans have WAY more than they need. do you have a home? food on the table at night? dont have to worry about getting raped/mugged/robbed when you go to bed? worried more about which phone you're buying next than your retirement? yeah...i know the feeling. what i'm getting at is that the vast majority of US have plenty. dont buy the BS that you dont...because if you dont, it's probably your own fault. dont buy stuff on credit cards that you cant afford...it's just not a good habit to get in to. dont buy $5 caramel machiatos (which isnt even a real drink but whatev) every day then complain about how you can't afford your rent. scale your life to something less than your income and move forward. get over yourself and your entitlements...but it's actually not about you...this is about me. this whole thing is something I put together to help me work through my subconscious crap by putting it down on paper. ok... so we're not built to consume...especially if we're consuming more than we're producing. normal is someone else's construct so we need to consciously realize that and create our own definition of success. special note: king solomon had EVERYTHING...could do ANYTHING...and after trying out everything and exploring everything and all that with all the resources anyone could ever need, he realized that everything was for nothing...that nothing under the sun was new or would really last...it was all vanity. but whatever, he's dead (and you will be too, someday) we have dreams...or maybe we had dreams. i'm not talking about things that happen when you're sleeping...that's totally different. we have things we wanted to do with our life. we wanted to go on safari in africa or work at a national park...skydive naked or get frogs tattood on your feet...or maybe it was something bigger like building housing for the homeless or preventing disease in africa or maybe even working with prostitutes in the big city and helping them get an education so they can get out of a horrible line of work. whatever it was or is...that's your purpose. that's YOUR dream...embrace that...get it tattood on your forearm so you see it every day so you can remember it every day and overcome the BS of the world and this "american dream" that someone else dreamed up and sold you. so YOU can go out and live YOUR dream every day and get one step closer to becoming the person you were meant to you. believe it or not, you are the only version of you that this world gets to see...and I know that YOU (yes you) have something unique inside of you that you are probably terrified to embrace and bring into reality. dye your hair, shave it all off, move to istanbul, go to the gym...nobody else is going to do it for you so dust off your dreams open them up and get started. I'm counting on you to be the best you that you can be because you only get one shot at showing the world how amazing you are and I want to see it :)Kyle Fieldhttps://plus.google.com/109942804449959820925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274214.post-76703156263004067912012-07-18T13:32:00.001-07:002012-07-18T13:32:40.002-07:00flowingnot sure where to go with this today but feeling the need to flow for a bit. reading this post: http://inoveryourhead.net/19-thoughts-about-finding-your-purpose/ for some inspiration and while i dont agree with a lot of it, there are a few nuggets that spark for me. I really feel like i'm a pile of kindling at the moment...built up and arranged for...something. and i really dont even know why i feel like things are arranged...most everything around me feels blah and disorganized. I feel like i'm putting the minimum into most everything...and waiting. i may have a co-authored book in the works but I'm not sure if it's going to go anywhere but it would be interesting. i'm working on a trip to india which is probably about the only open ended thing i'm hopeful for at the moment. bored (which mostly translates to lazy, well off fat american) sensing so much inspiration in others...maybe its a sign to encourage and build up others vs focusing so much on me and my purpose successfully getting through life though...fwiw...a day at a time and it never does stop though i feel that i'll regret whatever it is i'm doing or not doing later. nothing seems to scratch my surface...like i'm looking, seeking, burning for something that matters to hit me feeling almost as if I have to do something or I'll just get something meaningful that's negative. it's probably just god kicking me in the head saying hey buddy...i'm right here. go read my word...i'm actually the one yelling at you that you keep refusing to listen to. why am i in such denial. dunno. and why india? i'm not sure. seems to be a place of "spiritual" renewal. so many places here are just dark. plenty of light in so cal...but so much BAD. so much HATE. so much selfish. meh. if I am to be the light, i must be filled with light and that is something that is not within me...that is something external that i can be filled with...but it takes filling. it does not originate from within me...God + Kyle = meaningful...no god =/= not meaningful in any lasting sense. so my motivation to DO something...God's direction, compass, light, love...fills it. so obvious i suppose but so difficult for stonehead kyle to see beyond self. "See Beyond Self" huh...neat. bored being anonymous here at starbucks...leaving to somewhere.Kyle Fieldhttps://plus.google.com/109942804449959820925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274214.post-56254469298494931282012-05-08T06:57:00.002-07:002012-05-08T06:57:10.671-07:00Don't Just Drive on Through!!I was driving through McDonalds the other day – not my healthiest choice of the week, but whatever – and I was a bit bored. I personally don’t think it was in an ADD kinda way…maybe more that I realized that there wasn’t any advertising in the drive thru. On one hand, I’m sure McDonalds is like “He’s already ordered his food and I don’t really want him to get to the first window and change his order so I can’t really sell him anything while he’s waiting.” But I’m sitting there thinking ...they know exactly how long the average customer sits in line…from ordering to paying to picking up food…so they know exactly how much time they have to hit me with targeted advertising …they know exactly what I ordered...so they know what I like and what other food I might like for next time …they know how much food I ordered…so they can guesstimate how many people are probably in the car…so if I order 2 extra value meals and 2 happy meals with a side of dog biscuits…they know I’m probably in a mini van with some kids Basically, they have enough…maybe more than enough…info to target some advertising at me and meet 2 needs – they can entertain me, which give me value and for families, they can entertain the kids which is of immense value…and they can build their brands or the brands of their partners. Think about it…you’re at McDonalds and their drive through can hold 4 cars from the order area up to the window where you get your food. McDonalds knows that it takes them an average of 3 minutes to get your food ready. Break the drive through up into intentional slots for cars – put lines where you want each car to stop – and put 2 flatscreens at each spot – one on either side. Based on their profile of the customer, they can target content at you. For instance – that family that picked up tons of food – show them the trailer for the next Disney movie – you know, the one that has the toy in the happy meal they just bought…co branding. The trailer would play on the screen where they are sitting and increment as they drive forward…using either sensors or timers…or even easier, trigger it to play on the next screen when any order is fulfilled at the order fulfillment window. BAM. That’s easy to do…not super expensive…delivers value to the customers by entertaining them in otherwise unused time, provides value to McD’s partners by advertising and is a win for McD’s because they now have an edge over the competition because their drive through is fun…building their brand as well. It’s probably also cheaper for them to have people go through the drive thru vs come in to the store…so driving traffic through the more profitable drive thru is also a bonus. That’s interesting…and kind of obvious. I think it should be done…and it will make some news which is always good…but it’s not breakthrough. That’s something that any brand manager who has gone through a drive thru has probably realized/pitched. I want more…we are high tech…let’s do this. What if on each TV, there was a Kinect device which is basically a series of high tech web cams that can track body and eye movements to allow users to interact with the video content. Now customers can interact with the content…they can flip through different “applications” – movie trailers – upcoming happy meal toys – angry birds space (a quick round of asteroid smashing anyone?) – feedback (allow customers to record video feedback while in the drive thru “can’t wait to nom on the new doritos taco…aaahhh!!”) – social media (allow customers to take crazy pics that you can post directly to your facebook) etc etc… Then let customers create an account…so when THEY come through the drive through (maybe by registering the vehicle license plate #?) their favorite app comes right up…they are right back in the middle of level 5 of angry birds…they can post immediately to facebook. It’s like a frequent buyer program…but incentivized by social media and apps vs free cheeseburgerz. Mobile Apps would also complement this experience…then when a customer drives through the drive through, you can recognize them as a frequent customer based on the location services on their phone (a la Square Card Case) and say “Hey Kyle, do you want to order another #4 with extra large fries, super size diet coke and a brownie?” They can track loyalty points earned on the mobile app…”check in” at different locations (make it competitive!) register a gift card (like starbucks – btw…their card-on-the-iphone is brilliant!), post updates to social media, play embedded games etc. All of this could be piloted relatively inexpensively by installing a few monitors and associated hardware, developing a quick app or two and really exploring the potential social integration points that build the brand in a desired way. There are many ways this effort could be customized to meet a brand’s specific needs by digging in with probing questions such as… “are we trying to advertise our brand directly in the drive thru?” “are we trying to make McD’s a fun experience and thus increase the frequency of visits by leveraging social?” “are we trying to build our partner’s brands by advertising for them (movies, cartoons, etc)?” “is this a part of a larger rebranding effort for our chain?” “are we trying to shift volume from in-store to drive thru?” etc etc…Kyle Fieldhttps://plus.google.com/109942804449959820925noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274214.post-35270021241721588642012-05-06T23:11:00.000-07:002012-05-06T23:11:22.217-07:00Go Fly a PlaneI was on the way back home after completing my California Motorcycle Safety Basic Rider Course which included the test for my license (I passed!) and I saw several planes flying overhead...presumably on their way to the Camarillo Airport when it hit me (no, not the plane)...that guy/gal flying that plane probably wasn't born knowing how to fly a plane. They learned how to fly it. One day...they said "I want to fly planes" and took steps to make it happen. Sounds basic but it really applies to anything in life. Do you enjoy watching people race cars on TV and think it would be a blast? Go learn how and do it. I'm not saying that you should just drive fast on the freeway and call it a day. I'm saying get off your duff and go be a racer. Maybe you like watching hunting or really get pumped reading about the latest team to win the national paintball league tourney...you can do it! yes you. yes, in this life. Nobody was born knowing how to do much of anything more than how to suck on their mom to get some milk and maybe a few other things. But they sure as heck didn't pop out knowing how to SCUBA dive, I can assure you of that. Just a few minutes ago, I finished reading "Into Thin Air" by John Krakauer which details a tragic Everest Expedition where 5 lives were lost. I realized several years ago that Summits of mountains + my fear of heights = not a fun experience as proved on a Mt Whitney attempt and a Full Day Half Dome hike. I pressed my limits and found that it was just not pleasurable nor did it provide for meaningful personal growth...it's just not my bag and I'm ok with that BUT! Everest and the details of the adventure...where John dug into the minutiae of why people take on the mountain was relevant. I found it interesting to read about how some men save up somewhere around $70k to pay for a spot on a guided trip, then head out there for somewhere around 2 months to take on the beast of a mountain that is Everest. It's a bit nutty. you can die. 1 out of 7 died in '96 which was below average compared to other years. It's not logical...but people do it. I guess what stuck...the lesson that I want to walk away with from the plane flying overhead and this book is that if you want to do something - anything on this earth...just set your mind to it then take actionable steps towards it and keep on doing that and you'll eventually get there. The converse is also true - that if you dont take actionable steps towards your goals...you wont get there. there isnt a magic elevator or even an escalator around the corner that will take you there if you somehow dont do it on your own (how un-american, right?)...you actually have to take steps towards your goals to get there. But I challenge you (and me) to remember your dreams first. Dig up those things you thought you could never do - the "I want to be an astronaut" or the "I want to SCUBA dive the great barrier reef" or maybe the "I want to hitchhike across Europe"...the things you thought you had to grow out of - dust that shit off...then pick one and start taking steps towards it. Start walking towards it...for we must walk before we run and God built you to dream big :DKyle Fieldhttps://plus.google.com/109942804449959820925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274214.post-35242420885947466582012-05-02T11:36:00.001-07:002012-05-02T11:36:16.881-07:00Stay passionate. Stay focused. (Stay foolish)Such catchy words...so easy to say. What's crazy about life is that it's so easy to just live life. In the great Amurica, it oftentimes feels as though we are alive and living with the sole purpose of getting through life. Like it's one big race and we are all trying to pile on as much "stuff" - whether it be experiences, money, gadgets or otherwise - and just run. Ok, so stop and smell the roses, right? NO. I vehemently disagree. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SiLlwNxg4NA/T6F3221XcFI/AAAAAAAA4Y0/jVUToHpMyqc/s1600/roses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="225" width="225" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SiLlwNxg4NA/T6F3221XcFI/AAAAAAAA4Y0/jVUToHpMyqc/s320/roses.jpg" /></a></div> I personally believe that we are all here for a reason. We go through the thing that we do which help to make us the people that we are for a reason. A purpose-built tool. But we are more than tools in that tools just sit on the tool board or in the tool box until someone else pulls them out. We have identity. We are here to live lives of intention...to make a conscious decision to stay passionate...stay focused...and especially to stay foolish. Those things don't happen by accident. Passion...to me, this is when I'm "playing" and I'm not talking about video games or soccer. I read an <a href="http://the99percent.com/articles/7080/IDEO-Big-Innovation-Lives-Right-on-the-Edge-of-Ridiculous-Ideas">article</a> the other day that defined play - <blockquote>Play is a state of mind. I've heard it described as a visceral form of learning. It really doesn't matter what the activity is, it's the way you approach the activity that makes it play.</blockquote> Yeah...that's play. That's living a life of passion. It's foreign to us. I often use the word play when talking about work scenarios. Earlier today, I talked about how a 20% contingency budget for a project I'm working on is "money for the project team to play with". I'm misunderstood but I'm ok with that. In fact, I think it actually trips me up when people understand what I'm saying the first time. Passion is being who you are and seeking to find the place in the world/web/whatever where YOU fit. Where you plug in. That's one of the great things about "the valley" to me. It's filled with tons of kids who took something they were passionate about and made it a reality. It started with the apps/sites/tools/devices and carried on all the way through the way they built their teams - "dude, I'm totally going to hire you when I make a million on this!" - to the way they design their offices and on and on. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SgWVaPfFzf8/T6F6iVHUn7I/AAAAAAAA4ZI/qdjhT1ddqEg/s1600/facebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="173" width="291" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SgWVaPfFzf8/T6F6iVHUn7I/AAAAAAAA4ZI/qdjhT1ddqEg/s320/facebook.jpg" /></a></div> Living a life of passion is when we don't accept compromise. Staying relentlessly focused on finding the best fit for you in this world means that you may actually get there. It's a tough haul but better than the alternative of accepting what the world has to offer and just grinding it out. Focused...obvious...but not in the traditional sense. When I think focused, I think about drive...about someone who can sort through the BS in this world and find the nuggets that reflect the reality that "should" be. Reading through news articles to find things of worth...sifting through people and finding people who are genuine and truly worth investing in. <aside> I have a hard time investing time in people who I dont really like. Maybe it's just that I only truly "like" a handful of people in this world...but I'm picky. I dont call many people friends...I'm socially awkward and I'm ok with that.</aside> It goes beyond just a filter though. Focus is to stay sighted in on that ever elusive ideal state and continually seeking to refine it as more data is added to your filter. What? Yeah, so imagine that at age 5, you wanted to be an astronaut. Who didnt, right? As you went to school, you learned that you really weren't so hot at that math thing which as it turns out is pretty darn important for astronauts. So you refine your goal - you want to be a pilot. Still flying up in the air...still need to know math...but more your speed. That works for you until you get into college...when you realize that you are actually more interested in running a skydiving school and flying those planes. So the cone of uncertainty narrows as you continue to refine your goal...staying focused not on "getting a job" or "making lots of money"...but on relentlessly pursuing and focusing on what you are passionate about. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2CELSiXHaF0/T6F8yym-GcI/AAAAAAAA4ZY/-R0_cNKkuDQ/s1600/focus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2CELSiXHaF0/T6F8yym-GcI/AAAAAAAA4ZY/-R0_cNKkuDQ/s320/focus.jpg" /></a></div> Filter through the junk in life...and in the world to find what you want. To find out where you fit. Foolish...my favorite. Foolish is that element of you that I have trouble putting my finger on. Foolish is doing that thing that you feel is right even though everyone else thinks it's crazy. You have something unique inside that only you can see. You dream things that dont make sense to everyone. Which is where this gets difficult. If it only makes sense to you, it's not going to be popular. Not everyone is going to like it. They may even hate it and laugh at you for spending so much time/money/effort doing it. I have always wanted to fiberglass body panels for a car as a project and just create something from scratch. I have an artistic side that I dont frequently tap but I want to. This urge doesnt make sense to the mere mortals that walk this earth...just to me. I dont have a goal of starting a company creating custom body panels or fixing cars or even making something that I'll eventually be able to drive down the street. This urge doesnt make sense in most ways...but I have decided that it truly is something I'm passionate about so I'm going to do it. Baby steps...starting to research resins and fabrics...trying to reconcile those things with my experiments with fiberglassing in the past...and just doing it. Foolish is being true to yourself in the face of the world laughing. I step back and give the world a big F-U and remind myself that I'm not doing this for them...I'm doing it because this is what I truly feel I'm built for. Why I'm built this way? I'll have to save that for another rant on life...Kyle Fieldhttps://plus.google.com/109942804449959820925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274214.post-72817537852441822782012-01-03T01:11:00.000-08:002012-01-03T01:11:02.728-08:00AntiOne of my online gamer names is antiflash. it started out on thanksgiving one year when I was learning to play counterstrike and kept getting flash 'naded. it bugged me to i changed my name to antiflash...yada yada. <br /><br />I have always considered myself to be an optimistic realist...trying to put a positive spin on the reality of how things are but the more i think about ME and how I really work...i almost come away feeling like quite an introverted antisocial pessimist. i do not really enjoy being around people...maybe its just being in groups of people where there arent any people that i know really well that's tough. i think i'm fine if i have a few people that i can gravitate towards and talk to...which is what i always do at church...but if i dont have those key people, i really tend to just float around. i depend on others to meet new people through. i'm really bad about returning phone calls, texts, emails, facebook messages, whatever. so much of the time i really just want to hide in a corner of a room void of other people and be left alone. i dont feel like i know how to (or maybe i dont care to) hold a normal conversation. yeah, i can talk about the weather...this that and the other...but that's really just following a framework. and even when i do that, i'll be so nervous that i wont remember names of new people, where they work and all that jazz which makes the next time even worse. i dont know if i want to work on it...but i know its there. i dont know if i want to be a more social person. <br /><br />so anti...antisocial...i know how important community is because i can imagine what it could be if done 'right'. but again, at least for now, i really dont want to spend the time and effort to really get to know people. i dont know why. maybe its because i'm so selfish...and time spent talking with and learning about others is an investment in something i dont deem important? i really have no idea...just that its just not my thing. maybe i'm just picky and i only want to talk with like minded...or similarly closed minded people. whatever...just another awkward social interaction further degrading my self confidence and all that. whiny whiny. i dont know why this thought justifies a post...but i want to let it out. i want to put this crap on 'paper' to help me proces it. to see it and to see what it looks like. <br /><br />more than this i suppose...i want to find my spot in life...where i feel like i'm actually doing what i was built for. an idea which goes beyond christianity...i'm not saying that i was built specifically to fit into the world in a certain way in a predestination kinda way...but more that i enjoy doing certain things and am good at certain things and it seems kinda obvious to me now that it is very likely that theres a job out there that 'fits' me...that i would love to do and that i would be really good at. screw the money. i just want to do shit that interests me and that i would love to do every day. another whiny topic i suppose. some people in the world worry about what they're going to eat today and are in fact, as i am typing this...starving. someone probably starved to death while i wrote this. on my expensive computer...etc. <br /><br />i think i could tangent around for hours...but thats not why i'm here. bored at work. bored in marriage. bored at church. not really doing anything with my life. if i had 2 months off, i would likely spend 12hrs per day or more playing video games... so i naturally gravitate towards lazy. <br /><br />i'm tired...going to bed...on the couch...again.Kyle Fieldhttps://plus.google.com/109942804449959820925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274214.post-16206190516334173432011-01-28T08:43:00.001-08:002011-01-28T08:43:14.158-08:00reTIREmentYeah, I know I'm still a pup...ok, maybe not a pup but at least still what some people call young. But I'm sitting here at a coffee shop in Hueneme watching this group of what look to be retired people sitting around drinking coffee...taking care of their dogs, probably getting ready to go for a walk before heading home in time for their favorite soap opera<br /><br />...and I'm thinking to myself...I dont want to be that kind of retired. <br /><br />I don't want a job that tires me out and makes me WANT to be retired. <br /><br />I don't want a job that feels like a job...<br /><br />I am going to work towards keeping a job that's exciting...that you wouldnt have to pay me to do...but more importantly, a job that makes a difference. I dont want to be the next trump, jobs, gates, zuckerberg, roosevelt, kennedy, churchill...I am going to be another harper, bridges, gibbons, wilmoth...not satisfied with just getting by or having buildings put up with my name on it (after all, there's already a stadium named after me in Texas...) or anything that will fade. I'm not going spend my time developing the next big Theorem, designing a new stealth fighter, fusion technology or long-life tire (though those things are all very cool) - I'm going to do things that make a difference - feeding the hungry, housing those in need, taking care of those who can't care for themselves, striving to spread the love of God in THIS world...NOW...every day through my actions AND my words...through my LIFE.<br /><br />You may call me idealistic (or a dreamer, lol)...but I call me a realist, grounded in the power of God...living in this world (the same world that you live in).Kyle Fieldhttps://plus.google.com/109942804449959820925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274214.post-64905298973659137282010-09-29T19:14:00.000-07:002010-09-29T19:14:00.620-07:00imperfections (ported from myspace)life is so obviously imperfect. it's too obvious to be coincidence. i think i was pondering my relationship earlier today and it really made me wonder. i'm kind of retarded at times. i often marvel at how retarded i can be in this relationship. just the ridiculous "small" arguments that linger on through the day...they blow my mind. it is so difficult for me (both of us) to let go of the small stuff. i wish it was easier, this life thing...but at the same time, i don't. if life were easier (let's just call it "perfect"), we wouldn't have anything to look fwd to. what would be the point in heaven (other than the ol' eternal life thing) if earth was perfect. each of us has our own custom reality that has it's own imperfections.<br /><br />if i had been born into a different country - i'm going to use thailand because i have at least a little bit of experience with that country - i'm betting that i would still struggle with various imperfections in life and i would still find life just "reasonably satisfying". actually, i was tempted for quite awhile to ditch out on this stress filled, overly complicated, let me check my calendar (oh wait, i only use it for work), life that is my existence here for the much less complicated, much simpler life that is life on an island in the Andaman sea.<br /><br />it's crazy. there is this huge balance between living a good christian life and living in america. i'm not so sure that it's a balance...i tend to put everything in context of "struggles". i struggle with things. it's my internal checks and balances. it feels like this life just pulls in the wrong direction when it comes to so many key issues. sex - my body ALWAYS tells me the wrong thing. my head tells me the wrong thing slightly less than half of time time...it's only when i force myself to change my perspective that i do the right thing. and society? "pop culture" yeah...that's pretty much just another big anchor tied to my foot pulling me down.<br /><br />imperfections, yes. so we are here on this earth to realize this, to step back and take a deep breath...to exclaim "wow, this really is jacked up" and to seek out the truth that is so ingrained in these exact imperfections...we see evidence of the perfection that God promises us when we look at the earth...at the sunsets and amazing cloud formations that we are graced with ever too infrequently (in so cal). looking at anything from a macro level...it might just seem perfect. look at a mountain range. from a helicopter, flying over, the range is sooo impressive. the lake looks too blue to be real...everything looks like a painting. zoom in a bit...the mountains are nothing but rocks...dry and lifeless...heaps of them. there is nothing to substantiate the earlier perception of perfection. the lake. it is nothing more than near-freezing water...run off from a glacier up the way. not to go too far into the analogy...the concept behind is solid.<br /><br />imperfections. so here we are with this world. what to do. we struggle with anything that we might consciously know to be good. there are always barriers to be knocked down, TV stations not to watch...but is that to be our focus? it seems that constant struggles are just the result of giving in, of being pulled down. why spend life focused on the struggles when it could just as easily be spent on lovin others. i'm not sure that it's really that easy. if we don't stop to analyze and drill into the issues that impact us, we will not be able to firm up enough to be the solid foundation that is required when building anything substantial. i would not build my house on sand (yada yada) so why would i expect God to want to build his house (the Church) on people that are not grounded and have a well earned, educated faith in Him. (quick mental parallel to a retirement planner) what to do what to do. constantly seek the balance between building the foundation and reaching out. spend time investing in solid personal growth while also making the effort to reach out to others and plant seeds.<br /><br />hmm. so how and when to build and such...i am getting tired...this is going to have to marinate more...after more rest, that is.Kyle Fieldhttps://plus.google.com/109942804449959820925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274214.post-91202307228212979592010-08-02T21:12:00.000-07:002010-08-02T21:50:00.679-07:00cookingmy new boss is from Phoenix where temps are in the 100s right now. it got me thinking about how little we use the power of the sun and if anything, we spend tons of money and CO2 emissions to cool down our places and offset the heat and light of the sun. anyhow...he said "it's so hot out, you could fry an egg...for real" and i was thinking...why not do that? maybe not an egg, but the idea i had was a slow cooker. something that you could drop some beef, water, veggies etc into on your way into work and when you came out to your car to head home, you'd have a nice stew waiting for you, all cooked up and stuff. i know solar ovens arent exactly news as they've been around awhile but nobody has done this yet. it would be pretty simple...just use some time-temperature-pressure physics to figure out what the ideal combo is to keep the would-be stew at the right temp, then put in a relief valve that would let off anything above that. it could be a simple "physical" solution vs anything extra fancy like a self regulating, solar powered micro computer (though that would be amazing and totally feasible as well...) <br /><br />so much junk in my head right now...i think i realized this week that i really dont normally run out of juice physically (though i'm definitely not in shape)...but it's more of a mental game for me. i think my mind runs at a faster pace than my body (maybe i should be more physically active?) and as a result, i end up with lots of time where i just need to veg out because my mind is tired but my body's really not. hmm...maybe that explains the COD thing.<br /><br />i'm really excited about what's going on in life...just not a fan of how the stress impacts those around me. just started a new role at work 7/1...with a new boss...probably getting another new role in the next 3 months or so...with another new boss...and maybe moving to a new P&G location...maybe MOVING...maybe selling and buying houses...hmmm yeah, that's some stuff. oh...and maybe working on a sibling for asher. i'm really not stressed about it...it's kinda weird (NOT COMPLAINING)... i guess i'm excited about my job and that there are tons of opportunities in it that i'm excited and passionate about. not so stoked on some of the more mundane things in life...but that's life. <br /><br />we have some vacation coming up which should be great to get away and really have some time off work...not bringing the work laptop...just the phone and MY fun laptop :) having lots of fun with linux lately too...conky is good stuff...<br /><br />not super excited about the new iphone 4 tho :( underwhelming? iOS hasnt changed that much since 1.oh...missing android a bit. maybe i can get an android tablet or netbook thingy to fill that gap. i'm definitely going to miss tweaking on my mobile devices but it's a fair trade :)Kyle Fieldhttps://plus.google.com/109942804449959820925noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274214.post-42058948532430822832010-07-25T18:42:00.000-07:002010-07-25T18:50:51.002-07:00ideas...speaking...trucks?so i haven't been speaking at church as much lately and it's helped me to realize a little bit more about how my strange mind works. When i'm writing talks a lot, that acts as a purge of brain stuff...which i had really only done through blogs on myspace before. what sucks i guess is that when i'm writing talks, it's not so much that i have a topic to write on, but that i have to shape my thoughts into something meaningful and maybe even something for a specific topic. it kinda stunts my mental creativity in a way. obviously it's not a bad thing, i just need to figure out how to work with it. perhaps i'll blog more about whatever's on my mind and in a different vein of my mind, try to write talks. dunno. that doesnt make sense to me as my creativity is more of a "flow". anyways...food for thought. <div><br /></div><div>on the way home today, i was thinking about how normal pickup trucks like F150s or Rams tow boats or anything substantial. typically when i see them towing something, the rear end is angled down due to the weight of the load with the load angled forward. it seems like if the tow hitch were shifted forward...similar to the ones that sit in the base of the truck...it would keep both the tow load and the truck more balanced. To step it up a notch, a system should be developed that sits either in the bed of the truck or somehow integrated into the body of the truck that would auto balance the load to ensure the correct balance between the front wheels, rear wheels and trailer wheels. I'm sure someone smarter than me has already done the math...just figured that since this hadn't been done, this particular innovation should be taken into consideration. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Kyle Fieldhttps://plus.google.com/109942804449959820925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274214.post-30208353319042549102010-07-21T09:33:00.000-07:002010-07-21T09:34:12.748-07:00scrobbleIf I died today, and had just a moment to reflect beforehand, i would not be upset that i did not travel to italy...or visit china...or own the iphone 5. I would not be sad that i didnt have a house on the beach or ever get to drive a lamborghini. I would not be thinking about all of the tech gadgets that i didnt get to try...because that wont matter. I would be bummed that i wont get to spend more time with my family and then, in all likelyhood, be upset and feel like a big failure because i wasn't more bold about my faith in my daily life. I'll think about all of the missed opportunities that I had to share my faith where I chose to take the easy route and keep quiet. I'll likely think about the things I "could have done" to do something that truly lasts. The greatest empires that have ever existed did not last. The US will not always be the world superpower (ask the Romans or Alexander the Great or any of the other great superpowers of ages gone past... Bottom line, the greatest things of this earth will fade, will rust, will blow away and be forgotten. The Grand Canyon is young...only 5 MILLION YEARS old...and we talk about human history in terms of thousands of years. Think about that. Then think about eternity. Then think about what you're going to do with your day today. Have a great day at work :)Kyle Fieldhttps://plus.google.com/109942804449959820925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274214.post-83224384218890634452009-04-25T18:54:00.000-07:002010-07-25T18:55:44.059-07:00werds (repost from myspace)Current mood: awake<br /><br />really dont know sometimes...my mind just flies...i wish i had some sort of control of the throttle...but i know it's really not just me...it's more a matter of where the thoughts are coming from...sometimes, God fills my head...it's just full, loud and flowing...most of the time, it's jumbled words...but i rarely have energy or at least, i rarely allocate energy towards random thought. tired much of the time...regardless of the quantity of sleep...just tired. "tired becomes me" :P<br /><br />i am so selfish with my spare time when i start feeling overwhelmed with life. it's funny and sad at the same time...i try to fit too much into my life which is something i have never done in the past. i suppose it's good that my life is actually somewhati full. it's really just an opportunity for me to be stretched and to adjust outwardly to something larger than my current container that is the scope of my life. i like that when i stretch, my capacity grows. as i learn, my ability to DO increases...though most of my learning is at work now which realistically means that i'm probably not doing as much learning outside of work...which is probably subconsciously depressing. i'm getting tired just thinking about it. truth be told, i have been tired off and on most of the day...most days...lol. hair is getting longish. might cut it, might not.<br /><br />rob bell is great, but i'm too tired to think in his direction. his mind flies...i like that he takes us along for the ride...a little too pessemistic...but who isnt a little too..."something"...at times, right? i'm a little too grouchy when tired...a little too lazy...a little too human. i get mad when i feel myself blaming my actions on being human. there comes a point where i'm like "hey, wait...i AM human!" generally upset when people blame someone else for something that they obviously own..."poor me". bla bla bla for the most part. it kills me that the illegit overshadow the legit for the most part. i guess that goes back to the "the first will be last and the last will be first"..."the squeaky wheel will be moved to the back of the line"...haha.<br /><br />it would be interesting to do a sleep deprivation test (not on me...i like sleep too much for that)...humans are so interesting without sleep. i have heard that we can suffer from dilusions when sleep deprived. makes no sense, but hey, i guess i believe it.<br /><br />too tired...typing with my eyes closed...i think i shouold go to bed...g'niteKyle Fieldhttps://plus.google.com/109942804449959820925noreply@blogger.com0