I just took Alia's advice: Vagabondtakesoncorporate.blogspot.com
I should really just consolidate into one...whatcha think?
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Corporate Life
So I'm finally getting into the swing of things back here in New York. My first full week of work was quite an introduction to corporate life--business formal five days a week, computer, policies, working the Internet, the intranet, free snacks. Did I mention dress code is business formal five days a week? Kiyomi in business formal? Well considering that I've lived in cutoffs, men's button down shirts, and skimpy dresses for the past two years of my life, let's just say that my wardrobe needs a facelift (and I still need to scrub the remaining Egyptian dirt off my body). I kind of look corporate. I really try sometimes. Ah well.
And before I can even say a proper 'hello' to NY, I'm off to Chicago on Sunday to start my intense training, where I'll become a data analyst extraordinaire! Excel, Access, VBA, SQL PSHAWWWW piece of cake, cheeeeesecake, mmmmm cheesecake. If only. Actually, geeky enough, I'm really looking forward to training. It's going to be character building to put it lightly. And who doesn't need a bit of that now and again.
What's even more, I'm getting a new roommate! And my apartment has magically cleaned itself (minus my oh so awful room). Kitchen is scrubbed. Bathroom is amazing. I've never seen it so clean. And there is semi-fluffy toiletpaper too! I think I could stay here awhile, with the addition of one or ten more fans for my room.
My friend, Alia, suggested that I should start a 'Kiyomi fashion' blog, meaning take pictures of myself in whatever I wear....hmm I don't know about that, but perhaps it'll provide my viewership (all four of you, ohhh unlucky number, three of you) some entertainment. Shall I call it "Kiyomi takes on Corporate". Maybe, maybe. Stay tuned...
And before I can even say a proper 'hello' to NY, I'm off to Chicago on Sunday to start my intense training, where I'll become a data analyst extraordinaire! Excel, Access, VBA, SQL PSHAWWWW piece of cake, cheeeeesecake, mmmmm cheesecake. If only. Actually, geeky enough, I'm really looking forward to training. It's going to be character building to put it lightly. And who doesn't need a bit of that now and again.
What's even more, I'm getting a new roommate! And my apartment has magically cleaned itself (minus my oh so awful room). Kitchen is scrubbed. Bathroom is amazing. I've never seen it so clean. And there is semi-fluffy toiletpaper too! I think I could stay here awhile, with the addition of one or ten more fans for my room.
My friend, Alia, suggested that I should start a 'Kiyomi fashion' blog, meaning take pictures of myself in whatever I wear....hmm I don't know about that, but perhaps it'll provide my viewership (all four of you, ohhh unlucky number, three of you) some entertainment. Shall I call it "Kiyomi takes on Corporate". Maybe, maybe. Stay tuned...
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Transportation
A vagabond of the world has to learn to sleep under duress, under any conditions imaginable, and I, for one, have mastered the talent after multiple overnight bus, train, and ferry rides. As an added bonus, I've had to endure sitting and sleeping on the ground of a bus, train, and ferry (which has made me slightly bitter towards the Egyptian transit system and their tourist regulations).
But then again, you make for hilarious entertainment for the locals, and what stories! Plus, sitting on the floor with fellow travelers become very good bonding experiences. It tests the limits of German men and reveals the social taboo of an Egyptian male stranger sitting next to a woman. Locals rise to the challenge and help clueless tourists who don't speak the native language and tea is bought in return for a few sheets of Muji paper ripped out to save the pants (and probably to prevent the multiple diseases otherwise contracted) of an Egyptian man.
Sleeper cars are a luxury, even when sharing it with five other people, for it allows a weary vagabond to sleep horizontally. The fresh linens were also a bonus. Even better, is when the you have the compartment all to yourself, even taking into account stuck doors and sketchy Bulgarian train ticket collectors.
The one thing about sleeping on the ground in a ferry, besides the carpeted ground being super hard, is that the lights are constantly hard.
But thus is an essential part of being a backpacker, a traveler on a budget, eager to experience a different type of vacation, a vagabond in the truest sense.
Hurghada to Aswan Bus
Luxor to Cairo Train: Part I
Luxor to Cairo Train II
Sofia to Belgrade (errr turn your head to the left)
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Ciao London!
Ah London. So perhaps I need to spend more time on you, developing our relationship. Even if you did sprinkle a little yesterday. It's forgiven. You're not a bad place in which to walk around and explore. And the pies...mmmm the savory pies and mash and very Brittish pubs. You sure know how to have a good time, even without blaring music!! It's amazing!
The minutes are counting down to the time where I'll heave my 14.7 kilo backpack on my poor curved shoulders, take a quick stop at Tesco to get some airplane goodies, and say by to London and Europe and the Near East. Bye kebabs! Bye foul and falafel! Bye blackberries! Bye gelato! Bye bruschetta! Bye pastys!!
And hello Iceland! I think it's ridiculous that I get entrance and exit stamps everytime I have a layover in Iceland. One day perhaps I'll even leave the airport!
Hmmm I guess I should go!
The minutes are counting down to the time where I'll heave my 14.7 kilo backpack on my poor curved shoulders, take a quick stop at Tesco to get some airplane goodies, and say by to London and Europe and the Near East. Bye kebabs! Bye foul and falafel! Bye blackberries! Bye gelato! Bye bruschetta! Bye pastys!!
And hello Iceland! I think it's ridiculous that I get entrance and exit stamps everytime I have a layover in Iceland. One day perhaps I'll even leave the airport!
Hmmm I guess I should go!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
I love you, NYT!
New York Times, you've done it again. You've given a great review of a hidden gem of Rome. While Friday was spent seeing the Vatican, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, Roman Forum, and basically all the other monuments in the center of town, yesterday was spent leisurely walking about, in search of a good meal (which is extremely difficult in Rome. It's tooooo touristy).
In Trastevere, a hip neighborhood below the river, I found Da I Due Ciccioni (Vicolo del Cedra, 3), which as NYT explains is a illegal restaurant operating out of the ground floor of a non-marked building. No signs, no nothing. I was fortunate enough to pass by when the owners and friends were having a lunch (they are open only during dinner) and after asking about the restaurant, Selvage and Gianni (spelling anyone? The woman's name in English is Salvage! Too cool). sat me down and gave me a huge bowl of pasta and some white wine (this after already eating a so-so terrina). I chatted up Janna and Claudio (a German/Italian couple-like thing) and after eating we went to a beautiful hotel in the area to have a coffee, agreeing to go back to the restaurant for dinner.
Dinner comes and I experienced gastronomic bliss on the windy street outside the restaurant. The best bruschetta, flavorful beans and mashed potatoes infused with tomato, onions, and garlic, served of course with house wine. Then carbonara, cheese and pepper, and tomato and cheese pasta came out in steaming heaps, followed closely by rosemary chicken on salad. There was no dessert, instead limoncello and grappa was served--all you or I could drink.
Next door, the local soccer club provided us with musical entertainment, strumming out tunes on guitars and singing Italian favorites. After the restaurant closed, the two owners, the couple and Flamma (err Flame in Italian...too cool!!) and I (with the dog Aldo, who is the cutest thing of all! An Irish terrier...so cute!) piled into a car and drove to a outdoor bar, a local hotspot, next to a gorgeous fountain and overlooking all of Rome.
More wine and savory treats followed and also a couple fight, which lead my crashing at Selvage's apartment nearby (it was beautiful!).
After an early morning Nescafe with milk (I didn't know that Nescafe dissolves in cold liquid!), I headed back to my old hostel, which is a ways out of the city. Chatted with my roommates who had a wild night doing a pubcrawl, and a wilder time trying to get back to the hostel, and a jetted to my new hostel. Now, I'm heading over to the restaurant again to eat lunch, take an after lunch walk around town, and try to get more recipes out of Selvage!
In Trastevere, a hip neighborhood below the river, I found Da I Due Ciccioni (Vicolo del Cedra, 3), which as NYT explains is a illegal restaurant operating out of the ground floor of a non-marked building. No signs, no nothing. I was fortunate enough to pass by when the owners and friends were having a lunch (they are open only during dinner) and after asking about the restaurant, Selvage and Gianni (spelling anyone? The woman's name in English is Salvage! Too cool). sat me down and gave me a huge bowl of pasta and some white wine (this after already eating a so-so terrina). I chatted up Janna and Claudio (a German/Italian couple-like thing) and after eating we went to a beautiful hotel in the area to have a coffee, agreeing to go back to the restaurant for dinner.
Dinner comes and I experienced gastronomic bliss on the windy street outside the restaurant. The best bruschetta, flavorful beans and mashed potatoes infused with tomato, onions, and garlic, served of course with house wine. Then carbonara, cheese and pepper, and tomato and cheese pasta came out in steaming heaps, followed closely by rosemary chicken on salad. There was no dessert, instead limoncello and grappa was served--all you or I could drink.
Next door, the local soccer club provided us with musical entertainment, strumming out tunes on guitars and singing Italian favorites. After the restaurant closed, the two owners, the couple and Flamma (err Flame in Italian...too cool!!) and I (with the dog Aldo, who is the cutest thing of all! An Irish terrier...so cute!) piled into a car and drove to a outdoor bar, a local hotspot, next to a gorgeous fountain and overlooking all of Rome.
More wine and savory treats followed and also a couple fight, which lead my crashing at Selvage's apartment nearby (it was beautiful!).
After an early morning Nescafe with milk (I didn't know that Nescafe dissolves in cold liquid!), I headed back to my old hostel, which is a ways out of the city. Chatted with my roommates who had a wild night doing a pubcrawl, and a wilder time trying to get back to the hostel, and a jetted to my new hostel. Now, I'm heading over to the restaurant again to eat lunch, take an after lunch walk around town, and try to get more recipes out of Selvage!
Sofia and Belgrade
Okay, so I just moved hostels and this one has free internet and breakfast and lockers! Plus it's near the train station, where I have to be at 4:30am tomorrow...
Enough of the boring stuff. Here's some pictures of Sophia and Belgrade. The pictures of Croatia and Italy to come!
If this were in a museum it would be art
Enough of the boring stuff. Here's some pictures of Sophia and Belgrade. The pictures of Croatia and Italy to come!
Sofia...honestly not much to see!
Cool Green Car
Belgrade Fortress!
Street Art Installation
If this were in a museum it would be artFriday, August 7, 2009
Dirty Old Men
Damn...so I find a place that has decently priced internet in Italy, and I dont have my flash drive!! AHH WELL!!
Okay okay Dirty Old Men. You should have known that I post concerning Dirty Old Men would pop up on my blog at sometime or another. I mean this is me youre talking about...or rather reading about.
SIGH and I mean SIGH. I was okay in Turkey and Egypt. In fact, for all the cat calls I got, I also had men sweating their undies, because they had to sit next to me on a train or bus and thought that they were being infinitely rude and immodest. Translation- I attracted and revolted an equal amount of men. Okay, so I was okay with that, especially because I was forewarned, and in reality, life was not as dim as everyones fears.
So why, oh so why has this week been on big molestkiyomifest. Okay, perhaps it wasnt THAT bad, but you get the gist.
The Rundown-
1. Sofia to Belgrade Train: Arriving to Sofia from Istanbul, there were many a man and woman hanging around the train station, offering accommodations. One such man helped me find the center of the town. The same man helped me find my train to Belgrade and then proceeded to board to the train with me. Apparently, he wanted to "see me off". I told him that he couldnt come abroad and the ticket controller also backed me up. However, the same ticketman later showed me how to drop the beds down of my empty sleeper car apartment and then whispered Bulgarian sweet nothings in my ear, held my hand and then kissed it! WHAT THE FUCK. It was so creepy and my door was stuck open the whole night.
2. In Split, Croatia, another man offering a room (in a sobe) made the transaction decidedly creepy by insisting that I accompany him to dinner (a dinner on him at a restaurant) after we set the lower price of the room for two nights. I didnt make it to dinner, and the next morning he came knocking on my door, told me a was a bad person and that I didnt make it to dinner. He also told me that I was leaving that day and that I should go back to the bus station to find another room. I then got mad and told him that I was going to stay another night, as we agreed. He wanted more money, so I insisted that he honor our agreement and I gave him the money for the second night. He then insisted that I go out to dinner with him that second day and I told him that going out to dinner wasnt part of the deal and that he was a bad person for trying to kick me out and for pressuring me to dinner. You should see him...he has business cards with his photo on it...its at least 10 years old...15 years old....gosh...
3. The same day, a guy came up to me with a freaking flower after I woke up from a 2 hour nap in the park to see that the garbage men were all watching me. And started to woo me in bad English. This reminded me of the incident where a Turkish man made me take ridiculous pictures of him near the Blue Mosque all to be able to talk to me. (Listen youre 50...Im not interested in you) so needless to say I was very short with the flower man
4. SIGH, so the first thing that happens to me in Jesi, Italy was that I couldnt find the bus to my hostel. This guy in a van (okay okay, perhaps this wasnt the smartest thing, but I was so tired, and it seemed safe enough, and it was in the middle of the day, and before someone would abduct me, I would make sure that that person felt my mark upon his body! HA!) offerred me a ride to the place. I couldnt figure out if he was a taxi and so I was afraid of how much it would cost. He told me not to worry, but I should have worried. As I was opening the door to the van, I felt his hand pat my thigh, then tweak my rib cage, and then center in for my left boob. I was so furious, but was oddly calm, of course expect for the "if you fucking touch me again I will kill you part" that I told him very calmly in English that he didnt understand. Too bad. No ill effects except for my checking all of the closets in my empty dorm room to make sure that there wasnt anyone hiding to get me while I was sleeping...its kind of sad but true...
5. Lastly, let me just say that just because you help me with directions or whatnot...even if we are in a country that greets with kisses on the cheek, does not mean that you have the right to take my hand and try to plant a wet one on my cheek. Its not appropriate and you know it!!
So final words: Just because I am a single female vagabond traveling the world, does not mean that Im needy, lonely, in want of male company and some good fun lovin' times. I do not want to feel any part of your body or even smell or feel your breath upon me. So DONT THINK ABOUT IT!
Okay okay Dirty Old Men. You should have known that I post concerning Dirty Old Men would pop up on my blog at sometime or another. I mean this is me youre talking about...or rather reading about.
SIGH and I mean SIGH. I was okay in Turkey and Egypt. In fact, for all the cat calls I got, I also had men sweating their undies, because they had to sit next to me on a train or bus and thought that they were being infinitely rude and immodest. Translation- I attracted and revolted an equal amount of men. Okay, so I was okay with that, especially because I was forewarned, and in reality, life was not as dim as everyones fears.
So why, oh so why has this week been on big molestkiyomifest. Okay, perhaps it wasnt THAT bad, but you get the gist.
The Rundown-
1. Sofia to Belgrade Train: Arriving to Sofia from Istanbul, there were many a man and woman hanging around the train station, offering accommodations. One such man helped me find the center of the town. The same man helped me find my train to Belgrade and then proceeded to board to the train with me. Apparently, he wanted to "see me off". I told him that he couldnt come abroad and the ticket controller also backed me up. However, the same ticketman later showed me how to drop the beds down of my empty sleeper car apartment and then whispered Bulgarian sweet nothings in my ear, held my hand and then kissed it! WHAT THE FUCK. It was so creepy and my door was stuck open the whole night.
2. In Split, Croatia, another man offering a room (in a sobe) made the transaction decidedly creepy by insisting that I accompany him to dinner (a dinner on him at a restaurant) after we set the lower price of the room for two nights. I didnt make it to dinner, and the next morning he came knocking on my door, told me a was a bad person and that I didnt make it to dinner. He also told me that I was leaving that day and that I should go back to the bus station to find another room. I then got mad and told him that I was going to stay another night, as we agreed. He wanted more money, so I insisted that he honor our agreement and I gave him the money for the second night. He then insisted that I go out to dinner with him that second day and I told him that going out to dinner wasnt part of the deal and that he was a bad person for trying to kick me out and for pressuring me to dinner. You should see him...he has business cards with his photo on it...its at least 10 years old...15 years old....gosh...
3. The same day, a guy came up to me with a freaking flower after I woke up from a 2 hour nap in the park to see that the garbage men were all watching me. And started to woo me in bad English. This reminded me of the incident where a Turkish man made me take ridiculous pictures of him near the Blue Mosque all to be able to talk to me. (Listen youre 50...Im not interested in you) so needless to say I was very short with the flower man
4. SIGH, so the first thing that happens to me in Jesi, Italy was that I couldnt find the bus to my hostel. This guy in a van (okay okay, perhaps this wasnt the smartest thing, but I was so tired, and it seemed safe enough, and it was in the middle of the day, and before someone would abduct me, I would make sure that that person felt my mark upon his body! HA!) offerred me a ride to the place. I couldnt figure out if he was a taxi and so I was afraid of how much it would cost. He told me not to worry, but I should have worried. As I was opening the door to the van, I felt his hand pat my thigh, then tweak my rib cage, and then center in for my left boob. I was so furious, but was oddly calm, of course expect for the "if you fucking touch me again I will kill you part" that I told him very calmly in English that he didnt understand. Too bad. No ill effects except for my checking all of the closets in my empty dorm room to make sure that there wasnt anyone hiding to get me while I was sleeping...its kind of sad but true...
5. Lastly, let me just say that just because you help me with directions or whatnot...even if we are in a country that greets with kisses on the cheek, does not mean that you have the right to take my hand and try to plant a wet one on my cheek. Its not appropriate and you know it!!
So final words: Just because I am a single female vagabond traveling the world, does not mean that Im needy, lonely, in want of male company and some good fun lovin' times. I do not want to feel any part of your body or even smell or feel your breath upon me. So DONT THINK ABOUT IT!
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Split, Croatia
From Sofia I took an overnight train to Belgrade, from which I took an overnight train to Zagreb. Thinking I'd stay a night, I booked a hostel only to take an overnight bus to Split (and I paid for the hostel. But honestly, it was worth the shower, hours of free internet, and the ability to lay down in a real bed, even if for only half an hour)! And now I'm in Split, trying to negotiate lodgings for the night. The 'cheap' hostels ($20-30 a night) are all booked up, so now I'm in a sobe with two South Koreans who are also looking for a room. They are getting restless as the rooms are not yet available, and my own lodgings (at a price that I'm not supposed to worry about according to the owner...hmmm I've heard that before from everyone in Egypt) are contingient on their staying. SIGH
But hey, at least I have a local source of information. I see that there is a Chagall exhibit in town which I will be going to. Also the centrum is beautiful. There is a palace and a hill I plan on walking later today. Not only there, but there are islands to visit. Next stop after this: Ancora, Italy-that is if I researched correctly and there is a ferry on Tuesday. What should have been 10 days in Italy has dwindled to five. For some really I wasn't so excited about it anyway; perhaps, it's because it didn't fit into the Turkey/Egypt theme so well. I've very excited about my Italy detour as I've stumbled across the second largest caves in Europe, located in Genga. I'm hoping to do some cave adventuring and getting dirty.
Pictures as always are to come.
But hey, at least I have a local source of information. I see that there is a Chagall exhibit in town which I will be going to. Also the centrum is beautiful. There is a palace and a hill I plan on walking later today. Not only there, but there are islands to visit. Next stop after this: Ancora, Italy-that is if I researched correctly and there is a ferry on Tuesday. What should have been 10 days in Italy has dwindled to five. For some really I wasn't so excited about it anyway; perhaps, it's because it didn't fit into the Turkey/Egypt theme so well. I've very excited about my Italy detour as I've stumbled across the second largest caves in Europe, located in Genga. I'm hoping to do some cave adventuring and getting dirty.
Pictures as always are to come.
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