Living the Holiday

Tomorrow marks the end of my holiday...well, sort of. Julissa, my BFF and old roommate from Washington, DC arrives in Bangkok and the party will undoubtedly begin. I cannot see it happening any other way because when Julissa is around, you are guaranteed to have a good time. But her arrival means that I have come to the last leg of my Southeast Asia adventure. We will be partaking in some fun, touristy Bangkok mischief and after three or four days of that, we will begin our island hopping adventure. This, to me, is the best way to end my holiday - on the beach, looking at the beautiful ocean, under the warm sun, and neglecting the fact that I will soon have to return to freezing, unkind Chicago weather. I am excited about seeing my family and celebrating the holidays at home, but I am very frightened of the cold that awaits me.

This last leg of my trip also guarantees that madness will ensue because we will have to squeeze in many memorable moments in a short period of time. As much as I want to go hard on the last leg of my trip, I have changed quite a bit in the last three months and I function at a different pace. Thankfully, Julie is all about taking it easy. Everything here is so easy. I have nothing to worry about. My reactions to stress, drama and negative energy have shifted to a very calm plane. I truly hope I can translate my new outlook into the rest of my life. I have a feeling that it cannot be any other way, but I am human, and doubt sometimes shows its little head.

Today was a tad bit sentimental for me. Carla and I spent the afternoon shopping for fabric in Chinatown. When Carla and I were in high school, we lived her budding obsession with fashion by spending our afternoons at Jo-Ann Fabrics on the north side of Chicago looking through the discounted rolls of fabric. It is magical to see Carla in a fabric store because you can literally see her creative juices begin to bubble. Carla's eyes open wide when she spots the perfect roll of fabric and immediately beings to describe the garments that she envisions with the fabric in hand. Carla is truly a genius when it comes to putting together different patters, color pallets and textures. Today, in Chinatown, my heart was filled with immense joy and happiness because, fifteen years later, I still get excited fabric shopping with Carla. Fifteen years later, I still witness the same ingenious reaction as we find the perfect roll of fabric. In fact, today we found six perfect rolls and two happened to be on sale! I carefully instructed Carla that she is to save the material until she comes up with the best design for me. It is pretty neat to know that you have a future super cool, super trendy, super sexy outfit waiting for you within the depths of Carla's imagination. Our shopping trip was also the last afternoon that Carla and I would spend together in Bangkok. Carla flies back to the U.S. on the day that Julie and I embark on our island adventure. We had a fantastic time weaving through the fabric shops looking for the perfect material for the dress she designed special for yours truly. It was absolutely the best afternoon I have spent in Bangkok so far.

I was expressing to my friend Ron that I feel like I have not written as much as I could have on my blog. Ron suggested that I decide whether I want to live my holiday or write about my holiday. I think I can do both, but I think I shall write more about the trip and the fun lessons and adventures once I return to the states. I just came across a ton of pictures from Cambodia, India, Koh Samed and Petchaburi that I have not posted, so stay tuned. Once I am back in the cold and do not have the sun and pool to keep me company during the day, I will plunge into the task of recounting my days in Bangkok and beyond. I figure it will be like a writer who composes their memoirs after the fact, but obviously it will be my Southeast Asia memoirs. "Memoirs"...that sounds kinda funny...

P.S. In the picture above, Carla and I had just finished purchasing 6 meters of beautiful black stretchy organza fabric and ivory cotton lace....it was taken today by the shop keepers...

Chinatown Shopping