I just have to air about something that really gets to me when I travel: Waking up in a hotel that charges $175 for the night, the last thing I expect to find when I prepare for my shower is that there is no conditioner. They can’t spring the .25 for conditioner? Don’t they know that conditioning shampoo is not a comparable substitute? Now I’ll have tangly, frizzy hair for the day and have to remember to stop off at a drugstore on my way back to the room. Grrrr.

On the other hand, one of my favorite things when traveling is to find an exceptionally nice line of amenities, the kind you want to smuggle home…Now those hotels and B&Bs get a gold star - they are well remembered and worthy of another stay.

Who do you think has the best room amenities?

Last year was the first time I attended, in search of the newest techno gadgets for En Wrapture’s corporate clients.

And no, I’m not a Mac user, much to my significant other’s chagrin, as it is he who handles the many malfunctions of my PC. My frustrations quickly become his. As we surf side by side, he loves nothing more than to throw the inadequacies of my PC in my face, which occurs often and easily since I am usually bemoaning that I can’t connect to the internet or my wireless printer, have been knocked off, or am crawling at a snail’s pace, all the while he happily surfs uninterruptedly.

So, why am I not a Mac user? I have long been sold on the advantages to owning a Mac by S.O., how I can easily do everything I currently do in Microsoft Office etc. That’s not the problem. The problem is that we use Quickbooks Premier for our bookkeeping. Although Quickbooks has Mac versions of several of their programs such as Pro, Premier is not one of them…otherwise, after the year I’ve had with HP and Microsoft and how the time lost due to problems has wreaked havoc on inputting our financial data and keeping inventory current - we are way behind (and here it is the end of the year – Yikes!) so, I’d be there.

Back to MacWorld…rumors abound regarding what’s in store: MacBook Tablet, next generation iphone…if you want to follow what’s up with Apple check out www.mac-sage.com for a wealth of information.

I just got off the phone with a dear old friend and traveling companion, BJ (or Beej as we’d fondly call her), from what I call ‘my old life’, referring to my time spent overseas. I’m reminded of a song we used to sing at Camp Fire Girls get-togethers:

Make new friends

But keep the old

One is silver and the other’s gold

Since moving back to the states in December of 2000 I’ve had to start all over and make new friends, create a new network. While wonderful people have come into this ‘new life’, there is no replacing those friendships I made overseas in Saudi Arabia, some beginning at the onset in 1993. Many of us very different and perhaps not someone we would have ventured to get to know had we been in the comfort zone of home, yet always with one particular common thread: we were expatriates, away from family, friends, and home, searching for something familiar, someone with whom to discover the richness & mystery of the new culture and city. We could share the trials and tribulations of the loss of freedom our gender forced upon us in this exotic place and at the same time celebrate this new found gift - the gift of time.

Many of us had previously worked full-time while trying to raise our children in a society that required 2 incomes to support even a modest lifestyle, and this respite from careers afforded us the luxury of pursuing other interests, new hobbies, the ability to fully participate in our children’s lives, volunteering at school, performing community service, becoming advocates for worthy causes…and traveling. In between our stateside vacations, we would venture off on side trips to visit other wonders of the world - the pyramids of Giza, the Taj Mahal in India, Ephesus in Turkey and Hadrian’s Gate, the souks that were like a rabbit’s warren in Marrakesh…

Then circumstances would change and someone would move away, relocating somewhere else in the world. Now that these ‘golden’ friends and I are spread out all over the globe, I look forward to the phone calls and emails that help to close the distance and allow us to dream of the possibility of reuniting for our next adventure.

This moving story had the audience sniffling all the way through. Although the film condensed parts of the book, it remained true and contained the most poignant dialogue. The acting was superb and genuine, but I found the casting to be somewhat different from what I imagined. Nevertheless, it was an outstanding film and I didn’t feel the disappointment that usually occurs when a novel is transformed into a movie.

What did you think of the ‘Kite Runner?’

I’m about to see Kite Runner with the family (son, his adorable girlfriend, youngest daughter, and my significant other). Finding a night that no one had classes, sports, work, volunteer stuff, etc…It was quite an ordeal. It seems harder and harder to spend family time together now that 2 of my children have left the nest, have significant others in their lives and thus have to juggle time with their mates’ families as well - that’s a lot of schedules to coordinate. I have to give them credit, they make great efforts to share their time, have chosen mates that are pleasant to be with and make great additions to the occasional dinner table, and are generally receptive when invited home for dinner, sometimes even adjusting schedules to do so.

I recently read the book, which had been on my list ever since it was part of Cal Poly’s Preface program for shared reading…does that mean it took several years to get to? High is the pile of ‘want to read when I have time’. Well, I devoured it over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, during which it was responsible for a sea of emotions. It had me feeling the pain that comes after intentionally inflicting harm on another because of one’s own insecurities, the resentment that follows when readily and undeservedly forgiven out of a hunger for acceptance and love. And then, betrayal…Many times I felt my throat constrict and eyes well up, but in the end, I was sorry to finish the story and part ways with Amir. I’ve looked forward to the movie, but wonder if it will hold up to the book, as so often that’s not the case…

I understand Khaled Hosseini’’s other novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, is even better than Kite Runner.

Anyone want to wager how long it will take me to get to that book?

May the new year bring you new hopes and new opportunities. May you give and receive love freely, nourishing the important relationships in your life.

Make this the richest year ever!

Elise

With expectations running high, holidays are notoriously a challenge for many. But for me, I received the most spectacular gift this year. It was from my 3 children…and their 2 significant others…and one of the significant other’s sister…and my significant other… and who knows who else my kids roped into the plan since there is much yet to be revealed as it’s only January 9th.

Christmas morning I was presented with not only the largest package under the tree, but the largest oddly shaped package I think I’ve ever received. This filled me with the anticipation of a 6 year old in the days before Christmas. What I unwrapped was a well planned demonstration of my children’s collective creativity, imagination, generosity, thoughtfulness, and hard work.

I received a bulletin board whose shape had been disguised with mounds of cardboard. Now, I sorely needed a bulletin board for my office (picture sticky notes taped up on the wall) since I hadn’t gotten around to purchasing one, but giving their mother something practical is not what this board is about. It is so much more. They turned it into a calendar for the month of January, with each day marked with large squares of different sized squares and colors. But, that’s not what this gift was about either. That’s just too simplistic for these guys. The real gift, or rather gifts, are revealed on a daily basis inside the pockets they made.

Here’s what I’ve uncovered so far this month:

1. A rhyme by my witty 13 year old daughter that I should say on the first day of the new year for good luck
2. An hour massage from one of the significant other’s sister, who is a massage therapist (and is fantastic!)
3. A day of dishes by my 13 year old
4. A love letter from my very insightful 21 year old daughter
5. A new music CD of an artist my 21 year old and her boyfriend were sure I’d love (they know me so well!)
6. A breakfast of ‘Toad in the Hole’ made by my own significant other (he does it so much better than I do)
7. A gift card to my favorite local coffee shop
8. A love letter from my 18 year old son, who has recently left the nest, with an invitation to meet downtown for a Jamba Juice - his treat; while he’ll come for dinner with his adorable girlfriend, he never brings his laundry home
9. An incredibly sweet note from my daughter’s boyfriend’s sister(’s neighbor’s aunt’s friend…)

I incorrectly referred to these 9 wonderful items as being the ‘real gifts’, but we all know that the true ‘real gift’ is the loving relationship I share with these beautiful people. Thanks guys, for reminding me each day in January how blessed I am.

Now, what was your favorite gift or moment?