Archive for March, 2011

Ms. HalfEmpty meets Mr. Crotchety and Ms. Gams

Mar 25

Posted by Ms. HalfEmpty in travel | 7 Comments

Travel & Adventure Expo

Earlier this month, I attended the Travel & Adventure Show in DC. Generally, I am not a fan of big expo shows because they can be overwhelming. I am the type who must not miss anything, and looking out over the sea of booths seemed daunting. But with a free expo ticket and my pending 30/40 World Tour just over 2 months away, I was willing to go outside my comfort zone.

I wanted to focus on areas of the world relevant to our 30/40 World Tour, but they were disappointingly not well represented. However, the event did have two stages with scheduled speakers. I was able to attend the seminars of Peter Greenberg (Travel Editor for CBS News) and Samantha Brown (host on The Travel Channel).

CBS News' Peter Greenberg, aka Mr. Crotchety

Peter Greenberg’s presentation was entitled, “Navigating the Travel Process: Tips from the Travel Detective,” which sounded a lot more interesting than the actual talk. He started out with a lot of basic travel information — stuff that would be well known to people who have traveled. Plus, his persona was that of a condescending, crotchety old man. Perhaps that’s just his schtick.

He asserted that the best time to travel is after a political or natural disaster and to disregard State Department warnings. Hum…that doesn’t seem wise to me. If our country is evacuating citizens, perhaps it’s not a great time to travel to that location. When a person in the audience said that he had been planning to visit Egypt but cancelled based on the political instability, Mr. Crotchey pretty much berated him for changing plans.

Peter Greenberg also said that “plans” is the worst 5-letter word in travel. I have a really hard time with that. I’m a planner. I love plans! But I do appreciate the benefits of spontaneity, especially while traveling when you never know who you will meet or what you may find. That’s part of the appeal of the 30/40 World Tour; it’s a chance for discovery, which can’t happen if it’s completely scheduled. We have all our flights since we do have some specific places to be, and have a hard stop at the end of the summer for Mr. HalfFull. But otherwise our schedule is fairly open. I think planning out this type of trip would be too daunting anyway. At least for this trip, our flight schedule is it!

Travel Channel's Samantha Brown, aka Ms. Gams

Samantha Brown’s seminar was called, “Lessons from the road and a life on the go.” She was the polar opposite of Peter Greenberg — completely lovable and personable (not to mention amazing legs!!!). I’ve never seen her on TV, but she had quite a large following at her seminar — all seats full, plus rows of people standing on the sides and in the back. She spoke about the emotional value of travel. According to Samantha Brown, travel is an investment in your life. She also talked about the difference between the mentality when visiting places with a lot of old history versus those that don’t have many old buildings and remnants. She said that when she is in Europe, she feels that she is studying the past surrounded by all the beautiful old architecture and museums. On the other hand, she found that in Latin America she was able to relax and be in the moment, while focusing on people instead of architecture. I thought that was an interesting observation, but I don’t think it’s location specific. I think it’s more about the mindset. I’m not particularly interested in history or museums, so that’s not what I seek out in any location. Sometimes I do see those things as a concession to others on the trip, but I prefer just to be and observe. As Samantha Brown said, it’s a “personal driven search to experience an authentic moment.” I hope to experience many this summer…

Do you enjoy expos?
Do you think it’s wise to travel after political or natural disasters?
Should we visit Christchurch, NZ so soon after their earthquake?
Are you a planner?
Have you found travel to be an investment in your life?
Are you drawn to history or do you prefer to observe the present?

Tags: expo, seminar, travel

No Needles for Me!

Mar 16

Posted by Ms. HalfEmpty in travel | 2 Comments

Part of the planning for international travel includes vaccinations. For the areas of our trip, we need routine immunizations, Hepatitis A & B, and Typhoid. Fortunately, most of these are readily available at primary care doctors’ offices. However, Typhoid is not. Typhoid vaccinations are generally only available at international travel clinics, which typically do not take insurance.

Yesterday, Mr. HalfFull and I were all set to get our Typhoid injections at our public county clinic. (Apparently we didn’t look like their normal clientele because when I said I had an appointment, they immediately asked if it was for international travel.) I’m never excited about needles and when I got my Heptatitis A and Tdap (Tetanus/Diptheria/Pertussis) vaccines earlier this year, I had sore arms for a week! So I was not looking forward to that experience again.

Since the county clinic does not take insurance, they provide you with a price list when you arrive. We looked it over while waiting to be seen and noticed that the Typhoid oral vaccine was less expensive than the Typhoid injection, plus it provided longer protection. Let’s compare the methods…

Typhoid Pills

	Oral	Injection
Cost	$32	$45 injectable + $21 vaccine administration = $66
Method	4 pills	needle!!!
Protection Period	5 years	2 years

To me, it seemed like a no brainer to get the pills instead of the shot. Of course certain people cannot take the oral vaccine (under 6 years old, weak immune system, etc.) and there are specific instructions on taking the pill (every other day, empty stomach, etc.). But as long as you can follow instructions, the oral immunization wins out in my book!

Our trip to the clinic turned out to be half full — no needles, $34/person savings, and protection for a future trip in the next 5 years.

Tags: HalfFull, travel, typhoid

Crêpes, Castles, and Creationism?

Mar 13

Posted by Ms. HalfEmpty in Observations | 6 Comments

On Friday night, Mr. HalfFull and I attended Shoot, Busk, and Blog: The Ins and Outs of Writing, Shooting, and Playing on the Road, a free travel event in DC. [Aside from Mr. HalfFull: what the heck is busk??? According to dictionary.com: “to entertain by dancing, singing, or reciting on the street or in a public place.”]

Mr. HalfFull scales castle gate @ Medieval Times

Amazingly, the free event had free food and an open bar! While we were enjoying our hors d’œuvres and drinks and waiting for the presentation to begin, we noticed the flyer rack at the hostel and had to laugh. It lauded such attractions as Medieval Times, Calvert County, Natural Bridge, and Leesburg Outlets. Is this the best that Western civilization has to offer? Are these really the top advertisements for people visiting our nation’s capital??? None of these gems are even in Washington, DC! In fact, they’re all a 1-4 hour drive outside the city.

Let’s consider the actual attractions. Medieval Times is a fake castle in a shopping mall in the suburbs of Baltimore for children’s birthday parties and drunk adults eating without utensils. See, it’s possible to learn historical facts, while being cultured! Mr. HalfFull may or may not have thoroughly enjoyed this event for his 39th birthday.

Mr. HalfFull with cowboy riding dinosaur @ Natural Bridge Visitor Center

What about Natural Bridge? It’s almost 4 hours away in Virginia! We’ve been there. Well, not exactly all the way to the bridge. Upon arriving at the visitor center, you are greeted by a cowboy riding a dinosaur out front. You think I’m kidding? See photo at left. How’s that for historical accuracy? We have renamed it the “unnatural bridge” based on the statue and were a bit turned off by the visitor center and $20 ride to see the actual bridge. This was a good reminder for our 30/40 World Tour: don’t put too much stock in the flyer rack.

It turned out to be a lucky night for me! I won a super soft American Apparel t-shirt for being one of the first registrants. Then my raffle ticket was drawn and I picked The Lost Girls: Three Friends. Four Continents. One Unconventional Detour Around the World as my prize. The three Lost Girls were speakers at the event and graciously signed my book!

When I was talking to Lost Girl Amanda Pressner after the event, she asked about my blog. I sheepishly told her that it was only a week old, said it’s called Half Empty for Now, and explained that I am Ms. HalfEmpty and my husband is Mr. HalfFull. She immediately responded, “Oh so you’re trying to see things from his point of view.” Exactly! I loved that she got it immediately and it made me feel good about the concept and naming.

My impetus for travel is very similar to The Lost Girls. Perhaps I am a lost girl too. I’ve only read a tiny part of their book, and already it resonates with me. The Lost Girls

shared the desire to take a giant step away from our goal-oriented worlds to get a better sense of who we were — and what we really wanted from our lives. Up until then, we’d successfully hit the milestones that are supposed to give young women a sense of purpose: Moving away from Mom and Dad. Graduating from college. Getting our first jobs. Falling in love. …we all wondered: Were the paths that we were heading down the right ones for us — or were we simply staying the course because we thought we should?

After the travel event, Mr. HalfFull and I tried to get a table for dinner at Brasserie Beck, but they were booked. Disappointedly, we walked toward the Metro and spotted Point Chaud Café and Crêpes. J’adore crêpes! We split one savory and one sweet crêpe to top off a wonderfully half full night. [Mr. HalfFull saw my notes for this post where I had written “crêpes (half full)” and commented that he thought the crêpes were very full and generously stuffed...haha!]

Did dinosaurs and cowboys really exist at the same time?
What type of flyers would you put in a DC hostel?
Do you prefer sweet or savory crêpes?
Are you a lost girl/boy?

Tags: blog, cowboys, crêpes, dinosaurs, HalfFull, hostel, Lost Girls, perspective, travel

30/40 World Tour: Quest for Passion

Mar 9

Posted by Ms. HalfEmpty in travel | 13 Comments

Mr. HalfFull and I plan to spend the summer traveling around the world. We’ve dubbed this trip “30/40 World Tour: Quest for Passion.” What does that mean??? I am 30-years-old and Mr. HalfFull is 40-years-old. These are supposed to be big decade birthdays, so we decided to do something big — namely, travel around the world!

We have been thinking about this trip for years and even did a more local honeymoon in anticipation of this world tour. We are both very excited and rather “half full” about the trip.

The “Quest for Passion” part of the trip is more of my personal goal as Ms. HalfEmpty. I read many blogs that encourage pursuing your passion and doing what you love. But what if you don’t know what that is?

I know what I don’t want to do and have been transitioning my career, but the right path for me has been elusive. I hope that a change of scenery including new people and cultures will provide me with some clarity. Even if that does not occur, I know it will be a memorable experience and add many coffees and stories to my life.

We plan to travel for 10 weeks from June to August and will be posting here all summer to share our adventures with you. We will start in DC and fly to LA. Our original plan was to move time zones slowly and get acclimated, but sometimes flight schedules change plans! We will only be in LA for 12 hours and plan to take the Big Blue Bus to Marina del Rey for lunch, a nice walk, dinner, and the sunset. Then we will head back to the airport to leave the country!

View 30/40 World Tour: Quest for Passion in a larger map

Our first international location is Fiji. We are looking forward to relaxing on the beach and sailing between the islands. This will be a great opportunity to recharge and get in the travel frame of mind.

After a week in Fiji, we are off to New Zealand for three weeks. We will be visiting during their winter season and are a bit worried about the clothing situation. We are each taking one carry-on bag, which does not provide much space for bulkier winter gear. We may stick mainly to the warmer North Island, but hope to visit the South Island and maybe even rent some gear to ski.

Then we fly to Noumea, which is known as the Paris of the South Pacific. The city is located in the island country of New Caledonia. Mr. HalfFull read about Noumea as a kid and always wanted to visit. We plan to sip delicious coffee and munch on baguettes in cafes. As an added bonus, we will both get to practice our French!

After realizing we forgot more French than expected, we head back to the English-speaking land of Australia. We will fly into Sydney and discover the city for a few days before joining a “bus safari” to Melbourne.

Our flight from Melbourne will take us to Mauritius, an island nation in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Madagascar. My cousin got married in Mauritius last summer and after seeing the photos, we had to go!

After a week of sun and sand, we will head to Dubai for more sun and sand! We only have a quick layover in Dubai, but hope to get a sense of the place and avoid temperatures over 100 degrees for too long.

The remainder of our trip will be in Europe, starting in Munich for a few days to see family. Spain is the final country of the 30/40 World Tour. We will fly into Barcelona and eventually make our way to Madrid to meet up with Vaugan Town, an English immersion program for Spaniards. The program (including 4-star-hotel accommodations and food) is free for native English speakers, who are there to help increase the fluency of Spanish business people. I first heard about this program from The Professional Hobo and was intrigued. Mr. HalfFull and I applied and were accepted for a session in Barco de Avila.

After our adventures in Spain, we will head back to Washington, DC with a trip around the world under our belts and perhaps a new perspective.

Have you ever traveled around the world? What advice do you have for us?
Have you visited any of the countries on the 30/40 World Tour? Are there must-see locations or foods you highly recommend? Do you have housing recommendations?
Have you found your passion? Did it require searching?
By calling it “Quest for Passion,” am I putting too much pressure on the trip?

Tags: career, coffee, passion, travel

Half Empty or Half Full?

Mar 6

Posted by Ms. HalfEmpty in HalfEmpty | 14 Comments

I’ve always been known as more of a pessimist, one who sees the world half empty. But I’ve never really liked the half empty / half full paradigm. What if that glass was filled with cod oil or a fiber drink? You’d be quite happy that it was half empty! Why does the world assume that the glass is full of something good???

Half Empty / Half Full mug

Apparently my disposition is well known to my longtime friend, who I’ve known since 8th grade. For my wedding, she gave me a basket full of coffee items. (She knows what I love!) One of the items was a half empty / half full mug; it’s actually two mugs depending on which way you hold it. She observed that my husband (Mr. HalfFull) has the opposite world view from her dear old friend. So she put my name on the half empty side and his on the half full side. She knows us well!

We have this mug sitting on our window sill in the kitchen and make a game of flipping it over. When I’m last in the kitchen the mug is half empty. When Mr. HalfFull notices it, he flips it to the other side.

But did you notice how the half empty mug background is white and the other side is dark and sinister? Perhaps half empty really is the bright side (at least as far as this mug goes).

So here I am with a definite half empty world view, trying to see the world as half full sometimes and asking for you to join the discussion.

Do you see the world as half empty or half full?
Do you agree with the standard half empty vs. half full definitions?
Which side of the mug would you use?

Tags: coffee, HalfEmpty

Half Empty for Now

...but trying to see it half full.

Archive for March, 2011