It's Not Like You're Danielle Steele

I've said this before and I'll say it again... When writing, especially a blog (not that I have experience writing in any published format other than blog), you write in the hope and awareness that someone, somewhere may read it. 

You send your thoughts and feelings and hopes and worries out to the universe with the faith that they will connect with the other souls who are sharing in this journey of life, be they near or far.  Residing in the hope that your journey will parallel another's where you connect and share the challenge or the triumph.

Once in a while I have conversations (actual conversations, not just comments left on the blog or emails or Facebook comments  - which I love as well!) with people who have read my blog.  And today I had an epic one. 

Through the banter, my reader conveyed the thoughts my blog conjured up and in a meandering way (which obviously, if you've read more than one of my blogs, you know I will relate to) the reader said that a connection was felt... The confirmation came that although we are all on different journeys, there are times where we share the same path.

"If nothing else comes from this, my mission here is accomplished", I thought.  What a great conversation to share... Then came the follow up...

"But, you know... It's not like you're Danielle Steele."

I haven't heard a funnier line in ages!!

We are all trying our hardest as we carry on and I think the best thing we can do is support each other along the way.  And check our egos as we go.  This was the very best of both worlds and who could ask for more than that?

Thanks, friend.  And please... Keep reading. 

Alone together

Crowded solitude is an interesting thing.

I have been travelling for work for about six months now.  Not regularly but in sporadic fits of exhausting, short-lived trips across my country I love.  I have visited cities that I had not previously seen and so for this and so many more reasons, I am luck to be in the position I am.

Having said that, there's an interesting contrast when a single person travels.  Maybe it's just me but I can be very acutely aware of my single-dom, depending on the occasion.  Valentine's Day (stupid day, really).  New Year's Eve.  Dinner parties with only couples and my notible exception.  Eating alone in restaurants.  I've gotten used to it (for the most part.  No, really.  I have) but travelling provides a curious perspective on my relationship status.

In my travels I usually at some point grab a cocktail at the hotel bar.  Hotel bars come in all varieties.  Shwanky places with crisp white linens and servers who are the picture of proper manners and etiquette that my parents could have only dreamt I would become.  There are dives where the distance between the arcade games and game hanging on the wall (antlers and all) is one easy dart throw away.  Now don't get me wrong, I love a dive as much as the next girl and I'm pretty sure my first high school crush took shape over a pinball game so, it's all good to me.  And of course there's every bar in between.

But there is a unique magic that happens at hotel bars... People from diverse backgrounds and equally diverse places come together as strange companions.  Perhaps with nothing in common beyond a shared outsider's perspective of your current location but more often than not, that's enough for some pretty interesting conversations. 

I've learned about fishing, hunting, physics, hair dressing, finance, stocks (nothing worth investing on so far as I can tell, sadly) and had remarkably calm but riveting conversations about politics and religion.  I've been at bars where the end of the evening came way too soon and only because an early day awaited me.  And I've been at bars where I couldn't drink my single cocktail fast enough to high tail my way out.

But I always come away with a story to tell and another great memory to add to the bank.  And that's a great investment.