Armchair Traveler

I have just purchased Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes on my Kindle, and I am very excited about it. This is a book that has been on my reading list since the movie version came out in 2003, but I would never commit to reading it because I have this thing about nonfiction in any form. I typically don't enjoy it. However, my opinion on the matter completely changed last summer when I read Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love, a book which has become one of my all time favorites, so much so that I now tend to think of Liz as a close personal friend.

I like the idea of changing your life through travel. It pleases me to think that eating a slice of pizza in Napoli or the simple act of waxing a brick floor to perfection can bring such earth-shattering joy. Maybe it's just the phase of life I'm in right now, but I am so inspired by reading these phenomenal stories of women taking charge of their lives and demanding change. That's what I got out of Gilbert's masterpiece, and I'm hoping that Mayes can offer something similar.

I've though of a new career option. What do you think about restauranteur/head chef? Get ready for a whole slew of Meryl Streep movie references. Anyone ever seen It's Complicated? You know the restaurant she owns in that movie? It's really more of a patisserie. That's what I want to do. I've got a plan. I want to live in Paris for a year (imagine that) while taking classes at Le Cordon Bleu, just like Julia Child (Meryl movie reference #2). Then I want to come back here and open a patisserie/cafe/restaurant. I'm not sure exactly where "here" is yet. I'm not sure how well my plan would go over in Dayton. I could try Chattanooga, but my immediate thought is to take this back to Lexington, if for no other reason than having access to Joseph Beth's again. (For those of you who don't know, Joseph-Beth's is the king of all bookstores, and it is also one of my favorite places on the planet.)

One final thing...This blog is entitled "In Search of Gumption" for a reason. I actually am trying to figure out my life this year, and I feel that I should give an update, now that I've had three full months to do work. I would say that I am somewhat improved. That's not to say that I am any closer to fulfillment than I was January 1st, but I think I'm more emotionally stable now. Give it another three months, and I should be ship shape. To my readers across the globe (I mean that literally, you really are everywhere), I appreciate your attention, and I'm going to try to find more entertaining things to tell you about in the future. Promise =)