I wanted to give a quick Shout Out to Bob Mohr at Hello Auto Finance Inc. for being out first official online donor! Thanks Bob. He has broken new ground and we applaud him for his support of philanthropic stupidity. Now follow his lead, and likewise, become a Legend.

I really thought I botched this one. So, I'm sitting in NYC, up nice and early for an interview. (I actually had to reschedule the interview so I could arrange to be online for the fateful moment.) With all sorts of time to spare, I stop by a local market for lunch to enjoy a delicious panini with mozzerella cheese and pesto (all for you JOyz!).

Apres-Panini and Pound Cake, I returned to the apartment to wait. so twenty of 2pm (7pm GMT) i get onto the registration site no problem and sit patiently for the time to pass. At four minutes of, I'm feeling good about everything, I'm in a good position, I can rid my person of this anxiety, I have a delicious panini in my system. Then my brain stopped working and I decided I should refresh the page, idiot. So suddenly, I'm last in line trying to get online with thousands of other teams trying to cram through the same bandwidth. I'm panicking and kicking myself as the time ticks by and it becomes 2:00, then 2:05, then 2:13, then 2:20.

Still nothing. My hopes dashed, I turned on some mindless television and just continued to hit refresh until 3:30. Still nothing. Tired and defeated, I called it off, and went to the New York City Opera. Upon returning, I decided to check the site on a whim to see how things had gone...apparently I was in good company today...

"Holy smokes, you guys are keen! We hold our hands up in humble apology. We totally underestimated the sheer number of people hitting the website to bag a place for this years mighty rally. You have pretty much burnt our servers to the ground!

This is a holding site because we have had to get a whole new set of servers.

We should be back online sometime tonight but we think it is fairest to wait until friday to release the places. we have rescheduled the first sign up for 7pm on Friday the 9th. We will be taking 100 places on this date.

We are getting multiple dedicated servers to make sure we are ready for you guys on Friday."

Although still an idiot, I didn't completely botch this one... although, Friday could prove to be a right good shitshow. Here's hoping. Wish me luck...

So, not only am I getting anxious as the Mongol Rally Registration dates approach (seeing as how Tommy and I are on opposite ends of the earth from one another and I am operating with a 'not-always-functioning' internet service), but now I am also having to worry about my father's safety as one of the 'UN delegates' almost hit by mortar shells recently in the East of Sri Lanka!

Below is an e-mail I wrote to some friends describing the incident and musing a bit on the depressing nature of this conflict, amongst the others going on in the news today...

"February 27, 2007

the big story here in sri lanka today was a mortar attack on a helicopter carrying foreign diplomats and a few VIP-type government officials who were visitting Batticaloa; a region in the East that has experienced quite a bit of violence. Guess who was also in the helicopter? Yup, the head of WFP, my father. I get a call this morning from a UN security official, an aussie nick-named Squiz who actually celebrated Thanksgiving with us back in Nov, informing me of the incident, as it hadnt hit the news yet, and letting me know that my dad was ok. jean-yves, my father's french deputy called soon thereafter to relay similar news. needless to say i spent the next hour online and watching BBC trying to figure out what had happened. turns out the american and italian ambassadors were slightly injured, but nothing more serious than that. when my father got home today he told us laughingly that at one point, when they were still at this military base, waiting to leave, the army decided to fire back at the LTTE without informing the already-frazzled diplomats, so when the sounds of explosions occurred again the VIP's started scrambling around, trying to get behind this bunker, tripping over each other and just generally causing mayhem. my dad said he just sat there almost laughing at this ridiculous scene. they all soon realized that it was out-going fire and not incoming.

i relay this story semi in jest as nothing serious happened, but there's nothing funny about the situation here. this country is at war with itself and it is a fact almost easy to forget now that i have gotten used to seeing the police check points and the army men standing on every corner and as my life continues with a semblance of normality, but every so often, like when friends and i are pulled over when riding in a tri-shah and asked by armed men to show our passports or when passing all the army men, guns at their sides, on my way to the race track for my run...I remember with startling clarity just how bad it actually is. this country has gone in and out of very dark periods, and right now we are heading towards another dark one, if not already immersed in it. the abductions and disappearances are happening again and no one seems to know where, when, by whom...? just in general i am having a harder and harder time reading the news and watching BBC as the world just seems to be at war with itself...i am not abandoning hope, dont you all worry, but the news has been especially depressing of late and it is a real struggle to maintain that very hope and inspiration to make a difference, which is still very much my aim.

none of this had any relevence to anything but i just thought Id share the most recent round of insanity here in south asia..."

So, that is what is going on down here. We are lucky to not be one of the many victims of this conflict, and of those going on in other parts of the world...

My next post will be more perky, really!

Although the Official Mongol Rally website is yet to show its face, the dates for registration have officially been released. With only 200 spots, competition will be fierce to procure a bid in this years rally. Having our team split across the GMT line initially looked like a registration blessing, but apparently both Joya and I are equidistant from the Great Colonizer. So since I'm assuming Joya will not be up for a 2am registration in Colombo, the task of registering Team Ironsides will fall on me. A big task, but probably the smallest compared to what we still have to get done in the next couple of months.

We will be sure to keep everyone posted on the outcome, wish us luck, pray for us, donate, and please God someone make sure I'm up before noon on March 7th.

From www.mongolrally.com
"The 2007 Rally is nearly ready for entries.
This years rally has 200 places waiting to be filled by your very good selves. We'll be letting you sneak in and grab them in batches of fifty.

The launch is set for the 21st of July."

It was last year on March 20th that we finally were able to sign up for the 2006 Mongol Rally,

Orginal entry here

"After a weekend of stress worrying that the sign-up may come without my knowledge, it is with great joy that I can announce that both Lil’ Larry and Mrs. Tigglywinks successfully completed sign-up today. No small accomplishment as the rally reached capacity in a mere 2 hours, leaving many an eager and committed team all dressed up with no prom date. Having successfully signed up, I enjoyed a leisurely rally over the gap amongst some fresh fluff."

Team Ironsides will be putting forth their best effort to make the cut on March 7th. My recommendation is to wake up early, have all your information ready, and a couple of credit cards handy and take a shot at every slot they open. I suspect this year's rally will fill up awfully fast.

Good luck from the bad colonies' family

I suppose I should follow suit and introduce myself as the fellow member of team Ironsides, a sub-division of the Bad Colonies. My name is Joya and I too was a Middlebury student, having graduated and turned in MY thesis last May ('06). I am now living and working in Colombo, Sri Lanka where my father is the Country Director for the World Food Program, UN and my little brother is a senior in the local int'l high school. I spent a few months interning at a small, local women's NGO and am now working for a Public Health consultancy. I will be here until June, when the family packs up to be shipped off to a new post, and I join Tommy in London for Mongol Rally 2007! I am very excited to get the ball rolling on all pending preparations and am very impressed with the cite and Bad Colonies in general. Tommy and I will work to keep information updated and everyone well informed of our progress. Finally, a big thank you to all those who have been supportive and helpful thus far (namely Seth)!

Having completed my college education with the submission of my senior thesis yesterday, I figured I had more time to focus on the things that really matter; things like driving to Mongolia. Seth at Bad Colonies MC really set us up with a great site and I look forward to using it over the next couple of months. My lack of definite post-graduation plans will hopefully allow me to keep the site up to date, and full of useful information. Right now Team Ironsides is a team of two, although there are rumors of a possible third. We are still waiting for the Official Mongol Rally site to go up, with information concerning sponsors, so we can begin fundraising over the next couple of months. All of this is really basic information I know, but as I become more familiar with maintaining and updating a website, hopefully we'll all become a little more enlightened. So, please be patient and check back often.

For your viewing pleasure, I have provided some pictures of my latest stupid human endeavor, The Library Challenge, a one week sit-in at the Middlebury College library. The experience was overwhelmingly positive, although I would never do it again, or recommend it. Over the course of a week, I stayed in the library for over 125 hours without going outside. My second closest competitor was John Kruchoski at 66 hours, followed by Jono Newton at 44 hours, and Nathaan Demers at a measlie 23 hours. Thanks so much to everyone involved, especially those who brought me food and company.

This is John, Me, and Nathaan toward the end of the week. My clothes look surprisingly close to what I was wearing the three days previous.

Sleeping arrangements were tight, but cozy.

Home/work/dinning room

Dinner

Celebratory, one hour to go...

i thought i would take the time to introduce myself...I'm tommy and I’m heading the current bad colonies Mongol Rally team for 2007. I'm going to be around the site periodically, hopefully updating people on our progress and our plans. we've adopted the name "ironsides" to represent us this summer in honor of another great american adventure vessel. In the named of stupidity for charity, i am currently incarcerated in the Middlebury College Library participating in the Library Challenge, a marathon sit-in for the week of finals to raise money for Page One Literacy, a local literacy program in Addison county. I am the only challenger still in the competition, i have not left the library in over 92 hours, the last competitor jumped ship at about 60 hours. I have a dedicated support staff providing me with meals and much needed visits, but the fluorescent lights and the sounds of keyboards are starting to get to me. overall I'm finding the library a fitting home and I've adapted nicely to the silence and general feelings of anxiety which are inevitable during finals week. a group of streakers on Wednesday night has been as exciting as its been, otherwise, its work, tea, and dry bagels. being without music has been rough, but I've discovered a streaming German Classical station, which has helped retain a sense of normalcy to my otherwise irregular existence. I've been sleeping on a hard floor under my desk, but generally I’ve kept up my productivity. My thesis is due at the end of all of this. anyway, I just wanted to introduce myself, I've still got a couple of days of no fresh air and showering in the bathroom sink, so if you're in Middlebury feel free to stop by. donations of food and/or money will be graciously accepted. enjoy the breeze for me.tommyp.