Okey dokey Kermit, here we go – folks wanted an earful so they should have it. Why am I leaving this country, and why now? Let’s start by saying this, my fellow Americans: Your vote counts! I wasn’t the greatest fan of Mr. Clinton, not by any stretch of the imagination, but I sensed that better things were happening to this country during his political advent in the summer of 1992, which I was fortunate enough to witness from my window at Berkeley’s Alpha Epsilon Phi, overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. I am conservative as hell with a great deal of liberal influences but I sure knew that politics in this country would go down the toilet with Mr. Bush Jr.’s arrival on the federal scene. In a nutshell, I truly believe that I can, in all finality, blame my departure on the murky election proceedings in Florida – who would have known then… Priorities, priorities, priorities. Does this country have any at this time? I could chime into the sarcastic questioning of WMD in Iraq, I could overly simplify by blaming life on The Power of Oil, I could blame 7 million illegal immigrants, in particular 4 million Mexicans (but, hey, I am German so I know my role representing the subdued grand grandchildren of people who just happened to live at the time when Nazis went after Jews), I could simply go into hibernation and show the world my skinny ass and not give a damn. Long story short, thanks to the Mullahs and Mufties the Big Brother instituted the Department of Homeland Screwing - umm, Security, this amazingly immobile glob of everything and then some, including the former INS. My visa extension was dutifully filed with the old INS to the tune of $1,130 in fees, then nothing happened, then the INS got dismantled and swallowed by the DHS-BCIS, and then even less than nothing happened. Half a year later we find out through the grapevine that there might be 6-8 months processing delays in addition to the standard processing times, but what do we care, humble people who try to be legal tax payers instead of illegal Medicare recipients. Today, I find myself realizing that bitterness in my heart makes me negative and pessimistic, so maybe regaining my freedom by leaving this country is the only way to go. I have many things to be thankful for in this country: I was given an opportunity to finish my education with an MBA for free. I experienced the rise and fall of the Internet bubble first-hand at its epicenter, the Silicon Valley. I finally found a great job with great people in a great organization, which has managed to go through the tough times without layoffs so far. I have been relieved of many years of back pain through the amazing work of bright people at Stanford (and it takes a lot for me to say this, being a wannabe Cal Bear at heart). I have traveled the world and fulfilled lifelong dreams (did I say “boink, boink, boink”). I have been able to put lots of money aside to travel even more and without work for the next 12-18 months. I have received my FAA Private Pilot License; I have finished diving and yachting certifications. I have made lifelong friends. This is a great country of opportunities and I am thankful for every moment that I have spent here. It’s just fucked up at this time and I am done adoring it for now.

Hallihallo... Time for the good-bye tour. Dropped off the Topless Rabbit yesterday to be sold at Wheels & Deals again - what worked once should work again. I just hope it will be within less than a week so i won't have to deal with release authorizations, power of attorney, etc. pp. The set of wheels Enterprise got me is quite the shoebox but at least it has a/c so it's bearable during these hot days. Brucey bear was all over that poor Asian dude trying to buy my bike yesterday; I finally managed to get rid of it at a 50% premium without him screwing up the deal. Packing proves to be quite the challenge this time around... unbelievable what amount of junk one can accumulate over just 7 years. Holy crap... 7 years!!! Can't believe it has been that long - the more I think about it the more I am getting stoked about travelling again. Hopefully I will manage to schedule in some flying this Saturday - probably the last time for a very long year I suppose. The LBA in Germany is one fucking hell of a bureaucracy - for them to recognize the FAA license it would take more time and money than to get a new one on the spot right there. Oh well... CB has offered to go sailing on their 60+ feet 2-mast ketch south of Marseille for a week or so; I think that would be a great start to my year on the road. Let's see if it pans out.

Heya KJ... here we go - it's a done deal. Just got confirmation from AA that my ass will be shipped outta here on June 28; that's less than 4 weeks from now. Get ready to rumble! Kind of scary not to know what the future holds but I am beginning to actually feel excited about the prospect of travelling for a long period of time. Started cleaning out my pad this past weekend; unbelievable how much junk one can accumulate over 7 years. Will try to go to PDX one more time next weekend to start the Good-Bye Tour in treehugger country.