Not It

That last post was awful chipper, wasn't it? I'm still fairly chipper, though the freezing afternoon winds that plague this supposed-to-be-warm beach town are wearing me down. This is not the relaxing beach time I had in mind. I haven't dared do more than dabble my toes in the water while looking for brittle stars (one of which blew out of my hand, smacking our friend Tamr in the face before landing back in the water). And as for diving - forget it! I used to do cold, miserable dives for free; hell if I'm paying for them! Yes, we appear to have run smack-dab into winter. In January! The nerve!

I have spent a lot of time thinking about what it is that I'm doing, what I want to be doing, and what I think I should be doing - all while huddled in our room under blankets looking across the choppy waters at Saudi Arabia. Rather than traveling to see/experience things, I'm traveling to find somewhere else to live (for a while). I keep forgetting this and going off to see the sites which I just can't enjoy. See previous post about Ethiopia for more details. Last time I traveled, I found lots of places that I could have imagined staying (for a while, anyway). This trip has been a series of, Not Heres. And while ruling things out is valuable, it doesn't actually get me any closer to figuring out where I want to be. It's frustrating. And cold. Did I mention that it's cold in the northern hemisphere in January? Well, it is. And the $0.50 falafels, while delicious, are small consolation.