Life in the Slow Lane

It's been more than two weeks since a real post made its debut here. Back in January, Caedmonstia wrote my New Year's Resolution to read "Go 2 weeks without blogging." (It is listed in between "Wax her legs" and "Take up an extreme sport".) Because, obviously, they all seemed equally likely. And it took an international flight (spending September 11 on three airplanes), fighting against tropically contracted ailments (I think I passed one of them along to a dog. So embarrassing !), and three name tags -worth of events to do it, but I did go 2 weeks without blogging. And so please pardon my silence as I remember what sorts of things we expect to find here, Living in the Slow Lane.

Earlier I mentioned that my birthday was made special by what others did for me. I know this was over a month ago, but I thought I would share some pictures from the surprise party.

Eventually I will get some pictures developed and posted here, but until then, some of you may find idle amusement in viewing the video footage Caedmonstia is posting on her blog from my time in Brazil. I may regret directing you all over there as soon as she posts the disturbing images of my face covered in mosquito bites, but if that is the case, maybe I will just change the link to her blog so you can't follow it over there.

This weekend I spent some time in the interior of Brazil. Let me tell you, just in case you are unaware, it is a world away from my life in California. In the small city of Gloria, I became the talk of the town during the two days I was there. That may perhaps become another post, but for now I would like to write of things that are similar between these two worlds: for now I speak of bathrooms. In the big glass building I work in on the hill, the bathrooms are top of the line. Some tour guides have even wanted to include them in the authorized tour. But let me tell you how the bathrooms in Gloria match up point for point. (A indicates at work, B in the interior) A) You don't need to worry about flushing the toilets: it is all automatic. B) You don't need to worry about flushing the toilets: someone else will in another few hours, when there is sufficient water for the task. A) You don't need to remember to turn on or off the light as you enter and exit the bathroom: al

I was very disappointed to realize this morning that I slept through a lesson on constellations in the midnight sky. I figure that is the only explanation for the profusion of little dots on my face: The mosquitos were in astronomy class. If I counted correctly, there are 68 mosquito bites on my face. The handle of the big dipper, which is between my eyebrows, points directly to the north star which is the easiest star to spot, as it is located on the very tip of my nose. But as disappointing as it was to wake up to such body art, I am relieved to be able to report two bits of good news. The first is that I did not inhale any additional mosquitos. The second is I am the keeper of the camera.

1) Stubbing toe on reef rock 2) Being tasted by over-eager tropical fish (at least I didn't bleed enough to draw the attention of over-eager tropical sharks). 3) Inhaling a mosquito (I'm hoping the trauma of traveling through nasal passages will keep the mosquito from doing too much damage in my lungs.) 4) Being rained on while inside, under the covers, fast asleep. (It is difficult to continue sleeping when there is a drip drip-dropping on your head.) 5) Proving, that yes, indeed, sunscreen does work to prevent sunburn wherever you remember to apply it. (The places that are forgotten...)

I am sure you will all be very happy to know that my luggage arrived. The best part is that I no longer wake up to a conversation between Pinky and the Brain: "What are we going to wear today, Brain?" "The same thing we wear every day, Pinky."

Number of flights scheduled: 3 Number of diversions for refueling: 2 Number of flights rescheduled: 2 Number of flights delayed (after rescheduling): 2 Number of flights which ran out of food and water due to extended flying time: 1 Number of flights where flight attendant gave out free alcohol to calm passenger: 1 Number of flights which included real life drama in the seat behind me: 1 (Infant passed out... wasn't breathing) Number of flights where I had use of three seats: 2 Number of flights I was able to sleep: 3 Let me tell you, gentle readers, those last two numbers go a significant way towards making up for all the other numbers.