Typical Post

I have about a million things to say, and no time to say them. The long, dreamy post I’ve been writing in my head about this nomad having a home base again will just have to wait, but it’s time to spill the beans (to the possibly one or two readers of this blog who aren’t on facebook or haven’t already been told about all this in person!). For now, let this suffice: I’m at a WiFi cafe because I don’t have Internet at home, and I have to leave to go buy some lights and outlet covers and get home in time for my new fridge to be delivered tonight. To MY apartment. That I bought. In Buenos Aires! More soon – and pictures!

Books I’ve Read

Just a reminder that I’m still updating the Books I’ve Read page (link to the right on the main page). I’m trying to read more (last year I read more books than in 2007, so that’s a start, though as my friend Sarah pointed out, maybe it should be about number of pages, not number of books!), and also getting back into my old habit of writing some brief comments on each book. Enjoy!

Happy 2009!

I haven’t completely fallen off the face of the earth… Just, you know, busy as usual. I’m in San Francisco (just visiting), falling in love with the place all over again.

There should be much more news and excitement coming to this blog soon… stay tuned!

Zero to Sixty – Or, Still Not Blogging

I’ve been on vacation for a month, which has meant much less computer time for me, and lots of time for hanging out with family and friends both in the States and Argentina – since I last wrote this has included highlights such as a wonderful extended birthday celebration, a road trip to see friends in Maine and Massachusetts with a stop in Westchester County NY on the return, a brief jaunt into NYC, a great time with a friend from Chicago who came to visit me in Buenos Aires, and a trip with her to the northwest of this amazing country.

My guest left yesterday, and though it was sad to say goodbye I’m eager to get back to “real” life – join the gym again, finally finish unpacking, restart my Spanish studies, and get back to work! And back to work with a vengeance, it seems. I’m suddenly super-booked for the month of August, and happy to get back into the swing of things (hopefully the transition won’t be too hard!). Lots of work is also the perfect excuse to be antisocial for a while – all the visiting has been wonderful but I’m very ready for a little downtime, a little “me” time.

Phew!

Apologies for the radio silence. Suffice to say I’ve been dealing with some health problems the last few months, and it kind of took over my life for a while. But it wasn’t anything serious – as in, life-threatening – and I am slowly, thankfully on the mend.

On top of all the doctors visits and trips to the pharmacy, I’ve been busy finishing up some work and PACKING for a trip! First time on a plane in over a year – wow – I can’t remember the last time I didn’t fly for a whole year! And it’s my first time back to the States in over a year. That is also a first! It feels exciting and overwhelming and all kinds of things rolled into one. And it will be really strange to go from a week of temperatures in the 30s to temps in the 90s! Thankfully it’s a little more mild today, so hopefully my system won’t freak out too much with the change in seasons. First stop is Florida, then a road trip with Grandma.

To answer a few anticipated FAQs:
This will be only an East Coast trip. And I can’t promise I’ll get to see everyone!
This is only a trip. I am keeping my apartment in BA and will be back here in July.

I am hoping to take a computer vacation for most of the next week. After that, I suppose I’ll return to somewhat more regular blogging. We’ll see!

Fall Has Fallen

Fall has hit Buenos Aires with a vengeance. As if the plummeting temperatures weren’t sign enough, yesterday the wind whipped a crispy yellow leaf off a tree and smack into my forehead, forcing my non-coat-wearing, shivering (and slightly hungover) self to finally admit summer is over. Time to break out the sweaters and start cooking up some soup! And time to fire up the heater, but we can’t get the pilot light lit. If only the fix-it guy would show up when he says he will. In the meantime, I’m shivering inside as well.

Weather.com claims that it’s 59 degrees out at 3 p.m., but I don’t believe it for a second. It also says it will be 42 degrees overnight, which unfortunately I do believe. Thank goodness there’s a hearty lentil stew handy, cooked up by one of my roommates.

Yes, I said roommates. Plural, even. After 9 (great) months of living alone, I’ve reentered the world of communal living, but in the best way. I have two roommates (one from England, one from Puerto Rico) and we share the kitchen (and occasionally the living room, where I’m hanging out today since my heater isn’t working yet). My room is separate – outside through the patio, up the stairs, and across the terrace – and is huge, divided into living and bedroom areas. And I have my own bathroom. So I get the savings and community of living with other people (we have been sharing a lot of meals), but the privacy and quiet of living by myself. Perfect!

My camera is on the fritz, but I’m working on getting some pictures together. Soon.

Quickie update

I’ve been back in BA almost a week, and I’m enjoying the buzz and seeing old friends. And, I found a place to live! A fabulous place. I move in tomorrow. More soon.

Subconscious Post

In the midst of trying to decide what to do next—upload photos to Flickr, write a blog post, send an email, call my brother, get back to the spreadsheet I’m working on to track my work, etc.—my mouse clicked on over to the bookmark for this here blog, without my even thinking about it. That darn subconscious knows my readers are hungry for news, I guess!

Number one news item: I have Internet. In my apartment. It was finally installed and connected on Monday. I’m sitting at my “desk” to write this. Here, you even get a picture:

The table’s considerably messier at the moment, and my current couchsurfer’s backpack is in the corner by the window, but you get the idea. I’ll upload more pictures soon.

In other “news,” I’m on Day 3 of a 13-day summer cleanse. You ease off “normal” food at the beginning and ease back on at the end, so here on Day 3 I’ve given up alcohol, caffeine, meat, seafood, eggs, dairy, bread, starches, and grains. Which leaves, basically, fruits, vegetables, seeds, and nuts! I’ll be eating some combination of those things (or less, one day is only fruit) for the next week, then slowly start to add foods back in. So far I feel pretty good, with a decent amount of energy and no serious hunger pangs. I’ve even started getting up earlier, which is quite an accomplishment (though not saying much; we’re talking 9 am instead of, oh, 10:30. I’ve been pretty low-energy here!).

I’m having fun in Mendoza, though haven’t done a lot of the available activities yet. I’ve been wine-tasting (once officially, I’ve also done plenty at home!), and went paragliding last week, which was fabulous yet again. I didn’t make it to Gualeguaychu for Carnival; it was just too complicated. But I’ve just seen some pictures and it looks incredible! If I’m here next year, I will definitely try to get there (it’s only 3 hours from BA, but at least 15 from here!). I am hoping to head out for an overnight trip to the mountains in the next few days with some other Couchsurfers, and maybe go horseback riding there.

I’ve hosted a lot of Couchsurfers here—more than I did in BA in the whole time I was there—and have enjoyed them all. Here’s a pic of the solid crew (four people who live here, including me, and four surfers) we had here for a few days (I only hosted two of them):

As my friend Juan (in orange above) pointed out, “I’m meeting so many great people. The bad thing is that they keep leaving.”

I Hear the Wine Is Pretty Good…

No matter how much I like where I am, I’m pretty much always up for a change of scenery. The contract on my apartment in Buenos Aires ends tomorrow, so I’m off to Mendoza, the capital of Mendoza province, which is Argentina’s prime wine country and along the border with Chile (and the Andes!). Just gotta get through the next 24 hours… then it’s a 12-hour bus ride to my new home for the next few months or so. More soon…

AWOB

I know I’ve been absent without blogging for a while… There’s just so much going on, it’s hard to focus on one thing to write about! I promise more substantive posts soon.

For now, here’s a recap of the last few weeks:

I took my first two tango classes ever, plus a “rock” (swing) class—so much fun! Hope to do more of that.

The couchsurfing crew in BA is awesome—a few weeks ago we had a picnic in the park by my house and I think 40 people showed up. This past weekend, we had a halloween party at a bar/club, with another fabulous turnout (I think estimates are way over 100 guests, between local couchsurfers, travelers, and friends)—what a night!

Last Friday I rocked out to one of the best live shows I’ve seen in a long time: The Killers. If you have a chance to see them live, you won’t regret it. For the first time in years, I was right up in the middle of the action, jumping up and down and singing along with all the Argentines (some of whom I could tell didn’t really know the words, but just mimicked the noises, like I sometimes do with songs in Spanish!). The last show I remember with so much energy was my brother’s band Marathon’s last show in Syracuse a few years ago.

I’ve also been to a few excellent dinners with a friend who’s writing an article about slow food in Buenos Aires. So many restaurants to explore here!

Oh yeah, Argentina also elected a new president—the first woman elected president here, and the wife of the current president. I’m honestly not sure when she takes office—if I was reading the newspaper like I told my Spanish teacher I wanted to, I’d probably know that! Speaking of Spanish, I had a test last week after two months of taking classes (2 classes a week, 2 hours each) and I did a lot better than I expected—looks like I’m finally making some progress!

Taking classes in Spanish is tricky but I’m giving it a go—yesterday was bandoneón (much more on this soon!), and today body pump at the gym I just joined! OW. I don’t think I’ll be able to walk tomorrow. To treat ourselves after three days in a row at the gym, my friend Emily and I are headed out for a tasty dinner tonight!

There’s also just a handful of new pictures on Flickr, check them out via the link on the right!