blogging

Trip Bits: After it’s all over

2 Comments

Read the whole Trip Bits series.

Departing my last three international excursions, I’ve carried home a particular present: illness. I seem to have a knack for it.

Usually it comes to me on the last day, right before I’m about to get on a long, overnight, international flight from which there is no escape for 6+ hours. And at high altitudes in a cramped space with 300 other people is just where you want to be with an achy body and a stuffy head.

But it’s (sort of) my own fault. I pick vacations where I’m going to run hard and hardly sleep. No lollygagging on a tropical beach — there’s too much to see! to buy! to eat! Continue reading →

Advertisement

Monday Musings: On getting back on the horse.

1 Comment

No, no. You’re not hallucinating.

It’s me. I’m actually writing a blog post. I know that hasn’t occurred since, oh, June, and now it’s, oh, November. But here I am.

There’s no good excuse, really. Just that this writing thing is hard. And sometimes I believe I have nothing interesting to say. And sometimes I overthink and overedit, resulting in a diatribe of incoherent thoughts followed by general posting paralysis. And my discipline begins to wane. So, sure, I’ve been busy. We’ve all been busy. But then a funny thing happened. Several other bloggers I read expressed the very same sentiments. We’ve all been in a rut together. Continue reading →

South Africa, Days 1-2: Just getting there.

2 Comments

[Sidebar: Today is September 5, which marks the first anniversary of this blog! My first official post was a recap of my trip to Australia, so it’s both surprising and apropos that one year later I’m talking about another big trip. If only my life were always that exciting!

I started this blog as a lark, because I was feeling bored and unchallenged. But along the way I’ve received love and encouragement from so many of you who read it regularly, and miss it when I don’t write. So, thank you to all of my readers, whether this is your first post or you’ve dutifully read all 79 of them. Your support (and eyeballs) really mean so much. Mwah, Whitney]

Oh, South Africa. Where to even begin. I knew this trip would be important and life-changing even before the flight took off, and it didn’t disappoint. I’ll attempt to recap here all that we did, saw, ate and felt over those jam-packed 10 days abroad. As you’ve seen, I’m a terrible photographer, so please know that I won’t do the country’s beauty one bit of justice. It’s such a special place, and it was a special trip. One that we’re still talking about and will for months and years to come.

To begin: we flew for days and days.
Keep reading »

Inspiration in unexpected places.

Leave a comment

Hi, I’m Whitney. Nice to meet you again.

I feel like I need to reintroduce myself after two months away. I promise it was unintentional, even though the new job’s been challenging, the end of the summer semester demanding and the rest of life distracting. Excuses, excuses. I do appreciate those of you who ever-so-politely harrassed me about blogging during those quiet weeks. I really needed that kick in the pants, and I’m honored that you’re reading.

I must confess that I haven’t cooked a bite since I last left you, and I’ve been subsisting primarily on cracker chips, sliced cheese, hummus and the Trader Joe’s frozen food section. But I’m starting to get the itch again for a cooking spree, so stay tuned on that.

I also promised so many months ago to tell you about my trip to South Africa, which was on the back burner until last weekend when I was sitting in the audience at The Lion King, of all places. I first saw the show on Broadway many years ago, and always thought it was a stunning visual spectacle. But I’ve never been really connected to the story, the movie or the show. My mom has wanted to see it forever, so I took her while we were in Las Vegas.
Keep reading »