In Madrid

I am in Madrid for another 15 hours or so. Do I want to return to the U.S.? Certainly. Do I want to go back to my working life in New York? Not really. Not at all. No. Would I want to go back if I had a different job and the apartment of my dreams? Maybe.

I had a great time Labor Day weekend. I got to see some friends from back home, had a picnic in Central Park, and played tourist on Monday. The weather was beautiful, the city wasn't as crowded, and the best part was that I didn't have to get up at the buttcrack of dawn to go to work on Monday. Yes, I've made peace with my job. But that doesn't mean that I won't breathe a sigh of relief when it's over. I really like New York now (as compared to a year ago), but only when I can play in it, and working full-time almost an hour from my apartment with a start time of 7:00 am doesn't give me a lot of time for playing in New York. Now that I like the city, I definitely feel as though I can leave.

Soooo, Madrid. I like it much better than when we came in 2006, and I think that's because it hasn't been warmer than 80 degrees the whole time, and mostly a whole lot cooler. I can actually look around because I'm not consumed with how hot I feel and when do we get to the next air conditioned building. Our friend's wedding (the reason we came in the first place) was beautiful and fun and really well done. We did some traveling, and got to see Toledo and Segovia, and I really liked Segovia. It's a town in the foothills of the mountains, and there's a palace there named Alcazar, after which one of the Disney theme park castles was modeled. It was a lovely town, muy tranquilo, very calm. And the aqueduct! The Roman aqueduct isn't intact in most places. This one is still standing, complete, and cars aren't allowed to drive under it to preserve the structure. It's a breath-taking sight, pulling up to the entrance to the old city and seeing this towering stone structure stretching as far as you can see, stone piled on stone without mortar, and the cobblestones and medieval houses behind it. Just lovely. I highly recommend that if one goes to Madrid, be sure to take the 30-minute train ride to Segovia. Just lovely.

We fly back to the States tomorrow, and I can't shake the feeling that I might be disappointed when I look at New York. It certainly won't look anything like Segovia. Oh well. Only a few more weeks and then I'm gone.

Fierce

Fierce
Originally uploaded by AdiaMichelle

Back from Hawaii and a much-needed escape from NYC. Did some running around, did some sitting around, did some staring into the ocean, did some more sitting around, did a LOT of eating, did some weight-gaining (that will drop away, shortly, I'm sure, now that I'm paying for my own meals again). I think Kauai and Big Island are tied for my favorites. I loved Maui, but I love the solace and languid pace of Big Island and Kauai much more. A week of strolling and sitting around in either of those places would be a fantastic vacation. However, there are two more islands to be explored before that happens: Molokai and Lanai. After those two, I will have visited every island available to outsiders (Ni'ihau is owned by a single family and one must be invited in order to go there, although that may have changed).

Being back in the city isn't as awful as I thought it would be. It may be that it just hasn't hit me yet that I don't have a single vacation from work coming up in the next two or three months. I'm not a lazy person, I just need the occasional mental health break from the repetitive nature of my current temp assignment. I must admit that it was nice to come back to work on a Friday and know that I had two more days to adjust to city pace before a full five-day work week. At the beginning of this last Hawaii adventure, I kept realizing that I'd left my family in the dust whenever we walked somewhere, and I had to stop and purposefully slow down. My sister admonished, "You don't need to walk so fast here!" and I answered, "I thought I wasn't walking that fast!" By the end of the trip, I'd learned how to amble again.

The final thing I've taken from this vacation is that I need to take better care of myself. That doesn't mean pampering (at least not all the time). It means getting my butt to yoga. It means budgeting for dance class three times a week. It means finally buying a loft so my bed doesn't dominate my bedroom. It means making time for the activities (and they need to be active) that keep my brain out of the miry mush of the doldrums. I've been neglecting my body, and as a result, I've been neglecting my mind and spirit. Time to get moving, because, as they say, you've only failed if you fall down and stay there.

Sunset Over Waikiki

Sunset Over Waikiki
Originally uploaded by AdiaMichelle

Hawaii is lovely. We're in Kauai until tomorrow evening, and I can't get over how peaceful it is here, how quiet. We checked into the hotel (which is MASSIVE, by the way) on Thursday, and the Memorial Weekend guests hadn't arrived yet, so the only sounds on the grounds were chirping birds, the occasional splash from the hotel pool, and the crash of the waves. POIFECT.

We're headed out to the "Best Beach in America" this morning, after breakfast. I shall have my judgmental eyes on, to see whether or not the place truly measures up. Not that I've been to that many beaches in the U.S., but I'll still wear my judgmental eyes.

One thing about Kauai: if I ever moved here, I'd never go hungry. There is an abundance of chickens running wild. They congregate in the tourist areas (because stupid people feed them), and almost every time we pulled out in the car we had to go slowly to avoid crushing baby chicks. But seriously: if I moved here, I'd never buy meat again. I would learn how to slaughter chickens and I'd grow my own vegetables and I'd have fried chicken, baked chicken, sauteed chicken, steamed chicken, boiled chicken, roast chicken... I'm going all Forrest Gump, so it's time to go.

London Bridge

London Bridge
Originally uploaded by AdiaMichelle

Visiting London this fall was totally different than the six weeks I spent there in 1999. Maybe it was because we kept to the tourist areas, and maybe it's because I was older, or maybe it's because London has changed, but the trip definitely had a different feel.

I didn't care for London as much this time around. It had lost some of its "Londonness." I felt as if I could be in any (Northern hemisphere) major city in the Western world: London, Paris, New York, Chicago, whatever. Lots of people, congested roads, crowded public transport, dirt, decay, and tourists everywhere.

Are major cities all becoming generic versions of each other? I appreciate being able to see familiar brands when I'm overseas, but the relief of familiarity is discolored by the feeling that I might as well be at home if things aren't so different somewhere else. The only time I felt as though I'd stepped back into the London I remembered was visiting my dorm at University College. We didn't get to go inside, but I stood out front while my Mom took a photo. That area - Bloomsbury - felt real. High Holborn Street, the Tower, even wandering around the City and financial district: they didn't feel real.

I'm not saying I wouldn't go back. I just want to spend more time somewhere outside the main city, away from the bustle and sameness.

In other news, I made $16,032.38 in 2008. In New York. Ha!

Leaving Orlando

No, no one's dying, but it feels that way. It's always hard to leave Disneyworld, and this time is no different. I couldn't stop exclaiming how nice everyone was here, and I couldn't help but notice how clean. Clean and nice: definitely not New York.

One thing that is not nice about Disneyworld is the number of people on scooters. I understand that not all disabilities that make walking difficult are visible. However, when I see crazily overweight person after crazily overweight person riding around in a motorized scooter, I start to think, "Um, they just don't want to walk because they'd get tired because they're overweight and out of shape." I don't see many obese people in New York: either you have too much money and don't eat to stay rail thin, or you have no money and don't eat because you can't afford groceries. But fully half of the people here in the parks are somewhat overweight. The U.S., indeed, has a weight problem.

Bah. I don't want to think about leaving, even with Disney enabling over-eating and laziness. It's so nice and quiet and comfortable here...

Silkworm Cocoons

Silkworm Cocoons
Originally uploaded by AdiaMichelle

Catering a lot. That's good!
It makes me lazy in my off time. That's bad.
Doing more background (extra) work today. That's good!
No work tomorrow. That's bad.
Anxious to get my demo reel cut together. That's good!
Can't get the video ripping software to work. That's bad.
Generally a whole lot more cheerful these days. That's good!
The weather's supposed to be in the upper 70s today. That's...not so bad, actually.

NaNoWriMo starts in, like, three weeks. I have no idea what I'm writing about, but I'm DOING IT. I keep trying to coerce people to do it with me. "Come on, don't you want to go nuts for a month? No, there are no official prizes. Isn't self-satisfaction after abject suffering enough for you?"

Heh.

It called to me

It called to me
Originally uploaded by AdiaMichelle

Heading out to wait in line for HAIR tix. I wish the line wound down the lawn instead of down the sidewalk. Whose bright idea was that, huh?

I go to Europe in two and a half days. CRAZY.

"That's the end?" - Janet Jackson

"That's the end?" - Janet Jackson
Originally uploaded by AdiaMichelle

HAIR has been extended until September 7th! W00t! I'm going to try the line again on Tuesday morning. :D

In other news, my daily photos are going to go on hiatus for a while. The first reason for that is that I leave in a week for a three-week vacation and I'm not bringing my computer. The second reason is that I'm in need of new inspiration, and the objects are, more often than not, leaving me cold these days. I'm too self-conscious to do a daily self portrait, so I'm hoping other inspiration will strike.

And now, I must go to Borders. And then to work. Five more days. FIVE! MORE! DAYS!