MODERN IFIGENIA

Dating has not been easy-mostly because I have two principles that are conflicting. I am extremely cheap and extremely well traveled. Men who travel tend to spend a lot of money at price points I don't care for; people who are cheap tend to not travel. So in my dating endeavors, I found this man who went on a trip on his own. He stayed in a hostel and the next day I spoke to him. He had trouble sleeping. I asked why and he explained that he was sharing a room with four others and in the middle of the night someone came in making a ton of noise waking everybody up. He said that in the middle of the night he just kept thinking why didn't he pay an extra $15.00 for a private room. He then said "but don't worry, when we travel together this isn't going to happen" I asked "oh, so if we travel you are going to splurge?" and he said" splurge? no, I mean, I'll make sure everyone knows not to wake you up." I really think this one might just ...

Okay, okay, okay-I have a major dilemma and it is only January. By now you have probably heard of the cheap tickets to Iceland offered by WOW -what you probably don't know is that those prices also apply to Copenhagen, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Bristol, Frankfurt, Dublin, Dusseldorf and Stockholm-yes, for around $300.00 you can visit any of these destinations from Washington, DC/Baltimore. So here is my problem, if I go to any of these locations I will have to pay for room and board, which is now more affordable because I own an American Express card which is giving me $25.00 per $100.00 I spend on hotels anywhere in the world. Nonetheless, I would still have to pay for hotels if I go to Europe. I could also go to Turkey because the spring typically brings low rate flights (around $450.00) and I can have free room and board from a friend. The problem with Turkey is that I have already been there, though re-visiting it would help me learn my Turkish. For once in my li...

Sometimes I will chit chat with my friends about what it was like growing up. During our discussions it becomes clear we had very different pasts. They dealt with snow and squirrels and I dealt with a cruel heat and monkeys. They got in trouble over stealing makeup, I got in trouble for stealing mangoes. We would look back sadly on those days, they are now long gone and the world will never be the same. But I noticed that I would always be much sadder about this nostalgia and I never quite understood why. After all, we all travel time and space in the same way, so why would thinking about my past make me so sad. A few days ago I took the liberty to Google earth my old neighborhood, so much had changed. I felt so sad, and that's when I realized why immigrants have a different outlook on their past than do people who were born and raised in the same place. When a native looks at their past, they see a time that no longer is, and when they look at their present, they see one tha...

The Malaysia Flight 370 mystery has everyone confused, scared, paranoid, etc., etc. Everyone has some theory about what did or didn't happen and another theory based on what could or could not have happened. I have a theory based on absolutely no facts, but based on optimism and wistfulness. I think that what actually happened is that the passengers had a little wine, they all started to wax philosophically about life and its meaning. They talked and bonded over the trappings of modern life and how they could keep people from achieving true happiness. After much bonding someone suggested they didn't have to keep doing the same thing. In a moment of clarity they looked around and noticed that everyone was flying with only the people they actually care about.  It is a passenger airline anyways, so you know there had to be a teacher, a farmer, a doctor, an engineer, a lawyer and a counselor. They all agreed to let go of the chains of modern life and start a new community in so...

Today I ran across this article from The Huffington Post which helps you figure out whether your car is your soul mate. I didn't even have to think about it because I LOVE my car, so the answer is a definitive yes. As the nerd that I am, I wondered if I am more in love with my car than most, I really enjoy being in my car (and it's not because  it's clean), sometimes my car is the only place I can cry and the only place I can dance, but maybe everyone does that. So to answer this question more objectively, I went to the Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration and found that I am more in love with my car than the average American. According to DOT's website, I drive about 15600 more miles per year than the average American woman my age and about 12000 more miles than the average American my age...ahhh  that is love. To be clear, my car has been my house while waiting to be un-booted, it has been my office, my classroom, my supply of electricity...

How or where do I start? Well, more than a year ago I set up this space with the idea that I would blog my little heart out, but here I am now just barely starting off. You should know that I have no idea what I am doing and that I am finally doing this because, well, I don't know that either. I am a professional in my early 30's living in Central, PA. It is finally dawning on me that the job I am doing now is probably the job I will be doing for the rest of my life...great for "stability", but terrible for having something to look forward to. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, I help people all the time and my co-workers are wonderful, but it's almost like a courtship, I wish my profession would "court me" a little more, that it ought to worry that one day I wouldn't be here anymore and therefore should be nicer and more spontaneous with me. Does that sound odd? Probably, but that is how I feel...maybe it's a professional 7 year itch thing...