And I'm back at work...

Co-worker is obviously trying to get a live voice on an automated system. From the other room I hear the usual responses, and a repeated 'representative...'. Then he seems to start over again. The word 'representative...' keeps being repeated, louder and louder. Just as I'm waiting to hear a crash as he punches something, I hear him mutter 'oh, I have the mute button on...'. :)

I needed the good laugh.

Back in Honduras

I made it back to my hotel in fine shape this evening. Only casualty of the trip so far is my left eye that I think has eye strain from the new glasses. It is really sore right under it. The new glasses were not fitted at all to me, just handed to me by the woman at the store in KC. I guess because I didn't order them at that store she didn't feel any responsibility. The astigmatism requires that the lens be situated correctly. I think I have it right now, but need to wear my old glasses for awhile and let my eye heal I guess.

Still pondering the trip. Lots more questions in my life than answers at this point.

Almost Over

This is the last full day in the States. Early (waaaay early) tomorrow morning I board a flight back 'home'. Truth is, the concept of HOME is getting fuzzy for me. I did a post one time I was back about being homeless. It is something that keeps me on edge when I'm back every time. Little things. Trash is a major problem if I'm not tethered to someone else's home. There really are few places to legally put trash if you are just passing through. At least that I've found so far. Also, pressing 'Go Home' on the GPS always by definition now takes me to someone else's home, Mom's at this point. A little thing, but it adds up. Hand laundry and finding wireless internet access are more difficult if I'm not staying in the same place more than one night, as when I was staying at the Casinos. Being able to just sit someplace alone and veg means paying for a hotel room or buying coffee at McDonalds for their 'free' wireless. It is always metered time, based on price.

Another issue I have is that when I'm living in the States, I do my business related stuff and messing with my possessions while at home, then I travel someplace and visit on vacation. Now, I need to do all of the above while I'm on vacation. No time to sleep in, no time to see everyone, no time to really organize my stuff. Ok, less stuff would help that last part.

So, I have mixed feelings about vacations back 'home'. I found myself thinking sometime around Wednesday that I was ready to head back to Honduras. That surprised me, but mostly I'm ready to just be able to sit and relax and not have to socialize. I'm a loner. The pull between taking advantage of precious time to see friends/family and my need to be alone is taking a toll. So, tomorrow I get on a plane and head back to Honduras. Not sure if I'm heading towards home or away from it.

Still in the US

I'm in Kansas City. Today I'm staying at Harrah's in KC. When I got my mail (forwarded to Mom's) I had coupons for 2 free nights here, and 2 free nights at Argosy casino. So, last night and tonight I'm here, and Thursday and Saturday I'll stay at Argosy. Harrah's has been good to me at the machines, I've been playing with their money since I got here. The room is amazing. I really do like Harrahs. Saturday Mom and I will stay at Argosy since it's a lot closer to the airport than where she lives, and I need to be there between 4am and 5am on Sunday. So, that's the plan.

I haven't been to the storage unit since the 2 teenage boys unloaded the truck into it. They did awesome. After I paid them Mom handed them a bunch of donuts, and I think they were more excited about that than the money. Well, maybe close. I'm postponing getting ready to head out by playing on the computer. I don't do well without a lot of time off to myself. The vacation has been good, but time to just veg by myself hasn't been near enough. So, that is why I'm taking advantage of the free rooms even though I could stay with Mom. I have to do some rearranging of the unit though as it seems that a briefcase that I left here with my older laptop is missing. I think it's in the stuff that was stored in the Jeep storage unit. sigh. Too much stuff to keep up with. However, most of it is now at least in the same zip code.

Progress

Turtle Lady's husband, Bill, filled their SUV with my (empty) toolboxes and 50LB bag of wheat (think Y2K...). She sill has more stuff to make disappear from the unit for me prior to the big loading of the truck. The house rental is problematic. Seems 'some' of the rent is seen as paying the rent. I wish I could get rid of the house some how. Selling it would be the best option, but that doesn't look promising in the near future. Oh, well.

I have scheduled lunch or dinner with friends for most meals this week. Turtle Lady keeps my schedule written in pencil in her notebook. She is making a run to Super WalMart right now for some hot chocolate mix for me. I had mentioned it, and then decided that I was too tired to go out for it. She is spoiling me.

I wonder when I will get back to Nashville next. I truly don't know. Everyone asks me my plans, and I have none. Pay off debt. That is the plan. Which ever option that presents itself that pays off the debt is what I'll do. Right now that is working in Honduras. Working outside the US means that I have to get all the details of my life in the US consolidated and put on autopilot. That is my plan. When I look up and that train has run out of track I'll find someplace else to work. Other than that I got nothing.

I made it

Sorry to leave y'all hanging. I'm in Nashville. I got in to the airport around 10pm, picked up the rental car and made it to the motel around 11. It is a no-frills kind of place, inexpensive, clean, but with personality. No bulb in one light, turn the knob a half-turn to turn another one on, no heat till I got in so it was really chilly in the room kind of place. I turned the heat on high, which didn't put a lot of heat out, put on my base layer long johns, put my down sleeping bag that I packed just in case over the covers on the bed and crashed. Woke up an hour later colder than all get out. Turned the fan to low on the heat which seemed to put out more heat, huddled under the sleeping bag and fell asleep until 7 this morning.

Turtle Lady arrived, we went to breakfast at Waffle House. I'm in culture shock so far. I can strike up a conversation with anyone pretty much and they talk back in a language I understand. Sometimes I get strange looks, but they answer me in English. I filled the small coffee pot in the room from the faucet, and I can put the toilet paper actually in the toilet (in Honduras there is a wastebasket for it next to the toilets), I can order a meal and pretty much be assured I'll get what I asked for. I can get in the car and drive (and we have!), I can shop where I want without worrying if it's safe. The car suspension works and the ride is smooth and there aren't potholes in the roads everywhere. I'm not making sense, but believe me, I am feeling like I'm in an alternate universe at times.

We have gone to my storage unit, and I have the beginnings of a plan. I have made an appointment at the optometrist for Monday for an exam so I can order a second set of glasses to be delivered at the WalMart in MO next week. I've made lunch arrangements with a friend for Tuesday, Wednesday Turtle Lady and I will eat lunch at the Indian buffet. In between all the visiting with friends I need to organize all the stuff I'm going to move, and hopefully get rid of some of it.

So, the adventure continues.

'Twas the Night Before...

I leave tomorrow for 2 weeks in the States. I finished work and my luggage is already back at the office waiting to go to where the buss takes off. I have only my day pack to carry in tomorrow morning, and it has been sanitized of knives and lotions an other bad juju. Pack the netbook tonight, shower, get up and dress and head out. Go to sleep tomorrow night in TN, God willing. They assigned me a good seat on the second leg of the flight, so guess I won't get bumped after all.

My taxi driver gifted me with a bag of fresh roasted and ground coffee as I got out of the taxi this evening. I'm thinking that some coffee, maybe with some Baileys, and just sit my tail in my recliner tonight is a good plan. I had thought I'd do some ironing and such, but the longer I sit here the less I think it needs to be done after all. I may get a burst of energy later. Or not.

So, 15 months into this adventure I'm not as far along on many things as I'd hoped, but I'm a lot further along than I was when I came down here. Debt is going away slowly. The life here is actually pretty easy for me. Few decisions on a day-to-day basis, not a lot of options to worry about. I felt myself slipping into the 'responsible adult' mode a bit as I walked out from work. You know, the one who thinks about where to go, what to eat, where to shop. Or, if you have never lived where there are no options maybe you don't know. There was a Doonesbury awhile back where Ray, the perennial soldier, was told he was being sent home. His response was 'But home is couples counseling and AT&T bills!'. I about fell over laughing, because I knew exactly what he meant. It's actually having to think again. It's being able to just pick up a cell phone and calling anyone in the contacts list. Hell, it's having a contacts list on the phone to call people from.

As I rode home in the taxi from work I was again thinking about how there isn't a lot of fru-fru down here. Life is right out in the open. Mechanics shops and restaurants and houses and places selling used tires all thrown together, people of all ages and all types of transportation from oxen cart to horse to bicycle to bus to fancy cars all together on the roads. Handicapped and crippled folks mingled in with everyone else. Trash and beautiful buildings. It's all right out there together. In a lot of ways I think a lot is lost by hiding the nuts and bolts of life the way it is in 3rd world countries. But, I admit I'm looking forward to McDonald's for breakfast and knowing I can get pretty much whatever I want at the Super WalMart next door, and that it's safe to go there at any time of day or night.

Wow. All that and I haven't even broken open the Baileys yet. :)

odds and ends

I am getting ready for my trip back to the States. My tickets have been bought and paid for, but one leg still says there are not seats available I bought trip insurance, so if there were no seats and they sold me a ticket anyway, I may come out ok. It is on the way from Houston to Nashville, and I have the time to be bumped if they want to reimburse me for it. I reserved the big moving truck to move my stuff from the storage unit in Nashville to the storage unit in Kansas City. I reserved a motel room for a week in Nashville. Now I just need to reserve a car to drive until I get the truck.

Plans now call for a week in Nashville and a week in Kansas City. Have help lined up on both ends to load and unload the truck. Have the storage unit in Kansas City reserved. I know I'm missing something... I am packing, and planning on taking 2 suitcases and a carry-on as well as my day pack, but only coming back with my day pack. Anything else coming back (not much) will be mailed.

No pictures. Haven't had the patience to load them. I did discover that if I load the pictures onto PhotoBucket first, it apparently re-sizes them so that I can have a header picture. Still playing with it.

Traveling through Tegucigalpa

The image above was taken when we were already about half way up the side of the mountain. The statue of Jesus (Christo), which is where we are headed, can be seen above the Coca-Cola sign. Zoom in if you need to.




For part of the rest of trip up the mountain I just shot out the window or straight ahead. So, enjoy some street scenes from Tegucigalpa. This is just one small part of the capital city of Honduras.





















We were switch-backing so much that I was getting car sick trying to take pictures, so I put the camera away until we got to the top. More pictures later. Which may be tomorrow.

Tweeking

I have 30 blogs in my blog list. Apparently that is all I'm allowed. There are a few more I'd like to add, but Blogger won't let me. Also, Honduras Gumbo http://www.honduras-gumbo.com/ just won't add correctly. I'm assuming it's because she uses a re-direct. Haven't tackled the banner picture again yet, but I'm thinking I'll break down the pictures from the 2 trips to the Christo statue park into a couple of posts. I'm also doing a picture challenge from http://dailyshoot.com/assignments?page=1 . There are 23 pages of assignments, so I went to the last one and will work my way up. I may post some of the pictures if they are good enough. Change continues.

A New Year, A New Look

Today is the start of a whole new world. So, I changed my blog template for the first time since starting to write here. Any photos or backgrounds are my own photography. This stuff isn't as easy as I'd like, so I'll be tweeking it as I go. I want to have a picture across the top, but haven't gotten it the way I want yet. I'll be changing my profile picture when I get the one I want to use all cropped and ready.

Other than that, there isn't a lot of change on the surface. Just a change in attitude. Some things are coming together. Not quite together yet, but getting there. I am progressing.