To say that I’ve been a bit negligent in updating my blog would be understatement.

In a world where social media absences of a few hours often invite disgust and a litany of angry reader comments, I feel like I’m obligated to deliver a compelling explanation for going MIA for about 2 years. So, in the name of redemption, here goes:

In July of 2010, I wrapped up my year in China with Princeton in Asia and shipped off to the bright lights and bustling avenues of NYC to find my way in “the real world”. In the exhausting process of finding a professional voice in a city as dynamic and competitive as New York, my adventurous traveler's spirit took a couple of hits and went sulking away into the recesses of my identity. Yes, I became, to an extent, a fast talking and even faster walking “New Yorker” with all the accompanying stereotypes and personality traits that might come to mind.

Fortunately, I’m a firm believer that, just like your biceps or your quads, your personality is a multifaceted set of “muscles” that strengthen or weaken depending on usage. So, while I’ve been taking the 50-lb dumbbell to my “career” personality for the past two years, I came to realize that my “zest for life” and “human spirit” muscles were in need of some TLC, too.

So, in February, after a 1.5 years hiatus, I dusted off (literally) my well-worn North Face backpack, packed a few shirts and a travel-sized bottle of Febreze, and set off for a long-overdue reunion with Asia.

As the plane eased its weighty body into the air and pointed its nose toward Phnom Penh, Cambodia, I reflected on my motivations for using up all my vacation days so early in the year to visit a region in which I’d already spent a lot of time. What was I trying to recapture? I realized that I hadn’t really given words to what I wanted out of my travels this time around. So, embracing that old spirit of spontaneity, I decided not to try and stamp a big, definitive, “I must achieve X profound identity revelation during this trip” mandate on my excursion. I knew I had a lot to learn from the region, and I was excited to see what Cambodia had in store for me.



Long story short, I’m back from my sojourn and am happier and more peaceful than ever. My experiences in Cambodia challenged my perspectives, reawakened my fundamental senses of human connectivity, and reminded me that character development is the most important task that we will ever set our minds to. Among other things, I was also inspired to dust off the old blog and use it as a forum to rehash a few of the more interesting shenanigans and lessons I learned over there. So, expect those to be coming over the next few days or so.

Thanks for being patient everybody. Just like this blog, I’m definitely a work in progress.