well .... here we go!

my last week of work is nearly finished. it's actually quite hard to believe. it's all starting to feel real now. the management 'handover' and training week went really well. they've got a great new team in place, a team with much more enthusiasm and energy than i've been able to give these last few months. so i'm really excited for the direction of the company, and oddly enough, excited to let go of it and pass the baton. i did have a sad moment last weekend when putting together a little slideshow i want to leave with them and writing my farewell email to my colleagues (not sent yet), reminding myself of all the fun i've had with them and what i've gained and how much responsibility i've been given over the years. it really is tremendous. and i really am truly grateful. tony is taking me to lunch on tuesday - anywhere i want in london - no restrictions he says, except availability.

and my african blog is now up and running! from here on out, i will most likely use that site only - at least until i return. i know it seems silly to start a second blog, but this crossingponds blog is not one that everyone has. and part of me wants to keep it that way. which is ridiculous seeing that anyone can stumble upon a blog, or link to it, or share it - it's not REALLY that private, but somehow, this one feels that way, so it allows me a little more freedom in my writing.

not that i won't be free in my next blog - but that is going to be more purely about the experience itself, what i'm doing, how i'm feeling about it. and less about life in general (like, oh, say, the condo we just put an offer on in milwaukee!)

eventually, i'd imagine i'd switch back to this blog - but there are a few more people i'd like to share my gambia experience with. so ... here goes! from here on out, you can find me at continentalcrossings for my ramblings from the gambia! enjoy!

10 days and counting!

sitting in an internet cafe below the flat i'm staying ... limited internet access this week, hence the lack of posts. but it's been a great week. working some, playing some, enjoying london, and also appreciating where i'm heading.

exciting news in brief:
* gambian high commission returned my visa in 24 hours! i keep hearing about 'gambian maybe time' GMT - so i was impressed
* jason bought his ticket for the gambia and got his visa too!
* i'll be in dublin for work this wed-friday
* saw lots of old friends at the pub last night for a catch up! (lovely fun - though feeling a bit groggy today)
* jason bought us tickets for AFRIKA AFRIKA on friday night so went to a great performance of african dance and circus-like acts - got me VERY excited about this continent i'll be living on for 3 months!
* got a much clearer picture what it is i'll be doing in africa via an email from the country manager and former volunteer. i'll get the info up, but i really want to put it on my new african blog, so watch this space!
* lots of good food and friends here in the UK, as always.

anyhow, i'll try to get back on the blog later this week when i've got internet again and i'm not on a public terminal. love to all!

made it to london

after a long flight from o'hare, we are in london, for anyone charting our progress. i woke up with a kink in my neck on thursday and can't seem to shake it, it feels like a pinched nerve, so the plane ride was relatively uncomfortable. my newly acquired 'gold' status with american airlines advantage club didn't seem to get us any perks that might make the journey more comfortable. ah well.

tonight we're off to dinner at a favorite brixton haunt, and then possibly into town to watch the packers game at an american sports bar. we had a nearly 4 hour nap this afternoon, so i think we'll make it into the wee hours.

next week is work for me, training the woman who will take over part of my position, and a few days in the office. tomorrow, hopefully wandering around spittalfields. we shall see. i've no real plan.

leaving in less than 3 weeks for the gambia. crazy! i'll get that african blog up soon!

when you fall, you get right back up, OR ...

you head to the bar for a few pints of fat tire amber ale. which is exactly what i did yesterday after throwing a tantrum on the hill at A-basin ski resort in keystone, colorado. it wasn't a tantrum, per se, though i did collapse half way down the mountain in sheer frustration (and fear) while poor jason waited patiently for me to pull myself up. i shimmied my way down the mountain sideways until the slope felt more manageable and then skied myself straight to the bar where i sat with the other frustrated souls for the rest of the afternoon. fortunately, we'd gotten a bargain on the lift tickets - only $40/day - so i didn't feel too bad for only going down one (green!) run. but i think it was the best $40 i spent the whole trip because it helped me to admit to myself, and to poor jason, that i am not, dear readers, a skier. and i'm ok with that now. (hands up if that surprises you. cold weather, effort in outfitting, exercise on a vacation, hmmmm.) actually, to be fair, i did have one enjoyable day of skiing greens at copper mountain. but i think one day of skiing on a ski trip is enough for me. i've decided on our next trip, i'll be the designated cook, babysitter, or spa-goer. fine by me!

but apart from the skiing, it's been a great trip. jason and i spent two days driving to colorado from madison, crossing illinois, iowa and nebraska and stopping frequently for food and drink (and loos). we stayed in grand island nebraska at a comfort inn. and made it to keystone where his friends had organized a condo for 10. a few beers in and it was time to watch the ball drop, which we did before turning in relatively early for a day of skiing. i ended up not skiing the first day, knowing i wasn't going to ski all four days anyway, and that was a good choice as apparently it was freezing on the mountain. instead i hung around the house getting myself ready for africa and my US departure next friday. (for london first, then africa on feb 1).

speaking of which, i'm getting my african blog sorted and will post a link soon enough. watch this space. we bought my mosquito net, deet, sunscreen, first aid kit and other essentials for three months in a village.

and saving the best news for last .... i've been ACCEPTED at marquette! woo hoo! i'm in! this means i'll start the masters in counseling (school counseling emphasis) next august! a great feeling to know i'm sorted upon my return from the gambia. so all in all, off to a great start in 2008. i hope everyone else can say the same!

sand to snow

i just got back from a five mile run in the snow. it's not actually snowing, but the streets were covered from yesterday's downfall, so we crunched along through the powder and slush. it was actually quite invigorating and running at night with the blanket of white and the moon lighting the way was beautiful. i'm trying to get used to snow being a part of my winter reality. so far so good! yesterday we were out and about in milwaukee and the snow was coming down in flurries. i had my new puffer jacket (see previous post) and my new christmas scarf so was sufficiently warm!

we were out with jason's mother for the day and she took us to the Pabst Mansion. this is the 'pabst' of 'pabst blue ribbon' beer. she's a tour guide for the mansion so we really got the inside scoop - it was very interesting! she's a serious milwaukee-phile, volunteering at the mansion, the ballet, the theatre, and lots of other local treasures, so i think i'll be in good hands as i'm trying to get to know the city!

we also found a place we liked in the third ward district. but after getting home, crunching numbers and looking at the stats for the US housing market, we're still debating whether it makes sense to buy vs rent. we shall see. we're in no hurry. i've got to get to africa and back before we need to get really serious!

and tomorrow we're setting off on our 18 hour drive to denver to get some skiing in over the new years holiday. we should be there by monday night around 8ish. in time to watch the ball drop.

happy new years to you and yours wherever you are.

(oh, my mom said that blogger was forcing people to log in in order to leave comments. i think you can still tick 'nickname' and just type your name, without logging in, to leave a comment. can someone try this and let me know if it works?)

a christmas letter

i got this letter from a traveling friend and thought it was too good not to share!
merry christmas to all:


Hey all - happy holidays. Or, what I guess I really want to say is, whether you've celebrated Hannukah or Ramadan, Christmas or nothing at all - on your own in some fly-by-night town or in a living room strewn with kids and parents and a rogue aunt...I hope it's good. I hope it is really good.

One of the many inspiring people I met in Asia over the last couple of months said something that is going to stick with me. As a teacher, when he talks to his students about what they are going to do, he tells them: "Hey, it's your life. It is your choice. If this is the book of your life - when you are old - make it one you want to read."

Whether you eschew the holidays and would rather be running through the jungle, or if you've come full circle to land on your parents' couch, don't let the moment pass. It might be so much more convenient to talk about the past or rattle on about the future, but we are all laying down the story of our lives. And anyway, I've learned that all the crappy, unforeseen subplots sure make people laugh later.

Live that happiness they always talk about. Isn't that such a strange Western idea? We have so much material wealth, yet happiness always seems so elusively around the corner. Travelling helps you see that many people in the world, despite threats to their livelihoods, grinding poverty or imminent conflict, do not seek it - they live it. It can be as simple as a warm fire or a balled-up plastic bag football. The human connection, the communion with nature, the knowledge that there is a roof over one's head and some food in the belly - these bring the idea of happiness back home.

Some of you have had kids this year - hey - if that's not scary, I really don't know what is. It may be easy for some of us to jump on a plane, but harder for some of us to fall in love. It might be harder for others to wind up in a strange town, surrounded by foreign voices and suspect food, and easier for others to get on a tank and cross borders under the guise of night. None of matters, really in the end, what we do. It is really how we do it, and why.

So this is an email to toast all of you (virtually, I guess, with a whiskey somewhere around here...), and to say cheers for all of it. For keeping in touch when you can, for letting me know that you're still alive, for sending me strange pictures of babies in utero, for sending me stranger pictures of you at work, for making the impossible possible and most importantly - for never hesitating to show me - in your own way - that you are navigating the treacherous waters of this insane, beautiful and complicated world.

We're all going to be dust someday, so what better way to evade death for the moment than live?

Thanks for making this ride worth it.

merry christmas!

merry christmas from santa cruz!

it's been a great week here in california the sun is out and it's been in the 60's all week - absolutely gorgeous, the way christmas should be. (i know, i know, there are those who will argue for a white christmas - i'll get that later this week when i fly to wisconsin.) we've had a lot of jam-packed fun with the family. dinner and wine tasting at soif, a night with dan hicks and the christmas jug band, a walk through the redwoods, a few runs on west cliff drive, a santa stumble dive bar crawl through downtown santa cruz, moonrise watching party over capitola, dwight's famous BBQ ribs. a fantastic time!

here are a few pics - enjoy! and happy holidays wherever you are!