June 2013
2 posts
“You’re just as likely to be happy single as you’re in a relationship… Just sayin.”
—(via awelltraveledwoman)
May 2013
5 posts
“I cannot tell you how much I owe to the solemn word of my good mother.”
—Charles Spurgeon (via awelltraveledwoman)
“I beg young people to travel. If you don’t have a passport, get one. Take a summer, get a backpack and go to Delhi, go to Saigon, go to Bangkok, go to Kenya. Have your mind blown, eat interesting food, dig some interesting people, have an adventure, be careful. Come back and you’re going to see your country differently, you’re going to see your president differently, no matter who it is. Music, culture, food, water. Your showers will become shorter. You’re going to get a sense of what globalization looks like. It’s not what Tom Friedman writes about, I’m sorry. You’re going to see that global climate change is very real. And that for some people, their day consists of walking twelve miles for four buckets of water. And so there are lessons that you can’t get out of a book that are waiting for you at the other end of that flight. A lot of people — Americans and Europeans — come back and go, “Ohhhh.” And the lightbulb goes on.”
—
Henry Rollins
(so very true)
(via awelltraveledwoman)April 2013
2 posts
March 2013
5 posts
“
I’m not a vegetarian. I grew up in a family where we ate a lot of vegetables and some meat. We’d buy meat at the very best butcher in town and when it was there, we really took time to taste it.
My father is a restauranteur and a chef.
He cooked meat – but especially fish. I remember in our restaurant, we had a lobster tank with live lobsters and when a client would order one, my father would have to fish one out and take it alive to the kitchen. I could hear the lobster squealing in his hands.
And then he’d grab a huge knife and cut it in two, still alive.
It was pretty shocking for a child but I grew up in a village with cows and goats and chickens and at times when we’d have to kill them and eat them.
I’ve seen animals be killed many times. It’s sad and fascinating at the same time.
Later on, I stopped trusting meat. First there was the mad-cow scare, but now that I’ve moved to the States, I’m weary of the hormones used in meat and how the animals are raised and what kind of effect that eating all that could have to my health.
I’m more conscious of what I eat.
When I’m asked if I’d like chicken on an airplane, for example, I think about just how many people in the world are offered the same dinner, and then I imagine the millions of chickens. And then I think about how those chickens are raised and then yikkkessss.
I’ll have the pasta please.
So yeah, I don’t eat meat very often these days, and only when I know where it comes from.
” —http://www.garancedore.fr/en/2013/03/18/a-fur-question/#content
Play
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February 2013
10 posts
“Be anxious for nothing.”
—(via awelltraveledwoman)
sentimental and shtuff.
on may 18th of last year, i went to an interview for a job i had absolutely no expectation of getting. at the end of a 12 hour day, i walked away with an offer that i didn’t know what to do with.
i knew my world was going to change, for the better, probably… but that didn’t make the decision any easier. pursuing this meant giving up the life that i held on to as tightly as possible.
it’s a scary process from the beginning, and no guarantees are given.
3000+ people applied for a 60 interviews slots. those 60 were whittled down to 30, then 15, then one by one people left, until there were just five of us. we were offered spots in the next class contingent upon federal background checks, drug tests, and employee history all checking out.
when we showed up to class in the middle of summer there were supposed to be 50, three didn’t even show up. 1 left the first week, another at the end of class. after 6 weeks of putting our lives on hold we graduated.
and still we held our breath
now we were looking at a 6 month vetting process, probation if you will. this is the time we had to prove our reliability, flexibility, and amazing customer service skills that we bragged about having in our first interview. they tested us out, and we tested them out. it’s a crazy lifestyle, not suited for everyone. they already knew that, we had no clue what we were getting ourselves into and there was no way to have been warned or prepped. it was sink or swim ( or fall or fly?).
now there are 37 of us that can finally breathe a little easier, live our lives just a little bit, and settle in for the adventure, no matter how long or short we continue with it.
it has come with its sacrifices. i’ve missed out on events, i’m alone a lot, i wasn’t there to make certain memories, i’ve even lost some friends, <— definitely not fun
but sacrifices generally reap benefits. i’ve had some pretty awesome experiences, i’ve grown into myself just a little bit more, i lean on God a whole lot more, i’ve gained some friends…
it’s been worth it.
thank you to my parents whom while at first were not keen to this new way of life, they quickly became my cheerleaders and supporters*, and they’ve been there for me in this transition. and their love and generosity overwhelms me.
my brothers and their wonderful wives — gabriel for planting the seed, and being as proud as he can be of me, stephen for rooting for me, and zachary for marrying amy… just kidding kind of, no not really, but beyond that for your wisdom in these past months. you guys are what brothers should be, and i love you for it.
my friends of friends amy, joy, jay, liza, mary, katie. i feel like you guys are the best people to have around, and i’m so thankful you’re all in my life. thanks for your (continued) patience with me and my absence.
my community and everyone who says welcome home, and is excited to see me when i actually get to show up at church or parties or whatever. there are so many people involved in getting me this far, the list would be impossibly too long. it’s a safe bet that if you’re reading this, you’re one of the ones that make this one feel loved.
i could not have gotten this far without any of you.
god is good.
*who am i kidding, they’ve always been my biggest cheerleaders and always will be. that’s not really new…
