My new travel writing career

Hey everybody! I've been published on the web! Check 'em out, 'cause if you don't, nobody will...

http://www.st-christophers.co.uk/backpacker-resources/travel-stories

http://www.st-christophers.co.uk/backpacker-resources/travel-stories?result_page=4

Also, does anyone need vouchers for two free nights at a St. Christopher's hostel?

Whole Foods: The new dating mecca?

Have you ever noticed that almost everyone who shops at Whole Foods is attractive? Seriously, has anyone else noticed this phenomenon? Next time you're there, see if this happens--maybe 4 out of 5 people will be good-looking, not to mention the staff. I mean, do they even hire ugly people? There was a really cute stock boy (and when I say boy, I mean man) there today who had upper arm tattoos, but a really sweet demeanor (not that the two are mutually exclusive or anything). It sort of seemed like I was stalking him, but really what happened is that we kept on meeting in the aisles (at least that's what I'll tell the police lol). I would have flirted, but I had my arms filled with groceries (I forgo the basket or :::GASP::: the cart usually because I only pick up a few things at a time when I'm there, but of course I always end up needing a basket). Also, isn't it kind of weird/desperate to pick up guys in grocery stores, especially if they work there? I don't know, who thinks I should go back and try to get his phone number?

The Bill Bryson reading was great! I am so glad I went and for those who missed out, please make sure you catch him next time you have the opportunity. His new book sounds really funny and I can't wait to read it. I even got to meet him and he signed my book. I was totally gushing over him, telling him how big a fan I am and how the first 15 pages of "In A Sunburned Country" was histerical. He seems really humble and appreciative of his fans, which is really cool. He also has this really funky weird accent, a cross between American mid-western and British, the result of living half his life in America and half in England...strange.

I think the fake illness I invented yesterday to take off from work might actually be real...ahhhhhh!

Tomorrow is Love Your Body Day. As hokey as it might seem, I think this is a great opportunity for women to stop examining themselves and start realizing what's really important in life. All women, no matter how confident or perfect they appear to be, look at their bodies with a critical eye, noting their imperfections and thinking up ways to make themselves more aesthetically beautiful. What's the point? To conform to some ideal of what's "beautiful?" To make other people like them? Everyone is built a different way, which I think is pretty cool. I'm not going to go on and on about how we should love people for who they are on the inside because that's what really counts, because we've all heard it before and it's a sentimental notion people tend to shy away from. I would really like to believe in a world where people don't place so much importance on looks, but I realize that's impossible. I'm guilty of it myself--sometimes I look at my body and dislike what I see. I can hardly look at photos of myself sometimes and, in a room full of gorgeous girls, I tend to feel inadequate. But I really do try to make a conscious effort to accept who I am and not try to fight nature. I feel like, most of the time, I really do love my body, as large and awkward as it might be. I know not all women are ready to accept themselves as they are, and that's sad. It's okay to have bad days when you don't want to look in the mirror, but it's never okay to hate yourself. What does a "perfect" body have to do with real life anyway? In the end, does it matter that you're not a size 4 and 5'8"?

Dell

I don't know whether to be really pissed at Dell for giving me an Mp3 player that breaks after a year and a half or praising them for having such good customer service and sending me another one for half the price in such a timely manner. Seriously, a day after I spoke with a customer service rep, I got a new refurbished DJ in the mail. That's awesome, however, I'm still annoyed that I had to pay for it. Oh well, these things do happen.

Is it sick that whenever I see someone's shoelaces untied (myself included), I laugh because I'm thinking how funny it would be if they tripped?

Reflections

I've been home for 2 months already and while I'm used to being here, I still think about Australia every day. Half of the time I get overcome with a pining feeling, the other half I think about some thing that happened over there and it makes me smile or laugh. I feel very fortunate to have had this experience and sad that I can never have it again, but overall it's a good feeling. I'm still concerned about my persistent wanderlust...will it ever go away? I believe not. I think I'm a travel addict.

Oh man, I am seriously in love with this weather. Gorgeous. This weekend was just amazing. Long Island wineries on Saturday, Chihuly exhibit at the NY Botanical Gardens on Sunday...awesomeness all around.

It occurred to me today that walking a dog is a lot like being a playground mom. You meet all these other "mothers" on the street who also walk their dogs and they stop and play together for a few minutes while you talk to someone you normally would never speak to. You're like superficial friends who only have the one thing in common, and then you move along. Strangeness.

Yesterday was the perfect Autumn day--crisp and sunny, albeit on the chilly side, but the refreshing kind of chilly. The view from the BQE on the drive into Brooklyn Heights, which is normally amazing, was particularly so last night because it was so clear. The entire skyline was visible and the lights were beautiful against the stark night sky.

Loving Autumn...

The Gin Blossoms show was pretty cool and it was at the new Nokia Theater in Times Square, which is really nice. Plus the show was free as they were doing a promotion for the new web tickets...can't beat that with a stick. Josh Kelley and Shawn Mullins opened and they were good too in all their generic singer-songwriter glory. I hadn't been to Times Square in ages and it was really fun...in a tacky, flashing lights sort of way. I admit it, I'm a sucker for neon lights and huge electronic billboards. It was cool hanging out with John (he invited me to the show). It's nice that two people who dated eons ago can still be good friends. But we were like babies when we went out, so I guess it's not so surprising.

The drive home was Horrendous (yes, the capitalization is intentional)! It was raining so hard the windshield wipers were rendered practically useless. Plus, there was so much lightning it was scary. In my illogical mind, I kept waiting for the lightning to strike me. I don't know where my acute fear of being struck by lightning comes from. Maybe it was that Saved By the Bell episode when Screech gets hit and starts receiving radio signals through his brain or something...remember that one? It's a classic. Anyway, it didn't help that my tank was on empty and while filling up, my logic again informed me that I was definitely going to be struck because gas stations are somehow huge lightning conductors. And where the hell was the thunder? Can that happen, all that lightning with no thunder? I clearly am not a science person.

Just bought a ticket for the Bill Bryson reading...I bet he knows all about lightning conductors.

Grrrr I HATE my phone! Every time I want to have a conversation with somebody, it takes like 20 minutes calling back and forth to accomplish ANYthing.

Going to see the Gin Blossoms tomorrow, haha, should take me back to 5th grade.

There is a family of eight living in the apartment above us right now...did I mention they sound like elephants?

Housesitting

I haven't updated in a while, so pardon if this entry is a bit on the random side. Right now I'm house- and dog-sitting for my old neighbors on Regent. It's funny because I'm on the old block and pass the old house every day when I walk the dog and I'm happy to report that I don't feel anything when I see it. I really think I'm over it, which is surprising because I usually dwell on things to the point of obsession. This is a very good thing.

I'm in this big house all by myself and I have to say I don't really enjoy it as much as I though I would. I couldn't wait to get out of the tiny apartment and have a whole house to myself, but now that I'm here, I find the house way too big for one person. It's like, if you want something from the kitchen and you're upstairs, you have to make a whole event of it. You can't just stroll to the next room over. I think it was the effect of moving from one extreme (a big house) to another (a tiny apartment) that made me feel so trapped in the latter. I think the house on Mitchell will be the perfect size.

In other news, I'm really piling up the interviews, which on one hand is a good thing, but on the other completely sucks because it means I'm not getting any of these jobs. I know I should just keep going on them because eventually one will be fruitful (right?) and that's exactly what I intend to do. But I am really itching to get out of this current job situation. I feel like it's sucking my brain dry, it's so boring and mind-numbing. Marissa and I are in a similar situation, both work- and home-related, so it's really nice to have someone to commiserate with. We're both in that oh-so-frustrating point in our lives where we don't have any serious job prospects, have no idea what we want to do with our lives, aren't in school and live with our parents. Good times! It makes for some fun conversations.

Switching gears somewhat, I'm writing a lot more lately (lol even at work...take THAT suckas!). I'm working on a series of creative non-fiction/memorish essays about my backpacking experiences. I don't think I'm going to do anything with them, just write them for my own personal gratification. But I did submit a story to a British backpacker's website and they want to publish it! I also might send a story in to an essay contest through STA Travel. We'll see where this thing heads. If it ends up being something I could submit as a whole for publication, then so be it but I am so not getting my hopes up about that.

On a technical front, I'm debating whether or not to get a new Mp3 player. The situation is that my Dell DJ, after one and a half years, has a serious problem in that it only plays out of one side of the speaker/earphones (and yes I did test several speakers and earphones to see if that was causing the problem). It still plays, which is a good thing, but is completely annoying because I can only hear one side therefore I am missing a lot of the overall sound. It's out of warranty but I can send it back to some warehouse and get a new one for $180. This is a very good price for an Mp3 player but i'm worried the same problem will start to occur in the future. The other option is to spring for a brand new iPod or Creative Labs Zen player. I hear the Zen is better than the iPod and they cost the same so it will probably be the former. However, I have heard that none of these devices has very good longevity, so what seems to be the point spending close to $300 for one when it will only last a few years? Has anyone had an Mp3 player for a long time that they can give me advice on this issue?