Do you hear what I hear

This American Life just had an episode called "Living Without" and the first act is called  "do you hear what I hear, by Nubar Alexanian, talking about his life dealing with his Tinitis (a permanent ringing in the ears) and this story is really beautifully done...he did an incredible job explaining what it's like to have Tinitis.

For those of you who may or may not know about Tinitis, this gives a lot of detail about what it sounds like to deal with as well as what it's like to have emotionally.

I also have Tinitis and this has definitely made an effect on my life similar to what this man has gone thru.  I too went to doctors and looked into other forms of natural healing.  It's part of why I itched to travel and get away from my life for a while and for better or worse, it's sent my world into a new direction from what it was and life will never be the same again.

I can't go into loud restaurants or bars, because it makes my ring louder..I have special ear plugs, but I hate explaining what they're for.  I can't be in quiet places, because I begin to get annoyed with my ring, and if I'm slightly dehydrated, the ring also gets louder.

When I first got Tinitis, I thought my life was over.  I couldn't imagine dealing with it for the rest of my life, but yet here I am, living!  Of course there are good days and bad days (good days where I don't even think about it, bad days where I lay in bed thinking about the tone and how much I hate it.

He has this talk with his daughter...
Daughter:  You're trapped inside your own head....I would follow Van Gogh and cut my ears off"
Father:  "I'm somewhat grateful for the tone....on good days when I think about it, the tone was a warning that I needed to slow down....on bad days I think, I've learned this lesson... ok, I've slowed down, the tone can go away, but it doesn't go away."

Everyone at some point has a problem or an ailment which occurs that reminds us that we are human, that we are not permanent and we are delicate....the day something in us physically doesn't work anymore and we realized it's not going to come back again.  Perhaps, because we've used it too much, perhaps too little, perhaps just bad luck.  For me, this was my hearing.  I had/have to accept the fact that I will never be a professional musician....something I don't like to talk about after 20 years practicing percussion and marimba, but I'm at a place where I believe this was my bodies way of saying, it's ok Sarah, it's time to slow down, time to move on and do other things you want to do...life goes on!  So that's what I'm doing!  Sometimes, having something go wrong is a wake up call to live!

Octo-beer-fest

My uncle is a microbrewer and a damn fine one at that.
He grows hops in his backyard and is known to combine local fruits and flavors to his beverages....he's good!

He gave my parents a small sample of a particular brew he's prepared for an event he has defined as "Octobeerfest"...yes, he's that cool.

***This is not intentionally meant to cause embaressment or cast judgment on my parents...it's more so meant to clearly define the differences between Minnesota and Wisconsin (my uncle lives in Wisconsin)***

What was their plan for this sample?
Mom: "hmmm.....perhaps it could make a nice beer bread?"
Dad: "I wonder if we could store it in your tea pot?"

True quotes.
I don't think anything else needs to be said further, accept that I may have changed color upon hearing this and started to say half sentences similar to this...
"You want to...."  "In a where....?"  "With a....."

If Wisconsin has taught me one thing, it's that beer has no place in a tea cozy....

flying solo

When R man and I first started dating a friend of ours took me with to say goodbye to him at the airport when he flew home for Christmas.  I was crying in hysterics as if I would never see him again....I was flying to Chile to meet him in a WEEK!  His friend was totally befuddled and holding back tears of laughter at my hysterics....

"girl, you're going to see him in a week!  What the heck!  Chill out!"

I used to believe that once he was out of my sight, he was as good as dead until he came back, which when you love someone, thinking like this for extended periods of time leads to lack of sleep, lack of comprehensive thought - which then leads to losing things and acting really weird!

I've lost keys multiple times, my wallet, important paper work, my work badge and a tendency to forget to eat and shower....all signs of an insane person you might meet in a downtown public library...a hobo.

This is our first longerish term separation in oh...years and years...and I think thanks to having traveled so much now, I've improved greatly in my coping skills.  Sleep - check.  Eating - check.  Things are going well!

I'd forgotten all the awesome perks of living alone!  You eat, sleep, watch, listen to whatever you want, whenever you want without discussion!    No lamp on while sleeping!  I can eat melted cheese all I want!  Popcorn can be dinner!

• There are of course little things I miss a lot...
• I have to take out the trash this morning...buggar.
• There's no one to make my coffee in the morning...not that I couldn't, I just don't if he's not here.  It's not as fun without him!
• The salad spinner wouldn't spin...I couldn't push the button down...poops.
• My phone suddenly wouldn't turn on and I had to think about it for an hour....hmm.
• My computer popped up with an emergency blue screen of death and I had no idea what to do, but press the same button over and over again....
• Last but not least....our fridge is packed, PACKED with food.  

WHO IS GOING TO EAT ALL THIS FOOD? 

So, yes, can't wait for the man's return.  Not because I think he's dead, but I need him to consume produce and fix my electronics!!

I had a friend tell me the thing she missed the most when her husband wasn't around was his ability to open peanut butter jars...at the time I was astonished..."that's it?!?"  Now...I totally get it.  
Things have definitely changed!  No emergencies here!

mouse in the house

"Sarah, come quick!  Look at this!!!  Should I kill it?"

right around when I'm running towards the kitchen I see a small fluff ball moving towards the refrigerator...

A mouse?  We have a mouse?!?!?

So then we wait....
a while....yup!  It pops out again!

This time looking at us a little confused wandering around the floor....
Our first reaction to each other? 
A mix of yelling 2 things simultaneously:
1) KILL IT!  KILL IT! 
2) Awww!!!  Look at its little head...with those little itty bitty eyes!

So, it runs under the oven.
Rodolfo grabs a stick and we decide that we'll simply get it out with the porch door open, it'll be free and all will be well, accept with it's cuteness and fastness, it easily outmaneuvered us and made its way to the bedroom.

So.  We have a mouse.   A cute one.  Freaking adorable sharing our bedroom with us...somewhere...
R man I think wants to adopt it into the family as another house pet.
I'm concerned about our electronic wiring and don't really want something trying to eat my stuff.

What do people do in these scenarios?!?
I'm so stumped!

hey ya don cha know

So.  You may have noticed I'm from Minnesota?
Watching the movie Fargo isn't so much funny for me as it is familiar.

There's nothing like making fun of someone else's (R mans) culture for a few months and then get whacked in the head with a plethera of midwestern lingo immediately upon landing in the Minneapolis airport.  Not to mention the lovely bouquet of Sar-glish (Sarah English) sayings that pop out of my mouth every day just because I'm here.

Yer good to go
Geez louise
You still workin' on that?
oh golly, golly geez, gosh darn hey now, yeah!
Get er dun
You betcha
How's it goin'?
Oh my!
(among many many more)
There is a reason why stereotypes about cultures are created, there's always plenty to make fun of no matter where you're from....these little moments with a waitress/bus driver/stranger in line are the moments in a conversation where I truly feel at home.
When I might say, "How ya doin' dere ey?"
and someone responds with, "oh, ya know, just pickin up some beers for da boat up nort at the lake, ya"

I mean...of couse, it's never that perfect, I live in Wisconsin now, so it's more of a "Well, I'm just pickin' up some beers for da big game to go with my slow cooked bbq sauced mini wienies and a cheese tray"
(man does that sound good right now)

While I'm discussing these two great states of the Midwest, I might as well clarify some cultural differences people may notice....

MN: casserole/hot dish of mysterious substance - generally involving a can of meat and a can of soup!
WI: slow cooker filled with meat in BBQ sauce... with some beers

MN: rice crispy bars - WI: beer

MN: Vikings - WI: Packers...yes, always with many, many beers

MN:  Ice fishing - WI Ice fishing...you guessed it!  Plus beers

Don't get me wrong, I love my Scandinavian, Minnesotan, Lutheran, Lefsa eatin', talkin' about the weather, stocking up on spam in the basement for the next great depression heritage!  But...life in Wisconsin aint so bad!

If you say "how's it goin eh?" in Wisconsin, they'll more then likely get the gyst of what yer gettin' at, and heck, that might just offer you a beer to boot!

No matter which particular spot, it's good to be back in the Midwest!

forced summer day hibernation

True story...I'm locked inside my house today not by choice and I'm not coming out all day
...and I like it!

1. It's hot outside....really hot...so I don't want to leave the house
2. R man accidentally took my keys to work along with my bike key...so even if it wasn't hot, I couldn't leave, because I can't even bike to his lab to pick up my keys!
3. There are sporadic thunderstorms scheduled all day, so even if it wasn't hot and I could get back into my house, I could get struck by lightning walking down the sidewalk.
4. I haven't heard from my new kick ass boss about when the next day is that I should work, our fridge is stocked with fresh veggies and cold beverages and I have two good books to read and a lot of writing I'd like to do!

Does this sound kind of well, awesome to anyone else!?!

It's kind of a cool feeling to wake up and the world lets you know its not particularly interested in you participating in it today and the feelings are mutual!

Forced pajama day!  WHOO HOO!!!!!

One of the most ferocious and fearless animals in the world

What could this ferocious animal possibly be!?!?
A hippo?
A baboon?
A pygmy rhino?!?!?
Or perhaps.....

pygmy hippos from the zoo we slept in:

NOPE!

the most non ferocious animal in South Africa
a new born baby pygmy hippo with his eyes closed

Well, if it's not a new born baby pygmy hippo, what could it possibly be?!?!?!?

Now you're dying to know, AREN'T YOU!!!!
FIND OUT this very moment AT MY NEW BLOG!
Click here:
WOMEN ROCKIN' THE ROAD

85 resumes

I've been job hunting and when you job hunt you start to feel a little bit not so special....unqualified, uneducated, unemployable!  This has been going on for weeks now...

Just last week, I got a few interviews with different places....one was at a French style bakery in town, the manager posted her ad for 24 hours online and received 85 resumes, of those 85, she chose 15 to interview...of those 15, there were only 3 part time positions available...

Of those 85 resumes...she chose me to interview...I had a 1 in 5 chance of getting work.

Apparently I still have what it takes to impress because I now have a job!

ROCK!

Croc camp continued - and then what happened?!?

Did I die?!?

Did R man get licked by a monkey?!?

Did the opinionated locals run into a chorus line and sing and dance us the rest of the way to our camp!!!???

Well....I can't tell you....yet.  Tomorrow morning, you'll be able to read it....but not here. 

"What?"  (You ask) 

 "Where then?!?"  You crazy girl!  Confusing me like this!  What's going on?!?"   (You think)  

I'm starting a new blog for women travelers where they can share their stories/thoughts/feelings on travel!

It's a collaborative effort with a fellow lady traveler we met at a bus stop in Malawi Africa last summer!  

(You can check out Kyria's travel blog here!)

Kyria and I in Malawi Africa last summer
(accompanied by Mr. Lovely, the Portuguese god) 

"Why a new blog?"

Well, you see, I've been feeling pretty passionate recently about women communicating and sharing their lives and experiences with each other and I also love talking about traveling! So!  I feel like it's important that I do something active to get women to share and talk about travel with one another!  You can read more about my crazy dream here!  

"SARAH!  Come on!  Let's get to the point!  How do we read the rest of this thrilling story?  I need to know if you die or not!"

Right!  Of course!  Silly me!  Here it is!  The new blog!  Even its name!  So exciting!

You can check out this wonderful new blog/become a follower/admire my photo with a puppy here:

Women rockin the road   

And tomorrow, stop by again to find out what caused R man to stutter when he sees large mammals....

heeheeheehee.....that's not true...or is it?!?

Croc Camp

"I don't know Sarah, everyone is telling us to take a taxi.  I don't have a very good feeling about this..."
"I don't care!  This is bull#^*#!  I'm not paying  a taxi $5 to drive me to a $5/night campsite!  That's ridiculous!  I can see the entrance down the road!  They're just trying to scam us!  We're walking!"

R man and I were in the middle of a small village in Southern Zambia a half mile away from the entrance of South Luangua National Park and Croc Camp (a reasonably priced campsite that offers safaris) where R man had begged me to go so he could finally see his LION!  Men and their lions....we'd just spent 8 hours (4 hours waiting and 4 hours moving) in a very small minivan with 12 adults, 5 kids, a bicycle, a large screen television, enough toilet paper for an end of the world hideaway, two live chickens and about 15 dozen chicken eggs....I was not too excited about yet another form of Zambian style overpriced, ridiculously bad transportation if I could help it...

"But Sarah....you haven't seen their eyes!  Look into their eyes....they think we are walking to our death!"
"No. No. NO!  I'm walking!!!  I don't care!  They just want to rip us off again and have a good laugh at our expense.  I'm not doing it!"
"Ok....but, I'm taking a taxi."
"Fine!"
"FOR REAL?!?  Ok!  I'm your husband.  I love you.  You're crazy.  We are going to die, but I'm coming with you!  Happy?"
"Yes! I don't see any hippos or lions, do you?!?"

And we begin to walk out of the bubble like village of men standing on the streets staring at us/drinking cheap beer and children running around us begging for money.  We leave the security of normal (for Africa) and step out onto the dusty road of nothing for half a mile, which became a tree covered area of the unknown shortly after that with a small wooden sign that you could just make out ..."croc camp - $5 camping).  Looked pretty easy.  I had no idea what I was doing.

R man:
"I sure hope you know what you're doing!"

jobs and bureacracy

• under qualified
• over qualified
• not qualified in the right field
• not quite the right work history
• have to take a test, but the application is due before the date of the test
• have to fill out an online application that takes 5 hours, complete with a social security number and then never hear back 
• have to reply to a craigslist ad with no idea where the business is located, if it's real or not, how much you might get paid...but keep doing it in hopes something might pan out.

Maybe the mafia has it right.  You know a guy who knows a guy and done!
What happened to local word of mouth?  Or a sign posted on a window?  Maybe these things still exist and I'm just not 'out' there enough?!?

Finding a job or meeting a significant other has become a cyber game of read/type/submit/repeat, hoping that you're actually communicating with a real person!  You know...as I type this for comfort into my computer assuming/hoping a real person might read this later and think....poor Sarah.....I'm pathetic.

I know it all works out, that the future will unwind and figure itself out over time and all will be well....I don't even know why I bother checking job listings and craigslist ads, googling for potential sublets and local businesses perhaps in need of a funny, awkward, unemployed 28 year old with a 33 year old man and a 24 year old bird and a furnished sublet on the east side hoping for the best....perhaps it's time to go back to bed and try this day again...without opening my computer!

grumble, grumble, grumble.....