Bon Voyage

At least with a plan of blogging about her residency adventures month-by-month, Laura guarantees a regular posting. Me, not so much.

I'm sitting here with my eyes literally blurry from exhaustion, or maybe the horrible drying out they suffer from weird airflow at work, or maybe teary from allergies, and wondering how I could possibly be ready to embark on an 11-day trip to Europe in less than 36 hours. Yikes. The Spanish wine that my roomie picked out is not helping the blurry-eyed-ness. However, it is very tasty, not very heavy, lots of earthiness to the flavor (as opposed to fruitiness), and part of the Wine Trials 2011 book that we as a house are working our way through. So far, all successes in my opinion. (sidenote: I just spelled opinion as "opoinion" so methinks I'm about ready for sleepytime)

Anyway, I have a lot that I could write about in my pre-cruise blog, notably the horrible stress of packing or the straw that broke the camel's back tonight at work that had me nearly in tears or the hopelessness of putting together a functional kickball team so I'm not having to eat the $400+ in team fees that I just forked out. But, mostly I just wanted to check in with the online world to prove I am indeed still here. And to make note of the totally awesome James Bond coffee table book that I splurged on yesterday. It's called "The Art of Bond" and was more than 75% off which is the only way I'd ever buy a coffee table book. It just screamed my name while I was in line at B&N, and I knew that I would be a failure as a Bond aficionado if I didn't pick it up. It looks at the thoughts of producers, art directors, set designers, screenplay writers, etc, as they take on the legend of a spy who has lived and thrived in multiple generations. While I've only just made it through the introductory section on the adaptation of the Ian Fleming novels, the book is already a success by one definition. It has reinforced the idea that I do in fact have hobbies and passions. I love James Bond. I love the idea of an icon that spans time, that I can share with my dad, that is brought to life with a couple of musical notes or an on-screen silhouette. I love that for the bit players and instrumental movers and shakers that have brought each movie to life, being a part of Bond has defined their career. It's bigger than any one movie, actor, director, genre, or decade. And I love having something that I can be passionate about, that I can be knowledgeable about, that I can share with others (even if they do think I'm a nerd).

Ok, the wine is hitting me, and the typing skills are going down the drain. I have a lot of packing to finish up in the morning, and the next time you hear from me will undoubtedly be status post a lot of relaxation and picture-taking and adventure-having. I'm terrified and excited and the excited percentage is increasing to the point that it may soon exceed the terrified percentage. Not there yet. Maybe after some more wine. :)