Around the World in 35 Days!

Granted, I've got a bit of an advantage flying by jet, but it'll be a good accomplishment.

So I left Salt Lake on July 15, and I'll be back in Denver by the 18th of July. I just left my beloved New York for Mumbai then Kochi, in the province of Kerala, India. Future destinations include New Delhi, Penang, Phuket, Hong Kong, and Tokyo, for a full loop.

During my three week radio silence over since I got home from Greece, I went to Minnesota to say goodbye to a dear friend, then spent a week in Denver with the parental units, my sister, her husband and their four children, who all lovingly took care of me as I fell ill. It's always great to be with family. Sadly it rained on the 4th, but they still lit off fireworks.

On decamping from Denver, I flew to Salt Lake and met up with Jon and Dan, two buddies from undergrad, and their wives, in Island Park, Idaho, where we played games, swam in an icy lake, went to yellowstone and burned things from marshmallows to old class notes. We figured sending them back to live with mother earth was the most appropriate resting place for them. Except for the marshmallows. That was actually just an accident. After Idaho fun, I spent a week in Utah with grandma Painter in Ogden, where I mostly overcame my illness that beset me a couple of weeks ago. Turns out that unemployment isn't a great time to get sick... I can suddenly empathize with all those uninsured folks. It's almost enough to make me want to get a job... but instead I'm sitting in an airport in Mumbai on Wednesday morning not having really slept since Sunday night. It's been an adventure. I wish I was one of those people who could fall asleep anywhere, but I'm not. :(

Luckily I'm coming off an amazing weekend in New York, which totally makes up for it! Following visiting grandma, I figured I'd spend a few days there before my flight to India. Whenever I'm not there, I forget just how much I love the city and my friends there. (Not that I don't love my friends elsewhere, but there's something special about NY). So, I saw Shakespeare in the Park with Al Pacino (the Merchant of Venice) and In the Heights, and had a really, really fun weekend visiting with people!

Go friends!