2011 in Review

This has been a good year for me - full of travel, fun and new opportunities. Rather than listen to me drone one in paragraph form, here's a bulleted list of highlights!

• I got a new job! And it's only one county away!
• I walked in three friend's weddings.
• I routinely experienced the joy of South Florida Public Transit. 
• I read alot of books, and alot of classics. How did I only just read the Count of Monte Cristo? Amazing book!
• I paid off my credit card debt - woohoo!
• Have gotten alot stronger, physically.
• Spent alot of time on the boat and finally saw Stiltsville.
• My troop performed at Tribal Fest and we rocked it!
• I hiked the Cinque Terre in Italy and drove northbound on Pacific Coast Highway. I also travelled to these places:
• Charlotte, NC
• Wilmington, NC
• Columbia, SC (yup, still hate it)
• Augusta, GA/ Aiken, SC
• Tampa
• New York/Brooklyn
• Key West
• Paris, Florence and the Italian Riviera
• San Francisco, Sonoma and Northern California

So some things I didn't get as much accomplished as I would like, but overall I think it's pretty successful.  I don't do resolutions because that implies a one-time goal set, and quite frankly I think that resolutions are generally overambitious and doomed to fail. I am a fastidious planner and obsessively goal-oriented, so here are some of the things I have been planning on, going into the new year:

• Continue to build a financial reserve (made easier by new job.)
• Continue to strengthen myself and stay in shape.
• Get back to karate, now that I have put this knee injury behind me.
• Pay off a bigger chunk of my student loans of doom.
• Write and blog more - although this may be at an undisclosed, new location
• Travel to the following places:
• Iceland
• Austin, TX
• San Francisco, L.A. (via southern part of PCH)
• Key West 
• Charlotte, NC and Charleston, SC
• Chile

I'm excited for this new year. And no, I don't believe that crap about the end of the world.  Fun fact for the road. Rapture was supposed to bring the end of the world - with the world erupting in a ball of flame - on my birthday. Nice, right?

Have a happy New Year! Stay safe tonight, and don't drink and drive!

Miami Perfume

I was on my way to work the other day when this story popped up on WLRN. (Beware, WLRN seems to be having server issues today)

Apparently the City of Miami tapped someone to create a perfume that is inspired by the city of Miami. The reporter proceeded to interview people about what smell best represents the MIA. It's pretty interesting because the responses show a total range of what this city is. From sea brine and Cuban coffee to urine in the streets, Miami is everything.

Apparently the perfume represents more of what Miami is perceived to be - a glamorous seaside party town, but the concept of scent tied to identity is much more interesting to me than the outcome. How would you describe Miami through scent?