SONICOCEAN.COM: June 2005

99 Things to Do Before I Die

Yesterday, I read an article in Men’s Health and it inspired me to write this for myself. The title was “99 Things to Do Before You Die,” hence my not so original title above. I’m not sure how long it will be before I get this list done and I am sure it will change over time. But I think this will be a great exercise in getting to know myself and just a whole lot of fun. The list is in no particular order.

1. Trek across a desert on camelback in North Africa or the Middle East
2. Hang glide
3. Visit Tibet and the Potala Palace. Meditate in a secluded area of the Himalayas
4. Live in Europe for at least 5 years
5. Visit Turkey and spend some time at the dervish lodges of the Mevlevi and Halveti-Jerahi Order. Get instruction on whirling from the Mevlevi and participate in Zikr with the Jerahi
6. See Australia and New Zeland, spend some time with my family there. Visit Uluru or Ayers Rock and scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef
7. Swim with dolphins
8. Take an Alaskan cruise
9. Bungee jump
10. Visit Iran and the sacred sites of the Sufi saints
11. See the aurora borealis
12. Visit Prague
13. Write a book
14. Put together a CD of music I have composed to give to friends and family
15. Sky dive
16. See the great pyramids of Egypt
17. Visit Rio de Janeiro during Carnaval/Mardi Gras
18. Sail the Mediterranean on a yacht
19. See the wildlife in Africa
20. Participate in the Hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca
21. Visit the Maj Mahal
22. See Angkor Wat in Cambodia
23. Visit the Inca city of Machu Picchu in the Andes Mountains of Peru
24. Learn to play the guitar
25. Take a vacation on the moon (hopefully, this will be possible in my lifetime)
26. Kayaking in whitewater (east TN has some good rivers)

This is all I have for now. It is not an easy list to come up with.

Here are a few things that would have made this list, but I've already done them:

1. Learn to scuba dive / go night diving - I have not done this in a while and I really do miss diving
2. Experience Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany - I was with my cousin Antonio. It was a wild time
3. Swim with sharks - Not all sharks are dangerous (thank god) but this was still exciting
4. Visit Amsterdam - I had a blast!!
5. Sit in meditation or pray with spiritual leaders - I had the opportunity to meet, sit and pray with various people from different backgrounds (Hindu, Daoist, Christian, Sufi), but most often with Sufi shaykhs and leaders of the Catholic Church (thanks mom). Every time, it was been a blessing. (For those that understand - I feel that the most powerful experiences are the ones I interpret to be via Uwaysi transmission)
6. Learn to play the piano and write music - I've written several songs. Its a great hobby, one that I hope to do more of soon
7. Get a Masters degree - I have an MBA & an MA (thanks Dad for pushing me to finish)
8. Play music in a band - I enjoyed it. Was in 2 different groups, but this path is really not for me
9. Study art and learn to draw
10. Visit the walled city of Avila - According to Catholic tradition, St. Teresa of Avila is my patron saint. I was born on her feast day and my grandmother has a devout Carmelite. Avila is a beautiful place

I have to admit there are a few other things I thought of that would go on either list, but are probably not appropriate to broadcast on the web. ;)

Website Visits

I was looking trough my website statistics and was surprised to find out that in May my server had 1,478 unique visits. Wow! I didn’t think there were that many people reading this. I can't take all the credit though, I am happy to say that www.akhira.com accounts for about 75% of the visits. This is the site were I maintain the message volumes of Hazrat Inayat Khan.

Weekend @ Pensacola

I left work last Friday and headed straight for Pensacola. Nicole was supposed to drive down with me, but she bailed the day before. It’s okay Nicole, I forgive you. I have to admit it has been fun making you feel a little guilty about it. Not to worry, an hour before departure Barry found someone else who needed a ride. So I picked up Gary and had a fairly quick ride down to the panhandle. I had a wonderful time with both old friends and new friends. There was very little drama except… when Gary and I accidentally left Puck at the beach, all alone in the rain, without his backpack, with the large tent to lug around, and no money or mobile phone. We eventually caught up with Puck a few hours later. I had to listen to Puck rant about the whole situation for quite a while. It was all in good spirits though, he was just joking around. He finally quit, well sorta quit, when I told him that I left him there intentionally. As I left Florida yesterday, for a laugh, I told Puck to call me whenever he got into Nashville so I could show him around and lose him somewhere for old times sake.

Some cool people I met at the bar. Had a great time chatting and just hanging out.

Pumkin, Puck and Fuse after one beer too many. This is what happens when it rains on the beach and everyone heads to the nearest bar to wait it out.

I wanted to take a few shots from the pier, but there was a troll collecting toll and I was too cheap to pay $1 - so I took this shot instead.

Snack bar at the pier.

Barry and Larry Bonifay were born a few minutes apart. They both love to tell stories, keeping the crowd enchanted with childhood recollections and family folklore.

Everyone enjoying good company and good food.

The Bonifay's sure know how to throw a party.

Bayou sunset. I love sunsets.

View from Barry's home. He slept in the camper, while letting all the guests stay in the house. He just bought the camper a few month back. I went with him to pick it up.