Brick Wall

Emily is miserably sick.

With the flu.














My 'culture' was sent off to the CDC office to see what strain of flu I have... We'll know in a few days hopefully! I've hit a brick wall with this one, and I was running way too fast to hit something so hard.

In the mean time, this is giving me time to update everything! I've been working lots lots lots (maybe those 2 all-nighters in the same week weakened my immune defenses? I'm going to say yes).

First on the list Lima, Peru!









We walked down to the coast line.











It's currently winter in the southern hemisphere, apparently that doesn't matter when you're that close to the equator. It was cloudy, around 65 degrees, but very pleasant after 105 degrees in the South.















My selections of Ceviche - the national dish of Peru. Fish cured in lime juice. It's one of those foods that I love, but can't eat much of (it starts to taste funny) But how often do you get to eat Ceviche in Peru!


Then on to Guadalajara, Mexico!
Left Atlanta at 9pm, fly to LA, then to Guadalajara arriving at 6:30am. Rough night.
After a dead-to-the-world nap, the crew met up to go shopping!








Calle Juarez, the shopping district




















Cuttin' up some coconut.
He was using a machete earlier.
















Snack time! Coconut pulp sprinkled with sugar and lime juice. $1.









































Ahogada de camarón













A time out for the food as usual. Ahogada (meaning drowned in Spanish) is the typical dish of Guadalajara. Toasted bread filled with your choice of meat, then drowned (hence the name) in Mexican red chili sauce. Served with a spoon. No fork.









Llamas need no caption.


























I watched Garden State while being confined to the bed. Forgot how much I liked that story.

Parrots, Pretzels, and Pangs

Usually I work about 3 days a week on average (85-90 hours).. this month I'm working 5-6 days/week (115 hours. It's kind of craziness, but I'm makin' that moneys. Hopefully it'll be worth it. :)

Another Stuttgart trip! I like Germany.







This guy was so fun. As he played, his parrot would hum, chirp, squawk, whistle and bob along with him.








Other than that it was pretzels, German truffles, walking street, and beautiful weather.

I'm still quite spooked about the whole Air France disappearance (BBC keeps an event timeline, if interested). The whole thing seems a bit hushed-up. I have my own theories about it which I whole-heartedly believe. I now feel a quick jolt of anxiety every time I walk on a plane - not fear that the same thing is going to happen to me.. I can't explain the pang, really.

And Thanks for the messages of love, too. They mean more than it would seem. :)

The bad thing about working so much.. I've lost my ever-grounded inner peace and I can't seem to take enough time to just stop, focus, and reground myself. The real problem is that I know exactly where I lost it, but I don't want to travel back there to regain it. That means I'm building from scratch and it's taking all of my energy to do it.
I apologize for the vagueness. I think the last part is more for myself than for the blog. :)

Time Flies

"If the plane goes down, damn
I'll remember where the love was found"

I don't know how many out there have heard of/are following this Air France story? (Read about it on BBC). A large Air France plane leaves Rio de Janeiro bound for Paris. Somewhere over the ocean it hits a huge thunderstorm and dissappears from radar. Some pieces of the destroyed plane have been found (across 56 miles of ocean), but nothing to give a hint about the crash nor survivors. No bodies. They just vanished. And there was never a crash landing so they speculate that the plane broke apart completely while still in the air. That's just not normal for a large jet, even in a thunderstorm. Alien abduction, anyone?

Edit a couple hours later: the debris they found was not actually from the Air France Airbus that vanished.

Needless to say this is.. I can't even define how it makes me feel. But if you hang out with me this week, you might get a "how much you mean to me" speech. Or, at least I'm thinking it.. very loudly.

On a less tragic note, I've been thinking a lot this week about Time. Is it linear or does it move in a circular pattern? I've read two very interesting books lately arguing for the latter.
Are we here for just a short second, or are we able to come back again in spirit, beginning another circle? And if Time does repeat itself, are we able to hold on to the Wisdom and experience we previously gained (even if it's latent knowledge)? I do hope so. Humans are creatures of habit, generally, following circular patterns throughout our lifetimes. Even if your habit is something as erratic as traveling, never with set schedule, never with a plan.. you stay in that pattern (and once you're used to it you can never go back!). So if circles define our individual lives, it's only plausible that the Universal whole of all our lives also operates in circles.
Another thought (thanks to Beth for discussing this one!): with every circle that we traverse, do we join in the evolutionary scheme? Are we getting more advanced with each lifetime that we spend? And I don't mean more advanced as in technology or things that we build, I mean more with our inner energies and intellect. If the human race was made in the likeness of God, could we be evolving to be more like Him? And if God is simply the sum of all the positive energy flowing in the Universe, will we connect better with spirituality and Nature in the future? I hope so on this one, too.

The few people who do follow this, you mean the world to me and I love you.
I love you I love you I love you.

From Elvis to Virginia

I've been working everyday the past week to the detriment of my jetlag, but it's been fun!
I got a longer Memphis layover on my on-call days. It was a weekday, but another guy on the crew, Derek, and I went out to Beale Street anyways.


















We found a little bar where The Memphis Trio was playing.


















They were a fun bunch. There were not many people out, but it was a very comfortable environment. The pianist gave me a copy of their EP before we left, and they're really good! Bluegrassy. Alongside Elvis covers, of course.

After working a bit more I went on a layover with Jeanne Danielle to Norfolk/Virginia Beach! We ate seafood, walked around the bay, shopped, and got to catch up. It would seem that two flight attendants should be able to just meet up anytime, any place.. but we both stay so busy and in many different cities! It was a much needed catch-up date.



















A view of Waterside, where we stay. (Stole this from the hotel's website..)







The massive USS Wisconsin,
attached to the Naval Museum in Norfolk

Lucky

"Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be comin' home again"

I headed up to Athens this weekend to see my girls! The middle school girls who I primarily taught dance to had their Recital on Sunday. They were fantastic, of course!


























I stayed with the awesomest Baron while I was there! After destroying some lunch at The Grill we walked around North Campus a bit.
















Gilbert Hall. This is where I spent 2 years of my life surrounded by languages. And for the UGA-ans out there, the fountain in front of Herty Field was turned on! It was off for at least a year and half due to the drought.

Then a stop in Atlanta to see Lindsey and Hassan! This has already been supremely documented and photographed Here.

Back in Birmingham, the Tragic City Rollers! Roller Derby between Bham and Panama City. I really don't think I can give justice to the event in any description, but it was definitely one of the funnest events I've seen lately!







A few of the girls going around the curve.












And during 'half-time' the Deviani Belly Dancers performed! Hot.

Windy City

Chicago! Another major metropolis marked off the list. We didn't get to stay for too long, but it was long enough to see the area. Our hotel was downtown, right on Michigan Avenue (the Madison Avenue of Chicago, apparently).

















A view of the end of Michigan Ave








Grant Wood's Mom and Pop made the star list

After a bit of traveling by the looks of that suitcase













The Chicago Water Tower located in downtown.

Neat story surrounding the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

















And for lunch, what else but an authentic Chicago deep-dish pizza from Gino's. And I have to admit I'm a complete convert to their way of life. Or way of pizza, at least. The cheese goes on first, then the goodies, and the tasty sauce last. It's much easier to eat than say, Papa John's, where the sauce oozes out everywhere. And the vegetables absorbed the flavorfulness of the sauce during the ultra-long brick oven engagement. I carried this thing all the way home.

Home Ramblings

I always write about my trips, but in actuality I stay even busier when I'm at home! So, just a few items from this week.


















G. Love at Workplay! Amazing musician - playing the harmonica and guitar simultaneously!


















Silly singing face; good blues music


















Erin, Beth, and me before the dancing commenced.









Another night downtown

Jon playing some pool at Zydeco
















Mary and me

I'm actually sitting on a stool.. looks odd.


















Jon and Mary
with quite a bit of flash












Poker night!


















Michael, Steven, Martín, and Christy at the table.
Sadly, Jennifer was absent for this picture moment...






because she was napping in the shower.

I promise I will never make you take tequila again. Though, I doubt you'll ever drink it again...

Love you! ^ ^





I love my job. I love my friends. I love my lovers. I'm quite content.
The only thing I need now is dinner with Holly at Sol Y Luna. Beef tenderloin with tomato chutney. Still holding strong as my favorite entrée in the entire world. At least, the countries I've been to so far. I can't wait!

I've also set a goal for myself that I want to have my own place by December 31; it will be my Christmas present to myself. Though I'm a bit conflicted about it. I'm hoping to do a rent-to-own deal, just so I feel like my rent money is going towards something more each month. Because of this, I want the rent to be something I do on my own, just to prove a self-sufficiency to myself. But then, I don't want to live alone! I dislike the idea of leaving everything so obviously unattended and unused for days at a time (and help with paying utilities would be welcome). So, a roommate? But I'm really leaning towards a one bedroom "my home" setup, which wouldn't really work for a traditional roommate deal. Hm, I have plenty of time to figure this one out. The adventures keep comin'!