A New Journey Begins

 

There's no stopping time; it just keeps going by no matter if you're ready or paying attention.  We all know this, but sometimes we have to remind ourselves of this.  Last year, this thought seemed to hit me harder than it ever had before.  (It probably was a side effect of reaching my mid 30s.)  I was happy with what I had accomplished in my life, but I also expected more of myself.

After nearly 13 years in the same career, I excelled at my job, had done some very interesting things, and visited many unique places.  But in a way, I was playing it safe and was no longer growing as a person (or at least not very much.)  I came to the realization that I needed to move on, but to what exactly?  That, I wasn't sure of.  But I decided that I could not let that stop me.  I could not just sit and wait for the next opportunity to find me.  I needed to create a new opportunity for myself.  It was now or never.

Hello Lisa

Sometimes you don't have to go far from home to have one of the most unexpected and memorable experiences of your life.  I've already told the story of meeting one of my (male) music idols, and now I am pleased to be able to tell the story of meeting one of my female music idols.

A Trip Back in Time

My grandma and grandpa are no longer alive, but their house, which is just outside of Cleveland, Ohio, is still in my family.  Since my grandpa worked as a bricklayer for the first part of his life, it's only fitting that the house is made of red bricks.  They built the house sometime between 1945 and 1947.  And by they, I am referring to my grandpa and his father, along with a few other people they knew.

My grandparents on their wedding day in April 1940.  Adorable!

My dad as a baby with his favorite chair and teddy bear. (1948)

Me with my grandparents (at my house.)  They had been married 41 years at this point. (1981)

Nowadays when I am at their house, I love searching around to find old stuff of theirs that is hidden away.  It's kind of like treasure hunting.  Some of the stuff that I find I recall seeing or playing with when I was growing up.  Most of the stuff that I come across though, I have never seen or noticed before...even in plain sight.  As anyone would expect, there are still some old knick-knacks and furniture in the house.  They also had lots of old photographs, yearbooks, greeting cards, and other mementos - which are wonderful to look through.

I am amazed however at how many commercial items there are, even after all of this time.  My grandparents were very clean and neat people, and they were pretty strict with my father, so almost everything they owned was in pristine condition.  Here are some of the treasures that I have found (mostly from the first half of the 20th century.)

All By Myself - Part 5: American Travel Day

*Note: This is a boring post.  But all travel inevitably involves some unexciting periods.  I posted this mainly to give insight into some of the mundane aspects of flying, and how you can try to make the best of it.

I always look forward to going back home after a trip, but dread the actual journey.  The adrenaline and anticipation that I felt on the way to my destination is gone, leaving only antsiness.  I certainly was not excited about spending 24 hours to travel from South America to Central America to North America.

My flight from Santiago, Chile, left just before midnight on a Monday.

All By Myself - Part 4: Ups and Downs of Santigao

My last day in Chile was dedicated to exploring Santiago.  But first, I had to check out of my hotel because my flight was leaving that night at 11:40pm.  As usual, I was running late because I was very tired.  I made a 9:30am reservation for a bike tour, and didn't have much time to spare.  To my agitation, the check out process went ridiculously slow, and my invoice was hand-written!  I can't even remember the last time I received one of those!

In a frantic rush, I made it to La Bicicleta Verde (http://www.labicicletaverde.com/) five minutes late.  As I arrived, they told me they had just called my hotel to see if I was on my way.  I felt bad about my tardiness, but was glad that I hadn't missed out on the tour.  Turned out that I was the only customer booked on the tour, so I guess they wouldn't have left without me anyway.  (Side note: I want to commend the tourist businesses in Chile for accommodating single travelers and not cancelling tours when only one customer is booked.)

In addition to my tour guide, a new employee was in training, so I received two guides for the price of one!  Once again, I felt like I was receiving extra special treatment, which I happily accepted.