I Feel Pretty

Since around the time I turned 15, I've had a fascination with physical beauty, both in magazines, and on movie screens. I have spent thousands of dollars trying to achieve it, and yet, I will never consider myself a great beauty. I am not leading lady material. If a person were to ask me to rate my looks on a 1-10 scale, I would set my "10" standard to Kate Beckensale or Alessandra Ambrosio, then put myself somewhere around 6, with a generous 7 if I was at my glamorous best. My youth and slender physique account for most of my rating, though on some days my acne-riddled face brings my rating down to a 5.

A couple months ago, my little family of four went on a week-long cruise to the Bahamas. No internet access, no TV (not that I watch much, anyway), no magazines displayed in checkout lines. Just me, my family, and whatever books I had loaded onto my Kindle.

When we got home, I realized something fascinating. I felt amazing about my looks. Acne flare-ups, crazy new hair color (black), uber pale skin and all, I was feeling beautiful.

Part of that was probably the very complimentary Bahamians. I can't even count how many times strangers at the ports said they found me beautiful. (Mostly women.) Many complimented my clothes or hairstyle. One even gasped, then exclaimed that I am a beauty. Several minutes later, she said, in a tone of awed incredulity, "I mean it. You are very beautiful." I think I need to move to the Bahamas for a couple years. Though I'd probably return with the biggest head you've ever seen. If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend the Bahamas for your next vacation.

Another factor which I'm sure contributed, was the fact that the cruise ship had very average looking people. Big, small, old, young, smiley, dour, dark, light... normal. Same with the ports we visited. Never on our journey did we come across an Angelina Jolie, Katherine Heigl or Captain America.

If I were to adjust my 1-10 scale to only include the population of our ship, I would be ranked at a solid 8, or possible 9. If I'm not comparing myself to the super-powers of beauty, in all their photoshopped glory, I actually feel fairly confident in my looks.

Let me make one thing clear: I do not feel that the "looks rating" I would assign to myself or anybody else has a single thing to do with their value as an individual. In regards to myself, I feel I have much more to offer this world than an outer package, specifically my intelligence, wit, charm and warmth.

So why allow myself the fascination with looks? Because I do think they're important. I am a busy person, and for the most part, so is everybody else. We're all going through our lives in a sort of self-focused bubble. When we do take the time to "unwrap" a person's outer appearance enough to see her inner self, we will almost always find a lovable person. But with all the people bumping into our bubble, we will never have time to unwrap them all.

In the first fleeting moments of seeing another person, we are faced with the decision of either unwrapping her to see the inner self, or to go about with our day. Some people have personalities which are so effervescent, we can feel them bursting out of their outer package, and we want to know them know them whether they're wrapped in gold or plain brown paper. Other times we base our decision on if the outer package appeals to us, because, at first, that is the only information we are given.

Being a person with a strong drive to be liked, I do my best to boost the odds of being liked by everybody. Family, Friends, Strangers. Looking a certain way won't necessarily make me likable, but it probably gives more chances to show what my inner-self is like. Not to mention extra self-confidence, which makes one more outgoing, courageous and vivacious when meeting new people.



I began this post with the intention of pointing out that perceptions of physical beauty can be warped by over-exposure to the photoshopped, perfectly coiffed and made-up celebrities in the media, but in the end, I felt the need to justify my perspective on looks in general. So, while perhaps not perfectly coherent, you have now been treated to a glimpse of my inner self.

Slacker?

I will eventually post all about Europe. We'll just say: It was freaking rad.

Since we've been home, I've completed two triathlons, spent a week in Vegas, went camping at Lake Powell, moved our business into an actual office, hired two new employees, developed better web features for wallwritten.com, breathed the same air as Taylor Swift, booked a cruise to the Bahamas, taught a Photoshop class, developed new addictions to Pinterest and Goodreads, hosted a Pinterest party, and read about two bagillion books (or maybe 25).

Yet when people ask, "What have you been up to lately?" my mind totally blanks and I think, uh, I just work all day long, then come home and chillaxe with the kids. "Not much."

But here's the breakdown:

Triathlons: each race I've done I've gotten progressively slower than the previous one. It's because I haven't been training. Every once in a while, if I feel particularly motivated, I'll go to the gym. But not consistently enough to actually improve.

However, I have picked up a great tip: When doing the run, make a little joke to every body you pass (or passes you), and eventually you'll find somebody who you can keep pace with, and chat with. Ice broken, you will now have a running buddy. Use this tip wisely. Some people do not want a chit-chat buddy. Keep this in mind. If your newly acquired buddy seems to be reciprocating your conversational mad-skills, then it's probably a match made in triathlon heaven. If not, just keep running and cracking jokes until you meet your match.

Las Vegas: David and I drove to Las Vegas to attend Photoshop World with my Dad and brother, Joe. I learned so much, not the least of which is where to learn more about Photoshop. I only wish I had known about all these resources when I first started using Photoshop.

While in Vegas we discovered the most fantastic restaurant, called: Off the Strip: Just Real Food, which was seriously amazing. Next time you find yourself in Vegas, it's worth a side trip. The service and food were both outstanding.

Lake Powell: After our most recent triathlon (which was in St. George), we drove through Zions to Lake Powell for a couple nights of camping and lake-water fun. Natalie joined us, and we had a blast with not much more than two tents, a couple of jet skis, and a tube. The kids were covered in sand and happy most of the time. The first night a few drunken idiots kept us awake at all hours of the night, but the second night was better. We took turns riding the jet skis and the tube, and only capsized once, much to Kiera's displeasure.

Due to a shortage of sunscreen, Natalie and I sported matching sunburns on the way home.

David almost drowned our new car. It was scary. But he didn't. So we're all good.

An Actual Office: After a whirlwind courtship we found our new office building and moved in very soon after deciding that we needed to move out of the basement. So far everything is working out perfectly. In fact, it's all been so great that I keep having that feeling that it must be too good to be true. Although, to be honest, I feel that way a lot, and it just seems like my life is full of really fortunate circumstances.

On the other hand, I miss having my work computer at home, because I used to get a lot of really high-quality work done after the kids went to bed. Now I just read and relax instead. It feels lazy and wrong. I'm not sure how long this can last... we'll probably get a home computer soon to remedy the situation.

Hiring New Employees: We posted an ad to find people to work at Wall Written, and had loads of applicants. Sometimes I am surprised that people would apply for a job which lists: "Grammar and Spelling Skills" and "Attention to Detail" as required traits, then misspell words and use crappy grammar in their application. Fools.

However, we did get enough good applicants to conduct 15 interviews. This took forever and was interesting in that some people were fantastic, and others were definitely not impressive. After being the interviewer, I have learned so much about how to be interviewed. Too bad I can't really put that knowledge to good use.

Better Web Features: David and I have been developing a new and improved Custom Design Tool, and were able to release it last month. Plus we've been crazy-busy making newsletters and programing some back-end tools for our employees to process orders more efficiently. Sometimes I wish I could spend all my time designing new stuff, but these are pretty important tasks, too.

Taylor Swift Concert: My one celebrity idol, my Tay-Tay, Taylor Swift, performed in Salt Lake City last month. I went with Natalie, and we had seats in the very back row, the furthest away from the stage you can possibly get. None-the-less, this was absolutely the best concert I have ever been to. The crowd was seriously insane, and it was contagious.

Cruise to the Bahamas: We're counting down the days. This will be the kids' first cruise, first time on a plane, first time to Florida, hell, their first time east of Wyoming. I told James that this was his chance to prove his über-helpfulness, which will, in turn, make going on trips with mom and dad much more likely. We'll see how it goes.

Photoshop Class: I decided to teach a beginners Photoshop Workshop, which consists of four, two-hour classes. So far I've taught one of them. I think it was pretty dry, since I was just covering the very basics, but hopefully the next class will be more interesting. We had eight students, of which I am related to more than half.

Addictions to Pinterest & Goodreads: pinterest.com is a website where you can pin photos from anywhere on the internet, onto 'boards' - which you can categorize however you like. It's one of those things that after discovering for the first time, you know you'll be hooked for life.

goodreads.com is a site I've been told to use lots of times, but wasn't really interested until I expressed to a neighbor that my typical method of book finding (going to the library's romance section and choosing at random) hasn't been yielding satisfying results. She pointed out that I could use goodreads to get suggestions based on my individual reading preferences. I guess I always thought it was a way to see what people you know are reading, and I didn't feel that my tastes are exactly in-line with my friend's. But it's more like the Pandora of reading: Oh, you like this? You'll probably like this. I now have several books on hold and am looking forward to my next trip to the library.

Pinterest Party: Pinterest has a plethora of craft ideas, yummy food, hairstyle and beauty tips, and other fancy stuff that just makes you want to be creative. So I got together with all my sisters and cousins who live nearby, and we made things based on Pins we've been wanting to make. It was fun, and a little experimental, but we'll definitely do it again, and soon. Any takers?

Reading: Have I mentioned I'm a reader? Because I am. I spend most evenings reading, and often continue into the wee hours of some mornings. What do I read? I really couldn't say. Lots of less-than-memorable romance novels. Why do I continue to read romance novels if I don't actually like them? Because every once in a while, I come across a gem of a book that renews my love of romance. Do I need to branch out? Absolutely, yes. I'll let you know how it goes with all my new Goodreads recommendations.

Today I took the kids to the mall and combined retail therapy with spending time with my children. The retail therapy becomes less potent when you do it this way, but I felt like the kids had a fun time hanging out with their mother in her natural habitat. Plus we got their Halloween Costumes (Ariel and Captain America), and a few fun outfits for me and Kiera.

At one point, a young shop manager guy told me that my kids are "awesome." But the best moment for me was when I tried on a cute maxi-dress, and the kids went nuts over it, raving over how beautiful I looked. It's times like these that make me appreciate that being a mom, even a less-than-busy one, can be one of the most fulfilling accomplishments of all.

So am I a slacker? Maybe. and sometimes I look at my neglected blog and think I must be. Then I think back and ask myself: why? what's been keeping you away from the blog? and you know what? I think it was all worth the wait.

Eurotrip Part Two: Portugal

At the end of day 5 we arrived in Faro, took a taxi to our hotel, and crashed. We got one of those hotels where you share a bathroom with a few other people, but we never noticed, since we only stayed one night.
Faro was a quirky little city. We didn’t have anything planned there, though, so we were just going to take the train to Lisbon right away. Except we missed our train. That’s when I made the rule that we were never to miss a train again. (Which we managed to follow.)
To quell my irritation, David took me to a salon to get a manicure. Smart guy.
When we arrived in Lisbon (it was evening by then) we met our host couple, Ana and Joao. They were so warm and gracious! Ana fed us homemade soup, bread, cheese, and pastries. Then she gave us a map and told us all the places to see in Lisbon, plus how to get around. I swear we got so much out of our single day there, simply because of her guidance.
So that night we washed our laundry, (remember, guys, we were living out of our backpacks), and slept on an air mattress in a guest bedroom.
The next morning we took the tram, then the ferry, into the city center. Breakfast at the famous ‘Pastries of Bethlehem’, followed by a visit to the monastery, and walking around the local monuments.

David dropped one of my luggage locks into this pond. The scoundrel.

After that we had lunch, did a little window shopping, then made our way to the Castle of St George.

The view of the city from the castle was incredible. You can see in the distance Portugal’s own version of the famous Christ the Redeemer Statue.
The entire time we were walking through, a guitarist was busking in the courtyard of the ruins, so we were serenaded the whole tour. Since his music had a lot of Spanish influences, it made the experience really peaceful and lovely.

Our Serenading Guitarist

This sign was around the corner from a little stall built onto the outer wall of the castle. It made me giggle.

After seeing the castle, we took a ride up a kind of elevator in the middle of the city. The line was long and the wait was criminal, but while we were just hanging out, we realized that we would need to get on a train that night to Madrid.

So that night was spent making a mad-dash back home, packing, saying goodbye to our hosts, mad-dashing back into the city, and missing the only train for the night. (We didn’t buy the tickets, though, so I don’t think it counts as missing a train.) Then  we had to tuck our tails between our legs and ask our hosts to take us back in for the night. Which they did, and were super kind about, as well.
We took a shower (yes, together, but to get clean, not dirty) which started out great but turned icy cold really soon. I had to get clean, though, because it would be a couple days before we would have access to another shower, so we had to be tough.
The next day we brought our back-packs with us into the city, and put them in a locker at the train station. We then bought tickets for our train to Madrid, pulled ourselves together, and made our hotel arrangements for Spain. Whenever we had internet access, we would be trying to coordinate our couchsurfing requests.

We wandered around the new part of Lisbon for a while, then visited their famed aquarium.
 
After seeing the aquarium, we wanted to find a restaurant which offered “Bacalhau” which is salted, dried codfish that we had been told was “the” most popular dish in Portugal. While we were fully expecting it to be nasty beyond all reason, we really wanted to try some before we left Portugal.
So we were guided to this restaurant, by a local woman who was über helpful and beyond sweet. The bacalhau was actually really tasty, and we tried “the best chocolate cake of the world” as well. Which was good, but not quite up to its name, if you ask me.

We boarded our train to Madrid in the evening, and David and I were able to sleep in the same room, but in bunk beds. We had a sink in our room, but the toilets were shared by the whole car. It was kinda’ fun to sleep on a train, but I didn’t sleep soundly at all.
The next morning we arrived in Madrid. I’ll write all about the Spain portion of our trip in my next post.

Part One of the Euro Trip: London

David and I went "Backpacking through Europe” which does not have anything to do with camping, even though it sounds like it. We started the trip in London, then flew to Portugal, next took a train to Spain, then France, then back up to London for a week.

We did something called “Couchsurfing” which is where we were hosted by local volunteers who let us sleep in their homes and see their cities from a different perspective. (It’s free. and really cool.)

We arrived in London tired from staying up all night before traveling for 19 hours, and met our first host, Christopher, a Canadian who’s been living in London for six years, the past four of which he’s lived on a narrowboat. We met him at his boat, sat and talked for an hour or so, then started falling asleep where we sat. So he suggested we call it an early night, and he would see us in the morning, as he’d be going out dancing until late.

We conked out immediately, then woke up several hours later, walked to the nearby Indian take-away and brought home dinner. We went back to sleep and slept like babies for the rest of the night.

The next morning we decided to make our way into Central London (we had been staying on the Grand Union Canal in Northeast London). We wandered through London and visited the National Portrait Gallery.

Buskers performing Pachelbel’s Canon in Covent Garden

We then saw the musical "Love Never Dies" which made me cry. It’s the sequel to “Phantom of the Opera” I can’t say I loved it, but it was extremely well done.

After the show we wandered around some more, found somewhere to eat, then made our way back home.

The next day, (Day 3) was spent boating down the Grand Union Canal, through the locks, and to Regent’s Canal. We were able to cruise through Regent’s Park and see the city from a completely unusual perspective.

Above is a photo of Christopher, our host. He gave us some steering lessons and really allowed us to experience the cruise as participators, instead of spectators. It was incredibly fascinating.

We then had dinner in the city (Italian, but it wasn’t really great), followed by complete exhaustion.

Day 4 in London was spent with Pop, my friend from the first time I came to London. He took David and me to some of the Sunday Markets, which were really very fun and great retail therapy. I bought a couple of great dresses, but because they were so poufy, we had the shop owner hang onto them until we came back through. (No way were we going to lug them all through Europe)

 

We ate spicy Thai for lunch; quick stop in Camden, then on to La Crêperie de Hampstead (melted chocolate, banana and rum. Yum Yum).

The next day, (Day 5) we took Christopher to breakfast, then hopped on a train to Liverpool, which is in north-west England. We slept most of the way there, and then took a flight from the John Lennon Airport to Faro, Portugal.

I’ll continue the Portugal portion of our trip in my next post.

Whirlwind

So where do I begin?

We went to Disneyland for a week.

David did a triathlon in Las Vegas on the way back home.

The next week, David and I went backpacking through Europe. For three weeks.

A week after getting home, we both did a triathlon in Saint George.

It's been a week since then, and I still don't feel caught up - in home life and at work.

So while I'd love to catch up on the blog, and write a detailed synopsis of each of these fantastic events, I just can't see it happening until I've done my laundry and organized my house.

So I love you. I'm thinking about you. I'll see you when I can.

Shanghaied

The flight to Shanghai was really comfortable. I was in what’s called “World Traveler Plus” which is a class between coach and business class. The leg room was great (though I felt guilty David wasn’t able to enjoy it), the seat reclined and had a leg rest, the TV was nice, speakers were provided, and the food was tasty. I was able to catch a short nap, but read most of the flight. (Notice-I did not talk to anybody around me. It is indeed possible for me to be surrounded by people for 10 hours without talking. Proud of me? You should be.)

Dave and Holly Poppell are the parents of my best friend from middle school, Barbara. The Poppell’s are hilarious, warm and outgoing. I used to spend a great deal of time at their house, back when I lived with my father in Shanghai, when I was in eighth grade. They had always been so open and caring, so when we decided to visit Shanghai, they were the first people I thought of seeing. When we mentioned we were coming to town, they offered to let us stay at their place, which tended to have a very open-door policy even 10 years ago.

When I arrived at the airport, Dave Poppell, was there to pick me up and drive me home. He got me settled, and fed me lunch, then let me to take a nap for a couple hours. When I woke up we drove back to the airport to pick up David. We then joined Holly for dinner at a Mexican restaurant near their home. When it was clear David was about to nod off, we came home and went to bed.

We had jet lag, and woke up at 3am first day. (The crazy dog that lives with them didn't help, as she was literally knocking on our door at 3am.) Later in the morning we wandered through CareFour to get a concept of pricing. We got a couple’s massage for $84 at a local spa. I fell asleep during, and we came home right after and slept for 6 hours. Now that's what I call relaxing. At that point I woke up for a quick Shanghai lesson from the Poppell’s and a bowl of cereal, then went back to bed for the night. Jet lag officially kicked, we woke up at 8:30am.

We spent the second day shopping at the Ki Ji Guan (Ker Gee Guan) which used to be hua ting lu – my most favorite place on earth. Now, it just stressed me out, worrying that I was getting “had” and arguing with the crazies. (Did I mention the lady who kept yelling “Woman! Woman!” then marched over and grabbed my arm, and dragged me back to her shop to finish haggling?)

The third day was a chillaxe day. We stayed in until the evening when we took the subway to see the Chinese Acrobats. The show was outstanding, and I was happy to see David being so impressed. We got to try an amazing sweet potato, (sold by a vendor outside the subway station) which made me just want to have one every single day before we got back home. Unfortunately, it turned out to be my one and only street-sweet potato, and I’m still craving more.

On day four, the Poppells were off work, so they took us to the Yu Yuan Gardens to do a little shopping, a lot of sightseeing, and a fair amount of dumpling eating. Then Holly took us around Pudong, to show David the bund; then down to Gubei, so I could show him the house I lived in. I couldn’t get over my shock when we found out it had been demolished… the entire complex we lived in is gone (which is weird, because it was so new and beautiful).

After that, we went to buy some more jewelry (a girl can never have too much, right? Not to mention, the prices were ridiculously cheaper than in the States) followed by dinner at a sort of Pub called the Shanghai Brewery. Funnily, they had a sort of nursery room in the back for little kids to play in, and a kids menu.

After dinner, we all went to the “Bottle Opener Building” where the new Park Hyatt is. It’s currently the tallest building in Shanghai, but I was pretty unimpressed. They built it right next to the Jin Mao Tower, which, I think, is elegant and stately and beautiful. But the Bottle Opener Building is gaudy and garish and, as far as I’m concerned an eyesore. But we went inside where they had some pretty interesting sort of exhibits, and the view was really spectacular.

Day five was a Sunday. Dave Poppell took us down to my old school (which has been completely changed- they added so many buildings), and I was able to show David where I used to go to class and eat lunch during one of the best years of my life.  Then we drove out to one of the water villages, and bought some fun souvenirs. We tried KFC there, which wasn’t too bad, except the mashed potatoes tasted ‘off’. Then we dashed home so I could pretty up for a date with David.

We went to Cucina, a restaurant near the top of the Grand Hyatt, where Daddy used to take us for special occasions. I was dying to show David the roasted garlic to spread on the bread, and was not disappointed. The chicken I ordered was delightful, and the pasta David got was not bad, but not heavenly. After we ate, David ordered a banana/mango gelato, and I ordered some hot chocolate.

The sixth day we went out to a Brazilian restaurant, which wasn’t really amazing, but was really expensive. Then we hopped in a taxi towards the Ki Ji Guan so I could do some more shopping, but in route I realized that I’d left my purse at the damned restaurant. *DAH!* So we turned around and were able to get it back safe and sound (even the $200 inside), then did the shopping as planned.

David was able to haggle some on his own, and he bought himself a silk robe, and a ski outfit (snow pants and a jacket). He actually found this enjoyable, which I was glad for, so he could see what I liked so much about bartering. I bought eight silk robes, some more jewelry, a table cloth, and a sweater. Then we took a taxi home.

Day Seven was a Tuesday. We took the high-speed train to Hangzhou, (thankfully, Dave Poppell helped us get to where we needed to go) then took a taxi to meet our business contact there. We discussed vinyl and the possibility of them manufacturing vinyl for us, and when our business was finished, Victor and Ting invited us to lunch. We went to a fairly nice Chinese restaurant, where Victor ordered the food, and David and I were good sports. In all honesty, though, I have to say everything was delicious. Even the fish with its head still attached.

After lunch, Ting took us around Hangzhou, specifically to the “West Lake” which, apparently, is to Hangzhou, what the Statue of Liberty is to New York, or what the Golden Gate Bridge is to San Francisco, or the Great Wall is to Beijing. So even though I’d never heard of it before, I was assured that all the places I went were actually quite famous.  

Ting was an adorable little Chinese woman who spoke English fairly well, and was full of compliments. At lunch she told me how cute I am, at the lake she told me how much she likes me, and in the taxi ride back to the train station, she told me she wished I lived in Hangzhou and wouldn’t have to leave, because now we’re such good friends. Then she insisted on two hugs goodbye (both from me) and helped us board the train back to Shanghai.

From the train station in Shanghai, we were able to board the subway, which took us right to the tailor’s to pick up my new coat. It’s beautiful, although a bit too large. The coat is a cream-colored wool-cashmere blend, lined with blue silk. I love the style of it, and it’s incredibly warm. Now if I can only manage to keep it clean!

Our last day was another chillaxe day. We slept in, and read. Then I took a bath and David went out to hunt for some pizza. He brought it home with a big bottle of Sprite, which I hope to avoid for the next ten years of my life, and we ate, and then we napped. That night we ordered Thai food, which we ate with Holly while we all watched the Big Bang Theory, a hilarious TV show about some socially retarded physicists.

We stayed up late packing, and arranged it so I only had to tote a backpack and one suitcase, while David had to check in two suitcases, plus has one big carry on as well as carrying on his backpack. I know that’s completely unfair, but was going to be traveling so much longer than he did, not to mention I had to get myself and my luggage from JFK to La Guardia during my eight hour layover in New York.

To be honest, I spent my flight to London hoping for a freak snowstorm in New York that would keep me in England for at least another two days. But at the same time, I was pretty exhausted, and ready to be home. I missed the kids like crazy, and had lots of work to catch up on. Plus, I missed my wonderful bed.

On the flights to London, and to NYC, I sat next to a lovely woman from California named Nannette. She had, interestingly enough, also been one of the British Airways Face to Face winners. We talked and laughed and told stories about our trips. When we landed in NYC, she offered to let me stay at her hotel for a nap before I had to make it to La Guardia. I gratefully accepted, and was able to take a (much needed) shower and have a quick sleep. Then I took a taxi to the airport, where I ate a very healthy chocolate pastry for breakfast, and boarded my flight to Chicago without incident.

My layover in Chicago was very short, so I ran from the landing gate to the departure gate as quickly as I could, then it turned out that my flight was slightly delayed, and I didn't actually have to do my mad-dash. But I was able to sit next to a nice guy from Logan while we waited for the flight. He was coming home from National Guard training in South Carolina. We chatted a bit until we boarded. I was sitting next to a cute blond girl from Chicago who was coming to Utah to ski. We had a little small talk, and then I read for the rest of the flight.

When I got home I was so happy to see the kids and to hold them. They were adorable, and Kiera's speaking abilities had improved like crazy. We drove home and I still haven't completely unpacked, but I'm making a little progress each day.

Operation: Bucket List - Mission: Go to England

You may remember the free trip I won to Shanghai, passing through NYC and London. Because I was going to be on my own in London, I was hoping to hook up with a group of other winners of the contest. So didn't make any plans - as I wanted to be flexible. Knowing I didn't want to end up alone, I made a decision early on the first day that I would be very open to meeting people. So I resolved to make eye contact and smile with nearly everybody I passed, and to start conversations with anybody I was sitting next to.

On my flight to NYC I was sitting next to a lovely New Yorker named Matthew. He works in the music industry as a producer/engineer. Very funny and engaging. He’s Jewish, but not a very strict Jew. Originally from San Francisco, and moved to NYC after college (in Michigan). I think he was in his late 20s, and he definitely was a super nice and charismatic guy BUT- I didn’t get a wink of sleep.

We arrived in NYC at 6ish, and I went to the loo to change my clothes, then got my luggage and hiked to the correct terminal and started my breakfast. Unfortunately, the high heels I thought were so comfortable in San Francisco were really painful after walking for ages whilst lugging heavy bags. When I got to the British Airways lounge, I had a tiny breakfast and chatted with a New Yorker named Lev. He’s 27, and owns a cupcake chain in NYC. Cool stuff. (Also, did I mention he is Jewish?) The guy had a razor sharp wit. When I mentioned I was from Utah, he paused, nodded and “ah”ed, then said “So are you a member of any cults or anything?” and the way he asked it you could completely tell he was being facetious – I threw my head back and laughed a very surprised laugh. We talked a few more times through-out the conference, you could almost say he was part of my posse.

After that I met lots and lots of people, but didn’t sit down to have a long chat with anybody until John, one of my seat-mates on the flight. He’s older (65ish), and had spent some time in the 70’s living as an ex-pat in Japan. We had some fun stuff to talk about, but his business was really not related to me (library computer stuff), and I felt my eyes glazing over a couple times from his technical descriptions. Also probably due to exhaustion, as this would typically be the middle of my regular night, at this point. I really liked him, though.

While we were talking, Aron came into our row. He told me I was in the wrong seat, and that we would need to switch (as we were in the middle section, he walked around to the other side through one of the galleys.) When he got to the other side, he realized I wasn’t actually in the wrong seat, he had just read it wrong. Poor guy felt terrible, so I just said not to worry about it, I was fine in my new seat. Once the plane was fully loaded, John decided to move up a row, as there were a few empty seats, and we were able to be more spread out.

Aron and I talked the entire flight. He’s from London, although his parents immigrated there from … the Middle East? I think his dad was Pakistani, but his mom might have been English. I’m not really sure. He’s, by blood, a half Jew, but he doesn’t follow any religion. He’s 45, married with 2 kids (12 and 9), and has spent much of his life traveling.

I felt very kindred to him. He was smart, funny, and full of knowledge; giving me history lessons about Europe, showing me the geography of Great Britain, and cluing me in on some of the local lingo. He seemed very well-read and cultured, and very charismatic as well. When it was brought up that I didn’t know what I would be doing the whole time I was in London, he said “Well, I can entertain you on Friday. My brother’s having some kind of party at Kings College, where he’s a lector.” He then mentioned he wouldn’t be free for the rest of the time, because this visit was a chance for him to spend time with his mum, who has cancer, and just started chemotherapy.

When the plane landed, we separated, and I found my way to the hotel room, with only half-an-hour to change for the evening cocktail party. I really wanted to shower though, so of course, I was a half-hour late. I wore 6 inch heels, a black and white cocktail dress, and had my hair done up in a curled pony-tail. My makeup was fixed up, and I felt great, though I worried I might be over-dressed.

When I came down stairs, I wandered into the crowd and spotted Lev. He complimented my dress, introduced me to sweet, unassuming Philip, (who also complimented the dress) and then a woman came up behind me and let me know I had left the top 3 inches of my zipper down. She helped me with it, and we chatted a bit as well. I really liked her a lot, but I can’t remember her name, now.

Finally I went searching for Aron, and found him near the kitchen, poaching the canapés as they came out the door. He gave me a once-over, followed by a sort of surprised, appreciative “wo-o-ow, you scrub up very well, Emily.” which didn’t come across as eager. More like the way you would say it to a niece or sister. We chatted a bit, when I was interrupted by Christopher. He talked to me for a while, gave one of those “that’s some dress” comments (now, I feel inclined to say that it was a modest dress. No cleavage showing, knee-length, and covering my shoulders). I think I may have been one of very few young, cute women… maybe there were five of us out of 250, so perhaps it just made me a novelty.

Christopher is attractive in his way, and really outgoing. He had made some reference to Star Trek while standing next to me, and I laughed, so I guess made us friends, as he talked to me briefly several times throughout the event. I also think he was one of the presenters at the conference in NYC, which I missed, and that he was giving people business advice as a sort of perk, so maybe he was well-known within the group.

While we’re chatting, we were interrupted by an older guy, name starts with B. I guess Christopher was on his way to meet B when he spotted me and had kept B waiting a bit. Christopher says “I’m so sorry, I got distracted” and gestures to my person, a sort of sweeping motion from feet to face. Wow. Talk about feeling objectified. Then B gives the slimiest once-over I have ever experienced and says “Well I can see why.” and compliments the dress. Christopher abandons the conversation and I’m left with “B”, talking about working in a news room, which was actually pretty funny and interesting, but I just couldn’t get over that first impression, and kept looking for a way to get away from him.

Finally I spotted Aron again and excused myself. When I reached him, he introduced me to a lovely young woman (one of the 5 of us, if you recall) whom he had promised to introduce me to on the flight because “she had wanted to go to Shanghai as well, but in the end she wasn’t able to. AND she’s a girl, so you two should get on nicely. There are two things in common right there.”

Her name was Kristi, she was really beautiful, and the first thing she said to me is how when Aron pointed me out to her, saying he was planning on introducing us, she had said “The pretty one?” and that compliment coming from her felt more powerful than all the men’s combined. I liked her very well, of course, and hope to be able to keep in touch with her in the future. She said that when she does get around to Shanghai, that perhaps I could come as well. Even if it was only a passing comment, the idea does hold its own appeal.

At that time, I was swaying a bit from the high shoes and exhaustion, feeling rather floaty, and dying for a chair. So I sat down and was soon to be surrounded by Philip, Lev, Aron, and eventually Jill, (aka: Pretzels – another one of the 5 young attractive women). I realized then, that all of these people were Jews from NYC, and if you count the first guy I met on the NYC flight, it’s like I was some kind of New Yorker-Jew-Magnet. (Though, if you want to get technical, Aron is from London, he’s just been living in NYC for 14 years). We all stayed up until 1:30 in the morning chatting, and when I mentioned I was tired, three of the men all stood up and agreed it was time for bed.

I was out the moment my head hit the pillow, and didn’t have another thought until the wake up call the next morning. The bed was amazingly comfortable, but that may have been due to the tiredness. The bathroom was elegant and boasted a separate shower and large tub. The outlets were all British, though. I showered; dressed; put on my makeup; and blow dried my hair as well as I could, but since I didn’t have an outlet for my curler or straightener, I just left it down and pushed it behind my shoulders. I wore a professional grey dress, which I had planned to wear with a jacket, but it didn’t work as well with my hair down, so I skipped the jacket.

At breakfast I found a seat by Lev, who was sitting at a table with Pretzels, and three men who were from Salt Lake. So it seems Lev was some kind of Utah-Mormon-Magnet (this is the guy who was joking about cults). The two guys who were sitting at my right owned a company in Utah that makes custom men’s clothing. It was actually really fun to talk to them, and they made some jokes throughout the rest of the conference that I enjoyed.

When the conference was over, I met up with Aron and we agreed to pack up our rooms and meet downstairs to check out. When I got downstairs, he offered to share a cab with me, saying he would stop first at my hotel, wait while I checked in, then stop at his parents’ house to drop off his things and have a short visit, then go into the city. I was thrilled with the plan, as I was feeling more than a little overwhelmed by the process of getting into town on the very unfamiliar tube system, and also by the cost of any mode of transport.

Our taxi driver was a cockney through and through, which just seemed so perfect: the cockney cab-driver. He had been to the USA several times and had some fun stories to tell. Made all the better by his accent.

I ran into my hotel (Aron assisted with my luggage, thank goodness), and then he waited out in the cab. I checked in as fast as possible, had the front desk hang on to my luggage so I wouldn’t need to lug it to the room while the meter was running. Then ran back outside and we drove to meet Aron’s parents, Kate and Peter.

Kate was very kind and solicitous; taking my coat, letting me warm myself by the stove, offering tea and lunch and wouldn’t let me help at all. Peter sat down to chat with Aron and me at the table in the conservatory, which was an amazing glass room. Peter is 80, and works with some software that helps determine if certain metal compositions are suitable for specific jobs. He was charming and witty. I could see how the warm, nurturing mother; and the clever, world-wise father made a son like Aron.

The food was a salad made with romaine, oranges, tuna and avocado; a chicken soup; bread with nuts and berries; and earl grey tea (which was not ‘my cup of tea’, but I drank enough to be polite, I hope). The home was so picturesque and charming. The setting was perfect for my first English tea*. When it was time to go, Kate gave me a hug and kissed me on each cheek in the English style in farewell. They tried to bundle me up and she was all smiles and warmth. I was quite taken by her.
(*see bucket list item: Have a cup of tea in England)

Peter walked with us to the tube station, as he would ride part of the way with us to an appointment he had. When we got to the station, I learned I had left my wallet at the hotel in my mad dash to the cab. Aron promptly bought me a travel pass for the underground and buses, looked up the hotel’s phone number, and let me call the hotel to be sure it was safe. It was. Then he found out from them the best route for me to take to get back to the hotel from London, so I could get back safely later that night. When we got off the tube, Aron and his father gave me a quick lesson for how to get around using the tube, and Peter then took his leave.

When we got out of the tube station and I had my first look at London, I got a little misty-eyed. It felt very surreal to actually be there. I was giddy and excited and thrilled to death.

Aron walked me around the main part of London for maybe an hour or two, showing me some of the places I was planning to visit the next day, and just giving me a feel of the city. I had not dressed well, thinking we would be going straight to the party, so I was wearing ballet flats, which pinched my feet, offered no protection from the cobbled roads, and kept me cold. I was determined not to complain at all, though I knew I’d suffer blisters for it. When he noticed me shivering, he offered his scarf, which I gratefully wrapped around my neck.

After a while we walked to Kings College, where we met Aron’s brother. His name is Mark, and he was a really fun/smart/nice guy as well. Mark let me use his computer to compose a quick email to David, and then we went upstairs to attend a party with the Physics department. At this point I was a bit disappointed, thinking it unlikely to find any socially stimulating company among such a crowd. But when we arrived, Aron was very attentive to me, making sure I was never alone.

The party was some kind of tribute to beer, and one of the professors, a Frenchman (with a very outrageous accent) stood on a chair to give a toast. His toast was all about a particularly amazing brand of ale that he’d gone very far to get, because he felt it was the most wonderful kind and we all needed to try it. He mentioned that it was so good, it must have been made using dark matter (Physicist much?). And that it had 9-point-7-effing-percent alcohol. I have to admit I was laughing pretty hard.

The Frenchman got up two more times, each time progressively more drunk than the last, and gave bawdier toasts which everyone appreciated. Very funny. We talked with Mark and Aron and some eccentric cockney student. I suppose the people in attendance were a few professors and some physics doctoral students.

Then we met Pop. I didn’t really think much of him that night, simply because he was just another face in this group. Apparently he was one of the students, had just gotten back to London from a trip to San Francisco, and was seriously considering moving to California when he finished school. So we talked a bit about America, and he talked to Aron about academia, and I honestly wasn’t paying much attention to him.

When the conversation somehow came to what I was doing tomorrow, Pop said “oh I live quite close to there.” and Aron said “Oh! Maybe you can show Emily around! Do you have any plans tomorrow? No? Then you and Emily could go around London together!” Who is this guy? Taking care of hopeless tourists by conning young, naïve students into becoming impromptu, unpaid tour guides? And we don’t know this kid, not really. What if he’s a total bore, or worse, dangerous? I wanted to kick him under the table, and I would have, if we had one.

Pop looked over to me, gauging my reaction, and said sure, that he was available, and hadn’t seen much of the tourist sites himself, so it would be no trouble. I didn’t want to be rude, so I just agreed that it would be very nice of him, and that he could email me to make arrangements. I figured this way, he probably wouldn’t email me, and it’d be an easy way to let him off the hook. (Plus I didn’t have any phone service, so it was really the only possible way to reach me.)

We left soon after, Mark and Aron taking me to a fish and chips place for dinner. Then they walked me to the closest tube station, told me how to get home (Aron asked me to please take a taxi once I arrived to my ending tube station, which he felt would be safer at this time of night than a bus, even if it was much more expensive). Then he told me he would just loan me some cash, and I could send a check to him once I got back to the states. He then gave me 200 pounds, which is about $350! Then put me on the right tube. (He also kissed me on both cheeks like his mother had.)

Then in the tube, when I was most of the way to the airport I heard some music playing, and I thought how lovely to have music playing from the speakers. Then one of the guys to my left turned it off…since it was his cell phone playing music. The man between us said “thank you” when it was turned off, and I felt I needed to defend the other guy, so I leaned forward and said “oh, I rather liked it.” with a smile. So he put on another song, from Notting Hill, called She, by Elvis Costello.

I found out that the two men actually knew each other, and were pilots for Jordan Air. The one close to me was from Jordan, and since his difficult-to-pronounce name slipped my mind soon after meeting him, we’ll just call him Jordan. The other, music playing guy, was an Italian, who kept pointing out his wedding ring, as though to remind me, all-the-while putting on new songs and saying “this is just for you”. Then eventually singing along to them. We’ll call him Mario.

So Jordan was very dry and polite, but kind as well, and Mario was just cracking me up. They both had a flight the next morning, and their hotel was close to mine. When I mentioned that I was planning to take a taxi, since the bus station might be dangerous, they said, no, the station is not dangerous. I pointed out my small stature and general fragility, and they declared themselves my protectors, saying they would watch my back, and make sure I got to the right place.

Which they did, rather well, especially when we consider that they were almost as lost as I was. By the time I got to my hotel my feet were dying, I was exhausted, and still had to get online to have a quick chat with David and the kids, then went to bed.

The next morning I took a shower, which was heavenly, put on my makeup, packed up my back pack, dressed warmly and with comfortable shoes, and checked my email. Pop had actually written offering to show me around a bit. We planned to meet around noon, but my computer's battery died before we were able to decide the exact place.

I took the bus, then the tube to London, got out and wandered aimlessly a bit (perhaps I was over confident in my navigation abilities after my quick tour the night before) until I happened upon the visitor’s centre. I got on the computer and emailed Pop, who agreed to just pick me up there.

When he arrived, we did that weird double kiss thing (weird to me, normal for him), and asked a few questions at the visitors information desk. Then we took off. Of course we went in the wrong direction for a bit, embarrassing Pop, but we eventually got on track and he took me all over the place. Our first stop was Buckingham Palace, where we took a bunch of pictures, and I found out that Pop is brilliant with a camera and somehow attracts people who want their own pictures taken. He must have taken pictures for eight random strangers while we were together that day.

Me and Pop in front of Buckingham Palace

See Bucket List Item: Take a picture with a guard at Buckingham Palace

Emily outside of Buckingham Palace

For lunch we had Thai food (did I mention he is Thai?), which he ordered in Thai and showed me how to eat properly.

We rode on the top deck of one of those double decker buses, and I got to see London a bit.  Next we got to see the Tower Bridge, and the Tower of London. It was closed by the time we arrived, so we took a few pictures outside.

After that, we took the bus over to St. Paul’s Cathedral (which I would have missed, except Pop noticed my interest as we drove past it on the way to Tower Bridge, and suggested we go.) We walked through the cathedral and he let me look around with his glasses on. These were quite an improvement to my regular vision, maybe even a perfect match.

We wanted to record the sound of the bells announcing the hour, so we went into a little Italian restaurant to kill some time. I wasn’t hungry yet, so we just had drinks and talked for ages. Pop turned out to be very intelligent and socially aware. He was courteous and took his job as tour guide very seriously. I tried to be as low-maintenance a tourist as possible.

Then we set out for this Crepe stand down town. The place was pretty incredible, and the crepes were amazing. (melted chocolate and banana crepes? Yum Yum.) The kid in the stall was charming, if shy, and the queue was very short, which Pop said was highly unusual. Then we wandered around London, he showed me some neat places, and eventually took me to the tube station to send me on my way. After another double kiss, I got on the tube and went back to my hotel.

I’d planned to stay up as much as possible this night, so I could work out my jet-lag by sleeping on the plane. So I had some sleep, then I wasn’t ready to go until the last minute, and I took a bus when I should have taken a shuttle, and ended up missing my flight to Shanghai. I was out of clean clothes, had nowhere to stay, carrying a bunch of heavy luggage, pretty exhausted and stressed, so everything kind of hit me at once. I started crying, even though they were able to put me on a flight for the next morning.

I ended up getting online via a pay-per-minute computer station, and spent a fortune trying to tell everybody the situation, and to see if I could find a cheap hotel, and also let Pop know, in case he’d be willing to help me find somewhere and get there (I was really nervous about carrying my heavy suitcases through the tube). He offered to let me stay at his flat, even though he only had “one single bed for a guest” which I interpreted to be, “I have a guest room with a twin bed”.

I gratefully accepted the invitation, and agreed to meet him at a tube station near his place. Getting my luggage to the tube was not too bad, and I was at the very beginning of the line, so I was able to arrange my luggage and have my first choice of seat quite easily. The struggle came when I had to make a change to the next line, and had to carry my suitcases up and down some stairs. But I managed, and Pop was at the station and insisted on carrying both my bags all the way back to his flat.

He put my laundry in his washer, settled my stuff in, and showed me around his flat. (Kitchen here; shower there; bedrooms here, here, and here; and water closet here.) “I only have a single bed for guest” turned out to actually mean: I only have one bed, which you’ll get, since you’re the guest. So he had gotten an air mattress and planned to spend the night on the floor, giving me his bed.

Then he asked if I would like him to cook dinner, or would I prefer to eat out? Did I want to sit around here and watch a film, or would I like to see more of London? I basically said I was game to eat anything, but I didn’t think I was up to more sightseeing. “Seeing a movie actually sounds very relaxing” is how I phrased it. So he suggested going out to eat, then visiting the cinema and watching Black Swan.

We went to a French restaurant where I tried brie with strawberry sauce (delectable), and duck (pretty good). We told stories and laughed – he had an awesome story about a woman (he didn’t know) who he inadvertently groped while trying to hold a door open for her. Her response? “Thank You.” Priceless.

We then saw Black Swan. Pop had an extra pair of glasses for me, and insisted that I do not talk during the movie at all. I mostly didn’t, but he didn’t love the times I did – though I thought I was hilarious.

Then we made it home and I Skyped it up with David and the kids. Pop and David were able to say hi, and Pop said he really liked David. Then I showed off my family pictures on Facebook. Pop found Kiera to be über beautiful, and said David looked “like a Hollywood guy.” (which I interpreted to mean: very handsome). Then we watched a few YouTube videos, changed into our pajamas, talked a bit more, and went to sleep.

In the morning I woke up to find Pop folding my laundry and preparing my breakfast. He'd made a healthy Special K with yogurt and prunes breakfast, which we ate, then quickly dressed and headed for the tube station, where he dropped me off with a final double kiss and well-wishes.

My impression of Pop was that he was basically a wonderful, generous person, who sacrificed the better part of a weekend to help out a complete stranger. How nice is that?

I made it through the tube transfers uneventfully, and read a book during the long ride to the airport. I arrived about four hours early (not taking any chances this time), and read some more at the terminal. I wandered the duty-free section (huge) of the airport for a while, and then boarded my plane. Success!

London was awesome. I decided I absolutely would love to live there for a couple of years. What an interesting and diverse place. And the accents! I used to be able to imitate an English accent pretty well, but after hearing all the different varieties, I've gotten all mixed up. Every person I crossed paths with was kind, if not down right amazing.