Twas the Season

Hope everyone had a festive Christmas!

My gift to you is a friendly reminder to never, ever, EVER fly commercially during the holiday season if you value your sanity. Or your luggage.

We depart for Mexico in a few hours so here's us wishing you a rockin' New Year as well.

See you in 2009...

Quickie

Here's how our trip is wrapping up...

Today we went on a half-day tour of the Soweto area. Soweto stands for SouthWesternTownships and is South Africa's largest township (i.e. "underdeveloped community" consisting largely of government-funded and cookie-cutter housing and squatter camps of corrugated tin shacks). No worries, as we were safely ensconced in a van and our guide was thoroughly knowledgeable and savvy. On Vilakazi street we saw the home of Desmond Tutu and the former home of Nelson Mandela - we drove past his current digs in uberwealthy Howton earlier in the day. The Hector Pieterson museum gave us a peek into the Soweto uprisings of 1976 and is definitely worth a visit, as they've done a really nice job with it.

Tomorrow we plan to visit the Apartheid museum and perhaps try our luck at the slots at the casino next door (in moderation, of course!). There may or may not be a rollercoaster involved as well, since the complex also boasts a small amusement park...

We fly outta here in the wee hours of the 20th and much as I've enjoyed the vacation, I am excited to be home for the holidays. Hope you've got your shopping done!

Full Circle

We arrived back in Johannesburg this afternoon after our whirlwind adventures in Namibia and Zambia. After my last entry we flew off to Windhoek, Namibia's capital city. To be quite honest I didn't care for the vibe there (more on that another time) and we rented a car the following day and set off for Sossusvlei. These massive dunes are a truly breath-taking sight that is hard enough to capture on film, so I will hardly even make the attempt to describe them in words. That, and I'm very short on internet time.

After Sossusvlei we traveled northwest to the beach town of Swakopmund. I fell in love with this spot, which had a relaxing atmosphere, fabulous restaurants, cutesy shops, and some really great sunsets. I also got the chance to visit their aquarium and museum one day while hubby was off paragliding in the dunes.

After dropping the car back in Windhoek, we took a 22 hour bus to Livingstone, Zambia, which shares a border with neighboring Zimbabwe. In my opinion the Zambians were the friendliest group of people, as a whole, that I had the pleasure to encounter in Africa. As strangers in a foreign (and very poor) land, we never felt concerned for our safety or valuables and on the contrary, the locals were always striking up conversations with us. We saw the famed Victoria Falls and did a bit of hiking, coming thisclose to many, many baboons!

Much more to write and tons of pictures to upload soon - but time's up for now!

From South Africa

We have been in South Africa for 3 weeks and, like all good things, it must come to an end.

After flying into Johannesburg from Nairobi, we caught a local backpacker bus down to Howick and were picked up by our Bulwer host and transported to his lodge. We spent the next two weeks in the mountains of the Kwazulu-Natal province, relaxing and living the good life. Dan did his paragliding-thing and was able to get about 15 flights, most of which were quite lengthy. I did a great deal of reading and several days of horseback riding at a neighboring farm. Bulwer is a small rural town, and we were without internet access during that time - which is why there were no posts :)

About midway through our stay there, we took a day trip through the Sani Pass and into Lesotho where we had lunch and a Maluti at the highest pub on the African continent!

We can now say "hello" and "thank you" in Zulu.

We are presently in Cape Town and have spent the last few days walking through the marina, driving along the coast, visiting the Cape of Good Hope, hiking Lion's Head to watch the sunset and touring vineyards in the Stellenbosch wine region. We're spoiled and we know it.

Tomorrow morning we fly to Windhoek, Namibia for further adventures.

Until then...

Sub-Saharan Sojourn

A quick and harried hello from Kenya!

We just got back into Nairobi last night from our 3 day safari into the Masai Mara, where we saw the Big 5 in just one day! We are still riding the high from our sheer dumb luck. We saw lion, cheetah, elephant, buffalo, rhino (i.e. the Big 5), zebra, crocodile, hippo, baboon and monkey, giraffe, hyena, and many types of bird and gazelle/deer-related creatures. Took loads of photos, which I will upload whenever I can find a public computer that will tolerate it - so, probably not till we're back in the states.

We also visited a Masai village and today we are going to the giraffe center and elephant/rhino nursery. We fly to South Africa early tomorrow morning.

The funniest thing about Kenya is that literally EVERYBODY (even the Masai, who live in remote tribal communities) knows that Obama won the election and they are constantly asking us how we feel about it, if we voted for him, if we're excited about the things he's going to do, and so on...we feel a bit like rock stars, through no real achievement of our own :)

We were fortunate enough to safari with three other women - two Aussies and a New Zealander - who were knowledgeable, hospitable and tons of fun. Always nice when you're crammed into a van together for long stretches of time. Overland travel is a treat for the eyes, but quite hard on the rump!

I've carried on for long enough and my time is up - more in about a week!

Hope you are all well!

EDIT 5 DEC 08: So, I have to eat crow and admit that apparently the cheetah is NOT one of the Big Five after all - it's the leopard. However, in our humble defense, Dan and I have seen souvenirs proudly proclaiming the cheetah as a Big 5-er, so we don't feel too clueless - seems even some natives are confused as well!

Things I Love Thursdays

Bicycle rides on the tandem. – Yep, that’s the one with two seats. Hubby sits in the front and steers and I sit in the back and pedal my buns off. We live right off the bike path and can follow it down to a pond with ducks and swans and geese.

Cheese. – A few that I’ve been itching to nibble these days: Amarelo (soft/semi-soft, goat/sheep, Portugal), Appenzeller Reserve by Emmi (semi-hard, cow, Switzerland), and Chaorce (soft, cow, France).

Simple chores like washing dishes and folding laundry. – I like to play at being domestic. It gives me a sense of accomplishment and makes me feel like a grown-up :)

Remy Zero’s Prophecy. – It’ll get your motor runnin’…

Tiramisu. – Once upon a time, I didn’t like coffee so I never wanted to give this dessert a chance when it showed up on the menu. But I am so glad that I bit the bullet one fateful day and tried it, because there’s nothing quite like the taste of whipped silk.

Little Known Facts

When I was younger…

I wanted to be left-handed. I even practiced.
I never let boys win on purpose.
In my eyes, Gadget from the Rescue Rangers was beautiful.
I wanted to be a veterinarian.
I thought that if I pressed long and hard enough, I could make myself a chin dimple.
I spent a lot of time pretending I was a dog. Or a horse. Or a deer. Ad infinitum.
I won the school spelling bee in 4th grade.
My favorite color was purple.
I found puppets, a la Fraggle Rock and Sesame Street, extremely creepy.
I had a lot of nosebleeds.
Four-square was for sissies.
I was attacked by a rooster.
I put on lipstick after I was dropped off at school because my mother wouldn't let me wear it.
I hated all green food. And I still do.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween to all the lucky ducks out there who will be dressing up and getting down this evening!

I haven't missed one in ages, but sadly I won't be able to dress up this year. But, there's always next year, so I've made this list of "stuff I wanna be one year" and it goes a little sumpthin' like this:

A Victorian lady
Joan Jett
A Grecian goddess
Brittany Spears in her I’m A Slave 4 U costume complete with snake
Rainbow Brite
A geisha
An assassin in black leather and spandex with a red wig
A Native American princess

Have fun tonight, partygoers :)

Things I Love Thursdays

Warm weather. – Brr, it’s getting colder and my genes say NO!

Black eyeliner. – If I could have only one cosmetic product, this would be the one. It’s versatile and straightforward, and it’s the only thing that works with my big dark eyes. Every now and then I flirt with a shimmery pastel eye shadow or cherry red lipstick, but my heart belongs to black eyeliner.

XMen. – Especially Wolverine and Jean Grey. Oooh, or a cross between the two??

Dogs. – Especially big ones, but I don’t discriminate. I share the love with all. Breeds I think are particularly lovely for their coats: Catahoula Leopard Dog, Blue Lacy, Hungarian Viszla. Breeds I think are fricking cool for their inherent badassness: Czech Wolfdog. And this girl is my favorite:

Secrets. – Not the kind that hurt people, but the kind that mean I made some semi-frivolous purchases online and didn’t tell my husband about it. Some call them little white lies. I prefer secrets.

Busted

Seriously – I haven’t written anything all week? That’s icky. How time does fly…

Here’s something I did do, though…busted my daily bandwidth allotment at work. Which means I used so much that somebody noticed. I don’t know how, because as you see, I was less active on the net this week than in weeks past. I plead temporary insanity and also, I blame you (not really – that’s just in case the boss reads my blog today).

Other than that, this week has been about reading and daydreaming. I’m still – STILL, I say – trying to finish Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow. I wish I could liquidate it and pour it into my ears and have it all settled into my brain, just like that *snaps fingers*. Super dense stuff. And I’m daydreaming because I found a great, great house for sale in Lincoln, which I’m not in any position to buy. But it's so very, very perfect...

Wouldn't it be wonderful if realtors gave discounts based on how badly you wanted the house? For instance, if you wanted it so badly that you would drink toilet water - 3% off. Willing to lop off a pinky toe? 15% off.

Just a thought.

Things I Love Thursdays

Halloween, my very favorite holiday. – And just what will you be this year? :)

Bubble baths. – Although I can never make mine as foamy as Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman…

Wine that I always have stocked. – Tomaiolo Chianti, Folie à Deux Ménage à Trois, both Red and White (the former is a blend of Zinfandel, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon and the latter contains Chardonnay, Muscat and Chenin Blanc), and good 'ole standby Yellowtail Shiraz

Salmon sashimi. – With spicy mayo (and shrimp tempura rolls, too).

Sydney Pollack’s The Way We Were. – I do sappy.

Things I Love Thursdays

Arcade games. – I like the fighting ones where everybody has special powers. Dan is ridiculously good at Streetfighter, but sometimes I get lucky.

Ginger Tea. – For the aroma and color as much as the taste.

Random stuff like this. – http://www.oneplusyou.com/bb/view2/countries

Fast Food. – I don’t care, I don’t care, I don’t care if it’s bad for me. I still like it, and I can’t help it and I don’t really want to help it.

Snail mail. – Care packages and cards for no good reason. Most of my friends move an awful lot, though, and keeping my address book up to date is a challenge.

Native Son by Richard Wright

A good read about oppression vs. injustice, popular opinion vs. morality…and mostly about hate – what breeds it and what it breeds. Outwardly, it is a novel about race. Truly, it is a novel about humanity. Though a sense of futility saturates its pages, this is a novel that attempts to shine a light into the deep wells of ignorance.

Native Son is separated into three ‘books’ – titled Fear, Flight, and Fate – which track the physiological development of the central character, Bigger Thomas. Bigger is a young black male (does the name resemble another word you know?) in 1930s Chicago. He is awarded a job from the relief office as chauffeur to a family of multimillionaires; however, on his very first night he unintentionally murders the family’s only child, a beautiful white girl about Bigger’s age. Bigger tries to cover up his crime and is ultimately caught.

Wright’s style is unaffected, sure and well-ordered. The final speeches made by Mr. Max and Mr. Buckley are especially gripping and poignant. I admit that I was expecting a more radical conclusion, à la A Time to Kill – not in regard to the actual verdict or the sentiments of the populace, but in the realizations of a few major characters and Bigger Thomas in particular. Instead, all other characters fade quietly out of the picture, and Bigger...well...

In the end he does grow, but he remains stunted. He recognizes new levels and facets of the society in which he lives and he acknowledges his feelings towards that world. He finds an identity…but he ultimately fails to understand it or to come to peace with it.

Down the Homestretch

I love lists, and I’m forever making tick marks, striking through, checking off, and counting down. These days I have notepads, calendars, day planners and post-its spread higgledy-piggledy over my desk in unabashed disarray. Its organized chaos, and I rule it all.

Hubby and I are plotting our exit strategy from the corporate nightmare. So far, we’ve booked tickets to Kenya, where we’ll safari, and then onward to South Africa, where Dan will paraglide for several weeks and I will try to catch up on the reading that I’ve been neglecting as of late. Still a little fuzzy on what happens next, but eventually we’ll end up on the Zimbabwean border to experience the majesty of Victoria Falls.

I know you’re probably thinking, wait a minute – didn’t you guys just get back?? What about the sad state of the economy? Why relinquish the stability of two perfectly good, high income jobs with stock markets crashing all around you and the uncertainty of the future looming over you like Grendel?

Partly because I think that the next step on this crazy rollercoaster ride will be a massive bailout for ALL consumer debt, so clearly it makes as much sense to spend as it does to save. In essence, I’m giving the financial finger to those who should know better. Sort of like: hey Fed – bail this!

But mostly because that’s just how we roll.

Things I Love Thursday

Jack’s Mannequin and Something Corporate. – JM just released their second album, and I’m getting my hands on it!

Air hockey. – Because I ROCK the air hockey.

Scrapbooking. – I haven’t been able to play with mine for ages, but I just bought some cute embellishments from Joann’s and can’t wait use them.

Trail Mix. – Especially with banana chips.

My supportive husband. – Who took care of me Tuesday night, when a mini-troll was enthusiastically ripping through the wall of my stomach with a rusty machete.

Pixie cuts. – Some days, I really miss short hair.

Other Adventures

Thailand is really a cakewalk for tourists – everything is conveniently packaged and written in English. Sure, you could probably save a few bucks by making solo arrangements, but when you’re strapped for time and eager to see it all – well, it just makes sense to leave matters to the experts.

On our second full day in Chiang Mai, Dan and I visited six hill tribes (Akha, Lisu, Hmong, Laku and two different clans of Karen). Originally refugees from neighboring Burma/Myanmar, Tibet and China, these tribes were granted land and permission to stay by the Thai government. They maintain their own customs, dress and languages within their villages, although some now travel into the cities to work or sell their wares. The Karen are very reserved and quiet, while the Lisu were noticeably more vocal and the Akha literally chased us down the road as we left the village, trying to sell us more of their goods – even after we had already purchased several items.

A few days later, we visited the elephant camp and later partook in a wee spot of bamboo rafting. Asian elephants are much smaller than their African cousins, although an elephant is an elephant is an elephant and they’re ALL big. These elephants once worked in the fields, dragging trees, but now there is a halt on further deforestation. So, like the rest of us, they have to earn their daily bread. In addition to vegetation, the gentle giants nosh about 200 kg of bananas each day – bananas which were conveniently for sale to all the google-eyed tourists. If I sound a bit cynical (and I always sound a bit cynical), don’t be fooled. I was quite happy to pay for the chance to do this:

We also got the opportunity to check out some live music, which included a performance by the most fantastically rhythmic, red silk-adorned ladyboy that mine eyes have ever beheld.

Two Years O' Happy

Yesterday, Dan and I celebrated two years as partners in crime.

We met in the fall of 2006 in Africa (every time I say that, I hear echoes of Meryl Streep saying “I had a farm in Afrika…” in my head), and we had instant chemistry. Being more of the ‘just wing it’ variety, I actually had to chase him. Luckily, I am both persistent and shameless, and soon we were inseparable.

So, I guess you could say that we ‘rang in the new year’ a tad early with a romantic dinner at Ruen Tamarind while in Chiang Mai. Ruen is located in the Tamarind Village hotel complex, so dubbed for the 200-year-old tamarind tree located on the grounds. You can enter from a side street lined with bamboo, the tree tops bending inward to a gentle point overhead, where the buzz of city life quickly melts away. Two musicians played soft jazz and though the dining room was quite small, the tables were admirably spaced, so that the atmosphere was both casual and intimate.

We shared a bottle of Monsoon Valley (ok, I had the lion’s share), a very flavorful Thai blend of Pokdum and Shiraz. The shrimp spring rolls were fried ever. so. delicately. so that the shrimpy goodness was not overpowered. Hubby ordered the beef, pounded nice and tender, and I selected curry with grilled prawns – both yummdidliummy. And for dessert: sticky rice with mango and two spoons :)

The food was perfectly prepared, the service was impeccable, and the whole night reminded me that I am one heck of a happy girl.

Ink Stains

I had the best intentions to post the events of our trip in chronological order (I also made a valiant attempt with the pictures on flickr), but it’s not going to happen. Because I’m itchy. Literally.

On our last day in Bangkok, roughly 4 hours before we left for the airport, Dan hesitantly agreed to check out the tattoo parlors with me. I’ve been carrying around this tattered henna design for the past two years, just waiting for the opportunity to get it done. And then I threw in a second for good measure.

So here are numbers 9 and 10, respectively:

They’re in that incredibly annoying scabby phase right now, but I think it should be over after this weekend. And this, friends, is where I lay down the flag. No more tattoos for me – but now we get to start looking for Dan!

Cooking For Dummies

Dan and I did manage to take a one-day cooking course in Chiang Mai, and we had a blast. They gave us both nifty little cookbooks to take home. Each one had about 25-30 dishes, complete with glossy illustrations to make you drool (and silently curse your own creation for not looking quite as mouth-watering as the picture).

Our first stop was the local outdoor market, where we learned the staple ingredients for most Thai dishes: coconut milk/cream, chilies, basil, lime, rice and noodles, assorted veggies and “The Sauce Trio” – fish sauce, soy sauce and oyster sauce. We picked up some fresh dragon fruit for a morning snack, and Dan got splashed by a fish waiting for the butcher’s block.

We made Coconut Chicken Soup (this is the dish that I can most see myself making regularly) , Pad Thai (I heart noodles and the sauce was yummy), Red Curry with Fish (although ours turned out more brown than red), Fried Mushrooms and Veggies (for the garnish, we cut starbursts into shitake mushrooms and made curly-cues out of green onion tips), Papaya Salad (also learned how to make a tomato peel rose for this one!) and Steamed Banana Pudding for dessert (five courses preceding this one, and I STILL ate it all).

All said and done, it was a great – and tasty – experience.

Back in Black

Finally back from our trip! We had SUCH a great time – saw loads of stuff and left plenty more for “next time”. Photos will be going up intermittently on my Flickr page, along with comments and tidbits about our doings. For now, here’s a brief synopsis of our itinerary:

12 Sep – 14 Sep: Lazy days in Dubai
15 Sep – 16 Sep: Bangkok (Grand Palace, Wats Pho and Arun, Reclining Buddha, Thai boxing, Khaosan Road)
17 Sep – 23 Sep: Chiang Mai (Elephant rides, 6 tribal villages, bamboo rafting, waterfall, cooking course, spa day, Night Bazaar)
24 Sep – 27 Sep: Siem Reap, Cambodia (Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Ta Prohm, Victory Gate, Banteay Srei and various others)
28 Sep: Bangkok (new tattoos)
29 Sep: transit back through Dubai

And on 30 Sep, I was back to the daily grind. Just in time to start scheming for the next trip :)

Bon Voyage, Tout Le Monde!

Today has been hectic, and there’s not enough time to cover everything. I finished Elizabeth Bowens’ The Death of the Heart, and in the absence of a full review, here’s a piece of wisdom from St. Quentin to sum up:

“But I should never write what had happened down. One’s nature is to forget, and one ought to go by that. Memory is quite unbearable enough, but even so it leaves out quite a lot. It wouldn’t let one down as gently, even, as that if it weren’t more than half a fake – we remember to suit ourselves. No, really, er, Portia, believe me: if one didn’t let oneself swallow some few lies, I don’t know how one would ever carry the past.”

Moreover, it’s a Thursday – which means I have to leave you with a little TILT:

Traveling. – Hubby and I leave for Thailand tomorrow! Seems the Prime Minister has resigned…we’re spending a couple days in Dubai, even though it’s Ramadan, so hopefully the last bits of urban restlessness will fizzle out and fade away.
Michael Buble. – Seamlessly soulful vocals. Plus, he’s pretty :)
Perusing the Crate & Barrel catalogue. – I’m particularly addicted to their glassware, kitchen gadgets, and seasonal items. And I really have my eye on the DeLonghi espresso machine…
Donating to a worthy cause. – A really funky woman I know in St. Louis, Missouri is walking for Lupus and taking donations here (sorry, no time to figure out the hyperlink): https://www.kintera.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?ievent=268375&lis=0&kntae268375=C56CADE5389B46AEBDF57A1C0CB7C75C&supId=0&team=2758088
And SHE is donating 10 cents per photo that YOU submit here:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/lupus_awareness/

And finally, a word from your sponsor :)

I probably won’t be doing any more than sporadically checking email over the next few weeks. So, until next time:

Be safe, be well…and every once in awhile, do a mad lip-sync to a Britney Spears song. Because you know you want to.

Adieu, mes chères!

Random Musings On A Blustery Tuesday Afternoon

Yesterday, I ordered four new pairs of jeans online. Today, I had delicious Mexican food for lunch and a cup of mocha ice cream in the afternoon. I probably should have done those two things in the reverse order, come to think of it…

I had to buy the jeans, though, because it’s been ages since I’ve been able to find the brand in stores. They’re called Seven7 and are not to be confused with the uber-trendy Seven For All Mankind label (sidenote: Seven7 had already been around for about 4 decades before SFAM was even a warehouse full of underpaid workers in China).

Not that I have anything against designer jeans – far from it. There was a time when I owned enough pairs of Diesel jeans to...uh…well, it was a lot. What I do have an issue with are label junkies, who purchase these brands, liquefy their legs to get inside the jeans (while their tummies are spilling out the top) and then brag about their superior sense of style. Label junkies across the globe – allow me to clear the air. I’m not buying Diesel jeans these days, because they simply haven’t produced any new styles that fit. And I’m not paying $250 for a pair of jeans that doesn’t make my bum look like anything less than a Kylie Minogue carbon copy. You shouldn’t either.

Getting Closer…

The past few days at work have been uncommonly busy – almost as busy as the start-up phase of operations.

I haven’t been reading as much, and my creative juices are not so much flowing as trickling…dripping, even. Now that we have set a departure date, I really feel like I’m treading water. It’s a combination of lethargy and lack of inspiration. But, it’s all for a bigger purpose, so I’ll just put on my game face and play.

I am anxious to start packing for our trip. Less than one week away! I’ve stopped checking the news for updates, which might be foolish and ignorant, but I don’t care. When hubby and I went to El Salvador, there were no travel warnings and we still had one of our buses shaken down by armed banditos. And while living in New York, I once had a guy try to abduct me at knifepoint. So I’m not scared of a little ‘ole thing like a state of emergency. Sheesh.

I’m 62 inches of spitfire and scrappiness. Plus, I can always hide behind Danny. :)

Things I Love Thursdays

Old things. – Today, tomorrow and forever. A little history gives character.

My sweet puppy, Nyla. – She can really try my patience at times, but when she looks at me with those brown button eyes, all things are forgiven. Even the time she peed on my bed.

Laughing out loud. – What could be more therapeutic than a great, big, belly-shaking guffaw?

Knee-length tights. – Especially the ones I got from the kids’ section at Old Navy, because they were about half the price of the adult version and they have a lil’ bit o’ glittery in ‘em.

June Jacobs’ Mandarin Moisture Masque. – see Monday’s post.

Jack Johnson’s latest album, Sleep Through the Static. – A little funkiness + a little tenderness + one slightly raspy voice = a lot of rhythmic goodness

Such Is Life...

We are supposed to leave for Thailand in 9 days, and the frickin’ country is now in a state of emergency. An eruption of violence last night/this morning claimed one casualty and injured 44 others. Protesting factions are threatening to disrupt public services (overland transportation, electricity, water…) and possibly cancel flights and close some airports.

I’m starting to feel a bit cursed. Initially, when planning our journeys, Dan and I had discussed traveling to India. And wouldn’t you know it – multiple bombs go off in Ahmedabad, killing about 50 people and injuring well over 100. The wounded are transported to a nearby hospital, where the insurgents had planted bombs as well.

We also have plans to visit South Africa in November. And naturally, South Africa is also experiencing unrest, as the native South Africans and the migrant workers from poorer surrounding countries clash over jobs and wages.

I mean, really: what the hell are we doing to each other? How did it come to this? And where will it stop…

We are boarding that flight next week and going to Thailand. We’ll head north, just as we planned, and hide out in the jungles – because at least the elephants aren’t homicidally political.

Life doesn’t stop, and it doesn’t get better or worse. It just moves…and we struggle like hell to keep up.

Pretty Stuff For Girls

The day is drawing to a close, and the only thing on my mind is a June Jacobs Mandarin Moisture Masque. I made a trip to the spa in May (about a week before our wedding) and splurged on three treatments: a detoxifying body wrap, a facial and one sublime hour of full-body massage (which left me nearly as limber as Gumby). Then I was wrapped in a thick, fluffy bathrobe, whisked into a candlelit room garnished with rose petals, and propped up on a pillow-topped lounge chair with a pot of peppermint tea. After this kind of pampering, I was an easy target for a little “upselling”.

The charming beautician that worked with me (an adorably teensy bit of a Thai woman with a tinkling laugh and mirthful eyes) merely suggested, in a voice scarcely above a whisper, that an eye serum and a masque would be beneficial to my dark circles and lackluster skin (my adjectives, not hers). I don’t think I even let her finish the entire sentence before vigorously nodding my head and fishing out my wallet. At that point, I was overflowing with rapture and goodwill and could probably have been persuaded to buy HER some eye serum and a masque.

Really though, if you like what I call “good smelly type stuff”, the June Jacobs Mandarin Moisture Masque is cool and refreshing, and it smells good enough to eat. Off to have one now...

Goodbye, Summer. Goodbye.

Today is the end of the pay period for the month of August, which means I am one check closer to freedom. After we take our trip into Southeast Asia (only 12 days away!), hubby and I have decided to return to our paper-pushing jobs and give our 30 days’ notice. It’s time to move forward with new goals, even if it means stepping outside our comfort zone and living on Ramen and love.

I’m a bit homesick these days. I miss our friends and family, and I’m sad that I won’t be able to watch summer fade into fall. I say ‘summer fade into fall’, because people always say that – but really, I think fall is quite as colorful as summer. At least, in some parts of the world…but I suppose in some parts of the world, neither is very colorful. Ok, I’m rambling now.

The point I’m trying to make is that I want a job that’s closer to home, and I’m going to make that happen very soon. So goodbye to summer, and goodbye to climbing the career ladder. I’m afraid of heights anyway.

A Death in the Family by James Agee

Ahh, the beauty of words. The way an author can make them weave and commingle and intertwine to form a sentence, a chapter, a story.

If you take nothing more from this novel, just grant yourself the freedom to bask in Agee’s luxurious prose.

A Death in the Family is largely autobiographical, so it’s no small wonder that Agee dazzles us with his wonderful character development. In a novel at once heartbreaking and heartwarming, the reader will explore life, loss, relationships, faith, human frailty and the ways in which we find the strength to cope.

Part of the last passage spoken by Andrew is particularly lovely and unifies the emotional experiences of the central characters. The butterfly is a symbol of hope and an embodiment of the soul.

A few enjoyable phrases:

How far we all come. How far we all come away from ourselves. So far, so much between, you can never go home again.

The less he believed them, the more he was led to believe them, and the easier it was for him to believe them. The more alone he felt, the more he wanted to feel that he was not alone, but one of them.

Without either desiring to see her face, or caring how it looked, she saw that it had changed; through the deep, clear veil her gray eyes watched her gray eyes watch her through the deep, clear veil.

I’ll end up reading this one again some day – I’m sure of that. To date, this is, without a doubt, my favorite novel on the 100 Best list.

Things I Love Thursdays

Lunch hour with my husband. – Actually, I get to have lunch with him everyday, but it’s nice to pause, reflect and be thankful for it.

Grey’s Anatomy marathons. – I love this show. Truthfully, I wish the characters really existed and were my friends. I preordered season 4 on Amazon.

Carrot cake and coffee in the afternoon. – I have to admit that I never really gave a sniff for carrot cake, before I had a slice with coffee. Mmm, a perfect blend.

Alison Krauss’ song Restless. – She has the sweetest, most wholesome voice. This song is like a big hug or a cup of chamomile tea: warm and comforting and gentle.

Greeting cards by Coffeehouse. – They come across sincere, not sappy. Cutesy illustrations and a lot of pretty pastels, too.

The delicious proximity of Fridays. – So close. So very close.

Heat Wave

Today, we had a power outage at work. It was incredibly hot without the A/C. On the bright side (and I promised yesterday that I was going to look on the bright side), it was nice to take a break from the computer. My eyeballs, at least, are thankful.

I’m actually quite tired (energy zapped from the heat wave) and don’t have much of anything to say. Plus, it’s time to lock up the office and head for the hills.

However, today’s music was brought to you by: Zero 7. Pure, smooth and mellow. Breathe a little harmony through your ears.

Office Etiquette…Or Lack Thereof

What IS appropriate: delineating what is/what is not communal office property and adhering to those rules

What is NOT appropriate: drinking someone else’s very last and clearly marked Diet Pepsi

And by clearly marked, I mean my name written in all CAPS and black, permanent marker right across the tab of the soda. If this was a first offense, I could forgive and forget. If it was a second, I could at least forgive. But if it was a sixth (oh yes, a SIXTH)…well, the gloves simply must come off.

This is why I have a hard time keeping mum. It usually comes back to bite you on the arse.

*No ranting tomorrow, promise.*

Growing Pains

So here’s what.

I was really inappropriately rude to my boss today. Actually to my boss’ boss. But my inappropriateness was a direct response to his inappropriateness, so I feel justified. I’ve never mastered the art of ‘holding my tongue’, and I probably never will. I have patience for dogs and children, but not so much for adults who act like children…or dogs, as it happens.

We have been having a lot of sand storms lately – a great fog of hazy, grey opacity that coats everything in a fine (and sometimes, not so fine) layer of soot and wreaks havoc on our electronics. And today the thought struck me: what if it’s not really a sand storm, but rather a physical manifestation of Stupid out there floating around? But that’s just me waxing philosophical on you. As my mother-in-law said, “the ignorant can read a book, but there’s no cure for stupid.”

Vacation is not coming fast enough to stifle my feelings of oppression and override my need to escape. If I were being rational, I would think to myself – gosh, Krista, how lucky you are to HAVE a job. But I’m not wearing my rational pants today…so bear with me, as I rant.

Why, oh why, do we ever have to grow up?

My Heart Is Broken

Maybe I’m the last to know, but I just found out that Polaroid is discontinuing instant film. As in, not making anymore. At all. For the rest of time.

Does anyone else think this is wrong?? My favorite pictures from childhood are Polaroids. An instant is like a fingerprint – you can’t ever reproduce it. It’s 100% one of a kind. Don’t get me wrong – I love digital as much as the next guy. But can’t we have our cake and eat it, too?? I suppose the next step is to stop printing books and use only e-copies, or to stop playing musical instruments and just simulate them on some sort of gaming system. Hey…wait a minute…

Call me sentimental, call me a fool. But for the love of all things truly original, give us back the Polaroid!

Dog Soldiers by Robert Stone

Briefly...

A grim novel about cultural degeneration in 1960’s America. You know from about the 15th page that the principals are never going to pull off their drug heist. And you have little sympathy for them, not because they are weak or ignorant, but because they merely drift through life – vacant, listless, and devoid of moral decency.

I'll be moving on to James Agee's A Death in the Family this evening, as the 47th novel in my reading challenge found here: http://kvead15.googlepages.com/home .

Today's music: Brandi Carlile in all her emotionally-charged, wide-ranging vocal glory. You'll love that break in her voice in "The Story".

Beer and Beer with Beer on Top

One of the hardest things about living and working in a Muslim country is foregoing that cold, bubbly, life-sustaining substance that we all know and love: beer.

Lincoln has a great little brewery down in the Haymarket district that produces some really fantastic stuff. And when hubby and I went snowboarding in Beaver Creek last winter, we made sure to stop at the Odell and New Belgium breweries in Ft. Collins on the way home. If you trust me, hunt these down:

Empyrean Brewing Co (Licoln, NE)
Vanilla Porter – sweet, malty goodness makes this our #1 pick.
Third Stone Brown – dark but not heavy and smooth as a baby’s…well, you know.
Oatmeal Stout – thick, hearty and capped with a cream-colored froth of almost buttery deliciousness.

New Belgium Brewing Co (Ft. Collins, CO)
2 Below – very floral winter ale with a serious punch! Two of these bad boys, and hubby is all silly and googly-eyed (oops, did I tattle?). Seasonal only, so get it while it’s hot…er, cold.
Frambozen – skyrockets in flight, raspberry delight :) Also seasonal.
Mothership Wit – organically-produced wheat beer with a citrus-and-spice tang. For all my fellow tree-huggers.

Odell Brewing Co (Ft. Collins, CO)
Cutthroat Porter – smooth, creamy texture with the flavor of chocolate and coffee. 3 of my most favorite things all mixed together in liquid form. Sigh.

Things With Leaves

My coworker is on vacation, and I am killing her plant. I have watered it, talked to it, dusted its leaves, and fertilized its soil. This is particularly bad, because I want to plant a garden one day and clearly do not have a green thumb. Oh, and also bad because she won’t be back for another week, giving me ample time to finish the plant’s total annihilation.

To tell the truth, I think the plant is pouting (and based on this suspicion, I deduced that the plant is spoiled and named it Fifi). Fifi is an ivy and lives on the file cabinet behind me. I also think she is a bit of a masochist, who is cruelly willing her leaves to turn yellow and brown and brittle for the sole purpose of getting me into deep shit with my coworker. Either that, or I think I need this upcoming vacation really badly. Imagine, suspecting an ivy of sabotage…

…when everyone knows it’s always the ferns.

A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh

Using a lighter form of satire, Waugh delivers a firm poke in the eye to high society by exploring concepts of morality, corruption, and tradition.

Brenda and Tony Last, the proverbial golden couple, share a happy, if uneventful, life at their country estate, Hetton. Driven largely by boredom, Brenda begins an affair with a man who can best be described as a social parasite. As her affair continues, Brenda begins to assume leech-like characteristics of her own. Following the death of the Lasts’ only child (and the only lovable character in the whole darn book) in a riding accident, Brenda seeks a divorce. Tony goes to great lengths to grant her request, but Brenda finally crosses a line when her demands grow so large that it would require the sale of Tony’s beloved family home to fulfill them.

For the first half of the novel, I wanted to drop kick Brenda from here to next Tuesday. Then, when Tony refused to grow a pair, I wanted to turkey stomp him as well. The characters are notably similar in that none seem to feel remorse. Not for infidelity, or greed, or indifference. The couple is devoid of originality, real intellect, or chivalry in its true sense. Brenda is repugnant for her infidelity. Tony is contemptible for his cowardice.

The novel itself is delightfully well-composed. Waugh maintains a lovely balance; the tone is cynical but not dark, ironic but not thoroughly depressing. Some passages are highly comical, but it is certainly not a funny story. It becomes clear that the characters are hopelessly incorrigible, but still the novel is not bleak. Waugh forces us to question our notion of civilization; we reject complacency as stagnation but also become conscious of the barbarism implicit in our so-called evolution.

I say: read it.

Hungry For More

I lived in NYC from 2001-2006 and have been feeling an eensy bit nostalgic in the last few days. I think its largely food-related, though. I think the last really great meal I had was the filet mignon with creamy walnut and gorgonzola sauce at Herve on St. Thomas in June - best steak ever. Ever, I tell you, and I know from steak.

Anyhoo, if you're ever in the Big Apple, these are a few of my local* favs:

Cafeteria: for breakfast - Green Eggs and Ham (scramblies with pesto and goat cheese and the juiciest chunk of country ham) or The Waffle with berries and cinnamon cream. Hubby and I agree to disagree.

7A: for breakfast/brunch - LOTS o' food for the money and so easy to find (it's on 7th St. and A Ave.)

Baraonda: this is my numero uno. The sun-dried tomato in olive oil concoction they serve with the bread is delish, as is the nutella crepe for dessert. I usually get the tuna tartare for an appetizer, and a simple dish of pasta bolognese for the main course - but that's just me. I love the Valentino Cortazar portraits that cover the walls; if I could have figured out a way to filch one without getting caught, make no mistake that I very likely would have done it.

Uva: for bird food and cocktails - sample the Ubriaco Veneto and do let the bartender select a wine to accompany

Olive Tree Cafe: late night - have the wings and a drink. They have a lot of salads too, for those of you who eat the stuff. There's also a comedy show in the cellar, where people like Ray Romano and Dave Chappelle started out.

I realize I've left out lunch, but only because I consider lunch the least fun of the three meals.

*Note that I said local. Of course there are fancier, trendier, and "better" restaurants - but most New Yorkers (read: I) can't afford them. If you can, by all means - eat and be merry. If not, the above were easily affordable on a bartender's wages.

Egad, I'm a Blogaholic!

Sheesh, no wonder people are doing this. It's like sex and drugs and my very own AmEx Black all rolled into one...ok, maybe that's going a bit far, but it IS fun. Anyhow, I've been having a hard time staying focused at work lately. Dan and I are leaving for Thailand and Cambodia in 25 days, and it's pretty much the only thing on my mind. I had to get a new passport, and if you can believe it, my new picture is worse than my old one :) You wouldn't think it was possible, since I was 15 in the old one and have since learned a lot about waxing and make-up...

We had to pick between the north and south of Thailand, because we only have two weeks and won't have time to see both. Since we did the Caribbean in June, we figured that we had enough of beaches and decided to go with the jungle-y, mountain-y northern area roundabouts Chiang Mai. I know there'll be a cooking class in the future, some elephants, lots of hiking, and *fingers crossed* waterfalls and river-rafting.

Oh! And the first edition hardcover of Peter Beagle's The Last Unicorn that I bought last week arrived safe and sound to my mother-in-law's house. Yay! She'll be keeping it warm and cozy for me, while hubby and I are off trekking the globe.

More Irons in the Fire...

I guess I'll jump in with both feet. Flickring, blogging and now: 43 Things. I made my "Life List" early last year, and I'm such a sucker for writing things down and then checking the boxes. It gives me the most euphoric sense of accomplishment. Credit goes to Beckie for exposing me to this online goal-setting community. To play along, come see me at:
http://www.43things.com/person/kvead15

In other news, I finished Graham Greene's The Heart of the Matter last night. An ironic tale of duty and love, religion and spirituality, honor and responsibility, success and failure. I love a book in which you, as the reader, know more about the story than the other characters do. By highlighting the characters' inability (unwillingness?) to understand each other, maybe it will encourage a little more compassion for humanity in the reader...

Loving this quote: "Innocence must die young if it isn't to kill the souls of men."

The Saga Begins

Guess what I did at work today? Well, I started a blog, naturally...

I've always been the last to get on board with this sort of thing. Napster was kaput before I ever heard of it. My ancient junior-year English teacher introduced me to Google. By the time I decided Myspace might deserve a second glance, the world had already moved on to Facebook. And so, finally, I've arrived here. A little late in the game and still slightly bewildered, but hey - there's a first time for everything.