Friday, September 15, 2017

Consume This #3


Photo by Melinda Pack on Unsplash

Consume This is my monthly curated list of interesting links of things for you to read, watch, and listen.  If you come across something you think I’ll like, tweet at me.

Thursday, September 7, 2017

cherish your chicken nuggets


"I'm sorry, ma'am. We don't carry spicy chicken nuggets anymore."
Sirens blare. A small child screams in the background. Glass shatters somewhere.
No more chicken nuggets? Did I hear the scratchy drive-through voice correctly? How can there be no spicy chicken nuggets?
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" I lean out the window of my car, thinking that if I get closer to the speaker I could hear her better, hear her different.
"We don't carry spicy chicken nuggets anymore, ma'am."
I sit back in my seat. Glass shatters again. "Oh...ok.  Can I just have regular nuggets then?"
"Of course you can. Is that all for your order?"
Yes. I guess so. It has to be. The spicy chicken nuggets are gone. Out of all the things to happen while I'm away, why this? What is happening to my country?



I wish I had known the last time I ate Wendy's (January 1st, 2017), what I know now. About to leave for Europe for 8 months, I could never imagine returning to an America without spicy chicken nuggets.
I was so naïve.
We all know the usual advice about living in the moment. Hang out with your grandparents. Tell your dad you love him. Apologize to your friend. But more importantly, cherish every single chicken nugget that you eat. Who knows if that nugget will be your last nugget.

chicken nuggets tombstone
Photo by Simeon Muller on Unsplash. Editing by me.

R.I.P. Wendy's Spicy Chicken Nuggets. I'll miss all the good times we shared.
*I googled and March 2nd, 2017 is the actual date the nuggets disappeared. No one had the heart to tell me, out of fear it would spoil my time in Scotland.

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

counting change


I press the pennies into my plastic money counting jar, watching the total slowly go up on its blinking digital face.

The pad of my index finger hurts and is already marked with black from all of the dirty coins.  $24.71 already accounted for, with a pile of circular metal still staring at me from the dining room table.

You see, barely 2 weeks ago I got back from an 8 month trip, but I'm ready to leave again.  In exactly 336 days, (11 months and 2 days to be exact), I'll be done with all responsibilities that tie me to America.

I have 336 days to save every single penny that I have.

Whatever the total comes to in my change jar, I know it won't be much.  Chump change.  Barely anything in the grand scheme of things.

All of the change I have to my name, the change I've been saving for years, will probably only afford me 3 nights in a hostel in central Europe.  Or 2 long bus rides.  Or 1.5 days worth of my usual daily budget.  It's not much at all, but that's 1.5 days that I wouldn't be able to fund if I didn't obsessively collect every single penny.  I'm sure those 1.5 days will be worth it, and I won't even remember the sore pad of my index finger when I'm living them.

Cheers to when I can travel for an extended period of time again, to the next 336 days and some change.

Saturday, September 2, 2017

10 hikes on my bucket list


I recently read Wild by Cheryl Strayed so I'm on a bit of a hiking-daydreamer kick. Don't get me wrong, I am not an avid hiker. I'm not even a good hiker. I'm slow and take a lot of breaks and have never even done an overnight camping hike. But look at how much room for improvement I have! I definitely want to get better and learn more skills, so the next time I go to Europe I can do more outdoorsy things and avoid the big cities.

1. Old Rag Mountain, Virginia

This was my first intense day hike that I did at the end of my freshman year of college. It would be fun to do after I graduate this year, just to see how I've changed.

2. The Jordan Trail, Jordan

I remember reading an article in National Geographic about the "new" trail that spans the length of the country of Jordan. Jordan isn't one of the most popular countries to travel to, so it would be cool to say that I've hiked the entire length of it.

3. Overland Track, Tasmania, Australia

Mainly because it's in Tasmania and it looks pretty. It doesn't take much to get me excited for a hike!

 

4. Valley of Flowers, Uttarakhand, India

Because who wouldn't want to walk through a place called the valley of flowers???

5. Hallelujah Mountain, China

  1. Because I like anything with spiritual/gospel references
  2. LOOK HOW COOL THOSE MOUNTAINS ARE

6. a "wild hike" on the Great Wall of China

This is apparently a thing I didn't know about until I started googling for this post. I also have a friend who camped (which is slightly illegal) on the Great Wall and she said it's one of her favorite experiences.

Kaieteur Falls - Guyane

7. Kaieteur Falls, Guyana

This hike leads to one of the biggest waterfalls in the world. Imagine the soul-crushing amount of awe you would feel by witnessing that in person.

8. Canada

This isn't specific to anywhere in Canada because, even though I haven't been to Canada at all, I can already tell that it's one of the most gorgeous places on Earth so I'd be happy hiking ANYWHERE.

9. West Highland Way, Scotland

Since I lived in Glasgow for 5 months, I heard people talking about this trail all the time. I wish I had planned better while in Glasgow so I could've done the trail while I was there, but sadly I didn't have any proper hiking gear with me. Hiking the West Highland Way would allow me to appreciate the beauty of Scotland in a whole new way.

HumpbackRocksVA Humpback Rock via Appalachian Trail Conservancy

10. The Appalachian Trail, USA

Okay, definitely not the whole thing. I don't think I'd ever dedicate 6 months to a single activity, especially a hike. But I would love to do a portion of the AT. Ideally, I'd do the entire Virginia section since it's my home state and is the most beautiful in my humble opinion.



Researching for this post reminded me how there are SO MANY HIKES in the world yet SO LITTLE TIME. I need to get started!

This post is a part of the monthly Travel Link Up!

Do you have any recommended favorite hikes I should do?