Our First Leg

Our trip is to go from ROC to NYC JFK to TPE (Rochester Airport to New York City John Fitzgerald Kennedy Airport to Taipei Taiwan International Airport).  We left Rochester at 4:30pm and arrived at JFK 5 hours before our flight is to leave for Taiwan.  So early in fact that China Airlines is not even open for check-in.  So what do we do?  Go eat and drink, but one drink is all we can afford in NYC!

JFK International Terminal

It is difficult to say goodbye to people you love even if it is just temporary.  It is probably the reason that many of us do not take the first step.  The reason that many of us never leave home, never move very far from where we were born.  There is a lot to be said about those individuals and families who stick close together building their lives around one another.  We on the other hand feel that we can have the best of both worlds.  We can live in the States near our families (at times) and enjoy the comforts that only home can provide.  We can also travel to our hearts content feeling the freedom the world has to offer.

There is a certain exhilaration breaking free from the constraints of home, cities, and only one particular area.  It is scary, it is fun, and it is true freedom.  If one can choose anything that they want in a free country like America, but choose to deny opportunities due to the fear of leaving, are they truly free?  Or does freedom come from the knowledge that one can chase any dream knowing that one can always return to a loving, supportive family.

We are so thankful to all our friends and family who have taken part in our new adventure.  Gracias to all whom have given the best present of all, their unconditional support of our decision.  Merci Beacoup for your selfless love of letting us go and moving on with your lives without us near.  We are delighted to share our life changing experience with each of you!

I Love New York Shop

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We left Nashville on June 12, 2008. It was a very sad day especially for me. Nashville was a new beginning of sorts for me and I love the city. As a matter of fact we both love the city and will miss it dearly.

But there comes a time to move on and our time has come. We have exactly 19 days until we leave for Taiwan. We will be there for just over a year until our visas run out. But we will not be completely tied to Taiwan, we plan on making many side trips along the way so stay tuned, you never know what you might see from us.

It is quite liberating reducing everything that two 35 year olds have down to one 10 foot moving truck (large van it actually was). We have it all in a room at Karen’s mothers house.

Reducing your stuff gives you freedom. It gives you the freedom to move around, the freedom to have fun, the freedom from undue expenses. It is amazing how little I miss our stuff. When you leave this world what do you get to take with you? Nothing? I disagree. I think that you get to take your memories. So what do we get to remember? Stuff or places, people, and things.

It was very difficult to me but in the coming months, years, and life come to our site often and see what we do, have done, and are planning to do.

To Nashville we will miss our friends, we had a lot of fun, and we will be back to visit, OFTEN. It is a great town!

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Check the air conditioner filters;  they should be changed or cleaned monthly to help your air conditioner reach its peak operating efficiency.

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Drop off your used Motor Oil at your local service station or car repair center. Used motor oil can be recycled, refined, and used again.

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In the Workplace-

If your printer, fax, or copier has a stand-by mode make sure that it is active and set. It will conserve energy while not in use. Don’t worry it will come right back on when you are ready to use it.

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Cleaning Solutions-

Don’t throw away your old t-shirt, towels, and clothes. Instead cut them up into smaller pieces and use them to clean with. These can replace your store bought rags, and paper towels saving you money and the environment.

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Put door sweeps infront of all exterior doors not only in the winter, but in the summer. These helps keep the cool or warm air inside the house where you want it. It will also reduce your heating and cooling costs.

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It was a bit out of the way and we did not have much time to spend with her but a 1 hour visit with my Grandmother is truly priceless for everyone involved. Reminiscing with family and friends is great for the soul and gives your life energy. It is usually undervalued and overlooked. Many of us forget how important it is to be with family.

Our elders are being completely undervalued. It is true that many are not up on the technology. If your grandparents use a computer usually it is for email and other simple things. That is OK. They need not be innovators to give good advice. They do not have to know all the technical data today to have useful advice.

What our elders can give us is pure wisdom. They have been there and done that. We have not evolved that much over the last decade or two that we should be so disconnected from old people. We put them in long term care homes and forget about them. They begin to feel like they are a burden to their family. Instead we should be visiting them, recording them, and getting to know your family history. It may just surprise you what your family has done in the past , what skills you have built into you.

Elders will be able to tell you how to avoid certain pitfalls that are present, and will be present forever. They can tell you how to deal with people. You can turn this lesson directly into sales. They can tell you how to apologize for mistakes. They have made many themselves and know how to deal with it. You can turn this directly into building relationships with loved ones. On that note they can tell you how to keep your spouse happy.

The point is this. Being with people is great for the soul. Being able to have special times and just being in the moment with them is absolutely priceless for your well being, not expecting anything, just enjoying their company.

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From:

Money doesn’t grow on trees, but gasoline might

Researchers make breakthrough in creating gasoline from plant matter, with almost no carbon footprint

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-04/nsf-mdg040708.php

“Reporting in the cover article of the April 7, 2008 issue of Chemistry & Sustainability, Energy & Materials (ChemSusChem), chemical engineer and National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER awardee George Huber of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst (UMass) and his graduate students Torren Carlson and Tushar Vispute announced the first direct conversion of plant cellulose into gasoline components.”

So what does this mean to us? It means what we all know to be true. When we are forced to find a solution we will have no problems finding one. Sometimes it takes a crisis to force change.

With gas prices steadily over $3.00 a gallon and diesel prices over $3.50 things are going to start to get expensive. I think that there are a lot of us out there who do not realize that these prices are going to just be passed on to consumers. Everything will be effected from shipping large objects right down to your daily Diet Coke. There have been a small but growing population who have been crying for a solution to our rising problems. Many have been predicting just this sort of thing for years. So why did we not listen?

Well sometimes we are a bit too big for our britches. We love our big cars, and big SUV’s. We are still basically isolated from the rest of the world being our own continent (sorry Canada yous guys are great but we just are not effected by yous that much). We have begun to take things for granted. We have had a really great run, but it is time to change.

I don’t think that we have to change that much. We simply have to change our habits. We have to accept that alternative fuels are just as good as oil based fuels. Sorry Texas but it is time we mess with your oil.

So now what do we do? First we accept the fact that we have to make a few small changes. We do not have to completely overhull our lives, we just have to make a few simple and effective changes. These changes will not take away from our lives, but they will only serve to make us better. It will lessen our dependence on foreign oil. It will help our farmers to once again get what they deserve. We can once again be seen as leaders, and not fat consumers. And, if we are pushed again, we can pull back and live within ourselves.

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Be the Solution to Ocean Pollution

Did you know that there is an island in between San Francisco, USA and Hawaii, USA somewhere in the Pacific that is not on any map?  It is the size of Texas.  How could it not be on a map?

It is not on a map because it is not a real island.  It is known as Trash Island or the Great Pacific Garbage Heap.

The Island if formed of floating garbage, mostly plastic, that collects from the entire pacific ocean in a vortex of currents.  These currents come together and whola an island the size of Texas and growing.

Popular Science Article

From the San Francisco Chronicle

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