I Forgot About the Snakes

The second half of our Bali portion of this trip was to Nusa Dua, located on the east coast. The weather is very different from the jungle of Ubud. The location we are staying in is actually hosting the G 20 Summit in November, so it is the nicest part of the area and has a lot of security which always makes us feel safe. It was dark when we arrived so it was hard to get a full lay of the land, but it looked super nice. 

Day 4 Nusa Dua: J and I got to our new hotel last night (day 3) and holy shit, we were absolutely blown away by this place. We had looked it up online before coming so had an idea of what we were in for, but wow, this blew us away. When we walked into our villa, we immediately saw our very own private pool. Again, we knew we’d have this, but damn, it was gorge. There was a giant open air seating area with fan and TV and little kitchen set-up as well. On either side of the villa were our own rooms. J and I each had our own suites in this villa and each one had a giant sleeping area, walk-

in closet, giant tub, and separate shower area. My shower was exceptionally cool because it was
indoor/outdoor. One side was into my suite and the other side was directly outside, no wall. There also was a completely outdoor shower around the corner as well. It was sick, plain and simple. 

Elephants yes, Monkeys no

It has certainly been a while since I wrote, but a new, big summer trip seemed like the perfect excuse to write again. Mostly for me to have solid memories of this trip and know what I was feeling at the time. I didn’t do it when I went to Paris and London over spring break, but decided I would bring it back for this summer trip so I could have the memories written down forever. And for my friends and family to read about the adventures had this go around. 

This summer is #RayRaysBalistralianvacay and is taking us to Bali (Ubud and Nusa Dua) and Australia (Melbourne, Port Douglas, and Sydney).  It was a trip over two years postponed due to COVID, but finally came to fruition. I am currently here with my friend J, the same one who I have now gone to Croatia, Greece, Turkey, Italy, (unplanned Germany), Sweden, Denmark Budapest, and Italy with. We started talking about and planning for this trip in December of 2019,
booked and put down our (huge) deposit for it in January of 2020, and then we all know what happened in March of 2020, that is still ongoing, albeit, luckily not as bad. 

The pandemic put all travel to a halt and although J and I were highly disappointed with having to wait two whole summers while the world started opening up again, we were finally able to make this happen. With our vaccinations done and borders open, it was go time. So without further ado, let’s start this trip…

The Good, The Bad, and the New and Interesting...

As we end week seven of quarantine, everything still seems very surreal and apocalyptic. More so than usual actually. People walking around with masks on as it is the norm, which it is now, is just very hard to comprehend. Like how did we got here? A strong pathogen combined with poor leadership and lots of lies? Yes. But it didn’t have to be this way, which is the saddest part.

This week, days 43-49 of stay-at-home, from April 27-May 4, I wanted to write this post a little differently than usual. Instead of a day by day round up, which to be honest, was getting a little tedious and boring to write (as I am sure it may have been to read). So for this post, I am going to give a little breakdown of the good, the bad, and the interesting.

At least another month...

When I started writing these posts, I honestly didn't think I'd be doing so many of them. But here we are, six weeks later. People are starting to get restless and our President continues to be horrible at his job and have zero empathy for anyone. Cool. He’s the fucking worst. And so are many of his republican counterparts who are reopening their states despite how dangerous it is.  And don't get me started on those people who are protesting the stay-at-home orders. Do you really need a haircut and a massage that bad Karen? C'mon, think of the big picture. Also, even if places do re-open, any intelligent person wouldn't go and risk exposing themselves like that, no matter how bad they may want a manicure. But hey, we are talking about intelligent people, and that doesn't seem to be much of Trump's base of supporters.

I am once again glad that we have a strong leader in JB Pritzker and happy with how he has handled everything. Sure, I wish we could go back to school and wish restaurants and bars AND the lakefront were open, but this is what is necessary and will benefit everyone moving forward. Again, I realize I am privileged to have a job right now that is continuing to pay me and provide me benefits, but for people who don't, I can't pretend to know how difficult it must be. But if you really want and/or need to go back to work and make money, plenty of essential businesses are hiring.

Thankful for the Last Dance

Here we are folks, just finishing week five of the shelter-at-home/quarantine/stay at home order. Some days are good days and go by quickly and productively (well, that's relative) and some days, the hours go so so slow.

I have mentioned I have a routine that I keep and I try to stick by that as much as possible to keep some normalcy. I don't like being trapped inside and feel as though fresh air and movement are keeping me as sane as possible in times like that. I am trying to do things that make me happy and keep me busy, but after a while, the reality of what's going on the world seeps in and is hard to swallow. I know none of this is permanent and eventually things will go back to normal, so if this keeps people healthy and safe, then it's what we have to do.