Well, so long folks. I'm off to the monastery. Now for the hardest part of all - cancelling my ISP account. It's like cutting off my arm!

I feel I've been neglecting this blog these past few weeks for no good reason, and maybe that's a sign that this is the appropriate time to move on out of my parents' house and to whatever's next. I think things stagnated here faster than they ever could in San Francisco. It has admittedly been luxurious being a freeloader these past four months, with a small price of giving up certain freedoms. OK, it was a big price, and I couldn't float along here forever without melting down.

I'm going here for an unspecified amount of time. When I get there tomorrow, I register for a two week period, and at the end of the two week period, I ask if I can stay longer and state my reasons why I want to. From that point, I don't know what I become, maybe a long-term resident, maybe a monastic aspirant, hopefully not another 'freeloader'. Eventually I might decide to become a monk and then if I'm accepted, I'd take novice vows. I think the head shaving happens then as well as the robe wearing. If I decide to leave, I have no idea what I'll do or where I'll go. If I'm lame, which I am, I'll probably end up back in New Jersey to float some more to figure out what to do next. I'm thinking the time frame for all of this is 3 months to over a year.

I don't know what sort of internet access I'll have at the monastery. They have a connection in their business office, but I don't know who's allowed to use it or for how long. I'm hoping that long-term residents can request time on the internet. If so, there might be sporadic blogging and emailing, but I'm not counting on it. Staying in touch with people is good, but can't be a focal point of my being there.

Bottom line is this blog is officially on hiatus.