Farewell to July

Although summer has been late in coming this year, for me July was the month of a few more miles on my motorcycle, little get-a-ways, and my birthday celebration (which I seem to continue celebrating on into August!).

My Mr. Wonderful Boyfriend, planned a surprise birthday trip for me. The only thing I knew for sure was that it was a four day trip since he asked if I could take a couple days off from work. I love surprises, so asked him to keep it that way for as long as possible. As my birthday approached, he began giving me little hints and clues, i.e. you can access this place via the
"Chrysopylae", and it is home of the PEZ Museum and the Antique Slot Machine Museum. I knew none of these clues and promised not to Google, so was left in the dark. A few days before our departure he gave me the weather forecast, which did give me some ideas, but I wasn't 100% certain. The afternoon before our departure, he handed me an envelope. Written across the front it said "Do Not Open Until 10 o'clock Tonight!"

I spent the rest of the day holding the envelope up to the light and the windows, trying to pick up any clues. I could have packed my cosmetics at least, but instead puttered around my apartment, when the phone rang at eight oh oh. While he was packing his owned bag, he realized I couldn't even pack since I didn't know what I was packing for and decided 10.00 p.m. was too late since he was picking me up at 7.00 a.m. the next morning. Whew. That was considerate of him! I opened the envelope with him on the phone and inside was my boarding pass to San Francisco. Now this will sound odd, but this Wander Woman who's been as far afield as Turkey and Vietnam and as far south as Peru, who lived in Europe for over three years and traveled quite a bit of the U.S., had never been to San Francisco. I'd always wanted to go, but I'd just never "gotten around to it".

I was thrilled. It was a great surprise (even if I was starting to suspect it based on some of the clues) and Mr. W outdid himself with the full gift. We stayed at a wonderful and very romantic hotel in the Financial District. The weather was exceptional, as it was here in Seattle as well that particular weekend, and we had a marvelous trip.

We walked all over that beautiful city, exploring, sightseeing, and eating fabulous foods. Upon arrival, we checked into the hotel, dropped our bags in the room (with an amazing view), and headed out to see the sights. We first headed down to the Ferry Building for an outdoor, lovely, yet overpriced, lunch on the promenade. From there we headed up to China Town and wandered the streets and poked in the shops until we reached Russian Hill filled with Italian restaurants, shops and the famous Stinking Rose. We continued on to Washington Square in North Beach and headed over to Coit Tower to climb the stairs and take in the views. Luckily we are walkers because by now we'd covered a fair distance. But the day was not over. From Coit Tower we hoofed it to the famous crooked street of Lombard and climbed up to the top watching the cars inch their way around the hairpin turns that make the street so unique and popular.

From there we walked back down to Union Square via Nob Hill for some dinner and shopping. By this time, the afternoon sun had sunk, the evening breeze picked up and my cardigan was not quite sufficient in the chilly San Francisco air. I wasn't prepared for the temperature drop.

The next day I left the hotel room more prepared and stowed my jacket in Mr. W's day pack! We headed down to the famous Blue Bottle for a delicious mocha made with local Tcho chocolate. It really was worth the half hour wait in line! We wandered through the local farmers market filled with colorful organic and locally grown produce, then boarded the boat to Sausalito where we passed by the historical Alcatraz and took pictures of the stunning city scape behind us. Sausalito is a charming little town filled with quaint shops, restaurants, cafes and art galleries. Once back in San Francisco, we walked along the waterfront to Fisherman's Wharf, had a snack of crab cake and chowder in a sourdough bread bowl (I had no idea that sourdough was so famous there!), then we hiked up to Ghirardelli Square for a sampling of chocolate. Just a 'sampling'.

We had dinner reservations at a wonderful restaurant, "Perbaco", for my special birthday meal. I dined in succulent seared sea scallops and beets and a creamy carrot soup starter. Mr. W indulged in the devil's gulch rabbit. After dinner, we returned to the hotel to undo our belt buckles and lay ourselves out on top of our fluffy white duvet to recover. Romance ensued, but I'll leave it at that.

Sunday greeted us with another gorgeous day with the fog burning off mid-morning and the sun shining in full force. We made our way down to the Golden Gate Park where after walking through the rose garden, we came upon a bicycle rental shop. We chose to rent the bicycle built for two! Neither of us had experienced that before and we were excited to give it a try. It always looks so romantic and sweet in those old classic movies you see. That's the beauty of Mr. W., he's up for anything! We rode all around the park taking in the Conservatory of Flowers, walking through the Japanese Tea Gardens, riding past the de Young Museum and Academy of Sciences, and cruising all the way down to the beach where we strolled the shore and did some toe dipping. Okay, I did some toe dipping while Mr. W. took photos.

After returning our bicycle (once we finally found our way back to the rental place), which did prove be charming, fun and romantic, we walked over to Haight Ashbury and wandered the streets and quirky shops. We found a great lunch spot and then stopped in at the original Ben and Jerry's ice cream shop for a cone. It's a bit like coming to Seattle and visiting the original Starbucks at Pike Place Market. It just has to be done.

After our cones, we headed on to see the Painted Ladies. The sun was sinking low and we were afraid we'd missed our opportunity for some good photos with the sky line behind these Victorian homes, but once we arrived, the lighting was perfect and the views were spectacular.

We continued to Pacific Heights to view more incredible homes and daydream a bit in this fantastic city. I wish I had taken my pedometer as I'm sure we put on a million miles by this time. Luckily I brought a couple different walking shoes so I could swap from day to day.

Day four brought us to the home stretch. After checking out of our luxurious room and storing our luggage at the hotel, we walked just a few blocks and bused down to the Presidio National Park to walk along the Crissy Field path to the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a beautiful walk along the water with the bridge in the back ground. We climbed the many steps up to the bridge and walked across, taking photos, kissing along the way, getting honked at by cars for smooching, ate our Ghirardelli chocolate and had a wonderful time. Realizing our time was short, we picked up the pace and returned to the other side in time to catch a bus back into the center of town to finally ride a cable car and have a relaxing last lunch at the Hog Island Oyster Co.

July certainly has been a great month, even if the weather has been disappointing in Seattle. I've enjoyed some great motorcycle rides, took a trip to Port Townsend with the girls for a puffin seeking cruise, sat on the lawn at the Woodland Park Zoo and listened to the Indigo Girls on a surprisingly sunny mid-week evening, had this amazing trip to San Francisco that was perfect in every way, was treated to wonderful birthday dinners by dear friends and received many warm wishes, gifts, balloons, flowers and love from everyone in my life. Overall, I now realize summer isn't only about the weather.

Looking forward, however, to a sunny, summer-like August!

Austin: It's Not Really Texas

Ever since my friend moved from Seattle to Austin two years ago with her accommodating husband and two small children, all I've heard is how wonderful Austin is. "Austin has fabulous weather, Austin has great parks, lakes and nature, Austin this and Austin that. You must move to Austin." During Seattle's miserable rainy, cold winters I'd get daily updates on her whereabouts and wardrobe, "It's 85 F, I'm at the pool in flip flops and bikini!" Anyone I've ever spoken to about Austin insists that it's a marvelous, hip, and liberal minded city. I'm not really doubting that, but my only concern is that it's surrounded by TEXAS.

As an unaffordable, yet seemingly necessary research project, I finally went to Austin to see for myself. On Tuesday afternoon, my friend and her two year old met me at the airport and whisked me off to the beautiful Steiner Ranch where they live. Actually, it's where they live, play, work, go to school, shop, eat out, drink. It's a self-contained community which offers so many amenities no one ever leaves. Seriously, they even have more than one liquor store, and one is a drive-through! How convenient is that for those stay-at-home-moms? My friend assured me she'd show me around and we'd get downtown where the single folks hang. I wasn't worried...yet.

That first afternoon, she gave me a little tour of the area on the way back from the airport, then a tour of Steiner Ranch with a stop off at one of the liquor stores. We headed back to her home where her new pool is currently being built, located inside a gated development amongst other ginormous homes with fancy wancy pools. She and I began with a celebratory cocktail on her balcony with an expansive view of lush greenery (Who knew? In Texas?) and started gabbing. We left to go listen to some of Austin's live music at a local joint in Steiner Ranch, then stopped by one of her friend's homes for a nightcap. One gin and tonic and three bottles of champagne later, we staggered back to hers and tucked ourselves in. We'll start again tomorrow.

The next day was a bit of a slow start. Although the kids were up early and off to school, my friend wasn't able to peel herself off the sofa to go for a morning walk around the neighborhood. I left her to nurse her hangover and went exploring on my own. At 9.30 a.m. the temps were already climbing, but still pretty comfortable for a power walk. When I returned, she was feeling much better so we went for a drive and landed at an exceptional lunch spot, The Oasis, which overlooks Lake Travis.

From there she showed me Mt Bonnell, where we hoisted our very full bellies up a long fairly steep set of steps to see the views of Lake Austin. And there, in the distance, I saw downtown Austin. "We'll get there," she promised. Heck, it's only day two. I'm not worried. Although I did take a picture, just in case.

After our excursion, we went home to prepare for a night out with the girls, live music at the Steakhouse in Steiner Ranch. It was a lovely setting with the sun set in the background, good music and her friends were great fun. Being around all these gorgeous, thin, wonderfully dressed mommies was beginning to give my self-confidence a workout, but I just pushed on and tried not to fret. My friend kept assuring me there were women of all sizes and shapes, but I only saw fit stunning women everywhere we went.

Day three's schedule was to include renting wave runners on Lake Travis, Bunko with the girls and then on downtown for nightlife. Uh oh. Bunko? I'm starting to get concerned now. I know what happens at Bunko and I'm not seeing a trip downtown afterward being too likely. However, I don't want my friend to completely cater to me and give up her entire life just because I'm visiting. She already re-scheduled her kids' school pickups, had friends and family help out with watching them so we could go play, and she had been paying for everything. I offered to go downtown one day on my own so she wouldn't be inconvenienced. She insisted she really wanted to go downtown since she doesn't get to very often. In the end, she decided to skip Bunko altogether. I'm sure her friends were disappointed.

Our night out downtown was fun and included the typical night out activities of music, drinking, dancing, a lot of laughs and 2 a.m. pizza in the cab ride home. I was woken by two little children jumping on my bed giggling and playing. Who can be crabby with that going on? After hauling them off to there perspective schools, we 'napped' for a couple more hours before packing up and heading out. We returned downtown for lunch, a tour of Zilker Park, and a walk around town before my very long flight home (flight delays and layovers turned a seven hour trip into ten hours. Better coming home than going!)

So what do I think of Austin? Well, the homes are big, the cars are big, it's pretty sprawled out, the tempuratures are hot and the women are beautiful, but other than that, it's not really Texas.

It is actually quite beautiful, the people were very friendly. Unlike Seattle where getting a greeting from a passerby can prove challenging, total strangers wave to each other in Austin. I'm sure I could live there happily enough if I had a job. Frankly, if I had a decent job, I think I could live anywhere happily enough at this point.

Home From My Holidays

Vietnam turned out to be even more than I had imagined. We started our tour in the busy northern city of Hanoi where the streets are bustling with hundreds of motor scooters and the "honk honk beep beep" of traffic coming and going in every which direction. Crossing the street took an act of bravery - or stupidity- and some skillful eye/feet coordination. Although some of our fellow travelers were afraid to make attempts, I found the challenge exhilarating. Tall skinny houses lined the streets of Hanoi where we were told not one, but up to seven families may be living per household. People crowded the sidewalks crouched on small stools eating food prepared right there on small cookers. This, our guide explained, was due to the crowded kitchen inside the house. With seven families sharing one kitchen and one bathroom, it just makes sense to eat on the sidewalk (comparable to our version of an outside BBQ or having a picnic on the porch while we watch passers by).

Throughout our trip we continually were witness to so many contrasts. For example, the people take their shoes off to enter their home, yet at the end of the day, they park their scooters inside the house. Safety reasons. There is a helmet law for drivers, but apparently not for passengers. We'd see a helmeted driver with his entire unhelmeted family of five strategically stacked on the scooter with him. And Christmas decorations adorned every window, hotel, street corner in this mainly Buddhist country. Western dressed woman donned traditional conical hats.

Other highlights of this interesting city included a Cyclo tour of Old Town - another contrast of old vs new transportation, a visit to the Temple of Literature where I rubbed a turtle's head for good luck in my upcoming studies, an entertaining water puppet show, the French Quarter, Museum of Ethnography and some wonderful Vietnamese food.

After a few days in Hanoi, we headed to Ha Long Bay for an overnight trip on a traditional Junk boat. The weather was unseasonably cooler than expected, but we managed to get this far without actual rain. We were four days into the trip by now and I was still wearing the same top I flew over in! I hadn't been able to break out any warm weather garments yet and only took a couple of long sleeved tops because it wasn't suppose to be this cold. I had borrowed my niece's windbreaker for the trip and I was so glad for it.

From the very majestic Ha Long Bay, we headed back to Hanoi for our in-country flight to Hue a little further south. Warmer, but rainy. We visited the Thien Mu Pagoda (Pagoda of the Heavenly Lady) which overlooks the Perfume River, the magnificent Hue Citadel and the Forbidden Purple City which took us back in time. Our guide shared detailed stories of past Kings, Queens and residents and their impact on the history of Vietnam. Although the weather was inclement, this kept the crowds at bay and the rain actually accentuated the peacefulness of the temple and the Hien Lam Pavilion.

From Hue, we headed south to Hoi An, a nearly Venice-like town in Central Vietnam (complete with regular flooding and small boats to haul you around) just south of the famous China Beach and Lang Co Beach. We took some time and stepped out on the beach to dip our toes in the sea. Tired of the cooler weather and rain, we were excited to finally see a bit of sunshine and sandy beach. Upon reaching Hoi An and checking into the resort hotel perched on the river, we were greeted with yet another amazing Vietnamese meal (there were many of these and my rather snug trousers are proof) and then a walking city tour weaving our way through the alleys and narrow passages of this cozy little town. Here we also participated in a Vietnamese cooking class where loads of laughs were had while we learned to make fresh spring rolls, banana flower salad and grilled tuna wrapped in banana leaves.

The rains picked up as we trekked through the ancient My Son ruins of the Champa Kingdom. Again, it wasn't enough to spoil the day's activities. On the way to the ruins we stopped at a local market that isn't used to tourists. This was a highlight for all of us. Our guide walked us through the market explaining all the unusual 'treats' and how they are prepared. My travel buddy and I sampled the juice of a duck egg that had been boiled just three days prior to the duck being born. It tasted like chicken broth. Then we ate the duck fetus. No, not the yolk, the actual baby duck that was scooped out of the shell. Yeah, this from the girl who'd prefer china plates with food separators like a two year old so nothing touches. Later my friend tested Beattlenut. After watching her basically get stoned, I laughed my tush off as her entire mouth turned a bright red. The market ladies had fun at our expense. I'm not sure who was more entertained, them or us.

Our next destination was the beautiful seaside town of Nha Trang where we'd spend a couple of days relaxing on the sunny shores of the China Sea...or just walk along the beach in the rain. By now we were getting a little discouraged by the "unseasonably rainy weather" we were experiencing and our guide was getting nervous. His job was to make us happy. My travel buddy was having her period and was seriously crabby by this point. After spending five hours digging her car out of her snow-filled driveway and driving from Spokane to Seattle to fly out the next day, this was suppose to be her tropical sun-filled holiday. The rain was bothering her much more than me (hard to believe, I know) but I didn't want to agitate her by patronizing her about how it could be so much worse. After lunch she found a bit of alone time to walk on the beach during a brief clearing, meet a local woman cooking lobster and take a "happy pill." She came back refreshed and smiling. We then hopped a scooter taxi and headed up to the beautiful Cham tower still in operation. We decided to walk back to our hotel and no sooner than we headed back, the rains began again. We spent the evening drying out in our hotel room which had an amazing view of the stormy sea, sipping rather poor Vietnamese wine and reading our books. We went to bed dreaming of a sunnier tomorrow. Or at least high clouds.

We were granted high clouds for our boat trip to a local fishing village, a ride in a round basket boat - an actual round boat woven with bamboo used mainly to fish for squid, and finally a relaxing afternoon on a private beach where we were able to swim in the China Sea and enjoy massages and pedicures on the beach....until a sprinkling of rain drove us under the thatched umbrellas. All in all it was a great day even without the sun.

Our hotel hosted a New Years Eve Gala which was basically a flop. The Gala took place on the rooftop off the second floor. Rather than mingling with all the other guests as I had hoped, everyone sat at their perspective dinner tables watching the dancers on stage perform routines to songs from ABBA and "We Are the World." They were trying to promote unity, but everyone just sat and stared at them. The best part of the night was viewing the growing crowd of locals gathering on the street below. Thousands of people jammed the streets outside the hotel and stood staring up at us-staring back down at them. Everyone watching and waiting for something to happen. Nothing ever did. Prior to the countdown balloons and confetti were released from the top floor windows, but the wind had picked up substantially and rather than fall downward, they were scooped up over the top of the building and carried who knows where. There was a giant disco ball, but it never got lifted and dropped at the appropriate time. I'm not sure it got lifted and dropped at all. After midnight, they announced all night dancing in the lobby. We all shuffled down there for some dancing, but the music wasn't set up yet. We waited around til almost 1.00 when we decided to call it a night. Happy @#$ing New Year.

After Nha Trang, we headed into the mountains to the city of Dalat. Unfortunately, after an hour of driving we learned the mountain pass we were headed to was closed due to flooding (imagine that) and we had to turn back and take another route. Seven hours of bumpy, jiggly, uncomfortable bus ride later, feeling completely beat up, we pulled into the stunning French style village of Dalat. So different than any other town we'd seen at this point. Highlights here included a scenic gondola ride through the lush mountains to visit the Truc Lam Zen Buddhist Pagoda and beautiful gardens, Dalat Cathedral, Xuan Huong Lake, exploring the village and seeing how the locals live, a home hosted dinner, visit to the University of Dalat to talk to local students and a visit to the Lat village to enjoy music and dance performance by the indigenous residents. That was great fun as we laughed and danced along learning their stories and traditions.

Leaving Dalat by plane, we headed to our final destination of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) for the last three days of our tour. Saigon was the city I had expected it to be. Somewhat more modern than Hanoi, but not much. More busy scooter traffic (my travel buddy and I were seasoned street crossers by now), lots of shops, huge market, coffee shops and beautiful buildings. After some consideration of our finances, we decided to take the optional tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels with the group. It turned out to be well worth the money. We were able to explore the tunnels first hand as a group and even had the opportunity to drop into a trap door and crawl through a portion of the tunnel alone (except for resident bat). This was actually a bit creepy as you put yourself mentally in the shoes of those who lived in these tunnels 40 years ago.

Next day was a visit to My Tho for a boat trip along the Mekong Delta which included a stop off at a local bee farm for some exotic fruit samples; dragon fruit, longan fruit, rambuton, coconut, jackfruit and something that resembled grapefruit, but not really a grapefruit. We visited a family owned coconut candy factory where we saw the very labor intensive handy-work of making different types of coconut candy.

I am still skeptical about the 'tour group' method of travel, but it does come with pros, as well as cons. Our guide was informative and relayed entertaining stories of the history, traditions, superstitions and culture of the various regions of his country. I am certain I wouldn't have been able to cover as much ground and see all the sights we saw in the same amount of time if I had attempted the trip on my own. I'm not sure, however, I'd book a trip with Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) for the next 30 years. Seems to be an older crowd who frequent these particular tours. My travel buddy and I deemed the acronym Old And Tired people upon meeting our fellow travelers. There were 16 travelers in our group and our youthful 45 years of age brought the median age down to 60 years old. Our guide informed us that ours was the youngest group he had ever hosted.

By the first day we had everyone pegged. The overly optimistic person who clapped her hands and squealed 'yea!' about everything (no this wasn't me!), the professional photographer who got into every local person's face with her rather invasive camera equipment, those who continuously asked every ridiculous question because they either liked to hear themselves talk or just refused to pay attention to our guide. We dubbed these gals as Numbers 1, 2 and 3 so we could gossip about them in code. This kept us equally annoyed and entertained at the same time. At various points throughout the first week or so each woman would shift on the totem pole of Most Annoying depending on what irritating thing they did or said that day. Yes, an awful game to play (we were clearly the young bitches of the group). However, I dare anyone to spend nearly three weeks with 14 total strangers and see if you don't start inventing inappropriate games. I'd never make it on "Survivor." Even if I didn't get voted off right away, I'd volunteer to leave after a few weeks. By week two, Numbers 2 and 3 were growing on us more and more. We were finding them almost delightful. We also really liked their husbands and thought we better make nice with these wives. By the end of the trip #3 was hugging us goodbye and calling us her daughters in her Philadelphia Jewish Lady accent - "dawwters". Just goes to show we need to give people a chance. It was a bit challenging for this introverted extrovert to be corralled with 16 people all day every day. My travel buddy and I managed to get away on our own on a few occasions but not many. It was a full schedule.

Overall it was a good trip and we had a great time and lots of laughs. And more importantly, I'm so glad I got to experience this amazing country - the beautiful rice paddies, colorful markets, children riding water buffalo, and farmers working the fields- before commerce and fierce development step in and turn the unique farm villages and seaside into tourist resorts and the cities become just another Asian hot spot of night clubs, bars, glitz and glitter and overpriced shopping.

Help Yourself to Some Self-Help

Just back from a five day get-a-way in San Diego. What, exactly, I was getting away from is a good question. The grind of job seeking? Not really. The hectic daily life of mid-day yoga followed by power walks in the autumn sunshine? No. Walking dogs around beautiful Green Lake? Nope- no need to get away from that. My life-style these past few weeks has suited me well, I think. At the request of my former (insane) boss, I worked for him on a two day project last week. I was quickly reminded of why I don't work for him any longer. Decision to quit confirmed a good one(if this situation occurs again, I'll need an intervention from my friends and loved ones).

No, I wasn't really getting away from anything, just off to enjoy the southern California beaches and catch up with my friends down there while I was unemployed and free to travel. I mean, I hadn't been anywhere since, ummm, August. Early August.

As I sat down at my computer today to catch up on emails and take a look at some employment websites, I paused and noticed the stack of books on my shelf. I've got every sort of self-help book imaginable. Not the sort that lonely single people delve into: "Alone Again and Learning to Love It," "Finding Your Soul Mate," or "Will Ever I Love Again?" No, not those kinds of self-help. My stack is of the 'finding your career' nature, which is very similar to the former actually. As I've mentioned in past posts, the similarities between a happy career and a happy relationship are uncanny.

From my distant past life I've got "The Greatest Salesman in the World" by Og Mandino, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen R. Covey, "Life Makeovers" by Cheryl Richardson and Barbara J. Winter's "Making a Living Without a Job." I'd read them all cover to cover.

Since my return to the states two years ago, I've acquired "Go Put Your Strengths to Work" by Marcus Buckingham, "Life is Short-Wear Your Party Pants" by Loretta LaRoche, and let's not forget "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne (I also saw the video!).

I've got my fair share of writing self-help books as well: "Bird by Bird" Anne Lamott, "Your Writing Coach" Jurgen Wolff, "How to Get Happily Published" Judith Applebaum and I've completed Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way" twice!

Recently, a friend just shoved into my hands "What Should I Do With My Life" Po Bronson and "Do What You Are" Paul D. Tieger & Barbara Barron-Tieger. "You've got to read these," she insisted. They are still sitting on my dining room table. There is only so much of this stuff a person can absorb in a given period (or lifetime).

Furthermore, another friend involved with Landmark Education ("Innovative Programs for Living an Extraordinary Life") convinced me it was time to sign up for the Landmark Forum in Action Seminar series. I'd attended the Forum several years ago. It was helpful, so I figured why not give the followup series a try. I think my life is pretty extraordinary already (yes, I live in a skewed, warped bubble), but it could be improved upon, certainly. And I seem to have tapped out all the books on the subject matter.

I'm sure if I surround myself with all this positive rah rah, the universe will salute me and I'll be rewarded with wonderful outcomes. Surely.

On Bended Knee

Practically on his knees, the boss all but begged me to stay on at work. He worked every angle ... stroking my ego, attempting to boost my self-confidence, pointing out my leadership role with the other staff, and, yes, finally appealing to my bank account. It's not much but he did offer a little more dough, effective immediately,  if I stayed on through August. He was actually working towards 'forever' but I gave him through August.  I also gave him a list of my own concessions, i.e. no more nights and weekends after tomorrow (we have a midnight airport pickup), I'll leave work early when I have something personal planned, I'll take my Colorado vacation in two weeks,  I'll search for a new job during work hours if I so desire and time permits and  I'll go to interviews, if I have any during that time. At the end of August, I'm done. He still tried to persuade me to continue beyond August, "through the summer" (uh, summer officially ends Sept 21), but I held firm and am set on the August 29 end date.  

Why cave, you might ask? Well, this morning before heading off to the salt mines, my best pal and I booked a three week trip to Vietnam. 

I seem to have a knack for booking expensive vacations when I am or about to become unemployed. Considering the trip cost, the payment due date and my upcoming job status, I figured it'd be in my best interest to take the high road and  stick it out for one more month with my crazy boss and ease a bit of the depleting cash burden. And it buys me another month to keep searching for my 'what's next' step. 

To Cruise or Not to Cruise?

Of course the cruise was a luxurious pampering experience fully equipped with all the excess imaginable. A room steward who was lurking nearby for even the slightest need, bar service at your every turn, enough food to feed the entire world...twice, every kind of entertainment, service and even perfect weather. Would I do it again? Sure...eventually...and if someone else was paying for it, definitely. Although I loved spending a week in the tropics with fun women friends, and relaxing on a sun lounger imbibing on a fruity cocktail with umbrella decor, my opinion remains the same about cruising. It's really not my favorite form of vacationing.

The food was as incredible as I feared. I started out slow, making wiser food choices eating salads and fresh fruit as much as possible. At dinner (the formal affairs) I only had the 'spa' (healthy choice) starter of iceberg wedge and tomato, an entree of grilled perch, one glass of red wine and coffee for dessert (that right there is far more than my normal dinner at home). I then upped the anty to the regular starter, a 'spa' starter, entree, wine, 'diet' dessert and coffee. It wasn't long before I'd deteriorated to two regular starters, skipped the salad altogether, an entree, the warm melting chocolate cake for dessert (nothing diet about it!), coffee and had to follow it up with a Sambucca aperitif because my stomach was so uncomfortable! Each day I'd consider skipping that meal, but it would have been in bad form. I mean, we paid for it, the girls expected my attendance and it was all part of the 'fun.' By day five I spent the entire night in the head suffering diarrhea and keeping my cabin mate up as well.

The ports of call were interesting and fun, but of course you don't spend enough time there and the time you do spend is focused on the clock so you're sure to get back to the ship in time! I don't do so well on such a strict schedule. It was a good thing I was there with four other women who wore watches. Otherwise, I'd be writing this blog from somewhere in the Western Caribbean...which wouldn't be such a bad thing. I especially fell in love with Roatan Island, Honduras and a trip back there is in my future. We all agreed on that point.

The ship service was exceptional. Although I couldn't help but have a little bit of a sickening feeling at how hard the staff (mostly from developing countries) work for what I'm sure is very little money. The double shifts, the always being "on", the constant "it's my pleasure" (as they are wiping your butt). I don't know where the cabin steward hides in order to see every time you leave your room, but you could be gone for 30 seconds only to realize you'd forgotten something in your cabin and viola, he'd been there, picked up, changed your towel for the third time that day, put that pointy end on the toilet paper AND the tissue, straightened the chairs on the balcony and left. I never once actually caught him inside the room doing anything. There were just these magical signs that he'd been there. I'd even leave my towel on the rack indicating I'd reuse it (you know, 'green' me likes to pay attention to the environment) and he'd change it anyway. Apparently, he decided it smelled too funky to reuse and I needed a fresh one.

Although the entertainment might not have been overly appealing to our group, I really have no complaints. There were after dinner shows nightly (comedian, Happy Cole, is a must see), a casino, several bars with live music, a dance club, a few shops and even the hot tub on the upper deck til midnight. And if none of that was suitable, there was always the option of wine on our balconies to enjoy while watching the moon reflect off the sea.

Yes, all in all it was a great time. Even though it might not be my favorite form of holiday, I'm glad I was able to muster up the dough and experience the world of cruising and especially spend a week playing with the girls and exploring some of the most fabulous beaches. And now, of course, it's time for the detox cause this bloated feeling ain't just water weight!

Living in the (Caribbean) Clouds

Oh man. One of my dearest old high school buddies just sent me an email inviting me to go on a Caribbean cruise with her and two of her gal pals in January. I would absolutely LUV LUV LUV to go. Never mind that I never even considered a cruise before. It never seemed like my kind of vacation. All that preplanned organized structure. Eating with the same people every meal. Stopping at designated ports of call. Being on a time schedule. I always figured I'd be certain to miss the boat because I would be off fraternizing with the locals at some little beach taverna. I'd end up paying for a local fisherman to ferry me to the next port to catch up with the ship. Yes, this is my vision of me on a cruise.

Actually, that exact thing happened on a small day trip of island hopping in Greece. I was in a shop chatting with the owner. When I arrived at the harbor at what I thought was the correct time, the boat was not there. It was there a second ago when I went into the shop. I'm sure of it. I wasn't in there that long, was I? Anyway, another boat agreed to take me to meet up with my boat at one of the destinations. Unfortunately, I missed out on a whole stop. Oh well...it worked out. But you see how my gift of gab can get me into trouble.

So why am I so hell bent on going on this cruise with my friend? Well, first of all, I haven't been anywhere in months (again, forget the NY trip this summer...that was a family thing...not a 'vacation', exactly). Secondly, everyone...and I mean everyone swears that I would love a cruise. Everyone I've ever talked to has loved a cruise, even those who didn't think it would be for them. Some say it still isn't their preferred method of vacationing, but they had a great time and were glad they went. And thirdly, I know I'd have a blast with my friend....on this cruise thing...in the Caribbean (which I most certainly love!). She and I have been friends for 27 years and when we are together, which is not often enough, there is a LOT of laughing going on.

So what's the problem? You guessed it....$$$$. Get job, no vacation time accrued to take cruise. No job, no money to pay for vacation. Riddle me that? How is this very underemployed girl going to pay for such an extravagance? Getting a decent paying job to pay for said cruise would mean not having vacation yet to actually take said cruise. But at the rate I'm going now, how would I even consider paying for a cruise? It's such a vicious cycle....this whole job, vacation, eating thing.

Then there are all the other vacations swirling around in my head. My teacher friend in Oman is expecting me in March. My ski/golf buddy is begging me to go to Key Stone in December. I'm contemplating going back to school the first of the year. Where is all this imaginary money coming from? I barely made my rent this month.

You know how you hear about divorced money? Whenever there is a woman who has a surplus of cash people whisper "well, she's been married twice. She must have gotten huge settlements." I don't know that money. My ex-husband is the resident and current owner of "our" former home which has tripled in value. He also owns the ski condo which has done the same. He has just purchased a fancy wancy Audi something or other, and has a doctor girlfriend. Yeah....divorced money? Heaven knows I'm no financial wizard. Actually, I'm wizardly enough, I just refuse to conform to the normal ways it takes to actually have dough. I'll get there...eventually. In the meantime, I need to figure out a way to go on ALL my vacations, pay my rent, go back to school AND eat now and then.

Yeah yeah...I know, someone who is truly destitute would have a hay day with this post!