WanderLust

Think I'm going to Austin...

2008-01-29T06:57:00.000-08:00

“Nothing feels like coming home as when I’m coming home to Texas.”

What a difference 5 degrees and sunshine makes. I left cold and rainy San Francisco this weekend for the sunshine of Austin, Texas. I forgot just how much I love the sunshine and how happy it can make a person.

Austin is a lot like San Francisco. It has a neat little downtown area with fun shops and fun bars surrounded by beautiful scenery. The downtown is, yes, a little smaller, and the surrounding area is a little more spread out, with not nearly as good public transit.

One nice thing about Austin that I have not found in other cities is clubs for 25 year olds and up. We went to Qua, a night club for 25 and up with a dance floor that has sting rays and water underneath. I have to say the biggest difference between Qua and any other night club was it was much less crowded, you do not have to worry about being hit on by 21 year olds and the bathrooms were much cleaner.

I love the shopping in Austin. Lots of outdoor malls and just fun shops downtown.

And the weather was gorgeous, did I mention the weather?

Las Vegas... the city of long lines

2007-12-15T19:30:00.000-08:00

What happens in Vegas...

Oh who am I kidding, I'm blogging about what happened in Vegas.

My Vegas experience centered around walking and waiting in lines. Waiting in line for clubs, waiting in line for cash, waiting in line for food, waiting in line for a show, even waiting in line to make a purchase at Walgreens.

Most of the waiting ended in something amazing, though the Walgreens line had a less than exciting ending as they charged me for a $2 water that I had already paid $5 for at my hotel. Oh, and Vegas is expensive.

The hotels are pretty fancy. Each one has it's own special theme inside. The Venetian, for instance, is themed after Venice, with a canal that runs inside and out that you can ride a gondola on.

We stayed at the Paris which has an Eifle tower outside and nice little rooms inside. There was a great crepe place and an amazing buffet downstairs. Both which had those lines that I mentioned that made the food taste even more amazing... or maybe we were just that much more hungry and anything would have tasted good.

And, then of course there was The Shining themed hotel. Also known as the Flamingo.

We saw KA! which was a great show. I highly recommend it, and their giant drinks.
We ate at lots of great resteraunts including Mesa, Tao, and some sushi place with neat looking sushi and great tasting sake.

I did not gamble, but I rolled some dice and got some free drinks for standing around other gambling people.

All in all Vegas was fun, expensive, tiring, and AMAZING.

Where else can you stay in a castle that looks like it is built by legos?

Old enough to know better...

2007-11-29T18:16:00.000-08:00

Young enough to be stupid and do it anyway.

When I was younger, my friend Liz let another friend cut her bangs. It was a whole awful incident of not accounting for how they would really look when her hair was dry. It took her a long time to forgive our friend for doing this to her, and even longer for those awful bangs to grow out.

10 years later, you think I would learn from her mistakes... not a chance. I decided I wanted bangs and having moved away from my hair dresser in Texas, I thought it would be better for me to do it than go to someone I did not trust. Little did I know, I should not trust myself.

Flash forward 4 months. I have been growing my hair out for almost a year hoping to eventually perm my hair and acheive this look.

I told my friend yesterday what I was doing. She warned me, she begged me, not to do it. She said she was going for the same look and got this instead:

I hesitated, because that is what my last perm looked like. But, I said, no, I will bring a picture, one of what I do not want and one of what I do.

Lets review:

YES

NO

The hair dresser copied one picture perfectly... guess which one.

I'll never learn.

Octoberfest in September in Seattle

2007-10-31T10:29:00.001-07:00

Seattle is the city of surf, skyline and way too many Air force boys

You’ve seen it in so many episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, but let me tell you, the flybys in between dramatic shots of Seattle’s skyline just does not do it justice.

Now, I did not do too many touristy things while in Seattle, but I did get to experience it’s amazing night life, beach scene, a little of Pike’s Place Market and the skyline at night. Every up had its down, but overall I had a wonderful time in Seattle.

The beaches were beautiful. The freezing cold water forming treterous waves that hit pointy black rocks were less than a warm invitation for me to join my friends to surf on that beautiful beach. But, I think I got just as good of an experience watching and taking photos.

Pikes Place Market was interesting. There were loads of flowers and fruit. And, apparently there were people throwing fish. I could not see it if it was happening because there was a huge crowd of people to thick and tall to see through or over. But, there was lots of shouting.

I was fortunate enough to be in Seattle for their Octoberfest (although it was September). I did not go to any of the activities surrounding the event, but it did make for a very exciting full of people night out at the bars. But, no matter how many people were out, we managed to run into the same group of people both nights at different bars. This may have been fun if these were cute charming boys. Alas, they were pilots with the Airforce, not cute enough to make up for the overwhelming lack of charm. Still, I had a fun night with my girls and lots of good food and drinks were had.

Speaking of food, I found another AMAZING Thai restaurant. I am accruing a list of the best Thai across the country. I have one in Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco. I never found one in Dallas. Surprised? Not really.

Next stop... Vegas :)

Luv is in the Air... and I am on it

2007-10-31T10:07:00.000-07:00

“Sometimes the journey is just as important as the destination”

I thought since I have started to travel again, I should get my blog back to it’s Wanderlust roots. Ill probably write about travels in between my last post and now later, but for now, I want to focus on how I get where I go.

I used to travel a whole lot more. I have been on almost every airline, but there is one I had never tried: Southwest. I used them for the first time every this weekend. And, while I was not looking forward to the whole seating as you come situation, it was a cheap ticket.

Even though I was the last on the plane (doomed to sit in the worst middle seat ever), I ended up with an aisle seat.

The first thing the surprised me was peanuts. We got peanuts on this flight. I do not remember the last time I was on a flight that handed out peanuts. How neat.

Now, not only do airlines not give out peanuts anymore, most don’t give out any snacks (without charging that is). Southwest did not just give us peanuts, they gave us a box of snacks. It included cookies, dried fruit, and those sticks you can dip in cheese.

The pilots and flight attendants were also a nice addition to the flight. They danced up and down the aisle when there was turbulence.They made funny announcements and comments during the flight and even had a contest to win free alcoholic beverages.

I did not win.

But I will be taking Southwest more often.

You can grown anything on trees these days!

2007-08-20T19:42:00.000-07:00

"When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard him say it."

Poor Fig Tree.

He should have kept walking if He wanted something to eat. He could have found much better options. Such as, Milk... did you know milk grows on trees?

Or, if He walked even further... Lollipops! Much tastier than figs.

If He waited even further down the road He could have even had Sausage. Pay attention Alex, Liz, and oh so recently Bert, cuz you could benefit from this... Sausage is from plants not pigs. I have photo proof.

So, He needn't have picked on the poor fig... I'm sure it got picked on enough being only a common fig.

If He had just been a little more patient, He could have been lucky enough to discover the Flannel bush.....

Unfortunately for him... Joe got there first and used it all up.

PJ Sees a Who

2007-08-20T18:29:00.000-07:00

"On the twelfth of August, in the Edmonton City
In the heat of the day, in a place oh so pretty
He was running... not caring what life might next bring
When PJ the Leffelman saw a very small thing"

While in Edmonton, PJ and I played with the macro lens on his new camera. In between me dropping it and scratching it, we got a few cool pictures.

Yay close ups!

Canada... in right away to 20 minutes

2007-08-19T22:02:00.000-07:00

"No Canadians before my coffee"

I have never really been to Canada before. I have been to Niagra Falls a few times, but I dont really think that counts. So, when I got a chance for a trip to Canada, I jumped at it. I was so excited. I have always heard how beautiful it is up there. And, when we were high up in the air seeing this.... my excitement just grew. I imagined spending the weekend hiking and taking beautiful pictures.

Unfortunately, I fell asleep and when I woke up I was in Texas.

As it turns out, not all of Canada is a beautiful hiking fantasy. But, Edmonton did have some fun things to offer, like the most gigantic mall in North America. So gigantic it had a pirate ship, waterpark, casinos and roller coasters in the middle of it.

When I think of a roller coaster in the mall, I was not that impressed or worried about the ride. I was wrong to not prepare myself for a scarey coaster going time. Not only was the first drop a stomach wrenching time, I blacked out in the loopdy loops twice.

The other nice thing about Canada are the people. They are all very nice and energetic. So much so infact, that it was hard to deal with before my morning coffee was running through my veins. I needed that cup so I could match their energy. I was not successful however in matching their niceness. Everyone wants to talk with you and know about you just standing in an elevator they will start full on conversations with you. I tried to return the niceness, as much as I could, but that wasn't much. There are just sometimes (most of the time) that I dont like to talk.

Overall, I found it a very pleasant place to visit. Plus, in the Mall of giganticness, I gambled a little ($20) and won a lot ($505).

Yay Canada! I shall return soon.

Thanks Kristie!

2007-08-18T22:54:00.000-07:00

"Watch your cat disappear"

So, Nelly has never taken to a cat bed in her life. Actually, she doesn't take to most of the fancy smanshy stuff we try to buy her.

For instance, the Cat Sitter DVD...
I was all excited for her to chase at the TV. She did not even bat a paw at it. So, we gave it to a cat who cared.

I have bought a few beds before and given them away as well because Nelly wouldnt even set a paw in them. But, Kristie's post and pictures about the Love Bucket at Target just looked so cute, I had to give it another try.

I brought one home and waited... Nothing. I even tried to put her in it, and that did not help anything. I had pretty much given up hope when I left for work the following day. Later that day though, I got a happy text picture from PJ.

Success!! Thanks Kristie!

The Other Me

2007-07-25T21:09:00.000-07:00

"Will the real Carolyn Soling please stand up?"

Around the time of the Gore-Bush election in 2000 a photo came out on the front page of newspapers across the country. The picture featured a woman protesting the election results with the byline 'Carolyn Soling protests Bush in Austin, Texas.'

I was a student at University of Wisconsin - Madison at the time and had definitely never been to Texas. And the woman in the picture looked nothing like me. So who was this woman in the picture?

If you Google search "Carolyn Soling" all the links are me, except the links to this one picture. I've got links to me from my last job, my website, linked in, my photography portfolio, organizations I've belonged to, a xanga profile (that i don't remember ever creating), lots and lots of sailing links, and the list goes on.

So again, who is this woman? Was the byline just incorrect? Was this woman stealing my identity and using it to protest Bush? Could there really be another Carolyn Soling? Why is she using my name?

Apparently she is using it because it is her name too. Yes, it was confirmed last week. There is another Carolyn Soling. And, apparently she is the original because she is 20 years older than me (though i know she doesn't look it in that picture). My new trainer at work informed me of this, as he worked with her when he lived in Austin 15 years ago. What are the chances of that? One guy working with two Carolyn Solings (the only two Carolyn Solings) in his lifetime?

So, will the real Carolyn Soling please stand up? Actually, sit down, because with all the protesting, the other one is probably standing up a lot more. I like to sit.

Less People! More Robots!

2007-07-13T19:01:00.000-07:00

Suspense is often 10% exhilaration and 90% utter disappointment

I have been awaiting July 4th for some time now, not because of the pretty fireworks (though I do love them) nor because it celebrates my brother's birth (I don't get any presents).
No, I have awaited this day for over a year because it was a year ago that I saw the least descriptive, yet most suspense evoking trailer that I have seen in a long time: Transformers. All they did was all they had to do: flash the transformer sign (see picture above). It was like Optimus Prime calling out to me. And, I answered.

After answering the call, I wished they had employed our friends at ILM longer. The parts of the movie that actually had transformers in it were amazing. The chases, the attacking humans, the battles between the bots, all were brilliant. I loved the movie except for the part where humans were doing more than being attacked. Unfortunately, those good parts were less than a third of the movie. Or, that is what it felt like. Maybe it was more. Maybe the storyline of the humans just dragged on so slowly it felt like 2/3 the movie was that God awful. Maybe.

Maybe next time they need to employ actors as extras to only run around and be killed and give our good friends in the animation industry longer contracts and give us a better movie.

Suit Up

2007-05-06T20:52:00.000-07:00

"What ever happened to believing in 'the clothes make the man'?"

In life, I have learned, as I am sure many have learned, that dressing appropriately for a job interview can be crucial. This usually means wearing suit of some sort with a plain colored button down shirt underneath and some nice shoes that one would not wear to play sports in.

For my first job out of college, I carried that look over in to my every day job. Now, I realized quickly that I tended to be a bit more dressed up than my co workers, but not so much that it made me feel out of place in a suit. After awhile I felt more OK coming in some days to the office wearing the suit without the suit coat. But, when it came to meetings and such, I would suit up appropriately, as I learned to do in interviews. And, for the most part, I felt I was met equally with appropriate business attire.

Now, I do not know if it is a regional thing, or the city I live in, or if in the nine months I was out of the corporate world companies just lost all taste for 'business professional', but coming upon someone in a suit has become a scarcity.

In my three months of interviewing, riding the bus, walking around the financial district, being interviewed in offices, I saw almost no one sporting a suit. Companies seem to be promoting 'casual attire' more and more these days. They use it as a selling point in interviews. Being a jeans and tshirt company is like a badge of honor to these companies and it is spreading like a plague.

I just accepted a job where the dress code demands you be casual, but really in this day and age, do I have much of a choice? It seems you have to be a lawyer to be expected to go to work everyday dressed in a suit.

Maybe I am strange, but I like getting up in the morning and putting on some black lined pants with a nicely ironed button down tshirt topped with a nice suit coat and heading out to work. I really do believe that the clothes make the man, and that the more formal you are dressed, the more formal you tend to act, and in the end the more work you tend to get done. It is hard to slack off in a suit.

I think the world needs more business professional attire required professions. Or, maybe I should just go to law school.

Fear and Free Rides

2007-05-01T10:33:00.000-07:00

"Can you really still tell me it is irrational when my worst fear comes true?"

Last Sunday, a part of the Bay Bridge collapsed when a truck below it exploded. This served as a giant leap backward for my fear of bridges.

Bridges scare me beyond description. Just like cruise ships. I have a sickening fear of them just collapsing or crashing or sinking. But, A few weeks ago I actually took steps toward getting over my fears and walked across the Golden Gate Bridge with P.J. Of course I had my handy life jacket with me the whole time, but I still did it. After this whole bridge collapsing mess, I do not think I will ever do it again.

The good thing about the bridge blowing up was the following day, Monday, all public transportation around San Francisco was free. This was a good day for my friend Liz to be in from Chicago. Where we probably would have dropped $20 each for the fun we had on public transit, we dropped $0. The trains, the buses, even the cable cars were free.

So Liz and I spent the day trouncing around San Francisco's downtown going everywhere we could using all the public transportation our little bodies could handle.

I had not ridden a cable car before this, and I have to say, it is a fun and frightening experience. If the cable car is too full, which it was the first time we got on, you stand on the sides and hang on to whatever pole you can reach. This becomes somewhat scary when the cable car going the opposite way passes and you have less than a body width between you and the people hanging off the passing cable car.

Fear not, there were no limbs lost and we actually chose to stand off the sides for the rest of the trips because while it was a little scary, it was also a lot of fun. And, though it may seem a little touristy and somewhat expensive ($5 a trip, no transfers), I definately recommend riding these little cars. The drivers are usually very entertaining and will point out many things of interest.

It is definitely one of the more exhilerating ways to ride down the steep hills of San Francisco.

Alex learns wine tasting IS just like the movies

2007-03-27T18:38:00.000-07:00

"Oh, Jesus. Don't ask questions like that up in wine country. They'll think you're some kind of dumbshit, OK?"

Some friends and I went on a winery tour this past weekend in Livermore courtesy of my lovely cousing Stacey. Lucky for us, I think everyone knew when we walked in that we were dumb, so we could ask all the silly questions we liked. And, ask we did. Well, I didn't, but everyone else asked some awesome questions. There was lots of learning and drinking going around.

One fun thing we learned is that all of Alex's wine knowledge is based from the movie Sideways. We discovered that Wine Country means most of California. We determined that the wine is actually stored in the barrells that we could see when we were tasting, and they were not there for decoration. Patrik and Alex found out when we were leaving that they had driven south, not north to get to where we were, and that Napa was very far away indeed.

Though we did not come at the height of grape season, it was nice because there were hardly any crouds. If there ever were any crouds, Stacy used her clout with the local wine people to get us our own tasting bar.

We tasted Zinfendels. We tasted Chardonneys. We tasted Pinots... oh the Pinots we tasted. We even tasted a Merlot... yes we even had Merlot.

We had a fun time indeed. Our friends were very sad that we had waited so long to do such a fun thing, since they are leaving in a few weeks. We told them they would just have to come back and visit during the height of harvest so we could experience a different side of the wineries. Everyone was all about it until we found out that is actually the worst time to come because you will get swarmed with bees and fruit flies.

Patrik was drunk by this point and when shooting, couldn't get everything in the photo.

Patrik, sad that it is not the height of grape season.

Stacey, our guide, answering some silly question I am sure.

For more pictures than Alex, click here.

Wii test

2007-03-24T17:12:00.000-07:00

"Wii made a revolution. Join it."

Nintendo has been all about trying to reach new markets with the wii, I put this idea to the test this past weekend when I went home to Chicago. I was hoping to get a bunch of people to play with the wii to see how it would fare amongst different people.

Unfortunately, I was very busy with the whole throwing two showers and they only people who got to enjoy the funness of the wii were my family. But, that included my parents (both in their 50's), my brother and his wife (who is pregnant). This was a great test group to start with.

We started with bowling and moved on from there. The family really enjoyed bowling. It was amazing how results of wii bowling were very similar to real life bowling. We also tried wii play. My mom struggled the most with wii play because the whole moving the remote and sensor bar being so sensitive thing.

My dad and brother did amazingly with fishing, better than anyone else I have seen.

We boxed. And, this is where my brother struggled the most. My dad figured out that all you need to do is flip the remotes a little, while my brother exhausted himself trying to use actual boxing moves.

I think the favorite of my brother and dad's was tennis. They got really in to it. Things got really interesting when they started trying to do jump serves and actually were jumping around.

All in all, everyone enjoyed themselves. And with the exception of fishing, I kicked everyone's butt. Which was a nice change from playing against all the gamers that I seem to be hanging out with lately.

Flashbacks to College

2007-03-11T22:56:00.000-07:00

"Learned everything I know without gaining any knowledge... in college"

(me in college... Im the one without the crown)

Saturday I found myself feeling like I was back in college.

Down the street from where I work, there was a brightly colored bus parked with music blaring out the windows. Two men were standing outside handing out free bottles of dole's new fruit spritzers to anyone who would take them. The one big difference was most of the people put the bottle down into or next to the garbage cans half a block away.

Later that night I attended a party where I knew no one except the person who brought me, who also knew no one but one of the hosts. We stood awkwardly with a drink in our hands against the closest wall and avoided eye contact with most people. Neither of us talked to anyone beyond the stray awkward comment and one sad attempt at starting a sports related conversation with some stander byers. And yet, with all the free drinks we walked away thinking it was a great party.

Ahhh I miss college.

Oh, and I have already come upon a problem with the special K diet: it says nothing about alcohol. I guess that is part of the "up to" six pounds catch. Though, while on this diet, you can't drink very much. The lack of calories equates to lack of tolerance for alcohol.

Ducks!

2007-03-11T22:04:00.000-07:00

"Someone has to be the the loser, and when it comes to video games, that someone is me."

Friday night PJ and I were driving around East Bay when we saw a strange little man dancing on a balcony. We decided that seemed like a fun place to spend the evening so we bought some beer at the nearest gas station to bargain our way in.

That beer bought us admission to a night of fun, tacos and video gaming galore.

Kevin was our host for the night and he cooked some of the best shrimp, mushrooms, as well as other juicy taco fillings that I have ever had. Lots of eating ensued.

To work off these delicious calories, we followed the pigging out with much playing of the Wii. We boxed, we played air hockey, and we shot at various targets including spaceships and ducks. It got me very excited about my own Wii which PJ had brought home earlier that day.

The night was great fun and it made me very sad to know that nights like these will soon be coming to an end as many of our friends are moving away from the Gold Rush State to the Big Apple. And, we thought the commute to East Bay was bad.

Amila kicking butt and taking names

The Puhala's are fighters to be feared

No one could take PJ's boxing seriously, not even PJ

Alex kicking my butt

I never met a calorie I didnt like

2007-03-08T20:59:00.000-08:00

"I'm on a seafood diet... i see food and I eat it."

Ever since I moved to Texas and gained the "Texas Twenty," I have been trying to lose it. I figured when I moved to San Francisco I would start walking around more, eating heathier, being healthier. Instead, I think i gained back any weight that I managed to lose while in Africa.

Then came the trip to Mexico, and when I got my pictures back, I decided to make a plan. I set a goal of losing 20 pounds by May 19th. This gave me just about 17 weeks to reach my goal.

I started off pretty strong. I worked out atleast three days a week and was eating pretty healthy. It was not a strict diet, but I stuck to cereal for breakfast veggies and hummus for lunch and some sort of "sensible" ish dinner. And, in the first six weeks, I lost six pounds. Trouble is, I have not lost any weight in the past three weeks.

So, I am cracking down on myself again and trying a stricter diet. Yes, I am trying a fad diet. For the next two weeks (starting yesterday) I am on the Special K diet. They boast you can lose up to six pounds in two weeks. I will let you know how it goes.

Celebrating Lower Car Insurance Rates

2007-02-27T18:32:00.000-08:00

"Calories consumed on your birthday don't count... nor on vacation or after a break up or during your best friend's birthday....."

(Me hiding from calories)

I turned 25 this past Saturday. Weeks before, I was saddened by the fact that I would not be surrounded by close friends or family. Turns out, I was just being silly.

When it came to my birthday weekend I was surrounded by awesome friends and good times. No family was around, but the weekend's festivities by far made up for it.

The night before my birthday PJ and my friend Kevin took me to Greens, a vegetarian restaurant in San Francisco. It was very yummy indeed. I actually ended up eating PJ's meal because I liked his better and he was not really digging his at all.

For my birthday day PJ had originally planned a surprise activity for after I got off work. Unfortunately, it hinged on the weather being good, and the weather was not good. Despite this temporary set back, there was still a great night in store.

Instead of going go carting (the original plan), we ended up going to see the Oscar nominated shorts downtown. PJ has been raving about "The Danish Poet" since he first saw it, and so of course, I wanted to see it too. I am glad I did because it won for "Best Animated Short" at the Oscars.

Since I worked so late, we were not able to grab dinner before going to see the movie. But, as we arrived we found amazing, FREE, street parking, so the night was already off to an awesome start. After the movie going, we turned the corner and stepped into this little bar that was pretty much empty. And, while they did not have all the hard alcohol it took to make certain drinks I was craving, it had enough to keep me happy throughout the night.

I did not want the night to end, though I think everyone else I was with wanted it to end about two hours before it finally did. When we left the bar there was this neat little pizza place on our way back to the cars that was still open, so we stepped in and grabbed the bite to eat we missed out on before the movies.

So thank you to all you who came out and made my birthday. And thanks to all my dear friends from home that I could not celebrate with but called so they could take part if only for a little while.

Me jumping through the window I'm having so much fun

The friendly John Barleycorn bartender we (I) annoyed all night long with ridiculous drink requests like Appletini's and Buttery Nipples.

Patrik showing Amila where she is

Patrik and PJ making Alex out of focus by jumping in the picture

Patrik angry at me and PJ threatening me with a stick if we don't go home soon

Ski trippin

2007-02-21T11:25:00.000-08:00

"You meet people who forget you. You forget people you meet. But, sometimes you meet people you can't forget, those are your friends."

Bert was nice enough to watch over Nelly while PJ and I went and killed ourselves on the slopes of Tahoe. We had a wonderful weekend with PJ's brother and father.

It was an amazing weekend of stars, sun, sweat, and snow bunnies.

Like most of our road trips, we drove up during the hours of the night. So, we missed most of the beautiful scenery there was to see besides the stars. We arrived in the late hours of the night, or early hours of the morning, depending on how you look at it.

The next day beautiful weather awaited us. It was not beautiful skiing weather mind you, but beautiful weather. Girls were in tank tops and guys were in t shirts. And PJ and I were bundled up in all the winter gear we could gather and sweating our skies off.

The view from the top of the mountain of the lake was clear and beautiful. Unfortunately, our camera man (PJ's brother) forgot his batteries. So, we had to wait until the next day to snap some pretty pictures. Except this one snapped on a phone camera.

Sunday, was not so pretty. We woke up to rain hitting our window and cold air freezing our feet. Lucky for us, at the top of the mountain, the rain was snow. Unlucky for us, not only did the altitude freeze the rain, it froze our faces. Through it all, the wind and snow stinging our faces, our legs crying out in pain while we fly down the slopes, we had a fun time.

And, I only got lost twice. :)

Missing Texas

2007-02-10T10:19:00.000-08:00

"Ive been sent to spread the message... God bless Texas!"

I will be honest. I hated Texas when I moved there. It took me over a year to get to like it really. Of course, then I leave a year later. And while I love San Francisco, there are just somethings that I miss from Texas.

Wisconsin, Chicago, so far in San Francisco, I never found a better:

Dentist.
Jim Slater, DDS
I hate the dentist. When I was younger, one of them actually drilled the side of my mouth. Of course, it was because i hit his arm, but he told me to raise an arm if it hurt. I did and I hit his arm. The drill went from my tooth to my cheek. OUCH. So I went to a different dentist after that, actually a few. But, I never found one I liked until Texas.

That man was amazing with my mouth. When he drilled, there was no pain. Okay, a little pain because I don't get novicane, but very little pain. I miss my dentist :(

Hair Dresser.
Lauren at L'image
I had a hair dresser in highschool who was very good at doing updo's for formals, but besides that, I never found a place, even in Madison that I loved my hair cut and color every time. Until Texas. I actually felt like I was a cliche. I actually talked to my hairdresser about life, we gossiped, it was freaky. And, in the end. I always loved my hair. The one time I didnt, she re did it for free.

Seamstress.
Bridal Alterations by Linda.
I had to deal with a lot of weddings while down in Texas. Some, the dresses were not so nice looking, another one, a little too tight looking (I gained a few pounds in Texas). These were no challenges for this woman. She made all my dresses look AMAZING on me. Even, and especially dress that originally just looked ugly on me.

Vet.
Daryl Williams at Chastain Vets
Ohhhh how i miss that Vet. They were amazing with Nelly. They were sticking things up her and giving her shots and she was as calm as can be. I think she had a thing for her young male vet because she behaved like an angel.

And of course I miss my friends, and the DNA group and the DNA parties, and going to Jackasstors... but they closed because they knew we were leaving. And, a little part of me misses my job... my wallet.

God Bless Texas

The final post on Mexico

2007-02-04T10:40:00.000-08:00

"Facing your fears is the best way to realize you were totally rational for having them"

We played, we drank, and we slept.

We had tons of fun in Mexico. Our last big adventure was PJ's idea. We went on a zip line canopy tour. Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures of this. I did not want to risk bringing my very expensive camera only to see it drop 500 feet below me while I was hanging by a thin cord. I had enough to be scared/worried about, like my body dropping that 500 feet.

Okay, the cords were not that thin. And, I did not come close to falling (or at least that is what i was told). But, the guy in front of me did drop his camera once. Lucky for him I caught it and brought it to him at the next tree stand. So, at least one of my fears was rational.

This tour was fun and exciting and the views were beautiful. But to be honest, I was scared out of my mind the entire time. I highly recommend it for people who like a bit of a thrill 500 ft about ground at very high speeds. PJ loved it. And, I am glad I went. I was definitely the fastest one there because i was so scared i would scrunch into the tightest little ball i could and be done before the cord had a chance to break.

If you want to check out all the pictures from our vacation (or most of them atleast)
My Puerto Vallarta Pictures

Taking it off road

2007-02-01T11:48:00.000-08:00

"One tequila, two tequila, three tequila... floor"

The first big adventure we had was with our two friends Sumi and Aaron. We decided to go on a Tequila Doonbuggy tour. Now, as you can tell from the pictures PJ and I are not on a Doonbuggy. We ended up on an ATV after a heated battle with the guy running things, which was continued after the trip was over as well.

If there is one thing we learned, it is you get what you pay for. There were some tours we booked through our concierge that were a little more expensive, but they were higher quality and much more enjoyable. So, keep that in mind when traveling to Mexico and a time share agent tries to rope you in.

Anyway....

Here we are getting ready and looking bad to the bone.

Dont let me fool you. PJ drove the entire time, I am just posing.

This is how it really was.

Along the way we stopped at a beautiful pool area with a waterfall.

We decided to go cliff jumping... though the cliff wasnt that big.

Then near the end, we went on a Tequila tour. We had to taste all the different tequila's... WITH NO LIME OR SALT!!! And, my God, was that stuff strong and awful tasting... until we reached the end. Then they gave us the good stuff that tasted nothing like tequila and was flavored like caramel, chocolate, and coffee... mmmmmmmmmm

Oh and I forgot to mention, on the boat trip, the crew liked to call me brittney spears because how my hair looks... apparently I need to get some new highlights put in.

Adventures at Sea

2007-02-01T11:08:00.000-08:00

"Five passengers set sail that day for a three hour tour... A three hour tour"

Our tour had more than five passengers and it was longer than three hours, so no fears, we did not get ship wrecked.

We set sail way too early in the morning to go whale watching and snorkeling. We chose to do a little sailboat vs the booze cruise our friends went on. While ours was a little more expensive, it was much more enjoyable.

The crew was amazingly helpful. They offered everyone anti sea sickness pills before we left the dock. I passed, thinking I wouldn't need it because I sail(ed) all the time. And, actually I was fine until I ventured under the deck to use the restrooms. Then I got some not so pleasant feelings.

They also made our drinks very strong and tasty. And, the minute PJ started thinking the drinks were not strong enough, they made them stronger. Though, at that point PJ and I definitely did not need it.

We saw whales, lots of beautiful fishys and lots of water. And, we had fun. PJ was actually amazed at how much fun he had whale watching. He thought it would be sooo lame, but he was the first to start jumping out of his seat when he saw a whale. As the drinks went on, he was jumping up more and more at whales the rest of us never saw, but he swears they were there.

Viva La Mexico!

2007-02-01T10:24:00.000-08:00

"Everyone has seen photographs of Mexicans wearing those big sombreros. When you come to Mexico, the astonishing thing is, nobody wears these hats at all."

We went to Mexico in January. It was some fun times. PJ didnt really want to go to Mexico, but now all he wants to do is go back. I convinced him to go by spending Thanksgiving with all his friends in Oregon. I made it sound like I was doing him a huge favor by going... when really, I wanted to go. Shhh dont tell.

While in Mexico we did some stuff PJ wanted to do and stuff I wanted to do. I think all in all we both ended up enjoying eachother's ideas.

We stayed in a condo instead of a hotel to be closer to the downtown area and save a little money. I had my heart set on having a pool at the condo, so we got one with a pool. PJ swam in it once. I fell asleep by it once. And, it was never used again.

We drank every night

We walked around a lot

We made friends with the wooden statues at our friends' hotel

Our friends from Texas, Sumi and Aaron came too.
They gave it two thumbs up as well.
Though i dont think they had quite as cool of a time as we did.

We saw a very pretty church.

And stayed in a very pretty condo.
This is our view!

Stay tuned for more fun adventures from Mexico.

Wayward blog

2007-02-01T09:18:00.000-08:00

"when do you decide that a lost cause is that?"

My blog, like my life, has lost a little direction. It was started to update everyone on how life in Africa was treating me. I am not in Africa anymore. And, my life in San Francisco, while fun, is not as inspiring to write about.

So, what does one write about then?

Good Question... hopefully I will figure that out soon. But, until then you can read about mexico and admire our pictures.

Turkey Day Pics

2006-11-30T15:07:00.000-08:00

The stinky puppies of Thanksgiving:

Stinky Puppy #1: Sushi

Stinky Puppy #2: George

Stinky Suckling Puppy #3: Ruby

PJ Being attacked by the stinky puppy #1

Stinky Puppy #1 snuggling with Michelle

The Video Gaming of Turkey Day

Cooking Time

The babies of Thanksgiving

Our tour around and around and around.... Portland

Yaaay Turkey Day!

Turkey Day

2006-11-30T14:08:00.000-08:00

It is an urban myth that suicide rates spike at the holidays. Turns out, they actually go down. Experts think, it is because people are less inclined to off themselves when surrounded by family. Ironically, that same family togetherness is thought to be the reason that depression rates actually spike during the holidays.

This is the first Thanksgiving I have not spent at home, with my family. Instead, PJ and I drove up to Portland, Oregon through the rain and the snow to be with friends from Texas.

I do not know what it is, but having Thanksgiving away from home that makes me feel like an adult. Maybe it was the fact that I spent 3 days prior to the drive up sweating over a hot stove cooking anything that could be made with pumpkin. Maybe it was because everyone was in this together, we created our own family out of friends. Or, maybe it was because I was not the youngest one there. Whatever it was, I felt like an honest to goodness adult.

Of course once we got there, all we did was play video games...

Not a clue in the world

2006-11-16T14:40:00.000-08:00

"But I still haven't found what I'm looking for...."

Literally, the world. I travel the world and, I have no clue. No clue what I want to do, who I want to be, I have no clue.

When I quit my job with Vector, I thought to myself, maybe this trip to Africa will help me realize what I want to do. Three months later, no still no clue.

Well, that is not entirely true. I know what I want to do. I want to be a photographer, I want to make money, I want to go back to the corporate world, I want to do something that will make a difference. I want to do it all. Surprise, surprise.

Ideally, I could make all those things work together and have the perfect job. I could be a photographer for some magazine or newspaper or an NGO. But of course, instead of fitting all these desires in to one job, I seem to be finding too many jobs that fit only some of the desires.

I have my job at a photo gallery. Fun as it is, it is also tiring. I stand on my feet seven hours out of the day and work with other people's photographs. I hang up and sell other people's photographs. I am working with art, but none of it is my own. Not only is that tiring, it is frustrating and draining.

Since I am making little more than minimum wage, I go in search of a second job. Where do I end up, but a local sales office of Vector Marketing.

I was really excited about this for a second. I know I could make good money doing it and it would be my own hours. So, I went in for an informal interview with the local District Manager. Forget that I have no motivation to actually sell knives right now, and do not know anyone in the area who I could sell knives to. But, I got some sort of sad thrill out of talking to the DM about the last conference and the fact that she is up against two DMs from the Eastern Region in one of the national competitions.

Homesick much? Breaking up really is hard to do... After much soul searching, and throwing out my back (again) this morning. I decided not to go through training again. It was a hard decision...

One job possibility down, millions to go.

A ballerina, I am not

2006-11-02T13:13:00.000-08:00

"When you were a child your mother thought, as mothers sometimes do, that you were strong enough and sure enough to someday be a dancer. But, when you were five, or was it six, or was it nine, you didn't want to dance. You couldn't bear to dance, unless you were dancing in the grass and dancing in the mud, as children often do. And then, your father kicked you a ball. And the ball was the shape of the whole wide world. And now if you see green you can only think of one thing to do. And the world slips away from your feet. And the sky slips down into your arms. And you are free, absolutely free to be who you want. To go where you can. To be wild to be loud to fly in the mud and run in the rain. Strong Enough. And Sure Enough. Like A Dancer. "

Athletic, I am. A dancer, I am not. Graceful, I am not.

At the age of twelve, encouraged by my teachers, I quit ballet. Though I was one of the smallest girls in any class, I was always put in the back row. This would ensure that no one could see me screw up or fall. My teachers learned that lesson early on when at my first recital I fell while sasheing across the floor and near brought my partner down with me. True, I was only seven years old, but I never improved.

Never daunted, my mother kept enrolling me in dance classes. Ballet, jazz, whatever it took to ensure I would be a beautiful ballarina.

Poor mom, it never happend.

And yet, I felt compelled, twelve years after my brilliant decision to quit, to try and take a ballet class of sorts. And, again, though I was the smallest in the class, I was definately the least graceful, the least ballarina like in the group. Even the 6 ft 200 lbs woman next to me looked more graceful and natural each new move we learned.

Maybe in another 12 years I will try again.

Photos Galore

2006-10-31T09:33:00.000-08:00

You ask for pictures. I give you pictures.

Material World

2006-10-30T16:50:00.000-08:00

"Cuz we are living in a material world, and I am a material girl"

I think I had the opposite reaction to Africa than most people do. I actually came back and became more materialistic.

In my defense, I think this was a pretty hard thing to do. I was never one for shopping or buying friviolously. The fact that I could afford to go to Africa and not go in to debt shows that fact. I like to save money, not spend it. And, in college, after going shopping I would forever feel guilty if I bought something I did not feel I absolutely needed.

Of course that changed a little when I started hanging out with Sumi. But, not so much that I would say I have an over abundance of clothing and shoes. There were many times I would go shopping, needing something, and come back empty handed because I decided I did not absolutely need it.

Same thing went with eating out, going to concerts, or anythingelse of the such.

But, I come back from Africa, out of a job and cannot stop buying: Buying, food, eating out, buying clothing, planning vacations. And, while i feel like I should feel guilty, especially after seeing how people live in Africa, I do not. I am missing the guilt.

I think I left my soul in Kenya.

Bumps in the Road

2006-10-30T16:40:00.000-08:00

"I need not miss Africa. I can go back anytime I want through my memories"

Or, I can just go back by driving down the road behing my apartment.

The roads in Africa were bumpy, to be sure. If you were not fully secured in, you could go flying in many a different direction. I think the poor conditions of the roads was the only reason the police were so strict about seatbelts. It had nothing to do with potential collisions. It had all to do with people flying out of their car when they hit a pothole.

Well, lucky for me, I can revisit Africa any time I wish (and even if i dont wish). The road running behind my apt, which i have to take to get to my parking spot, is one right out of Africa.

My car bumps and bounds over this road that is so broken up that there are always one or two frightening sounds when something hits the bottom of my car as we head to my parking spot.

So, at the end of the day, I fell like I am back in Africa.

Whether I like it or not.

Wedding Portfolio

2006-10-26T16:09:00.000-07:00

I finally have part of my photog portfolio up online (thank you PJ for your webspace).

go visit it!!!

I am home

2006-10-25T12:15:00.000-07:00

S: I've been in Africa a year and I don't know what you know. How long have you been here? JP: Just 24 hours, but I have been preparing for it my entire life.

If you had not already guessed it, or been told by me, I am home. The trip of my dreams is over with. I am back in San Fran living the nice comfortable life of eating whatever food I want whenever I want and gaining back any weight I lost while in Africa.

Give me a call if you want to get together or just want to chat. I am not doing much, just job hunting.

Don't let the bed bugs bite

2006-10-24T21:30:00.000-07:00

"It is easy to be brave when the spider is in someone else's bed."

During the "Lion Project" we were on a campsite. We slept in tents and had buckets for showers. And I was the only person on the project (save the guides), who had ever experienced anything like this before.

I was smart enough to grab the first (and biggest) tent offered. I found out space did not matter. Even though there was enough room for 5 people to sleep in the tent, once three girls moved in, there was barely enough room for the three of us.

Clothes were everywhere (not mine surprisingly). I was smart enough to keep my clothing in my bag, which I kept sealed to keep out any creepy crawlies. My tentmates, not used to the life outdoors, took no such precautionary tactics. I would routinley wake up to or just be startled by shrieks that rang through the campsite when one of the girls found a spider, cricket, scorpion, geko, or some other unidentifiable crawling/flying thing.

I, of course, would calmly take charge and capture the critter and let it loose back outside the tent. All the while, I would be rolling my eyes and telling the girls there was no reason to act so silly and that the bugs would not hurt them.

That went on daily until on morning while getting dressed I found a fuzzy little spider crawling down my arm and all the sudden the high pitched scream was coming from me. And I was anything but calm and collected as I flailed about trying to shake myself of my new furry friend.

I never made fun of the girls again.

The Ghost and The Darkness

2006-10-24T20:13:00.000-07:00

"It won't work. Nothing works here. Tsavo is the worst place in the world."

Tsavo means "The Land of Slaughter". Now, I can assure that had I known that I probably would have chosen a different project to work on.

The Lion Project (where we saw no lions), was located in Tsavo. Going in, I was aware of the legends of the Man Eaters of Tsavo, a lineage of lions that would hunt and eat humans. They were said to be the rulers of the night in Tsavo. And, I was aware of the Ghost and the Darkness. Those were the two lions that are now on display at the Field Museum in Chicago. While man eaters are definately something to fear, the Ghost and the Darkness ruled both night and day. They feared nothing. Neither fences nor fires could keep these lions at bay.

One of the stranger things about these lions was they were male lions. In most cases, it is the lionesses that do the hunting. So many things were off about these two male lions, that the locals were convinced they were not lions, but devils stalking the land to ensure the white man did not come to rule over Evil's land.

The past of the land did not scare, but intrigued me. But, knowing that Tsavo is known as the Hell of Africa, I would probably not return.

The movie is quite good when it comes to scenery and depicting the story of the building of the bridge. It was not historically acurate when it came to the stars of the story, the lions. The man eaters of Tsavo are, by lineage, maneless lions. Neither males nor felmales (obviously) grew manes, no matter their age. Every lion in this movie has, not just a mane, but a huge mane. I realize this may have been done to make the lion look more fierce. To me though, the fact that the man eaters were maneless just furthered the strangeness of that line of lions.

It is amazing researching the story. Maybe I should have researched it ahead of time. Then, I may have chosen a different program, which would have been for the better.

Maybe on a non Lion Project I might have seen lions.

King of the Lions

2006-10-24T17:06:00.000-07:00

"Get away from me you creepy monkey"

I never fully appreciated the beauty and genius of Disney until I watched Lion King two days ago.

While in Africa, I was amazed by the fact that Disney integrated the Swahili language into the movie. Pumba is actually the word for a warthog. Simba means lion. Rafiki means friend. And, people do really use Hakuna Matata (though it usually is cause for worry).

The intro scene to Lion King, when they present Simba and all the animals are circling. With the exception of those animals hanging out around the lions, it was a pretty good depiction of what the savannahs look like.

All the animals graze together. When you spot a zebra, most likely you will see a group of eland or wildabeast or some other animal (again, with the exception of lions).

The movie captured so many of the different animals. I have pictures of almost every animal in that film. The one I am without is a babboon, sadly. And, their likenesses are just amazing. The colors, the movements, everything is very realistic (except them being in 2d).

Having an animator as a boyfriend, I realize more and more the immense research that goes into any cartoon. PJ had to study a frog for days for one of the bits of Ant Bully that he worked on. I cannot imagine the hours of study that must have gone in to making this movie.

I always scoffed at how long it takes to put an animated film out. No more.

Potatoes and Beans

2006-10-14T02:14:00.000-07:00

"There are somethings you think you could eat every day for the rest of your life.... until you are forced to eat them every day.... then you will never want them again for the rest of your life"

Potatos used to be my favorite food. I thought I could eat them everyday. Such a versatile food they are. It is like a new thing each meal. No more.... oh no more. After 6 weeks straight of potatoes every day. I never want to touch another potato, for awhile. Baked, mashed, fried, I do not care.

It was the worst these last two weeks. It was potatoes for every meal. EVERY MEAL! That and beans. I constantly had the "Magical Trevor" song going through my head. "Beans lots of beans...." And, while I enjoy that song to an extent.... I never want to hear it again. It was on repeat in my head. Seeing as I had no other form of music, I was stuck.

I ended up eating biscuits for almost every meal.

I wish I had brought an I pod... and something besides potatoes.

The luck of the draw

2006-10-14T01:42:00.000-07:00

"Luck, bad if not good, will always be with us. But it has a way of favouring the intelligent and showing its back to the stupid"

Two days before the end of my "Lion" project and I run in to the worst luck I have my entire trip.

I wake up and discover that I have blood under my finger nails. Apparently, in my sleep, I decided I was itchy and scratched my foot raw.... now I have to wrap my foot everyday otherwise, my sock will stick to the wound. Yay fun.

Then, I am doing the dishes (something all together another frustration of mine). Of course, I get bit/stung by something. I look and there is a huge black thing on my hand (huge being the size of one of my teeth). I try to shake it off, but it has attatched itself to me and it continues to bite/sting me. I finally shake it off and, I must have looked like an ant that morning because our guide tells me it is an Ant Lion. It eats ants.

We soon take off on our walk. I realize, half way through, I forgot to take my malaria pills. I make it through 5 1/2 weeks of not forgetting and two days before I get out, I forget.

Of course, while on our walk, I encounter a few.... issues. I am successfully the first person to fall while climbing a mountain. Again, you'd think, we have been here for over a week, that someone would have fallen but, no. I go down and discover a much quicker way to get to the bottom than walking.

Another thing to know about these walks is that there are thorns on every bush/tree that you pass. I have been very good about not getting anything but my clothing caught. This changes at the very end of our walk that day. I am watching one bush to avoid it, and my hand catches on another one behind me. The thorn rips down my pointer finger and feels, oh so nice.

Two days before I leave and I look like I have had the worst luck this trip, but really it was all in one day.

I decided to go to bed early that night.

So many things, So little time

2006-10-14T00:37:00.000-07:00

"No lions, tigers or bears... oh my" :(

It has been over two weeks since my last post. I apologize profusely to those who were counting on me as a distraction at work. I know how nothing new to read can make you actually have to do work. Been there.

And now, Man, I do not even know where to start. I guess the first place to start is to explain sadly, that in my two weeks on the "Lion" project, I saw no lions. Soooo I am so happy that I went on that safari to the Mara.

It was acutally more like a gazelle project. We saw bunches of those. By the last few days, one of the girls got so frustrated, she yelled at anyone who spotted the gazelles and told them to stop saying anything.

Now, I am less than twenty four hours away from departing the trip of my long awaited dreams. It is a very strange sad feeling. But, I am also looking foward to eating some real food that has no potatoes in it. I am so sick of starch.

Be warned parents... I am going to want Thai food and Olive Garden when I get home. Maybe all at once, I do not know. I am that hungry.

So hungry was I, that when I got back to Nairobi last night, I went straight to the resteraunt and stuffed myself with veggies and fruit.

The Joys of Ughali

2006-09-29T09:42:00.000-07:00

"Ughali tastes like this place smells... and that ain't good"

I finally tasted Ughali tonight.... the quote says it all, ewwww. The dogs got the rest of it.

yaaaaay pictures

2006-09-27T08:38:00.000-07:00

Yaaaay I successfully added a picture!!!

This is Kim. He was Sarah's favorite kid. I like him alright, but I never pick him up.... he pees on everyone. Poor kid. It is potty train or wet. They take the diaper away at a certain age whether you are ready or not.

Just a wonderful example of my balloon animals. Don't they just look so happy and sweet? Okay, happy atleast

This is Mamma at church. She loves to sing and dance in church. Actually they all like to sing and dance in church. They do say Amen a lot, but not like they portray in movies. The first hour and a half is singing. The second is the preaching part. I usually sneak out and go to Sunday School with the little kids at that point.

Annoying Tests and Ridiculous Tasks

2006-09-27T08:16:00.000-07:00

"All work and no play..."

Makes Carolyn one frustrated girl.

So, we had tests today, and tommorow, and Friday. But, we had tests today. I was in charge of various classes to watch and make sure, they dont cheat I guess. I was not really told what I was doing except passing out and collecting tests. I was told the times to start and stop, but I was not given a watch.... So I waited until someone came in and told my class they should have stopped 10 minutes ago. Then I collect their papers.

The frustrating thing was not just the lack of organization, but the lack of silence. These poor kids are handed a test to take for an hour. The problem is, apparently not all of them are taking these tests. Half way through the last test of the day, kids are running around outside being loud. I go outside to hush them and there is two classrooms worth of them, without, of course, a teacher in sight.

Apparently they were doing their daily cleaning of the classrooms. At the same time that half the school was taking their tests. As many times as I hushed, you just cant keep watch over one class taking a test and two classes cleaning.

Not very good planning, if you ask me. Of course, no body did.

Which brings me to the issue of cleaning the school. MAN! if there ever was a useless taks, this is it.

These kids are charged with the job of cleaning the floors and steps of the school with water and rags. As I see it, what happens is the kids get a bucket of water. They dump that rag (which is probably already dirty) in and out of the water to clean off these steps and floor, which kids are walking on directly after walking in mudd or dirt that surrounds the school.

So, you watch these kids doing the most pointless cleaning I have ever seen. They are pretty much just making the floors wetter, none the cleaner. So I must wait to play with the kids until this task is complete, when the floor is left just as dirty.

And, I am left bored out of my mind.

It is like I never left Libertyville

2006-09-27T08:01:00.000-07:00

"There are mothers everywhere. Just because you are away from the one who raised you, does not mean you will not end up with another who will try to pick up where yours left off."

Even though I have been here for four weeks, Mamma continues to remind me that I should lock the door to the guest house when it gets dark. Which I have done, every night. But, Mamma likes to be safe, and will even check and make sure I lock the door the second the sun dips below the horizon. She is so careful about it, infact, that one night I got locked out.

I was in Mamma's office talking to my parents. And, the sun had set. Mamma assumed, since my door was not locked, I had already fallen asleep because she had not seen me (she does not go in her office at night, she is usually looking after the kids). So, she sent up Rahema to lock the door for me. Which effectively locked me out.

Unfortunately, Rahema had left for the night by the time I got off the phone. Fortunately, Mamma had an extra key and let me upstairs, and sat their until I locked the door from the inside.

I do not know why my mother was ever afraid of me coming here. She was basically sending me into the care of a Kenyan her.

The Americans must be Crazy part2

2006-09-22T05:08:00.000-07:00

"How uncultured are we today when our kids do not know International Holidays like Talk Like A Pirate Day?"

September 19 was officially International Talk Like A Pirate Day. This was something I definately had to share with my eighth grade English class. It turned out to be instance number two of "Are Americans really this crazy?"

After our regular lesson plan. I asked everyone if they knew what today was. Everyone answered September 19 (well almost everyone, one person said sept 16... but anyway). I then asked them if anyone knew what international holiday was on September 19. I got nothing but weird looks as an answer.

Assuming that meant no, I wrote up on the board "INTERNATIONAL TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY."

I turned around expecting the kids to be excited or laughing or something. Again, I got nothing but raised eyebrows. I tried again.

"It is International Talk Like A Pirate Day," I announced in my most enthusiastic voice. Still, nothing. "Has anyone ever heard of a Pirate?"

Well, there was the problem. They did not know a thing about pirates. So I went into a brief description by drawing pictures on the board. They still were not excited. Not to be discouraged, I started with my pirate talking lessons.

We went over the basics "Arrrrr", "Booty", "Scaleywag", "Wench", "Ahoy", "Matey" and other such common terms Pirates use.

I felt that by the end, they were getting in to it more. They were at least laughing (and while it may have been laughing at me, at least they were laughing).

Unfortunately, I did not hear the use of their new language as I saw them throughout the day. Maybe they just did not feel confident enough in the new langauge.

...or maybe I should have tried it with a younger class.

The Americans Must be Crazy

2006-09-22T04:42:00.000-07:00

"If you are a pet and your owner suggests that you wear a sweater, suggest that he wear a tail."

I have managed to convince my eighth grade class on two seperate ocassions that Americans are truly insane.

The first episode I was going over a practice test they had done earlier in the week. It took a lot less than the 40 minutes I had to teach and the Head Master had not given me the book I was supposed to teach from. So, I was a somewhat of a loss. Luckily I had another project for them that was not related to English class at all.

I am working with a woman in the Bronx to create an art project between her eighth grade class and mine. She wants them to draw things that remind them of the Home or of Kenya. So, to help them along I had them brainstorm in class what those things might be. I started writing their ideas up on the board.

Somehow, along the way, we got into what types of animals were found in America, and then, what types of pets Americans keep.

These kids were shocked to learn that people keep such things as snakes, lizards, and rodents as pets. They were even more baffleled by the fact that we pay to purchase these animals. And, they were completely blown away that we pay for things like crickets and mice to feed these animals.

I guess I never really thought of that before. I mean, I know how rats and snakes can be a weird pet to keep to some people. But paying for crickets, that is really odd when you think about it.

A few of them offered to bring some mice and bugs to class the next day for me. I declined.

My cat likes dry, immobile food.

Bring in the Clowns

2006-09-22T04:26:00.000-07:00

"It's amazing what you can accomplish with an overwhelming confidence and little talent."

I discovered an amazing thing the other day. I can make balloon animals. Yes, dogs, swords, crowns, and flowers all made out of balloons. The kids here are obsessed with balloons. They see a white person and they say "how are you?" and then "Balloon?"

They honestly do not even need it made into anything, but after one kid gets a dog, they all want a dog. And, for having so little, they can still be very picky. They want specific colors! And specific balloons. Some kids like the ones they can blow up themselves (just the round ol' balloons). They quickly discovered (after not listening to me) that they could not blow up the balloon animal balloons on their own. And, handed them back to me for me to take care of.

So, there I was surrounded by kids jumping, whining, yelling, caving in on me, and shouting, "balloon, balloon, balloon!"

So I made balloons, as fast as I could, but those things really are hard to blow up. My cheeks are still sore from it three days later.

Then, the worst thing ever happened, I ran out. So, I had to run away so the kids who did not get one did not stampede me.

I think I figured out what I am going to do for a job when I get back to San Francisco, make balloon animals at Fisherman's Worf.

So many posts, so little internet access

2006-09-22T04:09:00.000-07:00

sooo the internet has been on the fritz lately... something about Kenya not paying off it's debt to Israel???? I dont know really, all I know is getting online is a matter of being on at the right time of the day on the right day.... so I have sooo many things to share... so beware.

I have also been working on a lot of projects lately. The main one being the website. Please check out www.hurumachildrenshome.org and let me know if you have any suggestions.

Additionally I have been fixing up the guest house. I built a spice rack and am now working on a bookshelf. Ahhhh the rewards of building with just wood, nails, and your own two hands. :-P

Mosquito's and Sarah

2006-09-17T04:32:00.000-07:00

"If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito"

When I arrived in Kenya, I was armed to the teeth with mosquito netting, bug repellent, Malaria pills. You name it, I had it to keep the mosquito's of me.

But when I got to the orphanage, the other volunteers assured me they had been there a month and never once been bitten by a mosquito.

So, I think good, I will still were bug repellent, but I need not bother with the mosquito netting. Which was good, because I could not seem to set it up just right. It would have been the same end result if I just slept with the mosquito netting wrapped around me. But, then of course, I would forget to put on repellent, thinking eh it's ok.

But, somehow, out of all the volunteers I have met, I am the only one who manages to get bitten. And, not just once. No, no, no... I have countless numbers of bites that are HUGE. On my hands, neck, legs, arms. I am a regular mosquito buffet.

Adding to my misery... Sarah left the day I left for safari. Sarah was there right when I came up to the orphanage, bubbling over with excitement and showing me everything. She taught me the ropes. She really made me feel welcome and not so nervous about people not liking me. She helped me see, volunteers come and go a lot around here, so who cares if most of them like you or not. They will probably be gone in a few days.

She broke me in to her eighth grade class so they would not intimidate me when I took over for her. And she made me feel very comfortable with them, especially because even after working with them for four weeks, she still forgets their names. I am sure I will do the same.

But, now she is gone, and now I am sad. But, I will carry with me all she taught me until I leave. Especially that it is ok to take Saturday off and sleep.

Lions and Tigers and Bears OH MY!

2006-09-16T03:58:00.000-07:00

"Reminds me of my safari in Africa. Somebody forgot the corkscrew, and for several days we had to live on nothing but food and water."

Ok, so there are no bears, or tigers for that matter. But, there were lions, cheetahs, and elephants OH MY! As well as numerous other animals that I hunted down with a camera in my hand. So I am very disappointed to report that animation many posts ago, is incorrect. Tigers are not in Kenya. I think I need to write the creators.

My safari took place in the Masa Mara, which is a protected area that the animals migrate to after the winter from the Serengeti.

It was a very cool place. The long grass of the Savannah reminded me of that end scene in Gladiator, where the main guy is dying and floating over a plain of long grass and everything is sepia and blue toned. It really looked like that, but with more sepia and less blue tones.

So, in a van flying through the Savannah at 80+ km/hr. We spot a zebra and halt to a stop. We all ooo and ahhh about how pretty they are. Same thing happens with a lioness. Too bad they were both so far away, it was hard to get a picture.

Little did we all know (well I'm sure the guide knew) we would see hundreds more zebras, wildebeest, gazelle and giraffes. As well as dozens more lions. We even got to see some lions hunt, which when I look back at the pictures I do not know why I took them. They are really bloody and disgusting.

At times, like the lions hunting, there were five or more tour vans around. It was like the tour vans were a heard of animal all their own. They were all the same style van and all were white. One person on our tour asked if the animals think the vans are just a bigger animal that hangs around. And, you sort of have to think about them that way. In such a place otherwise untouched by man, you start feeling very intrusive and wrong being there unless you think of these vans as animals. At times I would even find myself watching the vans and how they moved together and would heard around a kill (a good photo op).

Though, I took no pictures of the vans.

Pictures Apology

2006-09-16T03:54:00.000-07:00

So due to the fact that internet connection is so slow in all of Kenya, I have not been able to post any pictures or even send them to PJ through email so he can post them.

So you will all just have to wait until my return in October to see my amazing pictures.

Sorry!

Bad luck comes in three's (and sometimes two's)

2006-09-16T03:37:00.000-07:00

"Depend on the rabbit's foot if you will, but remember it didn't work for the rabbit."

Charlie and George are two of the newest volunteers here at Huruma. They are very sweet, just eighteen, coming from England. Their first day they were eager to go into town to buy water so they would not have to keep drinking mine.

They were so eager infact, that they were prepared to go on their own for their first trip. Sarah and I convinced them to wait until after my class and I would take them. Unfortunately, I managed to twist/sprain my ankle and had to keep my leg up and iced for the rest of the day. So, Sarah and I convinced them to wait one more day.

The following day we headed out to the Matatu stop (uphill downhill uphill again).

Usually, we have to wait a max 25min for a Matatu empty enough to stop. Unfortunately for Charlie and George's first experience we were waiting over and hour before one came we could squeeze in.

We arrive in Ngong (the transfer point before town) and had just as much trouble finding a Matatu. We finally got in one.... (which in retrospect when two guys decided to get out before we left we should have as well). And, they decided to take some back road way to get to Karen.

40 minutes later (the drive from Ngong to Karen is usually 15min), The Matatu breaks down and we must walk the rest of the way to Karen. Poor Charlie and George had the worst first trip on a Matatu you can.

Poor Charlie and George I thought... until I realized it was them. They were awful bad luck. I went on Safari with them a few days ago and in the middle of our 5 hour ride to the park, our van breaks down.... okay, maybe it is just a coincedence that i have not had this much trouble in Kenya except when with them.... except... On the way back from the safari.... Our van breaks down again.

I will never get in a moving vehicle with those two again if i hope to ever reach my destination.

Sumi would hate it here

2006-09-11T04:22:00.000-07:00

"There may be many bumps along your road, but sometimes we need a few bumps to make us appreciate the smooth roads when we are on them."

Driving in Kenya. I do not drive, obviously. But, I have to get around some how. Otherwise I would be stuck eating Ughali and cabbage at the orphanage daily. Even then, I had to get a ride from the airport to the orphanage.

The first thing that strikes you, are the random speed bumps in the middle of the road. They are not potholes or just random bumps. There are real, honest to goodness, knock your head on the ceiling of the car, speed bumps randomly placed all along the main roads. Of course, this does not stop people from driving like maniacs and slamming on the breaks just before you hit these speed bumps.

There are a few ways to get around Kenya.
1. The City Hoppa: This is a form of transport I have not experienced just yet. It is a city bus that stops at major towns (Major being any town with a store). Usually they pass us by, being already filled with people.

2. Taxi: This is the most expensive form of transport around here (save renting and driving your own car). But, it is the quickest and most comfortable way of getting anywhere. Unless of course the driver smells, and the windows are broke so you cannot roll them down. I have had the pleasure of using a Taxi three times already. It is good to get all of our groceries back to The Children's home, because the bus stop is a mile up and down and up again a hill from the home.

3. Mtatu: By far the most "cultural" way to get around. This is how most people do it. The travel books have a blast describing this form of transport. Their accounts vary from, exciting to dangerous. It is a van, pretty much. With 4 rows of three seats. So, it should fit about 12. Usually there are more (up to 16 once). So you sit, crammed in to a van. Music blaring, smoke coming from who knows where on the van, hoping it does not break down before your stop because, you already paid.

I get around by Mtatu mostly. It is very inexpensive, and kind of like riding a roller coaster, minus the safety bar. They have two speeds, rolling to a stop and pray to God speed. They are very intent on getting places fast. So, on the roads, barely big enough to fit the cars going both ways, they frequently pass people. Sometimes you see a car headed straight at you, and you just close your eyes until you know it has passed.

Surprisingly enough, I have not seen any accidents.

Is anybody out there? Can anybody here me?

2006-09-08T06:41:00.000-07:00

Actually, it is more like can anybody understand me?

I am living amongst many different people from many different places. Kenya, Canada, Belgium, Israel, Amsterdam, England. And somehow, I am the only one that understands everybody.

S: I have a lot of Pictures
J: Sisters? Really?
Me: P I C T U R E S

MT: How are you doing in this morning?
G: What?
MT: ::repeats::
G: What?
Me: She wants to know how you are doing.

P: My name is Poisey
D: Po... What?
P: Poisey
S: What?
Me: Poisey, it's like flowers.

There is more, but I will not share it all.

Like a cool breeze in.....

2006-09-07T04:37:00.000-07:00

"The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are."

Sarah took me to Kibera on Tuesday. She has two friends that live their that we took out to lunch and they showed us around their area.....

Kibera is referred to as the slums of Nairobi. The area just outside the slums, they refer to as New York City. I am not quite sure why. I think it is a way to poke fun at tourists that come to see Kibera.

As we walked through "New York City" I was thinking to myself, this isn't as bad as I imagined. It was by no means nice, but it was comparable to Nairobi itself, just smaller. The children were just getting out of school and running around in their uniforms. They are all so friendly. I think the first English words children here are taught are "How are you?" Because that is the greeting we get from every child we see everywhere.

George, the friend that lives in Kibera, then took us down a hill and across some railroad tracks. Below us was Kibera. It was not what I expected, again, it was worse. Even though Sarah had prepped me and described it to me, you just don't get it until you see it.

The houses were merely huts made out of tin sheets, or cloth, or whatever they could find to cover their heads. There were probably thousands of these huts crowded in the area of a football field. There were little trails between each quad of huts to get through the town. It was very difficult to walk through these trails, physically and mentally. There was trash and human waste everywhere. After a while you just give in to the fact that you are going to get your shoes and pants dirty as all hell with you do not even want to know what.

This is where our friends live. After about 45 min of walking around and taking in everything, including the smells, we came to George's place. We turned the corner into the hut quad, where George lived, it was like we were in a whole other place. George and Simon (another friend who lives in one of the huts in the quad) had planted flowers, plants, grass was even starting to grow. There was no waste of any kind anywhere.

It was a cool breeze in Hell.

His place was the size of a dorm room, smaller than the one I had in College. That was his house. He fit in a bed, a couch, and a little night stand. Nothing else could fit. And there was very little room to stand.

I was not as emotional or affected at the time as I am now, describing it. I had the luxury of hiding behind a camera and looking at everything through a lens, which filters out a lot in places like this. Behind the big lens, you don't feel scared, or sad. You are not concentrating on anything besides the picture you are taking and it's composition.

It is not until later, now, that I took time to stop, think, and feel what I saw. For me to see what was really there.

The English epidemic

2006-09-07T04:25:00.000-07:00

"The acceptance of the English names represents a movement towards civilization to the people."

Most of the children I have met so far probably have Kenyan names, but they all introduce themselves by their Christian/English names. I have to admit, while their use of English makes things a lot easier on me, I am somewhat let down. I really expected to pick up some Kiswahili while here, but I have not had the chance. I feel silly using their language when they do not even use it.

And, there are so many children (150). If you know me, you know how bad I am at remembering names. It has nothing to do with some of them being hard to pronounce. I think it might be easier if I knew their Kenyan names. Then they might stick out a little more. But, I am left with learning the names of 150 children who all wear the same uniform and sometimes the only way I know if it is a girl or boy is that the girls wear skirts.

I hate not being able to remember their names. Even the little kids that hang on me all the time. I remember one of their names, but I can never remember which one he is.

It is no fair. They have only one or two new names to learn. I have 150+.

Living and breathing in the thin air up here

2006-09-02T00:45:00.000-07:00

"Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate; our greatest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves, who are we to be beautiful, talented, brilliant. But really, who are you not to be?"

I made it. Today is my first day (awake) in Kenya. I have already had some wonderful, and terrifying experiences. True, most were in transit to Kenya, but still.

On the first leg of my flight, I was very disappointed with my movie choices. There was RV, Inside Man, which I saw the night before, and have to agree with Burke's Review. And, Akeelah and the Bee.

I decided to watch Akeelah and the Bee, unexcitedly. To my surprise, it was very good. I know you probably will not take my advice, but you should watch it. I laughed I cried, I cried some more.

Then, my second leg of my flight, I felt like I was going to cry because damn British Air only lets you take one carry on. Despite me having two very small bags, I had to check one of them. Which meant, I had to go through customs, recheck in, and go through security again.

The line was so long.. If it had not been for the random kid from NY who kept me distracted by talking (and talking and talking) about his travels around the world, I would have cried I am sure. But, thankfully, we made it. I found out, we were both headed to Kenya on the same flight. Sadly, not really (he talked a lot), I did not see him after we boarded the plane to Nairobi.

Next, I arrived. I made it through all the people trying to trick me to use their transportation, and finally found the people who came to pick me up.

I fell asleep right when we got to the orphanage and had a surprisingly good night of sleep. Bug Free!

Today I toured the orphanage and the surrounding area. I have already met some of the other volunteers. Two of the girls, Sarah and Freya have made me very thankful for my amazing boyfriend. They both have boyfriends back in their countries (Toronto and Belgium). And, apparently their men are not as supportive as they would like. Freya has been dating this boy for 6 years and is on this trip for 6 weeks as well and is not sure the relationship will last when she returns. Both boys are not happy about the girls' choice to travel alone, and to Africa.

I am very thankful that I have the people who care about me the most being as supportive as they are. I do not know if I would have made it here with out that support.

So, Thank you to all of you.

It is tea time now.

Hakuna Matata
(they actually say that here!... Though I have been told to be weary of that phrase because if it is used, it means there probably is a good reason to be worried.)

KENYA!!!

2006-08-26T15:31:00.000-07:00

A little video for you about Kenya.

I am protected from every bug... almost

2006-08-24T20:14:00.000-07:00

"There is nothing that cannot be cured by sticking a huge freaking needle in your arm"

Today I finished up my prevention of "anything African." I am now immune to Hepatitis, Polio, Meningitis, Yellow Fever, Malaria, Typhoid, and Tetanus.

I am thankful that it is all over. I am a wuss when it comes to needles. So, this was a big deal for me. To protect myself, I had to go through the pain of a huge needle being lodged in my arm, the soreness that lasts four days after, and the side effects of having live viruses in my body. This better be worth it.

Apparently, this all will keep me safe and healthy while in Kenya. My mom has her doubts, however. I have been additionally advised not to touch anything or anyone or to go anywhere.

This will be a fun trip.

So any bug that tries to bite me will be very sorry at a futile attempt to spread, whatever it is they spread. Almost any bug that is.

Just days before leaving, I finally figure out why my cat, since we moved to San Fran, has been obsessively cleaning herself. She has fleas. Seeing as we spend every waking, and sleeping, moment together, I have fleas too.

I can treat my cat with Advantage to kill her fleas, but according to the directions, my skin should not come in to contact with the stuff.

Now, let us just put aside the fact that this makes me wonder how safe it is for my nine pound cat when it is not safe for my 100+ pound self. Putting that aside, how am I supposed to get rid of my fleas? There are shots to protect me from tons of little blood suckers in Kenya, but not the little blood suckers here in my home.

I wonder if they check for fleas at customs....

Inquiring minds... might not want to know

2006-08-21T11:30:00.000-07:00

"Curiosity isn't as bad as they say. My cat and I are both still alive and scratching."

Following are answers to some questions I have been getting thrown at me. It is my own FAQ post! I feel so official.

When: I am leaving the states August 31st. I return October 15th.
Where: Nairobi, Kenya and surrounding areas
What: For the first four weeks of my adventure, I will be volunteering at the Hurumana Children's Home and spending time with children who have been orphaned by AIDS or otherwise. I will be staying on site at the orphanage in a cozy building with other female volunteers.

The great (and scary) thing about this project is it is very open ended. Apparently, the people who run the orphanage do not like to order around volunteers. So, it is up to me to get myself involved in a project, or to start my own. I can make what ever I want out of this opportunity. I can just join up with the coaching of sports or teaching in a classroom.

If I can get my butt in gear, I am thinking about arranging a project more focused around art. I do not know if I will have the supplies to make everything I think of happen, but I would like to try any way. These are things I should plan out before I leave. But, will I? (If you don't know the answer, see previous post.)
I have a few old cameras that I no longer use that I could probably bring and teach photography with. The cameras are all film and will be easier, I think, to get the results back to the children quicker than digital.

Here is the website of the place i will be:
hurumachildrenshome.org

For the rest of my stay, I will be working with lions. I do not really know what I will be doing exactly yet, but here is the website for that project.
http://www.wah.co.za/

I will, hopefully, not be too preoccupied to keep this site up to date so people can follow me through my projects.

And just so you know, yes Africa does have electricity. They do have internet. And, they have phone lines. So, I will be able to keep in contact when I find the time. Africa is not all wilderness, nor all desert, nor most things people like to think it is.

Be prepared to be unprepared

2006-08-15T17:42:00.000-07:00

"I love deadlines... and the whooshing sound they make as they fly by"

So I leave for Kenya in 16 days. I JUST got my packet of information on how to get ready for my trip. This comes a few weeks late, in my opinion, seeing as I needed to get some immunizations 6 weeks prior to departure. I admit, I should have probably researched this on my own. But, if you know me, you know that pre preperation is just not my thing.

I am the queen of procrastination. I feel that anything worth doing can be done later. I have yet to plan a trip. My excursions to Ireland, Europe, Costa Rica, all were left unplanned.

I remember family vacations, going some where cool, Jamaica, England, Hawaii. But, by eight in the morning on the first morning of "vacation" we would have to be off doing something pre planned until the sunset. I am not much for the regular touristy sites. History, buildings, 'sights' just aren't my thing.

So, my vacations have been the exact opposite, so much so, I am lucky to have a plane ticket in time. Ok, maybe it has not been that unplanned. But, everything else on the trip was based on recomendations of people I meet when I get where i am going.

I am starting to realize, however, that maybe I should not have treated this trip to Africa the same as traveling to European destinations.

So, I have 16 days to get immunized, get a visa, get packed and get prepared.