I always keep on mental-hand one really laugh-worthy idea. This way, anytime I start feeling annoyed, hurried or hurt, I can whip it out and smile the stressor away.
And my new imaginary clown is the following;
My parents suspect that I am in the CIA.
NO JOKE.
My older sister recently leaked the information to me. I could talk more about this….but do I really need to? It’s the perfect one-liner. I’m thinkin’ that I’m gonna start whispering into my watch and bustin’ out the last of my Korean on the phone next time someone calls. Oh, yes. I could have fun with this…. đ
Making other misconception headlines, I recently got another call from a friend asking if I was getting married. Now c’mon. Really. Me? Married!? Yet another one-liner. The “isle” is the one path in this world that I have no intention of treading. I’ve got other cliffs to jump.
Okay…so this picture from the photogallery was probably a bit misleading. It was the result of a running joke between myself and a friend who’s living vicariously through me and my travels as I do through her and her married life.
But really, the only rocks I want are the kind I can climb. đ
And finally, a new disclaimer for this site.
I recently took the Meyer’s Briggs personality test again. And although my results have been steady and solid (ENTJ) for over ten years, my final results show that I’ve been foolin’ myself all along. Turns out I’m an INFJ/INTJ (“Counselor/Mastermind“). The biggest news being that although I’m the first person on the dance floor at party, I’d be just as happy doing my jiggy in a cave. Yes. The introvert in me has emerged! And although she still salsas in bank lines and rolls in the dirt with street kids, she’s living in her own world for which she can be quiet reserved with sharing permissions. And in that little world of mine, according to my “type analysis,” I also quite actively integrate the imaginary into my reality…
Wait, wait. I can hear people laughing. Okay. Okay. So YOU already knew that! BUT I DIDN’T! That’s the very thing! I see, hear and feel things (and then I write about them), that I thought other people just couldn’t be bothered with. But as I’m starting to suspect, perhaps I AM a CIA agent. Perhaps I AM muddling fact with fiction and submitting biased reports of my worldly probes!
So there it is; my disclaimer. What you read on this site, which is by ALL and every account, in PERFECT alignment with the personal truth of the author, may very well be a smorgasbord of fact, fiction and fantasy. But as far as I’m concerned, I’d much rather my life story read like a fairy tale than a dictionary. So disclaimer disclaimed, we continue!
Leaving for India in 10 days and counting!
(One last misperception correction; a few have gotten the odd idea that I’m paying to go on these organized semesters abroad when actually I am the Trip Leader. I actually guide the groups of college students on 3-month experiential learning semesters (community service, environmental conservation work, local family home stays, foreign language study, spiritual self-exploration, long-distance trekking and other adventure activities) for a BRILLIANT company called, LEAPnow.)
Our India Itinerary is as follows…
LeapNow Spiritual Semester in India, Spring 2004
Date:        Itinerary:
Feb. 26        Depart San Francisco for Delhi
Feb. 27        Day Lost in Flight
Feb. 28        Arrive Early AM into Delhi
Feb. 38 – Mar. 1     Semester Orientation in Delhi
Mar. 2        Travel by train to Varanasi (15 hr Overnight)
Mar. 3        Arrive in Varanasi
Mar. 3 – 19     Varanasi Homestay, Yoga, Hindi Classes, Vounteering,
Mar. 20        Travel by Train to Gaya (5 hrs)
Mar. 21        Transport from Gaya to Bodhgaya
Mar. 21 – 28     Study Tibetan Buddhism & Visit Temples
Mar. 28        Travel by Train to Haridwar (26 hrs)
Mar. 30        Arrive in Rishikesh
Mar. 30 – Apr. 14     Work at Ramana’s Garden Orphanage, Reiki Initiation
Apr. 14 – 18     Trekking in the Himalays
Apr. 18        Night in Rishikesh
Apr. 19        Travel by Jeep to Uttar Kashi
Apr. 19 – 30     Yoga and Internships in Music/Art/Cooking/Dance
Apr. 30     Travel by Jeep to Dehra Dun, Overnight Bus to Dharmsala
May 1-17     Dharamsala Homestay,Volunteering, See the Dalai Lama
May 1-12     Optional 10-day Vipassana Meditation Course
May 17        Travel to Amritstar to see the Golden Temple
May 18        Transport to Delhi
May 19        Visit the Taj Mahal/ Semester Wrap-up
May 20        Fly from Delhi back to San Francisco
(*And after India…I’ve got another rabbit to pull from my hat!)
(sol’s travel photogallery)  (some sol stories)  (sol’s work; LeapNow.org)