Turns Out I am a "Workaholic"

Somehow,  I have managed to land myself an awesome, grown-up, job that I love - and the result of that has been an immediate upheaval of my life. I have always been very good at leaving work at work. The second my time card would hit the time clock was the second that my brain would completely stop any and all thoughts related to work. This was probably how I somehow was able to stay relatively sane for the last decade or so of my life. 

I can no longer do that, and that is a tragedy. 

My life- all of it - is taken up by other people's rafting trips. I suppose there is some deeper meaning to this, and some psychological goodness to this,and maybe even a metaphor for growing up in this. I could really not care less about any of that though, I am just sad that this is what all of that results in. A viewpoint that probably just proves that I do indeed have a Peter Pan problem that I am frequently accused of, and only  occasionally admit to.

I am, however, planning on keeping said life encompassing job for the next couple of years at least. Which leads me to the conclusion that I need to just suck it up, put on my big girl panties, and adjust.

One thing that I am trying to squeeze into this new life dominated by work is my training for the LA Marathon this next year. My friend, Becky, asked me to do it with her, and I am SO glad that she did. I even have a 40 week training plan that I am trying to implement that will get me to marathon distance by the new year - which will be awesome if I can actually get it done! I could mark that off my bucket list, and with a sigh of relief be done with that!

I am not putting this much effort into life for nothing though, obviously, but I actually have a great goal in mind! Last year I was lucky enough to get to do a 9 day kayak trip in La Paz, Mexico. After I got home from that I decided that I needed to actually go places. At least once a year - more if possible.

This year.... 

GREECE!!!!

I am going to hit this deliciously ancient/ modern city at the end of October. Rafting season will be over and I will be basking in the awesomeness that is the off season. What better way to bask than to go to the Mediterranean? I have a couple of friends that are telling me they are going to come with me - but I have a sneaking suspicion that this will be another solo adventure. Which is fine. I should probably get used to that. All of my travelling buddies are getting married or gaining other significant responsibilities. 

I, on the other hand, am going to be getting a tan, seeing awesome wonders, gaining knowledge at the conference I have signed up for, and just plain have the time of my life! 

My long-term goal on that front is to fill my passport before it expires in like 6 years. I am pretty sure that is doable. 

"Learning to Breathe" by Alison Wright

“An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle but it will never break.” – Chinese Proverb

            It is perhaps a stretch to call me a true traveler of the world. I am more a woman with no real sense of, what I would call, relative distance. I make my home where I need to, for the time being, until it is time to move on. I have yet to make a decision on where to live based on where my family is, and this, I think, has given me a bit of a reputation for travel. I rarely go anywhere outside of the town that I am living in at the moment, though and have only been outside of the USA twice. My heart lies in that direction though - To be a true traveler of the world. That coupled with my ever increasing desire to read everything ever written, ever – has sometimes led me to little gem of books like this one, 

“Learning to Breathe” by Alison Wright.

            One of my favorite genera’s of books would be what I have dubbed “Adventure Travel/ Personal Essay”. There is probably a better name for it, somewhere, but this suits me well. Usually, to be in this category the books are about one person’s really long travel adventure to a really cool place around the globe. They take place in a time span of anywhere between a couple of weeks to about four years tops. The writer/adventurer gives a good story about what happened and what they were thinking at the time, but mostly just crazy people that they met on the way. (See “Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost” for a great example and another one of my favorites.) This book goes a step further. That step is why this book will be on my bookshelf of favorites and books to give to other people for a very long time. 

Let me explain:

            Alison Wright is a photo journalist. She has a soft spot for children and South East Asia. One day while on a bus in Laos she is in a terrible accident. Her organs were in the incorrect places and she could not walk for a very long time. She does not want to give up her old life of travel, adventure, and fun though (I mean, who would?) and so against her initial Doctor’s opinion she does exactly that. This book is a memoir of her journey to recovery, and even achieving her goal to summit Mount Kilimanjaro on her fortieth birthday. It was inspirational to read. While I cannot truly or fully empathize with her, I could see the direction she was coming from just from things that have happened in my own life. Sadly, I have found myself devastatingly wanting in my life since a couple of huge accidents that had my guardian angels working double-time. But, that is a different blog post.

            The step farther that Alison takes in her book is the spiritual one. I can tell from reading this that she is a deeply spiritual person, and that that side of things was just as important as overcoming the physical limitations that she suddenly had in her life. Maybe it is because I have been witness to this in my own life so recently, but she talks about how some things happened to her because the right person just so happened to be in the right place at the right time. How, through a courageous journey she has come out the other side with more clarity than she ever imagined before this happened to her.

            I recommend this book to EVERYONE. Alison will take you through this time in her life in a way that has you questioning your own purpose on this spinning rock, and whether or not you are fulfilling that purpose.

            I am coming away from it a better woman for reading it, and I believe that in most cases it would be a benefit to your life to read it as well. Although I do have to warn you that it gave me the travel bug bad, so be prepared for that.

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“It had taken finding a stillness within myself to realize the answer to my question of why I had survived: for this breath. To be truly aware of each precious moment of time, right here, right now. For this very moment is all we have”

“We were all in this together, all companions in the pilgrimage of life.”

-Excerpts from Learning to Breathe

"The Good Girl's Guide To Getting Lost" by: Rachel Friedman

I loved this book!

I will say now that I recommend it to anyone and everyone. 

Beware: The probability of catching the travel bug is high.

"The Good Girl's Guide to Getting Lost" by Rachel Friedman was a fantastic distraction from my current very sedentary life. It is the story of how Rachel found her way in the world.. while seeing the world. 

(This is a video of one of her book signings)

I am a self proclaimed junkie when it comes to what I like to call "adventure travel" books. But most of the ones that I come across are written by people who are lucky enough to have made travel their careers or have had a successful career already and with a healthy nest egg in hand are emerging into the world. 

What I loved about this book was that she is basically broke.. and new to everything. 

I probably relate to her on some level that even I (in my gypsy ways) don't want to admit to. 

This is the description that is on her website:

Rachel Friedman has always been the consummate good girl who does well in school and plays it safe, so the college grad surprises no one more than herself when, on a whim (and in an effort to escape impending life decisions), she buys a ticket to Ireland, a place she has never visited. There she forms an unlikely bond with a free-spirited Australian girl, a born adventurer who spurs Rachel on to a yearlong odyssey that takes her to three continents, fills her life with new found friends, and gives birth to a previously unrealized passion for adventure.

As her journey takes her to Australia and South America, Rachel discovers and embraces her love of travel and unlocks more truths about herself than she ever realized she was seeking. Along the way, the erstwhile good girl finally learns to do something she's never done before: simply live for the moment.

Again: I recommend this book to everyone. 

And maybe plan a trip of your own

Airports Suck At Life

There are only six people outside of my family that I will make a considerable effort to travel to their weddings. Three of those people are married.... And for the record I did have to travel to all of them. It has never been too big of a deal because I am a pretty patient person and I was able to drive to all of them.


This weekend my best friend since freshman year of high school, Teresa Ewell (soon to be something else but which I can not seem to remember at the moment) is getting married. I really could not be more happy for her. She is one of those women whom I will always call family.

I was super smart though and decided to move to the east coast a month before her wedding in Salt Lake City, Utah. So this means I have to fly or spend multiple days traveling. I found an okay deal on my flight, snagged myself window seats for all my flights, and made sure my iPod charger and book were safely in my purse before leaving.

I thought a little good karma would come my way in any form when I started out my trip by volunteering to check my carry-on bag for the first flight that was stuffed to the brim and since they charge for checking everyone carries on and there really is no room. I figured I would have to wait for another person to land anyway so my ride and I had an hour to chill anyway.

First flight went fine.

Second flight was supposed to take off ten minutes after my first one landed at DFW. I took time to go to the restroom but other than that booked it over to the new gate. Passing all of the open restaurants on the way even though I hadn't eaten since breakfast.

This is where my night took a nasty turn for the worst.

Sequence of events that delayed my flight four hours:

1. the flight attendents for the original flight were 20 min late

2. when we did get boarded we sat on the plane for about half an hour before they told us the plane had a fuel leak. .. fair enough, got un-boarded.

3. by this time EVERYTHING was closed ... dinner = 2 bags of potato chips from a vending machine

4. it actually only took them 20 minutes to get a new plane, unfortunately they then made us move to a new terminal - which at DFW means taking the sky train - they we sat at the gate for about another half an hour

5. after sitting at the new gate for a long time they tell us that our pilots are now illegal to fly now because of when they started

6. it was late enough that there were no pilots readily available, so we had to wait for a flight coming in from Chicago to take their crew.

7. we had to wait TWO HOURS for the new crew!

What did I do to occupy my time?


I rode the "SKYTRAIN" ... a lot.

The Dallas/ Fort Worth airport has five different terminals. Each terminal is in a completely different building not connected to the others in any way that is accessible to the public, except the SKYTRAIN. The SKYTRAIN circles the entire airport on the outside roof level. You can see everything. Since it was night I could see the city lights. Since it was 1am the airport was pretty much empty except my flight and the cleaning crew ... so I was alone and free to enjoy the sights in peace and quiet.

Then I got bored.

So I roamed each terminal hall stopping at free internet kiosks to check my face book. Thank goodness for SKYPE and still having a few friends that keep student hours.

Finally, I get on the plane, I get to SLC, I get my bags.

I go to rent a car ... my original car place that I got a good deal with is closed.

I find the cheapest car from the ones that are open, and I find that somewhere between Hartford and Salt Lake I managed to loose my license. I was able to use my paper temporary one that was still in my wallet ... but it's still annoying.

Now, Instead of arriving at my friend's house at 11pm, I arrive at 5am - sunrise.