Housewarming in Austin, the Ride Back to NYC, Anonymity

Justin and I enjoyed Texas! We went to Sheila and Justin R's housewarming party (which was actually also a birthday party, though we hadn't realized that beforehand - our bad! Sorry Justin R!!!). It was cool to see them, their friends, and some of my relatives again. I must say, they also fed us some DELICIOUS BBQ and sides. Yummy! Aunt Sha Sha, Uncle Wayne, and Aunt Debbie all came up. Aunt Linda and Leanne (my 1st cousin) were in attendance as well, and ended up spending the night, which turned out to be very cool because we were able to sit around and talk this morning (photos of puppies new haircuts and the morning at Sheila and Justin's). One takeaway - I definitely need to visit Leanna in Longview. She'll be out of school before I know it, and I'd really like to see her in her college element, visit her apartment, and be a part of this brief, though significant period in her life.

It was also a really good onslaught of socialization for the puppies as Leanne brought her chihuahua, Pixie; the neighbors brought their poodle, Apricot and their labradoodle, Pinky; a gigantic chocolate lab was there (I don't recall his name) and of course, Sheila and Justin's very own Brodie was running around. Ruby and Eve got lots of sniffs from the other dogs and petting from the people. :)

On a random side note, one very pretty, well-dressed girl with expertly curled blonde hair told me that she really liked my hair and thought I looked like a certain actress. I was actually taken by surprise as I never expected a compliment at all (been spending too much time in NYC!). Now, waaaay back when, I was told frequently that I looked like this actress and once, upon entering a Chili's, the hostess refused to believe that I wasn't this actress.... Hello, I was in Chili's in San Antonio, for crying out loud. I personally have never thought this actress was attractive, but the gal that paid me the compliment last night thinks she is very pretty and sexy, so I am taking it in a positive manner. ;) I am sure you're wondering about this actress. *sigh* She's the goofy girl from Scary Movie: Anna Faris.

Sheila drove Justin and I to the airport and Linda, Leanne, and Pixie rode along. It was amazingly nice to be surrounded by good conversation (though somewhat heavy subject matter) and loving goodbyes and hugs as we departed. As we were hugging goodbye, we ran into Shelley from JetBlue and got to hang out with her a little pre and post flight, which was awesome.

On our flight back to NYC this afternoon, I had the good fortune of sitting next to a fascinating woman. I want to say her name was Rebecca, but I am terrible with names, so I am probably wrong. She is originally from Ireland, though lived and worked in NYC for a long, long time. She majored in fashion and spent 2 years working for Geoffrey Beene and another 8 years working for Ralph Lauren at which point she decided to ditch her fashion career entirely and backpack around the world for 3 years. Did you catch that? Yeah, she backpacked ALONE around THE WORLD for THREE YEARS! She ended this backpacking stint in Madrid, where she spent six months learning Spanish and subsequently met her husband as he was enrolled in the same language program. Well, not only did they meet, but the program placed them as roommates in the same apartment. Was it fate? He was an engineer/international business major from Austin, Texas that decided to take some time off and spent half the year learning French in France and half the year learning Spanish in Spain. Hmm... Sounds like a great idea to me. I don't know his career history or anything, but they both sound like super interesting people. Now, they spend half their summers primarily in New York (Westchester) and winters in Austin. I like their setup. They've also started their own business, which is doing pretty well I gather. Anyway, of course I know most of this because I asked her loads of questions, but it was really fun getting to know her. It turns out we were both in Madrid at the same time - when the trains were bombed! What are the chances?! I hope our paths cross again sometime, because she was a nice, fascinating lady and I'd love to hear more of her stories. She recommended I watch a show on the National Geographic channel called "Locked Up Abroad." It sounds interesting, but so depressing judging by reading a couple of the summaries.

On a side note, Val! sent me an article today that got me thinking "How public do I want to be with my life?" A lot of recruiters, and certainly the last few of my employers are testaments to the truth of this statement, Google you and look you up on MySpace to see if they can find any dirt, legitimate or not, to disqualify you as a potential job candidate. Now I need to decide between entirely censoring myself (mmhmm) or maybe just posting elsewhere with a nom de plume. Not sure yet.

For randomness's sake, I'm dredging up a post I wrote on this very same day last year that was published on my MySpace. I will probably be going back through and censoring old posts on this site and elsewhere, so enjoy the freedom of writing while you can. ;) "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may" and all that rot.

Feel free to fill this out for yourself if you'd like -

August 3, 2007 - Ten (10) random things about me:

1) I over analyze almost everything and place situations side by side (relationships, work, etc) comparing past to present almost constantly. It's maddening.
2) Adults are just like little kids. The most important thing is having people be legitimately pleased and proud of something you've done. This applies to me.
3) Money is important to me, but it's far less important than the strange and magical sense that there is so much more in the world, like literature, and understanding, and human contact and the passion that comes with that.
4) I must have a puppy.
5) I miss TeXaS!!!!
6) I know I am not happy with my life when I am lethargic, which I have been lately. I also have an upset stomach almost every day that I go to work.
7) I haven't written anything for my novel in 3 months. I think it has a lot to do with the fact I have no moral, and it feels empty. Speaking of writing, I am constantly blown off by the one place I was published that actually paid me. I told them to remove me from their list. Now I hope they fail.
8) Hence, I must have a mean streak. I constantly have to tell myself I am a good person. Half the time I believe it.
9) I will always be skeptical of people. I am usually always right. My wariness makes people think I am a bitch. They are almost always wrong.
10) Justin and I are in the same building almost 100% of the time.

Letter to God, Letter to the World

Dear God, World, Universe, Energy - whatever is out there...

I want to create and live off of my creations. I want to create by myself. I want to create with other people. I want to write, sing, make movies (documentaries for now). I want to help others get published and get published myself. I want to take photographs and sell them. I want Justin and I to take photographs together and travel the world. I want to make videos with Val! and have a following of people that are genuinely interested. I want us to be able to sustain a nice living off of these projects. I want to create, love and be happy - and I want the same for my loved ones and all those that want this for themselves, too.

I want life to be "how it should be." A community of good people, good friends, creating, enjoying, being out there in the world and really living and experiencing it all.

Thanks for the thunderstorm the other night. That was a great birthday present. And thanks in advance, for the future.

Love,
Ness

"one of these days all we'll do is create and live off of it, and travel and enjoy it all"

The Awesomeness of Puerto Rico

This is from a letter I quickly wrote to Dao and Rob (as they too have experienced the kick-ass nature of Puerto Rico):

Justin and I got back from a weekend in Puerto Rico late last night. We had a blast!!!! We took one of his coworkers (Alex) and his friend (Marisa). They said it was one of the best trips of their lives (and they've been all over the place). This is how our trip went:

Day 1: Breakfast at Casa Cubuy in El Yunque, hike through the rain forest and swim in a variety of pools. Get back to the hotel and discover there are masseuses-in-training just down the street. We each get a 1 hour massage for $20! Drive to Naguabo and go out with Capt. Paco to see Monkey Island and snorkel. Capt. Paco was super busy so he dropped us off on our own with a kayak and supplies! We snorkeled out there - just us, monkeys, fish and seagulls for almost 2 hours. It was great!!! We even got to take turns kayaking. We also saw lots of starfish.

It was amazing. Return to Naguabo and have dinner. Head back to the hotel with a stop to grab rum and mixers. Sit outside for hours talking and drinking before hitting the hay.

Day 2: Breakfast at Casa Cubuy then head to the end of the road, where no cars are allowed. We were informed of a neat hike that takes you across a metal bridge (actually, not so much a bridge as a big pipe over a river). We were the only ones on the trail (actually - on both days!). Hiked for a while and came to a beautiful scenic overlook. On our way back, Justin suggested we head down to the river. We found and amazing lagoon at the bottom of a treacherous looking waterfall! Marisa kept climbing up rocks and finding neat places to jump in from.

There were lots of tiny little fish and even some prawns! Leaving El Yunque, we stopped at a beach on the way back to San Juan, walked along it, and spotted some hermit crabs. Back in San Juan, we bought some food to take back to the airport with us (I got amaaaazing camarones enchilados - shrimp in hot sauce, and beans) and stopped for pina coladas at Barrachina - of course!!! We made it back to the airport just in time to get on the flight!!! All in all, an action packed, exciting weekend. :)

There were only 2 minor hitches and they both worked out. 1) Our camera tumbled into raging water and somehow we managed to find it. The memory card compartment came open during the fall and somehow we managed to find the Flash card, too! 2) Alex forgot his wallet at a gas station on the way back to San Juan when he was changing in the bathroom. This morning he spoke with a woman there that found it and is FedExing back to him free of charge! So nice!!!

Re-reading my entry above, I feel kind of like I am reading a diary entry from when I was a little kid. I was pretty much never patient enough to go into things in depth. I guess that isn't really a bad thing. :) Photos to follow. <3 :D

Photo Update
Ness's Flickr Photo Gallery
Justin's Facebook Photo Gallery

Fun in Denver

Not gonna write a whole lot at the moment as it is late and I am very tired BUT the main thing I went to get across is that I really dig Denver and the Rocky Mountains and feel like this is a place I could see myself spending a lot more time.

Summary of our day:
woke up 5:20 AM ET
left NYC 7:50 ET
arrived Denver 10:20ish MT
left with rental car 12:45ish (don't even get me started but at least we had a convertible!!)
Drove into the mountains, drove around Central City and got hiking directions
drove to Idaho Springs and up Mt Evans to the top where it was still snowy = and 40+ degrees colder!!! We hiked to the summit. Amazing. 14,000+ feet up... we were breathing HARD. It rocked!!! We got up close to marmots and mountain goats! We also met some neat people that live here (originally from Atlanta).
checked into Magnolia hotel
cleaned up and changed for dinner
got cookies and milk on the way out of our hotel
had a yummy dinner at Samba (cuban food)
walked around downtown people watching and now we're ready for blissful sleep!!!!

Photos to be added soon!

The Great Midwest

Justin and I are taking of in the morning and won't return for a week! We'll spend one day in Denver, Colorado and the Rocky Mountains!! I am so psyched to see the Rockies. Justin has talked to me about them, and visiting Glenwood Springs specifically, ever since I have known him, so I am really glad we'll get to snoop around a little bit.

The majority of our trip will be spent in Montana with three days in Billings and two full days in Yellowstone. It's guide training time for Austin-Lehman, which is as good a reason as any for me to fly out and meet everyone, see our offices, and work on face-to-face projects.

Justin plans to set up a remote JetBlue camp for the first few days from our LaQuinta hotel room before heading out to Yellowstone with the ALA crew. I am sure we'll keep you updated via Twitter (easy with my phone) and the blog for more thoughts, feelings, and photos.

Special thanks a mucho love to the Val! for watching our babies and inhabiting our apartment while we are gone. Happy birthday to Olivia!!!

Love you guys and I'll miss you!
Ness

Photo Editor of Exotic Images

One of my many job functions at ALA is photo editor... I do it mostly because, when I look at a picture, I automatically see how much more compelling it can be with just a little TLC. To the right is a photo of a river in Hawaii.
Much better, I think, on a sunny day.

Find out about Austin-Lehman's Kauai Hawaii custom vacation - or just check out the page I built for it, sheesh! :) Tough crowd.

addendum: internet bookings are now up 3% over last year and I am pleased. they'd been down for a while. let's hope they continue to grow.

Inexplicable Anxiety

I've been feeling a jazzy, energetic, strange anxiety today. It's not necessarily bad, but not necessarily good either. It's fueled by a multitude of things, I imagine, such as tons of different tasks I must accomplish from work, the democratic nominee being named, the US airline industry falling into ruin, and looming violin lessons in my future...

My anxiety could simply be because I've ingested too much coffee this morning. It could be because Obama won the democratic nomination (which I am not thrilled about). It could be because airlines seem to be dropping like flies (SilverJet, Eos, SkyBus). Those that are hanging on may not be around for much longer (United cutting capacity and jobs, American charging for everything, Frontier in bankruptcy and possibly closing down, Spirit making cuts to jobs and bases... etc.).

In general, I am worried about our careers - Justin with JetBlue and me in the travel/tourism industry. There seems to be an electric charge to everything. I imagine this is because most Americans are just waiting for the bottom to fall out of the semi-secure environment we've been living in for the last two decades. Even with the hardships after 9/11 and the first dotcom bubble burst, we've had some stability. Americans have been able to afford vacations, air travel, trips abroad, and the like.

Now that our dollar is in the toilet, airlines are shutting down, and people can't even afford gas to go to-and-from work (yes - a lady in Texas told me it cost her more than $25 just to drive into work and back home) I just wonder what, if anything, is seriously going to change. Will our economy continue its steady decline? Will things stabilize where they are now? Will things improve? Time will tell, I suppose.

Life continues at it's own comfortable pace for Justin and I at the moment. We watched Up the Yangtze last night, which was an interesting film; sad at points, slow at others, but always allowing you a glimpse into a wholly different culture where people are still, surprisingly, the same. Teenagers still have the same hormones, feelings, and rebellious nature. People are born believing they are entitled to more than is easily within their reach. I recommend seeing this movie if you have the opportunity. I feel very lucky to live in New York City where I can easily catch such a film. Quad Cinemas is showing it through Thursday if you can run down and see it by then.

I am taking a trial violin lesson next Tuesday to find out whether or not I want to pay for a series of classes. I am hoping so. It would be so nice to be able to play an instrument, especially such an aurally beautiful one.

In Ireland, Safe and Sound

The subject says it all! Sat next to a very nice woman on the flight (Aer Lingus). More later :)