Here's the lovely little form letter I tried sending out for Christmas. I was only able to get cards out to about 1/3 of the people I had hoped. Anyway, this sums up my year pretty well. Feel free to skim. There won't be a quiz.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM SANTA BARBARA!!
Christmas 2004

Hello Family, friends, acquaintances, strangers, and…well, who else is there?

Greetings from Santa Barbara, the place I have now called home for over 3 years. Kind of scary, eh? Well, don’t get used to that idea just yet. But more on that in a little bit. Oh, and the usual apologies for the form letter and for getting this out so late in the game.

Well, this year has been a load of surprises for me. Katy, my friend and occasional travel partner from Australia, and I had talked of visiting India at some point in our lives. These tentative plans gained momentum when I found out Rebekka, another well-traveled friend, was due to visit South-East Asia in early ’05. So I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to travel with both of them. I started to make plans: India with Katy in February, and Thailand with Rebekka in March. Since I had a year to prepare, I started studying Hindi and Thai, and dabbled in a few other Asian languages just in case. (Can you say, “free time”?) Once again, my thoughts turned back to travel and languages.

While glimpsing several travel-related websites, I came across the site of travel writer Jen Leo. Not only did she work for Travelers’ Tales (my favorite publisher), but her site was an incredible resource for travel writing markets. After communicating with her via e-mail a few times, we ended up meeting when she and Rolf Potts, another accomplished travel writer, were visiting Santa Barbara to attend an event featuring Pico Iyer, a big name in the travel writing world. After meeting at the event, we agreed to meet up for a quick bite the next day. Jen and Rolf let me pick their brains for a good hour or so, and they were supportive of my aspirations of becoming a travel writer, offering encouraging comments and plenty of useful advice. They went on their way, leaving me inspired to complete the half-finished stories buried in my computer’s memory. The travel writer in me was reborn.

As a result, I ended up traveling a bit this year. No major international trips, but I traveled the most since moving to CA. The first significant trip was a mere weekend trip to San Francisco. I’d first seen the city in ’96 and hadn’t been back since, despite living in CA for 3 years. It’s such a beautiful city, with such a variety of diverse neighborhoods, cultures, and…used bookstores! I wandered the first day and spent the night in a youth hostel—I miss those so much! My friend Jon from 4th grade (we were in the same class years ago. He’s not in the 4th grade now. That would be weird) played tour guide, and he showed me several other little neighborhoods and took me to Berkeley, where I fell in love with…used bookstores! On my last day, I got to meet up with Ryan and Nikkie, friends from college I met while studying in the Netherlands and people I need to visit more often. I left SF feeling I had barely scratched the surface, and I vowed to return again to see if it was a place I could happily call home. Since then, I’ve been back a few times for various events—a book reading, a concert, etc. I still haven’t seen everything I want to see. So I’m planning another trip or two back for 2005.

In August, Katy was attending a conference in New Orleans. I found a cheap flight and lodging at the last minute, so I met up with her and her friends. We indulged in beignets (little fried donuts) and Cajun cuisine aplenty. When Katy was off doing conference-related tasks, I met other travelers, hung out at a cheap hostel (did I tell you how much a love those?), and even got to see a lot more of the city than just the French Quarter. Although I’ve outgrown the desire to live there, I know I’ll be back for another visit. (On an odd note, many of Katy’s conference mates loved my playing tour guide, and they’re expecting me to show up at the next conference…in Hawaii!!)

I also spent a few days in Mexico with old (in every sense of the word) friends Brian and Ryan, and we met up with a number of friends I haven’t seen in at least 4 years (including Adolfo and his family), others closer to 7 years (including Nora and Brissa). We stayed at a defunct Club Med in San Carlos and enjoyed the beach, old friends (and new) and, in my case, a dose of stomach flu. ‘Twas worth every minute and there are now tentative plans to meet up again in May.

I also hit Vegas a few times this year. In March, Brian, I, and a few others met in Vegas to say goodbye to Nick the single guy. We barely left the hotel casino, but had a great time. In July, I met with college buds Ross & Aaron to see RUSH in concert. Excellent show. Better than Aerosmith! I passed through Vegas once more in September to see Todd Rundgren. (I’m a big fan, and the mere mention of his name causes most people to respond with a resounding “Who’s that?”) So I drove out for the day, saw the show, and then got stupid; Jen Leo was promoting her new book with a book-release party/reading in San Francisco, and I decided it was sort of on the way back to Santa Barbara. So I attended the event. I was feeling exhausted after driving for the better portion of 12 hours, and I decided I would make a silent getaway after the event. But when Jen noticed me in the audience and stopped reading her story to point me out, I ended up sticking around for the post-event get-together. I met a few more travel writers including Michael Shapiro, (another Travelers’ Tales author), and once again I was exposed to another friendly and supportive group. After learning that SF had a tight-knit travel writing community, more thoughts of moving there seeped into my brain. I returned once more in October to attend another travel-writing event; a travel site (insideoutmag.com) was celebrating their 1-year anniversary at a local bar, and I showed up for the evening. I met more great people and made a lot of great connections. San Fran was definitely the place to be…

I did end up moving, but only to a new apartment. My friend Chryss was renting out a studio apartment attached to her house. Since the landlord at my old place wanted a lengthy lease signed, I decided to move into Chryss’ studio. Despite the fact that it’s attached to her house, I still have a great amount of space and privacy, and I can move out with short notice. Now I just have to finish unpacking. Ah, that will be my first New Year’s resolution….

Earlier this year, Chryss and I went dog shopping, and we found Jack, a scared and injured long-haired Chihuahua at an L.A. animal shelter. He had just had an eye removed due to some unexplained injury, and for the first month, he barely ate or drank, and he barely left his bed, even for bathroom breaks (ew!). Luckily, he slowly became more friendly and social, and with the help of Chryss’ other dogs, he learned how to be a lively and happy little pup. He’s come so far in the past year, he has become my favorite dog in the world. He continues to make me smile with his fluttery tail and optimistic outlook. Except when he optimistically pees on the floor when I’m dog-sitting for Chryss.

On a sad note, my friend Nicolette had passed away over the summer. Although I had only seen her once in the past 20+ years, the news hit me hard. I had grown up with Nicolette and her family, and they were truly the first friends I’ve ever had. They moved to CA in the late 70’s, and I’d been fortunate to see the various family members when they visited Chicago. In June, I attended (and even spoke at) a memorial service for Nicolette. Despite the tragic loss, I was fortunate to see Doug and Louise (her parents) as well as Jonathon and Keira (her siblings), all in the same room, a rare treat I hadn’t experienced in over two decades! It was a short visit but one I wouldn’t have missed.

On a happier note, I attended 3 weddings this year. Nick tied the knot in April, and I played the part of Groomsman #3. The wedding was beautiful (and Amy, Nick’s bride was even more beautiful), and the reception was…well, the groom’s family is Greek, so you can only imagine. Needless to say, when I woke up, I was handcuffed to a mailbox in Bucharest with $400 worth of cheese in my pockets. Opa! In October, my friend and ex-bandmate Kristin married her Dutch sweetheart Arie Jan, and I performed as M.C. for the reception, forgetting my rehearsed speech (and most of my Dutch intended to impress the groom’s family), but winging it well enough that no one noticed. In November, my cousin Mya got married, and I didn’t have to do anything but show up and have a great time. Plus, I got to see a part of the family I don’t get to see that often. As with San Francisco, I’ve learned that Sacramento is a lot closer and more accessible than I thought it was. Northern California hasn’t seen the last of me.

As for me, marriage might be a long way off, but maybe not as much as you might think. In October, I started dating April, the roommate of my friend and ex-coworker Jesi. April and I hit it off right away, and we’ve been dating for 2 months now. While we’re both trying to take everything slowly, I have to admit that I’m smitten, perhaps more so than I’ve been in a while. There are plenty of obstacles in the way (my travels, her plans to attend grad school, my pockets smell like cheese, etc.), but we’ve agreed to take everything one day at a time and not to treat these obstacles as deal-breakers. Things went very well during a weekend getaway in (where else?) San Francisco, a place we’d both be happy living in. We shall see…

So what does 2005 hold for me? I’m not sure yet. My trip to Asia has been postponed since Katy and Rebekka have had a change of plans (changes of plans?), but I still plan to see Thailand by 2006. Moving there might be an option. I definitely want to get a new job soon. Working at UCSB has been fun, but I need to be making better money. Indiana is an option, since Jason and Kristen, the ones who got me to move to Santa Barbara, have moved to Indianapolis and are trying to get me to move there. I’ve actually entertained the idea a lot. Whatever happens, I’m hoping to be better at communicating in 2005, and I’m planning on getting my site up and running as well. In the meantime, I have a blog (basically, an online journal) that I’ll be updating weekly starting around the first of the year. Feel free to check out

www.flexibleplanet.com/blog.html

to find out what else I’m up to. I encourage you to leave comments, too. But I shan’t use the blog as a substitute for keeping in touch. In the meantime, I wish you all a Happy Holiday (whatever holiday you decide to celebrate), and I look forward to seeing/speaking to/hearing from/faxing/emailing/stalking you soon!

dave