The Beginning

Welcome!
As many of you know, I was laid off from my job last May - another victim of the economic crisis. Knowing that it's a very tough job market right now, I decided to use the opportunity to take a summer vacation. For the first time in 16 years, I've had a summer without any studying or any work. It's been great!

I've spent much of the past 2 months enjoying the beautiful Minnesota summer - something I haven't been able to do for the past few years. I've spent a lot of time outdoors - riding my bike, running, swimming, and I've even started kayaking & stand-up paddling on the Minneapolis lakes. Last weekend I ran the Lifetime Fitness triathlon for the 4th time - lots of fun, and I was happy with my time, despite taking 3 years off.

The other big activity for me this summer has been planning my European vacation. Originally, I was going to go over for 2 weeks - traveling around with a friend. But, after the layoff, I decided to extend things a bit. Right now it looks like I'll be there for 6 weeks. Who knows - maybe it'll be longer than that.

The plan is to go to 7 countries - The Netherlands, Greece, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. I'll be writing a bit about my travels here, so check back if you are wondering where I am & what I'm up to...