Loft bed w/staircase - Philadelphia Condo - May 2018
Hello, My Faithful
Readers
May 30, 2018
Volume 2, Number 06
I’m home here in
Philadelphia and have been since early May. You may remember that I arrived in
early May so that I could attend the wedding of my brother’s daughter on May 11th.
It was a day to remember for everyone in attendance.
The Moorestown
Community House, Moorestown New Jersey (link below) was a venue for the
ceremony as well as the reception. It was glorious from beginning to end. The
bridal party was able to have hair/make-up done at the location; as well as
pictures taken on the grounds of the facility. The wedding was held outside on
the green lawn with white folding chairs. My son was the Officiate of the
wedding ceremony and he did a terrific job. He diligently prepared and
practiced and now as a newly minted Officiate (via the internet) can begin a
second career (maybe not).
My niece did not
follow tradition in a couple of ways. For example; no garter and not throwing
the flowers (I was hoping to catch it) – HA. The bride and groom did see each other before
the ceremony as all the pictures were taken prior to taking vows; but a new
tradition of “First Look” – or something like that – it is when the soon-to-be
married couple did get to see each other for the very first time before the
ceremony. The couple’s dog “Chase” did come to the wedding with a member of the
dog kennel service the family employs.
The food was out of
sight. The cocktail hour had (3) rooms of food; one of which is my favorite.
That is, the mashed potato in a fancy glass and all the toppings waiting for
guests to adorn the potato. It is such a wonderful idea and delicious. Just
think of all the stuff you want to put on a potato and be able to scoop it on.
After the cocktail hour a sit down dinner was served; OMG, it was way too much
food. Dessert had a room all to itself with so many different kinds of desserts
it was overwhelming. Dancing went on for hours and at the end of the night the
hotel bus came to pick-up the guests to take them back to the hotel. No worries
about drinking and driving.
Coming home is a mixed
bag of emotions and feelings. I don’t have television in Tbilisi; so while I am
here in Philadelphia watching television (honestly one cannot get away from it)
is mind numbing (or at least how it feels to me). The news just keeps getting
repeated. I know they need to fill the air time; but you can become mesmerized
or hypnotized listening to the continuous loop. In addition, as if it could be
worse the commercials seem to be talking about medications that were developed
to help with various kinds of diseases. I didn’t even know the existence of
some of the diseases that are represented. I also noticed in my travels in
center city Philadelphia that many buildings seem to be doubling as a bulletin
board or maybe those auto-tron bulletin boards that constantly flash more than
one message electronically. The advertising is just abhorrent.
So, what have I been
doing back here in the good old USA. Mostly, I have been catching up with
friends. I’ve met friends at breakfast, lunch and dinner. It has been wonderful
catching up with friends. These folks are so interested in my life and
happenings in Eastern Europe; the only down side to that (and I say this tongue
and cheek) is that while I am talking my friends are enjoying the food and I am
talking. Often it feels that I am saying the same things over and over again
and I know I am getting tired of hearing myself talk about myself (HA).
I’ve also run the
gamut of Dentist visits and Doctor Visits; which is always a necessity when
back on Philadelphia soil. All has gone well; actually a few surprises with the
Dentist (all good) and still waiting for medical reports (which I anticipate
will also be good).
I spent a couple of
days in North Jersey (near Metro Park) with a friend who actually also lives in
Tbilisi but is here visiting family and friends in the USA. Because she is so
close to NYC (and as senior citizens we get discount tickets) we spent (2) days
in NYC. What a city. I forget how exciting it is to be on the train and in the
train station. Walking the streets is an adventure always in NYC.
As crazy as NYC is; my
overall impression is that it is civilization. Compared to Tbilisi; I take
solace in the fact that New York is civilized (as crazy as that sounds). One
day my friend and I walked for miles and miles. We went to Lincoln Center
(which seemed so much smaller than I remembered). We walked around Columbus
Circle (which had a nice memory attached to the area for me). The next day we
went to Roosevelt Island (which was very cool). They have a tram car that takes
a 4 minute trip from 59th & 2nd Avenue over to the
Island. Of course you can get there by subway; but no fun in that. The link
below provides all kinds of information regarding how the Island was named and
what kinds of happenings the Island was a part of. We took the tram back and for me it was a
short ride. It reminded me a little of the tram cars that are used when scaling
the Alps in Switzerland. They call their trams in Switzerland “Dragons”.
So what else is
happening? My balcony is out of commission as the building is working on
securing the balcony as well as installing new panels to stop folks from
falling off. That really cannot happen as they secure the balcony door so that
it opens just a crack so that people don’t go out on the balcony. It does feel
weird, however, not to be able to go outside and sit on the balcony.
The weather has been
hot and humid here and for the next 5 days we are going to have rain with
overcast sky.
I may have the
opportunity to attend an upcoming Vipassana Meditation Seminar which will take
place in Delaware on June 6th – 17th. I am on a wait list
and hope that I will be included. It is unfortunate that many people who
initially sign up have cold feet the closer you get to the seminar. 10 days of
silent noble meditation is a difficult endeavor. I did do this program last
June, 2017 in Dubai so I am aware of what I am walking into.
As difficult as it is;
it is one of the most rewarding things that I’ve ever done. Not that I wish
anyone cold feet; but, hope that I can do this before I leave the USA.
Another upcoming event
in June (that I won’t be able to make if the meditation seminar comes thru) is
a catholic mass which will celebrate my 50th year graduation from
High school. Dear Lord.
A few old friends from
those good old days are going to meet for a drink before the mass; get up all
boozed up (kidding) before we walk down the aisle. I am the class of 1968; it
seems like a life time ago (and it was).
I ordered my airline
tickets and travel insurance for my upcoming trip. I leave for Estonia on July
19th and end in Prague on
August 1st. I had planned to connect with a group called “Work Away”
which would allow me to teach conversational English outside of Prague. I made
the choice to postpone this adventure with “Work Away” and will pick it back up
another time.
The reason for the
postponement is due to the fact that I have a few really big decisions to make
over the next couple of months. My condo in Philadelphia has been occupied by
my son and his family and they have decided to move into a place of their own.
So, at the moment I am here in the condo trying to figure out if I want to rent
it out; or come back to live here in Philadelphia.
I know a couple of
things; that is; if I rent my condo (or come back here to live) I need to spend
some money in it as it has taken a beating over the past years. Paint, floors,
furniture need to be replaced..that is one aspect. Another thing I know is that
Tbilisi Georgia is not where I want to be. I came to the realization that
Georgia was going to be a jump off point for me (or an anchor) so that I could
travel around Asia and Eastern Europe and have a home base in Tbilisi. It is so
cheap to live in Georgia; but my question is “At What Cost?” I’ve been
conflicted about Tbilisi for some time now; so although I’ve not made any firm
decisions; leaving Georgia won’t break my heart.
I absolutely still
want to live abroad; however, I may configure how and where I spend my time
somewhat differently that I had originally thought. There are so many countries
that allow people to live there for up to 90 days without a visa. I am
researching those countries. Also, here in the United States that are still so
many wonderful adventures that I’ve not had. I am conflicted.
I will fly back to
Tbilisi on June 25th as I will begin my trip to Estonia flying from
Tbilisi. I will also need to figure out what I want to do with my apartment in
Tbilisi. I have the dog situation that is terrible in the apartment next to
mine; and who knows if the landlord will keep his promise and have a decent
heater placed so I can count on hot water and heat. I know all these matters
will be decided. I just don’t have all the answers at the moment. I hope for
clarity during the meditation program.
Signing off from
Philadelphia….Best, Catherine Lawrence 5/30/18
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