Category Archives: travel

i’m it

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Amanda tagged me, so here goes…

Oh, but before I start, I got a couple of comments and emails about the Canyonlands Half Marathon. If you’d like to run it, you can join my group. There’s a new section in my sidebar with a link to the online registration for my group. Now, back to our regularly scheduled broadcast.

Name 4 or more…

Places I’ve lived:

  1. Walnut Creek, CA
  2. La Calamine, Belgium
  3. Provo, UT
  4. Queen Creek, AZ
  5. Laie, HI

Places I’ve been on vacation…

  1. Geneva, Switzerland
  2. Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
  3. Hawaii (Maui, Kauai, Oahu and Hawaii)
  4. Barcelona, Spain

Foods I like…

  1. Ice Cream
  2. Sushi
  3. Chips and good salsa
  4. Bread (good, yummy, European bread)

Hobbies I have…

  1. Reading
  2. Cooking
  3. Taking pictures
  4. Blogging
  5. SCUBA (it’s been a while)
  6. Running
  7. Singing (although with all my throat and illness issues, I limit it to the shower and my car…when I’m alone)

Things I would do if I were a billionaire…

  1. Buy a house, cash
  2. Purchase homes for my siblings
  3. Repay my dad for my education
  4. Set aside money for all of my nieces’ and nephews’ education
  5. Provide funding for micro-enterprises in third world countries
  6. Travel ALL over

T.V. shows I like…

  1. Pushing Daisies (my new favorite!)
  2. 30 Rock
  3. The Office
  4. The Bachelor (total guilty pleasure…although I didn’t see it this week or last)
  5. How I Met Your Mother
  6. Veronica Mars (RIP…you should totally buy the dvds)

Places I’d like to be…

  1. In bed, sleeping
  2. Paris
  3. On a cruise
  4. Wherever my family is

Things people don’t know about me…

  1. I had a tracheotomy when I was a baby because I broke a piece off of a toy and swallowed it and it got lodged in my throat. I don’t remember it at all, but apparently it was very scary for my parents.
  2. I ran with the bulls in Pamplona when I was 19. And I use the term “with” loosely…I was pretty far ahead of the bulls, until we got into the arena…at which point I had to jump over a wall in order to avoid being tossed around by a seriously upset animal.
  3. I won’t buy books with movie covers. You know, when a book becomes a movie and suddenly pictures from the movie become the cover of the book. I hate that. I have hundreds of books and, despite the fact that several have been made into movies, not one has a “movie” cover.
  4. This one lots of people know about me, but not many who read the blog. I used to tattoo faces for a living and my face is tattooed. You would never know it to look at me (which is the point of having permanent makeup…accentuate without drawing attention), but my eyebrows, eyeliner, and lips are all tattooed. In fact, my lips are featured on the website of the woman who taught me how to tattoo (very bottom right hand corner of the page).

This one has been around for a while, so I’m not going to tag anyone, but if you want to do it, leave a comment so I can read about you.

i am serious… and don’t call me shirley

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Truthfully, I’m not feeling so grateful right now. I’m on the phone with freaking lame-o Southwest Airlines and I want to shoot someone. I hate how they’ve changed their Rapid Reward program. I’ve been on the phone twice now, averaging 20 minutes per call…and I’m still on the second call. So, on the grateful side of things:

  1. I am grateful that cell phones now have speakers so that when I’m on hold for five years, I don’t have to have the phone to my ear.

  2. I am grateful that I have spent many years in customer service, so that when I am given all kinds of misinformation, I don’t get angry, I just ask to speak to someone else who might be able to explain it better.

  3. I am grateful that while I am on hold, I can also blog and book the other plane ticket I need to book.

ETA: Perspective. So, I called my sister. She was at work and in a bit of a hurry because she just had a girl come in who cut off her finger (my sister is a P.A. in an E.R.) and the finger is not salvageable, so she had to go tell the girl right then. Kind of makes me feel stupid for being frustrated about sitting on the phone for an hour.

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.

Melody Beattie

dear you…inspired by my trip to SF

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Dear nice guy who sat next to me on my flight from SLC to OAK,

Normally, I’m not a huge fan of talking on planes. I like my “alone” time, which is why I always get a window seat and why I generally look away from anyone who sits next to me. I just like to read my books, listen to my music, do my thing. But you were so nice and so friendly and I really enjoyed talking to you, so much so that I thought twice about keeping to myself on my flight home. And you told such good stories and made me feel so good about being 29 and single. Thanks for a great conversation. And, because we started talking before the plane was entirely boarded, no one sat between us, which meant I had more leg room. It was fantastic!

Sincerely,

Your row mate

Dear Happy Donuts,

Thank you for being open 24 hours so that, when Erika picked me up late and I didn’t get to go to Fenton’s, I was still able to enjoy a delicious treat. (Erika, I know it wasn’t your fault). Your donuts were delicious. And it was so fun to see all of the random people in a donut shop at 11:00 pm on a Thursday. It was fun to imagine who they were and what their lives were like, especially the table of guys speaking French. Why is it that any guy speaking French can make me weak in the knees? Especially when he’s native? So hot!

Back to you, Happy Donuts. I was so grateful, but then I just craved you. I couldn’t stop thinking of you. It was bad. Maybe 24 hours isn’t such a good idea. And when I’m cursing you on Thursday, remember that I don’t really mean it.

Missing you dearly,

Chloe

Dear Bay Area,

Why must you really be the perfect place to live? Why must all of the housing options be so expensive? Why must your climate make me so happy? Why does your air smell sweeter and your sun shine more beautifully than any place on earth (except maybe Tuscany…but I don’t speak Italian, so I’m not planning on moving there)? Why do you have to make me hate where I live every time I visit you? Why does my heart flutter at just the thought of your two beautiful bridges? Why? Why? Why? Why? Everything is better in San Francisco. Everything!

I’m sad.

Chloe

Dear guys who still travel in threes in their mid-thirties,

Really? You are how old? I was reminded of Draco Malfoy and his two sidekicks. Two less attractive, not as intelligent side kicks. Here’s the thing…Mr. Frontman is generally attractive and charismatic, but you two wingmen…not so much. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t be attracted to you, except that the fact that you are all about being a wingman makes you so not appealing. Do you just hang out, hoping to get Frontman’s toss-offs? Do you think that hanging out with Frontman makes you more appealing? Do you realize just how reminiscent of high school your little posse appears? Could you please just grow up already? I’m sure you are very nice, but don’t you get tired of all the girls going for Frontman? Don’t you want girls that want you? I so wish I understood. Can someone help me to understand? Please.

Sincerely,

A girl who, while somewhat socially inept in large groups, at least tries to appear approachable

Dear MBA grad who went to my first choice school,

If I got nothing else out of this weekend other than my conversation with you it was totally worth it. Thanks for being so honest about your experience at said school. It has given me a lot to think about. I have totally revamped my choices as a result of our conversation and the thoughts you shared. I’m still applying to choice number 1, but if I get in (and it’s possible I won’t, although you also made me feel better about that), I will think long and hard before I make my choice. And you were attractive and so interesting to talk to…if only you hadn’t been in your 40s…I just can’t bridge two decades.

Sincerely,

A prospective MBA student who appreciates any insight from an experienced source

Dear Palo Alto,

It’s really too bad that Stanford is so very selective and that recruiters don’t like it, or I might consider applying and I might get in. As it stands, I am not applying and will not, therefore, get rejected. But if you had a different school, oh how I would love to live in your beautiful city. Such a great place. Such beautiful homes, old money homes. Such a large population of brilliant minds. Such beautiful green hills. Oh how I do love you! Perhaps someday. Although, let’s be honest. If I end up back in California (which I hope to) I will probably be working in SF and living there, as well, since it’s about the same cost of living. But, if you had a school I wanted to attend and could get into, I would do it. In a heartbeat. As it is, I’ll be applying to the school across the bay, and I like that town, too.

Sincerely,

A girl who really messed up her undergrad

Dear guy from Las Vegas,

Just a little thought…Desperation does not smell good.

Chloe

Dear Shannon Hale,

Thanks for writing such a great book. It was a bit of a slow start, but I loved it. So cute. So romantic. So sweet and clean. Just the way a fairytale should be. And it was so well written…I have discovered some new favorite quotes and that is a big deal.

Sincerely,

A hopeless romantic

Dear Chloe,

Remember that even though this weekend was less than ideal and you seem to have no prospects, you are so glad that you aren’t married. You made the right choice. Sure, life isn’t going to be a fairytale, but you deserve to fall in love with someone wonderful, who makes you feel good about yourself and doesn’t make you defend your feelings/thoughts/decisions all the time, and someone who makes you laugh and can have a great conversation and shares a mutual attraction. And if your story could turn out just a bit like a good book, that would be nice, too…although you don’t need to hold out for that if you meet Mr. Perfect For You. And don’t get so set on your plans and goals that you aren’t willing to shift just a bit.

Sincerely,

Yourself

drum roll please

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I know you have all been waiting on the edge of your seats since Thursday, so I will satisfy your curiosity before it kills you. I did not meet my husband this weekend. I repeat. I did not meet my husband.

I did meet some very interesting people, though. And many things I have know to be true about myself were reconfirmed. It was a good time and elaborations will be coming soon to a blog near you. This one, to be exact.

But for now, this is one tired girl and she needs to get herself to bed.

weekend adventures

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My weekend starts today…at 4:45 pm when I get off work. How fun is that? And I get to go home…well, not exactly. I’ll be little in the city (as we always call it), but close enough. I can’t wait. We all know how much I love California. I can taste Caspers already. I don’t know how I’m going to fit everything in (and by everything, I mean all of my favorite shopping and food stops), what with being my sister’s “slave” and attending this singles thing. I’m a little nervous about the latter, but I’m going to do my best to have a good time…in any case, I’m sure I will have some good stories, and I get to take a cruise on the bay, which I have never done before. I must admit I’m feeling some pressure, since I received an email from my sister telling me that she fully expected me to find my husband at this thing, which would be most inconvenient since I have sworn not to get married until I’m done with grad school. Although, I guess I could meet him. I don’t have to get married. Oh, the things that living in P-town is doing to my brain!

Wish me luck!

Oh, one more thing. I went shopping last night (you know, because I’m made of money and thought it would be a good idea…actually, I was stressed out and retail therapy is my family’s drug of choice when it comes to mental health, since it costs about the same as regualr therapy, but you get to come home with clothes/electronics/cosmetics/toys, rather than puffy eyes). I started at the GAP because I needed jeans (yes, needed). I had the a salesperson help me and grabbed a bunch of different styles in my size. I ended up getting a fabulous pair of long and lean jeans. The best part was when I put on the jeans the first time and came out to look in the big mirror, both of the employees standing there said, in unison, “You need a smaller size.” It was fabulous. So I grabbed the smaller size, tried them on and decided to go for it. I’m not sure how I’m feeling about wearing jeans that “fit”, since I’m kind of a fan of loose and baggy, but when I showed them to Sarah later, she said that they looked good (and I don’t think she’d lie to me). Woohoo!