. . . during my very impromptu trip to Topsail Island, NC.
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
8.03.2008
7.04.2008
Fireworks, Baseball, Cookouts
It's late. Well, late in that it's almost 12:30 and I'm still in my pajamas, drinking my coffee. But that's the beauty of a holiday and I have no real reason to be mobile and cognizant earlier than I want these days, so why should I?
In any case, it's about time to wander down the park and be a little sociable. My neighborhood does a free cook-out every year and invites everyone to come down. Pretty cool. Good food. Chance to chat with the people you see out in their yards while you're walking, too.
Later, I'll be grilling the bounty that I brought back from the Farmer's Market yesterday: zuchinni, squash, tomatoes, potatoes, mushrooms, corn. Good stuff. I think we'll have hot dogs, too.
Fireworks and baseball last night; probably more fireworks and baseball tonight. And, because it's summer, darn it, I might finally get to the pool this weekend.
Happy July 4th!
In any case, it's about time to wander down the park and be a little sociable. My neighborhood does a free cook-out every year and invites everyone to come down. Pretty cool. Good food. Chance to chat with the people you see out in their yards while you're walking, too.
Later, I'll be grilling the bounty that I brought back from the Farmer's Market yesterday: zuchinni, squash, tomatoes, potatoes, mushrooms, corn. Good stuff. I think we'll have hot dogs, too.
Fireworks and baseball last night; probably more fireworks and baseball tonight. And, because it's summer, darn it, I might finally get to the pool this weekend.
Happy July 4th!
5.21.2008
Photos from Belize
Sunset on the west side of San Pedro/Ambergris Caye.
A sailboat on the north end of San Pedro/Ambergris Caye.
5.04.2008
A Bit o' Belize . . .
Decided on the trip NOT to try to fit everything about the country into one or two blog posts. It just wasn't going to work. So, welcome to A Bit o' Belize. I'll do a series, occasionally, on an observation or such from the trip.
Bit #1: Belize is a developing country. There are about 60 Peace Corps Volunteers in the country right now, all working on projects to help the country out. Alli's two main projects (most PCVs have one or two projects; Alli's got, um, a billion) are an apprenticeship program and developing a program about corals, sea grasses and mangroves for the local schools.
School in Belize is expensive. It's compulsory for children, as it is in the U.S., but parents must pay extra for education as well. Considering that minimum wage is Belize $2.25 an hour (about US $1.12), any expense for compulsory education is difficult for parents.
Consider also that there are no school buses. If the parents are so lucky as to be able to send their child to the school nearest their house and they can afford the school, they may not have to spend money on bus fare. If not, the child has to catch one of the buses of the Belizean (Bel-e-zuhn) bus system. The child only has to pay 1/2 price (Alli, correct me if I'm wrong) for the fare, but with most bus fares being BZ $2 or BZ $3 per trip (depending upon the destination) sending a child to school becomes a very expensive proposition.
Further, children are required to wear school uniforms and every school has a different uniform. I am assuming, although I do not know for sure, that parents also have to purchase the uniforms. The further expense certainly adds to the challenge of surviving in Belize and perhaps explains some of the poverty of the country.
More later . . .
Bit #1: Belize is a developing country. There are about 60 Peace Corps Volunteers in the country right now, all working on projects to help the country out. Alli's two main projects (most PCVs have one or two projects; Alli's got, um, a billion) are an apprenticeship program and developing a program about corals, sea grasses and mangroves for the local schools.
School in Belize is expensive. It's compulsory for children, as it is in the U.S., but parents must pay extra for education as well. Considering that minimum wage is Belize $2.25 an hour (about US $1.12), any expense for compulsory education is difficult for parents.
Consider also that there are no school buses. If the parents are so lucky as to be able to send their child to the school nearest their house and they can afford the school, they may not have to spend money on bus fare. If not, the child has to catch one of the buses of the Belizean (Bel-e-zuhn) bus system. The child only has to pay 1/2 price (Alli, correct me if I'm wrong) for the fare, but with most bus fares being BZ $2 or BZ $3 per trip (depending upon the destination) sending a child to school becomes a very expensive proposition.
Further, children are required to wear school uniforms and every school has a different uniform. I am assuming, although I do not know for sure, that parents also have to purchase the uniforms. The further expense certainly adds to the challenge of surviving in Belize and perhaps explains some of the poverty of the country.
More later . . .
4.28.2008
I'm Living . . .
a Jimmy Buffet song. That realization hits me about once an hour here. Great food. Great weather. Drinks. Water. Boys to flirt with. *Almost* everything a girl needs. :)
I'm glad that Alli's here so that we had an excuse to come to paradise. St. George's Caye, Caye Caulker, Belize City, Cayo (San Ignacio). San Pedro tomorrow, after the zoo.
Photos later.
I'm glad that Alli's here so that we had an excuse to come to paradise. St. George's Caye, Caye Caulker, Belize City, Cayo (San Ignacio). San Pedro tomorrow, after the zoo.
Photos later.
4.24.2008
Stress Manifestiations in My Life
It's been a crazy week. Need evidence?
1) I'm driving the CR-V like it's an Indy 500 car.
2) I'm really, really upset that my CD player works when it wants to and doesn't when I want it to.
3) The CDs that I've gotten to play have been turned up really, really loud.
4) I'm considering buying some Eminem. And My Chemical Romance.
5) I slept four hours last night and had two cups of real coffee this morning. I slept about as much the evening before.
6) 25 appointments. 5 days. Enough said.
7) I have an intense and bizarre need to run, oh, say 10 miles, hard.
8) Things done pre-Belize:
11) I'm believing that I need a hero right now. (Shrek 2 is what's in the CD player right now . . .) You know, this kind of hero?
Well, at least I'm gonna try.
1) I'm driving the CR-V like it's an Indy 500 car.
2) I'm really, really upset that my CD player works when it wants to and doesn't when I want it to.
3) The CDs that I've gotten to play have been turned up really, really loud.
4) I'm considering buying some Eminem. And My Chemical Romance.
5) I slept four hours last night and had two cups of real coffee this morning. I slept about as much the evening before.
6) 25 appointments. 5 days. Enough said.
7) I have an intense and bizarre need to run, oh, say 10 miles, hard.
8) Things done pre-Belize:
- Mowed
- Laundry
- Found the passport
- Put the right docs in the safe box
- Tell the credit cards not to accept US purchases for a while, since I won't be here
- Dishes
- Vacuum
- PACK!
- Photocopy the passport
- Talk to my dear sis about my power of attorney
- Trash out
- Oh, finish work. Real work, that I get paid for. Lots of it.
11) I'm believing that I need a hero right now. (Shrek 2 is what's in the CD player right now . . .) You know, this kind of hero?
I don't. I can do it. Really. Maybe.I need a hero
I'm holding out for at hero 'till the end of the night
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I’m holding out for a hero 'till the morning light
He’s gotta be sure
And it’s gotta be soon
And he’s gotta be larger than life
Larger than life
Well, at least I'm gonna try.
2.18.2007
The List for 2007
Yes, I realize that I'm quite far into the new year, but it's about time that I posted the list. Most would call this a list of resolutions; I suppose that pretty much encompasses it, but it includes hopes and dreams.
1) Learn how to play golf and then play golf, lots.
2) Learn how to scuba dive, so that I can go diving in Belize in 2008. (See #3.)
3) Plan a visit to Alli, a dear friend who's in the Peace Corps in Belize, for 2008.
4) Make a difficult decision.
5) Endeavor to read more books, to where the stack on the corner table is under 5 books by the end of the year.
6) Have more fun.
7) Act out some fantasies. (Read what you want to into this one, but you're not getting detail unless I want to share it with you.)
8) Get more massages.
9) Rescue my grandmother's emails from the computer I haven't used in 7 years. At some point, I'll post them here.
10) Volunteer more and give more. I have what many good, Southern, church-going people would call a blessed life. I know it and I know that it could be gone in an instant. I'd better be grateful and share.
11) Workout on a fairly regular basis. (I've completely sucked at this one in the past two weeks, and seeing as how I'm going to give blood this afternoon, I'm not going to get it today, either.)
12) Find another "damn" dress that I can afford - and wear it.
1) Learn how to play golf and then play golf, lots.
2) Learn how to scuba dive, so that I can go diving in Belize in 2008. (See #3.)
3) Plan a visit to Alli, a dear friend who's in the Peace Corps in Belize, for 2008.
4) Make a difficult decision.
5) Endeavor to read more books, to where the stack on the corner table is under 5 books by the end of the year.
6) Have more fun.
7) Act out some fantasies. (Read what you want to into this one, but you're not getting detail unless I want to share it with you.)
8) Get more massages.
9) Rescue my grandmother's emails from the computer I haven't used in 7 years. At some point, I'll post them here.
10) Volunteer more and give more. I have what many good, Southern, church-going people would call a blessed life. I know it and I know that it could be gone in an instant. I'd better be grateful and share.
11) Workout on a fairly regular basis. (I've completely sucked at this one in the past two weeks, and seeing as how I'm going to give blood this afternoon, I'm not going to get it today, either.)
12) Find another "damn" dress that I can afford - and wear it.
12.20.2006
Ten Lessons Learned From Vacation
1) Save the shopping for the day when it rains. Relish in the sun and outdoors every other day possible.
2) FLY to Florida, if you're further away than Georgia - which means everywhere except in Florida itself. The state's so freakin' large, it takes forever to get south of Orlando.
3) Go on vacation with people who eat like you do. I like Indian food, but I don't think I can eat Indian for quite a while now. And I'd love to have a cheeseburger, but that's not happening on this trip to paradise!
4) Pay for your massage with cash - and don't wait for the incompetent hotel staff (where you're not staying) to figure out how to charge your credit card. Yep, they were using the old carbon copy papers and that ridiculous machine that requires one to push really hard to get an imprint of the numbers.
5) Get more than one type of beer.
6) If you don't want to get into a fight about answering the phone, keep it on silent. Check it only when you want to return calls. It's vacation, for heaven's sake.
7) Give the people credit for at least trying to make it feel like Christmas - even though it's 80 degrees out and sunny. It was their decision to move somewhere that there's only one season, so they've got to mark the yearly changes somehow. (I can't really get over hearing "White Christmas" so often down here, though.)
8) Buy - and read - at least one "bodice ripper." If nothing else, it provides fodder for daydreaming.
9) Make a list of what you want to do while on vacation and do it. One caution: keep it short.
10) Never, never, never take any work with you.
2) FLY to Florida, if you're further away than Georgia - which means everywhere except in Florida itself. The state's so freakin' large, it takes forever to get south of Orlando.
3) Go on vacation with people who eat like you do. I like Indian food, but I don't think I can eat Indian for quite a while now. And I'd love to have a cheeseburger, but that's not happening on this trip to paradise!
4) Pay for your massage with cash - and don't wait for the incompetent hotel staff (where you're not staying) to figure out how to charge your credit card. Yep, they were using the old carbon copy papers and that ridiculous machine that requires one to push really hard to get an imprint of the numbers.
5) Get more than one type of beer.
6) If you don't want to get into a fight about answering the phone, keep it on silent. Check it only when you want to return calls. It's vacation, for heaven's sake.
7) Give the people credit for at least trying to make it feel like Christmas - even though it's 80 degrees out and sunny. It was their decision to move somewhere that there's only one season, so they've got to mark the yearly changes somehow. (I can't really get over hearing "White Christmas" so often down here, though.)
8) Buy - and read - at least one "bodice ripper." If nothing else, it provides fodder for daydreaming.
9) Make a list of what you want to do while on vacation and do it. One caution: keep it short.
10) Never, never, never take any work with you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
