My heart goes out to those who lost their lives because of the tsunami.
Can you believe there was another one out there and another in Peru too??
Well, apparently the whole state of Ca-li-for-nia is under a Tsunami watch, but I believe that was yesterday. Just a foot or two of inundation. Don't think I'll be affected. If I am, then I'll be able to go to work on a boat.
Anyone heard otherwise? If so, let me know. I'm not a great swimmer... :(
Hi everybody!!!
I know you're all dying to hear about my New York City trip. Despite the huge pain I currently in my neck, I will try to describe it as fully as I can and even use descriptive adjectives like I used to at my old job. Please note that uploading pics on blogspot is a pain in the neck (and I've had enough real pain for today) so if you'd like to see more I posted a few more on Facebook, you may access them here. I took almost 600 pictures total so I'll pick out the best ones :)
First off, I flew to Salt Lake on Thursday night (Sep. 10th). Friday I spent most of the day catching up with my sweetie, Saturday I had lunch with my mom, grandma and grandpa who are visiting here from France, and Sunday we departed for NYC. We arrived and had a crazy cab driver take us to the fabulous Marriott Marquis right in Times Square (our first New York experience). I have to say that seeing downtown from my airplane seat was just breathtaking. So beautiful. So many skyscrapers. So much going on on such a small island. We arrived around 5PM, we walked around Times Square a bit and that night we ate at John's pizzeria and had a delicious fresh mozzarella and tantalizing pepperoni pie which was absolutely delicious and not too greasy. We then went to bed early to start our real vacation for the next few days.
Monday, Day 1:
Wanted to bring mom to her conference by 9AM. Wanted to take the subway. After walking a few blocks, realized that we were at the wrong "station." Decided to take a cab. Took mom to NYU in Washington Square, dropped her off, and Brent and I had the rest of the morning to visit some of the city. So we took the subway (the right one this time) to Rockefeller Center and tried to find the today show - but couldn't. Turns out we were only about a block away from the plaza where I could've shaken hands with Al Roker. So we walk back to Times square (not very far, only 10 minutes or so), buy bus/tour tickets that include 3 days of double decker buses, admissions to the Empire State Building, ferry to go to Liberty & Ellis Island, Museum of the City of New York, and a 75 minute cruise on the harbor. So we hopped on the downtown loop bus like a bunch of tourists, went through the flatiron district, Soho, and got off at Chinatown - I had me some beef curry (not that great) and then we went over to Little Italy and suddenly realized that it's where we should've gotten lunch - because everything looked so flippin' good. They had gorgeous dishes and tempting desserts... Mom then met us in Little Italy, we got back on the bus to go downtown to the ferry to go see Lady Liberty. We didn't get off on Liberty Island - it was way too crowded and we didn't have tickets to actually go inside. We went to Ellis Island though and learned a lot about immigrants. We learned even more patience as we waited about 90 minutes in line to get back on the ferry. We got back on the bus, went through some iffy parts of Manhattan and got back to the hotel, fairly exhausted, and we went to "Bourbon Street" for dinner where I had me some yummy jambalaya.
Tuesday, Day 2:
All 3 of us went to the Rockefeller Center to get on the Today Show around 7:15 AM. Shook hands with Al. 'Twas fun. Lotsa people. Had to fight to get a good spot and hope to get on TV. Didn't get on TV. 8 AM - got on the downtown loop bus to get Mom to NYU on a scenic route. Brent and I continued on to go do the Brooklyn tour, which unfortunately didn't start until 11am - so to kill time we walked over Wall Street, saw some rich dudes chillin' by the NYSE, then we walked over to the World Financial Centers to see from above what they were doing to Ground Zero. It was just a whole lot of construction, really... I later found out that there was an actual memorial (and by later, I mean only yesterday at work). We then walked back to meet Mom, took the subway to Times Square, walked about 5 Avenue blocks to take our cruise, in which Mom & Brent fell asleep at the end... but it was pretty cool, another fun way to see New York. We passed by the Statue and admired the Brooklyn bridge from afar too. It's only 3PM and we're exhausted. So we walk back to the hotel, rest our feet, then take the tour bus to the Empire State Building. Perfect timing - it is now about 6:30 PM and it's crazy crowded, but I have some shots during the day as well as sundown shots. I planned it perfectly. We then walked back to the hotel - on the way, went to Macy's that takes up a whole street block and is 9 stories tall. Our feet needed rest - so we took the night bus tour which took us to parts of Manhattan as well as Brooklyn, the views were just astonishing. Plus, our bus had no torque... so going 10 miles an hour on a scary bridge over the water was just perfect for pictures. Because of construction, the 2 hour tour took 3 hours, and back at the hotel around 11:30 PM we were exhausted. Are we all just getting old???
Wednesday, Day 3:
I walked Mom to the subway so that she can go to NYU, and I decide one last time to get on the today show. September 15th would have been cool because I wanted to make a birthday sign for my little brother and sister. Going back on Wednesday, the 16th, I suppose I could've had a sign that said "Happy birthday Mad Scientist" but I couldn't find a marker anywhere. I'm sure they'll understand :) But guess what... this time, Matt & Al and I-forgot-the-girl's-name got outside and I was right there in the background, waving, with my bright red tank top. I then got a pic with Matt. Awesome!! So then Brent met me at the Plaza and we went to a little cafe place - I had an amazing prosciutto, mozzarella and scrambled egg panini. Very different. Very yummy. Excuse me while I stop salivating... ok, I'm good. To kill a few hours we walked over to Grand Central, which is gorgeous, and then over to the public library. The library is an amazing, amazing place. So much culture. So much history. So much marble. Such a quiet place in the middle of hectic Manhattan. I loved it. We started taking a tour and within 20 minutes, Mom called saying that she was done early with her conference - so we met back at the hotel and took the uptown bus tour. Here we rode alongside Central Park, saw some cute places, saw Jerry Seinfeld' s current apartment, Harlem, Morningside Heights, Columbia University, the Upper West and East sides. We visited the Museum of the City of New York, which was pretty interesting. So hungry - we try to find a place... and Mom's iPhone led us to an address which had graffiti tagged window shutters on an abandoned building... too funny. We were in a borderline ghetto part of town - so we got back on the bus, found a panini place a block from the Museum of Metropolitan Art, then walked over to Central Park and admired the Great Pond, the Great Lawn and the Obelisk. Back on the bus, we visited the rest of the uptown tour... passed 5th Avenue shopping and the Ritz-Carlton Central Park and the Pierre Hotel. Back at the hotel, I get ready to meet my friend who was working at Battery Park on task force - so we hung out in Times Square, and had NY style pizza while my parents were on their won to see a Broadway show - The Phantom of the Opera." Becca & I went to the M&M's store, Hershey Store, I bought some bright orange New York flip flops (I got my flippy-floppies!) and I pretty much went to bed after that! We had to leave around 9 to catch our flight, and it was a really fun-filled 3 days of awesome culture, history, diversity, skyscrapers, people watching, different neighborhoods.... could never live there (maybe up to 6 months on task force or something) but I would sure love to visit again...
So there you have it! This weekend I went to Manhattan Beach to watch some professional beach volleyball, got a free massage, did some laundry, made this for dinner, watched "Dance Flick" (as expected, stupid but hilarious), and Sunday morning I helped my friends move from 9 to 1:30, then played Volleyball till 6 and had Korean for dinner with all my buddies. Such good food! They sure know how to pick these places.
Well, I'm really tired... hope I entertained you all...
Today I'm grateful that my neck is feeling much better than yesterday. I was in so much pain last night that I was almost in tears. Have a great night everyone!!
Not Soup du jour...
But just an update - Salt Lake was great, New York City was fabulous, I'm now back in L.A... and as usual, entering the slight depression phase when you realize you're waking up alone. Then a week later, you realize, "oh yeah, this is the life I chose right now for my career" and you get used to the loneliness.
I'll write back in a week when I'm cheerier and come out of that phase.
Today I'm grateful... that next week I know I'll come out of phase 1.
Have a fantastic evening!!
Win?
Win.
No Beach Vball today - we did yesterday instead. Today was a fun day of relaxing, cleaning the apartment and looking for birthday presents for my darling younger brother and sister who will be turning 14 in about a week! I miss them very much and they will be entering their last year of Junior High. Almost like Freshmen. As Lois Griffin would say, "Get the Freshman!"
Martinique, summer 2006
I'm proud to say that I've been to the gym every single day this week except today. Tomorrow I have a free session with a personal trainer, Tuesday and Wednesday night is kickboxing, and Thursday night I fly out to Salt Lake... and embark on a wonderful journey filled with family, good friends, fun, and 10 days off work. Hurray!
Last night we celebrated Oak's birthday, our youngest volleyball player (only a year younger than me). We went to his parent's Thai restaurant for dinner which was a lot of fun - good food and good company. I carpooled with Lillian & Erin, who showed me downtown Los Angeles... and I saw where L.A. Live is going to be, as well as the JW & RZ that have started to build. They're huge!
Tomorrow night I'm going to a labor day BBQ. What a fun weekend! Although I'll be working tomorrow, I'll be doing so from home and ending early. Have a great night everyone!
Well, LA Fitness is darn lucky.
Despite the fact that the oblique muscles ab machine was broken yesterday, all machines are slightly older and and I'm just not feeling that gym yet, tonight's kickboxing class was actually pretty decent.
It felt so good. Half the moves were the same as Gold's gym on Van Winkle, and the other half were new but with the same basic moves. It's been almost a year since I've gone and I'm pretty proud of myself, even though I'm absolutely sore everywhere, I was able to stay the whole time - didn't mess up too much (I couldn't, I was in the front row. I always go in the front row because I'm motivated to do better there).
I'd love to get into kickboxing again. And I have to say, if it weren't for that class I'd probably cancel my membership. I think I'll try it out for a few months though (luckily I'm on a month-to-month membership). That way I can get back into weight training too. My workout videos at home can only do so much.
I know, I know... some of you might say "but you've got a beach right there where you can walk, run and breathe beach air and you play beach Vball 1-3 times a week." Very true, my friend. But here's the thing, Beach Vball is fun but unless I'm playing 2 on 2, it's really not working my endurance much. Running on the beach? I tried it and... somewhat gave up. Running's not my thing. Walking - sure, I like to walk, but again, no muscle toning or real endurance building.
I want to be able to kick some butt... oh, I dream of the day that I will be able to beat Babe in an arm wrestle.
It must be late, I'm hallucinating. Babe's stronger than he looks.
Good night all!
Well, it took about 8-9 months, but I finally feel like I have a life outside of work now besides the casual beach volleyball game & holiday BBQ's.
Last Wednesday I went over to Lynn's house who invited me over for dinner because she felt like cooking a bunch of new things or things she hadn't cooked in a while (in other words, I knew I'd be a test subject... which I have absolutely no problem with!!!) and she made delicious dishes of curry, eggplant with chili sauce, some kind of spicy beef and pork and deep fried prawns. Everything was absolutely delicious! She's from Singapore and her husband's German. She also invited Lillian who's from Malaysia I believe -and her boyfriend who's very American and I swear has the same facial hair as a Backstreet Boy. A fun Wednesday evening.
Friday - round 2 - Lynn wanted me to try her apricot glazed salmon that she learned from a past Argentinian neighbor, and so the same gang was invited over for dinner... it was fantastic too. Easy to make too. Maybe I'll try it someday.
Saturday was Volleyball at 11am with a very "different" crowd. Instead of the really nice and gentle same-sex couples I regularly see on Sundays, these were hard-core tatooed 250 pound 40-50 yr old hockey players shouting & swearing like there's no tomorrow. I was laughing so hard inside. "COME ON! YOU'RE THE STRAW THAT STIRS THE DRINK! F*** I'M SWEATING. OH F***, I'M SWEATING REAL BAD. F*** I GOT SUNSCREEN IN MY EYES DAMN IT!" A little too much swearing for my tastes... I don't think I'll make Saturday vball a new weekly thing.
Saturday night was a Filipino friend's birthday party in Orange County, where at least 10 different nationalities were present, including another Frenchie. We had awesome food, even French cheeses that I can't believe when I went for it it was gone - but there was foie gras leftover so I thought I might have a little taste even though I'm not a huge fan.
Sunday was usual Beach V-ball, cleaning the house, dinner at an Italian restaurant, and last night Lillian invited me over for dinner because she "felt like cooking" so we had a ladies night in (4 of us) and had yummy spicy food.
Also - I got a gym membership to try out LA Fitness for the week - I'm not uber impressed yet (went to pilates tonight and it was boring as heck) and yesterday they spent over an hour convincing me to join that I barely had time to work out. I'm going to go everyday this week though and can cancel by Saturday if I choose to do so.
Today I'm grateful to be in a state with so much diversity. Also for friends I get to see and for trying all these delicious new foods. My heart goes out also to those who have lost their homes in the SoCal fires. For those who wonder, these fires are north of LA and are at least 25-30 miles away from me thus are not affecting me directly, so I'm fine. The fires in Palos Verdes were a lot closer (5-10 miles) but those were extinguished pretty quickly.
I wish everyone a fabulous week - and hope to see some/most of you on my next trip to SLC in two weeks. Yeah, baby!
