Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! Hopefully today is more than just an opportunity to drink green beer and fight over who’s “more Irish.” My father was 100% Irish-American and finagled himself Irish citizenship about five years ago. My mom is a little Irish, but not nearly enough to pretend away the German.
With only two hours left until the polls close here in Illinois I hope all of my American readers in participating states have voted. Despite my thirst for politics, this is the first primary I’ve ever voted in. I was on a 30-hour bus ride in the remote Xishuangbanna region of China during the 2004…
Longtime readers will remember how much I love Halloween. Last year I dressed up as a mountain climber and spent Halloween at the Mount Everest Base Camp. Just the other day Sui (the Californian I traveled with on and off in Tibet, Nepal & India) and I were reminiscing about our Halloween adventure. Now we’re…
While checking email here in Alleppey, Kerala I’ve just learned that The Chicago Bears are going to be in The Super Bowl. I remember the last one well… It was 1985/86 and I was in elementary school. Walter Payton was our hero, leading a pack of characters including “The Fridge” and “The Punky QB.” We…
I haven’t written much about what’s been going on in my life besides the planning of this trip. One thing in particular has taken a lot of time away from my preparations—fashion design. I started taking classes at a local college a few years ago while working full time. My main goal was to learn…
I met two friends for dinner the other day. We met at a Starbucks to decide where we wanted to eat and I arrived late. My friends were sitting at a table with two chairs so I sat at the table next to them. It wasn’t until I was getting up to leave a few…
Pay attention, America. You’re breaking my heart. “There is no doubt that constitutional freedoms will never be abolished in one fell swoop, for the American people cherish their freedoms, and would not tolerate such a loss if they could perceive it. But the erosion of freedom rarely comes as an all-out frontal assault but rather…
Today I came across the best documentation of the red sweater in action. I would have included it in my original post, but I only looked through my regular photo albums for images. This photo is stored in one of the two photo albums I have of myself doing cartwheels. That’s right, for those of…
Megan in Bruges, Belgium — January 1998 I don’t have my next entry ready for Myanmar yet (get ready for Bagan!) so I thought I would put up an old photo I came across. This is my favorite self portrait of myself traveling. It was taken on my first trip alone during my three week…
RIP Red Sweater For some reason I have a history of becoming extremely attached to inanimate objects. Often the cheaper the item is, the more attached I am–which may be why I have so many pairs of socks. I have owned a red, zippered cardigan since my early college years. I love this sweater. It…
It snowed 11.5 inches at my house last night. Chicago barely saw any snow at all. Needless to say, I spent the morning shoveling. It gave me an excuse to test out the new jacket. Waterproof: check. Windproof: check. Toasty: check.
Stockings // Chanukah Harry came // Presents Breakfast // Cheese! // My brother looks hungry Christmas dinner // Mom tries to eat the plastic lightbulbs on the cake
Today it got down to -4° fahrenheit. That’s -20° celsius for all you non-American folk out there. The air is crisp and burns my throat. The wind blows through me and is especially freezing on my legs. I think it’s time for me to switch from my black calf length wool coat to my brown…
Although my president doesn?t believe global warming exists, we have not had a white Christmas in years. This year we got our first dusting of snow around Thanksgiving and have already had a serious snow storm. My snowy street My mom has started decorating the house–this is the only time of the year the red…
Since I?ve been home I?ve tried to catch up on other travelers? blogs and maybe get a little inspiration. One interesting post I saw was a photo post of a man?s trip to the grocery store in Bangkok, Thailand. Now, the street scenes in Thailand may be more interesting than my day in Chicago, but…
Halloween is my favorite holiday. I love costumes and take every chance I get to dress in one. Last year I was in Jinghong, China on Halloween and didn’t have a chance to properly celebrate. I tried to find chocolate (take my advice–avoid Chinese chocolate at all costs) but ended up with a small piece…
One night in Muang Ngoi (Northern) Laos I was eating dinner with a group of fellow travelers. I ordered a pancake and a plate of fries. When my food came they looked longingly at it and someone said “I wish I had ordered junk fod too!” I laughed and replied “Actually, I was just a…
I am in the process of slowly updating this site, as you can tell from the route maps and budget additions. Now is the time for anyone to speak up and give suggestions on what should be added. Are there obvious questions I haven’t answered in the FAQ? Is something on the site confusing? Let…
The other day I ordered a cheeseburger and fries for take away. Why would anyone want me to eat this much cheeseburger? Almost as disturbing is my impression of a 12 year old in the above photo. I’m beginning to think I will look like a kid even after age 30.
Dreary Chicago in March & congested Chicago in May