Left to Right: Gianfranco, Sana, me and Sjors behind me, Jim, Shahnaz, Masachi, and Lenart - I'm not sure who's idea it was to have props, but it seems to have worked out ok.
But I received an equally joyful welcome home by my beautiful fiancée, Kelly, in McLean, VA, where we'll be living for a while.
So the plan now is to settle in a bit, enjoy the lack of sirens, mice, random people urinating at the entrance of my living space, and other 'charms' of London. Soon we'll be apartment hunting for a place for just Kelly and I - something in the DC area. And planning: wedding planning, financial planning, life planning, future planning, family planning, world peace planning (nope, haven't got to that just yet) - but you get the picture.
Oh, and I hope to keep up on my studies. I'm technically withdrawn from the college until September, but in academia as with so much of life, what technically is and reality aren't always the same. I'll be in touch with my advisors and should make sure I have something pretty substantial to present to them before destroying the earth a little bit more, I mean flying, back to the UK (oh, and yes I will check on cross-Atlantic passenger boats, for sure).
I also got the crazy idea to write a book. I've been thinking of writing a book seriously for a few years now and this just might be my chance. A dear friend of mine in Missoula, Raven, has published one book and is finishing a second with an excellent niche publisher, Llewellyn, ("New Worlds of Mind and Spirit" is their motto). He thinks they might like something accessible to their audience on Buddhism. I think it would be fun. We shall see....
'Tis all for now. Oh, and I'm switching back to my other blog - American Buddhist Perspective. More there very soon!
So the plan now is to settle in a bit, enjoy the lack of sirens, mice, random people urinating at the entrance of my living space, and other 'charms' of London. Soon we'll be apartment hunting for a place for just Kelly and I - something in the DC area. And planning: wedding planning, financial planning, life planning, future planning, family planning, world peace planning (nope, haven't got to that just yet) - but you get the picture.
Oh, and I hope to keep up on my studies. I'm technically withdrawn from the college until September, but in academia as with so much of life, what technically is and reality aren't always the same. I'll be in touch with my advisors and should make sure I have something pretty substantial to present to them before destroying the earth a little bit more, I mean flying, back to the UK (oh, and yes I will check on cross-Atlantic passenger boats, for sure).
I also got the crazy idea to write a book. I've been thinking of writing a book seriously for a few years now and this just might be my chance. A dear friend of mine in Missoula, Raven, has published one book and is finishing a second with an excellent niche publisher, Llewellyn, ("New Worlds of Mind and Spirit" is their motto). He thinks they might like something accessible to their audience on Buddhism. I think it would be fun. We shall see....
'Tis all for now. Oh, and I'm switching back to my other blog - American Buddhist Perspective. More there very soon!
14 comments:
joyful, peaceful, prosperous, and free, yes free, United States of America
Did you pass through some kind of time warp on the way back?
Glad you made it "home" safe and sound.
Hi Justin - congratulations on your Blogisattva awards - you deserve them!
Glad to see you're back in the USA, where there are no sirens, mice and random people urinating at entrances! (Or is it just Washington D.C. that doesn't have these things?) ;-)
Be well in the Dharma, Justin,
G
Afterthought:
'USSA' - 'the United Soviet States of America'. Now that would be a turn up for the books! Perhaps Comrade Bush could remain as president for a few more decades, a la Stalin!
G at 'Forest Wisdom'.
Welcome home! it is a wonderful photo :) We spent days in sorting out all rubbish the beautiful presents, but we've came a long way.
I seriously think you should write a book, i will buy a copy. you can self publish them on http://www.lulu.com/ pretty cheap these days. Even more I think you should write two books, one small one (than you can read on an airflight in about 45 minutes to an hour) It's should be called 10 things you can learn from Budishm that will improve your life immediately, and one big and boring book that hardly anyone will read but will make you a famous academic.
I will leave you with this quote:
Last summer, I left suburbia behind for three weeks to take a trip to London and New York. This was the first time I’d ever seen a megalopolis up close. I was amazed. Everything a person could want within easy walking distance! A diverse and vibrant human landscape! Visiting these cities blew my mind. Now I, too, can see the value of urban living. It’s not a lifestyle that I can afford, but I do dream about it.
(from this source
mm source got killed: this one (quite a random post i should say http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/02/24/will-the-subprime-mortgage-crisis-turn-the-suburbs-into-slums/ )
Heya Patia - irony. If it's not free, it's at least on sale, clearance prices. Glad to be back.
Gary - thanks for the congrats! I should note though that I'm in a gated surrounded by freeways and giant banking complexes; a drunk would have to walk miles and climb over a barred gate to urinate here. :) Be careful with any Bush-Stalin comparisons there, or you might find yourself on 'the list'....
Speaking of 'the list', Sjors! Yea, sorry to leave so much junk - even more sorry that I accumulated so much junk while I was there.
Thanks for turning me on to 'getting rich slowly' - I still think our idea of writing a how to get rich book is the best way to get rich :) Maybe a Buddhist How to Get Rich book.... hmmmmm....
justin! we're such a crazy looking lot :D its really empty around here...:S
btw, i like your blog! :) dont bother with mine. its as crazy as me :D
hey Justin,
I'm sorry i didn't say goodbye to you, but i hope you're enjoying being back in the US! :)
Good luck with all the planning. I think you need to make a planning for you planning first ;P.
If you're ever back in the UK for a while let us know... :)
Sana - your blog is great! Crazy indeed - in the best possible way :)
Nienke - I sorry too! I'm adding you (both) to my new/old blog that I'm doing here *American Buddhist Perspective* so we'll keep in touch :) And for sure when I'm back in the UK I'll get in touch with everyone.
Best wishes 'till then!
I have been recommending a book called "My Stroke of Insight - a Brain Scientist's Personal Journey" by Jill Bolte Taylor and also a TEDTalk Dr. Taylor gave on the TED dot com site. And you don't have to take my word for it - Dr. Taylor was named Time Magazine 100 Most Influential People, the New York Times wrote about her and her book is a NYTimes Bestseller), and Oprah did not 4 interviews with her.
Hi Justin! I found your blog by accident but it was good reading! I am so jealous you were in England and you look like your doing really good (:
Anyway, I'll run into you out there I am sure! Take care, Alicia
Hi, Thank you for a really nice piece of work it was really informative and to be honest refreshing to read something with substance. My own interests are Human Rights and I am a strong activist in the Tibetan cause. Also a scholar of Tibetan Buddhism I was fortunate to study at Namgyal with a Geshe who was my teacher for many months.I would very much like to follow your blog and would be grateful if you could check mine out.
Thank you Tenzin Dasal
Me gusta su blog felicidades.
Feliz semana saludo desde…
Abstracción textos y Reflexión.
great nice site
https://aab-edu.net/
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