Sunday, August 25, 2013

Magical and Mysterious

For the past couple of Months I have been complaining about the travel that is required for my work. Traveling for work is vastly different than traveling for pleasure. There is not much time to explore and the time you are given you rush to hit the highlights so that you can say you "did" that location.

India, while amazing, wasn't something that I got to enjoy. I loved the culture and I loved the experience but in truth, I can only appreciate the experience in hindsight. I was working with a new team on a project with a tight schedule. I also wanted to maintain a budget but the people I was with wasn't concerned about the cost of our excursions. In all it became more stressful than I anticipated.

Shortly after returning home I had the stress of learning to live with a new roommate. Now there hasn't been any problems. In fact, I think that living with her is pretty easy as we seem similar in a lot of aspects, but there are always going to be bumps in the road as you get used to the way someone else lives. For example, I make a mess... often. I usually don't clean it up right away as I want to enjoy dinner or whatever activity I have completed. This usually means I need to let people know A) that I intend to clean it and B) apologize that it hasn't been clean yet. But this doesn't fly with Megan. No the impossible has happened. She couldn't care less. AND She just cleans it cause it needs to be cleaned, and I don't have to apologize (just so long as I don't take advantage)...... I could learn a lot from this girl.

Then as soon as I got use to the routine at home I was getting into a car, driving the 2 hours to Newark Airport, to take a 11 hour flight to Buenos Aires for another tightly scheduled Audit. I have been waiting on CPA scores, striving to get work done, waking up early to drive the hour to the location, and then studying late cause I still don't know if I have passed my last exam. All in all I feel like I have had all thrusters on full with no chance to recharge. Added to it was a weekend off to Iguazu Falls. One of the most majestic falls in South America and one of the 7 wonders of the world. In short, upon my arrival I was utterly exhausted and in no mood to be a tourist. If I could have been in my room at home with my copy of the hobbit I would have been much happier. O, I also forgot to mention that to save costs, I was sharing a room with my coworker and as an introvert this means no alone time to recharge.

Yesterday we scheduled to take a boat tour at the bottom of the falls and headed to the tram that would take us to the top of the Main falls named Garganta del Diablo or Devil's Throat. We walked about a half mile over rusted bridges above a fast moving river and entered I entered into Middle Earth.





We had been griping that the day wasn't clear but honestly at that point it didn't matter and I preferred it to be overcast. With the roar of the water you couldn't hear anyone else unless you yelled because you were literally looking over the edge. The mist rose up to shroud everyone and I was by myself. All alone in a crowded place, I was able to be by myself. I didn't have to listen to anyone and I could barely see anyone else. The falls masked the people and you could take in the majesty and mysteriousness that the view held. It was absolutely breath taking. Here I was able to reset. I took some pictures and then just marveled. I let everything else fade away and just be. I took in the wonder that was before me and I felt like I was somewhere else. Somewhere magical and mysterious. I expected to see Aslan looking at me from the opposite bank or to see Elves and Ents making plan.

As I headed back towards the tram and our boat ride at the bottom of the falls, I knew I wouldn't forget that experience.


Monday, August 12, 2013

My Bucket list

A while ago I decided to have a bucket list. Today I took the time to finish the list to a complete 100. I have crossed off 32 items off my list. I thought it would be fun to share with you and let you make suggestions for if I wanted to add more or to share what is on your list.


  • 1.     Backpack in Europe
  • 2.     Visit all 50 states
  • 3.     Go into the Atlantic and the pacific
  • 4.     Go skydiving
  • 5.     Go Bungee Jumping
  • 6.     Get  a tattoo
  • 7.     Visit all 7 continents
  • 8.     Learn how to hotwire a car
  • 9.     Learn how to pick a lock
  • 10. Fall in Love
  • 11. Get married and have a family
  • 12. Get my CPA license
  • 13. Kiss under the Mistletoe
  • 14. Learn how to drive a stick shift
  • 15. ROAD TRIP!!
  • 16. Learn to shoot a gun
  • 17. Give blood
  • 18. Go to four corners
  • 19. Go to a drive in movie theater
  • 20. Swim with the dolphins
  • 21. Run a 5k
  • 22. Run a 10k
  • 23. Run a half marathon
  • 24. Be an extra in a doctor who episode
  • 25. Visit the wizarding world of harry potter
  • 26. Go on a hot air balloon ride
  • 27. Ski a real black diamond
  • 28. Go to the Eiffel tower
  • 29. Go to comic con
  • 30. Passionately kiss in the rain
  • 31. Go skinny dipping
  • 32. See the Sistine chapel
  • 33. See Stonehenge
  • 34. See the northern lights
  • 35. Go on a cruise
  • 36. Hike the Appalachian trail
  • 37. Earn a black belt in a martial art
  • 38. Take a self defense class
  • 39. Become proficient in spanish
  • 40. Take singing lessons
  • 41.  Go to a jazz club in New Orleans
  • 42. Go snorkeling
  • 43. Go scuba diving
  • 44. Polar bear swim
  • 45. Swim in the largest swimming pool in the world
  • 46. Ride the orient express
  • 47. Sleep in an overnight train
  • 48.  Go to the top of the Jung Frau
  • 49. Go whale watching
  • 50. Adopt a dog
  • 51. Go white water rafting
  • 52. See Niagara Falls
  • 53.  See the Mona Lisa
  • 54. Stay at the Ice Hotel in Sweden
  • 55. Couch Surf
  • 56.  Go to Carnival
  • 57. Be involved in La Tomatina (huge city wide food fight)
  • 58.  Learn Photography
  • 59. Read the top 100 American Classics
  • 60. Read the top 100 books of all time
  • 61. Learn to be more outgoing in unfamiliar settings
  • 62. Take a random community college course for fun – like basket weaving
  • 63. Pay off student loans
  • 64.  Stick to a budget for one year
  • 65. Donate $25 to Kiva each month for one year
  • 66. Shop at Harrods
  • 67. Get a massage
  • 68.  Drink a bottle of expensive champagne
  • 69. Fly first class
  • 70. Study other religions
  • 71. Read the entire bible
  • 72. Volunteer at a soup kitchen
  • 73. Invent something
  • 74. Read 4 biographies about US presidents
  • 75. Read 4 biographies about non American influential people
  • 76. Be pictured in a magazine
  • 77. See a Broadway play
  • 78.  Try Escargot
  • 79. Try Liver
  • 80. Try Kimchi
  • 81. Ice skate at Rockefeller center
  • 82. Have a winning lottery ticket
  • 83. Go to a murder mystery dinner
  • 84. Go to a masquerade
  • 85. Say “I have been kicked out of better places than this” to someone
  • 86.  Go to Vegas
  • 87.  Have 100 things on my bucket list
  • 88.  Throw a party and invite everyone
  • 89.  Ride and Elephant
  • 90.  Ride a Camel
  • 91.  Experience weightlessness
  • 92.  Drive a convertible
  • 93.  Donate blood
  • 94.  Go into all 5 oceans (Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and Southern)
  • 95.  Cross the equator
  • 96.  Find Waldo in Where’s Waldo
  • 97.  Watch the 10 most classic American Films
  • 98.  Drive the Pacific Coast Highway
  • 99.  Leave a huge tip for a deserving waiter(ess)
  • 100.                Get my MBA