Writer's Block: Dream Trip

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I've never done these writer's block questions before. This one kind of grabbed me.

If this question had been asked of me 7 years ago, I would've said Europe. I had no idea 7 years ago that I would be living there. After 4 years of living there, there are still places I missed that I would love to see. Greece comes to mind. Spain. Certain parts of Italy. I didn't spend as much time in France as I would've liked. Budapest.

I never took that pilgrimage around England to follow the footsteps of my favorite writers, which is something I have always wanted to do. To see the places that inspired them. To get a glimpse into their daily lives. Sure, I've been to a few places here and there - Shakespeare's grave in Stratford. I stood outside his birthplace (didn't have the money to go in, which I greatly regret). I went to Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey. Been to Bath, and got a glimpse into a part of Jane Austen's life. But that's about it.

Europe aside, I think Morocco would be a fascinating place to visit.

Even further afield, Australia or New Zealand.

More likely, I will take a trip to Central/South America at some point. My brother is always traveling down there. I think he's going to Peru next month.

It's funny, but my mother is a homebody. She traveled all over the US when she was a kid. My grandpa had wanderlust, and I suppose I get it from him to some extent (although he never seemed to be enthusiastic about foreign travel - he went to England once on a business trip). My mom is perfectly content to be at home. She had 3 children that ended up traveling all corners of the globe.

My older brother covered Central/South America. I covered Europe. My younger brother got Asia and the South Pacific. Between the three of us, we could compile one hell of a travel guide.

What it comes right down to is this: if an opportunity presents itself to travel somewhere - anywhere - I would probably take it (unless it's someplace unsafe). This is how I ended up going to Istanbul. I had no previous desire to go there. No plans whatsoever to travel there. But an opportunity came and I took it and I don't regret one single bit of it because it's one of the most amazing places I've ever seen.

Productivity...

...is non-existent today. I'm tired. Didn't sleep well last night because Reece wedged herself between Lance and I, and she took up half the bed. Both of us had to contort ourselves to fit around her. At 1:30 this morning, we finally kicked her out of bed and then I couldn't get back to sleep because Lance was snoring. At 6:30, Reece begged to be let back into bed again and I was pretty much done at that point. No more sleep.

Lance leaves tomorrow, so we're trying to get stuff done. He has to pack. He wants to grill burgers tonight, but it's raining, so we'll see. I have a backup plan.

Went to McChord to get groceries. We had to go to the BX first. Lance got a haircut, and while he was doing that, I was at the BX picking up some things - air freshener for my car, an ice scraper/brush (because they sold out during the blizzard and only now restocked, and I never want to be without one again).

We grabbed lunch at the food court. I don't like most of the choices (Taco John's, Charlie's Steakery, Robin Hood, Popeye's, Anthony's Pizza, Manchu Wok), so I went to the sushi/teriyaki place that is located elsewhere in the complex, and just ordered to go so I could sit with Lance in the food court. I got their version of BiBimBap, but it kind of sucked. The veggies were cold, the chicken was pre-cooked, so all they did was dice it up and throw it on top of the veggies with a little chili sauce, and there was no egg to speak of. I don't know how they can even call it BiBimBap. But at least it seemed healthy. It was lots of veggies and steamed rice and a little chicken. Next time I want BiBimBap, I'll go to Chopstick and get it. That was heaven in a bowl.

So we went to the commissary afterwards, and nothing makes me hate the general populace more than going to the commissary. The oblivious people who block the aisle with their shopping carts and then stand right where you want to grab something, trying to decide what they're going to buy. I have no idea how many people I had to reach in front of today because they were just standing there for ages, having a debate about whether or not to save five cents by buying an off brand. It's infuriating. Just grab what you came for and stick it in your cart, dammit. Every time we go there, I swear I never want to do it again, but we save such a significant amount of money by doing our shopping down there, that we just can't give it up, no matter how much we hate it. I always end up coming home exhausted after one of our shopping trips.

Anyway, I finally found a reasonably priced jar of instant coffee so I can try making my own lattes. It's hilarious how I'll think nothing of dropping $3.50 for a Starbucks latte, but I balk at buying a jar of instant coffee for $8 that will make countless lattes at home. So we got this instant coffee, and once I got home and put the groceries away, I made a Caffe Latte...and it wasn't bad. I think I need to put in a bit more instant coffee next time, but it was pretty good. So now I'm well stocked on both instant tea and instant coffee so I can really make good use of my Latte maker.

I'm kind of feeling a nap this afternoon. Need to get started on laundry, though. Lance has to start packing.

*sad*

They just broke into the NBC Nightly News to announce that Paul Harvey died.

:(

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I have new Reece pictures posted:

http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=625990897#/album.php?aid=45600&id=625990897&ref=share

Hopefully you all can see these.

I also set up a Dogbook for her. Hilarious. Especially since I already think I waste too much time on the internet.