the river travel car homeless stories

"The Day I Stopped Giving a Cr#p"
When you don't have any reasons to stay, it doesn't take a whole lot to leave.  I got kicked out of college when I was 21 for not showing up to classes.  Usually schools could care less about attendance as long as they're receiving tuition but I was at UT on scholarship and they decided this free ride was over and showed me the door.  

My girlfriend broke up with me the next day because I wasn't paying rent and kept eating all her food.  I was a shameless freeloader, correction, former freeloader, as my supply lines were abruptly cut off.  With $200 to my name I hit the road. I didn't know where but I had to go - somewhere, anywhere but here. Looking back, I was unhappy because I didn't want to accept the responsibilities of what I thought adulthood meant: getting a job. Some people escape through drinking and drugs. I was always too scared to get into all that mess but I had this incredible internal itch, one I had no idea how to resolve.  The closest thing to crawling out of my own skin was to pack up and leave.

I thought, "maybe if I started over things might be different", and gave myself til the end of the day to decide where to go.

The day passed. I had lunch. I walked about, going back in forth weighing pro's and con's.  Unequivocally, it was the lowest I'd ever felt.  What would my parents think?  All my brothers and sisters were either excelling in school or running successful businesses and here I was living out of my car sneaking into the YMCA to take showers.  I did not feel like a Nguyener.

One of my beliefs now is "clarity comes from action". Not because life necessarily gets easier but you learn more about what you need and what you can do without.  I was paralyzed from making a decision because I was so scared of the unknown and yet what I did know was Austin was not working for me.  I remember having taken a road trip to Houston with my friend, Thuan, on Bastrop 71 and how it crossed the Colorado more than 5 times. There was something about rivers I connected to.  Perhaps because I am a Pisces.  I was very much like water - fluid, perhaps too much and I yearned for guidance.  The River whispered an invitation and I happily accepted.  Instead of crawling out of my skin, I crawled along the Colorado with the moonlight guiding me southbound.  I felt a sense of calm and connectedness to my life, my Self, and to my environment like I had not in a long time.  (to be continued)





The river is a great teacher.

“You’re not good enough.” “You’ll never amount to anything; have you proven yourself before?” “You’re wasting your time, you’ll never make it.” “You’re an idiot for thinking you can.”

et, even while all of this profound negativity is being channeled toward the river, it continues to flow.

The river moves no matter what the atmosphere. If it’s raining, lightning or grey – it moves. The river channels all of its mind, body and spirit into the direction of its dreams.

When the river goes through a break up with its beloved – it doesn’t stop moving. It flows. It’s relentless. It’s wise.

Since the river is always flowing and moving – do you think it’s never in a bad mood? Wrong again – of course it gets in bad moods. It just moves in spite of them. It moves. It moves. It moves. The river also doesn’t take pleasure and often feels pain when others project their negative viewpoint on it. When this occurs, however, the trademark sound of babbling, rushing water continues, unimpeded.

It’s hard to believe, but the river worries sometimes too, just like you and me. Except you would never know by looking at it, as it never allows itself to become stagnant; it’s a rushing river my friend! It opts to run on the wisdom of its inner being and not be handicapped by some toxic emotion that would have it flow differently.

Also – the river blames no one. It takes full responsibility for its shortcomings in the past. It realized long ago that meditating on what it believes made it fail to live up to its potential has only led to its turning into musty canal water where slimy, green algae grows.

“All blame is a waste of time. No matter how much fault you find with another, and regardless of how much you blame him, it will not change you . . . ~ Dr. Wayne Dyer.” [emphasis mine]

One thing you can be certain of about the river is that it never dwells on the past. Ever. Do you hear the sound of the water rushing over the rocks? Tell me… when you hear the babbling water, when are you hearing it; in the past or the future? Neither. It’s only possible to hear this precious sound in the now.

Since the river channels all of its mind, body and spirit into the present, it has no room to dwell on the past. The river understands by letting go of the past entirely, allows for its potential in the present to reach its absolute zenith. If the river was to dwell on the past, it would lack the energy to flow and create its beautiful music.


It should be mentioned that I was sitting by the river a few weeks ago and sparked a chat with it. I said, “Tell me, River, how do you do it?”

It responded:

“No matter what obstacle comes my way, be it mental, be it physical, I’m going to direct my flow in the direction I want it to go.”

Secret Places

i 'm not one who normally is able to find pleasure sunbathing but it's nice to dry off in the heat after a dip in the pool. I used to hate the Texas heat. Now it's not so bad.

I realize how AWESOME it is to eat with real silverware after having used plastic cutlery for weeks. My new roommate brought his silverware and now I appreciate eating cereal with a big fat silver spoon.

"friends may move away so far that you may never meet again. But they are a part of you forever"

3am. woke up from some unsettling sleep. realize i used to write more candidly. it's a good quality and i let it slip away out of fear of being judged. But on the other side of fear is growth.

I found a secret place in austin off of dessau and braker bicycling there when I was a freshman in college; behind some corn fields. It resembled a crop circle. They've done some development and I don't think it's there anymore. I also have fond memories while solo traveling and having found cliffs to climb in Pike National Forest in colorado springs. places we go to be with our thoughts. I fell in love with the idea of secret places when I first read Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson as a child. do you have a magic place?

Spent a week in Los Angeles urban camping with my brother for his 32nd birthday. Here are my favorite shots from my brief visit. Credit to Sheryl Crow, "If it Makes You Happy."

Los Angeles from dao nguyen on Vimeo.

What We're Looking For May Be Closer To Home

I want write story about all my searching and looking for something through my solo travels when my dad's acceptance was what I really longed for the whole time.

Flagstaff, AZ Photos

Pictures from Houston Hostel

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Making Music

July 13, 2005 - Thursday

Music In RouTe -- Amarillo, TX Making Music

It's been a good week since I've made an entry. Seems funny how we tend to write when we have something to share. This weekend I spent in Amarillo, TX. A friend of mine got married. It was an overall pleasant experience. In the context of pursuing music, I was asked by the bride to play/perform Elvis Presley's, "Only fools rush in". I gladly agreed and even volunteered a cousin of hers to do it "duet" with me. For you musically illiterate, that does not mean what you think it means.

All it means is that two people get to make music together...I'll stroke my guitar, grunt some lyrics, and she would hit the high notes. Well, from the audience's feedback, I got limited success, but success, nevertheless! I got several compliments from my friends; made me feel good. Some people even laughed at my corney jokes! sweet! I was pretty excited to hear their applause in the beginning when I got on the stage. Kind of encouraging. However, when I finished, I did not recieve the same enthusiastic response. Kind 'of discouraging.

Being the ever-self-critical artist, I kept thinking after the performance that I messed up here and there. I had a good time on stage and so did my "music-mate". She was soooooooo cute. Dang!

Miami, FL "Just the Knicknacks"

Hi guys. I am alive and well in Miami. I am currently staying at a hostel (another name for dirt cheap hotel for travelers) on Miami Beach and at the public library using the internet. The bus trip was faster than I expected and I am doing very well. I have my health and, of course, the initial vigor that someone has when they are in a new city. Naturally, the weather is beautiful.

I have met three friends already. They are with me now at the library. Two Japanese, and one from Malaysia. I still have not hooked up a pager, so for the time being you can still leave me a message at the Austin number below, but I will not get it until I check my message box so pardon the delay. I am looking for work this week, so as soon as I hook that up (hopefully I'll get lucky) I will contact you again. Until then, bye bye comrades...(If I sent you this letter that means I love you)

East Coast Dreams

A short story of what I HOPE will happen for me traveling out East; a visualization exercise, so to speak:

anyhow...back to my blue...i know that i'll be in philly come whatever. i'm doing a bike tour...taking I-95 all the wall up for the 2nd quarter...spring...so wonderful..i think. beach life is the best of course...who doesn't like the beach...something about the ocean. i do searches...and from what i know spring is such a great time to bike...and then summer comes along and so you want to go up north, really really north, i was thinking new york for july aug and sept...pretty nice deal actually, and then getting outta there heading south again..haha...

I guess this living "freely" is really nice, it's a nice gig, so to speak. I'm saving up a lot of money. got 1200 from last i heard. Still it's small money...but still, it's money. i like showering my siblings with gifts...it makes me feel nice...stuff, i think they need of course and stuff that they need. so it's cool. so yea, it's a question of lifestyle. i know my pops doesn't like my lifestyle, but i do...like my lifestyle. it's great.. i'm learning alot about myself and about the world and how people live. i even am keeping a travelogue on xanga. things are not so bad. meeting alot of like minded people. Living very freely.

As far as safety. I have a van now. It's coo, i guess. except for when I move to another place..then i have to sell it. especially if it's overseas. well, then again, i can just leave it at my brother's seems like such a hassle sometimes. Then when to visit them is always a question. i always try to keep a relationship try my best a long distance one...it does involve skill and effort. I love them so much.. i wish the best for them. It's a good life. always learning. I like the challenge of adapting.

Well, i met someone. She is just really something special. I asked her if she'd like to come along with me. She says yes, but then her parents. Well, we decided to keep a long distance relationship, as friends...we're such good friends. I'd like to marry her someday, really. It turns out that i think about her more and more everyday. i mean, sure she's really special, and she thinks i'm special...and then these journeys are something else. I have all these different friends. but she stands out DEFINITELY

i want to see more of the world. south america for x-mas...i did it! it is just so wonderful! i had to buy a van and travel that way...my biking days wow...and so i keep on going this way...I keep on learning. When is enough enough dao? when do you want to "settle down" Ha. so funny. Not anytime soon, i don't believe. Alot of success...things are feeling good for me, a lot of new experiences...i am very safe...i take defense classes! haha. funny.

As it turns out...I am beginning to feel something. It's VERY special..of all the things that I like, as art...improvisation and traveling have become really key in my life and living freely. As it turns out...There is an opportunity for me to be a freelance photographer for national geographic. I've been taking all sorts of pictures...beginning to see why sage likes it so much...b/c i am getting better myself...and wrting has become SO much a center force...it's really something...and I've had some success with it!

My first book, being published, on living life alternatively...a travelogue more or less, a compilation...i've sold 60 copies so far! amazing! Things are looking up for me as a writer, reminds me of that time dad made a poke at my journal..haha, so funny how things work and that is the writing world. so I have become a writer and i'm gettting better and better. Ha, how funny, seriously.. I mean, it's boring and yet, i'm so good at it...it's really my love. and everything else, guitar, acting, all that..I write with harmony, I write with emotion, it leaps from the pages...I remember meeting writing at UT way back when, really beautiful stuff.

Now, in my life, it has taken precedence. I don't want to settle down with it just yet...i keep on continuing doing what i do. it's nice to be able to bring a pen with you. shit, i've been writing since high school and didn't even know it. Wonderful stories i write, wonderful books i have written. well, we will see how it all unfolds...as it turns out she wants to be with me regardless...wow, that's really wonderful, seriously, really wonderful. So now, a new spin on life, how can i do the two things I love, write and love Michelle? I can write wherever she goes. wisconsin? haha, how funny...how about miami? again? haha.

I love them all for different reasons...the best reason is family. the meaning of family, it took me four years. so she says, actually, my company may come with me to paris, france. Would you like to make a life in Paris? I dunno, about my family, my ma and pa, what about christmass and the sort? will we have money? it's always been about the money one way or another. Dun worry, we'll fly, no, i have too much pride about that stuff, i would like to be self sufficient. you will be lovely. I'm sorry. I can't. And so there and then the relationship falls apart...even something that I truly did love so damn much, and the writing is all we have left, of course that is the nature of love, we knew that from the beginning, self interest always outweighs benevolence, so there we are again, being self interested.

The pain brings about a new wave of writing like never before, we come out with the finest material. In search for meaing, more or less. the road less traveled. Wow, you know, I have found that I will always be traveling one way form or another, it will be my lifestyle. I celbrate my 24th birthday today, whoa...coming of age, i really feel like an independent man now...it is quite a nice feeling. and I celebrate it in miami.. damn, already? How interesting. and finally boston for the third quadrant, july aug sept, and then begin to take a greyhound back south, at this rate we are going, things are going well for us.

What a crazy adventure just because you heard someone else did it you wanted to try it. you never stick to anything like this in your life. It loses it's thrill does it not? Well the challenge is really the interesting part. The challenge never loses it's thrill because the challenge is stated: can you endure? of course it is an adventure in itself. Seriously? Do you mean it? you are going to do this? whoa. that is just pure madness. you leave early from miami on your birthday or so? and on your journey, whoa...and you don't get there until when?

what's the rush? there's no rush, it's a good, a very good lesson in life, you can do just abuot anything after you do a bike tour. And I can honestly say, that changed my life forever. what a beautiful story unraveling. yes, i can see it happening now. Not going to be easy. Lots and lots of challenges. of course, then we see it all unravel, all before our eyes. in Philadelphia for a little bit, in Hacketstown a little and then New York, lots and lots, it's all really close, really. Whoa, so you're actually traveling more in Florida than you had expected..to live in a town for no more than a month, our quadrants broken down by months, pick a town, and what about in transit?

All this traveling, what are we to make of it? what are we learning about ourselves? so much, and the occupation and financial progress, and social progress, and emotional progress. I learn that I don't want to bike all that much? really? well, I can approach it in a fun way, but, it's really a waste of time, to me anyhow, like, it's enough, the challenge is no longer there, the challenge now is how can I make money with my writing. So I decide to stay put in one place:San Diego. And I write. Who knows...follow your heart, I feel good about my long vision. Let's return to short term.