a visit!

This is a blog about when people visit. Alex and Kurt and Charlotte visited. And then, we all visited the lake for a fun lake day visit.

And Charlotte drove the boat. We did not crash.

We bonded.
We swam.
And ate stuff.
It was great! I love visits!

And tomorrow, Carrie and Simon will visit because...Guess what? Shhhhh....Carrie is moving to Durham! And, then she won't have to visit. She will live here.

Blogging on my iPad

Is it ever going to work?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Mad Libs!

Nothing is more fun in this world than staying up late with your friends when you're little, eating snacks, and filling out Mad Libs! Especially when you begin to find disgusting things funny and enter into the realm of making dirty Mad Libs (or "Bad Libs" as Kurt refers to them). It's the greatest. This is an example of one we (Alex, Kurt, Jason, Charlotte, David, Patricia, and me) created last night in which the theme took a turn towards fecal matters.
Like I always say, you're never too old for poop humor...

wife is the new black!

If you've ever known me during the years of 2001-2004, you might know that I have a secret love affair with the man's white under shirt, affectionately referred to as the "wife-beater". During college I had a phase, where I pretty much wore them all the time. I even created a mantra for dressing time "When in doubt...wife beater!".

Well, I've recently rekindled my love for the "wife beater". I think they are perfect. You can even wear them to a volcano.

stymied!

Do you ever feel like you're having the same conversation (or argument) over and over and over and over and over again? I'm getting the feeling that this is an indication that WE are all stuck in something... somewhere... and can't seem to get out.

Words of wisdom

During my weekly yoga class with Ti, he always dispenses some little nuggets of wisdom. Just a little something to focus on, to think about, during the practice. Often times we get into some pretty interesting philosophical conversations, all while practicing our poses. What could be better than that?!

So, last night's words especially hit home with me, they were:

"True happiness in life depends upon relaxation, not tension".

This is another one of those wise morsels of truth that of course applies to yoga and to life.

I like it because I like to relax. But more importantly, this does not mean that we can all achieve happiness in life by sitting on the couch eating Doritos. It actually means that in times of tension (and let's face it, if you work and do other stuff like train for marathons, have kids, or write plays, most of life is a "time of tension") you have to relax into it.

So the take home is to find the relaxation in everything! But don't be lazy!

How dare they?!

I feel so violated! Yesterday, I discovered that some odious person hacked into my Facebook account and ran amok! Crazy people were recieving friend requests from me, I was fanning pages I had never even heard of, and worst of all, drum roll....This horrible person commented a mean comment to a friend!

Here's how it went:

Friend's status update : "I am so excited about my camping trip"
Bad person pretending to be me: "Sounds lame!"

Can you believe that?

hot hot heat

Summer...love it and hate it! But mostly love it.

record highs

stifling humidity

iced americanos

hot hair

running at 5:45 am

sweaty sweat

all in a days work...

Today was a good day...

La Tortuga

Everyone needs a spirit animal. This is mine. I'll let you guess the many reasons why.

One Day at a Time

I've been home from Guatemala for slightly over a week. During this week, I birthdayed, did the ol' back to school/work and started training for marathon #2. I feel overwhelmed. I feel busy. Most of all, I feel worried that I will not properly process my experience. I fear that I will forget my Spanish. I fear that I will forget to make a scrapbook of my pictures or that I will not have time to go and buy a photo album.
My new philosophy you ask? One day at a time. I think that might be a slogan for addicts or alcoholics, maybe. But whatever works!

Hello, my name is Blaine and I would like to be able to manage my life while also living in the moment. (maybe while having some wine on the porch)

And so...

Grant me the...

Serenity to accept things I cannot change,

Courage to change the things I can, and the

Wisdom to know the difference

words and meaning

It's strange to me how we assign meaning to words, and then use the words to say what we mean or what we think we mean. If we all construct our own meaning from the world, how can we all be sure that we actually mean what we think we mean when we say something? Yes, there is supposed to be a standard definition of a word which is supposed to regulate how we use it, but so few people actually adhere to the rules of language. So many words have come to mean things other than what they mean. So many beautiful words have been lost from our everyday language due to under usage. Meaning that if someone were to use one of these words with the average person, its meaning would, well, mean nothing.

Now, I'm getting a complex about the word mean...what does it mean?

Warrior!

sad rant...

Often times, I like to contemplate ways in which I could acquire more money: write my own curriculum, publish a book of graphic organizers for ESL students, sell tuperware or sex toys at people's houses, or maybe start my own personal escort service for rich politicians.

But, alas, all of these things would require the expenditure of more time and energy and work in some fashion. I just want to get paid well for the work that I do. I want to feel that I am fairly compensated for all of my time and effort. Why can't a teacher in this country with a college education and a master's degree make enough money to not be contemplating prostitution by the 14th of the month? I mean, it's no wonder there are so many shitty teachers out there- we are not respected as professionals and are not compensated as such.

And, now, I complete my rant.

the lion's jaw

Today, I walk into the mouth of the lion. Into the fire I go, facing great danger and adversity and I do it with a cheesy smile upon my face.

Take that, evil women!

Eye Contact

Apparently, people notice things like eye contact, gestures, and body language. I know I do. You can really tell if someone is listening to you and enjoying the conversation via these non-verbal indicators.

I was brought to this thought the other night when I was talking with an acquaintance and all the while his eyes are darting everywhere. He is looking at people entering and exiting the room, looking at his bag, the walls, focusing on anything and everything that is not me. I was annoyed. I'm thinking "Man, this guy really does not want to talk to me".

Now, my confession: I am terrible at making eye contact with people. It is really difficult for me. It has been a serious problem for me my whole life and I don't know why. Perhaps I am worried that the person I am talking to will see too deep into my brain, or I theirs. Perhaps, I am worried that my soul will escape through my eyes, or that I might suck someone else's soul out through their eyes. Or maybe it's just harder for me to listen to what someone is saying if I am "lost in their eyes"...like, I need a task or something to focus on so I can fully contemplate and process the thing to which I am listening.
Despite the root of the problem, I would like to look more into people's eyes. Yes it is terrifying and somehow feels as though you are seeing them naked, but maybe we all need to see each other naked more often.

iPad!!!

"True love and friendship, iPad"

So, Steve Jobs called last night and told me this is the newest slogan they've come up with for the iPad.

I think it's perfect!

For my birthday (28 is a special year), Jason headed up a task force with the single mission of acquiring an iPad for his lovely wife (me). Pooling together wonderful friends (Carrie and Bekah) and loving family (Uncle David), the four of them made it happen!


It's amazing. It truly is. It's like an iphone mated with a laptop.

must...see...

Can. Not. Wait.

home sweet home

I am officially here...as in home! I got in on Saturday night, after a day of surrealistic travel. Marissa and I were shuttled about, waited, and then shuttled about more in giant objects that fly through the air, unsettlingly so. We hung out in the alternate universes we refer to as "airports" wherein you exist, but don't really exist, and you can purchase a 12 oz. beer for $11.00.

It is always amazing to me how you can wake up in one place and then be in another place when you go to bed. Crazy!

Right now I just have that feeling- it feels so weird and different to be home and yet I feel as though my trip was years ago and I barely remember it.

Despite all lapses in reality along the way, I am incredibly happy to be home and to have had the amazing experience that is Guatemala!

Today we went here

It was crazy awesme. We are in our last days of Guatemala, and today Marissa's teacher took us to this church in Totonicapan about 30 minutes away. We traveled (of course) via chicken bus. So, not only is it crazy that this church looks the way that it does, but this church also has some pretty interesting Mayan traditions and history behind it.*

1.) Apparently, during the civil war a lot of people in this town we dying or being summoned to serve in the army. Somehow, a sage of some kind reccomended that they paint the church like this to ward off all the bad luck. But not just anyone could paint the church...it had to be painted by virgins!!

2.) The church is used for marriages. Normal enough, right. Well, these marriages are arranged and occur when teens are around 14 or 15 years old. The young boys, soon to be husbands, spend 6 months preparing with a town elder grandpa figure who teaches them the ropes of being a good husband. They also are literally learning about ropes beacuse the boys must climb a rope the extends from a tall pole (like a telephone pole) to the top of the church! In a monkey suit! The monkey suit is used for channeling climbing powers of the monkey. The boys must climb this rope to signify the ability to overcome all of the hardships of marriage. Once the boys accomplish this, they have proven to the family of the girl, and the entire town that they are worthy of the union.

Pretty cool in my opinion.

*Please excuse any misinformation in my report of these stories, as I was listening to them in Spanish.

Things to do upon returning home:

It's our last day in Guatemala and tomorrow I will be home!

Things I must do when I get there:

1. Cuddle husband
2. Cuddle dogs
3. Real shower
4. Real bed
5. Spend 20$ on a Whole Foods salad and eat it all
6. baby soy latte
7. Run
8. Yoga
9. manicure and pedicure
10. Happy birthday to me!

A match made in Central American heaven

When I'm not studying Spanish, volunteering, talking with my Guatemalan familia, walking around, or drinking cervezas with Marissa, I've been reading this. It really is the perfect book for this trip! It's the story of 3 generations of immigrants from the Dominican Republic living in New Jersey and the different perspectives and stories within the family. It also serves up a witty and uncensored dose of Dominican history told through Diaz's caustic genious. It even has some Spanish sprinkled throughout for my practicing pleasure. Even if you're not in Guatemala riding the Latino vibe, this is an amazing book and well woth reading. Do it!

wandering and wondering

One of the best aspects of traveling is getting to explore a new place, learn new things, and just walk around! We've been in Xela for over 2 weeks now and I'm feeling familiar enough with the layout of the city, that I'm really beginning to enjoy just wandering around, finding new places, enjoying old ones and thinking. This is one of the reasons I so often become completely obsessed with the idea of moving to a new city...the prospect of wandering around a new place! The idea of learning a new city, finding new favorite places like coffee shops, bars, resturants, and stores. Even trying to figure out where to buy toothpaste becomes an adventure! Being in another country also has the added bonus of providing one with opportunities to have to figure out how to say what one wants as well as having to figure out where to get it. Being in a new place is the perfect antidote for boredom!
That being said, wandering around and wondering is much more fun with husbands and dogs close by.

A Little Guatemalan Oasis

After another crazy chicken bus ride- i mean really crazy...like roller coaster meets scary mountainous curves meets slightly scary dudes in cowboy hats and lots of mudslide avoidance- Marissa and I arrived in Panajachel. Panajachel is a little lake town on the most beautiful lake that I think I have ever seen. Lake Atitlan. I mean, volcanoes and a lake!

We are staying here and it´s really quite charming! After living in a tiny house with 9 other people for the past week and a half, it feels nice to get away and relax in our little bungalow.

What´s on the agenda for the next two days while we stay here?

1. Red wine in the garden
2. Reading in the hammock
3. Looking at the lake
4. Walking around, if weather permits
5. buy some Guatemalan trinkets
6. hopefully eat some good comida and not get sick