Dave is…
reminiscing.
Sometimes the light’s all shining on me
Other times I can barely see
Lately it occurs to me
What a long strange trip it’s been
(I know, Truckin’ how cliched but I used Bab’s ‘Memories’ as a blog title earlier.)
Well after the first week of law school I already have plenty of stories. I could tell you about how I didn’t even make it through the first CivPro class without my infamous professor telling me my comment added nothing to the conversation (He did reassure me that he didn’t mean that in a “plenary way”), or how I have been getting called “woodcutter” after I impudently decided to tell a professor the origins of my name when he mispronounced it (The lecture was so boring I was dying for a laugh) or how that same infamous professor has already taken his shoes off and waved them around his head to make a point, but as Tommy wasted no time in pointing out, now that I am in law school this blog sucks.
So let’s address the future of WhereDaveIs.com. As even my most casual readers have noticed the blog has been inconsistent in everything but being belated since I returned from abroad. If it wasn’t lack of internet access it was lack of time or energy and that’s just when the most I had to do was bend my elbow at the bar and eat horseshoes. With the onset of law school and its demands one can’t expect me to be better about updating things.
But I loathe to end it. This blog started as a random suggestion from my Aunt Cookie when I was first hashing out the rough idea of a year of travel back around Christmas of 06. And when I began it I certainly didn’t really expect much in the way of an audience beyond my mother and a few friends and family.
But it really took on a life of its own and in addition to allowing me to assure my mother that I was still alive and record all my adventures, so I can relive them when I am my Dad’s age and infirmity has left me senile and immobile, it rewarded me in ways I never expected.
As I realized while talking late into the night with my Aunt Barb a couple weeks ago, I wouldn’t have survived this trip without the blog. I need that outlet. I need to talk; it’s as much a necessity as air or Natty Light. And to have had to go 12 months with only periodic chances to tell my ridiculous stories would’ve driven me crazy.
Through it I have been cursed at my Serbian football players, recognized by strangers in my local Panera gotten freelance newspaper work and developed a pen-pal dialogue with a Mormon mother.
Over the last thirteen months it’s 363 posts have seen me through almost 30,000 miles of American highway, 24 countries, 3 continents and 15,956 photos (22.5 gbs) not to mention untold quantities of beer, on its way to racking up 13,078 visitors, almost a thousand a month. Since July 1st alone I have had visitors from 37 countries (including Kuwait) and every continent cept Antarctica. If only my sight had been able to track from the beginning god knows what the stats would be. Not too bad for what is inarguably a vanity sight existing only to allow me to expound when I don’t have a captive audience in front of me.
Its let you watch as I search out the weird,
find more than I bargained for in Christian wrestling ring,
rode the monorail, WEEEEEEEEEEEEE
meet childhood idols,
and heads of state, (i use the term loosely, it was the First Lady of Nebraska after all)
scream and yell through an epic Bears season,
attend far too many weddings,
adopt new parents,
lose my mind,
dance (it doesnt happen often),
drink (happens more often)
drink too much (happens occasionally)
survive soccer riots,
cavort with the world’s most beautiful women,
and go native.
Not to mention see more of the world’s most beautiful places than I could ever hope to repeat here.
The trip just wouldnt have been the same if I couldnt have shared that.
And sharing it so widely wouldnt have been possible without all of you who linked to my blog for helping me achieve that number; I was surprised just how many visitors came from those links. I’d also like to thank the people who came to my site by accident doing a variety of strange Google searches. Some of my favorites: “gerbils are Nazis”, “new natty light can”, “axl rose unshaven legs” “Albanian fuck England” “dolphins are gay sharks” “is the coors family mormon” “oomlats” “wedding presents for hippies” “prostitutes cheyenne wy” “patchouli wholesale” and “john trainor intralinks”. This last one has gotten several hits on my site. Again this is just searches in the last two months.
I’d also like to thank all the people who helped me over the course of the year, be it put me up for the night, got me drunk, gave me directions, left me comments, kept me entertained over the phone when I was on the road, or just plain read the blog. I’m not sure the year would have been possible, and sure would’ve been a hell of a lot less fun.
I’d mention you by name but there are far too many to make that possible, even for a blog as long as mine. I would then settle for singling out my parents. Yes, they are old and in one case cantankerous but without their support I could never have pulled this off. I don’t know too many parents who would approve of their kids quitting a good job to blow his savings trying to see Estonia and the world’s largest chest of drawers, much less encourage it but they, and true to form have been spectacular all the way.
So this all sounds very much like a good bye. But don’t consider it as such. Sure the traveling is over for a while and now the answer to Where Dave Is will either be the library or my bed but I encourage you to keep checking up on the site. I have this URL for another year and a half at least and intend to put up as many stories about my experiences in law school as I am able. This week for example I can promise almost daily updates as we catch up with a week that included the US Open, my duet with Prince on Little Red Corvette (seriously), a surprise visit from a most unlikely ex-Springfieldian, and yesterday’s Black Sunday. . It will no longer be your daily at work time waster but it won’t be dead either.
Cause like my mom said, I’m still gonna do stupid shit. I’m already working on Argentina, Israel and a return to Mormonville and the wheels are turning on how to pull off the ultimate coup, Africa. And if I make Rwanda you know you’ll want to be around for that.
David, for your more tame travels to places never seen I’ve picked out the Flashlight Museum & the International Towing & Recovery Hall of Fame & Museum. Makes you want to hit the road, yes??
Black Sunday — the loss of Mike Brown & Dusty Dvoracek for the season, a major blow to Bears defense!! Just for you will I talk football. This is a sign that football will be imploding, I’ll be so happy!
Love you, will continue to peek at WhereDaveIs looking for a law school tirade.
Dave:
I’d probably be less cantankerous if I’d cut myself a better deal when we rented you the Sable. I actually thought I was being pretty generous to you on the grounds that you’d maybe drive 20,000 miles. But you put on 40,000 instead. Oops.
WhereDaveIs isn’t gone (that noise you hear is an entire Serbian football team cursing and spitting), it’s just changing But somewhere in its new incarnation, you’ll have to explain — carefully — why you will never, ever refer to your CivPro prof by his actual name.
It was a blast sharing three weeks of your odyssey (emphasis on the “odd”) with you. But I’m still staying home the next time.
Love, Dad
P.S. If you google “John Trainor” and Intralinks, the top five (of seven) results are all from WhereDaveIs. Good show.
I’m glad the puke photo made it to the epic wrap-up post.
- J
I don’t know, that sounded pretty plenary to me.
I look forward to reading future updates, whenever and from wherever they should arise.
YOU SUCK!!!!. . . (all the other messages were just so positive)
So, now that you’re back and school and busy as ever how do I get a copy of your schedule? This will be necessary as I just bought a house and I soon as I move in I need to start wedding plans. Which means … your services would be greatly appreciated IF you can pencil me in somewhere.
and school? I meant in school. Sorry
Sara, youll be getting an email from me about the wedding, but rest assured I am willing to schedule anything and everything around it.
Now I have to go back to doing work all day!!!
I would like to assure my readers from the government that I can guarantee they wont go back to working all day. Govt employees are contractually prohibited from working more than 2 hours a day.
I hate you!!
Well Dave I’m just glad to see your back to work. It was driving me crazy that you were having all the fun. Yea, envy. Oh yeah, by the way – Dad and mom are getting younger by the day. We’ll be entering childhood again any second now. Good luck and God bless.