Boredom is a state of mind

Since I've been back in the States, I've been on a quest to avoid boredom (perhaps this is my life quest too). Here's a random list of what I've been doing:

• Watching too many episodes of What Not to Wear, Clean House, and The Dog Whisperer--my brain has become really fuzzy
  
• Selling my stuff on Craigslist--I can't believe we ever had garage sales
• Trying to read but electing for cable TV after a page--two boring books in a row, what are the odds?
• Talking to Pollo in Spanish via Skype and Web cam--the more I talk to him, the more I realize how lucky I am to be his polola--this one's a good one
  
• Partying: one Saturday, I got to go on a Party Bus with thirty of my closest friends (did I time my return home or what!)
• Studying for the Personal Training exam in August (today's my first official day of studying everything I've read--as you can see by this blog, I'm procrastinating beautifully).
• Getting my cats ready for the flight to the other side of the equator--my cat Toby is actually sleeping every morning in the crate! Woo hoo!
• Praying for Ross Abinanti. He was found (Yay!) but has been in ICU for dehydration. He ate real food for the first time a few days ago, but an email asking to pray for Ross makes me think he's not out of the woods yet.
• Visiting friends and family--I went to see Lucy who is now my cousin's dog. She's doing great. When I walked in, she was so excited, she ran three laps through the house: through the dining room and up on the couch around the living room. Although it was hard to say goodbye at the end of the day, I feel really good that she's in great hands.
• Missing Chile (except for the stray dogs. I don't miss them.)

So that's it in a nutshell folks. I have a month and a half left, a test to take, a wedding to go to, a few dance classes I can't miss, and then I'm off again for Cathy's Adventure Take 2.

An Article on Pan de Azucar

My fifth article published...woo hoo!

http://matadortrips.com/fun-in-the-desert-sun-pan-de-azucar-chile/

Enjoy!
c

Ross Abinanti is still missing

Some of you may know...and some may not, but Ali Abinanti's dad, Ross, has been missing for a week. Ali was one of my best friends in high school, and I had spoken with Ross on many occasions.

He was last seen June 30. He has severe dementia, needs medication, and was last seen near downtown Campbell. Here's some links for more information:
Help Find Ross Facebook Page
San Jose Mercury Article

Every day, I have been posting 30 fliers around my neighborhood, which is the Abinanti's neighborhood too. It's amazing how many people are willing to help. There are over 1000 people who have joined the Facebook page. At the vigil last night, there must have been 100 people, at least.

Equally ridiculous have been the few corporations/chains who have refused to post fliers advertising Ross's disappearance--namely 24 Hour Fitness near Almaden Expressway and the CinePlex in that same shopping center. I don't want to live in a world where a corporation/chain forgets that it's made of individual locations and that those locations serve smaller communities...and those communities sometimes depend on local businesses for more than their menus and services.

But I don't want to focus on the negative here. I was happy to see that far more chains had a bulletin board for community fliers, or they allowed me to post the flier regardless of corporate rules.

Thank you so much to the following businesses in the Almaden Expwy shopping center near where the Old Safeway used to be:
Dipping Dots
Burger King
Mountain Mikes
Victory
Quiznos
Barber shop (near the Hooz Donuts)
Walgreen's on Koch Ln

Today is the day we find Ross.

2 months and 14 days to go

In Chile, I pined endlessly for couches, English, bagels and donuts, friends and family, Baja Fresh, frickin' great chocolate chip cookies, and excellent customer service, and now that I have them, I'm ready to return. Already.