Feb 25 '02
It's now been close to a year since I completed the
hike.
Here's a brief sketch of what happened after the
hike. I visited my friend Mari in N. Carolina for a
few days. Really enjoyed it. I had not seen her and
her family for a long time. Took the greyhound back
to Miami to catch a plane to San Francsico to visit
my brother. Missed the flight. Was able to get a
cheap ticket within 2 days. Stayed at my brother's
place for about a week. Met his family for the first
time. Flew back to Florida. Decided I liked
California and moved there in another 2 weeks. Gave
away a good amount of my stuff before towing the rest
of it to Sunnyvale. Tried finding a job there for
about 5 months. However because of the poor market
conditions, I could not. Finally got a job in
Portland but decided to take one back in Florida
because I could work part-time.
On the day before my move back to Florida, U-haul
called up and said they did not have a tow for me
even though it was reserved. Had to give away
everthing except what would fit into my car. So one
way or the other Providence got me to get rid of most
of my stuff. Drove back to Florida. Stayed with my
brother for another 10 days and found an apartment.
Now I live in the same apartment complex I lived in 4
years ago, and work for the same company I did back
then.
I had been painting a lot in California and
continued to do so in Florida. My style went through
a lot of evolution. I find that painting balances my
life and makes it whole. Work in today's culture is
too devoid of meaning and unfulfilling. So by working
part time and painting the rest of the time, I have
found a compromise between materialistic needs and
spiritual expression.
I have been painting on and off all my life. Now I
started looking for ways to sell some of them. This
was a challenge. But, getting your art known in the
public sphere is a challenge. I have never done any
self promotion in my life, so its very different. I
also ran into the philosophical problem of where to
draw the line between promoting for your art and
promoting for your own ego.
Any way, this is the adventure I am now on. Very
similar to the hike. I have entered an experience
quite removed from my normal routine and which
requires breaking major psychological barriers. I
have no idea of what the outcome will be - will I
succeed or will I fail? It is also quite open in that
I can choose to paint whatever I want, sell any way I
want and use exposure channels as I see fit. But
there is a lot more uncertainty - like the non-AT
sections of my hike.
If you have read most of the journals I would like
to hear from you. It takes a certain 'je ne sais qua'
to find such journals interesting. I would
particularly like to know what made you read the
journal. What are you trying to find from the trail?
I was searching for something without knowing it and
Voila! found it. It has enriched my life
immeasurably.
With a great feeling of sadness, I end the journal
section of my hike - about 350 pages of it. Bye, and
I hope to see you on the other side.
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