Thinking Travel

Even though Aaron and I were zipping through the Costa Rican rainforest this time last year, this year is going pretty well.

• We’re finishing a 3-day weekend.
• Aaron made me breakfast on Sunday morning.
• We’ve been getting our money’s worth with Netflix.
• Snow is in the forecast for tomorrow.
• Obama!!!

How thankful I am that tonight is Bush’s last night as President! Woo hoo! Like a lot of people, this is the first time I’m actually excited about and going to watch the presidential inauguration. And I’m hopeful, excited, and optimistic. And actually proud to be U.S. American. Who would have thought?

photo by Michael Rhodes

photo by Adactio

By the time you read this I’ll be in Madrid. Hopefully enjoying a nice cafe con leche and a tortilla.

I’m trying out a new journaling technique on this trip. Two, actually.

The first one is a postcard journal. I’m going to buy postcards and make my journaling notes on them. When I get back home I’ll bind them together.

The second one is a photo journal of all of the food I eat and the cafe con leche I drink. I’m going to take a photo of everything I eat on this trip.

I’ll show you the finished products when I’m get home. Until then, I’m going to enjoy Madrid and Granada!

It’s late and I really should be prepping my pillow for sleepytime instead of typing on my laptop. But whatever.

Anyway.

I’m working on several things right now that are cool and exciting. One of them is revamping this blog. I started ThinkingTravel.com a couple years ago (click here to read my first post) with the following goals:

(1) put myself out there

(2) practice writing publically

(3) experiment with new technology

How did I do?

(1) I told exactly 4 people about my blog and encouraged precisely 0 people to read it so I wouldn’t say I put my whole self out there. It was more like I put my pinky toe, covered in a wool blanket, out there, a little ways. But you’ve got to start somewhere, right?

(2) I’ve written publicly before (newspaper/academic journal articles) but not in an informal, on-going, bloggy type way. It’s been fun, and ultimately useful/helpful, to blog here and there because it’s just good writing practice. I liked challenging myself to put together different types of posts, to give myself a time limit so I couldn’t spend hours obsessing over every detail, and to be okay with posting something that wasn’t perfect. After two years, though, I still have no idea what my “voice” is like. Does that really matter?

(3) I’ve spent more hours than I care to admit playing around with widgets and code and stuff like that. On one hand, it frustrates me to no end and I feel overwhelmed and I hate that there’s so much I don’t know and can’t do without Aaron’s help. On the other, I love it!!!

I started this blog simply so I could try something new. But now I’ve plans…so even if I’m not around for a bit…stay tuned.

Last night I felt like I was in an episode of ER.

Probably ’cause I was in the ER.

This is what I remember:

Men’s feet in flip-flops. Standing beside his wife injured in the car accident. She jokes with the staff as they examine her, even though she says it hurts to laugh. “Tell the kids I love them.” Later, I want to throw back the curtain and give her a hug when I hear her whimper.

Hot pink crocks, white socks, scrubs.

Cursing woman with a hernia and schizophrenia needs a smoke and a trip to the bathroom. Soon she’s snoring.

Pregnant woman rolls in on a reclining wheelchair. The back of her right hand rests on her glossy forehead. “We’re going to have to keep you here.” Later, she walks slowly down the hall wearing a hospital gown, holding her back.

Deep-in-the-chest-heaving-shoulders-sobs.

Dr: “My mom says that!”
Injured woman: “Oh, she does?”
Dr: “Yes! um, but….not to say that’s an old person saying or anything…”

A crying mother races through security with her 13-day-old who just had a seizure.

Chicken Caesar salad with basalmic vinaigrette, baked lays, water.

Trying not to cry as my husband turns red and puffy and into one giant hive.

The dr. smiles, tilts her head slightly, reaches out her hand, says “I’m sorry that you’re here.”

I have two books and a newspaper to read but I really wish I had my journal. I scrounge through my purse and find the back of a Brugger’s coupon to write on. I pause, then decide that notes are more important than $1 off a Brrrueggaccino.

So many stories I’ll never know the ending to.

But at least I know the ending to the most important one: Aaron recovered from an allergic reaction within a couple hours and was released. He’s feeling better now.

Happy New Year!

We’re going to kick off 2008 with a new series: DIY Journals in 30 minutes or Less!

These tutorials demonstrate how to construct a basic, yet creative, journal — in less than a half an hour*.

We’re going to start with a nifty little Photo Journal. The journal you see below took me about 15 minutes to make, not including drying time.

Supply List

• two photos (for the front/back cover)
• paper (thinner seems to work better with this one)
• ruler
• wax paper
• glue (craft glue, Elmer’s glue, whatever)
• cheap paint brush
• heavy books (e.g. German dictionaries)
• wide ribbon

optional: paper cutter or scissors

Instructions
Cut pages. Glue covers and pages together. Attach ribbon to cover spine. Start writing!

For better instructions watch this great video tutorial on Photojojo. You can also check out how I created my little 18-page journal.

Assessment
Pros:

• Quick and easy to make
• Inexpensive — I already possessed the necessary materials he paper around the house (I bought the paper from Michael’s for $1).
• Great way to use old photos
• You can make it any size you want

Cons:

• More than 18 pages would take much longer to make
• Paper edges aren’t uniform/smooth
• Not as sturdy as I’d like – I worry that the pages will fall out

Final Word
My journal turned out well for a first try, and I had fun making it. I always carry a small journal in my purse so when I fill the one I currently have, I’ll give my flower photo journal a try.

Hey! Join the conversation: leave a comment!

Something to read before we head into 2008…

• Travel Skills: I’m Getting Better at Them
• Journaling Prompts: Globalism
• Coffee Talk
• Bridging the Academic/Business Divide
• ORYGUN
• Hot, Hot, Hot
• Serendipity in a Car
• Happy 4th of July
• Another View

Hey! Join the conversation: leave a comment!

This is a perfect evening.

I’m at Open Eye Cafe with Aaron. The sun has set, we’re drinking coffee, and Disintegration (the Cure) is playing.

Hope you’re having an equally perfect evening.

I created ThinkingTravel.com about a year ago as a new way to explore the intersection between travel, journaling, and culture (learning). I had just completed my dissertation research on culture learning during short-term study abroad and wanted to gather and share ideas, insights, and tips on how to become a more culturally aware and effective traveler – both at home and abroad.

Early on I decided to give myself 2007 to tinker with the blog, read other blogs, and simply figure out where I wanted to go with ThinkingTravel.com (I’m definitely a trial-and-error/learn-as-you-go type of person).

Now that we’re on the cusp of 2008, I’ve decided to recommit myself to ThinkingTravel.com. My goal for the coming months is to take ThinkingTravel.com to that proverbial next level, whatever that level may be.

New Posting Schedule

In the coming weeks I’m instituting several blog enhancements. Getting on a regular posting schedule is the first one. Here’s the plan.

ThinkingTravel.com is fuel for your journey to becoming a more reflective and effective traveler – at home and abroad.

To this end, I document my own journeys: travel, journaling, cultural, and being a first-time home owner. I also gather and share insights, tips, and resources to help others on their journeys.

I post at least three times a week. And I encourage your involvement in ThinkingTravel.com – leave a comment, share your ideas, provide feedback, subscribe!    

I’m mulling over several other ideas for this blog (series topics, interviews, podcasts…), which I’ll roll out in the coming year.  

Yes. I’ve been avoiding my blog.

Last Tuesday, on the eve of my hang-out-at-home vacation, I made a want-to-do list of several fun things to accomplish during my time off. Things such as…

• Make bread using new Kitchen-Aide mixer
• Finish the curtains in home office
• Paint toenails
• Make hand-bound journal
• Book flight to Costa Rica
• Upload new photos to Flickr
• BLOG

But what have I done? Grocery shopping, Christmas shopping, shoe shopping, tying up loose ends at work, raking leaves, catching up on sleep…everything except the things I really want to do, like improve my blog.

Well, tonight, as I was ignoring my blog and the rest of my want-to-do list by surfing, two bloggers shed light on why I’ve neglected my vacation want-to-do list.

Penelope over at Brazen Careerist blogged a while back about two types of procrastination: doing nothing & doing a lot. I’ve been doing both in avoiding my blog: I do nothing blog-related as I busy myself with mundane errands.

Why do I do this?

Christine at VisualsSpeak answered that question: The Fear Monster.

As Christine explained, the Fear Monster is

…the one I let torture me when I think about putting my drawings and images out where people can see them.

Yes. Exactly. Creative anxiety. That’s why I’ve been ignoring my blog.

See, I’ve been mulling over some minor changes to my blog a la Problogger’s 31 Days to Building a Better Blog Project.

But these minor changes scare me big time. Because these changes require me to

put

myself

OUT.

THERE.

For example, day 1 of the project involves emailing a new reader. Well, in order for me to email a new reader, I have to get a new reader to comment. In order to get a new reader to comment, I have to get people to my blog. In order to get people to my blog, I have to tell people about my blog. In order to tell people about my blog, I have to have recent, decent content. In order to have recent, decent content, I have to sit down and write something. In order to sit down and write something, I –

– And here’s where my fear monster shoves car keys in my hand and tells me to drive to Target because we need coffee and paper towels, now!

Again, why?

In the process of writing this post I’ve been asking myself why it’s so scary for me to put myself out in the blog-o-sphere. After all, I’ve published articles, written what is essentially a book, developed and delivered workshops, and spoken in front of 300+ people at a time. I’ve even participated in writing groups where I’ve read my work aloud to a group of talented and much-more-advanced writers.

I don’t have a good answer to this question. But that doesn’t matter right now. Enough is enough. I’m going to take Chrissy’s advice and implement a great new productivity tool: Just Do It Already!!

It’s simply time for me to put myself out there.

So. Here I go.

Putting myself out there.

This is me, putting myself out there.

See you tomorrow.

Since I had to be in Charlotte for work last Saturday, my birthday was last Sunday, and we spent the entire summer at home, Aaron and I decided to head for the North Carolina hills for a few days.

Earlier in the week we decided to rent a cabin. We especially liked the one that identified itself as “the most remote cabin you’ll ever find.” But it was already reserved. We ended up not making a reservation because the cabins were either too huge, too expensive, or too booked.

Long story short: we found a place to sleep and had a fun, relaxing weekend that included hiking, lattes, and a German Oktoberfest band. I’ll provide photos and details in the next few posts.