Another fine wakening. I took an early stroll for some morning pictures.
We also had another great breakfast. Patricia and Karla continue to do wonders in the kitchen. I think everyone wants to take them both home. Today we are headed to Quito. Continue reading
The dogs were barking for a little while so I didn’t get to sleep as fast as I could. That was ok since my book was keeping me company. Eventually I drifted off. I don’t remember what time I woke up but there wasn’t enough sun to so I refused to get out, leading to a trip back to dreamland. Robert knocked on the door around 8a for breakfast. Now it was four of us, me, robert, george, and laura. Spinach and onion omelettes, granola and yogurt, juice, water, and quinoa cereal. Serious. There was quinoa cereal It was good and robert thinks it’s only found here so far since it’s a new product. I’m sure it’ll take off once it’s known. There was cane juice and honey in it. We made a plan with robert for the activities today. Again, it was not planned so that’s a $150. Continue reading
I left off with the plane landing uneventfully.
Got my bag and headed out. I was running on some crazy energy. Basic immigration line and thankfully having been up front in the plane I got an early start on the line. That was quick too. Maybe because they all seemed so tired being up that early. Oh yeah. We landed like 30 minutes early at 0345 or something. After immigration it was off for my bags. It took a while for my checked bags to come. Intact and appearing to be unopened it was off to customs. Pretty fast there as well. I gave my form, put all my bags including hand bag on the scanner belt and picked them up. That was it. I left that area wondering if I’ll find my ride. You know. New country. I don’t speak the language well enough. I also don’t have a phone that I can use for calls and I also can’t find my info sheet of phone numbers that I need in case of problems. Well. No problems. Continue reading
(update: if you want to skip all the chatter and just look at all the photos you can go to www.flickr.com/santasfallenangel/sets )
I’m on my way to the Galapagos. I knew I would be as I am the who booked the trip to begin with. I got home after work and had about a 48 hour turnaround to get ready for this trip, that’s including sleep. I wasn’t awestruck or anything when I was getting things ready. Same basic setup. Do the laundry. Make sure the mail is on hold. Remind people you are leaving. Get your todo list of the things you can’t forget with a tiered down secondary and tertiary list of the things it would suck to forget and the stuff you can always pick up if you really needed to. Don’t forget: passport, money. I think that’s about it. Yes it’s nice to have clothes and other things but with a credit card you can probably pick up most things you need. Most people that know me would assume, rightly, I would have also included camera, batteries, and battery chargers. I think those would fall into the second tier of things that would suck to forget. It is the galapagos. Darwin’s finches, giant tortoises humping, the things dreams are made of, or at least the things that I learned about in science that stirs the imagination. A phone camera will work also and worst case is I’d have to resort to my memory, which is something I most assuredly don’t want to do. Besides, we don’t have the interface yet to extract the videos and pictures stored in my head.
(Pause for airport) Continue reading
Not the greatest of pictures but I was at work at the time and didn’t have much time. The full moon picture was from the night before. Continue reading
Time lapsed video from magic sands
I had this chance to record this beautiful sky… so I did. I sped it up instead of taking photos and making into a video. It’s smoother. This is just a new hobby I’m trying to work on and I hope you enjoy this.
Lesson learned that I’m passing off to other people. Just because you have a wizard number doesn’t mean you earn anything other than being able to check out faster. Even though I’ve called several times to Avis inquiring about upgrades and how the system works NO ONE at avis ever mentioned that just having a wizard number doesn’t help you accrue any rewards or loyalty. You must separately sign up for the preferred program as well. Basically Don’t trust that anyone at AVIS is going to be helpful. Well, that’s not true. First the lady that checked me out gave me a number to call and told me none of my prior rentals was showing up. Also the person today at customer service let me know that every rental (40-50 days of renting total) I’ve made this calendar year (so far) is worthless as far as loyalty goes since no one I’ve ever talked to before took the time to let me know even though I was inquiring about status with Avis that I wasn’t really set up for it. I wonder how the rentals from the other agencies I’ve rented from are set up. Maybe it’s time to give them some loyalty I’m not getting from avis.
Flying is not something special for me these days. It’s pretty routine. I still agonize over what I’m packing and in general still pack way too much, because I can, unless I have a need to pack tight. Even with all the routineness of this process, one what I curse at times because I just want to be wherever ‘there’ is without the flying part (fingers crossed for a transporter in my lifetime), that doesn’t mean that I don’t still have moments of awe and insight.
Forever and ever I have been able to keep myself entertained. As a grown up I have a kindle. I have music. I have movies. I have paperback books. I have my paper journal to write ideas into and I have my laptop to type ideas into as well (like right now). I usually have my trusty iPod nano 6th gen Product Red 16gb (great amount of space versus the 8gb size) who’s main and almost exclusive reason for being is to play podcasts, primarily WNYC Radiolab (yummy brain candy, thank you Meghan). The screen is too small really to be viewing pictures. On the plane I’m not using the radio. There’s no treadmill (yet) on the plane to use. I can flex my feet and calves as I can and need to.
Over the ear headphones plugged in. A different sound quality than earbuds that are in the ears. The over the ear headphones are open to the air instead of the sound dampening and dissociation from the outside world of the in-the-ear headphones but it’s more comfortable. Once I’m at the gate it’s time for the podcast playing to start. With music, I think most of us might subconsciously have learned some of the words and we find ourselves singing along even if we really haven’t been paying attention to those specific words being drawn from our lips. An audiobook can be like music to me. I’m usually listening but sometimes I just zone out and I’m only hearing it. But a podcast to me is all about being an active listener. I’m trying to pay attention to the stories. Whenever I can’t hear it, I pause it for fear of missing something important or story changing.
A moment of calm finally happens. The safety briefing from the flight attendant is over. Drinks are passed out. The flight is coasting along. People are engaged in their devices, phones, iPads, kindles, etc, and of course me trying to listen to the podcast. As I settle back and listen more deeply, eyes closed and leaning back into the seat, the story unfolds into my mind.
The specific podcast I don’t think matters and that this wasn’t the first is irrelevant. But this was the first time I chose to try and put the experience down into words. If you’ve ever found yourself reading a book and remembering more like a movie than by the words, this is the same experience. Instead of the written word flowing through your eyes into your creative brain area and making a movie, the spoke word slips and slides through the ears, maybe into the same area. Based on my experiences I make an approximation of what the people might look like, the background audio effects heightening the experience to draw into your mind what you are hearing. The conversation and story going back and forth, I almost want to look around to see the people and the things they are talking about. It’s a great drifty experience.
At some point the words start to disappear and the visual experience in my mind takes over. It’s now me watching the story, sometimes with the voices ghostly in the background as they are disconnected from the new environment or people that they have brought in. Back and forth the visual environments change from location to studio. It’s making me long to get onto a different flight to a different location and experience what they are going through. Work might be upset though if I don’t show up. :)
Interruptions are unavoidable. Announcements about changes or turbulence, time for the plane to descend and time for the large electronics, like the laptop I’m writing on, to go back into the bag. I hope the experience will stick with me long enough to keep writing. Thankfully I have the similar movie experience from books to draw on. Not exactly the same but pretty darn close. I feel, pity I think, for the people I know that don’t experience this type of mental imagery. It’s not that they don’t have imaginations but it seems more forced. They might need to be asked or prompted to think about something to mentally visualize it. Perhaps it’s a mental muscle that needs consistent flexing to make it easier as this is something I’ve been doing since… I’m not sure when I haven’t.
Well, I’m on my next leg of my trip and the next podcast is going to be starting soon. The screen on the ceiling might be good to entertain others with a movie made from someone else but I’ve got my own movie that I’m going to start as I relax and possible fall asleep in my seat. Waking up at your destination is sometimes the greatest blessing.
Mahalo,
-SFA
I’m amazed at the amount of people that are shocked that I go to movies by myself. I get that being single has its negative impressions the older one gets. I still would like to make the right decision the first time instead of multiple wrong decisions, even if they might be a lot of fun along the way. There are good things about being single like being easier to fit in that isolated seat on the plane (disregarding the nasty looks the other two might give you) as well as the isolated seat in a packed movie theater (again disregarding the nasty looks) and not so good things about being single, mainly the way the rest of the world looks at us. The group tour world presumes to a large degree that people travel in pairs. Try and book a cruise or group tour and the majority are couples based (double occupancy). There are sites and places that help with the single person traveling and this is an ok option. Don’t be fooled by the world that you much travel or do things with someone else!! I think people would be even more shocked that I go to concerts, restaurants, sporting events, even the bathroom, all by myself. I hear “I wish I could do that.” (That third ‘I’ was bolded and italicized!)
In a moment of desire to give guidance and help the world I will share my secrets.
1. Find free time without other obligations or obligations you won’t feel that guilty about missing.
-This is purely subjective of course. You may decide that the cat in the tree or the baby in the runaway shopping cart are high priorities but this will cut into the time off and you may now miss your chosen event.
2. Choose something to do.
-You may have difficulties if you have problems making decisions. Choosing something that requires 2+ people may make it harder if you are by yourself. Likewise choosing something that requires participation might be difficult if you are sedentary or don’t want to participate in something.
3. Go.
-I leave the method of how to get there open: Hitch hiking and sneaking aboard planes ARE recognized methods and while quite valid are not recommended for multiple reasons including the fact that you are already having trouble getting out and these are extreme methods as well as the the illegal nature. In the future if you find you enjoy going out these options can be revisited.
4. Appreciate the ability to do what you want in your own time frame.
-Caveat being that events usually begin and end at some point. They generally want you to leave when it’s over. Otherwise, plan what you want to do whenever you want to do it.
5. Enjoy the quiet time as much as possible.
-It helps if the event has built in alone time like a movie. You shouldn’t be talking anyway at the theater.
6. Enjoy the nonquiet time as much as possible.
-You may have to go home at some point to a life you may not like and dread as the event comes to a close. Let that pent up energy out before you get home.
7. Remember the time you spent.
-If you enjoyed it, it will give you energy and motiviation to go out again.
-If you didn’t enjoy it, analyze why and try again with something else.
-If you had gone to something that you wouldn’t have gone to without others, you may need help choosing for the second try.
Thoughts: As stated, movies are a good choice to start with, if you like movies, because you aren’t supposed to be talking, forced to engage in conversation with others, nor having to interact with others except to buy the ticket and find a seat. Go early to avoid having to squeeze in between people if the theater is expected to be full. If you have trouble staying silent, perhaps time at a monestary or nunery (as specified per gender) would be helpful. Their methods will be their own so check into that before signing up. Bugee jumping and sky diving are also solo events where you won’t be doing much talking either. *screaming is not talking*
If you have no friends to ask for help, you can try websites setup for singles. Not necessarily people who don’t have an SO (significant other) but people who are going to be traveling on their own (who probably don’t have an SO). You can also try sites like meetup to try and attend events. Keep in mind though that many travels by oneself can come at a higher cost as many trips are not designed for the single person. Try a regular cruise booking and the single supplement charge will blow your mind. Might as well find someone to travel with since it’s about the same price. Us single folk get the short end of the stick (a phrase whose origin may be shit end of the stick by the way since really what is the short end of a stick, it only has two ends), when trying to travel alone. It might be a difficult thing dealing with the concept of being by youself in a group event. It might also be easier though without having to plan anything out and maybe the people are actually nice. As before, there are plenty of sites for finding trips for the single traveler. It’s just finding the one that fits your schedule and level of activity. Make sure you meet the requirements as they are and pay the price. You are good to go and you may even get hooked to doing things by yourself but still in a group setting. You can then work yourself to smaller and smaller groups until you can spend time by yourself. Then the world really opens up.
-SFA