In slightly over 7 months from now...

...I will be heading off on my big, extravagant OMG I'm 35 trip!

I stopped in Barnes & Noble on the way home on Friday to pick up a travel guide, and walked out with 3. Ooops. What can I say, I am a sucker for pretty pretty travel pictures.

There is still much planning to be done. Other than concrete plans of dates and where I am going, things are pretty up in the air right now. I need to start researching airfares, and I need to start looking into short-term flat rentals, because despite saving for over a year and a half (by the time I go, anyway) there is no way I can afford 2 weeks in hotels. Nor do I really want to. Merrow will likely be joining me for at least part of the trip, so a flat will give us a little more room to spread out. There is so much I want to do that I could probably fill up 2 years, but 2 weeks is a good place to start.

So where am I going? I'll give you a hint.

Here:

Photo used under Creative Commons, courtesy of dvpfagan on Flickr

With a stopover here on either the way there or the way back:

Photo used under Creative Commons, courtesy of taivasalla on Flickr

That's a thermal spring in Iceland, in case you were wondering.

Losing It

Somewhere along the way in the last 2 days, I lost my memory card reader. Which means no more picture updates from the road right now. Sorry!

We've had a productive 2 days in the north of Israel. Went to a winery tour and wine tasting on the way up to Tiberius yesterday. We had meetings yesterday afternoon and dinner at the hotel, and then I wound up at an Irish Pub with most of the Israelis. Also at the Irish Pub - about 50 18-year-old drunk Americans on a Birthright Tour. It was an interesting flash back to college days! I can't believe we were ever that young and stupid (though I'm sure we were, and then some).

Today was morning and early afternoon meetings, and then an offroad Landrover tour through the area around the Sea of Galilee. It was fantastic, though out of all the days of the year in an arid, desert climate, it was raining today of course. Still, we had good views (if not fantastic) and a little bit of rain made the offroad track slippery and fun to drive on with the Landrovers!

Tomorrow we head back to Tel Aviv in the afternoon, and I meet up with my mom for a few days of sightseeing. Can't wait! And just maybe, I left my card reader at the TLV hotel and it's still there in lost and found.

Tel Aviv

I haven't taken as many pictures yet on this trip to Israel as I did at the beginning of my trip in May. Partially because I haven't seen anything new yet on this trip, but also because as it is now winter, the days are shorter and it is dark by the time I leave the office. Here are a couple from when I arrived on Saturday.

View from my hotel room. I'm on the south side this time, so have a nice view all the way down to Old Jaffa. Surf is much higher that it was in May, too.

Saturday night dinner at Gordo's Beach Bar. Chicken escalope and steamed veggies. I ate at Gordo's several times back in May, and I figured they would probably be closed for the season along with all the other open-air beach cafes. Nope, they just put up temporary walls for the winter, invest in space heaters, and offer you a blanket if you are cold!

That Which Everyone In the Israel Office Would Like To Know

1) Why aren't you staying for the RTS meeting?
and
2) Your mom is coming to Israel for only 5 days? Why such a short time?

The answers being
1) Sigh. Ask my boss.
and
2) Yes, because I can only afford to stay that much longer after my work trip. Some of us only get a couple of weeks of vacation and have to use our days judiciously.

Some quick background on work. My official title is Applications Engineer. I work for the Customer Support department. There is one other Apps Eng in the company who also works for the CS department; he is in the Israel office. There are actually quite a few other Apps Engs around the world, we've got two in our office back  home, but they all work for the Sales Operations department. Basically, they are the technical applications resources up until the customer signs the purchase order; and I am the technical applications resource after installation. We also have 3 Regional Technical Specialists in our office who also work for the CS department. They deal more with the "my machine broke, how do I fix it" side of things. Ultimately, we do all collaborate together, but we each have our own special areas of focus. Clear as mud?

So. Even though I work for CS and not SO, I got myself invited to the annual SO Applications Worldwide meeting (which is why I'm in Israel right now). That's this week. There is also a RTS Worldwide meeting next week. Back in December when we got the dates for both of these meetings, I asked my boss what he wanted me to attend: Apps, RTS, or both. One of the Apps guys in my office had already forwarded me the agenda for the SO Apps meeting; it's pretty heavy on the sales side of things. Nevertheless, my boss said I should go to that as it would be a good chance to mind-share knowledge. He also said that the RTS meeting agenda was focused on hands-on "how to fix the broken machine" stuff, and I didn't need to plan to go to that one.

So I booked my tickets and hotel. My mom booked her tickets and hotel. And the following week, I got the agenda for the RTS meeting, which yes, has plenty of "how to fix the broken machine" sessions, but also has several theoretical and applications-based sessions. That I really should be at. But now it's too late. Argh!

And yes, Mom and I would both love it if we could stay an extra 2 weeks. However, I only could manage to take 2 extra days of vacation. Maybe next time. You'd be surprised how much you can see and do in 4-5 days though, especially in a country the size of New Jersey.

Shalom

Guess where I am?

I'll give you a hint. Today it was sunny and in the 60s, my body is still all jet-lagged, and now that the sun has set and Sabbath is over and all the restaurants are open, I'm going to go grab a quick dinner.

That's right, I'm back in Israel! Shorter trip this time; back in May, I was here for 3 weeks. This time I have a week of work, and then using a couple of days of vacation time to give me a 4-day weekend of sightseeing with my mom. She is flying over next week to join me, arriving on my last day in the office. Tomorrow I go into the office and meet with my Israeli counterparts in Customer Support. The rest of the week I am attending the Applications annual meeting - which oddly enough, looks to be focusing mainly on sales. Ah well, it is a good experience and good face time with some of the other guys as well. Plus, they are taking us off-site for a couple of days up to Tiberius, which will be cool as I didn't get to head north last trip.

The trip over wasn't bad, though didn't go exactly as planned. My flight out of NH was delayed an hour, and then we were delayed again after we boarded the plane and pulled away from the gate. I was supposed to have almost a 3:30 layover in Newark; instead I had about 45 minutes between getting off one plane and wheels-up on the next. It was just enough time to switch gates, go to the restroom, stock up on water, Pringles, and sleeping pills, and then go through the secondary security for the Israeli flight. By that point, most of the passengers had boarded the plane, so I got to scramble for overhead space and crawl over my two seatmates to get to my window seat. Although I was stuck in coach, my carry-on suitcase got to fly in business class, since there was not enough overhead space available in my cabin. Harumph. I hope my suitcase enjoyed it.

As usual, I forgot things. On the "still at home" list this time are both sleeping pills/melatonin, as well as workout clothes. Boooo. I picked up some Unisom in the airport and already had Advil PM with me, so fingers crossed that will work to get me on the right sleep schedule ASAP. As for the workout clothes - well, I may be the girl going running in a bathing suit top and yoga pants along the Tel Aviv beachfront. We'll see!

2011 Review - Q&A Style

Editing to give credit where credit is due. I got this list of questions from Nothing But Bonfires, and blatantly stole Holly's answer to the final question. It's true though, and I elaborated on it in the comments.

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?
Went to Israel. Got recruited for jobs instead of being the one to send in my resume.Went to a Stanley Cup playoff game.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

My only real resolution was to find a new job in 2011. I did, and it is fantastic, but it certainly wasn't on my own terms. Thanks, shitty former company for laying me off for the second time. 
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

My friend (and former coworker) Sunshine had a daughter this past spring.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, thank God.
5. What countries did you visit?
Israel. Around the US, I went to Michigan, Wisconsin, California, and the usual New England states.
6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
A stable relationship. I'm definitely ready to settle down with someone.
7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
1/6 - layoff; 3/30 - job offer; 4/18 - started my new job; 5/14-6/1 - Israel; 6/6 - Stanley Cup Game 3; 6/15 - Bruins win the Cup; 10/8 - Red's wedding; 11/11 - M&M's wedding; 12/9 - my Girl Scout troop visiting me at my office.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Kicking complete and total ass at my new job. For the first time since college, I feel like I am consistently good at what I do. Also, finding a Girl Scout troop to mentor that is such a good fit for me. 
9. What was your biggest failure?
Let's just say the first two months when every bit of my life fell apart, and leave it at that.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing major. 
11. What was the best thing you bought?
A ticket to the Stanley Cup! The Wii is a close second, if only for the expression on Smalls' face when he watched a bunch of drunk white girls try to bust a move to songs on Just Dance at my Christmas party.
12. Where did most of your money go?
After mortgage payments, taxes, and bills, to hockey tickets and half price wine night!
13. What did you get really excited about?
My new job. It sounds trite, and I always swore I would not be one of those people who couldn't stop talking about her job, but I really do love it. People ask me what I do and I'm excited to talk about it. People who have known me for years have said I have never sounded this enthusiastic about my career.
14. What song will always remind you of 2011?
Adele "Someone Like You"
15. Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder? Thinner or fatter? Richer or poorer?
Job- and family-wise, happier. Relationship-wise, definitely sadder. Exactly the same weight as I started off the year, through pretty much no effort on my part. Yes, you may hate me. Financially, I think I'm about back to where I was when I got laid off.
16. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Family, stop reading and skip to the next question. NOW.
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Sex
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We now return you to your regularly scheduled survey.
17. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Being a basket case in January and February. I'm still curious if things would have been different. 
18. How did you spend Christmas?
In Maine with my family. 
19. What was your favorite TV program?
Downton Abbey. Mad Men. I don't really watch much TV any more. I caught up on both these series on Netflix streaming.
20. What were your favorite books of the year?
Side note - I read over 100 books this year, mainly due to having 3 months at home not wanting to get out of bed. Some of my favorites:
Homer's Odyssey - Gwen Cooper
The Happiness Project - Gretchen Rubin
Shades of Grey - Jasper Fforde
The Poison Tree - Erin Kelly
The Help - Kathryn Stockett
21. What was your favorite music from this year?

As much as it makes me all sentimental and melancholy, Mumford & Sons and Needtobreathe.
22. What were your favorite films of the year? 
The King's Speech. Yes, I know it came out in 2010. I didn't see it until 2011. It counts! Sarah's Key. The Help. 
23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Turned 34. Had lunch with former coworkers, spent a bunch of money on my car to get it to pass inspection, and then met up with Merrow and LaLa for drinks/dinner at an Irish Pub and an outdoor Great Big Sea concert. In related news, I hate Lowell.
24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I'm going to be honest here, and you're all going to yell at me, but it's the truth. Being able to share the year (especially the great parts once I started my new job) with LCF. I still feel a very strong connection to him, and there's a big hole in my heart that wants to be filled by him. 
25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
First 3 months: "Fuck it, I have no reason to get out of PJs"
The rest of the year: "Thank God I can wear jeans to work everyday again"
I should probably work on stepping this up a bit in 2012.
26. What kept you sane?
Antidepressants and my therapist. And the cats. I'm hoping to wean myself off the first two in 2012. 
27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.

Things work out.

Shiny New

Welcome 2012! May your low points be better than the high points of 2011.

Boo says "Happy New Year from the tip of my nose to the tip of my tail!"

This is going to be a good year. I can feel it. I'm feeling inspired to do big, expansive (and probably expensive), exciting things in the year I turn 35. Stay tuned for what will hopefully be many updates!