|
the summer solstice Last night at work I saw Nicole, but didn't have a chance to talk with her. Actually for most of the night I wasn't in a talking mood since I was still trying to shake off the effects of a cold. Before I left however I stopped to chat with another world traveler at work and looked at photos from her recent trip to Scotland. Obviously I realize that Scotland is still part of Europe, but it seemed strange to me to see so many signs in English. Yes, I know that in some places the accent is very thick, but at the same time it is still English. Besides I've seen Trainspotting enough to know what to expect in terms of accent. I have nothing against Scotland, but I can't say that it is my next destination. When I head off somewhere next time, I want something to contrast Europe so that means New Zealand to me. Scotland and or Ireland can wait until another trip. The two of us talked about why we travel and what makes it so alluring to us and we agreed on a couple of points. Being able to see how other people live was definitely one of them. The world is an amazing place and we can go wherever we want and realize that not everyone thinks and acts the same as we do. Sometimes Americans are slow to understand that the American way is not always the best way. Then of course there is the element of foreign scenery be it coastal cliffs or the architecture of a town that has existed for centuries that makes travel a wonderful experience. ... In an effort to mellow out after a slightly stressful morning at work, I stopped at the local used book store to see what I could find. Since I've been home I've been trying to keep my spending habits to a minimum, because quite honestly I don't need any new movies and and or books at the moment and should really focus my time on other things besides shopping. This morning however I needed something to distract me and a bookstore can certainly do that for me. Once in the store I started at the front where the new sale items were displayed and then made my way to the art section. Art books are seldom cheap, but I still love to look. From the art books it was on to the travel section where I found two books on New Zealand, but both of them were at least five years out of date. I wanted something with more current information. Eventually I walked out of the store with a book about Hindu temples, another one about Manet and a small stack of comic books to fill some holes in my collection. Personally I think that I found some great reading material. ... Being able to consume large amounts of fluids and sleep as much as possible works wonders for my system. When I woke late this afternoon, I felt like myself again. Since I've been home I've kept the television off most of the time. All that I've seen is an episode of Globe Trekker. Instead of sitting in front of the box, I've been doing some leisurely reading and I like that change in my lifestyle. The few times that I've had the television on I've been watching selections from my movie collection. Maybe to match my slightly drowsy mood, I sat through Stanley Kubrick's 2001 the other day and I have to say that it still holds up very well compared to modern science fiction films.
|