We are now somewhere between the Falklands and the South Sandwich Islands

Dinner outdoors and a fantastic sunset. 

 

We are having a day at sea. This has given me some time to catch up on posts.

The day before we started the last leg of our trip, we visited the Sanctuary on San Cristóbal Hill. The Sanctuary has a large statue of the Virgin Mary which overlooks the city.

Travel day for us. We flew from Santiago to Punta Arenas, the southernmost city in the continental Americas.

The title of "southernmost city" is much coveted as it attracts tourists. From what I see…

Punta Arenas is the southernmost city on the South American continent.

Ushuaia is the southernmost city in the world, but is on an island.

Puerto Williams has a population of 3000 and one bank. Residents of Arenas and Ushuaia like to say it’s not a real city. 

Saturday night dinner and drinks at Chpe Libre followed by a wander around a night market.

The restaurant menu highlights Pisco which is Chile’s national liquor. Pisco tastes like vodka with a hint of citrus. I enjoyed Pisco Sours which are very much like a vodka sour. 

The night market was very crowded which concerned some of our travel group. Crowds don’t scare me, so I went right in. I didn’t encounter pick pockets or muggers. Having said that, I’m six and a half feet tall. I experience crowds very different than someone who is five foot four. People naturally give me space. 

Friday. We went east to tour the Andean foothills. 

Lunch at Casa Blonco. The building had  wonderful organic, story book architecture. Food was great.

Chile seems to be much less bilingual than Mexico. In Mexico everyone seems to know a bit of English. Enough for commerce and directions. Not so with Chile. We have been to many places where the staff only speaks Spanish. Fortunately, we usually speak enough to get by… until someone has a fancy custom order at the restaurant. 

Chile has fantastic wine. We stopped at Haras De Pirque for a tasting and to enjoy the view.
 

We spent Friday in Valparaiso, a port city near Santiago. A century ago, Valparaiso was the major port for this part of the world. Its fortunes shifted as the Panama Canal and intercontinental jets moved traffic and travelers away. Today it's still a large port for Chile. We spent some time watching buses from China get hoisted off a ship.

Valparaiso is also known for street art.

My husband and I have been coordinating to contain one of our travel partners. Now, this man is a very experienced world traveler. He knows what he's doing and can make great plans. He is also very ADHD about it. Any decision he doesn't make is churned until he gets what he wants. Plans can change at the last moment based on his vibes. We can put up with that a little bit as he does have great taste and instincts. Sometimes we just want him to sit on his hands.

 Dumping a few photos. More to write up later

In Santiago for a few days. The weather is wonderful— Mediterranean spring. The mountains around the city are beautiful.

Our red eye to Miami was uneventful. In Miami we purchased a day stay at a nearby hotel where we caught up on our sleep, lounged by the pool and practiced Spanish. 

Now we have repacked are ready for the next flight— Miami to Santiago Chile.  

Tonight we fly out of Seattle on a red-eye to Miami. There we have a long layover. Then tomorrow we fly on to Santiago, Chile. We will spend a few days in Santiago before we fly down to Puerto Williams where we board the ship to the Antarctic.

This is the most time and thought I’ve ever spent on packing. The flight from Santiago to Puerto Williams is a charter flight, not a regular airline flight, so the rules for luggage are not 100% clear. There are rumors of people who had to repack or get rid of stuff to meet changing weight limits. 

Friday we had dinner with former coworkers from the big tech company. This past year that company has had multiple rounds of layoffs, accelerated retirements and voluntary severance programs. My old coworkers are coming out of the woodwork now that their time isn't consumed by their day job.

I enjoyed the dinner. Between volunteering and family their new free time has rapidly filled up. One is organizing and singing in a choral society. Another has volunteered for a reading program. She works with a school to read together with children.

A side note to job seekers-- if your manager ever starts talking with you about PIPs or VSAs, then get your resume in order. Start looking for your next job ASAP.

Reflecting over my time as a people manager, I’ve become much less judgmental about those who have been fired or laid off. You are not a bad person if you lose your job. Perhaps the business did not have an opportunity for you at that time. Maybe they really needed fewer employees. Maybe management was bad. Or, maybe your skills were not a great match for that role at that time. Don’t fight for your old job. Don’t wallow in self pity for too long. Move on quickly. Use that time to find your next role.

What about writing fiction, short stories specifically, as a hobby? itis not just shaping the prose, but designing the plot lines and thinking out the characters, Roderick

I'm flattered that you suggest this. I may still try it, but I won't make you read it. 

Back at home, the fall rains have set in. The clouds frequently clear out in the afternoon so we will go for a long walk with what little sun we can get. 

Travel note. My husband and I are preparing for a big trip-- Antartica. We leave this coming Tuesday. This trip needs more preparation than our regular trips. It's not like we can drop into a local store if we forget something. I have no idea what internet will be like while we are away. 

 Months ago I mentioned that my father was taking care of a feral kitten. Dad fed the kitten every day but did not allow it in his home.

This past weekend, my brother adopted the kitten. It’s doing well. It’s already learnt to use a little box. 

In our yard, the Soft Caress Mahonia has bloomed. It’s one of the last blooming plants of Seattle’s growing season. The bees flock to it when the sun is out. I sit in the sun and watch them hop from bloom to bloom. 

I recall a story where two kids track down the location of a beehive. They place out a small bowl of sugar syrup and follow the bees that visit. This sounds a little fictional. I look it up and it turns out to be possible. When a bee is ‘full’ it flies straight back to the hive. By timing how long a bee takes to return, you can determine the distance. With triangulation, patience and helpful weather you really can track down beehives.

On impulse I go to the local library and check out “Following the Wild Bees: The Craft and Science of Bee Hunting.”

For years I’ve had an urge to  bee keep. I stay away because I don’t need that much honey. Hunting for wild hives sounds less committed. Dip my toe without going all the way. 

I do this. I have impulses to try something new. Things that could be a hobby but then peter out. Sometimes it's fun to learn something new and challenging. It’s fun to research and buy new equipment. But then... it is just an impulse that costs money for no real return. I end up with junk in my house.

I once spent hundreds of dollars on a telescope for stargazing. Seattle is not the best place for stargazing.

Music-- I had keyboard lessons in high school. We bought a keyboard during COVID. At some point my learning slowed down. Then I developed a pinched nerve in my shoulder, so I stopped keyboarding and never restarted. We sold the keyboard when we moved to our current home. I may pick keyboards up again. I have friends who have offered me their keyboard which has not been used in years.

Bicycling-- I’ve learnt how to maintain my bicycle. I’ve investigated how to turn it into an e-bike. I’m one idle month away from doing so.

3D Printing-- I would love to buy a 3D printer, but do I really need more plastic crap in my house? But I could 3D print drawer organizers and lamp shades... 

Drawing-- This would not be a bad hobby to pick up. It’s not expensive and if I became good (big if) I’d be more inclined to keep the drawings than the hundreds of pics we take from our cell phones.

I start looking around at the local bookstores for “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.”

Social calendar...

Saturday dinner and games with QJ, C7, WY & DA

Sunday lunch and a walk around the Fremont Market with Evan and Allen

Sunday Dinner with W&J

This much socializing tires me out. It's hard for me to explain how or why. All I can say is that after a certain point I have a craving for silence, for downtime. Two long days with so many extraverts is exhausting. 

Monday. Hike with Clem. I enjoy hiking and I need to do so more often. Clem and I agree to hike again next week. Tuesday, Clem will have surgery to have some Basel cells removed. 

Clem is 72 and this is the first time I've seen him act 'old'. He needed to use trekking polls to deal with the steep parts of our path. He had to work hard and carefully to pull off some deep knee bends. Sigh. 

RFC for the SOP on this B L O G

This blog is now 25 years old. Thank you, dearest readers. You are an exclusive club. 

Many years ago I kept a private journal, then my hard drive died. At that point I was deeply involved in building internet software at a big tech company. Blogs were beginning to be a thing. Rather than start a new journal on the new hard drive, I decided to make a blog, this blog. In a fit of madness I it public.

My rules of thumb for this blog... I see they are more aspirational than rigorously enforced...

First and foremost, this blog is for me and to remind me of what I once did and what I was thinking of at that time.

Second, lead with the facts and the present. I want this blog to be centered around what I am actually doing in my life on that week. I don’t want to run on and on with future plans or a rehash of past memories.

Third, stay away from speculation, gossip and venting. This can be very hard to do when I need to provide context for how I’m thinking things through.

Over time I’ve added a fourth rule-- this is not Facebook. I don’t want to share low-effort posts for the likes and smilies.

I want these posts to be valuable, at least to me. In return I put that effort into other blogs, especially those of bloggers that read mine. I will read them thoughtfully. I will stay caught up.

I’ve also discovered that I enjoy writing. Now that I have more time, I’m putting more effort into that. I still want the blog to be a record of my life, so I am thinking about alternating posting styles, with some posts being just an outline of my life events, interleaved with longer essays.