7am Airplane Etiquette

There is something simultaneously empowering and debilitating about getting up at 5:30am to catch a flight to Fairbanks  where the trusted phone assures me it is -11C.  What it was definitely not was an experience, the second in as many weeks, where i felt like being nice to strangers halfway through my first cup of coffee.

I wandered onto the plane and sat down next to an octogenarian and her fifty something year old daughter. the old lady peered up at me with the evil eye, as if my having the window seat was somehow eroding her joy and as if i had beaten her with a club and taken it. Not to be daunted by this evil eye at the crack of dawn, i politely smiled and said good morning, refusing to let my business day tripper swagger be tainted by this woman.

The next blow to my fragile ego came when i turned on the light to do the cross-word however. I could swear that the old lady not only gave me the stink-eye but actually tsked at me!  who does that??

So, i am making some rules and you should all feel free to add to the list. here's the shit you have no business doing to other people on airplanes:

1. glaring at people for existing. bad call. if it weren't the fast, i might just hit you. 
2. tsk at me because i use my american-given right (since freedoms and rights are interchangeable around here) turn on the light on the plane. 
3. touch people. no one did that to me. but i am pretty sure it should be a rule. unless they are very  attractive, consenting, adult (q, i'm talking to you), and married to you if you are married.
4. drop your seat back at the exact same moment the flight attendant hands out drinks in the row behind you. yes. you in 7d--you are either evil or evil. either way--i am talking to you. thiiiiiiiis close to a lap full of someone else's drink thanks to you. nothing ruins business swag like drink covered pants in a city without a decent mall.
5. sticking your entire body in front of the window for 20 minutes. share the window people, you don't need to try to lean out it to see. i mean, i am not asking for you to tell me if you see moose, i would just like to know there's land out there. 
6. what am i missing folks??

its the introspective time of year

it is baha'i fast month. for reference see previous blogs here and here and here. no food or drink from sunrise to sunset. i try not to swear as much. this year, i have found myself having an easier go of it than before. i'm not really hungry, nor am i having the 2 pm crash. i didn't have the awful caffeine headaches. none of the eating the most enormous dinner i can find!

i have however been more than a little introspective. i find myself spending a lot of time thinking about who i am in my head, my past, my current life--trying to discern if i am still the same girl i believe i am. in my head, i am always the girl in the picture--lost in the adventure, constantly changing smells, sounds, faces and places, pushing to understand more, feel more, be more.  the nomad part of me calmed down while we were in thailand and i felt like i exhaled for the first time in a long time.

so the question becomes goals and how to maintain that peace--when we are so far away from our friends and loved ones. part of that has been taking more time for spiritual things. part of that has been getting more exercise. part of that has been remembering who i want to be and being that person--fearless and strong.

so, here's to this time of year when i can see clearly, believe clearly and reconnect with my soul.

oliphants

love oliphants. the art kind and the real ones.

 and oliphants love sugarcane.

 and saying hello!

if it has eight eyes, it should die.

So i love Thailand because it is beautiful, and warm, and my skin doesn't feel all pins and needles from being too dry.

I love Thailand because the people are kind. PS--let's have a chat TSA in Seattle about not being assholes for no good reason, read no reason, on a sunday morning. PPS--why is everyone in the seattle airport a grump-tastic mess?

I love Thailand because i can eat a full meal for like $2.50 cents in the north. and eat more than my share of green curry i did.

I love Thailand because i can swim without feeling like i might die of hypothermia either in or after getting out of the water.

I love Thailand because i can find anything i could ever need in a market if i am willing to brave weekend craziness.

huntsman--the size of my hand.

I do not love thailand for these guys:

orb weaver (we think)

Anyone who knows my husband knows he likes to set the spiders free when we find them in the house. I, on the other hand, am pretty sure setting them free means they are going to return in my bed and eat me. therefore, all spiders should die--the sneaky bastards. so, when adam came into our treehouse in the Mae Taeng valley wilderness and announced that there was a huge spider in the bathroom, you have to understand i was legitimately concerned. he never, ever, calls spiders huge--even the orb weaver we saw earlier in the day that was like coffee cup sized.  define huge, i said. huge, said adam with a serious look on his face, hunting for something i had hoped would be used to kill the "huge" spider. instead, he picked up the camera (again, not a good sign) and my slipper (gifted to me by emma who stole it from some hotel and the current prized possession) and headed back to the adjoining outdoor bathroom. a flash and some banging ensued and adam returned to tell me he had scared it away. "it jumped out the back wall."

number one---WTF. since when do spiders the size of a chihuahua jump out a hole in the wall.
number two--the answer to where was it happened to be, oh right by the toilet.
number three--congratulations, instead of killing the spider, you now get to watch me pee for the rest of our stay in case the dog/spider returns.
number four--the next day at breakfast, he tells everyone how he had no idea where it went. nice. good job lying to your wife. uck.

i.love.vacation.

this post could alternatively be titled:
1. i.love.the.warm.;
2. adam lives in the pool; or
3. it was all good until the spider showed up.

for the record:  i love the Andaman sea. I am pretty sure i could just be a sea gypsy, floating to my heart's content and living off coconuts and fish i caught with a spear.

As many of you know, on xmas day we left seattle for a stint in thailand. teh trip was well needed because we discovered around thanksgiving that i was going to be laid off from Liberty.  the hunt for a new gig is in progress. So, off to se asia we went and we were lucky to have the gracious hospitality of a friend from law school, abe. he did his best to keep adam from being molested by lady boys and me from getting run over by vehicles in the street.

"Jesus rays on A Buddhist temple?" queried Adam.

Bangkok is a large bustling city that only partially ever feels like southeast Asia to me....it just lacks the grit of Manila and has instead way too many old white men accompanied by too young Thai women. Clearly, white exploitation of former colonies is still alive and kicking. Never-the-less, i love Thai architecture and its Buddhist sentimentality. outside every building is a household shrine to which offerings of fanta, juice, and sweet pastries are in a never ending supply. Seems the universe has a sweet tooth. The other thing that always strikes me is the combination of old and new, ornate and modern, a juxtaposition without moderation or middle ground.




Bang Pa-In Summer Palace

Ayyuthaya

We traveled around quite a bit this trip. After visiting Ayyuthaya and the Summer Palace, we went down south to Phuket for New Years.

Truthfully, we were staying in Patong, which i will never do again. it was too touristy for my tastes, but did make for memorable new years eve--thousands of people on the beach, lighting off lanterns, sending their hopes skyward for the new year.

We set off ours and i was surprised to find that my hopes didn't rest on a new job or the dog not acting like an idiot--i'm going to not tell you my wish, but you should know that my lantern floated highest in the sky as it went off into the distance.

My heart felt full and calm. We headed the next day off to the north--out 60 km north of Chaing Mai to somewhere up a tree. Seriously.
More pictures of that and a top ten list in the next post :)

oh yeah, i have a blog...

So, i am a lax blogger. actually, i just haven't had much to say and adam keeps kidnapping my computer to go work on the weekends. but in way of an apology...here's neah playing in our new foot of snow.

we are getting ready for the trip to thailand. i'm so excited to see abe, emma, and sarun (joe--who i went to school with about a decade ago). i think the break to the warm will do my soul some good. this winter has been very cold and not snowy--bad for winter sports.

in other news, adam's bowling is going well. insert big lebowski joke here. and we joined the gym, which has a sauna i like to warm up in.  i have not yet managed to get over the abject nakedness of the women wandering around the locker room yet though.  i am glad that so many women over 50 are comfortable with their bodies, but seriously, i do not need to see it.

so, that's the news! love from snowy cold, not quite north pole :)

whispers of winter

the days are getting shorter. the sun sets well before we come home from work and is just barely up as we head out. soon, it won't rise before midday. i have been trying desperately to generate the motivation to get up early and head to the gym for an early morning, anti-arm flab, workout and sauna before starting work. needless to say, this is proving tricky.

more importantly, it appears winter is upon us because everyone is driving like idiots--snow tires not on, quick stops fail often.  neah and i were almost hit on our way to the holy day tonight. stopped at a corner facing west and getting ready to turn south, one of the cars coming from the south in the northbound lane (this reminding you of a fifth grade word problem yet) slammed on brakes and in an attempt to not rear end the other cars came careening towards us--only to be stopped (and us saved) by the pole that holds the stoplights about four feet to my right. ugh. dear idiot with the big truck....please please do the speed limit and remember its icy...we'd like to live another day...thanks, EVERYONE.

Been trying out some new recipes....so the roast

is from those adventures. neah was very intrigued---perhaps too intrigued because her tummy doesn't seem to like us tonight. 

It has been nice to have some friends over for dinner and kinect and feel like we are settling into this house. neah has been great about the new people, only barking for a minute or two before warily wandering around until peanut butter pretzels stealthily appear in new hands and the intrusion into her space is forgiven.