Puzzling

No, this is not a picture of good ol' Atlanta traffic (which I do NOT miss, by the way!). This is how people park in Bangkok, Thailand. It looks like a mess, I know! This goes along with all the other road rules in Asia- there are none.

In Bangkok, if a parking lot is full, people just go ahead and park in it anyway. As you can see from the picture, people park behind cars and block them in. But don't you fret! The cars that are parked behind others are in neutral so if you want to get out of your space, you can roll the car away from behind your car. I'm sure it gets more complicated if there are cars parked in front of and behind the car you are trying to move. To me, this sounds like a terrible version of one of the sliding block puzzles but hey, to each his own I suppose. Things like this make me happy that I don't have to drive here.

I got a job!

I am officially hired by Radiant as a contractor and will be working with Jason. Crazy, huh? It is nothing permanent but it will be great to be able to alleviate some stress from Jason while making some extra cash. One of Jason's co-workers quit while he was working in Asia with Jason and he has been super stressed since taking on the extra work. It will only last until we hire our replacements in Asia before we move to Europe but I'm still very excited. When I am in Atlanta in October, I will be going through formal training at the office. That way, I can train the new person we hire so Jason doesn't have to train two people. After being unemployed for nearly 6 months, this is quite a change. The best part is, I can do it on the road and I'll be making more than I did in the US. What a blessing! Life is good! :)

The Grand Palace- Bangkok, Thailand

Last weekend we visited The Grand Palace while we were in Bangkok. Jason's co-worker and his wife, who live in Bangkok, ate lunch with us and showed us around. I love times like last weekend, where Jason comes with me and we get to explore new cities. I especially loved this visit because we had friends that were our tour guides who told us the history about the palace. Also, we found out that everything that looks like gold is REAL gold, which is pretty much everything.

P.S. I had to wear a funky shirt and Jason had to wear parachute pants that were given to us on the palace grounds since we weren't dressed appropriately. I know we look hot!

Later that night, we met up with our friend Shiella, ate dinner and then went out to watch her and her band play at a couple of bars. She is such a great singer! It was a total blast and will be our Bangkok ritual for sure!

I also had to take pictures of the restroom signs at the last bar we went to. They made me laugh so hard!

Overall, the weekend was nothing short of FABULOUS! :)

***Must Be 18 Or Over To Enter***

This past weekend we were in Bangkok, Thailand. It was definitely one of our more fun trips. Our weekend started when we went to dinner at a restaurant called Cabbages & Condoms. I found this place online and it definitely seemed interesting, so we figured we'd give it a go. This restaurant promotes the health and safety aspects of condom use in a fun and amusing manner. It was definitely nothing we have ever seen before.

We received our menu, that looked like this:

The ambiance was beautiful- there were pretty lights everywhere! Also, everywhere you looked, there were condom statues, condom lights, condom everything. It was definitely pretty amusing. Here are some of the pictures I took.

But my favorite, was on the way out:

Being at this restaurant made me feel like a kid looking at something I wasn't supposed to. I guess sometimes we just never grow up. Cheers to promoting safe sex!

Where Is The Love?

The longer I am in Asia, the more I notice little things that are different here than in the US. Here, I have noticed that couples aren't the only ones that hold hands, friends do too- which I just love. I love that people here aren't scared of being judged and that they are happy to express their love for a friend or a friendship in public and are proud of it. Also, when they greet eachother, they kiss eachother on the cheeks. I just love this too (probably because I am Italian and was raised that way, but whatever). In general, I have noticed that people here are a lot less worried about what other people think and are definitely not as homophobic. I think the world would be a much happier place if we all just showed a little more love.

What A Beautiful Mess I'm In

It's funny to read some of my friends blogs. Most of them only write about how happy they are, what great vacations they are taking, or how great their life is. A blog, to me, is a written diary of the sorts- containing the good, the bad, and the ugly. Most probably just write about how good things are because they want to accept that their life is great, even if it isn't. Wishful thinking. Very few people actually write, express, or even talk to someone about their true feelings for fear of judgment. Not only is this not healthy, but you can only hide from the truth for so long. I am not eluding to the fact that I am not happy AT ALL, this is just merely an observation. **End Rant**

So, here's what you know:

Jason and I live across the world. Duh! If you know me, you should already know that. If not, remove me from you facebook friends list. (Just kidding!) This has been quite a ride so far- both good and bad, of course. Travel stresses, being away from family and friends, not working (yes, sometimes it can be a bad thing), getting sick from eating different food and drinking bad water, wedding planning from across the world... I think this would stress just about anyone out. I'm sure I've written about all of this from one time to another. Of course, I love Jason and my life right now and wouldn't change a thing, but people always tend to get jealous of my life without thinking of the negatives too.

Here's what you didn't know:

In addition to all of the stress that is already upon us, we have others as well.

1. My family back home is going through a tough time right now financially. Stupid economy and unemployment. I know there is nothing I can do but it still kills me. It hurts to see the ones I love go through such a tough time, especially when I'm out traveling the world.

2. The above also affects me because I am trying to plan a wedding. As you know, weddings cost money and have a stress of their own. My parents want to give us the best wedding they can but I just don't feel right taking their money when they need it the most. Sometimes I feel like I'm being selfish wanting to have a wedding right now but I just can't wait to marry the man I love. Talk about an inner battle.

3. It looks like Jason will be going to court with his ex-wife. Great timing, huh? Jason has done everything in his power to take care of his kids and to put his past behind us but it seems like that just isn't going to happen. So now we will have to focus on that, to bring it to a close for good. Now, time and money will have to go into that, which will cut into our wedding fund. This is probably just a blessing in disguise so we can put everything to rest, but it still sucks.

4. In addition to all of the above, in the last couple of months we have also dealt with the loss of Jason's Grandmother, me losing a best friend, moving Kaitlyn (Jason’s daughter) to his parent's house, Kaitlyn being in a terrible car accident, drama with Jason’s son and ex, getting ready for Kaitlyn’s graduation and figuring out when/where she will go to college, paying off Jason's car and wondering when we are moving to Europe.

This is how it makes me feel:

But here's what's important:

You also must realize that through all of this, I am still the luckiest girl in the world. I have the most amazing fiance, who I love dearly and who supports me now matter what. I have a family that loves me more than anything (sometimes too much). I have the best true friends that every girl needs, who are willing to talk during all hours of the day or night (due to the time difference).

With this experience that Jason and I were given, we have the chance to travel the world and experience life and cultures outside of the norm. Now that's what I call LIVING. No one said it was going to be easy and tomorrow is never promised. So no matter how low I feel at times, or how high on life I am, I am never going to take a second for granted because it can be taken away as fast as it was given.

So here's to going with the flow, taking what you are given, and being THANKFUL for all you've been BLESSED with because at the end of the day, all you need is LOVE.

" Life is the best toy someone can give you so I'm gonna play with it until it breaks."-Hawke Trackler

Skinny Bitch

That's what I want to become. Well, not the bitch part but I think you get the point. I recently read the New York Times Best Seller, and it was pretty good and I learned a lot. What I mostly got out of it was that in order to become a skinny bitch, you have to become a vegetarian. I guess this is good for me because I don't come close to meat when we are in Asia because it is not like the meat we are used to. No wonder why I've lost weight without really trying. Since reading the book, I've rarely eaten meat at all. I am even on the vegetarian meal plan on our flights. Yay me! This will probably change when we are in Europe or go back to the US, but I'll definitely tone it down a lot more. It's time to get into wedding shape! :)

Surprise Birthday Trip- Koh Samet, Thailand

Jason and I left for Thailand the day after my birthday. The picture below is of my real birthday dinner in Singapore. In my hand is my first Singapore Sling. It was amazing!

The next morning, we flew to Bangkok, Thailand. I knew we were going somewhere in Thailand since Jason has meetings all week in Bangkok but I was not sure where my birthday destination would be or what we would be doing. When we arrived to our hotel in Bangkok, I was surprised with a birthday cake from Jason on our table. Isn't it pretty? It was definitely as good as it looks!

That night, we went out to eat at one of my favorite restaurants in Thailand, Bed Supper Club. We went here before but I just couldn't get enough. So, here's a picture of birthday dinner number two. How did I get so lucky??

The next morning, we woke up at 4am to leave on my surprise birthday trip to Koh Samet, Thailand- a gorgeous island, to say the least! We arrived on the island and took a nifty taxi to our resort. The taxi ride alone was an experience!

After driving through mud holes, we finally reached our resort- Samed Cabana Resort- where we had our own little cabana right on the beach facing the water.  When I walked into the room, I was greeted by these:

Aren't they gorgeous?! Did I mention that I am the luckiest girl in the world??

Jason and I had an amazing time on the island. We layed out and soaked up the sun. We rented a four-wheeler and cruised around the island. We drank and played cards when the power went out for a couple of hours. We ate good food. We laughed and enjoyed each other's company. We had such a WONDERFUL time.

I love my man!! I don't think life gets much better than this! ;)