Doug(name); a male given-name. |
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Origins |
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English: |
Douglas |
Meanings |
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English: |
gray or black stream |
I was born in Texas and spent the first half of my life there - at least, I *hope* it'll turn out to be the first half. I am of Native-American descent - specifically: Cherokee, with a smattering of European bloodlines thrown in for good measure. I seem to have enjoyed the luck of the Irish (one of those European bloodlines of which I spoke) pretty much my entire life, and many important decisions I have faced simply worked out for the best, even though at the time it seemed like I was making the worst possible choice.
As such, I have enjoyed a somewhat successful career in Information Technology, including a decade as a business owner and a stint as an independent consultant. After harboring the idea for several years of moving to Australia, I finally made the decision, late in 1997, to just do it. Since I had never been there, I thought a scouting trip was definitely in order. So, accompanied by my good friend, Steve, I arrived in Sydney in mid-January 1998.
The "scouting" part of the trip only took up the first few days, after which we decided to make it a proper holiday and booked a flight to New Zealand. After nine days exploring North Island, I had the travel bug in the worst way. Even before I returned to the U.S., I had decided to sell my house (and all my worldly possessions along with it) and travel the world for as long as I could (based on available funds to do so).
After an extended stay (exile) in California, and even more delays getting my house ready to sell - with a trip to Japan and a motorcycle tour of the Western U.S. thrown in as well - I finally started my world tour in December of 2000. I traveled with Kumiko, my Japanese girlfriend, until we separated in October of 2001 - then I continued alone until August of 2004, when I stopped in South Korea to try my hand at teaching English.
After that, I continued my travels, mostly in Asia, but with a couple of extended visits back to Texas, as well as nine months in Melbourne, and just over a year in the Lao PDR. After finally reaching escape velocity from the U.S. again in November of 2010, I went back to Asia (can't seem to break that habit) for a few months, and finally broke new ground in Eastern Europe. To find out where in the world I am at the moment, go here.