Writing and Reading and Moving and Shaking

I finished Ally Condie's "Matched" while travelling. I did not even get to "House Rules" or "The Poisonwood Bible," though I was able to make some progress on "The Imperfectionists."

"Matched" was a thinly veiled extension of the "Hunger Games" trilogy, but good nonetheless. I'm really into young adult fiction right now - perhaps that speaks to my emotional maturity level. I did an exercise for a staff development assignment yesterday and the questions were a sort of how-much-of-your-innder-child-do-you-hide-away litmus test. I must say, I am pretty much still my inner child.

For example, my bedroom consisted of toys and a pink canopy bed. The canopy has gone, but pink is still a major theme in my life and my bed is still my favorite place on the planet. Barbies were my favorite toy, but its because I was able to manipulate and dictate peoples' lives - which is pretty much what I still do, professionally and personally. I think that baby Carleigh would be pretty pleased with 27-year old Carleigh, save the lack of insatiable traveling.

My trip to Israel and Jordan was truly that of a lifetime and has inspired in me a wanderlust I have not felt since last traveling abroad in 2004. It is now a very real goal of mine to travel to lands previously unseen once a year. I loved pushing myself to do things I have never done, to climb and hike and be and feel fit and show my face to the world. I am such a small speck of dust relative the entirety of this world and its history - I do a great disservice to keeping my vanity in check if I don't try to see as much of it as possible.

The trip of a lifetime

I am going to post pictures and comments from my recent trip to Eretz Israel - please bear with the nearly 600 pictures I took and especially with the many of my own vain, pretty face as it progressed to a more tan color.