How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Okay, in my last post I was all "going to Thailand...brb". And I've been back for four months. I fail at being interesting enough for a blog.
Every time I start to talk about my trip, I get very overwhelmed. I experienced so many different, life-changing things while in Thailand...some good, some notsomuch good.
I rode an elephant
I released floating lanterns (very Tangled)
I hugged orphans
I prayed for tribespeople with various ailments (such as polio)
I painted a bathroom
I danced a traditional Thai dance on stage with my fellow travelers
I stuck my feet in an aquarium and had little fishies nibble my dead skin off
I snorkeled
I took a prayer walk through a street lined with brothels
I hiked in the Himalayas
I ate A LOT of rice (SO. MUCH. RICE.)
I went to Burma
I laughed
I cried
I bled
I worshiped God in a new language
I experienced rain in a way I never had before
I showered in the dark with a gecko
I conquered the language barrier by just smiling at people and pointing a lot (I can also count to 10, and say "hello" and "thank you")
I taught English at a Thai school
...and I did it all without getting Malaria, Encephalitis, or Typhoid!

Now that I'm back, I wish I could say that my life is 100% different than it was before I left, but I've slipped back into old routines. Yes, the experience changed my life, but as I am currently working two jobs, serving as a worship leader and pursuing my teaching credential, I hardly have time to do laundry and take care of myself...I feel guilty that I'm not leading a whole new life, and I hate that 'busy' is my excuse...I hope that once I've got my credential, a stable teaching job (with benefits and an actual living wage) and the time and resources to do so, I'll be able to go back. I want my life to reflect the opportunities I've been given, instead of complaining about the amount of work I have to do.

Where East meets West

I can't believe it's been almost four years since I went to Turkey. It was such an incredible experience. The 'following in St. Paul's footsteps' of it, and the 'ancient meets modern of it'. Being somewhere with such a rich history, and such friendly people. I was there for two weeks, and it wasn't enough. Just 17 students, a college professor, Turkish guide fluent in English and our bus driver Mustafa (I'm not even kidding, that was his name.) I ate real Turkish delight, and delicious baklava with apple tea. I saw gorgeous mosaics with so much detail they looked like paintings, beautiful mosques, bazaars that were like a scene right out of Aladdin, and ancient temples in various states of ruin. I absolutely LOVED the experiences I had in Turkey.

And now my TV is taunting me. Showing Turkey tourism commercials when there is no way I could afford to go or even have the time off from work to do so is just plain mean. I am itching to go somewhere. Anywhere. I vowed when I got my passport that I was going to get as much use out of it as possible before it expired and it has been collecting dust for the past 4 years. While part of me would be perfectly okay never leaving my apartment except to visit my parents every once in a while, another part of me just wants to be a nomad and go EVERYWHERE...

But I have no money and too many responsibilities so I'm here.

Me (with long hair) in front of the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul

Using Bob Hope's WiFi

As I sit at the gate A2 waiting area at the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, I realize how grateful I am for free WiFi...not only because I arrived two and half hours before my flight leaves (which, consequently, is 2.5 times the length of the actual flight) but also because I have something quick to say...well, I never say anything quick, but...
I understand that it is wintertime and cold(ish) outside, and people want to come in and be cozy and warm, however...because it is wintertime, people will dress in long pants, long sleeves and possibly have a coat that wouldn't fit in their checked bag because they are bad at leaving room for such things and it was either pack the coat or bring Taboo to a crazy family gathering. People will likely be bundled as only Southern Californians can bundle. Therefore, dear airport, there really is no reason to crank the heat up so high. It is possible that travelers more experienced than myself have packed a set of 'inside clothes' including a pair of shorts and a tank top to change into, but I had far too many other things to put in my carry-on bag, and summer clothes just wouldn't fit.
I get that no one wants to wait in a freezing terminal, but I'm looking around and not exactly seeing people dressed in beachwear...I think we can afford to turn the heater down a few notches...
Thanks!
Love, Lauren

deviation

I'm going to take a break from the mug thing. Well, not really since I posted a mug today and will do so again tomorrow. But here is an extra little tid-bit of a post. More of a 'tweet' on steroids, but whatevs.
Anyway...here we go:
I need to finish reading Eat, Pray, Love. I have really enjoyed it, and I'm soclose to the end. But it's starting to get me depressed. Mostly because reading it has hit me with an incredible wanderlust that I can't give into because I'm poor and I have a job that I don't want to get fired from for just up and leaving. Also, I am noticing quite a few similarities between me and Liz. Well, I seem to share a lot of her 'downs' notsomuch with her 'ups' though. I have switched, for the time being, to re-reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It's the only HP book I haven't re-read yet. In part, I'm gearing up for the movie (though one could argue that E,P,L is already in theaters and HP won't be out until Nov 19, so I'm jumping the gun a little bit). But it's nice to read a book about a protagonist I have absolutely nothing in common with. Am I British? No! Am I a Wizard? No (although, it'd be cool if I were) Am I being pursued by the most evil being ever to exist who has split his soul into seven pieces and wants to kill me dead? No! (Thank God).
Sometimes getting lost in a work of fiction is just what the doctor ordered.
I would like to take this moment to invite reality to bite me.

Now, would you like a Bertie Bott's every flavored bean? Or perhaps, a butterbeer??

Nox.