Just to let you know I’m alive. The new year has brought many wonderful changes that take up much time, hence the radio silence on my dear blog. But I haven’t forgotten you! I’m starting to figure out how to manage my life better…and that includes resuming uber goober, and of course, all that falls between.

As some of you are well aware, I have a knack of paying attention to extremely inconsequential things. Case 392: Delta Airlines safety video. Every time I see it, I can’t focus on the message – I am so distracted by flight attendant Katherine Lee’s overly highlighted cheek bones (and highlighted from the bottom??) and tragically Botoxed lips. See below.

Day one on the new job. Basic sequence of events:

(1) Unwillingly wake up at 7am.

(2) Try to find the cutest outfit possible, as I am determined to be stylish at work. May my DM colleagues never discover my downward spiral of frumpiness at JM.

(3) Go to work (yay!). Cube: not so bad after all. Team of all women plus one guy: super nice and friendly (phew). Number of times checking Gmail: too many. Some things never change.

(4) Finish work day around 6:30pm.

(5) Promptly go shopping to buy new outfits. Please see number two.

(6) Dinner with cousin, who is amused by aforementioned shopping spree.

(7) Back home. Am sleepy. Hence incomplete sentences on blog.

(8 ) And, repeat.

As I trekked through Belize and Guatemala last week, I was constantly drumming up thoughts about my travels and very desperately wanted a canvas to express myself – but never had blank paper or enough time on a computer to record my musings.  I am better prepared on this trip to Japan, and brought along my personal journal (and the great fear that I will lose it!) to note ideas on the plane, as well as the great hope that my memory will start working.  For me, Tokyo is an urban playground to gawk at, so I am not hard-pressed to squeeze in your typical touristy sights, preferring to wander aimlessly and return to my friend’s apartment for breaks. Which gives me more time to relax and write.

As some of you know, these trips are extremely out of character for me, having been booked last minute with minimal research beforehand. Quite the daunting situation for a planner by nature.  It’s amazing, then, how a thousand disparate pieces collected from theinternetfriendsguidebooksnewspapersetc  can so neatly fit together in just a few days worth of travel. In Belize, I was able to articulate the various regions and their offerings after a few days; in Guatemala, I quickly familiarized myself with the local terrain; in Japan…well, you’ll have to cut me some slack as I’ve only been here for 24 hours. But I have faith that the puzzle pieces will form a picture soon.

Before we dive into Japan, however, some quick notes about Central America: 

- Highlight – A six hour guided hike to Tikal, in Guatemala. With all the climbing up and down the ruins, I felt like we were playing on a giant jungle gym. 

- Lowlight – All the RAIN! It rained every. single. day. minus…the day I left. Yes kids, it was bright and sunny and hot and beautiful and warm and lovely and I was en route back to the U. S. of A.

- Greatest moments of joy – Sadly a reflection of the Western world ingrained in me: in San Pedro, picking up my freshly laundred clothing and in Flores, realizing the electricity had returned, having been out for 45 minutes. I am only exaggerating slightly – our activities (snorkeling, kayaking, biking) were quite enjoyable as well, but these two incidents nearly made me dizzy with happiness.

There’s more to say, but this entry is treading dangerously to its limit and I must get ready to meet some friends out in Tokyo…so till later, dear readers!

That’s it.

I was just reading about the gifts our White House administration has received from foreign dignitaries. I was tickled to learn that while King Abdullah of Saudia Arabia showered Condaleeza Rice with a ruby and diamond necklace worth $165,000 and King Abdullah II of Jordan gave her an emerald and diamond necklace worth $147,000 – the Dalai Lama gave Mrs. Bush a $6 assortment of fruit and dried nuts. How cute! (By the way, the officials can’t keep any of the stuff.)

I’m home for the holidays and am taking up crossword puzzles. Today’s mission: NYTimes Monday (read: the easiest) edition from Dec. 15. Serena’s time: 63:19. Help involved: 4 “Reveals” and countless Google searches to find some answers. Still, I was pretty pleased when I picked up the pattern. There were several clues about famous authors’ “favorite” foods – and the answers ended up being a food with their last name in it. So for instance, author “Jack” was “londonbroil” and author “Anne” was “ricepudding.” Smart Serena! Sort of, until I remember it took me over an hour to complete – with help - the Monday puzzle. Let’s see how I progress over the next 8 days.

I just watched 2 episodes of Gossip Girl and 1 episode of The Hills. As much as I love the shows, I officially feel stupid. I hope I regain some smart-cells as I sleep.

Always get them mixed up. Dunno why.

It may be Google’s 10th birthday, but October 16th marks Noah Webster’s 250th! Good old Webster had the courage to defy the British and create an American book of words. We can thank him for changing the spelling of “centre” to “center” and dropping the redundant k in the word “musick.” He also added the more American words “skunk,” “caucus,” and “chowder” to the dictionary.

Some history on the ultimate word lover here.