http://foresthoff.info/wp notes from a wandering soul Sun, 05 Jul 2009 04:30:22 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Gastado (da Jetta) was given a break for the cheap flight to Oakland.  A woman solving our questions of cancer drove me to Berkeley, where an old friend with a spirit much younger than mine picked me up.  We ate vegetarian and were cornered by the bistro owner who was ... http://foresthoff.info/wp/2009/05/19/california-corn-fest-09-and-more/ Trudging out in the wild (or what they consider such in Japan), I have been hoping to see the Macaca known to be the worlds northernmost primate in the wild.  Finally last weekend, while exploring Shimokita fishing villages, their staunchy little faces were directing traffic, and stopped us dead in ... http://foresthoff.info/wp/2009/03/08/snow-monkeys-and-surgery/ When you pick up an average guidebook on Japan, the Tohoku section is usually sparse, showing photos of rice farmers and alluding to their seemingly only (anti) social output, PACHINKO (Japanese slot/pinball).  Tohoku has not just been forgotten by tourists, but by the government as well, most of the national ... http://foresthoff.info/wp/2009/03/08/tohoku-the-forgotten-land/ After awaiting the glaciers to recede from Iowa, I made it to Leadville, CO to recertify the WFR certification. Two days later I was on the subway in Tokyo. I couchsurfed with a Parisian of Portuguese descent by the name of Elizabeth. She took me by foot to Roppongi crossing, ... http://foresthoff.info/wp/2009/03/01/tokyo-stew-old-and-new/ This autumn was exceptionally challenging and rewarding.  Back in the tumbling cycle of graduate school, swimming in a pool of research about contrastive rhetoric commanded that I completely learn a new stroke to stay afloat.  Old strokes came in handy though with a trip to Pictured Rocks National Lake Shore ... http://foresthoff.info/wp/2009/02/15/autumn-in-the-north-woods-and-prairies/ After dropping the dumplings off at the bird house, we took Mokulele to Kauai where Adam and I met two of his friends, Margie (the blonde), and Katie.  They knew a guy on the island who picked us up, refueled our vagabond stomachs, and slingshot us into the Kalalau trail ... http://foresthoff.info/wp/2009/02/02/maui-and-kauai/ 46 days on the Big island put me back with my Aquarius cusp.  This summer ripened my tropical Hawai'ian family ties.  Analou, a keeper of Hawai'ian culture, shared with us the true shared breath of Aloha, and chants granting us a safe and prosperous time in Hawai'i.  Alberta and Jason ... http://foresthoff.info/wp/2009/02/02/another-summer-with-aave-in-hawaii/ For the past two weeks I have been in Colorado.  In Frisco the first week, my dad and I went climbing, biking, hiking, and rented a canoe and a jeep for a day.  It was a blast and what made it even more exciting was that there was a BBQ ... http://foresthoff.info/wp/2009/02/02/climbing-in-colorado/ Spring is usually a time of promise in Iowa, one that the grip of winter death will release you . This was an exceptional spring that was loosing the fight to old man winter. As of a few hours ago, the report said it would snow later today 28th of ... http://foresthoff.info/wp/2008/04/28/springtime-coming/ Winter was a challenge on many levels. First off, adapting to days that the windchill can dip to -40 degrees F. Adapting to being in school again was a challenge too. Also, finding a place to live and.... well I won't bore you any longer. I ... http://foresthoff.info/wp/2008/04/28/winter-in-arctic-iowa/