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  • Three Countries I’d Like to Visit

    January 1, 2011
    Uncategorized

    Russia
    The colorful onion domes of the Russian Orthodox churches have always fascinated me. In photographs, they seem too perfect to be real. Part of me wants to go during the summer, to experience the legendary white nights of St Petersburg. And part of me feels I can’t really experience Russia unless I go in the midst of winter, among swirling snow storms.

    Ireland
    Castles, rolling green hills, and Guinness? What’s not to love?

    The Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
    I’d love to see firsthand the diversity of the wildlife there: turtles, seals, penguins, whales, herons, flamingos, albatross. Some of my absolute favorite vacations have been on islands; I wouldn’t expect this to be any different.

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  • 2010 in review – Favorite Photos

    December 31, 2010
    Uncategorized

    As a way of reflecting on the year, I went through my photos taken in 2010 and chose my top ten (plus one). Click on each photo for a short description of where it was taken and why I like it.

    Brides at Angkor Wat
    Faces at Bayon
    Bicycle Rickshaws in Dhaka
    Bangladeshis
    Bangladeshi Rice Fields
    Sheikh Zayad mosque, Abu Dhabi, UAE
    Nepali mom braids her daughter's hair before school
    brightly colored ferris wheel at the Treasure Island Music Festival
    Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon, Iceland
    Pingvellir National Park, Iceland
    Brown Sisters at Uncle Vito's, San Francisco
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  • Post Every Day – Let’s Do This!

    December 30, 2010
    Uncategorized

    I was a prolific writer when I lived in Korea, not only posting everyday, but sometimes multiple times a day. Back then, when people asked me if I had a blog, I could truthfully say, “Yes.” I considered myself a writer.

    And then I moved back to the US. I still wrote, but not as often. When people asked me if I had a blog, I usually replied, “Yeah, but I don’t write as often as I used to.”

    And then I stopped writing. I’m not sure why. It just kind of happened. A week, or a month, or a year would go by and I would realize I had not posted anything. I would think of stories I wanted to share, but never got around to putting them to print. And I realized I missed it. A lot.When people asked me if I had a blog, I tried to change the topic, not wanting to admit I hadn’t written in over a year.

    This year, I was offered the opportunity to work at Automattic. I loved the work I was doing at Room to Read. I was also intrigued about the opportunity to join Automattic, working with people who are passionate about making the web a better place, particularly for writers through projects like WordPress. Almost all Automatticians have blogs and I was excited about being around people who are passionate about sharing their ideas.

    This week, Automattic launched a campaign to support bloggers to write more. Specifically, once a day, or once a week, or a self-set goal. I’m signing up. Care to join me? Yes? Awesome. Find more details here.

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  • St Simon’s Island, Georgia

    December 30, 2010
    Travel

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    A few shots from my last days on St Simon’s Island.

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  • 2010, In Cities

    December 28, 2010
    Travel

    I stole this idea from Dennis (thanks, Dennis!). I’ve tried to remember each city in which I spent a night (*or multiple nights) this year. 2010 included a nice balance of work and personal travel, as well as my first time attending SXSW (thanks, Bryan!). Since I resigned from Room to Read, I doubt 2011 will include as much travel to Asia, but I suspect other adventures will arise.

    Tetbury, England*
    Dubai, UAE
    Colombo, Sri Lanka*
    Phnom Penh, Cambodia
    Sihanoukville, Cambodia*
    Siem Reap, Cambodia*
    Dhaka, Bangladesh*
    Char Islands, Bangladesh*
    Austin, Texas*
    Lake Tahoe, CA*
    Raleigh, NC*
    Princeton, NJ*
    Rio Nido, CA*
    Abu Dhabi, UAE
    Kathmandu, Nepal*
    Marshall, CA*
    Seaside, FL*
    Ann Arbor, MI
    Northville, MI*
    Rekjavik, Iceland*
    Hofn, Iceland*
    Los Angeles, CA*
    Las Vegas, NV*
    Tybee Island, GA
    St Simon’s Island, GA*

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  • Keep Off the Grass

    December 27, 2010
    Uncategorized

    The condo my parents have rented for a couple of months is part of a golf resort on St Simon’s Island, Georgia. A few days ago, we noticed that the plumbing was not working particularly well. As in, when someone took a shower on the second floor, the first floor bathtub backed up and overflowed. Plumbers were called, pipes were examined, and we were told they would return with additional equipment to fix the problem.

    Except that the problem couldn’t be fixed. At least not for a while. So the rental office offered us the keys to the vacant condo next door to address all our water needs. Which was a lovely solution. We just needed to swing by the rental office to pick up the keys.

    As we were driving back from the grocery store, I reminded mom to stop by the rental office to pick up the keys. As we got closer to the turn, I pointed out the left hand turn that led into the parking lot. True, it was dark. True, the road wasn’t very well lit. But that didn’t prepare me for what was to come next.

    She slowly drove past the road that led to the parking lot. I started to say something when she quickly turned left. Right into the yard of the rental office. She whipped her head towards me and said, “This isn’t a road!” as if it were my fault. I was momentarily stunned into silence. “Ummm. No. The road is about, oh, 20 feet behind us. Where I, um, asked you to turn.” Intuition warned me not to laugh, as humorous as I found the situation.

    She harrumphed and proceeded to do a three point turn, on the beautifully manicured lawn, approached the road, and drove into the parking lot. It it weren’t dark, I’m sure I would have seen a “Keep Off the Grass” sign.

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  • Christmas Eve

    December 25, 2010
    Holidays

    My four-year old niece and I share a bedroom at my parent’s condo over the holidays. In our bedroom, there are two skylights. On Christmas Eve, after jammies are donned, teeth are brushed, and stories are read, we lay down to go to sleep. We watch the moon rise through the skylights as we prepare to fall asleep. She whispers, “Auntie Lori, Auntie Lori, we have to fall asleep now. Santa won’t come if we’re awake.” I reassure her that she is correct and rub her back, trying to get her to calm down and fall asleep.

    I am almost asleep when she pokes me. “Yes?” I ask. “We have to fall asleep. Santa won’t come if we’re awake!” Excitement radiates from her little body. “You’re right, let’s go to sleep now.” This is repeated several times before she whisper screams, “AUNTIE LORI!” I am fully alert, worried something is wrong. She points to the skylights. “AUNTIE LORI! DO YOU SEE THE REINDEER PAW UP THERE? GO TO SLEEP NOW!”

    And with that, she dozes off.

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  • Celebrating 100 Years of Marriage

    December 24, 2010
    Uncategorized

    As we were driving to St Simon’s Island, the place where my parents are temporarily living, my dad casually mentioned that their neighbors were celebrating 100 years of marriage. I thought about this for a moment, somewhat befuddled, and asked for more details.

    “Well, she was married for 54 years. And he was married for 45 years. Both of their first spouses passed away, and then they met and got married. And today is their one year anniversary. So between them, they’re celebrating 100 years of marriage.”

    I like it.

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  • For the Love of Pies

    November 29, 2010
    Food

    My favorite part of Thanksgiving is making pies. For the past ten years, I’ve gone to my friend’s mom’s house for Thanksgiving, and for the past ten years, I’ve made one pecan pie and one apple cranberry pie for all to share.

    There’s something immensely satisfying about baking. How you follow simple instructions, and walla! you have something insanely delicious. My favorite part of making pies is rolling the dough for the crust. It’s the transformation that amazes me. You take a cold ball of lumpy dough, and with a few strokes, it magically becomes a lovely, thin, round pie crust. I love the weight and the smoothness of a solid wooden rolling pin, sliding the silky flour over it before rolling the dough. Feeling the stretchiness of the dough, the give and take as I roll, roll, roll the pin back and forth.

    I also love the slowness of it. The time that each step takes, as well as the waiting in between steps. Of making the dough, letting it chill, rolling it, preparing the filling, assembling the parts, and then the baking. The warmth and aromas that fill my small apartment as deliciousness is forming.

    And it’s a treat. I don’t make pies very often, maybe once or twice a year. The process in itself has become a luxury, something I look forward to, a signal that I’ll be with loved ones soon.

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  • What a Beautiful Reminder

    November 17, 2010
    Uncategorized

    Seeing Past What it Seems

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LoriLoo

How great would life be if we lived a little, everyday?

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    • In Memory of Jerry Eugene McLeese
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