The airplane pick-up

“Flying first class, up in the sky; Popping champagne, living the life …” - Fergie, Glamorous

On Friday I’ll be flying business class from Brussels to sweet home Chicago. I’ve flown business class a few times and each time is exciting. Of course I imagine that the people around me wonder who I am, where I come from, how much money is in my pocket, and why I’m travelling in business. I even imagine that I might find myself another business-class flyer with whom I might share some stories or more. Of course, all dreaming is in good fantastical fun.

Or is it?

Today I came across a pretty enjoyable web site called “Man of the House.” I’m not sure how I reached it, but I read more than a handful of articles, and one titled “So You Think You Can Pick Up Women on Airplanes? Part 2” inspired this post.

It’s a rather whimsical article designed to encourage men to look & play the part of a on-flight Romeo. After reading the article, I can say that I’ve recognised these signs before, though I wasn’t necessarily the beneficiary. This all goes to say that yes, if you’re dressed nicely, look clean, are friendly and demonstrate that you’re not frugal, people will take note.

And oh, one more thing: that girl in 14E? She’s sitting in 6A this Friday …

Pottery lovers, beware

When I was in Italy a few weeks ago, I tagged along with The Whisky Couple to a quaint little town called Montottone,where they introduced me to a small shop known as Ceramiche Bozzi. Pottery lovers, beware.

This family-owned business is no “small shop” – it has been around for over 150 years and is renowned for its terracotta pieces which are dressed-up in colours derived only from substances found naturally in the environment. 

Trust me, the web site is only the beginning of the experience. First-off, when you step inside, you feel as though you’re in someone’s basement, with unfinished pots sitting next to beautifully glazed masterpieces.  There are nooks here and crannies there, and if you aren’t careful, you might miss the opportunity to find a unique piece of Bozzi pottery that speaks to you.

This is a picture of the beautiful casserole dish that I couldn’t take my eyes off.  It’s currently on display in my dining room.  It might just be too beautiful to cook with!

Your turn: Name a one-of-a-kind place you find too unique to keep to yourself.

Tears of … everything

Today I want to focus on a natural phenomenon: crying.  Recently I posted about laughing so hard that I cried, so today I decided to Google “why do people cry” and came across this article. It shed a bit of new light on the topic, and is well-written. Something I learned, for example, is that maybe there’s a tear-related reason for my love of elephants!

In the interest of boredom, I decided to evaluate the activities that will accompany the last category of tears the article identifies.  Here’s my guide to my tears’ future!

1. Visiting the USA, seeing my folks and other family & friends: Happy tears! Giggling, clapping, bouncing
2. Seeing Mother Megan & Karl: Uber excitement! Happy tears! Smiles, hugs, giggles
3. Meeting Savannah: Happy tears for Michelle & Mike; Giggling, baby noises (lol)
4. December 26: Sadness mixed with gratefulness: Short bursts of tears, a lot of silence
5. Dealing with something I disagree with: Frustration (note, tears usually well but don’t fall during this phase): Deep voice, scattered eye pattern
6. Returning back “home” to Belgium: Excitement and sadness: Smiles, tears that don’t fall

I’m sure everyone is contemplating how they’ll deal with an event that is coming up within the next few weeks.  What are you excited for and how will you react?

*this post was updated on 5 Dec