A beautiful and ground soaked morning.

***Note: This blog was written yesterday and was meant to be posted yesterday, but somewhere along the way, it did not end up being posted.*** 

Well last night was interesting. Pretty much by nightfall, there came a torrential downpour of rain. It went on for hours and hours.. and hours and hours and so on. I think you get the idea. There was even loud rumbles of thunder. Honestly it was such an amazing sound to hear since it's been so long that I've heard such sounds. It was lovely and I slept soundly. Woke up this morning to a cool morning with lush green outside, dripping with droplets of water and a soaked sloshy ground. You see, it's monsoon season here. Hence the torrential downpour.

Monsoon season lasts from about June to September. It is necessary and depended on by farmers and India's agriculture but it can also be a nuisance to traffic and even cause flooding, especially in the poorer areas. You can read more about monsoons in India and other countries here, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsoon and here, http://goindia.about.com/od/planningyourtrip/a/indiamonsoon.htm.

Here is a beautiful photo that you can find on the wiki page. It's a black and white photo of heavy clouds over the Salt Lake in Calcutta. You can find the photo online here, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Heavy_clouds_over_Salt_Lake,_Calcutta.JPG.

Once there is more time for traveling, I will have photos like this to show you. :) For now, here are a few photos I took the other day as we drove to a few places around the city.

Fruit and vegetable stands are all around the city. You can find familiar fruits like apples, pineapple and guava, but then you'll find there are some fruits that are not as familiar to you. Even the guava here can be as small and round as a large lemon. At least, I, myself, have not seen a guava like that in the states.

 

You'll find construction is constantly going on here and in much of India's larger cities. I see it as progress. Some find it a nuisance. 

Temples can be found everywhere in the city. It's quite common and I find them beautiful, ornate and so creatively well done.  I plan to visit, in the next year, some of the other areas where there are some amazing statues and architecture.

A sign hangs just to the right of the of the temple (in the photo above). It has the virgin Mary on it and it advertises a local church in the city, St. Mary's.

 

People walk by, ride their bicycles and other transportation as a cow eats some food that has been left their for it. Cattle are seen often roaming, sleeping, walking and lazing about along the streets of Bangalore. It's kind of nice to see. With all the chaos of the traffic and busseling people, the cattle seem to not be bothered one bit and people are constantly aware of them and careful around them. What a comfy life.

I mentioned in a previous blog how Bangalore has a strong military presence here. This is a photo of a sign for the Institute of Aerospace Medicine. There are many institutes of learning here too. It gives the city a sense of safety. At least that's how I feel.  I loved how the image turned out with the guy walking by and his bright red messenger bag standing out amongst the greens and blues.

You can click on any of the images to see a larger more close up version. That way you can see the details better.

So my blog today, as usual, is going to explain a bit more about India, the do's and don'ts and some of the differences between living here and living in the U.S. I'm sure most of you know that the outlets here are not like ours. You can see photos below of what the sockets here look like.

The switch next to the outlet is to turn the outlet on and off.

The electrical switches here function a bit differently. Now, please bear with me here because the explanation behind the switches is a long one. In the U.S., we switch the lights on by flipping them upwards (unless you have one of those double switches that you can turn a light on uptairs and go downstairs and flip the switch to turn it off, that's different). Well, in India, you flip the switch down to turn something on. Yes, I said something, because everything here is on a switch. Even the outlets themselves have a switch to turn them on and off, as you can see in the photo above. Since there are billions of people here in India and millions here in Bangalore alone, it's even more important to conserve energy. Having switches for everything is easier than trying to go around unplugging everything which is basically what we, in the U.S., would need to do if we wanted to conserve more energy (and we should if we are not using those items very much). So for every outlet and every light and every item that needs electricity, there will be a switch to control the power going to it. It's extremely necessary to only have on what you need on. For example, I'm not using the microwave, so the switch is off. When we go to bed, we turn off the switches that power the TV and satellite box. So right now, the only switches that are on in the entire house are, the TV, the satellite box, the A/C in the TV room, the outlet where my laptop is plugged in and that's it. There is enough light during the day to rarely need a light on in the house.

I just open the shades and leave the sheer shade down to have privacy. It may not seem like much light but it lets in quite a bit and I open the shades like this in every room.

Keeping less on is also helping when there is a blackout. These happen all the time, especially on nights like last night when there is so much rain and boy oh boy does it get insanely dark. We realized last night, we really need to invest in the flash lights. If you're reading this Vikas, add it to your list too. Hehe! :)

There are constant black outs here. I haven't learned the full significance of it to where I can explain it thoroughly, but a lot of it is either because there is too much energy being used at once (which is probably the case most often) or because it's a way to conserve energy (such as rolling black outs). Rolling black outs are when different areas have to do without electricity for a certain amount of time to cut down on overall energy use when energy levels are low. Just before leaving Texas, there were talks of Austin having rolling black outs. Since it was so hot, everyone was staying in as much as possible and the A/C's were running full blast, all the time. We were using up energy faster than we could create it. Even now as I am typing this, the electricity switched off for a moment. The lucky thing is that here at the community (Prestige Ozone) where I live there is a generator for the whole community. It kicks on and you would never know that currently, there is no electricity elsewhere, in the area, for those that don't have a generator. There is a catch though. When the generator is on here, you can not turn on a geyser (water heater) and you can only have one A/C on. You can have lights on but the less you use the better. If you use too many items that use electricity, then it will blow the breaker and everything will shut off until you turn the breaker back on.

Okay, a geyser is basically a mini water heater here. There is one in each bathroom and in the kitchen. In the bathrooms, it's normally located above the toilet, mounted on the wall. You can find a photo (which is also below this paragraph) and an interesting article about it here, http://the-diplomat.com/indian-decade/2011/01/20/india-in-hot-water/.  Often there is one also in the utility room. I think, here in this house, there is only one in the kitchen meant for both the kitchen and the utility. There is a switch to turn them on. You turn on the switch when you need hot water but you have to switch it on with enough time to wait for the water to heat up, which is about 20 minutes. More than that and pressure can sometimes build and cause it to leak a bit (if that happens it needs maintenance) and too less of time, well you could be enjoying the end of your shower by rushing to beat the cold incoming feel of ice cold water.

Now a lot of you don't know but I grew up basically on a farm (large area of land). We had a water well and we had drinking water brought to us from my grandmother's house which was in the city. Where we lived, there was not an option yet for city water because there were no pipes laid down at that time for it. Today, my parents get water from a city source. Back then though, when we had the well and when the electricity went out, it did not come on for a while usually. The city would get to us when they could and since we were outside the city limits, that meant we were basically somewhere at the bottom of the list. My grandmother and dad knew enough people in the city that usually they could make enough calls and get the electricity back on sooner than later, but other than that, we had to do without until it came back. We didn't have generators back then or at least we couldn't afford them even if they did have them. So to me, living here, isn't much different from how a few things were for me growing up. Except I did grow up in America. The estate was ours and it was safe to roam any time as much as we wanted and do whatever we wanted and it was a hop, skip and a jump away from the town. Most of all, the population was small and not crowded. In a way, I wish America would conserve as much as India when it comes to electricity. Just because we have lots of it to use doesn't mean we should use it without a conscience.

Many people have asked me from time to time "if I'd be okay", "if I'm doing alright", "what will I do" and I'm sure most of it has been out of curiosity and concern which is kind and nice and even much appreciated. It's just I feel many people think because of my nature and how quiet I can seem to be at times that I might not be okay here. It is different here, mostly because there is a slight language barrier. Even those who do speak English have such a strong accent that I can't understand them at times and some can't understand me due to the English I do speak. Not pronunciation but choice of words when speaking.  The Queens English is spoken here, not American English and there is a difference. There are other things too to get used to, but that's all it is, adapting. Adapting takes time, sometimes more than a year, but I will enjoy it as much as I can. I will adapt at the speed I can and no matter what, I'll have seen and learned something. Do I miss my home, my friends, and what I'm used to? Of course! Who wouldn't? I'm excited though, even when I feel slightly homesick for something familiar, I am excited about the new things I'll see. We'll travel from time to time and that's when I'll take many of my photos. When I'm home, I'm taking the opportunity of being able to relax, take naps, catch up on much needed work that I have had no time to do, especially for my photography business back home. That way, when I am back, I can hit the ground running on making that business even better and more profitable. So, please feel free to keep asking how I am because it lets me know you care, but don't worry, I was raised with a strong mind and strong will so I'm going to be great here. I also know that at any time, I have the ability to go back to my home in Austin. I think all will be quite well though. :)

Husna, our cook/housekeeper, is downstairs preparing lunch/dinner. It smells amazing! The aroma of the onion, garlic and spices are intoxicating. She's making Rajma (which is like an Indian, vegetarian chilli) and Subji (in this case it's bell peppers and potatos with spices). Subji is the name for basically any dish with vegetables (and never any meat). Tomorrow she will make a chicken curry for me to have. I'm excited to try it! I'll try to take some photos of the food soon and post them for you all to see.

La Dee Dah

Well, I woke quite early and thought, now would be a good time to write. I've caught a cold of some kind. I've got the usual fever, running and stuffy nose, feeling blah.. the works. Vikas had it first and now I have it. He's doing much better but I'm just starting. I guess it's time to get out the old OJ and tylenol.

We haven't had a car really in the last few days. We've had to get a rental when needed. Here the rental comes with a driver. Believe me when I say it's safer for everyone that way. Anyway, we finally have our own official car and driver. He's supposed to be here tomorrow to pick up Vikas to take him to work. I'm not sure of the driver's name yet and have not met him yet but will do so this morning. Maybe I'll be able to sneak a photo of him. We'll see. Me on the other hand will be in the house. I mean other than the usual walk, I haven't gotten out much in the last few days.

I'll be honest folks, it's not entirely what I thought it'd be. Though it's only been a couple of weeks so giving it time is definitely the option I'm taking.

We have a housekeeper and a cook, same person actually. Her name is Husna. I hope I spelled that right. She is the same person who normally cleans this residence for the landlord. She's very sweet. She doesn't speak English but she says she understands it. Either way, we've got everything worked out so far and it's probably the most cushy job ever. I mean two single people who barely make a mess and don't need a lot of food. I'm happy, Vikas is happy and the maid is happy so all is good on that front.

So I mentioned in my last blog I was going to get a massage yesterday. That had to be rescheduled for Saturday. A torrential rain storm came along and I didn't really want to wander around in that to walk over to the spa. There was actual lightning folks. Lightning = no wandering around outside for me. I will, however, let you know how it all goes after Saturday's appointment. I'm excited to get the massage, even if it will be somewhat painful because I know it will provide some relief.

I'm sure I have some photos to post.. hmmm.. let me get those for ya.

This photo and the rest below are photos from one of our favorite restaurants in Bangalore. It's at the Taj West End Hotel and it's called Masala Klub. They have excellent food and one of the best desserts on the planet called, Kesari Phirni. You can read more about the restaurant here, http://www.tajhotels.com/Luxury/City-Hotels/The-Taj-West-End-Bangalore/Fine-Dining/Masala-Klub-Restaurant.html.

Also, if you want to know more about the Kesari Phirni, you can find that out here, http://www.sanjeevkapoor.com/kesari-phirni---khana-khazana.aspx and below is a photo. Enjoy! Try it at home and if you do, send me photos. It's a wonderful dessert! 

More photos of the Masala Klub at the Taj West End Hotel in Bangalore.

Statues at the restaurant, made of clay.

Well, I know there's more but I'll save it for the next blog. Hope you all had a great day. It's still Thursday there but it's already Friday morning here. Sleep well America!

Homesick

This blog is to cover the feeling of homesickness. It seems to come even when you feel that it might not. I think as one gets older relocating outside the U.S. or wherever it is that you are from and used to, becomes harder to do.

Everyone goes through this from time to time. I believe things will improve as our crates arrive (with more of the "busy work" in there that I have), as I meet more people, as friends come to visit and as I feel more comfortable with the city overall. I'm a strong woman and I know this, yet I feel so far from what I'm familiar with. I've tried to surround myself with as many things as I can that remind me of home, but being homesick is still something that is unescapable it seems. I think when you don't have as much to occupy yourself with and when you are faced with more than a few weeks in a place then that's when the feeling of homesickness shows it's ugly head. That's where this blog, working on design, photography, jewelry, traveling and all those busy things will help. So if you ever get this feeling or if you are reading this and you feel it now or if you know someone who is feeling this way, remind them that you're there, remind them why they are where they are and remind them to keep busy. It may not be easy to tackle homesickness every day but all things are taken one day at a time anyway.

My husband makes things easier and I'm thankful for that. It's just he works during the day and I'm not one to bother him while he's at work. This is his time. This relocation is important for him and I want to support that. So don't worry about me. I'm good and things will pick back up. If you want to help, send me emails. It will let me know what's going on and give me something to do (read and respond back).

Now onto other things. We are now settled in the house. We've been slowly getting things taken care of. We are slowly making our house a home.

I'll be getting a massage tomorrow at the Spa located here at our community. It's called Angsana Spa (http://www.angsanaspa.com/dayspas/bangalore_oasis/index.php). I'll take photos if I can and I'll let you all know how good they are and I'll figure out a fun way to rate them. It might be cheesy but let's have some fun, shall we? :) I'm still so jet lagged. The massage should help with that and hopefully it will help with some pains I'm having.

So much more to write, but I should try to sleep. More to come later. :)

Random thoughts for today

My thoughts in this blog will most likely be quite random, but hey that makes it interesting right. We had the wonderful breakfast this morning as usual. I told Vikas that I could get used to just living in the hotel here for the rest of the year. They have everything we need and it leaves things so uncomplicated.

So yesterday we went by the house to look at all the updates and to sign the lease. We also met the couple that owns the house. Since it was our first meeting, I didn't bombard them with wanting to take their photo. I hope to get one later though. They are just the sweetest couple and seem so very kind. As our real estate agent mentioned, you won't find landlords like them very often. They were there to make sure everything was as we wanted it and were really going out of their way for us. Usually when you rent a house, they don't do much work on the outside, but they were having the landscaping and outside of the house cleaned up and refreshed. It was very sweet of them. See photo below.

Vikas talking with one of the landlords. I, sadly, can't remember her name at the moment.

The gentlemen working on the repairs on the house. It's looking wonderful! It looked wonderful before so now it's just that much better. 

I think we're both ready to move in now though. I'm also ready for the crates to get here. I've kind of been antsy about working on jewelry ideas. At some point I'll be checking some of the jewelry supply stores here too. I can't wait to see where I can find some nice beads to work with. I have some creative ideas that I would like to start working on. Glass and ceramic beads are some prominent finds here. 

On our way back from breakfast, it was a little funny to see one of the staff running quickly around a corner in her beautiful sari and as soon as she sees us she immediately stops running and leads into a quick paced walk while saying, "Hello m'am. Hello sir." Then she passes us and proceeds to take off in another sprint. You could hear her footsteps running around the other corner. I found that pretty humorous. The staff here is very courteous, well mannered and helpful.

I've been reading up a bit on the areas throughout town to visit. There are a few museums of interest. As we explore each one, I'll be writing about them and showing images of each place. 

Well, it's not much but it's all for now.  

The Unknown

So because of some body pains and issues, I get massages every now and then. I've been researching where to get a good massage that is more what I'm used to in America, versus the Asian style that is here, meaning no sheet, bare and being massage a little too close to the "no go" zone than I prefer. I've been reading other people's experiences which seem WAY more intimate than I would EVER prefer. I think I've found a place called SPA.ce (http://www.spacethespa.com/). There might be a couple of other spas too but I need to make some calls and ask some questions. I think the key is to let them know up front what you expect, which is exactly what I'll do. If that's very "american" of me then so be it. I'm paying them and it's my body so I should get the experience I prefer and am comfortable with. I will let you all know what I find and what I like most. SPA.ce is run by an expat Brit (meaning British expatriate) so I'm thinking that may be more directed towards what I'm expecting. I also can't wait to try reflexology massage. Actually, I'm also going to see about the spa here at the Taj West End hotel that we are staying at (http://www.tajhotels.com/Luxury/City-Hotels/The-Taj-West-End-Bangalore/Accommodations.html).

So each time we've stayed here at the Taj West End hotel in Bangalore, they've given us a gift. It's such a nice and thoughtful treat. Last time they gave us a small aromatic pillow. I missed taking a photo of it. This time they made us monogrammed pillows (each pillow has our first name on it). So on one pillow, it has my name (spelled correctly too, yay!) and the other has Vikas' name. You can see photos below. I absolutely adore these pillows! It's so hard to find my name on anything unless it's made specially so this was an absolute treat. The pillow came with a little card and a sweet note from the Housekeeping Team here at the Taj. The pillows are made with silk and down feathers.

This little fella was on our path to go to breakfast yesterday morning. Had to take a photo. Beautiful little home he has there. :)

Took this photo at the domestic section of the Mumbai airport when we flew from Mumbai to Bangalore. Beautiful and modern. Of course we didn't feel so beautiful due to our eventual 5 hour delay.

So we found out today that the house will not be ready for us to move into until next Monday. We will be staying a few more days at the Taj (darn <---- sarcasm). Right now I am a little bored from time to time, but I am honestly enjoying the rest and being a bum. It's also giving me time to do some research for things and find places I want to go to during the day on my own. I plan to do a little more research via phone calls tomorrow to find out more about places that do massages the way I would prefer. I'll keep you informed so that if any of you travel here you will know of a few good places to go. Well, and I'm not being too much of a bum because I actually have work to keep me busy. I'll try to take photos at any places I go too so you can see. :)

Off to breakfast and another day of new things to do and learn.

Just as I was about to publish this post.. out goes the electricity but of course within a few seconds it was back on. One thing to get learn to get used to here.

Naptime!

Just hearing the rain hit the ground outside and the whirring of the ceiling fan has me in such a peaceful and relaxed state. It would be so easy right now to sleep. Lunch will be ready soon though so I must control that urge to want to close my heavy eyelids. Now a good breeze is picking up and there is a lot of moisture in the air which, after being in the extreme heat for so long, my skin is singing songs of praise. I love a good rain and I have missed it since Texas has been in the drought for so long. I hope that the good ole Lone Star state gets some rain soon. Last I heard there was a tropical storm heading that way.

Vikas, my husband, and the name I will use for that from now on (since he said it was okay) is happy to get to visit his parents. They are so sweet and they really know how to make one feel so at home and part of the family. As most of you know, I am pretty shy and quiet at first, mostly to observe my surroundings and figure out things and what is okay and is not okay. I was raised to be respectful and I will always do my best to do so. Also, let it be noted, his mom can make some amazing food!

I took a few photos but I'll post them later. I don't want to take up too much of the bandwidth here.

Hmmm.. trying to think of the other things I thought of on the way here that I wanted to mention on this blog entry. I saw so many places and things I would have loved to photograph but there was too much traffic, we were trying to get to Vikas' parents place, and it was pouring outside. Well, off I go. Time for lunch. I'll probably not write again until we reach Bangalore. Sweet dreams America!

We have arrived in India

We arrived yesterday evening. There were a few irritating issues with not being able to check our luggage through to Bangalore. We are staying a few hours here in Mumbai to visit my husband's parents. It will all work out though, just a lot of luggage to lug around.

Other than that and a little bit of a sore knee from the flight, all is going quite well. So let me begin with the flight. As you know from reading the previous blog (if you haven't, what are you waiting for? get to it!), we were able to get upgrades to business class for the 14 hour flight to Mumbai. This was by far the best long flight experience I've had yet. We flew Continental and their business class is first rate in my opinion. Below are some photos for you to see. I took them with my camera on my phone so pardon the lower quality.

We get a menu before we take off. It lists all the options for our meals on the plane, including snacks, desserts, drinks (including a nice selection of alcoholic beverages). You can click on the images to see them larger if you would like a closer look at any of them. The menu is readable (meaning the image isn't blurry this time). Well, not all of them are blurry, but some might be. :)

The menu was also in Hindi. 

This is our little "survival package" as I call it. The airline calls it a care package. It's made with a nice material with a double side pocket area when open. Below is a photo of it the items that are in it. 

This contains, toothpaste, toothbrush with plastic cover, mojito lip balm, bergamot and honey lotion, tissues, hair brush and comb, grapefruit and bergamot refreshing cleansing cloth, eye mask, writing pen, earplugs and a coupon to take $10 off a purchase for any of the body items (lotion, lip balm and cleansing cloth) from the actual manufacturer, Escents. (http://escentsaromatherapy.com)

The remote for our monitor/tv. You can listen to music, watch games, watch movies and more. It was touch screen too which was fantastic!

The monitor/TV.

Our seat controls. Yes, that far right one is so you can lay flat. Loved it! I preferred my head slightly higher up, which one can do. It was so comfortable to watch tv and sleep. The chair was also very soft and cushy, along with the blanket and the pillow. If any of you ever have the chance to fly business class, don't turn it down (even if you are the only one of your group to get it.)

Dinner: Mashed potatoes with chives, sautéed veggies and leg of lamb.

Dessert: Edy's ice cream with hot fudge and nuts (passed on the cherries and whip cream). 

The seats in business class. 

My husband took this shot. The goober left the flash on. Haha! Still good shot of the chair though. :)

So we went through our debacle at the airport with what to do with the luggage (which we ended up stuffing into a car that was not quite equipped with enough room for that much luggage), got everything in the car, and headed for our hotel. With all the luggage blocking my view (it was in the spare seat up front). By the way, in India, they drive on the other side of the road. I was sitting on the left so the luggage was on the seat in front of me. Anyway, I could see somewhat out the side window. It's raining a lot here because it's still monsoon season, which lasts from about June to October. Honestly, it's nice though since I haven't seen it rain like this in A LONG TIME. 

The view from our room here at the Hyatt in Mumbai. You can see that it's quite gray outside and rainy. Anyone up for a dip in the pool? The floaties are already in there. What more do you need? In case any water gets splashed out there is plenty more filling up the pool at the same time. Haha!

Our breakfast this morning, which was included with the room stay. You can get just about anything from fresh parathas (with or without aloo), freshly made omelet (I got just egg whites, so yummy), fresh juice, fresh fruit and so so much more. My husband has on his plate above: papaya, pineapple, and chocolate bread. 

On the plate to the left is a tomato vermicelli. It was on the spicy side but soooooo very good. Always good to try new foods and things and I'm glad I tried that one. It was great.

So I meant to take a photo before I had started to eat my omelet but it looked so good that I forgot so here is my mostly eaten omelet with mushroom, bacon and cheese (egg whites only) with rosemary potatoes, roasted tomato and a wheat croissant on the side. 

Me working on this very blog. :) 

So we are about to head off to visit my husband's parents. I will write more soon because there is much more to write about. Maybe I'll have more photos to post too. Enjoy the read and I can't wait to write more.

The Day Is Upon Us

We are here at Newark airport. I'm just staring out at the planes going and coming. At least we get to sit here in the comfy lounge. So far so good on all things travel related. My digestive system never likes it but other than that, all is good so far. Sorry if even that little tidbit was too much info. Haha! Though, remember, I said, no holds bar. This blog is not for the squeamish, timid or prudish. I'm going to lay it all out there from time to time. Don't worry though, it will all be done with a little humor too. :)

There is something pleasant about airports to me, but maybe that's because I'm a people watcher and being at an International airport is a great place to people watch. I'm sure many of you are people watchers yourself. If you carefully look around and watch, there are many others observing also. For me, I'm always wondering where one person or group of people is coming from and going to. It's amazing to think of how many lives one comes across in a single moment. Even now, as I type this, a man walked by with his plate of snacks and never realized that he dropped his cheese (no that is not a euphemism) so now it's sitting there, waiting to be picked up and tossed away. I would get it, but I partially want to see just how long it takes for someone to realize it. I only hope no one steps on it or it causes them to fall. That would be bad. "The Cheese stands alone!"

Laptops are everywhere too. I wonder what these lounges looked like during the days where there were less cells phones, laptops and other tech devices. I bet more people got to know or meet people they never would meet today. Interesting enough, even though technology brings us closer, in many ways it keeps us further apart too.

Here's another crazy thought, a magazine about shopping centers. Yes, it's literally about shopping centers around the world, from the largest to the most elite. I grew up in a small town where I was lucky to even find a JCPenney. I think the mall we had only had three major stores, Sears, JCPenney and Bealls. Forget Dillard's or even Neiman Marcus. If you wanted to shop there, then you had to drive 2 plus hours to Houston for that. Keep in mind, even in 3rd world countries, where poverty is at such highs, there are some of the most fancy shopping centers. Bangalore even has one. It's a beautiful Mall and has high end stores. An example of an item in this mall was a purse that I saw on sale, it's sale price was $1000. These are all just thoughts running around in my head right now. It's more of a thought than a rant.

So maybe you're wondering, when is she going to even mention India, well, there's not a whole lot to mention yet, other than I'm ready to be there because the flying part is probably the most uninteresting part. I do love that I'll get to watch movies on the plane, be waited on and enjoy a nice sleep. We were able to get an upgrade so it's nice knowing I will probably get some sleep. Our flight is around 14 hrs. So that's about one good 6 hour sleep and approximately 4 good movies... depending on the length of the movie, of course. I'm not complaining. It's going to be nice.

I will say I'm a bit anxious, nervous and excited about what's ahead this next year. I'm hoping I can give you all some great stories and show you things I see and things I'm working on.

Hasta Luego everyone! Will write again soon! Oh and the cheese disappeared at some point while I was writing this. Dun dun dun... will the mystery cheese ever get's it revenge!?