Milestone: 5 years & 100th post

Today is a milestone in several ways. On one hand, today is the 5th anniversary of beginning this blog. On the other hand, this specific post that I am creating now at this moment represents the blog's 100th entry. And if I had more than two hands, the third would mark the special occasion of when my overseas life really all began back in August of 2005 when I prepared to ship off to Munich, Germany.

Five years, 100 posts, more than 34 countries visited, countless experiences and amusing tales amassed, and numerous friendships formed around the world. The blog has been a constant for me and at times an albatross. Writing, unfortunately and a surprise to many, is a painful process for me. Yet I have tried to stay disciplined and at least make an entry per month. To be honest, in the early days it was not hard to craft up new entries, as things were so new and unfamiliar. Today, I must admit, that it becomes tougher and tougher to document things that I think would be interesting to both myself and others. I do write for myself to document this fantastic time in my life but I also write for others. My biggest dread is that my entries become stale, humorless, and uninspiring. My biggest thrill is to share these times with all of you who read or even stumble onto this blog by accident.

Over these five years, I've received emails from random people in Iran, Sweden, Thailand, Israel, Australia, and many others who for one reason or another found themselves staring at my blog. Each of these people went an additional step further to send an email. Most were simply providing encouraging words to keep it up, others asked questions on a specific place, some asked for permission and rights to my photos (several were used in the opening scenes of a humorous and fun online expose on Shanghai... I even got my name mentioned in the closing credits), and one person even asked for the formula to the secret of my success (seriously!).

I've had a lot of fun with the blog over the years. It's one part torture, one part therapy. I look forward to continuing to document and share what I am observing, and I hope that it will always provide a perspective, a laugh, a thought, a smile, and just maybe an inspiration.

Your Global Vagabond