Hi! Thanks for visiting my travel blog. I’m Kate Merrill, 27 years old, and I’m from Chicago Illinois.

When I decided to go back to school in 1999 to pursue my degree, my ‘carrot on a stick’ had always been the promise of a trip around the world for an indefinite amount of time.
Well, I graduated in May of 2003 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from UIC, and, now I’m ready to go! To find out more about me, continue reading. To find out about my rough travel itinerary, look under the catagory 'itinerary'.

I’m flattered, you want to know more about me…
Anyway, as I mentioned, I ‘m from Chicago. I’ve lived here all my life with the exception of a brief stint in Phoenix AZ. Chicago’s a great city, and it has a lot of what I like; diverse culture in everything from food (I love eating) to nightlife (The Hideout for alt-country and protopunk to Velvet Lounge for experimental jazz baby!). We have so many interesting things to see and do in this city, but I think it’s time for me to move on.

I’m hoping that this trip helps me to get a grip on some of the decisions I’m facing. Basically, I need to decide what’s next. When I started my degree, I had the intentions of working in the alternative (green) energy field, trying to get systems such as wind, solar, hydro, etc, implemented for general utilities. My internship at the U.S. D.O.E. IAC program only strengthened my interest in the need to conserve energy and use renewable forms whenever possible.

However, there is a large part of me that wants to reject the conventional ‘9 to 5’ scheme and just be a free spirit, exploring the world and discovering the mysteries of life. Almost everyone has fantasies like this, but the possibility that this one life could be all we’re given, forces me to indulge this longing. So, now that I have the opportunity, I want to get out and open myself to learning more about the world. I’m sure there is a solution out there to satisfy both points of view, I just have to find it.