151. Glad

151. Glad
Definition: (adj) showing or causing joy and pleasure
Location Placed: Thomas Edison Service Center, Woodbridge, New Jersey
Date Placed: 12/24/10 at 2:53 p.m.





I'm glad that the date this crane was placed was the first of my winter break from work. I'm glad that I got to spend Christmas with my family. I'm glad to (hopefully, weather pending!) be heading out to the Phoenix area for a week during my break. Ah, the holidays are good. Hopefully you are having a Merry Christmas if you celebrate, and if not, having a happy holiday season!

150. Witty

150. Witty
Definition: (adj) amusingly clever
Location Placed: Grover Cleveland Service Center, Woodbridge, New Jersey
Date Placed: 12/19/10 at 7:12pm





After an imposed hiatus from placing due to end of the semester craziness and a lovely visit from an upper respiratory infection, crane placing has recommenced. I placed this crane and then decided to get myself a carton of fries for the road. When I was leaving, I'm pretty sure I saw the guy that had picked up the crane looking at it. He then took it with him and left. That's the first time I've actually seen someone take a crane! (I usually try to make sure I'm on my way out before placing.) Definitely excited to see it was found by someone.

Another Crane Finder!!

I got this email a couple weeks ago:

November 28, 2010 at 11:41pm

Sandy,

My name is Ciara. I'm 15 years old and I live in Massachusetts. I have been volunteering at the New England Aquarium for about 7 months now, and I absolutely love it. There have been a lot of things going on in my life which have made me question many aspects of myself as a person. The Aquarium is one of the few places I can just let go and be myself and really feel like I'm doing something meaningful. I was roaming around the Giant Ocean Tank around closing time about a month ago when I found your crane. The word "esteem" to me means being proud of everything about yourself without even stopping to think about how somebody else sees it. Finding your crane has given me a lot more confidence in having a positive outlook on things, knowing that I can get through anything. I would like some time to share the crane with the people around me, but when I re-release it, I will be sure to let you know.
Thank you for everything, and I greatly support you on this mission for peace.

Ciara

P.S. I just started up a channel on youtube, and I was hoping it would be okay with you if I could post a video about the crane I found and your entire project. Let me know your thoughts.

I wanted to wait until she did the video so that I could post it with the entry for you lovely readers to see! This is a link to Ciara's YouTube channel video about her story of finding a crane. It made me a bit teary. A better person could not have found this crane. It is always my hope that the people who find these cranes take meaning away from them and hopefully find one that resonates with them. And it really sounds like that happened with Ciara and Esteem. Thanks for emailing me Ciara and for making such a wonderful video!

PS- And let's send Ciara some good health thoughts! I can't imagine having pneumonia AND bronchitis at the same time.

149. Daring

149. Daring
Definition: (adj) adventurous, bold
Location Placed: Charlotte Douglas International Airport (D), Charlotte, North Carolina
Date Placed: 11/28/10 2:26pm





I am a bit hesitant to say this... Charlotte Airport is probably my favorite airport I've ever been to. I don't think I've ever felt so relaxed during a layover. While this isn't my first stop, I discovered a terminal that no flights were arriving or departing from. That left me with a row of empty rocking chairs (!), a lovely view of the city of Charlotte, and some of my favorite holiday tunes playing. I could not imagine a better way to spend a little over an hour between flights. If all airports could only be like that... Rest assured, this will not be my last visit to that airport or North Carolina.

Do you have any airport that you favorite more? Or any interesting flight stories?

148. Brisk

148. Brisk
Definition: (adj) lively, refreshing, merry
Location Placed: Computer Terminals, Tampa International Airport, Tampa, Florida
Date Placed: 11/28/10 11:12am





Surprisingly, by the time I was ready to leave Florida, the weather had gotten brisk. (By their standards, of course. It was still pretty warm by my thermometer.) The air was pretty crisp, the wind was blowing the palm trees around, and the temperature was around 70F. Couldn't ask for better weather. Sadly, it didn't manage to follow me home, where it was a down right frigid 35F. Home sweet home?

147. Hardy

147. Hardy
Definition: (adj) brave, fearless, dauntless
Location Placed: Starbucks, Tampa International Airport, Tampa, Florida
Date Placed: 11/28/10 10:36am





Tampa International Airport is pretty vast when you start exploring. I feel like I always uncover something new when I am flying through there. Even though it's pretty visible, I just realized the Starbucks there this past time. I usually just go to my individual terminal by shuttle, but decided to stick around the main part a bit. I stood around for a while debating what hot beverage I wanted: hot chocolate, hot apple cider, tea. A number of people politely stood behind me while I was looking at the menu. Of course I told them I wasn't really in line, but it was nice to see people willing to wait in line instead of cut in front of you. What a lovely bunch.

146. Mature

146. Mature
Definition: (adj) having reached full maturity or development
Location Placed: Author's Bookstore, Tampa International Airport, Tampa, Florida
Date Placed: 11/28/10 10:30am

145. Silly

145. Silly
Definition: (adj) sappy, wacky, zany
Location Placed: Indian Shores Nature Park, Indian Shores, Florida
Date Placed: 11/27/10 12:55pm





A lot of Florida beachside towns seem to devote a portion of their area to a nature area. They have boardwalks throughout the marshy areas and little placards with information about the Florida wildlife. It's a fun little educational walk. Next time I am down in the area, I'm going to see how many more of these little areas I can uncover to explore. It's always fun seeing things through a different eye.

144. Rad

144. Rad
Definition: (adj) awesome, wonderful, amazing
Location Placed: Wachovia Bank, Reddington Shores, Florida
Date Placed: 11/27/10 12:47pm





With the 80s came the use of the word rad. The beloved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles made it popular when talking about something awesome or really cool. And like a lot of other pretty odd words and phrases, it caught on. I definitely used the word back then, and I'm pretty sure it's slipped out again since. Do you ever recall using the word rad?

143. Suave

143. Suave
Definition: (adj) debonair, smooth
Location Placed: Del Bello Park, Reddington Shores, Florida
Date Placed: 11/27/10 12:45pm

142. Ally

142. Ally
Definition: (n) a friend
Location Placed: Treasure Island Beach, Treasure Island, Florida
Date Placed: 11/27/10 11:44am





This was my first time exploring the Treasure Island bit as I usually don't go any further south than Madeira Beach. But for adventure's sake, I drove on over the bridge just a wee bit further than normal. It was by far the biggest beach I had seen down there. Quite the trek to the water. But it was generally empty. That's my kind of beach day.

141. Spunky

141. Spunky
Definition: (adj) feisty, plucky, courageous
Location Placed: Madeira Beach, Madeira Beach, Florida
Date Placed: 11/27/10 11:30am

140. Risible

140. Risible
Definition: (adj) amusing, comic, laughable
Location Placed: Reddington Shores Beach, Reddington Shores, Florida
Date Placed: 11/27/10 11:15am





In making my list of 1000 positive words (which, yes, I actually have completed), I figured it would be easy to come across so many positive words. I'd know most/all of them and would likely exceed 1000. However, as many ventures prove to be, coming up with 1000 different positive words was a lot harder than I thought. So I consulted a thesaurus, opening up quite a number of other words I absolutely had never heard of before. Risible was one of them. So be on the look out for some words you may never have heard of before. (And if you have, well, kudos to you and being so well-read.)

139. Bold

139. Bold
Definition: (adj) fearless, daring, distinct
Location Placed: Indian Shores Beach, Indian Shores, Florida
Date Placed: 11/27/10 11:02am





Some of the beaches felt like I was stepping out of some sort of movie beach scene onto my own private beach. Picturesque, just the right amount of warmth, sunny. If it weren't for the wind kicking up the sand grains, it would've been an absolutely perfect day to sit on the beach. But my main purpose was to explore, for which the weather was perfect.

138. Engaging

138. Engaging
Definition: (adj) delighting, attracting, piquant
Location Placed: Indian Rocks Beach Pavillion, Indian Rocks Beach, Florida
Date Placed: 11/27/10 10:49am





It was starting to get windy, so I tried to locate a safe spot to put a crane. And this was the best solution. (It doesn't hurt that it mentions sandy bills!) It was under and overhang and pretty secure in the change machine. In addition to finding change in the slot, someone would hopefully also find a little positivity.

137. Mellow

137. Mellow
Definition: (adj) relaxed, unhurried, laid-back
Location Placed: Indian Rocks Beach Nature Preserve, Indian Rocks Beach, Florida
Date Placed: 11/27/10 10:39am





Every once in a while it's necessary to just mellow out and take some time to not do anything important at all. (Keep in mind you can only do nothing for so long before a. you run out of money b. you realize you're an adult and still have responsibilities c. you become seriously bored.) This little trip down to Florida definitely mellowed me out as I spent it reading, eating and occasionally exploring nature-y areas when the wind blew right. Definitely what I needed to keep me charged through the holiday season. Is there any activity that you do to help you mellow out a bit?

136. Calm

136. Calm
Definition: (adj) serene, tranquil
Location Placed: Beach Art Center, Indian Rocks Beach, Florida
Date Placed: 11/26/10 1:00pm





This was taken in the calm before the storm. I headed over to the Beach Art Center to hopefully find a little watercolor to take home with me and frame. But in my forgetfulness, I realized a lot of places would probably be closed. So I took a peek in the windows, but couldn't see much of anything. Hopefully I'll have a little time to pop over there tomorrow to see if they are open.

135. Brave

135. Brave
Definition: (adj) courageous, fearless, hardy
Location Placed: McGough Nature Park, Largo, Florida
Date Placed: 11/26/10 12:28pm





Hopefully this little guy was brave because about 30 minutes later, we had a sneak attach rain storm! He might've had a wet little adventure.

134. Elegant

134. Elegant
Definition: (adj) refined, graceful
Location Placed: Wachovia, Largo, Florida
Date Placed: 11/26/10 12:07pm

133. Treasure

133. Treasure
Definition: (v) prized, cherish
Location Placed: Florida Botanical Garden, Largo, Florida
Date Placed: 11/26/10 11:51am





Despite having been down to visit this area over a half dozen times, I had never gone to the botanical garden before this previous visit. I went this past March but found that many of the flowers were not in bloom (despite it still being pretty mild by my Northerner standards.) So I figured I would try it out again today. Except that several of the areas I wanted to get into were closed for the day after Thanksgiving. Oh well! Perhaps I'll try again next visit.

132. Relax

132. Relax
Definition: (v) loosen up, unwind, decompress
Location Placed: The Beachcomber, Clearwater Beach, Florida
Date Placed: 11/25/10 6:56pm





My Grandma and I had a wonderfully relaxing dinner out to celebrate Thanksgiving. All the works, none of the hassle, I'll take it! Plus we got a lovely view of the beach and some of the really super big houses that adorn the coast. My idea of a wonderful Thanksgiving. I am thankful that I was able to spend it down with my Grandma this year as it's been the first in nearly a decade that I've been able to come down. However, I won't be thankful to be heading back to the cold weather that await me in New Jersey on Sunday! Hope you're all having a wonderful day!

131. Serendipity

131. Serendipity
Definition: (n) good luck in making unexpected and fortunate discoveries
Location Placed: John's Pass, Madeira Beach, Florida
Date Placed: 11/24/10 1:58pm





Per suggestion from my cousin, I placed this crane when going to visit our Grandma. I picked mine and my Granny's favorite place to go to, John's Pass. They have lots of little funny shops with unique things. I'll probably pop back there on Saturday to pick up a few things I've thought over and decided I would like. Until then, I'm just going to soak up the warm weather.

130. Bright

130. Bright
Definition: (adj) splendid, smart, vivid
Location Placed: The Hut, Madeira Beach, Florida
Date Placed: 11/24/10 1:41pm





And man, was it bright out! Of course, I mean the other sort of bright, but still. I could get used to this warm weather. I hear back in the Northeast had a bit of a slushy, snowy thing going on. I am thankful to be down here!

129. Incredible

129. Incredible
Definition: (adj) beyond belief
Location Placed: Tampa International Airport, Tampa, Florida
Date Placed: 11/23/10 11:10pm





Not to make all of you people in cold weather areas jealous, but the weather down here is just incredible! Today it was a little over 80F/27C and absolutely sunny. And it looks like it will continue on for the duration of my stay. Then I'll go back to weather where 50F/10C is a good day.

I made a rookie mistake with the photo of this crane placement. That lovely pink blur at the top is my finger. I figured I would place a crane while waiting for my bag to hit the carousel. But just as I was taking this picture, I saw it and ran before it went back into the baggage abyss (to show up again in a couple minutes.) Since I was trying to hop onto an earlier shuttle out of the airport, time was of the essence. So, finger it was!

128. Cherish

128. Cherish
Definition: (v) hold dear, treasure
Location Placed: Newark International Airport Terminal C, Newark, New Jersey
Date Placed: 11/23/10 7:48pm





Since I've already talked about people/animals I am thankful for, I wanted to mention some of the possessions I cherish.(Obviously I cherish all my family, friends and pets a lot more than inanimate objects.) My most prized possessions would have to be my photos. It helps me to remember the (usually better) times that have passed. The friends I've had, the places I've seen, the experiences I've experienced. A lot of those older photos I had long since forgotten. It's always a nice trip down memory lane. What is your most prized possession?

127. Hilarious

127. Hilarious
Definition: (Adj) convulsive laughter and merriment
Location Placed: Olympic Shuttle Service Depot, Wall, New Jersey
Date Placed: 11/23/10 4:55pm





Laughter really is the best medicine. If you think about a time you've been down and got a good laugh about something (a show, a friend, yourself), you did feel better even if it was only for a short while. Hopefully you can find something to laugh about today.