I started this morning, much like any other, wondering how best to use today.

As I walked through the dark of the morning, I watched a satellite, high overhead, sail across the stars above me. I wondered deeply about the nature of the universe and the nature of my life. I was filled with questions like:

• Will my novel ever be published?
• What do my blog followers think of my absence?
• Where have I been for the last four months?
• When am I going to take this blog more seriously?
• Which direction is my life headed for the next three months?
• Who do I intend to educate about alixandercourt.com?
• How am I doing, honestly?

And so with these questions resounding, I decided to start answering them in the form of a blog post.

Will my novel ever be published?

Yes. That is the simplest way of answering that question.

The truth of the matter is that it is very difficult for me to say when at this point because I am waiting for my cover design to be completed. It would seem like there is no end in sight to the amount of work that is going into it, but I see that the novel’s entire process has been incredibly similar: can you say scope creep?

So, again, yes. The novel will be published. And I would say that if I was to do it all over again, I wouldn’t have done it the way that I had. I would have looked at the development of the novel more like a massive building with hundreds of laborers, instead of a cathedral I am building myself with the help of a few buddies.

What do my blog followers think of my absence?

In all honesty, I don’t really know.

From what I have discovered about the visitors of this blog, they really don’t have much to say about what I write and say. And to be honest, I have learned that those are the kinds of people that I attract to me: individuals who want me to say the things and be the person that they imagine me to be.

That’s what they have come to trust and believe in.

But hey, I have 0 evidence to support that and it is basically all conjecture at this point.

Where have I been for the last four months?

Well that’s a funny story.

July

This was my birthday month and I was busy preparing to leave the country.

What that looked like was making sure that all of the details of this country were addressed before I left to explore others. What that entailed was informing my employer that I was going to be leaving, educating my wife and child that I was going to be gone for a while, and preparing my step-brother for his first bout of international travel.

This month was crazy.

August

After having been turned from the gate on our way to south-east asia, my step brother and I traveled to mexico for a week while we waited for our eVisa applications to be approved for Vietnam.

While in Mexico, which I really enjoyed the last time I was there, my step-brother and I enjoyed long conversations about business and investments. We became very excited by some of the conversation topics that we discussed over coffee in Acapulco or tortas in Guadalajara, and this brief update does not serve as adequate space for how exciting some of those conversations were.

With that said, and our eVisa Applications approved, we went to Vietnam. Yay!

So we were in Vietnam. Except, due to a slight mishap of the eVisa process, my step-brother and I were separated on account of his point of entry saying Hanoi and mine saying Ho Chi Min City. We spent the next ten days almost 700 miles apart, which turned out to be one of the best things to happen to both of us. Vietnam is an incredible country, and I am honored to have spent so much time in that country. This post does not do any justice to the immense experience that both of us had.

After reconnecting with my step-brother in Da Lat, we found ourselves talking once again about some of the topics we had broached while in Mexico. These conversations went on all day and seemingly all through the night. Looking for excitement beyond just conversation, bored of the hometown lifestyle of Da Lat, we decided to visit Ho Chi Min City together and enjoy the bustling nightlife. We partied so hard. And I have got to say that Koreans in Vietnam party so hard, which is awesome.

Tired, sick, and recovering from partying (do I still have a headache and ringing ears), my step-brother and I decided to go to Thailand. He wanted to study Mui Thai and I wanted to compare cultures before leaving for America again. Vietnam, in my opinion, is way cooler than Thailand. But this post is not meant to go into the details of that.

The point is, that I and my step-brother went on incredible journey and we talked of many things. Some of them compelled me to return to America so that we could put those ideas into action.

September

Once I was back home, I got to work on those plans that my step-brother and I discussed for the last month in three different countries. As a result, the changes that I needed to take place in my life were rapidly implemented and immediately felt by all. The world that I had left, my home/work life, had completely changed after having experienced something a little bit different than what I was used to. Now that I had experienced a small sliver of Asia, nothing would ever be the same.

October

Now I am over a month back and a month into the plans that my step-brother and I had put into motion with our adventure.

So… stuff happened is all I am trying to say.

When am I going to take this blog more seriously?

Ah.

Well, I don’t know. In all honesty. This post kind of marks a departure point for me. Not departing from, but departing to alixandercourt.com.

This place has become my sanctuary of thoughts and a repository of useful reminders to my self. It is difficult to say whether Zarathustra took his cave seriously, and I venture that I am no different.

Beside, what would seriously look like?

Posts every day?

Shouting matches on social media?

Lame.

What matters to me is that there is a place that I can go, and point others to, which I call home to my thoughts.

Not all of them… just the ones that choose to stay behind to be found.

Which direction is my life headed for the next three months?

That is a great question.

November

Sometime over the next thirty days, I intend to purchase a ticket to Mexico again.

I realize that travelling to other countries is so energizing that it is absolutely necessary to successfully accomplishing the whole purpose of this blog. It requires tremendous resources to make travelling a regular part of your world view. And that effort needs to be documented and shared with others.

I hope that I will have found more folks who enjoy the effort of making regular trips away from home with the intent to return to work. My suspicion is that I have already found some new folks, I anticipate that there will be more.

December

lolz

I hate December: cold, wet, and chuck full of consumer cheer. I would think that some of my next trip to Mexico spills over into some of December.

Regardless, I will spend time with family and friends and I will think deeply on the remaining days of the year.

I will likely use ledger-cli to line up my financial reporting for the year (why haven’t I written a post about this?)

I will likely consider my new years resolutions.

I will hopefully publish my novel.

January

I think that I am going to be gearing up to leave the country again, and so I will need to

DEFINE what brings value into my life.

ELIMINATE whatever is not bringing value into my life.

AUTOMATE those value streams.

And LIBERATE my self to write poetry or another novel or maybe pursue my dreams…

Who do I intend to educate about alixandercourt.com?

I think that I am going to be more explicit to some of the online communities of who I am and what I am about. From what I can tell, there is little benefit to maintaining pseudonyms when a personal identity is always more enriching to pass on to one’s legacy.

I think that I am going to make it more apparent to the readers of this community to know what communities I participate in. I think that I am going to do that in several ways, but for now, suffice it to say, what I think/believe/participate in is going to be more apparent.

How am I doing, honestly?

I just wrote and recorded audio for a blog post. So, momentarily, I am very pleased.

Long range though, I am deeply troubled. And that is for reasons that I haven’t brought to light just yet.

Medium range, I am feeling a little uncomfortable – but it will all work out.

Short range, I think that these are some of the most important years of my life.

Near range, the next 12 months are going to be some of the most intense soul searching and examination that I have done in my entire life.

So, honestly, I think am doing great as a human being.

How are you?