The Restless Spirit- Nomadic Chronicles

11/20/2025

11/20/2025

What an exciting and scary time in life. Have you ever been in a significant transitional stage? I know the leap is intimidating but sometimes you need to do it to elevate your life. Hidden behind the recesses of my cynacism and grumpiness, I want the best for humanity.

I barely write these days. But I love to reach out to people here who I will never meet. I want to ignite a spark. I want you feel inspired after a post.

These days I’m in a difficult position caring for an elderly parent full time, who I should owe nothing to; but I feel compelled to help him in his feeble age. For caretakers, this burden often leads to mental and physical health issues. I am very aware of this, always protecting me and my family.

I’m relocating my family to Ohio very far and different from the Texas life they knew. But the quality of life and education is superb. Albeit we must now learn to navigate real winters. I also assumed a new role on the board of directors for a natural fiber association.

My passion is to remove petroleum based products from our lives as much as posssible even though it’s insurmountable. Petroleum is poisoning us in our polyblend fabrics from clothes to bedding. It is in plastic eatingware and artificial dies we touch and consume. Some plastics are less toxic, but we should try to avoid it all when possible.

I will share more with you, I appreciate those very few that come across my page.g

03/28/2025

I was adopted but by a rough family, and there is a legacy of dysfunction that follows them. I distanced myself as much as possible, often using education to distinguish myself from them.

My absent father was often physically and emotionally abusive, and spent more time chasing women than he did paying attention to me. When I was young, I didn’t know how to hold a grudge and he was my dad and I was fiercely protective of him.

But as I grew older, I began to look at life differently and at 30 years old I had to accept that this was not a family that I identified with in the slightest. I made lots of strides to ensure that I did not follow in their footsteps.

The last time I saw my dad, he was a crack user living in a scary motel that was frequented by prostitutes. He was so far gone that I left an absolute dismay. He refused any treatment. When I went through my last international divorce, I completely severed ties with my dad because there was just no way I could cope with that emotional drain, transition back to the US, and deal with him.

But that decision always haunted me and it defined me as a person who is fiercely protective of my own values, sanity, and well-being. I realize I will do anything within reason to protect myself and use legal means when necessary. This often includes severing ties with people who I never wanted to lose.

I got a weird call from my mom years ago telling me something about my dad passing away. She offered no clarity, and there was no way for me to confirm this. I just assumed it was true because of the drug use; he had been in bad shape for a long time.

But this past January, I got a phone call from the hospital telling me that my father was in a critical state and asked me to intervenene. I was in shock and I stepped in, systematically cleaning up the mess that my family often leaves me. They are the reason I did not want children. I knew I did not have the energy after all they took throughout my life.

But now that I am here and seeing my frail dad for the first time in over 10 years, as I am a middle-aged parent to a stepson and a goddaughter, I am oddly grateful. I’m glad that there may be an ending to the story that I will help shape. I’m happy to know he didn’t die alone on the streets or in suffering. It is a gift for me to have this closure; and it is purely for me, not so much him.

I married someone completely opposite of him. I wish I could tell all the people who suffered under their parents, “don’t give in. If they dont give a damn, then you must.”

07/14/2024

This summer I had to do a mostly business trip that we tried to make into a family vacation. It was one of the most stressful travels I have done; being full of titanium was a true challenge.

I took my aunt’s ashes to several states, and finally reunited them to be with other family’s ashes to rest in Barnegate Light, NJ.

I got to reunite several times with my best friend in Knoxville, TN. Asheville, NC’s Blue Ridge mountains are gorgeous but full of ticks and hippies. It was my third and last trip to the Biltmore. I tried to conquer my fear of water made it into the Gulf of Mexico, a lake in TN, and a river in VA very briefly.

We went to the horse races in Louisville, KY. We drove through amazing hills and a lot of the Appalachian mountains. I think I found our next move after Texas, KY called me to it. It made no sense, but there I fell in love with it wholly.

My fur boys loved exploring hotels and jumping on the beds. There was a lot of sweating except for the best weather I’ve experienced, oddly in West Pennsylvania! Philly was not stellar but the pretzels yummy.

I had to complete an eviction in NJ for my great grandparents’ house, where I reconciled that I may lose the property. I got to see a cousin in FL. Then I met more cousins in Ohio for the first time ever!

I got the cops called on me twice trying to manage my family’s affairs because people don’t want to follow the rules. Luckily I prevailed. Then my husband got to meet my adoptive mom to learn why I am who I am.

He watched me cleaning up messes that aren’t mine, always falling on my shoulders. It was the first time in my 41 years, someone stood up for me and said enough to her! I wish someone had done that a long time ago. He is my hero and my best friend.

I also got to experience some sobering tests, asking whether I was willing to compromise who I am. Never. I’m back home to finish our move, yuck. Cram studying for my PhD 16-hour exam with my god daughter sleeping next to me. To all the restless spirits, go forth and live.

06/25/2024

My best friend and I met over twenty years ago and we still meet up. I think the biggest thing that has kept us close is the shared trauma from when we young kids, having worked for a very abusive doctor and his girlfriend for years.

I finally jumped shipped after three years of torture and she stayed behind. It got worse for her after she became a single mom. They knew she was vulnerable.

This doctor came from a culture where women are devalued, he would slap our hands if we messed up. Money was regularly used to manipulate us, whether it was withheld from us or used to reward us.

His girlfriend had a toxic relationship with her mother, and we naturally fell into a mother daughter dynamic, and we were the next in line for generational abuse. We took it too. They weren’t going to surround themselves with strong people who would stand up to them.

We are cranky middle aged women now, who can sense abuse in the air, suspicious of others’ intentions. We often reflect about that nightmare period of our youth. I wake up with PTSD, dreaming I’m trapped there at that job. We now have no room for people with toxic personalities, with that memory forever forged in our psyche.

Today I’m very strong, and I advocate for myself regularly and do humanitarian work to try to take trauma and turn it into something constructive. My advice, if you are stuck with someone that makes your life less peaceful (especially behaving only in mixed company), remove yourself and let them think you are the problem.

06/14/2023

This year I turned 40 and took my family to Florida, to see where I grew up, also to visit the springs and the parks. I am far cry from where I was when I began this blog. I was very lost.

I’m married with a house and camper. I have settled down, leaving the gypsy life in a quiet corner. Now I research and publish about my African aventures.

I actually was raised by gypsy descendants from Poland (mom’s side) and Hungary (dad’s mothers side), this explains a lot! So my fighting spirit is there if I ever need it again. These are my favorite pictures:

03/11/2023

I see more engagement on this page, which I stopped frequenting. I thought maybe I’d take a break from the grueling stair master and put some thoughts down.

I grew up in the 80s and 90s. Asian were rare and K-pop and Animae weren’t making strides in our culture. Asians aren’t exactly the most intimidating people. The amount of racism was unbelievable. But today it’s changing.

I had some conversation with people in the last week that made it known they think I’m the outsider. But it wasn’t from a bad place, they were curious.

Then on the other side of the spectrum I’ve also been told as a minority born in another country “I’m white and it’s not fair.”

We must pick our fights. The agenda pushes division. I cannot imagine where I would be if I looked to be offended. I would never be disappointed! I would never progress.

My words of advice are: What is the context?
Are you speaking to someone with limited exposure or to the President of a university? Is this person looking to offend or are they trying to connect?

When you’re feeling marginalized, remember there are examples of success around you coming in many shapes and colors. You control can control more than you may realize.

Adapt when possible, fight when it is not.

04/27/2021

ANNOUNCING: Looking for mentors for the BLM movement, fundraisers, and people looking to run for political positions on local levels

As some of you know, I worked in politics and have an academic background and it offers good insight. I also do work in Africa and aside from a few beautiful souls, I get little help or interest etc. We buried a baby girl a month ago and it was preventable, malaria (much worse than Covid stats).

The risk is tremendous: My crew was kidnapped by a military man and held for ransom, I've been sick from dirty water (almost died once), we're fighting death, illness, corruption, theft and now I am trying to raise three orphans. But I'm burning out and I've spent thousands of our own funds helping black lives. Needless to say, I put my time in and I think I’ve earned the right to speak.

The other night I had a really intense conversation about the BLM movement and I turned to a friend I adore so much for some guidance. I'm sitting back studying the situation trying to figure out a solution, because the current trend isn't working. It is dividing us more and the damn media wont report honestly, keeping that rift wide.

So I feel until society sees people behind BLM doing constructive action, the movement will be derailed. The plight will be silenced if we have people stuck on the carousel of rage who aren't really interested in progress, just complaining or acting out (like burning cities down). This statement doesn't mean the anger isn't justified, but it needs to be redirected constructively.

My adopted grandma was/is a holocaust refugee and she was removed from her family and home, culture, and she found refuge in foreign countries while hiding her religion... all because of hate. That displacement is very real in my psyche. Racism has always been here and it's never going away. This shouldn’t be, but we have to keep going like humans have been doing since Biblical times.

If we think Biden or other politicians are they answer, I'm afraid we will be disappointed, wasting more time and created more alienation. We had Obama as president for 8 years and what was done?

Harris is from San Fran area CA, and this state has social issues so deep, I'm not sure why she is in office. Living there sucked, I've seen people doing drugs in public as well as walked over homeless people on the sidewalk.
They have human f***s patrol for the sidewalks of San Fran, visit and see for yourself. (My dad is homeless and it hurts to see)

So this leaves me to think harder. I feel the most meaningful way I can help the problem is to offer what I've learned in the field during the course in my life. I also want to learn and I want to say, I tried. It just took me awhile to speak up because, damn they don't make it easy.

We must have BLACK lives helping BLACK lives (like MLK) or it isn't going to work. This doesn't mean that other races can't be helping the movement. This also means those who sit out “aren't sympathetic” (can't force stressful agendas on people). If you sit out, don't let someone shame you.

Anyways, we can discuss how to build community level efforts using all types of people, but especially black lives to: mentor, teach, support young vulnerable lives. Topics like teen pregnancy, STD health, self confidence, life skills, spirituality, academic tutoring are all areas to tackle.

I also want to learn what is needed, because I am not black. But I’m going to get pi**ed if someone says “I’m basically white” again. The gears need to switch and bad practices need to stop on all sides. The reality is the microscope is going to come down more on BLM. It isn't fair but we are looking to keep going right, not spinning in circles.

Don't pull a fake race card because it diminishes real cases. Shut people down promoting hate and violence (burning cities will get lots of enemies, period). Also, if someone says they don't like “A,” it's doesn't mean they're “B.”

I'm putting a lot of people on the spot, especially the ones of all colors raging on social media just making noise. Now it's time to put your money where your mouth is. This is an offer that doesn't come around often. It really only costs time.

If this offends you, I understand but I don't have time to discuss because I'm a focused person who acts. I also know African black lives are not the same as American black lives, but black suffering comes in lots of shapes and one group doesn’t exclusivity over another.

So I'll be here for people to reach out to me via messenger and we can sit and do Zoom calls. Send me ideas or feedback. But know I’m only engaging with doers.

01/25/2021

I have so much world news to share. It’s been along time since I’ve posted on here. I hope this finds you all well. Since then my last post, my dear friend Mandy who hosted me in Cuba, passed away. But his wife Nirma kept me close, like family.

I accidentally discovered I have an older brother, who was also put up for adoption and we both coincidentally ended up in the US! His kids are amazing and his wife is gorgeous.

I was faced with many different obstacles the last couple of years, including a business theft. I worked with the FBI to put the culprit (Armando Almirall) and his partner (Anthony Mitchell) in federal prison, but he was released early! I needed a fresh start and I took a huge leap of faith and went into business in Africa...
I was met with criticism from others.

I started a vanilla operation in UGANDA. It was meant to help an orphanage. I travelled there a couple of times on my own. The last visit put me in danger, and I fled to the airport and flew out to London. A corrupt military intelligence officer arrested my crew and held them for ransom. I refused to pay but they have since been released.

I saw the poverty and disease like you would not believe, on a regular basis. I bathed outside with buckets and we went to the bathroom in holes, no plumbing. Our water source was typically shared and always had to be boiled. 

In this endeavor, I acquired three beautiful adopted children, whose mother died after (what should’ve been) a simple procedure. The needs of the community always seem to outweigh my business goals.

Recently Uganda had an election and the opposition caused a threat to the corrupt president. Musevni rolled out the military and shut the Internet down, so no citizen could share the violence that was transpiring in Uganda.

Now the Internet is connected, but he overturned the election results, as usual. I am contact with loved ones again.

So life has changed quite a bit for me in many different ways. Last year I finally married my best friend after a decade! Now I am a stepmom and and an adopted mom as well! Also, I got my first dog. I have so much more to share in time.

07/01/2018

My new brother and I are trying to piece things together. We don't really understand what happened or relate to the pictures we see.

He knew nothing about them or about me. I had to explain that meeting my/our birth mom was not that rewarding and why I moved on.

Finding out on accident three out of four of us were put up for adoption while they were middled age, makes me wonder were they selling us or what?

Why would she keep him a secret from me? I have no desire to sit 24 hours and drop tons of money to visit my birth family and growing up taught me life is not a movie. Finding my brother was a miracle enough.

My family is in Scotland and Cuba and Thailand and various parts of the US. They might not share blood with me but their love sustained me.

A common mantra in the international adoption community in the U.S. is that everyone has their own adoption story. I assume everyone has a unique reunion with their biological parent, too.

04/23/2018

My desert soul-searching trip has been rebooked!