Wandering, Not Lost

One of my Favorite Players

2011-04-13T14:25:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if you know this, but I LOVE the NY Mets. I started watching them play in 2006, because all my friends in the city were huge fans, and I felt left out and pretty lonely when they were all watching games. So I cheered the Mets into the end of the season (and even went to Game 6 at Shea - http://bubu37.blogspot.com/2006/10/lets-go-mets.html) and drank my sorrows when they lost the NL Championship to the Cardinals.

Then in 2007 Sara took me, Kat & Christine to Meet the Mets!! I was still a Mets newbie, but it was pretty exciting. We met most of the players, but my favorite was Delgado. He was very nice, smiling at everyone, making sure every single person got an autograph and a picture.

And now he's retiring from baseball :( He's had a lot of surgeries in the last couple of years, and hasn't played a full season as a Met since 2008. But I've missed seeing him at first and now that he's retiring entirely I'll miss tracking what he's doing.

Here's an article about his retirement - http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110413&content_id=17721774&vkey=news_nym&c_id=nym&partnerId=rss_nym.

Quote? Story? Advice?

2011-03-09T11:16:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure what to call it, but I stumbled across this piece on The Monica Bird, and found I really enjoy the entire blog! Here's the link: http://themonicabird.com/post/3273155431/date-a-girl-who-reads-date-a-girl-who-spends-her

Downtown LA Artwalk

2010-11-12T14:19:00.000-08:00

I felt like I was back in NYC last night! I was meeting up with a meetup.com group to visit the Downtown LA Artwalk, and decided I had done enough driving for the day. So I took the bus instead. And can you believe it - public transportation in LA really does work! The bus stop was less than a mile from my apt, and took me straight into the heart of the artwalk - all in under an hour.

My dad happened to call just after I stepped onto the bus, and asked me what I was doing. Here's how the conversation went:

Dad: What are you up to right now?
Me: I'm on the bus - going to the artwalk downtown.
Dad: You're on the bus?
Me: Yeah.
Dad: It goes downtown from your apt?
Me: Yep.
Dad: {completely garbled thanks to AT&T in LA}
Me: WHAT??
Dad: Will it bring you home too?
Me: Uh, yeah, I'm kinda hoping it does. It's supposed to.
Dad: Oh, ok. {kind of chuckling to himself}

And it did, indeed, bring me home. So much easier than driving the hour, battling one-way streets in downtown, parking, fighting the crowds when I left and driving home. I'm going to look into public transportation way more often.

A Rainbow in Venice (CA)

2010-09-30T13:52:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I pulled up to my sisters house and looked up to see this gorgeous rainbow right in front of me.

Fix-it Pics

2010-09-10T11:55:00.000-07:00

On http://www.iheartfaces.com/ they have a "Fix-it Friday" every week. They give you a pic and then ask you to edit away, playing around with settings and options, just to get a feel for your editing program. I am using Picasa (fancy, I know) because I don't have anything else on my work computer! But here goes.

Original:

Fix #1:

Fix #2:

A Giveaway

2010-09-08T14:12:00.000-07:00

My friend Shannon is having a giveaway on her blog today - visit her at ** Happiness Is...** to see some gorgeous jewelry, and maybe even win a necklace!

Some of the pieces I love in the store...

Back in LA!

2010-08-06T14:26:00.000-07:00

Well I've been back in LA since mid-March, and it's been a fun few months hanging out with friends & family. Here's a quick recap of some of what I've been up to...

At Lee's birthday party :)

Catherine's baby shower. She's now got a gorgeous little girl - Jenna.

On the town for Cyndi's birthday - Happy Birthday Cyn!

Bowling with Little Heidi.

Mexican Wrestling in downtown LA.

Hollywood Bowl with Dad & Janne.

Out for Mexican food & flaming margaritas with Heather.

Reggae Night at the Hollywood Bowl with Cyndi.

It's been months!

2010-01-21T14:03:00.004-08:00

I can't believe I haven't posted since October. Bad me! Well, here are some holiday pics from LA to warm you up.

Malike gave my mom a homemade window herb garden kit.

Malike & Jackson sharing some tunes at dinner.

Megan being silly after unwrapping gifts :)

Big smile when we went up to Byron to plant the Goss' Christmas tree.

Hauling said tree.

And the family effort to plant it.

Union Square

2009-10-19T13:43:00.004-07:00

On Saturday I went to Union Square for the first Street Photography Meetup. It was fantastic! Steve & Rob are the organizers, and they have so much knowledge! It's great to walk around with them and see what they're seeing. Here are some of my shots :)

Long Ago

2009-10-05T11:16:00.003-07:00

Recently, my dad sent some pictures to me that his friend, my "Uncle" Ike, took when I was much younger. I love them, so here they are! Check out the 'stache on my pops ;)

Before LA

2009-08-18T23:44:00.003-07:00

The pics from Kat's bday dinner at Blockhead's. Shira, Christine, Kat & I went out there and then headed next door for (more) drinks. Happy bday Kat!

LA Freeway

2009-08-16T11:35:00.002-07:00

Driving the 101 from dad's to mom's. Sunny and warm!

You know you're at the airport too early when...

2009-08-15T01:36:00.001-07:00

you can take a picture of an entire terminal with not one single person in it.

I hate iTunes (today)

2009-08-14T11:43:00.002-07:00

I am so over this program right now it's unbelievable. Of course, it's my fault for trying to move my library the day before vacation (I need music on my phone to survive). But should it really be this difficult to tell iTunes that I no longer want it looking at my C drive for music, instead it should check out the E drive!? Gah!

A day in Fayetteville

2009-06-23T18:40:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I drove into Fayetteville with Leif to stay with him a couple of days and see the town. He made a superb dinner of spaghetti & salad (a nice, spicy sauce) and his friends John & Jasper came over for a few hours to hang out.

Today was my first full day in Fayetteville, and it was quite the adventure! I walked to the town square to see the farmers market this morning, and then met up with Leif for lunch at Loafin Joe's (a yummy sandwich place). He was working all day, so I explored the town in foot.

I ended up spending hours at the Blair Library, reading in their comfortable chairs (and air conditioning)!

Across the street from that was this fantastic little arts/jewelry store that I ended up getting some beautiful rings from. The outside was all painted like a watermelon! The posts were red with seeds and they had colorful chairs and decorations everywhere.

I also got to check out this fun, used book store that totally rivals Strand and Powells (not as big, but pretty fantastic anyway).

So tonight we're just hanging out with Leif's friend, Anna, and maybe John & Jasper will come over again in a bit.

More of the same planned for tomorrow - see more of the city and relax!

Hello from Arkansas!

2009-06-22T16:41:00.000-07:00

Well I've been here in Arkansas since Friday, and it has been a jam
packed vacation already. We've gone swimming in Bluff Creek, which
runs behind my Aunt Beth's house, and canoeing down Buffalo River
yesterday.

I also got to see the house my cousin, Edana, is building with her
husband, David. And I checked out the cows & chickens my aunt keeps.

I'll add pictures as soon as I'm home!

Photo Field Trip #3

2009-06-16T14:23:00.003-07:00

For our last photo field trip we actually stayed within the building and just outside of it. We were practicing both composition & flash. I have to say, that building was very, very boring. I'm sure a great photographer could have found something great in there, but ugh it was a long hour to shot!

A fountain drain I got up close & personal with.

A mop bucket that one of the janitors left out.

An abstract view of the stairs & ceiling.

The second part of our lesson, using flash, took us both outside & inside. We mostly just shot each other, but the guard on duty was totally willing to help us out with this project!

CityWalks #3 - UWS

2009-06-12T14:08:00.004-07:00

This past Monday I explore the Upper West Side, between 67th & 91st Streets. I was joined by Miriam, a recent retiree who found my ad on Craigslist & thought it sounded fun. It was nice to have someone to walk with.

We started on Broadway and 72nd, and I quickly realized that the main sights on this trip were grocery stores! Granted, they've been around for quite some time - Zabar's has been around since 1934. But still, it's odd to think that this is what people should see in NYC. But the walk was interesting and buildings are much, much shorter up there. It's nice to see sky!

We made our way over to Riverside Park - and wow! It's got this fantastic community garden up near 91st Street, and it runs all the way down the river to 72nd. It was absolutely wonderful - quiet, on the water and just nice. It's very much like Battery City Park (my fav place in the city) so that's probably why I was so excited about it.

When it ends and you curve back into the city there's a statue of Eleanor Roosevelt in a ring of trees - very cool.

The final section of this walk was up Central Park West. I've seen most of that before - the Historical Society, Dakota, Museum of Natural History. But there are some cool buildings. A very nice vendor in the park told us about all the celebrities living the buildings right at 73rd & Central Park West (I, of course, don't remember any of the names he said, but they were very famous).

I was tempted to go into the Natural History Museum for the "Extreme Mammals" exhibit. I have no idea what it's about, but I figured it would be a nice way to end the day. Little did I know special exhibits there cost $24! I couldn't do it. So hopefully I didn't miss too much :)

Downtown

2009-06-10T14:28:00.010-07:00

We had our second photo class outing last Saturday, and we spent it wandering downtown between Barclay Street & Cedar Street. We were working on getting good pics in the shade, and let me tell you, I do not enjoy it! The colors just always seem a bit off. Plus, we were going between shade & sun, so it was even harder. But I think it will help me when trying to take pictures up at grandpa's.

We also played with motion, and learned how to make a car seem like it's really moving. It's kind of fun to get different people/cars while everything around them is blurred.

Our professor also showed us how to do this thing with the zoom (he said it was popular in the 70s, but I may have to bring it back). It makes it look like a vortex sucking everything else in! I love it ;)

Seeing how reflections come out.

We had about an hour to walk around and take pics, and these construction workers were right on the corner.

We stumbled across a tourist group of Amish girls on our way back to the classroom.

Brooklyn Bridge

2009-06-04T07:24:00.004-07:00

Last weekend I went out for a 3 hour field trip with my photo class, instead of my weekly city walk (those will be continued this coming Monday). It was a gorgeous day, and we headed to the Brooklyn Bridge to learn about spot metering, using our aperture priority setting and figuring out what works, and what doesn't. Sadly, I realized (once I was home & had downloaded the pics) that my lens needed cleaning *sigh*

CityWalks #2 - LES to TriBeCa

2009-05-19T08:59:00.006-07:00

I started in the lower east side (LES) at Houston and Forsythe. Walking up and down, and east to west, I was shocked at how deserted the area is. Maybe because it's a Monday? I would still expect some bustle. There were some people, of course. Sitting in cafes reading a paper or just relaxing. Obviously locals in their daily routine. But I only passed a handfull of other visitors to the neighborhood. And even they seemed lost without a crowd.

There were these two awesome wall arts on Rivington - words about the LES and what it is.

What the LES was not lacking was closed shops. I counted 13 in just 14 very short blocks. Plus 4 more buildings that seemed newer and had maybe never had shops in them, and still don't now. It's so weird, and something I never would have imagined.

I stopped by the Tenement Museum, but a school group was going in and the tours they had open didn't start for hours. I'll have to plan ahead next time :)

After that I stumbled across BridgeGallery on Orchard. They were exhibiting a guy named Sydney Cash, who is doing light installations with just pieces of glass and lighting. They were kind of awesome.

It's amazing to find yourself moving from the LES into a part of Chinatown that actually feels like China, without even realizing it. My walk today took me to the part of Chinatown that tourists rarely, if ever, see. I was the only white person for blocks. I didn't hear English, and the signs were all printed in large Chinese characters, only sometimes followed by a small English translation. It was a great glimpse into what Chinatown really is.

From there I found myself in front of the courthouses, sharing a bench in the park with an old woman who just seemed to enjoy the day.

The next area I went to was TriBeCa. It was so sterile. Maybe it comes alive at night, but during the day it's just a bunch of people with two-level strollers and business guys walking around. It seemed incredibly clean for NYC (really, where's the trash?) and even though it's called "historic TriBeCa" all I saw were new restaurants, huge grocery stores and wide sidewalks. Maybe the buildings are historic, but that's about all.

It's so weird, because usually I hate the crowds of tourists on Prince, the unruly mobs on Broadway. But I welcomed Canal when I came back to it after TriBeCa, because it just felt more NY than most of the areas I had visited on my walk. So that's a good day - when I finally appreciate the crazy disaster that is Canal!

CityWalks #1 - Downtown

2009-05-16T18:17:00.007-07:00

So I've taken every Monday off from last week to the end of the summer (and I enjoyed it sooo much last week!). Basically they told us we need to use up our vacation. So I decided that each Monday (or at least most of them) I'm going to take a walk around a section of the city. I'm using my CityWalks deck as a basic jumping off point and then just exploring from there.

Last week - on my first walk - I started out at South Street Seaport and made my way through downtown to Battery City Park and up to WTC

I've only been to South Street Seaport a couple of times before - and always for a specific event. So I was a little shocked by how touristy and blah it is. There's a huge mall there and a ton of restaurants and shops. And that's about it. There are a couple of ships that I guess you can go on sometimes - but not on a Monday.

I sort of sped through downtown - been there, done that. And then I got to battery city park, which is still my favorite place in the city. I had my macro lens and got to use that a bit along the esplanade. And it was just a really great day!

Flowers along the esplanade - so close & detailed!

A little squirrel friend who was too brave for me - I totally backed down when he came at me!

Next up: The Lower East Side, City Hall and TriBeCa.

The 88

2009-05-14T14:58:00.001-07:00

Kate, Anna and I went to see an LA band called The 88 on Monday night. You have probably heard them and didn't even know it - their song "Coming Home" was on a Target commercial awhile back and "Sons and Daughters" is on Rockband!

Anyway, it was an awesome show at Piano's - one of my favorite venues in the city. Check out their website at www.the88.net

Travel Sites

2009-03-02T10:23:00.002-08:00

I love when a travel site adds something useful that also has a little something more than other sites. TripAdvisor just added a flight search to their website. Pretty standard, and I already love Kayak. But I checked it out anyway because, hey, I love TripAdvisor.

Well, in addition to the great format (slide bars for departure/arrival times, check boxes for other options) they also have a feature that tells you what you can expect to be charged in additional fees - for carry-on bags, in-flight entertainment & food. Which is kind of nice. It knew that Virgin America doesn't charge for a carry-on, but I'll spend $30 (!!) on American (among others). I love that! Now I can see how much I'll actually be paying for the entire trip. Yipee!

New Recipe - Spicy Skillet Chicken

2009-02-02T11:44:00.003-08:00

Finally made a new recipe! It is delicious. Kind of spicy, totally flavorful and easy as could be.

Spicy Skillet Chicken
4 servings

Ingredients
1 to 2 teaspoons chili powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/4 lb)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained, rinsed
1 can (11 oz) Green Giant® Mexicorn® whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, undrained
1/3 cup Thick 'n Chunky salsa
2 cups hot cooked brown rice

Instructions
1. Mix chili powder, salt and pepper. Sprinkle evenly over both sides of chicken. In 10-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add chicken; cook 8 to 10 minutes, turning once, until juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut (170°F).
2. Stir in beans, corn and salsa. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer 3 to 5 minutes or until vegetables are hot. Serve with rice.

Nutrition Information
1 Serving: Calories 460 (Calories from Fat 70); Total Fat 8g (Saturated Fat 2g, Trans Fat ncg); Cholesterol 75mg; Sodium 1020mg; Total Carbohydrate 66g (Dietary Fiber 9g, Sugars ncg); Protein 40g

Sigh. Read the bill

2009-02-02T11:35:00.002-08:00

A huge deal was made a week or so ago about $200 million spending included in the stimulus plan that would go toward providing contraceptive coverage. Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) denounced the spending, saying Republicans wouldn't back the spending on contraception. Media jumped on board, covering the story and repeating the $200 million price-tag from Boehner. Democrats even capitulated, and agreed to take that part of the stimulus plan out.

Now it seems that it was never part of the package to begin with. What Boehner saw was language that allowed Medicaid recipients to get as much pregnancy prevention coverage as they do coverage for actually being pregnant. Something that a number of states already do. The $200 million? That's projected savings to the states within 5 years.

Yeah - good job dude. If you want to read an article about it, check out Huffington Post. Not sure if we'll hear anything more about this. But we should.

So Much to Post!

2009-02-02T11:33:00.002-08:00

I seem to always find a ton of stuff to rant and rave about on the same day. So I'm separating them into different posts, even though they're all going up at the same time!

Awhile ago someone posted a comment on my site directing me to an online store that sells the "I Kinda Love New York" t-shirts that inspired my blog title. I clicked back to the author, and she is also an LA transplant with a less than whole-hearted love for NYC. Here's her blog: http://ikindaloveny.blogspot.com/. She's funny and compares the coasts, and actually finds things to enjoy about the city! Novel idea, that.

January in DC

2009-01-24T07:58:00.005-08:00

It's been a couple of weeks - I'm just slow getting my pictures together. But here are a few from DC.

On Monday Leif & I went to the National Portrait Gallery to see Shepard Fairey's "Hope" poster. It was awesome, and I never knew it was a collage before we got up close there.

Leif & Mary let me stay with them, which was fantastic. They live in Arlington, and we ended up walking from there to the Inauguration. It was so much fun. We were about 1/2 way down the Mall, between the Capitol & the Washington Monument, right next to the carousel.

What a Ride!

2009-01-07T13:39:00.002-08:00

An article directly from FirstRead - they are always entertaining!

With President Bush set to leave the White House less than two weeks from now, here's a "Then and Now" to show what the United States looked like when Bush was entering office and what it looks like now as he's leaving.

The "Then" is the best-available figure as Bush was taking office in 2001. The "Now" is the most recent figure.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
Then: 4.2% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, January 2001)
Now: 6.7% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, November 2008)

DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE
Then: 10,587 (close of Friday, Jan. 19, 2001)
Now: 9,015 (close of Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009)

BUSH FAVORABILITY RATING
Then: 50% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)
Now: 31% (12/08 NBC/WSJ poll)

CHENEY FAVORABILITY RATING
Then: 49% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)
Now: 21% (12/08 NBC/WSJ poll)

CONGRESS APPROVAL RATING
Then: 48% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)
Now: 21% (12/08 NBC/WSJ poll)

SATISFIED WITH THE NATION'S DIRECTION
Then: 45% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)
Now: 26% (12/08 NBC/WSJ poll)

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE (1985=100)
Then: 115.7 (Conference Board, January 2001)
Now: 38.0, which is an all-time low (Conference Board, December 2008)

FAMILIES LIVING IN POVERTY
Then: 6.4 million (Census numbers for 2000)
Now: 7.6 million (Census numbers for 2007 -- most recent numbers available)

AMERICANS WITHOUT HEALTH INSURANCE
Then: 39.8 million (Census numbers for 2000)
Now: 45.7 million (Census numbers for 2007 -- most recent available)

U.S. BUDGET
Then: +236.2 billion (2000, Congressional Budget Office)
Now: -$1.2 trillion (projected figure for 2009, Congressional Budget Office)

Fresh Inkpot

2008-11-14T12:33:00.002-08:00

We finally did it! Heather & I put the finishing touched on our new business website & got it up and running & sent out to friends & family. Check us out at:

http://www.freshinkpot.com/

We're selling 2 types of journals, and also a "letter from Santa" for kids. Kind of fun for the holidays! More to come. :)

Vibe

2008-10-30T10:45:00.003-07:00

I've had a hard time explaining what it is about Barack Obama that makes me not only want to vote for him, but believe in him. Of course, I agree with most of his policies. And for those I don't agree with him on, I know that John McCain wouldn't have anything better to offer. But I've felt much more connected in this election than I have in the last two (those I could have voted in).

My friend Maria gave me her Vibe magazine to read, because the editor, Danyel Smith, had once again written her endorsement for Obama, and he had written a letter back to Vibe readers. Her entire letter is here: http://www.vibe.com/magazine/editors_letter/2008/10/the_endorsement_vibe_magazine/

What really struck me though is this one sentence:
"We value freedome and aspire to be better than we are, and to live in a country that will be better than it is."

I think this sums up why Obama appeals to me so much. It's not about what he can get done in Washington, because no President ever has the power to do everything he wants (and honestly, that's a good thing). But his appeal is in what he wants to do, not only for the country, but for the younger generation who are finally seeing someone who gets them.

You Can Vote However You Like

2008-10-30T08:43:00.001-07:00

I love this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxlwYP0HNdc

Enjoy!

Goldwater Fights On

2008-10-24T11:59:00.002-07:00

I thought this was an interesting and insightful article from CC Goldwater, granddaughter of Barry Goldwater. Basically, she talks about why she will not be supporting McCain, despite the fact that she's a Goldwater and from Arizona.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cc-goldwater/why-mccain-has-lost-our-v_b_137150.html

Hopes & Dreams

2008-10-22T07:10:00.004-07:00

I just got a forward, with this picture & title of Barack Obama. Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE him. I am definitely pinning my hopes and dreams on his presidency. He just makes me believe in everything good that we are and can be. Sigh. I wish it was November 5 already.

---------------

What must it feel like?
To carry the hopes and dreams of millions in our country on your shoulders?

Home

2008-10-03T08:59:00.002-07:00

So I was reading www.wonkette.com (my fav political gossip site) and they had a link to some news spot called "Foreclosure Alley." It's a piece about what happens when a home is forclosed on, the companies that come in to clean them out, the city workers who have to empty the pools, even a guy who comes and spray paints the lawns green to give them more "curb appeal." It's sad. I'm at work, and had to stop the video around the 4:30 mark to give myself a couple of seconds. But it's worth watching, because this is what the economy is doing to people.

http://kcet.org/socal/2008/09/foreclosure-alley.html

Recap

2008-10-01T08:55:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile, and I've actually done a ton this summer! Sara & I took a cross country road trip adventure, and blogged all about it at http://backpack-adventures.blogspot.com/. I was home for a few days, which was great, and went to my friend Stephanie's wedding in Malibu. My sister Heather worked on a play called Winter, which was put on at The Culver Studios.

Overall, it was a great summer. But I just can't believe it's already October! I mean, wow.

Cragsmoor, NY

2008-07-22T06:46:00.005-07:00

This weekend I went up to Cragsmoor, NY, with my dad & grandpa. It's a small town on a mountain about 90 miles north of NYC, where my grandpa was born & lived until he was 18 and went off to college. My aunt Ann is looking to buy a house there now, so we went to check it out and see the village. We got to meet a bunch of people and see some pretty cool places all around the area.

This is the house my aunt wants to buy. It's got 2 bedrooms, a 1-bedroom cottage on the property and lots of land in the backyard. There's also a view of 2 separate mountain ranges. Oh, and I saw a snake out back when we were walking around - yikes!

The Ellenville Reformed Church, where my grandma and grandpa got married in 1941. The ceremony was actually in the portion of the building on the right of the church. The sign out front declares that the first service held here was in 1841.

We visited Mohonk Mountain House. It's this huge resort built in 1869 up in the mountains on Lake Mohonk. Lot's of activities (golf, hiking, swimming, horse-back riding, etc.) and beautiful views all around.

On Saturday we went to the annual Birdcage party in Cragsmoor. It's a benefit for the Cragsmoor Free Library, and everyone puts their donations in the birdcage hanging from the tree. Everyone brings a dish to set out and share, and it's held at a different home around town each year. This year it was at Tom Gale's house, next to the Stone Church.

When we got back to NY we went to visit Ellis Island. They have a great museum there to explore and learn more about the immigration process throughout the years.

On the boat over to Ellis Island.

Grandpa had the names of our relatives who came through Ellis Island put on the wall, so we spent some time finding them all.

MLK

2008-04-06T08:43:00.004-07:00

I know I'm a couple of days behind the 40th anniversary of MLK's assassination. But I was reading a comment on Wonkette, and it really reminded me of how much we lost. The commenter (is that a word?) pointed out that:

MLK was 26 when he organized the Montgomery Bus boycott, 34 when he gave his "I Have A Dream" speech, 35 when he won the Nobel Peace Prize and 39 when he was assassinated.

He always seemed older to me, probably because he did so much and was already such a legend.

Elephants on Parade (in NYC)!

2008-03-19T06:05:00.006-07:00

I've heard about Elephant Walk for a couple of years now, and this year a bunch of us decided we wanted to go. Even though it's at midnight. On a Tuesday. And they always run late.

Elephant Walk is that magical time of year when Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey's Circus comes into town. In order to get the elephants into town they walk them (and the horses) through the Queens-Midtown Tunnel and along 34th Street to Madison Square Garden.

So, back to this year. Sara, Kate, Sean & I were going to go. But then Sara got hurt (sad) and then Sean & Kate couldn't go. So I went on my own! I decided to just take the 6 straight up and stand at 34th & Park, which provided me with a beautiful view of the Empire State Building. Got a couple of good shots of it lit up and thought it would be a great backdrop for the elephants when they came. Yeah, I didn't realize it shuts off at midnight!

The elephants were late (of course) and didn't show up until close to 1 a.m. But it gave me some time to call and chat with my sister (hi Heidi!) and listen to the group next to me who thought it would be fun to discuss, in detail, every single tidbit they had ever heard about elephants. Did you know they can rip up trees with their trunks? And they mourn their dead. And also, their teeth grow in 10 year spurts (or something - I sort of tuned out about then).

Finally. The crowd down the street is going wild, flashes are going off, the elephants are coming! And then....they're gone. It was really just about that fast. My careful staging & planning completely went out the window when I realized it was a quicky elephant train, not a slow, lumbering, sauntering train that would allow me ample time to set up a shot, click off a couple of frames and move on to the next. So no tall building backdrops, no "34th & Park" signs behind the elephants, nothing like that. Just down and dirty quick shooting.

But they were super cute and they really do walk holding the tail of the one in front of them! Yay!

I have to cheer for Princeton now!

2008-02-19T09:02:00.002-08:00

I love, love, love this new program Princeton is looking at instituting. They want to send about 10% of their incoming freshman to do a year of service somewhere in the world-before they even get to school! It's basically a gap year, but they would help with financial aid and it would be set up through them. Genious! Why couldn't this have been in place when I went to college? Not that I would have gotten into Princeton, but still. I hope other universities follow suit. It makes so much sense, and could actually do some good-both in the foreign countries and for the kids going.

I do agree with some of the reader comments, though, that some domestic service would be nice as well. Maybe let kids choose?

Read the NY Times article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/19/education/19educ.html

Fun Little Game

2008-01-07T10:23:00.000-08:00

Thanks to DailyCandy I just came across this fun little game online called Free Rice. It's a vocab game (for all you nerds out there - and yes, I'm including myself in that) and for every word you correctly define the advertisers donate 20 grains of rice. It's kind of addictive and an easy way to give something. Yay!

Blondes

2007-10-26T06:18:00.000-07:00

Kate called last night and tempted me out to Bowery Ballroom for the Shout Out Louds show when her friend bailed on her. It was a lot of fun to get out and dance. Plus, the night was filled with Swedish fun. The band before them-Johnossi-was also Swedish and they were pretty good. And the Swedes came out in full force (directly from Sweden, I think)! There were huge groups of tall, blonde, die-hard fans all around us. Yay!

Check out the bands:
Shout Out Louds-http://www.myspace.com/shoutoutlouds
Johnossi-http://www.myspace.com/johnossi

Quote of the night: "I mean, what's the difference between Seattle & Sweden? More blondes."

Thanks dude in front of us in a shiny vest!

J&K Tie the Knot!

2007-08-09T20:45:00.000-07:00

Jeff & Kathleen got married on August 4 in Portland, OR, and the "Ladies of NY" (Kate, Anna & myself) were present to celebrate the weekend!

The NYC gang having some drinks at the Embassy Suites bar...together again!

Kate, Jeff & Anna at the wedding.

Kate & Kathleen

The happy couple celebrating the night!

Leif's Visit

2007-07-02T06:13:00.001-07:00

So my cousin Leif came up from DC to visit this weekend. We had a lot of fun, lots of food and did lots of walking...it was great!

Out from of the Met Museum we saw this guy doing a puppet show, dancing to the Pina Colada song!

Leif with one of the sculptures at the Met. We took a "museum highlights" tour and it was actually really interesting. Our guide was great and showed us some great pieces.

Another piece we saw.

Sunday we walked down to Chinatown and came across this parade of all different cultures and dances...it was odd, but really neat to watch.

More Mets Pics!

2007-06-28T07:59:00.000-07:00

I just remembered I got pictures from Kat & Christine too (Sara didn't even take her camera out of her bag...there was just too much excitement!).

Sara, Kat & I

Sara thanking "Mr. Delgado" for taking a picture with her.

Christine & Jose Reyes.

Christine, Sara & I.

Delgado & Kat!

Meet the Mets!

2007-06-26T15:47:00.000-07:00

That's what I did last Thursday! Sara's aunt got us 4 tickets to a charity auction thing, and we got autographs and pictures with the Mets & with Mr. Met himself (Sara was pretty excited about that).

Christine & Sara on the train to Greenwich, CT for the event...

and me & Kat on the other seats!

This is pretty much the feeling we had all evening...squee!!

This is me with Delgado - he plays first base & was awesome at joking with people and being so nice this night.

And with Jose Reyes. He's short stop & he signed my Reyes shirt.

Sara was VERY excited to meet Mr. Met, the mascot for the Mets.

On the left (in khaki) is Paul LoDuca - he's the catcher. And in the middle is Jose Reyes again.

Not a great pic, but I had to include David Wright (right) because Sara loves him...he plays third base. LoDuca is on the left again.

Delicious!

2007-06-24T15:33:00.000-07:00

So I made this Chili Con Carne and Sara couldn't even eat it (way too hot for her). I loved it though! It's hot, but a little sour cream helps cool it down. You could also put it over brown rice or have some bread with it.

Chili Con Carne
Makes 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

1 tsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (4 1/2 oz) can chopped green chilies
2 tbsp Cajun seasoning
1 lb ground skinless chicken breast
1 (28 oz) can Italian peeled tomatoes, chopped (tip: use kitchen scissors to chop them right in the can)
1 cup prepared salsa
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup chili powder (I used hot mexican style chili powder, and not quite a full 1/4 cup)
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 (15 oz) cans red kidney beans, rinsed & drained (I used a 15 oz and a 19 oz because that's what I had)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat a large nonstick saucepan over medium heat. Swirl in the oil, then add the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chilies and Cajun seasoning. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chicken and cook, breaking up the chicken with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 8 minutes.

2. Add the tomatoes with their liquid, salsa, water, chili powder, sugar & salt; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the flavors are blended and the chili thickens slightly, about 1 hour. Stir in the beans and cook until heated through.

NUTRITION

Per serving (1 1/3 cups): 247 calories, 4 g fat, 1 g sat fat, 42 mg chol, 1465 sodium, 31 g carbs, 11 g fiber, 23 g protein, 116 mg calc.

Disaster in the Kitchen!

2007-06-12T18:04:00.000-07:00

It's the third real recipe I've tried, and it was a disaster while I was making it. It actually turned out ok though, doesn't look pretty, but it tastes pretty good!

Chicken Negimaki
Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

4 (1/4 pound) skinless boneless chicken breast halves
4 scallions, dark green part only
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons canola oil

INSTRUCTIONS

PLACE a chicken breast between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. Pound the chicken to 1/4-inch thickness, using a meat mallet or bottom of heavy saucepan. Repeat with the remaining chicken. Arrange the chicken on a work surface with long side facing you, then top each with 1 of the scallions, lengthwise. Roll the chicken around the scallions, jelly-roll style, and secure with kitchen string at 1-ince intervals.

COMBINE the soy sauce, vinegar, ginger and garlic in a shallow bowl. Add the chicken rolls and toss well to coat. Cover and refrigerate, turning occasionally, at least 2 hours or overnight.

REMOVE the chicken rolls from the marinade; discard the marinade. Heat the oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken rolls and cook, turning often, until browned and cooked through, 10-12 minutes. Transfer the rolls to a cutting board and remove the string. Cut each roll into 6 pieces.

NUTRITION per serving (6 pieces)
146 calories, 5 g fat, 1 g sat fat, 0 g trans fat, 63 mg cholesterol, 131 mg sodium, 1 g carbs, 0 g fiber, 23 g protein, 16 mg calcium

Roast Asparagus and Plum Tomatoes
Makes 4 servings
WW Points: 1 per serving

INGREDIENTS

1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed an dcut into 4-inch lengths
1 1/2 pounds plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
2 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp white-wine vinegar
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

ARRANGE the oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

TOSS the asparagus and tomatoes with 1 tsp of the oil in a roasting pan. Arrange the vegetables in a single layer, with the tomatoes cut-side up. Roast until the tomatoes are lightly charred and the asparagus are just tender, 12-16 minutes, depending on the thickness of the asparagus.

MEANWHILE, combine the remaining 1 1/2 tsp oil, the vinegar, garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper in a cup. Transfer the vegetables to a platter and drizzle with the dressing

NUTRITION (serving size 1 cup)
78 calories, 4 g fat, 1 g sat fat, 0 g trans fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 163 mg sodium, 11 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 3 g protein, 23 mg calcium

Even though they weren't pretty, they actually turned out to taste pretty good! I will probably have to make more of the sauce (to dribble on the vegetables) because I also like it on the chicken. But still, not a bad dinner.

catch up

2007-06-10T11:07:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been awhile. No real reason, just not much to write. I've been to a couple of Mets games (thanks Kat & Sara) and am actually watching one right now! I love it. And that's about it.

I was also supposed to see my dad for a long weekend, but he got here on a Thursday and had to fly home Friday - he got some bad news about his heart health. So we're dealing with that (meaning Janne & my sisters are taking him to the doctor, visiting him, etc. and then calling to tell me all about it). But I just talked to him and he sounds pretty good. It was still sad that we didn't get to hang out for as long as we thought we would, but he was here for a night and the next morning, so we had a great dinner and breakfast.

Other than that, nothing new! I'm heading to Oregon in August and then Heidi & Judy (and Heather, if we can talk her into it) are heading out here after that. First time Heidi's visiting! Plus, Friday is a "summer friday" for me - 4 day week! I love those.

NYC

2007-05-06T00:28:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about how different new york is now from when i moved here 4 1/2 years ago. I realized it for the first time about a week ago. I was hanging out with Kate, and walking home from Washington Square Park I actually felt at home. Not just comfortable because I knew the street so well, where the different shops and restaurants were, even the vendors. But because it felt good to be walking down the street in NYC. It felt "normal."

When I first moved here I distinctly remember walking from my apartment to Broadway. That is a whopping 2 blocks from my house. It was a monumental moment in my life. I never walked in LA. I just drove everywhere, even to the store for a quick trip. So this was huge. Now I think nothing of walking 2 blocks, or 14. I've actually walked 60 some blocks before, and I thought it was a fun, nice night!

But it's more than that. I finally feel like i'm growing up, without trying to be grown-up. I realized this after a night out drinking (guess i'm not that grown up) when i got home and found that somehow all of my huge, plastic cups had disappeared, to be replaced by a matching set of 8 real glass glasses (thanks Jeff & Kathleen). How did this happen!? I loved my big cups that could be dropped, thrown, kicked or strewn about with no chance of being broken. Weird to think that cups would make me feel grown up, but they do. It's like I have real stuff now - furniture (mostly IKEA, but still nice), dishes, electronics, etc. I guess I've kind of become a grown up out here in NYC, without family nearby or college friends to guide me.

This is what happens when i actually let myself turn on the computer at 3:26 a.m. and type away. Oh well.

DC Madame

2007-05-01T06:52:00.000-07:00

I have issues with the whole "abstinence or nothing" policy of the Bush government, so this story just makes me squeal with glee. Deputy Secretary of State Randall Tobias resigned on April 27 (last friday) because he's been having a little fun with Madame Jeane Palfrey and her girls. This is the guy who directs all of our foreign aid programs. The programs that say recipients have to sign on to an abstinence only program in order to get treatments for HIV/AIDS, among other diseases. But this guy gets "massages." Hm. Kind of like my old roommate was a masseuse?

Here's the story on Slate.com: http://www.slate.com/id/2165259/nav/tap2/

New Recipe - Green Chili Chicken & Rice Skillet

2007-04-29T15:38:00.000-07:00

No more recipe of the week or month, since that obviously isn't happening! But this is a great recipe - I just made it tonight. And, once again, it's a dish all in one. I love those!

Green Chili Chicken & Rice Skillet
3 servings

1/2 cup chopped green peppers
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. olive oil
3/4 cup diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained
3/4 cup canned black beans, drained, rinsed
1 cup water
1 pkg. (6 oz.) OSCAR MAYER Southwestern Seasoned Chicken Breast Strips (I got a Perdue version - just something tasty)
1 cup instant brown rice, uncooked
1/2 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Reduced Fat Mild Cheddar Cheese

COOK and stir peppers and garlic in hot oil in large skillet on medium heat 3 min. Add tomatoes with their liquid, the beans and water; mix well. Bring to boil.

STIR in chicken and rice; cover. Simmer 5 min. -- I actually ended up cooking it for 7 minutes (just to get rid of a little more liquid) and I didn't need the cheese on top. It's good enough without (and that's coming from me!).

REMOVE from heat. Let stand, covered, 5 min. Sprinkle with the cheese.

Nutrition per serving (about 1 1/4 cups): Calories 330, Total Fat 9 g, Saturated Fat 3.5 g, Cholesterol 50 mg, Sodium 790 mg, Carbs 38 g, Dietary Fiber 6 g, Protein 24 g.

Meat on a Stick!

2007-04-01T16:02:00.000-07:00

Kat & I went out to Coney Island today - first time for both of us! It was a ton of fun. Our friend Jen is in a radical marching band called Rude Mechanical Orchestra, and they were out there duelling with other marching bands today!

I have to admit, Coney Island is a little bit sketchy. The entrances to the rides seem to be alleys more than entrys, and a lot of the rides were still not running (it was really cold out there). But we went on the Wonder Wheel, this ferris wheel that has cars that swing and move all over the place. And the Cyclone, a great old wooden roller coaster. I wouldn't stay after dark. Or really, anytime close to dusk even. But it was a great time anyway, and I was excited to go out. Plus, Kat got to have her first corndog (hence, the blog title).

The Wonder Wheel, complete with swinging cars

Jen playing the flute with Rude Mechanical Orchestra

Kat going toward the entrance to the Wonder Wheel...little bit sketchy if you ask me!

View from the Wonder Wheel to the boardwalk and beach

Cyclone! I love old, wooden roller coasters. I screamed the entire time (that's the fun of it all)!

Jen smiling during one of the marching band duels

Recipe of the Month - Turkey & Penne Casserole

2007-02-28T17:11:00.000-08:00

Yeah, that whole cooking a new recipe every week didn't work out, so now I'm aiming at once a month. And, as is probably evident, I like meals that come all in one dish, so that when I'm warming them up all week long I don't have to do anything more than toss it on a plate and microwave. So here's the newest!

Turkey & Penne Casserole
8 servings

Ingredients:
3 cups whole-wheat penne
2 tsp olive oil
1 lb. ground turkey (lean)
1 large onion, chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28-oz) can whole tomatoes, drained then broken up (I used 5 fresh tomatoes - whatever you have)
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp dried oregano (or 2 tbsp fresh chopped)
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9X13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.

2. Cook the penne according to package directions omitting the salt, if desired. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.

3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a nonstick Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the turkey and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 8 minutes. Add the onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, salt & pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 15 minutes. Stir in the oregano.

4. Add the turkey mixture to the penne; mix well. Stir in the ricotta and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella; transfer to the baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella. Bake until heated through and lightly browned, about 25 minutes.

Nutrition per serving (about 1 1/4 cups): Calories 306, Total Fat 7 g, Saturated Fat 3 g, Trans Fat 0 g, Cholesterol 53 mg, Sodium 474 mg, Carbs 37 g, Dietary Fiber 4 g, Protein 27 g, Calcium 235 mg.

To be honest, I would probably cut a little of the oregano and add some parsley and maybe some other herbs. But overall, I really like this dish! With a little side salad or fruit it's perfect!

Winter in LA

2007-02-27T10:51:00.000-08:00

I took a quick, 6-day trip to LA to meet up with my cousins Brennon & Allison. We spent time at the WB lot, especially at the Gilmore Girls set (this is the gazebo)...

and Central Perk from Friends.

Then we headed to Hollywood to see the stars and take a break at this oxygen bar at Hollywood & Highland!

We had brunch and spent the day at the beach.

One of the boats Herb's dad made for the art installation in Santa Monica.

Santa Monica Pier

And finally, we had a family bbq!

I would laugh...

2007-02-22T07:51:00.000-08:00

if these weren't true stories.

Today, the genius participants in the NYU College Republicans are staging an event called "Find the Illegal Immigrant." No, I'm not joking. They will be having a volunteer put on a nametage with "Illegal Immigrant" written on it. Other people will sign up to be INS officers, and will then find the illegal immigrant. The first to find him/her will win a prize. For finding a fake illegal immigrant. It's a game (apparently). Is anyone else as disturbed by this as I am? Does this make any sense at all? I can only see this leading to a lot of harassment and idiocy. Who thought this was a great idea?

On another immigration note, Kate just sent me a NY Times article about a "resort" in Mexico. You go down and they bring you on a 4-hour hike that mimicks crossing the border as if you were an illegal immigrant trying to make your way to America. Seriously. I guess it could be a good way to show what it takes to cross the border, but it just seems a little odd to me. Here's the story if you want to take a look.

Politics Already

2007-01-29T06:53:00.000-08:00

Well, we're a good 2 years from the 2008 elections, but we've already started in on it all. Not only have the candidates started announcing exploratory committees and their intentions to run, but we've started the smear campaigns too. Someone forwarded a ridiculous email to me about how Barack Obama went to a Muslim elementary school, and that must mean he's a vicious terrorist. My sister, Heidi, and I each responded to the sender alone, asking to not receive such emails anymore. But my sister Heather (a writer and teacher) wrote the following response to everyone who received the original email. The original email text is bolded and in black, and her research/comments are in red...

-----------
To my friends, family, and anyone out there interested in truth...

There is a tragically ill-informed email making the rounds. The fact that someone I know actually emailed this to a family member of mine just made me sick. I had to respond.

In this day and age, you wouldn't think that people would believe everything they get by email and then mindlessly forward it, but it seems to happen. Frankly, I had an 8th grader write a much better, more comprehensive, factual paper. And I notice that no one wanted to claim their work--my student also knew to put his name on his paper.

So below is the original email (written in black), and I have added researched corrections (in red) with citations.

Heather

Barack Hussein Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to black Muslim Barack Hussein Obama Sr. of Nyangoma-Kogelo, Siaya District, Kenya, (the late Barack Obama Sr. was a Muslim-raised but non-religious Kenyan economist) and White (no caps needed, for emphasis or other; colors don't need to be capitalized) atheist, (actually a Secular Humanist meaning "non-religious." This group works to separate Church and state, a goal astutely implemented by the religious founders of our country, http://www.enterstageright.com/archive/articles/0804/0804obamafaith.htm)Ann Dunham of Wichita, Kansas. When Obama was two years old, his parents divorced and his father returned to Kenya (not exactly a sloucher though; his father "stopped by" Harvard to grab a PhD first. Then he returned to Kenya, Wikipedia.)

His mother married Lolo Soetoro, a Muslim as well, moving to Jakarta with young Obama, when he was six years old. Within six months he had learned to speak the Indonesian language Obama spent "two years in a Muslim school, then two more in a Catholic school" in Jakarta . (Obama attended Catholic school and public school [I don't know the statistics of the number of Muslims or Catholics in that public school, but then again, I don't know that statistic for L.A. public schools either] from ages 6 to 10. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/. So is he less of an American due to the fact that, by the ripe old age of 10, he was educated in Jakarta and had a predominantly public and Catholic education? You know Kennedy must be rolling over in his grave.)
Obama takes great care to conceal the fact that he is a Muslim. (so... just how did this person "uncover" this tidbit when I cannot find one encyclopedia entry or reliable biography to confirm it? In fact, here's what I did find--a quote by Obama: "...that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity United Church of Christ one day and be baptized." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama)

Mitigating that information, by saying that for two years, he attended a Catholic school. (I'm trying very hard to ignore incomplete sentences and other grammatical hazards.)
Obama's father, Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. was a radical Muslim who migrated from Kenya to Jakarta, Indonesia . He met Obama's mother, Ann Dunhamat the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Obama's spin- meisters are now attempting to make it appear that Obama's introduction to Islam, came from his father and that influence was only temporary, which is true. (Great sentence. Okay, I have to say it... The author's lack of an antecedent for "which is true" makes him/her sound like a complete idiot.) Obama Sr. returned to Kenya immediately following the divorce and never again had any direct influence over his son's education. But, Lolo Soetoro, Ann Dunham's second husband, educated his stepson Barack Hussein Obama, as a good Muslim by enrolling him in one of Jakarta 's Wahabbi schools. (When? For how long? Or is this referring to what was actually the public school? Barack was enrolled in an expensive prep school in Hawaii from 5th through 12th grades. All of his college work--Occidental, Columbia, Harvard Law School--was accomplished in the U.S. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama) Wahabbism is the radical teaching that created the Muslim terrorists, who are now waging Jihad on the industrialized world. (Thanks for the history lesson, but are we really supposed to take a leap with these random connections?) Since it is politically expedient to be a Christian when you are seeking political office in the United States , Obama joined the United Church of Christ, "to help purge any notion that he is still a Muslim." (Again, citations are critical. Could this in any way possibly be the author's assumption rather than recorded fact? I did not find it recorded anywhere.)

PASS THIS AROUND FOLKS !!!
Sure will! And I hope anyone else who passes this on includes my clarifications, any other citations worthy of note, and/or corrections. Otherwise, this email distinctly smells of prejudice against Muslims, hysteria, and perverse Republican propaganda.
I hope we've all learned a lesson about word choice, error by omission, and media slant.
Any questions class?

--------------------
When I got this I tried to take away my bias toward Obama (Yes, I'm an Obama groupie. Yes, I squeal with joy every time I get an email from him/his exploratory committee). So I tried to take away those feelings and make sure I wasn't just annoyed at an email that seemed to present some credible evidence against him. But no, this email doesn't do that. It is made up, and draws conclusions that are, at best, uneducated, and at worst, flat out racist and innaccurate.

You can find Obama's discussion with ABC News here - http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=2823943&page=1. They did some actual research (i.e. visited the school in question) and found that there is no basis to this information.

Can we please have a clean campaign? For once I would love to listen to what the candidates think of the issues, without this crap being thrown at us every 2 minutes. It won't happen, but we can always dream.

Recipe of the Week - Bruschetta Chicken

2007-01-27T17:08:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I don't cook much. And this could be the one and only time I post up a recipe. But I did cook tonight and it was actually good! Most of the time it's not the best. So here it is:

Makes 6 servings.

14 1/2 oz diced tomatoes, undrained
1 box stove top stuffing (just the mix, don't add anything)
1/2 cup water
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tsp dried basil
1 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese

Instructions

PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Place undrained tomatoes in medium bowl. Add stuffing mix, water and minced garlic; stir just until stuffing mix is moistened. Set aside.

PLACE bite-size pieces of chicken in 13x9-inch baking dish; sprinkle with the basil and cheese. Top with stuffing mixture.

BAKE 30 min. or until chicken is cooked through.

Nutrition (per serving): Calories 310, Total fat 7g, Saturated fat 3g, Cholesterol 80mg, Sodium 710mg, Carbohydrate 25g, Dietary fiber 2g, Sugars 4g, Protein 33g, Vitamin A 10%DV, Vitamin C 15%DV,
Calcium 20%DV, Iron 15%DV.

If you've made any good recipes lately, pass them on!

Lighting Up

2007-01-09T18:42:00.000-08:00

Nope - not a blog about smokers (though I know quite a few).

Instead, follow this link to the darfur wall. It's a website with numbers 1 through 400,000 on boxes that represent each person who has been killed in Darfur. For $1 you can light up one name...more money, more names lit. The proceeds are split between 4 great Darfur charities.

McCarthy? Is that you?

2006-12-07T11:02:00.000-08:00

So in reading one of my fabulous work related papers (The Chronicle of Higher Education) I came across an article about a new law passed in Ohio in April 2006. It's their very own Patriot Act, with some startling (read: disturbing) items. The one discussed is that all state agencies (including professors & employees at public universities) have to answer a list of questions about the organizations they support and swear that none of them are on the US Department of State Terrorist Exclusion List. If the person applying for the job, license, etc. does not answer or answers that yes, they do support one of these organizations, then that person will not get the job. And will probably be unable to get a job anywhere, in Ohio at least.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but we now learn in high school that McCarthyism wasn't really all that great. So how is it that a state can get away with doing essentially the exact same thing now, in 2006? There is a lot about the current political climate that scares me, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. But I am. More than that, I'm wondering just how long it will take for one of our lovely senators to pick this up and run with it on the national level.

Good-Bye

2006-11-30T11:01:00.000-08:00

It's weird, growing up, how you start losing the people in your life. Sometimes it's death, like lately. In the last few years I've lost my grandma (the only one I ever knew), my cousin and my grandpa. With each I felt like I lost something specific. My grandma loved to travel, and would tell me about going around the world in her 20s. My favorite conversation with her was when I was traveling in Singapore. We were talking and she asked how I liked it. I said it was nice, but very clean. She answered (this 80-something year old woman) that it was indeed clean, and very sterile. She preferred Beijing, where there are tons more people, pollution and, in her opinion, more life. That was my grandma.

Next was my cousin, just recently. I didn't know him well. For most of my life he lived 3,000 miles away. But I saw him in summers and he was young and left two daughters behind. It was one of those deaths that shocks everyone and doesn't have any explanation. Literally. There are no results in on what actually happened. One day he was here, the next he wasn't. It was the first funeral I ever went to. For my grandma we just had a memorial service. When my stepfather died I was in Asia, and it was expected, so I didn't come home. But for my cousin, I went to be with family.

And finally, the latest, my grandpa. For some reason this hit me hardest of all, even though he was 95 and it was expected. Maybe after the year we've had it just didn't seem real. I went for his funeral too. And was a pallbearer, which might be the single best way to say good-bye to someone that I've experienced. You get to take them out of the church, away from the crowd of people, and send them on their way to the cemetary.

Observation

2006-11-02T05:36:00.000-08:00

Griffith Observatory opens up again Friday, after 5 years of being closed. Since I won't be there to see it right away I'm enjoying this list - Griffith Observatory by the Numbers:

2 Number of planetariums built in the U.S. before Griffith. (Chicago and Philadelphia came first in the early 1930s.)

Nearly 70 million Estimated number of observatory visitors since its 1935 opening.

7 million Estimated number of visitors who have looked through the 12-inch Zeiss telescope on the roof.

75 Feet in diameter of the planetarium's dome.

1,134 Observatory's height in feet above sea level.

30,000 Cubic yards of dirt dug up to make way for the new bottom level.

3 Number of projectors that have served in the planetarium since opening (one from 1935 to 1964, another from 1964 to 2002, and the current one).

4 Number of directors who have served in the observatory's top job since opening (one from 1935 to 1958, another from 1958 to 1969, another from 1969 to 1974, and the current one).

50 Estimated number of astronomically themed ties owned by director Edwin Krupp.

200 Number of leaks in the building before renovation, as estimated by Krupp.

26 million Number of non-government dollars raised by the Friends of the Observatory toward the $93-million renovation.

8,000 to 10,000 The building's daily visitor capacity, depending on hours.

0 Observatory-adjacent parking spaces during opening months.

For other Observatory info go to the LA Times section here.

Let's Go Mets!

2006-10-19T06:40:00.000-07:00

Sara took me to Game 6 last night of the Mets v Cardinals playoffs...and we won!! Just one game to go.

There were even some brave Cardinals fans in the section next to us - they had some words with the Mets boys above them.

Jose jose jose...
Reyes hit the first homer of the night so we got to sing his song all night long!

Mr. Met came out to greet the fans and make everyone smile.

2006-10-09T12:37:00.000-07:00

Free Hugs Campaign

Seriously - I would love to see someone doing this in NYC. I can't imagine the response they would get. Maybe I'd be surprised!

Meet the Mets

2006-09-25T14:12:00.000-07:00

So on Friday Kat, Maria & Sara got me to go to my first ever Mets baseball game. Now, I haven't been to a baseball game in years - no, probably decades. So I was a little bit hesitant to go. But I have to say, we had a great time! Even though the Mets lost it was a fun game, a great time with good friends and plenty of beer. Thanks girls!

Happy 90th Birthday Grandpa!

2006-09-22T06:35:00.000-07:00

Finally, some pictures from my (quick) trip home last weekend. Really, 3 days to go from NYC to LA and back again is just not enough. Especially when 12 hours of that is spent on a plane. Ugh!

But the party was great with a live band and lots of family and friends.

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Travel Sense

2006-09-20T14:09:00.000-07:00

I love DailyCandy. Aside from being the perfect distraction from work and providing great deals each and every week, they send out fabulous lists like this one: all about traveling and the tips that will make it easier (or at least reminds you to keep your cool if something crazy happens).

Do as We Say, Not as We Did
We’ve lost luggage, overspent on almonds, been arrested in Puerto Rico, and offended our foreign hosts — all so you don’t have to. Herewith, DailyCandy’s travel commandments.

Don’t pay for luggage carts. Walk outside and grab one that someone left curbside.

Wear socks or be forced to walk through the metal detector barefoot.

If you pack your “personal massager” in your carry-on bag, it will most certainly get searched.

Remember, Europe’s on the metric system so calories don’t count.

The time spent at a cultural event should be inversely proportional to the time spent at the cafe next door.

Tip well. If you’re American, tip even better.

You’re not a traveler if you can’t haggle; you’re a tourist. But you’re also not a traveler if you haggle for six hours; you’re a cheap bastard.

When disaster strikes — and it will — relax. Remember: It’s all part of the adventure and will make for a great story later.

You are far more likely to get in an accident while driving a rented car. Get the insurance.

When in Rome, go topless. But when in Puerto Rico, wear a shirt. Trust us. (It’s illegal.)

A language barrier is not an obstacle; it’s an excuse to avoid small talk and gesticulate wildly.

Learn some local geography: Sweden and Norway are not “real close.”

Learn some local slang: One country’s tobacco is another country’s hash.

You call it a romantic three-day weekend; the airlines call your Friday night departure a sitting duck. Keep a plan B at point A just in case a jauntily named storm comes between you and paradise.

If you order coffee in your hotel room, ask for it in a to-go cup. It’s a much bigger serving, especially if cappuccino or latte.

Buy your own water at the nearest convenience store. You’re a true sucker if you pay for the bottles in the room.

Step. Away. From. The minibar. Have it locked if you cannot restrain yourself.

The Eiffel Tower is great and all, but it’s not officially a vacation unless there’s a beach and an umbrella drink. (I do disagree with this commandment - I think a beach & umbrella is great, but I would say it's not a vacation without a little adventure and a big backpack).

Birthday Flowers (& a balloon)

2006-08-31T11:05:00.000-07:00

Finally, pics of my flowers - aren't they pretty!

Happy Birthday to Meeeee!!

2006-08-30T12:57:00.000-07:00

Well, coming off a singularly horrid weekend this birthday is going to be pretty mellow. No plans tonight, and tomorrow is just karaoke with work people to say farewell to a few who are leaving.

On an up-note, I got a gorgeous bouquet of roses - all colors - for my birthday (thanks J), along with a happy birthday balloon with a train on it. Pictures will be up tomorrow - didn't bring my connection cord today.

And Sara moves in this weekend (Monday) which gives me enough free time to enjoy it and also clean up a little.

I guess with every bit of bad comes some good.

Farewell Pluto

2006-08-22T07:15:00.000-07:00

It looks like all of the science books just went out of date...way to go scientist guys.

Can they really just do that? I mean, Pluto has been a planet for as long as I remember (actually, since it was discovered in 1930). How can they just decide that it's not anymore? So weird. Here's the story at BBC.

Mexico!!

2006-08-04T18:01:00.000-07:00

Well, I just found an internet cafe in Guatemala that can read my memory card (I´ve already filled my 1 GB and started on my 2 GB) so they put them on disc for me. Here are a few pictures from my trip so far...

sara & I in chitchen itza - our first ruins and great ones at that!

Local girls in Merida performing traditional dances.

Heidi - a couple of local kids for you. They were asking for pesos and running around the hillside like it was nothing, while we were all out of breath and scared of...

this suspension bridge! It shook a lot, especially when the kids ran across it and around us!

And finally, a kid rowing a ¨boat¨

Farewell

2006-07-25T14:22:00.000-07:00

It is a sad, sad day today. Jeff & Kathleen are leaving NYC for Oregon tonight (actually, right about now), and they won't be coming back. We went out for a farewell last night to El Rey del Sol & then the Coffee Shop in Union Square.

I was feeling so grown-up, and not really sure why. And then I realized that it's just because they decided to leave all on their own, no parents moving them across the country or anything. They just left. It sucks to be grown-up. I don't want to do it anymore.

Mexican food, margaritas and great friends are so great!

Goodbyes are sad.

Ohio Family

2006-07-13T06:59:00.000-07:00

Ohio was great last week! I was there with my mom, and it was fun to see the family, lay out by the pool and just relax a little.

Mom & Aunt Peg looking for seeds

An old shed that belonged to family. The house stood behind this, where all those trees are now!

Aunt Linda & mom on top of the Indian Mound.

Me, mom, Uncle Phil & Aunt Linda on Shrum Mound.

Brennon, Sara & I at the 4th of July fireworks (on July 3)!

Mom & Aunt Cathy at mom's cocktail night before Reunion.

Brennon & I at Knotty Pine, while spying on mom & Aunt Cathy.

Grandpa!

Educate Me

2006-06-23T11:58:00.000-07:00

There have been an avalanche of articles lately about the LAUSD and how it should be run in the future. After trying to get absolute control, L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa came to a compromise with the teachers' union. He gets veto power over the superintendent, teachers and principles get more authority in how they teach the material they need to cover, and the LAUSD board would lose most of it's budget power. This LA Times article discusses the deal, and reactions to it, in depth.

I get why some people are pissed about the takeover. It's not being done Democratically (Villaraigosa went straight to the Legislature - no voting by the districts) and it takes all the power away from the board, which they can't be happy about. But when you look at the issues LAUSD is facing, you can't blame Villaraigosa for wanting to try something new. In this wonderful article the LA Times discusses how the exit exam all high-schoolers have to take can be failed, and the student will still graduate!! The entire point of the exit exam is to make sure they're prepared. Passing them anyway WILL NOT HELP THEM!!! If the schools are not preparing students for the test, it won't help to remove the test itself. Maybe we should look at improving the schools. Just a thought.

And finally, I have never heard about this program before today. Apparently there's a program called Educational Options, which is aimed at getting dropouts back into school and through graduation. This article focuses on how it's been mostly ignored by both Villaraigosa and Romer (the superintendent), but how it really is working. An interesting program that could really work if promoted and funded correctly.

I'll leave you with this. In the December Educational Options newsletter there was this fabulous little story:

The Teacher

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued: "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided the best option in life was to become a teacher?"

He reminded the other dinner guests that it's true what they say about teachers: "Those who can: do. Those who can't: teach." To corroborate, he said to another guest: "You're a teacher, Susan," he said. "Be honest. What do you make?"

"I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I can make a C+ feel like they've just been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor and an A- feel like a slap in the face if the student did not do his or her very best."

"I can make kids sit through 40 minutes of study hall in absolute silence."

"I can make parents tremble in fear when I call home."

"You want to know what I make?"

"I make kids wonder."

"I make them question."

"I make them criticize."

"I make them apologize and mean it."

"I make them write."

"I make them read, read, read."

"I make them spell 'definitely & beautiful' over and over again, until they will never misspell either one of those words again."

"I make them show all their work in math and hide it in their final drafts in English."

"I elevate them to experience music and art and the joy in performance, so their lives are rich, full of kindness and culture, and they take pride in themselves and their accomplishments."

"I make them understand that if you have brains, then follow your heart...and if someone ever tries to judge you by what you make, you pay them no attention."

"You want to know what I make?"

"I make a difference."

"What do you make?"

Contributed by Mark Leos, AP, Fairfax HS, to Educational Options Newsletter.

La Copa de la Vida

2006-06-21T08:28:00.000-07:00

That's right, I'm quoting a Ricki Martin song. And that is because it's World Cup time!! I have been completely obsessed and engrossed since June 9 with who is playing, winning and going to the next round. I'm happy to report that Sweden secured a spot in the second round yesterday with a tie against England (go family homeland). And I am currently jumping out of my seat hoping that Mexico gets through. They're down right now, but could still pull it off.

So far I haven't actually taken any days off of work for matches - just gone to bars for lunchtime to see the games! Tomorrow is the US, so my lunchtime will be 11-12 to see the second half. Go US!!

Other than World Cup madness, not much to report. I have a new roommate, Joanna (I'm still trying to get in touch with the one who skipped out on May 31) and she is fabulous. Totally cool and laid-back. Plans for tonight: trivia at Pete's Candy Shop with Joanna. We came in 13th overall last week, but we've got plans for pumping up our trivia knowledge and placing better this week. Basically, the plan is to read the NY Post - which they referred to an unhealthy amount of times last week. That's not real news people. But if it gets us a better spot in trivia night, I'll sacrifice and read it once a week.

MOMA

2006-06-09T07:49:00.000-07:00

Last night was the AICP annual party at MOMA. A fun night for everyone to get together and celebrate the commercials that were great throughout the year. The show ran a little long (we didn't get out of there until 10) but it was a fun night. Gay & Sara went with me and we had a blast.

Here we are starting out the night...

and the huge crowd of people from above.

Checking out the art in MOMA...they opened up a couple of floors to explore.

And really, should they have been letting us go look at great art when they had open bars? I think not...

Find Out

2006-05-31T08:39:00.000-07:00

There's a search engine (powered by Yahoo!) that is called Good Search. You can choose a charity you like, and each time you do a search through them they give $0.01 to that charity. I know, it sounds like so little. But honestly, I do tons of searches every day for the stupidest things, so even that will add up. So check out their website and see if they can find what you're looking for.

The Modern

2006-05-25T06:25:00.000-07:00

Well I had the best graduation celebration last night. Gay took me to The Modern - that nice restaurant at MOMA. 4 hours and 7 courses later (plus petits fours and a special graduation dessert) we were stuffed!

It was great. They brought out a special pistacio chocolate concoction on a plate that had "Congratulations" written on it in chocolate and it was just all wonderful. And can I just say "chocolate tart." I highly recommend it.

We had a table looking out on the sculpture garden and the restaurant itself is fabulous. The best part was that when we sat down Gay knew the man who would be serving us (she apparently goes there enough to know people). Then, another guy came out and she knew him too! He had helped her get the table last minute. She is so connected!

Down Dog

2006-05-23T07:59:00.000-07:00

My sister Heidi is giving away the fabulous Mommy & Baby Yoga DVD she produced. That's right. If you see "An Inconvienient Truth" and send the ticket stub to her all you pay is shipping. Sound too good to be true? Well check it out at the Down Dog Productions website. This offer only lasts through May 2006 - so hurry!

And don't you just love the logo!

Tassles

2006-05-12T13:47:00.000-07:00

And finally (a week later) here are some pictures from graduation. They let me walk even though my thesis isn't due until August 1 (the fools). And Kathleen went to Washington Square Park with me yesterday to take some nice pictures of me with my hood and the whole outfit. Very fun.

me and the arch in Washington Square Park

Felicia snapping her fingers at me in line

Me in the park (again)

The Three Graduates - Alicia, Alex & I at Grad Alley

Sheetal & I at Lincoln Center for graduation

Art City

2006-05-11T08:03:00.000-07:00

In Florida I also spent some time exploring the Art Deco in South Beach. Lots of places to see and great design.

Gators and Sunshine

2006-05-09T11:14:00.000-07:00

Well, thanks to work I got to go down to Key Biscayne & Miami, FL last week/weekend. They sent me on a 3-day conference to learn more about my job and how to do it well. That was all nice, but the best part was staying at a beach resort for 3 nights! Of course, that led to me having a little too much fun on the beach after the conference let out Friday. I'm more red than tan, but I still hold out hopes that it will fade to a lovely shade of brown. After the conference I moved into a $20/night dorm bed in South Beach (work stopped paying at that point). It was on a little pedestrian street called Espanola Way with great little shops and restaurants all around.

And only 2 blocks from the beach - which I visited, but only after the sun went down.

I also got to go out to the Everglades - about 45 minutes from South Beach - and see alligators and turtles and other wildlife. We rode in a fan boat and got to watch some Gator Wrestling too!

All in all, a great trip!

Waves of People

2006-05-02T09:19:00.000-07:00

I ran into another protest Monday after class. I came down into this massive sea of people coming down Broadway (again) - this time to protest the harsh immigration laws currently being kicked around in Congress. For an article and pictures of what went on in LA check out this article in the LA Times. The photo galleries are amazing, there were so many people. They also have a great article on what political ramifications the protests might have.

Protest City

2006-04-30T09:12:00.000-07:00

So there was an anti-war protest on Saturday that I ran into after going to Cuban for breakfast and then shopping all morning with Ann & Isabel. It was cool to see Broadway completely shut down for this mob of people going by.

Dad's in Town!

2006-04-26T07:15:00.000-07:00

Well, he's actually flying out today. But we had a great time and some great food (always). We found this little Italian place called Bianca at 5 Bleecker Street. It is amazing! Not expensive at all, a tiny little hole in the wall with fantastic food - everything from mussels to artichoke to lasagna to ricotta cheesecake. Oh, it was great!

That was last night, though. Their first night in town Ditte and I met them at their hotel and we went for dinner at Sasha Bakery, then headed back to the bar on top of the Gansevoort. It was a fun place to hang out.

Dad & I at the hotel bar

Janne & Ditte

In the bay window seat the rooms have - it's right out over the street!

Hanging out upstairs

Funeral Protests

2006-04-18T11:59:00.000-07:00

How can people feel like it's right to protest at someone's funeral? Have you heard about this? There is a group - from Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas - that is going to the funerals of soldiers to protest. They say that the soldiers are being killed because America is a nation of sinners and we no longer believe in God and so he is killing our soldiers. What if the soldiers believe in God? Doesn't that earn them the right to live?

The good part of all of this is a group called the Patriot Guard Riders. They go to the funerals of soldiers so that if the protest groups show up they can peacefully and respectfully shield the grieving families from their horrible signs and chants. At least someone in this country understands how horrid these protesters are.

The full story is in the NY Times on April 17 - I don't know how long it will stay up for free. Read it while you can.

Making Eye Babies

2006-04-11T12:41:00.000-07:00

That's right - eye babies. Apparently, at Pensacola Christian College if you stare too intently into the eyes of someone of the opposite sex you are "making eye babies." You can even be expelled at Pensacola for doing that. It's also referred to as "optical intercourse."

Ah, the things these unaccredited, lying to new applicants, freakish schools come up with.

If you want to read about more of the bad, bad things that will get you expelled, check out this article in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Congrats!

2006-04-06T18:56:00.000-07:00

My cousin Isabel just got into the college she wanted to go to here in NYC!! Which means she's moving here in August and will be close by always! It's so exciting getting into the college you wanted to go to. It seems like forever ago that I was applying (to 10 schools no less) and visiting all of the schools I wanted to go to.

And now she's looking at the dorms to see which one she'd like the most. Dorms people!! Ah, the days of coming home to your roommate having sex, people pulling fire alarms every single night and drunken frat parties. Can't wait to see how she does!

UN

2006-04-05T05:30:00.000-07:00

I've been spending a lot of time up at or near the UN. A few weeks ago I went up to the Turkish Embassy for a discussion on Careers in NGOs. Basically, I need to learn a second language. And since I've tried before (Spanish) and it didn't take (after 4 years) I'm not sure that will happen. But once I'm done with school and my thesis I may take an intensive class - just to give it one more shot.

Then, I went up to the UN for UNA-USA Members Day. It was a long, long day. But it was an interesting panel including Jan Eliasson, President of the General Assembly. When I find my camera cord, I will have pictures from around the UN to put up!

The Graduate

2006-03-09T09:35:00.000-08:00

I get to walk across the stage in May & get my diploma! These crazy administrators are letting me participate in graduation even though my thesis isn't due until August. I'm so excited! Cap & gown, fake diploma, tassles, the whole works. And this year we get to do it all in Shea Stadium. That's right, we're going out on the field. Apparently some people are planning to take balls & gloves out and toss a few around after the ceremony, too. I guess the one time you're on the field of Shea Stadium it's kind of mandatory!

Cheeky

2006-02-28T07:33:00.000-08:00

A story I didn't even hear about until after the Olympics was that Joey Cheek, who won a gold and a silver in speed skating, donated his bonus money ($40,000 total) to an organization called Right to Play. It helps kids to learn and grow through sports and play. His money is going to help kids in the Sudan. He's gotten companies to match his donation, and is now over $300,000.

What a great way to end the Olympics - it's so fitting.

New Roomie!

2006-02-22T19:00:00.000-08:00

Well, I've had to look for a new roommate once again. Jen decided she wanted to be able to have people over a lot more than I really want her to. So she's moving out on Saturday and Emily is moving in. She's a fun girl who is really mellow and laid back. Heather, I got a reference and called to check her out. Her old roommate had nothing but good things to say about her. Plus, she's a chef. Really. She trained at the French Culinary Institue and now cooks at a restaurant in the city. So if I get any good recipes I will pass them on!

MAS*H

2006-02-16T11:10:00.000-08:00

The US Army has apparently done away with MASH units in favor of CASH units, which are more mobile. When I came across this article on BBC News it just made me think of laughing with my mom, because my mom loves the TV show M*A*S*H and I grew up watching every single episode.

Let it Snow!

2006-02-14T05:06:00.000-08:00

Blizzard 2006 is here! I can't believe how much snow fell yesterday -
everything is covered in snow and still looking beautiful. Tomorrow
I'm sure it will all be slush. Got to Washington Square Park today to
take some pics!

(this one is just so you see how high the snow it!)

Let the games begin!

2006-02-12T18:08:00.000-08:00

I love the winter olympics! I'm not sure what it is, but the last few olympics I've gotten really into them, and this year is living up to the excitment. Shaun White just made it into the finals in snowboarding, even though he fell on his first run. He came back and got the HIGHEST score in the final placements! So exciting.

Title...

2006-02-10T16:48:00.000-08:00

So my blog title, a little odd, I know. But it's one of my favorite quotes from a T-shirt vendor on Prince Street. And it's so true. NY is obnoxious, loud, rude and just a little nuts. But I'll really miss it when I leave. There's something oddly compelling about this place. It's not true love. It's kinda love.

SuperBowl Sadness

2006-02-08T11:16:00.000-08:00

Texting family and friends about the sad, sad game.

At least there's beer!

Get mad and hang your heads in shame, Seattle.

Having no real loyalty to either team I decided to go in with friends from the Pacific Northwest and cheer for Seattle on Sunday. It was so sad to see those Steelers go on and steal the game. But we headed to DBA and had some good eats from Paul's, so that sort of made up for it all!