No Place Like Travel

English Hubby and I have just come back from our a birthday party for our dear friend’s twin 3 year olds, and we are knackered!

On one hand it was great to be part of the raw excitement and circle of fun that always seems to surround three year olds; on the other hand, it is a little depressing to realize when you add up the ages of all the kids in the room, you could still out number them in terms of age (give or take a few).

The afternoon started well with crafts for kids, and the adults were well behaved too.

Well behaved

Then the entertainment kicked off – a magic train conductor repertoire, with a puppet chimpanzee to boot.  The kids were split on this one.  Some really got into the hand wiggling magic thing, and the rest decided to burst into tears as the deranged looking chimp was a step too far for comfort.  The adults needed a little pick me up by this time.

Party bears

As the afternoon continued, I’m starting to wonder how parents have the stamina for this.  Where’s the remote control mute button?

Exhausted!

So here are 8 things I have learned today:

1. Thomas the Tank Engine or any type of train paraphernalia is like kiddie crack
2. It is harder to make balloon animals than you think
3. Cold sausages taste delicious
4. It is useful to have a hand vacuum charged and ready for action
5. Home made honeycomb is delicious and only needs three ingredients
6. There is actually a children’s book called “Time to wee” (…sorry K+N, I peeked at your bathroom book shelf. I’m sure it’s wonderfully educational)
7. Post it notes are handy even in a party situation
8. Our friends are wonderful, loving parents*

* Technically we did not just learn this today, but it is worth calling out that every kid deserves parents like them

Most popular toy in town

My dearest friend B asked me why I started this blog.  Good question.  Honestly, I’m not quite sure myself.  It defies the gravity of logic to take on a new, very public endeavor especially when I barely get a humane amount of sleep each night, have a career that demands more than a pound of flesh and a pint of blood, and have a knack for neglecting family and friends whom I love dearly.

All I know is that I’m a frustrated traveler stuck inside the body of a management consultant.  For way too long, life for me has been mentally compartmentalized into binary buckets – on or off, work or play, week day or week end, everyday or vacation.  Sort of like a demented Morse code, where the exciting dots of travel are separated by the long dashes of the seemingly mundane.  The problem with this mindset is that life passes you by as you are waiting for the next big holiday.

Frankly, I’m sick and tired of wasting a perfectly good life.

This blog is my way of bringing everything that I love about travel – the exhilaration of seeing the world in a different way, the rawness of life, the love of learning new things, being charmed by the people you meet, things you do and food you eat – back to the everyday.  Rather than live a life on hold, waiting for the four weeks of every year to embrace that journey, why not live it at every moment?

So, this blog is a small attempt to remind a frustrated traveler (me) that journeys happen every second, minute, hour, day, week, month, year and beyond.  You just have to look for these little arcs, and when you start to join them up, life becomes one big vacation.  Some moments will qualify for a stamp in the beloved passport, however most will never need an immigration entry form to experience.

So dear reader and dearest B, let’s raise our glasses to everyday journeys, near and far.  Clink.

Many hours spent at work in the Chrysler Building, New York City

Lost in the crowd at Sacre Coeur, Paris

One of my favorite places in the world – Muley Point, Utah (…I’ll save it for another post…)

It has been one of those weeks.  Early morning conference calls, followed by back to back meetings and capped off by late night battles with an email inbox that seems to multiply faster than two rabbits on heat.  Final email inbox count = 1,462. Care factor = 0.

How I’ve waited impatiently for the end of week to roll around.  Friday evening, a neat comma that allows us to pause momentarily before flowing into the weekend.  For the first time in a very long while, I find myself sitting still.  Funny things happen when stay inert on the couch.

You start to notice the passing of time.  Like the branches of a tree that brush against our window.  Only one summer ago its height barely reached our sill.

A room with a view

The roof of the old school building across the street.  It is dimmed by the setting sun – yellow, orange, burnt red then brown.  Blink and you could miss it.

Old school across the street

How time can be quickly lost when we are too busy to notice its flow.  Therefore dear reader, a moments pause to remember to “take care of the minutes, as the hours will take care of themselves“.