In all my years of soliciting and offering travel advice, there’s one fact that has never come up. Lines. Lines? Yeah, those things that people stand in to be able to enter a place, pay for a ticket, or see something.

When I was in kindergarten, Mrs. Grant assigned a new “star of the day” every day. (I got it 10 times.) The “star” got to be the line leader and the rule was if you weren’t the line leader, you had to stand directly behind the person in front of you. But, not that close, Timmy.

I took this all for granted and thought it was silly at the time. We’re kids, not an occupying army.

Then I took up traveling. And because I love to travel, I stand in many, many lines. I’ve learned that not all lines are built the same. In some countries, whose name I will not mention, the word for line is the same word for shove, push, and mosh-pit. Yep. And in other countries, lines mean that there should only be one centimeter of space between people. If you are more than a centimeter away, then you must not be in the line, so I must step in front of you. Then there’s the country that thinks the line is a time where Stan gets there first, John stands next to Stan, and when it’s time to go forward, John has the right of way. And finally, there a places in this world where lines are simply gatherings of friends, where the idea of “order” is just silly… you go ahead, I’m just going to enjoy the sun.

For the most part, I can deal with these line idiosyncrasies. It’s part of the beauty of travel and I often wonder if maybe, one of these days, I’ll find myself pregnant from standing in line. What a souvenir.

I can’t deal with this though, when there’s a clash of the cultures, a perfect storm of lines and a mob of people from every corner of the planet… I can’t deal with this at Disney World.

Ah, Disney. Everything at Disney is a line. You might not realize it right away, but from the moment you enter Disney property, pay your parking, find your space, take the tram to the front of the park, the boat to the entrance, pay for your ticket, go through bag security checks, go through the turnstile, go to the bathroom, go through the park, go to a ride, get lunch, see a show, buy a souvenir, go to another ride, eat a snack, exit from a turnstile, take the monorail back to your parking area, then the tram to your car and then leave Disney property… you’ve been in one long, continuous line.

Now add that to the fact that you’ve been told by Mrs. Grant, Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Reed and your parents and own societal norms that you have to wait your turn. And Mr., Mrs., and Baby Disney-goer have been told that lines are a free-for-all. Also add to this that everyone has paid a ridiculously high price ($75 per person, $12 parking) so chaos ensues.

Did you know that Disney has widened a lot of their lines so groups of 5 or more can comfortably stand next to each other while in line? Do you know what this means to a group of two who can’t possibly cover all that ground and inevitably ends up with a family or two, or three, pushing past them? They aren’t doing it to be vindictive, but their definition of line is just different. Their definition is just different…

Creativity Prompt. Have you been there before? They offer a lot of prompts, on different topics, and I decided to do one today. A prompt from October. It’s about uniqueness in yourself and using the prompt, I thought I would talk about uniqueness in me. I might get off topic. We’ll see.

Here’s a story of me. A perfect “me” story. I’m unapproachable. When I worry that one day, I’ll be waddling around pregnant and some stranger will want to touch my belly, I realize (before I even finish the thought), that that’s probably not going to happen. I give off a vibe. A vibe that says: Don’t touch me. I’m not mean, I smile a lot, but like Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze at the beginning of Dirty Dancing, I have my space and you have yours. I’m quite aware of it. And if you are near me, you’ll be aware of it too.

But, that’s not my story. Over the holidays I went to a very busy Starbucks. Line out the door. The barrista/cashier was one of the nicest guys. I assume. I noticed how he greeted each and every single customer when it was their turn to order. “How’s the shopping going, do you want to try a peppermint mocha, oh what a great selection!” As if I was in a movie, where a narrator who knows what’s about to happen is talking over the scene, I hear a voice in my head: “This super-nice barrista/cashier is not going to be as friendly to you. And there’s nothing you can do about it.”

So, I walked up to the man. Smiled placed my order and looked down into my wallet to pay for my tall latte no foam. And then I heard the magical words, “How are you doing today?” what?!?! is it possible… is he really about to be just as nice to me as he has been to the previous 10 people in front of me… I looked up, smiling, ear.to.ear. And then he looked at me. And then my smile broke. And I said to him, “You weren’t talking to me were you?” and he said - “no. I was actually talking to the guy behind you.”

My uniqueness. I am the 1 in 11th person that cafe barrista/cashiers will opt out of talking to. Nine times out of ten.

I’ll be back with another creativity prompt tomorrow. In the meantime, check out my new awesome blog: Travel From Home.

Ok.

I love my new blog.

I started it kind-of on a whim when I lost a job I only had for a week, but in that week started to love.

I remembered that I’m the kind of person who likes doing something that I like to do (and as ridiculous and “duh” as that sounds, how many people do you know are doing something they don’t like to do?) and I like to do a large variety of stuff. As much as I love a lot, I have found it difficult for me to find a job that allows me to be in love with what I’m doing because usually the jobs don’t fall into the spectrum of things I like to do.

So, I started my new blog.

And I’ve been working on it for a week and a half or so. Researching about Hungary. It’s a blast.

Because I’m reading about a country’s really interesting history.

And reading fiction books that I might not have looked at otherwise.

I’m making recipes that I never would have tried. And I’m guaranteeing to myself that as long as I do this website, I will be making a new recipe every two weeks. How great is that. So many people want to try new food frequently, and I have “forced” myself to do just that.

I’m learning about peripheral things that I never thought I’d learn about.

I’ve shifted focus.

It’s fun.

I can’t wait to learn more.

Anyway, I just wanted to share. What have you done lately that you love and what’s stopping you?

I love it when people write what their typical day looks like. It reminds me of when I worked at a grocery store in college and  would see what people bought and learned a lot about how to save money on groceries, how delicious perogies are and other random things. It’s the attitude that if they can do it, I can do it, or something like that. Which, by the way and on a side note, is also why, even though I’ve never learned how to, I feel I can sew because one of my good friends went to the Fashion Institute of Technology.

ANYWAY. Back to the point. I need to somehow figure out how to get more hours into my day. The best way for me to do this is to see how other people arrange things. Do people do things I never thought of? Is there some trade secret that I don’t even realize IS a trade secret because I’ve always just done things the same way?

Please help me. Post a comment, or blog about it and let me know. Send me an email. Post a link to someone else’s schedule online that seems like too good to pass up. Or maybe it just is.

Ok, THANKS!

(Photo by Robert Doisneau)

Over at my other blog, I’ve recommended several books about Budapest. The book I opted to read is called Prague: The Novel. Yeah, it’s called Prague, and yes, it’s about Budapest. I’m really enjoying the book. It’s not one of those books, at least at the moment, where you want to read the last page to see what happens. Instead, it is engaging. It kind of makes you feel like you’re there and you know it’ll be sad when you finish the book because you’ve grown to like the people and the place.

One of the characters often discusses Nostalgia and what makes people Nostalgic for something. Especially those things they’ve never experienced. Like the famous picture I started this blog post with. The book, which is a work of fiction, mentions that a large percentage of female college students have this picture when they go off to school. I know I did. Did you? This is probably the only picture with people I didn’t know I ever included in part of my decor… at least after my teeny-bop stage. Why do you think that is? If you did or didn’t do it, what do you think it is about this picture that resonates with people?

For me, I think it’s the fact that this couple is so in their own world on a busy street. How often do we block out everything around us, to live in our moment? I know I don’t do it enough. I also like that there seems to be a bit of sophistication there. I also like cities.

I just wanted to write a quick list of things I like for when I’m trying to be creative but feel stuck. I can just look at this list, read and think: Oh, yeah, I like this stuff. Let me try being creative and incorporating this. Or that. Or both. Yay! Without further adieu:

• Primary Colors
• Squares and Circles
• These: { } @ # &
• Words in other languages
• Languages that don’t use letters I know
• Airplanes
• Skyscrapers
• Buildings with stoops
• The round thing that I always think holds water, but probably doesn’t, on top of tall buildings in cities like NYC and Boston
• Skylines
• Bridges (Suspension)
• Bridges (Covered)
• Mountains
• Maps
• Directional arrows
• Trains
• Train Tracks
• Flourishes
• Colonial Homes
• Luggage
• Keys
• Trees
• Leaves
• Peonies
• Tulips
• Turtles
• Masks
• Overlapping
• Writing on letters you find in antique shops from a long time ago
• Cancelled stamps
• Clocks… I can’t believe I almost forgot clocks. I love clocks.
• Black Cars

Ok, that’s all I can think of right now. Let’s hope this inspires me in the future!

Every year Ali Edwards starts off the new year by choosing a word for the year. Wow that sentence was awkward. I decided to join in the fun this year. My word for 2009? GO.

Yes, GO.

GO

Why? Because of many things. I want to take all I’ve learned in 2008 and before and GO with it. This is not the year to think about it more, no way. I’m tired of that. I’m never going to know my limitations, unless I test my limitations. I also want to GO out of town more, GO on more vacations, GO to the gym more, GO overseas. GO GO GO GO GO.

GO.

If you haven’t picked your word yet, might I suggest a list of words Ali Edwards published last year?

Oh, and if you want to apply a little more GO into your life - GO on over to my new website Travel From Home. It all officially starts today, but the first destination that I’m covering, Budapest, begins on Monday. So what are you waiting for? GO!

And let me know what you think.

Thanks!

Happy New Year!!

I wanted to take a moment to thank YOU for being a part of what made 2008 so great for me. I have really enjoyed blogging, reading your blogs, comments, emails and getting to know you. I appreciate the patience as I continue to find my voice on this blog and flip between posts about travel, crafts, and random.

In 2009, I hope to get to know you all a little better. Please feel free to let me know you have a new product you’d like me to feature on my blog, or if you need some advice for a trip you plan on taking. I’d love to help. I hope your 2009 is filled with time to create what you want to create, and many opportunities to see the world!!!

I saw this on Rifferaff and thought I’d join the fun. Basically, you write what cities you’ve been to in 2008. The catch is that you have to have slept in that city at least one night! I’m not going to include the city I live in, though.

• Luquillo, Puerto Rico
• A plane over the Atlantic
• Muelheim, Germany
• Erlangen, Germany
• Gelsenkirchen, Germany
• A Train in Germany
• Florence, Italy
• Rome, Italy
• Melbourne, Florida
• Clearwater, Florida
• Cape Coral, Florida
• Brooklyn, New York
• Orlando, Florida

I really hope to add to that list in 2009.

My wonderful husband bought two of my favorite prints from two wonderful etsy sellers. The prints are pictured below and I love them.

(by carambatak)

He also purchased a print by one of my favorite sellers, artquirk. I can’t find the image, but all of artquirk’s work is beautiful. (Her work is not going to be available online again until January 4.) I highly recommend both artists.

What did you get this year?