Travel Buddy

For some, this is a 3 day weekend with an extra day of relaxation. For me, it's a pair of flights to Lawton, Oklahoma, a 6 hour writing workshop, and a return Monday night sometime around midnight, with a couple of hours before back-to-work. And, for kicks, my travel buddy: the FTCE Middle Grades Integrated Curriculum Exam Study Guide. Memorization of atomic mass and the dates of various Civil War battles equals Good times. Job security trumps recreation these days, and that great novel or light romantic comedy film that might've helped me outlast the miles will have to wait.

The voices in my head...

I remember the days before the "Navigatrix." Clutching my highlighted MapQuest printout, squinting to see it by the light of the dashboard, driving into the night in unfamiliar turf. Ending up on a detour, closed road, or the wrong side of the tracks. My days of traipsing about pre-GPS were not pretty. How I love my in-phone GPS. No extra gadget to carry, no wires or accessories needed. The Navigatrix not only helps me to arrive at airport, hotel, and school safely, she allows me to search for the nearest Starbucks, Hospital, or movie listings. She has been my guide from Maine to Honolulu, and I can't imagine ever traveling without her.

Home (for a little while), Sweet Home

Every time I return to Jax I am impressed by the view. From a couple of thousand feet up the winding waterways look like crazy Hot Wheels tracks, tripping over one another in a race to the ocean. The vast green welcome mat of the longleaf pine, blending to a sandy white to an endless indigo. The sky is bluer here, and more vast. Okay, it's no utopia. I am a realist. But I've visited most every corner of the continental 48, and few places compare. Of course, the people outshine the landscape, from those waiting for me at home, to the friends we've met through teaching, chorale, and our growing theater family.

Sometimes, when we travel, people will ask where I'm from, unable to place the accent. If' I'm traveling with the family, the husband will say Jacksonville, but quickly follows it with the native New Yorker title he is so proud to wear. I'm proud of that too, but I usually just say Jacksonville. It's my home.

Bayou v. Brooklyn

They laugh loudly and they grieve losses with brass instruments. Now that the Christmas eating is over, they're headway into the seasonal king cake. Year-round there's the etouffe, crawfish, gumbo, and boudin, and the chicory Community coffee. New York Jews and Cajun folk may come from very different places, but we live our lives similarly, savoring every last drop. One workshop participant today spelled it out for me. See, if we don't feel like walking somewhere in New York we can jump on the subway for a quick trip. Back home, she said, if they didn't feel like walking they jumped into their boat and zipped up the bayou. A culture that believes flavorful, full-volume living, that believes that their way of life is the best there is. I can relate to that.

Neither here nor there

Straight from the classroom to the airport, there was some prime people watching time for me with my 3 hour layover in Atlanta. I've been out of airports for about 5 weeks, probably the longest stretch this close to sea level in the last eight years. I'd forgotten to appreciate the wonder/hassle of flying. Every walk of humanity passed me in the Hartsfield airport from the well-to do families with thousand dollar strollers and kids wrapped in J. Crew head to toe, and a bleached-out sixty-something woman, clad in mismatched sweats, using a Walmart bag as her carry-on luggage. The wonder of covering a couple of hundred miles in the time it takes my sixth graders to write an essay - that isn't lost on me, even as I approach the million miler status. I'd forgotten to appreciate the hassle of unpacking a couple of thousand dollars of electronics while undressing and submitting myself to scrutiny, and I'd forgotten to appreciate the hassle of spending two hours in a seat that might barely contain one of those essay-writing sixth graders. Out of the classroom and into the air, chasing the mighty greenback and doing all I can to secure our future. Next year may or may not offer me a classroom to do my bidding, so I guess I'll restock my sealed ziptop bag of 3 or fewer ounce sized liquid and gel grooming products.

344/365 Unpaid

Yeah, I make a couple of bucks doing these presentations, and I have to fulfill the dates already promised, but I finished my presentation today at 2:45 and I don't start again until 8:30 tomorrow morning. Can't I beam myself home in-between? I want to be with my peeps, my cats, and my music to practice. Instead I hide away in a random Starbucks, piddling away on the Macbook, dabbling in lesson plans, Facebook, Blogger, and workshop preparations. Not the super-gig, this presenting lifestyle.

343/365 Road Warrior?

Teach, meeting, dentist drive. Arrive in West Palm POOPED.

324/365 But I have a good excuse!

Red eye flight. Landed at 8:40 AM. Home and shower, down to school board office for photo i.d. and insurance plan meeting. Taught the afternoon, transport daughter to drama rehearsal. Changed at theater, then off to call for concert. Too tired to blog, but with 328/365 done...totally cheating and back-dating this one!

323/365 Even still, Life is good.

Very cool cut-out dude in front of the Life is Good store in the Seattle airport. Feeling like crap, looking forward to a long red-eye flight home and an incredibly busy weekend home, I still feel grateful for a life that's very good. Guess I'm a glass half-full gal. Who knew?

322/365 Ugh

Waiting for my flight from PDX to SEA, after a 6 hours of presenting I have NO voice. Is it a bird? Is it a pig? Is it the 153 germ-laden sixth graders? Whatever it is, I feel like death on a saltine. Red-eye flight tomorrow. Concerts this weekend... I love my busy life, but I have no time to feel poopy!

321/365 First Class Accommodations

It's a good thing I have the upgrade. Completing a rubric, stapling it to student work, comparing first drafts and revisions, creating teachers' running records and making "sticky note" comments for the kids takes space. Long flights used fruitfully are a good thing, but I think I'd rather be like the guy in front of me who started drinking martinis before we took off, and now is in happy dreamland.

308/365 I flatly refuse

to pay for internet service. Another hotel wanting $12.95. So instead I blog in the business center where I can't even hook up my laptop. No pictures, no extended post. I am remembering how little glamour there is in consulting. Even the limo ride was terrible today. From the Dulles area to Hunt Valley, Maryland took us 3 hours (less than 60 miles). I guess I underestimated the traffic, and maybe that 1 liter bottle of Deer Park water was a mistake. Just let me say that yes, that was me....er.... getting the job done behind a tree along the D.C. outer loop. Another overpriced crummy hotel meal. Another hotel room with a heater drying out every mucus membrane. I can't wait to get home tomorrow!

299/365 Over Employment

From idle hours to wild days. Land at JAX at 11:45, up at 5 for school. Yes, I am lucky that I can start my new adventure without burning the old bridges, but it isn't easy! The traveling, the rushing about, and the long hours of the old job really challenge me to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for 150+ kids the next day. Until I see some more of this old friend (above) I'm counting on caffiene!

298/365 What goes around

It's one of those round tower old-style hotels. This was where I did my first ever seminar, a day-long workshop for SDE on Four Square Writing, just a couple of weeks after 9/11/01. I thought it was familiar when I saw Hilton Oak Lawn on the itinerary for today. This was where it started. Now it is beautifully renovated, and I return to do a Four Square Writing seminar for another company, one of a dwindling schedule of seminar work. First time I was here I was easing my way out of the classroom, now I am easing my way back in. This building isn't the only thing circling back!

295/365 DisHarmony

As if it weren't bad enough that I was presenting for the Lurch and Company Educational Trainings, but then they booked my travel on Air Tran (read: Air Ghett0). The seats are made of thin plastic with a material like the reusable grocery bag covering for comfort. Back of the bus, and it's an interesting adventure. So many flying virgins! In row 27 (of 29) I sat, wedged against the window. This was the last departure to home, so they held the flight for late connectors. Beside me was this pretty little thing, a black girl, about 20 years old, who was bubbly and enthusiastic. And a flying virgin. My head was against the wall and I wanted no part, but she tried to chat with me. Her breath was strawberry Twizzler. Then she discovered the armrest radio. Apparently there was an all-Beyonce station. I don't relate that detail because I was listening to the station. I was subjected to Pretty Little Thing's rendition of Beyonce. It was somewhere between the sound Hansel makes when I accidentally step on his tail, and the sound of the coffee grinder. I could only make out the song through the familiar lyrics. She was singing full volume and I was trapped.

284/365 23731

Macbook is OK... This is my photo booth pic of the evening...

2 loads of watch, and the 2 of us walking our traditional 'Bucks and back route.

3 of us on the way to the beach.

7 when we join precious LMJ and her crew for a fish nip at the coolest tidal pool in the East.

3 for brunch with a Caribbean flair, dining outdoors at Atlantic Beach.

1 here in a hotel room. I don't mind my own company, but I'm glad that my day was filled with so many other numbers!

248/365 On the other end of 10

We bummed around the hotel for a while and then met the friends at Mimi's for a high-calorie breakfast. More laughter and good times shared, and many memories to sustain us until the too-long next time. It is a delight to see friends from my childhood with such wonderful partners. JS and DA so happy with the wonderful men they have met. Our West Coast adventure continued with a visit to the Santa Monica cousin and her wonderful man. We chatted, snacked and shopped the promenade. IMG spent the night with her cool cousin DG, so we can hardly wait to learn of their adventures.

247/365 OMG Wifi In Flight

In spite of the ridiculously early wake-up (2:30 AM), I am so psyched for this weekend. My guy and our girl sit across the aisle from me. She's on Myspace, he's watching HBO comedy while psychologically steering the plane from his window seat. I'm revved up for Sunday morning, the Disneyland half marathon, walking in celebration of the extended warranty on the hubby. Even more exciting is the prospect of visiting family and friends in SoCal, starting with a Buca di Beppo feast with JS, RD, DA, and her beau, R. We'll see cousins and great aunts, with my girl spending a night with her cool cousin DG in Santa Monica. Monday is a long day home, but it is capped off with Ev's first Oklahoma rehearsal. He's back onstage with a gun, a song, and a whole symphony orchestra. An exciting three days ahead!

243/365 Back of the Bus

My first class ticket turned into a last row seat (37 F) which means sitting on top of the loud, vibrating engine on the MD80, but it was worthwhile. I jumped on an earlier departure to the Richmond area and I was able to visit BJNR and crew. I saw those boys in July, yet they looked HUGE today. I was greeted by a big, running hug. Four games of tic-tac-toe on the kids' menu ended up a draw with a little artful rule-making by the little one. We had some fries, burgers, fries, and fries, as the kids watched tennis and commented on the "sweet serve," by the pros. A short visit, but very sweet. And worth hopping a ride on the back of the bus.

234/365 I would've posted this yesterday, but I was digesting

The Chicago Hot Dog:

Vienna Beef dog on a steamed poppy seed bun. Mustard, green, green relish, sport peppers, celery salt, tomato slices, and onions.

Earlier this week I took in some Skyline Chili (Cincinnati's Famous). And I nabbed some Garrett's Caramel Corn at O'Hare. Taking in the local fare is one benefit of my crazy job!