E2C_Travel
Not all travel is into the great unknown... some takes you 'home', to your people. I found my roots again after the pandemic with an aluminum love child named Bella and the 50 aunts and uncles who just can't seem to get enough of her. The Airstream community took me completely by surprise, but it's not the campers that create the connection -- it's the love of outdoors and nature, working hard to prepare an obscenely over-the-top family meal "just because", and genuine affinity for the stories that brought each of us here.
Any experience where you have an opportunity to learn the stories of others, try new foods, see how people live differently - each of those moments changes your life just a little. If you're lucky, your worldview becomes a patchwork of all those experiences. Mine has.
#mycuprunnethover
ABOUT ME
Part journal, part treasure map, part petri dish of thoughts about the future – this website is the synthesis of years of informal (and informed) study of the human condition… coupled with an unyielding need to explore every old tree trunk, breathe in as many back alley spice markets as I can find, admire the monarchs in every protected estuary along the coast, and climb the hillsides on gas-powered mules those few precious days the poppies raise their gorgeous orange faces to the sun. I'll do it all - every single mile - while my hands can still manage the camera.
The more time passes, the more I understand Thoreau's beloved Walden and his need to "live deep and suck out all the marrow of life." With Bella and an increasingly more amazing collection of people in my life... my physical footprint has been smaller these past few pandemic-impacted years, but my "heart-print" has never experienced more reach. To those who are with me, you are everything to me. To those who will join our treasure hunt, I promise we're going to see the world... and see it differently, #together.
E2C_Connection
So many amazing people come into my life and teach me unexpected things. They make my life fuller and more interesting in more ways than I imagined. These connections are what drive me - they’re my secret sauce, my signature strength. Every success in my life is, quite simply, based on my love of people and bringing people together to do wonderful things.
This summer I joined the Board of a publishing company that enables people to publish their personal stories online (here’s mine if you’re curious: Tonya's Cues & Views). Working with this commitment, I’m even more convinced of the importance of sharing our journey to connect with others. I see firsthand the difference connections make when people recognize how much we are alike… not different. With that as my goal, I look forward to sharing my journey and story - sharing my connections and creating new ones on the way. Exploring2Connect. Join me.#onwardandupward
To cap off the end of a perfect weekend, we took a drive around Bangalore after dinner. Traffic had somewhat settled down (as much as traffic ever settles down in Bangalore) and the night air was pleasant. We drove around…
Those of you who know me best know that I really enjoy spring craft fairs (i.e., TACA http://www.vacationsmadeeasy.com/NashvilleTN/eventCalendar/TACASpringCraftFairinNashvilleTN.cfm @ Centennial Park) and holiday gift shows (i.e., the extravaganzas at Centennial High School and The Factory in Franklin). Well here in…
The weekend was just absolutely gorgeous – and a joy for shopping! 🙂 Yesterday while out with friends I noticed something my driver had been speaking of – many many of the city’s street walls are being painted with beautiful…
Well, I’m officially behaving like a real local now: I sought the services of an Indian physician and bought meds at an Indian pharmacy! And yes, I lived to tell it. I’ll even look better for the experience! 🙂 So…
… but I’ll take it! In all the times I’ve been here, I have never set foot in the spa until last Tuesday. So this morning I got up and toodled around. I made my way upstairs and found an…
Went to dinner with my leadership team tonight. We had the best time. I just love these guys! Great food, great company; only problem is (class tech support behavior) – they stayed on their Blackberries the whole time! 🙂 And…
Today’s shopping was wonderful – I really need to find a way to make a career of this. We started the afternoon with a really nice lunch where my friends presented me with a post-Christmas present: a 23kt gold Kasu…
Nope, I did not drown. And I now have something new to add to my routine here at the Ashok! Head and shoulder massage. Therapeutic oils. Followed by time in the sauna and then the steam room. Oooooooh, this is…
Well, I took the hotel by storm. I’m the modern day equivalent of Sherman taking Atlanta and these guys just don’t quite know what to think of me. (Sherman… wonder how looked in pink?!) I get out of the car…
I can thank the Travel Department for a nice (truly) layover here at O’Hare. It certainly gives me some much-needed catch up time to knock out a few ‘to do’ items before I officially leave US soil. It has been…
