NYC The Big Apple

now I know there are many, including some of my collegues who were a little jealous that i was to spend a month here.

Truly, I was dreading it... the sounds are the biggest assult that i fear...

I am here...

I commute daily - it only took 3 days until i could get directly to where i was going and back to where i started. now mind you - the first day I went to Queens (did i mention that I am in Manhattan) so rather out of my way... so i did the uturn and headed back... except that time i got on an express train and shot right by the stop i wanted...

Thanks to the swine flu scare, the trips on the subway are an adventure in paranoia... not me... but all those around me... sort of funny truly... seeing some people taking 'no chances' and wearing masks... yet they touch the everything in the subway... hope they wash their hands.

so the hotel - in Times Square - actually about a block from where the ball drops. a bit away but still well within the chaos that is the big city. To those who have never been the best way to describe NYC is it is like christmas shopping EVERYDAY.

The staff was quite kind... Theresa, took me to an authentic chinese restaurant, so authentic that the menu was only in chinese LOL and the IT guy, he had seasons tickets to the yankees, gave me two seats... so a collegue and i ate a Nathans hot dog, and watched a yankees game (they beat the rangers)...

finally the cherry on top...

the day i left the staff arranged my transport to the airport... imagine my surprise... a stretch limo... how cool is that LOL

The Glamour that is my life...

We all know the grass is always greener, AND into every life a little rain must fall.

That being said - the reality of my world doesnt always come across, missed airline connections, waiting in airports for up to 6 hours for the next flight, lost luggage, smelly people... the list can go on and on... but it is what it is a trade off for the things I enjoy.

Mom always said picture the scales of justice and balance the pros on one side and the cons on the other - weigh them out and see which wins... Even with the downs my job is still winning...

However, there are days...

In returning from Newfoundland I had 4 connecting flights to get home. The first flight out was rather early - 7 am... It was a little plane (on an airline that i have no status) so i was sitting back in coach (never a good thing) but one should always know things can/could be worse.

The flight was full, it was a small plane, 2 seats on each side. I had a window seat(easier for sleeping), beside me was a man and across the aisle was another man... As the plane started backing away from the gate and heading towards the runway, the guy beside me leans over and advises that "the man on the other side of the aisle just grabbed his barf" before he could say the word bag - the guy on the other side of the aisle pukes - hurls ALL over the guy beside me, I get sprayed... its in my hair, it is dripping down the window beside me - it is gross it is pink and it stinks.

I am belted in and cant escape the window seat... I am hitting the flight attendant call button fast and furious... the plane comes to a stop...

now for those who know me I do NOT deal well with bodily fluids... I start gagging uncontrollably, still pinned in my seat, my beautiful winter coat which had been on my lap is covered in pink vomit...

the guy who chucked headed to bathroom toward the front of the plane - the guy beside me and I we head to the back of the plane... as i said i am gagging non-stop, the people in the back of the plane think i am the one who chucked...

we get to the back of the plane as the crew goes up and tries to clean up our area, as the flight is full and we will have to return to these seats.

anyway the guy beside me, because he had turned to talk to me, the majority of the spew was all over the back of his shirt... oh god so gross, chunks all over... he stripped out of his shirt and a fellow passenger offered a tshirt as this guys stuff was in the belly.

My coat has no hope of being cleaned we picked off the worst of it (I still get the ewwwsss just typing this) so the coat ended up in a garbage bag for the rest of the trip.

We were 40 minutes late leaving - which only allowed 25 to connect at the next airport. the crew was kind and held everyone back allowing myself and 2 others to exit the plane ahead of everyone else with the long shot hope we would make the connection.

The good news - I have done this a few times before, and even with clearing customs I was able to make the connection the other 2 passengers unfortunately did not (amateurs) LOL

To wrap up - in total it took 17 hours before i was able to get home and take a very very welcomed HOT SHOWER!

So the jet-set life I lead... LOL

I feel i should mention if this was an every trip occurance I do believe I would be seeking new employment.

Newfoundland

Okay, yes I did go places between Paris and Newfoundland - but you know... nothing moved me... I did make friends of course, but ack same same nothing different...

That is until Newfoundland St. Johns to be exact. i was so excited to see this one on my schedule and in fact had asked the powers that be if possible to keep it there.

Well luck was on my side - this would be my first trip to the east coast of Canada. I must confess, i am a little ashamed at how little travel I have done in my "native" land... so whenever the opportunity presents... i am all over it.

So St. Johns - I dont know what images this conjoures in your mind... lets try adding this piece of info and see if the image changes... my trip there is for all of December and 1/2 of January... are you seeing white? My minds eye had the picture all mapped out...

6ft of snow... a white desolate place... and candidly thought it would be a bit of a poor area... throw in all the stupid Newfie jokes I have heard over the years, and it was a struggle to keep an open mind.

First, when i arrived there was NO snow - fyi the entire time i was there it was colder in Ontario than there - who knew? apparently being an island in the ocean the weather is greatly impacted by the surround water - it actually moderates the temperature... again who knew?

The one thing though is OH MY if Chicago did not already have the title of The Windy City - St. Johns would have been my nomination... maybe we should - call it the Windy City of Canada hmmm

the hotel itself was quite nice - the town (city) very quaint... I was amazed at how the history of the place seemed to just hang in the air - thats not a creepy thing it is a wow history kind of thing.

The hotel was a small block from the Harbour - breathtaking views... it was a little different waiting for supplies to arrive by ship LOL very cool...

Okay lets talk about icebergs... we have all heard the "tip of the iceberg" expression, the images of icebergs around the coast of Newfoundland... are amazing... photos showing a chunk of ice with a trolling ship beside it... the ship appears to be small in relationship to the mass of ice...

If it is only the tip that we see just how flipping much is under the water not visable... amazing...(it is estimated that 7/8ths is under water)

When the staff, learned of my appreciation of icebergs, they brought in many photos that they themselves had taken - mind blowing. I am open minded and have been blessed with a very active imagination - but I am finding it difficult to process the sheer magnitude. I need to see this with my own eyes...

I think i will have to visit this area during 'iceberg season' - cause at this point pictures of icebergs have the same effect as if i were shown a photo of an alien... looks real enough, but until i see it with my own eyes - i am still skeptical.

2008 draws to a close

The year has been busy...

Travel primarily domestic - I do miss the newness of other cultures.

This year I said goodbye to a very dear friend Paul.

I met Paul when i was a confused 15 year old trying to interpret the world and my place in. I began my spiritual quest at that time... Paul was my spiritual guide, someone with whom i could share my 'crazy' thoughts - he would never judge. We had the most fabulous conversations.

Whenever i would go home to Canada we would always get together for a coffee or dinner and a stimulating often enlightening conversation.

Paul was diagnoised with cancer a few years back - and lost the fight late December of last year. I spoke with his daughter who told me what happened at the end... they had performed a "little" surgery and found the cancer had spread when Paul woke from surgery they told him he only had a few days.

Now, I do believe we all have our purpose, our mission, our quest or duty... you pick the label that works best for you. Paul's quest was to figure out what was next... what is on the other side. In keeping with his quest after learning his time to leave was close - he told his daughter he was not afraid - rather excited to see what was next...

that was Paul :-)

the bad icky feelings we have are not for the person who is gone but rather for our loss. I miss Paul - for what he gave to me... He was one person who knew me... all of me... he knew how messed up i was as a teenager and now he was proud of me... the me that I had grown into.

I will miss him....

I know that those few paragraphs could be perceived as negative...

Please do not interpret them that way...

Rather join me in celebrating a life that helped to make me who I am.

The Universe doesn't give you the people you want, it gives you the people you NEED - To help you, to hurt you, to leave you, to love you and to make you into the person you were meant to be

there are so many people I celebrate being in my life I hesitate in listing names, for fear I would miss someone...

I love you all - and wish you the best in the new year.

May all the energy you chose to share with the world come back to you times two.

The Art of The Mileage Run

so... what is it worth to get status on an airline...

okay not just status - but Goddess status...

with this job - PRICELESS

what you get - double miles towards future tickets (nice perk), separate 800# when travel challenges arise - no waiting in line at the airport (nice perk), and 8 systemwide upgrades (great for global travel) BUT the biggie is UPGRADES - complimentary upgrades on domestic flights GREAT PERK...

travelling coast to coast in coach is 'challenging'. I have been again blessed, receiving upgrades on upwards of 98% of my flights.

So the perks are worth a little bit of effort and $$.

My preferred airline - offered double status miles - meaning any flight during a 3 month period that they defined would get double miles.

Working out the math miles/$ I decided to take a little trip to India - yes India. so i boarded a plane at home heading for Chicago (yes got the upgrade to First thanks to last years status), i used my system wides and upgraded to biz class for the whole trip...

chicago to delhi rather cool... we touch the edge of labrador then dropped down into india - i slept most of the flight...

I spent 4 hours at the airport in delhi, turned around and flew back... this time the flight went right over the north pole and dropped down into Chicago.

I know many think this kind of trip to be crazy - including some of my collegues who travel all the time.

for me however, I sleep on planes - i think it goes back to when i was a baby, my parents would drive me around the block to put me to sleep... it still apparently works :-) plus i was travelling light.

all i had was a backpack, with a blanket, pillow, book and a roll of toliet paper(read online that it was often hard to find in the delhi bathrooms) and of course a few snacks.

What a delight... usually i have around 120lbs of luggage...

this was a perfect vacation as far as I am concerned... I slept nearly flat out, had pretty good food in business class, little bit of alcohol... perfect vacation!

Earned my 36800 miles - and 2 days of rest - peace and quiet.

Ah, Paris, The City of Lights

Again this falls into to the so cool category... me in Paris... I even had the opportunity to practice my French skills - it was rather strange how things started popping back into my head... stuff I did even know i new how to say... i could feel my brain making connections. I have tons of pictures... I of course was there for work... but was able in my one day off to do some amazing things - thanks to the motivation of a collegue who dragged me from one end of the city to the other...thanks Kerry :-) and next time I am not falling for that "but look it is only this far on the map" crap... I like to support the taxi industry. The Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Champs de lyses... amazing... it is hard to take everything in in just one day... but wow we did see a lot.
The Tower was Huge	The Views Incredible
The Louvre - to see in person things I had only seen in books or on tv - the Mona Lisa ==>
The Sculptures captivated me the most... such vision to see in a slab 'o rock
An outside view of a portion of the Louvre	Champs de lyse
Okay, sometimes the angle is just right.... This cracked me up!

farewell 2007

As we welcome in 2008 and say goodbye to 2007... i reflect on the past year...

wow what a year... busy and always in motion seemed to be the watch words for 2007. I continue to learn and experience more of the world around me... my extensive time in Asia - has lead to a feeling of comfort when i am there... i like the people, and appreciate not only the differences but possibly more importantly the similarities.

The world is small, our hopes, dreams and fears are the threads that bind... the other stuff race, religion, and color often become the distractions to the truth of our hearts.

Many people collect souveniers I do too - what i collect is friends. I continue to add to my collection of friends and let me tell you it has been a banner year!

I thank the Universe (insert your label here - God, Budda, Allah) for the many blessings given me.

As always it is still about perspective and perception - and the powerful ability to CHOOSE how we react.

Many the energy you share with the world - come back to you times two - choose wisely.

Love and all the best