Juno

Most “bucket lists” are filled with unique items, such as reading the literary classic "Moby Dick" or  “skydiving” (which is on my list) or “seeing the pyramids of ancient Egypt”…so…it is important for me to remind you this is a “Not Quite” a Bucket List. Which means, a number of items are simply things I just haven’t gotten around to doing. I’m quite confident I would die a happy woman with…or without…seeing Juno. Juno made the list because ever since the movie came out I’ve either heard people refer to it in conversation or people have told me I’d appreciate the humor…and generally speaking…enjoy the movie.

I think I mentioned it in another entry, but one of the things I like about this list is I don’t have any real plans for “how” or “when” I’ll go about accomplishing something. Over time, I decided if someone randomly organizes an outing/event incorporating one of my list items, then I “have” to do it.

What does that have to do with Juno? A few times a year, my church has a movie night after the evening service. Since Sunday night is “family dinner night” I generally don’t attend. However, when I heard the next movie was Juno…I knew I’d have to break the disappointing news to my family that they’d have to eat dinner sans-Holley.

Honestly, I don’t have too much to say about the movie itself. I enjoyed it. I appreciated the quick wit of Juno and some of the other characters. The movie itself is kind of slow so the trade off was good character development. The movie is about a 16 yr old girl (Juno) who gets pregnant and decides to put the baby up for adoption. Throughout the movie, Juno bounces back and forth between her own chaotic/messy family and the prim and proper soon to be adoptive parents. SPOILER ALERT….In the end Juno’s chaotic/messy family exemplifies unconditional love and the prim and proper adoptive parents turn out to be the “messy” ones.

The post-movie discussion focused on the fact that the gospel message is all around us. More specifically it’s not found only in Christian music, art, books, etc. All of us are “Junos” in the sense that we make mistakes, are a little awkward at times, and may have some "messes" in our life, BUT just like Juno’s family loved her unconditionally, we too are loved by our Father in Heaven.

In short, I’m glad I saw Juno, but it wasn’t life changing or anything.

Oh, for those of you wondering...so far I've completed 7 of my "non-bucket list" items.…almost 25% completed.  A few other things (i.e. marathon training) are in the works, but have yet to be completed...

I Prefer People Tweeting on Twitter to the Tweets of a Bona Fide Bird…

I loathe birds. More broadly stated…“I don’t like living things that fly.” Even the idea of going to a butterfly garden is totally unappealing to me. Flying creatures are just too unpredictable. Plus, they often sting or bite. As for birds, I particularly dislike them for two reasons:

1. I don’t think of myself as one who has a particularly large head, but believe it or not, more than one bird has flown into my head. I think that is gross. I don’t like their filthy little feathers fluttering in my hair right next to my face. Eh…

2. I have seen many “lethargic” birds. Sounds weird, I know, but it’s true. I realized my disgust for lethargic birds during my college years. At my school, there was a bat problem (yes, another flying creature) and the maintenance people put bat poison in the attic. In the spring and fall, I would often notice birds just kind of slowly rolling around on the sidewalk, and it freaked me out. Turns out, the birds would sometimes eat the bat poison. (Between the bat problem and lethargic birds, my college is sounding really awesome right now isn’t it?!?) Anyway, to this day, whenever I see a sickly bird rolling around on the sidewalk…I get really annoyed. I know it’s not the bird’s fault…but it’s just so gross!

3. Oh, I just remembered a third thing…I’ve had birds fly into my house. I am not a fan of being in a confined space with an unpredictable, germ infested, flying creature…especially when it’s in MY space.

4. Point 3 makes me think of my sophomore year of college when a bat was trapped in the lounge area of our dorm floor…still gives me the willies…

5. Oh, and I also hate when birds repeatedly fly into a window. That gross repetitive light thump on a single pane of glass is simply nauseating.

6. Over the past 30 years, a number of birds have taken the liberty of pooping on me. This first happened to me as a young child one summer afternoon as I innocently picked cherries in my backyard. I’ve been told getting pooped on by a bird is “good luck”. Sufficed to say, I’m still waiting to win the lottery.

…hmmm…two reasons turned into six. See…this is a very authentic dislike for birds. If I sat here long enough…I could probably come up with 10 good reasons I think birds are disgusting.

Please don’t fault me for my strong opinion on birds. If anything, I hope you have a better appreciation for my beliefs.

In my last blog entry about the book “Tipping Point” I mentioned I often get into conversations with people about “human nature and the economy”. Well, for some reason, I also frequently find myself in the middle of an “I think birds are gross” conversation. At least 50% of the time, those conversations end with, “Have you ever seen the movie ‘The Birds’”? I always reply with, “No, but I need to”. So…that is why “Watch The Birds” made my list.

On my 11-hour flight (on British Air) from London to Cape Town I had an opportunity to choose from a large (and diverse) selection of movies. One of those movies was Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds”. I thought…”Hmmmm, this is prefect. I can essentially ‘kill two birds with one stone’ (pun kind-of intended…) by watching the movie while I fly to South Africa”….it was a fantastically productive plan!! However, I refrained because only a few days before I left for South Africa, my friend Rebecca mentioned she wanted to watch “The Birds” with me…So, after a few minutes of internal debate, I decided to watch “The Hangover” instead…I don’t regret it, it was funny.

To make a long story short…I watched the movie on Halloween night (only seemed appropriate). Rebekah was out of the country but “the show must go on” and though she was missed, I had fun with my gal-pals Ryanne and Stacy. None of us felt like doing the big Halloween “thang” this year, so it was nice to just be low key.

What’d I think about “The Birds”?? I expected it to be scarier, and quite frankly, I think we ended up laughing more than getting creeped out. I won’t tell you how it ends…but I will tell you the ending was kind of dumb and unpredictable…just like birds. And now we’ve come full circle.…if you’ll remember…the primary reason I don’t like birds (or living things the fly) is because they’re too unpredictable. Interesting…

After I saw the “The Birds” my loathing them was only validated. In the spirit of having a “take away” (which is something I’ve incorporated in to most of these blog entries…) I decided I don’t need to feel too bad for not liking this part of nature. I can appreciate the fact they’re part God’s creation…but it’s okay if I think they’re gross.

PS...The picture above is from my London/South Africa trip about a month ago.  Ryanne and I were at St. James park in London and it was FILLED with birds, mainly pigeons.  The large bird I'm pretend petting is both huge and real.

Tipping Point

FYI: I’m pretty sure this entry won’t be entertaining. But perhaps it will be interesting/informative…and that has to account for something…But, we’ll see.

In college, I majored in Sociology and minored in Business. Interestingly enough, the only reason I took “Intro to Sociology” was because a bunch of fun people were in that class and I just wanted to go where the fun was… :) (Hey…I’ve never claimed to be an academic). Turns out, Sociology was the perfect major for me. I love talking to people…all sorts of people. Smart people, funny people, poor people, rich people, blue-collar workers, successful executives/business owners, etc. I love hearing their stories, knowing what makes them laugh, figuring out what motivates people to take action, etc…and Sociology is basically the study of people/cultures/social interaction etc.

I minored in business simply because I thought it would make me a little more “well rounded”. Who knew I’d end up in insurance sales…which is basically is the art of figuring out how to connect with all sorts of different people and personalities so they want to work with you as opposed to some other insurance lady. :)

I promise all that background information was a lead in to something…

I’m not sure if it’s my background in Sociology and Business or what…but I often find myself in conversations about human nature and the economy (oooh, that makes me sound really boring…) In these conversations, a fair amount of time, people refer to (and recommend) the book “Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell.

“Tipping Point” is over 200 pages, so if you want to know more, you’ll have to read it yourself. Throughout the book, my buddy Malcolm uses phrases like, “connectors”, “mavens”, “sales people”, “stickiness factor”, “context”, “law of the few” etc. I won’t get into all those definitions, but here’s a VERY brief overview. There are people in your life (maybe you’re one of them) that naturally set the tone of a situation, group of people, relationship, etc. There are others who are remarkably innovative. Others are best defined as “well connected” and “likeable”. These unique personalities as well as contextual things i.e. “being the in the right place at the right time”, all play a role in change and/or getting people to “take action”. Better stated, they contribute to the “Tipping Point” which is “that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold and tips, and spreads like wildfire”. <--I took that from the back of the book…

On the cover, there is a phrase that briefly describes the book…”Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference”. Since, I appreciate a good “big picture” take- away (and since I have a blog where I can write anything I want, assuming I don't offend the “webmaster”…) it’s worth mentioning I came away from the book with a deeper sense of, how little things I do can make an impact on others”.

But…what good is the “big picture” if you don’t have a little practical application?? I’m a big fan of the simplicity of the bullet point…so I took it upon the liberty of myself to list some of my personal challenges below:

*Encourage others
*Smile more
*When I ask a question…truly pause for the answer as opposed to talking before there is an awkward silence (in other words…talk less);
*Engage with people. This is difficult to define, but I know what it looks like in my head. In a way it’s a sales strategy, but I think it applies to relationships in general. In its simplest form, it’s figuring out a way to get people to ‘ask’ for what I am "offering".    ....That was a long bullet point.
*Consider context/setting/"packaging"
*Think outside the box

I want to be an individual who makes a difference—big or small. If what Malcolm says is true, and “little things” (or…a regular gal like hollsmaher) “can make a big difference”, then I have a responsibility to be aware of the ways I interact with others. Hopefully, after reading this book, I’ll be a little extra-intentional about encouraging, spending time with, listening to, challenging, etc. friend, family, clients, coworkers, even the “randoms” that comes into my life.

That’s it. Not the most entertaining of blog entries, but whatever. “The Tipping Point” isn’t really the most entertaining of books. So I didn’t have much to work with. Though it took me a long time to get around to reading it, I’m glad I did. And if you like books about psychology/human nature etc. I think it’s worth a read. However, I have heard his newer book “Blink” is better. So, maybe you can read that and then tell me about it.

South Africa (and a lil’ bit of England too).

Oh my…where to begin? I suppose I’ll begin with this… “South Africa Was Amazing”.

Going into this trip, I really didn’t have any expectations. Naturally, I had a general idea of what we would do…i.e. a few days in London (which was an extended lay-over), a week in Cape Town (where I knew I’d see city, mountains, ocean, and some Nelson Mandela “stuff”), and a safari (where I knew I’d see wild animals). However…even if I had expectations…they never would’ve measured up to the actual experience(s). This was one of those trips that just kept getting better and better. I’ll even go out on a limb and say it was a perfect trip.

London was great, but I’m not going to write much about London…partly because those crazy Brit’s have the Euro which makes everything stupidly expensive…and that makes me bitter. The VERY brief summary is: arrived at Heathrow at 10 a.m. “ish”, had long day of walking/sight seeing, saw “Stomp”, took a river cruise, purchased and ate some hot-nuts from a street vendor, walked through the art-district, went to Ryanne’s (my travel buddy) old youth pastor’s church, had dinner with people in his small group, more walking, went to Buckingham Palace, had a good (and fun) “progressive lunch”, went to Harrods, walked around St. James Park, and pretend petted a crazy big stork-like bird (side note: I hate birds and think they are totally disgusting…) In summary, it was a great time and a perfect way to get used to the new time-zone.

Why South Africa? As you may’ve read in one of my first blog entries, when I originally put this non-bucket list together I had 15 categories. One of the categories was travel. Originally, I “surveyed” people to get suggestions on things to do in each category. To make a long story short, multiple people mentioned South Africa…and when I learned Cape Town had mountains, city, and beach AND the USD was strong…I decided S. Africa was the place for me! I wish I could say I had really researched this and as a result had a more meaningful reason to go…but alas…I didn’t.

Because there are SO many wonderful things about South Africa, I’m just going to bullet point some of my favorite/most memorable things…I’ll expand on them later:
--#1: The people (cab drivers, service-lady at airport, the market, Heritage Day, safari)
--Amazing scenery (table mountain, Kirstenbosch Gardens)
--The wineries
--Tours (Bus Tour, Day Trippers)
--Safari (animals, people, food, lodge, staff, Martyn and Vivian)

The People: Turns out…I love the spirit of the South African people. The apartheid wasn’t long ago…and it’s easy to pick up on that…however…black or white…South African’s take great pride in where they’ve come from…and where they are. They’re pleased when people visit their country and they authentically want tourists to enjoy their time in South Africa.

We visited over a National Holiday: Heritage Day. Like the United States, South Africa is a bit of a melting pot. Heritage Day provides South African citizens an opportunity to celebrate their own roots/heritage while simultaneously celebrating the fact they’re all South Africans. It makes me think the US should have a holiday like that…maybe I’ll text that idea to Obama.

You may’ve noticed I typed “cab drivers” in the above list.  Perhaps I'm amused  much too easily, but I had lots of of fun interacting with our cab drivers. I liked them for multiple reasons: 1. I think they were the first group of people that helped me to see South Africans are proud of their country and very service-oriented 2. They were entertaining…or a little scary depending on the driver… 3. They made the world seem smaller (I’ll get to that later).

When Ryanne and I landed in Cape Town…we met a lady in the bathroom (she was in a uniform and had a clipboard so we figured, at least hoped, she was legit…). She claimed to have a “hookup” for the cheapest cab driver in town. She spent at least 10 minutes escorting us throughout the entire airport, she showed us where to wait for the driver (which is in a section suspicially far away from all the other cab drivers), she decribed us to him as "two cute blonde girls", she gives us her cell number and goes on her way. As we wait for our driver to arrive, Ryanne and I find ourselves getting skeptical. For all we know, we are walking right into the middle of a trap, which would find us sold into the sex-trade. Anyone seen the movie “Taken”? Needless to say, even if Waheed (our driver) was involved with some aspect of human trafficking…Ryanne and I were not affected. Whew!

As for the “entertaining” cab drivers…there was one cab driver who…if I was a doctor…I would totally diagnose with ADHD. He had a thick accent, talked a mile a minute, and laughed at everything he said. Mid-drive he pulls over to get gas, we ask, “um, do you plan on stopping the meter??”. He makes no effort to turn the meter off…so we proceed to get out of the car. That doesn't make him happy. To the point where he physically shuts the door on Ryanne. To make a long story short, he finally clears the meter and takes us to our destination…laughing at his own stories along the way. We did learn one thing from him…”koolu koolu” (not sure how to spell that...) means “crappy car” in some form of African. And yes, his car was a total piece…

One other entertaining cab driver story worth mentioning…on the way to the airport…our cabbie decides it is a good idea to drag race with a man who honked at him. Sufficet to say, we were relieved when we finally made it to our destination accident free.

How did cab drivers make the world seem smaller? I won’t bore you with all the details, but the only expectation I had going into this trip was I hoped to leave with a greater appreciation for how big and diverse the world is…BUT…I also wanted to come home feeling like the world was small. I loved the fact that the same things that make my friends laugh in St. Louis, MO…were also some of the same things that made the Cape Town cab drivers, merchants at the market, or people from the surrounding villages at our safari lodge laugh. Again, I could go on with other examples/thoughts, but if I do, this blog entry will be entirely too long.

As for the “amazing scenery”. You’ve probably heard the phrase “where the mountain meets the sea”. That is a common sight in Cape Town. It’s also one of the things that initially drew me to this city. I’m not sure what I love more…the mountains or being on the water. Cape Town offers both. If you ever have a chance to go to Cape Town definitely take a trip to the wineries…even if you’re not a wine drinker. And be sure to take the scenic route and give yourself lots of time to drive slow, pull over to take pictures, and (this is going to sound very pot-smoking and tree hugging) just “chill out” as you look at how beautiful and diverse God’s creation is. It was actually pretty cloudy and gray during our time in Stellenbosch and Franschhoek…but the thick clouds that settled mid-mountain ended up complimenting what was already a spectacular setting.

Oh, one side note: Spier, one of the wineries we visited, had a cheetah outreach program. Ryanne and I got to pet a cheetah. That was neat.

If you’ve read this far …I hope that means you’re not totally bored with this blog entry…I feel like I’m getting a little long winded. This next section will be short…I hope.

We took two tours. Our first full day in Cape Town we went on bus tour of the city. The double decker bus was perfect because it provided an opportunity to get the lay of the land, learn about the culture and history of Cape Town, go to the top of Table Mountain, and spend time in Camps Bay (where the celebs feel at home). We booked our second tour through one of the hostels with a company called Day Trippers. The tour originally interested us because it offered a 2 hour-ish bike ride as well as an opportunity to meet some other people. Well…turns out it was freezing and rainy the whole day (which meant no bike ride)…and no one else signed up for the tour. Luckily, Kevin (our guide) was really personable, so although the day was a little different than what we expected, I think we all still had a good time. As for the activities of the day: Kevin took us on a boat out to a little island covered with seals. We saw a section of a beach full of penguins (p.s. they were stinky), we attempted to whale watch…but we only saw a big splash. We drove through a really big national park and saw an ostrich, some baboons, a variety of flowers, and some animal that I forgot the name of. The day ended with a very wet photo at the infamous “Cape of Good Hope”. Correction…the day OFFICIALLY ended with a few bottles of South African wine recommended by our tour guide as well as me learning a new card game.

After mentioning all those animals…I have created the perfect segue for me to start talking about my safari.

Where to begin?? The safari was AMAZING!! Oh, and for those of you wondering (this question has come up a lot…) NO…we were not hunting animals! We just drove around in a jeep looking for (“tracking”) animals.

Though we did see the “Big 5” (lion, elephant, cape buffalo, rhino, and leopard) seeing wild animals was only one contributing factor to what really was an incredible experience.

I’ll to my best to keep this as focused as possible…yet still try to give the whole picture.

It's a 3-hour drive from the airport to the lodge. At first 3 hours seems annoying…but honestly…my 4 days at Ngala would’ve been completely different had we not spent that time talking with Elvert (our driver who grew up in one of the villages) as he drives us through the various townships. In fact, that three-hour window was so meaningful, that I found myself taking notes…I’m such a weirdo.

In a nutshell—the townships/villages take up a HUGE part of the countryside (they probably made up 60% of our 3 hour drive) and there is a lot of poverty. Homes without windows…some without a full roof, lots of people walking without shoes, just horrible living conditions. As we drive to the lodge, Elvert talks about how Nelson Mandela’s leadership provided so much change, freedom, unity between races, and mainly “opportunity”. Elvert was so positive that I found myself thinking, “Am I missing something? Nothing about this life seems good to me…” Elvert was so proud of the fact that (post-apartheid) any black person could now start up a business. I was so confused…I didn’t see any businesses. It became apparent to me that him and I saw things from very different perspectives. For him, this fantastic “freedom” means anyone (a “business owner”) can sell mangos on the side of the road or repair shoes. Aside from one or two of the bigger towns with restaurants, grocery stores, maybe a hair “salon” (in a trailor), and some transportation services…I didn’t see any businesses. If you know me well, you know I like to ask lots of questions. So in trying to understand their economy, I keep asking about other kinds of jobs.

Unlike the US, there isn’t an Edward Jones office at every corner, I don't see any “for-sale” signs in front yards indicating real-estate agents, no franchise owners, no “traditional” small-businesses (dry-cleaners, coffee shops, etc.). I learn jobs are pretty basic: a schoolteacher is a good job, the government provides a decent number of jobs, larger corporations hire fruit/vegetable pickers, etc. The safari lodges also provide a number of jobs (2.5 staff people for every 1 guest). I’ll talk more about that later. If I had to "bullet point" the drive I'd say, "I left my drive with Elvert impressed with how positive and proud he was of his country, his life, his culture, even the government that he was skeptical of. I was also humbled by how much he appreciated life...both the big and small things."

When we arrive at Ngala, we are warmly greeted by name. Herbert (the hospitality host/manager) and Norman (our butler) introduce us to “Mama Connie” who greets us with a hug and shows us to our rooms. The rooms are beautiful, clean, and filled with all the amenities. A huge stone shower, big bottles of shampoo, conditioner, body scrub, soaps. a big bathtub with more soaps, complimentary laundry services, and the list goes on.  It is perfect.

The beauty of the lodge, the fact we are treated like queens, the amazing accommodations, Mama Connie’s hug, all coupled with the fact that we just spent three hours driving through probably the most impoverished communities I have ever seen literally brings me to tears. I am not a crier, and I can’t totally articulate why the tears came other than I was humbled by the way we were so authentically welcomed and treated. It’s vague, and I alluded to it in the beginning of this blog, but at that point I was overwhelmed by the beauty and the spirit of the African people.

Obviously, the reason we are at Ngala is to go on a safari…so that seems like a good place to begin. Each day we go on 2 drives a day. The day begins with a knock on the door at 5:00. At 5:30 everyone (there were about 40 guests staying at the lodge) gathers together for tea, coffee, and scones. At 6:00 we hop in the jeeps and head out.

Before I go any further, I’m going to “introduce” you to our jeep:
Ranger: Megan
Tracker: Norman
Guests: Martyn and Vivian (one of the coolest couples I’ve ever met…I’ll talk about them later…They were from the Grand Cayman.)
Some young Italian couple...they were really only there for one of their drives.
Craig and Ana (a young newly wed couple from the UK, they came a few drives after the Italians left. They were a good addition, but I don’t have much to say about them…).

First of all, I’m convinced that never, in the history of Ngala game drives, has a group of total strangers (from different countries, stages of life, ages, etc.) been more perfectly paired.

We all agreed, our jeep had the best ranger at the lodge. Not only was Megan, personable, knowledgeable, laid back, and great behind the wheel…but she also took special care to point out the “little’ things like certain bird noises, unique flowers, or constellations in the night-sky. Norman was also great. He is from one of the surrounding villages, has a thick accent, and a dry sense of humor. You’d have a much better picture of him if you and I were talking in person because so much of Norman’s charm was his thick accent. My favorite phrase of his was “oh my gosh”…which sounded something more like, “uuuuh maah gaaassh”

As for Martyn and Vivian, they are easy to talk to, interesting, high-energy, authentic, and tons of fun. Interestingly enough, when Ryanne and I were at the airport on our way home, we each came up with the “Top 5 Highlights” for our time at Ngala…Martyn and Vivian made both of our lists. I’ll share the list later...so sit tight.

Never have I seen a couple more in love. I believe they have been married for about 15 years (they’re mid-60’s now) He is from England and she is from Ireland, however they met in and currently live in the Grand Cayman. They met around 40 yrs old and married at 50 (this was his first marriage). Their lifestyle (and rightfully so considering they are in their mid 60’s and didn’t have any children) is quite different than mine and Ryanne’s. He is the owner of a very successful construction company, she was the president of a bank. It's clear they are well off and extremely well traveled…as in they very well may travel 75% of the year.

On the surface, one might think they would be detached from reality. Not so. In fact, they are quite the opposite. One thing I really appreciated about them was how inquisitive and sincerely interested they were in the lives of those around them. I often observed Martyn in a thoughtful conversation with one of the lodge staff. Nearly every time I turned around (if I wasn’t already talking to her) Vivian was smiling as she shared stories with someone at the lodge (staff or guest). Obviously, words can only go so far in describing situations or people, so instead of attempting to capture their charm with lots of stories and adjectives instead, I’ll just bullet point some of my “take aways”:
1. One of the first things Martyn shared with me was he married at 50. Lord knows I hope to marry before 50, but I appreciated the fact that he didn't prematurely commit to something (or someone) before he was ready. On the other hand, Vivian wanted to be certain of Martyn’s authentic pursuit of her, so she was intentional about not pressuring him into marriage.  She knew if/when the time was right he would know what to do. In my mind and heart, I’ve always believed that if someone is interested in me, he’ll take some intitative and do something about it…without me pushing something along.  So, I was encouraged to see this play out in their relationship. When Martyn did finally propose (10 years later) there was no question in Vivian’s mind that Martyn wanted Vivian. I think this set the foundation for a really great marriage. It is quite obvious how much Martyn adores everything about Vivian -and- it is also evident how confident and secure Vivian is in his devotion to her. As a result, the two of them truly adore one another. 
2. I want to be Martyn and Vivian when I grow up…so to speak. :) Whether I’m 30, 40, 50, 60, 70+ years old. I hope I have a zest for life that keeps me asking questions, learning, exploring, traveling, joking around, etc. Luckily, both of my parents are people who like variety (even if it’s simple things like karaoke or tying a new restaurant) and though I’m pretty laid back…I get “bored” if life becomes TOO routine. So, hopefully the cards are stacked in my favor and I’ll continue to be a person that, like Martin and Vivian (and my parents), finds myself doing new things throughout my entire life.

Alright, I’ll stop there, if I type anymore about Martyn and Vivian I may come across as a stalker…

Back on track…the animals. Some of the coolest animal sightings were as follows:
1. Our first full day, we found ourselves about 30-50 feet from a Pride of lions with their recent kill (an impala, which looks like a deer). Interestingly enough, the lioness does the hunting and killing. They all feed off the kill for a little, but then the lion takes over and guards the kill. Poor lionesses…they do all the work and reap limited reward…
2. Coolest sighting EVER was this watering hole surrounded by over 200 animals! Approx 75 zebra. 125 impala. 10 water buffalo. 5 wildebeest. Birds flying around. SO awesome, like something right out of The Lion King. All these animals were harmoniously drinking water out of the pond, skipping around, flying, playfully fighting in the background…the only thing that would’ve completed the picture would’ve been God playing “Circle of Life” from the heavens.
3. One day after lunch, back at our lodge, Ryanne and I decide to finish our wine on the couches that overlook a watering hole (maybe 100 feet in front of us). As we sit there with good wine and better conversation, half joking, Ryanne says, “How cool would it be if elephants came up to this watering hole right now?” Well, you guessed it, about 5 minutes later 12ish elephants (adults and babies) come up to the watering hole and start drinking and splashing around. SO cool. It couldn’t have been a better setting!
4. One fun thing about our game drives was they included a “snack break” where Megan would stop the jeep in some picturesque setting like the middle of a dried up river bed or at the top of a hill where we could watch the sunset as her and Norman set up a table (with a cute little table cloth). In the morning we enjoyed coffee, tea, and scones (and...not gonna lie...sometimes a lil’ Baileys) and in the evenings we snacked on wine, beer, nuts, and kudu jerky.  One evening, Martyn and Vivian surprised us by bringing out a bottle of champagne. That evening, Ryanne and I plot how we might “one up them” so we ask Herbert to put Mimosas in our cooler for our morning drive. The next morning, Megan successfully “one upped” all of us. We were all getting cold and tired and ready to get out of the jeep for our morning snack. We drove into this dried up riverbed, only to see an old pick up truck in the spot we want to park our jeep. We were disappointed we needed to find a new place…UNTIL…we realize the man standing next to the truck is making pancakes…for us!  Hooray!! The night before, Megan arranged for as staff memeber to set up one table with a pitcher of warm water, soap, and towels and the another table was set up with all the pancake toppings: chocolate chips, whipped cream, fruit, jams, etc. So fun! Not only that…but as we stand there enjoying our hot freshly-made pancakes…we see a little family of baboons playing in the river bed. Then we look further down the river only to see three giraffe slowly walking from one side of the bank to the other. It couldn’t have been any more perfect!
5. I could tell other stories…lots of other stories…about our adventures 4 wheeling and tracking and seeing rhino, leopard, more elephants…even birds…which I think are disgusting. BUT this blog would be much too long. So hopefully I won’t forget my stories and you can ask me about them in person.

Instead of another animal story…I will leave you with this big picture “take away” (I always love a good take away...). Since Megan was so informative and our jeep asked so many questions, we learned lots of new things.  I often found myself, thinking about how there is so much order to everything, to the point where I left all the more confident there is a divine creator. There is no way that kind of order can just evolve, no matter what them fancy schmancy scientists may say. Nothing in the bush goes to waste. The lions and such make their kills, what they don’t eat, the scavengers eat, the hyenas even eat the bones. The rangers take special care not to drive over piles of poop because different animals and insects live and feed in those piles. (yuck!)

The other thing that proves to me there is a divine creator, interestingly enough has more to do with people than animals (but being around the animals just reinforced this…) I’ve always been fascinated by how orderly nature is…but what fascinates me even more is human beings are the only part of creation that has cognitive thought. No other species types long-winded blogs, works in an office, travels to exotic places, goes to church, prays, celebrates birthdays, waits 10 years to propose to a girlfriend, articulates feelings of happiness, sadness, anger, hurt, etc. So then it becomes a question of, "what am I going to do with that?" Because if it’s true God exists, and if I’m a part of the one part of His creation that has cognitive thought… then just like I want to learn about other people and cultures and experiences…it only makes sense for me to do the same with God. So, maybe my biggest take away is, just as I asked questions of my cab driver to learn about the South African culture and listened to Megan describe the order of bush…I think it’s also important for me to ask questions of God, and "listen" to how he wants me to respond to what I learn about Him in the Bible. Who is he? Who does he want me to be? How does his existence impact my life? Does his existence impact my life?

Hmmm, I got all deep there, not sure where that came from…but it’s probably a good place to end….even though I still have lots more to say especially about the &Beyond (the holding company for Ngala) and their non-profit work in the surrounding townships. But, this is really getting long.  Here's their website, maybe you can learn about them there...   http://www.andbeyond.com/ (you can find more about the &Beyond Foundation under the "Sustainability" tab).

So, before I officially wrap this up, as promised, below is the Ryanne/Holley “Big 5 Safari Memorable Moments”. There are actually 7 things on this list because the two of us had some cross over. R=Ryanne H=Holley RH=A memorable moment for both Ryanne and Holley:

RH: Watering Hole (with the 200+ animals)
RH: Sitting on the couches at the lodge, drinking wine, having good conversation, and watching the elephants at our watering hole
RH: Martyn and Vivian
H: Meeting Mama Connie
H: The 3 hour drive from the airport with Elvert
R: Our gourmet dinners on the patios at the lodge (delicious food, great service, fairy tale atmosphere…always fun).
R: Tulee (I didn’t mention her…but I need to now…only because she is probably the best example of the amazing and authentic service we rec’d at Ngala. Tulee worked at the front desk. Our first day, Ryanne went to the front desk asking for an clock for her room. Tulee wasn’t able to find her an alarm clock, instead, she gave Ryanne the watch off her wrist…to use for the 4 days we were there.)

Truly beautiful people and a truly amazing experience. I’m so happy this trip happened!!

FYI: If you want to see any pic’s they’re on Facebook.

Thanks for reading.  And yes...I do realize this was REALLY long... :)

He Might Be A Perv, But He Sure Puts On Quite A Show...

On 9/16/2009 I scratched another item off my non-bucket list: Seeing Chuck Berry at Blueberry Hill. Why Chuck Berry? Well, it's kind of a quintessential St. Louis thing to do. Plus, Chuck Berry isn't getting any younger. On my trip to S. Africa (which was totally awesome and I'll write about it later) Ryanne (my travel buddy) and I had a 3-day layover in London...which was during Michael Jackson's tour. We talked about getting tickets...and well...as we all know...that show was cancelled. RIP MJ. That being said, I knew time was of the essence and I had to see Chuck Berry ASAP.

Honestly, up until the time I started working on my list, I had no idea what a "big deal" Chuck Berry and his monthly performances at Blueberry Hill really were. As I was standing in line, the lady next to me told me people in other countries look at Chuck Berry the same way we in the USA might view Van Morrison performing in Ireland. According to Wikipedia (which is never wrong...) John Lennon once said "If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it Chuck Berry." Who knew?!?

It was quite an ordeal getting tickets. Apparently, tickets go on sale online world wide...and they sell out in 10 minutes. To make a long story short, since it’s so hard to get tickets online, Chucks “people” give B. Hill X number of tickets which can be only be purchased in person from the bar. For those of you familiar with Seinfeld...the whole ticket buying experience was like the "Soup Nazi" episode...except it didn't involve soup...

My friend Dana came with me to get the tickets. Blueberry Hill recommends you get there an hour before the tickets go on sale. When you arrive, you’re given a ticket that basically allows you to then wait in another line to actually purchase a concert ticket. Not only that...but once I was there, I learned you can only purchase 4 tickets at a time. I was supposed to get 15 tickets. For those of you mathematicians, 2 girls x 4 tickets each = 8 tickets...which means I'm 7 tickets short. I tried befriending the bartender to see if he would let me and my friend each get 8 tickets...but alas...a wink and a smile were not enough to make him break the rules as he was afraid he'd "get in trouble" by the guy who was taking over his shift at 5:00. So...I had to make friends with two randoms who were willing to stick around and hold a line ticket until 5:30. Needless to say, it all worked out and I got the 16 tickets. Now, it was just a matter of waiting a month until the concert.

To make a long story short, I'm happy I saw Chuck Berry. That man is 82 years old and has a lot of spunk! He's kinda funny, did a lot of ad-libbing, sometimes forgot the words, and in general was highly entertaining. I forgot, or didn't realize, how many songs I knew. Johnny Be Good, Roll Over Beethoven, Maybellene, and a number of others. His son and daughter performed with him (probably to give him a break...after all he is 82). One thing I was quite surprised about was how tall he was...for some reason...I thought he was a tiny man...like Sammy Davis Jr. He wore a sparkly shirt.

At the end of the performance...he invited people to come up on stage. I'm posting pics on Facebook...so you can check them out...but I'm sure you'll agree he maybe had a little crush on my friend Dorothy. :-) There was limit to how many people could get on stage and I got to the edge of the stage a little on the late side (for those of you that know me...me being late is par for the course) but...I just kept asking the body guard to let me up on stage. I mean really...what's ONE more person going to hurt?!? All I wanted was to capture the moment on film... Needless to say, I finally got onstage too...but was mainly dancing in the greenroom which ended up working out for the best because I got really close to Chuck as he was exiting the stage...so no worries...it all worked out! It was a fun night, with good group of people, and I'm glad to say I was able to experience Chuck Berry at Blueberry Hill. If you're from St. Louis...and haven't seen him...I recommend it.

Oh, and for those of you wondering where I came up with the subject line for this entry…well…it’s because Chuck Berry really is a pervert. He’s had a few “issues” but the one that is probably most well known is he put a video camera in the women’s restroom at a restaurant he owned. Classy huh?!? I don’t support perverts…but I will give Chuck Berry’s Blueberry Hill performance two thumbs up. :)

I wish I could come up with a creative way to incorporate the word “Grand” into this subject…

I just got back from a fun long weekend in Las Vegas with my gal-pal Angie…who also turned 30 this summer. We had a great time hanging out at the pool, shopping, seeing Cirque du Solei, visiting Red Rocks, going out for great food and drinks. We even got a "job". Had we not been on vacation…we may’ve been more annoyed about spending 20+ minutes of our afternoon sitting at a desk, watching a lame movie clip, and giving feedback. Instead, we just found it amusing that we didn’t even think to ask how long it would take and how much we would get “paid”...we were rewarded with a $2 check. I'm keeping it as a momento of our trip. My highlights of that trip were:

1. Hanging out with Angie
2. Randomly seeing Flava-Flav at our hotel
3. Our Mustang convertible "mid-1980's" photo shoot at Red Rocks that resulted in probably 30 minutes of straight laughing
4. Seeing the Grand Canyon

I could comment on all the trip highlights…however…I’ll stick to the Grand Canyon since that was one of the things on my list. Some of my favorite things were:

1. It was big and neat.

2. We visited the West Rim—closest to Vegas. This area is more “desert-ish”…apparently not nearly as green as the south rim. The West Rim is pretty much owned by some Indians, they built the big glass skywalk you’ve probably seen in pictures. Basically, it’s a glass “bridge” that is hanging over the canyon. It’s a really weird feeling to walk and look straight down into the canyon. (http://www.grandcanyonskywalk.com/index.html) You feel a lot more nervous walking and looking down vs. just standing there and looking down. Most people didn’t walk on the glass; instead they walked closer to the sides which was not see through.

3. At the top, we had to take a shuttle from point A to point B to point C. I liked that Jarvis was at our first stop. He was such a nice lil’ Indian man. I liked that he really enjoyed his job.

4. I liked that our shuttle driver listed off about 25 different creatures one might find at the Grand Canyon in the same way Bubba Gump lists all the ways one can cook shrimp. You probably had to be there, but it was funny. Oh, and for the record, our bus driver wasn’t trying to be funny.

5. We rented a convertible and drove ourselves to the Grand Canyon vs. taking a tour bus from Las Vegas…even that was fun and scenic…but really long. And Hot. It was about 110* the whole drive—there and back!

6. I liked that I left thinking, “The Grand Canyon is a really massive reflection of God and his creation." We saw the West Rim...which apparently has a different feel than the South Rim. For some reason, I liked knowing there are still other things to see and do at the Grand Canyon…hike down, kayak, camp, helicopter ride, etc.” Despite the fact that on 8/30/09 I could scratch something off my list…I left knowing there was still so much more to see and do and I could go back and still have a chance to experience something new. All of that reminded me of when Paul prayed for the Ephesians:

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And

I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

So, those are my thoughts on the Grand Canyon. Since it’s such an impressive part of creation…I thought it was appropriate for me to end this post on a serious note.

#18—Meet a Celebrity

Ok, ladies, if you are one who easily becomes jealous, you maybe should stop reading this blog entry. I’ll use ellipses to create a pause so you can close this page before you read any further…

As many of you know, St. Louis hosted the 2009 All-Star game. With a nationally recognized event come celebrities. A couple days before the game, I was invited to an All-Star themed RCGA lunch through one of our carrier representatives. There were two speakers at the lunch: Bob Costas and Cedric the Entertainer. After much thought (and an informal vote at our lunch table) it was clear that because it was my birthday I needed to:
1. Accomplish the first item/an item on my list and
2. Meet Cedric the Entertainer

The great thing about checking #18 off the list first was it not only took place on my actual birthday but I considered not including it on the list because I wasn’t too sure how I would go about doing it. I honestly didn’t care who I met, but I will say, when I envisioned meeting a celebrity meeting one of the Original Kings of Comedy did not cross my mind…not even a little bit.

I’m sure you’re sitting at your computer thinking, “Holley. That must’ve been amazing! Please tell me everything. What was it like?” Well, let me tell you…From beginning, it was nothing short of magical. Maureen (the woman who invited me to the lunch) tapped The Entertainer on the shoulder after he stepped off the stage, and explained it was my 30th birthday and I would like to take a picture with him. The introduction set the stage for a beautiful relationship. He obviously obliged. We made eye contact across the room. He smiled and motioned for me to come over. I said “Haaaaaay Ceddy…” Actually, I put my arm around that big goofy guy and said “Hi. Thanks. Today’s my birthday. My friend Angie will be jealous I’m meeting you because she has a crush on you. She’s cute.” As we stood there for about 10 seconds posing for our photo…I found myself thinking, “hmmm, he’s a large man and I'm amazed that even through his three piece suit I can tell he’s kind of clammy…”

Ok, well, maybe it wasn’t magical, nor was it amazing. But I checked it off the list. And it was random…and I very much appreciate random. 1 down…29 to go. :)