3 down 1 to go

I'm sitting in the Singapore airport right now, on a 5 hour layover. That would've been fine and all, but it's 2am here and nothing is open (which is too bad--there's a big mall, and they also offer tours of the city, which would have been cool.) Nothing open, except for this nice little cafe with free internet, so thought I would sign on and write you all a little entry.
I've survived the longest part of the journey to India--the 11 1/2 hour flight from LAX to Tokyo, 1 hour layover in Tokyo (I was quite amused by the toilet selections I had there, remind me to post those pictures later, haha), the 7 hour flight to Singapore, and am now sitting through the 5 hour layover here. Next and last is the 5 hour flight to Mumbai. Whew, I forgot how tiring traveling can be sometimes. It hasn't been so bad though, because Singapore Airlines is GREAT! Just a few reasons: hot towel greeting, on-demand movies & TV, free alcohol, Ben & Jerry's cookie dough ice cream for dessert--this is how airlines should take care of you!
I've already watched two movies, some tv shows, finished reading one of my books, and slept for 7 hours, so I've accomplished quite a bit....
Speaking of books, I LOVED Twilight and am so bummed I don't have the sequel here with me to read. AHHH, it's going to drive me crazy having to wait two weeks before I can read and find out what happens. Anyone interested in a fun vampire-themed youth read, I would highly recommend it!
So, let me tell you how excited I am to be traveling again. People watching at the airport, going into the unknown and doing something new, having fresh and amazing experiences--I love it all, this is wonderful!!!
Okay, I think I might be rambling here, so...until next time...

Off I Go

I'm going off on my Indian adventure & wedding extravaganza, so just wanted to wish everyone a very happy and safe new years! Stay tuned for pictures and stories when I get back...

P.S. I've packed a roll of toilet paper. Hope that will be enough. Also, wish me luck with those squat toilets, it will be an interesting experience...

India Itenerary

For those who are curious about my itenerary while in India, here's what I'm up to:

12/30- Depart from LAX
01/01- Arrive in Mumbai
01/02- Train ride down to Ratnagiri
01/03-01/05- 3 days of wedding ceremonies for Reshama & Will in Ratnagiri
01/06-01/07- Goa
01/08-01/09- Jaipur
01/09-01/11- Agra
01/12-01/13- Delhi
01/13- Depart from Delhi

Merry Christmas!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

I had a fun day over at Kat's place. It was nice having wine, food, and the family together. I was especially glad to see my aunt who lives in Switzerland (Long's mom), since the last time I saw her was when I was traveling through Europe in 2004. Everyone was busy taking a lot of family pictures, and it was cute when my dad and his 4 siblings sat with grandpa for a photo-all 5 of gramps' kids were there with him, which doesn't happen very often. Well, another Christmas has come and gone, and now 2008 is sneaking up on us!

Another amazing day

We had another successful and amazing whale watching day yesterday. It was a sunny and clear, with the island (Catalina, that is) in perfect view. For our first trip, there were reports of 4-5 whales blowing past some oil islands, so the captain headed straight out there. It took a while to get out there, then we didn't see a single thing for a very very long time. Where were those 4-5 whales? Possibly Grey's, long gone, continuing their trek south. At moments like these, you start to lose hope and feel a bit disappointed that you will have to send all those guests back without having seen anything. That's the chance everyone takes when going out on these trips though. Those chances are worth it when you see something awesome though, which we finally did--a blow in the distance! It turned out to be the small blue whale that we've seen a couple of times this week already. To top the trip off, we came across about one to two hundred common dolphins on our way back. The second whale watch of the day was even better than the first. We headed out and found a fin whale, and while we were waiting for it to surface again after a deep dive, a superpod of common dolphins surrounded the boat. There were over a thousand of them, swimming and jumping and circling us. After forgetting about the fin whale and hanging out with the dolphins for a while, we went in search of the blue we saw earlier. The sunset painted the sky in beautiful shades, which made an awesome backdrop to the view of the island and our blue whale sighting. We found the small blue (now nicknamed "Jr.") again, he gave us a great fluke-wave-goodbye, and then we headed back, ending another great whale watching day. My job rocks.

One Week

Wow, I fly out in exactly one week!
From now until then, my week will be:

-Work my 6th day in a row today, leading another whale watch trip.
-Tomorrow as my ONE day off to get all my stuff done and my butt in gear before the trip.
-Christmas with the family at Kat's place.
-Work Wednesday-Saturday.
-Begin my long trek to India on Sunday.

I'll be flying LA-Tokyo-Singapore-Mumbai, so you can imagine it will be a very long and tiring trip. Anitza gave me this neck pillow thing, so hopefully it will work and I'll actually be able to get some rest. I'm kind of sad that I'll only be in Tokyo for an hour. I'm pretty interested in visiting it, so I guess it will just have to be another trip at another time. And India is a big enough trip by itself.

Amazing

We are starting up daily whale watch trips at work and I went out on a trip to train today. When going on whale watches, people have to realize that they have to be prepared for anything--they may see nothing but the horizon and endless blue water, or they may see something absolutely amazing. Today was one of those amazing days. It was one of those days where you scream and jump up and down because you are so excited. Where your heart thumps and your breath is taken away. Five Orcas. Yes, FIVE ORCAS. As in Killer Whales. As in Shamu. FIVE! ORCAS! Off our coast! One of them was a cute little baby, and one was a beautiful big male (with a huge dorsal fin!) Oh, it was absolutely unbelievably amazing. And to top it off, we ended the trip with a Blue Whale sighting-blows and fluke and everything. *SIGH* Just another day at work...How can you beat stuff like this? It makes being poor and pursuing what you love worth it....

Dangerous Stuff

Television shows on DVD can be dangerous. There should be a warning: YOU MAY SPEND PART OF YOUR LIFE ATTACHED TO THE TELEVISION. On the two days I had off last week, I managed to watch the ENTIRE first season of Heroes. 23 episodes in 48 hours. Alicia and I rented just Disk 1 on Saturday night, which only has 2 episodes on it. After watching the first episode, we drove to Target to buy the DVD set....I never got pulled into the Heroes craze last year, but had become somewhat intrigued by it a couple of weeks ago, so finally decided to see what it was all about--and it was great! I just couldn't get enough...Season 2 is online right now, so I'll have to watch all of them and get caught up...oh, dangerous stuff, dangerous stuff...

Lowering Sails

Ann & Me riding the booms and bringing down the sails while guests look on.

This photo was taken by one of the guests aboard our ship for the canon battle at the Tall Ships Festival. I think it's a pretty cool shot, with both of us riding. It's also nice to have since I don't have many photos of myself hard at work while crewing the boat. I look determined...or scared...haha.

Food

Food: Vietnamese. Scott, Alicia, Phil and I cooked a Vietnamese meal (my first!) recently, and it was delicious. I bought a Vietnamese cookbook a couple of months ago because I wanted to start learning how to cook all the dishes that I loved eating while growing up. We made spring rolls for an appetizer, and chicken with ginger in a caramel sauce, sauteed green beans and steamed rice for the main dish. Nothing fancy. It was fun cooking with friends, and I'm glad my first attempt at Vietnamese cuisine went well.

Food: early Thanksgiving. Phil's mom was in town last weekend and cooked a tasty Thanksgiving dinner for him, his brother, and their friends. Yum. I love Thanksgiving meals and was pretty excited that I was going to get to eat it a couple of times this year.

Food: not settling well. I was working a sleepover program this past Wednesday night, and although I tried to hang in there and stay, I ended up going home at midnight. Some sort of stomach bug caused nasty things to happen to my body. Nasty things as in stuff coming out both ends. Over...And over again. Painful. Ugly. Nasty. That was probably too much information, sorry. But everyone else around me heard about it, so I thought I shouldn't leave you guys in the dark.

Food: not eating it. Sadly, due to whatever bug I had, Thanksgiving came and went and I didn't get to enjoy another yummy meal. I ate a tiny bit at my Aunt & Uncle's house, but didn't get to enjoy it like normal (as in stuff myself with pumpkin pie and stuffing, two of my favorites, and everything else.) I actually slept most of the time I was over at the family's, got home at 5pm and went to bed until 8 the next morning. Ugh. Being sick sucks. Friday, all I could stomach the whole day was 6 saltine crackers.

Food: eating it again! I ate my first meal again yesterday. Yay! The bug's gone, and I'm back to normal.

Food: okay, enough talk about it. Until next time...

Checklist

Ticket to India, check.
Vaccinations, check.
Cut my hair, check.
Travel visa, check (Well, almost. I don't physically have it yet, but It's currently being processed.)
Lonely Planet guide, check.

The trip is coming up quickly, and I'm almost all set to go. I haven't been abroad since my trip to Europe in 2004, so it is very exciting that I get to travel again! Although excited, I'm also pretty nervous about going for some reason. Watched Darjeeling Limited this week to gear up for the adventure in India...
Not only do I get to travel, but I get to experience an Indian wedding. And not just any Indian wedding, but one of my dearest friends is getting married. Soon, Resh will be married and living in Boston. Wow. We're all really growing up, aren't we?...

Quote-o-the-day

Conversation between Kiernan and me while I was watching him (3 yrs old) and his little brother Miles (6 months old) a few weeks back.

Kiernan: (asked me a question, i don't remember what it was.)
Me: Because I'm babysitting you and Miles.
Kienan: NO, you're BABY-sitting Miles. You're BIG-BOY-sitting me!

Now that there's a baby in the house, he is no longer a baby and is now a big boy. Haha. Kids are so funny and can say the darnedest things. I can't believe that he walks and talks and is a little person now! So cute.

Letting Go

I had been talking about chopping my hair off for a long time now and just never got around to doing it. The truth was, although I wanted to cut it, I had become quite attached to my long hair and couldn't bring up the nerve to let it go. But it was time, I had to just jump right in and do it--and I finally did it last night. The hair was put in a ponytail and 10 inches was cut off, which will be donated to Locks of Love. It's a little weird having short hair again, and I am feeling a little sad about the loss of something I had become attached to. But it's good to let go....Sometimes, you just have to release your grip and let go...

Ouch

In preparation for the trip to India, I got my vaccinations today. Three of them: tetanus, typhoid, and a polio boost. Ouch.

Also had to buy malaria pills and diarrhea pills. Total cost of the shots and pills was A LOT--I dropped a few bills for it all (the malaria pills alone cost $150.) Ouch.

Associated Press Photo

Here's the caption for this photo: "A crew member who declined to give her name, left, embraces one of the students disembarking from the schooner American Pride, rear, at its mooring in Long Beach, Calif., after the tall ship began taking on water in choppy seas offshore Friday, Oct. 5, 2007. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)" What an ass-did the photographer really HAVE to mention that I "declined to give" my name. Aaargh. Oh yeah, and do I REALLY stick my ass out like that when I hug people? How embarrassing!

So I know I said I would give you the full story on the crazy boat trip and the rolling truck, but I'm a slacker blogger and just never got around to it. It doesn't really matter now, since it's practically a month later and most of you have already heard me tell you in person. BUT, if you haven't heard it already, and would like to hear the stories, then just give me a ring!

what a weekend!

if you only knew what i had to endure this weekend!

1. crewing a 130' boat, in 15 foot swells, taking on water with bilge pumps that failed
2. driving a 13 ton truck with smoke coming out the back, then rolling backwards on a hill

the full story on both will be coming soon.
at least the cowboys won tonight (what a game it was, such an awesome ending!), or else i would have started to think that i have a streak of bad luck following me around...

off to the island

i'm on the boat this next week, on what will be my last trip for a while. we havn't been to the island since august, so i'm excited to be heading back. hopefully the water will still be nice--it was great this summer, i didn't wear my wetsuit all of july and august. so sailing, snorkeling, kayaking, hiking, tidepooling, sleeping under the stars, here i come! (i still can't believe i get paid to do all that.)...

although, i AM NOT looking forward to our anchor watches at night. ugh. i'm going to be so tired when we get back. it's an 8-day work week for me, and then finally things, events, and life will die down for a while. i'll be looking forward to vegging...surfing the internet...reading...watching some football (haven't been able to catch many games this season because of all the busy busy-ness)....you know, just normal everday stuff that you can do when you have time to chill. it'll be nice.

also, i just wanted to give a huge CONGRATS (again) to haley on her engagement!!! i am so super excited for you two!!!

wow, '07 isn't even over yet, and i already have 2 weddings in '08 that i'm going to attend. the madness! everyone is getting hitched, it's crazy!

1300

that's how many miles i put on my car this past weekend! but a lot of if was an amazing scenic drive, so it's okay...

drove up to south lake tahoe on friday for alicia and jon's wedding. the rehearsal was on a cold rainy saturday morning, and the wedding on a freezing sunny sunday afternoon. although very chilly, the wedding and view was beautiful and we all had a great time! (we just won't mention my party-foul moment with red wine splashing EVERYWHERE...)

drove to monterey on monday and visited the aquarium, where they currently have a GREAT WHITE SHARK (!) on display, which was pretty darn cool. they also had two HUGE mola mola which were sooooo awesome too. such funny looking guys.

drove down the coast yesterday. it was my first time doing the highway 1 drive, and i loved it! the wind in my face, the smell of trees mingled with the smell of salty ocean and seaweed, beautiful views....oh, it was so nice.

Quote-o-the-day

PASSION every day

Fall in love with your life. Have a magnificent obsession. Discover what moves you. Listen to your heart and go wherever it takes you. You are here and it is now. There are opportunities rich with purpose and passion all around you. Capture these memories again and again. Life is the grand adventure and any life worth living is worth recording.

-insert on a journal

why it's worth it

a letter from two girls that came on one of our trips to the island:

Dear Jane,
Thank you~Thank you~Thank you! for taking us snorkeling! That was so much fun. That was one of our favorite things we did. You are so fun to be around and you are very encouraging! Thanx 4 making this trip a time we'll never forget!
Love Baillie & Lacey

so, yes, i'm poor. and i will never EVER see a 6-figure salary or own a pair of jimmy choos (unless i find a sugar daddy of course). but it's okay. because i care about the work i do, and i enjoy the work i do. i have amazing experiences, and get to touch and change lives. and it's worth it.

back with a bang!

after several years of the same old look and many months of neglect, i thought i'd come back and give my blog a little tlc! so here i am, with a new look and hopefully new and consistent entries. i know my readers (all 5 of you!) must be very excited. it's quite nice to have internet again, but not only that, it's even better having a computer that works to go with it.

it looks like my last update was in may, nearly 4 months ago--summer has come and gone, and fall is now upon us. it was such a busy and exhausting summer--i don't even know how many days i had off. it seemed like i was always working about 10-day stretches between the two jobs. and sandwiched in between being on the island and working at the aquarium, i went to two weddings in vegas, and was a bridesmaid in one wedding in pasadena.

my time on the tallship was incredibly amazing: taking kids snorkeling and tidepooling...making just the tiniest bit of a difference in the kids' lives...seeing blue & fin whales, tons of dolphins, mola mola, an elephant seal, leopard sharks, guitarfish, hundreds of stingrays, being up close to bison...sleeping under the stars...jumping off the boat and swimming in catalina waters...getting a nice tan...hiking and seeing awesome views...learning how to sail and crew a 130' tallship...and so many more wonderful experiences. the sailing season is coming to an end, and my last trip out to the island will be the first week of october.

some other things...
-bridesmaid in alicia's wedding in tahoe this weekend
-going to INDIA (!) for resh's wedding in january! (it will cost me an arm and a leg, but i've been itching to travel, and it will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience to go to an indian wedding IN india. plus, it's resh's wedding. how can i miss out on that?)

2 1/2 months, oh my!

Wow, I've become terrible at this blogging thing. So much has happened since my last post in MARCH. I can't believe time is flying by so quickly--summer is approaching very quickly! Okay, so what have I been up to? Busy busy at trying to figure my life out still...

1. Finishing up this darn teaching credential class that has been a pain in my ass the whole semester. Chan didn't think I would, but I got through it and will be turning everything in tomorrow! Woo hoo!
2. Left my position at the Zoo. Very sad, I know. My coworkers there were great and I had fun hanging out with the terrestrial guys, but my heart belongs to the sea. (Plus the drive from Long Beach was killer with gas prices the way they are now.)
3. Got a new job working on the American Pride tallship. A summer on a sailboat out on the water, going to Catalina, taking kids hiking and kayaking and tidepooling and snorkeling? Heck yeah! Sign me up for that!! So I did. I signed myself up for that. And it is awesome. I LOVE MY NEW JOB.

Witches and Whales

I did two very exciting things this week!

First: I got a call Sunday morning to see if I wanted to go see Wicked that evening (some friends were going with a group of their other friends, and there happened to be a last minute extra ticket.) Of course I wanted to go! I almost flew to New York City just to see this musical last year! I've missed the LA showings twice now, and I guess the third time is the charm. It was wonderful. Great music, funny, clever, and nothing like the book.

Second: some of my friends work on a tallship sailboat, the American Pride, and I went on a whale watching trip with them Tuesday morning. We saw a small gray whale heading north and ran parallel to it for about ten consecutive blows. It was absolutely AMAZING being so close and seeing it surface, blow, and the tail come out when it dove back down!

Quote-o-the-day

"It's still two human beings trying to get along, so it's going to become complicated. And love is always complicated. But still humans must try to love each other, darling. We must get our hearts broken sometimes. This is a good sign, having a broken heart. It means we have tried for something." -Eat, Pray, Love by Elizebeth Gilbert

Yeah, but getting your heart broken isn't fun.

Pro....cras....ti....naaaaaa....tor

You would think that one would have kicked the old procrastination habit after having graduated high school, obtained a bachelor's degree, lived on their own and entered the working world. You would think that one grows up, matures, and learns to no longer procrastinate.

WRONG! Once a procrastinator, always a procrastinator. And I am the prime example of that. I just can't seem to rid myself of this habit.

I recently started a class at CSULB--an intro to the science single subject teaching credential program (something I'm considering going into.) We had an assignment--our Science Autobiography in the format of a brochure, poster, webpage, podcast or song--given to us the first day of class that was going to be due in two weeks. I had TWO weeks to do it, and the NIGHT BEFORE it was due, I was scrambling to get my webpage done on a friend's computer, kicking myself the whole time. Yes, I've always worked well under pressure. Yes I finished the assignment and turned it in. But I definitely don't enjoy working under pressure and being stressed out, and really need to learn to stop this procrastination problem...

The Innovator's Song

I am the seasoned traveller

of the Labyrinth.

The genius of alacrity.

Wizard of the impossible.

My brilliance yet unmatched

in its profound originality.

My heart's full of potent magic

that could cast a thousand spells.

Seeking answers to my endless queries,

I overturn barriers and boundaries,

opening new paths and portals

for my own curiosity.

I am Shen, the Innovator

-Theodora Lau

Trucker

Did I ever mention that I went to truck driving school a couple ofmonths back? (Probably not, since I've been very inconsistent withmy posts. In my defense: not having internet access at home significantly affects one's blogging endeavers and abilities. So, I apologize for not having mentioned many things...) Yep, I went to truck driving school, and can now competently manuever a huge-ass truck (containing live sea stars, fish, baby sharks and other nea tmarine animals) on side streets and freeways. I'm sure it's funny trying to imagine little old me sitting behind the wheel, but I think it's kind of cool. I was definitely a big chicken at first, and didn't want to practice driving at all. But with a little push and some encouragement, I no longer have a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel and can drive at posted speeds (instead of below, haha). All I need is a trucker hat now! =D Going out on ourAquarium on Wheels outreach program has been a lot of fun. There's a fair share of hard work, and can be very tiring with 4:45am starttimes and 13-hr work days, but I'm enjoying what I'm doing. That's what really counts.

Late Twenties Dread

My 26th birthday is coming up in less than two weeks. I know in previous years I've joked about not looking forward to getting older, but it's a little different this time around. I'm not joking anymore. Although 26 isn't very old in the grand scheme of life, I'm still dreading it for some reason. At this point, I don't even have the heart to plan a birthday party, dinner or even a gathering. And that's quite unusual for my normal event planning-frenzied self! Take deep breaths, deep breaths. It's not going to be that bad, right? Right??....I do feel a little silly for freaking out so much, but just can't help it...