I’m back to Moldova
and the daily grind after finally taking my Special Leave over the holidays and
January. It all seems a bit like an
alternate reality – as if I have lives going in two parallel universes, one in
the U.S., and one here in Moldova. Since
alternate realities normally lead to messy complicated story lines in Science
Fiction, I thought I’d go for something a little easier and just do it by the
numbers.
18,000: Approximate
number of air miles
2,740: Miles road-tripping
to see friends and family across the Midwest and Colorado
73.3: Miles of
jogging, cycling, hiking, snowshoeing, and cross country skiing
44: Days gone from
Moldova
42: Days in the
States
16: Delicious
restaurants, although I’m probably missing a couple... (I remember Mexican,
Sushi, Thai, many a bar and grill, a diner, The Mercury Cafe, a vegetarian
restaurant, a fun little joint in Omaha that a friend runs, and Indian.)
8: Days skiing
Winter Park
7: States visited
3: Bottles of
Moldovan wine tasted with my college roommate (who now is studying enology in
Sonoma)
2: Days in a cabin at my old Boy Scout camp with Mom and Co.
2: Concerts in
Denver (Slim Cessna’s Auto Club and Ben Folds Five)
2: Number of
paintings Bill and I bought in Chicago
2: Movies (The
Hobbit and Skyfall)
2: Awesome nights in
Snowmass reconnecting and having fun with Lindsay
1: Run with the
Denver Hash House Harriers, and trip to the Colorado History Museum
Countless: Number
of friends and family reconnected with, great home cooked meals, liters of
amazing micro-brew, hearty laughs, and deep conversations.
Plus...
1: Engagement.
That last one, I’m quite
convinced that’s not an alternate reality.
One interesting thing about this trip is that for the next many years,
this is probably what life will look like – especially with Bill nearing the
end of USAID pre-employment. So it was a
good learning experience as well in terms of how to do 30 days back in the
States without sacrificing our sanity.
The other nice thing about month-long vacations? It leaves me really
motivated for work when I get back.
