Trapped in Time

…Another reason for increased happiness in experiences, the researchers found, was that people felt a greater sense of vitality or “being alive” during the experience and in reflection, Howell said.

“As nice as your new computer is, it’s not going to make you feel alive,” he said.

Most psychologists who study the phenomenon say people adapt to a new purchase in six to eight weeks, up to a maximum of three months, Howell said.That means the initial pleasure we get from a new possession generally fades in a matter of months.

Howell’s study builds on earlier work by Thomas Gilovich, professor and chairman of the psychology department at Cornell University. Gilovich and colleague Leaf Van Boven’s seminal 2003 paper “To do or to have: That is the question” found similar results about possessions bringing less happiness than experiences.

Experts also point out that people are less self-conscious when comparing experiences than they are about possessions. It will probably bother you more that your friend’s home theater is better than yours than if your friend saw more sights on her South Seas vacation, Gilovich said.

Experiences form “powerful and important memories that I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world,” Gilovich said.

(via thepursuit:psychotherapy)

I’ve had this conversation a few times over the last couple months. I spent enough money traveling and touring with Phish this year to have purchased a new computer or something nice. But a new computer doesn’t give you 2 months of your year traveling across the country, making new friends, seeing new places, following your favorite band, and living.

I’d rather spend all my money on experiences and take away memories that have no expiration date or lifespan to them. Even though I may not be that wealthy right now, I couldn’t be happier with how I chose to live 2009 to the fullest.

2009 In My Rear View Mirror

(photo taken by me near the Columbia river, view on flickr)

Zack Klein posted the cities he slept in this year, and Eugene decided to aggregate his travel stats similarly.  We did a lot of our travel together sans a few trips, so there aren’t a whole lot of differences (he went to Mexico and Isarel, I went to the Carolinas, Kentucky, Maryland, and upstate NY another time).

I slept at least one night in each of theses 36 U.S. cities:

• Chicago, IL (Home)
• Valparaiso, IN* (Home, Home)
• Richmond, VA
• Hampton, VA
• Charlottesville, VA*
• Boston, MA
• Rochester, NY
• New York, NY*
• Uniondale, NY
• Asheville, NC
• Knoxville, TN
• Manchester, TN
• Nashville, TN
• Bloomington, IN*
• Pittsburgh, PA
• Noblesville, IN
• Bayside, WI
• Louisville, KY
• Lincoln, NE
• Denver, CO
• Moab, UT
• Las Vegas, NV
• San Francisco, CA
• Portland, OR
• George, WA
• Billings, MT
• Columbia, MD
• Columbia, SC
• Charlotte, NC
• Burkesville, KY
• Los Angeles, CA
• Palm Desert, CA
• Cincinnati, OH
• Lancaster, PA
• Albany, NY*
• Portland, ME

* Denotes multiple non-contiguous visits.

Additionally, I’ve driven almost 23,000 miles this year through 32 states, and flown another 6,000 miles.

I’m probably going to write more about what this year has meant to me, but it’s been a truly beautiful experience to travel to so many diverse places in this country over the course of 2009.  While in years past I’ve done some formidable road trips or backpacked abroad, I have never gone coast to coast to coast (I’ve actually gone to the east coast 4 times from Chicago, and once all the way to the Pacific).

In between, I’ve met up with some incredible friends from my childhood, from tumblr, and various other channels. I’ve met new people who I’ve stayed in touch with, and made memories that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

I saw over 60 concerts and 2 large music festivals, I watched my favorite band reinvent themselves in front of my eyes; I saw the Appalachians, Catskills, Rockies, and Cascades.  I stayed in the desert twice, climbed to the highest point on the northern end of the Grand Canyon.  I heard the natural swirl of sound at Red Rocks, watched the most beautiful sunset at The Gorge, raged in the craziest lightning storm of my life at Deer Creek, and saw shows at two of the biggest stages in the world (Empire Polo Fields and Bonnaroo). I was able to bring my brother along for parts, I traveled with my best friend and business partner, I met up with friends from my Indiana hometown in Southern California and Denver, and I saw tour buddies at various stops in various climates in various months of the year.

Through it all I think I learned more about myself and what I value, and how my values fit in with those of others across the U.S.  Maybe I’ll do another coast to coast trip in my life, but I can’t imagine it being as meaningful or awe inspiring as the one I took this year.

We’re on a dawn to dusk drive to Albany for tonight’s Phish show as we kick off our last trek of the year.

It will be a momentous one tonight, as its my 30th of the year and 50th overall. Doubtful I’ll ever even attempt this kind of travel again, but I’m really proud of all the friendships, work opportunities and good memories that have come out of our travels this year. We live in an amazing country where you could have an experience like this in 2009.

Well, we’re stuck on the tarmac in Charlotte. Flight’s being rerouted and I’m sweating my ass off in an exit row. Where is Ditka when you need that miracle play call?

Two years ago today, I had just arrived in Madrid, embarking on a month-long adventure backpacking Europe with Eugene immediately on the heels of our college graduation. We watched bull fights in Madrid, by chance ran into a huge music festival taking place in the heart of Sevilla, took in one of the most scenic sunsets in all of Europe over the Sierra Nevadas in Granada, explored Gaudi’s architecture and Piccasso’s museum in Barcelona, lounged on the beach and partied with new French Canadian friends in Ibiza. Then we headed to Germany and Munich, where we drank and ate a monstrosity of Deutsches Essen at the world’s second largest beer garden. And as is evident in this photo, we were left in awe at the beauty from atop the Eagle’s Nest, and were lucky enough to see Neu Schwanstein, a piece of architecture that can’t even be fully appreciated without seeing it in person.

Looking through my photo albums it’s hard not to get that itch to go back and explore the small villages of Bayern (Bavaria), or many of the countries we didn’t make it to (Switzerland, Amsterdam, France).

In addition to Germany and Spain, we flew to Dublin where we spent almost a full week, touring Kilmainham Gaol, the Jameson distillery, and Guinness factory with a 360 degree lookout of the entire city. However, Eugene had come down with what we have to believe was salmonella poisoining, and struggled to enjoy the pleasures of the Irish.

So being in the adventurous spirit, we went to an Internet cafe and started plotting how we could stay longer, and where that stay would be. We settled on Eastern Europe to mix things up and cut down on costs, and booked flights to Budapest where we spent three days exploring both sides of the city. We then took one very broke down train to Bratislava where we spent a night before booking it to Vienna, which is a city I remain in love with. On the last day we were there it lightly rained throughout the afternoon as thick clouds loomed. Yet behind the clouds the sun was still out, which created a sunset so rich and stunning that even local business owners came out of their shops to watch it.

My itch to travel is as strong as it’s ever been today, and Eugene and I will be doing plenty of it again over the next few months (albeit not to Europe). We head out to Charlottesville next week to meet with the Business Bullpen crew, and I’ll be headed to Boston on May 31 to see Phish at Fenway Park before we kick off our 11 day June tour of the Midwest, followed by our west coast adventure that will feature scenic stops at Red Rocks, Moab, the Bay Area, Glacier Lake, and The Gorge. I hope I never lose the urge to travel, as every experience has added something tremendous to my outlook on life, be it the unique culture I’ve experienced, the beautiful sights I’ve seen, or the escape of the mundane that can often accompany your comfortable and familiar surroundings.

michaelikesit:

Sometimes when I have a long layover, I’ll sit in a different boarding area. A part of me would love to hop on a random flight and start over. Right now I’m in the boarding area for a Seattle flight.

I’ve done this before and always enjoyed putting myself in the frame of mind of going somewhere completely different than my intended destination (i.e. home).  I wonder how empowering it would be to just say fuck it and hop on a flight to the other side of the country, or some remote corner and see what happens.

In an hour, I’ll be on my final flight of the day: the connection to paradise.  Who knows when I’ll be back tumbling, but take care and enjoy your weekend y’all!

Deef driving the tumblr spring break party bus