Kristi's European Adventure 2011

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Hello, hello?

Two-week vacation to Europe? Check.

Starting new job with longer commute, more responsibilities, and a cubicle? Check.

Still working at old job, trying to fit a 40-hour work week into an 8 hour day (which today stretched to 14 hours)? Check.

Co-leading a summer Bible study without a clue as to what I'm doing? Check.

Trying not to go completely crazy, or develop a worse drinking habit? Check.

I'm learning some challenging life lessons about letting go, distancing myself from a situation, and taking the high road. Valuable, absolutely. Difficult, extremely.

I think I need to start planning a big trip for summer 2012. I envision a beach, with lots of sun, and lots of umbrella drinks. Who's with me?

The difference a decade makes

It's time for trip-a-month #3! This month I'm headed out to my old stompin' grounds...a city in western Colorado where I spent most of my formative years (middle school, high school and college).

On a side-note, if you're looking for some fun, I highly recommend this traveling thing--even though I've taken winter clothes on all my trips this year, it's still fun to pull out that suitcase!

The funny thing is, I couldn't wait to get out of Grand Junction and I left less than a week after graduation. I hadn't wanted to stay there for college, but received an offer I couldn't refuse, basically went to college for free, and when my parents moved away after my freshman year I still had that early opportunity to "be on my own."

I never lived on campus. I never did anything terrible. I never had any wild and crazy drunken nights (my very first shot of Goldschlager during karaoke night was fairly tame). I think I went to one football game and one basketball game. Though I spent a lot of time at school, school spirit was most definitely not my middle name.

I'm planning to take a stroll down memory lane at my alma mater...which this week has proposed a school name change. Even the old building where I took all of my business classes is being demolished to make way for something. Change is good and progress is important, but the whole thing just makes me feel old (though I suppose my diploma is even more one-of-a-kind now than it was before).

The other great thing about this trip is that it's brought to mind some of the great experiences of my senior year. Nights spent with great friends having some good 'ol fun...

• Blizzards at the local DQ
• Catchphrase and a rousing rendition of our own version of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"
• Fajitas and watching the TV show Ed
• Karaoke at the local hotel bar
• Matt & Tiff's pancake breakfasts, Ali's homemade pizza, and Rhonda's 25th birthday party that included 25 lbs of flour, 25 pennies, and 25 pairs of underwear
• An end-of-year party where our friends Sally & Jay totally schooled us when they unveiled their "secret" friendship (and then we followed them to campus and totally spied on them in the coffee shop and parking lot--not my finest moment, I will admit)

From a social aspect, my final year of college was great--it was certainly challenging to try to figure out next steps (I still only have a flippant response to that "what do you want to be when you grow up" question), but I had a fantastic group of friends. Looking back, if I have any regrets it's that I worked too hard (a full class-load plus a retail job at the mall, a work-study job on campus, and an internship with the city), and didn't play hard enough.

I'm hopeful I've had a lesson-learned in all of this. Some days I remind myself that it's important to have an equal balance of work-hard/play-hard (with emphasis on play). I've found that sometimes you can become so consumed with the pushing ahead, that you forget to enjoy the now.

And though I'm living in the now, now, there's nothing wrong with taking a look back every once and awhile.

Oh, and the best part about this trip? I'm planning to see LOTS of old friends (including all 4 of my college roommates!). The best part about getting together with old friends? Despite the years gone by without seeing each other face-to-face, and the marriages, divorces, kids loved and lost, it's like no time has passed at all.

Bookstores, rubber boots & a day in Boston (where everybody knows your name)

My trip-a-month goal continued in March with a quick weekend trip to Boston. The two goals of the trip were as follows:

1. See Boston.

2. Spend time with my friend Deb (who drove down from Vermont for the weekend).

Deb's a good friend from my Bangkok days, who I see every couple of years--when we meet up in exotic locales like Philly/NYC, Waco, Texas and now Boston.

Day 1 found us wandering the streets of Cambridge and touring the Harvard campus...in the snow, sleet and slush. Despite my winter coat, gloves, scarf and multiple layers, I was freezing (this desert girl isn't used to cold weather anymore!). Thankfully there were lots of little shops and bookstores for us to stop in and warm ourselves. I especially loved the bookstore where I found these two cards.

We took a free tour of the esteemed Harvard campus (established in 1636 making it the oldest institution of higher ed). Our tour guide Adam was a hoot and the students we passed looked just like ASU students (except for the winter coats and what looked like rubber gardening boots--some sort of east coast craze that we saw everywhere we went).

Four things I learned about Harvard (but have not fact-checked):

1) The office of the Harvard president is housed in a fairly nondescript (old) building...which also houses dormitories on the top two floors.

2) The woman who donated funds for the humungo library building required that all Harvard graduates know how to swim (this has since been changed due to the ADA laws).

3) Until 1999, only men received diplomas conferred by Harvard University....women's diplomas were from Radcliffe College.

4) Only two movies have been allowed to film on-campus...The Great Debaters (yea for Denzel!), and....Love Story (what?!?!).

Day 2 found us 'following the yellow brick road' in Boston (otherwise known as The Freedom Trail). The Freedom Trail is a 2.5 mile walking trail through the streets of downtown Boston, marking 16 different historic sites (churches, graveyards, parks, monuments, shopping, a big ship, etc.). As long as you stick to the red brick line, you know you're headed in the right direction. It was a great way to wander and see the city (along with some more bookstores!). Also along the trail is the USS Constitution--the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world. Now I can say I've been on a Navy warship, though it's hard to believe its been almost 200 years since she earned her nickname Old Ironsides.

After visiting the harbor, we decided to head 0ff-trail and made our way westward to the Boston Public Library (which is gorgeous and definitely deserves a stop if you're in the area). We even stopped at a used book sale they were having. After a quick coffee break in the library atrium, we headed out to visit the Boston Public Gardens...I was on the hunt for the 'Make Way for Ducklings' statue, but we were soon sidetracked when we realized how close we were to Cheers (or at least the spot where exterior shots of Cheers were filmed).

Day 3 found us enjoying a morning of worship at the Greater Boston Vineyard church, which just happened to be around the corner from our hotel. Check out this picture of their sanctuary--quite a traditional physical space for the significantly modern worship service! We also stopped at the church's bookstore (anyone noticing a pattern here?!) before enjoying a great service. The structure of the service was interesting as well--sermon first, then singing (which actually worked well).

I had a great time on my Boston adventure and I'll say this--among other things, Boston does four things really well: history, 'green' space, seafood and beer. And, I'm not ashamed to say, I enjoyed all 4!

This also completes #26 on my 101 list. Sort of. Given that I had crossed out 'visit Boston' (check) and replaced it with 'read Jane Eyre' (not yet started).

Here are some more pictures from along the Freedom Trail (I had this fascination with 'looking up').

Things that make you go hmmmm....

I'm on one of my trips-of-the-month and while traveling I've seen and heard some odd things....

Sitting in the airport, waiting for my flight yesterday, I overhead the following (via a man on his cellphone): "Be sure to put the food away, and watch out for the skunks and possums."

From the young woman seated in front of me on my flight, to the middle-aged gentleman seated beside her: "Have you ever read Playboy? They have really great articles. Really, they do!" (I'd like to point out that this young lady was beautiful and I'd have to say the gentleman next to her enjoyed every minute of the 5-hour flight.)

Then today, waiting for a local walking tour to start, I noticed a gentleman who took out his dentures and put them in his pocket. That's right--just took them out of his month and popped them in his pocket.

Huh.

Trash or treasure

This past weekend I was at home, reading a book on my living room couch (when I should have been emptying the dishwasher or folding the towels that had been sitting in the dryer for 3 days), when I heard a strange noise outside my window.

I thought it sounded like someone was digging around in the dumpster (which happens to sit just below my balcony). When I went to investigate, I discovered that someone was indeed digging through the dumpster. I was so stymied by this that I stopped and watched for awhile.

I've seen folks stop at the dumpster before (like when you can see there's a big piece of furniture sticking out, or something like that), but this was different. With the engine on his Isuzu Trooper still running, this gentleman, with gloves in hand, was systematically going through the dumpster, pulling out pieces of what looked like cardboard. I'm not sure exactly what he was looking for, or what he planned to do with all the cardboard, but after I saw him open the back passenger door of his vehicle, I could see the inside of his car was jam-packed with trash bags and furniture odds and ends (including what looked like a large lamp).

As I watched him pack the cardboard in and drive away I wondered: desperate or entrepreneurial? Does he have no choice but to dig through trash, trying to provide for his family? Or, does he choose to dig through trash, looking for that discarded treasure or item that can be reused or recycled?

I was stumped.

And conflicted.

Should I have felt compassion? Or have been humbled?

Somehow this seemed different than the homeless people I've seen downtown digging through the trash, looking for aluminum cans, or food.

Even now, a few days later, I still see it in my mind. I sort of wish I had gone out on my balcony and called down to ask what he was doing--not in an accusatory way, but in a curious way--like, what does he do with the items he finds? And is he looking for specific things? Or just looking to see what he can find? And what does he do with all of it? Does his wife yell when he fills up their garage with all his 'junk'?

I remember at a party once, when I was in elementary school, that I accidentally threw my retainer away in a napkin...and I was afraid to tell my mom because 1) the retainer was expensive and we didn't have a lot of money at the time, 2) I had done something irresponsible (and as the oldest child, I was supposed to be the most responsible), and 3) I was embarrassed, plain and simple. I eventually told my mom, we went back to the party, and the hostess graciously looked through all the trash. I actually can't remember if we found the retainer or not, but I do remember thinking that going through trash had to be the worst thing. Ever.

Is it the worst thing? Or a way to make a living?

I'm just not sure.

A day in the desert

Yesterday was one of those days that we're reminded how wonderful it is to live in Phoenix--especially this time of year when the temps hover in the 70s & 80s (rather than the furnace-temps of the summer).

We happened to have family in town, visiting from the Pittsburgh area (and yes, they were definitely soaking up the warmth and sunny skies!). Mid-morning on Saturday found us out hiking in the South Mountain area.

Today we're headed to church and then to a spring training baseball game. Thanks, Dan & Blair, for coming to visit and reminding me why this is such a great place to live!