The first night in Istanbul, I decided to walk the neighborhood and being searching for night life opportunities within a two-mile radius of the Double Tree Hotel Topkapi. You are probably thinking to yourself, “Why don’t you just look on the internet for suggestions?” Trust me, I did, and quickly learned COVID had decimated the …
Continue reading "Grand Makel Hotel Roof Top Bar"Traveling to Istanbul, Turkey happened on whim; a lark figuratively speaking. It was a Wednesday night, my friend and I were sitting at our usual table inside of the local pizzeria in Clovis, California having beers, a large mushroom and olive pizza when out of the blue the conversation turned to an acquaintance who was …
Continue reading "Istanbul, Turkey Here I Come…"Cabo San Lucas holds a special place in my heart. When my children were younger this was our last stop during a week-long Disney cruise. Our first stop on the cruise was Puerto Vallarta. In my experience, I was a little turned off by the touristy sections of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Not that Puerto Vallarta …
Continue reading "Cabo San Lucas reflections (Pueblo Bonito Sunset resort and Off roading adventures)"Another California style lockdown has been implemented, but is it necessary? In the last 24 hours, Governor Newsom has divided California into five regions. If ICU hospital capacity within each region falls below 15%, then that region will be under a strict stay-at-home order for three weeks. The region containing Los Angeles County has already …
Continue reading "Lockdown Cali Style"I’ve figured out why there has been a lapse in writing inspiration. The answer at times is simple yet elusive. There seems to be a figurative game of hop scotch being played between my past experiences, present responsibilities and external influences, and future unrealized goals, objectives, and plans. My shadow runs circles around me chasing …
Continue reading "Slaying Giants"With the pandemic carving a path through California coupled with local, national, and global news feeds simmering with ongoing violent and/or peaceful protests, political unrest, and indications that dramatic change is imminent or upon us; I have decided to look inward with intentionality. I started simple by looking at expanding my daily norms and examining …
Continue reading "Contributive Mindset"About a month ago, I was sitting at my desk in the Foreign Language Department at Suankularb Wittayalai Rangsit School preparing my lesson plan for the day. I recall it was a Monday and the AC had kicked on cooling down the office in preparation for the humid day. I usually arrived early to organize, …
Continue reading "Entering Eden (An adventure on Koh Samet Island)"For the last three months, I have experienced Thailand from the perspective of my external senses and internal ideology. This reality changed dramatically with the arrival of my son and daughter. Prior to their arrival, I made a detailed list as though I was Chevy Chase in European Vacation. The “To Do list” grew to …
Continue reading "Shared Experiences (The Speakeasy Rooftop Bar)"The pulsating sting of change has been pricking that area where I normally seek solace and shut everyone out. But that is NOT my story. In one day, I left colleagues and friends who I grew to respect and love, students who showed me what it means to build honest-authentic student-teacher relationships, a culture that …
Continue reading "Sting of Change"I never thought or had the inclination to visit a cat cafe. But when you’re in Bangkok and the world seems to open before you like a can of tuna (cat…tuna-not funny. I had to try!?) then you go for it. A colleague in the foreign language department told me I had to visit this …
Continue reading "Caturday Cafe — Meow"