About:

Who writes this garbage? 

Me: Andrew Overby. For almost six years, I've been a nomad. I have not been in one place for more than three months in all that time. I used to play online poker professionally, and may again some day. With only poker to rely on financially, I've backpacked around the world several times in search of... something. My guess it was an outward expression of an inner quest: the search for happiness. 

I've existed in remote villages in Laos, and fancy apartments in Europe. I lived with a shaman in the Amazon for a while, and have been to numerous meditation retreats. I've lived high and low, by traditional metrics, but subjective experience is a funny thing. Like everyone else, I'm only happy when I'm happy. 

Living on $5 a day or $500 made NO difference to my subjective well being. In time I learned that happiness is not located on a map, and that its not a thing you can buy; you have to discover it within. And that's what I've been looking for.

What is The Happy Ride?

These days, I'm a pretty happy person. It's a feeling I'd like to share. A dream of mine has been to ride a motorcycle around the world and interview people about what makes them happy. Alongside that project would be a blog. This blog I guess. In it would be (will be?) my thoughts on what makes people happy, or unhappy, across cultures and living situation, as well as my tales from the road.  

*UPDATE April 2013: The trip has officially begun, although I forgot what it was supposed to be about. I know its about happiness, but I've only interviews one person, and am not writing what I thought I would write. Nevertheless, read the blog, and find out what I have been writing about if you want. Its mostly a travel narrative. I like it. Thoughts on the conditions that lead to happiness are never far from my mind, but currently, I'm not making a research project out of this.* 

Speaking from experience, I've seen happy people living on $2 a day. I've seen people that make a million times that much every year be miserable! I think that money can buy happiness, but only up to a point, and often not in the ways we imagine. I think its clear that people in the developed world have overshot just a tad in using money to buy happiness. In the past 50 years, the inflation adjusted GDP per-capita has tripled. Life satisfaction surveys over the same period have remain flat. Let that sink in; it is astounding. It means that all of the development and increase in wealth in the US since 1960 has, by all available metrics  not made people any happier. All the development and increase in wealth in the US has not improved our experience of the world. So, why are we still pursuing with this strange and taxing form of non-progress? We are fortunate enough to be able to slow down a bit, and find happiness where we did't have time to look for it before.

Where am I now?

As of this writing, January 8th, 2013, I'm in Malaysia thinking this whole silly project up. Will it every happen? Will I make it if I do start? I don't know...


Update Feb 2nd 2013: Well, I made it to Burma. I still dont know what the interview aspect of this blog is going to be; and I've yet to purchase a travel bike.

Update April 2013: Whoa, look that those updates. I'd forgotten all about them. Well, I'm in Laos, I have purchased a travel bike (a lovely 2003 Honda Africa Twin), and I guess is coming along. Huzzah.