Thursday Thirteen... 13 reasons I love to travel

13. Food! I'll try anything once... on my last trip the weird things were: squid, octopus and eel. We'll see what the Middle East brings.
12. The experience and opportunity to learn each day to see the world from a different angle.
11. The knowledge that The American Way is not The Only Way.
10. At the same time, an ability to see what is GREAT about the USA.
9. Something new, every day, every trip.
8. Meeting other travelers with similar ideals.
7. Traveling brings out the best in me- I tend to be patient and kind and forget about the hustle and bustle of life at home.
6. Did I mention the food?
5. Actually being able to see places that most people will never get to see: Forbidden Temple, Beijing Olympic Park, Munich Olympic Park, The Gateway to India and Taj Mahal Hotel.
4. Learning first hand about the history of other cultures... and whether or not we learned about them in school is "true."
3. Being self confident and self reliant, especially when I'm unable to communicate with those around me.
2. Coming home! To my dog and my warm, comfortable bed.
1. The people... wonderful people with wonderful stories and amazing life lessons.

For those who don't know, there was a major terrorist attack in Mumbai over the Thanksgiving holiday. A large number of men came into the port of Mumbai in boats, they then highjacked cars and a police van and drove to ten different locations throughout Mumbai. These locations were tourist attractions and places of safe haven for the non-traditional Indian. These attackers were after American and English citizens and those of Jewish decent. The siege lasted three days. Three days of terror in Mumbai's nicest hotels. Not only did it result in the loss of over 160 lives, but also in the loss of the historic Taj Mahal Intercontinental Hotel which was ravished by fires set by the terrorists.

I had never been to the World Trade Center and I did not know anyone who perished in those attacks. But I have been to the port of Mumbai and inside the Taj Mahal Hotel. I have seen these beautiful landmarks up close. I have seen the beautiful Indian people who spend their days selling goods to the tourists who flock to see the Gateway to India. I am in mourning for these people- for the chaos that is there daily lives and for the chaos that has bubbled over into a war zone.

India is a beautiful place- a place of polar opposites. Beautiful people living in a harsh and dirty world. Their lives are still much more simple than the life of the average American. It is a place of deep , but varied spiritualism. Whether they are followers of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jain, Taoism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism or Christianity they believe deeply and truly. And although there are many jihadists of many faiths who have been launching attacks on India for many years, it is true that in day to day life, the people of India deal with their spiritual differences with calmness, patience and respect.

I want to parallel this to the lack of respect most Americans feel necessary when dealing with people of a differing background- but I simply don't have the words. Sure, we don't have problems with domestic terrorism, but we certainly don't always have kindness in our hearts to deal with and respect those who are different than us. All I can do is pray that the strength and kindness of the Indian people will carry them through these times of struggle.

Worst Blogger EVER!

Well the last few weeks since India have been so incredibly crazy. I hae about 6 days in the office between my two trips, which in some ways was helpful, in other ways it just made me realize all of the things I need to take care of when I get back in the office! While I was home I did manage to book a plane ticket to Jamaica (oh, how I can't wait!) and spend an entire Saturday out with some friends. I'll get to spend McKoy's birthday, Christmas and New Years with him this year which is absolutely amazing. Birthdays are not celebrated much in Jamaica, but I am making plans to have McKoy's first American birthday celebration! I'm trying to figure if I'm able to bring cupcakes with me all the way from home, crazy? Either way, I'm sure we will have a great time.

Right now I'm in Hong Kong, just passing the morning until it is time to catch a plane to Shanghai. I arrived here on this past Thursday. I had flown 14 hours in coach. I thought I might die when I got off that plane. I was so incredibly tired and grumpy that I felt ill. It took about 2 hours to get from the plane to the hotel and luckily they allowed me to check in at 9am! Thank you JW Marriott! I knew that going to sleep wasn't very smart- I needed to quickly get ove jet lag as Friday I had a very busy day. So I laid down for about 30 minutes, showered and headed out for some sightseeing.

Things I would never associate with Hong Kong but are TRUE:
-beautiful beaches (I'm talking Carribean quality!)
-very lush and green island, even in the city
-world class city with mounds of diversity
-very, very clean

I took the Peak Tram to the top of an very steep incline and had amazing views of the entire island and the Kowloon Bay (the part of Hong Kong attached to mainland China). There was a mall so I did some souvenir shopping. My favorite buy so far is quite tacky- I paid a vendor to put mine and McKoy's names in chinese characters- so fun! Mine directly translates to "pretty lotus silk" and McKoy's tranlates to "Wheat Song." I think I got the better end of the deal, but his is fitting as well. I also spent three dollars on some beautiful Hematite (sp?) earrings. The ones I really wanted were black sea pearls for about $700... YEAH RIGHT. I totally wimped out and had lunch at Bubba Gumps Shrimp House, haha. I know.

The rest of my time in Hong Kong has been run, run, run! I've definitely struggled more with adjusting to the time difference here than I did in India. I think my varying arrival times are somewhat to blame. I arrived in India in the middle of the night and was able to go straight to sleep. Here I arrived in the morning. I haven't slept past 5am a single morning since I've been here and I can barely stay up past 8pm. Last night I ordered room service for dinner and then totally craashed. McKoy called around 10p and woke me up- I barely remember the phone call I was so dead to the world.

On the way over I was proud of only having about 55lbs of luggage. That is quite a bit less than you are permitted for international travel! However, my bubble was totally burst when I found out that intra-Asia travel only allows for 20kg... period! That is a total of 40lbs! How insane! Luckily, I brought a small duffle, a regular suitcase and a backpack (as carry on). I'll now be carrying on my backpack and the small duffle and onyl checking my suitcase. Rumor is that they will allow this, which makes no sense. If I can take it on the plane without causing the plane to crash, why can't I check the damn thing?

That's all for now. I promise to try to post at least once per a country- that means four more posts: China, Korea and Japan.

I can't keep up! This post is actually from 3 days ago!

Yesterday was my first university fair in India. There were some questions I was very prepared to answer and some that I wasn’t. Tomorrow I have a visit at a university, so I need to brush up on Business School info before then.

Today was a sight seeing day. We took a city tour by bus because it was raining. After the bus tour, we were supposed to take a boat to Elephanta Island- which is apparently beautiful. However, because of the rain and the rough water, it was not possible to do so. From 9-12:30 we did the tour of the city with the primary focus being the Festival of Ganesh- the elephant god, the god of prosperity and education. Today they were bringing statues of the god from all over the city- some big, some small. Tonight, the gods will be floated in the water and eventually set out to sink. I wish I could be out there watching, but…

Last night there were some major terrorist bombs let off in New Delhi. They were done by extremists who are against the Indian Hindu people. The bombs were let off in major busy areas of the city to have the maximum effect. They even found one bomb that had not yet exploded left in a children’s park. Because of these bombs, the tour group I am traveling with has decided not to visit the city of New Delhi. Instead, we will stay one day longer in Mumbai and then go a day early to Chandigarh.

Among other things on the tour, we had the opportunity to visit a Jain temple. It was not only quite beautiful, but I enjoyed learning about this very pacifist community and their ultimate desire for a pure and true soul. In addition, we were able to eat another Indian meal at a very beautiful restaurant. I had a lamb curry that was delicious.
Tonight a few of us plan to do some work and then just chill out and have some drinks. I used to be a big drinker, but not much these days. I’m more likely to be at home and on the phone than out having a big party. So, on this trip I’ve tried to continue that pattern which has proven difficult beacuse I’ve met some really awesome people

I'm a day behind...

Today was a good day. Most of the day was spent in meetings- but we had the afternoon totally free and a few of us decided to take advantage of that! So after a delicious traditional Indian lunch, and a quick run around to find my boxes that I sent here, we headed off to the market.

On the way, we ended up taking a bit of a detour- but we found the water! Literally the ocean is a few blocks away. We were intent on finding the market/shopping district of Colaba. It took us a while, but we did find it. There were deals to be had and haggling to be done. I bought: a necklace for mimi, a shirt for McKoy, a book (“Brida”) for myself, and silk scarf. I paid less than $20 for all of it.

The sad part is the amount of begging being done by women and children. There were no men begging- somewhat surprising. There was one boy, a teenager, who followed me for blocks and blocks trying to sell me a drum made from mango wood. He was offering me this beautiful drum for 100RMI- basically $2. It strikes me now, that the young man was willing to work so hard, so very hard for $2. What would $2 in one day mean to him… and what does it mean to me? Is this truly a “global economy?” And as hard as he was working to sell me that drum, I was getting angrier and angrier for what I felt was constant harassment.

There was a woman, young… early, maybe mid twenties… I can’t truly discern her age. She was carrying around a monkey on a leash. She followed us for quite a while- but she only said/did three things. She wanted us to pay her to take a photo of the monkey. Then she wanted us to buy her beer because she was “too short” and finally, she wanted us to buy milk for the monkey. It was absolutely bizarre.

And then there were the children beggars. Luckily, we didn’t see to many in the market. It is absolutely heart breaking. Everyone keeps saying not to give them anything, that if we do it, it will surely go to a pimp- not in the child’s belly. But really, what is 5 RMI to me? 11 cents…

I haven’t landed on a real opinion of India. It seems to be a very diverse culture, with many people holding a lot of wealth and the rest of the society in what we would consider abject poverty. It certainly makes for an interesting situation. I'm curious as to whether or not anyone has studied the after-effects of British colonialism in places like India... it seems to me that a people who were oppressed by others for so long, may simply not know how to succeed in western fashion. Just something I'd be interested in learning more about.

Just a random update...

Forgive me if this is quite rambling, or makes no sense at all. I’ve just realized that I am rather tired.

Well, I’m in Brussels… and I’m nearly certain that I just paid about $12 for a litre of water(which kind of tastes funny). What?!?!?! Pretty insane. The prices here would be reasonable airport prices if they were in dollars… but they’re in euros!

On another note, I’m not particularly sure what time of day it is back home. I have a headache slightly reminiscent of the ones I used to get when I used to try to pull all nighters back in school. I didn’t sleep a bit on my flight, but only the last two hours seemed painfully long. Upon further investigation, I’ve learned it is 2am at home, about 7am here in Brussels.

The temp outside is a cool 50F… and I know it is going to be hot in India. I defintitely still have my patience, even with this raging head cold. So far, so good though. I did have some problems with ear popping on the way down, but I was on the tail end of my meds, so I hope that explains it.

Right now the Brussels airport is a bit like a ghost town. All I see are passengers and no one seems to work here. Bit of a quandary since my gate number isn’t posted on the boards. No worries, I don’t leave for another 4 hours, so I’m hanging out in the cheaper of the three cafes… where I’ve managed to spend $12 on water (just to remind you). Hydration has been a big part of my anti cold quest, so I guess I just have to suck it up and deal. Right? Besides, I’m not sure what is out there past the security (yes, somehow I ended up outside of security).

Also, I apparently scream “American.” But then, maybe it is the Indiana polo I’m wearing. Who knows.

Anyway, this was just meant to be a quick update on my current state of mind- so there it is. I’m waiting patiently to arrive in Mumbai, be whisked away to my hotel and take a shower and plop into that five star bed.

Damn straight.

Updated when I first arrived in India....

I’m here! And honestly, my first response is, “damn, it’s like a stinky steam bath!” At 1am this is far hotter than anything I’ve ever experienced in the middle of the night in Jamaica.

Yep, 1am. My flight was not permitted to land until 12:25, almost a full hour after our original arrival time. However, my JetAirways flight experience was far superior to anything I’ve ever seen when flying the friendly American airlines (not THE, all). Two full one meals, in seat movies, much more comfortable chairs, four hot towels (odd, but REALLY nice). It was 8 hours of what I would consider first class flying at the coach level/cost.

Upon landing, the customs process was fairly smooth and rather unintimidating. I always think I look guilty in customs because I’m nervous- but this time I barely had time to realize what was happening. I found my driver quite quickly also- which was a relief, I was afraid that, being so late, he may have left me! I made my first rookie mistake when a gentleman who worked for the airport stopped me while I was waking to the car with my driver. He said, “are you alone?” and I answered yes. He then said, “no one is with you?” and I realized my mistake. Who is this man and why does he want to know if I am alone. He had a conversation with my driver in Hindi… and I still don’t know what was said.

My driver has just informed me that we are about one hour from the hotel- wow, this is a big city. He said in daytime traffic it might take about 2 hours. In looking out the window, I find it rather interesting that at 1am, the streets are quite busy. We are winding through the city on what seem to be little tight side streets. Like Jamaica, stoplights seem to be mere suggestions, with little to no consequences for ignoring. Although I feel safe with the driver, it is important to note that he drives with one hand on his horn at all times- and doesn’t shy from using it!

Upon arriving at the hotel, a man opens my door and says, “Ms. Baer?” And it’s late, I’ve only slept about 2 hours in the last 26, but I’m in shock. He walked me through the check in process and my bags and I were taken to my room. The room is quite small, two twin beds (which is kind of nice!). But the most important thing is that even with the AC going, everything is wet.

What a weekend!

This has been one of the best weekends I have had in a really, really long time.

Friday night I had a few friends over for my first venture into Jamaican cooking. I made Curried Chicken and it was almost perfect! I over cooked it just a bit and it had a slightly mushy quality- but the flavor was nearly dead on! Mix a great dinner with a few drinks, good friends and yummy dessert and it was a great night over all.

Saturday morning I had visitors from Louisville... and Arizona! Chelsea and her mom came to see me and explore Bloomington. We sat and talked for a while, I showed them pictures of McKoy and we talked through a lot of different immigration processes. Then we ventured into Bloomington and ended up at a Tibetan restaurant for lunch-- we shared four different dishes and it was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! Unfortunately, we only had a few hours to explore town because I had to work the scholarship tailgate at the IU football game that evening. So, we explored some shops and I was able to find a few new polo shirts for my travels.

I came home and got ready for the game and while a the game I ran into Brent and his parents... so much fun! So, after the game (which I didn't go to) I ended up heading over to their condo on the lake--- good times, good food, great people! I crashed there last night to avoid driving home in the dark.

So, now it is time to prepare for the first big trip- I'm anxious and excited and a little bit of a whole lot of other things! I leave for India on Tuesday afternoon... I hope I'm ready for all this!

I may try to update this while I'm in India- it just depends on how much time I have and how reliable the internet connections are.

Sexual Confusion

Last night my grandmother called me to tell me that she thinks my dog has sexual confusion issues.... wtf, mate. And seriously, if you haven't seen this: http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/end you should... because no matter how many times I see it, it never gets old.

Seriously though... more about my travel prep and fun upcoming weekend later!

Thursday Thirteen

Stolen from Betsy!

13 things I love about living in B-town.
1. TARGET!
2. Good parks
3. Lots of accomplished young people- and fun events like Young Professionals of Bloomington
4. Farmers Market and other independent shopping options
5. A community of mostly like minded people
6. A butcher shop where I can buy goat meat... now all I have to do is find someone to make Curried Goat for!
7. Diverse and beautiful campus
8. $5 club movies!!!
9. great mexican restaurants
10. my large office with lots of different kinds of people
11. uh... no hurricanes :)
12. short drive to and from work
13. being only one hour from Indianapolis!

Hurricane Gustav can kiss my...

Hurrican Gustav was SUPPOSED to pass well to the north of Jamaica slightly brushing them with tropical storm weather.

Well, the latest news is that it has both changed paths and strengthened. The hurricane will now run to the south of Jamaica, much closer to McKoy and his family. Also, they have been moved from a tropical storm warning to a hurricane warning.

All that being said, I know they can handle this. Hurrican Dean, which struck August 2007 was a catagory 5- and one of the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic.

Please keep McKoy and our family in your thoughts and prayers over the next few days.

Tropical Storm Gustav

This may be a bit premature, but I swear, if Tropical Storm Gustav becomes a hurricane and heads to Jamaica, I am going to have to do something drastic. I'm certain that McKoy and I cannot go through another Hurricane Dean.

Scariest. Thing. Ever.

But you know, I'm kind of a goober. I once asked McKoy what they eat during the hurricanes (no power, outdoor kitchen... what are the options?) and he just looked at me like I was ridiculous. Which, I'll admit, I later realized I was ridiculous. Then he finally said, "we aren't hungry. We are too busy thinking about the hurricane outside and wondering if the roof will stay on."

"Oh. Ok. Duh." I don't remember for sure, but I hope that I was at least starving when I asked that.

On another note... I finally went to open a Bloomington Bank account at the IU credit union today. The second thing I said to the girl was, "I have to have an atm/debit card that works all over the world." And she looked at me like I was on crack! I mean, seriously though, I wasn't asking for a card to work in Sierra Leon- just China. But guess what, it won't work in China! I can hardly believe that. And, the icing on the cake, it is a security measure. For my own good she said. That line always cracks me up- can I not decide what is for my own good? And, if so, I want to use my atm card in China!

Apologies

So, I've been a total blog slacker this week. Well, let's be honest, outside of work, I've been a total life slacker.

I've been at the new job almost 4 months and there are still a few things I am not at all settled into. I'm the kind of person who wants to come to work at 8am, work my ass off all day and go home at 5pm unless there is something that needs my immediate attention. I also work best when I take a break in the middle of the day to refocus myself (some call it lunch). Well, both of my supervisors come in around 9, never take lunch and never leave at 5p. It is definitely throwing me for a loop. Added to all that, this was just an all around rough week and I leave for India like REALLY soon!

Things seem to be moving incredibly slow with McKoy's paperwork. Granted, I've never had much faith in the federal government, but this is just ridiculous. I learned yesterday that, according to Customs and Immigrations Timelines, people who have been deported from the US will get back in sooner than McKoy can get in. And that's if everything is done exactly right for McKoy- which apparently rarely happens.

I just feel like my life is in total limbo. And, even worse than that (for me) is the complete lack of control that I have over my own situation.

So, for the numerous phone calls I forgot to return this week and for the birthday phone calls I forgot to make, my apologies.

Written in the airport...

Betsy’s blog today kind of got me thinking. First of, it was a very touching sentiment from a new mother and a good friend. I know in my heart of hearts that Betsy and Brian will raise Henry with the best of all opportunities. Even though I haven’t met the little guy, I know that he is deeply surrounded by love from his parents, g-parents, uncles and adopted family (i.e. Aunt Mel B!).

It is funny to realize how much my college friends and I have grown since the days of late nights at the Beta house… and all the trouble we managed to get into or cause! But whereas I feel as if I have progressively watched my friends change over the last four (wow!) years, I, on the other hand feel like most of my change happened over night. I used to say I wasn’t really sure that I wanted children and I thought marriage was a long, long way away. Truth be told a lot of that had to do with the fact that I simply didn’t think I knew how to be a good mother… let’s just say I didn’t have the best role model in that field.

When I met McKoy I can easily say that everything changed. I met my teammate, my partner. And for the first time, I realized that, with him, I cannot wait to give my all to raising our children. And I imagine, that just like Betsy, there will be days where I’m not 100% confident that I’m doing the right thing- but I know that I can love those children and I can try my hardest by them everyday… and that, to me, is what truly matters. OK, enough sentimental garbage… How about MICHAEL PHELPS!

They were having a large discussion this morning on the Today show about whether or not he is the world’s best athlete. The gentleman that they were interviewing was trying to make the point that Phelps’ body is truly a work of athleticism. When you think about great athletes in sports like football, basketball and track and field, the difference between them and Phelps is that he does it all using much less oxygen. He simply can’t take as many breaths as the folks above water can! That to me is amazing! I happen to believe that Phelps is likely the best athlete I will see in my lifetime. I’m hoping he can get this record- I think he totally deserves it!

Church, anyone?

So, lately I've been doing as much as I can to keep out of the loneliness pit. In the book (and movie) "The Power of One," the little boy, who is sent away from his home when his mother dies speaks of the loneliness birds flying around in his stomach. I must say, I'm definitely beginning to feel those loneliness birds.

So I've been working out, reading a lot, working a lot and today I decided to try another presbyterian church here in town. A few weeks ago, I went to United Presbyterian Church, today it was First Presbyterian Church. Both of their "ads" in the Indiana Daily Student make claims of being "racially and ethnically" diverse communities of Christ open to all seekers. Um.. liars? Is it a sin to call a church a liar?

At both places, not only were there no signs of ethnic diversity, but I would venture to say that the average age was 70. Now, I know there are people my age going to church- I just can't figure out where! I mean, I like old people and all, but I'd like to know some people my age here in b-town!

Honestly, I'm not opposed to trying churches of different denominations- there is just a level of comfort in knowing how it works at a Presbyterian Church. But, I guess if I really need something in my life, I need to go and look for it. Maybe I should post a craigslist ad... "20 something professional looking for active B-town Church." Who knows.

Well, it is time to clean house, take a trip the park and watch some more olympics. Hope all is well with everyone!

Back to school?

So… I’m considering going back to school. Not applying for a grad program quite yet, but taking a few classes in the program as a non-degree seeking student. To be honest, I’m really incredibly nervous about it. Even college was just something that I was supposed to do- an extension of high school, a necessary part of my future. But grad school is a bit scary.

There is a master’s program here in International and Comparative Education- it is a study of social and cultural implications on education worldwide- sounds right up my alley. That being said, I’m finding that if I want to take a class this fall, I am going to have to miss at least 4 classes because of my fall travel! Which in a class that meets once a week is really scary to me. So I’ve emailed the prof to see if she thinks I can still do the work and if it is ok with her that I miss that much class. We’ll see what she says.

Other than that, I have nothing super excited to report. I told McKoy this morning that although I was nearly miserable in my previous job… there were times when I was also still really excited about what was happening there. That usually translated into times when I was really excited to get out of bed and go to work. I haven’t felt that here yet. I’m slightly worn out by the level of bureaucracy involved in absolutely everything. It definitely pushes my patience- when I want to take on a project, I want to take it on now… and that doesn’t happen here!

This weekend with Mimi went well- we didn’t have a HUGE talk- but she saw McKoy’s photos around the apartment and I think that made it real for her- which is exactly what I wanted. At dinner she asked, “so, are you planning to go back to Jamaica this year?” It caught me totally off guard, but I said, “yes, after fall travel I’ll be planning a trip back.” Then we talked for a bit about whether I had enough vacation for a trip and all that jazz. I just keep holding my breath knowing that once she meets him, she’ll love him. How can she not? But up until that point, she definitely does not love him. That's ok... because I love him enough for both of us.

Tae Bo, Sadism & Love

When I was younger, and my grandmother needed to “school me,” she would always start out by saying, “we need to have a come to Jesus talk.” I’m sure this is not a unique phrase, but it basically meant that she wanted to put the fear of God into me and set the record straight. Well, g-ma. It’s time for a come to Jesus talk.

You read right. Mimi comes to town this weekend and we’ve got a lot of talking to do. But, I’m hoping we can go shopping first. You know, save the crappy part for after she’s bought me gifts?

Lately I’ve been trying to hang with Billy Blanks every night and do some Tae Bo magic. While this is going on, Oli hides in his crate and looks at me like I’m a crazy lady. Last night after Tae Bo, Oli clearly wanted to play… so what did we do? We ran the length (roughly 30 ft.) of the apartment in sprints. But the best part is that Oli has no ability to stop on the wood floors. I find it hilarious, but in writing that I realize that this may be a bit sadistic.

Anyway, back to Tae Bo. Yes, I’d like to lose some weight but mostly I’m just feeling guilty for not moving my ass nearly enough. McKoy has taken to asking me every night if I did Tae Bo that evening. Now, what he says and what I hear are two totally different things. He says, casually, “did you work out tonight?” I hear: “You’re hideous, you better have worked out tonight; I’m embarrassed to be seen in public with you!”

Yeah, I know, I’m retarded. So I finally told McKoy what I hear and he about had a coronary. He was basically like, “that’s ridiculous and I’m never going to ask you about working out again.” But after we hung up he called back and told that he loved me no matter how I looked… bigger or smaller or missing an arm or a leg. But just for the record, he thinks I’m beautiful as I am. Needless to say, I feel exactly the same about him.

It’s a strange feeling to have someone believe in you more than you believe in yourself. But I’ve also realized that, in some ways that is love. Unconditional belief that, by simply being with that other person, that you are the best that you can be.

Today, I earned my pay.

I just got my butt kicked by Billy Blanks and his Tae Bo gang. Serisouly, how can a man in little biker shorts with a cut off top get so vicious! But then I guess there is always Richard Simmons... if you google him someone actually says, "Richard Simmons, one of the world's most revered fitness experts." Nice shorts buddy.

While I haven't totally decided whether or not it is smart to write about work on this blog- I'm going to do it anyway. I won't mention where I work or what exactly I do, and I'll pretend that makes it alright! After almost 3 months there, today was the first day that I really felt like I was employed and fully knew what was going on... my boss even said, "I think you earned your paycheck this week." What? Apparently the other 12 weeks they've just been paying me for fun... thanks.

Regardless, they have one more month to make sure that I know what I'm doing well enough to send me to the other side of the world! Haha... Honestly though I'm quite excited about travel, well and a little nervous. I know the first trip will be quite confusing and overwhelming. But it is my hope that after that I'll be a bit more prepared.

But outside of work related trips, I am planning another BIG trip to see my sweetie! I'm planning to head to Tryall December 23 and hopefully stay at least to January 6, maybe even the 11th. And no, my grandmother doesn't know yet. I can just hear her voice, "Aw, Melissa." That totally over the top disappointment that can be shown to you only by the people who raised you. Awesomeness in a bucket. I swear.

Someone remind me that I'm 26 and tell me to get some balls.

What's on your mind?

Just a little bit of what I'm currently thinking about :)

Happy Saturday!

Good morning and happy Saturday everyone! Saturday is my favorite day of the week and here's why:

1. I get to sleep in- duh.
2. McKoy's morning call always wakes me up and hearing his voice first thing in the morning always makes the day better.
3. McKoy and I talk more than 3x a day on Saturday!
4. I get to enjoy my coffee!

Unfortunately, there haven't been many Saturdays since I moved to B-town that I've actually been in town! I've been to the farmers market once in the 2 1/2 months I've lived here! Next weekend Mimi is coming to town, so I have some plans to explore downtown and go to the market early Saturday morning.

Today, I'm just hanging out... but I intend to enjoy it to the fullest!