Pump Up the Jambo

So when Lost Girl Stephanie Davis, told us she was leaving New York, she wasn't F&(@#ing around. Before anyone could stop her, this former GQ princess had made a clean getaway to Queens and somehow stowed away on a flight to Africa. And wouldn't ya know it, before she left the girl also snuck into my apartment and snatched my world traveler backpack to stash all of her Earl Jeans and crisp cotton shirts in (oh well...probably time for a new one anyway). So, upon her return from a multi village tour of Kenya, I asked her to recount her journey here on the LG Blog, so the we could all read about her unbelievably great time. Here's what Ms. Stephanie thought of her adventure...the full length version can be found in an upcoming issue of Skirt Atlanta, the publication she left Manhattan (and us!) to head up. Don't tell her....but we're really proud of our Lost Girl.

"Jambo! So, being the "honorary" Lost Girl that I am, I decided to trump my soon-to-be-world-traveling best friends and head to Africa early. (Purely reconnaissance work on their behalf, of course.) After arriving in Kenya via a layover in Amsterdam I promptly fell into my bed at a Nairobi hotel only to wake 11 hours later. Yes, the time difference is a bitch. (I highly recommend KLM airlines and Kenya Airways by the way--much nicer employees and better eats than some US based providers.) The next morning, I hopped a tiny Safari Link plane (take your Dramaminee ladies) and headed for the bush. Destination: Loisaba. It's a wild game reserve on the edge of Kenya's Northern Territories. I stayed at Loisaba Starbeds which is--—in a word--—insane. The Starbeds are on large platforms built high up off the ground on stilts and covered by a straw thatch roof. The insane part? The beds can be wheeled out from under the roof onto a porch, where you can sleep beneath the stars overlooking the entire game valley. There is nothing like it. As elephants, monkeys and hyenas all made their way past my hut at night, I just curled up under the down blankets and stared up at the twinkling sky. While this resort was truly remarkable, the best part of my trip was hands down visiting the local tribe that lives nearby. The Samburu people (similar to the Masai tribe to the East) are so friendly. Draped in warrior red and colorful jewelry, they danced and sang for us for hours and I couldn't take my eyes off of them. I was able to attend the village during a mating ceremony where the young men jump as high as they can to show off for the available women. Let's just say if there were an NBA scout around, these guys would've been signing plump rookie contracts. (Some of them were jumping over four feet in height!) This tribe had very little in the ways of material things. Their huts were made with cowdung walls and stick roofs. The children were all running around with no shoes and their cattle are their only form of wealth. And while they didn't have much, I've never seen so many people happy with so little. And if it's one thing you'll learn on your travels ladies, it's how to appreciate all that you have back home. I can't wait to hear about your own African adventure. It's a magical country."--Davis

Do you Peru? Yes, we do!

Yesterday, in the wee hours of the morning, The Lost Girls made major strides towards departing the country by snagging seats on Lima-bound COPA aircraft (official departure date: June 20th). True, the tickets weren't as cheap as on a budget,no-frills airline--$550 from Miami, $650 from New York--but they were the most reasonable fares we'd found since starting the search several months ago. While they'd seemed oh-so-backpacker at first, we'd decided against booking the RTW--or 'round-the-world--ticket so popular with our Aussie and British pals.

Not only would this "cheap seat" require us to shell out $3500 before ever stepping foot out of the US, any changes to our itinerary would jack up the price even more.Our current plan to string together one-way fares ends up being even cheaper than an RTW, and it allow us to change our minds a hundred times without penalties. Of course, purchasing international one-way tickets almost certainly assures that we'll be strip searched at security checkpoint, but that's a small price to pay for lower airfares, no? --TLG

Crash and Burn

Clearly, we're not the only quarterlifers experiencing that burned out feeling. Washington Post columnist Mary Ellen Slayter writes about setting limits on IMing, iPod listening and happy hours in order to keep yourself from feeling over stimulated...and blowing a chip or two as you reach multi-tasking capacity. It's an interesting concept, but we suspect that the underlying problem probably isn't one too many nights sipping Amstels with your friends. In our humble LG opinion, the blame lies with bosses who send more than a few assignments via their CrackBerries at 8:00pm, and industries where Saturday and Sunday are just two more days in the workweek.

In the piece, executive coach Mike Staver opines, "There's no real correlation between hours spent doing something and burnout because it isn't just about activity." Huh? Wha? Anyone who has worked 'til 3:00am preparing a presentation, or missed a special occasion because the client wants that redesign, like *yesterday* knows: insane hours are a very real and totally justified reason for snapping. We'd hide under the covers and sulk--if only we had the time.

Have you seen Davis?

Today, New York City loses more than a fraction of its coolness—and one of its most fabulous hipsters—as good friend and Honorary Lost Girl Stephanie Davis leaves Gotham to take a new job in her hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. True, she did make a pretty spectacular leap from editorial assistant (at GQ) to editor in chief (at Skirt), and we'll be taking off for Peru only a few months after her, but TLG will miss her just the same.

We spent the morning filling up on banana bread, omelets and mimosas at Very Favorite Brunch Spot (Prune) and then headed over to Doc Holiday's on Avenue A for several additional beverages and Willie Nelson tunes on the all-country jukebox. The bar was empty, save the Goth bartendress and a very old man who very well could have been the original Doc Holiday, so we took the place over and quickly went from sipping Amstels in a booth to shaking our butts in the windows. Not sure how that happened, but the footage that we shot is worth its weight in Mardi Gras beads. At 3:00, Steph took off for the airport, but we all refused to say goodbye to her. We'd better see you soon, Davis!