Voodoo Child v. 17: Welcome to the One Woman Show

grandmother passed away yesterday. taking some time off from blogland. comments disabled. thanks.

vdc 

Posted by Voodoo Child at 10:59 PM | Permalink

It's BlackFriday, and I have not really gotten out of my pajamas yet. I know it's almost 4PM, but shit, I'm chillin' right now in my slouchers. I've done some scanning of online shops seeking the cheapest that cheap can cheap. I have truly been surprised; some of the stuff i really like is cheap enough for me to buy...assuming of couse that I have the ends to back it all up.

I'm afraid that this year I'm going to have to limit the givin'. Life sucks like that. So I've cranked up the crochet factory mode and have started making presents. I'm done with...drum roll...one. Yah baby, I'm ahead by one!

After yesterday's feeding zone meal, I'm glad to be dining on leftovers (for I truly do love them so). I also had some good quality time with la familia, esp the cousins. You know how it is with cousins. You don't see them every so often, but you cram 'em all into a room and it's like we never left. So that's the kinda fun we had. 

I'm lovin the downtime right now. Perfect for just coming back from a major trip. I'm still sort of jet lagging, really. I still wake up at 5AM and try to figure out how to get to sleep. I am also trying to get my sleep schedule a little normal. I'm reading today...my favorite nerdalicious thing. I've been given books to digest. Damn.

The good news is that coming back on this week means that there's about 50% of the students gone. That is, they are all skipping this week to enjoy thanksgiving. Man, I wish I could have done that, but I have this needling thing called "Get Smart" that made me go to classes. I got TONS of work done, stuff I told myself I'd take home. But seriously who does work at home. I've tried. It's not fun.

The good news too is that we only have a few more weeks left to go. There's two more after this week, then it's 6 weeks of relative quiet. Then hell again! Voila! I wish that everyone had the ability to get up and leave their work/world for at the minimum for two weeks. If only to just leave and step away. I have to admit, it did wonders for my perspective. Even attitude.

SO here's today's list:  "Things You Learn While Travelling"

1. The liquid baggie thing is a pain in the ass. After my third time taking it out and showing it to the folks at the airport, I just left all liquids in my check in baggage. This is stupid.

2. Sometimes you have to suck it up and pay extra to make your life easier. Taxi or metro when you're dead tired and lugging baggage? Taxi wins every time.

3. It helps if you're nice. If you have shit-smellin' face, you'll probably get crap business. Just smile, say hello in the local language and move on. Honey versus vinegar, bright eyes.

4. Americans? Can spot them a mile away. They're the ones who are annoying, loud, and freakish. Germans, as I have stated on other blogs, are the ones in the sandals with black socks. Italians are the ones being really affectionate. I can't hate on that but it's so cute.

5. Europeans have it right. You sit down to enjoy your coffee. Don't just grab it and run. Sit down. Read the paper. Eat a croissant. Sip. Repeat.

6.  Slow down and stroll. Most of the time we're too busy to see ANYTHING. But if you slow down you'll see much more than you expected.

7. Take things for what they are. Don't get bent out of shape because you have to haul your ass up 5 flights of stairs to your place. Yes it sucked, but hey, we're in Paris, we're near everything we need and WE'RE NOT AT WORK! DUDE! SWEET!

8. Appreciate what you've left behind. Sure you want to get away, but nothing makes the heart grow fonder than getting out of town, doesn't it?

9. Send post cards. I giggle like a little yatch when I get post cards, so I try to send them whenever I'm out and about. Hopefully the Vatican's would have arrived by now, but since I sent one to my house here and it's not here yet, um, yah, you'll have to keep waiting for that bad boy.

10. Speak another language. This goes without saying, but everytime you make the effort you open up a whole other world like Aladdin.

That's it for now...we've got places to go (sales, bitches), and people to visit. Hope you had a good Bird Day, and that your food coma is much better than mine.

Peaces,

Voodoo 

Posted by Voodoo Child at 03:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

just finished posting something to you guys, but since i'm on a foreign machine, i clicked the wrong thing and lost it. crap.

 
 in short, this is what it said:

 
Notre Dame de Paris

Napoleon's Tomb

 Champs de Mars

 Yinka Shonibare (please check this out, it's Mango's favorite thing in the Louvre next to the hot french chicks, I thought it was snoop dogg from far away)

 Eiffel Tower

That's today's tale of the tape that just got erased, but hey, that's life for you.

Also a few notes from life in France: |

 
   1. people here just dress better that you ever will and you dress pretty damn good.  They wouldn't wear sweats to the mall like everyone else does.

   2. Men are pretty good dressers here, take that you abercrombie whore.

   3. Food here rules.

   4. Asians? All speak better French than me. God they're hot as hell tho.

   5. Americans? Talk too freakin' loud. I wanted to slap the crap outta this family that were talking like there was no one else around. I felt bad for them but people kept looking at them like they were crazy. And unfortunately people, this is what they think of when they say Ugly American.

   6. Chinese people (tourists) here still will BUST your ass getting into an elevator like you are the slowest bastard on this planet, and you probably are. I had a 30 Stockton moment there.

   7. Yes, there are hoodrats here in France. And no, one of them is not me, jerks.

   8. I miss the diversity of San Francisco. Paris is diverse, but tourist diverse.

   9. I don't think I can find a good burrito here if I tried.

  10. Chicks here are all about their boots and scarves. Get your ass to H&M and buy your gear already!

 
Okay that's it for now. I'm kinda miffed that my wonderful essay is totally gone, but hey, that's life, and what the hell am I doing here, I'm in Paris!

 
Tomorrow: Versailles and god knows what.

Voodoo

Posted by Voodoo Child at 08:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Found this...thought I'd share. Enjoy!

vdc

Posted by Voodoo Child at 08:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In less than 24 hours, me and the Mango are headed to a different continent, probably panicking that I left something inane back at home. I am looking at all the stuff that I've laid out to be packed away, and I'm also checking last minute regulations (that change on Monday, oh my freakin' wonderful luck) to make sure that I don't get all my uber overpriced makeup taken away like my homegirl did. God I'd be mad, yet happy that I get to buy new stuff. Annoying. I'm listening to my baby daddy DVD in the background. Jack Johnson, Live in Japan. He does wonders for my blood pressure.

Mango, as usual, is posted up in front of the tele watching his football. I am frantically awaiting the moment I start packing, but I need to go to the mall for some eyebrow touch-ups and the comfort of shopping for plane food. I'm weird like that. I need food for the plane. Stuff that won't melt...things that harken to comfortables places and times. I'm done with all the halloween candy...that sounds weird, and no I didn't eat it all...but I'm looking for the quality candy that just makes me giggle like a fat kid.

I sent out an email to select readers and others, and if you're not on that email it's because I sent it at midnight or after midnight and was starting to get anxious about getting the information out. I also was coming down from a crazy Filipino/Chinese dinner we had for Mango in Sac. Let's just say this, we were talking about a show called Dancing with SARS and how jacked up that would be. And watching Ma'ala Ala Mo Kaya or however the hell you spell it at the same time. Good times. Again, if you didn't get the email, I apologize, but if you go online and chat with the other active brl'ers you will get the info right away. If not, leave me a comment here and I'll forward it onto you. It's not that I don't love you, it's because I am one cowbow (how DO you spell that) person. And no, just because you ask for it, doesn't mean you will automatically get it.

If you have yet to travel, and no doubt many of you have, please make sure you do, not for business, not even for pleasure...go intentionally for yourself, and find yourself in strange places and situations. I can't help but think how much I've grown because of it. I'm missing out on a lot here by leaving, but I'm okay with it because sometimes you have to step back from reality to figure out where you are.

Just yesterday I had some students take a test that is required for their graduation. I was checking email frantically for them yesterday and I only heard from two of them which freaks me out, quite honestly. I hope they all did well, and I will carry them around me until I return. I try not to do work when I'm away, but the reality is sometimes you need to. I'm not just a counselor, I'm a cheerleader dammit.

So here's to packing and putting my life on hold for a change; this trip is for Mango's birthday and our 2nd year anniversary, and it's time well-deserved. I can't wait to share stuff with you all as well as come back a  happier and healthier person. 

Note: I will likely cross-blog onto both this one and my 'other' blog. Check one or the other, but you know how I am here, it'll probably be a little different over 'there.' If you have no idea what I'm talking about, ignore this side conversation, will you? Thanks. Kisses.

 VooDoo

Posted by Voodoo Child at 01:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Packin' A, man. We have been getting ready to get out of dodge, and along with that always goes my incredible stress and insomnia that goes along with it.

I'm a pretty anal packer (kin-kay), and over the years I've gotten damn good at it: what to bring, what not to bring, what to not forget, what I can just get there, etc. It's fun getting ready and all, but it's a pain in the ass to bring it all together.

Last night I bought the quart bags for our carry-on liquids. Man, they're small. Oh well, I luckily have travel size lotions cause I just cannot get ashy! Also, I picked up more of the gallon bags (that's MORE like it!) and started labeling what goes in them. Mango's looking at me like I'm crazy, and I think he got overwhelmed and just passed out early. I stayed up, printed up the TSA list of what to pack and what not to pack. What a nerd. I printed all the postcard labels to my peeps who are on my must-get-a-postcard list.

Tonight is probably the point at which I line up my outfits (yes I do that) and figure out what the weather is like so I can pack accordingly. I'll probably need to do one more stop at REI or Target.

At any rate, we'll be posting from Europe here, so you can 'come along with us!' and we'll also be posting pictures not here on the site, but probably on Flickr so you can get a look at the world through our eyes. I'll have to keep it private, so if you want in, let me know.

It's great that we can get away together, and we haven't vacationed together since our honeymoon almost two years ago. It's also his birthday which is nice...what a way to turn your metabolism to poop!

 If you want to ask us questions or whatever, please feel free to put them in the comments!

I also want to acknowledge the fact that I've been MIA...lots of shit going on right now, mostly related to the fact that I am a carcass that comes to work and does little else ;-) Trust me, this sojourn will be good for errybody!

Voodoo

Posted by Voodoo Child at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)