It has been a long while since I’ve made an update, and life has made some large turns: We have packed up our stuff in Bucharest, hopped on a one-way plane (with the dog) to NYC, and are now taking two months to slowly make our way to Hawaii for a year off. We don’t really have any other plans than that; exciting!

I remember the first time I ever touched a bass guitar was my second year in college. A friend, Ana, asked me to play in her band for a youth outreach program. I’d only been playing guitar for a year so I thought I knew everything. I am sure we were horrible – the blisters on my fingers certainly were.

15 years later, I’ve again been asked to play bass. This time for the “Johny Casino Band.” We play lots of blues covers but on this particular night we played a few jazz numbers with our friend Millie singing. Most of the pictures taken during the jazz set show me hunched over the chord charts trying to keep up with all the quick changes. Thanks to the band for being supportive and patient with me. Jeanette, thanks for showing up and pretending not to hate it.

We decided to spend Christmas here in Bucharest. We made the place cozy with a tree, candles, and stuff, so it seemed to be appropriate to take a few photos.

I’m not a great fan of Christmas music, but I found a great internet radio station that plays “Chilled” versions of seasonal favorites. Check it @ SomaFM or in iTunes radio browser.

Our trip to Napoli & Bracigliano in October, 2007 where we met Jeanette’s relatives!

The northern part of Romania is dotted with picturesque monasteries, which were built as tiny safe-havens from the marauding Turks. They are some of Romania’s most famous heritage sites. We drove for about 12 hours from Bucharest to get to this mountainous region. We stayed in a little pension at the end of a quiet dirt road, just outside of small village. It was like stepping back in time. I still have three rolls of slide film from this trip sitting undeveloped. I seem to remember some real gems, so hopefully I’ll get around to developing them some day.

In 2004 I went to Tibet with two friends. We hired a private guide for two weeks. We traveled in a Land Rover and had a supply truck follow us with two cooks. We traveled to Everest and made a pilgramage to Mt Kailash.