Traveling with Aussies

I was awakened at 5:30 this morning by a phone call from Australia, so now I sit with my coffee, surfing the internet, looking for flights from Paris to Tel Aviv. I am flying to Europe in the beginning of May to travel with my friend Danielle that I met on the great Ocean Road, but also another adventure has presented itself to me. My friend Irene from Sydney has invited me to join her in Israel. She will be getting married this summer and has asked me to join her for a brief tour and maybe a quick trip to Egypt. It has always been a dream of mine to see the Pyramids in Giza, but she has also mentioned trips to the Dead Sea and the Wailing Wall. It is not so much to fly from Europe to the Middle East and I was having trouble getting back from Europe any sooner than the 26th of June, so my latest thought was just to stay and travel from Europe to Tel Aviv. I will of course have to buckle down and save my pennies but I am excited at the prospect of seeing a place that once seemed so far out of reach for me. I know what I have to do in order to make this a reality and I have begun to think that as one opportunity fell... living in Spain... another has presented itself to me. I realize there are logistics and I still need to check on my credit from TACA airlines but I believe that this is going to be the latest and greatest adventure in my travels. Stay tuned over the next four months to see this become a reality.

On another note I hope everyone celebrated the holidays in style. We had the typical trip over to Mexico on Christmas Eve and a nice quiet dinner at my parents house to cap off Christmas evening. It was warm down here and the last week has been beautiful and sunny, a perfect Rio Grande Valley Christmas or as my friend Bobby likes to call this place a Tropical Paradise Hell. The day after Christmas we found a bar that had outdoor sitting and besides the looming HEB across the street we pretended we were still on vacation.

I have run into some old friends from High School and they have made my time down here a bit more enjoyable. I am buying a new car on Tuesday and I am very excited, it is a 2005 Jeep Liberty. I just need to make some extra cash to keep in the bank or start buying lottery tickets. It always comes down to finances and I have decided to forgo South Padre Island for New Years as a first step in saving money. I believe when I am placing a rolled up prayer in the cracks of the wailing wall, New Years Eve celebrations will be a sacrifice not worth mentioning.

One thing is for certain, the government is not out to expand anyone's consciousness.

Paris Reunion one year later...,

Paris Reunion one year later...,
Posted by: kilastravels.

Number 4

Number 4
Posted by: kilastravels.

Me and Sue

Me and Sue
Posted by: kilastravels.

And you think your grandpa is cool...

And you think your grandpa is cool...
Posted by: kilastravels.

It's a family tradition

It's a family tradition
Posted by: kilastravels.

Chino and all my nephews

Chino and all my nephews
Posted by: kilastravels.

Me and Chino

Me and Chino
Posted by: kilastravels.

Utne

"Unless people are experiencing life as a joyous process, they aren't as likely to take too kindly to hearing about how much fun you're having."

Syriana

I went to get see Syriana yesterday with my grandparents. It was good, very good and as I watched it, and tried to wrap my brain around it I felt myself becoming angry. I don't get angry very much anymore unless I think about the program that ripped me off... GLOBAL EDUCATION CORPORATION... I digress. Anyway, I know ignorance is bliss and I like to believe that people are truly good, however sometimes I am reminded that this is not always the case. A friend of me told me once that it was as simple as an old western movie, there are the people in black and the people in white, the good guys and the bad guys. Is it really that simple? I know we all make mistakes sometimes but I really want to be the person in white, not a martyr, or a hero, just one of the good guys. I try not to lie, cheat or steal... I try to say thanks and bless you... I try to return calls, try being the operative word... I don't BS people and I am not an apple polisher, I won't tell you "you look great" or "love your dress" if I don't believe it to be true and I won't just put a smile on my face, but I try to be good in the simplest sense of the word. Am I naive to think that if we were all a little more considerate & honest and a little less critical of others & self serving that things would be a little easier out there? So when I watched this movie and I watched the games being played I wondered, have we all just lost out minds.

Other than that today I received an e-mail from a friend who will be getting married in 6 months in Israel, I would love to go, although I might give my father a heart attack if I go to that part of the world right now. I also went to my nephews Christmas pageant, he hates being up on the stage and would not participate. I didn't blame him one bit, this was his third year of hating being on stage. We speculate that next year he may feign illness in order to avoid it. He sat there legs crossed, hand over his mouth, looking for his mother in the crowd. Besides calling out Mama between secular and non-secular Christmas songs... He kept talking to the girls on either side of him, obviously about his discontent. The little girl to his left occasionally put her arm around him to comfort him, which made him smile and which also makes him the Mac daddy of the pre-K.

Yes...

"I have learned that you can get through things that hurt. My pain was real, but nothing will kill you. Nothing. People are unbelievevable. We have such resilience." - JA

Benjamin

Benjamin
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Mac & Ben

Mac & Ben
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Ben's first John Wayne Movie

Ben's first John Wayne Movie
Posted by: kilastravels.

Main Room 1

Main Room 1
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Main Room 2

Main Room 2
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Main Room 3

Main Room 3
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Red VIP Room

Red VIP Room
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Entry

Entry
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Bar Area

Bar Area
Posted by: kilastravels.

If it's not hot it's not Christmas

As a friend recently told me, if its not hot its not Christmas, so I am confused down here in the tip of Texas... it is cold outside and there are carolers walking down the street singing, it feels like winter down here. As for the carolers... I am hiding behind the curtain typing so that I don't have to sit there with a smile on my face where I become the audience of one watching them sing. Does that seem Bah hum buggy?

I substitute taught today and watched Pleasantville 3 times in a row. Although I like the movie I never realized how painful watching movies is for a teacher... having to watch the same presentation over and over again. I did look through some art books, read some magazines, read the first 20 pages of Siddhartha and read another part of the Life of Pi, which has me questioning if animals hate living in Zoos or not. In my spare time I thought about the weather in Austin and that work was probably cancelled. I thought about my old house in Austin and how many plants are probably dead now after the recent cold snap up in Central and North Texas. How the house was yellow, and that I used to think to myself... Blind Melon sang about a yellow house, Van Gogh rented a yellow house in the south of France and painted it many times over. I felt in good company at the time but now I live in a beige house with a newly painted aqua door. I thought my new house needed some zip. I thought about Mana and wondered how she was doing. I have been working 12 days straight and I work again tomorrow. I have been subbing, working at a gift shop, decorating for events, taking photos of children for the holidays and trying to get my own house together. I have been calling friends, buying gifts, and otherwise staying very busy, yesterday was a 12 1/2 hour day. My sister and I have been working on a party that was held last night at the McAllen Country Club so we were decorating all day. The attorney that was hosting the party want a very swank party with the feeling of a chic bar that reminded him of a big city and I think we pulled it off (pictures coming soon). My sister had the vision and we were able to give him the feel he wanted. There was even a VIP tent where everything was in red including the drinks. We had 2 kinds of cigars with long matches, large glass ashtrays and pillows that read Naughty on one side and Nice on the other. So... I made it home at about 10 o'clock at night... my house was freezing. I cozied up in bed turned on Jon Steward to lull me to sleep, and then my sister called... at 11 PM... Hello insomnia, how you been, it has been so long since I saw you last.

I have been having fun with my iPod, loading up tons of music and buying others that I don't have. Came across a blast from the past, Mazzy Star. Reminded me of when I first arrived in San Marcos, 1994. It is Jodi's 30th birthday this weekend and I will not be able to attend. It is also my father and brother-in-laws company holiday party. I have been invited to 5 holidays parties that I can count this far one tomorrow, one Sunday, 2 next Thursday, one next Friday and one on the 22nd. I have also been invited to a party in Austin next Saturday. I never knew how busy a small town could keep me, maybe more busy than Austin. Goodbye anonymity...

So on that note... Happy Birthday Jodi...