7 days and counting...

well this year started off with a bang... no sooner did i get back to l.a. from the holidays did i get immediately thrown into my patented 12-hour-days™ dealing with several projects at once. i'm fortunate to have the work but jesus christ i need to disappear for a little while.

speaking of that...

about this time 1 week from now i'll be checking into my hotel in paris on my way to another incredible adventure in niger. and while i'm not as anxious and scared as i was before my first excursion to niger i still can't say that i'm entirely peaceful about this trip either. 6 hrs a day of walking/hiking... our minimal belongings strapped to camels and donkeys... the entire trek a big question mark.

something about that country... the extremes - beauty, ugliness, plenty, nothingness... the thought of it all is scary and intoxcating.

i even got wind of a potential work tie-in for this trip - a friend of mine is overseeing the creation of a site for a local non-profit to benefit the tuareg communities in niger - education, clean water, medical supplies. everything seems to be strangely falling into place at the last minute.

i have all the necessary gear (i hope)... still need to get gifts and supplies to give to/trade with the local tuaregs we'll encounter along the way.

can't fucking wait.