Nathan’s Blog

The following blogposts were written by Nathan and posted at his original blog site. The formatting isn’t as perfect as his original, but we have tried to transfer them as closely as possible. Nathan started his blog site when he started to plan for his cross country and international adventure.

Go West, Young Man! September 9, 2015 by Nathan House

All too often in life, joy is accompanied by sadness. Three years after starting my small hobby electronics business, FoxyTronics, I’ve decided to shut it down. I’ve enjoyed building the business and inspiring people to learn about electronics and robotics, but the time has come to move on. After selling off all of my inventory, I plan to go on a road trip around the U.S. I’ll start by driving from Lynchburg Virginia to the East Coast (Virginia Beach), from there to the West Coast (location TBD), and then (maybe) up to Alaska! Wish me luck!

The Philbrook Museum of Art November 7, 2015 by Nathan House

The only thing I know about art is that I like it. After finishing up a week of work in Tulsa, I decided to visit the Philbrook Museum of Art (https://philbrook.org/) on my way out of town.

The Phillips Family

According to the Philbrook website (https://philbrook.org/about/the-philbrook-story):

“World War I was over. Women could vote. It was a time of flappers, rumble seats, prohibition, bootleggers and five-cent Cokes. More than that, in Tulsa the Twenties smelled of oil and resounded with money … This impressive home was completed in 1927.

In 1938 Waite Phillips surprised Tulsans with the announcement of his gift of the 72-room mansion and surrounding 23 acres of grounds as an art center for the city of Tulsa. The vision first made possible by Waite and Genevieve Phillips is now one of America’s finest art museums. The integrity of the original residence remains intact while later additions to the facility and gardens complete this classic Tulsa attraction.

Serving an average of 150,000 visitors annually, Philbrook has become a poignant testimony to Tulsa’s past while building a shining example of this city’s bright future. Through the generosity of Trustees, Donors, and the George Kaiser Family Foundation, Philbrook opened a new satellite facility in Tulsa’s Brady Arts District on June 14, 2013. Philbrook Downtown features the Museum’s growing collection of Modern and contemporary art as well as highlights from the Native American collection, and includes the Eugene B. Adkins Collection and Study Center.

What began as an unprecedented gift to the city of Tulsa by the Phillips family continues today through the generosity of Philbrook Members and Donors year after year, making relevant art programming accessible to all.” —-

I haven’t visited many art museums, so I can’t really objectively rate the museum, but I found my visit to be quite enjoyable. The museum offers free tours on a daily basis led by volunteer docents. An elderly gentleman, who happened to be a retired university physics professor, acted as the docent for my tour and did a great job providing us with the history of the museum and the works of art.

My favorite painting in the museum was The Little Shepherdess: (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shepherdess)

The Little Shepherdess – William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1889

An interesting point our docent brought up is that if you look in the background of the painting, there are cattle, not sheep. He continued to say that this had puzzled him for quite some time until a group of French tourists informed him “shepherd” in French is more akin to “herdsman” in English than what we traditionally associate width the word “shepherd.”

Another work of art I found captivating was Joy of the Waters, a sculpture by Harriet Whitney Frishmuth:

Where are My Keys?! November 10, 2015 by Nathan House

I had little adventure last Wednesday morning. After waking up at 4:30am, I decided to head to StarBucks to start getting some work done. When parking for the night, I set my keys and phone on an armrest on the side of my vehicle, since keeping what is basically a phablet (iPhone 6S Plus) in your pocket when sleeping is uncomfortable, and having learned the hard way that keeping a key fob in your pocket is a bad idea (hint: the alarm button on the key fob is easily pressed when left in your pocket and lying on your side).

I grabbed my phone and key fob, stuck them in my short’s pockets, and crawled to the front seat. I reached into my right front pocket, expecting to find the key fob I just stuck in there, but it was empty! I remained calm. I takes a lot more than this to cause me to panic. I crawled back into the back seat and started feeling around for the key fob, assuming it had slipped out of my pocket when I crawled into the front. It’s worth mentioning at this point that it was completely dark outside, and as I was parked in an upscale neighborhood, I was trying not to use a flashlight since that’s kind of the opposite of being discreet. I slowly checked my sleeping bag, the tops of the seats, and various crevices the fob may have slipped into. Nada.

At this point, while annoyed, I still wasn’t panicking. I had literally just had the fob in my hand, so I knew it had to be inside my SUV. I gave up on being discreet and used the flashlight on my phone to better assess the situation. I keep my SUV pretty tidy as I’m traveling light, but as I looked around and didn’t see the fob anywhere, I realized it could

have fallen into any number of nooks and crannies in the vehicle. It could have fallen under the seats, between the seats, between the edge of the seats and doors, etc. I re-checked my sleeping bag, feeling the entire inside and checking the pockets, and then rolled it up as I eliminated it as the hiding place. I started methodically combing the back of the SUV, but I simply couldn’t find my keys!

Still trying to be discreet, as I was parked on a residential block and didn’t want to cause a disturbance, I got out of my vehicle and started opening doors and shining my flashlight in to look for the traitor-fob. It briefly reminded me of the One Ring, which is known to betray its wearer by slipping off at the most inconvenient of times (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Akw9CIxGEPA&feature=youtu.be&t=36s). Now I was starting to panic a little.

I began reorganizing everything in the back of my vehicle. I even started taking stuff out of my vehicle so I could search every little nook and cranny, but no matter how hard I looked, I simply couldn’t find the fob! I started making trips to a nearby trashcan to throw away stuff I was considering donating to Goodwill in an attempt to reduce clutter to make finding the fob easier, but it was to no avail. The fob really, really didn’t want to be found.

After at least half an hour of searching, as I was sprawling on the middle seats with my legs sticking out the side door, a white SUV slowed down as it neared me from behind. I pulled my legs most of the way in and pulled the door mostly closed, when suddenly a spotlight came on and I realized it was the police. “Hi!” I said with feigned enthusiasm. “What are you doing?” a gruff voice from behind the spotlight demanded. “I’m travelling and am cleaning out my car,” I replied, feeling a little embarrassed and hoping I wouldn’t have to explain that I had lost my keys in my car. “What’s your name?” the voice continued. “Nathan House.” Apparently satisfied with my responses, they drove off without another word. In retrospect, I realize it probably looked a little suspicious to be half-sticking out of a vehicle at 5am looking around with a flashlight. The search continued..

Frustrated and very discouraged, I sank into the driver’s seat of the car and dejectedly wondered what I was going to do. I had spent around an hour scouring my vehicle, reorganizing everything and even throwing stuff away. I had checked everywhere and hadn’t been able to find it. My only spare key was back in Virginia, and I started thinking about the logistics of having my vehicle towed somewhere until my family could mail it to me. I was feeling pretty panicky at this point. As my butt touched the seat, I felt a lump in my back right pants pocket. “No,” I thought to myself. “No. Way.” I reached into my back pants pocket and pulled out my key fob. I had accidentally stuck it in my back right pocket instead of my front right pocket, and because I had been crawling around on my hands and knees while looking for the fob, hadn’t felt it.

Really ticked at myself, but at the same time tremendously relieved, I put the key in the ignition, started my vehicle, and drove off.

Moral of the story: always check your butt pocket.

Couchsurfing November 21, 2015 by Nathan House

I recently Couchsurfed for the first time and had a fantastic experience. The following evening I did it again and had another great experience. Couchsurfing is a website dedicated to helping travelers find people willing to host them for one or more nights. Why would anyone be willing to host strangers in their house, you might wonder? One reason is that many of the hosts are travelers themselves and want to “pay it forward,” so to speak, as they know they’ll be using Couchsurfing in the future. Another is that hosting travelers from overseas can be great fun! Both of my hosts told me stories of travelers they’ve hosted from all over the world. It opens you up to a different culture and can be a great learning experience.

My first Couchsurfing experience was amazing thanks to my fantastic host and experienced traveler, Mike. I offered to buy us dinner as a thank-you for him hosting me, so Mike took me to his favorite local pub where we had dinner and a drink. He’s been traveling internationally for over 30 years and has visited over 40 different countries. He shared many stories of his travels with me, along with a lot of great advice for a first-time traveler. When I mentioned I planned on visiting the San Diego Zoo the next day, he gave me a free guest pass he had from his personal membership, saving me $50! I hope to reconnect with Mike in the future.

The next evening I drove down to San Diego and stayed with a gentleman named Gordon, who was also a very gracious host. Gordon has hosted a tremendous number of travelers and takes hosting very seriously. He took the time to put together two travel guides for the people he hosts, with one showing the local restaurants and pubs and the other showing the best local attractions. I arrived late and left early, so I didn’t get to spend much time with Gordon, but he seemed like a great guy.

So far I’m sold on Couchsurfing. I didn’t really need to Couchsurf in the States, but was trying to get a few references for my Couchsurfing profile to make finding hosts overseas easier. I think it’s an amazing concept, and while I’m sure not all hosts have good intentions, so far I’m two for two.

Breaking Up With Kate December 1, 2015 by Nathan House

I had to sell my month-old Nissan Rogue before leaving the U.S. and wrote a somewhat humorous Craigslist ad for it. Thought I’d repost it here for posterity.

I began my relationship with Kate, a new 2015 Nissan Rogue S, about a month and a half ago after graduating from college with an engineering degree. Kate has performed flawlessly and has steadfastly stood by me through the best of times.

I intended to have a long-term relationship with Kate, but recently made the decision to move to Europe for a year or two and as such need to part ways with her. I do so with great sadness, but maintaining a long-distance relationship over the next 1-2 years just won’t work. Kate has 5,300 miles under her belt and will probably reach 6,000 by the time I’m ready to say goodbye. Nay, strike that — I’ll never be “ready” to say goodbye to Kate, but circumstances will eventually demand it.

Nearly all of Kate’s miles are highway miles (at least 75%) as we drove out here from Virginia and then traveled up and down the California coast, sightseeing and hanging out at beaches together. I fly out of LAX on 12/1/15 and need to part ways with Kate sometime within the week prior to that date (I would prefer to say goodbye between the 27th and 30th). Kate is truly beautiful and is in perfect condition aside from normal wear and tear expected after traveling for a month and a half (some small blemishes and scratches). I just had the first full service performed this past week, paying for synthetic oil (she demanded it — women!), and the dealership said there were no issues.

I paid $300 to have the windows tinted with 18% ceramic tint. From day one, Kate has demanded only the best (synthetic oil, ceramic tint, etc.. but what’s a guy to do, other than capitulate to the demands of such a beautiful creature?). The front windows aren’t legal in CA (maximum tint is 50%) and may not pass inspection, so I can have the front tint removed if you’d like.

Please let me know if you have an interest in establishing a relationship with Kate. I know I’ll miss Kate, and I expect she’ll miss me too, so I want to find a good home for her. I will be in LA sometime next week and can bring her by for a visit if you’d like to get to know her.

I expect to receive a lot of interest in Kate, given her young age and obvious beauty, so my price is firm. I will only accept a cashier’s check, which must be handed over in person by the individual whose account it was drawn from. I will request to see a driver’s license to verify identity and will also call the issuing bank to verify the cashier’s check is valid. I have the title in-hand and there is no lien on the vehicle as I paid for it in full when purchasing.

Feel free to email, text, or call me if you have any questions.

Best regards,

Nate

My First Case of Jetlag December 6, 2015 by Nathan House

I flew out of LAX on Dec. 1st at 6pm PST, having woken up around 6am that day. Despite the plane being a Boeing Dreamliner (a very nice plane) I wasn’t able to sleep on the flight, so by the time I arrived at my hotel in London (on Dec. 2nd) and fell asleep, I had been awake for around 32 hours. I woke up far earlier than I would have liked the next morning, ate breakfast, did a little work, and fell back into a restless sleep. I dozed a little, woke up and did some more work, and then fell asleep for quite a while. When I finally awoke it was pretty dark outside and my iPhone said the time was “3:00.”

I needed to get to the airport by 4:00 to catch my flight to France, so I hurriedly packed my backpack and rushed downstairs to the airport shuttle (a “coach” in England), which I luckily caught just in time. Relieved, I rode to the airport, feeling pretty proud of my traveling skills. I waited in line to check-in for about half an hour, but when I finally got to the airline counter the lady couldn’t find my reservation. After searching for a while on her computer, she finally found my reservation, but then made the outrageous claim that the day was, in fact, not Dec. 4th (the day of my flight) but rather Dec. 3rd. Totally confused, I stammered a quick thanks and walked away a little embarrassed, but mostly just feeling really confused.

I looked at my phone and it now read “4:00.” It was still dark outside. Something fishy was going on.. Everything felt a little surreal and a small part of me wondered if I was dreaming. I looked at my phone once more and suddenly realized the iPhone doesn’t show “AM” and “PM” after the time — it just shows the time by itself. So “3:00” did not mean 3am, but rather 3pm. Being London, it was so cloudy outside that it was dark out at 3pm, leading me to think “3:00” meant 3am!

Thus went my first case of severe jetlag. The hotel was nice enough to let me check back in, so in the end all I lost was time, £6 for the coach, and a little pride.