MacDo

   I eat fast food mayyyybe 6 times a year. And I am in Filet-o-Fake-Fish a and greasy delicious French fry heaven at the Denver airport right now. #preemptiveregret #slimyyetsatisfying

   On a similarly unhealthy note:

Hahahhahhahahahahaha!!!!!

Friday & Saturday

   On Friday, I went to work, came home, and Mom helped me load up & drop off a carload of donations at Catholic Charities. Round 1 (of probably 20) of housecleaning complete! To celebrate, we raced south to beat the rain to Heritage Park to give the dogs a run. We laughed at Taylor the idiot as he chased cars up and down the fence line. This boy had some pent-up energy, and rightfully so! No walks when it's raining (I'm lazy).
   No sooner did we get to the far end of the lake, than the ominous clouds finally betrayed us, and we had to beat it out of there. We stopped at Bo Ling's on the way home and walked out with a veritable Chinese buffet. We loaded up our plates & sat on the couch—staying up way too late again watching Mad Men, in a desperate attempt to catch up before Sunday's season premiere... a good effort, but I'd have had to take the whole week off to get there!

   On Saturday we had to be up by 4:30 (yes, that's am. @#%*!!) to get Mom to the airport on time. The dogs rode along quietly, and I stopped at Panera on the way home for my favorite soufflé, then settled in for a long morning of Mad Men season 2, disc 4...

   I wish I had been able to take more time off to spend with Mom, but we (okay, SHE) got so much done in the house, and we had fun hanging out in the evenings. It has been years since everyone has come to KC to visit (we've spent the last few holidays in Ohio or Los Angeles), so it was nice to have a guest for a change.

THANKS FOR EVERYTHING, MOM!!!   :D

Saturday: Mom Arrives in KC

   Mom flew in from Ohio this morning to spend her spring break with me. I decided to surprise her by taking the mutts to the airport with me. I knew they'd enjoy the ride in the car, and I was curious to see how they'd handle the situation. Not surprisingly, they behaved very well, and we heard the usual oohs and aahs over their extreme cuteness.

   Taylor was especially curious about the escalator when we walked by. I think he would have jumped right on it if I had let him! Aki didn't seem to notice that, but she was enthralled with the sliding doors. This one squeaked a little like a rodent. So she paced back & forth, staring up at it, and even stood up on it. She wasn't afraid at all, just very, very curious and on high-alert.

   After we found Mom and retrieved her bags, we headed toward home, with a detour at Antioch Park. Spring had sprung a few weeks early, and I wanted her to see one of my favorite parks in town. The daffodils, hyacinths, magnolias, redbuds, dogwood, and cherry blossoms didn't disappoint! She quickly learned that it isn't easy to walk two excited Shibas:

   The rest of the afternoon, Mom worked outside in my yard, weeding and cleaning up the flower beds, picking up sticks, and trimming the shrubs. I was amazed at how much she finished so quickly! Partly because she was racing to beat the rain, and partly because she's had years of practice. What a relief to have that work done for the season! It's like having my own park in my backyard!

Happy Valentine's Day, Indeed!

   What more can you ask for, for Valentine's Day than a safe flight home from an awesome vacation, with perfect weather & good family & friend time, punctuated by baby kisses and copious amounts of sushi? How about:
   • Being invasively felt up in public and also x-rayed by the TSA screeners at LAX (thanks to this cumbersome orthopedic boot!)—and cracking them up by making comments like, "I knew you couldn't resist getting a better look at my sexy boot leg!"?
   • The super-nice and hilarious flight attendant on Southwest who presented me with a free gin and tonic—and a Valentine's Day card?
   • An airport pickup by best friend Joni, with Wager, Kip and Asher in tow? Talking and laughing all the way home?
   • A chorus of shrieks, howls, and purrs in celebration of my return? A friendly fight to decide who monopolizes my lap first?
   • A steady stream of texts from friends welcoming me back?
   • And a surprise piece of homemade turtle cheesecake in the fridge from my friend, petsitter, and angel Mary Ann?
   Not a bad haul for the holiday!

LA Today!

   Today I was so excited to get out to LA and visit Kelley and Eric, but especially to meet my very first nephew, Sean, who is now 4 months old. (And getting cuter by the day.) Had a great visit with Joni at my house when she came to pick me up, and we were off to the airport. I was a little nervous about airport security and "the boot", but I was pleasantly surprised—they didn't make me remove it! I simply had to go through the full body scan, and then they swabbed the boot. Easy. And everyone was super-friendly to boot (pun intended).

   I grabbed a sub sandwich and found a seat near the gate, next to an older guy who was dressed like a pilot. And… he was our pilot! We sat and talked for about 45 minutes 'til the plane arrived, and talked about careers and goals and family and all kinds of things. He was a great guy and very interesting. He suggested that I talk to the gate agent about my ankle, and I barely had to show her the boot, then she handed me a blue plastic folder that gave me permission to board first, with all the elderly people in wheelchairs. These old ladies were teasing me about my leg and we had a good time, taking our time down the jetway. I got an aisle seat on the left side of the plane, so I could hang the boot out in the aisle to stretch when needed. The women sitting next to me were fun and friendly. Hmm… I might have to wear this boot more often!!!

   Kelley picked me up and we took off to Silver Lake to pick up her biweekly produce assortment, then back to her house to play with Sean and relax a bit. He was alert and happy and kept staring at me with his wide blue eyes. It's really cute when Kelley gets in his face and he crinkles his eyes and emits a huge smile.

   There was a gorgeous, bright pink and purple sunset—blocked by trees in the yard, though—I'll have to chase down a photo if we get another. I guess smog is good for one thing, eh? If I remember my high school science, particles in the air make for good sunsets because light and color reflects off of them. It was pretty spectacular.

   Kelley took Sean through his evening routine (dinner, bath, walk around the neighborhood 'til he falls asleep in the carrier) and then put him to bed. And that meant it was dinnertime for us!

   She recommended a couple of good Japanese restaurants she had tried before, and we settled on Daichan (the stuffed kabocha appetizer was what tipped me to try this place over another, and it certainly didn't disappoint!) Kelley ran out to pick up our food while I iced my ankle and listened for Sean to stir (he didn't). We had great Poki bowls (mine with chunks of raw tuna, salmon, yellowtail, and red snapper) that consisted of fish, seaweed, lettuce, green onion and a soy vinaigrette over rice. It tasted great with the kabocha and miso eggplant appetizers. Yum. I easily get spoiled every time I visit LA.

   By this time it was almost 9:00 (11:00 for me) and I was worn out from dragging the boot around, along with my luggage. So I retired to my own private guesthouse in their backyard, recently renovated. Perfect. (Even slept in 'til 5:00 am—7:00 for me, a luxury which Aki rarely lets me have!) Zzz...

Backseat Driver

   A baby picked me up from LAX... cracked me up when we opened the back hatch of Kelley's car!

Bring me the head of Tay

   Joni came by this morning, having graciously offered to be my airport ride, since I'm a gimp. And no sooner did she sit down than she had a lap full o' Shiba love. I think Mr.Tay has a crush on her, the goddess of border collies. (And he looks like a disembodied head in this photo!)

Know what time it is?

   4:00 in the am... way, WAY too early to have to be at the airport--or anywhere other than snuggled in bed. I'm pretty sure Tahoe is going to be worth it, though!
    The problem with getting up so early is that you're up, but not really awake yet. Case in point: a man just walked into the ladies room right ahead of me! He was totally clueless, but headed in so fast that I couldn't stop him. He figured it out while he was in the stall (lack of urinals is my guess), and as I was washing my hands he made a beeline out of there!!! I mean, that guy broke from the stall like a champion race horse at the sound of the bell, and never looked back.
  Cracked me up! (Word to the wise: don't shake his hand. He didn't wash.)

The Trivial Trials of Travel

   I love traveling. (Tell you something I don't know, right?) But I generally don't love the "getting there" part of traveling, particularly when it involves air travel. The whole air system has worked hard to earn its reputation as being expensive, stressful and unreliable. Actually, I've had mostly good experiences lately, but given that I almost didn't make it TO, and then also FROM Alaska because both United and Continental claimed that I cancelled my own reservations (wha?), and then these US Airlines delays out of Charleston and out of Pittsburgh to get back to KC, I have a little room to complain.

   I got home over an hour late last night, bleary-eyed but thankful to have made it safely. This morning I woke up to a news story about US Airlines pilots' union intentionally slowing down flights. And I got to be an unwitting victim last night. Lucky me.

   Although I will say that I do agree with a comedy routine by Louis C.K. that I heard recently on our local comedy radio station, 102.5:

   (Sniveling passenger) "I had to sit on the runway for 40 minutes."

   "Oh my god, really? What happened then, did you fly through the air like a bird, incredibly? Did you soar into the clouds, impossibly? Did you partake in the miracle of human flight and then land softly on giant tires that you couldn't even conceive how they f**king put air in them? How dare you!"

   (Sniveling passenger) "I had to pay for my sandwich."

   "YOU'RE FLYING!  You're sitting in a chair in the sky. You're like a Greek myth right now."

   (Sniveling passenger) "It doesn't go back very far... and it's squishing my knees." 

   Point taken. Shutting up.

LAX

   Thankfully this time I flew into a terminal where the construction was completed... SO much easier than when I flew through here on the way back from Alaska!

Perils of travel

   Continental/United is *remarkably* incompetent. Not only did they lose my reservation, they managed to lose my bag too. On the bright side, the airport has musk oxen!

The Journey to Alaska

   So my Alaskan adventure begins with... an adventure in KC. Not sure I'll use Travelocity again after this one. To get the best flight times & prices, they booked me on Frontier & United on the outbound flight, and Alaska & Frontier to return. Not as simple as it could be, but I wasn't concerned.

   ...Until last night when I went online to check in for my flights, and I got a message about "technical difficulties" for both airlines. Called to confirm my reservation & asked the agents to check me in, & they couldn't check me in either. The first one said my reservation had been cancelled & she reinstated it. Both told me to arrive at the airport early and check in there.

   So I arrived in plenty of time & went to the Frontier desk, & was met by a very friendly agent, Sue, who almost immediately furrowed her brow. All the flight numbers that printed when she checked me in didn't match her screen. She called 3 different people to figure out what to do. She was so sweet, calm, and helpful--EXACTLY who you'd want in that situation. She got me checked into the Frontier flight & suggested I call United.

   I didn't know that United and Continental were merging, which seems

to be what threw everything off. It was a huge cluster-you-know-what.

The agent on the phone had to cancel the Frontier leg of my flight for

my reservation to even show up on her screen. Her words were, "if I can get this straightened out for you, we should both buy a lottery ticket." Well, Irene is my new hero (Sue too). Again, she was almost perplexingly calm, which helped my nerves. I reeeeeally wanted to get to Alaska!!!

   So I made it on the plane and sat down to relax. A few minutes later, the seats next to me filled. And then a handsome young gentlemen came up & politely told me that I was in the wrong seat. "I'm booked in 13F. Did I sit in the wrong place?" I asked. He laughed & shook his head. "I'm in 13F too!"

   We compared the passes. Indeed, Travelocity &/or Frontier airlines booked us in same seat. %@#!!! He was funny and we joked about who was going to have to sit on whose lap.

   Now I wanted to be nice, but I also really wanted to go to Alaska (as I may have mentioned) so I secretly hoped that possession IS nine-tenths of the law. After all, my @** was in the seat first! Fortunately they found a seat for him and we were on our way. The universe may be trying to stop me from going to Alaska, but the universe doesn't know who it's dealing with!!! :)

   Act 2 was a lot more fun. I was seated next to Susan from Denver, who was returning from a high school friend's funeral in Boston. And a woman whose name I've unfortunately spaced on, whose husband has worked for the FBI in KC for many years, and who just retired, who was headed to Tucson to see her dad for Father's Day. (And she lives at Antioch & 135th. Small world!)
    The three of us chatted the whole way, but I felt that strong, instant connection with Susan. She's about 20 years older than me, has a husband and 2 kids, a black lab, a foreign exchange student from France, and a 28 year old pianist who has performed at Carnegie Hall living in her basement. She hikes, she skiis, she has an outstanding sense of humor.
    Susan told us about her late friend, who was a marathon runner amd who never smoked, but developed lung cancer. Tragic.
    Susan talked about the east coast where she grew up, & she said she had never visited Acadia, so I begged her to go. She was returning home to this houseful of family, boarders, and several friends visiting from Atlanta. She has 1 night to recuperate before they all drive up to the Tetons to go hiking together. We both cracked up as she descibed the chaos & what she feared she might come home to.
    When she heard I work for Hallmark, she was excited to hear about our personalized cards online, because she likes to write her own messages & usually buys only blank cards. She talked about her wish to have the right card for her late friend's husband, whose birthday was only 2 days after his wife passed. It's always humbling and insightful to talk with others about these things...
    In the end, Susan pulled out her boarding pass and wrote down her name, home address & phone number, and kept telling me that I must come stay with her, if not go skiing with her, next time I'm in Colorado. She said, as long as you like dogs, you're welcome! Done and done.
    And just like that, a day that could have been exhausting and frustrating is one of the best in recent memory. Everyone I've encountered today has been so warm, fun, and relaxed. It's a good reminder that "things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out."

--
Sent from my mobile device

Fate... again?

    As the shuttle picked me up at 5 am (shudder) to take me to the Oakland airport, I boarded and settled next to a friendly-looking woman who was clearly perkier in the early morning than me. She introduced herself as Pam, which of course made me do a bit of a double-take, based on meeting another Pam on a Supershuttle almost exactly a year ago.

   I spent the whole shuttle ride and the couple of hours prior to boarding the airplane talking with Pam. We sat and drank our coffee and ate our delicious breakfast croissant sandwiches (take THAT, Radisson!)

   Pam was friendly, fun, and frankly, fascinating. Some of my favorite "f" words! She lives with her husband and a sweet dog, and has spent more than 30 years (I think that's what she said, but she looked too young for that to be possible!) as a cardiac nurse at Johns Hopkins medical center in Baltimore. She's getting her Master's degree now, in her free time. She was in San Francisco for a medical conference, and talked about how excellent the continuing training and education opportunities are at JH. (To which I nodded, because that's one thing we all love about Hallmark!) She also has an 18 year old daughter who loves the outdoors and wants to study art. So I had fun telling her all about my day of hiking in Muir Woods.

   As before, I'm not sure what will come out of this interaction, but I got the distinct feeling that SOMETHING would. I just hope this doesn't mean I'll be at JH for heart surgery someday—no offense!!!  :)

   So to sum up my San Francisco adventure, I will quote the fortune that I received after my Thai lunch on Saturday with Tiffany, which is that "You will be fortunate in the opportunities presented to you." 

   I already am, and I hope that I will continue to be, and believe me: I am grateful for every single one.

SHAMU PLANE!

   I didn't even know there WAS a Shamu plane, and by chance I got to ride in it today. And I was totally geeked out about it. At first I didn't believe Dave, but he was right—the logo is right on the front, and the whole plane (save the tail) is black & white.

Photo from Google

"I can FLY!"

Pilots 'n' Paws

   Check out this video of the pilots who generously donate their time to transport Shibas (and other dogs) from state-to-state, to get rescued dogs to their forever homes. I've met a few of the pilots, when transporting pups to and from our small local airports in Lee's Summit and Gardner. Thanks to David & Olivia for sharing the video!

Steamboat: another try at snowboarding

   Well, Snowboard, you didn't scare me away: I'm back out for Round Two! Chris's friend Julianne had a free ticket for the Steamboat Ski School, so I took a 2.5 hour group lesson. My instructor was Neill Redfern, who apparently used to be quite the expert Lacrosse player in North Carolina. He had been teaching snowboarding in Steamboat for 9 years, so I knew I was in good hands. There were 4 others in the lesson, and we were all about equally bad, save the one guy who was an avid skateboarder as a kid.

   The lesson was a good overview of the skills (same things Chris was showing me the day before), but in the end I only got to try to go downhill twice, as we had to take turns so Neill could help us. So I was sorry to admit that I wasn't going to learn snowboarding on this trip. Chris and I met up with Julianne and Cody at the Truffle Pig for apres-ski, then left and met up again soon after to cook a quick dinner together, then see True Grit.

Enjoying the alpine glow:

   Too soon, it was time to head back home from Fantasyland. I packed and we returned my gear to Powder Pursuits, Chris showed me where he works and introduced me to his coworkers, then took me to the airport. There was some trouble with Frontier's computers, and for a few minutes I was thinking I wasn't going to be able to leave (YAY!) but they eventually figured it out (BOO!)

   It was nice to get away for a few days to a place that actually had snow, because between LA & KC, it hardly felt like winter! Can't wait for my next excursion to Colorado. Going to have to work on the snowboarding thing before then!

MSIR: Sookie

   John of Pilot 'n' Paws, the group that helps Midwest Shiba Inu Rescue transport rescued dogs to their new homes, shared these photos with me. Sookie started her journey in the puppy mill in Mexico, MO, was moved up to Wisconsin by rescuers & picked up by MSIR. Then when we found a potential home for her here in KS, volunteers started early today & drove her from WI to IL, where John met them at the airport & flew her down to meet me in Lee's Summit, MO. I picked her up, drove by Kathy's house to pick her up, & then we took Sookie to meet Ryan. Whew! A 12+ hour day of traveling for lil' Sookie, who is believed to be 6-9 mo old.

   She is very friendly with everyone, especially Kelly, who works at the airport. Pretty unbelievable considering the terrible environment in which she was raised!

A roller coaster day in 3 acts

I'll say this first: today had a great beginning & ending!  :)

ACT I: great food & great friends

   I had plans to meet Britten (my Yogini, which sounds like a drink but simply means my yoga instructor), Nicole (from class) & Stacy (Britten's friend) for brunch at Bluestem, and I was excited to try it because I had heard such good things. We had a great time together & it was a fun way to spend a relaxing Sunday morning. Just what I needed. The special, a breakfast burrito with homemade pico de gallo, was delicious, and the Mimosa hit the spot!

ACT 2: testing my nerves

   Then I returned home & realized that Aki still wasn't feeling good; she has had 2 accidents in the house overnight this week, which NEVER happens, so I knew something was wrong. She seemed more frantic to get outside this weekend, constantly whining at the door to get out. Clearly something was wrong, and I suspected a urinary infection. I weighed the options of running her to the emergency vet today or trying to get her into her regular vet tomorrow morning, & decided that since the condition was potentially very painful it couldn't wait. Mistake #1: I should have waited for MY vet.

   We got to the clinic, which was nearly empty. "Great! We'll be in & out," I thought. "Then we can run around the dog park for a bit." I filled out a form & was immediately taken back to a small exam room. A vet tech came in, asked me questions, then said she needed to take Aki in the back to be examined. I was not comfortable with them taking her to the back. All the equipment was in the room. Why wouldn't the vet examine her here? But I didn't speak up. Mistake #2: if your gut tells you something is wrong, listen.

    After 15 minutes, a vet came in & asked me if they could take a urine sample. "That's the whole reason I'm here. What were you doing for the first 15 minutes?" I thought. She said she'd check the urine under a microscope & would be back. She left. I sat there & read a magazine. Taylor was with me, and was uncharacteristically upset. He wouldn't settle down.   

   The room backed right up to the "employees only" area, and there was a lot of commotion. Every minute or so, I would hear loud, bloodcurdling shrieking, followed by horrific snarling & barking. Whatever they had back there sounded vicious. I went back to the magazine. Taylor paced & whined, staring at the door. The screaming heightened. I couldn't help but be bothered by it: that dog sounded like it was in a terrible amount of pain! Then the snarling again. And all the while, the sounds of several employees talking... and LAUGHING. WHAT is going ON back there? Why weren't they helping that dog?

   I tried to be patient, but the sounds were frightening & persistent. When I checked my watch I realized I had been trying to tune it out for an hour. Where was the vet? Where was Aki? Then I heard a loose dog scuttling past our door with an agitated man yelling, "Catch it!" Taylor went crazy, as did all the dogs in the back. I wanted to open the door to see if Aki was loose, but I waited until the chaos died down. I had been waiting one and a half HOURS, and my nerves were shot—I was completely on edge from what sounded like animals being tortured. My hands were shaking.

   I opened the employee door & stuck my head in. Suddenly everything was quiet. I called, "Hello?" No answer. You could hear a pin drop. "HELLO?!" Nothing. That was it. I wanted my dog back & I wanted to get the hell out of this place. Mistake #3: don't wait until you're seriously upset before speaking up.

   I went to the front desk, & said that I wanted my dog right now & that we were leaving. The bewildered receptionist took me back to the room again & brought in the vet, Aki in tow. She said she was just examining the sample. I said that I thought it was horrible that they'd leave me for an hour & a half in a room listening to what sounded like dogs being tortured, without checking in with me. She didn't say much, just lowered her eyes & said that the urine contained some bacteria & yeast, that they were giving me an antibiotic & a steroid, and I should follow up with my own vet. I barely heard her.

   Furious, I stopped at the counter to check out, expecting a bill of about $100, or twice what my vet would charge. It was over $200. I nearly lost it. I said that given what I had just been through & their failure to communicate about my dog or the charges, I wasn't willing to pay the full amount. She kindly went to get the manager.

   The manager met me & took me back to a room to avoid making a scene in the now-full lobby. To my surprise she responded just how I would have wanted her to: she asked me what happened. She agreed that the communication breakdown was their fault. She listened attentively & with empathy & concern. She said she'd address everything with the full staff after I left. She explained that the screaming & snarling was from a dog with a traumatic brain injury, who slipped in & out of a coma. Every time he came to, he went crazy. The only way they could control it was through medicating him to make him comatose again. That bothered me in that it sounded like the dog was being kept alive to suffer, rather than being mercifully laid to rest. But I'm not a vet. So I suggested that no one should be left sitting in an adjacent room, forced to listen to that, particularly with no explanation. I couldn't tell for sure whether or not the sounds were coming from MY dog!

   She apologized & said that the staff worked hard, but sometimes they got too "clinical" & forgot that they were dealing with people's babies. I said that NO ONE in this profession should EVER forget that their patients are beloved. She nodded.

  She waived the exam fee ($75), I paid up & we were on our way to the dog park. I won't soon forget this event, but I hoped the dogs would. I hope the manager will use this as a learning opportunity for her staff. It also reinforced my feelings of how I want to treat others, and to be treated.

ACT 3: bring it on home

   I got home exhausted but looking forward to heading out to Lee's Summit to pick up Lisa at the airport, a young red shiba from Wisconsin. She was 1 of 2 shibas that had been rescued from a 1000+ count puppy mill in Mexico, MO. I got to the airport & sat in the lobby, chatting with a guy named Kelly. Soon the Piper Cherokee arrived & John stepped out & unloaded Lisa. She was a happy, energetic, gorgeous young shiba, tiny at only 14 pounds. She didn't walk: she pranced. She acted like she was in a dog show. Not the attitude you'd expect from a dog who grew up in deplorable conditions. A dog's resilience is something we can all learn from. I thanked the guys & drove to pick up Kathy.

   Kathy & I delivered Sookie (her new name, from "True Blood") to Ryan, which was about the best ending a day could ever have. The dog was happy, Ryan & his mom were happy, and Kathy & I left feeling that we helped make a perfect match. I was so grateful to be involved & for a great finale to a tough day.        FIN

A humbling experience / I (heart) NY

   I thought my trip couldn't get better. An intimate dinner at Nobu where I felt a personal connection with my server Kimiye & the sushi chefs, which would not have happened in the same way had I not studied Japanese. A glorious morning jogging in Central Park. Realizing I am capable of traveling alone—and thoroughly enjoying it. The unexpected treasure of the Kuniyoshi show. Spending the day running around the city with John, and dinner with Derek & Daniel & my new Smilebox friends, Julie & Erika. What a trip!

...But wait--there's more!

 

   I got back from dinner at Rosa Mexicana after midnight and booked Supershuttle to get to the airport in the morning, agonizing over the early departure time (7:10 for an 11:20 flight!) I was pretty wired from the evening's events & had trouble settling down, but I set my Blackberry alarm for 5:40 & finally drifted to sleep around 2:00 am. When the alarm went off & I turned on the news, imagine my surprise that it was 6:40, not 5:40--BECAUSE THE BLACKBERRY IS ALWAYS ON CENTRAL TIME! Now, I couldn't shower, dress & pack in 25 minutes if I were lit on fire & had Kuniyoshi's demons chasing me. What the *h* was I going to do?! Go without showering? (Not possible... My hair was a train wreck!) Take a cab instead? (No, don't want to waste Hallmark's money!) And coffee—now I wouldn't have time for my planned excursion back to Magnolia Bakery for a delectable treat & COFFEE!!! NOOOOOOOO!!!

    All I could think to do was hurry. It had to be done. So I did it. And was miraculously downstairs & waiting for Supershuttle when they arrived. The impossible, accomplished.

   I didn't know it yet, but it's a good thing I didn't miss that shuttle, because I was meant to be on it. When I hopped in I was greeted by a woman with whom I hit it off immediately. Pam & I chatted the whole ride, discussing her work with Haitian artisans. She commissions handmade jewelry made from pounded oil drums & showed me a stunning example of a bracelet she was wearing, a prototype. The details are all carved out with a mallet & nail. She talked about Haitians' vastly different lifestyle from our own & their lack of awareness about the importance of quality control for the market in the rest of the world, saying she was only able to select 50 pieces out of 500 offered. I said I thought it was a gift for her to help educate them in that way, as it would open more opportunties for them down the road. I remembered what Debra McDermed had said about her counseling experience in Haiti, about how positive the people were despite the death & destruction surrounding them. Rather than focusing on their circumstances, their outlook was of hope. I long to adopt that attitude, fully & genuinely.
   I told Pam about my chance experience at the Kuniyoshi exhibition & we agreed that unexpected discovery is the best part of traveling—and of life, really. She said not to pass up opportunities now that will haunt you later in life. Take chances and do what you love. Powerful words. And they ring so true with me; on the very day of my breakup on February 14, 2009, I started to live my life differently. Fuller. Better. Although I'd like to find a partner, this has been an incredible year of personal growth that I wouldn't trade for anything. My life is infinitely more rich now than it would have been otherwise. Everything happens for a reason, and always for the better—IF you're open to its potential! (See upcoming post about Debra McDermed's recent leadership workshop... Totally relates.)
   On a lighter note, Pam also told me about her wonderful new kitty, Gabby, who came from Wayside Waifs at Christmastime. And Gabby's relationship with Pam's adopted daughter Ellen, who accuses her mom of "always taking Gabby's side" when the two disagree. LOL
   We talked a little about my work at Hallmark, & she asked if she could contact me to get some social networking advice. I was happy to oblige, given her mission to help Haiti. If I could help in any way, what an opportunity!
   All too quickly we arrived at Laguardia Airport & I had to go. Pam stopped me as I was picking up my bags, took her own bracelet off her wrist & said, "Here--I want to give this to you." I didn't know what to say! What a wonderful & sincere gesture. Had I not felt a connection with her I would have flatly refused, but something tells me there will be more to this story. And I'll think of her kindness every time I wear it.

   As I approached the Midwest counter to check a bag, still beaming from my chance encounter, the black attendant (dare I guess Haitian?) greeted me with the hugest smile & and an exuberant "Good morning." He clearly picked up on my mood. I joked that I hadn't intended to check a bag, but had overbought. We chatted for a bit & he handed me a claim check with a wink, saying he waived the $20 charge & that we'd "just call it a carry-on." Where am I--the alternate universe of Happyland?! I gave him a nice tip & suggested he enjoy a cup of coffee, & his genuine, grateful response of sincere thanks made my day.

   Things like this happen rather frequently to me, and more so than ever lately. Why? The world hasn't changed: I have. I've embraced the possibility that goodness is always out there if you choose to access it. My life is blessed in ways I never could have imagined. Reflecting on this makes me wonder where I'll be, what I'll be doing, who I'll have met & what I'll have learned in two years. Five years. Ten. Whatever it is, bring it on. I'm ready.


When I got home, this was waiting for me in my email inbox:
"Hi Jen,  You were meant to have that bracelet -- it's a great reminder of the meaningful work to be done to help Haitian orphans. They are truly suffering in every way physically and emotionally. You're great to offer your help and I'll take you up on it sooner rather than later. There are no accidents -- some unrecognized or misunderstood opportunities, but no accidents!   —Pam"

On my way to NYC!

I was one of the lucky people chosen by Hallmark to attend the annual Stationery Show in New York. I hadn't visited the city in a few years, not since Tara brought her staff there to see the Product (Red) billboard in Times Square 3-4 years ago, so I was really excited.

Gotta love Midwest Airlines for the warm chocolate chip cookies!