As a follow up to my last post on a problem I had gone to Hargeisa to "solve", I would like to report that, though progress has been made, the problem has not been solved. I'm going to blame my absence over the last few weeks on all of the time it is taking to not-solve this problem.
Anyway, a few weeks ago I had the chance to go back to the US for my good friend Noah and Hana's wedding. Hana was my backup doula (and I her's) when I lived in New York. I met her at the doula training and Noah a few weeks later when they had me over for the first of many amazing dinner's at their apartment. They were also notable for almost always inviting Eskimo along, and he only disgraced himself there occasionally. Anyway, I have several very good friends getting married this year and I won't be able to go to most of the weddings, so I was really happy to be able to go to theirs because of the way timing worked out.
The trip started with a five hour flight to Dubai and then a 17-hour flight--the fifth longest flight in the world--over the North Pole to Los Angeles, city of angels and soft hotel beds by the beach to sleep in for hours and hours to recover from that flight.
Before I slept off my jet lag, I had to see a little bit of LA and where better to start than Santa Monica pier? Also, that's what was was just steps from my hotel, so it was the most convenient.
I rode the ferris wheel, alone. Except, did you know they won't let you ride ferris wheels alone? Apparently it gets unbalanced. So if you are alone, you have to wait for a) someone else alone or b) somebody the ticket taker can sucker into making them feel guilty enough to ride with you and not their friends. Which is how I ended up with a really sweet kid who was a freshman in high school in a town a few hours outside of LA and there with his family for the evening. Awwww. We had a lovely chat.
After wandering Santa Monica for awhile the next day, I spent the rest of the weekend doing wedding related stuff, such as a rehearsal dinner that included playing on the equipment at Muscle Beach.
The wedding itself was lovely, at state park in the hills over the ocean. It was supposed to be outside but it downpoured the entire day--rare for LA, apparently. Fortunately there was a tent.
I must have been really jet lagged by then because I only managed to take two pictures and both of them were unbelievably bad. Neither captures what a beautiful and happy occasion it was. No, not at all.
And then I flew to Boulder, via Salt Lake City, which is gorgeous to fly into.
And then Boulder, with Jess and Tessa (and Tessa's husband, Tom) for some pretty laid back fun--The Hunger Games movie, some really good food, some hiking and some more really good food. Oh and riding a giant frog on a carousel.
Mostly it was just really nice to spend some time with really good friends. I love my job and the excitement and the travel and all the amazing new friends I've made along the way, but there isn't really anything like spending time with really good, old friends. I feel really lucky not only to have such good friends but also to have friends so accepting of me disappearing off to another continent and then reappearing and demanding they hang out with me for the short time I am back. And I miss them when I'm gone...hoping a few might come visit soon (you know who you are...)!
Anyway, a few weeks ago I had the chance to go back to the US for my good friend Noah and Hana's wedding. Hana was my backup doula (and I her's) when I lived in New York. I met her at the doula training and Noah a few weeks later when they had me over for the first of many amazing dinner's at their apartment. They were also notable for almost always inviting Eskimo along, and he only disgraced himself there occasionally. Anyway, I have several very good friends getting married this year and I won't be able to go to most of the weddings, so I was really happy to be able to go to theirs because of the way timing worked out.
The trip started with a five hour flight to Dubai and then a 17-hour flight--the fifth longest flight in the world--over the North Pole to Los Angeles, city of angels and soft hotel beds by the beach to sleep in for hours and hours to recover from that flight.
Before I slept off my jet lag, I had to see a little bit of LA and where better to start than Santa Monica pier? Also, that's what was was just steps from my hotel, so it was the most convenient.
I rode the ferris wheel, alone. Except, did you know they won't let you ride ferris wheels alone? Apparently it gets unbalanced. So if you are alone, you have to wait for a) someone else alone or b) somebody the ticket taker can sucker into making them feel guilty enough to ride with you and not their friends. Which is how I ended up with a really sweet kid who was a freshman in high school in a town a few hours outside of LA and there with his family for the evening. Awwww. We had a lovely chat.
After wandering Santa Monica for awhile the next day, I spent the rest of the weekend doing wedding related stuff, such as a rehearsal dinner that included playing on the equipment at Muscle Beach.
The wedding itself was lovely, at state park in the hills over the ocean. It was supposed to be outside but it downpoured the entire day--rare for LA, apparently. Fortunately there was a tent.
I must have been really jet lagged by then because I only managed to take two pictures and both of them were unbelievably bad. Neither captures what a beautiful and happy occasion it was. No, not at all.
And then I flew to Boulder, via Salt Lake City, which is gorgeous to fly into.
And then Boulder, with Jess and Tessa (and Tessa's husband, Tom) for some pretty laid back fun--The Hunger Games movie, some really good food, some hiking and some more really good food. Oh and riding a giant frog on a carousel.
Mostly it was just really nice to spend some time with really good friends. I love my job and the excitement and the travel and all the amazing new friends I've made along the way, but there isn't really anything like spending time with really good, old friends. I feel really lucky not only to have such good friends but also to have friends so accepting of me disappearing off to another continent and then reappearing and demanding they hang out with me for the short time I am back. And I miss them when I'm gone...hoping a few might come visit soon (you know who you are...)!
