My First Black Friday

I hate crowds and mom had instilled a fear of Black Friday upon me at an early age. Doris and her friend would fearlessly head off to the mall while I stayed at home, ate, and watched news shows on how insane it was at the malls.

Since I took Wednesday off, I went into the office today. There was nobody on the road so I got into the city before 8 AM. I had tried to find a Wii Fit for M's mom this week and the guy at Circuit City said they'd be in on Friday. It was warm so I decided to walk to work and try and pick up a Wii Fit.

Past the huge crowd of screaming girls (I think the Jonas Brothers were nearby), I slipped into the Toys R Us and it was not crowded at all. Yes, there lots of people with 5-6 huge Toys R Us bags but in the game section, lines were maybe 8-10 people deep. They did not have Wii Fit, so I continued on my way after gazing longingly at the 60 ft ferris wheel. I don't know why but I really love it. I think I'd ride the little orange car.

I headed to the Circuit City and there were tons of Wii Fits for retail price (we've seen them for $150 online). I picked one up for M and was out the door in less than 10 minutes. Not bad.

And work is blissfully quiet. I can't wait to get some stuff done and head back home to take M and mom out for mom's birthday dinner.

Music for Class

I'm hiding in my room from the Rock Band drumming going on downstairs. I normally don't listen to music but thought I'd put something on while I'm working on holiday presents and find music for class at the same time.

I'm really liking:
- Swing, Savage
- The Game, Lil Wayne
- Live Your Life, T.I. (feat. Rihanna)
- Uh Huh, Alfamega
- Got Money, Lil Wayne

Thanksgiving

Happy thanksgiving, all!

Despite the lack of men-folk (Dad in Taiwan, P and G working), we had a very successful Thanksgiving with lots and lots of good things to eat and drink. There was beer and sparkling cider from the baby shower. We had beer marinated duck, pork, tofu and egg, sauteed Chinese watercress, Old Bay and beer shrimp, Thai basil clams, duck soup, amazing stuffing, mac-n-cheese (made from cheese from the baby shower), Chinese pastry that J brought and apple crisp for dessert. Basically, my favorite Chinese food and Thanksgiving side dishes. I think I can eat butter! I think it went well, see food coma photo below.


I had taken the day off on Wednesday to prepare and will likely continue that tradition. It was so great to do all the grocery shopping in peace and quiet, and come home and prepare for the next day. I actually ended up doing very little on Thanksgiving day except for ordering some holiday presents and cleaning up afterwards.

My, My, Frye

There's a store in the West Village called "Shoegasm." One day, S and her mom walked by it and her mom was like, "what's that?" I think I just had one.

I have a boot thing and I've been eying Frye boots for awhile. People rave about the quality construction and comfort. The double row of buttons on these (spats times two!) nearly made me pass out. These boots are incredibly hot.

Now, you may ask, why am I not wearing those instead of my UGGs or my FitFlops Billows (shipping tomorrow - yay!)? 1, I'm short. Those boots have a 15 inch shaft and that would clear my knees. 2, the heel is 3.5 inches and as you know, I'm still tipping over in class. 3, they look heavy. 4, that silly shopping embargo - these boots ain't cheap!

Another option are these awesome cowboy boots but I'm not sure I'm ready to rock all that stitching. I do love the shape and the pointy toe.


These are another pair that might work...

Tired of Junk Mail?

Two years ago, H & Z gave me a gift membership for www.greendimes.org. It took me a few months to sign up to activate my gift card but when I did, it was so awesome. I was able to put the entire family on the plan (because everyone still gets their mail sent to the house) and started to clear out all the random crap that was being mailed to us.

It's easy. Log in, type in the company sending junk mail and before you know it, your junk mail has virtually disappeared. People will think you have moved. I love reducing waste and the risk of identity theft, and as a bonus, greendimes plants trees for you. What's there not to like?

Pre-Thanksgiving Cooking

Dinner tonight:
- Chicken adobo
- Sauteed broccoli rabe
- White rice

Finished for tomorrow
- old bay and beer shrimp
- apple cobbler (too lazy to make pie crust)
- pork and cabbage dumplings


The cobbler just came out of the oven and the whole house smells like apples, cinnamon and butter. Yum!

Follow the Snoring

If she doesn't greet you at the door barking, she's somewhere in the house snoring.

I snuck up the stairs, checked Doris', my, and then mom's bed, listened for the snoring and headed back to my room where I found her in the laundry basket. Adorable.

Dry Off!

Hair taking too long to dry? Ends fried and frazzled? I've been using the Aquis microfiber hair towel since college and just bought 2 more from drugstore.com to keep at M's house (pink for me, grey for M).

At the ice palace, getting out of the shower requires serious preparation. I keep the bathroom door closed to keep in the steam and dry off in the shower because the key to staying warm is staying dry. I take the ends of the towel and squeeze. Then, wrap tightly and finish drying off. Go from shower to cozy robe.

The towel is great because it dries your hair while you do your other stuff which means much less time with the uber damaging hair drier (even if it is ionic and all that jazz). Fast and better for you? Sweet.

Sasha Frere-Jones is a Man?!

In an attempt to learn more about music in order to find music for class, I looked to music reviews in the New Yorker. I read a nice article about Pink (okay, not glowing but I totally agreed) and thought to myself, I wonder what Sasha Frere-Jones looked like. I had always read the reviews with a female voice and imagined the writer to have long dreadlocks. Imagine my surprise when the image on the left appeared in my google image search!

You might say, if you want to find music, go to iTunes and start listening to some stuff. Rubbish, I say! Honestly, I am so overwhelmed by the music choices available. But, I think I want something with a house (?) beat, hard, edgy, dirty, rough and not too fast. Remember, I tend to tip over.

S Factor: 3.4

The tricks are definitely getting harder. We learned the body spiral today and it is a gorgeous move - I live for the teacher demonstrations. I think I bruised my right boob and the inside of my right arm. It is now one of my four challenge moves - the other three are the peter pan/ tinkerbell (just can't spin all the way down), cork screw (same problem) and the descent from climbing up the pole (the pain, the pain!).

The other tricks are coming along well and I'm trying to be slower and more deliberate in the execution. I'm also trying to not tip over in various parts of the routine (minor balance issues). I do feel more comfortable improvising and throwing in new things to the routine. Now, I just need to find a few more songs...

Good-bye Static!

Spring showers bring May flowers and dry crisp winter air brings hella static. My skirts cling to my tights, my coat crackles and I'm scared to touch anything or anyone for fear of electric shock (both me and them). I stuff my pockets with dryer sheets and keep extra ones to run through my hair. I used to use Static Guard but I hate aerosol cans and the stuff smelled horrible. I'm pretty sure that it was bad for the environment.

I found Caldrea Anti-Static Spray in French Lavender on drugstore.com and it is fantastic. It is a spray so there are no fumes that cause global warming. It smells lovely and it totally works! I bought one for home and the office.

Christmas (If Baby Jesus was a Premie)

As you may or may not know, I cannot keep a secret. And, I'm a planner so I usually get people gifts way before the gift giving occasion. So, people usually end up knowing and/or receiving their gifts early because I just can't help myself.

We got mom a 32" TV for her birthday/ Christmas present. See how thin it is! Her birthday is the Friday after Thanksgiving. Although we got her the TV, she bestows her deepest appreciation on M who put the thing together (we didn't even open the box). Can you imagine, the DVD player, cable, Wii and XBox 360 are all plugged into the TV and we don't have to reach behind to plug and unplug things. Amazing!

M also took Mom to Woodbury Commons today where she bought 2 bags. M got 7 sweaters - 6 of which are argyle. And I temporarily lifted the shopping embargo to get 3 dresses from Barney's. I was doing was doing so well - I didn't buy a thing from JCrew. But, I got to Barney's and they were taking an additional 25% off sale items and the dresses were made out of 100% silk and 100% wool respectively. You can't get those gorgeous fabrics for that cheap anywhere. When we got home, Mom ran upstairs and brought down a Swiss Army knife for M. "Merry Christmas, M," she said (Mom hasn't gotten her children a Christmas present since the early 1990's).

The keys to mom's heart are to (1) take her to Woodbury Commons, (2) fix electronic/ technological problems, (3) do whatever she says (i.e., risk life changing light bulb). Today Mom asked M if she was coming for Christmas and then remembered that M is going to spend it in Orlando with her mother and brother. Mom then said, "I'm gonna miss you." For me, that was the greatest Christmas gift from Mom ever.

Mom also said that I was good at cleaning and that I should clean M's toilets.

Another nice thing was that M's mom asked if I would be coming to Orlando for Christmas. Very sweet.

Baby Shower Pentathlon

[in progress]

My godchild was no more than 1 month old in the womb when I started planning it's shower. I was actually done planning maybe 3 or 4 months ago. See how well it's doing! H has a month and a half to go and she looks amazing.

I took the day off to clean, move the furniture around, make the diaper cake, games and prizes. We were going to make a round diaper cake but this square one was so much easier to make and left the diapers intact.

The Baby Shower Pentathlon

1) Write down guesses for gender, weight and due date as well as a wish for the baby to be included in the baby book (shutterfly, of course)

2) Diaper in the Dark: I got cheap diapers, bandanas and a premie Cabbage Patch doll from the attic. People seemed to do a good job doing things blindfolded...hmmm

3) How Big is She? Take a piece of string and cut what you think her waist size is. R was less than an an inch off! Z was, well, he said he added a few inches in order to be able to tie a bow.

4) What's in the Diaper? I melted a snickers for diaper 1 and an almond joy for diaper 2 (nice and chunky with a big gross almond). Doris reached back into her pediatric memory and suggested: mustard with peppercorns and wasabi with mayonnaise.

5) What's in the Baby Food? I stayed away from the meat ones because they were just really disgusting and there were vegetarians at the party. I picked mango as the easy one to get people's confidence up. Then apple blueberry was a complex mix and this great brownish purple color. Then pear and pineapple was nearly impossible. Z and his mom both guessed the same thing for each of the flavors. Amazing.

*Nha Trang Centre & B, C, J

[in progress]

Crispy garlic squid, bo luc lac, sauteed Chinese watercress, brown rice - amazing.

'inoteca & G

Every time I leave an outing with G, I've got a grin from ear to ear because I can't feel my face.

We met for our monthly wine and toast. I had wanted to go to 'inoteca for awhile since it was THE happening wine bar. I was always nervous that I'd never get a table. We met at around 7 PM and got seats at the bar which I love because the server is always captive behind the bar. We shared 3 bruschetta: chicken liver with yummy reduced balsamic, olive tapenade and spaghetti squash. G and I have decided that we love chicken liver. Love it. Give us a big ol' block of it and some bread and we are golden. I ordered some prosciutto and she had the famous egg and truffle toast. There was cheese on it so I couldn't have any but it smelled AMAZING.
We lamented the poor state of the economy and the resulting lack of holiday parties (we used to get giant baskets of food and have polished off a 3 pound block of toffee), tenuous job market, and shopping embargo. She hasn't shopped in 3 weeks! When will the embargo be lifted??!?!?! She is my hero.

S Factor 3.4: Sometimes you just need a little applause

My day was going okay until the end when something utterly ridiculous happened. I headed off to class muttering under my breath. I felt really out of it but the music started, the teacher took us through a really good warm up (there's a move that totally massages and relaxes my neck and shoulders) and I could feel the stress evaporate.

Today we did the street shoe strip and I was too lazy to clean a pair of shoes so I thought I'd just wear my normal stripper shoes. Yeah, no. The teacher made me clean off my UGGs and you know what, I really liked dancing in them. There was a cute sexiness to them and I just love the snuggly warmth (which is why I wear them daily).

And I've been doing really well with the snake on both sides (see diagram from text book) and it was nice to hear some hootin' and hollerin' (we cheer for each other). I can't believe I'm half-way to level 4!

Travel God Whims

So, in order to save a $112, I took the Bolt Bus home from DC today. Even though I was maybe 20th on line, I was first on the bus because I didn't have any luggage to put underneath and my ticket had an "A" on it. I got a window seat in the second row and was getting stoked that I'd have both seats to myself.

Then crazy homeless looking man comes on with all these bags of crap and starts putting them in the seat in front of me. The bus driver yelled at him because his bags were spilling on the passenger next to him. And then, he puts his coat on the back of the chair AND CAME AND SAT NEXT TO ME!

He smelled like old attic and B.O. He kept elbowing me because he was sorting through his mail (and tossing the garbage on the floor) and calling up the people to complain about the bills. He also kept talking to me:

Crazy Man ("CM"): "Hi, my name is Gary. Were you at the Neuroscience conference?"
A: "I'm on the phone."
CM: "Do you live in New York?"
A: "I'm still on the phone."
CM: "Are you a blogger? What do you blog about? I need a blogger for my start up."
A: "I'm on the phone."

He finally stopped talking to me but he was still elbowing me and still stank. Finally, we were at a rest stop and I ran off trying to frantically find someone to let me sit next to them. This nice lady behind him was so nice. She cleared off a space next to her and said that she felt bad for me and was going to offer me a seat earlier. She said he was acting like a crazy drunk man before he got on the bus. Then another guy said that he was ignoring the guy. So, basically, everyone thought he was crazy. The lady said that she had bad allergies and the smell of the guy was setting off her allergies. Another funny thing was the lady was at the Neuroscience conference.

I do rely on the kindness of strangers.

Cabela's is an Attraction?

Getting a hotel was pure genius. There was no way we would've been able to drive home after leaving the penitentiary at 1 AM. It was nice to sleep in, see our first snowfall of 2008 out of the window, get ready at a leisurely place and find a nice place for breakfast. We had missed hotel breakfast and it grossed M out that it was buffet style which meant that people were touching it and sneezing on it from 7:30 to 10 AM. M is very knowledgeable of my eating preferences and although the hotel staff wanted to send us to Perkins, she asked for a non-chain restaurant and they told us about Uncle Pete's.

We had a quick scenic drive into the historic town of Wheeling and Uncle Pete's was perfect. We were seated in the girly room which also had two televisions showing football (oh, everyone in West Virginia wears nothing but Steelers gear - jerseys, pants, earrings, t-shirts). We had great parking, good service, cheap yummy fresh food, it was perfect. I had amazing pancakes that were crispy along the edges - a pancake and waffle in one! The guy behind me had the "Ham Supreme" AND ham and beans soup. And salsa and chips. The man loves his ham.

We had to go back to the hotel because M left her phone on the bed. You have to hear M's impression of the Jimmy Dean service call and all the people we ran into. The woman at the front desk was so cute, "Oh, your phone is so fancy! I tried to call you on it but it was locked of something." Nevermind that she can't call us because she has our phone! And then we headed to the Autozone to get M's favorite wiper blades. The guy was so funny, "Oh, I love the Bosch Ions but they don't make them for my Caprice... I can give you $5 off but that's the best I can do... Oh, you have one of them fancy credit cards with your picture on it...Can I see your I.D.?" He starts tearing off the wrapper and runs out to put it on the car, "sometimes you need to be a rocket scientist to install these things." M brought fancy back to West Virginia.

With smooth quiet wiper blades, we were off. Only to take the next exit to Cabela's. M: "Cabela's is an attraction? I've got to see this." It was insane. I think I might've seen it on the travel channel. It is HUGE. Not only is it a store, it has an awesome aquarium of the types of fish you could kill and fishing stuff for sale at the end of the aquarium. We saw a GIANT 4 foot huge catfish. They have these 3 large displays of taxidermied animals - a 2 story mountain with with deer, moose, polar bear, beavers. They have an African safari with a 6 foot crocodile, warthogs, elephant, lions and wildebeast. Then, there's Whitetail World - all these deer that people shot! There are little taxidermy displays throughout the store (it reminded me of the science center at Wellesley). Everyone was either dressed in Steeler's paraphernalia or camouflage. Even the little kids were in green or pink camo and shooting pop guns at the taxidermy animals. After you look at all the things you can kill, you can go up to the 2nd floor where there's a shooting gallery. You get some tokens and pick up the rifle and shoot at this scene. Watch out, when you hit the pot, it shoots water back at you. Then, we went to the "restaurant" - really a cafeteria - which was serving Salisbury steak for Sunday dinner and shared a pecan pie. We also went to the general store which sold fudge and M got a variety of sausages and jerky made of game: elk, buffalo, bison, jackalope (rabbit, antelope, beef). Not only did she get her scary vacation, she got to eat different kinds of animals (another one of her favorite things to do).

The hunting section was really gross and had a contraption called "butt out" which was so horrifying and terrible. They even had a gun library with lots and lots of guns for sale. You could get a 25 Barreta for under $100. It was an amazing experience. And in the two days we have been out of the DC area, we have not seen another Asian person. Not one.

Fall Hunting Season

M and I went to Cabela's. I have never seen so many people dressed in hunting camouflage. But, more on that later.

It is Fall hunting season - dating-wise. There has been a rash of break-ups over the past month. Couples who have been together for over 5 years and new couples that appeared to be so cute together. For the most part, the ones that I have spoken to have said it has been for the better and I do believe in creative destruction. It may suck and hurt but in the end, you are now free to find someone who loves you in the way you want to be loved and who loves the loving that you give.

I do believe that there are 2 major dating seasons. At around September, you've had your summer fun and it's time to get a little serious. It's getting colder so less time out and about and more time indoors and actually having to talk and interact. You may find that you like drinking out at the beer garden with this person but you can't spend Sunday morning with them when you are trying to read the paper. Then, there's the holidays. Some people may be thinking, omg, I have to go to the other person's family outtings, I have to get presents for their 40 cousins, I have to go to the office party. And that may just drive a person over the edge and call it quits. And make out with a string of 22 year-olds. Which begins the official Fall dating season because then they find some cute thing to shack up with over the cold winter months.

Which brings us to Spring dating season.

So, those who shacked up over the winter and realized that they can't stand the person or those who didn't shack up and miss having someone around, are out and about once the crocuses pop up through the ice. This season heats up as the temperature rises and then you're back to Fall. You can always hang out at the cafe car in the Amtrak. On Friday, while I was waiting in line to get a salad, the guy in front of me asks me, "You want some action?" He meant to play a round of poker but it was really funny.

In the end, know who you are, what you want and what makes you happy. Be really honest with yourself and the person you're seeing even if it is on a casual basis. I know I've made some dating mistakes and settled for far less than anyone should. But, I had a great year on my own to finish my MBA, get myself together, had some fun and at the end, M was there to make me laugh, teach me about technology and all kinds of things, help me grow closer to my friends and loved ones and show me this love that I had thought to be untenable.

West Virginia Penitentiary

Road trip!

When we first started dating, I told M that I wanted her to take me on a hot vacation AND a cold vacation. For example, she took me to Stowe in January and Orlando in October. So, she said she wanted to go on a scary vacation every year and for 2008, she picked the West Virginia Penitentiary. It's supposed to be one of the most haunted places in the country due to the decades of violence that took place there.

So, we were off on our 5 hour journey through 4 states (MD, VA, WV, PA) and M got to see the other counties in Maryland that she's never seen. She can now proudly say that she has been to every county in Maryland. It was a crazy, we hit rain, sleet, snow and sunshine, and our ears popped from going up and down the mountains - we went up to 2880 feet above sea level! There is a mountain called "Negro Mountain" - awful. There were very few music stations so poor M had to hear me sing along to the bad music on my iPod. And we could not get away from commercials about the opening of "Plush" at the Morgantown Mall! Get your Ed Hardy scarves that you can wear 11-12 different ways and hoodies and stop by for the after party! Now you don't have to go to Pittsburgh or DC to get your clothes! Woohoo! Seriously, that was the hottest thing happening.
We got to the hotel - it was so nice, built only 6 months ago so everything was brand new. We layered up and headed to dinner at this family owned Italian place - one of two places the hotel sends its patrons to. They had the BIGGEST beer battered onion rings - yum!

It was a dark and snowy night. We got to the penitentiary at around 7:45 and there were around 60 people there. There were 9 states represented, they put M down as NJ, hahaha! There were these two older women whom I swore were lesbians and were very cute and nice to us. A couple from Florida who had gone on a big scary trip - haunted hotel where a pen moved and their covers were pulled onto them by ghosts, Eastern penitentiary and Mansfield penitentiary. There were also 2 groups of ghost hunters: (1) P.A.T.'s - some kind of knock off of T.A.P.s and (2) Ohio Spirit Seekers. They had EMF and EVP devices - some home-made!
I liked the historical aspect and taking funny jail scene photos. The penitentiary is completely dark - see hot photo of us with our headlamps. They split us up into 2 groups and the first group goes with the historical guide. I went on a haunted ghost tour of the French Quarter once and that was so scary because of the real horrors that happened. We waited to go with the second guide who was a paranormal specialist. I have to find his name because I think he was on a few of the TV shows. Real life is scarier than the paranormal so I'm glad we went on the paranormal tour which amounted to him saying that each room of the penetentiary was active and you will get off the charts EMF readings and crazy talk on your EVP recorders. After the group tour, we were on our own to explore the place.

It was like going through somebody's basement. The place is in bad shape with paint peeling and stuff in disarray. In addition to actually seeing what a prison was like, the art that the prisoners left were really interesting. Some of it was really good - scenes of nature, flying eagles. There were also football teams, lots of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, some Aryan Brotherhood stuff and one cell that had GunsNRoses and Bon Jovi lyrics! While we did get some pictures of orbs which turned out to be reflections of snow and a window rattled when we walked past it, the scariest part of the tour was the people. Most of them were waiting in the lobby eating pizza until the 2-4 AM time when "activity" was at its highest. But, we'd run into them in the Sugar Shack and Psych Ward with their devices, sitting in the dark and saying outloud, "Talk to us. Do you want us to leave you alone?"
Yes, please leave the ghosts alone. M doesn't believe in ghosts and wanted to go to the penitentiary to be proven wrong. Me, I don't want to talk to the ghosts and I don't want them to talk to me. I am a big fan of leaving them alone. Who are these crazy people who want to provoke the ghosts? Did they ever think about what might happen if the ghosts did say or do something? And yes, the penitentiary was cold. It's because it was cold. And the windows were open.

I have to say, aside from being freaked out by the people, I was very brave. I even suggested we go up some random dark stairs and I was surprised that we got to know the penitentiary so quickly because I was sure we'd get lost. We even got to see the 2nd attraction in the area - the Mound. The very thing Moundsville was named after. It's about a 3 story burial mound built by Native Americans. I thought it would be bigger.

I'm even thinking about our next scary trip. I want to take M to Eastern Penitentiary in Philadelphia for a ghost hunt. We could go to the Mutter Museum and eat at Morimoto!
So, a few things learned. Bring: baseball cap and attach baseball cap light (headlamps are tight and hurt after awhile), hiking boots (UGGs did not provide enough arch support for hours of walking), dust mask (I'm sure we breathed in some asbestos), extra batteries and memory cards for cameras, snowboarding pants, pack lightly (my backpack was so heavy).

LGBT Financial Planning

[in progress]

PRIDE Financial Planning Workshop. Financial Advisors and Estate Planner. New steering committee member and my boys.

Spats Take Three

So, the grey spats-like boots didn't work out and I had to return them. They kind of looked like short super hero boots. They made me want to wear panties outside leggings.

With my super ugly but warm and snuggly Fitflops Billows coming, I thought, hey, I could wear cute leg warmers over them to: 1) make them look like a boot and not a clog, 2) keep my legs warm, 3) get a spats-like effect. Leg warmers are also cheaper than getting a new pair of boots - I was looking at the UGG grey cardy but not a fan of fabric boots in the winter. I mean, spats were originally fabric, suede or leather pieces that people wore over their shoes in the late 19th and early 20th century. M will get a kick out of this, "Spats are still used as a traditional accessory in many marching band uniforms in the United States." You can take a girl out of her drum majoring, but you can't take the drum major out of the girl!

And yes, this was a non-essential spending item but please, it's a leg warmer! Okay, like 4 (1 grey with buttons, 2 black with buttons, 1 black with pink bow). I'll wear them to commute in the winter and in SFactor during the warm up. I need a 12 step program.

Spending Freeze

"Yeah, yeah," you say, you've heard it before but as of today, non-essential spending will be frozen. I took a look at my credit card bill and while I have done my patriotic duty to help the economy and boost consumer spending (I believe that is Palin's same argument for her Neiman Marcus bills), I need to save for my future (a home with M, college for my godchild, my retirement). I have already cut out all expensive restaurants and patronized cheap eats or wine bars for my social outings.

So, what is allowed for the rest of the year? Baby shower in 2 weeks, P's wedding, L's bridal shower, and limited birthday and holiday gifts. I've been snapping pictures left and right so I'll be ordering holiday gifts from Shutterfly which are super cute, personal and affordable. My friend was selling her TV so I bought it for mom who has been harping about getting a bigger TV (she doesn't even watch TV so it's really a gift for Doris to play her new Xbox 360, also bought from my friend). M is also looking at getting mom a new hard drive so mom is the big winner this year since I told the siblings and father that my present from me to them was getting mom presents. M's xmas present has already arrived. And, I snuck in yesterday before the spending freeze some Natori bras that were on sale (http://www.herroom.com/) since I destroyed my other ones (M says I am not allowed to do laundry - yay!) and expedition weight base-layers that were also on sale to wear in the ice palace and snowboarding (http://www.sierratradingpost.com/). So, that's it for 2008!

Aussie Aussie Aussie Rah Rah RAH!

A co-worker of mine is going to Australia for 2 weeks and I put together a short list of my favorite Sydney/ Melbourne experiences from January 2007.

Sydney
- Wildlife World (next to aquarium)
- Sydney Aquarium (next to wildlife world)
- Hyde Park
- harbor cruise (great way to see the whole area- gorgeous!)
- Cafe Sydney - seafood platter! (http://www.cafesydney.com/)



Melbourne
- Tutto Bene Blue Crab, Tomato and Basil Risotto (www.tuttobene.com.au)
- Queen Victoria Market/ Epicurean Food and Wine Tour
- Bus tours - the 12 Apostles, penguin parade (http://www.gowest.com.au/)






I really loved Australia. Maybe one day I'll get to bring M and we can see the Great Barrier Reef, Bondi Beach and other places I missed the first time around.

I Don't Think There are Enough Computers

Fall

Scorpio Soiree

The Jersey brunch crowd gathered after what seemed to be an extremely long hiatus. N says that she hasn't seen me since my birthday! That is unacceptable. It was quite a momentous occasion because it was H, M and H's birthdays!

We had it at my favorite Vietnamese restaurant Pho Thanh Haoi in Jersey City. It was good to see the owner again - he never changes. We got a huge table in the back right away and ordered amazing goodies. I think I went a bit nuts because I got the chicken curry with fresh baked french bread to dip, a small bowl of pho and a grilled shrimp bun. It was so good to see everyone and catch up!