Monday, January 18, 2010

Home after the holidays

So I spent the winter festivus in Bolivia and am home with my family now cause I have no job or apartment, which I miss terribly today but I made my bed so I must now lie in it. Plus the momenator needs me. It was nice to do nothing after a couple pretty major travel days but now I'm bored out of my mind. I can only sit idly for a couple of days then I get antsy and my mind starts to wander. The little man on the stationary bike in my head is on overdrive. I've been trying to be a good daughter by making dinner every night cause my dad likes it and try to keep my mom in good spirits. Just in case you didn't know when a family member gets cancer the whole family goes through it.
All that being said I am still 31 years old and have been on my own since I was 18 and living with the rents is not my style. I'm trying to keep myself busy till we go to Asia which is soon (hopefully) cause I have already finished a novel in 3 days, baked and perfected the apple/almond torte, come up with a new lamb dish, surfed the internet like a madwoman for airline tickets and watched some really bad movies that were kind of amazing.
So call me insane but does Helen Mirren look amazing in White Nights or what?
This movie is really bad it's with Mikhail Baryshnikov & Gregory Hines showing off their dancing skills while trying to escape the USSR. Helen Mirren is pulling some major looks and I mildly want her floppy bangs plus she gets to make out with Baryshnikov before he started looking like an old woman. Baryshnikov's outfit is pretty stylin too for 1980's USSR.


I also watched the cinematic feat Suspect with Cher & Dennis Quaid which is mediocre at best BUT Cher has bad hair. Cher NEVER has bad hair. You decide.



I'm going to try exercise tomorrow maybe it will quiet the little man.

Join me in my idleness

So I spent the last 2 and a half months in South America. It was awesome, it was crazy and it was too short. I was not ready to come home I wanted to see more to experience more but alas I needed to come home. My mother was diagnosed with a malignanat brain tumor in October which has since been removed and her health is fine (she still has no hair but that's the least of my worries). Staying away for longer fills me with guilt and I want to be home right now no matter how hard it is. So moving on. I wanted to share some funnies and some facts.

I've been getting the same questions & comments from a lot of people about my decision to quit my job and travel. Here are my answers to most of those questions.

General Facts
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1. It's not impossible.
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Here in the US of A vacations and time off are hard to come by especially for those of us working in fashion. We are bred to believe that extended time off or travelling for longer than a week or two is for the wealthy. It is not. We met students/ grown ups and the like that had saved and been traveling for 6 months to a year!! Our gringo counterparts in Europe/Australia and the rest of the world travel so much more than we do.We met plenty of females traveling alone for those of you ladies afraid of travelling by yourselves. There is a whole industry catering to the lost westerner needing to see the world, it's a win/win situation.


2.There is a party hostel in every town
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Seriously there is one. If you are traveling alone fear not there is a place to house you, you will make new friends and most of the time they serve you breakfast for a cheap price. PS some even have bars in them WITH their own breweries. NO JOKE

3. Be not afraid, get uncomfortable
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Fear is an annoying emotion. I hate my fear of heights and flying BUT I will still get on a plane. People fear the unknown, not knowing the language, getting ripped off etc. Really its the only thing between you having a really good time & getting to know a place because you are afraid of being uncomfortable. Traveling is not always comfortable but the reward is so much sweeter. Get uncomfortable most of the time you will discover something really cool or learn something new.

4. Poo Poo Ka Choo
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You will get diarrhea/constipation/dysyntery, Just accept it and move on. It's not permanent so don't be such a baby.


5. The big no no
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a. Don't bluntly take pictures of people. I'm usually very reluctant to do this but could not help it one day and literally was hit by an old woman. Think about it what if tourists were taking pictures of you in your natural habitat. It's rude, it makes people feel like they are subhuman. Learn from my mistakes. Do not do this.


6. The Booze
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Drink it. It helps kill any food/water bacteria that may make you sick, it does not always work but it helps. I'm not saying get drunk every night just drink a glass of wine or beer here and there.

7. Do they hate us?
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No, well maybe a little but the money is still good and they want it. Just don't be a bad American tourist and take every place for how it is and not what it can do for you.


8. Is it safe?
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Yes, more places than you think are. People for the most part are not bad and out to get you. I try to adhere to the philosophy that humanity is generally good and if I respect someone's country then hopefully they will not rob me blind.


So there you have it.
Best
Me


Tha

Friday, October 16, 2009

I DON'T KNOW

It's official. I have quit my job and am giving up my apartment to go be travel bum for the next couple of months. This has always been a fantasy of mine and I was lucky to have met someone to encourage this into a reality. What makes one quit their job & want to live out of a backpack you ask? Well for me working in the fashion industry has offically taken it's toll on my emotional & physical health. I need a time out before I end up in the loonie bin. The 14 hour days, the crazy deadlines & the bitchy bosses are now a thing in my immediate past. All I can say is holy crap balls we pulled it off. I feel like Kevin Spacey in the Usual Suspects when he walks out of the police station and his gimp walk straightens out & his crippled hand goes back into position.

Many of you have asked what we will do when we get back. My answer to that is I DON'T KNOW. The last 8 years I have been soldiering away at making a career happen,
to keep learning, to keep challenging myself. To not put the money my parents spent on my education to waste. And for the most part I feel like I have succeeded I have managed to be consistently employed and learned many skills that will hopefully take me somewhere in the future. I also gained anxiety issues, acid reflux & have put my body through slight hell in the process of trying to relieve all the stress. You don't think that stress actually affect your physical well being until you actually go through it. And that shit is a bitch, having the doctor tell you that you are having panic attacks is quite honestly a less than stellar feeling. In fact I was reluctant to believe him.


So here we are. Jeff has been amazing in helping plan this trip. I consider myself ok with money, I don't lavishly overspend on useless shit but having someone plan a budget is awesome. It sets your financial goals for you. I haven't met the full budget but hopefully it will be enough. Planning this trip with someone that has a good head on their shoulders has also been awesome. Booking flights & hotels & our Inka trail trek. I just now wish I could fast forward time & be in Lima already!!
We are letting go of our worldly possesions, stashing them in our respective family basements & taking off like the hosers we are. Ultimately travelling to Southeast Asia after we get back to kiss & hug our families for 2 weeks, is the next immediate goal. I have been very goal oriented the last 8 years. I have been a good daughter. I have been the hard working employee. I have NOT been healthy, good to myself or honest with myself and now I am TIRED.

I want to greet the morning sun with a spring in my step and not reluctantly drag myself into the shower for another stressful day. Yes I may sound spoiled and be mildly insane to be doing this in a bad economy and all that, but fuck it. I have no children & no mortgage. Will I miss NYC? Yes of course this has been my home for almost 9 years now, but I have felt a pull in another direction for quite sometime thirsting to see the rest of the world. So there you have it and quite honestly
having an immediate goal is quite nice. I am travelling to South America with an amazing person & a backpack, that's it. So when you ask me where will I go after all this is done I will simply say,
"I DON'T KNOW"

The End

Monday, October 12, 2009

You done fucked up Karl

Karl Lagerfeld has completely lost his mind along with his moobies. He was quoted below in response to German magazine Brigitte's announcement last week that it will no longer use models but ordinary women. He said
"These are fat mummies sitting with their bags of crisps in front of the television, saying that thin models are ugly,"". Nice Karl keep at it, is that why you had them staple your tummy and vacuum the fat from your ass? Did you feel like a fat chick? hmmmmm and then he said "No one wants to see curvy women,". I don't know about you but I think lots of people like looking at a pair of big ol biddies and nice round bootie. In fact there are many boys and girls that actually prefer to Let the backlash begin!

READ ALL ABOUT IT HERE

Friday, October 9, 2009

vampires & pirates

Why are all tv shows & movies about vampires? Are vampires the new sexier non-Reneissance fair-socially acceptable fantasy alter lifestyle? OR are vampires the new pirates? I hate you both, pls go die in pop-culture obscurity.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

I am a quitter

Just when I was kinda feeling funny about quitting my job in a bad economy without having a new one, I walked into the bathroom at work and one of the patternmakers was washing her foot in the sink. All my regrets were washed away immendiately.
Side note: Spies Like Us is the best movie ever

Friday, December 26, 2008

Gold digging whores & the pope

I just spent the holidays at my parents house. We had a lovely time. As coo-coo bears as they are, they are hilarious and they make a mean holiday spread so who can complain. As I age I've come to accept my parents eccentricities and realize that as crazy as they are they are usually right.... about everything. So there we were in our pj's watching something on the History Channel(shut up) when the most amazing infomercial came on. I feel the need to share it because I am literally at a loss for words and not in that annoying righteous way just in that "holy shit this is real" kinda way. Enjoy. Discuss

When you've lost hope in love you can apparently go to this website to find your sugar daddy who will fulfill all your Viagra filled dreams. Cut to me barfing

Just when I though that was more than I could handle the History Channel is like the gift that keeps on giving. This is an infomercial for Snuggies. It's a fleece blanket with sleeves so that you don't have to deal with that annoying SLEEVELESS blanket anymore. Its the recessions answer to cutting down on heating costs. You can cuddle up in your Snuggie , watch Sex & the City re-runs and look like the pope all at the same time.
Enjoy. Discuss

I wonder what amazing products we will see in 2009.