Here now and now here or nowhere

The title of this blog comes from a play on words that "now here" is also the same letters as "nowhere" just with a space added in the middle. I am always trying to get better at being in the here and now, and I've always been a bit of a joker so that is why I chose this name.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Better Living Through Corduroy!!


In honor of today being the day that most resembles corduroy (11/11/11) I thought I'd share a recent story about how small the world is and how wonderful a place it is. 

I met Pieter in Vang Vieng, Laos at the blue lagoon. I had gone alone there as the friends I was spending time with there didn't want to go and I had heard it was very nice.  Shortly after arriving to the lagoon I found myself in good conversation with Arne and Pieter, two travelers who also were traveling alone but met along their trip.  We swam in the lagoon, explored the cave and then after we left the lagoon we helped some local village people with a little construction type work in moving some big cement pieces into place. It was raining and we were hungry so we stopped into a place for some food and then we went our separate ways, after we exchanged contact information.  And this is how travel is a lot. You meet people, connect, talk, share and then go. But of course these connections are always sort of with us, right?

Flash forward 7 months and I get a message on Facebook from Pieter. "i've got a little bit of a weird question since i thought i recognized you on a picture.... are you a member of the corduroy appreciation club???"

well, of course I am, and it's something I'm proud of, but how does a person in Belgium know of this club and further more how would they know I was a member?  so i asked and received this answer.

"this is a great story!! i was with some friends thinking of starting a club for carnaval, i thought it is mardi grass in english... and then we came up, after some beers, with the idea to call it corduroy club and all wear red corduroys... a few days a go a friend of my google corduroy and he went to the wikipedia website and saw that 11!11!11 is also a holy date for corduroy, this is also the holy day for carnaval since this is the start of the season, so we were amazed by this fact. then we saw the website of your club and could not stop laughing, it was so nice!!! after a while i saw your name and though i know this name.... and then i recognized you on a picture!!! this is so great!!!"

better living through corduroy!!

Here's another little story (though not corduroy related). I had planned to do an Anusara yoga training in Chiang Mai in January but due to newer developments I won't be able to attend. I let the instructor know my plans had changed and how I was going to be working with this place that I'm working with a little longer. Turns our he knows the head chef there, but not from being in SE Asia but from Bhutan years ago.

And of course another little story. I had written this post earlier in the day but wanted to check with Pieter to make sure it was ok for me to repost his letter.  Well, in the time that I wrote it and got permission I ran into another old connection. Last January when I was in Hanoi looking to buy a motorbike I was sharing a dorm room with Adam, Kaja and other travelers. Well one was this very sweet Israeli girl who spent about 3 or 4 nights with us before heading back to India.  Today I was having lunch with my friend when I turned around to leave. Who was sitting there? The Israeli girl of course.  It was just another one of those moments you experience in travel and in life.

I am constantly amazed at how small a world it is, but how wonderful a place it is as well.  I love seeing our 6 degrees of separation break down to 2 or 3 or less. I love sharing and connecting and I look forward to one day finding a mutual friend of yours, yes you the person reading this right now, and sharing with you our new connection point.

love from laos

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