Made it to Gabon

Flight was uneventful. Arrival was typical Africa. Although in some ways less so -- much less chaotic than other African countries I have visited. Then again is is really less chaotic or less chaotic to me? The usual mobs trying to carry your luggage. The hour waiting for a room key. Just seemed "normal". Maybe this was because in Paris Akos told us to take a deep breath -- that we were going into "Africa time". So when you are ready for a wait somehow it doesn't seem so bad. Gabon certainly seems to be developing - Akos says the rain forests are the most unspoilt in Africa, if not the world. Didn't see any of the horrid poverty so common to Africa. We set out to see them in the morning. I must say I am amazed my air card is working -- the wonders of technology. Surely it will not work at the National Park -- I will have to come to terms with being "disconnected".

Had a nice dinner by the pool. The group -- Andy (U.S. - native Hungarian), Spyros (Greece), Bjarne (Denmark), Claire (Ireland), Laurie (U.S.). Sharon (U.S.), and mine I forget the other lady's name -- Australian -- so nice -- Sanya -- that is it! Me and Mark make 9. Everyone is so well travelled -- Bjarne has 11 countries to go; Laurie 16. And Akos and Jessica guide -- funny they met on the cruise we were on -- seem perfect for each other. Work the Antarctica cruises together -- and I guess they now run the business together. Most everyone is married but came alone. Did not think their spouse would like it. I hope I do OK . I am worried about hiking in the jungle. Plus I have a runny nose -- and no cold medicine. Exhausted as well -- better go to sleep. Tomorrow the real adventure begins!

En route to Libreville

Which is the Capital of Gabon. So far no problems -- met up with Akos and most of our tour group easily. He had us check in and now we are past security. Our Air France flight is on time and we got seats together. Of course I got put on the looser seat -- but I can climb over Mark easily enough if I have to .......

Most everyone we talked to (I think 5 of the 9 folks on our group) had met Akos on an Antarctica trip. Two ladies have been with him to Africa and seem to love him. Seems as if there are 11 of us -- including Akos and Jessica the tour leaders. Akos has a cable I can use to I should be able to upload photos -- now just have to hope the laptop works.

Could not sleep at all last night. Sprayed my pillow with "calming spray" half a dozen times. Accidentally sprayed Mark, which was not so calming. Tried yoga poses. Climbing over Mark. Talking to Mark (who was sleep). Staring at him. Having a snack. Eventually got up at 5:45 AM and made it to the airport shortly after 7. Flight at 11:10 -- so quite a wait. I bet I will fall asleep the whole way and go through the same cycle tonight. Tomorrow we start at 6:30 AM and do our first forest hike -- I'm a bit scared about that -- everyone else seems like the outdoorsy type. I think I am more the "Sex in the City" type I think -- though I am still coveting my first pair of Manolos :-)

Speaking of clothes, this morning I asked Mark if all his jeans were "disposable". He brought 3 -- and just realized that he has no pants to wear home. He's decided that he will wear his jogging pants so he can leave all the jeans behind ..... There seems to be an art to "disposable" clothes that I am just learning. I guess one should wear the disposables first so they don't have as far to travel. My disposables are really quite nice -- they are mostly too big and I have to come to terms that I will not be growing into them ....... C'est le vie.

This may be my last entry for a while if Internet does not work in Africa ......

In Paris

Or more accurately at Charles De Gaulle Airport (after saying goodbye to Sydney :-(). Staying overnight at the Hilton (with points -- supposedly our room is $860 Euros a night --but you'd have to be a total idiot to pay that). It is a very nice room though -- gorgeous bathroom. Of course I cannot post any photos. Because Mark decided to "downsize" and neglected to pack all sorts of stuff. He actually unpacked my cold medicine. And even though I gave him all the camera cables he decided the 1 oz for the cable to download photos to the laptop was just too much for him to carry. I suppose this is offset by the amusement he has provided with his wardrobe. He actually brought only button down shirts to wear -- and not that many. Of course most everything is "disposable" -- meaning he will leave clothes behind. Which I thought was quite an innovation till my yoga teacher said she does that when she goes to India. Quite a yogic thing to do. So now I do it too. Sooner or later I will have some pictures to post. Maybe someone in the group has a cable I can borrow. Or I can pick something up at the airport.

My aircard works great in France but it may not work at all in Africa. We shall see. I hope it does.

Got to the hotel around 8 AM and they gave us a room (an upgrade even though it was free). Woke up once and thought about going into the city. But then went back to sleep and finally woke up at 4 PM. Went to the gym and jogged 5k. Took a nice bubble bath -- used an SKII mask -- which makes you good as new. We did go to the station but it was really all too complicated -- Paris' underground is so confusing after the order of DC Metro. So we walked to Terminal 3 and got sandwiches for dinner. I had a nice cappuccino in the Hotel bar - which cost almost as much as dinner. But it was nice.

I'm trying not to be mad at Mark -- surely he could not have left anything else behind ........ :-). He better save me from any snakes though -- he is after all an Eagle Scout. Sometimes I do not really trust all the Scout laws etc -- I think only Dr. Bob actually believes them. And Dr. Bob is nowhere in sight.

Hope I can sleep tonight. Meeting Akos -- our Hungarian guide -- at Terminal 2C at 7:30 in the morning. It will be like being a child again ... once we find him he will be our parent until Oct 18. I guess here we go -- should definitely be an adventure. Better keep an open mind -- will not be in Kansas by a long shot!

In Seattle

Wow -- what a week. Left Madrid on Wed AM. The hotel at 8 AM; the city at noon. Made it to my connecting plane etc no problem -- which was as I was worried about making a tight connection in Chicago. But an hour and a half into the flight the pilot announced one of the two compasses had malfunctioned and he had to divert to Kansas City because he could not land in Seattle because the weather was bad. So we went to KC. They did not have the part - and could not get it till 8 PM (we landed at about 5:30). But then they decided to give our flight an incoming plane and our plane would go back to Chicago. So they loaded us about 6:45 and took off at about 7:15. Arrived at 8:50 Seattle time (was scheduled to arrive at 6:10). Needless to say I was totally exhausted - and when I got there had to drive downtown. Oh well hope this is it for bad luck and that going home tomorrow night will be smooth. Staying at the Fairmont, which is really nice (if Maggie would read my blog she would like the photos -- though I made a mess of the nice chair -- but cleaned it up and using to watch Gray's anatomy and write on my blog).

I love my GPS -- no way I could have driven downtown and to our meeting this morning without it. I managed to do my presentation somewhat coherently and Carl (my boss) seemed pleased. Had a nice dinner with him tonight -- it is going to be hard to be away for 3 weeks -- trying to catch up and making sure things don't fall through the cracks -- but I am so looking forward to Africa. Carl is such a nice man -- a person could not have a nicer boss. I wish I was that nice -- but I am not. I try to be -- but like all humans fail sometimes.

I have to do another briefing tomorrow. I wish I could catch an earlier flight but it just does not look like I will make it. Will have to catch the red eye. I have to brief NASA's program aside from our own. Hope I can do it. In do get to go in late so I should have a good nights sleep. My red eye flight leaves at 10:30 -- I guess it could be worse ...... Can't wait to see Sydney. I want to go to Africa (saw Gabon in survivor!) but I will miss Sydney :-( I wish I could take him everywhere .....

I Must Really Be Jet Lagged

Conference is over. I presented before lunch and Chaired all afternoon. Think it went OK. And food was good. Made dinner out of the reception. My plan was to use the map I had gotten from the reception and find Vital Aza. Locate nearest Metro and set on out before dark. Took me forever and a day to find - after much googling. And wouldn't you know - one of the closest Metros was Quintana - my maiden (now middle) name. Daaah. I attribute this to jet lag - I think I blanked out a bit while moderating. The speaker talked and talked. Soon enough all eyes were on me to introduce the next guy. Yikes!!!!

In Madrid

Arrived in Barajas (Madrid's airport) this morning a bit past 10 AM. The plane was not that full -- except for my row. I did find an empty two seat row towards the back. Moved there and got some sleep. Barajas seems totally foreign to me -- I just do not recognize anything about it. Staying outside the city -- at a Novotel. I accidentally went into the fancy Sofitel next door -- only to be told I was at the "Novotel". C'est le vie -- it is a room with a bath and lots of pillows.

No hotel gym though -- but a nice park across the street and I got a jog in. Not sure about tomorrow given the schedule -- we'll see. Saw lots of dogs -- off leashes and yet perfectly behaved. No Cavs -- I do not think they could be off a leash and survive.

Other than a jog and a walk to "El Cortes Ingles" -- the Department Store -- I really have not been anywhere. Have only lame pictures of my room. I could take the Metro in to the Center -- but I have a lot to do. Plus I need some sort of I.D. to walk around. If I take my passport and it gets stolen -- can't go home so I can't come back to go to Africa. If my driver's license gets stolen -- won't be able to rent a car in Seattle and get around. I'll be in trouble with work. In the end I just stayed put. Did go out to try to find dinner -- but no one was eating alone and I did not want to be mistaken for a "lady of the evening" (albeit not a very good one as I had on jeans -- but at least high heeled boots!). Had jamon serrano, tortilla espanola and crema catalana from room service. It was a "special" -- 24 Euros, about the same as a restaurant. Waaay too much food.

My Internet card is working very well -- I got a lot of work done. Hope to finish a lot of reviews etc. en route to Seattle. Picked up only one major new task today and finished 4 -- that's very good.

It is past 1 AM and I have to be down at breakfast by 8:30. I hope I do not have any more "intense" dreams. When I was taking an ill advised nap, I dreamt that I was about to give birth. Mark was there -- in a recreation of Anthony's birth, looking for a Doctor (unbeknown to me, mine had no Hospital privileges -- Maggie and most of my friends knew -- but they decided I would freak so they did not tell me -- eventually Dr. Rana delivered Anthony - all worked out as it usually does). Anthony was there as well -- a younger version -- but still old enough that a new baby was very welcomed. Then I woke up and was sorely disappointed. The dream seemed so real. Tried to phone Mark but could not find him -- which sent me into a tizzy of worry. Found him eventually, after the jog and a shower. He had overslept this morning -- as usual when I am not around. Sydney is no alarm clock -- that's for sure.

Have not been prey to any of the recollections I feared. I guess mostly because Madrid is so different -- as different to me as I am sure I would be to anyone who has not seen me since '72. I looked up our old street on a street map -- Vital Aza #25, I believe. Would like to go there but could not find the closest Metro. I guess I could take a taxi but not sure of the cost or how I would get back. Plus, would I recognize anything? And what purpose would it serve? It is not like visiting Santiago -- the cathedral has not changed in 100s of years ..... providing an anchor. I'll just go to bed and let tomorrow sort itself ...... I wish Maggie was here but she is not likely to do an impromptu trip. She is the only other person left from those days although she doesn't seem to remember a lot of stuff. Maybe some day I can get her to come.

Off to Spain

Leaving for Madrid at 8:50 PM. Can't remember if this is the first time I will be on Iberia since I came to the U.S. in '72. Might have flown Iberia to Madrid in '97 -- but could have also flown British Airways. One of the very few things I have kept over the last 30+ years is the two books Mom gave me to read on the plane. "Tales of the Alhambra" and the "Prince and the Pauper". Novels by American authors -- Irving and Twain -- that I would subsequently read over and over in their native language. "Tales of the Alhambra" sounds better in Spanish -- then again just about anything does. By all practical purposes I should have been terrified on that flight -- 11 years old flying by myself to meet my grandparents in Dayton -- did not speak a word of English. Immigration idiosyncrasies I believe somehow made it easier if you sent a minor child a week earlier. Had to switch flights from JFK to La Guardia -- a cousin collected me and took me to La Guardia. It was Halloween night -- October 31st -- my first encounter with the peculiar Holiday. All I can recall is being speechless. Somehow I think I passed a level of scared after which you kind of turn off and are not scared anymore.

I need something to think about other than 1972. Maybe I should think about what September's Yoga Journal said we should all do. Write down short and long-term goals four times a year. Two personal, two business and two health for 1, 5 and 10 years. Because goal setting triggers "your subconscious computer". Which is really true -- just about anytime I have written down goals I have met them -- even getting back into my super skinny red dress :-). In fact about the only goal I have not met is be blond for a while -- ironically what I would have total control of so I must not really want it bad enough. Learning to swim, ride a bike, new job, all sorts of things the result of goal-setting. I should try it. The again I could be Sydney whose goal is to win at tug-of-war :-)!

Saturday

Saturday has flown by. Probably because I did not get up as early as I planned :-) Of course Sydney does not help as he also does not get up. Did go to bed around 1 AM as I was still on Alaska time.

Did get a mani and an eye brow wax -- and we did buy our head lamps for Africa. But then I volunteered to watch Michael Anthony while Houeida got a haircut. I walked with him to the UPS store and mailed Maggie's B-day gift -- which was on my to do list. Then church, walked the dogs, went for a run. Then dinner, another walk and now all of the sudden it is 9 PM and I still have not packed for Spain or Africa as I intended. I better get it done or I will be too stressed to sleep.

Can't believe I am off to Madrid tomorrow. I'm a bit nervous about it -- hope I don't get all freaked out thinking about the past. Have not been there since '97 -- right after getting my Ph.D. Sure felt good then -- not sure about now -- I think I have forgotten the work.

And I hope I do not get sick with so much coming and going. Better get to doing something on my list ..... Also have a paper to write for my boss -- maybe I can do that tomorrow. Of course if my aircard does not work in Spain I will be in trouble. But I cold find an Internet Cafe -- so I am sure it will work out .....

Back Home from Alaska

Back home from Alaska on Thursday night. Long flight -- via Seattle. I am so tired. And have to go to Spain on Sun night -- then back to Seattle on Wed and home on the red eye flight on Fri. Get home Sat AM and off to Paris Sun night. Sounds crazy -- hope it all works. I have got to get packed this weekend -- and minimize distractions. Should have done laundry but instead did a bunch of work.

Did manage to catch up quite a bit tonight and I have an extra battery which will help on the plane back and forth from Madrid. I am shutting down shop on Fri night back from Seattle though.

Sydney was so glad to see me. He is now sitting next to me on the couch. I wish I could trade places :-) Mark is home now -- he is lucky he is home all week. Better go to bed .....

In Anchorage

Wow -- another week flew by. Super busy as we had the alternative fuels workshop Mon & Tue. Got home pat 11 on Mon. At least got yoga in Tue -- but was at another all day meeting Wed so got home late as well. Then on Thursday went to Ottawa to evaluate some proposals for the Canadian Government. Something called Business-Led Network Centers of Excellence.

By the time I got to Ottawa I was really out of it. Was riding in a Regional Jet. Fell asleep. Got up suddenly and hit my head. Then when the customs agent asked me who I worked for I stumbled on my answer. The next question was "what are you doing in Ottawa?" I had no clue what branch of Government I was dealing with (later established it was Health-Canada and Industry-Canada -- or something like it). I knew I was staying at the Marriott -- just not WHICH Marriott. And to top things off I took the wrong exit and ended up with the people to be searched. The customs agent eventually got me out and took me to the taxis. When I got to the hotel I tried to get into the wrong room. But then everything seemed to sort itself out after I went to the gym right before the meeting. The Canadians are just super -- always so well organized. And their ethics are superb -- the most transparent evaluation I have ever been a part of. We could learn from them!

Got home late Friday night. Somehow managed to get everything done that needed to get done on Saturday. Returned Presley (here she is playing with Sydney -- as soon as I can upload photos!) to her parents. Their house got a lot of water damage during the storm - I have almost forgotten its name -- Hana I think. So we took her in. Church Saturday night helped with calming -- amazing what that quiet hour can do.

Mark and I left for Anchorage this morning -- a business conference. The ICAS/ATIO conference -- Aeronautical Sciences and Aviation Operations combined. It took FOREVER to get here. Flying against the "Ike" winds -- so many hurricanes. The airport is gorgeous -- thanks to the largess of Ted Stevens -- the soon to be convicted Senator. So sad when public servants become corrupt. Always something minor.

Anchorage is an interesting town -- has this "frontier" feeling about it. Will be here till Thu AM -- Mark till Fri AM. I miss Sydney :-( Really wanted to bring him -- but it would have been a hard trip for him. He is with Lynn and Bailey. I present on Wednesday. Have so much to do -- I am going to have to stay in my room so and catch up. I should be tired -- it is 1 AM in the East Coast. But I foolishly drank two Pepsi's and a Coke. As I hardly ever have caffeine I don't see sleeping for a while ......

Sunday Breakfast

Sunday again. Did manage to get up at 9:15 to go jogging. But then Mark's Mom Gail called so I talked to her for a while. Did get my Shirlington jog in (a 5K) -- I am just not as fast as when training for the Komen race :-(

Mark made breakfast as usual -- I think that the one sign that he misses Anthony is that now he makes me a "face" breakfast ... too cute. And speaking of too cute -- Sydney is such a doll. He has taken possession of Mark's chair (and anything else around the house, really). And he just loves his toys; particularly loves destroying them. This is us with monkeys -- he must have half a dozen in various stages of destruction.

Took Michael Anthony to the park for Houeida -- he is such a sweetie. Loves the swings. It is nice to have a baby -- fun to be at the park with the parents of small children. It is REALLY nice to know you will be returning him :-) I guess I am ready for grand parenthood! Although I would be ready for motherhood again if it happened ... having Anthony has been the best thing I've ever done ....

I better go have a shower and do some work before I meet Renee (my new friend who works for Airbus) for dinner in Clarendon. I just seem to have such a hard time getting ready on Sundays ... constant procrastination. If I go to church that's different -- but we usually go Saturdays so then I go again Monday nights ....... Sure is a beautiful day and Sydney has had his long walk by the pit so I have accomplished something ....

Hurricane Hanna

Saturday. Hurricane Hanna (or was it a Tropical Storm? I don't really know - don't pay that much attention to the news) seems to be moving over us. A LOT of rain. Poor Sydney - his bathroom is flooded :-( Got soaked walking to the Mall (the shopping one that is). Just a few feet. Got a free mini facial at Origins and scored all sorts of free samples for Africa. Then on to Starbucks (this AM did run and was at 98.5 lbs - need to get to 95 lbs). Now I'm at Elizabeth Arden's getting highlights. Had a mani - felt bad that I went to Ali rather than Chi even though Chi was free. But that's what the schedule did .... Plus Chi should be moving on to be an esthetecian (person who does facials) ... just like all the other nail techs. Chi was the best ever ... bummer.

Heather my hair dresser is as usual squeezing in brides so seems to be running late. I wish she would manage her schedule better but she's an awesome hairdresser. Both of the brides I've seen are older - and seem like bridezillas barking into their phones. I'm glad I got married at 22. I certainly was no bridezilla - getting married a week after college. My main goal was delegating all the prep to my Mom. I swear I did not spend over 24 hours total on planning -- and that includes the 8 hours at pre-marital classes. Becky spent the night on May 10. I had Daisy - my new puppy -- first one ever -- a wedding gift from Mark. Between talking to Becky and playing with the puppy did not get much sleep. I don't think I spent but half an hour getting ready - Olga - my Mom's first cousin - doing her best to "fix me up". You always look good at 22 - look back at the video and I don't think hours of primping would have made a difference. These brides are older and I guess they have greater expectations and learned to be demanding -:)

OK -- I'm back home now. Tulip did a nice job with the color -- and Heather ALWAYS does a nice job. Now if my hair would only stay the same through Africa ...... Of course it is still raining so hardly the day for a new do -- but I did not know this six weeks ago when I booked my appointment. I sometimes wonder why I spend so much time on my hair. Is it really worth it? When we went to Seychelles in '95 I gave up "fixing" my hair -- just wash and go. the funny thing was I looked the same in all the pictures as when I spent a bunch of time on my hair. Then again that was '95 and this is now.

Mark is "watching" some scary movie -- guess we'll go to church in a few so I have to wake him up. The rain is not as hard but the wind is awful -- hope there is no power outage .....

Where did the week go?

Wow -- can't believe it is Friday. Anthony has been back at school for two weeks now. He sure has not been very communicative -- I wish I knew what he was up to but I guess it is good he is becoming his own person. I hope he is working hard.

The week flew by I think as we were having our annual program review (amazingly a lot like childbirth -- very painful leading up to it -- but you forget the pain once it is over -- which works well as I will have to do it over again next year!). I had to do a lot of catch up work every night. And last night (Thu) had to go to a reception with Mark hosted by some of his German colleagues. Yummy petit fors. I'm just not that into cocktail parties -- the heels were killers :-( Had extra yummy guava empanadas after the review (a new tradition - 2x). Then walked to Guapo's tonight with Mark & Sydney -- a Mexican Restaurant in Shirlington. Have eaten way too much -- afraid to get on the scale. And we are getting Tropical Storm Hanna so I may not be able to go running (outside) tomorrow. Have gotten up to 99 lbs -- ouch -- from my goal of 95 lbs. Really have to gain control again. Anyhow I love Shirlington -- we can take Sydney if we sit outside. Best Buns -- the bakery -- sells dog biscuits. And everyone seems to have water dishes. Sydney is always a hit (we went for coffee at Best Buns on Labor Day and had the same reaction). People stop and pet him and he just loves it. He is such a sweet guy -- I don't see how I can spend 3 weeks in Africa away from him. But I really want to go on this trip -- after going to so many places really have to try hard to feel like I've left home. I always get this sense that everywhere I go looks like Cincinnati -- mostly because of the Malls. Antarctica, Galapagos, Safaris ... those are my fave places as they do seem like another world.

Getting highlights tomorrow -- and a mani -- and a "free" facial at Origins. I guess spending half the day at the Spa is indulgent but c'est le vie. Everything balances in the end.