Random Thoughts from the Dominican Republic

The Caves The DR has fabulous caves and cenotes to explore, especially in Cotubanamá National Park. The first, Cueva de Chicho, is a short one kilometer walk in from the parking lot through a picturesque forest. Bring your snorkel gear, or if you dive, hire someone to take you down. I've been slowly getting into … Continue reading Random Thoughts from the Dominican Republic →

Un Poquito de Todo (Argentina)

The Totally Random Let's kick off this post with random observations I've had while in Argentina. People here love to clap. Put a few Argentinians together in a group and they will find something to applaud. I appreciate being somewhere air conditioning is used to a normal level and not to turn indoors into winter. … Continue reading Un Poquito de Todo (Argentina) →

Oh the Places You Can Go!

Argentina is enormous and has many different climates and landscapes and geographical features. You need at least a month to see it all, which is, of course, not feasible for most people. I've been based in Buenos Aires and have had a few three-day weekends off work that I took full advantage of to hop … Continue reading Oh the Places You Can Go! →

Sixteen Things for Sixteen Years

Did you know that Montenegro (tied with Serbia) is the world's third most recent sovereign nation? Montenegro split off by a referendum in which 55.5 percent of people voted for independence. The threshold to approve was 55 percent. As you might imagine, people still hold many strong feelings about this decision on both sides of … Continue reading Sixteen Things for Sixteen Years →

Turning 40: Lists, Part 1

Yesterday kicked off a week-long series of posts all about me as I'm about to turn 40. The next two posts contain lists. Factual, thoughtful, silly, defining, wishful, nostalgic - all sorts of lists about who I am at this point in my life. Something interesting to look back on in the coming decades as … Continue reading Turning 40: Lists, Part 1 →

On the Ninth Day of China: Safety First

When I lived in Russia, I felt incredibly safe as an average citizen (that is, someone not involved in politics or oil or big business or journalism). The sheer volume of people in places I lived and the large police presence made me feel more secure than I generally do in cities in the United … Continue reading On the Ninth Day of China: Safety First →

Eight Days in the Mid-Atlantic (Part 2)

I spent the second half of my trip back east in "DC and Baltimore". Or is that "DC-Baltimore"? I was there to see a friend who used to live in Boulder. According to her fiancé, who works in urban development, Baltimore is part of the greater DC metro area, and the region should be referred … Continue reading Eight Days in the Mid-Atlantic (Part 2) →

Sanctuary 2.0: I Never Thought I Would…

My recent 180 on Boulder has got me thinking about all the other things I've done in the last three months that I never thought I would. Being single gives me a lot more time to spend with the girls. In the core group I hang with, five of the six of us terminated our long term … Continue reading Sanctuary 2.0: I Never Thought I Would… →