Quick Update: Considerations of a blank mind...

Where I just start typing and stop eventually...

Hey so here's the deal. My "Entrepreneurial Summer" is coming to a close in a few short weeks, and I have to say, I have done very little in the Entrepreneurial sense. Boy was that easy to predict.

I have put thought into, and writing down of, many different ideas. And there has been made some headway into these things. So, lemme just give you the bolded items, you can scan for the interesting ones, and then you can let me know what you think. OH BUT FIRST!!!

Piano Playing in Geneva!

I managed to find a video in which I am playing! This is part of the narrative where I meet Helene and her sister. Look, watch the video... my clip starts at 3:08 if you want to go right to it...

At 3:40 in the clip, you can see me in the background with my big backpack on, giving good-bye kisses to Helene's sister. actually, that may be hello kisses? Not sure.

But, just wanted to share that, because I thought it was really cool to find myself on the interwebs aside from NTS and things I put up there. Flattering and fun. Also, really good camera work. You can even see all of the colors in my beard.

Moving on to the things I was going to do this summer, and the status of them:

Quick Update: Yup

Where I talk about what I've been up to before I go eat the steak dinner waiting for me in the dining hall at TL Storer Scout Camp...


So I owe an update that is far more involved than this. But alas I cannot yet give it to you.

Here's a run-down of everything that has gone on since my vacation in Maine (Old Orchard Beach, Ocean Park) with my family.

Canvassing in Boston: Good Try
In what I can only dub as God's will, I was canvassing in Boston with Public Outreach Fundraising, trying to raise enough monthly dollars to be rehired on Staff over my 6 evaluation days, and I failed to reach this goal. I say it is God's will because I had intended for this job to be my part-time fall-back job in case the Student Org at UNH and InterVarsity Staff didn't work out. So I was going to come back to Boston two or three days a week to canvass at $14 an hour for the American Red Cross to support myself while hopefully IV staff and UNH part-time staff came through.

Thus, I was trying to give myself an escape route for what I have labeled as "God's short-term plan" for myself. That is, I was saying to anyone and everyone who would listen that I was stepping out in faith, renting an apartment in NewMarket, NH, without knowing for sure if I would have IV staff or UNH staff. But really, that wasn't stepping out in complete faith, it was stepping out in partial faith. I had my selfish back-up in place.

Quick Toughts: Strugglin' with purpose

Where I discuss why having a blog can seem stupid sometimes... and find myself thinking about the importance of family.

Out of all of the things that you could be reading right now (and let's include me in this, so that I could be writing right now), why the heck is it my blog? What is it about this that makes it worthwhile? What am I hoping to accomplish?

So this is me musing about the "importance" of keeping this blog and updating. On the importance of reflecting upon my experiences this summer in writing, in a public forum. Kyle's blog (check it out here) is I believe an important read as it reveals to us the distant readership his life and experiences, and therefore the lives and experiences of those around him, in the city of Tampa as he reaches out to people in deep faith and prayer. Even for those who do not believe in God or fully acknowledge the man and son of God Jesus, his blog is important to read.

Mine though?

Quick Thoughts: Brain Dumping...

Some more random thoughts to get you (read: me) through the day (night)...

So if I had a wish-list of books, included among them would be:

1) http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=3626
Which, if you don't like clicking links, is "Love Is an Orientation: Elevating the Conversation with the Gay Community" by Andrew Marin.

     Withought going into too much detail for this post, homosexuality, sexuality, and other commonly believed "sins of the flesh" are of huge focus and thought and, well, hand-wringing importance to me. Having a gay brother and many gay friends,

Quick Thought: Memorials...

So, a quick thought as I walked by the Holocaust Memorial in Boston, near Fanueil Hall today...

I never really thought of the meaning of "memorial" before. Okay that's not true. I understood them to be physical (usually) monuments or places where the goal was to invoke memories of people, places, events, etc. in history. And for the most part, they have always seemed like curiosities for me... "War memorial, who is going to forget that we had a World War?!"

You know? Today was the first time I realized that it's not about forgetting history, but about keeping history in the front of our minds, and being coerced into thinking about events that are indeed important.

For example, as I walked by/through the Holocaust Memorial today, on my way to the North End, I found myself thinking about perhaps what it would have been like to be branded with a number and forced into a camp. Furthermore, I wondered about how it would have felt to walk into the camps as

Quick Update: Independence Day...

Where I promise to start typing up my reflections upon my past 5 weeks, where I talk about the meaning of independance and freedom, and where I explain the week I have ahead of me...

Sean where the heck have you been?!

     Okay okay, so I know it's been a long time since I last posted. There are reasons for this. First, is that I had exactly one day at home from Europe before I was off again to Hartford, CT where I volunteered fro the week at Heads Up Hartford!, a diversity camp for urban and suburban youths. Jayson Seaman, one of my Outdoor Education professors at UNH, really pushed for me to help out there, and I am so glad that I was able to do so. It was truly a blessed experience, with a whole lot of love flowing from that place. I have made friends for a lifetime. Check out their website: http://headsuphartford.org/
   [Side Note: They abbreviate it HUH!.... I cannot wait until I can help design and implement the first Heads Up Boston!... Yup.... HUB!... How poetically and savagely apt is that?!]

      So that's where I've been, helping out there, and then for the past two point five days I've been slowly moving into my place in Newmarket, NH, and catching up with old friends, new enemies, and some lukewarm acquaintences. Just kidding about the enemies and acquaintences. (That word is harder to type/spell than I expected...)

So, what about them updates you promised us?

   Yeah, about them. Here's the list of things I need to reflect upon, with "sub-reflections" below:

Quick Update: Day 16...

... Where I discuss churches, Cathedrals, more answered prayers, Catholic Mass, the necessity of sleep, and my future fears.

Churches!

Okay so here's the thing about my trip to Europe. If I were to make a list of things I had to do whilst here, there would be three things. 1) Eat a crepe. A real one. 2) Drink Guinness in Ireland, and 3) Listen to classical music, with a choir, in a cathedral or big ol' stone church.

I hadn't done number three (that sounds like a toilet-related thing?) this whole trip, and thought that I was missing out on my chance to when I didn't go back to visit my friend Xann in London. She knew of multiple choirs that sang in Westminster Abbey and the like (Westminster Abbey! C'mon, how cool would that be?!). Coming to Lyon, I thought, meh, maybe there's a chance. But I hadn't even thought of how to get there, nor looked up anything.

Well, two nights ago, after waking up at 3 in the afternoon and spending time on the interwebs sending e-mails about my future after Europe (more on that later), I went out for a walk trying to find the tourist information center. I didn't find it. But I found a cool "place", aka Square, with this fountain with four horses. It's called La place des Terreaux.

Quick side-note... Don't order Guinness from a French cafe if the waiter scoffs at you when you order it and says "typical"... I've never tasted a sour Guinness before. Nor had I wasted 7.50 euros on one. But two birds with one stone on that one! I think I said that in yesterdays update, but it's worth noting twice.

Anywho...

I decided to wander from there towards this Basilica that I saw up on a hill. It's called Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière. I essentially started wandering at this point, going wherever my feet were taking me. Or, as Teddie described it, being my own "spirit guide". He can explain later.

I walked up many, many steps to reach the top of the hill, and wandered my way into the amazing panoramic view of Lyon. Wish I had a camera, but I'm sure you can Google the image :-) Actually, let me do it for you. Here.

So anyway...

Quick Update: Day15...

... Where I actually talk about the cat this time, and discuss how no matter where I am sleep is important, and about how people have the same questions about God, faith, science, humanism, and pragmatism no matter where you go or what language you speak. Or, at least in French.

So I sit in the kitchen, using the girl (I still do not know her name... one second, I'm gonna scour the kitchen maybe I'll find something with her name on it... nope nothing)'s laptop, eating rice with onions, red peppers, some soy sauce, and this awesome (and I mean AWESOME) mixed herb spice all together. This is at the end of day 15. A lot has happened since I last posted. Which is sort've surprising but then again when you're in a foreign country, I guess not?

Anywho, we'll start with last night.

Wait wait wait, the cat.

Oh that's right, I was going to talk about the cat. First thing when I got here, they have two cats. I think one's name is Joplin. Now, I don't know what it is about me, but cats looove me. And that would be great except that I am definitely allergic to their dander.

At any rate, Joplin jumps up on me the first time I sit down in their flat two nights ago. The girl (I really need to learn her name) was shocked, and said that she apparently has adopted me (the cat). Later on, the cat just decided to jump up again and lie down on my leg, and juuuusttt relllaaxxx, literally had her leg dangling. The girl host saw this and said that the cat doesn't do that with anyone, not even her or her boyfriend, and its her boyfriend's cat.

So, these cats love me. As is evidenced by the fact that Joplin has slept next to me for the past two nights. I bought some allergy medication for 4 euro. Well worth the cost methinks. And I'm starting to like cats. Uh oh.

"People would be better if they realized that it was them, not God, who did a good thing in their lives."

This was the gist of a 4AM conversation that I had with

Quick Update: Day 14...

Where I talk about how I came to Lyon, France, and how I met Sam, and that this cat really loves me, and such and such...

You know, I thought that today I would sit down and write all about how my life got twisted upside and I'd like to take a minute just sit right there...

Whao. sorry about that. Anywho, I thought I'd finally have the chance to write all that has happened, but I realized that I can't really give it the deserved mental energy. I've been thinking in both French and English and found that my English has suffered un peu (a little, en francais) because of it.

So I'll give you bullet points:

On Saturday, day 11.

- Teddie and I left Interlaken after some early morning shopping.
- Arrived in Geneva, figured out the trains and got to the airport hotel we were staying at.
- Met up with mon amie (my friend) Sarah and her two friends from Tufts, about an hour and a half after we had intended. We owe her an apology for the delay, but hey it worked out :-)
- Toured around Geneva with us five (Teddie, me, Sarah, Glenn, and Julie), seeing some beautiful sights. Eventually, we got some coffee, then asked around until we found out about Carouge.
- Went to Carouge for dinner and then some drinks at what apparently turned out to be the best bar in Geneva (not sure what qualifies it as such, but someone said that so... must be true :-) )
- After this, all five of us squeezed into the Double hotel room that we had, and we even got some good complimentary breakfast in the morning for all of us. Hurray for cheating the system!

Sunday, Day 12 of trip (for Teddie, day 17):
- Went to Church Service at the St. Peter's Cathedral in Geneva. It's an awesome place, the service itself was interesting, protestant. I'll have some reflections on it later after the trip. But I could almost understand it, especially towards the end, as my comprehension of French got better and better. That and I started to understand the gist of the sermon, so I think I was able to put words into context clues etc.
- Met up with Glenn and Teddie after Sarah Julie and I got out of the service, and Teddie and I headed out for the hotel.
- Said goodbye to Teddie after using the internet for a bit. This is where I realized that I had very little money left, and that there was no easy destination for me to go to.
- Met Sarah and her friends at the park of the mont-blanc bridge about 45 minutes later than I said I would. They were planning on leaving too... phew!
- Said goodbye to them anyway :-) I'll be hiking with at least Sarah on Friday.

Things get interesting
- With nowhere to go, nobody to go with, no plans, and

Keeping Folks Updated!

So someone had told me that keeping a blog in Europe traveling was near impossible. I have to say, they're right.

I'll have more time later this weekend/ next week to update everyone, but the bulk of the stories will be posted once I return after the 21st. Keep checkin though, I'll be able to swing some thoughts by.

Teddie and I are in Interlaken, Switzerland right now. It's unbelievable. Well, I can believe it, but it's just... awesome.

Word... thanks for following, hope you're doing well! I miss people from the states, and wonder what's going on back home... fill me in?

~Sean

Quick Update: Day 3....

...Where we take a bus tour from Dublin to Galway via the Cliffs of Moher; meet Bud, the bus driver; meet Rachel and Sam; and figure out that Nimmos is a sweet hostel.

So, today's day three, starting bright and early. Some not-fitting-in points... Teddie and I have started the "Giant Teddie Plays with Europe Storybook" that will be a separate page to the right. It's fun. Check it out for yourself (when we get it up there). [Teddie's comment: That's what she said]

Instead of giving you the blow-by-blow of our day, which mostly consisted of us riding on a bus, I want to introduce you to our bus driver, Bud.

Bud the Driver
       Bud is an older guy, probably in his 60s. He's hilarious, kind-hearted, and loves driving the tour buses. As we drove around Ireland, this time heading to the Cliffs of Moher, I was constantly amazed with his knowledge of the history of Ireland, the area, and specific sites. Of course, it's his job. But that's not something that comes easily to people. Clearly he loves what he's doing.
      Let's get this straight. Coach bus drivers everywhere are amazing drivers. They fit those things down streets, around corners, and into spots that any mere mortal driver could never fathom. I've long since lost that sense of dread when in a coach bus and approaching a tight spot. Instead, I see it as a form of sport. I think that would be a great Youtube video, a bunch of shots of coach bus drivers fitting into and around the most insane spots. C'mon interwebs, make it happen.
     Bud is one of those guys. But I digress.  We got to one of the last spots on the tour and we took the advantage to talk to him about his life a bit. He said he used to drive trucks for 5 years on the continent, and he's been driving coach buses for this company (Extreme Ireland) for 4 years. In between those two, however, he owned a successful furnishing business. I asked him what that meant, and he explained that he made furniture, but also contracted guys and would put together teams to fully furnish houses... so, lay electrical, plumbing, insulation, and do the whole house altogether. It was a successful business, and that is definitely something right up my alley.
    So why did he leave? Bud said he reached a point ("pint" in the Irish brogue :-) ) in his life where he wanted a change of things. So, he left the company, sold it. He said that he didn't know what the next step would be, but that he didn't want to drive trucks or buses again, at least not on the continent.
   This is the cool part of Bud's story (not saying the rest isn't cool, buuut). Someone he knew handed him a slip of paper with a number ("gnome-burr") on it, and told Bud to call it. He didn't get why, and put it off for a bit. That friend asked him if he'd called yet, and Bud replied "No, what is it? What am I calling fer?". The friends response was puzzling. "Just do it fer me, will ya?"
    So, Bud called. Someone picked up. I imagine the conversation went down a little something like this:

    Bud: "Hello!"
    Person X: "Hi what can I do ya fer?"

    Bud: "Uh, I actually don't know meself. I'm jus' callin' cause [coze] a frien's been pesterin' me to call this number, so I'm just obligin'."
    Person X: "Ah, well, can ya drive a coach [coh-ch]?"

    Bud: "Sure I can, I have me license and drove on the continent fer a few years. But I don' know that I want ta be doin't again."
    Person X: "Tell ya what, try it out fer a few weeks, an' if ya don' like it, ya can leave."

    Bud: "Arright, I don' see why not..."

    And so his stint as a coach bus tour guide/driver began. Out of the blue, friend handed him a number with no explanation. That number left him to this job. He explained that he loves driving, and he gets to meet a whole lot of people that way. I think one of the coolest things was watching him interact with locals or shop owners at each place we stopped. He knew his stuff, and he got to know the people he saw fairly often. Great guy, great country, and great feeling!



So that's the story of Bud. I'm posting this on Day 4, after we had a whole other bus tour to Connemara with a whole other unique bus driver (Old-man winter beard, lives on the border with Northern Ireland, has relatives on both sides, the conflict landed him in jail for 7 years, but there's plenty of love for family on both sides. His quote: "We're jus' people, ya know?").

More to come! Love and peace,

~Sean

Quick Update: Day 2...

... during which we learn about the problems of heavy partying and trying to have a productive day the next day; the Dublin Zoo is awesome; Jameson is pretty good in Ginger Ale; some advice for hostel jumping; and Irish food is better than anyone can tell you. 


So Day 2. Let's see how quick I can recap:

- Rough Morning
      We had planned on waking up a bit early to head back out on the "Hop on Hop off" bus tour. However, our late night shenanigans really hurt that process. After breakfast of oatmeal left over from my backpacking trip and showers, we trudged our way to the bus stop, where we got on and made it to the Dublin Zoo. Quick Lesson: Seeing things in Europe is a great idea. Meeting people at night and sharing about life is also a great idea. Find the balance!

- Zoos are awesome places for dates
       I've always understood this. If you want to enjoy animals, find out some really cool facts, and take a person out on a date, go to the zoo. Teddie and I grabbed some coffee and food before we went in, and we made a full loop of the Dublin Zoo. I have to say, I was impressed, and I learned a number of cool new things, like

Quick Update: End of Day 1 into Day 2

Hey all!

Okay, there's a whole lot more stuff coming down the pipes. The issue is that a) uploading all of these pictures and videos that Teddie and I have taken is going to take a while and b) I want to do them justice.

Alright and if I'm being honest, c) Teddie and I had quite the long night out on the town last night, and between that, the recovery this morning, our busy afternoon, and our evening, I've had no time to jump online. Until now :-)


[Just a heads up to, well, anyone who knows me well... we had a pretty wild night, and it's something that I'm sure I'll be reflecting upon and praying about privately for a while. Read the following with an understanding that I am unsure of how to feel about some of the events. At the same time, I want this blog to be honest and give an account of my summer. I'm not making excuses, but rather saying if you're scratching your head after this, I'm not shocked, and I'm probably scratching my own head with you. I've still got some more growing to do.]

The run-down of the rest of Day 1:

Guinness and New Friends
In some of the videos

Made it! Euro-tour, Day 1 update 1

 Bag's are packed, roughly 35 lbs total. I'll link to the packing list that I used later. :-)

 Jamie-Sean (friend from Scouts/Camp) stopped by circa 1AM the night before I left and handed me this rosary that was blessed by the Pope himself. Go figure, out of the blue, hello God!

All of the books in my daypack :-) SuperFreakonomics, the Tipping Point, Let's Go: Europe, My Utmost for His Highest devotional and journal, IV Staff Fund Development Manual...

Oops, started buying things at the airport... Probably the worst impulse buy is the headphones. You know how you make a pretty expensive purchase by convincing yourself of the reasons you'll use it? Well, now I have to use them for those reasons... Jeez.

 

The official Flags of Dublin!!! Not really, gay pride event is in a few weeks. Just gearin' up for it!

Videos after the break! and More to come later! including my thoughts

Pics from the Backpacking Trip

These are some of my favorite photos from the trip. I'll have more later, but I wanted to see how well this works...

Welcome!

Aloha!

Welcome to my blog about my summer. The goal is simple: keep the most people updated in the simplest way possible, while possibly providing entertainment along the way. I have a busy and potentially exciting summer ahead of me, and I want to keep track of it, both for me and for others.

The idea came when 5 different people asked me how my 5 day backpacking trip with my KIN 551 class and Randy Pierce, the blind hiker (Check out 2020visionquest.org). I wanted to try to say what the trip meant to me, but had no way of doing so. Instead, I want to keep track of my thoughts and my daily/weekly doings so I can point people here when they ask.
Here's what I have in store for this summer:

- Graduate from UNH with a Bachelors in Philosophy after 5 years of Undergraduate Education, with Roomies Tobi and Brendan! - DONE
- 5 Day Backpacking trip in the Whites with my KIN 551 class- DONE
- 3 Weeks in Europe - Current
- Developping Catfro Printing, Kyle VanEtten and my T-shirt printing company
- Working with Public Outreach in Boston, canvassing for non-profits
- Possibly working as a waiter/server at a restaurant
- Making music boxes at a woodshop to sell
- Helping out at a Recording studio, possibly doing my own stuff and learning along the way
- Taking the written exam and becoming registered as an EMT-Basic in New Hampshire
- Volunteering as an EMT basic
- Living in NewMarket part-time
- Fundraising for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship staff (intervarsity.org)
- Developping a new Student Org for UNH (Student Volunteer Action Center)
- Meeting with professors, administrators, and other UNH staff to help in the above
- Shadowing opportunities at the UNH Browne Center for Challenge Course facilitation
- Helping out with Northeast Regional Association of Experiential Education (AEE)
- Week long family vacation at Ocean Park / Old Orchard Beach with the Ranney clan
- Week of guiding a Trek out of TL Storer Scout Camp
- 4-6 day backpacking trip with the men of InterVarsity using my house in Kingfield, ME as base camp
- Bible Studies whenever I can
- Learning more about my faith
- Loving my friends and family
- Meeting new people
- Registering for a non-degree grad course for next semester.

That's a long list. That's why I want to keep this blog. So that people can keep in touch and track of what's going on, so that I can keep sane, so that I can look back at this in a few years and know how successful/unsuccessful this summer was. So that my brain doesn't try any revisionist history on me and I have accurate accounts of what is going on.

I'll leave it at that for now. I'm going to need a lot of prayer, and to do a lot of praying each day. I'm giving this list up to God, to cross of anything He doesn't want me doing, and to be sure that I am glorifying Him in everything I do. Can't say I'll be perfect in this. And I'll need a whole heck of a lot of help in all of this.

Also, if you have any prayer requests, let me know!

Coming up Soon:

Europe Trip Updates!
Backpacking Trip Synopsis!


Peace, and God Bless!
~Sean