Sunday, September 19, 2010

pack lite-live long-travel far

current location when writing: United flight 893, seat 18F, flying over the Rockies

current location from post: Seoul Korea
Total flight time: 5 hrs 40 mins JFK-San Francisco, 13 hrs 23 mins


First thought: why can’t my body control my body temperature every time I fly?! I feel like every single time I set foot on a plane, I am constantly hot then cold then hot then fine and so on. It is extremely uncomfortable and annoying, and currently I am a little over-heated. I wish my body would just figure it out and keep me at a constant temperature. Thanks hypothalamus UGH.

And now it has really begun. The 2:45 am wakeup call this morning came easier than I anticipated. Mark Glauser, being the saint he is, drove Aunt Shin, Gina, and I to the airport and grandpa tagged along. It’s funny how crowded the streets of NYC are still streaming with traffic at the hour of 3:30 am. I suppose that isn’t that uncommon. With bars never coming to a close, it is easy to stay out, and I know I’m guilty of staying out well past 3:30 on visits to the city. 

The past few days have flown by in a whirlwind of events. Have you ever felt like you lived multiple days all in one 24 hour period? Starting with Tuesday, I feel like I have lived more than a week within 4 days. I think that it has to do with the amount of people you interact with as well as the various activities you end up doing, but this time felt much more hectic than usual. Each day began the same: woke up a little later than anticipated and prepped for an entire day out. Meg and I were averaging about 12 hours away from the UES each day we were in town. 



From shopping, site seeing, people watching, meeting up with friends, and fine dining, oh and more shopping, I think we did as much as we possibly could while in town. Constantly on our feet, things got a little tiresome, but that goes without saying in Manhattan. A huge thanks to Steve and Mins for the futon and hospitality-it was wonderful to be back in the UES!

Thank goodness Meg and I are such good friends because I have found there are expectations when you play tour guide to a friend. I sent her on her way at Penn Station on Friday feeling like we had conquered as much of the city as our bodies could handle. We had sushi and drinks with Ian (the original 3 muskateers), explored Soho, Chinatown, Little Italy, and the East Village with Julia-quick snap of the 2 ladies in Little Italy-


dined in Union Square with Minnie, Tank, Lucas, and Ferri, shopped in mid-town with Minnie, people watched for a bit in Grand Central, dined in the WAY upper east side with more good company, and STILL had time to do tons of damage to our wallets by ourselves.

Looking back, it really was a lot jam packed in those few days. I loved it. I saw all the people I needed to see before I left and really enjoyed myself. Leaving the city on that note really got me thinking about the company you surround yourself with. Even though we spent a good amount of money, it was the free activities that will really stick in my memory. While sitting in Union Square waiting for Min to get out of work, Meg and I had some of the silliest conversations sitting there people watching. “And the little one, I’ll put her in my pocket and take her with me” 

Exploring the various neighborhoods with Julia and Meg led to hilarious topics and a good amount of free entertainment. Specifically in Little Italy, all of the hostess’ would attack us asking us to eat at their restaurants, and Julia simply replied “NO we’re on a diet THANKS” when really we were in search of a cheap sushi place to pig out at.

Jackpot!!!! $1 menu sushi-50% off rolls-$2.25 Sapporo
Random moments such as these two examples really make me realize how great it is to be surrounded by good company. No matter what sort of situation we’re in, we always find some way to entertain ourselves and make each other laugh and smile. During my trip, this is one thing I am really going to miss-my friends. Although I will be meeting up with people I know in each country, I still will be spending a good amount of time alone. 

Enough of that negative-ness Kristen Glauser.

As I sit here distracted by the views from my window, I can’t help but begin to plan my next adventure. The mountains are beautiful and just solidifying the fact that I would LOVE to move west very soon. If I ever decide to settle in the US, out west will be where it is. But I need to focus on now. Right now I am about to take on quite an adventure, and I better be careful before I get too ahead of myself. 

I am about to have quite an experience with 2 awesome ladies. I am getting the pleasure of tagging along the first return trip to Korea for Aunt Shin since they moved to the US; I cannot wait. I will be meeting family I never met before and also meeting up with Ms. Sara Park herself. It has been entirely too long since I have been separated from my Korean twin and I hope Seoul will be able to handle us.

That seems like a sufficient amount of writing for right now. 

One last thing: PLEASE help my fundraiser! Even if all you can donate is a few dollars, anything will help! I had a conversation with one of the coordinators from AYP and my workshop is also going to include setting up blogs for all of the AYP instructors in Nairobi-be on the lookout in November!
https://www.z2systems.com/np/clients/ayoga/campaign.jsp?campaign=7

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