3 posts tagged “travel”
In less than 24 hours, I will be on a plane on my way home. I'm not excited about the travel, but I'm excited to not be at work for an entire week, and I'm excited to bring home all the presents I bought. I love watching people open presents. I, of course, hate opening presents in front of people because I always feel like I have to have the perfect reaction.
Perhaps that indicates that I've not been getting good presents.
Not that I'm complaining.
So right now, I'm in my last 20 minutes of work, twiddling my thumbs until I can officially go home. I've rearranged things on my desk, and I've packed away the work that won't need to be looked at til the new year. I'm choosing to ignore the construction dust currently all over my desk, as I have a feeling that's only going to get worse in the coming days. I may come back to a desk completely white with dust.
Sounds healthy, doesn't it.
Plans for tonight include packing and getting the house ready. I've not left my cats alone for this long before. I've got someone checking in on them, but it's not the same. I will worry about them, I'm sure.
Next entry to be written from the airport!
I just keep falling further and further behind in Holidailies. Last year, I had finals, and yet I kept up. This year, I have a job, which technically should take less time than finals do, and yet I am behind. But I am determined to catch up. Two posts a day. You should feel lucky.
I finally uploaded my White House Christmas photos. You can find them here. Really, if you've seen any of the clips on TV from the White House at Christmas time, you've seen these images. But it was still a very cool experience and one that I may never have again. I should scan the program they handed out. It was amazing, prints of these paintings they had done for the event. Very cute.
Two more days of work til I fly home. I cannot say that I am excited about traveling around the Christmas season. I also have never had to pack to go home to my parents' house for Christmas before... or ever, really. Just when I came home from college, but that somehow didn't seem to count. And after that, I was living close enough that I only stayed for a day or two and then went back and forth. It was much easier. Part of today's goal is to make a packing list.
Oh, and do work. That thing they pay me to do.
(There is a wall being demolished not 10 feet behind me. This has to be a health hazard)
Like many others, I've spent a lot of my time these past few days reading about James and Kati Kim and their daughters. For those of you not following, just check out cnet.com. James is a senior editor at CNET and they are keeping great tabs on everything that's been going on. For a quick recap, the family never returned from their Thanksgiving vacation. They were driving up the coast in Oregon.
Yesterday, Kati Kim and her two daughters, ages 4 and 7 months, were found, safe and sound. James is still missing, having left the car to search for help, but the search team remains optimistic that they will find him alive.
I am just absolutely amazed at the strength of this family. They huddled together for warmth for a week, burning tires for heat, and surviving on the meager provisions they had. Kati breastfed both girls for nutrition, and both are absolutely fine. According to the news reports, all three are in great shape - Kati may lose a toe from the cold. If losing a toe is the only thing to happen to these three, that's amazing. I am just amazed with her strength, to sit for two days and wait for help, wait for her husband to come back, just trying to keep herself and her two little girls alive and calm. Apparently, she tried to go after James at one point, but realized that she couldn't make it with the two girls.
It's just such a scary thing. This could happen to anyone. This is a smart family. They just ended up lost and stranded, with no way to get in touch with anyone. I think the lesson here is to always give a copy of your route to a friend or a family member and do your best to stay on that route. Apparently, they missed a turnoff, found this road on the map, and decided to take it. So very terrifying. I think on my next road trip, I will be giving my family a detailed itinerary, and calling when I leave and when I get in. And I will insist that my friends and family do the same.
Come home soon, James.
