The Orange Hat

The formation of a plan
I think I want to do
Because now, I feel like I just am
And though a part that contradicts everything I say
Tells me I’m not
It would also just say I am, if I thought I was doing

-Cornelius Witabaker

The world turns, I’ve been here longer than some, shorter than most, but really I’m just happy to be here. This place, it’s a nice place. While I’m not entirely sure why I chose to be in this place, here I am and I’ll work with that*. I would rather not leave life up to chance, because I do not believe that it would be a good idea. It would parallel leaving your life in the hands of a travel agent you do not trust, or following a crowd that doesn’t know where it’s going. It’s stupid and everybody does it. Me: of course. It’s called trust, and it’s the foundation of relationships, but at some point, you have to learn when not to trust, realize that you don’t like where this crowd is going, and make your own call. Because no one else is going to do it for you.


* I constantly struggle with the task of grasping and struggling with my environment, changing it and molding it to what I want and not so much adapting as implementing and creating. But I don’t feel that I should feel naive enough to try and change me, my goals and my passions because where I am is different. In this stout resolve; I will change, and I welcome it. But I will not sacrifice what I love because another culture tells me, “Your care is wrong here.” Fuck them. I will be me, because me is all I can be, and they can be they, and we can both try the new, and learn from the old
-a sub-thought in the realm of hypocrisy

Current projects:

Climbing wall design:
The Nairobi Sailing and Sub-Aquatic club and the Mountain Club of Kenya are merging into the same club (for all intents and purposes) ergo I’m a member of both, you can guess which I joined first). As part of this merge, the Mountain Club is moving on to the premise of the dive club. Before they were located (and still are for a time) on Wilson airport, a small local airport outside Nairobi, which they have been at since 1954. After the bombing of the US embassy in 1998, the Airport has increased security, and only allowed member to go to the club on one night a week, not allow member to live or rest at the club (as had previously been done) and does not allow for nightly access to the climbing wall.

So- The Mountain club moves about a kilometer down the road to the Dive club with is privately owned land, and has a wonderful pool, two bars, a nice lawn and about Twenty meters of wall space which is just begging to be climbed.

I showed interest, someone said: “Come up with a design and it’s yours.” I worked on it with another member, Steven, who’s a graphic designer and fellow climber, and Rad helped from GT, and "Bam" (as some Yalite would say) the climbing wall got rolling. Still need a real budget, but we have designs and a proposal
The fun Ensures

East Africa Trainee’s (EAT)
I just made that name up, but it is a really project. I made an integration tool that AIESEC (the student group I’m part of) in Kenya could commutatively use to integrate interns, allow them to give feed back, help learn about the area, and communicate. It has received various feed back, but I enjoy updating it every once in a while, so I will continue to do so, and send it to anybody who asks questions about coming to Kenya.

While I was working on the site, and the community that was formed around it (well.. it was really formed around people, and the site came latter) A group of Ugandan interns who were in Kenya though it would be a great idea to bring back to Uganda with them. They have started they’re own group, and though it would be cool if the Ugandan and Kenyan groups could be part of a large group, and then the whole intern population could collaborate and plan trips, and it would be a jolly ol’ time. I agreed, and this Idea will continue to evolve.

To see what I’ve worked on for my group check out http://aieseckenyatn.pbwiki.com I need to get a real site, and have better advertising, but I enjoy it so far. We also have a google group for communication that is on the site. So I think I covered the basics of forming a modern online/in person… community (Website for externals- wiki for a form of input – google group for rapid communication- weekly meetings- and smiles)

My life
One of my longer projects, but the current phase involves possibly hiking Mt. Elgon* in the next month, then mount Kenya before I leave in September. After I finish my project, which is going nicely actually, I just don’t like all the accounting, I plan on traveling… a lot, and going broke in the process. It’ll be great.


*By the way, I really do like sharing my passions with people, but sometimes I have to say “No.” I can’t take every idealistic worldly person on climbing trips, I would love to, but I can’t, it would be dangerous to you, me, and possibly other people. There is a beginner-climbing trip coming up at the Mountain club of Kenya on 27th of july if anyone would like to go, which I can sign you up for. – This is a topic of longer proportions, and I really don’t want to sound selfish, but it’s just not possible for you to tag along sometime (just like I can’t go with professionally mountain climbers on they’re assents of the Trango towers

I’ll make a very tentative plan and post it here the best I can on a calendar
But just to keep it simple (and to.. idk, worry my mother- sorry I want to go to Israel)

October:
Egypt
*Cairo
*Alexandria
*Giza
*Aswan (maybe)
*Luxor (maybe)
Jordan
*Petra
Israel
*Jerusalem
*West bank
*Telaviv
Turkey
*Istanbul
Greece
*Athens

November
Spain
*Granada
*Madrid
*Barcelona
France
*Paris
Netherlands
*Amsterdam
*Tilburg
United Kingdom
*London
*Birmingham
*Edinburgh (maybe)
United States
*New York City
*Atlanta (temporary destination)

And that’s my plan.
If you live in one of these locations, or know someone who does, I would love not to stay in a hotel, or … spend any money if at all possible. I’ll probably have one day-pack with me, and virtually nothing else but a camera ☺.


Currently reading: Three Cups of Tea
I was attracted to this book because I like tea, cups, and three is a good number …not really. It’s the story of Greg Mortenson, who is a horrible writer, but a very good humanitarian- who with the help of some wealthy mountaineers/circuit industry gurus founded the Central Asian Institute to build schools for the girls of Northern Pakistan (pre 9/11).

Thus far I am about half way through the book, but it really made me question my life. First off Mr. Mortenson was a climber who attempted K2 (2nd highest mountain in the world- and far more difficult than Everest) and failed, only to be rescued by a little town that he then dedicated his life to help, and build a school for. He gave up his climbing life, and came out the better end- doing what he was passionate about. But what does that mean about climbing? Did he switch one passion for another; he changed his whole life because of the events in this book, and affected thousands of people.

While reading “Three cups of Tea,” I’ve also been reading the magazine “Alpinist,” Which is a beautiful publication that comes out quarterly, and has very moving photography and very inspirational essays and story’s. One is that moved me was about a 23 year old mountaineers who goes back and forth between school, climbing, his girl friend, drinking and LSD, and trying to find out what he’s really doing in all of this.

The two different sides of climbing and the lifestyle that I think I might possibly fashion myself make me think for a long time, while staring out my window in the Nairobi suburb of Kililashwa- I really do miss snow, and I wonder how much I’m really doing, sitting in front of a balance sheet, looking at receipts, and getting angry over peoples laughter and joy while they relax in the office that is my work space.

-To my readings