2007: The Year In Review

I thought I had established a pattern last year (2006) more or less of how the next few years would go. And on the face of it 2007 was just such a year. There was more traveling. More sights. More friends.

But, in April I got a crazy idea and applied to the Peace Corps. Faithful readers know I will be bugging out to Botswana this coming April. It's a 27 month commitment. Won't be back until June 2010. Of course there'll still be internet access, so the blog will live.

Nonetheless this post is about the past. So in keeping with my now three year tradition here is the breakdown of 2007 by the numbers (BTW, I just realized last year's post also said 2007 when I clearly meant 2006. I hold Jason, Hani and Mick responsible for missing that detail.):

Three trips outside the US. A fall from seven last year.
New Countries visited: 7 (lifetime total-43)
UNESCO World Heritage sites: 12 (lifetime total-50)

Blog posts: 124 (Man, I gotta do more work on that. I blame facebook for the drought.)
Nights on the road: 133
Airplane flights: 61
New friends: 234 (still an estimate)

Miles run: 2535 (My last decent year for a long time. Won't be running as much in Botswana I reckon.)
Lifetime total: 97,729 (If I can even run two or three miles a day in the Peace Corps I can still easily make my lifetime goal of 100,000.)

Books read: 130! (Boy, I really went after this one. My goal was 100. Instead of partying I spent New Year's Eve finishing Anthony Bourdain's "Kitchen Confidential." The full list is on the Frazy.com link to the right of this page.)

There were some other things. I never made it back to Sri Lanka. That will have to wait for a future year. I still wish to return to my tropical island spiritual home.

I sadly said good-bye to the faithful Saps. Three months have gone by and I still can't get used to her not being here.


The house has sat on the market for a year with no activity. That's a huge disappointment. Looking back on what I wrote last year I was thinking of selling out and moving to Canada. As my friend Mark Schroeder says, I was OBE. Overcome By Events. Instead of British Columbia it will be the former British Protectorate of Botswana.

Still have one more US Educational Group swan song in March. Joseph is in mourning over that. My last trips to Jordan, Bahrain, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the ever popular Saudi Arabia. I've pretty much hit all their UNESCO sites anyway. (BTW, Botswana only has one: Tsodilo The Louvre of the Desert.)

I STILL have a lot of itches to scratch!

Come visit me in Botswana. You are welcome to my mud hut anytime! (Actually, it will be an apartment with running water and electricity.)