Hey There I'm Here !!!

My name is Richard. So what else do you need to know? Stuff about my family, or where I'm from? None of that matters. Not once you cross the ocean and cut yourself loose, looking for something more beautiful, something more exciting and yes, I admit, something more dangerous. So after eighteen hours in the back of an airplane, three dumb movies, two plastic meals, six beers and absolutely no sleep, I finally touch down; in Bangkok.

[ The Beach ]

How Cheesy... How True.

Fate determines who comes into your life,
Your heart determines who stays..

Who Knows.

Who knows what could happen
Do what you do
Just keep on laughing
One thing's true There's always a brand new day
I'm gonna live today like it's my last day
We're just wasting time
I think there's something more
Life's worth living for

[ Avril Lavigne, Who Knows ]

Pledge Overstreet

" Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined "

[ Henry David Thoreau ]

In Love With L.O.V.E

When you develop an infatuation for someone you always find a reason to believe that this is exactly the person for you. It doesn't need to be a good reason. Taking photographs of the night sky, for example. Now, in the long run, that's just the kind of dumb, irritating habit that would cause you to split up. But in the haze of infatuation, it's just what you've been searching for all these years.

[The Beach]

Ne M'oubliez Pas [Forget-Me-Not]

The Great Unknown.

The only downer is, everyone's got the same idea. We all travel thousands of miles just to watch TV and check in to somewhere with all the comforts of home, and you gotta ask yourself, what is the point of that?

I just feel like everyone tries to do something different, but you always wind up doing the same damn thing.

I told myself spreading news was part of a traveller's nature, but if I was being completely honest, I was just like everybody else: shit-scared of the great unknown. Desperate to take a little piece of home with me.

I had nothing left to offer but pure reflex. Pure reflex and mankinds basic drive for survival, that somehow shouts, " NO - I WILL NOT DIE TODAY ! "

[ The Beach ]

In Omnia Paratus... Dum Vivimus, Vivamus

Latin :
In Omnia Paratus . . . Dum Vivimus, Vivamus.

English :
Ready for anything... While we live, let us live.

Backpacking - Finland

Serenity, Sauna, Cottage by a Lake, Unspoiled Wilderness, Vast expanse of Forests & more Forests. Finland is the 6th happiest country in the world !! It's the land of the Finns & Sami.

Where the hell is it ? : Between Sweden & Russia, it also rubs up against Norway's arctic north. The Gulf of Finland separates southern Finland from Estonia.

Boarding Time ? : Summer Time - May to September. 13°C - 22°C (South). Winter Time - Snow falls from November, but skiing best from February. Months of the Midnight Sun - Sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days during winter. So cool...

To Do List:
1. Buy myself a NOKIA phone - Its a Finnish brand FYI.
2. Hang out with Kimi, Mika, Heikki !!! Cant Wait..
3. Turn up for Helsinki's Vappu (May Day) festival of students & workers. Party with Drunken Finns!
4. Sauna ! Sauna ! Sauna ! Immersing myself in the steamy Finnish culture..
5. Play Winter sports - ice hockey, skiing, snowboarding, sledging, snowmobile, mountain biking, canoeing, hiking (Katin Kulta Resort (Brent Cassidy) - Vuokatti, Finland). - I'm a sports junkie !
6. Tour the Sports Museum of Finland, beside Olympic Stadium. (Helsinki)
7. Witness Aurora Borealis, atmospheric flourescence spectacular northern lights (Lapland Region).
8. Post a letter @ Santa Claus’s Post Office (Northern Lapland Region).
9. Snow Castle of Kemi. Wooo... http://www.snowcastle.net/

Survival Pack
Academica Summer Hostel : http://www.hostelacademica.fi/
Hostel Stadion : http://www.stadionhostel.fi/
Eurohostel : http://www.eurohostel.fi/
Backpacker bustours : http://www.scanbaltexperience.com/
Unicafe : Owned by the Helsinki University student union, offers meals from €5.70, inc. vegetarian. You get a hot meal, drinks and unlimited salad, bread and potatoes for less than 6 euros - Bargain !!

[ A little bit Swedish, a little bit Russian - totally Finnish ! ]

You go Boy !!

Red : Steven, when are you moving out?
Hyde : Soon.
Red : How's your girlfriend?
Hyde : Shallow as hell.
Red : Job?
Hyde : Dead end.
Red : Future?
Hyde : Bleak.
Red : Kitty, feed the boy.

Eric : OK! I'm here to earn my dinner!...(Grabs a plate)
What am I gonna do about Donna?...We're hanging out! (Places a drumstick on his plate)
What am I gonna do about my job?...I quit! (Places a biscuit on his plate)
What am I gonna do about my future?...Nothing! (Takes the salad)
When am I moving out? (Takes some mashed potatoes) Make me!

[The 70s Show]

.Dunno.

" I've got some questions I want answers. What are you doing about moving out? "
- I dunno.
" How 'bout Donna ? "
- I dunno.
" Your job ? "
- I dunno
" Your future ? "
- OK, I'm gonna go ahead and hit you with an..."I dunno".

[The 70s Show]

Let loose...

If Life is a waste of Time, and
Time is a waste of Life.
Then lets all be wasteful..
To have the Time of our lives.