Best place ever- great cut, wonderful space and the staff/ stylists are really sweet. It is warm and welcoming and never snobbish, and I've gotten the best haircut of my life there.

Oh, that's funny. Lately, to relax, I work! I am very recently a partner in my own, at- home business as an artisan. To relax, I spin yarn, or dye fiber while watching movies. It's wonderful. I love this life.

Shower shoes.
Look, no one wants to be found in a hotel room shower, naked and dead of a broken neck. Those things are slippery- something to do with the cleanser most hotels seem to use? Or possibly don't use, which is yet another reason for the shower shoes. I have a pair of red Crocs that I use.

Tiny travel speakers.
I don't like having the television on, but I like music, and wearing headphones in a hotel room makes me a little nervous. (Why yes, I am a wee bit neurotic. What makes you ask?)

Aveda Beautifying Oil
For my hair and face- it keeps me defrizzed, clean and clear.

A pound coin
For luck, a single English pound coin. It's been with me for over 10 years now, and has traveled all over the world.

Two cameras
One point and shoot (my little Leica, she's such a treasure), one DSLR.

I've loved Nardelli's since I was a girl- huge, delicious sandwiches. Every time I drive to or through CT, I stop by either the Naugatuck or the Waterbury shop and get a sandwich, usually two, and some cannolli.

Gum.
I hate gum. See #1 for more details.

Spitting.
Ew. Ew. EW. Also, smokers? I used to smoke, so I'll consider myself educated enoguh on the subject to saw this: if you need to spit when you smoke, STOP SMOKING.

I've always wanted to drive a Tucker! They're so rare, and space- age in that retro sort of way. Too bad there's only, what- 47 of them left?

In November of 2007- only a little bit before I left for Afghanistan- Sam took me on a surprise birthday/ anniversary weekend in Jim Thorpe, PA. He chose it because it was the Niagara Falls of the Gilded Age, which again shows the levels of research which that man will do to accomodate my geekery. I'd been pining for fall- there were no colors that autumn in Maryland- and this was exactly what I needed.

Be brave.
Intimacy is scary, takes courage, and is not for the weak.

Accept responsibility for yourself.
Accountability is key.

Be flexible.
If you can't compromise or forgive, it's already over. You're both going to fuck up. Get used to the idea, get humble, and get flexible.

Get rid of your ego.
You don't have to sacrifice your self, but this is about the two of you, not about yourself. Rise above ego and look at the bigger picture.

Know and respect yourself.
No one else is going to if you don't.

Be generous.
Give for the giving, not for what you expect back; while you should get a return on your investment, that's not what it's all about. Be generous with your time, with your affection, with your forgiveness, with your self.

Never ask for something you wouldn't give.
Be honest about this one. It's hard.

Routine
Seriously. Even if you think it's all going well, do check- ups.

Be respectful.
Treat your partner, yourself, and your union carefully. Be respectful of the commitment you've made and the work you've put in.

Have integrity.
Do your best to never do or say anything that you wouldn't want your partner to see. If you wouldn't do it in front of them, it shouldn't be done.

I have to admit- I've a weakness for a simple black suit (pants, always) plus glasses and heels. It has been my "everything is going to be all right" armor forever. I wear something a little silky and filmy underneatt to keep it feminine and I don't give an inch all day.

Wearing a suit makes me feel untouchable, 100% put together and clearly expresses that I am going to put up with ZERO bullshit today. I feel stronger just slipping into it in the mornings. It's the one thing I'm really going to miss when I leave this business- I was pretty into the femme fatale executive thing.

I've spent the last year working just outside of Kabul, Afghanistan. I'm not military- I'm a civilian interpreter, and I chose this position despite being deeply in love with my city, my home, and my husband.

We talk when we can, but comms are pretty crap- a cell phone conversation every few weeks or so, if we're lucky. I write letters, too- it is good to have something to hold on to, something you can touch. But most of our contact is either via internet chat sessions or email. It's the only semi- reliable way we can communicate.

It's hard. It's so damned hard. But this is something I needed to do- both for myself, to be here and to try to be part of a solution to this problem- and for my family, so that I can quit government work forever and work near my home in the future. I am so tired of being away.

As of right now- this exact moment- I have 19 days, 23 hours, and 20 minutes until I step off a plane in the United States again. I cannot wait to go home.

Stupid short Tom Cruise
Playing a Nazi isn't
making it better

Proud To Be An American by Lee Greenwood

This song just fills me with shame. I am embarrassed to be an American when I hear this, and I hate knowing that other nations have heard this small minded, ethnocentric pile of bullshit. "And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free." First off- grammar much? You're free in an American? WTF, Lee. WTF.

Really, though, it's the idea that one can only be free in America that is so awfully offensive. This song shames me, deeply. I wish it would just go away.

Every few years, I re- read the entire Anne Of Green Gables series. This is where my Gilded Age obsession came from, without question. I want to go to Prince Edward Island so badly- funny, it is really so close, it wouldn't be hard to do. I think sometimes I just prefer the dreaming.

Oh, I'd eat Indian food, no question about it. So much diversity, rich crazy flavors, spice! I could live off of that and never really feel the pinch. Fruit and yoghurts, mango anything, chutneys, daals, naan, all of it. I miss Indian food.

I loved Cambridge- gorgeous, open, old. We were happy there. It's cool and damp and perfect.

Support myself via self- employment.
Being self- employed- it's right around the corner for me, but really making a go of it- and succeeding- that's huge. I want that sense of absolute self- sufficiency very, very badly.

Run a marathon.
I don't need to place. I don't need to do it in 3:30, either; I just want to finish one. I don't know why- possibly because it seems so incredibly impossible- but it is definitely on my list.

Get published.
Photos, yarn, essays, something. I've always craved this- to leave a mark of some kind- it's what has drawn me to blogging, actually.

Visit the Mutter museum.
Okay, I was pushing it for this one- I couldn't really think of a number 5. But I have wanted to go to the Mutter forever, and I live close enough to Philadelphia that it's just silly that I haven't gone, yet.

Go to college for something I love, not something I can use.
I have a free pass for college- tuition paid- and I'd like to go back, get my degree in something I love, whether or not it's practical. All my schooling is so pragmatic- things I can use. Some of it I love, but that wasn't my major. I love school, and I can't help but feel as though it would be a waste to pass up this chance- school for the love of it.

It was terrible! He was so nervous, and wore braces. Swooped in and cut my lip; my first kiss tasted like blood and involved a lot of giggling afterwards. Still, he was sweet.