Saturday, June 20, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
My first trip to FRANCE (other than a layover at CDG)
Truth be told: Astonishingly enough in all my travels throughout the world. I have never been to France. Figured when I was old and tired I would go to France instead of trying to take on all of the third world countries (before they become second and first world leaders) Watching how an emerging market and nation socially, economically and environmentally develops....watching history unfold and being a part of it has always been more interesting to me than experiencing something that hasn't changed for centuries....Until I was accepted at www.insead.edu for an executive program in France. This forced me to go to France much earlier than I had intended. I have an amazing new respect for things that haven't changed and have stayed the same. There is something to be said pour le'change de resistance'!
I have traveled all over Europe but always for business or to visit people I love: England, Germany, Switzerland (ok that was for skiing), Belgium, Luxumbourg, Italy, etc. But never, France, Spain or Portugal. I figured I would leave that for when I was finished trying to make the world a safer and better place.
I will tell you, if you stay in Paris (of which I have not been too yet other than the airport again), My belief (perhaps soon to be proven wrong is:)Paris is a city, just like most others. Everyone is cranky doesn't have patience and is trying to make there way in the world. The leaders of the nation reside there so politics is always on the top of the stack. Kind of like university towns. The young and idealistic are the majority and proceed to protest everything from calling McDonalds , Le McDonalds to the importance of a call against France in a game ruled by FIFA.
However, my initial indoctrination to France is in the country. In the middle of the forest! But, upon my arrival, I must say the first thing when I walked off the plane that I noticed was that all the baggage trucks were electrically powered and recharged! Unlike the US which still utilizes small stinky petro fueled carts. Rock On! Kudo's to the green movement.
I arrived in the country and went to a small village named Samois sur seine. On the river. I stopped at the bakery picked up a baguette (whole grain with flax) a bottle of sparkling water, a chunk of fresh raw milk brie and proceeded to walk down to the river through the village of 2100 people (most likely during the summer)admiring the gardens, the amazing smells, the dogs, the swans, the sun, the trees....the chimes of the clock tower. I was quite sure I was in heaven. I ate on a bench and watched the wild life and people and giggled like a school girl. It was amazing.........
I have traveled all over Europe but always for business or to visit people I love: England, Germany, Switzerland (ok that was for skiing), Belgium, Luxumbourg, Italy, etc. But never, France, Spain or Portugal. I figured I would leave that for when I was finished trying to make the world a safer and better place.
I will tell you, if you stay in Paris (of which I have not been too yet other than the airport again), My belief (perhaps soon to be proven wrong is:)Paris is a city, just like most others. Everyone is cranky doesn't have patience and is trying to make there way in the world. The leaders of the nation reside there so politics is always on the top of the stack. Kind of like university towns. The young and idealistic are the majority and proceed to protest everything from calling McDonalds , Le McDonalds to the importance of a call against France in a game ruled by FIFA.
However, my initial indoctrination to France is in the country. In the middle of the forest! But, upon my arrival, I must say the first thing when I walked off the plane that I noticed was that all the baggage trucks were electrically powered and recharged! Unlike the US which still utilizes small stinky petro fueled carts. Rock On! Kudo's to the green movement.
I arrived in the country and went to a small village named Samois sur seine. On the river. I stopped at the bakery picked up a baguette (whole grain with flax) a bottle of sparkling water, a chunk of fresh raw milk brie and proceeded to walk down to the river through the village of 2100 people (most likely during the summer)admiring the gardens, the amazing smells, the dogs, the swans, the sun, the trees....the chimes of the clock tower. I was quite sure I was in heaven. I ate on a bench and watched the wild life and people and giggled like a school girl. It was amazing.........
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
The Denver Airport Delay
Chose to live, laugh, love and learn because this is all it is....if only for this one moment in time.
(The people around me are extremely upset (yelling at the poor ticket agents who obviously haven't remembered to bring their weather control devices for your personal convenience) because the plane is delayed for 2 hours (weather not silly stuff especially when you think of the plane lost in the ocean coming from Brazil this week)
Inconvenient yes (I would really like to see my kids) but life extinguishing I think not...) A deep breath and thought for all those who have much greater trials than being stuck at an airport with free wifi, access to food, shelter, and electricity!)
Ahhhh it's all good.
(The people around me are extremely upset (yelling at the poor ticket agents who obviously haven't remembered to bring their weather control devices for your personal convenience) because the plane is delayed for 2 hours (weather not silly stuff especially when you think of the plane lost in the ocean coming from Brazil this week)
Inconvenient yes (I would really like to see my kids) but life extinguishing I think not...) A deep breath and thought for all those who have much greater trials than being stuck at an airport with free wifi, access to food, shelter, and electricity!)
Ahhhh it's all good.
Quote of the Day: Attitude
Attitude
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude is more important than facts. It is more important than past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, gifted ability, or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past, we cannot change the fact that people will act in certain way, we cannot change the inevitable. The only thing that we can do is play on the one string that we have, and that is our attitude.
I am convinced that life is ten percent what happens to us and ninety percent how we react to it.
And so it is with you…we are in charge of our Attitudes.
- Charles R. Swindoll quotes (American Writer and Clergyman, b.1934)
Thank you Lyle for reminding me that I shouldn't be such a social introvert for the wrong reasons:-)
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude is more important than facts. It is more important than past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, gifted ability, or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past, we cannot change the fact that people will act in certain way, we cannot change the inevitable. The only thing that we can do is play on the one string that we have, and that is our attitude.
I am convinced that life is ten percent what happens to us and ninety percent how we react to it.
And so it is with you…we are in charge of our Attitudes.
- Charles R. Swindoll quotes (American Writer and Clergyman, b.1934)
Thank you Lyle for reminding me that I shouldn't be such a social introvert for the wrong reasons:-)
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Onward to another life: Sri K. Pattabhi Jois
May all be well with mankind.
May the leaders of the earth protect in every way by keeping to the right path.
May there be goodness for those who know the earth to be sacred
May all the worlds be happy.
One of my dreams was to travel to Mysore and study with this magnificent peaceful human being. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be in this lifetime. Sri Pattabhi Jois passed from this life to another world on May 18th 2009.
Someday I will still make it to Mysore to study with one of his sons and drink in the beauty and peace of one of my favorite places in this world, India. Until then,
Om Shanti, Om.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
OKC, The Lost Boys, Kenya Calling.....
On my way to Oklahoma City for the wedding of my colleagues daughter...I realized how happy I was to have my "traveling shoes" back on again. I really had only been in one place for 4 days, but nonetheless I was ready to hit the road and fill my senses with new people, places, experiences and things.
I always seem to meet interesting people when I am on the road. Perhaps it is because I am more open and not in an everyday situation. I love to watch people. I am not really a "talker" but if the right person walks into my sphere I engage because I know it is right. I love to hear their stories, life experiences, perceptions of similar situations.
On my flight today I was sitting in the airport watching and working on my computer sharing an outlet (which always seems to happen these days)and the man commented about my laptop which is dual English and Arabic keyboard. We started talking, conversations intertwining, synergistic. I noticed the the people who were sitting across from us.
I then recollected a story of being in Washington D.C. with my 1 1/2 yr old twins and Sabrina traveling to KY for my nephew S's graduation. On the way we were stuck at DCA for quite sometime due to the usual onslaught of June thunderstorm season rolling through D.C. Eight hours in the airport with a set of twins provides for loads of interaction with people and interesting observations and conversations.
As we wonder around the airport trying to induce sleep by letting the twins walk off all their energy (I know now, it has the exact opposite effect at that age. They become physically exhausted however mentally they are completely afraid if they close their eyes they might miss something new and spectacular. Thus it creates stumbling exhausted children) we move closer to our gate hoping that perhaps we might get them to lay down on a blanket or in their stroller and take a brief nap. I notice a group of various age young boys and men, all with white packets in their hands. They wore various t-shirts with designs on them but what caught my attention was they way were walking or sitting and staring at their feet. I mentioned to Sabrina that these boys and men had obviously never worn shoes before, and looked as if this was one of the first flights that they had taken....They were obviously a long way from home.
In the tired state of mind my son walked up to a young man around 12-13 yrs of age and grabbed a hold of his leg and hugged it. I thought the boy was going to jump out of his skin, but he looked down at my son with the kindest eyes... as I walked up to him and smiled and apologized. Of course he understood nothing that I was saying but the smile and the eyes spoke a thousand words, that were understood by all of us.
He picked up my son in his arms away from his leg, my son looked at him in the eyes and smiled and proceeded to put his arms around this young mans neck and his head upon his shoulder, closed his eyes and fell directly asleep. I put my hand on the boys shoulder motioning if I should relieve him of his un obligated duty. He smiled and sat down with my son and held him until the plane started to board. I wish I had a camera for that moment.
My daughter of course continued to romp around drunk tired.
As the plane began to board, I could sense the anxiety and fear that had risen in the air...all of the boys and men looking at their tickets pointing... I then knew they didn't understand where, when or what seat they were supposed to be boarding too. Sabrina and I pre boarded with the kids onto the plane, my daughter fell asleep immediately. I walked back out the door and went to the boy who had held my son, I grabbed his hand and pointed to his ticket. I walked each one of them to their seats on that plane. A sigh of relief washed over all.
I was very happy to arrive in KY everyone safe and sound. I was even happier to see as I deboarded the plane with all my "ducklings"safely following closely behind. There was entire crowd of people with "Welcome to America" signs waiting for my ducklings :-) I smiled and hugged the boy and looked him in the eyes and said "Welcome to America" he smiled back with a tear in his eye and said "thank you".
My sister in law met us at the airport as always ready to give the twins huge hugs and love. I explained to her about the hug and the boys. She explained to me that their is a huge population of immigrants that are sponsored by local charities to bring them to KY....who would have ever thought. This is where they go after arrival:
http://www.lostboysfilm.com/learn.html
Popping back into the current days travel and story:
The man smiled. He explained that he was an ER doctor from Nairobi, Kenya and he was here to ensure one of the boys made it to San Antonio. He would return to Kenya the following day... What a wonderful man he is.... Now I have a new pen pal. We exchanged email addresses. I hope to be fortunate enough to return to Kenya someday. Perhaps, I can convince a few of my MD and Dentist friends to come along and help plow the way to peace together.
All from a random meeting at an airport....
I always seem to meet interesting people when I am on the road. Perhaps it is because I am more open and not in an everyday situation. I love to watch people. I am not really a "talker" but if the right person walks into my sphere I engage because I know it is right. I love to hear their stories, life experiences, perceptions of similar situations.
On my flight today I was sitting in the airport watching and working on my computer sharing an outlet (which always seems to happen these days)and the man commented about my laptop which is dual English and Arabic keyboard. We started talking, conversations intertwining, synergistic. I noticed the the people who were sitting across from us.
I then recollected a story of being in Washington D.C. with my 1 1/2 yr old twins and Sabrina traveling to KY for my nephew S's graduation. On the way we were stuck at DCA for quite sometime due to the usual onslaught of June thunderstorm season rolling through D.C. Eight hours in the airport with a set of twins provides for loads of interaction with people and interesting observations and conversations.
As we wonder around the airport trying to induce sleep by letting the twins walk off all their energy (I know now, it has the exact opposite effect at that age. They become physically exhausted however mentally they are completely afraid if they close their eyes they might miss something new and spectacular. Thus it creates stumbling exhausted children) we move closer to our gate hoping that perhaps we might get them to lay down on a blanket or in their stroller and take a brief nap. I notice a group of various age young boys and men, all with white packets in their hands. They wore various t-shirts with designs on them but what caught my attention was they way were walking or sitting and staring at their feet. I mentioned to Sabrina that these boys and men had obviously never worn shoes before, and looked as if this was one of the first flights that they had taken....They were obviously a long way from home.
In the tired state of mind my son walked up to a young man around 12-13 yrs of age and grabbed a hold of his leg and hugged it. I thought the boy was going to jump out of his skin, but he looked down at my son with the kindest eyes... as I walked up to him and smiled and apologized. Of course he understood nothing that I was saying but the smile and the eyes spoke a thousand words, that were understood by all of us.
He picked up my son in his arms away from his leg, my son looked at him in the eyes and smiled and proceeded to put his arms around this young mans neck and his head upon his shoulder, closed his eyes and fell directly asleep. I put my hand on the boys shoulder motioning if I should relieve him of his un obligated duty. He smiled and sat down with my son and held him until the plane started to board. I wish I had a camera for that moment.
My daughter of course continued to romp around drunk tired.
As the plane began to board, I could sense the anxiety and fear that had risen in the air...all of the boys and men looking at their tickets pointing... I then knew they didn't understand where, when or what seat they were supposed to be boarding too. Sabrina and I pre boarded with the kids onto the plane, my daughter fell asleep immediately. I walked back out the door and went to the boy who had held my son, I grabbed his hand and pointed to his ticket. I walked each one of them to their seats on that plane. A sigh of relief washed over all.
I was very happy to arrive in KY everyone safe and sound. I was even happier to see as I deboarded the plane with all my "ducklings"safely following closely behind. There was entire crowd of people with "Welcome to America" signs waiting for my ducklings :-) I smiled and hugged the boy and looked him in the eyes and said "Welcome to America" he smiled back with a tear in his eye and said "thank you".
My sister in law met us at the airport as always ready to give the twins huge hugs and love. I explained to her about the hug and the boys. She explained to me that their is a huge population of immigrants that are sponsored by local charities to bring them to KY....who would have ever thought. This is where they go after arrival:
http://www.lostboysfilm.com/learn.html
Popping back into the current days travel and story:
The man smiled. He explained that he was an ER doctor from Nairobi, Kenya and he was here to ensure one of the boys made it to San Antonio. He would return to Kenya the following day... What a wonderful man he is.... Now I have a new pen pal. We exchanged email addresses. I hope to be fortunate enough to return to Kenya someday. Perhaps, I can convince a few of my MD and Dentist friends to come along and help plow the way to peace together.
All from a random meeting at an airport....
Saturday, May 23, 2009
I'd forgotten how wonderful and amazing the fire flies look floating and flickering out in the open fields. So brilliant and delightful to watch! So simple, yet so complex.... Ah just to sit and think of all the permutations and combinations that act and react to allow the earth and universe to continue to exist. Perhaps, we as humans need to take a step back, breathe and learn how to coexist before we cease to exist. The simplest solutions seem the most difficult for people to grasp.
Good night, muffins, moon, stars, fire flies, people and universe. I look forward to greeting you again if I am lucky enough to wake and drink you in again tomorrow.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
The Whirlwind U.S. Tour
Well I dont know quite how to start this other than describing these last 4 weeks as amazing. Dropped into NYC, LAX, LAS,LAX hit the red eye back to NYC, went and changed the clothes out of my suitcase, got in the car and was dropped off at 1500 in time for the CIO Forum cruise on the Norweigen Dawn for 4 Days... Back on the ground for 2 days, D.C. for a week, home for Mother's Day, back to D.C. Now I am back in CT for 4 days then off to OKC for 4 days.....
Stay Tuned.... More tomorrow after a bit of sleep and snuggle time with my darling little girl...
Stay Tuned.... More tomorrow after a bit of sleep and snuggle time with my darling little girl...
Friday, April 17, 2009
Fun Vampires
Col. Mustard had a great way of describing somthing I have felt today. Fun Vampires! I love it! They are the people that when they walk into the room all the life is sucked right out of it (or so they try). We are working on anti-fun sucking garlic serum for these people. I am not quite sure what “fun vampires” get out of the action other than....trying their best to make certain that everyone is as miserable as they are....Doesnt work on me most times and definately not as long as sunshine, kids and animals are involved.
Addendum: I have been in entire towns where everyone is a FUN VAMPIRE....completely trying to suck the life out of you. I may have to start a fun vampire map so that my friends can avoid these areas that I encounter during my travels!
Happy Friday!
S
Addendum: I have been in entire towns where everyone is a FUN VAMPIRE....completely trying to suck the life out of you. I may have to start a fun vampire map so that my friends can avoid these areas that I encounter during my travels!
Happy Friday!
S
Thursday, April 16, 2009
~Home- Simple Minds
God gave me travelling shoes, God gave me the wanderer’s eye,
God gave me a few gold coins to help me to the other side.
Looked around and said: be careful how small things grow,
God gave me travelling shoes and I knew that it was time to go.
Sent in the ship at night to take me to the hidden port.
Found me the key at last to open up the prison door.
Brought down the blackbird's wings, gifted me with beggar's eyes.
Sent in the jackals to tell me I should say bye, bye, bye.
I'm home, home,
Home, home, home
And I'm home, home,
home, home, home
But I'm miles and miles and miles and miles and miles away
Where can I hide?
God gave me one last chance, gave me one last reprieve.
Jah gave me hunger, gave me the air to breathe.
Gave me one suitcase, gave me one last goodbye
Gave me travelling shoes, without them I would surely die, die, die
Home, home
Home, home, home (2x)
Thanks Ferry :-)
God gave me a few gold coins to help me to the other side.
Looked around and said: be careful how small things grow,
God gave me travelling shoes and I knew that it was time to go.
Sent in the ship at night to take me to the hidden port.
Found me the key at last to open up the prison door.
Brought down the blackbird's wings, gifted me with beggar's eyes.
Sent in the jackals to tell me I should say bye, bye, bye.
I'm home, home,
Home, home, home
And I'm home, home,
home, home, home
But I'm miles and miles and miles and miles and miles away
Where can I hide?
God gave me one last chance, gave me one last reprieve.
Jah gave me hunger, gave me the air to breathe.
Gave me one suitcase, gave me one last goodbye
Gave me travelling shoes, without them I would surely die, die, die
Home, home
Home, home, home (2x)
Thanks Ferry :-)
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Random Ruminations on my flight to JFK
If I had seven days and I and I knew it...what would I do...what would I change....what would I do to help others...who would I talk to...what would I say? Why would I say it...
It is the eyes of the children that keep me alive...
I will like you because you are a good person...You are good and kind even when people are not watching you....
The vibrations of the sound of life, smells and music resonate thoughout my life.....
When I surrounded by the less fortunate it reminds me of my of how fortunate I am....would you tell me your story?
I have a thyroid contdition....not cancer...not fatal...not congenital heart disease.....I am so fortunate...
I have lived the lives of many...I have been farther and saw more of life than 99% of the individuals on this planet we call earth.....If I can just give a smile to give life and hope to others it will all be good...I am so fortunate.
There are so many things that I want to do....I just want the time to do everything that excites me..... I am so afraid of time running out....
I miss my kids... . I miss my dog...I miss everything related to family... but yet I am still here kicking away....trying to make a difference...
Freedom is my life and you know how I feel.... the hum of life it is what keeps me going.... to watch and to feel is all I know....I am a simpelton and a hermit...but loving every moment I have to view it all is a wonderful thing....
Hugs from the sky...
It is the eyes of the children that keep me alive...
I will like you because you are a good person...You are good and kind even when people are not watching you....
The vibrations of the sound of life, smells and music resonate thoughout my life.....
When I surrounded by the less fortunate it reminds me of my of how fortunate I am....would you tell me your story?
I have a thyroid contdition....not cancer...not fatal...not congenital heart disease.....I am so fortunate...
I have lived the lives of many...I have been farther and saw more of life than 99% of the individuals on this planet we call earth.....If I can just give a smile to give life and hope to others it will all be good...I am so fortunate.
There are so many things that I want to do....I just want the time to do everything that excites me..... I am so afraid of time running out....
I miss my kids... . I miss my dog...I miss everything related to family... but yet I am still here kicking away....trying to make a difference...
Freedom is my life and you know how I feel.... the hum of life it is what keeps me going.... to watch and to feel is all I know....I am a simpelton and a hermit...but loving every moment I have to view it all is a wonderful thing....
Hugs from the sky...
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Susan has now not only survived a tornado, sandstorm, torrential downpour with thunder and lighting but a nice little sting from a scorpion
I have survived a lot in my life, I am a warrior and my family and friends know it...
Highlights: Tornado's while growing up, Massive earthquakes in CA, the military stuff, the Berkeley Hills fire, Berkeley in general, turf wars of gangs in Oakland which is kind of like being taken out by the Masai, 9-11, tropical depressions on a faraway island, almost being bought as the 26th wife by a Masai tribesman in Africa, Malaria from India....you know the usual girl from Indiana stuff.
The funny thing about it is that as much as life throws at me, I take a deep breath and am happy to be alive, hopefully a little wiser in the process learning from my mistakes and adventures but none the less happy to be six ft above ground everyday when I open my eyes. I have all my fingers and toes, two healthy children, a roof over my head, food in my kids mouths, a wonderful inner circle and no one is shooting at me (currently, hopefully not anytime soon either). It is all just a journey and I am sucking it all in! So the thoughts for this week (as I am returning to NYC for approx a month for surgery)is the following:
I never knew that the UAE and Oman had tornado's, lightening like I have never seen and thunder that is like a nuke going off in your bedroom, torrential downpours that flood the highways, Sandstorms (I knew about these) However my newest surprise decided that the weather outside was to dangerous and wet for his or her liking and decided to come into my car (through a vent perhaps, who knows) and as I finished dinner at the Intercontinental with my favorite Canadians I went into my car and sat down and got a huge sharp sting in my lower back! Ouch! I put my hand back there to see if I could find what stung me but no luck. I could feel the pain radiating out and feeling kind of funny. I called Dr. Bill on my way back to the camp and told him what had happened. I was only 5 minutes from home. So I got there he gave me massive dose of antihistimines, a glass of white wine and then cleaned the area and looked for a stinger of some sort. No stinger... He suspected a scorpion. No biggie he didn't hit me by my heart! So I fell asleep with ice on my back, and the Dr. Watching over me as I slept on the couch. No anaphylectic shock today.
So when I returned to the car the next day my friend R~ made me check my car before getting in...and sure enough there was a dead scorpion on the floor mat of my car....Oh well at least I now have immunities to one of the 27 or so species that exist in the desert! 26 to go....eh it wasn't that bad....I am still 6ft above ground, however will be a bit more careful when climbing into ground related structures...
Much love to all, your crazy geek in the desert,
Susan
Highlights: Tornado's while growing up, Massive earthquakes in CA, the military stuff, the Berkeley Hills fire, Berkeley in general, turf wars of gangs in Oakland which is kind of like being taken out by the Masai, 9-11, tropical depressions on a faraway island, almost being bought as the 26th wife by a Masai tribesman in Africa, Malaria from India....you know the usual girl from Indiana stuff.
The funny thing about it is that as much as life throws at me, I take a deep breath and am happy to be alive, hopefully a little wiser in the process learning from my mistakes and adventures but none the less happy to be six ft above ground everyday when I open my eyes. I have all my fingers and toes, two healthy children, a roof over my head, food in my kids mouths, a wonderful inner circle and no one is shooting at me (currently, hopefully not anytime soon either). It is all just a journey and I am sucking it all in! So the thoughts for this week (as I am returning to NYC for approx a month for surgery)is the following:
I never knew that the UAE and Oman had tornado's, lightening like I have never seen and thunder that is like a nuke going off in your bedroom, torrential downpours that flood the highways, Sandstorms (I knew about these) However my newest surprise decided that the weather outside was to dangerous and wet for his or her liking and decided to come into my car (through a vent perhaps, who knows) and as I finished dinner at the Intercontinental with my favorite Canadians I went into my car and sat down and got a huge sharp sting in my lower back! Ouch! I put my hand back there to see if I could find what stung me but no luck. I could feel the pain radiating out and feeling kind of funny. I called Dr. Bill on my way back to the camp and told him what had happened. I was only 5 minutes from home. So I got there he gave me massive dose of antihistimines, a glass of white wine and then cleaned the area and looked for a stinger of some sort. No stinger... He suspected a scorpion. No biggie he didn't hit me by my heart! So I fell asleep with ice on my back, and the Dr. Watching over me as I slept on the couch. No anaphylectic shock today.
So when I returned to the car the next day my friend R~ made me check my car before getting in...and sure enough there was a dead scorpion on the floor mat of my car....Oh well at least I now have immunities to one of the 27 or so species that exist in the desert! 26 to go....eh it wasn't that bad....I am still 6ft above ground, however will be a bit more careful when climbing into ground related structures...
Much love to all, your crazy geek in the desert,
Susan
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Coffee by Jahnjeer
One of my favorite parts of my day is when Jahnjeer brings me coffee and water in the morning.
Jahnjeer is from Bangladesh, he speaks four languages (including english), is smart as a whip and is such a wonderful human being with a kind heart. When he brings my coffee into my office in the morning, he teaches me something new every day. A greeting or word of the day a custom I don't quite grasp, really helpful.
As the day continues on he knows exactly when my coffee cup is empty and that I have two cups (I prefer Turkish but nescafe does quite nicely) I drink 4-6 cans of Canadian club soda, I love pumpkin seeds and pistachios and a wonderful cup of herbal tea in the afternoon around 1430.
He takes care of me...he reminds me when it is closing time (as the absent minded geek I am I always lose track of time and would most likely forget that the world exists outside of my office). He used to wait until I left for the day, however, he figured out that I really had no sense of time or when the work day was over when I kept going until 2000hrs.
He then realized that I was a "geek" and had absolutely no sense of time and he began to make a habit of coming in to remind me that the work day was over, I should go out and get a bit of sun and run my errands so that I could start the day fresh again tomorrow.
This man who is the "office boy" is a talented, multilingual, genuine gem who upon my arrival back from NYC along with the other special people in my world, will get a present of hugs and possibly other things from the opposite side of the globe...
From Dubai with love to all,
Susan
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
In my passport case....
In my passport case is the following:
My Passport (obviously)
International Drivers Liscence
Pictures of my family
Various denominations of money (including a 500,000 dollar bill from Zimbabwe given to me from a friend for the kids)
and the most important through all of the moves:
Four cards given to me by my favorite sister in law (hidden in various places in my Chicago Apt at the time so that I would turn a corner or open a drawer and smile). Whenever I doubt myself I pull them out and look at them.
1. Dare to be remarkable
2. Never, never, never ever give up.
3. Yesterday is history tomorrow is a mystery TODAY is a gift.
and 4: Live with intention. walk to the edge. listen hard. play with abandon. laugh. choose with no regret. continue to learn. appreciate your friends. do what you love. live as if this is all there is....~Mary anne radmacher.
Thank you Darlene for the constant reminder that I am here for today...and I will live for it...
Much love,
Susan
My Passport (obviously)
International Drivers Liscence
Pictures of my family
Various denominations of money (including a 500,000 dollar bill from Zimbabwe given to me from a friend for the kids)
and the most important through all of the moves:
Four cards given to me by my favorite sister in law (hidden in various places in my Chicago Apt at the time so that I would turn a corner or open a drawer and smile). Whenever I doubt myself I pull them out and look at them.
1. Dare to be remarkable
2. Never, never, never ever give up.
3. Yesterday is history tomorrow is a mystery TODAY is a gift.
and 4: Live with intention. walk to the edge. listen hard. play with abandon. laugh. choose with no regret. continue to learn. appreciate your friends. do what you love. live as if this is all there is....~Mary anne radmacher.
Thank you Darlene for the constant reminder that I am here for today...and I will live for it...
Much love,
Susan
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