boracay: this is our last goodbye

I finally finished editing Boracay photos. I'm letting go of actually putting together any kind of real informational post in regards to Boracay. just. ain't. gonna. happen. so... here's a lovely little mish-mosh of our last night and morning on the island. [I still can't get over how gorgeous that beach is.]

today I am letting go of the blog every day in may challenge. I am letting go of thinking that I will blog frequently or consistently for the next six months. and I am letting go of caring about that. or at least trying to.

the next few months are going to be hectic. getting our house in order. visitors coming to visit. traveling in Taiwan. traveling elsewhere in the world. training for a ten mile race. inconsistent internet access.

I hate to be cryptic but I have something big coming up this summer. I feel like I have to share it, eventually. but right now I'm not really into announcing it to the general populace. [hint: it's not a baby] I make no promises as to when I'll get around to writing about everything, but by fall there will sure be plenty to write about.

so please, stick around.

[and maybe listen to a little Jeff Buckley]

sorry, I'm not sorry

dear readers:

I'm sorry that I haven't finished editing pictures of Boracay yet. and that it's been... almost 4 months. actually, I'm more sorry that I'm not sitting on the beach right now. [and I'm sorry that you aren't with me.] I'm sorry that this is going to be a random post and the best I could do to save it was to drop in pictures from vacation.

I'm sorry I've been absent from blogging this past week. [and instagram, now that I think about it.] I'm sorry that you've missed out on the thrilling bits of wisdom I was sure to drop you... likely involving advice on how to travel without being a tourist [but kindof being a tourist anyway], or the worst interview question I was ever asked [if you could be a piece of furniture, what would you be?], or just random facts about myself [such as: did you know my hair is curly?] right. [this post is shaping up to be awesome already, isn't it?]

I'm sorry to throw you a shameless self-promotion and say you should review my blog on expats blog. and then check out the other 1,674 expat blogs from around the world. holy cow, there are some amazing people out there living some amazing lives.

I'm sorry to the adorable Allison that I probably won't ever get around to writing the post she nominated me for, but appreciate it anyway. in fact, I'm sorry to all of you who have commented or emailed and I've missed. and to all the new readers whose blogs I haven't checked out yet... sorry.

I'm sorry I switch around bits and pieces of my blog design every so often [and sometimes the whole thing!] and make it confusing. I'm sorry that changing to using Disqus for comments means you have to sign into twitter or google or facebook or make a disqus account. and I'm sorry that in all probability I will change back to blogger comments if I feel it's not working out. [or if you voice your opinion to me that you feel it's not working out.]

I'm sorry I have yet to inform you about the two cobras that are slithering around our school's campus. that's right. cobras. Husband came home last week with a flyer that said two cobras were spotted, but failed to be caught, so we should be careful when walking around campus and stay away from grassy areas. especially at night. [anyone remember the cobra escape from the Bronx zoo and the hilarious fake twitter account?] I'm trying to find amusement in the situation while exercising caution. and trying not to be more than slightly terrified. don't worry, I checked in our dirty laundry pile. no cobras there.

I'm sorry that I've missed out on writing and linking up and exploring more than half of the blog every day in may prompts. but... not really that sorry. because I'll never be the girl who consistently blogs every day and I while I love new readers and visitors and comments and pageviews I refuse to make this blog about that. I'm not really that sorry, because I've been out living life. scooting to Nanliou to see the Taiwan straight and eating pizza when I probably shouldn't. I've been making summer plans and evading cobras and beating Husband at canasta. [ok, he's won more games than I have.] I've been going out for girls nights and double dates and trying to embrace my natural hair texture. and instead of chaining myself to my computer I've spent time walking or sunning or reading or writing or doing whatever I please. because if I don't ever get out and live a little life, what on earth would I write about?

so... sorry, but I'm not that sorry. xo

boracay: ten words or less

ten words about the beach in Boracay: a blue paradise where I could gladly spend my life.

ten more words: so beautiful, so relaxing... can we go back now, please?

and ten more: yes I do feel a little weird about swimsuit photos.

I missed a few days of the blog every day in may challenge. I've been subbing this week, and will be subbing next week too. so let's be honest... I'll probably miss a few more. but I'm ok with that. today's prompt is to sell yourself in ten words or less. well, here's my ten word take on that:

I'm a complicated woman, and ten words aren't nearly enough.

brevity isn't really my thing. or hadn't you noticed?

sunchild, burning bright

// walking the beach in boracay

I've always been a creature of the sun. reading, running, walking, even just sitting in the sun for a few moments cheers me up. I think there's some truth to the sun's rays causing happy chemicals and endorphins and whatnot. I don't really need to know the science. I just know it works for me.

it's been rainy and grey more often than not these past few weeks. we're entering the rainy season soon. but today? today is beautiful and bright. so I'm off to soak up some warmth while I can.

the cats of Thailand

we encountered a lot of cats in Thailand. a lot. and being a cat person, I of course stopped to go "awww" whenever a furry feline happened to cross my path. and occasionally whipped out my camera. this first one, we encountered one morning while walking through the night market in Bangkok. [morning in a night market = empty] this cat, like many others, hangs out around restaurants and food stalls, eating scraps from the kitchen and friendly travelers.

pizza cat. our first night in Railay, we were eating dinner and having a few beverages beachside. there were a few cats wandering around in the sand, including this one. and then this girl [who I assumed was drunk, sorry if you weren't] walked up to one of them with a slice of pizza. I thought no way was the cat going to be interested... but I was wrong. this cat devoured that pizza. it batted at it a little, but mostly just chomped on the cheese and gnawed on the crust like a sauced-up college student at 3am.

you may also have noticed that pizza cat has a stubby little tail. well. one unfortunate thing we discovered about Thailand, is that some people believe that having a cat's tail is good luck. which means... they chop off the tails of wild cats. it kindof makes me sick to think about, but all the tail-less cats I saw seemed to be adjusting ok. I did see plenty of cats with tails, so hopefully this isn't a common custom.

market cats. this kitten and it's momma live in one of the mini-marts on east Railay. the first time I saw them [I swear, I have kitten radar] they were hanging out under a food stand by the market. I was a little concerned seeing how small the kitten was and thinking it was wild, but was relieved to stumble upon them when I was making a shopping run for some wine + rosemary potato chips. it looks like they live a comfy life in the mini-mart... I spotted some food bowls in the back room.

zebra cat. we spotted this guy our last night in Railay, walking down the path from the east beach to the west. I've never seen a cat with these markings before... maybe some kind of bengal? but he looks more tiger than leopard. he clearly belongs to someone, as he has a collar and some kind of red charm or bell. and he's still got his tail, so bonus points to him.

restaurant cat. ok, so this one is actually from Boracay. but nearly every restaurant we ate in on our trip had a cat or two wandering through the tables as we ate [especially the beachside places]. our hotel in Railay had a cat that I think lived in the open-air lobby... he was there every morning for breakfast and snoozing on the front steps each afternoon.

so, there you have the cats of [mostly] Thailand. I wasn't sure where to start with these vacation posts, and cats just seemed the easiest thing to tackle. sorry if you aren't a cat person. next time I'll give you some pad thai or temples or sunsets, ok? ok.

mission accomplished

boracay // beach hair // my life for the past 3 weeks

we are back, and I don't even know where to start. maybe my brain is still on island time. back-to-back beach vacations. two completely different experiences. I want to share everything. and at the same time continue doing little to nothing internet related. so, the what is likely to be dozens of posts about my recent travels to follow may be slow in coming, but I hope to give you more than just the guidebook version. [though you'll probably get that too.]

I intentionally left my cameras at home a few days, but I still have so. many. photos. including several series of beach/sunset where there are literally a hundred almost identical photos all completely gorgeous and I'm just lost for what to do with them all. but... I'd rather have too many photos than not enough.

these trips were very different from what I am used to in traveling, but I think I handled the experience well. I definitely overpacked. but still had space in my bag for some souvenirs and didn't go over luggage weight. I wore sunscreen every day. spf 30 sunscreen. [I really must be growing up if I'm taking skin protection seriously.] I packed gluten-free snacks which saved me from starving to death in airports. I filled 17 pages in my new journal and shot 2 packs of instant film. I drank out of coconuts and ate real bacon. I went out in public... without mascara.

but mostly, I tried not to overthink things. to enjoy the moment. to relax. and to just be open to whatever new experience or crazy adventure happened to show up that day.

mission accomplished.