Wanderings with Dan Catena
Neiva, Colombia in April of 2022. It was around 2pm when my body began to feel warm. The brightness of the bedroom was inescapable because the sun was radiating with full force. I tried for a moment to hide underneath the covers of the bed, pretending that the day hadn’t started yet. It was no... Continue Reading →
Once upon I time I found myself in Missoula, Montana. The year was 2005 and I was a freshman at the University of Montana. I was the archetype of a typical freshman at an out-of-state school: An 18 year-old recently liberated from his parents. I was shy, self conscious, and awkward because I didn’t know... Continue Reading →
If you're looking for places to visit in Japan that aren't Tokyo or Kyoto, then here is my comprehensive guide of some interesting destinations to explore 🙂
There was once a time in my life when I wasn’t attracted to the elixir of pitch black coffee. I call these years the “Pre-Awakening” because during this point in my youth I started each day feeling groggy for extended periods of time, sometimes lasting a few days continuously. It wasn’t until moving to Missoula,... Continue Reading →
NorthWesting Note: Written in various places, finished somewhere else. For a brief instant a sudden impulse is prompting my eyes to quickly escape from the magnet of computer screen to scan the immediate airport horizon. Crying babies, airport staff speaking on intercoms, muffled side conversations from nearby seat neighbors, and streams of luggage donning pedestrians... Continue Reading →
Note: Started on Monday in Missoula, finished this morning somewhere else. Today is Monday and currently I am pairing a cup of English Breakfast tea with relaxing at a Missoula, Montana based coffee shop called The Break. Somewhere a stereo is serenading the the faded brick room of casual coffee drinkers with piano and... Continue Reading →
Currently, as I gaze with half-opened eyes at my computer, I have been unemployed for two full days. This isn't because I was fired or the result of workforce downsizing, rather it simply was because an urge to take a break became greater than the motivation to keep earning money. Until this past Wednesday, I... Continue Reading →
Today is Friday and this current post is being written during a break from studying in the Sausalito Public Library. As described in a prior entry, I have been exiling myself here in order to prepare for a California Subject Examinations for Teachers (CSET) test. Flipping through chapters, there sits about one hundred and thirty... Continue Reading →
Note: Started last Thursday, finished today 😉 If you drive along Interstate 90, take flight with an Allegiant Air jet, or hop a kayak along the Clark Fork River, you might discover a place called Missoula, Montana. Some people come here by accident, however I find myself relaxing in this Western Montana town with... Continue Reading →
After only a few minutes in the air, I felt like my life was in danger. The flight started normally – the door closed, the flight attendants and pilot greeted passengers on the loudspeakers, and we gained altitude. Moments later we hit turbulence. For a few seconds the plane rattled and shook. Ok, nothing to…
Do you feel anxious before boarding an airplane? I used to be horrified of flying until I started using these easy strategies to overcome my own fears.
There Dan Was 