a belated dedication

As per the unanswered request of my mother, and before I carry on with my tales form South America, I present this introduction to this leg of my travels, written in the physical journal I have been keeping. The following is the word for spell-checked word entry I made on December 31st, New Year's Eve, the night before flying down to Caracas...

A decade ago, citizens of the civilized world trembled in fear at the approach of Y2K. Bank failures, electrical disruptions, the end of the the Western World, all these things and more were predicted to befall our computer-dependent society. And so, the huddled masses hunkered down to await the certain doom of the new year. And of course, nothing all that perilous happened. The doom avoided, the fears unjustified. And so, it is with this learned cynicism in the pessimistic predictions of others that I approach the events to meet me in the new year. In exactly 15 hours, 53 minutes, I will be departing my home country for exotic lands afar. And in planning this trip to South America, I encountered my fair share of dire predictions of impending doom. From guerrilla wars to drug trafficking, insects of disproportionate size to diseases of surprising mortality (not to mention an abundances of sinister waterfalls) South America is indeed rife with things that can kill you. However, along with my 98.9% DEET bug spray, I am applying a protective layer of optimism to my journey. I look upon the friendly spider-infested nations of the Great Southern Continent as a spirited challenge in determination and positive thinking against malaria and a total lack of regional language skills. To this end, I dedicate this log, that it might serve as memoirs to my travels, or at the very least, clues to my disappearance... off now, to adventure!