Most awesome gadget ever.

I got a package today!

I don't know if this is obvious, but I like gadgets. I really like gadgets. Gadgets of all kinds - cooking gadgets, office gadgets, travel gadgets - the more ingenious the better.

So as soon as I found this, I had to have one!

This is an Orikaso dinnerware set. The flat pieces of plastic on the right fold up to become the cup, plate, and bowl on the left. When you're done, the everything unfolds to pack flat - dishes for two fit into a mailing envelope!

Isn't that just the most awesome thing in the world?

"But why would you need such a thing?" some may ask (in fact, I may be asked this question as soon as I get home). As far as I'm concerned, "because it's cool." But it's also practical; I'm sure these will be wonderfully handy for traveling. My International Cups and Bowls set (second only to my Kleenexes of the World collection) is proof positive that it's wise to pack something to eat and drink from, in order to avoid making one's first stop in a new place the local equivalent of a dollar store.

This is clearly very practical. Look at all it holds!

(Yeah, this is mostly here so I can still pretend this is a knitting blog.)

At any rate, I love my new gadget. Now my inner evangelist will come out, and I'll have to decide who need one of these for Christmas. I'm also sure that somebody needs a Squishy Bowl, but I'll dwell on its coolness later.

By the way, I was able to give into temptation thanks to a gift certificate I earned from MyPoints. If you're interested in getting goodies for shopping online and receiving e-mail, send me your e-mail address and I'll send you an invitation.

The subject of strange travel gadgets isn't just something near and dear to my heart, it's also the perfect segue into Secret Pal 12's Question #5: "Where is your favorite place to go for vacation/holiday? Where is one place you'd like to go?"

This is not an easy question to answer. We don't tend to return to the same place very often, and I haven't taken a leisurely lie-on-the-beach vacation as an adult. I've loved almost every place I've ever visited. I wouldn't even mind returning to some of the others - I'm sure San Francisco and London are both perfectly nice on the three days a year they have sunshine. One might think this would be an easy question because we're in the process of planning a honeymoon, but so far we've only come up with the negatives - we are not spending our honeymoon night on an airplane, and we don't want to go to anyplace too interesting, that would keep us in museums from dawn to dark.

The easiest answer may be that Israel is my favorite place I've visited, and going back again would feel like a vacation. There's so much to offer - both educational and recreational. Swimming on the Dead Sea is worth the trip all by itself. And people there are so fun and friendly - so it's just a really easy destination to enjoy.

The place I most want to visit that I'm actually likely to visit is Prague, with Dubrovnik a close second. (I'm actually more intrigued by Dubrovnik, but Prague seems easier.) If this is purely hypothetical planning, I'd like to visit Bora Bora - or better still, take a seaplane or boat trip around the Pacific. I loved James Michener's Hawaii, so starting there and then moving through some other Pacific islands would be an exciting trip.