I’m at the Donnell Library Center on W. 53rd Street in Manhattan trying desperately to stay awake and get work done. I’m failing miserably on both counts. For some reason the publishing software for Gadling is not working well, so I haven’t been able to get more than three posts completed this afternoon. To make matters worse, I’m going on about 4 hours sleep, and it has now hit me hard.

Besides this late day sluggishness, I’ve had an incredible 48 hours in the city. Before I give up for good and go outside to grab a coffee, here is a rundown of what I’ve done since I arrived in Manhattan on Saturday evening:

SATURDAY:
– Took Rockland Coaches bus from Pearl River to Port Authority at 41st St., then took subway to 59th St.
– Had dinner at La Pizza Fresca and drinks at Vig 27 with my friend K, then stayed at her place off Columbus Circle.

SUNDAY:
– Walked across Central Park South to Lex and caught the subway uptown to East 96th Steet.
– Had a yummy NY bagel breakfast with my friend A, her husband and their new baby boy
– Walked from 94th to 85th and met up with friends at Molly Pitcher’s Ale House to prep for marathon watching. My friend E ran in the race and we spent the entire afternoon walking around town to cheer and support her. We saw her first at 85th and 1st, then again at 92nd right before entering Central Park. Afterwards, we all met back at the bar for free beers and snacks. It was so fun to watch the marathon — there is a great camaraderie and spirit that flows through this global event. I did not bring my camera to the city, but here is one shot from my phone. The costumes worn by both spectators and runners provided many laughs throughout the day:

– After the race, I met my friend C further east on 85th around 6 pm and cabbed it to midtown to have dinner with her boyfriend at The Mercury Bar on 3rd. We then headed to The Joshua Tree where the night took an unexpected turn and I wound up staying out till 3 am. We watched the Sunday night NFL game, danced to 80’s music and drank maybe one too many Red Bull and Vodkas. But it was a much-needed one night party, with no hangover headache today, so I’m not complaining.

MONDAY:
-I left C’s place and walked down Lex like a zombie, hopped on the subway for a short bit, then walked back across CPS and down Broadway to 53rd, where I cut over to head to the library. I grabbed some pizza about noon and have been in the free wifi reference room ever since.

Next up: Meeting my friend N around 6 pm and taking a subway downtown to her East Village apartment. We’ll grab dinner with her hubbie, and I’ll crash on the couch. Tomorrow I may try and find another free wifi hotpot downtown where I can attempt to be more productive before heading back to PR in the afternoon.

Despite feeling sleepy this afternoon, I’m having a blast enjoying Manhattan during this mild weather spell. The colors in Central Park are glorious and their is an energizing buzz floating over everything that happens in this city. It feels really good to be here.

If we are always arriving and departing, it is also true that we are eternally anchored. One’s destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things.

~ Henry Miller

[photo by Luminous Lens]

Oh boy. Today is my last day of work, and then I am off to NY for a week — a few days with friends in NYC and the rest with my folks in the ‘burbs. And I’ll get to see both my bros this week too. This will be 7+ days on the go — full of planning, packing, decision-making, budgeting, writing, and hopefully a little relaxing too. A good trial-run for what’s to come next year. Let the adventures begin…

After living in Baltimore City for seven years, I was unsure why I’d never been called for jury duty. Probably because I lived at four different city addresses in that time. But they finally caught up with me, right before getting ready to leave town, and I was summoned to report today.

It was an interesting experience — I had flashbacks to my college polisci days, and got a much-needed refresher on our judicial system. Before doing roll call in the morning, they show a video with Perry Mason clips and a timeline outlining the history of judicial procedure, beginning with ancient Greece, and then European “trial by ordeal” practices like this: tie a man’s hands with rope and put him in the water — if he drowns, he is guilty. Done.

Things have gotten a bit more complicated since then…It was a loooooooong day.

My summons number was 265, and right before lunch I got called to a jury selection. I had a feeling I was going to get picked. I was right. After lunch, and numerous rounds of questioning with the judge, I was one of the first to go up in front of the attorneys, for a murder trial. I was selected as juror #9. My heart was racing for some reason, excited/nervous/worried that I really had to be at work tomorrow. But then, after all 12 jurors were picked, the judge asked the attorneys if they were satisfied with the final jury before them, and the lawyer for the defendant replied, “No your honor, strike juror #9.”

Just like that, he axed me and I was asked to step down. Someone suggested that maybe there were already too many white females on the jury — there were two others with me, but why was I the one they didn’t want anymore? Who knows, no biggie, but it was fascinating to watch it all unfold. As much as I was curious to see what would happen next, I really couldn’t afford to miss work tomorrow. But I am glad I was able to fulfill my civic duty before leaving town.

I was shocked that they give each juror $15 (!!) for lunch/transportation, I thought that was a nice amount, maybe too much? I did get to finish a book today, one I had started back in early September, so that was a major accomplishment. It was nice to be away from email/cell phone for an entire day, and a pleasant surprise to be able to eat lunch outside too.

My colleagues threw me a farewell party this evening. Great food, wine, a really nice gathering. They gave me a beautiful Hopkins desk clock and a cool Bawlmer Hon tee.

So yes, I teared up, when my boss said that “family is important to me.” It is, and as much as I joke about moving home, I can’t wait to curl up on the couch at my parents, cook dinner for them, watch movies, just veg out and be there with them for the holidays…and not have to worry about traffic on 95 and the long drive back after holiday breaks.

The tears will really flow on Friday, I know it. They are welling up right now actually, as I write this. I’m truly lucky and blessed for the good folks I’ve met and great lessons I’ve learned the past four years working here. It is absolutely the right time for me to make a change, to follow my heart, but I know that going home to one family in New York, I am leaving several others here in Baltimore.

Oh, and the word is out — Some folks at the office have found the blog, and more will discover it soon. It’s okay, I’m not hiding anything…I just figured I’d wait till my last day to send everyone the link and fill them in on my part-time writing gigs. I didn’t think anyone would really be Googling my name, but silly me! Where I work, we all make a living Googling people’s names, so it was bound to happen eventually. If you are visiting from Hopkins, say hi, don’t be shy…

I was excited to find these two items waiting in my mailbox this evening:

1) The November/December issue of Transitions Abroad (not up online yet)
Among the many articles in this issue are ones about solo female travel in Europe, Slovenia/Croatia, and a series of pieces on “The Changing Face of Travel”

2) My WWOOF Italia membership pass, all the way from Casavecchia. It is so fun to get international mail; the Italian postage stamp on the envelope is very cool.

I just love receiving mail, especially anything travel related or postmarked from overseas. It is such a rare thing these days. I will try really hard to send postcards when I travel, especially to those who love getting mail as much as me. I guess blogs, like email, have probably had an impact on the number of postcards people send when traveling. What do you think? Do you still send postcards when you travel?

Another weekend comes to a close with a cup of tea and a sweet Halloween snack – I just treated myself to a pair of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

I spent a good portion of today catching up with friends on the phone. October has been a bit haunting on the relationship front, with some weird feelings and tricky situations that had me second-guessing myself. But today’s conversations and chats were good for clearing the air, and understanding where everyone is at in their lives right now.

I also had a chance to speak with my godmother this evening and hear about her recent trip to Italy. Aunt C lived in Florence for over ten years, has many friends there, and is married to an Italian, so I’ll be turning to her for assistance on planning the Dolce Vita leg of my trip.

Yesterday I tackled the simplification process again, tearing apart the kitchen and my bedroom — clothes, shoes, utensils and tupperware — what do I really need to keep? I’ve now got two huge bags for Goodwill and a large pile of kitchen stuff to donate. I also came across some special mementos that I’ve been holding on to because they remind me of places I’ve been. But nostalgia takes up space, so I decided that I had to part with these travel trinkets from the past:

– The empty special edition bottle of Kahlua (in the shape of an ancient Aztec) from my Project Mexico trip to Tijuana in Jan 1996; I remember Bob helped me snag it, but I don’t recall who drank its’ contents….

– The heavy knit wool Quill’s Irish sweater I bought in Cork, Ireland in August 1996; the one I never wear.

– The first bottle of Dos Equis that I drank when we arrived in Cancun in spring 1995; It was still full of sand from the beach, with a Fat Tuesdays necklace wrapped around it.

– The wooden plaque we painted on our Appalachian Spring Break Outreach community service trip to Ivanhoe, Virginia in 1994.

– My faded green Loyola athletic shorts, so worn that the Greyhound logo is completely gone.

I threw these items away, but have mentioned them here, so I’ll remember what these dust-collectors symbolized — special travels and memories from the early years. The rest of the weekend was filled with writing for Gadling, a quick walk, laundry, a little bit of cooking and some travel planning for my trip to New York next week.

Tomorrow is day one of my last week of work. There are more trinkets to bring home from my cube, and plenty to trash there this week. I already brought home my diploma and some photos. Last week I was treated to dinner with some co-workers and a happy hour with my department, and there are a few more on tap for this week. Things are moving at a nice pace and I look forward to enjoying this last week with my colleagues.

I’m well traveled to some degree, but it is certainly skewed….and I’m not sure how acurate this rainbow-colored web quiz is, considering that it only listed four places in Africa. But it is interesting to see my percentages nonetheless, there are always new ways of looking at where I’ve been. Of course, it makes me think again about where I want to go.

This was the most intense travel planning weekend I’ve has thus far. Things are beginning to gain momentum and fall into place. Progress made since Friday includes:

– I read through all my old Budget Travel and (now defunct) Big World mags. I clipped important tips and articles — the rest got chucked. I still have to read through my Transitions Abroad backlog, but I will hold on to them, as I know they will still be useful to me a year or two from now.

– I joined WWOOF Italy and will probably get an independent membership too, but I’ll wait a bit longer to decide about that.

– I spent a ton of time reading up on the budget airlines in Europe. This is a huge change from when I planned my last trip to Europe ten years ago…this was not a booming industry back then and there is lots to learn. I have to study up on the latest rail options too, so I can begin to decide which of these transport modes (or what combo of both, plus bus) will be used along the way.

– I mapped out a first draft of a 6-month (!!) itinerary for backpacking through Europe, split evenly between eastern and western European countries. I studied up on which countries use the Euro and which are part of the Schengen treaty — this has been a particularly challenging task, as I was not aware of the 15 Schengen countries until a few weeks ago, and it def put a slight wrinkle in my original plan…but I will make it work!

– I reviewed this preliminary itinerary with my friend CJ, who will probably join me for 3 months of the trip. I welcome this traveling buddy (a good friend who has never been to Europe and does not want to do it solo) but it does present some additional planning that needs to be sorted out soon. We should have our timelines worked out by the beginning of November, so I can actively work on booking my flight and first hostel. She will most likely join me in Spain after I have a few weeks on my own first. Looks like departure for me will be late Jan or first week of Feb at the latest. More on that in the coming weeks…

– CJ and I went backpack browsing this afternoon, to REI and EMS (why do all the gear stores have acronym names?) We both have our eye on this Venus pack for women but I’m going to visit Campmor in a few weeks and see if I can find something cheaper. I bought a pair of Tevas (similar to this) that were marked down, but I think I might be able to get them cheaper at Campmor, so I’ll investigate that too. Deciding what size bag to take will be one of the tougher decisions I make…I really want as small a pack as possible, but know I don’t want to cut myself too short on storage. We shall see.

A productive planning weekend comes to a close, and I am beat…but getting really excited too. It is happening! I’ll now turn my energies to writing and work (two more weeks at the office) and I’ll begin packing up more boxes of stuff to donate or store elsewhere.

We had perfect weather for a tag sale. (Nothing was actually tagged with a price, and nobody calls it a tag sale here, so I should really call it what it was — an urban YARD sale.) My sis-in-law Jo was my partner for the day. Over dinner at Thai Restaurant last night we discussed everything but our plan for today. We had no “sell strategy” and are both pretty horrible at pricing goods — but we make a great team and had loads of laughs.

The first things to go were my old knife set and one of my blow-dryers (!!), and Mike’s blender, toaster and radio. The older woman across the street bought my decorative palm tree hand towels and I gave her a box of crayons for the kids at Barclay School. I sold the pampasan chair to a sweet girl named Claire, who just moved here from Louisiana to begin a history masters program at Hopkins. We chatted while I helped her walk the chair to her apartment.

I gave the neon green boa to another Hopkins grad student, a woman who just started in the nursing program. She could not believe I was parting with it, and promised to wear it proudly. I don’t doubt she will, so I just let her have it. She bought my scale and a small pillow.

The drive-by sale was the best: Today was the Baltimore Marathon, so lots of folks were stuck in their cars right outside my building while traffic was stopped to let the runners through a few blocks south of us. This one woman in her car yelled to me inquiring about the price of the hanging shoe rack. I told her it was two bucks and she nodded that she wanted it so I walked it to her. She then proceeded to buy three more items — a lamp, a standing caddy and a desk organizer, all while never moving from the driver’s seat of her running automobile.

Soon after that, we had an even closer encounter with a car, when some daredevil in a Cherokee decided to drive on the sidewalk going south on St. Paul because he didn’t have time to wait in marathon traffic. Bizarre and dangerous, but I think he got away with it and returned to the street a few blocks south. It is amazing what you witness when you spend time on your front stoop.

It was the most glorious day, with almost too much sun in our eyes early in the morning. By noon we were in shade, having lunch, looking at Jo’s photos from India, and trying to push what was left. A few friends stopped by, which was so nice, and I enjoyed people-watching and talking to folks who walked by. I met one of my neighbors too, a guy named Danny originally from North Carolina.

We made a little over $80 bucks, and I had already decided to donate half of any profit to UNICEF, so I’ll round up and send them $50. Jo and I split up the rest, brought the remaining items to Value Village on York Road and treated ourselves to vanilla shakes and some fries at McDonalds for the ride home.

Things sold that I will miss: my Asian styled table lamp from Target that was bought by a handsome guy speaking French (so I guess that makes it okay), my palm tree monkey lamp and my IKEA walk clock that I used for the past seven years. I might also miss my yellow SONY Walkman one day in the future, but since I have not used it in months, I let it go…

Things that did not sell that I still have: the wooden standing CD holder from IKEA, dining room table and printer. I’ll try to sell these again closer to when I actually move out.

Things that went to Value Village: assorted purses, home and desk accessories, two pink stools, a microwave, stuffed animals, videos and assorted kitchen/dining items.

It’s hard to describe this funny little thing I’m feeling — letting go of all this STUFF was not exactly difficult, but I wasn’t sure it was actually happening as it occurred. It was quite freeing to part ways with things that are not necessary, and the day reinforced just how committed to this new lifestyle I am, whether I like it or not. Luckily, I like it a lot…so far!

Been busy prepping for the tag sale this Saturday (or yard sale, garage sale, etc. — folks keep calling me out for saying tag sale — I guess it is a NY thing?) Praying for good weather so lots of stuff will go. I’ll donate half of any profit I make to UNICEF for earthquake relief.

Have also been writing like mad, gearing up for some Gadling features. The Gad turned one this week and got a great write up from the Frommers folks, which was nice to read. Next week marks my two month mark with Weblogs Inc — who was bought by AOL last week. Interesting stuff going on. I also got my first pitch in for an article that I’m truly psyched to do…I hope it all works out. If only there was more time to work on a zillion more article and essay ideas that I have.

Oh, and then there is that whole travel thing — I want to get going!!!!! (And I think a lot of people want me to get going…I feel like half of them think I’m gone already, or really wish I was. But most of that is probably in my head. Hell, I want out too — I’m almost ready.)

Three more weeks of work after tomorrow…and then the planning (and more writing) kicks into high gear and I get my arse moving…somewhere!!