The official end of summer is upon us and I have yet to fully accomplish my 2011 'Summer bucket list of activities'. Labor Day marked the official end of summer time activities here in the cities. How terribly depressing that is to say. Perhaps I was too lazy, perhaps I thought this day wouldn't arrive so fast as it did or perhaps I spent too many hours on the road to/from Michigan...my 'list' will have to wait until next year - if I am fortunate enough to have another summer in the Chicago city. I did however get to experience my favorite weekend here which was the annual 'Air and Water Show' and this year the Thunderbirds preformed (Air Force branch of flyers) which is the absolute highlight of the year for meOn July 28th, I celebrated my "13th Lungversary" which is a huge number - one that I still can't quite comprehend. When I actually had my transplant I never considered how long this transplant would actually last but I definitely didn't plan to have them this long. Although transplant survival number are continually increasing its still hard to phantom that I've been walking around, inhaling with some
one else's breathers. Amazing - no other way to view it. I had and still do not have any fear of my own death, since I've been been planning for it for most of my life (when we were born we were told that our survival was till 12yrs old...at most). It's simply not a thought that shocks me into pity as I'm always prepared for it and when it does happen, I will accept it. Regardless of the above thought, however, I am grateful beyond human utterances to my donor's decision to give a perfect stranger, another chance at life and always remember the family that mourns this loss.Life here in Chi town for the summer was magical - I think if this city had LA weather all year around - it would be a dwellers paradise (and thus far too expensive for me to live in). Although the tradition for me has always been to travel to Europe during September or Summer - I choose to forfeit that experience and instead, save the trip until May 2012. For that trip, I hope to also visit Russia, Ukraine, and perhaps a few other, never before seen destinations of choice. I'm certain that by now the pattern seems obvious - Liz always travels to the former Eastern European countries in the summer (and every now n then to Australia) and although that's true, that's also where
I have the most familiarity and where I find myself most wanting to travel to - I've seen a lot of Western Europe, but there's still so much to discover in these former bloc countries - much of it I still haven't seen.The other week I had 2 couch-surfers from Siberia, Russia. To think that they live in less than ideal, cold conditions most of the year is shocking (that explains why they had no problem sleeping with the balcony open on a colder fall night) . Of course my father was excited to hear that that I was finally hosting some Russian couchsurfers as he and his family were sent to Siberia (Novosibirsk) for 6 long years during the war, so he speaks Russian fluently. I will admit that next to French, it's my favorite sounding language.
Speaking of couch-surfers, I also had a guy from Afghanistan stay with me for a few days. He kept me entertained with some rather crazy stories - such as the one where everyone thinks he's a spy. I guess that could be the case, but if true, then I don't think he put much effort into the spy business while he was here as his goals seem to be to meet as many people as possible, kiss a few ladies in between and swear up a storm, in English :-)
Thankfully work is going much better for me this year. It seems that all these last few years of people doing 'stay-cations' it has created a lot of pent up demand. People are getting out there and traveling again, and for that I'm grateful as Chicago is much more expensive than the Detroit hood. (though I did have to borrow money for rent this month, but I heard it's a chronic problem for people everywhere - unfortunately when one works for themselves, the pay isn't steady ). I do find it humerus when friends ask me 'if I'm still in the travel business' ....as if that was simply a passing hobby I was involved in. Yes, I am still in the 'travel business' and hope to be for years to come as I really enjoy my work. I recently had my website re-vamped, so check it out here. (it doesn't look the best on an Ipad though)
By the way, Congrats on our new (or soon to be) baby mamas - Shelly, Kristie, Camille & Iris!
