Set to Launch...

As I sit here on this rainy afternoon in Dilworth Coffeehouse - Charlotte, NC - drinking a great cup of coffee with Andy I ponder on the tour, which is set to launch in 2 days. First stop - Palm Bay en route to Tampa, Florida. The first tournament begins on the 8th, but I need to be there by the 4th.

We have been going from place to place around Charlotte, knocking important logistics off the To-Do List. If we could just get this DVD player working in the van we'll be set.

I have a bagpiping gig to play for tonight at a houseful of Scottish people, so that should be interesting. After that, we have been invited to a couple of parties, where we will end the night and ring in the New Year.

Happy New Year everybody! I love you all. I'm gonna do my best to keep in touch with all of you throughout my Journeys this coming year. Anybody who wants to e-mail me I would love that. My new e-mail address is tennis.piper@gmail.com.

Signing off...

- Nate

Good news on Christmas

Well, today has been a Christmas like no other. I just got in from Arizona late last night and I'm now in my hometown of Groveport, Ohio spending Christmas with my Mama.

It is surely the quietest Christmas I've ever spent, since it's just me and my Mom here. We went to see "The Pursuit of Happyness" earlier tonight. It was an incredible flick and I recommend it to all. It is based on a true story and reminded me of what humility, hope, and diligence really are.

I also found out today that my good friend Andy Inscho, who lives here in Ohio, will be going with me for the first month of the tour in Florida. We'll be heading down to Charlotte on the 28th, then heading down to Florida on the 2nd.
Above is a pic of Andy and me.


Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

- Nate

Sad News...

Danny Winter, my friend, and co-journeyman, has just informed me that he will not be able to go on the tour with me. He has made the decision to work to obtain a full-time job and pay off his accumulating debt, as he has been unable to make very much money since he made the decision to go with me on the Journey America Tennis / Bagpipe Tour.

It came as a bit of a surprise to me, but I had to not waste time in planning the modified journey. I have a few other friends who I spoke to today who may be able to come with me on the journey. Even if I don't have anybody to go with, the Journey will still go on. I am determined to make this work, and I have to expect things like this to happen.

I will keep you all posted as to what comes to fruition. In the meantime, I've got to keep focused on training.

Signing off.

Nate

10 Days in... 10 Pounds up

It's been 10 days since I arrived in Prescott, Arizona for training and I have gained about a pound a day. I came in at 160 and this morning I weighed in at 170. The goal is to sustain 175.

Being here is not like being anywhere else. The dry climate, the rocky, highly elevated mountainous atmosphere, the people, the animals! Tuesday night about a dozen javelinas (pronounced 'havolina') showed up looking for a nighttime snack and some water just right in front of my brother's house. "What is a javelina?" you might ask. It's a wild pig. Google it, then you'll say wow. I went outside, just 15 feet away from the whole family. Luke says they come around often. He showed me some pics of one eating Sierra's (my neice) prize winning pumpkin. Just about 5 minutes ago I got to see a raccoon come right up to eat the rest of Coco's (the 3 pound dog) food. Again, this wasn't anything out of the norm. The coolest thing is that Luke's house has a full row of huge windows in the kitchen that give full view of all the action going on outside in the front 'yard.' Let me tell you, a yard here is more like a slew of rock formations. Grass is very uncommon.

Alright, signing off for now... 18 days til the Journey begins!

Nate

Anything is possible

Check this site out: One Red Paperclip

This guy had a goal to trade one red paperclip for something better and better until he got a house. 14 trades later, he owns a house free and clear.

So folks, it is officially true - ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!

BTW I am in Arizona on my 3rd day of intense training at my brother Luke's family's house in the mountains of Prescott, AZ. It is going very well and I am very sore.

The morning comes awefully early - 5am tomorrow!

Signing off for the night.

Nate

"do unto others as you would have done to you"

Well, I'm writing a blog, I am here in Maryland, back home with my mother. I am at Panera bread with my Laptop because they have free wireless internet. Being back home seems to focus my focus, and as my focus is usually on deep, all-encompassing thoughts, my thinking lately has brought me to perspectives and the mind vs. the physical realm.
So, If another person does unto me what they would want done to themselves, I cannot expect to recieve from them what I would prefer. On a slightly different note, If one person believes in a god, and another person believes in no god, and neither can be proven either way, then who is right? What is the truth? Is there even such thing as the truth? How does time play into this? If I look for the smallest piece of something, and by cutting that piece in half always get two smaller pieces, then this could go on forever, hence infinite. So, if this is the case, and each moment of time changes from one to the next and so on, and the two are correlated in that time and matter coexist, where does the beginning come in? Is it infinite like that of the smallest amount of space is, or is it even logical at all that there is a beginning?
For me, nature holds all the answers. While it may not be of any substance to ponder this, for each moment is all that matters, it is in my nature to understand before jumping to any conclusions.
Growing up I always wanted to be part of the animals around my house. The same feeling came out when I played sports. I am still jealous of a squirrel I see jumping from tree to tree, or a bird falling and catching itself by flying. Lately I have come to a better understanding of why I am bad at book work, although intelligent, but great at sports. It is timing. Growing up, or inherently I wait for my body to do what it is that my mind sees or wants to happen, thus waiting to the precise moment to act, in things like hitting a baseball or kicking a soccer ball, etc. In class, however, it seems I would be waiting for the answer, using my method to find the answer, and it would take like and extra day for me to come to any answer based on details. I guess I just look at the whole picture right away as to predict the precise moment to act, thus thinking about details in a classroom needs much more time. Anyway, I am signing off. Hope everyone is well.

-Danny

A Confession...

"To whom much is given, much is expected." I have been a selfish person over the past few months. I have been noticing lately more than ever the lack of things I have done for others lately. I have been caught up in the thinking that the things I do will not go noticed, so why do them at all? Why not just focus on my own needs and forget about others? It was an easy and lazy decision to make. My Mom said something to me just recently when we were talking about something I can't remember, but she said, "The road to hell is wide." This really made me think about all the lazy thoughts I have had that have kept me from doing more for others over the past few months. It also made me think of my day to day activities and simply how I am living my life. I certainly know deep down that I can do more for others. I am sorry to all that I have kept from doing more for.

It starts here.

Love to all and to all a good night.

Nate