Jeez... it´s been forever since I wrote in my journal. Even longer since I did so from a foreign country. I feel so out of practice! Where are my words?
I was so worried before I got here that that altitude would give me problems. At 9,000-ish feet, the altitude is nothing to sneeze at. Imagine my pleasure at finding that I could not even feel the difference. A little short of breath on uphills, sure, but otherwise, I am fine. Yay!!!
I arrived with my friend Lora around 9:00 at night. It´s funny. We knew we travel differently (she likes first class and four stars, while I feel like a $20 room in a third world country is a splurge) and that we would have to meet in the middle, but wow. It started immediately, with me getting my hackles up about being gouged on the taxi fare to the hotel, and Lora saying, whatever -- it´s $5 each. And it´s continued. Taxi fares and hotel room prices are it -- I am totally ok with spending a few bucks extra for a nice meal. But I digress...
This is causing a serious travel-identity crisis for me. I traveled for 14.5 months on about $27K. It was cheaper to travel than to live in SF. I didn´t exactly haggle over every penny, but I also did my best not to let the obvious gouges get the best of me, i.e., paying twice the going rate for a cab from the airport. The idea was that if every tourist just paid whatever inflated price was asked, the prices would just keep rising and rising.
The other point of view is, well... if I can afford it, who cares? Worry about the big stuff, like getting gouged on an arranged everal day excursion. Be cognizant about prevention of having possessions stolen. Remember to take my malaria pills. But getting riled up over a buck here or there?
I would certainly be a happier traveler without that stress, now wouldn´t I?
I would.
Now the question is: How to change?
Bah. Not really good fodder for an LJ post, but something for me to mentally chew on.
Quito is abso-effing-lutely adorable. Old Quito, I should say. Throw a rock in any direction and you´ll hit an old church, at least on the rebound. (Have I mentioned that I am an absolute sucker for an old religious building?) Narrow, cobblestone streets surrounded by mountains on every side. I am reminded of La Paz, one of my favorite cities. Quito is more precious, though -- probably due to my love of Spanish colonial architecture.
On the first day, Lora and I just wandered around. Avoiding maps and guidebooks for the first half of the day and just tripping over neat things, like a local outdoor market, and delicious street food.
Today, day two, was a visit to the middle of the world, a total tourist trap built on what was mistakenly thought to be directly on top of the equator. It´s actually a few hundred yards off, but that´s ok -- I already straddled the equator in Kenya. It was still fun to hang out with all the Ecuadorian tourist families, and to successfully balance an egg on a nail. Yay me!
Photos to come. Maybe after the trip. It´s hard to spend too much time in an internet cafe when the trip is just two weeks long. Ouch.
- Mood:
excited
I just spent an evening out with my GC and subs, drinking beers, playing pool, and singing karaoke in a small city in NorCal called Eureka.
They said I was hands down the number one gold star winner for karaoke tonight. (because I'm the client maybe?)
And one of 'em said he was pretty sure I was way overqualified for my job. This in response to him asking me where I went to school and me, embarassed, responding that I went to De Anza for two years.
It was weird. The betting I was overqualified part. Since I told him the truth in that I don't even have today's equivalent of a what high school diploma was a few years back. And I am so ashamed of it when colleages ask about it that with a few beers in me I almost wanted to cry.
The gold star karaoke winner part was not so weird. We all know that I am pretty much the shit in that arena.
;)
- Mood:
drunk
It's been a year. That's a long time for someone who loves to travel.
Thing is, I didn't know what visa I wanted to add to the pages next.
But I think I've figgered it out.
Lebanon.
Hell.
Yes.
Now I just need to find a way to reduce the workload enough to take a break.
Because these 12-16 hour days...
And working more weekends in the last four months than I have taken off...
Are just not doing it for me.
- Mood:
determined
I love storms like this, but I don't like sitting in wet jeans.
I want to spend the entire weekend in the glass tower at the de Young to watch the thunderstorms. Can someone arrange that for me, please? Clear everyone else out, and get me a key to the place.
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2
I'm holed up in the hotel right now, but I have to drive around the area for work tomorrow, and I have a flight in the afternoon. I had a scary enough flight today, flying into the storm with hundred mph headwinds in a tiny Embrauer EMB-120 Brasilia (a 20-seater turbo-prop). I hope coming home tomorrow in a bigger plane will be a little less freaky.
Now I'm gonna go try to figure out if the areas I need to visit tomorrow are going to be problematic...
- Mood:
surprised
My car has an ugly step-sibling.
http://www.miniusa.com/?eid=154&tid=531&d
I don't think I like it.
Oh, and looking at the MINI site reminded be that by buying an 06 instead of an 07 I gave up a 6-speed for a 5-speed. That totally made my stomach sink. I love my car. But the redesign is the shit. And I coulda had a 6-speed.
(Reminding myself that it probably would have spent a lot of time in the shop getting kinks worked out, I would've had to wait months to get it, and it would have cost more.)
But I coulda had a 6-speed! *pout*
I don't get it. I don't think of myself as a typical girl. In so many ways, I'm not, y'know?
No, really!
I like foosball. Love to drive -- manual transmission, of course. I like gear and gadgets. My power drill, and putting together furniture with it, bring me joy.
So why...
Why am I totally in love...
...with Agent Seeley Booth?
Juicy sweet goodness
Sticky
And fragrant
Over rice and condensed milk
Or pre-ripe, with salt and chili
Why
Why do you make my skin hurt
My jaw sore
My tongue puffy
Just a little
Dried
In stilton
Delicious
And five days later
My mouth still hurts
Creepy.
I wonder if the movie will do the story justice.
Work-work-work-work-work. I have not had a full day off since October 21. My next full day off will be November 18. At least I hope it'll be a full day off.
I am totally behind, and mentally exhausted. I have one more thing due tonight, and instead of getting it done... here I am, posting. Avoidance. Shutting down. Shooting self in foot. All work and no play makes Caryn a dull girl. Yar.
Bitch, moan. I know. But man... am I ready to blow off some steam!
On another note... is it someone's birthday here? I received a text message from a 415 number that I do not recognize, about going out for someone's birthday tonight, and I have no idea who that person was. I replied, asking who it was, but they never responded. Could have been a wrong number, I s'pose, but thought I'd ask around, anyhoo.
Stuck with having to work every weekend for several weeks, I turned tonight into my Friday night. Had dinner and drinks with some friends from work, and at the bar I noticed a couple guys at the next table perusing guidebooks. Asked where they were from (Oz) chatted for a while, and ended up taking them down to my weekend haunt for a couple games of foos.
Got stuck running the table (because none of the usual suspects were there to beat me) but when I finally extricated myself and said goodbye, one of the guys (Matthew, I think) said I was a good ambassador for San Francisco. Nice. :)
I leave tonight for Seattle. First of three weekends of work in the Emerald City.
Does that mean days off in the middle of the week? Oh, no-no! Just means I get to work for a month straight with not one entire day off.
Granted, my Saturdays and Sundays will consist of visiting banking centers once or twice in the day, so it won't be too crazy, and I get to hang out in Seattle during my off time. But still... ouch.
In other news...
Saw the 3-D version of The Nightmare Before Christmas. My theater neighbors must have thought I was insane, because I was dancing in my seat and singing under my breath (mostly) through the whole movie. Damn, I love that movie. I'm tempted to go see it again. Maybe that'll be my Sunday in Seattle -- take myself out for dinner and a movie.
Got a new phone today and can't transfer the pictures from my old one. (Unless I want to buy a micro SD card just for that purpose, which I kinda don't.) Poo! So if you have my number, text me with a pic of yourself. My address book is so sad without your tiny faces in it!
Oh god. I just got the shit beaten out of me by the tiniest Japanese woman. She has itty-bitty hands of steel.
Ninety minutes of verging-on-whimpers torture and utter bliss. I can't wait to see the bruises tomorrow.
And just a dollar a minute -- what a deal.
I feel high.
- Mood: high
The Nightmare Before Christmas is coming back to theaters on October 19th! (I <3 Danny Elfman.)
http://www.texasjim.com/NASApix/NASA%20p
Where in the world am I today?
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See, the bus to Rurre had taken about twenty hours on a winding one-lane road -- part of which is named the World's Most Dangerous Road becuase so many vehicles have plunged over the sheer cliffs at the side of it. The savings of bussing over flying was just not worth it.
We arrived with thirty-eight other tourists at the airline office promptly at 8AM to check in... and left for the airport an hour and a half later. Soon after our arrival, the sky opened up to allow bucket of water to dump on us, quickly swampifying the airstrip. Having read that people had been stuck in Rurre for a week because of rain, I tried not to worry.
After about fifteen minutes of rain, we were all piled into various buses and taxis for a 40 minute drive to Reyes, the next nearest airport, with a more reliable grass airstrip. On the way we watched the open truck drive by with all of our rain soaked, then dust encrusted bags in the back. Nice.
Finally around 12:30 we got into the plane, flown by the Bolivian Military, by the way. It was even scarier than the Russian plane we flew on when we left Japan. Yikes!
It was a surprisingly mellow flight, and we were even served cola and crackers before landing at the highest airport in the world, at 4,100 meters, outside La Paz. Huffing and puffing from lack of air as I exited the plane, I was greeted with a cloud covered sky and cool breeze. Ahhhh.
And tonight, Vlad and I are treating ourselves to a $40 room with a big bathroom, new towels and sheets, and cable TV. We deserve it after our week in the jungle.
----------------------------------------
In case you can't tell, I just have not felt like writing much lately. Not to worry, though. I will soon catch up on the last month worth of activities. Just give me a few days. :)
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Been sick. Reeeeally sick. Spent a week in Uyuni sniffling and hacking. Several days in, things... er... down under went awry as well.
The quack Army doctor (hotel was next to an Army base, Army doc charges ten bucks to run over and see ill tourists) told me to take Cipro for something I believe to be Giardia -- which Cipro does not kill. Sho 'nuff, a couple days later the situation had not improved. Ew. Quack Army doc also prescribed something for the sniffle -- I told him I was ok with the paracetamol keeping down the fever and would deal with the sniffle because I hate, hate, hate pseudoephedrine. He promised this stuff was not pseudoephedrine. And what did Vlad bring back from the pharmacy? CONTAC! (Say it with me... that's all, nothing else.) Contac, of course, contains pseudoephedrine, as does every single other over the counter cold medicine known to man. Not good when I know more than the doc does.
So last night I pumped myself full of Imodium in preparation for a twelve hour bus ride to La Paz where, this afternoon, I will visit a doctor who was trained in the US (read: hopefully knows his ass from a hole in the ground).
And hopefully some day I will get my journal updated. Last post was from weeks ago. Argh!
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girlcrayon- Caryn
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