The End

So Obama was sworn in and all the world rejoiced. Our problems are all over!!!!! There will be sweetness and unicorn and love and sparkly crap all across the land!!!! Thus heralds the end of my grumbleblog!!!

Or, you know, I got lazy.

I had a bunch of posts written, but never got around to posting them. I'll slowly catch up while trying to think of new things to say.

So.

Prepare to be backdated in the extreme!!!!!

Give Me NOODLES!

The food in Belize wasn't bad. In fact, for resort food (so I'm told), it was quite good. I'm not, however, the kind of girl who enjoys a hunk of meat, a starch, and veg for every meal for a week, even if it's really nice food. There was usually a pasta choice, but who eats lasagna on the beach? Besides, I was really craving rice noodles. My beloved, slippery, chewy, soak-up-flavor-and-fat noodles. By the end of our trip, I was almost sick with wanting them.

We made it about 13 hours (mostly sleeping) before we hit our favorite little Thai place. Ummmmmmmm, thank goodness, noodles...

Please, go away!

The day we got there it was pretty nice. Sunny, with a few clouds and a fairly brisk wind (which is deadly when it's 25 degrees out, but pretty nice when it's 85)...

and the next day it rained.

Rain in the jungle.

Rain in the other jungle.

Rain at the zoo. Rain outside the cave.

Rain at the resort.

Rain at the reef. (HARD rain on the way back in!)

Rain at the spa.

So, RAIN RAIN RAIN all week. Well, it was beautiful the last day.

(The folks at the resort kept aw-shucks laughing that it hardly ever rains during this time of the year. Seriously, kind of FUCK YOU Belize.)

We were just glad that we decided not to get married that week, after all. We were looking at all of the honeymooning couple staring miserably out at the rain and at each other and were thanking the heavens (heh, even as we were roundly cursing them) that it wasn't our perfect, special, life- and love-affirming trip of all trips. So, uh, very small well-played, us.

Adventuring

sounded like a lot more fun when:

I didn't have to suffer a long (sometimes hours!) drive over bumpy and/or tortuously winding roads with very aggressive and yet somehow happy-go-lucky (read: carelessly careening) drivers

(Seriously, check out those potholes! And yes, we are
on the left side of the road. No, they aren't supposed to drive on the left side of the road.)

and the fun wasn't at the end of a long (several miles in the jungle! NOT thirty minutes!), hard hike. Without hiking boots (this was our own fault, but still, no fun) and the same return hike after the payoff. During which, of course, it would begin to rain, thus erasing our happy memories of said payoff.

Plus, they reinstated ziplining the day after we left. How annoying is that?

Buggy

So, remember when I said there would be cause for not rejoicing in the land because we stopped at that ledge on top of the waterfall to take pictures? It's because of this:

Sure, it's expected that there will be bugs on a jungle trek. We even brought the bug spray with us so we could touch up throughout the day. When we reached the waterfall at the top of the mountain, however, it promptly began to rain. (In fairness, it was sunny and beautiful up till then.) We stayed in the waterfall pool for a little while, playing, but our joy was much (har har) dampened by the idea of the hike ahead. We quickly gathered our stuff together, threw on some (but not all, of our) clothes, and prepared to hike out without changing. We took a teeny tiny quick stop at the top of the another ledge of the waterfall, slightly lower down, to take some vista picture. the problem? We hadn't reapplied the bug spray after our swim and we stopped moving in order to take the pictures. BIG MISTAKE. In the ~5 minutes we were there, this happened:

It's hard to see, but those are blood blisters. Yummy!!! Counting later, I had over 60 bites from that hike. Want to see more? Here!

Gee, not itchy at all!

Also, it turns out that the calmer days at the beach featured sand fleas. Mean, bitey, omnipresent (at the POOL!) sand fleas that were only driven away by near-gale-force winds.

By the end of the trip, I had around 100 bites all over my body. Huzzah.

Newness

5 adventures turns into a lot of new experiences. Some were variations on a theme of old experiences - jungle hiking (in the rain). Twice. It was neat because I'd never actually seen a tropical rainforest, outside of pictures, even though the promised "light walks" turned out to be anything but (more like jungle death marches. On steep clay hills. In the rain). The jungle looked mostly like this:

Which was heady and gorgeous and mysterious and dark and wonderful (until it started raining). The payoff from one of the hikes was a chance to swim and sit under a waterfall (in the rain). In addition, we got to stand at the top of another waterfall. The view was magnificent, but we had cause to regret our stopoff later. Still, it was a stunning (if cloudy) view of the area:

The prizes for most alien experiences, however, definitely related to the trying of new things. Such as rappelling down cliffs over the yawning mouth of a cave into a giant sinkhole. We went in front of this:

Starting from here (Oh my lord yes I was ASCEEEEERED!):

Like so:

If you look to the right, you can see our rope. Our very skinny rope.

So that was a very interesting and heart-pounding and lower-lip protruding (when I was pouting and almost crying in fear) and near-panic inducing experience. Pretty cool!

But!

That didn't even hold a candle to the brave new world of UNDERWATER! I'd never been snorkeling before, or, come to think of it, ever really opened my eyes under water before. Not much to see in pools, lakes, beaches, and rivers, but at a coral reef? Oh My! I actually shrieked a little (under water. Not good.). It had been churny and raining the day before (huh, imagine that), but they decided to take us out anyway (mostly because the previous day it had rained so hard that they cancelled the trip), but to me, it was the clearest, bluest water I'd ever seen! (Well, when you've got no basis for comparison...) The disposal camera wasn't great, but here's a glimpse of what we saw:

Those electric-blue darty blobs are fishes! Beautiful fishes! I saw clownfish-ish things and electric yellow sunfish and all sorts of silvery, slippery things.

I HEART snorkeling.

The weird brain-looking plants wave at you and long, trailing "fingers" catch you if you're not careful! I never understood the whole "teeming with life"aspect of coral reefs until now. So I was quite distressed when I wasn't paying attention and almost banged into pieces several times. But not quite! Of course, it rained, and trip back was miserable and freezing, and oh! when I first jumped into the water (and looked down and shrieked, promptly taking in a lungful of water) I freaked out and couldn't breathe or float, so scrambled back into the boat and demanded my life jacket back. I gather that is not strictly "cool" but so what? I could float again! Maybe next time, sans panic attack, I'll test everyone's assertion that floating in salt water is easy. Even so, this was my favorite new thing! I can't wait to try again! I hear really good things about snorkeling in warm, sunny places...

Our last new thing was my first-ever professional massage. It was sumptuous and glorious and positively coma-inducing and over way too fast, but naturally I didn't take any pictures of that.

;-)

Cloudy paradise

Not terribly sunny, but still not bad...

Paradise

I could get used to this.

Up in front

First class on the way to vacation! If I'd been awake enough to listen a little more closely and be a touch ballsier, we would have flown in the front the whole way, but getting the international flight was pretty decent. I don't expect to get to do this many more times (USAir is mighty generous with the bump-ups, but doesn't really fly convenient times to CA, aka 90% of all my travel, so I switched over to United), so I enjoyed the experience to the hilt. I was also particularly proud to introduce my travel partner to the joys of first class. Unlimited mixed beverages, big, cushy seats, a variety of snacks, a meal, and a nearly private bathroom. Plus, bored flight attendants eager to relay information (yay, education!) about the scenic Mexican coastline...

A great start!

Last minute

I was a fool to think that a day-before-vacation pop-in to the dress store for a quick, guilt-alleviating (I haven't exactly been proactive in the wedding prep department) look-see wouldn't result in finding Stuff I Like. I did manage to rule out a few dresses, but also found some genuine prospects, including a lace and chiffon (aiieeee!!) confection that I could actually picture myself getting married in (a first!).

All of which didn't lend to a quick visit. I stayed well after closing time, having missed out on my other trip-prep errands, sweaty, confused, and slightly panicked, trying to figure out if this was my dream dress, if so, how the hell to get it on time, in my size (apparently, 5 months is not enough lead time to order a dress), and if it would be worth the $...

Argh.

Giving due credit

For the first time in years, ages, eons, I've passed my routine dental exam with flying colors. this is a cause for excitement because that means no emergency root canals or implant reattachments or cavity repairs...you know, the fun stuff. Plus, I got the kind, calm doctor that I really like. Not that I actually dislike the other dentist at the practice, but the fact that his reaction to causing pain is laughing (nervous laughter, to be sure, but still, not what you want to hear when red hot pain lances your jaw)...well, I find him slightly discomfiting.

The cause for this improved dental showing? I think it's this:

I got it a few months ago (hmmmm, probably time to change the brush head), and while it takes awhile to get used to (hypersonic tickles! And sprays foam everywhere if you aren't careful!), it does a good job. I still brush with a regular toothbrush in the morning, so I can have the "brushed hard" feeling, but my mouth feels extra sparkly clean at night when I use the fancy brush. The neatest thing is the recharger:

Look carefully, no wires! You place it like so on the base and electricity... magically? flows into the handle like so [scratches head]:

Still haven't figured that one out but it works! Highly recommended, even if it's a ridiculous lot of $ (you have to buy replacement brush heads every so often - it really saves when you put that off...indefinitely) for a toothbrush.

Surfeit

After you try to off yourself with too much foie gras, this:

Lemon Souffle Cake with Créme Fraiche Panna Cotta and Pomegranate Sorbet

is the perfect antidote.

Or so you think, until they place these before you:

That wee box contains a pile of wee cookies and candies and jammy things. Which, when added together, make up more than an entire full dessert. The morning-after is a delight that I have become familiar with.

(There is something diabolical going on when you have to order dessert to be offered the gratis dessert treats. I've gotten them once without ordering a third course, but was denied another time. Why is it that, in schmancy places, you get FAR more amuses and palate cleansers and sweet finales when you've already ordered and consumed far more than you should/could? Don't they know about the law of diminishing returns? The law of finite stomach space? Don't they care??!!)

I think I might have to skip Gary Danko (sob) on my next trip out here. This is getting ridiculous...

Searching

Usually I'm a plan-ahead, organized logistics, ready-to-roll kind of girl. I like to be prepared in an endearingly (I hope) classic scout fashion. Which is why I'm a little disgruntled that I was so thoroughly unable to anticipate that finding a new bathing suit in January might be...difficult.

It doesn't help that I'm picky about color and fit and price, though really, I didn't find any suits that I liked remotely enough to challenging any of these parameters. I thought that California might have a better selection, having hit the mall and a bunch of department stores at home to no avail. I dragged myself to a bunch of malls all across San Francisco...yes that's right, San Francisco, not Los Angeles. Guess what? Since SF has a climate roughly equivalent to the Mid-Atlantic, SF also chalks up an epic FAIL on wintertime bathing suit selection. I found a few a Nordstrom's and the Sport's Authority, but those didn't work out because I'm not a) rich or b) shaped like swimmer (HOW not!). (Also, ugly suits!!! Flowers on the bosom! Like headlight flowers!)

I think I'm going on vacation armed with my old suit and some synthetic tank tops. Hey, I used to swim in a cotton sports bra and underwear! Now that I've discovered the universe of synthetic sportswear, how could it be worse?

Here we go again

San Francisco. Part XYZ.

Don't get me wrong, I love it here. It's beautiful (eh, usually. This time it was cold) and the people are nice and the food is delicious and the driving isn't too scary - oh, and I'd come here a zillion times before taking up my old Sacramento to Fresno route.

But going to the same place over and over again It gets slightly less fun each time.

The food was great, as usual. We hit some FANTASTIC Chinese food - eggplant casserole hot pot and pan fried noodles and fat dumplings and fluffy meat buns and piles of dim sum...I'm salivating just thinking about it. Dropped in at my favorite place (more on that later). Had some wonderfully fresh seafood (we found a restaurant that serves as many different preparations of fish as it does shellfish! And has a huge selection of smoked fish! Jackpot!) and I actually tried a raw oyster, finally (told you I wouldn't like it!! Of-the-sea just isn't a flavor that appeals to me). Managed to spend every penny of my per diem without resorting to candy "souvenirs."

Hmmmm, actually, strike that. On the strength of the food alone, excepting the semi-lousy weather, it was a great trip. Maybe next month's trip to SF will drag...

Moment of truth

Short and sweet - I didn't follow through with most of last year's rather long list of resolutions, so screw that! This year, I'd like to accomplish just two things:

1) Get married (if for no other reason, to show up my mom, who doesn't think I can follow through with that, either) (Well, okay, I am also personally interested if I can pass this final hurdle in conquering my supposedly notorious gun shyness re: committed relationships)

and

2) be a nicer, calmer, more adult-like (with a splash of zen) person. When you get married, you're supposed to be an adult, so I guess I should practice acting like one. Though I still refuse to dress like one. Sweats (or really, sweats-equivalents) are all-the-time clothes!!!

We'll see how this short list thing works out!!!

So, Jenga

is apparently the game of the masses and is rapidly making a comeback among my general age group (at least this week). Who knew? I won't bank on its continuing popularity, but I thought that breaking it out twice in a 5-day period warranted a notation.

When the surprising choice was first made, on New Year's Eve, I was taken aback, because all my memories of jenga take place poolside on a sultry July night, with all participants waving a personal bottle of Wild Vines (I'm strawberry!), aka ghetto wine. I simply had no context for playing the game sober, fully clothed, at home. As we set it up, they remarked on my half-hearted attempts to recreate the "drinking jenga" set (I know they have a version that is pre-marked up now, but I doubt the categories are the same as ours) - instructions to dance, drink, kiss, jump, drink, sing, strip, drink...you get the idea. As we drew out the blocks, we didn't follow all of our marching orders, but the group forced me to honor them with every command performance of the chicken dance. I pulled that damn block 4 times!!! Unfortunately, I believe at least one of the attempts has been captured on video...

It was surprisingly fun. Yes, drinking adds to the playful atmosphere (I think I've played nondrinking jenga a few times and it was much more serious - everyone puts on a frowny thinky face while contemplating and executing their move, plus there is more of a competitive edge - and far less fun), and, in the tradition of silly party games like twister and blind man's bluff and killer in the dark, people get dorky and silly and giggly and have an overall good time.

My personal objective in jenga is simply to Not Lose. I don't feel any need to be a hero and go after the tough ones - you know, taking the blocks that will make people groan because the tower is getting that much closer to teetering. This time, I added a goal of not getting the chicken dance. Didn't work (that would require a functioning memory!).

Giving kisses and back rubs (both personally and also ordering others to) are far less racy when old marriedish couples are playing. Still, same-sex action always raises a few eyebrows and potentially, pulses. The end-of-game crashing action is exciting, too. Very shout- and point-inducing, along with some classic hooting and drink-pounding.

I don't think we'll continue the domination of jenga in game selection as the year grows older, but it was a nice, slightly nostalgic way to welcome the new one! Happy New Year!