While You’re Busy Making Other Plans

They say that life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans. I keep finding that to be true. How ’bout you?

If you happened to read “Not My Usual Blogpost — On Hamilton, Collaborations, Travels & Other Tangents” back in March, you might remember that I’ve had all kinds of collaborations up my sleeve. And if you’ve had a peek at my blog anytime recently, you’ll have seen…

Nothing.

While You’re Busy Making Other Plans

Until now, I hadn’t written a damn thing since April. Well, what can I say? Life has been a little crazy this year and a lot busy. There have been many ups. And the downs always come along for the ride as well, don’t they?

So before we get to my favorite topic — um, travel! — let’s talk about those downs a bit, so I can get them out of the way.

[Insert deliberate pause here while I contemplate what to share with you…]

Well, I’m not going to list ALL the downs. That’d be ridiculous. So, I’ll list three. (A respectable number.)

When I Have More Time

A big one for me was the passing of my aunt, Tante Vera, earlier this year. In my last blog post (“A Poem for Tante Vera“) I spoke about my regrets with regards to magically thinking that time is an inexhaustible resource. And, frankly, those regrets haven’t gone away in the meantime. We all want to do so much with our lives, and it’s too easy to think we have all of the time in the world for it! But we don’t. So make the most of the moment, y’all!

(Clearly that means continuing to read this blog post.) 🙂

Let’s move on, to the next thing on my list of downs.

Mold. Mold is another downer. It’s gross and it’s toxic and I found some lurking in my abode earlier this year. It’s since been dealt with, but that was time-consuming and no fun. Mold’s a fungus, but not a fun guy. I’m still feeling a little traumatized by its intruding, uninvited.

[I was going to insert a mold pic here, but decided to spare you!]

Okay, I was being a tad flippant about the mold. It did upend my daily living routines, but there are worse things than mold. So I’m not going to beat mold to death here. (Although I did beat it to death in my apartment.)

The final down I’ll mention today is weird to write about in a blog post. It feels pretty personal. But it’s a big change, so it would also be weird to say nothing about it at all.

I’m single again. That’s not the down part! Really, there are many mixed emotions when a long-term relationship comes to an end. What I’m thankful for is the fact that my Ex and I have remained great friends through the process. Maybe that’s unusual, maybe it’s not. We were married for eight years, and had been together for twelve. My life is better for having shared those years with him, but now we’re both ready to carry on down our own respective paths. 

Therefore, Congratulations!

People usually don’t know what to say when you tell them you’ve gotten a divorce. By far the most frequent response I’ve encountered is, “I’m sorry.” But I have to tell you, I love the way my hairdresser, Carinn, approaches it. Whenever she learns a friend is going through divorce, she responds with “congratulations!” Because, basically, there are reasons for a divorce, the participants were brave to take the necessary steps, and with the divorce, a new chapter of life begins.

So congrats on starting that new chapter!

Bielekova, for the Win

For a while I was teeter-tottering back and forth, trying to decide between reverting to my maiden name, Octavio, or keeping Bielekova. I like both names!

In the end, Bielekova won for three reasons. There’s no animosity attached to the name, just positive associations. I’ve got lots of travel booked in my current name, and the idea of changing passports and going through all of that red tape seems like a real pain. But most importantly, Bielekova has an “Olympic gold medalist in figure skating” kind of ring to it, so I’m keeping it!

That third “down” on my list (of the things I’m willing to share here!) isn’t truly a down. Yes, there are mixed emotions with life changes like these. But it’s a new beginning. And I’m excited to write my next chapter!

Travel Update!

Hey, this is supposed to be a travel blog, right? Maybe I should spend a hot sec updating you on some ups now, which of course include lots of travel! 

A few weeks ago I returned home from an extended jaunt in Europe. Jaunt isn’t the appropriate word to describe the trip, since I was working my toosh off for the vast majority of those seven weeks, apprenticing on two (and then managing one) Europe tour itineraries. I’m still in recovery mode, but already getting ready to head out again.

While spending time across the pond, I got to revisit classic favorites, such as Venice, Rome, Munich, Paris, and the Swiss Alps. Plus I got to check out a few places I’d never been to before! Those included: a lovely German town with Roman origins called Speyer; the petit but pretty commune of Pommard, France; the Swiss capital city of Bern; a cobbled canal town in the Netherlands named Haarlem; as well as some lesser-known but fabulous Italian destinations, including Ferrara and Massa Marittima.

I always love exploring new destinations, so hitting those sweet spots — albeit with limited free time (I was working, you guys!) — was a highlight!

The other huge highlight was getting to work with two FABULOUS guides while on the road. I felt like I learned so much from them, and had such a blast doing so! Here’s a little piccy of me with one of those fabulous ladies, taken in the Swiss Alps! Love it!

I’m going to wrap up this update for now, because I’m working on other posts and projects and can’t spend an eternity on this one. There are plenty of exciting things coming up on the horizon, so I need to spend some time preparing! But let me finish up with some cheesy thoughts for us all.

We’re all busy making other plans. But in the meantime, life happens. So remember: Live in the moment! Make the most of your precious time! Be kind to yourself! Remember to laugh. A lot! Turn regrets into fertile soil for planting the seeds of future endeavors! And regardless of what chapter you’re currently writing, congratulations to you for being a trooper!

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Thank you for hanging out with me for a while. I’d love to hear any thoughts from you in the comments below! (Congrats are welcome too!) 😉😊