A Set Plan—Israel.

I started a new photo site. It was a toss up between Picasa or Flickr; both sites are integrated with Mac, although Flickr and Facebook are appended to the new iPhoto 09. I decided with Flickr, and you can reach my Flickr site from the side bar, you can also subscribe to the RSS feed.

I arrived at the brother’s house, which is near Capernaum, an area where Jesus was active on the North bank of sea of Galilee. The house is in a Kibbutz situated on a high hill. This area is much further away from Lebanon, although still in range of their long-range rockets. I can stay until Thursday, which will work out great. The person I’ve been contacting in Jerusalem has a room for rent, and he is leaving for a week Thursday night. I have decided to head to Jerusalem Thursday morning and rent the extra room for three weeks, until February 5th. The room is less than $500, which is a good deal. Most short term rooms in Jerusalem run $300 a week. During this time I will visit Masada, The Dead Sea, and thoroughly tour Jerusalem. For the last week I am not to sure where I will go, although I do want to stay in Tel Aviv for the last few days. I will visit the family of the farm before I leave, and during that day visit Caesarea.

I have found a farming situation in Greece for the month of March. The farm is located in Northern Peloponnese near the town of Patra. They have many animals and about 80 olive trees. The work is five days a week at five hours a day, and I will have my own room and space. My limit as a volunteer is 30 hours a week, preferably two days off a week—the six-day work week gets under my skin. I believe in hard work, but the quality of life is predominant; the busyness and fast pace of humanity I experience as an irritation. What is the goal of humanity? Why do people complicate their lives? Fear of boredom, or fear of old age—it’s a baffling wonder within my mind. The fast speed that people eat food is unbelievable. Personally, the slowness of life dominates—the wasting of time is an affirmative pleasure.

Besides the farm situation, I have contacted a hotel owner that is located on one of the islands of Greece. Interesting enough, he is looking for someone to help his father during the busy season. I am interested and awaiting his response. I have worked with disabled people for twenty years, off and on, so the work is ideal. I am surely, some readers may be wondering—will you not travel this summer? First, I am not in a hurry—I have time to spare, waste, and over spend if I wish. Resulting from my perception of time—time is on my side, and always has been throughout my life.

The desirous pain of depth is predominant, learning the depths of culture, and ascertaining the depths of humanity is a captivating delight. The tourist syndrome of having a beer, going to see the sites, and clicking a camera is shallow compared to my disposition of this moment. I do understand that for many travelers, the focus is moving fast and playing tourist, which is OK—there are many different styles of travel.