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Archive for Jillian

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Buenos Dias, Portland

Every morning, since the first day we woke up here, I’ve heard the carefree call of seagulls. To me their song is carefree; maybe other birds sense they are distressed or pissed off, or lonely. But to my imaginative ear this is the sound of freedom of flight, and open air over a northern ocean. [...]

9Jul2010 | Jillian | 1 comment | Continued
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Site Unseen

Four years ago we were storing what we hadn’t sold, discarding unwanted Robin bookshelves, packing away winter clothes and sorting through out summer items, deciding what we we were bringing and what would not be appropriate in our new lives as tropical expats e.g., bridesmaid dresses, tube tops, mittens. Our last days were spent among [...]

23Jun2010 | Jillian | 3 comments | Continued
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Technomads: Day 1

I doubt anyone has ever enjoyed twenty-four hours at a Holiday Inn Express as much as we have been. We are technically on the clock, so during business hours we’re in front of our monitors in the room, but there’s TV, AC, and vending machine snacks to distract us and keep our spirits up. Seriously, [...]

23Jun2010 | Jillian | 0 comments | Continued
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The Leavers

We’ve left home. We are officially on the road. This morning we said goodbye, got into a rental car and drove off, wiping away tears. The fog lifted as we drove deeper into the peninsular jungle and soon the sky was brightened blue. We listened to music and watched mexico out the window. We had [...]

22Jun2010 | Jillian | 3 comments | Continued
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Everything is Everything

Fay Weldon said, “Nothing happens, and nothing happens, and then everything happens”, which is where we are today, the first day of June, 2010. It’s all happening. One week from today my best friend, maid of honor, and traveling companion is coming for a girl getaway to the Caribbean. We’re going to Isla Mujeres, Playa [...]

1Jun2010 | Jillian | 2 comments | Continued
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Here We Go Again

I don’t know about you, but I never believe anything is actually happening until it is. Because it isn’t. Once you make reservations, however, you can feel somewhat certain that you’re really going, flying, driving, renting, buying, on the move again. The totally impromptu trip to Maine last week inspired expediation [sic]. We are no [...]

30May2010 | Jillian | 1 comment | Continued
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Changing (P)lanes

One thing we excel at is making plans. We just don’t always follow them through. I’ve mentioned many times that we are very lucky to not have constraints right now. There is nothing pressing us back into the US map, expect our own sense that it is time to get back in a groove there. [...]

28May2010 | Jillian | 0 comments | Continued
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Major Tom to Ground Control

Mexico is a world away. In spite of geography and technology and our best intentions, it is quite impossible to wrap your mind around this Other place. I get it. When I am in the States I even have a hard time envisioning our house, our dogs, the life we live every day, so I [...]

28May2010 | Jillian | 0 comments | Continued
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The Last and Lazy Days of a Life Less Ordinary

It’s 10 am on a Wednesday and I’m in bed with my dog, my laptop and a mug of tea. I am almost unbearably lucky. It’s delicious and and I plan to revel in every moment. In two months we won’t be here to sleep in, wander the cement-studded sand, work under covers, have two [...]

19May2010 | Jillian | 2 comments | Continued
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The Only Time I Will Ever Write About My Underarms

I’m not one of those bloggers who emulates the notoriously grodi Say Anything column from sadly now defunct YM Magazine. I have no plans to discuss or disclose anything we might have learned about in 5th grade health or 6th grade gym class. Boys do not have to leave the room giggling. There will be [...]

16May2010 | Jillian | 0 comments | Continued
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A Virtual Museum Date With My Dad

My dad has a thing about Magritte. There’s this one painting at the Yale Art Gallery that has captivated his attention for at least 40 years. It’s his; he says other people should pay him to contemplate the muted red sky, white rose and bowler hat. I get it. There are works of art I [...]

14May2010 | Jillian | 0 comments | Continued
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Thousands of Days Found at the Beach

My mom loved the beach. Every other morning of my entire childhood we would pack up the striped sand chairs, fill the red thermos with Country Time lemonade and make tuna salad sandwiches and plastic bags of Ruffles for the cooler. The Clinton town beach, a strip of rocky coast that tentatively meets Long Island [...]

11May2010 | Jillian | 1 comment | Continued
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