2012 Photo Review

After being devastated when Mark told me that my photos had all been lost, I was thrilled when he figured out how to get the computer to work again! Yeah for being married to someone who knows how to make things function :) I thought I'd post a few photos to go over the past 12 months, and finish off some that I never got around to posting before.

January saw me working frantically on the last few pages of my novel (my goal is to get that thing published this year, one way or another) and continuing to enjoy the good life over in Czech.

February saw us enjoying every last minute of our time in Marianske Lazne, while planning for the future. Who knew that a year later we would know the shop we were contemplating so intimately. (We just finished inventory yesterday, which means we now know everything that is and is not in the store.)

Need I remind you, it was really cold there?

March brought us back to the US, and into silence. We spent a dizzying month making business deals left and right, and driving back and forth to Idaho. We relocated to McMinnville, and there really aren't any pictures from that month to speak of.

In April, May, and June we continued to settle into the new routine. Daily drives to Portland became the norm. In what little free time we had we took in some of the local sites, and planted a little garden.

July was a super busy month. We finally had a little vacation which we kicked off with my nephew Ryder's wedding, followed by a week long family reunion to celebrate my parent's 50th anniversary.

My previous posts about the family reunion were cut short, so I'll share just a few more pictures from the trip to Sunriver.

My second cousin runs a ranch for abused horses called Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch, which is located out in Bend. We headed out there for a day, which had all my horse crazy nieces and nephews ultra excited.

There was also an afternoon of rafting that lent itself to some lovely scenic shots, and left my front half a brilliant lobster red.

What can I say about August and September but that they were lovely warm months. There were a lot of beach trips, but with the computer not working, and my obsession with Instagram growing, most of my photos were not taken with my camera. October also lent itself well to beach trips, and I think that is when the incident of the seagulls took place. My parents had come for a visit, and we had to entertain them by making the birds fly!

In November I aged once again. I was joined in the celebration by my dear friend Rebekah, who flew up for the weekend to celebrate both of our birthdays, as well as the birthday party for Jessie's girls who are Novemberians as well. My sister Janet also planned a little surprise, which meant she, my sister Julie and her baby Myrtle, and my mother all landed on my doorstep Saturday morning. It was good fun to spend the day shopping, celebrating, and eating more than my usual share. Good times were had by all. No photos, I'm afraid. I think I'm getting too old for posing...perhaps...

December was a crazy time at work. Anyone who has ever done retail, or worked in a post office, can understand. We were excited by it, of course, because it meant we had a little extra to start our insanity January.

And that pretty much sums up my past year. Except for the fact that I spent 80 percent of my time trying to wrap my simple little brain around the concept of being a business owner, I don't have a whole lot of excuses for being so blog silent. I won't promise a hundred posts this year, but hopefully as things progress I'll be better able to keep it all in stride. I'll also have to add a few shots of our renovation progress. Wish us luck in this big new undertaking as we attempt to improve on all levels in the new year.

A Longing That Lingers

Ther's no way to really put my finger on it, but there are moments in life where I am overcome by longing. I wouldn't call it dissatisfaction, or even sorrow, but more of a sudden urge for things that are utterly out of my grasp.

I remember once when a dear friend spent an evening crying in the bathroom. I let her have her space, but when she was ready, I asked what had led to her misery. Her answer, "I was crying about all the goodbyes I am going to have to make in life." We were not at a point in time where a goodbye was close, but she was suddenly struck by the magnitude of the losses she would experience throughout her life time.

The thing is, I have been wildly blessed. I've managed to circle the globe and make friends in so many places that the sun never sets on the ones I love. But such depth of experience comes with a cost. Regardless of all that modern technology has done to make the world a smaller place, distance still exists, and connections do change.

Yesterday, as I drove over the pass above Newberg, I was struck with a deep ache for the lush green peaks and towering concrete, glass, and steel giants of Hong Kong. The gift of Instagram has allowed me to almost taste the succulence of Hong Kong style French toast, and to keep up with the daily sights of life in the city of life, but I am not there. I can't walk up onto my favorite rooftop and watch the twinkling lights, or go downstairs and curl up with a precious infant. I have to drive for miles to get to work, and the Portland skyline just doesn't have a chance.

Today, on my drive through Dundee, the geraniums around a shop transported me to Cesky Krumlov. The new school year is starting, but I have no lessons to plan, nor can I walk to the grocery store for soft herbal cheese and rohliky.

How does one balance the longing with contentment? It's a challenge, and knowing that I have no option to just set down what I'm doing so I can write another chapter in my travel log is hard on a transient like myself.

At the heart of all this struggle is also a lack of personal connection in my current life. Sure, I interact with people on a daily basis, but it's mostly that surface stuff that I quickly tire of when there is nothing of more substance to be acquired. I guess I'm missing long girly talks with all my roomies of old...

Photo Flashback

At long last, I'm going writing a post from an actual computer with photos on it. And so, without further ado, I'm going to have something of interest to look at on the blog again.

During our last few days in Czech, yes this goes way back to February, Mark did some research on things that were taking place in the region during WWII. After spending so much time looking at things online, we decided to literally go out in the field and get up close with some artifacts.

These old bunkers are out in a field just outside Marianske Lazne. Obviously you can't really go into them anymore, but it was fascinating to be so close to the history.

Naturally, I had to get some nature shots as well.

And what would any photo shoot be without a little self portrait to finish things off?

And so we close our last trip to Czech. With all the insanity going on involving owning a business, it's hard to say when we'll have a chance to get back again, but hopefully we can figure something out soon.

Oh The People You'll Meet

Life is such a random trip sometimes. You never know when someone will walk into your life carrying poetry in their hearts. Or when an appreciative eye will recognize a work of art correctly positioned. It's a slow day in the shoppe, but it has lent itself well to interesting conversations.

A woman came in, noticed the poet stamps, and quoted William Carlos Williams. It's amazing how much really does depend on a red wheelbarrow... It led to a discussion of the usefulness of English degrees, as well as how they suck a bit of joy out of vapid reading... And it brought a spark of joy to my soul. Somehow it served to remind me that the lives we live matter, even on days when we seem insignificant. Her day had fallen behind schedule, but she spent a good twenty minutes just chatting with me about the joys of literature and learning. I felt somehow elevated.

Sometimes it seems that every day I'm reminded more and more how little I know, and what a dramatically huge step I've taken into uncertainty by buying a business. I don't know squat about running a business. Filing taxes is a deep dark dread that makes me quiver. A calendar of the Czech Republic on the wall at home, and a week spent watching an episode of Prostreno every night on the computer, reminds me of other lives lived, and how very distant that relatively care free life is now removed from my future.

Poetry, however, has not been forgotten. And the bits of art that are cropping up on the walls reminds me that there is beauty all around, just waiting to be expanded upon. Even in the face of gargantuan uncertainty there hope quietly sprouts in my heart, like the radishes and peas, cilantro and mint in our tiny clay soil garden.

Poetry in the Post Office

I don't have a lot of time to write these days. Quite frankly, I don't have a whole lot of time for anything. The past three weeks I've been working 6 days a week. With the hour long commute in each direction that means I get home in the evening ready to do nothing in particular. With the introduction of TV and internet back into our house as of Friday, that means I'm one again thankful to erase any thoughts in design heaven, or smother them with images of fanciful food. Perhaps the fact that my house looks more like we're about to move out than in, and the kitchen has yet to be cooked in (except when my parents visited and did the cooking for us a bit ago) makes this guilty pleasure even more pathetic, but also necessary.

So I can't say that I feel like much of a writer at the moment. My novel is still in the hands of reviewers, and I haven't even had the energy to check in with any of them. I'm still getting regular e-mails from self pub outfits, and I'm just stockpiling them in my inbox along with all the ads for high priced gadgets, fabulous home decor (which would no doubt clash with the brown flowered couches that are older than me but still look essentially new), sweet scented soaps, and photo developing services. I keep saying that once I get into a flow I'll have time to start up Czech lessons, get more writing done, start journaling again, and connect with human beings outside of my work environment. But figuring out when normalcy is going to hit, or when I'm going to resign myself to the fact that work and TV are about all I have time for anymore if I want to maintain my sanity, I don't know. Every now and again I ponder those new year's revolutionary ideas, and then I start thinking about finances again and everything else disappears. I certainly did not see this future as we stood in the snow in Marianske Lazne watching Karel's fireworks sparkle dazzlingly in the sky.

In the end, all I can really say is, we have twentieth century poet stamps for sale in the post office, and that makes my little English major heart swell with joy. Sylvia Plath on a stamp. Is there any other word for that than "magical?" I think not.

Customer Service FAIL!

When you travel you have to be prepared to come across things you like, and things you don't. Whether it's in your own country or abroad, people have different ways of behaving that might not always be quite up to par with your own thoughts on how things should be. It's something you just have to accept, right? Go with the flow and all of that.

In some cases this is definitely true. When I was first training to teach English in the Czech Republic the leaders constantly harped at us about how important it was to be flexible. It got old, but it was true. It's good to embrace new traditions and ways of looking at the world. Doing so has helped me to improve who I am as a person.

The other day I went shopping and in front of the mall I experienced my first ever pig killing feast. While I obviously don't want to watch a pig being slaughtered every day, this is an age old custom in the Czech Republic, and I can appreciate it as that. The reason pigs are considered good luck is because if you had enough money for a pig, then you were doing very well for yourself. The whole village would come together to celebrate by killing a pig and using every part of it. This was not about cruelty to animals, or being unsanitary. (Note: the EU is trying to ban, or at the very least control, this practice due to "health concerns.") It was about providing food for the people. It is represented in cultural art, and is especially important in the smaller villages. I am flexible enough to handle this, even if it isn't something I want to make a part of my daily (or even yearly) life.

While we watched them clean out the pig, my Mom-in-law, who happens to be a nurse, was describing to me what all the internal organs were. Shockingly enough, I actually understood most of the terms. I do know some Czech! The second two pictures are of our anniversary cake.

So whether you agree with certain cultural practices or not, it is important to at least try to understand them. I'm sure by this point people are starting to wonder about the title to this post, and I promise I'm about to get to it. See, the thing is, there are some things that I have a really hard time accepting. Bad customer service is one of those things. I don't care what country you live in, when you are in a position where you were with customers, being polite should always be at the top of your list.

I could name plenty of instances where this has very much NOT been the case. I'll stick with two for now. Keep in mind, I have had plenty of good experiences with service people as well, and these are extreme cases, so please don't see this as a reason not to visit this incredible country.

The first example took place during the summer of 2010. I think I wrote about it back then, but it's long enough ago that people might not remember ;) It was a hot summer day and I was in desperate need of a drink. In the center of town, prices are always higher because there are a lot of tourists, so I decided to pop into a little potraviny (food store) thinking I could get a decent price. I found a bottle of water for less than a dollar US and I went to pay. The only bill I had was 200KC, which is roughly $10. Not a big deal, right? Wrong. The cashier refused to take the bill. Even when I showed her that I honestly did not have anything smaller, she refused and pulled the bottle of water off the counter. Ridiculous much? I was angry enough to tell her in English that she was terrible, and then walked out never to purchase anything else there again.

Today example number two took place. My husband and I went to buy some nice chocolate for his dad's birthday. We went to the little local store and picked out some expensive chocolate. Keep in mind, we are a married couple. I was dressed in high quality clothes. He was wearing a black coat. One of the nice things in Czech is that people always greet each other in stores. It's all very polite. This was a small store in our local community, but the cashier did not greet us. I paid for the chocolate and she looks at my husband and tells him to empty his pockets. Um, come again? That's right. She treated him like a thief for no reason at all. Goodness, it's a junky grocery store, and we paid for expensive chocolate. What is wrong with people sometimes? The worst bit was that she didn't even seem to feel the least bit sorry for asking him to do that, even though he quickly proved that he didn't steal anything, and pointed out how ridiculous it would be for him to steal a 50 cent candy bar when he was already paying for something much more expensive.

All this to say, there are things that you just have to expect when you travel, but that doesn't mean they will all be pleasant or necessary.

If I Wrote A Guide Book

If I:

wrote a guide book it would be different than what you typically see. There are countless books highlighting the biggest cities and the most international locations. I love going to these places and experiencing that fast paced life, but there is always something unreal about it. It is even easy to live in such a place and never get a feel for what the culture and real life of the people is like.

So if I wrote a guide book I would focus on the gems that the common tourist misses. If my guide book was about the Czech Republic I would be certain to highlight the magical city of Marianske Lazne. My goal would be aimed at opening up people to the idea of really digging in and finding the hidden beauty in a country. So here are a few pages that I would definitely have to put into my guide book.

Walking through parks is definitely worth the time. You can watch the train pass, enjoy the sunlight through the trees, maybe even see a random old guy walking around carrying a tree, then climb a viewing tower. Of course, once you climb that tower you'll discover that it was built in an older era when the trees were not nearly so tall. At this point there's not a whole lot to view, so people use this place for other activities.

At least that is what we discovered on our walk through the slushy late February snow.

Then I would focus on looking at the famous sights from different angles, focusing on the details.

I'd take a different look during a different season, then get up close and personal with the details.

I would look for little bits of art that tell a story. The first is clearly on a quest. The second is a pair that demonstrates a common practice in art. Note how the woman is exposed while the man is concealed. Interesting, no?

If I wrote a guide book I would want to really live in the place first. I would want to be able to understand the world I was sharing, so the people reading my book would feel like they could experience the heartbeat of the city. It would also be great to point out cultural things like this. A dumpling shop:

I might not ever write a guide book. I do, however, have a story idea based on the life lead by a transient drifter. I hope, one day, to write in such a way that I can bring the travelers soul to the life of a tourist, enhancing their experiences as they walk wide eyed with wonder through this scarred but beautiful world.