Just Pixels

The trouble with going on a long trip is that you can’t avoid packing dirty underwear. I like to rank trip lengths in terms of how much underwear you’re bringing.

“Oh, you going on a trip? How long you gonna be gone?”

“Well, not too long. It’s only a five-pair excursion.”

“Hmm…that’s nice.”

And so it is that I find myself on the diving board of a trip that demands FULL deployment of my undergarment arsenal. Whoa. The whole fleet you ask? Yep. I’m taking all the threads I got.

So, when you’re taking the whole of your U-wear lineup on a trip (12 pairs for me, fyi), you can’t avoid packing the dirty underwear. Because that pair you take off the night before leaving? No time for the wash. You just shove them in and roll.

But why do I need so many skivvies? And where am I going? Good questions.

And the answer is that in a few short hours, I’ll be going to Costa Rica to live out the remainder of 2007, and a bit of ’08. I’m going to work at a children’s home and community outreach center in a San Jose slum.

I’ll do a web site for and write stuff about the mission I’ll work for. I will take pictures and do video documentary things too. Some of this I know how to do, some I don’t. But that makes it interesting. And no doubt the locale will be quite different than suburban middle America, no? I’m curious how I’ll be impacted. Please pray for me.

But yes, I’m quite excited. It’s been a trip long in the works, so it’s comforting to see it to fruition. I’M FINALLY GOING. BOOYAH! And the longest I’ve been away from the home ranch is three months, back during basic training, so the venture will mix my life up considerably (in a good way). I’ve lived in Norman for about 18 years at this point, so the new perspective will be a reviving draught of newness. And it will be good for me to miss home and be lonely. Two things I’ve not felt in a real sense.

But, there will be time aplenty for such cross-cultural musings later on. It’s now one hour before I am to awaken and haul ace to the airplane take off place. So I guess I’ll get a few winks before nudging my spurs into Silver's flanks and trotting south, to the old country.

So here’s to new life beginnings, and new stories of untold plots and characters. Overall I’m very blessed to be going. I’m not thankful enough, probably. And it’s definitely worth packing some dirty underwear over.


Traveling light. A single season-type climate makes the chore of packing quite simple. This is all I'm taking and I couldn't be more thrilled. You don't have to bring many clothes when working in a slum. It's going to be a t-shirt and shorts affair every day as far as I'm concerned. Beautiful.