Hanging out with my buddy @Noxsoma

(The ever-chill and laidback @Noxsoma)

Just a short while ago I got to reconnect and spend some time catching up with my good friend @Noxsoma . It was almost exactly a year ago since the last time we'd gotten together. At the end of 2017 he embarked on a year long trip through Asia and Europe, and documented much of his travels on his Steemit account and his other social media channels. So I'd followed a lot of his journey through his travel vlog, but of course I had many questions to ask, and just general catching up to do on the previous year. We'd only spoken briefly here and there when he was away, so there was lots to talk about.

We met at Vietname cafe on Baltimore Avenue in West Philly, for some Pho and other delicious Vietnamese treats.

Interestingly enough it's the exact same place we hung out last time right before his departure. While we were eating that day I thought we might've been sitting in the exact same spot as well! But I went through my pics and lol, it was not the case...

We always have really good, winding conversations that range from personal development methods and fitness (he's a fitness trainer with over 10 years experience), local events, cryptocurrencies, travel (which he does a lot of), and geopolitics and alternative perspectives via figures like @clifhigh and @x22report.

We talked a lot about Steemit, as he was the first person to ever mention it to me and I'd really gotten into since then. He told me some great stories and anecdotes from his travel - things like how doing laundry in a foreign country can be a real challenge, and why it's good to go to resorts on the off-season. He taught English on a bunch of programs in Spain and Germany, and traveled extensively through Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. He definitely racked up some frequently flyer miles! Since I really want to visit Asia this year, I was soaking it all up like a sponge.

I shared about my past year as well and how my hypnosis business is coming to fruition. I'm also in better shape than I have been in a long time, since I joined a gym in December 2017 and had been working out 2-4 times a week since then. Noxsoma helped me make a big step toward that with a fitness routine he showed me the year before, and it gave me some motivation to want to do more. We talked a lot about the cryptos as well, and what the year ahead might bring.

As we were finishing up and parting ways, we made tenative plans to catch up again the next day. And I'm glad we followed through too, because what I wasn't aware of before then, was that he was heading out for another year long journey! This guy really gets around. Last year he called it his #Freedomyear. Now he's on an #Abstractyear tour of the world.

So we caught up again one last time, this time down town at the Midtown II. It's the last remaing diner in center city, so we couldn't resist.

With the place empty, except for one other person we had plenty of time for much more discussion about Steem and other cryptos, about his plans for this year's trip, my goals for the the coming months and again some far-out speculation on what the year ahead may bring.

As someone who also wants to be a semi-permanent traveler, I was excited from the stories and inspired to see someone I know well doing it in style. We finished our meal, said our goodbyes (for now) and headed our separate ways; with plans to connect again soon.

If you're into travel blogs and photography, or fitness, or personal development secrets, or interesting musings from a #vagabondphilosopher then follow his Steemit ( @Noxsoma ), Youtube https://www.youtube.com/user/noxsomaand Instagram.

Best regards @Noxsoma and safe travels man!