¡Hola! Spain is wonderful and Clare and I are really loving it! Malaga is great... lots of cafes, the beach is a short walk, lots of shopping. Basically, everything we need for a vacation! :) I think some people think we are crazy for staying in Malaga for this long, but we are happy and just enjoying every minute of it. It is not as busy a city as others, from what we hear, but we are not into the hustle and bustle of things right now anyway. We don´t even take a watch with us for most of the day. So liberating!! Definitely a huge change from the typically overscheduled lives we lead at home!
To back track for a second... we had plane problems and arrived here about 12hrs later than expected. Because of this, all of the information desks at the airport were closed, as we arrived after 10pm. And, for some reason, NO ONE else could offer us a city map! We got on the bus in a hurry after exchanging some money and decided to figure it out when we got to our stop. As we are looking for our street name on a map we found (mall style), a nice gentleman comes to ask where we are trying to find. He ended up helping us find the place, even calling the hostel to ask for directions because HE didn´t even know our street and he was a local guy! Yes, yes, we were very cautious and paying close attention to where we were going--no worries. But seriously, we would have NEVER found this place without his help. Clare and I decided that he was our first (and hopefully, only?) major miracle. AND... here´s some irony for you. We also decided he must have been sent our way because at just that moment, both of our bosses (both named Frank) must have been thinking about us... the guy helping us was also named Frank. RIDICULOUS. I´ve never known so many guys named Frank and all of a sudden, I know three! haha... lame, I know, but whatev.
Interesting tidbits:
1. Lots of people singing or playing the accordian for change... quite talented, in most cases. Besides one guy who ´´sings´´... I think we got a good video of him. Hilarious.
2. Business Hours. There are none? No rhyme or reason for a place being open or closed. Open during busy/lunch hours, and again for dinner... ok, this makes sense for Spain, but there is no uniformity to it. So confusing.
3. Banks. Only open until about 1-2pm! Lines are long... ALWAYS. And I haven´t seen a transaction of any kind take less than 5minutes. Also, if you want to sit rather than stand in line, you can and everyone will still acknowledge your place in line.
4. Restaurants. This seems to be hit or miss, but sometimes we have really fast service, and other times it takes 10-15mins to even get our drinks. At ´checkout´ time, we have had to ask for our check every single time. Not sure if that´s just how it goes here, or they just sit and mingle much longer than we are accustomed to.
5. Beaches, and fashion in general. People wear absolutely whatever they want. Everyone. It is not so matchy-matchy, and definitely not what people at home would consider body-type appropriate. They have no shame, and it´s kinda awesome.
6. People. Not the cheeriest folks I´ve run into... not much laughing or smiling in general. Unfortunate, because Clare and I are doing both of those things about 98% of the time, haha... some guy actually mocked us a couple night ago because we happened to be laughing as we walked past and he started cackling to make fun... he´s just jealous he wasn´t walking around with us. hahaha
Ok, that´s a lot for one post. Clare was just getting showered up and I thought I´d give anyone who reads this something to read! :) lol... hope all is well at home! We miss all of you and are always thinking of you. Oh, and if you don´t recognize us when we get back, it´s probably just because we´ll seem to have changed races, hahaha... soooo tan after just a few days. LOVE IT!! :)
03 June, 2010
31 May, 2010
Malaga
We've arrived safely in malaga! After some long delays and many hours of waiting in an airport, we got to the hostel at midnight on Sunday night. All the plane rides went really well. Getting to the hostel before they closed (@midnight!) involved lots of spanglish and one major miracle, to be discussed later.
Clare and I were so happy and relieved to finally arrive we were practically crying with joy. After a cool shower and making up our beds, we were completely delirious and laughed ourselves to sleep. Davey, the giggling would have sent you over the edge.
Off to the beach to relax/recover from our day and a half of travel!
Clare and I were so happy and relieved to finally arrive we were practically crying with joy. After a cool shower and making up our beds, we were completely delirious and laughed ourselves to sleep. Davey, the giggling would have sent you over the edge.
Off to the beach to relax/recover from our day and a half of travel!
26 May, 2010
Is this for real?
T-minus 3 days until Clare and I are on a plane to Spain!!!! I am not ready and have a realllly long must-do list still. For the rest of the week, I'm working 5am-1:30pm to allow more "business hours" time to get things done... so as long as I don't waste the afternoons away, I'll be good to go and not have to rush around quite as much.
I am hoping to update this several times during my trip to keep family and friends up to date on where I am and share some of the fun stories. We'll see how much internet access I have, and I don't plan to sit in front of a computer for any longer than is absolutely necessary, so the posts may be very brief or infrequent. (Sorry, Mom! lol) There probably will not be any pictures added until I am home unless I find an easy way to upload a few here and there from my camera.
I don't think it's sunk in for me that I am not coming back to work when I return. Most of the time, this doesn't bother me :) But I've definitely gotten comfortable here and really love my co-workers. It will be strange not to see them or hear their stories from the weekend, and I'll miss all the trademark things some of them say (ie: "just another day in paradise," "I will destroy you," "what the hell are you doing?", "like I said...", etc) I mean, you see the people you work with more than anyone else in your life pretty much. I think about them on the weekends or after work when I see something that reminds me of them or that I think one of them would like. It's been an absolute pleasure to spend this time with them, and I think I will miss them even more than I realize. whewwwww deep breaths!
I am hoping to update this several times during my trip to keep family and friends up to date on where I am and share some of the fun stories. We'll see how much internet access I have, and I don't plan to sit in front of a computer for any longer than is absolutely necessary, so the posts may be very brief or infrequent. (Sorry, Mom! lol) There probably will not be any pictures added until I am home unless I find an easy way to upload a few here and there from my camera.
I don't think it's sunk in for me that I am not coming back to work when I return. Most of the time, this doesn't bother me :) But I've definitely gotten comfortable here and really love my co-workers. It will be strange not to see them or hear their stories from the weekend, and I'll miss all the trademark things some of them say (ie: "just another day in paradise," "I will destroy you," "what the hell are you doing?", "like I said...", etc) I mean, you see the people you work with more than anyone else in your life pretty much. I think about them on the weekends or after work when I see something that reminds me of them or that I think one of them would like. It's been an absolute pleasure to spend this time with them, and I think I will miss them even more than I realize. whewwwww deep breaths!
12 May, 2010
Panic Mode!
OMG OMG OMG we are only 17 days away from our trip to Europe!! Clare and I are super pumped, can't wait, and have been doing a lot to get ready!!!! She and I have 3+ weeks of travel, then I have another 2.5wks with my dear friend AJ who is currently in Denmark. Flights and hostels/hotels are all booked. I bought my travel pack/backpack yesterday. I am in serious panic mode--not sure if it is necessary, but it is keeping me on my toes! :)
So wikitravel.org is my best friend for this trip... we did a lot of a research with this site to check out various cities, potential places to see and stay, best ways in and out as far as transportation goes. Once we picked cities, we researched hostels using a number of sites, looking over their reviews and location in the city, etc. Booking all of this can be scary and intimidating becuase it is NOT like booking a hotel or trip within the United States. Sometimes you really don't know what you're getting until you set foot in the place. But hey, that's half the fun!!! And that's also why we have a back-up place already picked in case the first pick ends up being awful for some reason.
So in the next two weeks, I have to move out of my apt/move everything home and do the exit process with them, sell some more furniture and get it to people, pay all my bills (haha), PACK, line up anything to be taken care of while I am gone... and then live my daily life, consisting of working 40hrs a week up until the day before I fly out, doing the exit process with them since I am resigning, jewelry shows and making sure my business, customers, and team are taken care of while I am gone, having fun with friends and co-workers since I won't see them for a while, and watching the season finales of Biggest Loser and Top Model (lovingly renamed the fatties and the whores, respectively)... OY VE! I am insane! I like that TV makes the list, haha, oh geez.
WHEW!! Yea, panic mode has commenced! SO EXCITED!
Oh, quick rough itinerary:
29-May: Leave
30-May: Malaga, Spain
5-June: Marseille, France
9-June: Venice, Italy
14-June: Crete, Greece
19-June: Copenhagen (Clare goes home 20-June), do some travel around Denmark?
1-July: Split, Croatia
9-July: Home
So wikitravel.org is my best friend for this trip... we did a lot of a research with this site to check out various cities, potential places to see and stay, best ways in and out as far as transportation goes. Once we picked cities, we researched hostels using a number of sites, looking over their reviews and location in the city, etc. Booking all of this can be scary and intimidating becuase it is NOT like booking a hotel or trip within the United States. Sometimes you really don't know what you're getting until you set foot in the place. But hey, that's half the fun!!! And that's also why we have a back-up place already picked in case the first pick ends up being awful for some reason.
So in the next two weeks, I have to move out of my apt/move everything home and do the exit process with them, sell some more furniture and get it to people, pay all my bills (haha), PACK, line up anything to be taken care of while I am gone... and then live my daily life, consisting of working 40hrs a week up until the day before I fly out, doing the exit process with them since I am resigning, jewelry shows and making sure my business, customers, and team are taken care of while I am gone, having fun with friends and co-workers since I won't see them for a while, and watching the season finales of Biggest Loser and Top Model (lovingly renamed the fatties and the whores, respectively)... OY VE! I am insane! I like that TV makes the list, haha, oh geez.
WHEW!! Yea, panic mode has commenced! SO EXCITED!
Oh, quick rough itinerary:
29-May: Leave
30-May: Malaga, Spain
5-June: Marseille, France
9-June: Venice, Italy
14-June: Crete, Greece
19-June: Copenhagen (Clare goes home 20-June), do some travel around Denmark?
1-July: Split, Croatia
9-July: Home
04 May, 2010
Random Quotes
I have this terrible habit of writing quotes down on sticky notes and posting them all over the place, but never doing anything with them... so here are the ones that are covering my work desk. Now I can throw all these post-its away! :)
~Dave Matthews (lyrics):
*If you hold on tight to what you think is your thing, you may find you're missing all the rest
*Strange evolution, how people have come to believe that we are its greatest achievement. Really we're just a collection of cells, overrating ourselves.
*If you give, you begin to live, you get the world... but you might die trying.
*There's always someone that tries to convince you that they know the answer no matter the question. Be weary of those who believe in a neat little world, cuz it's just fucking crazy, you know that it is.
~Fight Club: The things you own end up owning you.
~Walter Rauschenbusch: It is not a matter of getting individuals into heaven, but of transforming the life on earth into the harmony of heaven.
~John Quincy Adams: If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.
~Thoreau: The mass of men live lives of quiet desperation.
~Jack Kerouac: The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars.
~Eminem: if you had one shot, or one opportunity, to seize everything you ever wanted would you capture it? Or let it slip?
~AJ Hoge/Hobopoet:
*Radical simplification of your life is the key to freedom, ease, and autonomy.
*Work is the single most oppressive reality we face.
*That's the difference between financial freedom and wage slavery. Your economic dependence always takes precedence over your principles.
*Quite often is seems that no one is 'paying attention', that everyone is hoarding their consciousness--Why? Saving it for a rainy day? And damping down the fires of awareness lest all available fuel be consumed in a single holocaust of unbearable knowing.
* The truth is, you can't predict anything. I've been shocked by so many unexpected failures and successes that I've realized that debate prior to action is nothing short of asinine idiocracy. Save analyzing and planning for after the fact... when you have something concrete to analyze.
*Choose growth over safety.
~Charles Bukowski: We adjust to new conditions and discoveries. We are pliable. Love need not be a command or faith a dictum. I am my own God. We are here to unlearn the teachings of the church, state, and our educational system. We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us
~Alan Watts: Failure of nerve is really failure to trust oneself.
~The greatest discovery one can make is that nothing is impossible.
~Dave Matthews (lyrics):
*If you hold on tight to what you think is your thing, you may find you're missing all the rest
*Strange evolution, how people have come to believe that we are its greatest achievement. Really we're just a collection of cells, overrating ourselves.
*If you give, you begin to live, you get the world... but you might die trying.
*There's always someone that tries to convince you that they know the answer no matter the question. Be weary of those who believe in a neat little world, cuz it's just fucking crazy, you know that it is.
~Fight Club: The things you own end up owning you.
~Walter Rauschenbusch: It is not a matter of getting individuals into heaven, but of transforming the life on earth into the harmony of heaven.
~John Quincy Adams: If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.
~Thoreau: The mass of men live lives of quiet desperation.
~Jack Kerouac: The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars.
~Eminem: if you had one shot, or one opportunity, to seize everything you ever wanted would you capture it? Or let it slip?
~AJ Hoge/Hobopoet:
*Radical simplification of your life is the key to freedom, ease, and autonomy.
*Work is the single most oppressive reality we face.
*That's the difference between financial freedom and wage slavery. Your economic dependence always takes precedence over your principles.
*Quite often is seems that no one is 'paying attention', that everyone is hoarding their consciousness--Why? Saving it for a rainy day? And damping down the fires of awareness lest all available fuel be consumed in a single holocaust of unbearable knowing.
* The truth is, you can't predict anything. I've been shocked by so many unexpected failures and successes that I've realized that debate prior to action is nothing short of asinine idiocracy. Save analyzing and planning for after the fact... when you have something concrete to analyze.
*Choose growth over safety.
~Charles Bukowski: We adjust to new conditions and discoveries. We are pliable. Love need not be a command or faith a dictum. I am my own God. We are here to unlearn the teachings of the church, state, and our educational system. We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us
~Alan Watts: Failure of nerve is really failure to trust oneself.
~The greatest discovery one can make is that nothing is impossible.
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