Terra Incognita

conflicted
Sometimes I feel like blogging is a chore. One more thing to do after unpacking from a trip, cleaning the bathroom and paying my bills. Sometimes I have so many blog post ideas buzzing around in my head that I can't blog fast enough. Sometimes both feelings occur at the same time. Most of the time I just wonder how much this blog thing actually matters. But it's somewhat cathartic and quite self-indulgent, so I will continue to post as an outlet for my thoughts and observations. Thank you for being such a great audience.

fostering family
The final wedding of the summer was the toughest. There are many reasons I could give for this, and while catharsis may be had by doing so, I know it would not be prudent to expound upon what is family history. It was a definite joy to be around family, as always, and I am comforted by the fact that even in hard times, our family really comes together in love. It was great to see how welcoming Gary's family was of Delaney's entry into their Foster family tree as well.

it's a small world, after all*
Story #1: I'm on the plane to Orlando, glad to have an entire travel day open to reading my new issue of Esquire, when I turn to the story about the Best Dressed Real Men in America. I have a fleeting feeling that I recognize the man on the left. Then I turn the page to his bio, and I know I recognize him. He was an usher at Damon's wedding (he's an administrator at the high school my cousins attended). So, all you Esquire readers out there (I know that means most of you), vote online for Andrew Gutierrez as the Best Dressed Real Man in America. (Especially now that polls have closed for the Hottest U.S. Senator, the Hottest Canadian MP and my personalized license plate, you need to vote for something, right?)

Story #2: I'm out to dinner in Orlando with family when I receive a phone call from FIGmate Jason, who tells me about meeting this random girl, Katie, at a bar in DC and then again in NY, only to find out that she was from Manhattan, Kan., and was none other than one of my dance class car pool buddies in elementary school. Get out! This is a crazy small world, man!

*My mom and I were in line for the Peter Pan ride in Disney's Magic Kingdom when a 12-year-old boy came out of the It's a Small World exit and started banging his head against the trash can by our line, saying over and over, "Make it stop! Make it stop!" I felt for the kid. I remember thinking the same thing when I first experienced the ride, although that may have had more to do with my mom singing along throughout the whole thing...including the wait in line.

vote outcome
CTHWRLD 14 votes (53.85%)
300DPI 12 votes (46.15%)

I am happy with the outcome. While I appreciate 300DPI for its nod to the printing industry (for those of you who missed the explanation in the comments a few weeks ago, an image has to be at 300 DPI [dots per inch] to be a high enough quality to be printed), I have an aversion to being defined by my occupation. I'd rather be known (and have my car be known) for my desire to travel across this lovely Earth of ours, whether or not Yolanda the Honda can accompany me in each of those excursions. The requisite picture will be posted once I wade through the Red Sea of Tape that the state of Arizona requires before getting my new plates.

speaking of pictures
Here are new online albums from the week in Orlando:
Delaney's wedding
Orlando theme parks
And more pictures of one of the most-photographed babies in the world:
Viviane