Change and Risk Report #1

If you’ve been following Todd’s Wanderings I hope you’ve picked up on a major theme of the blog and my life: Change and Risk. As I look back on the first half of 2010 I’m happy to report that life has been filled with both. I’m not able to capture everything in my blog posts so the CR reports (yeah, I just created an acronym on my site) are my way of laying out my life in a somewhat coherent manner. If I find more time I will try to do them more often or even create a monthly newsletter. But for now, be happy with what you get

Don’t be the Sheep! Make your own way. Please stop biting my pants.

The past six months have been incredibly busy for me and Todd’s Wanderings. Not only did I switch to a new web address and self-hosted site (after blogging on Blogger for 2 1/2 years) but I also reoriented Todd’s Wanderings to speak to a wider audience (don’t worry Mom I’ve not left you behind). The initial goal was to create a platform for the my first book. I am writing a travel memoir about 5 years in Japan, walking the 900 mile, 88 temple Shikoku Pilgrimage, twice, and confronting my 1/4 life crisis caught between society trying to drag me down with a steady job in the US and my itch to keep exploring the world. I took a break on the book (now halfway through the manuscript) to focus on building Todd’s Wanderings. I’ll write more about my book soon. Maybe I’ll also create a counter for readers to show their support which I can use to convince future agents and publishers of my book’s viability…cheating will be encouraged

I am happy to say traffic has increased steadily and I have met so many new people. I also discovered that I love writing more and more each day and am now focusing not just on my book, but on freelance writing as well, and of course building Todd’s Wanderings bigger and better. This included launching two new aspects to the site: K’s Kitchen, where my wife dishes out her secret travel recipes; and Lifestyle Strategies, where I’ll detail strategies I and others used to live a life of travel, work and freedom. Now that things have stabilized  (meaning still super busy but I have time to sleep) with the blog I will go through a redesign phase to make the layout cleaner and will FINALLY get back to writing my book. I hope to have the final edited manuscript to agents by the end of the year. Pray for me.

I have continued my peacebuilding and conflict resolution work as well and this, along with my personal travels, has kept me moving. In fact, besides the normal life of running around Kosovo, I visited 11 countries in the past 6 months. This is where I brag:

Venice, Italy and sking in the Dolomites

Skiing in Bulgaria

Istanbul, Turkey (I have more to write on negotiating for a carpet)

Singapore- trying to find something interesting to do

Timor-Leste- leading a group of Sri Lankan officials to study post conflict land administration

Sri Lanka- helping to assess the land and conflict issues now that the war has ended (yes, I traveled for fun too)

Maldives- scuba diving with sharks and other critters

Netherlands (yes, I still need to writ about this!)

Montenegro- ahhhh, beautiful Kotor

Croatia- a day spent in Dubrovnic (need to write about this as well)

The USA- summer in New England is not to be missed (future guest post in the making)

Are you still with me? I hope so. I have also been busy writing guest posts around the web and interacting with some pretty amazing travel bloggers. Some of the places you can find more of my stories and some other outstanding content are:

Southeast Asia.org- No, Thank you Laos I WON the May Peoples Choice Award. Now I need your help to win the Grand Prize by voting between July 1-31. Click the link to VOTE. Thanks for the support.

FoxNoMad-A Local’s Guide to 2 Days in Kyoto, Japan

Travel Titbits- A Guide to Diving in the Maldives for Singles

Travel Dudes- How to Take a Quick and Cheap Trip to the Maldives and Still have a Good Time

A Travel Around the World- Top 5 Foods to Experience in Japan

STA Travel Buzz- Spotlight on Todd’s Wanderings (I’m writing a guest post for them on Japan right after this!)

Vagobond.com- Interview on International Marriage: Japan and the US

If the past six months are any indication the rest of the year will be even busier as I start a new full time job with the United Nations, help write a hiking and eco-tourism guide for a rural area of Kosovo, finish my own book, collaborate with the Lonely Planet Bloggers on a Photo E-book about blogging around the world, start a new website called Exploring Japan with insider tips on getting the most out of your visit, expanding K’s Kitchen with guest posts from all our development worker friends (and you if you want!), expanding Lifestyle Strategies with interviews from other wanderers, and much, much more!

I really appreciate all the wonderful support from my readers and am humbled to think that people find my stories interesting enough to come back. Thank you to everyone who comments and participates in the community we are building here. It would be a lonely world without you. For the lurkers out there don’t be shy about speaking up, all are welcome.

Finally, please do help spread the word about Todd’s Wanderings and my Facebook Fanpage. If you ever want to collaborate on a project, need advice on travel, or just want to get to know me better please use the contact form. I love hearing from people and am generally very accessible…unless you are creepy.

Have something on your mind? Want to share what you’ve enjoyed so far? Leave a comment and join the discussion.