Ich Bin Ein Berliner... I am a doughnut!

[The above is a joke referencing JFK visiting Berlin, where a 'Berliner' is also the locally infamous creme-filled doughnut... though I imagine saying this quote in the likeness of JFK from Clone High.]

It was a whirlwind 4 day trip to Berlin at the end of January, and I spent most of the time reeling from the harsh cold. When I wasn't bracing against the 40 degree weather (I know, spoiled Californian), I toured the city and saw the standard tourist stuff: the remains of the Berlin Wall, the Reichstag, and the eerie Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.

There was also an outing to a luxurious yet affordable day spa called Vabali; it reminded me of the onsen bath houses in Japan, except this place was not sex segregated. As an American, it was slightly awkward to just be walking around/ sitting in the hot tubs and steam rooms naked, alongside other naked guys and naked gals. And of course, I sampled all the tasty German foods: curry wurst, kebob, and German pastries like cakes, doughnuts, and butter-filled pretzels. NOM!

There was time for hanging with friends, coworking at Betahaus and a private evening house party networking with diverse and interesting entrepreneurs. This included discussing what we do with our lives to make money and whatnot, but went beyond that as well. We discussed topics varying from one guy's business that uses wifi to collect heatmap data of where you walk/stand in a given area, to discussing urban design and how the government can use a Lean Startup approach, to the difference between the westerners and the Japanese with respect to Tanizaki's work "In Praise of Shadows", to the three developmental levels of masculine/feminine maturity, to applying principles of masculine and feminine polarity in romantic life, and even the differences in experience for those who experiment with ayahuasca vs. iboga.

On our last day in Berlin, we had a sobering tour of a very large concentration camp called Sachsenhausen. It was a bitter cold day to tour this place, yet I could imagine how the prisoners must have shivered in this same cold, clothed only in tattered cotton uniforms. A 30 minute video depicted the black-and-white recordings of what went on at this camp back then juxtaposed to the timeline of WWII. As we walked the grounds and viewed the insides of the few remaining living quarters reconstructed as exhibits, placards described the various was that prisoners were abused by the S.S. guards. I saw the paint peeling off the walls and ceiling of the once-overcrowded living quarters, due to excess body heat. We ended our visit where many prisoners also did; at the crematorium. Only the foundation remained, yet a placard outlined room-for-room the fate that awaited prisoners who were sent here.

One Giant Leap Across The Pond!

I've done it! As of January 1st, 2016 I have become a digital nomad! *Queue the celebratory music*

Moving out of San Clemente was a whirlwind; packed up my apartment/life in less than a day, donated a car-full of stuff to Salvation Army, joined in a conscious New Years celebration in Marina Del Rey (complete with letting-go and intention-setting practices), further reduced my carload of stuff with the help of my bestest bud Dave, was treated to a goodbye-lunch with awesome coworkers from DealerSocket who I will dearly miss, and left my Honda to my Uncle Ben to sell while I travel on with only 4 pieces of luggage (to carry what I need/can't get rid of). I was emotionally hung-over for a few days after all this!



I had scheduled a brief visit to Juno Beach, Florida for a few days of beachfront decompression and reflection at my Mom and her husband John's place. My wonderful mother couldn't help but indulge me in some pampering; lots of Zero Water + iH2O, a Classical 5 Element Acupuncture treatment, a shady-yet-informative blood analysis under microscope in the back room of a health food store, loads of delicious yet health-conscious (is that possible?!) home cooked food, and a (pricy!) shopping spree. I'm now armed with some action steps to look after my health (basically a paleo-ish diet, men's multivitamin, and regular meditation), some stylish brown leather boots, a warm navy coat, and matching scarf. Basically, it was Treat Yo Self 2016!

In fact, I was also was treated to a day of shooting guns with John, which included skeet/trap shooting as well as and firing an AK at 100 yards at the range. It was my first time doing both of those, and it kicked so much ass! I chalk up my quick proficiency to John's coaching and years of hand-eye coordination via Counter-Strike, Halo, and Kill-Zone.

And now, after landing in London and nesting with my lovely girlfriend Jana, I can feel the heat on my ass to get busy and make a living! I'm still in the process of visioning (read: fighting my procrastination of visioning) while working with a website development client, and giving myself some grace to allow the process to unfold as it will. My visioning process includes listening/taking notes on Natalie Sisson's podcasts/ interviews/ one page biz plan, using Ben Awesome's intention-setting worksheet, and Chris Guillebeau's Annual Review spreadsheet. Yet, at the risk of all research and no action, I would really love to finish this all up this week before Jana and I head off to another country next week. Where is that you may ask... you'll see!