Vitra Singh's Blog, page 8

Travel Temper Tantrums: NOT the Answer

On my recent trip to Jamaica, I traveled with my Mom.  She and I usually travel together easily.  She has what I call “hot feet,” meaning her feet are always eager to go everywhere and she can’t just stand still.  This time around was a little different because she recently started getting arthritis pains in her knees.  So while she would be the first one who wants to do some crazy and adventurous thing–her pace was slower this time.  Why push your health to the limit during relaxing vacation in Montego Bay, right ?

Well, I forgot that for a second.  See, we decided to take a half-day trip to Dunn’s River Falls, about 2 hours away from Montego Bay in Ocho Rios.  Visitors can start at the bottom of the Falls (essentially on the beach) and work their way up to the top.  Rock-climbing, forming a chain with fellow climbers, and quite a bit of physical exertion is required.  We definitely could not do this because forgot climbing up Falls, when she hurries up the subway steps in NYC too quickly during rush hour, it starts to hurt.

Not going up the Falls was okay with me, but I figured we could milk our time in Ocho Rios.  On the beach were some (unofficial) tour guides who offered to take us out in the ocean to see dolphins.  Me? On a Jet ski? Well, that sounded exciting!  Dolphins?  I’ve never been up close to dolphins…YES, why not?

I told my mom, let’s go!  Her reaction? No way: she does not trust unofficial random guides on the beach offering to take her out into the middle of the ocean on a promise of seeing dolphins.  Actually, sounds pretty right, don’t you think?  Tourism Safety 101.

But at that particular moment in time, all I could think of was “I want to do something exciting, too.”  I pouted for 5 minutes and then I was over it.  The lesson I learned here is that at times in travel, going at a different pace than you are used to does not necessarily take away from the experience you have.  I felt bad I pouted in the first place.

We ended up having a fun time anyway just walking along the boardwalk next to the Falls–which worked out great because I got to take some awesome pictures.  But in evaluating the whole experience, I realized that transitions in traveling with loved ones are expected and completely okay.  While mom may not be able to do high-thrill activities anymore, I now have a fiance who would be the first one on the jet ski and trying to drive it himself!  All things balance out and having a sour attitude just messes up the whole experience.  (Clearly I have thought about this a lot.)

Here are some pictures of the Falls and the beach in Ocho Rios:

Need water shoes to climb the Falls

 

Beautiful water in Ocho Rios

 

Local Jamaican relaxing on his Jet Ski

 

Forming the Human Chain

 

Climbing the Falls

 

Beautiful view from the Boardwalk alongside the Falls

 

The Falls!

 

Refreshing to see local artist focusing on his work, instead of being “salesy”–his work speaks for itself.

“Yes, Mon” I’m in Montego Bay, Jamaica

It feels great to have the soft and gentle Caribbean breeze blow through my hair; to see children building castles and animals in the sand; and to not have to think about what I need to get done next!

Cause I’m on vacation in Montego Bay, Jamaica!!!

The water is various shades of blues and greens… Light and transparent at the shore, then almost navy blue, and suddenly out of nowhere, aqua.

Accents are swirling around me like a choir made up of singers from various religions. Yes, mon! It is a common Jamaican phrase, always agreeable, one would think – even when it is not.

Here at the Holiday Inn, guests have so many options and activities available that it is quite easy to remain in a bubble and not see the “real Jamaica”. I guess that’s a blessing or a curse depending on your definition of vacation.

As I go back to enjoying this clean and light island air, I leave you with my current view:

Destination Wedding Experience, Phase One

For those of you who read my blog (Hi Mom!) or follow me on Twitter, you may know that I am engaged!

And, for those of you who have been engaged or are married, you know that irrationally, the first things people tend to ask once you announce your engagement: When will it be? Where will it be?

Almost impossible to answer after only a couple hours of relishing in engagement-hood!  While my family lives in New York, and Future Hubby’s family lives in Los Angeles, we decided on South Florida as our wedding destination: either Miami or Ft. Lauderdale.  Were we aiming for a “destination wedding”? No, not really.

Half of my Uncles, Aunts, and cousins live in South Florida; most of my Mom’s family live in Trinidad, so if they were to make it, Florida would be easy and affordable for them; I went to Grad school in Ft. Lauderdale; and we both like the idea of a chilled/relaxed beach wedding atmosphere, where our guests can really make a mini-vacation out of it.

Two weeks ago, we took a weekend trip to South Florida with our Mom’s and his sister (it was the first times our Mom’s had ever met–it went well!)  During our weekend, we saw 6 different venues, including the Marriott Eden Roc, The Miami Spa and Beach Resort, the Marriott Harbor Beach in Ft. Lauderdale, Bahia Mar, and the Ritz Carlton in Ft. Lauderdale.  Most of these were….. WAY above our budget.

Lesson #1 in terms of wedding planning: WEDDINGS ARE EXPENSIVE.  And not just, “Oh foo, I’m going over my budget a little.  Oh well, it won’t make that big of a dent.”  NO…they are “HOLY CRAP, I COULD MAKE A DOWN PAYMENT FOR A HOUSE OR TWO WITH THIS KIND OF MONEY”-expensive.

Because Future Hubby is from Orissa, India and I am from Trinidad…we want to incorporate a sort of Holi / Carnival atmosphere.  We also want the food to be a mix of our cultures–even though some things are similar–the styles and flavors are also very different.  (So for those of you who have had a Caribbean or Indian wedding, suggestions are welcome!)

So which venue did we end up choosing??!! WE STILL DON’T KNOW!  We are still waiting for the hotels to get back to us on exact pricing.  (And if we thought it was bad when people were asking where and when before, well, three months after engagement–we get it almost on a daily basis now!)

I would love to hear about your own wedding experiences or stories you have heard. Tips, advice, suggestions, are ALL welcome!!  (Even funny stories!!)

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with some pictures from the venues we saw a few weeks ago!

[Show as slideshow]

 

 

Book Giveaway on Goodreads…AND San Francisco Giants Parade

Goodreads Book Giveaway


Living Life for Yourself, Not Your Job
by Vitra Singh

Giveaway ends December 10, 2012.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Go on! Enter the giveaway and find out if you get a free copy of my book on December 11th!

OR

Purchase a copy on Amazon/Kindle if you need some career inspiration right now, if you have a friend/family member who could use some hope.

In other news, today is not only Halloween and my sister’s birthday (Happy Birthday!)…it was also Parade Day for World Series Champions, the San Francisco Giants!

While my home team would be the New York Yankees…I am currently not in New York.  And in ALL those years the Yankees won World Series after World Series (after World Series)…I was never able to make it to a parade

However, this year, I am in San Francisco…AND it turns out not only did the the SF Giants win, but I had no way to avoid the parade, given that it was taking place right outside my offices!  Here are some pics from the 15th and 16th floors of my office building:

Down Market Street.

 

Peeps leaning over the 16th floor balcony to catch a peek of the parade

 

Hunter Dulin Bulding, SF… Great Viewing Spot

Living Life For Yourself, Not Your Job: Book Review by Sylvia Browder

This post is a long time coming, but just wanted to share an excerpt from a book review that was written on Living Life For Yourself, Not Your Job in August:

“Living Life for Yourself, Not Your Job,” is such an empowering book dripping with golden nuggets for those who desire to ‘be their own boss’ or make a career change but not quite sure what it all entails nor ready to give up their 9-5 just yet.  The author, Vitra Singh, profiles 24 people who candidly talk about their experiences. Each message is simple and from real life everyday people who share their ‘story’ with a common point to not give up on your dream, rather, take baby steps to make it a reality.

The book is very organized and broken up into themes which help the reader to learn about people with similar stories relating to that theme. For example, in the chapter, “Seizing an Opportunity to Shake up Your Career,” there are four contributors.  Collette Burnette, says, “Nine out of ten people are going to say ‘no.’ But if you get one ‘yes,’ make that YES big” … and Suzanne K. Oshima story begins with, “If you have the drive and passion, it’s going to get you through those really hard times.”

You can purchase the book in Paperback and Kindle, or on your Nook.  Hope you will check it out and let me know what you think!

Moving on UP, To A Deluxe Apartment in San Francisco

Okay, okay – so the apartment really isn’t “UP” in a way that would be considered like the Jeffersons, but compared to the bedroom I rented previously, having my own apartment has made such a significant and positive affect in how I feel about San Francisco.

And, as an added bonus, it is a about a 12 minute walk to work and two blocks away from shopping/food central in Union Square, San Francisco.

Previously, I felt compelled to head straight home after work because the commute was about 45 minutes (still not bad compared to New York) and I knew once I got there, it would be misty and foggy…and all I would want to do is change into my pajamas and go to sleep (Yes, I have been called an “Old Soul”)

Now, I’m attending more meetups, scheduling more dinners (maybe not the best thing on my wallet), and also meeting more people!  I’m surrounded by sunlight, AND, I have a view of Macy’s from my bedroom window.

What girl doesn’t want a view of Macy’s from her bedroom window?

 

Here’s my spacious living room–this was a few weeks ago when there were still boxes to unpack:

 

Furniture courtesy of future hubby

 

And, I even have space for a mini-office…yes, with a RED desk!! (to match my RED computer!):

 

Love my Red Ikea desk for my mini-office

 

(P.S. My desk is Ikea-bought…It cost around $50 with the legs.  Sometimes you have to go with affordability over style.  But it’s pretty stylish for me!)

I will do a better job of posting, as I have recently taken day trips to Half Moon Bay, Pixar, and a few other cool places I should have blogged about.

Here’s an “After-Shot” of my “office/alcove” where I am currently writing this post from–Yes, I finally got it all set up!

 

Errr…ignore the cords for now…the important thing here is that I’m connected to the world!

How are you all?  Have you ever felt that where you live(d) has a huge impact on your overall happiness?

My First Experience Hiking, In Yosemite Nonetheless!

I have never hiked.  And when a group of friend decided to take a weekend trip to Yosemite, I had this absurd idea in my mind that hiking simply meant walking.  Sure, there would be elevation in the trail to get to the top of the mountain, but how difficult could it be huh?

Well, I definitely learned my lesson.  It can be challenging, blood-pumping, and strenuous.  I  thought it was cute at first…walking  up a few steep paths during the first 20 minutes and I’m saying to myself “Ha, this is how it’s going to be?” I can handle it!

Meanwhile, one hour into the hike and it’s not so cute anymore.  After about 2 minutes of making our way through steep inclines and climbing what seemed like thousands of steps, we arrived at the top of Vernal Falls.

 

I thought we did pretty good making it up to Vernal Falls (which from the image below is the smaller of the 2 falls).  But our original intention was to get up to Nevada Falls, which is the one in the middle of the image below.  Let me make this clear: from the top of Vernal Falls, the Nevada Falls did NOT look this far apart of even that much higher.

 

 

After a few more hours of strenuous hiking, we finally made it to the top of Nevada.  Being so high up and looking down is immensely thrilling and scary at the same time.

Believe it or not, I have to say another part of the trip which was more difficult than expected was the hike downwards.  At first thought, your brain might register downhill as easy, when it fact it almost takes more control to stay in a steady pace and also no slip on the sand-like sediment that has built up over the trail.

But we were successful….we came, we saw, we hiked, we saw some more, we ate, we conquered, and then we hiked back down.

 

 

Here is an image of us the next day from the Glacier Point Outlook.  Only from this view did we realize what we had done the previous day, yet how compared to half-dome….we still are amateurs!

 

Yosemite Snapshot

I made this past weekend a long one by taking the day off on Friday to head about 4 hours east of San Francisco to Yosemite national park.

This image sums up the beauty and nature I experienced during my 3 days there. On the left is the face of El Capitan and on the back right is Half Dome.

Over the next few days, I will post some stories and images about the whole trip – from cooking in a cabin with new friends to accomplishing the feat of a 5 hour hike.