KELLY'S GONE AGAIN
…AND HERE'S WHERE I'M AT.Archive for Thoughts
#57. Washington, D.C.: The Fear Factor
So, I’ve been spending a lot of time outside lately. November has gifted Washington with some unusually mild-weathered days, which make the outdoors — complete with gold and auburn autumn leaves that [g]litter sidewalks — the perfect visual to calm me. And I do need calming. In the last 4 weeks, I’ve moved my old life to a new town, taken a 180-degree career turn, and launched a health and wellness business. Even for a fairly free-spirited girl like me who moved through more than 60 foreign cities this year, that’s a lot of change.
Many of you have asked how I’m not scared. Well, here’s my secret:
Read the rest of this entry »
#56. New York-Washington, D.C.: En Route Ramblings
Well, things on the “home front” (I know, sorry) have continued to rock gently back and forth. I’ve delayed my annual ordering of permanent address labels, opting instead for splitting time between Washington and New York until I make a commitment. I carry my life in a shoulder bag, friends; a one-woman, moving, modern nomadic force.
Today I’m heading south again, watching the City’s skyscrapers fade in the rear view. Every time I’m here, I feel I belong. Every time I go, I feel a little like I’m leaving the nest. It’s gray and muted – a slowly spinning scene around your own stillness – like saying goodbye to anything that’s a part of you.
Here’s the cool part, though…
#55. Washington, D.C.: Trading Peru for Temporary Permanence
We need to talk. I think I owe you an explanation. If you’ve been reading lately, you know I’m still considering where to live next. You know that I’ve returned from the Best Year Ever, and you’ve probably figured out that the title “Kelly’s Gone Again” doesn’t seem as zingy when I’m, well, here.
You may also know that I was seriously considering keeping it up and, for example, making a little life in Lima. What better way to spend the rest of 2009 than setting up shop in Peru and joining a maternity clinic I’d found to expand my interests in all things baby-related, right? Well…
#54. New York City: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful
I write listening to the soundtrack of a very talented street musician playing his guitar as I look at the silver skyline of my favorite city. Oh, New York, I do love you.
#53. Washington, D.C.: There’s No Place Like Home
So, now that I’m firmly back on American soil, I’ve been spending a lot of time with my family and pets (check out Harley Maximilian, pictured here, after one of our bonding+jogging sessions). In addition to reconnecting with others, I’ve also been reconnecting with my environment, thinking a lot about where I’m going next… and I don’t mean trips. Deciding on new short-term destinations is easy (Oslo? Lima? Kigali? Okinawa?), but choosing a city that will be my next home?
Not so much.
#47. Cote d’Azur: Open Your Eyes
It’s time to move on, but not before looking back. Over the last 2 years, during which time my obsession with the South of France took root for no apparent reason, I’ve been curious to figure out what I would discover here. Certainly the answers will continue to reveal themselves to me after I’m gone, as is the case with most things in life, but some things are evident already.
I’ve learned a lot in a relatively short period of time, about my love for yoga teaching and improved travel skills, for instance, but the bigger answer might just be something I told a friend of mine once. Read the rest of this entry »
#40. Cote d’Azur: Halfway Check In
On the last big trip, I did a reflection-based summary about midway in. Believe it or not, we’re already there. So before I go on to give you my thoughts on the French Riviera, here’s where I am, figuratively speaking…
#34. Sarone: What Took Me So Long?
I’ve eaten more olives in the last five days than I have in my whole life. Already I’ve helped empty twelve bottles of wine… and that’s just at home.
After a month in the States, post-Australiasia, I’m away again, on my way to France for the summer. Today though, I am in Italy; Sarone, to be exact, in the Perdonone region of the north, about an hour from Venice and nestled under the Italian Alps. I’m visiting one of my best friends (Julie) who happened to move here 2 months ago with her husband (Cody), since I just couldn’t come up with a better way to get acclimated to Europe than spending a few weeks in Italy. It is my first time here, and I cannot, to save my life, figure out why that is.
#33. New York: Coming Home and Going Again
Week: 11
Countries: 7
Cities: 35
Charitable Causes: 10
Injuries: 7
New Friends: Tons
Photos: 800+
Planes, Trains, Buses: 53
Lost Bags/Delayed Flights: 0
Passport Pages Left: 3
Last week around this time, I was getting ready for bed in my small, sparse, hot hotel room in Pedang Pedang. Paper-thin, pastel curtains, gentle, oscillating fan, gecko song. Hard mattress, cold shower. The 126th backpack search for toothpaste. Alarm setting for seaside sunrise. I fell asleep to the deep, animated voices of my neighbors – chilled-out surfer boys, all bare feet and Bintang beer – sitting on our shared balcony and storytelling of “epic swells.” So good. So recent.
#32. Back in Seminyak: I Miss You
Is anyone else exhausted?? I am, and as a result today’s update is purely off-the-cuff — no edits, no revisions, no rethinking.
That said, the thought for today is this: I miss you. I miss you, New York, I miss you, Washington. I miss you, friends, families, colleagues and acquaintances, tap water, washer/dryer, high heels, salad, Western toilets… and, I ask, exactly what does a girl have to do around here to get soymilk in a latte?
#21. Delhi: Halfway Check-In
(c) 2009 Todd Sykes.
I’m halfway to home. ‘Seems like a good a time as any for a little introspection.
Week: 6
Countries: 5
Cities: 17
Charitable causes supported: 8
Injuries: 6
New friends: 40+
Pictures: 300+
I start Week 6 with excitement and trepidation — excited to have over another month of traveling and, despite my efforts to stay present, a little nervous already about it being over. In case you haven’t noticed, I LOVE this game. For better or worse, I’m afraid, traveling is in my blood and, I might add, actually in my stars (oh yes I did — I mean, who *doesn’t* have their vedic astrology done in India??).
#2. The Night Before the First Flight…
Or, rather, the very early morning. My flight leaves in about 5 hours and I’ve yet to sleep at all. It’s that moment when you look at the clock and think that you might just as well stay awake, and I’m not sure what side of that fence I’m on.
