keithtom.com

tonight’s blog comes early as i will be heading out for some poker tonight at a friends house.

so i just finished cleaning up my room and it was reminiscent (i think i used that word correctly). i’ve managed to more or less pack all my things into a shoebox and 2 other medium sized box – well at least the things I want to keep. my clothes and shoes took a gym bag and travel bag. but i think i’ve almost wrapped it up. it’ll feel good to shed some weight so i can be even more mobile.

i wonder how much i’ll be able to sell. i have a lot to be recycled or shredded. the rest i guess will be given away.

in any case, this should help me get ready for whatever travel i have coming up ahead. i need to make some decisions soon.

travel travel
i started reading Laura/Niraj’s book, and so far its pretty good. its definitely humbling when you realize all the crazy places ppl go when they travel. the guide takes economic and political stability into account, gives you a feel for cost of living and languages spoken – and really the only thought i’m left with is , wow these guys have testicular fortitude.

i’m pretty sure i can narrow my choices down to places that speak english, french and maybe spanish. fyi, canada was #3 on the list! wewt. although most of the activities lie in montreal and vancouver. another on the list was peru, around #6 i think. i have more to keep reading though since i just read the top 10 by country – they also break it down by region and another division i can remember. #1 was algeria and they made it sound pretty exciting. but again, i dont speak the language. we’ll see what happens with that.

one laptop per child
i forgot to mention yesterday that i got to play with my one-laptop-per-child laptop. i ended up buying it over the holidays since they had a give one get one thing going. i know its a bit of a loose spending but i always wanted to get one since i heard about the program and it turns out they only sell to north america every now and then. anyway, i’m happy with the purchase and its a neat little device with lots of potential. well designed.

plants
random tidbit, but did you know that plants get a large amt of their mass from the atmosphere? i can’t remember the percentages but it was significant. anyway. that’s all.