Wait a Minute, Mr. Postman!

Not long along, I found a super-cute handbag online. It’s almost twice the price of the most expensive bag I’ve ever bought, though, so I tried to forget it. Today, weeks later, I spotted it again and I am still absolutely loving it!

Meet Mr. Postman (black & white) by Kathy Van Zeeland.

♥ Sophisticated but trendy, too
♥ The perfect size for an everyday, everywhere handbag
♥ In black and white, it matches just about anything
♥ Plenty of pockets for all the necessities, and then some
♥ Versatile, with a shoulder strap plus the handles
♥ The pattern is just like what I would make for a scrapbook page!

Can you see why I love it so much? Besides, if a super-cute handbag like this would satisfy my “wanderlust“, it would be way cheaper to buy the bag than pay for a plane ticket. At least that’s how it works in my mind! Haha. But seeing as how I don’t have the money to spare for even a bus ticket right now, I’ll have to be content with writing about it 🙂

Learning something new

The old adage is true – you learn something new every day.  For me, they’re weird things, more often than not, but they’re definitely new!

In my job, I have the opportunity to learn about all kinds of exotic and unusual places.   You might remember my description of the peculiar Monastery of Jumping Cats earlier this year.

"Jambay Lhakhang, Bumthang, Bhutan" (2007) by Kenro Izu

More recently, I’ve come across many exotic-sounding place names; it’s such fun to Google them, to discover their meanings and/or pronunciations.  One of my favorite place-names is the district of Bumthang in Bhutan. 

It’s your move

Chess has traditionally been called “the game of kings,” but today many people have no idea how to play the game.  Once you know the basic strategy, though, it can be fascinating.  For example, this is how one teenager described it: “”Dude, this isn’t just another one of those board games.  No chess game ever repeats itself that means you create more and more new ideas each game.  It never gets boring.  You always have so much to look forward to.  Every game you are the General of an army

Silly Souvenirs?

Today I was creating travel offers for special events throughout the U.S.

I noticed that most of the packages included some type of souvenir plaque or pin. Based on my own experience with such “collectibles,” I feel their inclusion is nothing more than an opportunity to increase the charge to the traveler, for after the event, what good is a pin or plaque other than to collect dust? Or more likely, collect dust for a few months on a shelf or bookcase, then end up in the Goodwill box so some other useless trinket can take its place?

Don’t get me wrong; I’m a sentimental pack rat on my best days, but this particular keepsake seems pointless. Why not lower the price for the consumer, letting each one choose to either purchase a souvenir that has personal significance, or save a few bucks to put toward next year’s trip.

Personally, I like to collect decorative shot glasses everywhere I travel.  Never use them, but they’re small and generally inexpensive.   Every tourist trap offers  several varieties to choose from, and many other places do too.  And when on display, they make a great conversation starter.

Need directions? Ask the homeless

A new job means meeting a lot of new people … thankfully, thus far my interactions with my new colleagues have been quite  pleasant, and shall I say, educational.

Today, my coworker Sarah shared a useful lesson with the team. She’d been traveling for the long holiday weekend, and she and her companion did a lot of walking.  At one point, they got disoriented and had to ask for directions.  They learned it doesn’t do much good to ask just any random guy on the street; chances are he’s a tourist too.  Instead, ask a homeless person!

Image courtesy of http://www.mediacollege.com

As Sarah discovered, homeless people can generally direct you to just about anywhere in their city, and tell you how to get there on foot, too.  Better yet, Sarah advised, pay them a few bucks and they’ll personally show you the way.

It may sound odd, but if you think about it, it makes a lot of sense.  How often when going about your business downtown do you hear, “Spare any change?”  Look at it this way, by essentially “hiring” a homeless person as a tour guide, you’re helping improve the economy! Albeit on a rather meager scale.

Anyway, thanks for the tip, Sarah!