Gimme a Break!

The past few weeks have been exhausting. From the passing of Pooter (which still breaks our hearts daily), to getting a new kitten (yes, we actually did that!), to dealing with the new kitty’s many issues (infection, cone, worms, oh my!), to being so busy at work with our upcoming end of fiscal year…let’s just say, I could really use a break.

I decided to plan a little mini-vacay for myself to visit one of my besties in Buffalo. She and I wanted to go on a trip together, but she’s a little more stretched for funds so I decided to just go to her. I’m really looking forward to some time off. And we’re going to Niagara Falls! I told her that I don’t care what we do, as long as we go there. She even said we could take a boat ride. And we’re going to the Canada side of things. It’s going to be a blast! I’m sure we’ll do other things. We are going to go to her friend’s show – he’s in a 90s cover band and considering my recent obsessions, this sounds like a perfect match for me. We’re also finally getting our matching tattoos – she’s one of the few people in the world I would even consider doing this with. (We’ve talked about this for years, so I’m not totally convinced it will happen. But we have a design we both really like – and she’s supposedly making an appointment for us. We’ll see!) Hopefully we’ll get over to Pittsburgh and Bradford too, to see other friends. At the end of the day, whatever we do usually ends up being pretty amazing.

(Quick back story on Dania: we met online when we were 18 through collegeclub.com. I was at Irvine, she was at NYU. I think we met over our love for The Get Up Kids. Began chatting. And have chatted ever since…almost 14 years! We have spent time together in those 14 years. She visited me in Orange County. And I went to Pennsylvania to hang out with her. Then she came out for my wedding. And then most recently, we went on a girls trip to Vegas to celebrate our 30th birthdays. It’s weird to say we met online, considering our relationship is very phone/text/in-person, but the interwebs are very much where it all began for us – and we’ve literally been through so much together. I honestly believe that she and I have one of the strongest relationships in my life because it’s almost all based on words. We know so much about each other and to this day, I can tell her things that I would never dream of telling most of my other friends/family or even my boyfriend. I can never hate the internet because it’s brought some of the most important people I know into my life.)

I’m clearly really excited for my 5-day trip to Buffalo. But, the trip actually just got so much better. My team is having a meeting that my boss has requested that I attend, back in Denver. I assured her that I could attend the meeting via Skype (secretly hoping she would force me to come back), but she insisted that I be in Denver. So now….my trip to Buffalo will be preceded by a trip to my one of my favorite places on earth, which is also home to one of my favorite families on earth (The Hunters) and to one of Dania’s childhood best friends who has in-turn become one of my best friends (Amanda!). So much to look forward to. I’ll only be in Denver for about 48 hours before heading from there to Buffalo, but it’s going to be such a spectacular week. It’s all I can think about!

And then as soon as I get back from that trip, I’ll be consumed with thoughts of my 6-day October business-trip to Chicago (my first time there since we moved from the windy city to Texas when I was an infant.) And upon completion of that trip, I’ll be focused on my 7-day November business-trip to West Bengal, India! Yes, India! I say “business-trip” but there will be a lot of personal excitement to be there and see first-hand the amazing work Water For People does. The last time I was in India was also when I was an infant…my mom had taken me, I assume to introduce me to family. Granted, this trip will be on the opposite side of India from where my family is from, but hey, I’ll take it! I even had to get a new passport – apparently my last passport from when I was 15 is invalid. Hah! And I had to get two vaccines so far – apparently there are more to come. But it’s all worth it to get to India.

I guess the subject of this post should have been: So Much To Look Forward To, because I really do have so much to look forward to! I’m sure by Thanksgiving, when I’m getting over whatever illnesses or stomach issues I’ve brought back from my international travels – I’ll be happy to not have anymore travel planned, but for now I’m excited for the next few months and the airport chaos they will surely bring with them.

Pictures of my adventures to come!