Emagination AWAREness worldtrip
2004/2005

74 places in 14 countries to visit.

USA trip supported by: Dazzletech

I've been home now for 4 months.
So much has happened (for the better)

I took me 2 months to find a good job and a place to live.

I'm still paying for all the travel expenses I made, but it was worth every penny.
Work and reestablishing a social life keeps me from working on a final update on the last reports.
I have given it a higher priority on my todo list.

Even without my final report and personal thank you; I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who supported me on this trip, it was a great learning experience and for me the journey isn't over, there is always a new horizon.

and burried in email
IRS papers
job-hunting
house-hunting

Quick end conclusion:

Take you backpack and go.
You can get a work permit for DownUnder and New Zealand up
till your 30th birthday. What's keeping you?

Buy your own transport; share with others you meet along the way.

South Africa was the best experience for me.

If you're into sports/hiking; go New Zealand.
(strangely enough there's no 'wildlife' thrill in NZ as
there are hardly any wild animals there.)

The USA is the USA, crazy as ever with the 'haves' and the 'have nots'
and the middle-class making ends meet.
Burning the majority of the worlds fuel at idiotic low cost
in idiotic huge vehicles.

It's difficult to find a rich Kiwi farmer with a cute daughter.
The Columbian alternative on my path was cute but too dangerous for me.
Emailcontact with The Netherlands (home) has its pros ;-)

Every birthday from now on I will tell the story of Laura(22),
Katie(22) and me in the hottub on my 36th birthday in january 2005.

And it is true: Money makes the world go round

My good friend David (www.sublimemedia.com) had an appointment with some Microsoft staff;
I can't tell much about it, NDAs etc.
I can tell though that David is very satisfied.
And I know that at least some money is flowing OUT OF
Billy boy Gates his pockets ;-)
Because they can't do 'it' themselves. :-) :-)

But the visit to Microsoft Campus was a revelation.
Obvious MS doesn't give a sh*t about their employees.
Some temps work in, what looked to me, like broom closest
with no outside light.
8 persons where stuffed in there, each in those small
silent reading cubes you see in libraries.

If you want to experience the feeling;
Go and sit on the toilet with your laptop
for 8 or 9 hours a day.

Thank god we have laws against workplace situations like
that in The Netherlands.

Time to go home!

Waiting for some photos (had a problem with my smartdisk)

1 week visit to LA, downtown, Venice Beach

1 week visit to Seatlle, friends, Microsoft

The last week in New Zealand I spent with John & Glenn,
owners of Hand Multimedia

John invites me to stay a couple of days, teaches me
to drink beer (as in 'the amount' of beer)
and almost gets me to participate in a game of touch rugby.

With Glenn I drive down to Dunedin; his wife Emma is the brewer
for the Speights Brewery.
That ofcourse means a special tour through the brewery and
tasting beers which not many people get to taste.
They have just introduced an apricot flavoured beer on the market.
Emmas first completely own creation.

Just some of the selection from Glenns endless beer supply. He works with Macromedia Authorware; got married 3 weeks ago and his wife brings home the beer... What more can a guy want.