TravelChick

*!%$#!

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up for today. *!%$#!

posted by Travel Chick @ 6:05 AM 1 comments

I Dream of Bacon

Because I'm going through some medical treatment, I've been on a low-iodine diet for almost two weeks. It's generally not too bad, although I wouldn't want to be on it for a long time. Things I'm restricted from eating include: dairy products, seafood, most types of beans, soy products, seaweed, chocolate, anything made with iodized or sea salt, bacon, egg yolks, and certain food dyes. It's amazing how many foods contain these ingredients. Salt is in practically every cracker out there except for matzo, and matzo only comes in those massive boxes (I guess matzo companies know they have a captive market).

I'm so strict about keeping to this diet because I know that, in order for my treatment to work effectively, I have to be strict about it. It's penetrated my dreams, though. Monday I had a dream I was at a restaurant for a birthday party for a guy I knew in college. I forget his name, but he fronted a band called the Jimmy Carter Experience and sometimes showed up to gigs wearing a gold lame shirt. The weird part of the dream was not that, after not having seen or spoken to this guy for over a decade, I was at this his birthday party. No. The weird part was that I ordered some fries and and the waiter came over and dipped them in ketchup for me and lined the perfectly condimented fries up for me on my plate. My mouth watered.

That's when I woke up. I literally just sat up in my sleep and then woke up in a panic. That had never happened to me before. It was six in the morning and I couldn't get back to sleep. How could I? I couldn't eat ketchup, not even in my dreams.

posted by Travel Chick @ 5:33 PM 0 comments

One Month

It's been a month since my throidectomy. One of the oddly significant things for me has been that I haven't worn a necklace since I had surgery. I have a horizontal scar a few inches long and, for the moment, wearing anything in that area is pretty irritating. I love my necklaces, and most people would say that I own quite a bit of jewelry. Buying and wearing it is quite a hobby for me.

But because I haven't been wearing necklaces, I haven't worn any other jewelry, either. It would feel odd to wear it when I'm not wearing a necklace. Somehow my jewelry has real comraderie. It's either all or nothing.

posted by Travel Chick @ 8:07 AM 1 comments

10 Things I Like About Doha

Okay, it's not quite ten yet, but I'll keep adding to it. Recently when I saw one of my close friends for the first time after my move to Doha, she helped me start a list. Since I'm not in Doha at the moment, I thought I'd try to remember some nice things about it. I'm not sure I've remembered all the things I said when we brainstormed. In no particular order:

1) You can wear flip flops year-round.
I've discovered I really like that.

2) Qataris appreciate brunch*.
Most of the hotels, from the Movenpick to the Four Seasons, have slightly over-the-top and sterile but generally tasty brunches that feature sushi, mounds of fresh fruit, oysters, carvery stations, and rows and rows of desserts. The Movenpick has a chocolate fountain; the Four Seasons has individual chocolate souffles. The Four Seasons also has a bowl of marshmallows; the only thing missing is a fireplace to toast them in. This point gets an asterisk because all of the brunches feature some poor, non-pork imitation of bacon.

3) Doha is on the ocean
There's something nice and comforting about seeing a large body of water every day, and even though I don't take advantage of it as much as I should, going in the Gulf is great.

4) I have a rooftop pool
How sweet is that? I've lived in apartment buildings with pools before (in boozy, hazy Atlanta, of course. It's practically the law that apartment complexes have to have pools), but I'd never lived in an apartment building with a rooftop pool. Having said all this, the pool isn't large enough to do laps in, but at least it's big enough to jump around in.

5) There's a samosa store that sells good, crispy samosa
I've eaten enough doughy, chewy samosa. Bagels should be chewy; samosa should be crispy. This samosa place sells great samosa for something like 20 cents each. Maybe less. To top it off, the owner, a genial Indian guy, fries them fresh for me and often gives me a bag of homemade potato chips to eat while I'm waiting.

6) Okay, now I'm stuck. More to come.

posted by Travel Chick @ 11:53 PM 1 comments