Lovin' Life

Life really is wonderful. It's so great to be free to do whatever I want. I had always dreamed of having a time at my life like this and I'm so grateful for it having actualized. Right now, I'm sitting at a cafe in Bogota working on eBay (more on that in a minute) and am organizing everything for the arrival of one Greg Nolan. For those of you who don't know Greg, he's truly beyond description. A pioneer of truth and justice, Greg is a friend of mine from college who, since graduation, has worked in D.C. helping grant credit access to those in poverty; he recently was accepted to Stanford University's law program (ranked the 2nd best in the world) and is currently on the way to meet me in Bogota this evening. Having followed my blog and keeping in touch via email, Greg decided he also wanted to "live the dream" and decided to defer law school for a year. He's starting his journey here in Bogota to join me in volunteering for the next month or so, then he plans to travel the world. While here, he and I plan to discuss joining up for much of our travels. So far, we've been to 4 continents together so we hope to hit up the other 3, haha.

Just the thought of being here in Bogota and contemplating going anywhere in the world I want is so liberating. For example, those of you who are my facebook friends know I just got back from Vegas. Yes, I know, sheer craziness. I have been seeing this great Colombian girl for the last few weeks and we decided to take a trip together for a few days. We discussed numerous possibilities, all within Colombia, but before you know it we had decided on Las Vegas of all places. Within 12 hours we were hitting up the strip and having the time of our lives.

We only stayed 5 days, as we both were anxious to get back to work in Colombia. I've now returned to my normal volunteering schedule with RGOS, Mercadeo Social and Voces Del Silencio. In fact, on the second day back, I filmed a 30 minute interview for a promotional DVD Mercadeo Social was filming for International Volunteer Agencies throughout South America. Yes, believe it or not, my pale face will now be viewed all over South America talking about my volunteering experiences and how to recruit and cultivate a successful volunteering experience.

And yes, all of this is possible through eBay. Having saved up for the last 9 years, I've been able to afford to take this time in my life and devote it to travel, not having to worry about income. Even so, expenses add up and I've been lucky enough to continue working on my eBay business even here in Bogota. Just recently, I faced a string of eBay policy changes that threatened the business' survival, but with alot of research and hard work, I've been able to keep it going.

So yea, that's what I'm doing right now at the cafe: sitting here processing today's eBay orders contemplating the fleetingness of time and how lucky I am in this moment. I love volunteering, I love Colombia and I love the freedom to be young and crazy!

I miss you all and hope life is bringing you as much happiness as it is me. Keep in touch!

"Whatever you do, do it with love."

- Kevin

Livin the dream back in Bogota!

I just returned to Bogota from my backpacking trip through Colombia, Ecuador and Peru! I just spent the last two days loading all the pictures from the trip to Facebook and spent awhile adding explanations in lieu of a blog entry. For all of you who have kept asking for pictures, now you can finally see them all! Don't worry, you don't have to be a registered member of Facebook to see the pictures, just click the following links to see the albums with my commentary. Please feel free to make comments or send me your thoughts. I always love hearing from you all!

Click here to see the Colombia picture album!

Click here to see the Ecuador picture album!

Click here to see the Peru picture album!

And for a quick update, I did ultimately decide to wait a year to go to law school. I will be staying in Colombia for approximately two more months to continue my volunteering and livin the dream. From there, the possibilities are endless, but I'm currently exploring the option of going to Guatemala for a few weeks after leaving Bogota. Ultimately, I'll definitely be home by August because my little brother just announced he's getting married! At first, he was having the marriage in May, but because I and some other family member's couldn't make it on short notice, he pushed back the date. I'm so happy and so glad I get to go!

After that, I'm still moving forward with my plans to travel the world for a year before starting law school next Fall. It's still in the preliminary stages, but I couldn't be more excited about seeing more of this wonderful world we live in!

Well, I hope you all enjoy the pictures. Stay in touch and know that I miss you all!