Spring in my little neighborhood...

I went running as soon as I got back from work yesterday. Everything was so beautiful! I was one of those sun-after-the-rain kind of days, and the sunlight glittered on every petal and every blade of grass, reflecting back from the smooth surfaces of the concrete and asphalt. So, of course, I had to go back out with a camera and take pictures. =)

While I was taking this picture, I got a rather (I was going to say "queer" look, but I guess that would give the wrong conotation) quizzical look from one of the neighbors.

The wind picked up just as I was about to take this shot. In the end, I had to hold the flower still with my left hand as I took the picture with my right.

I really liked this person's yard. It just seemed so peaceful!

Dogwood... I think. Isn't the sunlight on this flower just gorgeous?

Little Daffodill poked its head through the chain-link fence to say hi. =)

Daffodills amids cherry blossom petals

Ce qui est un bateau... est liberté.

Je suis ainsi besoin de la liberté en ce moment elle ne a pas même drôle !

It is almost here! I can't even believe it. 48 hours from now I will be on a jet, headed for freedom. =) I have my passport and boarding pass, but beyond that, I am not exactly ready. There are still bags to pack, my apartment to set in order, and as always, books to take back to the library. =P Oh well, it will all get done, and if it doesn't, I just won't think about it. NOTHING is going to ruin this vacation! If you couldn't tell from all the French in this post, the part I am most looking forward to is our time in France. I am imagining already all of the pictures I will be able to take. If you thought I was bad last year... hehehe... just remember this trip is more than twice as long. =P

Je vous parlerai plus tard !

Why must it be so difficult?!

Here's the thing. All of my co-workers complain about deployments, hoping it never becomes mandetory, and discussing what they will use as excuses for why it would be impossible. I, on the other hand, want to deploy. So, what is the problem? You would think I would have no push-back when submitting a request to deploy, but that is not the case. It seems I am stuck state-side for the rest of my life. No one wants me to go overseas. I will show them! Watch me just leave and never come back. =)

Sometimes I feel like I wanna runaway
Pack my things and make a quick getaway
From the drama surrounding, and the world around me
Sometimes I feel like I wanna runaway
Pack my things and make a quick getaway
But my heart keeps pounding, and it won’t allow me
~ Nina Sky

4 days and counting...

I don't know if it's just my family or if all families are like this... While I was home over the weekend, I got to hear about all the latest cruise ship disasters (especially the Sea Diamond), since Fortitude and I will be boarding one on Saturday. All of that got me thinking about the Titanic (my favorite sinking ship of all time - I'm sure that sounds messed up, but as I child, I was so fascinated with the story and all the honorable men, who heeded the cry of "women and children first," that I read every book I could find on the subject). Don't worry, I did not have any crazy fantasies of being Rose or anything (that movie did not come out until I was in my late teens, besides I was realistic enough to know I would have drowned down in the steerage compartment with all the third class passengers). At one time I did, however, wish I could've been on the Poseiden. I remember watching The Poseidon Adventure with my Dad when I was pretty little and thought it would be very cool to be on a ship that capsized! I have since changed my mind. I would rather just have a fun (instead of an overly-adventurous) cruise. Anyway... back to the Titanic. As I was thinking about it, it hit me that we would be leaving on the same date as the Titanic sank 95 years ago: April 14th. I am not superstitious and am not actually worried (especially seeing lifeboat regulations have changed since then and we will not be running into the problem Titanic's passengers faced). I'm sure our trans-atlantic crossing will be much less eventful. I just thought it was an interesting fact.
The ship I will be on is larger than the Titanic. It is 1020 feet long and has a passenger capacity of 3,114, as opposed to the Titanic's length of 882 feet, 9 inches. Yet, despite the increase in size and amenities, there is something lacking in the modern cruise ships. They don't have the elegance a ship like the Titanic had. I would still love to go back in time and travel across the ocean in one of those ship (preferably one that did not sink), even if it was in the steerage compartment.