What I Learned, Looking Forward, Looking Back: May 2026

You may recall that May is my favorite month. Don't get me wrong, I actually love all the months for various reasons, but May always seems to be a place of rebirth. The flowers are blooming, the sun starts shining more, and this is one of the best months to be 

in San Francisco. Karl, the fog, has not made his appearance yet, as it is brought on by the very hot temperatures inland clashing with the cool temperatures of the Pacific. The weather is just right, not too cool, not too hot, and the morning air is fresh and clear. May always reminds me that it is a joy to be alive. 

This year is no different. I flew home on the first, beat jetlag by staying up the entire flight (boo yeah) and literally hit the ground running....by going out for a run in one of my favorite places, the headlands. The rest of the month was spent with family, walking or running my usual 6 mile loop, and at the end, prepping for and starting off on the next adventure, a bike trip! This one goes from Mexico to Canada along a different dirt route, which you can see here. 80% of the route is on dirt and 70% of it is on public lands (National Forests, National Parks and Monuments, and BLM land), which means that for the most part, you can stop and camp wherever you want. Currently I am still in Segment 9 in Arizona. 

I've got a long way to go still...

I'd love to hear what you're up to! Please copy and paste the questions at the end and add your answers to the mix! 

Where was I? Alaska, BC, California, Arizona

What country related books or documentaries did I watch? 

Read: I actually read quite a few books about the US and Mexico! 

Amity: 1866 post Civil War, formerly enslaved (but not yet freed) brother and sister get separated; one is in the US and one is in Mexico. Brother goes to find sister. (****)

Ballad of Love and Glory: 1846 Mexican American war (****)

On the Plain of Snakes: Travel writer Paul Theroux drives along and crosses over the US/Mexican border several times before delving deeper into the country. (in progress)

Watched: n/a

Did I complete any other items on this year's looking forward list? 

✅New food <-- black sesame ice cream *yum*

✅ Book about country <-- see above

✅ Family time! 

✅ Ride my bike in two new states <-- Arizona - 1/2

✅ See at least one National Park that I have not been to before. <-- Glacier Bay NP, Alaska

✅ New thing <-- saw an orca!

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1. What is the name of last month's chapter? 

January: Devouring the Sweet Potato

February: Back in the Groove

March: Serenity Before the Storm

April: Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot

May: The Ring of Fire and Ice

I went from Alaska (cold) to Arizona (hot) all in one month and it was quite the contrast! 

2. What did I learn last month? 

I learned a lot about salmon, glaciers, my family's knowledge of trivia questions and...cactus! I decided I had to stop calling them the "one that looks like a pincushion" and the "one that looks like a Rastafarian" and so I looked them up. Did you know that Arizona has over 50 different kinds of cacti? We all probably are familiar with the Saguaro (middle row, far left photo), and it is very fun to find people shapes within them, but one of my favorites is the Cholla (top row, middle photo), because it reminds me of my little succulents at home, where you could remove the "chick" and make a whole new plant. The Cholla does the same thing, giving it the nickname of the Jumping Cholla. Also, if you speak Spanish, you will know this already, but if you don't...Saguaro is pronounced Sah-wahr-oh, and Cholla is pronounced Choy-ah. 

Cacti

3. What was the weather like? 

It was all over the place! Alaska was around 40-50 most of the time, San Francisco was around 50-60, it was about 50-70 at my parents, and then it was 70-105 in Arizona! The only place it rained was BC, but otherwise the skies were clear and it was beautiful! 

4. What event last month was my favorite?

It's really hard to choose! I saw orcas! I even got them on video, which was very lucky! We also did a helicopter ride to a glacier while in Alaska which was a very cool experience. I have been on a helicopter before but I can honestly say that it does not get old. I would do it again in a heartbeat and would love to even learn to fly one. #lifegoals! 

I also got to ride on a narrow gauge railway that my Dad has done a lot of work with, spent a lot of great time with family and friends, got a new bike, played many, MANY hands of Rummy with my brother, had a birthday, ate hamburgers, drank beer, walked in the forest, went to San Francisco and so much more! It was a very full month for sure. 

5. What was the best thing read, listened to or watched last month? Despite a pretty slow start, once I started riding, I read at least a book a day on audio, and due to camping, have been reading my Kindle a lot at night! However, no five stars, but lots and lots of fours! 

Book: The Electricity of Every Living Thing - While on a thru-hike in England, the author determines that she has Asperger's. The walk gives her time to think it through and contemplate what this diagnosis means for her.  

Movie/Show: The Inspector Lynley Mysteries (Britbox/Kanopy (free)) - Classic detective stories set in London and surrounds, based on books by Elizabeth George. When I was younger I read so many of her novels and loved them. The show was filmed in the early aughts so the quality is not great but the stories are still fun. 

Podcast: I am loving the Headwaters podcast, which is about Glacier NP. First of all, it is hosted by two rangers, and I like them, so that helps. Second, despite being about Glacier, there are so many interesting parallels to other things, like this episode where they talk about forest fires and how they affect different groups, the environment and the animals. 

6. Tell us one funny recent story. 

My Driver License was expiring on my birthday this year. Now, I am not a procrastinator, so of course, I got online in February to renew. Not to make a short story long, but if you are unaware, for a REAL ID, you need to have a physical address and prove that you live there. My ID still had my Oakland address, so in order to renew the first step is to change your address (online) and the second step is to request a new ID (also online). Easy right? Well, for some reason, the online address change would not work. I would go it, change it, it would say that it was going to take 3-5 business days, then I would get no email or anything, but in 3-5 days would go back and check and it would say "not processed." I did this several times using different browsers, my phone, and even my brother, as I thought maybe the issue was that I wasn't in the US. It did not work. I sent an email to the DMV asking for an extension. I got no response. 

I was going to be arriving home one day before my birthday, so plan B was that I would just go in to a physical location. If you have ever been to the DMV, or maybe it is just the DMV in California, the reputation is not great. So I printed out everything that they may ask for, and tried to make an appointment. The first available was in June, so I decided to just take my chances. I borrowed my Dad's car and went in on my birthday, the day my ID expired, and got in line. Good news: it only took about 15 minutes! Yay! Bad news: I got back in the car and the car wouldn't start. So I spent the next hour figuring out why and ultimately getting a new battery for the car. 

In the end, it was not too bad, and I went and got my free Starbucks milkshake frappuccino to celebrate my win. The funny thing is that my Dad had asked me earlier what special thing I wanted to do for my birthday and I told him that it was just a regular day really and that I had a lot of errands to run. So after my errands I also helped him clean out the basement! Sometimes being an adult is fun, eh? Full disclosure: I had a hamburger and a beer too!

Cheeseburger salad, buffalo cauliflower, IPA

Is this how the IG people do it?

7. What am I looking forward to this month?

The World Cup! I will fly home and go to a game in the Bay Area and then go to Seattle for a second game and it is going to be so much fun. My friend K and I have tried to get tickets to other years but have failed so this is our redemption! 

Your turn! To copy/paste, highlight the text below and click CTRL-C, then put the cursor in the comment box and click CTRL-V.

MAY:

1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that?

2. What did you learn last month?

3. What was the weather like where you are?

4. What event last month was your favorite?

5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month? 

6. Tell us one funny recent story. 

JUNE: 

7. What are you looking forward to this month?

Bonus question! What is your ideal birthday meal (and drink)? 

What I Learned, Looking Forward, Looking Back: April 2026

I know that April is not quite over yet, but I will soon be on a plane, on a ship and with family, and so I thought I would post early this month, as I will be otherwise occupied once the month is actually over.  

Please copy and paste the questions at the end and add your answers to the mix! 

Where was I? Thailand

What country related books or documentaries did I watch? 

Read: The Glass Kingdom by Lawrence Osborne. A book set in Bangkok about an American woman who steals from her boss and escapes to an expat apartment in Bangkok. She makes some friends and meets some locals but also finds some trouble along the way. I just thought it was okay. 

Watched: Mysteries of the Mekong (shown on Apple TV, YouTube TV or Paramount) -- A nature documentary about the Mekong Delta. I personally like nature shows so I enjoyed it! 

Did I complete any other items on this year's looking forward list? 

✅New food <-- Malatang soup at Xiong Lao Han Malatang

✅ Book about country

✅ Documentary about country

✅ Fun times with the girls! 

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1. What is the name of last month's chapter? 

January: Devouring the Sweet Potato

February: Back in the Groove

March: Serenity Before the Storm

April: Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot

2. What did I learn last month? 

I learned that elephants eat for about 16 hours per day. Then also only digest about 40% of what they eat, which means they poop roughly every 1.5 hours, which ends up being a total of about 200 pounds of dung per day. 

3. What was the weather like? 

It was hot. I would estimate that the lows in the evening were around 29 C / 84 F and the highs were around 39 C / 100 F, with humidity of about 50% plus. The silver lining is that it only rained a couple of times. The downside is that I only went out for real exercise a couple of times per week (I did walk to places still, but did not do dedicated runs very often). 

4. What event last month was my favorite?

Having the girls visit! We had a lot of fun wandering around, eating, going to the beach, feeding elephants and more. It was really fun to see things through their eyes, and we gave them some cash so they could interact with the vendors and locals when and where they wanted, and seeing what they decided to do and how they handled new situations was interesting! 

5. What was the best thing read, listened to or watched last month? My reading has been absolute crap. Between having the girls here, feeling lethargic due to the weather and spending a lot of time planning the next several months, I have not done much reading. 

Book: The Unselected Journals of Emma M Lion: Vol 1. It was short and sweet and about as much as I can concentrate on at the moment. 

Movie/Show: The new season of Top Chef, which is set in the Carolinas. 

Podcast: This episode of Acquired about Costco. (If you enjoy this, you may also like this one about TJs)

6. Tell us one funny recent story. 

When the girls were here, we set up some tours for their enjoyment. Tour #1 was to an elephant sanctuary, where it was hot and there were flies. L was so bothered by the bugs, and kept asking if we brought bug spray (we didn't) and spent most of the time there scratching (PS they were not biting!) and trying to brush flies off. Tour #2 was a old train ride, a train market and a floating market. L slept through the train ride, and ate something that looked like a nut in the train market (she is deathly allergic). I am pretty sure that instead of remembering the tour events, she will remember bugs, heat and nearly dying. Kids! Side note: we had a great time staying cool by playing cards in the AC cooled apartment, so I am sure there are other memories to be had! 

7. What am I looking forward to this month?

Alaska cruise, seeing family, and starting a new cycling adventure! 

Your turn! To copy/paste, highlight the text below and click CTRL-C, then put the cursor in the comment box and click CTRL-V.

APRIL:

1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that?

2. What did you learn last month?

3. What was the weather like where you are?

4. What event last month was your favorite?

5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month? 

6. Tell us one funny recent story. 

MAY: 

7. What are you looking forward to this month?

Bonus question! If you have littles in your life, what thing have you done that they have totally missed the point of (in your mind) or didn't seem to care about? 

Lessons Learned the Hard Way

Last week I talked about how I learned to back up (and fix) my car as a teenager. Lest you think that I believe myself to be some sort of superhero, let me impart upon you some of the stupid things I have done and some of the mishaps I have had in relation to cars, aka, how I learned the hard way. I probably could write an entire book, or at the very least, many chapters, on my car mishaps, but for now, here are a few to get started. 

Ka-pow. I blew up a battery by accidentally putting the red lead of the battery charger on the black side and vice versa. It made an explosion, and luckily I pulled it off super fast, and only messed up the battery itself, which is replaceable, and didn't set fire to the entire vehicle. The silver lining is that I was charging the battery, so it was probably on its last legs anyway before I killed it. Cost of new battery $100. Lesson learned: how to tell the difference between two colors. 

Beep. Beep. I backed up my Dad's truck, yes, the one with the beeper, into my parent's driveway and misjudged the length of the bed just slightly enough to run into his other car which was parked there. Cost of new fender: just a ding luckily. Lesson learned: how to back up a car properly. 

Dehydration. I was having some issues with the car overheating, which I figured out was because of the belt that runs the radiator. The TDLR is that the radiator keeps the car cool, and is similar to your sweat in that it moistens your skin and then the air helps keep it cool. However, the process requires a water pump and a fan, which require a belt. Have I lost you yet? I replaced this belt, and was very proud of myself. I then started a long drive from Sacramento to Novato, and was going over a causeway on I-80 between Sacramento and Davis when my car just stopped moving. On the freeway. Somehow I managed to get over to the right, where I was barely off the lane, and the cars were still whizzing by at 80 mph. I honestly cannot remember if I had a cell phone at this point (I think so? I think it was one of those old brick Nokias) but somehow I got in touch with AAA. They came and got me and towed me back home. Turns out that after you replace the belt, you are supposed to put water back into the radiator, so that the car doesn't overheat. The result? I blew a head gasket, which to put it bluntly, means I F$%^#ed up the engine. Cost of new engine: $2,000+ Lesson learned: painful.

This is me "helping" to fix the engine.
Yes, same photo as last week, but I didn't tell you the whole story, did I?

Toll booth Willie. After I blew up the engine on one car, I was borrowing a VW Rabbit from a family member to use when I was commuting from Sacramento to San Francisco for my new job (don't ask). It was an old little stick shift (weren't they all?) that made me feel like the poor relative when I drove it to meet my friends for drinks. 

It looked like this, except red and rusty
 and with a VERY loud muffler, which was 
 even more embarrassing than the backup beeper.

It was having some overheating issues (do we sense a pattern here? why yes, yes we do) and I often had to pull over to let it cool down or to put more coolant in the radiator. On this particular day, I was almost to the Bay Bridge toll plaza, which will take you over the Bay Bridge into San Francisco, and of course the traffic was stop and go, which was the worst scenario for the overheating problem. Each time I stopped, I could see the temperature gauge go up a little bit more, but here I was, in the middle of 18 lanes of stop and go traffic. Of course, it was rush hour and there was not much I could really do but hope and pray. I was about four cars from the toll, where the traffic would open back up a little and the car stopped and steam started billowing from the hood. Cars started honking at me, as if they thought this would make the steam go away and my car to start moving again, and all I could do was sit there. I could not get out of the car into the traffic, but I could not move forward. Luckily a tow truck came in about 4 minutes and towed me from the toll booth into the city and dropped me at a garage. Cost of toll and tow that day: $0 Lesson learned: If you ever want a free tow and toll, just pretend to break down in the middle of the toll lane. Just make sure you do it before you pay the toll. 

Thankfully, my Dad and Uncle are quite good with mechanical things and many of these mistakes were fixed by them with my help (but not too much of it after some of my gaffs!). I don't know what I would have done without them. I am pretty sure they were probably talking smack about me a lot, especially after the very expensive engine fiasco. Dad, are you reading this? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

Where is the worst place you have ever broken down? What is the most expensive car related mistake you've ever made? 

Old School Parking

Nance wrote a post the other day about parking and I nearly left a novel in my comment, and it was fun to see what the other commenters said as well. However, I did not even say everything that I wanted to say, so I thought I would make my own post so I could say it all. You should go and read her post (and comments) but if you don't the TLDR is that it was about backing into parking spots/spaces/driveways etc. 

When I first got my license and was able to sometimes drive, I often drove one of the two cars my parents owned. The first was a 5-speed manual Dodge Caravan that I did drive to soccer, even though I was not a Mom. Given that we lived on a windy mountainous road, I don't even think I even got into 5th gear for a while after I started driving. I drove this in all sorts of weather, including snow, and once even hit some ice, spun out, and did a 360 or maybe a 720 before luckily landing in a snowdrift and not careening off the edge of the canyon, which caused the engine to jerkily stutter and then stall. I sat there dazed for a few minutes and then did as you must do, started the car back up and carried on my way in the drifting snow. I don't think we put on snow tires in those days. 

I also got to drive my Dad's work truck, which was a 1980-something 4-speed manual Toyota flatbed stake side (the kind with wood slats on the side) truck that had a backup beeper and did not have power steering. 

It looked like this

So, coming back to Nance's post about backing into parking spots, I tried my hardest to NEVER have to back that truck up. It was so embarrassing to be parking in the school parking lot and have to back up, causing the truck to emit a high beeping noise, and everyone's head to swivel my way (or so I thought). I would do very creative things in order to not have to back into or out of a parking spot when any other humans were in the general vicinity. Plus if you had to "whip into" a spot, the lack of power steering made that incredibly difficult. There really was no whipping in this truck. 

Then I got my own car. It was a 1978 Mercedes 240D, which is a diesel car, very sturdy, accident proof, according to my parents, a tank, according to me. It got the job done but one of my conditions of getting a car was that I had to fix it myself. 

Working on the car (c. 1998)

Luckily a 1978 diesel engine car is actually quite straightforward compared to what is out there now, and I actually COULD fix it myself. However, when something went wrong with the starter, and I didn't get around to fixing it right away, I had to do a workaround to start the car, which was to pop the clutch. 

If you have ever had to pop the clutch you will recall that this generally involves one person driving and several people pushing the car until it goes fast enough that you can pop the clutch and get the car started. If you are alone, this is much more difficult, especially when your car is a tank. I cannot really push the car and pop the clutch at the same time, although I have seen some people with lighter cars or stronger muscles do it! This meant that to be able to start the car in case I was alone, I had to park backwards on a hill so that when I started it up I could roll it down the hill and pop the clutch all on my own (I guess this is how I became independent!) It actually was quite effective, if I could get one of the one or two parking spots that fit this criteria. If I could not, I had to beg people to push my car so I could start it. Let's just say that I did not make a lot of friends during this time of my life. Or maybe I did, since I had to talk to a lot of people whether I wanted to or not. 

I did fix the car on my own, but not before popping the clutch on nearly all of the hills in the town I went to school in. However, as a 17 year old, doing this was highly superior to not having a car at all. 

Also, I lived in San Francisco and other places where I had to parallel park*, and this honed my skills in that aspect. Not only that, but I learned to be aggressive. If you have ever driven around for several (or 40) minutes looking for a parking spot in the evening, only to find one, start parallel parking (backing) into it despite the fact that you are holding up traffic to do it, and then have some jerk try to pull into it while you are taking it, you will know what I mean. I guess I will chalk this up to yet another useless skill for my list: parallel parking and doing it fast, and even being willing to yell at someone in my way if I need to. I can also tie a cherry stem in a knot with my tongue if it is long enough, and can recite all the words to Freaks of the Industry or Baby Got Back without any backup lyrics. Three gold stars for me. 

*Actually I did not have a car when I lived in San Francisco, but I regularly had friends ask me to help them park their car. 

Good luck parking here

So, the question that Nance posed was, do you reverse into parking spots? I think after having to sneak into the parking lot after everyone else with the truck, then worry about popping the clutch with the car, then back into parallel parking spots, I got pretty good at backing into the spot (mostly so that I would not have to back out of it later). So even today, the answer to her question is yes, but the caveat is that I would do it in my own driveway, or maybe in a spot that has a wall behind it, but I probably would not do it in a pull through spot, like at the grocery store for example. The funny thing is that I used to make fun of my Dad for doing it, and it seems like it was mostly men that did it, but now here we are. (*PS I think my Mom usually pulls in forward and my Dad definitely still backs into spots!) 

So now I ask you: do you reverse into parking spots? What kind of parking mishaps have you had in your life? 

Twenty Questions (Finale): You've Come a Long Way Baby

Thanks for following along for the countdown to 20 years of blogging! This was my first post, on April 7, 2006. So today, exactly 20 years later, here we are. To celebrate, here are a few highlights and facts from the last 20 years. 

1. I started off writing about travel, but then at some point I just had fun writing! One of my favorite fun for me posts was this one I wrote about trying to save the environment. It is funny to look back at my mind 20 years ago, but also our figurative environment and to see what has changed since that post! 

2. When I first start training for my first half marathon in 2006, I documented it, as we do, and I wrote this post on my 4th training day, where I asked myself, "is this going to get any better, or will it only get worse?" Hah. 

3. I was also a financial guru from the get go. Like in this 2007 post where I talk about trying to balance spending and saving. PS I opened my first brokerage (non-retirement) account in 2006. 

4. Including this post, I have 1,208 published posts, or an average of about 60 posts per year. 

5. A whopping 22% of those posts were all in one year, 2011, where I published 265 posts. The reason for this is because that is the year I did a round the world travel trip for about 12 months. 

6. My three most popular posts in this time are one I did about the funny signs in Thailand, one I did about how to make cake pops, and a guest post by Mr. Lovely about why Nepal is better than India. 

7. In 2008, I was traveling in South America for most of the year, and I even did a Dia Normal (DITL) post about one of my days there.

8. In 2019 I only wrote one post, and it was this best of books post. These posts have been a regular occurrence, even in the lean years! However, I did not even do the Money Pie! 

9. In fact, I had a bit of a slump in a four year period, with total published posts per year of 3 in 2018, 1 in 2019, 11 in 2020 and 6 in 2021. I also skipped the Money Pie at the beginning of 2020, but luckily, it was back in January of 2021! 

10. My top three labels in order of most to least are Lists, Travel and Running. 

11. While blogging, I have lived in (and blogged about) the following cities: San Francisco, New Orleans, Santa Cruz. 

12. In 2022, I decided to get back in the game, so to speak, and I upped my number to 17! I also started cycling longer distances for the first time, and I wrote a post about that. 

13. In 2023, I talked a lot about decluttering, as this was when I had decided to sell my house and all my things and hit the road again. 

14. Since I started this blog, I have read roughly 1,700 books and blogged about many of them. I even created a bookshelf with some of my favorites. 

15. Like many of us, I went through a food phase, and took photos of food etc. I even created a recipe page. 

16. I only did NaBloPoMo once, in 2024, and I probably will not do it again. It was fun but I can't keep up with other people's blogs as diligently as I would like when I am doing it. 

17. In 2024 I took several weeks off from posting to race my bike from Canada to Mexico. 

18. I also had many great blogger meet ups over these years, including places as far away from home as Poland and Wales! 

19. 2025 was another great round the world adventure, mostly in the European region. 

20. Next up, the world. Here's to 20 more years of fun, community and learning new things! Cheers! 

Have you ever had a blogging slump? What is your favorite old post of your own that you  have written (feel free to put the link so I can check it out!) 

What I Learned, Looking Forward, Looking Back: March 2026

You thought I only posted on Mondays, but I fooled you! Due to my 20 in 20 anniversary next week, this week I have a bonus episode for you. You're welcome! This is not a joke! 

Please copy and paste the questions at the end and add your answers to the mix! 

Where was I? Japan

What new food did I try? There were a lot of things! The most fun one was Okonomiyaki, which is like a noodle, cabbage and oyster omelet of sorts. 

What country related books or documentaries did I watch? 

Read: Fifty Words For Rain <-- Japan (kind of strange)
Read: The Reason I Jump <-- Japanese author, who happens to be a 13 year old boy with autism *This one was my favorite of the three
Read: South of the Border, West of the Sun <-- Japanese author

Watched: The Unspeakable Things That Happened in Unit 731<-- covert biological and chemical warfare research unit of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) and World War II.
Watched: Being Japanese Part 1 and Part 2 <-- identity in Japan (especially if you are not full Japanese)

Notes: I enjoyed The Reason I Jump, as it gives you an insight into some questions you may have about autism. I also found the Unit 731 documentary interesting in that I had heard about the Japanese being cruel during some of the wars, but not this specific part of it. I really enjoyed Being Japanese, as it talks about the struggles to integrate for some "outsiders" to the Japanese culture. 

Did I complete any other items on this year's looking forward list? 

✅New food
✅ Sent > 5 post cards
✅ Hiking in Japan
✅ Book about country
✅ Documentary about country

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1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that? 

January: Devouring the Sweet Potato
February: Back in the Groove
March: Serenity Before the Storm

April will be busy, then...the summer will be busy...so March is the last calm month for a while! 

2. What did you learn last month? 

I learned that the reason the Japanese statues have little "aprons" on them is because they are an offering to the guardian of children and travelers, Jizō. Parents place these items on statues, often with hats, to ask Jizō to keep their children warm and safe in the afterlife, to ask for protection or express gratitude, or to ward off illness or evil.

Statues with bibs

I also learned how to wash before going into a Shinto shrine (use dipper to clean the left hand, right hand, mouth, then clean the dipper), and how to properly pray at the shrine (pay a coin for good luck, bow twice, clap twice, pray, bow again [and sometimes ring a bell]) and how you should walk to the side of the path as the middle is reserved for the gods. 

Washing station

3. What was the weather like where you are? 

It was great! It rained a few days but mostly it was around 10 C / 50 F. Perfect running weather! 

4. What event last month was your favorite?

Hiking the Kumano Kodo was great. It is a pilgrimage over 1000 years old and it just felt so serene, walking amongst the tall cedar trees, seeing the shrines and temples and hearing the birds and the bugs. It was right up my alley. 

5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month? 

Book: I really enjoyed Travels with Charley, in which John Steinbeck takes a road trip across the US with his dog. 

Movie/Show: I started the new season of Top Chef, which is in the Carolinas this year. 

Podcast: Don't be fooled by the title; this episode of Choose FI is of two women talking about getting used to not hoarding time, and about how hard it is to let go of perfectionism. I related to them very much. 

6. Tell us one funny recent story. 

Well it's not really "funny" but I had to get dental work done in Japan, a root canal and a crown, in two different cities, and neither of them spoke any English! It turns out, they have very cool machines and the out of pocket cost (total--> root canal: $90, crown: $375) was probably less than it would have been at home WITH insurance. Despite disliking dentists generally, it was probably the most pleasant dental experience that I have had in a while. Also the second dentist let me take photos of him and his machines while he was making my crown! 

7. What are you looking forward to this month?

The girls! They will be joining me for spring break and we have a lot of fun things planned. Elephants, floating markets, eating all the street food, massages, mani-pedis, beach time, temples, buddhas, the works! I will need a vacation once they leave but it will be very fun I am sure. 

Your turn! To copy/paste, highlight the text below and click CTRL-C, then put the cursor in the comment box and click CTRL-V.

MARCH:

1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that?
2. What did you learn last month?
3. What was the weather like where you are?
4. What event last month was your favorite?
5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month? 
6. Tell us one funny recent story. 

APRIL: 

7. What are you looking forward to this month?

Bonus question! What was the worst dental procedure you have had? 

Twenty Questions (E20): The Blogosphere

Sometimes I struggle to sit and write something. Today is one of those days. The motivation is just not there. I often schedule my posts, as I like to write when the mood strikes me, but I am a regimented person (so I've been told) and I don't want to have five posts one week and none for the next few, so in order to maintain some sense of order, I just schedule them for the next week or the one after. However, sometimes I know that I will not be able to respond, like when I am out of service hiking, and to me, there is no point in putting out something when I know I will not have time to have interaction. In that case I would skip a week or two. 

However, aside from sometimes not feeling motivated or being out on a trail somewhere, usually blogging is a regular thing in my life. I mean, I am writing this as the 20th list in a list of 20 things because I have been blogging regularly for 20 years after all. So there must be something special about it. Today I will tell you not one but twenty things that I have gotten out of the blogging world in the last 20 years.  

1. A creative outlet. Despite being very left brained, I must have gotten some of my parents creative juices (my Mom is an excellent artist and my Dad sketches the annual Christmas card by hand every year) and having a blog lets you let the juice out somewhere! I even started a photo a day blog back in 2010, and check out this one which shows the first time I went to visit Lisa! 

I used to take artistic photos of food

2. A place to vent. I have a lot of pet peeves. However, I was taught to say nothing if I could not say nice things, so instead of saying them to someone's face, I put them out into the interwebs. Haha. It doesn't make sense but it feels good, and I also love reading the responses I get to these kinds of posts! 

3. A sense of community. If you are reading this, you know. I mean, if you know, you know, right? All it takes is one comment and before you know it, you have found kindred spirits around the world. I definitely used to be a reader and a lurker, until I realized how important being present was and how sometimes someone needs to have that little bit of encouragement. I now even comment on small YouTube channels and IG posts, as I understand how much a comment means to someone! A heart/like is nice, but a comment sure does go a long way, and is a much better way to make long term friends! 

4. IRL friends. Oops I kind of already went overboard on the last point, but these comments mentioned above have become real life connections! As you know, in 2024, I met up with several bloggers on my ride across North America, and in 2025, I met up with a few European friends! I have also met several other blogging friends IRL over the years. I remember the first time I was heading to meet up with Lisa, my friend told me to "text her when I was safe!" 15 years later, I am still alive. :)  

A few of the past meetups!

5. A more open mind. We don't know what we don't know and blogging has helped to know more things. Whether it is reading someone else's blog, or a comment on my own, I have learned things, and I think that has made me a better person. For example, did you know that Australia has over 600 national parks? Thanks Melissa! Keep those facts coming! 

6. A journal. For this 20 year project, I started reading back a little, and wow, some of my past entries are very fun. I actually kept a real journal before I started blogging, and I still have them, but they are in a box, and it is so fun to be able to see where I was or what I was thinking over the years. I wish I was better at chronicling things, but I am loving what I do have so far. 

7. Good fodder for my future book. People have told me I should write a book, and if I ever do, I will definitely use this blog as material! You may be surprised (or not) to know that I also often keep a voice journal, a pretty detailed calendar, and a LOT of notes on my notes apps, so I could probably stitch something together. Any publishers/editors out there? 

8. More patience and understanding. I think any time you put yourself in a vulnerable position, you feel a bit of empathy for other people who are doing the same. I think many people sitting behind a computer who don't have to look other people in the eye are happy to judge without qualms. However, I know how that feels, and I don't want to do that to someone else. I think everyone should walk a mile in the shoes of the person they are planning to judge before they are allowed to speak. This luckily also translates to realms that I have never been in. So when you talk about how much stress you are in due to your new job or whatnot, even if I have not experienced it myself, I can relate more! 

9. A good laugh. Whether it is other people's comments, or my own wit, which is not that witty but hey, I can still laugh at myself, blogging makes me laugh! Or...my favorite thing (and this makes me realize that it has been a while since I have done one of these posts) funny signs seen around the world. Or this.... 

I also thought it was really funny that this bone looked
like a joint, but I think I was the only person who laughed.

10. A sense of belonging. No matter what, there is someone going through the same (or similar) things as you are. Getting to find those people is so precious. I guess on one hand the internet is good for that, as sometimes in your regular life, you may have many friends just due to proximity even though they are not the "best" fit. However, sometimes with blogging, you can find people who get you, and that is priceless. Whether you just finished your first trail race, or you are trying to sell all of your stuff to move across the world, you will find your people! 

March 2024 - Empty house!

11. Some tech skills. Hey, I learned HTML! Of course now it is much easier, but back in the dark ages of 2006 you had to do some coding from time to time. I am still pretty good at finding a tech glitch or solving a problem, and I think a lot of that is from doing this blog (and being frugal; DIY fo-eva cuz!) Or....I learned how to do this....

My trip to the North pole by bike (NOT!)

12. A thicker skin. This kind of goes hand in hand with #8, as I think that when you are in their shoes, you understand others, BUT sometimes the haters are gonna hate. I have dealt with a lot of spam and trolls and whatnot, but now I just delete and block. The end. I may have maybe had issues with it before but now it is like water off a duck's back. Most of the time. 

13. Great book discussions. Oh the books I have read! I don't know what I would do without the blogging community when it comes to reading. I don't listen to even one book podcast, but luckily for me, many other bloggers do and they have fed me so many good recommendations. Of course, now many of them (you) are IRL friends, and so we have many ways to swap ideas, but at the beginning, the other blogs were my book saviors. 

Reading with Pablo 😊

14. An ability to shine. I don't like to put myself out there, but I think over the years I have become more comfortable with myself being here. I am still embarrassed about some things, and I still want to protect myself and my people, identity-wise, but I feel a lot better about trying new things, showing them to people and being ready for whatever happens. You don't know unless you try, right? 

15. Routine. I love routine. As I mentioned at the top, I sometimes get a flurry of creativity and can write 5 posts in a couple of days. However, I generally keep my schedule regular because I love the routine. Every Monday I post and then I get the joy of comments over the next few days or so, and that keeps me buoyed throughout the week. I can take the time to thoughtfully respond and not feel rushed, and the back and forth is very satisfactory. 

16. Some solid feedback. For the most part, people are kind. And sometimes it is nice to hear other people's perspectives, and you never know, they may become yours one day. I think that putting yourself out in the ether is very vulnerable, but it can be so satisfying to learn and to grow, so that makes it worth it. 

17. Connections. As I mentioned in this post, it is amazing how close of a connection you can make with other people online. If you would have asked me in 1997 if I was going to be friends with anyone on AIM, I would have thought you were cray-cray.

18. Accountability. When I first started running more, and even signed up for my first half marathon, I started a blog to chronical my journey. I ended up merging it with this one, as despite liking categories and boxes, it was easier to just update everything in one place. However, it kept me accountable (despite the fact that literally nobody read it)!

I used to run a lot

19. A lot of lists. Lists is my top category! I do love a good list, and I actually enjoy going back to look at some of them. One of my favorites is the AMA question lists. I love not only answering them, but also hearing other people's answers to the same ones! 

20. Great interactions. I have a few lurkers. They know who they are (HI GUYS!). Sometimes one of them will comment, but usually I get a text or an email from them with a comment about one of my posts. I am good with that; I love the interrelations that my putting myself out there (which I am not comfortable with sometimes) evokes. 

In case you want to know about some of my blog origins, you can read this post where I talked about where I got my start as well as some other general blogging information. 

Tell me! If you are a blogger, what has being in the community done for you or how has it changed you? If you are not a blogger, what does reading blogs or participating in the community do for you or how has it changed you? 

Twenty Questions (E19): One of Each Please

Sometimes the differences you encounter when traveling are difficult. They are unfamiliar and some of them take a while to get used to. However, sometimes you see things and you wonder why they are not as common at home. This could be that they are there but we don't know about it, or maybe they're just less used. Either way, today I will talk about 20 things from other countries that I think I would like to see more of or maybe adopt for myself one day. 

1. European tilt and turn windows. Turn the handle one way and you open it like a door; turn it the other and you tilt the top open for air. We do have these (Pella brand for one) but they are expensive (can be $2000 for one) and I just don't see them very often.  

2. Japanese toilets. To be fair, these are also in other Asian countries. Regardless of where they are, there is nothing better than sitting on a warm toilet seat and having a nice squirt of water for when you are done. Also, some public ones play music or make soothing noises, so that you can have complete privacy no matter where you are. 

3. Taiwan lines. The people in Taiwan know how to queue! There is a queue for everything from food to trains, and it is very clear where you should stand, and pretty much nobody (except tourists) cut in line! Everyone just patiently waits. 

Waiting for food

4. Italian pizza. The first time I had a Naples pizza, I was in love. I also rather like eating it with a knife and fork, and I love that I can eat an entire pie myself. 

5. Electric kettles. Hot water in minutes? Yes please. I had a kettle that I would put on the gas range at home, but I do love being able to heat up water with the push of a button, so much so that I got my brother one for Christmas since he makes French press coffee every day. (Bonus item! I also love the electric induction stoves.)

6. Hot water dispensers. Taiwan often has a hot water dispenser instead of a kettle and the water in them is boiling! So if you want a cup of tea, you can have it in less than a minute! 

7. UK electrical outlets. In the UK, you can often turn each outlet independently off and on. In addition, they sometimes have power strips with the same function, so even if you have six things plugged in, you can just flip one switch to turn off power to that specific thing. However, don't do what I did and plug in your phone to charge and not realize for hours that the outlet was off! 

Don't forget to turn it on!

8. Coffee culture. I think this is more of a romantic notion, as I am not really one to sit in a coffee shop for a long time, but I kind of want to be that kind of person...I think? 

9. Hawker stalls. We need more street food! I love the night markets, hawker stalls and street food stalls in Asia. The food is fast, hot, cheap and it's delicious! 

Taiwan

10. Thailand massages. Let me be clear, I do not mean Thai massages. Those are painful! I want the gentle one. Getting a massage for less than $10 is a pretty good deal in my book! Daily massage, anyone?  

11. Self cleaning public toilets. We actually have these in San Francisco, but they end up being homeless abodes. However, I wish they would work like the ones in France do! 

12. Pho for breakfast. I love sitting down at a tiny little table off a random alleyway in a Vietnamese city and eating beef soup for breakfast. Top that off with the fact that it is often only $2 and it is right up my alley! 

Sign found in Vietnam

13. Cycling culture. I know some cities at home have it, but it is not as common as you will find in some of the other parts of the world. 

14. Weekly (or sometimes daily) outdoor markets. Getting fresh in season food is so easy in many places! It would be called a "farmer's market" where I am from, and the prices would be sky high, but in many places, this is just the weekly market, and its the best place to shop! 

Fresh market in Sarajevo

15. Carafes of wine. House wine is delicious and a half liter is a perfect size for me if I am dining solo. Actually it may be a tad too much, but sometimes they have smaller options, like 25 cl (about 8 oz). However, when in Rome, ya know... I like them too because you can get a small one of each kind. 

Beef Bourgogne and wine in Dijon

16. Food on the plane. If you fly KLM, even on domestic flights, they still give you a sandwich on the plane! I actually don't mind getting my own food in the airport or beforehand; however, it is kind of fun when you get a meal for a sometimes very short flight! 

17. Cheese markets. We need more cheese markets. Big wheels of cheese. Stinky cheese. Soft cheese. I actually have a great one near where I lived before (the Cheese Board; if you have not been there, go, but don't go on a weekend!) but we still need more! 

Dijon, France -- Les Halles

18. Bullet trains. The Japanese Shinkansen and the French TGV go approximately 260-320 km/h (about 160–200 mph). They are not cheap, but man it is nice to get somewhere fast! Fun fact: The fastest bullet train speed achieved is 603 km/h (375 mph). In contrast, a normal commercial airliner's cruising speed is around 800-965 km/h or 500-600 mph. 

19. Being naked. Hear me out here. I know North Americans can be a bit modest, but there is something kind of freeing about some cultures and their blasé manner about nudity. I definitely have had Swedish people just whip off their clothes right in front of me, but it may surprise you that in many hot springs or spas in places like Japan, Georgia and Türkiye (and more) that it is very common to have little to no clothes on. 

20. Recycling. It is different everywhere you go, but some countries really have it dialed in pretty well! Most European countries are very diligent, and the last two places I have been (Taiwan & Japan) are pretty strict as well. I am not sure if it is true, but it seems like both of them do it the same across the country, whereas in the US for example each city or county may have a different system. 

What thing have you noticed in another country (or region of where you are from) that you liked a lot or wanted to adopt in your own location? 

Twenty Questions (E18): Where I Find Inspiration

Oftentimes, someone else's post sparks something inside of me; sometimes its an emotion, or an idea for a post of my own, or inspiration about something like travel, saving money, books or life. For this list of twenty, in no particular order, here are 20 blog posts from around the interwebs that have made me go hmmmm for one reason or other. 

TRAVEL

1. Melissa always does great travel recap posts, but I especially liked the one about some of the things she will do next time she makes it back to Paris. She also has posts about what she DID do when she was there last. I have bookmarked all of them for future reference. In fact, just check out her travel category in general if you are looking for ideas. 

2. Another blogger with a good travel category is Birchie. She has decided to see all of the state capitals, and their capitol buildings, and their flags. She also has many other interesting round ups about hikes, bike rides, Frank Lloyd Wright and Hitchcock. 

3. Another world traveler is Coco, who does multi-year long stints abroad for her job, and has lived in several different places around the world (and is "picking up" Portuguese now that she is living in Brazil). I really enjoyed her post about Raja Ampat, which is a place I also have on my list! 

4. If you ever are headed to Nova Scotia, check out Elisabeth's posts about her home turf. She is a walking NS guide! She also just started a multi month European trip, and will have plenty more travel fodder coming up soon. I can't wait to get some future travel ideas from her adventures! 

5. Toot, toot! If you didn't guess by my blog title, I also like to travel! :) You can find my jumping off page here for a list of where I have been with links to some of the destinations! Or for the TLDR, here is the best of 2024 or best of 2025 to get you started. 

LIFE

6. Birchie's post about how she is feeling so far about retirement. This is definitely something I could talk about and relate to! I am waiting for episode two to hear how she is feeling now (a couple of months past the last post).  

7. San's post about friendship (which was inspired by Rachel's post about friendship), and how hard it can often be to make and keep good friends in your vicinity. I definitely relate to this, especially as I move around the world. The life of a nomad can be hard in that aspect sometimes! 

8. One of the early posts I read of Rachel's was of her thoughts on the usage of phones at the dinner table. She actually has a lot of thought provoking posts about smart phones and life. The funny thing is that when I was staying with her, we were at the dining table having tea (the drink, not the meal), and I pulled out my phone to look something up, not realized that "at the dinner table" meant "any time you are sitting at the table" and she asked me to please put my phone away or take it somewhere else. I 100% support her request and I felt bad for breaking a rule that I was fully aware of! 

BOOKS

9. Engie talks a lot about books. She even hosts an online (cool bloggers) book club a couple of times a year, and she puts a lot of effort into moderating it, with questions, quotes and plenty of mentions of hats! She also does a lot of reading challenges, but my favorite are her monthly wrap ups, where I often get ideas for future reads. 

10. I love a good wrap up, and Birchie's year end book reviews are right up my alley. A fellow Excel nerd, and lover of analysis, she keeps track of her books throughout the entire year in order to give us this yearly list. She also does a TLDR shoutout at the top, so if you don't feel like reading the entire list, you can still get some good ideas from the summary. 

11. Lisa's blog is private at the moment, but if you have access, you will know that she is a reader to no end, so much so that she and her boys go to the library nearly every weekend, and the boys get stacks and stacks of books to read. I also love that she has the same first world problem that I do, and that is that you can never have enough books on hold! I don't know what she will do once her kids get old enough to want their own eBook holds! If you just have time for one post, check out her Best Books of Years Past post. 

12. Elisabeth reads a lot more non-fiction than I do, but I get a lot of good ideas from her nonetheless. Also, I enjoy her yearly wrap up, and she separates it out into non-fiction and fiction in case you like one more than the other. 

13. Stephany and I are thriller twins. Usually if she likes it, I will like it. Her monthly wrap ups and annual reviews are super organized and have tons of fun stats and charts and are a joy to read. 

14. Julie has a ton of book reviews on her blog, and she does a great job reviewing them consistently (which I strive to do better). If you are looking for ideas, you will find a lot of them on her site! She reads all kinds of things, so there is a book for everyone there. 

LISTS

15. I love Michelle's 101 things in 1001 days list! It inspires me to make one of my own. I definitely have way more than 101 things and I do have lists of things, activities, places etc. that I want to do, but I need to organize it better into a cohesive list for sure. 

16. Suzanne's list of 20 lists that she could have done for Engie's 20th anniversary. Funny, I forgotten that I had bookmarked this, and it would have been a great resource for my own 20 list project, but I didn't remember I had it. However, I did accidentally do a couple of these anyway (peeves, 20 year old me) and I will be using the last one on her list next week, so stay tuned! 

17. Tobia also has a 101 things in 1001 days list and actually she is on her third iteration of this list! I love that this means she has already done over 202 things that are important to her. I think we all should aspire to make one of these lists and get started working on it! If you are not sure what things you want to try, you can get plenty of ideas here! 

LAUGHS

18. This post by Nance about backing into parking spots made me giggle, but also inspired me to write an entire full post about the subject, which I have scheduled for a future day when this list project is over, so stay tuned! 

19. Most posts by Nicole, but I like it when she talks about menopause or her honeypot, as those ones are always good for a laugh. She has a way of telling a story that makes you giggle and also want to hear more stories. She can talk about a book I read and didn't even like and I am still entertained. 

20. Argh, I ran out of numbers, so this will be a double header. If you want to laugh about stories in the life of a busy person, look no further than either Ernie or Kae's blogs. Both are busy working mothers, although they are in definitely different places in their lives. Ernie is a mother of eight(!!), including two adopted kids, and spends her days watching toddlers for a living. Kae is a mother of two teenage boys, one of whom is headed to college soon, and both of whom have various sports and events happening in life. I am awed at both of these strong women! Ernie's last post was aptly called 5 Eff-Ups Friday, and I enjoyed Kae's February recap in which she asks, "did February actually happen?" 

Obviously there are so many more of you who I get inspiration from, but I would need a list of 100 (or more! Maybe 101 blogs to read in the next 1001 days?) to list them all. So, even if you are not featured on today's list, I am still following along and am inspired by you! 

What or who has inspired you lately?