In the midst of my travel blog reading frenzy, I stumbled upon a post that brought me more joy and validation than any other blog post ever created. The travelling editor wrote a great, ranting post about Ryan Air. To say that my traveling companions and I had a bad experience with this airline while traveling from Seville to Magaluf and onto Madrid is a huuuuuuge understatement.
It is strongly recommended that you read the above post and my comments about Ryan Air, below, before you take the bait of alleged cheap fares. It will save you so much drama and frustration on your otherwise lovely travels. What a lesson on reading the fine print!
To get really specific, let me just give one clear example: One girl I was with had to pay 350 Euro to get her luggage on the plane and an additional 40 Euro to check her carry on bag, which fit the regulations for every other airline. Oh, and once you print your boarding pass, you can't make any changes to your flight so, in an effort to save the money they charge you to print your boarding pass at the airport, we had printed our tickets before the trip. You know what that detail cost me?? A side trip to Morocco!!
I seriously wish I had seen this post prior to my friend booking our Ryan Air tickets to travel within Spain. It was, by far, the worst experience with an airline I have ever had. They epitomize the corporate devil. Pay to print boarding passes?? Crazypants! We spent time we could have been enjoying beautiful cities in search of Internet cafes to avoid giving Ryan Air one more cent. The weight limits, though, are the most absurd of their protocol. I honestly don't think I can even write about it without sweating. And, yes, the crazy carry on baggage sizes…although I have to admit I found this one amusing for all the trouble it caused a travel companion who was irritating me. Once you finally get on the plane, you can't even get water without pulling out your wallet. And who sells you scratch tickets when you are above the clouds? Cheesy. I HATE RYAN AIR! I am so glad to find a community to support my anger.
Showing posts with label Editorial. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Editorial. Show all posts
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Girlfriend getaways.....do we have to go shopping?
I kind of hated this article, to be honest. I struggled with whether or not to share it but, here goes....
Frommer's article on girlfriend getaways
What I love: I think traveling with girlfriends is a fabulous idea. My experience is that traveling with your partner/gf/bf/spouse can be romantic and enrich the relationship and is wonderful. It's also expensive for two people dipping into the same budget. While this kind of travel clearly has it's place, I really value my independence and am super lucky to have a spouse who understands and supports my need to have a life that is sometimes separate from him. I have lots of friends and hobbies, which only makes me a more interesting member of our partnership.
Going away with one girlfriend is fun and relaxing but once you make the group 3+, you have a posse. Female posses are nearly invincible. The fun grows exponentially if you pick the right travel buddies (more on this later this week). Girl troops cheer each other on to amp up the fun, calm each other down to smooth things over, and can share hair straighteners so you get to pack less:) Therefore, I love when I see articles on women traveling together. It's a solid idea.
What I don't love: Why do women have to get pegged into wanting spa trips and shopping excursions? And do all men really want to play golf? No. I like the parts of this article that highlight different interests-adventure, surfing, the beach, women's only trips. I don't love that those come after the trips that list cooking lessons. I'm sure this is just the feminist part of me flaring up. To be fair, the article does cover lots of different interests. Also, I'm sure these stereotypes are out there for a reason. I guess I just hope I never want to go on a trip with my girlfriends so I can buy a new purse.....
PS, I feel really guilty not loving something Frommer's-esque as they are my go-to travel guide. So, for the record, I <3 Frommers.
Frommer's article on girlfriend getaways
What I love: I think traveling with girlfriends is a fabulous idea. My experience is that traveling with your partner/gf/bf/spouse can be romantic and enrich the relationship and is wonderful. It's also expensive for two people dipping into the same budget. While this kind of travel clearly has it's place, I really value my independence and am super lucky to have a spouse who understands and supports my need to have a life that is sometimes separate from him. I have lots of friends and hobbies, which only makes me a more interesting member of our partnership.
Going away with one girlfriend is fun and relaxing but once you make the group 3+, you have a posse. Female posses are nearly invincible. The fun grows exponentially if you pick the right travel buddies (more on this later this week). Girl troops cheer each other on to amp up the fun, calm each other down to smooth things over, and can share hair straighteners so you get to pack less:) Therefore, I love when I see articles on women traveling together. It's a solid idea.
What I don't love: Why do women have to get pegged into wanting spa trips and shopping excursions? And do all men really want to play golf? No. I like the parts of this article that highlight different interests-adventure, surfing, the beach, women's only trips. I don't love that those come after the trips that list cooking lessons. I'm sure this is just the feminist part of me flaring up. To be fair, the article does cover lots of different interests. Also, I'm sure these stereotypes are out there for a reason. I guess I just hope I never want to go on a trip with my girlfriends so I can buy a new purse.....
PS, I feel really guilty not loving something Frommer's-esque as they are my go-to travel guide. So, for the record, I <3 Frommers.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Reposting a great blog from a friend....
Pantyhose and Paradigms
One of my friends and coworkers posted a blog this week, Pantyhose and Paradigms, that I really loved reading. It is about body image, one of my favorite topics, in the GLBTQ community.
I love stories of people being happy with their bodies and am always intrigued by communities that help foster those positive self feelings. It's interesting that groups that are marginalized by "the man" often come together to support one another and create microcosms of society that, in a lot of ways, are much more idyllic than society at large. I think about how the African American community is also much more accepting of varied body shapes and how the Latina population seems to embody the "it takes a village" mentality about children and share childcare responsibilities much more freely than the broader community.
Let me know what thoughts this brings up for you! Happy reading!
One of my friends and coworkers posted a blog this week, Pantyhose and Paradigms, that I really loved reading. It is about body image, one of my favorite topics, in the GLBTQ community.
I love stories of people being happy with their bodies and am always intrigued by communities that help foster those positive self feelings. It's interesting that groups that are marginalized by "the man" often come together to support one another and create microcosms of society that, in a lot of ways, are much more idyllic than society at large. I think about how the African American community is also much more accepting of varied body shapes and how the Latina population seems to embody the "it takes a village" mentality about children and share childcare responsibilities much more freely than the broader community.
Let me know what thoughts this brings up for you! Happy reading!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Peeing in the Water and Blowing your nose on the Bike
http://www.cracked.com/article_19164_5-things-that-are-apparently-ok-to-do-in-name-sports.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=fanpage&utm_campaign=new+article&wa_ibsrc=fanpage
I usually reserve passing along articles for things I think are though provoking but sometimes it's nice to just have the truths of the world pointed out in a humorous way. I couldn't help but want to share this article from cracked.com about how much you can get away with in the name of athleticism. My favorite was a line about peeing at a family bbq being a social taboo but peeing anywhere you want during an endurance event means you are focused and driven. Hahaha.
When I do triathlons, I try really hard not to think about how many people peed in their wetsuits in the water I am now gliding through. Runny bike noses, as mentioned in this article are so problematic to me! Even on a bike, I have the imaginary audience going on, sure that someone will see me wipe my nose on some article of clothing if i so dare. And let's face it; we all workout so we can eat, no matter which way you cut it, so the article hit that one spot on. In fact, Honey Stinger makes these fruit gels you eat on your bike/run that are so good, I sometimes go for a run just so I can have some. They are like fruit snacks on speed.
Enjoy the article! Then go for a workout so you can live how you really want to: dirty, well fed, and breaking all the rules.
I usually reserve passing along articles for things I think are though provoking but sometimes it's nice to just have the truths of the world pointed out in a humorous way. I couldn't help but want to share this article from cracked.com about how much you can get away with in the name of athleticism. My favorite was a line about peeing at a family bbq being a social taboo but peeing anywhere you want during an endurance event means you are focused and driven. Hahaha.
When I do triathlons, I try really hard not to think about how many people peed in their wetsuits in the water I am now gliding through. Runny bike noses, as mentioned in this article are so problematic to me! Even on a bike, I have the imaginary audience going on, sure that someone will see me wipe my nose on some article of clothing if i so dare. And let's face it; we all workout so we can eat, no matter which way you cut it, so the article hit that one spot on. In fact, Honey Stinger makes these fruit gels you eat on your bike/run that are so good, I sometimes go for a run just so I can have some. They are like fruit snacks on speed.
Enjoy the article! Then go for a workout so you can live how you really want to: dirty, well fed, and breaking all the rules.
Friday, February 18, 2011
work vs blog
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110216/ap_on_hi_te/us_teacher_suspended_bloghile
while i have mixed feelings about what this teacher actually wrote, this article brings up a big issue for me. the nature of my work in domestic violence is confidential. it makes it really tough sometimes to vent the natural work frustrations that all of us have. last week a woman shared some things that haunted me all weekend but i couldn't really talk about it. i also cant talk much about it publicly in a blog, which is a little challenging since its not just a job i spend 40+ hours at but a way of thinking about the world, relationships, safety, violence, trauma, the way people treat each other and the residual effects. it impacts the way i feel when i go for a run. it informs my interaction with strangers and systems. it makes me a worse friend as i don't have a lot of emotional energy left to listen to problems and sadness outside of work but it simultaneously makes me feel like a better person for the honor of people sharing their lives and stories with me. it makes me laugh at different jokes and feel rubbed the wrong way by others. and its all a big concept that i cant share many specifics about.
so i envy this woman putting it all out there. it probably wasn't a wise career move but i appreciate that she vented somewhere other than to the kids. i guess the trouble is that her blog ended up like molly ringwalds note in 16 candles; it got into the wrong hands.
which reminds me.....to end on a happy note: the movies had nostalgia night this week and showed 16 candles on the big screen. it was glorious!!
while i have mixed feelings about what this teacher actually wrote, this article brings up a big issue for me. the nature of my work in domestic violence is confidential. it makes it really tough sometimes to vent the natural work frustrations that all of us have. last week a woman shared some things that haunted me all weekend but i couldn't really talk about it. i also cant talk much about it publicly in a blog, which is a little challenging since its not just a job i spend 40+ hours at but a way of thinking about the world, relationships, safety, violence, trauma, the way people treat each other and the residual effects. it impacts the way i feel when i go for a run. it informs my interaction with strangers and systems. it makes me a worse friend as i don't have a lot of emotional energy left to listen to problems and sadness outside of work but it simultaneously makes me feel like a better person for the honor of people sharing their lives and stories with me. it makes me laugh at different jokes and feel rubbed the wrong way by others. and its all a big concept that i cant share many specifics about.
so i envy this woman putting it all out there. it probably wasn't a wise career move but i appreciate that she vented somewhere other than to the kids. i guess the trouble is that her blog ended up like molly ringwalds note in 16 candles; it got into the wrong hands.
which reminds me.....to end on a happy note: the movies had nostalgia night this week and showed 16 candles on the big screen. it was glorious!!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Commenting on comments
So another snowy day on the East Coast has me stuck inside and on a personal day from work, thus giving me way more time than usual to do whatever I want. Just as I was enthralled when I first joined facebook and posted and commented far too frequently before coming back to my senses, I am a bit too focused on the potential of this blog so have been coming back and toying with it all day. Looking for ideas on how other people design their pages and what they muse about, I have been reading interesting commentaries all day.
One of the blogs I read mentioned all of the comments people posted in response to the article I cited as the inspiration for my first blog post. At first, when I started to read them I got irritated, as I usually do when I read any kind of comments sections. I added the "addendum" to my first post and carried on. Lack of motivation to trek through the snow to get the gym and a multiple handfuls of Goldfish crackers found me reading more of the comments. I just can't help but make my own comments in response.
Some people, probably the same who like conspiracy theories, guess that the women in the blogs are not real. At least a couple residents of Utah, aka Mormon home base, chided in to say life there isn't that peachy keen. I feel I can attest to the reality of those women. Even if I don't know them personally, I know plenty of similar women who could have been in the featured blogs. I would also argue that they really are that happy. Furthermore, having lived in Utah briefly, particularly Provo, I think it's fair to say that it's a little more cushiony than the outside world. While not everything is as it seems behind closed doors and blogs are meant to showcase the good times, not to air out family feuds, I think people living in a tight knit community with a belief system that focuses on kindness and service have the happiness odds swinging in their favor. And though Utah was not a good fit for me, the square peg, I don't think the happiness of the people there is at all insincere. Furthermore, most of the young hipster blogs featured were coming from cities like DC and NYC, not SLC.
Part of what drew my attention is not the focus on religion or even the contrast with the societal focus on work and education and worldly success but the point the author makes about women of my generation (I clock in at a whopping 30, for a point of reference), trying to forge our own path. Our parents generation, having babies in the 80's, when our culture shifted toward white collar, Wall Street, Alex P. Keaton mentality, did so at the expense of marriage success rates and fulfilling personal time. Fast forward to today, with a failing economy and a focus on all things "green" and it's no wonder that self-reliance and personal industry are coming back into fashion, even among people outside of the Mormon community, which has never given up promoting it.
So here we are. We are a generation of (not only) women who want to find some way to live in between the extremes of the 60's housewife and the 80's business woman. Therein lies the dilemma but I don't think it's an insurmountable challenge. Lots of people have overcome much greater obstacles.
One of the blogs I read mentioned all of the comments people posted in response to the article I cited as the inspiration for my first blog post. At first, when I started to read them I got irritated, as I usually do when I read any kind of comments sections. I added the "addendum" to my first post and carried on. Lack of motivation to trek through the snow to get the gym and a multiple handfuls of Goldfish crackers found me reading more of the comments. I just can't help but make my own comments in response.
Some people, probably the same who like conspiracy theories, guess that the women in the blogs are not real. At least a couple residents of Utah, aka Mormon home base, chided in to say life there isn't that peachy keen. I feel I can attest to the reality of those women. Even if I don't know them personally, I know plenty of similar women who could have been in the featured blogs. I would also argue that they really are that happy. Furthermore, having lived in Utah briefly, particularly Provo, I think it's fair to say that it's a little more cushiony than the outside world. While not everything is as it seems behind closed doors and blogs are meant to showcase the good times, not to air out family feuds, I think people living in a tight knit community with a belief system that focuses on kindness and service have the happiness odds swinging in their favor. And though Utah was not a good fit for me, the square peg, I don't think the happiness of the people there is at all insincere. Furthermore, most of the young hipster blogs featured were coming from cities like DC and NYC, not SLC.
Part of what drew my attention is not the focus on religion or even the contrast with the societal focus on work and education and worldly success but the point the author makes about women of my generation (I clock in at a whopping 30, for a point of reference), trying to forge our own path. Our parents generation, having babies in the 80's, when our culture shifted toward white collar, Wall Street, Alex P. Keaton mentality, did so at the expense of marriage success rates and fulfilling personal time. Fast forward to today, with a failing economy and a focus on all things "green" and it's no wonder that self-reliance and personal industry are coming back into fashion, even among people outside of the Mormon community, which has never given up promoting it.
So here we are. We are a generation of (not only) women who want to find some way to live in between the extremes of the 60's housewife and the 80's business woman. Therein lies the dilemma but I don't think it's an insurmountable challenge. Lots of people have overcome much greater obstacles.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Why I can't stop reading Mormon housewife blogs
Why I can't stop reading Mormon housewife blogs
I highly recommend you read this link as it is the inspiration for this blog. Maybe that is only partially true. I have thought about starting a blog for a long time, perhaps for some of the same reasons this article sites: I have kept a journal since I was 12, I'd like a creative outlet, etc. I never knew where to start, to be honest, or what to say. This article provided a focus, a jumping off point. While celebrating Betty White's birthday, watching a Golden Girls marathon and dyeing our hair, one of my best friends set me on this path (and started her own, I might note).
The link, above, basically says that young, educated professional feminists with no children find themselves drawn to reading the blogs of young Morman housewives who cook and sew and can things, happily. I am caught between these two worlds and it can be perplexing. By day, I work in a field stemming from the feminist movement and advocate for the equality and rights of those who are victimized. On Sunday, I go to church for three hours with my mother. My husband doesn't attend my church and I have no kids to tote with me, an anomaly for my age in Morman culture. I have a nose ring (deemed naughty) but I love my food storage and yearn to bake my own bread. In short, I'm the square peg.
I called the blog "Aspiring to the Middle" because it sums up my goal of balancing my two complicated philosophies. It also speaks to the balance of finding a middle ground between working, being a good wife, trying to be spiritual, and to do all the other things we need to do to find balance, health and happiness in our lives: exercise, clean, socialize, learn to grow up. Finally, the middle ground is kind of where I aim to land. I'm not the fastest runner (far from it!) or the best singer or anything of the sort. Despite my lack of specialization of skill, I do a lot of diverse things to varying degrees of success and think that makes life interesting.
So while I try to cook and feel like a phony, making a meal that only I will eat, I can now type about it and air it to the world.....
Addendum: Don't read the comments if you are trying to keep your blood pressure within a healthy range. I should know this as I bump into this problem all over the place in local newspapers and such but I guess I just don't learn! Surely everyone is as entitled to their opinions as I am in my own response to this article but I'm not sure why we can't just make meaning of things for ourselves and keep the aggression to a minimum.
I highly recommend you read this link as it is the inspiration for this blog. Maybe that is only partially true. I have thought about starting a blog for a long time, perhaps for some of the same reasons this article sites: I have kept a journal since I was 12, I'd like a creative outlet, etc. I never knew where to start, to be honest, or what to say. This article provided a focus, a jumping off point. While celebrating Betty White's birthday, watching a Golden Girls marathon and dyeing our hair, one of my best friends set me on this path (and started her own, I might note).
The link, above, basically says that young, educated professional feminists with no children find themselves drawn to reading the blogs of young Morman housewives who cook and sew and can things, happily. I am caught between these two worlds and it can be perplexing. By day, I work in a field stemming from the feminist movement and advocate for the equality and rights of those who are victimized. On Sunday, I go to church for three hours with my mother. My husband doesn't attend my church and I have no kids to tote with me, an anomaly for my age in Morman culture. I have a nose ring (deemed naughty) but I love my food storage and yearn to bake my own bread. In short, I'm the square peg.
I called the blog "Aspiring to the Middle" because it sums up my goal of balancing my two complicated philosophies. It also speaks to the balance of finding a middle ground between working, being a good wife, trying to be spiritual, and to do all the other things we need to do to find balance, health and happiness in our lives: exercise, clean, socialize, learn to grow up. Finally, the middle ground is kind of where I aim to land. I'm not the fastest runner (far from it!) or the best singer or anything of the sort. Despite my lack of specialization of skill, I do a lot of diverse things to varying degrees of success and think that makes life interesting.
So while I try to cook and feel like a phony, making a meal that only I will eat, I can now type about it and air it to the world.....
Addendum: Don't read the comments if you are trying to keep your blood pressure within a healthy range. I should know this as I bump into this problem all over the place in local newspapers and such but I guess I just don't learn! Surely everyone is as entitled to their opinions as I am in my own response to this article but I'm not sure why we can't just make meaning of things for ourselves and keep the aggression to a minimum.
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