This one is for Whitney!

My good friend Whitney, otherwise known as the Managing Editor of Blogs in Seattle, has been very politely requesting that I update my blog. I don't know what it is that has kept me from doing so, but it's been months! I owe her a post for her patience and for even wanting to read what I might write. I have no idea what I'll post about, but here goes nothing. Whitney, this one is for you.

I am currently listening to my iPod. I've had a bit of an iPod resurgence lately. It all started when I began downloading my friend Matt's podcasts (Live Free or Blow Hard - check them out on iTunes!) and has carried over to me listening to more music and getting excited about it again. Added to that is the Michael Jackson retrospectives which have reminded me of some seriously fun music. And a few blog posts and random songs on the radio recently reminded me of some other great 80s hits.

80s (or at least old if not specifically 80s) hits I've been enjoying:

• Tell It to My Heart - Taylor Dayne

• We Belong - Pat Benatar

• Who's Johnny? - El Debarge

• Smooth Criminal - Michael Jackson

• Pretty Young Thing - Michael Jackson

More current songs I've also been enjoying:

• Love Game - Lady Gaga (liking her music makes me want to gag-a, but I can't resist)

• And Then You - Greg Laswell

• Heartless - Kanye West (can't believe I'm supporting his ego)

• Sweet Inspiration - Derek Trucks Band (learned about them from my cousins via Facebook)

• Evacuate the Dancefloor - Cascada (evidently the #1 song in London right now...)

I've been feeling somewhat low-key lately, so it sort of surprises me to see these lists... lots of dance-riffic songs there... evidently I was a Fly Girl in my former life! Great fun. If I were more tech-y, I'd add clips so you could listen to these songs. But I blog like it's 1999, and some things are just beyond my simple skills. I do, however, encourage you to check them out on Amazon or iTunes and to create a happy music mix of your own. Crazy what an effect fun, upbeat music can have on a person!!

In other news, I'm preparing for a trip to Ecuador in August. It's my first time outside the United States in just WAY too long. I had to renew my passport it had been so long (and it had been expired for several years!) The head of our international division at work says that everyone should have a passport because you just never know what opportunities might arise and you want to be prepared. Obviously that makes sense, and for the past few years I had felt a bit limited. Like I'd see a great deal on airfare to Europe and I'd think, "Even if I decided I could go, I actually, legally CAN'T go." So it's been a very liberating feeling to have that passport again and to know I can take off for parts unknown at a moment's notice. Will I? Remains to be seen. But it's one less thing standing in my way.

[Pause for some chair dancing, because "Who's Johnny" just started on my iPod.]

A few comments on the upcoming Ecuador trip:

• My whole family is going... Mom, Dad, Sister, Brother-in-law, Nephew (YAY, Pete!) - perhaps we should film it for a remake of European Vacation... Ecuadorean Vacation. My dad could actually pull the Chevy Chase thing off pretty well, I think.
• I believe I speak about as much Spanish as Pete. And he's four. So I need to spend a little time brushing up on the one semester I took my senior year of college. Yikes... And no, knowing the word "cervesa" is not going to cut it. I need to learn how to say "vodka with cranberry" and "where is the nearest Starbucks?" ;-)
  
• I have a number of essentials I need to buy to make this trip a success... good walking shoes, a lighter suitcase, a good backpack, etc. Not the most fun shopping to do, but these are must haves!
  
• I have a number of essentials I DON'T need to buy to make this trip a success... iPod? Check. Good book? Check. (We are reading "I Know This Much is True" for bookclub and it's 900 pages long. I think that'll cover all my reading needs.) Camera? Check. And the trip might afford me time to finally read the instruction manual that came with it!
• We are going to be way up in the mountains, so I am going to have to be much more diligent about sunscreen than I usually am. Wish me luck, it's not a strength of mine.
• I am going to spend most of my time in Cuenca and Paute. And a night or two in Guyaquil. You can Google to see where those cities are. At that point, you'll know as much about them as I do!

It's going to be great fun and a much-needed adventure. I can guarantee I'll have blogging material when I get back!

I'm sure I'll blog more before I leave... now that I'm back at it. And hopefully, HOPEFULLY, my posts will be more entertaining than this scattered, ramshackle collection of thoughts.

Until then... Adios, Miss Whitney!