Sore Throat, A Poem Better Read than Said (Due to the Circumstances)

Burning redness, aching flesh

Wake in the middle of the night                                                        

No enlightenment from a thermometer

The flashlight holds more might.

Cough drops soothe,

The night is long

Pain meds help,

But they’re not strong

The night is long, the night is long.

All day I drink tea, throw scalding water at my throat

For just a time, a short, short time, the liquid helps to coat.

Vitamin C, Zinc and rest

I am bored out of my mind

Please stop hurting, throat, I beg

For this is most unkind.

The day is long, the day is long, longer than the night.



The worst is the evening,

When day passes into the night

The beast beats its fists with all its might

I feel it pounding on my neck

Its fiery temper raging, every swallow brings a cringe

It leaves me as a restless, helpless wreck.

The eve is long, the eve is long, the longest time of all.

Sore throat, you win, please move on now

I’ve things to do and snow to plow

I’ve had enough

Of all this stuff

Please turn and take your bow.

The end is near, the end is near

Please tell me that the end is here.

Home, and Older.

I am finally home from my two week US adventure and it feels pretty nice.

Since we last spoke, me and you, I was just leaving Arizona to meet up with Hernando* in San Francisco.  As usual my boyfriend took me on the most fabulous vacation ever.  We spent three night in Point Reyes, a California state park an hour north of San Fran.  The cabin we stayed in was charming to say the least.  It was called, "Annie's Place".  We quickly learned Annie was a dog, judging from the framed picture, dog bed and dog printed sheets. 

Our adventures in and around Annie's Place included, but were not limited to, lazy rainy days, foggy hikes to see enormous elephant seals, more cow and deer sightings then I have seen in the past ten years combined, hikes up mountains to gorgeous ocean views, beach cliffs, bush whacking, flying kites on the beach, weather changing drastically in minutes, stinky french cheeses and amazing jasmine infused chocolates and a hummingbird "trapped" in the house, repeatedly hitting itself against our glass window pane trying to get to his soul mate just outside the window.  Eventually, after many failed attempts at gentle coercing, Hernando picked up this little, tiny, precious bird, whose neck turned red in the sunlight and body beamed green when it flew, and gently set him free to fly off with his lover, only to return minutes later.  Luckily we knew now to shut our door.

Later our friends came up to meet us and we played frisbee, a pick up soccer game and hiked some more before we all headed back to the city.

Have you been to San Francisco?  Have you seen these hills?  On every street you walk straight up or straight down, with incredible inclines.  It would be impossible to be fat in this city! 

My great friend, Amanda, took me on a tour of downtown and to a wonderful farmer's market.  I met her amazing friends and had a complete blast checking out her life in Cali.. Kind of makes me want to move there...

To top it off, Hernando decided we would celebrate my upcoming birthday on Saturday night, our last night of vacation.  He and his friends went out without me knowing, got me a birthday cake, and filled the room with balloons.  I may have only known two of the 15 people in the room well, but it still felt great to have people sing happy birthday to me! :)  Amanda also brought champagne over, Hernando's friend made homemade pizzas for us and the night was great!

I should also mention that Hernando, DG and Matt (the two friend's of Hernando's that we stayed with) made me Crab cake Eggs Florentine for breakfast and put a birthday candle in it that morning. :)

So, after getting home last night around 11 PM, I felt like my vacation couldn't have been better!  Until we got a flat tire five minutes from the airport.  Thank goodness for AAA...

At midnight, freezing, surrounded by the snow banks I had avoided the last two weeks, I sat in Hernando's broken down car just off highway 91 and entered my mid to late twenties.

And it felt great. :)



*Name has been changed to protect the innocent

East, West, West, East, West, East

My traveling continued from Chicago to warm, sunny Arizona.  Did I say warm?  My mistake!  It was barely 60 degrees for the three days I was there.  Normally this time of year it is around 75 and totally awesome, and about three weeks ago it was a whopping 95 degrees, but no, not this week, not for ol' Sal.  Oh well, coming from Connecticut and just barely making it on a flight out of Chicago missing a snowstorm by about an hour- 60 degrees and sunny worked for me.  It made me giggle watching the born and bred Arizonians bundle up in winter coats, scarfs and mittens- especially when I spoke with my parents in CT and heard about the six inches of snow we were currently getting there.

Despite the bitter cold, I pushed on in AZ.  My Aunt and Uncle and my cousins, Jason and Stacey, showed me a great time complete with touring Scottsdale, checking out U of A in Tucson and a Phoenix Suns Basketball game!

Now I'm back east for the weekend, preparing for my next trip.  I board the plane tomorrow night..more to come!

Stay warm!! ;)

Traveling Has Begun..

Hi All, Sensitive Sal here.  I missed you, too!!! :)

I am just leaving my sister's condo in Chicago after spending three great days here including a day out with my Aunt Ellen braving the windy cold going to a Christmas market, and the Sears tower, which is now called Willis Tower because someone bought something and stepped out on the glass ledge with a glass ceiling, glass walls and glass FLOOR a mere 103 floors above the ground!

No, this is not me and Ellen, but we did break down and buy the very expensive photo they offered us. :-)

In Chicago, I also met my sister's great friend Kelly.  Kelly, I know you are reading this.  Feel free to comment!  Otherwise, it was just sister time, which was fantastic, as we all know how I feel about Becky!

Anyway, off to catch my flight to Arizona.  More details soon.  Hope everyone is having a great holiday season!!!