Carolyn Who?

To avoid foreclosure, I am moving to carolynfulton.com and.....

2009-03-15T00:42:00.004-04:00

I am not packing anything. The joy of the internet is that it is "limitless" and I have no idea how to officially close my account. I have been instructed to pack what I want, throw out what I don't, take the keys and go. I wonder when internet space will become limited and someone will learn how to delete a site.

Well, no matter, for those of you that care, follow me on over to my very own website

carolynfulton.com

See yall in my new palatial suite, which is still under construction but I do have the blog in place.

Ride to the jungle home stay.

2009-02-01T12:10:00.000-05:00

The Ecuador Crew

2009-01-26T17:57:00.000-05:00

I love The Onion

2009-01-18T17:18:00.000-05:00

Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Disastrous Presidency

The final day in Quito.....

2009-01-04T11:41:00.003-05:00

and I am still in bed. I got up around 7 to say good bye to those that are going on to the Galapagos Islands, I checked in for my flights tomorrow, picked up a router for my room, and came back to bed. I am mostly still in bed because it seems that most of the shops are closed and there is not a lot to do. I am definitely not complaining because I have been on the go for two weeks and I am quite ready for some down time. If my spelling is more horrible than usually in this post, it is because i cannot see. I have the first thing in the morning blurriness that I get sometimes.

I guess that I should mention the people that I have been traveling with. You already know about Bernhard but there were others heeee. If I have not previously mentioned, our guide was Fernando and he is about 25 and the most adorable Peruvian that you will ever meet. He had never done the Ecuador tour so he was a little nervous but if he made any mistakes, we surely didn't notice. He got us to the towns that we needed to go to and on and off of the chicken buses without a hitch. If I decided to tour Peru, I will only tour it with him.

Katherine and Anna are sisters from Australia. Both are in their 20s and Anna is a nurse and Katherine is going to school to be a doctor. Both very, very nice girls and fun to be around. Their parents arrived in Quito last night and they will continue on to the Galapagos with the girls. Fernando fell head over heals for Katherine. Too bad she has a boyfriend but it was funny to watch.

Catherine from Canada is my evil twin. She is in her early 40s and doesn't often mince words. She is awesome:) Another friend that I am leaving this trip with is Hirsh who is also living in Canada. He is a dentist and a very nice, easy going, fun loving guy. He has a brother that lives in Palm City, which is north of West Palm Beach.

So, Catherine, Katherine, Anna, Bernhard, and Hirsh are the real friends that I am leaving this trip with. Not too bad because I didn't expect to leave with any:)

Saturday shopping is......

2009-01-03T08:55:00.002-05:00

amazing in Otavalo. I know, I probably use that word a lot when discussing this trip but it is appropriate. The Saturday market in Otavalo covers almost the entire city. Every street, nook, and cranny has some kind of shopping. It is like a neighborhood garage sale except, there are streeets that are selling nothing but veggies-fruits and streets that are selling nothing but meat. Then there are the sections that are selling clothes, jewelry, and other stuff.

I was out at 7am and I just walked and looked. I did not take many pictures because this is the kind of stuff that must be committed to memory and no picture will ever do it justice. I imagine that the locals, and those that are not so local, start setting up before 6am because there were over 100 booths that were up and ready to go by the time I came out. I walked for an hour and a half, then I went into a cafe and had cafe con leche (coffee with milk) and some cake. I secured a window seat and just watched all that was going on.

We are leaving Otavalo at 1pm to head back to Quito as today is the final day of the tour. Tonight, we will have our farewell dinner and tomorrow some people will head home while others will join tours going to the Galapagos Islands. I wish I were going too, but I did not have enough vacation time to couple that trip with this one. No matter, I have no regrets.

I had to stop in this internet cafe because I had a moment of panic as to whether or not my mortgage got paid. Fortunately, it is the only time that I have thought about anything related to my real life since I started this trip. Yep, it was paid as scheduled, I just like to panic every now and again.

Well, I must head back out so that the men can tell me how beautiful I am. Apparently dark skinned women are appreciated down here....heeee. Perhaps I shall stay. Off to pay my 40 cents for 30 minutes of internet usage.

Buenas Tardes! Adios mi amigos-amigas! Amor! (heee... is my bilingualness (not a word) totally annoying?)

Winding down in Otavalo....

2009-01-02T19:17:00.004-05:00

and getting ready to return to the real world. We arrived in Otavalo from the Hacienda in Cayambe today and we will leave tomorrow at 1pm to return to Quito. Otavalo is pretty cool, I am sitting in an internet cafe right now. They charge a dollar or so for an hour of usage, which is not to bad.

We are in Otavalo to view the local market and buy some things. I am pretty much done shopping but I will probably pick up one or two more things. I have replenished my supply of meds (depo provera) to be exact. In the States, this cost me 60 bucks, 30 when I order it online from Costa Rica, and 11.44 when I fly to Ecuador and get it myself. Yes, we Americans subsidize the drug costs for the rest of the world. So, I have bought a 2 year supply of the depo and I am good.

Haven´t seen a whole lot that is new in the last few days, but that is the way it is with most long vacations. After a while the sites start to repeat themselves. And, you might not belive this but I am actually tired of taking pictures. I have taken over 1k and I really have no desire to put a camera to my eye anymore. I am very glad that I have one extra day in Quito after the tour ends and I have one day off when I return home before I have to go back to work.

Oh, the Hacienda where we stayed was pretty amazing. They have done little to restore the buildings and it was amazing to walking through them and still see the old paint and furniture that has been there for many, many years. I have no idea how long because the people that work there speak no english so we were on our own. I also walked around the grounds and found several trails that took me to higher and higher elevations.

Today, we were back at about 12k feet when we went to see some volcano. Again, we drove a while, turned a corner and it was freezing. The fog rolled in and out within a matter of 5 minutes. Then we came back down the mountain and the temperature increased by at least 15 degrees and the rain stopped. I cannot express to you how incredibly sudden the temperature changes are around here. Yesterday, I was sitting by the pool at the Hacienda and it was soooo warm. Just like Otown. Some one walked in and said, this humidity in here is unbearable. I said, are you kidding, this is how I live. I stayed by the pool for about 4 hours yesterday. Sun, as we know it, does not happen in Ecuador (maybe the Galapagos). It is only sunny for a few hours a day if that and the temp will reach the mid 70s. As I sit here in this cafe, car are driving by, picture the tiny European streets that you have seen in the movies, the door is wide open (like a garage door) and I am freezing. Amazingly, I feel pretty good about being here. I know I have said this before but the people are so friendly, there are no stares or odd looks (except for the one time the lady recoiled in fear when I asked what she was doing) I just feel like I fit right in. If I could deal with the weather, and I cannot, I could live here.

Another thing about Ecuador, as we have covered about 5 of the major cities, the people look distinctly different in the various cities and the cities also have their own distinct ambience. Right now, I hear loud music coming from a car that is sitting in traffic and I just heard the honk of an emergency vechicle. However, we have also stayed in towns where we have seen very few cars and emergency vehicles were unheard of. We have also stayed in hotels where there was no phone in our room.

At the Hacienda, I was having some trouble catching every 3rd breathe, a common problem at higher altitudes, and I thought hmmmm.....we are out in the middle of no where, and there is no phone in this room. The only staff was the night security guard. I prayed I would make it til morning, then I fell asleep....heeee. The next day, several people said they had the same problem. I am taking Diamox to prevent altitude sickness but the short, shallow breathes and having a hard time catching a breathe cannot be cured with meds. Time is the only solution.

My buddy Bernhard left on Jan 1 to return to Austria. I miss him a lot because he made me laugh and he had some interesting things to say. A few of my buddies in the group bought me a stuffed doll as a replacement. There is a story behind the stuffed doll - they get burned at midnight of the new year. So, it was only named Bernhard until 1155 then they wrote the names of people they dislike on it and set it on fire. At least that´s what I was told because I went to bed. Had some food that did not agree with me. So, I slept through the New Year at the Hacienda.

Well, that´s it for now. I will see you all in a few days. I must go and get under the covers and warm up.

Good nite.

After a 12 hour bus ride......

2008-12-29T07:43:00.002-05:00

we have moved from Banos to Cuenca. The bus ride was amazing! We went up, down, and around mountain after mountain, after mountain. It is amazing to be able to look up and see the road that you have come from and look down and preview the road that you are headed to. A holiday tradition here is for the children to put on masks, and block the mountain roads and then ask vehicles to pay to pass. Seeing this up close is a bit scary, especially if you do not know ahead of time why the hell these kids are wearing masks and putting big stones on the road so that you cannot pass. Funny part- as the children started to move the stones for us, a local vehicle that was behind us, spend around us and forced the children to pick up their pace about moving the stones. They got out of the way pretty quick when they almost got run over. It was amazing to see the number of traditional cuechia (sp) indians that simply sit along the mountain roads waiting for the chicken buses or just hanging out. I felt a little bad riding on the luxury bus and not being able to stop and pick them up.

As we were leaving Banos, maybe a 1/2 hour into our trip, we encountered a spot where there had been a small landslide and the road was covered with debris. The locals were out cleaning it up and we gave them a few coins. It was very nice of them. Did I mention that as we were leaving home stay, they put logs in the road and we had to get out and move them. We think the people were mad because our drive did not pick them up as he was coming up the hill to get us.

The temperatures and elevations are very interesting here. Shorts are always a bad idea because within 5 minutes of g0ing outside, it can rain and/or the temperature can drop 20 degrees. Yesterday for our bus ride, we went from approximately 75 degrees to 45 degrees as we drove through the mountains. We went from an elevation of 9k feet to 12k feet at our highest point.
Since I take my Diamox all the time, the elevation change did not bother me but some people were bothered because they only take it when they know we are going to higher elevatins. Hmmm....we had no idea yesterday until we were there. The views were amazing, waterfalls., volcanos, mountains. and the people.

You should know, the road system here is sketchy at best and if there are "front roads" we took mostly one lane, dirt/gravel back roads. We did have one place where our drive had to pay a 1 dollar toll. Sometimes it was scary on the mountain as the bus swayed a little to much to one side for my liking. No matter, we made it.

I am going to get dressed now and head out to see what Cuenca has to offer. One of my roommates, yes, I had two last night, went for her morning run and said the city is beautiful.

Have a great day and I be back tonight.

Today, I spent the day....

2008-12-27T20:15:00.002-05:00

taking care of my friend Bernhard. I have to be careful what I say because one day he might read this. We had dinner last night and the conversation was absolutely excellent. He has told me that he will join Facebook to keep track of me. He has a bacterica and the doctor had to come and see him this morning because he started running a fever around midnight last night. I really like talking to B so I spent the day talking to him and trying, in my broken spanish, to get him food. He was happy in the end so i guess i succeeded.

Speaking of men. Apparently I am very appreciated here in Ecuador. I can´t tell you the number of winks and whistles that I have gotten as we have traveled. Today, our guide for horseback riding told me that I am beautiful and that I make his heart go pitter patter. So, I gave him a hug and allowed him to kiss my cheek. Yes, it does sound bad, the kiss, but hey, Jaime was a cutie and he was very nice. I sure wish I had brushed up on my Spanish verbs before I came. However, I have mustered enough to be dangerous in the following way. I can often get my point across but then the response will be 3 very quickly spoken sentences which I have no freakin idea what they are telling me....heeeee.

Got the jungle lodge ass smell out of my clothes and luggage. This was accomplished by sending my laundry out to be washed yesterday. Did I mention that if you are ever in Ecuador and someone says it´s a 4 hour hike downhill, or a 1 hour bike ride downhill. or a 2 hour horseride, they are lying. Where ever there is a downhill in Ecuador there are 3 god damn up hills that will follow. Don´t think oh up hill, I can do that. Trust me you can´t. Because, it is not up hill it is up a f´n mountain in soft sand or slippery rock. Trust no one and believe nothing. Oh, and when you say to the tour operator, can you pick my up at the hotel for my horseback riding and he says yes. What he means is, I will send someone on foot to walk the 10 blocks with you to the place where we keep the horses. Then you will mount the horses and ride directly past the hotel where you are staying. So, what should have been said is, can you bring a motorized vehicle, with 4 tires, at least a 4 cylinder engine, minimum 2 doors, minimum 4 seats to pick me up at my hotel. Totally my fault, couldn´t have knowñ until the lady walked out the door and said, it is just a 5 minute walk this way, which, if I have to say it, turned into a 30 minute walk 1/2 way across Banos.

I bought a cool shirt today that has the world with a stick figure sitting on top. Everyone that has seen it says the stick figure looks like me the day I stuck my head out the window of the bus when we were going 80. Haaaaa.......I shall wear this t'shirt with pride.

Well, since I cannot get the wifi to connect in my room, my 10 minutes have been exceeded on this computer and somone might be waiting. Tomorrow, I leave Banos at 8am and take a 8-10 hour busy ride to Cuenca. Don´t know about internet there but, I will be in touch when I can.

One more thing, thus far, Banos is my favorite city of those that we have seen. It seems to be the city that never sleeps but I was told today that many travel from around Ecuador to spend the holidays here. But, I love just blending in and no one seems to care that we are here. Very few people even take a second look. Riding horses today, people were so eager to speak and be friendly. I love this and I spoke to everyone. My riding mates did not, but that´s their decision. I love happy, friendly people. :)

I am still running amok in Ecuador and LOVING every minute of it. Bernhard has invited me to come to Austria and have a look around so who knows what 2009 will hold. I think he is a pretty neat guy! Really makes me laugh.

Finally Out of the jungle

2008-12-26T17:42:00.002-05:00

and I must say that I am glad to be. We spent two nights staying with a family that lived in a place that I would describe as the most rustic I have ever experienced without actually living in a tress. They were very nice, but WoW.

The first day that we were there, we went for a hike in the Amazon near the Napo river. We hike UP hill for about 4 hours. We did get to see a very beautiful waterfall and we ended at the beach (Napo River). Both very beautiful. However, the terrain to get to both of these places was very wet, steep, and slippery. There were many times that I gave up trying to stand upright and when I would fall, I just resorted to sliding on my behind. You should see my pants.

I have had my fill of chicken and I am another step closer to becoming a vegetarian. Not yet but I figure within the next year, most meat will be out of my diet.

From that first lodge, we moved on to Tena. The lodge in Tena was nestled betwen several mountains and it was beautiful. However, that lodge had every bug ever known to man. Katherine, one of the other people on the tour, had a tranatula in her room last night. Not kidding. Most everyone has red spots on their legs and they think they are flea bites from the first lodge. I have a few bumps but I think I am allergic to the laundry detergent that was used in the last lodge.

We are now in Banos for tonight and tomorrow night. We have a great room! Tile floors, three beds, I can´t see outside through the walls. It´s on the 2nd floor with a balcony. We will leave here and go to Cuenca (I think).

I have met a very nice, good look guy on this trip named Bernard. However, he is from Austria so you can guess where this will go. Yep, no freakin where. But it has been great hanging out with him. He picked up some virus and has been sick. NO, I am not taking care of him because I don´t want to get sick but he is sitting beside me in the internet cafe. Heee.......Yes, I have pictures.

The bus rides here are amazing fun. We ride on the chicken buses but no one thus far has gotten on with a chicken (damn the bad luck). But we drive through everything. Today, we took a 4 hour chicken bus ride from Tena to Banos and we apparently had to drive through a rock quarry. Yes, please think Fred Flintstone....heeee. OMG it was amazing, and the tires on the bus were spinning because we couldn´t get traction. Then, we get out of the quarry but we are not trying to climb a mountain (think City Bus), we are going 3 mph while the truck in front of us is going 2 mph. So, because of our incredible speed, our bus drive decides the best thing to do in this situation is to pass on a curve while trying to climb a mountain. Yep, you guessed it, just as soon as we are even with the truck that was in front of us, here comes another truck in the lane we are using to pass. So now, we have to drop back to 1 mph so that we can take out place back in our lane. Finally we pass them. Then an hour or so later we are passing another truck and I ask, hey didn´t we see those guys before? Yep, we passed them, then they passed us, now we are passing them again.

OMFG, the best story ever!!!!!!!! I saw someone get bitten by a monkey yesterday. I know you are thinking this can´t be true but it is soooo true. Nola and here daughter Iesha are on our tour. They are from Canada and Nola is interesting and her daughter is 14. So, we go off to the zoo and there is a monkey running about looking incredibly cute and all of that. All I want is for this damn monkey to stay away from me because I want to be let out of Ecuador and let back into the USA on 1-5-2009 (or whenever the hell I´m coming home). However, Iesha gets all chummy with the monkey, the Nola decides hey, since the monkey is at my feet, I should pick it up. I am on the verge of throwing up a little inside. Dirty, filty animal I can´t think of anything grosser at that moment that cuddling with a monkey. I have pictures to prove this mothing of the monkey. Well, finally after everyone else gave a resounding NO when Nola asked if we wanted to hold the monkey, she put it down. Well, then the monkey starts to stalk us. Showing up in random bushes and such unexpectedly. Then Iesha decides she should go and stand next to her mother. Well, monkey goes mad! Teeth come out and he start screeching and carrying on. I mean he doesn´t have many teeth but you can see them all. Then he jumps on Iesah leg and sinks his teeth into here ankle. I am sorry to admit that I do not have pictures of the crazed monkey executing his attack. The reason for this is because the moment it was clear that he was going mad, I got the hell outta there. I am truly not kidding you, I am loving this vacation SOOOOOO much, but I don´t eat off other peoples plates, I don´t let other people eat off of my plate, I don´t buy food from people that get on the chicken bus selling it. AND I DON´T CUDDLE WITH FREAKIN MONKEYS. I swear this story is true.

I know this is all that you can handle so I will say good night. I hope that you all are well and I will still make an effort to post some pictures. Yes, one will be of the monkey love.

Heee....love you all....miss me;)

Trying to survive at 10.000 feet

2008-12-21T22:53:00.003-05:00

until we descend into the jungle tomorrow. This elevation change is crazy. We walked in Quito this morning, which is at 8,000 feet and I felt mostly fine. So fine in fact that in the current town, I decided to walk 2.5 mile to the town at the bottom of the hill and then come back up. 5 steps into the "coming back up" I knew it wasn't going to happen. Climbing back up, I could only go about 20 steps then I was down on one knee panting like a dog and feeling as though I was taking my last breathe. After the third time of this, and it was getting dark, I knew that I would never make and I said the first person to offer us a ride, I'm taking it, I don't care who. Believe it or not at that moment a nice man, his wife, and her mother came around the corner, stopped and looked at us and rolled down the window to ask if we needed a ride! Thank you God.

We left Quito this morning at around 1130 and took a "chicken" bus to the village of Papallacta Hot Springs.This is where my tragedy occurred...heeee. We are staying here overnight, then we will take another chicken bus and descend into the jungle for two nights. That elevation is very low so not altitude to worry about there. The good thing is, my meds have kept me from getting dizzy or physically sick. I only have the shortness of breathe when trying to climb up a hill.

I do have to say this, Ecuador is absolutely beautiful and very clean with only a few stray dogs running about. I mention the dogs because when I went to Russia, they were everywhere. The people here are very nice and helpful. Most do not speak english but some do. Oh and the weather, that opposite season stuff was crap. Now that I am here, the locals say, it is our winter. It was raining last night when I got here and it was raining this morning, although it stopped before our walking tour began. It is colder than anything up here in the mountains, I believe it is in the 50s. For me, that is frigid. But, I have new stuff to look at and great pictures to take so I suppose I will be ok.

Our tour guide, Fernando, a little 25 year old sexy Peruvian, went over our activities for the next 14 days and I thought, man, when I read it, it didn't sound so overwhelming. Now it freaking sound impossible. Get on the bus, get off the bus, go hike, bike, white water rafting, blah blah, then get on a plane, get back on a bus, do a little shopping and then go hone.

About the pictures I promised to post, well you can see that I do have access to the internet, but you cannot see that it is not very fast. It isn't and every time I try to upload my pics, Picasa crashes. So, when we are back in town in a few days, I will try to go to an internet cafe and have them put on disk or something.

Tomorrow we leave Papallacta and head for Tena for our stay in an Amazon village. I doubt that I will have internet access so I will post again in 2-4 days!

Love you all - Hi Marie, you had better be reading this:)

Vacation Bound

2008-12-19T21:41:00.002-05:00

At long last, I am leaving for Ecuador. The next time you hear from me, I hope to have some interesting stories to tell about my adventures. I also hope to be able to upload some of my pictures while I am running amok:)

Happy Holidays to All.

Happy Holidays.

2008-12-18T18:54:00.004-05:00

I am feeling extra sentimental this holiday season because I am leaving on my vacation in 2 days. I thought it would never get here. My friends have been absolutely amazing in providing me with everything that I need for my trip. I have also spent more time with my close friends in the last few weeks than I have all year.

I now have the apps for my Samsung Instinct that bring it much closer to being the perfect phone - Thanks Instinct Software guys:) Now I can view my upcoming appointment and I can place a signature on my IMs without having to type it each time. This damn phone is finally exceeding my expectations. Of course, no credit goes to Sprint.

I don't have much to say because I am tired tonight. I have been staying up late trying to figure out how to setup my website. It was given to me as a gift (the domain name) and I love it. But, learning something new is so consuming and before you know it three hours have passed. Not much is there now but you can check it out any time www.carolynfulton.com

7 Days and Counting

2008-12-14T19:05:00.002-05:00

down to vacation. I am very excited and amazed at how seamlessly the preparation has gone! As of today, I am all packed and other than a pocket knife, there is nothing else that I need to put in my bags. Also, I am thrilled that I did not over pack because I packet the items that were on the list. This means that for 17 days, I have 4 pairs of pants, 1 pair of shorts, 4 shirts, and 5 pairs of socks. I have been told that laundry facilities are available in the hotels where we will be staying. We will only be away from hotels for 2-4 days so i have enough clothes for each of those outings. I will be carrying a total of three bags but only 1 of them will be with me unless we are changing locations.

I have matched all power cords with their charges and all chargers with the associated batteries, with the associated electronic device. I have done this about 4 times to make sure that I have everything that I am going to need. Thank God for great friends because they have mentioned little items that I will need and/or have bought me things that I didn't think of. If one more person asks me about what snacks I'm bringing, I will scream...heeee. You can all rest assured that today, I put 21 packs of snacks in my bag, along with all of the cash and Visa gift cards that I have been given! Thanks to everyone that is funding my trip.......heeee I should go away more often. Hmmmm.....are you all paying me off to go away????? LOL!

I have also treated all of my clothing for mosquitoes and ticks. So, I should be well protected from those vicious, potentially deadly bites. I also got my yellow fever vaccine 2 weeks ago on Tuesday. The shot was not bad but the side effects of "flu-like" symptoms were horrible. Then there were the side effects from the flu vaccine.....I had to have someone drive me home I felt as though I was going to pass out. Then, there was the cold that quickly followed the cold which of course came both times with a lost voice. Funny thing, my voice is back, for the most part, but now I get a terrible sore throat every evening. I am starting to believe that I should have left the flu vaccine alone. I am also debating whether I should pay a visit to my doctor tomorrow for some meds.

Speaking of meds, today I tried the Malarone (for the prevention of malaria) and Diamox (for elevation sickness) and both had no negative effects. I actually think I may have a bit more energy but of course that could be my excitement for leaving the country.

Oh and to those of you concerned about how I intend to get to the airport/home, I have now addressed the latter. My dad is going to take the 5th off so that he can come and pick me up. How will I get to the airport, it's a Saturday, so many people to pick from. It is my intent to be at the airport by 1130 on Saturday to make sure that I get to my gate on time. I figure it might be pretty busy the weekend before Christmas.

Again, thanks to all my very generous and loving friends - I feel like a kid being sent off to camp! Love you all!

All that I

Dead End Job

2008-11-30T14:58:00.001-05:00

I haven't watched this movie but I want to so I am putting it here so that I don't forget. Let me know what you think....if there is anyone out there.

Dead End Job

Vacation

2008-11-27T22:30:00.002-05:00

I received my official travel documents today! Now it is time for me to start organizing the items that I intend to take and by the end of next week, I would like to own or have ordered everything that I think I am going to need.

Gap Adventures has a much shorter list of items than I would take so I am going to trust their list. They have been doing this a lot longer than I have so I am going to trust them. So far, I have done what I was supposed to do and they have done what they should have done, so I can only believe this exchange will continue.

I really hate the TSA rules regarding shampoo and conditioner and the like. I would not have to check my bag if it were not for these items but I cannot live with 2 oz of liquids for 2 weeks (or whatever the limits are). So, I will check my bag and pray that it arrives in Quito when I do. So far, I have never had a lost bag so I am hoping that my luck holds out. I heard a rumor that in Jan or Feb 09, the 2oz rule is being eliminated but I have no verifiable proof - just rumor. I do hope that it is true.

Exhausted From Social Networking!

2008-11-25T00:34:00.002-05:00

I started this blog, then I rediscovered Facebook. So, I have been over on Facebook going nuts reconnecting with friends from my past(yeah, I have a really shady one)and connecting with people i see everyday but in a different way. People that I interact with everyday at work, I am learning new things about them! I love it! If you are so inclined, you should come on over and get a Facebook account. Then look me up, and I'll let you in as one of my friends!

So, the counter at the bottom of the page indicates I have 25 days until I hit the road for Ecuador and by road, I mean the friendly skies:) I am excited and I can't wait to go. Last week, I had a 20 second period of panic but it passed. I have not been on a long vacation since 1997 when I went to Russia. This is a needed and well earned vacation. I look forward to posting my pictures here while I am away. I looked at the itenrary again and it seems that I don't have to run like crazy the entire time. I will be able to pick my activities in each town that we village so I can have down time when I want it. Probably won't have internet when I want it but I will at least be able to stay on top of all the pictures I will take.

On Sunday, yesterday, I went out for a 4+ hour hike on the Snowhill trail and it was great. The only way that I was able to do this is because I spent ALL day Saturday in the library working on my dissertation. I can't believe it but I made some rules for myself and I am sticking to them. It has only been 2 days but I feel a sense of accompliishment. Even if I fall off the wagon tomorrow it won't matter, I have gotten some things done.

I am happy that I ordered my Christmas cards on Friday and they should be here by the end of the week. So next week, I can get them addressed and the following week I will put them in the mail. This weekend, I intend to finalize my Christmas shopping. Most of my closest friends are getting pictures that I took this year because they indicated how much they liked them. Others will get the gift my employer gives me or something else that I pick out. I should go on vacation in December all the time because it sure puts me on a pretty strict timeline. Of course, when it comes to spending money, I don't need to be on a timeline, I have no problem spending.

I must go now and find gifts for my coworkers. I want it to be something different and unique.

My New Favorite Song

2008-11-10T17:31:00.003-05:00

The Lincoln MKX commercial has introduced me to Cat Power and the song Major Tom/Space Oddity. This song was originally done by David Bowie. I absolutely love the Cat Power version. Unfortunately, she did not record the entire song, only the 30seconds required for the commercial. Must be nice to not have to record an entire song.

To keep myself happy, I went through all the versions that Amazon has and found one that sounded good enough.

Samsung Instinct App Store

2008-11-06T19:56:00.004-05:00

Some developers got tired of waiting for Sprint (go figure) and created an app store for the Instinct. Yippee! Although there are only a few apps, it's a few more than we had (0)! You can try anything you want for free but eventually some apps will come with a price tag.

Some of the apps are just for fun but I have found the Stock Ticker very handy for up to date stock prices on my Instinct. I didn't have to read any instructions and the download was fast and installation was instant. LOVE IT and you will too. Go check it out.

There is also an application that allows you to "scream" a text message. It uses a large font and scrolls the message across the screen. So, if you're in a loud or crowded room, you can "get your message across" by just holding up your phone for the other person to see. Pretty cool, I'm waiting for an opportunity to use it.

It took a year or more for IPhone App Store to show up, but we only had to wait a few months (yes it felt like an eternity). Does this mean that Instinct owners are more demanding and/or ingenious than IPhone owners. While you ponder this, go and check out the Samsung Instinct site below and get some new apps for you phone while we wait for Sprint to bring it!

http://instinct-software.com/

OBAMA.....

2008-11-04T23:46:00.002-05:00

Ha Ha, McCain supporters, get your own BLOG.

I only have this to say. I want a breathe of fresh air in ths country. I want my property value to level out, I want stores to stop closing, I want the stock market to equalize. I want all of you to buy SUVs! Between the two popular candidates that were running, I found that Obama offered a new perspective and the possibility to stabalize the economic status of this country. The current regime has proven a lack of skill and I am ready to turn a corner. So I am willing to give Obama 4 years to see what he can do!

IT'S TIME FOR A CHANGE!

To those that are moving out of the country because Obama won, well BYE BYE!

Action verb needed...

2008-10-28T22:05:00.001-04:00

see more pwn and owned pictures

href="http://failblog.org/2008/10/08/correction-fail/">

see more pwn and owned pictures

see more pwn and owned pictures

You Failed!

2008-10-28T22:02:00.000-04:00

see more pwn and owned pictures

Weekend

2008-10-26T19:33:00.002-04:00

I am actually loving the change in the weather. I do not know what the temp is but it must be in the hight 70s right now. I was sitting outside and I got cold.

My collarbone hurts as the result of my running down the hall, stepping on a towel, and slamming into the door jam. It was indeed, as you must imagine, a VERY good time, This event occured as a result of my desire to beat the mail lady to my mailbox. Don't ask, it all seems so meaningless now.

This has been a crazy weekend. I have not done much of anything because I have not felt very well. I hope it passes and I am starting to wonder if a pattern is starting- I didn't feel well last weekend either. Oh well, surely I will pull through -ha ha.

The holiday season

2008-10-25T18:03:00.003-04:00

is upon us. It starts with halloween and it will continue until January 2, 2009. This is not a bad thing -food, food, food- I just wanted to make sure you know.

So, here is the first of many halloween pics that I plan to post!

Pumpkin Carving and Other Stuff

2008-10-23T19:29:00.003-04:00

I will start with the other stuff. For some reason, I am exhausted today and I do not know why. Perhaps, it is because I have gotten too much sleep lately but I really have no idea. It could be because I am sitting in the dark and am simple like that - lights go out, I go to sleep.

Lots of things are going on but they all relate to work so I will only say that I am thriled that this week is ending and I will be able to start fresh next week. I am supposed to be eating healthy but I only survived for two days so far. Oh well, that is certainly better than no days. My will power is non-existent.

I am going to jump off topic a bit (I know, I am still working towards Pumpkin Carving) because I was just on my Facebook page (I love Facebook so get over there and say HI to me. Yes, I want you to send all of your free time communicting with me:) and one of my friends said he is tired of achieving and wonders when he will be allowed to un-achieve. Funny thing is, that is basically what I took a lot of words to say in last nights post. I just want to exist and enjoy my life, in a simplist way. Does anyone else out there have this desire to simplify life?

Alright, here is my 2 cents on pumpkin carving - great for those that want to do it. I think it is messy and yucky. However, here is video that I thought you pumpkin carvers might find interesting.

58 Days until....

2008-10-22T19:16:00.005-04:00

my vacation! The final payment was billed yesterday so it is official, I am going! I called Gap Adventures the other day to find out whether we would retain our hotel room in Quito for the entire trip and they said no. We will be moving about and staying in different hotels. So, now I am debating which bag to bring. I saw a really great Samsonite hard side, garment bag at Macy's the other day, but I cannot bring myself to spend $250 on one bag. It was really nice! I will live with a bag that I already own-unless I find the Samsonite bag for less than 100 bucks.

I did have a moment of concern as the economy continues to tank and businesses started to go under. I wondered if it was wise for me to be gone 18 days at the end of the year. Then, I thought HELL YES it is wise. If they do not know me at the office by now, they never will:) I need a freaking vacation in the jungle away for the daily requirements of life.

I keep thinking and saying how cool I feel it would be to descend into the jungle and never ascend. Several people think that I am kidding but I must state unequivocally that I am very serious. Much like I quit my job for a year and volunteering, I am one to do things out of the ordinary and I can truly feel the release that staying in Ecuador could potentially offer. However, I do not think that I will stay for many reasons, but this is heavy on my mind so do not be surprised if in 5 years or so, I announce that I am leaving.

I would really like to say bye bye to credit cards, the house payment, the car payment and go and just live as simple as one possibly can. I would like to work at the local restaurant washing dishes and send my evening hiking or walking on the beach. I would like to never hear a phone ring, not be tied to the internet, walk or ride a bike where ever I go without worrying about getting hit by a truck. I would like to "write letters home" and get letters in the mail. Maybe I am just tired or maybe I have watched to many movies but for past year or so, I have really wanted to just pack up, give most of my crap away, and say bye bye to the USA.

Sure, the US is a great place to live and it has been good to me. However, it is not the only place to live and I have no idea if it is the best place for me to live, and as an adult I have never lived anywhere else. So, I guess what you are reading is my possible 5 year plan. Maybe it will not be if I go on vacation and I am revived.

However, when I think about what I am going to do next with my life (there is always a next for me) I have one thing in mind for work, but that will be for a while, then I will be ready for the next thing. I knew when I finished my year of volunteering in 2005 that I would drop out of the workforce again and do something drastic. So, maybe leaving everything and getting out of the US will be my "next thing".

Stay tuned.......

Who do you trust........

2008-10-20T00:01:00.002-04:00

Trust No One! You can thank me for this advice later.

You might be wondering why I am discussing trust at midnight. Well, Melissa questioned my definition of the "A" in KSAs. She indicated that she was taught in college that it stands for abilities and I said attitudes. The authority on KSAs in instructional design, the IBSTPI sates the "A" stands for attitudes. They wrote the original set of competencies in 1986 and that is one reason that I am going with their meaning. Another is that I have done much reading on the topic and I have found that, much like anything, depending upon who you read and the point they are trying to make, the "A" can stand for abilities or attitudes. Finally answer, I am writing my dissertation, I can most definitely back up what I am saying, so attitudes it is.

For those of you that could care less about instructional design, you do not know what you are missing but that is neither here nor there, the bigger idea here is: How old were we before we realized that simply because someone is an "authority" on a topic, they can be wrong too. I know, several of you are thinking, I have never trusted anyone. Well, good for you and just so you know, I sense a bit of paranoia and conspiracy theory in your background-heee!

I, on the other hand, was raised to not question people in authority that are older than me. I am 40 and I still have a problem questioning those that are older than me that hold a position of authority in my life. It is very interesting, because often I am left in disbelief over things that older people will say or do and I find myself thinking, geez, you are older than me, you should know better! However, I know that is not true because age is definitely no indication of a person's level of intelligence. It is just interesting how something that was drilled in my head from birth through the age of 9 was so firmly imprinted. However, I cannot remember anything that I read before, well, NOW!

I also find it interesting that certain things we choose (consciously or subconsciously) to believe, hook, line, and sinker. I mean, there are things that people will say, and we are like, buddy you are totally incorrect or we will wonder if they are right and we will go seek verification. Then there are things that people will say, and we think, yep buddy you are sooo right and we never seek any verification. Only to later find out that the person had no clue what they were talking about. I know that part of it is how we feel about the person. Another component is that what the person tells us has to jive (ha @ that word) with what we already know or believe. A lot of social psychology and psychology stuff in general.

This “who do you trust” discussion is most prominent when we look at the presidential candidates. Sure I support Obama (I cannot get on the bridge to no where), but do I believe what he says? Nope. Not everything. Yes, I know he is a politician but that is only a part of it. Important to me is that I see Oman as being in a job interview (the longest job interview he will ever undergo) and we all know that we say all kinds of things in interviews. I will even give Mrs. Bridge to No Where (Palin) a moment. How many times have we walked out of an interview and thought, what the hell did I say “X” for. I mean true, she surely must say that 50 times a day, but we all have had those moments.

Alright, back on my topic. Prior to going to an interview, we research the company, call our friend that “used to work there”, and brush up on the standard interview questions. So, Oman has done that to the 10000th degree. Then, we get the call, Yippee, yet again the dream job has been acquired (really it is not, it is just the next thing on the list of things to accomplish). So, we move our crap in, dress real nice the first few months, you know, get a feel for the environment. Then as time progresses, there are days that we forget this was our “dream job” there are days where we do not give 100 percent for whatever reason. We are all human.

So, do I believe that Oman will do everything he says, well, he does have a 10 year plan and his term is only 4 years (does this bother anyone but me). Hell NO he will never do all that he says because he has no idea what is coming considering the current state of the economy. So, he has “read the website of his perspective employer and he has focused his interview responses in that direction. However, what actually happens when he is on the job is yet to be determined. He will have some slacker days.

So, there is my stream of consciousness on Trust. Hope you enjoyed it.

Soon, I shall provide a short update on my trip….Tuesday; I will be a little lighter in my bank account because the final payment will be billed. I want to go to Spain. Yes, I am going to get to Ecuador first then I will plan the “next trip” but you should look for me to announce a Spain trip for late 2009. Oh, I saw the piece of luggage that I want at Macy’s –Samsonite, garment bag of the “spinner” variety. However, it was $250 and I refuse to spend that on a piece of luggage – Ebay, here I come.

Nite all!

Busy Week

2008-10-16T17:45:00.001-04:00

I have missed a few days of posting but this has simply been a busy week. During my lazy phase (last 6 mths) I have not been swimming in the mornings. However, I have missed it and finally it got the best of me and I am back in the pool. So, my day starts at 430 am and my days are full. I have been coming home and doing the few things that I have been accomplishing in the mornings, then I have to get right to work.

Last night I attended a dissertation study group, but I am not sure that I will continue. The group has a variety of people in it and several are still taking classes. I wanted a group of people that are working diligently on their dissertation so we could all just work and discuss ideas when required or just work together -moral support provided by us simply meeting on a specific day/time. I think this group is great and I would like to continue going but I really need to use the time that I have actually writing, not talking about what I intend to do. The best thing about the group is that simply knowing that I was going to the meeting inspired me to revise my 2nd chapter and I did submit it to my mentor last night. So, something was accomplished. Now I have the 1st and 3rd chapters to revise. Actually, I have not seen Chapter 1 in 6 months, it may be ok.

Well, I have to get back to work. I just wanted to say hello.

Vimeo the new You Tube

2008-10-12T11:58:00.006-04:00

I found Vimeo today and it is just like You Tube, but there are different videos. Check it out, it's free.

These three videos were too cute to keep to myself and the million people who already know about Vimeo. If you watch nothing else, watch Capucha eating/or not her carrots.

Too much candy from Capucha on Vimeo.

"Too much candy" II-The bonus scenes ! from Capucha on Vimeo.

Eat your carrots ! from Capucha on Vimeo.

Happy Birthday Carol

2008-10-12T11:05:00.000-04:00

I hope that your birthday is very special!

Train Wreck of the Day....

2008-10-11T22:03:00.001-04:00

Topher posted this on Facebook and I had to bring it over here to share with all of you. It is very painful but you will continue to watch. Wait for the music to start, things improve greatly-not really. Enjoy and you can thank me with your comments!

Saturday Living

2008-10-11T18:36:00.003-04:00

I woke up this morning wanting very desperately to swim. So, for the first time in months, I got into the pool at 7 and swam for an hour. I must say that I am forever grateful to my Total Immersion coach because no matter how long I am out of the pool, I can get back in and still maintain my stride. Nice:)

My dissertation is coming along and by the end of the week, I should be able to give the entire proposal to my mentor. I found some new articles today and now I have to read and synthesize. I am happy because this additional information will make my proposal stronger. If you are wondering, my dissertation focus is on creating a set of KSAs to be used with rapid prototyping in instructional design. Basically, what foundational knowledge, skills, and attitudes do instructional designers need when they have never worked in a rapid prototyping environment.

The remainder of my day from 3pm on has been spent on my 2nd job. Yep, I do have a 2nd job but since I said I would never talk about work here, that is all that I will say.

It may sound like I have had a very boring day but productivity makes me very happy and today has been exceptionally productive. If I can get another unit done for the other thing that I am doing I will be ecstatic.

My plan for tomorrow is to swim in the morning, get some more work done, go to Aquatica for a while, then get some more work done. It was supposed to rain ALL weekend but so far, that has proven to NOT be true.

I have reinstalled Dragon Naturally Speaking on my computer and the touchpad seems to still be working, but then again, it worked for a day or so the last time and then stopped. Hopefully, it was just a fluke occurrence because I really do like using Dragon. What a great way to take notes, I do not have to read and type at the same time, I can just read the note that I want to take out loud and there it is in the document. Cuts note taking in half.

Alright, I must get back to work –now that I am back to swimming and working on my dissertation, I cannot waste a minute if I intend to accomplish it all:)

Hope yall are having an excellent weekend. Later!

Things I never knew or that I forgot….

2008-10-10T22:26:00.001-04:00

I am watching 20/20 and it has prompted me to seek interesting facts. You may already know this, some I did, and some I did not.

There are 100 Senators – 2 per state
Social Security Card:

The first three numbers show what part of the country you applied from.
The next two numbers show, in coded form, the year you applied.
The last four numbers indicate your citizen's number kept on file by the government.

3. Apples are more efficient than coffee at keeping people awake in the morning.

4. At least 14 countries and 4 seas border China . Since the country is so large, climate is extremely varied – it is sub arctic in the North and Tropical in the South.

5. In Hong Kong , cars are driven to the left side of the road, following the British way, but the rest of China drives on the right side.

6. No Republican has ever won a presidential election without carrying the State of Ohio.

7. Franklin D. Roosevelt (President #32) was related in some way to 11 former U.S. Presidents.

A few things……and a McFuneral

2008-10-10T21:37:00.002-04:00

My touchpad on my laptop works again. As we all know, when it comes to computer glitches, it is not for us to understand why they happen, but to say a silent prayer when they correct themselves.

I made myself very happy a few minutes ago when I went to Barnies Coffee and Tea and got myself a pound of Santa’s White Christmas coffee beans. Yep, we know it is not “officially” Christmas but can’t any day be Christmas if one chooses? For Christmas, I shall descend into the jungle so I must celebrate now. Not really, I simply love this coffee and it has been several years since I have had it because I bought a Tassimo, which doe not allow me to brew my own coffee. I bought a Keurig a few weeks ago now I can brew whatever I like.

I am watching the Colbert Report and he is talking to Oliver Stone about the new movie W. I must say, this is the next movie that I will see. Oliver Stone is incredibly laid back- I think he’s high-LOL! Makes me want to watch Shindler’s List again. Mike, I have to agree the Chapelle Show is pretty funny, I am watching it for the first time.

The weekend is here again and I could not be happier. I have no plans to do anything this weekend except the usual stuff and work on my dissertation. I do not know if I have mentioned it, but I have worked on it twice this week. Funny thing is, I just might make the deadline that I got an extension on. I have to obtain my mentor approval on my proposal by the 22nd. This is definitely feasible if I can get her suggested changes implemented this weekend. I of course have made it sound a bit simpler than it really is. This entails some rewriting/revising of three chapters, which total almost 100 pages. It is possible and I am going to try. I would be nice to know that I have goofed off but I can still make the deadline.

One of my friends has decided to start a dissertation “study group” and since she mentioned it, I have wanted to do nothing more than work on my dissertation. Go figure. If you are wondering what a dissertation study group is, it really does not meet the traditionally understood meaning of a study group. Our intent is to get together in hopes of encouraging each other to do whatever it is that we need to do to make progress on our dissertations. The dissertation process continues to be very subjective and therefore many people end up never finishing. IMHO, this has little to do with the school that you are attending or how well you did in your classes. Dissertations often add a very unexpected layer of complexity to ones life.

I totally have my fingers crossed that an app store for the Samsung Instinct is on the horizon. I am still in need of a calendar that meets my needs. I search the Internet everyday but thus far I have not found any new information but I will not give up hope. Well, at least not until the new Samsung Instinct is released or Sprint starts carrying the Iphone at which time, I will purchase an Iphone. The Iphone is awesome but unfortunately, I will not switch away from unlimited plan with Sprint.

Well, my coffee is finish and so is this post for tonight.

Technorati Tags: Barnies,dissertation,Sprint,Samsung Instinct,app store,Oliver Stone

Reasons to Not Talk About Work on a Blog... as if you needed any!

2008-10-09T20:47:00.003-04:00

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/15329

Owning a Business

2008-10-09T20:26:00.003-04:00

Although I do not want to own a business, I was taking a break from work and surfing the web and I came across someone blogging about a window washing business. This led me to wonder, if I could start a business, what would it be. The obvious answer would be a contract instructional designer because that is what I know but I would like to learn something new and then teach it to others. The only thing that I can think of is scuba diving. For several years, I have contemplated learning how to scuba dive and I think that it would be great to take new people down to explore the ocean and caves. Providing an opportunity for people to see sites that they have never seen before and sites that cannot be see without going in the water. To me, scuba diving is an event that cannot be adequately simulated. One must actually get in the ocean to experience it properly.

The funny thing is, I am not that fond of the ocean but for some reason this urge came over me. Will I ever follow it through? I think that I will but I doubt that I will ever teach other people to do it because I have realized, I freeze when "all eyes are on me." I am so afraid of "messing it up" that I try very hard not to get into situations that leave all responsibility on me. Hey, at least I know it and am honest about it. I guess, I want someone else to blame - ha ha:)

Well, there is my two cents on the business that I would own if I had any desire to own a business and I do not:)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEIGH....

2008-10-09T20:11:00.002-04:00

You know how special you are to me....Right! So, get back to town and dinner is on me! Enjoy your video- hand picked by me:)

Waiting for the Weekend

2008-10-09T18:19:00.002-04:00

I did manage to work on my dissertaiton for 15 minutes last night. Give me a hand for that! My reward is that I get to go to Aquatica on Sunday. I know, small amount of work for a very large reward -oh well, I have to start somewhere. Gonna give it 15 minutes tonight before bed because every little bit counts.

As with most weeks, I am living for the weekend. I hate to think that way because I feel that I am wishing my life away but the weeks have become painful and I just want them to end. However, I am sure that this to will pass and everything will be fine.

I am very excited that Saturday Night Live is doing some prime time episodes related to the election that start tonight at 9pm. I have set to the Tivo to record them all. Yippee for Tivo.

Happy Birthday Melissa :)

2008-10-07T20:22:00.002-04:00

What’s Going On?

2008-10-07T20:16:00.001-04:00

This week is proving to be less than positive but I am keeping hope alive. History has proven that whatever I believe is going to happen, rarely does so I need to just stop worrying. What is it that I am worried about you might ask. Well, the economy and such things. More specifically, my financial situation and the fact that somewhere over the last year, I stopped paying close attention to the future and began living totally in the moment.

Although I have funds to sustain me for a few months, I usually have at enough cash in the bank and invested to cover me for at least 6 months. I too have been living the American Dream and now I am a little worried. I have little fear of losing my job but there is always a chance and boy would I be in trouble. So, I am going to make my 2009 resolution now. I am going to get back on track and start living for today a little and for the future at the same time.

Other than that this is the second day of the quarter and I am going to log into the course room for my dissertation and say hi to my dissertation mates and my mentor. Then I am actually going to print my dissertation, YES AGAIN, and start working on it.

Oh, my damn touchpad is completely dead on my Dell Inspiron laptop. I am not sure why, and I do not care. How totally unlike me! Usually I obsess over things like this and I run out and buy a new “one” to solve my problem. Not this time, I am not even going to send it back to Dell. I just need to become accustomed to using a mouse instead of the touchpad because I keep trying to use the touchpad. How annoying.

I am off to log into the course room. Let’s all pray that I do not get distracted on my way to the site….haaaaaaaaaaaaaa! No, I am not kidding….PRAY!

New Pictures Posted

2008-10-05T21:40:00.002-04:00

http://picasaweb.google.com/fultoncarolynd

St. Augustine and some macro pics are available. I am still learning how to get my macro lens to sharply focus everything but the pics are still interesting. Enjoy.

The Weekend

2008-10-05T15:45:00.001-04:00

Technorati Tags: weekend,St. Augustine,Ponce Inlet,Daisy,sprinker,Flagler College

The weekend has been incredibly busy but enjoyable as all of my weekends are. I left at 5am on Saturday to drive to St. Augustine for a little bit of picture taking. I took some decent pictures of Flagler College and I walked through the shopping district. I did not get excited until I reminded myself that I was one of a hand fully of tourists walking around. At that point, I started taking pictures like crazy. It was definitely nice to be in a tourist place without the tourist. When I got back to my car I had a $15 parking ticket. Of course, as I saw the ticket, I also saw the parking meter at the end of the street. Oh well, these things happen.

From St. Augustine, I ended up at Ponce (de Leon) Inlet to have a look at the lighthouse. I found it but I did not find it fascinating enough to snap a picture so I kept driving but it was awesome to just drive around looking at things I have never seen before. I also walked out on the beach to see if anyone was out surfing or doing anything I might want to photograph and the answer was No. I was not prepared to hang out on the beach so I hit the road again. From the Inlet, I drove to Daytona Beach to see if Bethune Cookman University was worth of my time as a photographer. It was nice but I decided to save that for another day because too many people were out and about. From Daytona Beach, I drove myself home and took a 2+ hour nap, worked on organizing the pictures, and searched the internet for a ring flash because I want to spend more time doing macro photography. Oh yeah, my new camera bag/backpack works great and is the perfect size for all my lenses and other random camera stuff.

Today was moderately uneventful. I have been contemplating buying Dragon Naturally Speaking and Best Buy must have gotten a heads up because, as if by fate, today it was on sale for 1/2 price. 99 bucks Woooo Hoooo (can I still say wooo hoooo if WaMu doesn’t exist anymore –heeee). I assume this price reduction is reflective of an impending updated version but what do I care. Version 10 will be just fine with me.

I purchased a Daisy or some other sort of plant today and took some macro pictures of it. I took a lot so a few should be wow. I will post these as well. If you’re wondering, the plant is now on the front porch well on it’s way to death.

OMFG- School starts tomorrow – I was going to work on my dissertation over the three week break, which as far as I know started “yesterday”! Ugh, I have got to get going with this damn thing.

And if anyone wants to know when it is going to rain, just ask me to run my sprinkler system and it will undoubtedly rain within 24 hours. Yippee! If I say that I am going to run the system and then I do not, it will never, ever rain.

Musings and Some Other Stuff

2008-10-03T22:11:00.003-04:00

First, my fisher friends informed me tonight that they intend to take their boat to a place that once was a forest but is now a swamp. They are going to put their boat in this water and start the motor knowing full well that their motor could be trashed. Yippee....ummmm NO. This makes no sense to me. I just needed to say this. I do hope they win the fishing tournament and I hope they bring me fish. I feeling good about not having to buy fish - and they think they do nothing for me. They are sooo wrong.

I had a nice meal between lunch and dinner with very close friend. She would be a BFF if I were 18 and not 40;) Conversation was good as always but these meetings always remind me that we do not see each other enough. We are often to busy to get together and in turn, we have too much to say before we can part. Perhaps we need to start scheduling our monthly meetings again...hmmmm.

Tomorrow, I should have some new pictures to post because I am taking an early morning trip to St. Augustine, the oldest city in Florida. I have been there numerous times but during the time of day when all the tourists are out and it is impossible to get many pictures without random strangers in them. So, I am going to wake up bright and early and drive up there before people are out. It is about 2 hours from here so I will leave around 6am. I intend to be back at home by noon because I have a full agenda of the "normal" stuff to do.

I went to Barnes and Noble tonight for the first time in more than a year and of course I spent $40 on 2 photography magazines. It's all good because I haven't bought a photography book or magazine in a long time. One of the magazines had a great article on macro photography and I am thinking about pulling out the macro kit on Sunday and seeing what I can produce. I am typically middle of the road on macro. I do not have a ring flash but I do have some lighting and therefore what I produce is usually ho hummm. Perhaps I do not have the eye for it either. I do not know but it is a good time killer on a rainy day.

Here are some details of my trip:
Cities: Quito, Papallacta Hot Springs, Quichua Homestay, Amazon Jungle, Banos, Cuenca, The Andes, Cayambe, Otavalo.
Explore Ecuador’s spectacular Andean interior and the Amazon lowlands. This trip includes some very special experiences, including a village homestay in the jungle and a 400-year-old hacienda. Add hot springs, colonial Cuenca and the largest handicraft market in South America and you have the trip of a lifetime.

I am most excited about this portion of the trip:

Day 3-4 Amazon Homestay (2B,2L,2D) Descend into the Amazon jungle region in the morning. The scenery changes dramatically as we leave the mountains behind and enter the lush tropical rainforest of the Amazon. Experience life in the jungle first-hand on a homestay with a local Quichua family, and enjoy the hospitality of these wonderful people.

Day 5-6 Jungle Lodge (2B,2L,2D) Travel to our jungle lodge located on the Napo River, one of the Amazon's two major tributaries. Explore both on foot and by canoe, and learn about the natural history of the area. There is also an option for an exhilarating whitewater rafting trip on the Napo.

Day 7-8 Baños
Return to the mountains and journey to Baños, a small town nestled in the hills of the Andes. There are numerous outdoor activity options, including hiking, horseback riding and mountain biking. You may also opt to relax in the town's natural hot baths.

I will post some video of this, I promise.

Samsung Instinct Calendar is Awful

2008-10-03T21:09:00.005-04:00

My Samsung Instinct offers bitter sweet pleasure. I love the touch screen and the UNLIMITED plan offered by Sprint. However, if a calendar can suck then the one on the Instinct double sucks. It is a cluster of crap put together by a person that has obviously NEVER used a calendar on their cell phone. I will bet you that the calendar on a free phone is better than the one on the Instinct. I also bet you that Samsung has no plans to make it better. They are going to wait for the App Store and for some developer to create “the calendar that should have been on the phone from the start.” UGH. I am sure you are wondering how it can be so bad.

Well, here is how. I cannot see my upcoming appointments! I had dinner scheduled with a friend today and I intended to have a very light lunch in preparation for the dinner. Well, when was I reminded of the impending lunch? The moment I returned from a lunch of ribs, fries, and garlic bread I see a missed call from my friend. When does my calendar mention the lunch? 30 minutes before like I asked it to. So, you are saying what's the problem - you asked for 30 minutes before and it told you 30 minutes before. Well, perhaps my Blackberries spoiled me but I am accustomed to seeing my daily events displayed "right in my face" on the main screen and then when it's time for the "reminder" the alarms sounds. Tell me at the start of my day what’s coming so I can prepare, then tell me at the specified time so I can get there on time. Novel, I know.

I truly do not think that I am asking for to much. I have resorted to using Google Calendar but for this one, I forgot to put it there.

If you are an app developer working on the Samsung Instinct, I implore you to create a calendar that provides my daily events on the main screen and then when it is time for the event, I receive an alarm. As a busy professional or a useless slacker I need this feature.

Debate Highlights

2008-10-03T00:16:00.002-04:00

The Big Debate

2008-10-02T19:21:00.003-04:00

I cannot believe it - for the first time in my 40 years, I am anxiously awaiting the VP debate. Mostly because I want to see Palin do exactly what she has done to this point - fall flat on her face and look like an uninformed soccer mom! I will probably TIVO it so when I am in need of a good laugh, I can replay specific portions.

Speaking of TV......I stayed awake last night to watch a Lifetime tear jerking movie. The movie was about a woman who was getting beaten up by her husband, they had a daughter and all that you would expect in such a movie. I do have to say, Lifetime did allow for me to see a woman get stabbed (no just an implied stabbing) so they have tried to step it up a notch. However, their movies are incredibly predictable and that is why I cannot believe I stayed up. For whatever reason, knowing how it was going to end, I just could not turn the TV off. Go figure.

Working on discussing my impending vacation and photography but man where is the time and the space. I promise, I will get there very soon. Tomorrow, I shall add another piece about my vacation - I will fill you in on the itinerary.

2008-10-01T16:15:00.001-04:00

I'm evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they're letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

The best blogging techniques.
How to get traffic to your blog.
How to turn your blog into money.

I'll let you know what I think once I've had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it's still free.

Bill Clinton

2008-10-01T15:28:00.001-04:00

I had an eye appointment today. That did not turn out so well. The press in my eye is higher and my vision field test was not positive (could have been the machine). So, I have to go back in one month to do it all over again.

Whenever I go for my eye inspection, I cannot read for at least 3 hours so I decided to stop at UCF and see if I could get in to see Bill Clinton speak. The two parking garages closest to the Arena were full and I almost came home but decided to drive around and I found a spot in a grass lot near the Arena. By the time I got in line, it was about 9:30. Amazing how hot it does not seem when I am sitting at my desk but when I am standing in a line outside, it is hotter than anyone could imagine. The guy in front of me was sweating so profusely you would have thought he had jumped in a pool with his shirt on. I was grossed out and intrigued at the same time. They started "letting us in" at 11:30 then I find out, we are not going into the Arena, this speech is going to take place outside on the grassy knoll (haaaa). As you can guess, I did not stick around much longer. No way am I going to stand outside in the heat and humidity to watch a speech that I could watch on TV. Did I come home and watch it, well no but you know what I mean. It was cool to get a ticket and know that I would have been standing within a few feet of Clinton. Not that I think he's great or anything but it has been said that he is a pretty good speaker. Maybe he will come back this winter.

Windows Live Writer

2008-09-30T19:36:00.001-04:00

I am trying out Windows Live Writer – Beta to create my posts. Has anyone used this tool?

My Vacation

2008-09-30T17:16:00.001-04:00

I spent all day thinking about what I would write here tonight, pathetic I know. I can think all day about a blog and actually come home and write but I cannot come home and work on my dissertation. I am making a promise to myself right now that as soon as I finish writing here, I am going to at least print my draft proposal. Ha Ha - this will be the third time in as many months that I have printed it -ah well, who knows, maybe this time will be different.

Speaking of school, I got an email today indicating the emailed copy of my driver’s license is "perfect." Go figure, it is a good thing I decided I was not going to continue the whole fax fiasco and I asked a few more questions. So, I guess I forge ahead with another quarter of school.

I promised discussion regarding my vacation so here goes. I am off to Ecuador from December 20 -Jan 5th. I found out the other day that I somehow added an extra day to my vacation request and I am not going to change it. This way, I will go back to work on the 7th and not the 6th. This will give me one day to regain my sense of reality after spending time in the jungle and sleeping in a hammock. When I get back, I will not know who I am or what it is that I do for a living. I admit, this should not be a bad thing.

I booked this trip through Gap Adventures because they are one of the few that books individuals without charging a single supplement and their prices are incredible as well as the selection. They put a group together so I will not be traveling alone. I have never used them before but the reviews for trips that they offer as well as the one that I am taking are very positive. I will try most anything once so I am hardly able to contain the anticipation. I know to some, Ecuador probably is not the most exciting adventure but I have always wanted to hike in the Amazon Rainforest and I like rugged adventures (yes they offer totally luxury trips too but that is not my style).

I am making every effort to travel light (memories of too much luggage in Russia still haunt me and that trip was 11 years ago) and plan to take only two bags, to include a carry-on and a moderately small checked bag. If the TSA did not have all the rules about what you can/cannot bring on the plane, I would take them both onboard because the carry-on will not be much bigger than a purse. I hear you laughing, I do, but it will be fine and I will have everything that I need.

The greatest travel items that I have discovered thus far are, a backpack that opens from the portion against my back to stop thieves, disposable panties (laugh if you want), and a toothbrush with a 30 day supply of toothpaste in the handle. Yes, I have turned the internet upside down looking for disposable, lightweight stuff, and speaking of lightweight, take a look at Scottevest.com. I bought the coolest jacket there with 12 interior pockets and sleeves that zip off. I also, finally, bought a waterproof cover for my camera on Ebay. Now, I anxiously await the arrival of everything.

I have figured out how I am going to transfer my pictures from my memory card to my external drive -yippee for my Asus computer. This tiny little computer will also allow me to keep all of you updated while I am in Ecuador. I have also decided to take my tiny little camera because it will do video and it will fit in my pocket for those evening events where the SLR is just overkill.

If anyone has any useful travel tips for me regarding lightweight clothing or travel accessories, I am all ears. It is my mission to leave 1/2 of what I take in the hotel room in Ecuador when I come home:)

For Vanessa

2008-09-29T23:25:00.001-04:00

Vanessa,

The NBA TV is for you!!!! LOL

Getting Started

2008-09-29T21:01:00.000-04:00

A friend who is currently on vacation in Vermont has inspired me to start a blog - so here goes.

My reason for creating a blog is to mimic my friend and keep everyone updated while I am on vacation in December. I will also use this space to chat about swimming and photography. More about photography and less about swimming I am sure.

I will toss in anything else that I find interesting at the moment except probably not politics and the economy. These topics are to volatile and I'm here to relax and clear my head.

Work will only come up if I have an amazingly incredible day. I will not dicuss the mundane day to day crap that goes on because we all know about that - I'm sure that I have nothing new to offer on the topic:)

School, school, school-- well if I actually get around to spending 1 second on my dissertation I will surely mention it because that will shock me. I also may not be in school much longer because Wachovia is being difficult about my financial aid. So, I am playing it by ear and the best part is I really do not care. I got so distracted a few months ago that I cannot seem to reconnect to it. But....we shall see.

For now that's it. I will be back tomorrow to provide details of my vacation.