'That's What She Said'

Going through the wormhole

2010-02-28T22:36:00.000-08:00

Well, Poojaland now has a new home on WordPress. I'd been thinking about making the switch for some time now, due to WP's more varied features, functions, etc., but only finally got around to opening an account and transferring over my Blogger posts just this weekend. So ... welcome! Again! Oh, and if you're one of my real-life friends and hit the "password-protected" speed bump on one of my posts, just shoot me an e-mail and I'll hook you up.

Head on through the wormhole with me...http://poojaland.wordpress.com.

My name is Pooja, and I'm addicted to socks

2010-02-23T21:34:00.000-08:00

I love socks. I don't know if it's the germophobe in me or what, but except for those handful of super-warm Seattle summer days, you'll find me in socks, both inside and outside of my home. I think it also has to do with my love of being cozy and comfortable, which usually equals wearing layers on my upper half (I wear tank tops nearly year-round), lots of fleece around the house and jeans and T-shirts. I even sleep with socks on, though on warmer nights, I'll pull off the socks after a little bit (I should note that I don't ever have the heat on in my bedroom, except for a few minutes right before bed during the fall and winter). My current favorite type of sock is a knee-high sock by SmartWool. I have several pairs of hiking socks by them, but I've recently also picked up some more casual/trendy pairs. I even got a pair of snowboarding socks by them in advance of my trip last November, and wore them quite often during my travels. They're great worn inside boots!

This whole sock thing came into my mind because yesterday, I wore some high-top Converse boots with knee-high socks, and then realized once I got to the gym and started changing that I'd forgotten to pack gym socks -- oops! I was tempted to make a fashion statement and wear my knee-highs anyway (see picture, which I took after I got home; and yes, I don't really have any calf muscles!!), but in the end, I just went commando. That set up wasn't very comfortable right off, and was even less comfortable 15 minutes into my 40-minute turn on the elliptical, but I usually wear "no-show" socks to the gym, so I at least didn't feel self-conscious about being obviously sock-less.

I was a bit late finishing up my work out, so I didn't have time to put my socks back on before I headed out of the gym to the bus stop. Soon as I got to the bus stop and found out via my OneBusAway iPhone app that I still had some 10 minutes before the bus arrived, I immediately pulled off my shoes, let my feet air out for a minute and pulled my socks back on (oh, and I was alone at said bus stop..). Call me weird, but putting on socks is one of my favorite things to do! So I nearly sighed out loud in relief when I put my feet back into my tennis shoes, with the socks on. Ahh!

Feb. 14...why does that date ring a bell?!

2010-02-14T22:32:00.000-08:00

Another year, another Valentine's Day ... I must admit that one of these years, I'd like to actually do something with a boy on the occasion, cheesy as said occasion is!! Alas, none of my various short-lived "relationships" have occurred during that time of year. So instead, the day is an annual excuse to round up some single gals and hit the town. This year, the lucky two ladies were Kristen and her friend ML, whom I'd never met. We decided to check out one of Tom Douglas' (most well-known local chef/restaurateur) restaurants, Palace Kitchen. While we were waiting in the lobby, Douglas himself came out to greet some folks he knew at a table right next to us. That's a pretty big celeb sighting in Seattle!

Our dinner, while a bit pricey, was definitely worth the splurge. And we of course followed it with a slice of coconut-cream pie, which is AMAZING, and I believe served at all of T.D.'s restaurants (I think he has five here in town). We'd been intending to head to a bar for some socializing after dinner, but we all three got along so well (yes, we mostly talked about boys!) that when we finally took a second to do a time check, we were shocked to discover it was 11:15 p.m. -- we'd met at the restaurant at 7:30! On top of that, ML had been up since 5:30 for work, it was pouring rain, and the main drag of downtown Seattle with the good bars was enough blocks away that we'd have had to cab there and back or deal with finding parking over there (always tough on a Saturday night). So we all parted ways with the promise to schedule another girls' night out and be sure to make it to a bar or two.

So it was a really, really great V's Day. Sure, I didn't spend it with a special someone -- but hey, I spent it with TWO special someones!

The dude abides

2010-02-05T09:55:00.000-08:00

I was a bit amused -- and somewhat disconcerted -- to realize recently that I'm starting to show the signs of hanging out with nearly only guys at work. These guys are all really good pals whom I've known now for anywhere from two to five-plus years (one of them was my office mate for four years), and are all about my age and married. It's not as if there are a ton of ladies on my team to begin with, but for some reason, though said ladies and I are friendly around the halls, we don't actually spend much social time during the work day (i.e., going to lunch together). Of my three closest guy pals at work, only one of them and I hang out occasionally outside the office, and that's often with his awesome wife too (hey, Dr. Pistachio!). You'd think that it'd be a wealth of knowledge being imparted to me, the single girl, on a daily basis by these guys, but though they always gamely listen to my whines or ravings about this guy or that guy, they're sort of lacking in the advice department. When I was heading to an event one night where a guy I was kinda interested in would be there, E said "Don't dress like a tramp." D's advice in general to me was, "Dress sluttier." I've also been advised to randomly sit in Anti-Bac Boy's lap (which made me think of your constant advice, Julie!!), go up to him and take off my shirt, and all other manner of eye-roll-inducing suggestions. I really should write these nuggets down as the guys hand them out!

Getting to my earlier point, though, I've realized that I've started using the word "dude" a lot, and dressing even more casually. My standard uniform these days is a T-shirt, zip-up hoodie, blue jeans and Converse sneakers. Of course, bear in mind here that my entire work day is spent mostly at my desk, working on my computer. Plus, I take the bus, and walk to and from the bus stop. So it's not really logical to wear anything with heels or even anything dressy. I'm always a little cold around the office, so I need some layers, and pretty much all Microsoftees dress just as casually as I do. However, after my little revelation, I'm trying to make more of an effort to dress a little more flatteringly (if that's a word) once or twice a week. That may mean wearing flats and a nice shirt instead of Chuck Taylor's and a tee, or longer jeans with low-ish heeled, comfortable boots. One just never knows whom one might run into 'round the halls ... I actually got hit on (in my opinion) by a random cute guy in the elevator earlier this week! I was hoping it was a sign that my luck in the love department was finally turning the tide, but life is quickly beating me back to reality. Argh. (That's another whole post's-worth rant about that other certain situation, which I promised to write less about. Those in the know....you know.)

Deep thoughts on ... life outlooks (or something)

2010-01-28T07:02:00.000-08:00

So, I have this problem. When anything starts going my way, I get really scared and weary and pessimistic. I'm basically waiting for the other shoe to drop, as it too often seems to do. I even freak myself out if I start feeling optimistic about a situation -- I have to remind myself, "Look, it probably won't pan out. Actually, just assume it won't." I've always tried to expect the worst and just leave it at that, but sometimes, in a weak moment, I break down and cautiously hope for the best. It's not so bad if the situation is totally or mostly in my control ... but when I only have a little bit of influence or say, it really drives me crazy. I've been dealing with one of those situations recently, and I periodically catch myself spontaneously exclaiming, "What the F---, dude!" Very ladylike.. but I'm just ready to come out on the other side, you know?

Anyway, not to be all mysterious and vague; I had bad insomnia last night and started self-analyzing and decided to share.

Eventful night in downtown Seattle

2010-01-08T18:00:00.000-08:00

An evening earlier this week, I went straight from work to downtown Seattle to attend one of those free movie screenings, this one for the movie "Leap Year" (yes, I'm a sucker for rom-coms, and on top of that, I love Matthew Goode). Once I got downtown, I had just over an hour to kill, so I walked to Pacific Place, a huge mall/restaurant/movie theater complex across the street from the theater the movie would play in. I went inside the mall, and then as I headed toward an escalator, I walked by this questionable-looking guy (read: a bit unkempt, shifty). Right as I walked by he said "Follow me out, OK? Let's go." I pretended I hadn't heard anything -- at this point, I thought he was maybe talking toward someone already on the escalator -- so I kept walking. I got on the escalator, and as I was going down, he said "They're watching you." I stealthily looked around, and didn't see anyone he could've been talking to. So.. he was either just talking to no one, or just to me. Um, yikes! He got onto the escalator a few stairs behind me. As soon as I got off, I booked it to the other side of the mall. Thankfully, I didn't spy him again.

I wandered into some random stores with "Sale" signs out front, making sure to quickly walk past Victoria's Secret (where the big Semi-Annual Sale was going on) and Express (where the famous Box Sale was going on), two places where I have little will power. Swung through J. Crew, and then went next door to BCBG Max Azria (which, as I side note, I used to think was Max "Azaria," as I confused it with the actor Hank Azaria), a place I normally would never go into, but this time I was lured in by the "Extra %30 off clearance items" sign. Most of their clothing, even marked 50% off, and then an additional 30% off, was still waaay too expensive for me, but I found a casual jacket and a couple skirts to try on. A saleslady led me over to the dressing rooms and then opened up one for me. I walked in, closed the door behind me, and then turned around and around in confusion: There was no f'ing mirror in the room!! I then remembered that as I'd waited to be let into the dressing room, I'd seen a man and two kids sitting on this large sofa thing, and the mom of the family had come out to show them the dress she was trying on. There were mirrors on the outside of each dressing-room door, so she was obviously showing them the dress while also getting a first look herself. BCBG is such a high-end store -- and yet they only have mirrors OUTSIDE their dressing rooms?! Luckily, I at least didn't have all stubbly legs, as I'd had swimming the night before, but there was still no way I was going to step outside to show off every bulge and dip. The jacket I'd took in to try on was much to short -- I didn't need a mirror to figure that out -- so that immediately went back on the hanger. Next, I tried on the two skirts. Herein was where I ran into a bit of a problem.. I tried to take some self-photos on my iPhone, but as all other iPhone owners know, this is a pretty impossible task. At right, you can see the results of those attempts. The skirt was actually quite cute, but being that it was all black, the details don't show on a low-resolution/badly lit iPhone-camera picture. The lack of being able to truly see how the skirts fit, combined with the still steep price of them, led me to easily decide to not buy either of them (though I could've of course bought them, tried them on at home at my leisure, and then returned them). One of my friends suggested that the no-mirrors-in-dressing-rooms thing is so that when you step outside to look at yourself, the salespeople can come over and start lauding you with compliments, so you get all excited to buy everything you try on. I definitely don't mind stepping out for some compliments/affirmation on something that looks good on me, but only after I've looked at myself for 10 minutes and from every angle in front of the mirror inside my dressing room. So...yeah. Now we all know!

After wasting some more time at other stores in the mall -- and not spending any money: snap! -- I headed back out to walk over to the movie screening. About 20 minutes into the movie, the screen suddenly went white, and we saw the film literally melt right there. It looked like someone stretched some thin caramel across the screen, and then it just tore apart and disappeared. The theater was at full capacity, and we all laughed nervously and were like, "What the--?" About 10 minutes later, we were back in action, though the film obviously started again at least a minute or two from where we'd last seen it. Twenty minutes later...another film meltdown! This time, it only took them about 5 minutes to fix things (after each meltdown, the rep from the film studio told us "Sorry about that! They say they'll have it fixed within a few minutes!"). Once again, the film started up. And then 20 minutes after that...a THIRD meltdown! Jeezus! I heard later that a couple people walked out during one of the meltdowns, but in general, everyone took it with good humor. Certainly, no one was yelling or complaining loudly or anything. And after the third fix up, though the screen definitely had a blurry section right in the middle, it was smooth sailing through the end of the movie. As for the movie itself, well, it was up and down. The best part, for me, anyway, was Matthew Goode. Oh, and as a bonus -- on our way out, we each got a free ticket for an upcoming movie as the theater's way to apologize for the technical problems. My boss was like "You attended a free movie, and got a ticket to see another free movie?" Um, yes. And why not?

The saga of ... rain boots

2010-01-06T11:22:00.000-08:00

Though I've lived in Seattle basically my whole life, and own a couple pairs of waterproof shoes (of the hiking variety), I was surprised to realize a few months ago that I've never actually owned a pair of rain boots. So I made it a quest to find my first pair. As I began shopping around, I made some discoveries..

A lot of the fun/funky boots are waaay too big at the top for my non-existent calves. I knew that I'd only occasionally be wearing them with pants tucked in (which would still not fill up the calf areas completely), so I also needed to find a pair that wouldn't bulge out awkwardly from underneath jeans. My quest got sent into high gear when I first received a $20 gift certificate to Nordstrom (a side bonus of having a Nordstrom Visa as my main credit card), and then a $40 certificate. For some reason, I got it in my head that I needed to look into buying a pair of boots by Hunter, a British company who I believe first designed the original wellington style of rain boot. Their tall boots are pretty high, so I figured I wouldn't have to worry about the calf issue as much, and though they have a $115 price tag, I knew I'd be taking a $60-chunk out of my final price. A few days before Christmas, I was out to lunch with some friends from work, when Ben mentioned he wanted to make a quick stop at Nordstrom to buy a present for his wife. I happened to have my gift certificates with me, and knew that the Nordstrom by work has a bigger shoe section than the one by where I live (but it's not convenient for me to go there in general), so I was like "I'm a-comin' too!"

Once we got to Nordy's, I made a beeline for the Hunter display in the women's shoe area. While I was waiting for a sales person to come help me out, I heard two other Nordy's workers discussing the special Jimmy Choo-branded Hunter boot that was on display. I overheard one of them say something about it being "so cute," and "they're $250." When someone finally came over to me to help me out, I told him I usually wear an 8.5, but since Hunters only come in whole sizes -- as do a lot of rain boots, it seems -- he went off to get a 7 and an 8. I first tried on the 8, which was way too big. Then he pulled out the size 7, which was the Jimmy Choo-branded boot. He said, "We don't have the boot in the original style in a 7, so I brought out this one." I suavely said, "Oh, uh, those are the really expensive ones, right?" He said, "They're $250." I was feeling a bit stupid from my first remark, so I just mumbled, "Oh, well, they're a bit out of my price range." They turned out to be too small anyway, and neither pair was very comfortable, so I crossed Hunter off my list. As a side note.. turns out those Hunter by Jimmy Choo boots are actually $395!!

So...I then wandered around looking at the various other rain boots. My eye was caught by a pair by Kamik. I liked that they had a bit of shape to them in the foot area, and looked both functional and fashionable. I tried them on, and bonus: They were super comfortable, and fit just right. They even have a thin Polartec lining for some added warmth, and, interestingly, they're made by a Canadian company, in Canada! http://kamik.com/.

I initially bought a shiny black boot with a bright red foldover thing at the top of the boot (made of a sweater material). After I got them home, I decided that I didn't like the bright red color, as it was a little too attention-getting. I went online, and happily discovered that the boots also came in the same shiny-black shade without the red foldover. And then, bonus upon bonus, I read the fine print on Nordstrom's Web site and found out that they do price matching, and then, I found the Kamik boots in my size, in stock, in Altrec.com, for $25 cheaper! I immediately went back to Nordstom, exchanged the boots (and made use of their price-match policy) and in the end, taking into account the $60 in rewards certificates, got the boots nearly for free! I never knew Nordstrom did price matching, and it turns out they do on all their products. Details here.

Anyway, I wore my new kicks over jeans for the first time earlier this week, on a day when it was raining pretty much non stop. As I walked to my bus stop, I stepped around puddles as usual, and then went, "Wait a minute!" and started walking through them instead, since I had no hems to worry about soaking (or leather/canvas to worry about dirtying). Puddle stomping is so much fun! Of course, only really skinny girls with no hips can carry off the whole jeans-into-boots look, but I'm going to force myself to tuck 'em in once in a while anyway, and try to feel less self-conscious about it. I also may invest in another, more fun pair of rain boots down the road. I live in Seattle, after all!

Yes, I'm one of 'those' girls ...

2009-12-23T13:46:00.001-08:00

... and am a HUGE "Sex and the City" fan! Sure, last year's movie definitely had some slow/expendable parts, but even after seeing it in the theater, I've since watched it at least 10 times on DVD. A friend gave me the DVD for my birthday last year, and I ended up buying the Blu-ray version just last week.

Anyway, "Sex and the City 2" will be coming out next year. Don't know much about the plot lines, but you can bet I'll be seeing it soon after its release! The first trailer (just a teaser) came out yesterday:

Can't WAIT!

Avoiding a pick-up ... at 8 a.m.!

2009-12-14T16:20:00.001-08:00

I walked up to my bus stop one morning last week. I was about the eighth person in line. A few people ahead of me was this Indian dude talking on a cell phone. He looked to be about my age, was shortish, and wearing a really strange/funky hat with crazy red, white and blue fringe on top. He looked my way a couple times, but I made sure to avoid his gaze. A couple minutes later, the bus pulled up. He got on, then a few people later, I followed. As I started walking down the aisle to the back half of the bus, in my peripheral vision, I saw him standing in an empty two-seat row. He looked at me and said, "You want to sit here?" pointing to the window seat. I pretended I hadn't heard him as I stepped into another row on the other side of the aisle a couple rows in front of him (my stop is the first on the route, so there were plenty of open seats). Then I pretended I'd just realized someone had said something to me, so I turned to look at him. He was still standing, and said "You can sit here," and I just kind of shrugged and said "Ohh...that's OK" as I turned around and sat down.

I must admit I was a little shocked that the guy was so bold at 8 in the morning! Sure, maybe he just geniunely wanted to meet someone new, or someone else Indian, but that 30-minute ride to work every morning is my time to read, listen to music or just tune out the world in general. So unless you're really, really cute, I'm likely not interested!

The entire bus ride after that, I was all paranoid that the guy was going to get off at my bus stop, and then try to talk to me on my way to my office. Thankfully, he either didn't get off at my stop, or else just didn't try to approach me. And then the next morning as I walked to my bus stop, I was all worried that he'd show up after me, and then rather than offer me a seat, he'd just come sit next to me (which I guess he could've done anyway that first day, but there were a lot of people still piling onto the bus at that point). I was relieved when he didn't show. Though I've been taking the same bus at the same time nearly every day since June, I'm pretty sure I'd never seen that particular guy before (much less any Indian guy, really!).

Some readers will think I'm being a bit cold with my attitude/avoidance, but it's more my fear of having to give someone the brush-off/heave-ho/rejection down the road. In my (perhaps overly optimistic) mind, I feel like I'll know when a guy is someone I'd be interested in talking to or getting to know better. At the very least, I'd like to think he'd be a bit more smooth -- and subtle -- in negotiating our first contact!

Trip reflections -- the good and the bad

2009-12-08T10:30:00.000-08:00

The good:

The XE currency-converter application for iPhone really came in handy. I downloaded it before I left Seattle, and made sure to add my preferred currencies (for this trip, the Euro and Icelandic Kronur [didn't know then that I'd also be in the Czech Republic]). The app caches the latest exchange rate of your favorite currencies every time you go offline, so though my phone was in "Airplane Mode" (and thus not sending/receiving any kind of signals) my whole trip, I could still open that app to check the prices of things in U.S. Dollars. Since I hadn't made the Czech Koruny a favorite currency, before we headed to the country, I went to XE.com and ran the converter to find out that 100 CZK is about $5.80, so I just did the math whenever I had a price in CZK in front of me (yes, we chose three countries to visit that are on three different currencies!).

I borrowed my friend/boss' wee netbook to take on the trip. I think it weighs a couple pounds, and is about the size of a personal planner thingie. The computer was super helpful, and the only reason I was able to blog consistently at least every night. My cousin U, whom we stayed with for a week in the Netherlands, took her laptop with her to work (and didn't have a desktop), so that way we could still get online in her absence. Both the hostels we stayed in had (free!) WiFi, so we then didn't have to compete with other boarders for the shared computer, or deal with worrying about what sorts of exotic bugs we might pick up by using said shared computer ...

Wool socks rock! I have a few pairs of wool hiking socks, and they were my favorite pair to wear, especially since it was cold most places we went, and we did a lot of walking. The wool socks were warm, and because they were of the hiking variety, gave my feet a lot of support and cushioning.

Shoes were key. I think I spent most of my time in my Keen tennies. Thankfully, anticipating the cold in Iceland (but not yet knowing A and I would do the glacier hike), I also had on hand my new Merrell boots, which are insulated and rated to -25F. I must admit that even with those shoes and wool snowboarding socks on, my toes started getting cold a couple hours into our glacier walk. But overall, I was mostly semi-comfortable. I had taken my Converse lace-up boots, but my feet would start hurting towards the end of the day; they don't have good arch support, and we were doing a TON of walking. So next time, I'll either take low-tops (for casual/evening wear) and/or get some insoles to put in them.

Organized tours, though sniffed at by most people my age and younger, can be an awesome thing. It's so nice to hand over the reins to someone else, and then be led around the city. Plus, the guides give you all kinds of cool background info on what you're seeing. We also liked meeting some new people from other countries. Being that we were in Prague for only two full days (and an evening and morning on either side of those days), the tour helped us see the city's best highlights. And then, on our second day in the city, we had a bit of familiarity with the sights' layouts, and could go back and spend more time at our favorite places.

I highly recommend http://www.picnik.com for on-the-go photo editing, when you don't have a photo editor on your computer. Yes, it's a bit time-consuming, but they have all the tools you need -- crop, resize, sharpen, adjust exposure/brightness/colors. I used it to prep all the photos I ended up posting on this blog. Thanks for pointing me to the site, Noah!

The bad:

A and I had good intentions when we left Seattle -- we packed a bunch of fruit/nut bars, fruit leathers, applesauce containers and easy mac 'n cheese, intending to save money by eating those as snacks/meals whenever possible. However, once we got to one city or another, the draw to eat locally -- though not necessarily local -- was too strong. So we ended up bringing a lot of that stuff back!

We tried to rely on the maps supplied in our Lonely Planet/Time Out guidebooks, but those weren't always comprehensive/detailed enough to prevent us from getting lost at least once a day. As we didn't know we'd be in Prague before we left Seattle, we didn't have a guide book for it, and instead bought a city map at a convenience store as soon as we got into town. That map was so helpful, and made it very easy for us to navigate the city. Yes, it was a pain to have to unfold/refold the full-size map, but again, it helped us get around town more efficiently than we had anywhere else.

I didn't know in advance that money-exchange counters don't exchange coins -- though they're happy enough to hand them out to you in the local currency! So I came home with pocketfuls of change in Euros, Czech Koruny and Icelandic Kronur. We were happily able to get rid of some of the Euros on the Icelandair flight from Reykjavik to Seattle, though, as you can buy menu items in USD, Euros or with a credit card. We spent 6 Euros (about $9) on a sparse fruit salad and some nacho Doritos. Hey, at least the coins didn't go to waste ... the universe only knows how little USD those Euros will have next time (if ever) we're in a country that uses them!

I need to do a little test and weigh my suitcase when it's empty. I honestly didn't over pack (too much), but my bag when I first packed it was 60 pounds!! I was able to get it down to Icelandair's limit of 50 lbs, but I was scratching my head over why it'd been so heavy in the first place. In the end, it didn't seem like the Icelandair check-in folks paid too much attention to our bags' weights anyway, but I'm sure my arms appreciated those 10 extra pounds being gone.

Next time, I need to pack much lighter. A and I each had a 50-lb rolling suitcase, and then we had a third checked bag, which was a smaller suitcase that pretty much only held our sleeping bags. Then for A's carry-on, she had a duffel bag, and I had my purse (which was a bit on the bigger side, but small enough to stow under the airplane seat in front of me) and a rolling carry-on (with my neck pillow, extra books, travel games and computer). On the way home, we also ended up checking in a day-pack, as both our suitcases were over the limit. All these bags made getting around on public transportation (trains and buses) a bit sweat-inducing and stressful. But, bear in mind that traveling in winter time inevitably means packing bulkier and heavier clothing, plus shoes for rain/cold/snow.

Overall, I'm happy with how everything on our trip went in general, considering that I hadn't really traveled anywhere in seven years. I didn't forget to pack anything major, we did successfully get our bags lugged around everywhere, we enjoyed the sights in all the cities we went to, and the hostels I ended up booking for us turned out to be really good (yes, even the 10-bed place in Reykjavik!). Certainly, it'll be much easier to plan and then go on my next travel adventure!

Day 13: Last hours in Reykjavik (and on our trip)

2009-11-28T04:59:00.000-08:00

Due to another 10 a.m. check-out time at our hostel, A and I got up around 8. I hopped in the shower, and then we began packing up the last of our belongings. We parked our bags by the front desk, and then set out on foot. We mainly wanted to do some shopping.. We saw and fell in love with some jackets at 66 North, and Icelandic outerwear company, but everything was super expensive (the thin down jacket I liked was $383), so I only left with a kids' hat (and A with nothing). We found a random store a block away called The Viking, where we each picked up a much cheaper jacket (though wind/water proof, not down). A also picked up a cute wool hat at another store. On our way back to the hostel, we stopped at a famous hot-dog stand where Bill Clinton once ate. I got a hot dog with gremolata (? it's a variation of mayonnaise) and fried onions. SO GOOD! We were tipped off to the place by Johanna, of course.

Here's a shot of downtown Reykjavik, which is, conveniently, about three blocks from our hostel:

And finally, we made one last stop, to the harbor, and took some shots of and in front of the beautiful scenery we saw for the first time (all our other outings in Reykjavik were in the dark).

Thank you, Island, it's been great, and we hope to experience more of you sometime in the future!

With that I'm officially wrapping up the extended blog coverage from our trip ... see you in Seattle!

Day 12: Glacier walking in Iceland

2009-11-27T16:55:00.000-08:00

Well, our two-week adventure is just about done. We're going out with a bang, though, as today was a really fantastic glacier walk in southern Iceland on the Sólheimajökull glacier tongue (don't ask me to try and pronounce that, I just copied and pasted it from the Web site!). A and I rolled out of bed around 7:30 a.m. and sloooowly got dressed in the dark, as all our roommates (by yesterday morning, there were three other girls in here) were still sleeping. I have a lot of plastic bags in my suitcase, as well as one huge and very loud space bag, so I actually took my suitcase into the hall so I could open it up and root around to get what I needed for the day.

By 8:30, we were in our hostel lobby, and soon after, the Reykjavik Excursions shuttle bus pulled up to get us. After picking up some other folks in nearby hostels, we were off. It was a two-hour drive to the glacier, and around 10, the sun finally started coming up, and we got some great views:

During the ride, I also realized that sh*t, I'd forgotten my gloves!! We stopped at a service station about 30 minutes from the glacier to visit the restroom and buy food, and luckily they had some Polartec fleece gloves for sale. They were a bit small, but I just found the largest pair, and bought them without even looking at the price.

Then, we all (there were about 12 of us, and two guides) arrived at the end of the glacier "tongue," and split into two groups. Our guide was named Atna (or something ... that's his name in my blog, anyway). We got fitted for crampons, and got ice axes. Then we walked a few hundred feet out past the car-park area, and sat down to strap on our crampons. Atna gave us about two minutes of training on walking with the crampons, and then we were off:

Because no snow had fallen on the glacier, we didn't have to worry about ice bridges or hidden cravasses. The ground was solid ice, and you could see the blue of the water/ice very clearly (the dust/dirt everywhere is thanks to all the winds and volcanic dust that gets blown around):

Obligatory shot with the ice axe held in a funny position..:

Atna takes us through an ice tunnel:

Atna helps someone get up and out of the ice tunnel:

Etc.:

The weather was of course cold (I'd say in the 20s, Fahrenheit), and we even had some snow flurries. Plus it got windier and windier the higher up we went. Atna would periodically just stop and look around for seemingly no reason at all, and we'd all just stand around him, waiting...waiting...and then he'd whistle some tune after a few minutes and set off again. Very strange, and not super fun when we were amid the wind gusts!

On the way back to Reykjavik, we stopped to visit two waterfalls, Skógafoss and Seljalandsfoss. I'm beat now, so I'll try to post pics of those later (they're your basic waterfalls, no offense, Icelanders!). On the 1.5-hour journey from the second waterfall to Reykjavik, darkness quickly fell, and the bus was really silent. We got back to our hostel around 6:30 p.m. Turned out we had a new roommate, also Indian, but from Australia. She (let's call her S), A and I all hit it off right away, and headed out around 8 (A wanted to shower) to track down an Italian restaurant recommended by the hostel's receptionist. We set out, and immediately got lost (yeah, surprise! street signs are a rare commodity in downtown Reykjavik, at least for us!). We walked in a couple big circles, asked a couple random folks for help, and then finally stumbled into the restaurant a good 40 minutes later (we discovered on the way back that the place was actually only about 5 blocks from our hostel ...). The food was good (especially the delicious warm chocolate cake we got for dessert), but due to super slow service, we didn't pay our bill until 11:30 p.m. We were going to stop by a bar on the way back to "meet people," but the cold was getting to us by that point, so we ended up just coming right back. A and I spent some time trying to pack up most of our bags, as we have to check out by 10 a.m. tomorrow. Our flight back home to Seattle isn't until nearly 5, so we have a few hours to kill between check-out and catching the FlyBus to the airport -- we'll spend those hours shopping downtown, and finally seeing Reykjavik in the daylight for the first time!

OK, exhausted ... Pooja out.

Day 11: Travel day, arrival in Reykjavik and most hilarious pic EVAR!

2009-11-26T13:07:00.000-08:00

Oh MAN!! I caught A unawares in our hostel as I snapped a pic of her from my top bunk while she was e-mailing. Thanks for being a sport about my posting this, A. It's too hilarious for the rest of the world to not see!!

Anyway, moving on ... We had a thankfully less dramatic departure from the Netherlands this morning, thanks to the hours of packing we put in last night (though I hardly slept last night, and am really feeling the burn now). We said our goodbyes to U around 9:45 after the taxi guy pulled up, and then we began the fun task of lugging all our bags downstairs and out of her building, and then through the train station and onto the train itself. Thankfully, it wasn't rush hour -- it's like India times 10 in the train stations then, there're so many people -- but it was still taxing. Thankfully, we had some assistance with bags here and there from some other train riders.

Once we got go Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam (after about a 30-minute train ride from Utrecht), we checked in our bags and then set off to do some duty-free shopping, mainly for items requested by our Dad. We found one item he wanted (Sennheisen [sp?] headphones), but we'll have to try for the others in Keflavik Airport here in Iceland. Our flight from Amsterdam to Keflavik was about three hours long. We had a great view of Iceland as we flew in; A snapped a few pics from her window-seat vantage point:

As you can see, it's pretty barren! Though I don't think we passed over Reykjavik itself, which is where I think the bulk of Iceland's population resides. After we arrived at Keflavik, got our bags, and began heading toward the exit, we two, among the sea of white people, were of course pulled aside for a random Customs check!! Thankfully, it was painless; they just re-x-rayed all our bags, and then we finally were on our way. We stepped out into the frigid air (-2 degrees C/28 degrees F) to hop on the FlyBus that most people seemed to be also hopping onto. This took us on a 50-minute drive into Reykjavik, and then we hopped a smaller shuttle at the bus terminal that took us to our actual hostel.

Our hostel is right in the middle of downtown Reykjavik, which is really convenient. And though our room is a 10-bed, female-only ensuite (meaning, we share one bathroom inside our room), there's only one girl in here besides A and me. The guy at the front desk, who I believe is Australian, has been amazingly helpful. He even, at our request, booked a day tour for us (more on that in a sec) and charged it to the hostel. We then paid the hostel back with our own credit cards. After plonking our bags down in our room, we consulted our (via Johanna) Lonely Planet guidebook, and decided to walk a couple blocks down the street to a tapas restaurant. After dinner (which was good, but nothing exciting), we walked a bit further into the downtown area, and swung through a grocery store to pick up some food for tomorrow's outing. We then came back to the hostel around 8, and are now getting ready to head back out to chillax at a cafe. Apparently the cafes become dance clubs in the late evenings, so A and I will take separate key cards so she can stay out late and party and meet "people" if she so desires.

As for tomorrow's outing, we're actually going on a glacier walk, which sounds super amazing. I think we'll be gone for 10 hours total, but four of those hours will be spent on the road getting to and from the glacier. We get to wear crampons and wield an ice axe and everything! If you want to know more about what we'll be doing, there's more info on the Icelandic Mountain Guides' Web site. Think it's supposed to be partly sunny tomorrow (or, at least, not wet), so this should be a really special experience. More tomorrow night, of course!

And I must of course toss a huge thank you to Johanna, for the guide book, e-mailed/phone advice and even helping us find this great hostel!

Day 10: Lots of running around

2009-11-25T15:50:00.000-08:00

Waited too long to write this up, so it's gonna be quick. Just got too caught up in catching up with U after our Prague jaunt, and then A and I tried to get the bulk of our packing done. We were successful, in my opinion, but as it's now nearly 1 a.m., and we're planning to be up at 7:30 a.m., I'm sure it's still going to be a bit of a manic morning tomorrow (we're going to order a taxi for 9:45 a.m. to take us to the train station).

Our trip back to Utrecht was uneventful; we checked out of our hostel (which, for the great reveal, was the Prague Lion -- I'll try to write more about it later) around 9:45 a.m., and stashed our luggage in their luggage-storage room. Headed to Old Town Square and picked up those last-minute souvenirs I mentioned yesterday. Then we sat down for a huge breakfast at a restaurant in Old Town Square, right in front of the Astronomical Clock. It was sunny/warm enough that with the help of the nearby heater lamp, I was able to enjoy my breakfast in just my T-shirt and thin microfleece -- really nice way to stay goodbye to the city. Oh, and FYI, Johanna: Not much further action on the whole Christmas-tree/booths thing. The light strands had been put up about halfway down the tree, and the booths had red felt roofs, but that was it.

Got back to U's around 6:30.. more paneer for dinner, and two servings of tea to bookend the food. Then we were delighted to discover an episode of "Australian Border Patrol" on the TV. Saw an amusing bit on a Chinese lady who was very distressed that she couldn't bring her boxes of mushrooms (with no name in English) into the country ...

OK, fading fast, I'm off!

Day 9, part II: Anticlimax

2009-11-24T13:56:00.000-08:00

Well, our evening plans unfortunately went poof tonight ... We set out in the dark and drizzle at 7 as planned to meet our tour guide for the pub tour. We met at the appointed place, waited and waited for others to show up, but no one else came. We were then informed that the guide (who only shows up after the guidees have arrived; in the meantime, there's some other hired dude you wait around with) doesn't do tours with less than three "discount" customers (we had a half-off coupon from our hostel). In the end, the liaison with the guide -- who had the guide on his cell phone -- was like "Sorry!" The guide wanted us to talk to him on the liaison's phone, but we were like "No, never mind, we're leaving." So then we spent a good 40 minutes wandering around nearby streets looking for a "fun" bar were "we [could] meet people" (I'm quoting my sister here, though in actuality, she was looking to more meet "people" of the male variety, though she has a man already!). That was a no go, so we slowly headed back towards our hostel.

A block from our hostel, we perused the menu of a restaurant we'd walked by and eyed a few times over the past couple days. We decided to go ahead and order one dish and one dessert to split between us, and ordered it as a take-out item, to avoid having to tip (plus, it was a bit of a hoity-toity looking place). We then enjoyed a lovely dinner of pistachio-encrusted chicken breast with a lemony cream sauce, and pineapple slices with mascapone cheese, coconut milk and raspberry sauce.

Around 9:15, we wandered back outside and scouted out two bars across the street from that restaurant we'd eaten food from. We went into one, but just ended up sitting by our lonesomes at the bar. There were a few groups of people in there, but they all kept to themselves, and the layout of the bar wasn't such that we could easily join in any of the various conversations. So after the one drink... back we came. Our clothes and hair were saturated with cigarette smoke (I swear, one of our two people smokes here -- annoying), so we've each just finished taking a late-night shower.

Hopefully, we'll get to bed at a decent time, as tomorrow will be a whirlwind for us. We have to check out of our room by 10 a.m. Then we'll stash our luggage in our hostel's luggage room. We'll make one last, quick souvenir run, likely to the Old Town Square area, and then by 11:30, we have to get to the metro (subway) station a few blocks away to head towards the airport. Then we transfer to a bus that takes us the last leg. Our flight back to the Netherlands is at 2, so by 5 or so, we should be sipping tea at our cousin's in Utrecht. We'll be heading out of the Netherlands for the final time Thursday morning (en route to Reykjavik), so tomorrow night will also be a bit busy, in that we'll hopefully get everything nearly packed up and weighed, etc.

We're nearly to the home stretch of our two weeks of travels, and I must admit I'm really looking forward to relaxing in my own home! But we've definitely been having a great time out here.

Day 9: Second (and final) full day in Prague

2009-11-24T08:55:00.000-08:00

So I'm doing my Day 9 Part I blog update while Ms. A is (take a guess) sleeping, of course! To recap the day's activities ...

We rolled out of bed this morning around 9:30 not really knowing where exactly we'd go. However, I was craving some TGI Friday's (don't laugh -- I LOVE their Sesame Jack Chicken Strips appetizer, and all of their Seattle [and nearby] locations have closed -- Julie, you'll understand!!), and we'd spied one during our tour yesterday. So as it was about 11 by the time we were ready to head out, we made a beeline for Old Town and TGIF. Thankfully, their menu did contain my beloved chicken strips, and I devoured them with a tasty house-made raspberry iced tea. SO GOOD!

Next, we wandered around Old Town a bit, looking for a souvenir for Mom. Didn't find much, but as it was nearing the hour (of 1), we headed back to Old Town Square and the Astronomical Clock, to see the little ceremony that goes on every hour (and apparently has gone on every hour for 600 years now). There was a huge crowd gathered at the base of the tower. The ceremony itself lasted only maybe two minutes, and featured the "12 Apostles" rotating behind the windows above the clock dials. Plus there were some little figurines under the window who pulled/rang little bells and moved a bit. Ooh la la! After that, we paid about $5 to take two elevators up to the top of the Clock tower. Once there, we had yet another amazing view of Prague. Here are some of the best pictures (I should mention here that we brought along my little 8.1 megapixel digital camera, but also my dad's 12 (?) megapixel Canon DSLR, which of course takes far superior pictures. Nearly all the Prague photos are being taken on the Canon):

Looking west toward Prague Castle (notice the dark spires way in the background):

In the center of this shot, which looks down into Old Town Square, you can see the Christmas tree that's been erected. When we walked back through the Square a couple hours later, they'd started putting lights on it. Looks like they'll have some sort of festival or event there; all those brown, box things were little booths with numbers. Maybe we'll try to wander through there later tonight or in the morning to see what's going on:

Next, we set out for this shopping mall A had seen earlier in the day, which boasted 200 shops inside. We browsed through several, but didn't buy anything. I did grab some kiwi gelato on our way out -- yum. Then, we headed to the Jewish Quarter to a store our tour had swung through briefly yesterday. Our tour guide had recommended it as a good place to buy cheap(er) garnet jewelry (which the Czech Republic is known for) and glassware made in the C.R. We found a cool glass bowl for Mom, that we think she should keep on the dining-room table as a centerpiece (it's not made for putting food in). The store nicely had it delivered to our hostel tonight, but it's going to be a bit of a task getting it home on Icelandair, as both our big checked bags were nearly at the limit of 50 lbs ...

Finally, to finish up our outing, we walked back across the Charles Bridge, to check out the art and jewelry for sale by local artists. At that point, our run of good luck with the weather unfortunately ran out (though thankfully, it was dusk at this point), and little rain drops began falling. The artists all either quickly packed up and left, or covered their wares with opaque plastic, which didn't make for the best shopping for us. So we crossed over to the west side of the Vltava River, and went into a glassware/jewelry store, where I found a cute clear-and-green turtle which I can put on a shelf somewhere, and a bead bracelet. And then, I'm afraid to say, we were silly Americans yet again and stepped into a McDonald's to enjoy some fries and a Diet Coke. What can I say, I get cravings for McD's fries! Interestingly, I ordered a large size of both the fries and the soda, but what I got was the equivalent of what would be a medium for each in the U.S. ...

Around 5:30 p.m., we arrived back in our hostel. A did some Internet business, and then of course fell into bed. Now it's 6:45 p.m., so I'm going to go shake her awake, as we have to head to Wenceslas Square at 7 for tonight's Pub Tour. More later!

Day 9: First full day in Prague

2009-11-23T09:33:00.000-08:00

So it's been a long, but very enjoyable first day here in Prague -- and we're actually not done with our day yet (it's now 6:30 p.m.; we left the hostel around 9:45 a.m., and only got back maybe 30 min. ago). We're heading out to an hour-long ghost walk/tour around 8 (it came for free with the ticket to the tour we just got back from). As I type, A is zonked out on her bed. I tell you, that chick naps when and wherever she can -- on the trains, on 90-minute flights, while we're in our hostel between activities ...

Anyway, when I got up around 8, I checked the weather forecast. I saw that the temperature would be the same for both today and Tuesday (upper 40s), but that while Tues. there was a 70% chance of rain, today there was only a 20% chance. So A and I decided to indeed go on the foot/boat/tram tour I mentioned in yesterday's post. We hit the shower, and were on the road headed to Wenceslas Sqaure (same guy the Christmas song is about, although they don't sing the song in the Czech Republic). We had to buy our tour tickets nearby, but the map and instructions were confusing. As far as I could tell, the tickets were for sale either in some place called Muzeum, or in a KFC (yes, Kentucky Fried Chicken). Went to the Muzeum, which turned out to be the underground Metro station. No go. So then we wandered into the KFC. The lady at the counter was like "You don't buy tour tickets at the KFC." Yes, I'd also thought it hadn't made sense, but a day of travel for us wouldn't be complete without some sort of foible like that! Anyway, we then decided to just go across the street to the tour's meeting place. The guy there thankfully pointed us to the actual ticket office, which was in a corridor next to the KFC (I of course looked closer at the brochure for the tour later, and discovered the fine print where they gave this vital information). We got our tickets, and then were off on our tour a few minutes later with our fun Czech guide. There were about 10 other folks with us, all from the U.K., mainly from Ireland.

The weather, though brisk and chilly, was really beautiful for an outdoor tour. And the sights...wow, they were truly amazing. I swear, every single building in this city is photogenic and photo worthy! I was snapping pictures left and right. I would love to post a ton of pics to go with this blog post, but I'm just going to choose some of the highlights for now.

So again, the tour lasted six hours. We got a quick primer on the history of Czechoslovakia, Prague and the Czech Republic, and then set out from there to walk around the Old and New Town sections on the east side of the Vltava River. We stopped for some lunch (included in our tour fee), where Anuja and I sat across a woman and her 12-year-old niece from Ireland. The niece, Kiera, was quite thrilled to hear we were from Seattle, and quickly revealed her "Twilight" obsession. Kiera and her aunt are from a small village an hour's drive from Dublin, so Kiera was actually quite fascinated with all things American (she's never been anywhere in the U.S.).

After lunch, we hopped onto a boat and took an hour-long cruise a bit down the river and back (to the left is a shot from inside the boat; that's our tour guide in the yellow jacket). We also were treated to a beverage of our choice during this. We got our first glimpses of the Prague Castle (the world's largest ancient castle) and went under the famous Charles Bridge). Then we walked across the Charles Bridge and hopped a tram up to the Castle. We spent some time walking around the castle grounds, and went on a tour of the Basilica of St. Vitus, which took 600 years to build. Then, as the sun was setting around 4:30, we parted ways with our guide. A and I took some snaps of the city from our high vantage point, and then began the walk down and toward our hostel. We stopped for some Starbucks on the way (it got a wee bit colder once the sun was fully set), and had a nice 30-minute walk along the waterfront.

... and now it's a few hours later ...

So we arrived at the start of the Ghost Walk around 8:30. Turned out there were only two other folks there, an Irish couple we'd met on our earlier tour. The "tour" (more a jaunt around a few nearby blocks) took an hour, and no offense to our guide, but even that was a bit too long for me! The stories were interesting, sure, but her delivery needed some work. Everything was a bit too dramatic.. i.e., "And THENNNNNN, out of the DAAAAAARK, the ghost of the buuuuutcher jumps OUT! WHOAAAAA!" And despite their being only four of us, she still used a microphone. We did get some laughs at certain points when someone dressed up as the ghost she'd just discussed jumped out at us from behind a building, but in general....yeah. I'm glad it was free!!

After the tour, A and I decided to walk balk to our hostel, and try to find a cool-looking place to have some dessert and drinks. A few blocks from our hotel, a group of young guys came out of a bar and said "You guys speak English?" We said yes. They said, "Do you know where 'Dkjeoreuiysya' [insert name of Czech dance club] is?" We said "Uh, we just got here last night." Then they said, "Well, would you like to join us for a beer?" We said, "Um, sure!" The nearest place was the one they'd just emerged from (I think they'd been in there inquiring about said club), and A and I were amused to discover it was also the place in which we'd had dinner the night before. Turned out the guys were all from Denmark, in their mid-20s, and in Prague to do something school related (they're going to be some kind of commercial truck drivers) and then party/drink/dance before and after the school stuff. They were all very funny and chatty. One guy was quite tipsy, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head when I said I was 31 ("WHAT?! I'm only 24! I'm a baby!"). We all hung out for just over an hour or so, as by that time their feet were itching to get to the dance club. It was quite entertaining, glad we finally got to meet and chat with some interesting people.

As far as tomorrow.. no firm plans yet. At the very least, we want to do some souvenir shopping, and then in the evening, we're going to go on another tour with this company we did the two tours with today. This one'll be a traditional Czech dinner, followed by a pub tour. Kinda wish we'd done an organized tour in Amsterdam, as they're a really great way to find out interesting info about the city you're in, and not have to deal with getting around town on your own. Plus, then you also find out the spots you want to go back and explore more on your own.

Some of my favorites for today -- view of the Prague Castle from our tour boat (and yes, I believe that entire stretch of buildings comprises the castle):

Looking back on Charles Bridge:

Me and A, self-photo at the bottom of Prague Castle, with Old Town in the background:

From the Charles Bridge, looking to Old Town:

Day 8: Mad packing and travel to Prague

2009-11-22T12:46:00.000-08:00

A and I started some laundry around 9 p.m. last night, as it was the halfway point of our trip, and we needed fresher clothes. Due to having some fleece, wool and wicking clothes in the one load, we tossed everything into the dryer on low. However, by the time we started thinking about going to bed around midnight, the clothes were all still super damp! So I took out the quick-dry stuff (mainly my hand and body towels) and some of the fleeces. 1 a.m... still wet.Took out the jeans, spread them over the couches by the radiator. 2 a.m... still wet! Took out all the wool socks, spread them out on the dining-table chairs to dry, turned dryer to "Extra dry." However, by the time I got up and rechecked everything around 9:30, nothing was fully dry! So I restarted the dryer, but when U came into the laundry room a few minutes later, she said we should just try to air dry everything. So we cranked up the heat in her place a few degrees, and spread everything wherever we could. Thanks to A for thinking to snap a pic of the living-room scene (and bear in mind that that's only about half of our laundry you're seeing there!)..

We had some chai, and then started madly packing for our Prague mini-break. We were on a budget airline, so we'd selected "carry-on only" to save the $$ we would've had to pay to check in luggage. Had some minor panic when we realized my carry-on was 1.5 kg over the limit, though I really didn't have a ton of stuff in there. Finally got it down to 10.5 kg, 0.5 over the limit. Then I pulled on my jeans that were still damp at the waist, and we were off to the bus. The train ride over to Eindhoven (where the airport we were flying out of is) took 50 minutes, which was painfully long for me, as I hadn't brought along a book (didn't want to add the weight to my carry-on, though later I realized I could've held it separately), and didn't want to listen to music on my Zune, as it's down to about half its juice, and I don't think I brought the charger from Seattle. However, it was a beautiful day to be traveling through some of the Netherlands' farm country, and I did manage to pull off this nail-fragment thing on my right index finger that had been bothering me for several days!!

Got to the Eindhoven station, and then hopped a bus over to the actual airport. The airport was super tiny -- I think they only have flights to the U.K. and Europe. And look, you can even fly on Twitter Air!! No.. it's Transavia.

Anyway, after all my drama trying to pack that carry on, it turned out it was too big to actually be carried on (yes, I was asked to try and squeeze it into this tester box). So I had to shell out $30 to check it in. (I should note that I'm trying to be better about not focusing on the costs of everything out here -- just on enjoying the sights and scenery and making the most of it!) The seating was open seating, so there was quite a crush as we lined up to hand over our boarding passes. Then A looked out the windows behind the gate clerk to the tarmac, and said "Uh, where's our plane?" Turned out after checking in, we had to stand in line for 10 minutes, then go outside and stand in line for 10 minutes, and then walk over to the plane that'd finally arrived and walk up the stair car's stairs (sadly, no "Bluth Company" logo on these stair cars!). A and I were flying on Wizzair, which you'd think would have a yellow-colored plane ... but it was actually fuschia and purple. Luckily, the plane was only maybe 2/3 full, so we got a three-seat row to ourselves. The flight was only about 90 minutes long, which was nice (you could even buy soda for 2.50 Euro (about $3.75)!

We got off in Prague at 5:30 p.m. Did the usual post-flight-in-a-new-country drill (pee, exchange money, get more money, buy bus tickets) and then caught the bus, and then after that the metro into the heart of Prague. We got off the metro at about 6:45, and though we had some directions from the hostel's Web site, we of course immediately got lost (how the heck do we know which way is "toward the river"??). Got no help from two storekeepers (most stores were closed by that time, so it was slim pickings), and then we finally were able to buy a map at a drugstore. With its help, we finally walked in the door at our hostel 20 minutes later. Despite the frustration of being lost yet again, we did get to walk along the riverfront and get a preview of Prague's amazing architecture.

Our hostel, which I found myself online, is really awesome so far. It's just A and me in here (though there are four beds), and for three nights' accommodation, we're only paying about $55 each. We have our own bathroom, with a heated floor and heated towel rack (A: "Oh my god, I'm just going to stay here in the bathroom"). We have a little kitchen area with a table and chairs, fridge, microwave, sink and dishes/mugs. There's even a water boiler thing, if we buy some tea to brew. We have free WiFi on top of all that, so it feels quite luxurious. The only hitch is that we're right behind the reception area (staffed 24/7!) by the one Internet-enabled computer, and the window by our beds faces the street (not a main road, though). However, the price is awesome, and we're within a 5-20-minute walk of all the Prague attractions. I'd share the name now, but I don't want to activate my local stalkers, so I'll save that for later.

After gawking for a few minutes over our room, we freshened up and headed out for some grub. We went to a pub a couple blocks away, and had some delicious pasta. Our eyes were as always bigger than our stomachs, but thankfully the place gives take-home boxes (for about $0.50 each), so we've got the leftovers in our fridge to eat over the next few days.

I think tomorrow we're going to embark on a boat/foot/tram tour for most of the day. It lasts 6 hours, costs about $35, covers the main attractions, and even includes beer tastings and lunch. Plus, as a bonus, it doesn't start until 10:30 a.m. ...

Day 7: Amsterdam, part II

2009-11-21T14:21:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe we've been in the Netherlands for a week now, and are halfway through our European adventure. But we had a great last day here with U. We were planning to head out for brunch around 11, so I rolled out of bed at 9 and hopped into the shower. After I got out, U and A took their showers, and it was then of course time for our morning tea (what we call "chaha," which is similar in taste to Lipton tea, but U makes it the Indian way, using this brown powder). Next, U asked to finally have her hair styled using my fancy T3 Duality straightener (which, conveniently, is dual voltage, so I just have to use a plug adapter), so there went 30 minutes (she was satisfied in the end, though). So...by the time we got to the bus stop, it was nearly noon. We got off at Utrect's Centraal Station, and then walked down the street to the outdoor walking/shopping area.

We didn't want to take the time to stop to eat, but we did swing through U's favorite bakery to pick up some sweets (for A: a raspberry mousse thing, for U a chocolate eclair, and for me a lemon-meringue tart and a cheese-stuffed croissant, which I'm saving for tomorrow). Then we swung by a frites booth to get some fries, this time with satay sauce. Those we ate on the way back to the train station. As with every place we've gone via train, the trip took about 35 minutes. If you're a little bit tired, the motion of the train can really get you sleepy..

We rolled into Amsterdam around 2:30. I was immediately extra glad we'd come back to Amsterdam for a second visit, as this time (as opposed to Wednesday), the weather was really beautiful -- in the 50s and sunny. We had a little time to kill before A's 4 p.m. tattoo appointment, so we headed south from the station to hit up a couple stores we'd found addresses for online (Puma and Swatch).

We managed to only lose about 10 minutes while lost/disoriented -- and were a bit comforted to see at least one person on every other corner confusedly looking at a map of the city!

It was about 3 by the time we got to the shops, so we didn't spend much time shopping. A picked up a couple bags at Puma (extras of a bag she'd picked up at a Puma in Den Haag yesterday) and I got a watch at Swatch. Then we hightailed it north towards the Red Light District, and managed to walk into Hanky Panky Tattoo with a couple minutes to spare. U and I ate our pastries from the morning while A got inked (an Indian-style elephant, on her right shoulder blade). It was a little disconcerting to be eating sweets in the shop's lobby, with the pumping music and tattoo art all over!

A's tattooing was pretty quick, maybe 15 minutes (it took about half an hour for them to figure out the tattoo itself, location, etc.), so by 5, we were walking down south toward the Heineken Experience. We ended up jumping on a tram to go the half mile or so (the guys at the tattoo shop had told us it was too far to walk, but it really wasn't, so we walked back after wards).

We were a bit taken aback at the admission fee of 15 Euro -- about $23 -- but we figured we were already there, and we'd also read that we'd get a free Heineken glass upon our exit. The place is the site of the original Heineken factory, but they don't actually brew beer there anymore. The "experience" gives you a history of the Heineken founders/family and their beer-making process. There was a silly "ride" where about 20 of us stood in rows behind these railings, and "experienced" the process of beer making. The steps we stood on went up and down and side to side to simulate the brewing and bottling phases of the process. Pretty cheesy. Probably the most enjoyable part of the Experience was making the green-screen video, which you can see on my previous blog post. We've watched the video four times now and we still laugh just as hard!!

At the end of the tour, A and I shelled out $7.50 to get a bottle of Heineken (yes, it has real beer in it) with a custom label. Mine says: Brewed at Heineken Experience, Amsterdam, Holland by Pooja! A also bought a couple beer glasses, which she got engraved for herself and our dad.

We'd been planning to then go to the Van Gogh Museum, which was maybe a half mile from the H.E., but by that time it was 7:30 or 8, and we were craving pizza, so we started walking back up towards the train station. On the way, we spied a restaurant called New York Pizza, so we stopped in to share a medium four-cheese pizza. It was of course nowhere near being called "New York"-style pizza, but it did really hit the spot. Between NY Pizza and the station, we made sure to find and stop by a "coffee shop" so A could restock on her special brownies ...

Now, we've drank our traditional evening tea, had some snacks, and are doing laundry. Tomorrow, A and I have to head out of the apartment by noon or so to begin the journey to Eindhoven airport for our flight to Prague. I've pulled up a "What to do for two days in Prague" list, so as long as the weather cooperates, we'll hopefully make the most of our time over there. I'm also crossing my fingers the hostel is good! Packing tonight/tomorrow will be tricky; checking in bags costs about $15, so we're each just carrying on one bag. Figuring out the whole liquids/gels business will be fun! Not sure what the Internet solution will be at our hostel, but hopefully I'll be blogging from the Czech Republic tomorrow night!

This video deserves a blog entry of its own

2009-11-21T13:30:00.000-08:00

We partook in some green-screen fun as part of the Heineken Experience, which is sort of a museum/amusement park in the original Heineken factory in Amsterdam. Yes, we'd already done the tasting by this point. I'm sure we three find it a lot more hilarious than any of you will, but ... enjoy!!

You just can't escape it...

2009-11-21T00:59:00.001-08:00

...spied this abandoned on the train earlier this week...

The cousins

2009-11-21T00:51:00.000-08:00

The other night, as we were eating a delicious paneer dinner, U, A and I decided to pose for some self-photos. Here they are, for your enjoyment...

1. I somehow got caught mid-chew, and with my ponytail swinging. U must've sensed this, and this was chuckling at me??

2. A goes to reset the timer on the camera, and decides to snap a surprise pic of us in the meantime. This is our fun, new tradition! (And yet, yes, it still caught me unawares.)

3. Finally, success!

Day 6: Den Haag

2009-11-20T15:41:00.000-08:00

This morning, we awoke to beautiful sunny skies. We managed to get out of the apartment around 10-something, and then hopped the train out west to Den Haag (aka the Hauge), which is near the west coast of the Netherlands. We'd never gone that direction before, and it was a cool 40-minute trip that went through some farmlands.

Alas, once we got off the train in Den Haag, the weather had changed, and it was ominously warm and a bit overcast. We headed out towards our main sightseeing stop in Den Haag, the Mauritshuis (an art museum). Luckily, there were helpful signs all along the way to help us get there. However, a couple blocks from the station, we were distracted by a Subway.. Being that it was now just after noon, we decided it was lunch time. The menu was very similar to the Subway menus in the U.S. (with the addition of "chicken tikka" and the exclusion of my usual, the BLT [which I improvised by ordering a veggie delite with bacon]), though the price was of course a bit more expensive. Five-dollar six-inch sandwiches, maybe? The place itself was also swankier -- it had a lounge-y upstairs area with couches and even some computers. The sandwiches were delicious.

After our quick lunch, it was only a five-minute walk to the Mauritshuis. As a bonus, an audio-tour device was included in the admission fee, so we were able to hear lots of cool facts about many of the paintings. Our main reason to go there was to see the Vermeer and Rembrandt paintings. This museum's collection is apparently the best in the Netherlands, and the Vermeer paintings included the famous Girl With the Pearl Earring one. I must admit I have a low threshold when it comes to wandering museums of any kind, but this place wasn't huge (just two floors, and maybe 9-10 rooms total) and the art was truly amazing.

When we exited the Mauritshuis, we were annoyed to discover the rains had moved in (though thankfully, not winds). However, we walked a few blocks around the Mauritshuis to take in the Parliament building and grounds (see picture).

Though I'd worn a winter hat and had on my rain jacket, A had unfortunately worn a hood-less jacket and didn't have an umbrella. I had an umbrella (of course, being that I'm Ms. Preparation!), so I gave it to her. We then spent the next hour wandering around the various shopping areas. We'd been told to avoid buying much in Den Haag as everything is pricey, but I did pick up a couple souvenirs (a small Holland snow-globe for myself, and a ceramic windmill-scene thing for my parents). We then escaped into a little coffee place (NOT a "coffee house"!) to warm up and dry off with some hot chocolate (delicious!) and this apple pastry (so-so). Then we trudged back to the train station, and were back at U's apartment around 6. U's friend/co-worker Hemant was over, and had brought the fixings for pani puri, a delicious Indian dish (see this site for more on pani puri). We ate, talked, drank and talked some more. Then I spent a good hour online researching hostels in Prague. Finally settled on one (a bit more central than the one you'd recommended, Johanna) and went ahead and booked it. Nice to have that weight off my shoulders -- I think figuring out lodging can be one of the hardest parts of trip planning, especially for someone like me who has certain standards for the bathroom situation!! Both of our rooms in Prague in Reykjavik have ensuite bathrooms..

Up next: We're all three going to head into Utrecht for brunch at U's favorite pastry place in the shopping/eating area of town by Centraal Station. Then we're going to hop the train to Amsterdam to finish up our sightseeing there. Hoping to hit up the Van Gogh museum and Heineken factory, and then A has a 4 p.m. appointment at this well-known tattoo parlor in the Red Light District (she's still working out the what/where details of her tattoo). We'll also do some light shopping, I'm sure. And hopefully with the three brains between all of us, we won't get lost quite so much this time! Saturday will be our last full day in the Netherlands, with our Prague trip now booked. Hard to believe it! I'm sure it'll be great to spend time in Prague and Reykjavik, but I know I'll miss U (of course!) and staying in an apartment. We certainly can't leave our stuff out and about in a hostel, though our Prague room at least will contain just the two of us (our Reykjavik room could contain up to eight other ladies).

OK....bedtime!

Day 5: Recovery day, and hanging out in Utrecht

2009-11-19T14:10:00.000-08:00

Due to A and I staying up until 2 this morning trying again (in vain, alas) to figure out whether we'll go to Prague this weekend (the fares went up, so we're debating again), we decided to sleep in a bit this morning, until about 9:30 (or 10:30, on A's part). Then our plan was to head over to the other side of Utrecht, to check out their best-known landmark, the Dom Tower, which is the highest church tower in the Netherlands. However, U was once again working from home, so we got caught up eating, drinking tea and chatting, and didn't actually head out the door until just after 4. Unfortunately, once we took a closer look at the Tower's info in our guide book while waiting for the bus into town, we realized that we wouldn't make it to the place before it shut down at 5 (all the stores and tourist attractions here closes around 5 or 6, it's very annoying).

Centraal Station, which is where we were headed, has a ton of shopping/food inside and around it, so we instead decided to stop in there and try some famous Dutch frites (fries). We grabbed some at the first stall we came across, and got a side sauce supposedly curry flavored. We, however, decided it tasted more like a sweet tamarind sauce. All the fries places, as we saw later, supply you with these mini fork things, which makes eating the fries much easier.

Next, we got distracted by an H&M store in the station (like Starbucks in Seattle, H&Ms are on every other street corner in the busier parts of town). I've only been in the Seattle H&M a couple times, but was never compelled to buy anything. However, I did walk out of this store with a long, button-up black sweater (from their girls' section), a scarf and some gloves. On our way back to the main area of the station, we encountered a traveling band periodically playing music to honor of Saint Nicholas' Eve, which is like the Christians' Christmas, but celebrated on Dec. 5 (commemorated by a huge parade). The main figure of this event is Sinterklaas. The band members are thus wearing, well, "brown face," as that's how Sinterklass appears. we're seeing images of this dude everywhere right now..

We then met U at 6:15, and she led us out of the station and to a nearby walking/shopping/eating area off a canal. Even at night, the place was really beautiful, with restaurants also below street level along the canals. We went out this particular night because the stores in town all stay open until 9 p.m. on Thursdays (ooh, fancy!). We got another batch of frites, this time with a more traditional sauce of mayonnaise (very good), and after some more walking around, sat down for dinner at this cool, quasi-Italian place. Turned out they only had a couple of vegetarian/chicken-only dishes, so we settled on a pasta dish with mushroom sauce, spinach and goat cheese salad, and chicken satay with, of all things, a baked potato with cream cheese and chives. U and A pose during dinner:

There was a ton of food, so when the server came to bring our check, I asked if he could pack the pasta up for us. I got a blank look.. So I said, "You know, a container for us to take this home? "Leftovers"? So we can eat it later?" But we just got more blank looks. Finally, U was like "Uh, never mind, we'll just take the check." A wanted to buy a version of the glass her beer had been served in (it had the name of a Dutch brew on it), so she asked if the restaurant sold them. The server said "No, we don't sell them, but if you're careful, you can be shneaky and take it home." Yes, he said "shneaky." Not sure if that's just how the Dutch pronounce that word or what, but we were giggling over it every five minutes during the 30-minute walk home. They won't box food up for you to take home, but hey, go ahead and steal a glass!

In other news, we didn't make it to the grocery store today, so no chip-tasting Round 2 quite yet. The weather made a return to lovely today, thankfully. Tomorrow, we're off to the Hague (or that's the plan, anyway)!

Lay's chips' review, Round 1

2009-11-19T03:47:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I've recently developed a fascination with other countries' potato chips, mostly those by the brand Lay's, as they seem to have all kinds of fancy flavors in different countries. Here again are the flavors I picked up on Monday here in Utrecht:

L-R: Lay's Sensations Thai Sweet Chili, Cheese Onion, Bolognese Originale, Barbecue Ham and Paprika.

The reviews: The Sweet Chili chips are the most unique tasting. A likes them, but I'm not a huge fan of the spices. Cheese Onion is very similar to the U.S.'s sour cream and onion, but has a stronger cheddar (instead of sour cream) taste. Bolognese is close to our BBQ flavor, with a tinge of Italian spices (i.e., oregano). Barbecue ham is basically Canadian bacon (I love bacon, but am not a huge fan of the Canadian variety), and Paprika is again BBQ. Kind of disappointing that despite the names of the chips, they're very similar to flavors we have in the U.S. I'm hoping to get back to the grocery store later today to grab a couple bags of other Lay's Sensations flavors. Then I can do Round 2 of my Dutch taste test..

Day 4: Amsterdam

2009-11-18T10:33:00.000-08:00

I managed to roll out of bed around 7:30 this morning, but due to U working from home this morning, A and I didn't actually head out to the bus stop until nearly 10 (we can't help but chat with U when she's around!). And then, we were finally off to Amsterdam.

Once we emerged from the Amsterdam Centraal train station, we quickly realized our streak of good luck with the weather had run out -- it was blustery and cold and rainy (the light/misty kind we get in Seattle). However, we gamely set out on foot to the Anne Frank Museum, which is located inside the house where Anne's family hid out from the Nazis for nearly two years. The house is actually empty of furniture (after the Franks were betrayed to the Nazis, their furniture was all removed, and Anne Frank's father requested that the house be left that way once preparations began to turn the house into a museum), but it's still a very eerie place to be. With Anne's father's help, the museum put together small replications of how the house looked while the Franks were living there. We unfortunately weren't allowed to take photos in there (though there was no furniture, the book case that hid the entrance to the Franks' hiding place was cool to see), however.

Our next intention was to see the Van Gogh museum, which looked like a decent (one or two mile??) walk in southern Amsterdam, so when we came upon the Pancake House a few blocks from the Anne Frank house (marked as a "Time Out Best of 2009" spot, no less), we decided to stop in for some local fare.

We split a cherry beer (which was nearly fruity/sweet enough for me to enjoy), and then a bacon "pancake" (in the States, we'd think of it more as a thick crepe) and Dutch cherry poffertjes. The pancake was seriously huge -- about 15" in diameter. In the center were four slices of delicious bacon. The poffertjes were drenched in cherry kirsch, and the alcohol taste was very strong. We nearly made it through the entire pancake, but had to leave a handful of the 12 or so poffertjes on the plate. Just too strong!

We then headed back out, thinking we were continuing south towards to the Van Gogh Museum. However, after walking for 15-20 minutes, we pulled out a map to double-check our location, and we were unfortunately nearly right back at Centraal Station (the north end of town)! Augh. By this point, it was nearly 3, and as we still wanted to head to the Red Light District, we decided to scrap the VGM (if we're able to get back to A'dam before we leave the Netherlands, we'll hopefully then hit the VGM).

It surprisingly took us some time to find the RDL; we stopped and asked for directions a few times, but people never gave us good ones, so we ended up just stumbling into the area on our own (it helped that we saw some small red lights strung up across some streets!). In photos I'd seen of the whole brothel/prostitute situation, I swear the ladies stood in windows on the second and third floor of buildings, but in actuality, they were right on the street level! So when we were walking amid a throng of people, we'd sometimes be like two feet from a window where a skimpily clad lady was freshening up her lipstick in a mirror, smoking "provocatively" (a bit of an oxymoron, if you ask me ...) or just swaying back and forth trying to look all sexy. The ladies spanned quite a wide range of body/ethnic types, and ages as well.

We also stumbled by the Sex Museum, which we hadn't specifically been looking for, but decided to check out (especially after U had recommended it to us last night). Man, that place was something else! Tons of nude/silly mannequins (including one just inside the museum entrance that flashed us as we walked by -- yikes!) and a LOT of explicit photos, spanning the years and even sexual fetishes, positions, etc. Um.. wow. I had to keep reminding myself to keep a poker face!

Finally.. we spent another half hour doing more random walking around trying to find a nameless (in A's memory) tattoo shop. We did finally find it, after again asking several people, but A didn't like any of their designs, and hadn't found on her own that she liked, so we walked out of there a few minutes later.

On the way back to Centraal Station around 5, we made sure to stop in a "coffee shop" so A could get a "brownie." First, though, she had to wait about 10 minutes while four teens from England picked out their purchases (each kid ordered about four varieties). A ate the brownie about 20 minutes ago (around 11 p.m.), and it must not be very strong, because nothing exciting is happening yet! However, she said the packaging says it make take up to an hour for one to feel the effect. Doesn't seem very fun to me..

Had a nice dinner here at U's, as her co-worker joined us, and brought these potato-patty things (Indian food) he's famous for. Still no tickets bought for that prospective trip to Prague; man, I'm just tired of planning things! We still need to figure out what we're doing tomorrow, even, though it may be a trip to the Hague. I just wish U's place was in Amsterdam proper, as it's a bit of a hassle to have to take the bus (though it's only about a 10-minute ride) and then a train (30-40 minutes to anywhere, but around $25 round trip) everywhere we go. However, A and I are loving hanging out with U after so long (I hadn't seen her since 12 years ago, when I was last in India), and it's certainly better staying here than in a hostel.

I miss the days of traveling with my parents.. I only had to be ready at a certain time every morning, and everything else would be taken care of from there!

Day 3: Rotterdam

2009-11-17T14:38:00.000-08:00

So A and I had been planning to head out of U's apartment around 8:45 in order to spend in the day in the Hague, but we were all up way too late chatting (as always!), and then I had problems sleeping (yes, pathetic to admit I'm having insominia while on vacation! Too many things to figure out/plan/research ...), so we didn't end up even getting up until 10 or so. We decided to put off the Hague, and instead hit up Rotterdam, which I'd heard didn't really warrant a huge amount of time to see.

After eating and getting ready here, we hopped the bus to the Utrecht train station, and then were off. By the time we got off the train in Rotterdam, it was about 1 p.m. Happily, there was a little tourist office a couple blocks from the station, so we stopped in to pick up some maps and guidebooks. We intended to go on a couple recommended walking tours, but the streets there are pretty confusing (not to mention the fact that some don't appear on the maps at all!), so we took a fair amount of detours. But we did see the cube houses (that's what the shot above/right is of), an outdoor art park, and got in some light shopping. A was hoping to finally venture into a "coffee shop" (ahem), but we weren't able to find this one recommended by the guidebook, so I guess she'll try again in Amsterdam.

Here's a shot of a library (or "bibliotheek") in Rotterdam:

And a pic of a cool boat we saw off the old harbor (Rotterdam is an interesting mix of the old and new, and there's construction going on all around town):

We had a drink and some curly fries (seasoned, with nacho-cheese sauce on top) and then hopped the train back to Utrecht around 5:30 p.m.

On the train ride back -- which takes about 30 minutes -- we made the unfortunate mistake of sitting in the "silent car," which was indeed...silent. The lack of sleep and activities of the day caught up with me, but since A was already zonked out for the ride, I had to make sure to not nod off myself, or we definitely would've missed our stop.

Other random info:

-- A and I both tried our Visa cards today -- and they worked! So we're fully functional now with both our debit ande credit cards.

-- The Dutch are taking some getting used to.. they're a bit in their own worlds, kind of like a stereotypical New Yorker. When A and I were lugging our various bags onto the train from the airport, no one offered to help us. And people seem kind of annoyed when we ask them touristy questions ("Is this were we catch the train to Utrecht?"). I guess we've been spoiled by all the nice folk in Seattle. I'm not saying, of course, that all the Dutch are like that. We've had a few good encounters with service people and one random lady on the street who asked if we needed help finding something.

-- As most everyone knows, the Netherlands is big on biking, and that's how a lot of people get around town. All streets have devoted bike lanes. But it's so weird to see people just riding around in normal clothes -- no bike shorts (or, as my friend Julia would say, "Lance Armstrong gear"), helmet, flashing lights, much less "on your left/right" as they pass other bikers. We're quickly getting used to looking both directions for cars *and* bicyclists before crossing streets -- those bicyclists seem to rule the road!

-- We've lucked out with the weather so far. It's been dry, windy, and cool (though not really cold until after the sun sets), with even some blue skies and sunshine now and again.

-- Apparently my cousin always falls asleep on the couch at night, so she's nicely given up her bedroom (and double bed) to A and me. We'd packed sleeping bags just in case, but it's of course much more comfortable to sleep on an actual bed. The sleeping bags may still come in handy later during our trip, when we stay in hostels.

OK, off to bed now. Hoping to finally get into Amsterdam tomorrow!

Day 2: Mostly mellow, with some nearby "sightseeing"

2009-11-16T14:21:00.001-08:00

Nothing too exciting to report as our first full day in the Netherlands comes to a close.. A and I rolled out of bed around 8:30, and slowly began getting ready. We ate some lunch here, and then headed out on foot to take in the local sights (though we'd been warned by U that Utrecht is a pretty residential area). Our fancy "let's-try-not-to-get-lost" method was to write down our path as we went (i.e., "L on Blahblah ... R on Blahblahblah"). After maybe half a mile, we stumbled onto a little shopping area. We spied an ATM, and with bated breath, tried to withdraw money. And we were successful!! So I don't know what the folks on the Chase help line were smoking last night when they kept telling us that we were using the wrong PINs or what have you -- we used the same PINs we tried with the machines at the train station, and everything went through without a hitch. So that huge weight is at least lifted off my shoulders now, though I have yet to try a transaction using my Visa card (which also failed at the train station yesterday). However -- turns out that apparently the card machines used to purchase train tickets require some special chip on one's card, and U, after looking at our various cards, immediately said "You guys don't have the chip." So hopefully our cards will work everywhere else, and we'll just always have to use cash to buy train tickets.

After the momentary high of the ATM success, A and I wandered a bit more around the shops, and went into a grocery store to stock up on some food (U's cupboards/fridge are a little bare!). I have this newfound fascination with seeing what flavors of chips -- mainly Lays -- are carried in different countries, after discovering all the exotic flavors you can buy in Canda (the most popular there being ketchup, but they also have curry and I think even dill pickle). And wow, my eyes were bugging out at this particular store -- they had probably about five varieties of Lays potato chips, along with five of Lay's high-end line (the name escapes me now). So I bought a variety pack with little bags of cheese and onion, paprika, bolognese and barbecue ham chips, plus one of the high-end line in Thai sweet chili. I had a pack of the cheese and onion earlier; it was good, similar to the U.S.'s sour cream and onion. A liked the Thai sweet chili better than I did; I wasn't too keen on the spices in it. Anyway, once I sample several flavors, I'll have to go back and get full-sized bags of a couple of my favorites, so my friends at work can sample them as well. Oh, haha, and I laughed so hard when we saw that Cool Ranch Doritos here are instead labeled "Cool American Doritos"!

Here are the varieties of Lays I have to sample:

Once we got back, we just watched MTV and read and ate until U got home from work around 6:30. She's wrapping up a big project, so she did some working from home, and then we ate a great late dinner around 10 (paneer with peas and roti).

We also spent some time tonight trying to figure out how we'll spend the rest of our days here. A and I are thinking to take one big side trip from the Netherlands, which may be to Prague, as plane tickets are somewhat cheap. The main speedbump there is finding a place to stay that's convenient, relatively cheap, highly rated/reviewed, etc. Stressful! Anyway, beyond that possible trip, we'll likely stick to day trips. I.e., tomorrow, we're planning to head to the Hague. Wednesday, the weather's supposed to be clearer, so we may head to Amsterdam then (and possibly for a second day later in the week).

OK, going to keep this short, as we're hoping to get out of here by 8:30 or so tomorrow morning.. more later..

We've arrived!

2009-11-15T12:38:00.001-08:00

So we have arrived in Amsterdam..

To back track a bit: The past week was non-stop for me, with the combined stresses of packing, cleaning (in anticipation of my friend staying at my condo to watch Buster) and prepping stuff at work (as I'd never really taken much time off before). I of course left so many things until the last minute, though as my dad reminded me, even if I had the extra week I was whining for on Friday, I still would've been running around just as much! Thankfully, though, our flight out of Sea-Tac wasn't until 3:30 p.m. Saturday, so we didn't have to do the frantic early-morning scramble like on many international trips. That said, I got to my parents' 45 minutes late, but we'd built in a buffer in anticipation of this, so we still made it to Sea-Tac about two hours before our flight.

The Seattle-Reykjavik leg of our trip, which took seven hours, was thankfully on a barely half-full 757, so Anuja and I had a three-seat row to ourselves. I made some headway in the new Ed Viesturs book ("K2: Life and Death on the World's Most Dangerous Mountain"), and tried unsuccessfully to get some shut eye. For dinner, A and I split a turkey/spinach roll thing we'd bought in the airport (Icelandair charges for all food).

We had barely an hour in Keflavik airport in Reykjavik, and then we hopped our next plane to Amsterdam. The flight time was about three hours, and this time the plane was nearly full. There were a lot of student-age travelers, surprise...

Once we got to Schiphol in Amsterdam, we had some stress when we tried to buy train tickets and couldn't get any of our bank cards to work (and yes, we'd let the bank/credit companies know beforehand that we'd be using our cards overseas). Thankfully, Dad had sent A and me off with some cash, so we exchanged it for Euros and used cash to buy our tickets to Utrecht, which is where our cousin U lives. The next stress came when trying to call U to let her know when we'd be rolling in to Utrecht. She'd given us her number, but though I dialed it twice (and wasted several cents, not knowing that those phone machines don't give you change!!), I kept getting sent to some modem-sounding device (the phone would ring twice, and then I'd hear a loud, long beep). I asked a lady at an Information booth, and it turned out U's number was a mobile number, which needed a zero in front of it. Who knew! Then we wasted more money, as we didn't have the 20 cents in exact change (and would've had to go downstairs to get change) and the first time I got connected to U, our line was disconnected before I could give her all our info. Lovely..

Anyway, we finally lugged our bags onto the train and sat through the 35-minute ride to Utrecht. U met us at the train station, and we cabbed to her apartment. Crashed for a couple hours, and then spent the evening eating, watching some Dutch TV ("Australian Border Patrol" -- love it!) and starting to plan what we'll do (and where) while we're in town. Unfortunately, U's WiFi is down, and the netbook I borrowed from my boss doesn't have an ethernet port, so my Internet access will be limited during the day. But I may cart the netbook around with me while we're out and about, in case we step into a cafe/whatever with WiFi. Was hoping to upload some pics from today as well, but the USB ports on U's computer don't work correctly, so that's a fail as well.

It's been a rather frustrating day, obviously, but at least we made it here. Now I'm going to head offline to see if I can get someone on the phone to sort out our credit/debit-card situation. Here's hoping for a smoother road for the rest of our stay!

Tickets: booked!

2009-10-14T09:51:00.001-07:00

So it's been a busy/stressful few weeks, but I'm happy to report that I have tickets in hand for my fall trip! I'm going out of the country (and taking more than a handful of days off) for the first time in over seven years! As I mentioned two posts ago, my sister and I had gone from thinking to go to India to thinking to go to Japan. Then we got a reality check when we found out that one woman we were thinking to stay with is now living back at home (she's in her early 20s), doesn't have the room to put us up, and is 45 minutes by train from Tokyo. Not really ideal!

Our planning/research languished for a couple weeks, but then my cousin in Cali, D, called me up to chat. I mentioned our latest trip-planning speedbump, and she said "You know Uma [D's sister] is working in Amsterdam right now, right? Why don't you go visit her?" Genius! I sent mail to Uma, got the greenlight from her to visit (and stay in her apartment), and then I had to try scaling the next speedbump -- buying the tickets. It took a week or so, and lots of consulting with various friends who travel a lot more than I do. But we finally have our tickets! We'll be heading to Amsterdam in mid-November (not really ideal, weather-wise, but cheaper, tickets-wise) and staying there for nearly two weeks. On the way back home, we'll stay in Reykjavik, Iceland, for a couple days. We may take the train from Amsterdam to elsewhere in Europe -- Belgium, Germany and even France are relatively close by -- but we haven't figured out those details yet.

I haven't been able to get fully excited for the trip just yet, as I have A TON of preparations to do before I can even start thinking about what to pack! Namely, I have to write up a bunch of how-to documents for my team on what I do for work, as none of them are really familiar with any of my tasks. On top of that, I have to do a pretty in-depth cleaning and decluttering of my condo, as a friend of mine from work will be staying at my place while I'm out to take care of Buster. But the biggest hurdle, buying the tickets, has at least been conquered!

The fleecing of ... me

2009-09-02T13:39:00.001-07:00

I hit up yet another REI sale last night (one of their best ones, as they have a bunch of stuff on sale, plus any clearance items with a price ending in $0.83 are an additional 50% off!) and one of the items I picked up was...yet another fleece. You see, I have a huge love affair with fleece. It's so cozy and warm, and on top of that, the wicking properties make it great for outdoor activities. Plus, fleeces come in many "strengths" and varieties (lightweight hoodies, thick jackets, wind-blocking jackets), so they're extremely versatile.

Anyway, my latest pickup was a lightweight, light grey REI-brand zip-up hoodie. And this morning, it got me to wondering just how many fleece jackets I own. I'm in the office today, so I can't go to my closet to verify, but for sure, I know I have at least 13 fleece jackets. Yes, 13 -- I made a list! All but one of them are either by REI, The North Face or Helly Hansen. The colors range across the rainbow, though interestingly, I skipped orange and green. Good thing I hadn't noted that *before* I went to REI last night! I don't wear a lot of orange in general, but I do like green, so that may have to be the next fleece I pick up...some day.

(Trip) planning is never easy

2009-09-01T10:44:00.000-07:00

So this spring, my sister suddenly mentioned that she wanted to take a trip to India in mid-October to be there for Diwali (India's Christmas). I haven't been to India since '97 -- and nearly all our extended family is still over there -- so I thought about joining her for a couple weeks (she was planning to stay for a month, as she would just be finishing up with her summer job by then). But, cut to a couple weeks ago.. and it turns out most of the relatives we'd want to see and/or stay with will be out of the country or super busy (i.e., my mom's best friend is planning her daughter's wedding). So, rather than go and then upset our out-of-country relatives, we've put the trip on hold indefinitely.

Now that we have the travel bug in our head, we're trying to find someplace else to go right around that same time of mid/late October. Japan came to mind immediately, just because we know some people over there, and can speak/understand the language brokenly. While we try and get in touch with those friends, I'm still exploring other options. I haven't traveled internationally in nearly seven (!) years now, so I want to go somewhere really cool, and kind of off the beaten path. I've already been to the top destination of London, and due to their popularity, am hoping to avoid other top locales like Paris, Rome, etc. I still would like to go to those places, of course, but for now, I'm trying to come up with someplace a little more exotic. I even thought about somewhere in S. Africa for a bit, but the price of flying there is nearly as much as to go to India ($1,200-1,400). I also thought of Egypt, but then I looked at some pics a friend of mine took when she was there in October of last year, and noticed that on one day, it hit 128 degrees. Much as I'm dying to see the pyramids, I don't think I could handle 128 degrees!!

So.. the investigation continues. Some other options are Turkey, Hungary, Peru, the Czech Republic.. and of course, Japan, which might end up being the most realistic just because then we wouldn't have to deal with the largest planning stress of finding a place to stay. Of course, who knows, we may end up going nowhere at all!! I've at least started the process of getting my passport renewed. Hopefully my sis and I will do some more in-depth research over the next week or two and start narrowing things down. Worst comes to worst, well, there's always Canada!

Hot lady in the city

2009-08-03T09:56:00.000-07:00

So summer is in full swing here in Seattle. Life has been quite exhausting lately as I've been unusually busy (plans nearly every night) and it's been hot, hot, HOT! Seattle is all about mild weather, but we've had several days in a row of 90+ temps, with a couple days even going over 100 and setting all kinds of records (see my phone's weather forecast from last Wed.). My condo's windows all face north, so I don't get a ton of direct sunlight, but after a couple days of consistent and constant sun, it starts heating up. My poor kitty was pretty miserable during the height of the heat last week.. I kept the windows closed and the blinds drawn, and had a fan blasting in my bedroom (where he always seems to prefer to hang out), but he was pretty lethargic. Luckily, he ate/drank as usual, and made it through the heat OK. The weekend had temps only in the upper 80s, and I think we'll be cooling down from there the next few days, even maybe getting some rain towards the end of the week. If we stick to the 70s for the rest of the summer, that'll really be OK!!

Due to the heat, I've been trying to stay indoors as much as possible, but I did get out two weekends ago to join some friends for a rafting trip on the Wenatchee in eastern Washington. My friend Nicole was going to take her two boys (who are nearly two) on their first rafting trip. I decided to go the "cover-up" route with my clothing in light of the sun and heat and my preference to avoid tanning, so I looked a bit Michael Jackson-esque (only the backs of my hands and bits of the tops of my feet were really in direct sunlight), but it was a really fun three-hour/10-mile outing. Everyone on my boat -- except Nicole and the boys, thankfully -- got ejected at some point, even though we'd been told the trip would be "easy." Luckily, just before I got popped out, I saw the rapid (which had a big rock right under the surface of the water) and grabbed onto the rope. I was popped out onto the rock, but held on to the rope, and since the raft simultaneously got stuck on said rock, I was quickly able to stand up on the rock and step back into the raft. My "spill" was definitely the mildest of our raft's ejections! But thankfully, no one was too seriously hurt or traumatized by their respective falls. The nice thing about going rafting with Nicole is that she and her husband have good friends who own all the rafting gear we need -- rafts, paddles, life jackets. So we don't have to bother with making reservations with a commercial outfit and/or shelling out a lot of money. Nicole's husband, plus the guy who owns the gear, are both river-rafting guides, so we're in good hands whenever we get onto the water. This outing, for the first time, I took my digital camera with me. I had it in this cheap ($7?) but useful clear waterproof bag thing, so I was able to hang it around my neck and safely take pictures at well. The only hitches were that I had to periodically wipe the bag to remove water droplets that splashed onto it, and I had to sort of distort the bag before I turned the camera on, so the lens wouldn't hit the side of it when it extended (thus freaking the camera out and causing it to turn back off). Some of the pictures were distorted due to the bag, but because the camera was digital, I was able to take so many pictures that most of them were postable. Here's a shot of me, Nicole, and her boy T after the ride:

They had me at red

2009-07-23T10:50:00.000-07:00

Come early July, I open my mailbox every day with bated breath, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale catalog. Usually I do a couple-hundred-dollars worth of damage at the sale every year, and most of the time, I choose what I want to buy via the catalog -- before I even step into the physical store. This year, the catalog touted its "affordable" items, but though I appreciate it when, say, a jacket is $150 off the original price, I don't exactly consider it affordable if it's still like $200!! Yeesh. Anyway, after going through the catalog, I was only intrigued by a few pairs of shoes and a pair of sunglasses. I finally made it into the store Tuesday night, a bit exhausted after a haircut that ended up taking nearly two hours due to some miscommunication between me and the stylist (in all honesty, she didn't listen to my instructions, so her supervisor had to finish the cut up and ended up comping my cut after all the hassle). There was a bit of a wait to get help in the shoe section, but after 30 minutes I finally tried on a pair of tall black boots. They were the pull-on kind, but not elasticized. I've definitely built up my calf muscles a bit due to the increased amount of walking I've been doing the past year or so, but I'm obviously still a bit wimpy from the knees down -- after putting on the boot, I could stick my arm down the back of the boot all the way to my heel!! Even the sales lady was a bit wowed. So...those were a no.

While I'd been waiting, I'd seen another salesperson put away these really cute, shiny dark-red wedges. I'd seen the brand, but hadn't been able to find the shoes anywhere on the display things, so I described them to my saleslady, and she was able to find them in the back. They were even cuter up close, and bonus: they were on sale! They either weren't in the catalog, or perhaps I just missed them (the shoes' red color is one of my faves, so they could've been in the catalog but in a different color, in which case they wouldn't have caught my eye easily). As a rule, I'm not a fan of wedge heels, but I have a couple pairs of jeans that require only about two-inch heels, so wedges look great with those (plus you can't see the wedge unless I'm sitting down). I still need to go back to Nordy's to look at the sunglasses, but I'm very happy with the shoes for now:

I'd also been eyeing some Ugg boots (no, not the outdated traditional Uggs that most people seem to have), but they're suede, which I doubt would fare well in rainy Seattle. I'll have to quiz a salesperson about those to find out for sure, but I'm a bit hesitant to jump on the Ugg wagon, so we'll see.

Swing high, sweet ivory thrones

2009-07-21T15:34:00.000-07:00

My new office building has some construction going on nearby (this can be said about a lot of office buildings in Western Washington; apparently, out here we have the most construction cranes west of the Mississippi), and I can see some of the action through the window of the guy across the hall from me (I'm in an interior office). The other day, I did a double take when I saw a crane lifting up a pallet of Honey Buckets! Yes, portable outhouses! There were probably six or seven of them, and they were being pulled up so fast that I didn't even have time to whip out my cameraphone. I was able to get the attention of a guy kitty-corner to me with a window, and he also had a good laugh at the sight before the cargo was up, up and away and out of sight. It was one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen! My guess is that they were going atop one of the taller under-construction buildings, so the workers don't have to go all the way down to street level. I'm not able to see onto the roofs of any of those nearby buildings to check, though.

The swimwear saga

2009-06-26T11:12:00.000-07:00

A month or so ago, the bug in my head about trying to get back into swimming (see below blog) got really loud, so I began the arduous task of trying to find a swimsuit I'd feel comfortable in. I do have a simple Nike suit that I bought at least five years ago, but I have no idea where it is post-move (though said move was 2.5 years ago), and I was looking for a suit that would require less....maintenance (to put it nicely) on my part. I live close to this swimwear store in Northgate called Sylvia's Swimwear; I was driving past one day when I noticed this cool "unitard" type outfit in their window -- it was basically a tank top with shorts attached. I put in a call to Big 5 to see if they had anything in that style, and the woman said no and then suggested I try Sylvia's. So...I tried Sylvia's. They do indeed have a TON of stuff in there, but I only had eyes for the unitard. When I asked the saleswoman if the outfit in the window would be suitable for pool use, she immediately said "No," and showed me where they had the only type of more mainstream unitards -- they came in only navy or black (only black in my size), was lower in the front and back, and was by a brand I didn't recognize (the unitard in the window was by TYR). So.. I tried on the black unitard. It looked fine, and though I gulped a bit at the price ($58!), I went ahead and bought it.

Over the next few days, though (and especially after each time I drove by that fabulous TYR suit), I started becoming a bit less excited about my black suit. I did some research online, and realized that the reason the lady dissuaded me from the TYR suit was because it was a triathlon suit -- intended for all the stages of the event, and perhaps not suited to consistent use in a chlorinated pool. Soon after this revelation, I was thumbing through a recent REI catalog, and voila! They were advertising a triathlon suit they billed as being perfect for race day *and* training use. You know me, I'm nutso about REI, and I have such peace of mind buying anything there due to their 100%-satisfaction guarantee. The price on the REI suit -- $100!! -- made me gulp even more, but I bit the bullet and bused down there to check things out. I got confirmation from a salesdude that the suit would indeed be fine in chlorine (I have the guarantee to fall back on if it doesn't), so I went ahead and took the plunge. The style is much more sporty than the simple black suit from Sylvia's, so I feel less self-conscious in it in that I figure most people will just think I'm training for a triathlon (an idea my triathlon-minded swim buddies keep trying to impress on me :o)). To try and somewhat balance out the cost of the suit, I went to Target to get my cap and goggles.

Anyway, the real story here is that once I bought the second suit and decided to return the first (which I'd of course never worn), I couldn't find the frickin' receipt!! I vividly remembered putting it on top of my dresser, but though I turned my bedroom nearly upside down, it was nowhere to be found. I became so stressed over the thought of being out the $60-something, even if they gave me store credit (I really don't need any more swimsuits!). Luckily, I did remember reading on the receipt that they had a 30-day return policy, so on day 30.. I slinked (slunk?) back into the store. I told the woman I hadn't been able to find the receipt. She said "Well, are you in our computer system?" I had given them my info when I bought the suit, so I answered, "Yess.." with a slight glimmer of hope. Wonder of wonders, she was able to pull everything up on the computer, and then credit the money back to my credit card! Man, I tell you, I was so relieved! I immediately drove to Dick's for a cheeseburger and fries to celebrate!!

Anyhow, I mainly wanted to write this to say that though I wasn't too impressed with the "modest swimwear" options at Sylvia's (as a caveat: looking back, I realize that even if the woman had said "Yes" on the TYR suit, I probably would've still gone with the REI one anyway), I highly recommend it for all your swimwear needs. The fact that they have computerized records -- that they're fine with hitting up when customers lose their receipts -- is just mind-blowing to me. The only other place I know of that does that is REI (surprise). I doubt I'll be shopping at Sylvia's for another suit anytime soon, but I definitely will be periodically stopping through for various accessories -- shampoo, suit cleaner, etc.

Oh, and here's the suit from REI that I've now used twice and am really digging (photo courtesy of the REI Web site):

Whoa, that was a long blog about swimsuits. But it's been some time since I posted a good story, so there you go!

Quick notes from the past several weeks

2009-06-23T09:55:00.000-07:00

Whew! I can't believe it's been over a month since my last post. Nutty days right now. Some highlights:

* My team at work moved from the serene boonies of Redmond (a suburb of Seattle) to the downtown area of a nearby city. Talk about culture shock! Plus I also parted ways with my officemate of nearly five years (to add insult to injury, he's three floors away!). Yes, I have my own office, which is often the dream at Microsoft, but being all alone really makes time crawl!

* Seattle had a lovely 29-day streak without rain. Yowsa! We even had a couple 90-degree days a few weeks back, which was just WAY too hot for most Seattleites (including myself). We live here for the milder weather! We had rain Friday of last week, but we're back to sun now.

* Saw "The Hangover" -- hilarious! Later this week I'm off to "Public Enemies," and then the much anticipated "Bruno" on the 7th.

* Turned 31, which for some reason was harder than turning 30.

* Got back into the swimming pool after about 18 years (I don't count the one season of diving I did in high school). I got a fancy triathlon suit to address my modesty issues (it has shorts attached, kind of like a unitard thing). I'm hoping to go swimming for just over an hour every Tuesday night with some friends; tonight will be my third outing. I'm happy to report that my body knew exactly what to do once I got into the water (I was forced through lessons from about age 4 to 13 and HATED them). I spent this past Tuesday doing laps of breast stroke and freestyle the entire hour, though I had to take a little breather between each lap.

* After cleaning my freezer and discovering at least 8 cartons of ice cream (some little, some medium), I bit the bullet and bought an ice cream maker at Costco. My first batch, which was coconut-pineapple ice cream, was so-so; I tried to be healthy and use low-fat coconut milk, which meant the ice cream didn't freeze properly and became hard as a rock after spending a few hours in the freezer. I made batch two last night -- avocado! -- and it turned out really good, though very rich. There's not even any heavy whipping cream in the recipe; it's just the avocados themselves that make it so creamy and rich.

* I just finished the fifth and final season of "The Wire." So good!! (Though as a heads up, if you watch it, be sure to turn the captions/subtitles on, or else you miss a lot. I finally had a light-bulb moment after rewinding/replaying for the third time during the first episode, trying to figure out what folks were saying.)

* Got an answer to an unasked question I'd had about a boy for a few years. Not good news, but at least now I know!

The problem with sunshine in Seattle

2009-05-10T19:56:00.000-07:00

Being the native Seattleite that I am, I, along with my fellow Seattleites, really treasure seeing the sun out and about here in the city. Though we are wrongly accused of being the rainiest city -- Mobile, Alabama, gets this honor, and no Pacific Northwest city shows up until Olympia at No. 24; click here for proof -- it definitely is gray and gloomy for a lot of the year. This means that whenever the sun pops out on a non-summer day, the entire mood of the city lifts, and there's a collective "Ahhhh!" However, the downside is that one then feels a huge amount of pressure to take advantage of the weather, by getting out of the city for a hike, going on a walk, playing tennis, what have you. Sometimes, though, I just want to sit on my living room couch and catch up on "The Wire" or something!

Anyway, this feeling is thankfully alleviated once summer comes around and we have stretches of days of nice weather, but from Sept. to June, after any nice weekend, one can expect questions like "What did you do during the nice weather this weekend" on Mondays..

By the way, on a random aside, I'm watching "The Amazing Race" finale as I type this, and for at least the third time this season, the contestants are in swim suits or something similar (they've also been in leotards and their skivvies). Do they have a waxer on hand for the ladies to use or something?? Certainly, if they ever had a female Indian contestant in the Race, a waxer/threader would get a lot of work..

Black Tuesday

2009-05-06T16:15:00.001-07:00

Well, it's tough times here at Microsoft. As was reported in the local news yesterday, Microsoft had another round of layoffs. The last time around (I think January?), our team escaped unscathed. But this time we weren't so lucky, and unfortunately, three of my friends here were let go. Thankfully, all of them have a pragmatic view of the future, and are taking the news very well. I think I'm more bummed than they are!! One of my co-workers even drove to work yesterday instead of busing, just in case he needed to take home his belongings (he didn't -- whew). Anyway, my immediate team and I made it through this round in one piece -- a good thing, since there are only three of us! Hopefully the economy will continue to slowly improve, so we won't have to go through this again. I was a bundle of nerves all day yesterday, as were a lot of people on my hallway. Now that we're on the other side of things, I may need to go get some bubble tea tonight just to help myself recover!!

Online-stalking frustration

2009-05-03T14:58:00.000-07:00

Argh, I'm trying to get the scoop on someone on whom I have a mini-crush, but he's nowhere to be found online! I don't get how in 2009, there are still people who are basically invisible to Google -- they don't belong to any social-networking sites, don't have a personal Web site or blog (the former is understandable, though; not many people do) or have never been mentioned in an article or piece that's been put online. I mean, there's an article that mentions me in it that's from my senior year of high school, which was like 13 years ago!!

Anyway, I periodically waste time Googling people I know or used to know to see what they're up to, and usually I can make some sort of headway, but this one person.. nada!

New baby No. 2

2009-05-02T11:17:00.000-07:00

Finally got my new laptop, and she's beautiful! When I was researching what to get and settled on Sony, it was quite a nice bonus to discover that I could get the laptop in one of my favorite colors, a dark red -- at no additional cost! It's probably the second "cutest" thing I own next to Buster, seen here checking out his competition:

One of the main reasons I went with this VAIO -- on top of brand loyalty and trust with/in Sony -- was for the keyboard. The keys are spaced apart a bit like on a Mac laptop, which makes typing much more comfortable for me with my man hands.

When the IT guy came in to set everything up for me, I had him go ahead and install the Windows7 Beta on it so I could give 'er a whirl. I've hardly used Vista (due to lack of compatibility testing/support between our tools and Vista, we were told to stick to XP), so I can't really compare it to that, but compared to XP, anyway, I'm really liking 7. It's very slick and sharp, and has a lot of cool new features. Definitely helps that my new machine is rocking 4 gigs of RAM!

One (other) big downside of my old laptop spontaneously dying is that I had to wipe all the music off my iPhone to re-sync it with the iTunes on this new computer. Had I known my old laptop was about to bite it, I would've backed up all the music and then deauthorized that iTunes, but alas, I had no warning. Most of the music was duplicated on my iPod, but I unfortunately had a couple albums I'd bought off Amazon that I'd stored only on my dead laptop and my iPhone. So I'll have to shell out again for those.

Finally, one other cool new thing I've figured out how to do -- transfer TV shows from my TiVo to my laptop to my iPhone. As I ride the bus a lot, it's going to be so great to be able to spend the morning commute watching last night's "Rescue Me," "Real Housewives" or whatever. It took me several hours to figure out the whole process (getting files from my TiVo to the laptop was easy -- but time consuming -- using TiVo Desktop; then I had to use two additional programs to convert those files for viewing on the iPhone), but figure it out I did!

Keeping Jungle Woman at bay

2009-04-23T12:13:00.000-07:00

So it's a bit embarrassing to admit, but I've always been a bit vain about my hair. Until a handful of years ago, it was quite frustrating for me to figure out how to get it looking its best, and then how to keep it looking good throughout the day. Once I finally got that process figured out a few years back, I went through a couple years of pretty good hair. But then, about a year ago, my carpool to and from work disbanded, and I began taking the bus to and from work. This involved spending about 15-20 minutes outside, between walking to the bus stop (~2 blocks) and then waiting for the bus, and then walking from the bus stop in Redmond to my office (~3 blocks). Soon as the fall -- and rainy season -- rolled around, I discovered that no matter how lovely my hair looked as I left the house, once I got into my office, the slightly moist air outside (whether it was raining or not) makes my inner Jungle Woman come out -- the top layers of my hair get frizzy, and the ends start flipping inside out. This really bugged me, not only due to the whole vanity thing, but because when my hair frizzes, I can see those frizzed hairs in my peripheral vision and it drives me crazy -- especially since the bulk of my day is spent sitting in front of a computer without much head movement.

My solution was to bring to the office my old cheapo hair straightener (a $35 model that I eventually tossed aside for a $200 model, which was well worth the extra dough) and just leave it there. That way I could re-straighten the problem areas as soon as I got in. I did this for several months, though I always cringed a bit as I used the cheapo straightener, as it doesn't do as good of a job as my expensive T3 one, and isn't as gentle on my hair, but it was my only option. Then, one day, when I was hiking up the hill to my bus stop one morning and there was just a slight drizzle, a light bulb went off -- what if I pulled my hood on over my hair to keep the moist air from hitting it? So I wrangled my hair into sort of a bun thingie (with no ponytail holder or anything, though) and stuffed it up under my hood. Did the same thing on the walk into the office in Redmond, and voila! When I took off the hood my hair looked great!

So that's my fabulous new trick, ladies. When it's raining more than a slight drizzle, I'll have the hood on and will hold an umbrella too, which I'm sure looks weird, but protects my belongings, clothing and face better. I also put on the hood even when it's not raining but is just moist out. Yes, this looks weird too, but whatevs. My excuse if someone mentions that it's not raining is "Yeah, I know, but my head is cold!"

Sleepwear dilemma: Solved!

2009-03-31T14:19:00.000-07:00

So nighttime is a bit of a weird time for me.. I'm usually tired by that time of the day (about 11 p.m.-ish on weeknights), so I'm eager to get some shuteye, but I have somewhat chronic insomina, so I also kind of dread bedtime because I probably won't actually fall asleep for several more hours (and getting up will be a drag). Another issue I've had to deal with? What to wear. Yes, an odd topic to blog about, but it was on my mind recently, during one of said chronic-insomniac moments (and also because it's an issue I've finally recently resolved!).

Anyway, after getting a new duvet cover a couple years back, I had a solution to my bed-covers issue. I now sleep under just a flat sheet and the duvet. In the summer, I usually turn on a fan, and I sometimes kick off the duvet (but not always, because 1) I quickly miss the feeling of that heavy cover, even if I'm warm, and 2) Buster, my cat, will often attack me -- no clue why), but otherwise, I'm good with that set up year-round. Clothing-wise, in the colder months, I generally wear a thin pair of baggy flannel pants and a thin T-shirt (that switches to a tank and shorts as it gets warmer). However, because I toss and turn so much before I fall asleep, I've recently been getting very annoyed with having to readjust after each toss/turn -- I have to restraighten the pants so the seam is centered, and/or pull up the waistband, and or pull down my T-shirt, etc. I solved part of this problem by tucking the T into the pants' waistband. But it still wasn't a quite perfect outfit.

Then.. last weekend, I was leafing through the Sunday Target ad, and saw that they had leggings on sale for $5 each. A light went off in my head. I picked some up earlier this week, and I'm happy to say I now have my nearly perfect cool-weather sleeping gear: a thin T-shirt tucked into the leggings. The snugness of the leggings keep anything inside (underwear + tucked-in T) from moving, so I don't have to do any readjusting as I toss and turn my way to oblivion. Of course, there's no way I'd want anyone to see me in the oh-so-attractive getup, but it's so nice to be that comfortable at night!

OK, so I know no one out there really cared about my latest life "drama," but there you go!

P.S.: My true latest life drama has been the death of my laptop (which is the one bought for me by my work, but also doubles as my home computer). Yes, I lead an exciting life, people! The silver lining is that I've got a new, cherry red Sony VAIO laptop en route to me as a replacement. Can't wait.

The first ever Sounders FC game!

2009-03-24T15:24:00.001-07:00

Last week, some friends and I went to the first ever Seattle Sounders FC game (Seattle's new MLS soccer team). I admit I've tried watching soccer on TV now and again, but I can never pay attention for more than a few minutes due to the lack of exciting action (in my opinion, anyway). But I figured this game was a once-in-a-lifetime event, and we sports fans are REALLY in need of a team to rally around, so it sounded like a fun idea to get tickets to the game. I was going to go in a group including my sister, but we both ended up having so many friends who wanted to go that we had to split into two groups of six (you can buy up to eight tickets per person), and we were unfortunately seated at opposite ends of the stadium.

Anyway, in anticipation of the game, I went downtown to the Seattle Team Store the day before the game and picked up a Sounders FC scarf. The next day, I met Chrissy at her office in Bellevue, and then off we were. We of course got stuck in nasty traffic once we got to downtown Seattle, so we didn't walk into the stadium (Qwest Field, where the Seahawks play) until about 15 minutes after the opening ceremonies started. We still got to see quite a bit, though. There were speeches by Joe Roth (the majority owner, and a movie producer), Drew Carey (one of the owners) and the league's commissioner.

Drew Carey addresses the crowd:

Then our governor was announced to a smattering of boos (classy, Seattle) and eventually the players walked in, each holding the hand of a kid (some sort of soccer tradition?).

Players walk out with the kids:

After a little more hoopla, those of us with scarves waved them around, a ton of confetti was shot into the air (as was done after each goal; the field was very sparkly by the end of the night) and the game was on!

So I must admit I really enjoyed myself, due in no small part, I'm sure, to the excitement of the crowd over being at the first game. The game action was a lot more exciting in person vs. on the TV, and it was apparently a more exciting game than most in that three goals were scored. After the first goal by the Sounders, the announcer said something to the effect of "At 11:-- into the game, the Sounders have scored their first goal ever!" Such celebration (confetti, cheers, scarf waving, fireworks) after each goal -- wow!

L-R: Nicole, me, Chrissy, Ben:

Anyway, that's the quick summary of my big soccer night. The Sounders won 3-0, and there was much cheering and chanting to be had outside the stadium as fans walked out. I just may have to check out another game this year, especially after the weather warms up a bit!

Trailer for upcoming Apatow comedy -- I can't wait!

2009-03-10T11:25:00.000-07:00

I'm a huge fan of Judd Apatow -- and nearly anything and everything he's even remotely associated with. So I was very excited to get a first look at his upcoming comedy, "Funny People" (which, surprisingly, is only Apatow's third directorial outing, after "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up").

You know it's gonna be hilarious! Just check out the cast list: Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann (Apatow's real-life wife; I think his two daughters also appear in the film, as they did in "Knocked Up"), Eric Bana, Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman, Aziz Ansari.. plus cameos by Sarah Silverman, Andy Dick, Norm MacDonald ... Here's counting down to July 31!

Random thought: Parental/child kissing

2009-03-03T12:50:00.000-08:00

So I watched "The Bachelor" last night (followed by the Most Dramatic After the Final Rose show EVER), and kept getting weirded out by how Jason (the bachelor) kisses his son on the lips. I know I'm a bit uptight about PDA, but I don't feel I'm being too prudish when I say I don't get the whole kissing-on-the-lips thing between blood relatives. Maybe it's something passed down among folks of European ancestry?? Certainly it's not something I've ever seen Indian people do. We hardly hug, much less kiss each other -- anywhere!

That's all for now. I know it's been over a month since my last post, but I just haven't had the mental energy to blog the past few weeks! I'm sure I'll be in a more blogging-friendly mood once daylight-savings time begins..

The journey to Poojaland

2009-01-19T12:55:00.000-08:00

Every couple months, I pop onto SiteMeter to look over the details of who all is visiting Poojaland, and how they arrived here. I'd say the bulk of PL visitors are friends of mine in real life, but there are a decent amount of folks who come by via Internet searches (almost all through Google). BTW, a lot of folks searched on REI-related phrases ("REI backpack," "REI sale") -- and I saw by looking at IP addresses that some folks *at* REI were also looking at my blog (thanks!); I didn't realize I mentioned the place so much :o) Obviously, I'm a huge fan.

Anyway, here, in no particular order, are the best -- and most head-scratching -- phrases people searched on that led them to Poojaland. A lot of people were just in and out of PL, once they realized they didn't find exactly what they were looking for. But as I know so well from working in the world of online publishing: A click's a click!

1. "Buyer's guilt"

2. "That's what she said in Wikipedia"

3. "Addicted to bandaid"

4. "Longest that's what she said"

5. "I want forgo sex"

6. "Squat in the woods"

7. "Is Mary Roach a believer of god"

8. "Enjoy sex bus" (my second favorite)

9. "Chicken necks fresh Seattle (my favorite -- hilarious!!)"

The morning after the morning after

2009-01-15T17:55:00.000-08:00

I've noticed something weird the past few months -- after I go to the gym one evening, I'm not sore the morning after, but the morning after that. Not that I'm a gym rat or anything, but I've been going to the gym off and on for a couple years now, and if I overdid it, I always felt it when I got up the next morning. The past few times when it's been two mornings after, well, I'm not sure what the deal is. It's not like I'm sitting on my butt all day or laying around in bed. Maybe it's just another fun part of getting older..

The male of the species: My "Be wary" list

2009-01-12T21:10:00.000-08:00

As some of you know, when I have insomnia (which is unfortunately pretty frequently), I often pass the time by making lists. The other night, I started making a list of things to be wary of in guys. Most of the points come from my dating experience, limited as it is, a few are based on friends' experiences, and a few just come from my observations of the opposite gender.

So...inflammatory/controversial as it may be -- and bearing in mind that these are only MY little red flags -- here it is ...

Be wary of a guy who says he "likes to dance a little every day." Yes, a guy once told me that. On our first and only date.

Be wary of a guy who doesn't like football (this may be unique to me). I figure it'll raise a lot of eyebrows if a guy goes around complaining that his girlfriend/wife is parked on the couch all day on Sundays during the fall. (For those who don't know, I'm a big football fan.)

Be wary of a guy who's dirty. Now, I'm far from a neat freak, but I draw the line at not having hand soap in the bathroom, keeping sugar in the fridge "to keep it away from the ants," letting dead bugs litter the dish-drying rack and cleaning contacts while sitting on the couch, letting the solution drip everywhere and anywhere. (In case you're wondering, yes, it was one guy who had all these qualities. Plus the way he ate made me cringe -- food hanging/dropping everywhere. Ick.). Two other no-no's: Dirt under the fingernails (wash much?) and not washing one's hands after going to the bathroom.

Be wary of a guy who's too cheap. I'm not saying he needs to pay for everything, or even anything. But if the first time you meet face-to-face is over lunch -- and said lunch only ended up costing about $20 for the both of you -- he should at least make the token offer to treat. Then, you counter with "Oh, it's fine, we can go Dutch," and then he can say "OK, sure." And/or explain that he's tight for money or whatever. The guy in question here had a full-time job, so I'm not sure what his deal was. Again, I really, really don't mind paying my own way on dates (in fact, I think it's a bit odd to expect the guy to always treat), but c'mon..

Be wary of a guy who doesn't immediately hit it off with your friends. I can't say I've had many occasions to test this theory out as far as guys I've dated; it's just a feeling I have.

Be wary of a guy who shuns TV (this may be unique to me). No, I'm not looking for a partner in couch-potato action, but I don't get why certain people spit on TVs like they're mind-polluting. There are so many fun, interesting and educational shows out there to enjoy.

Be wary of a guy who never answers his cell phone. I mean, is anyone every THAT busy?! Especially for someone they're seeing?? And especially if, when you're over at their house, they're constantly picking up their phone to check e-mail and the like.

Be wary of a guy who doesn't like to read (books, mainly). This is likely another one that's unique to me. I'm a bookworm, so I need to be with someone who understands that every so often, I need to curl up on the couch with a blanket and a book and do my own thing for an hour or so.

Be wary of a guy with mostly, or a lot of, female friends. I think this is just a personal preference of mine. I don't know, I just find it weird. Plus, I think I'd always be a little suspicious.. you know?

Be wary of a guy who calls his mom while he's on a first date with you. Yes, this happened to a friend of mine, and yes, he was making the call, not answering. Oh, and no, there wasn't anything urgent about the call, he was just calling to chat with her.

Be wary of a guy who makes head-scratching spelling/grammar errors, i.e., signing off by saying "Chau!" or making a joke about having a "stocker." (OK, this could be me being too picky, but I think you need to draw the line somewhere!)

Be wary of a guy who lies about his age. To me, this means he's a bit in denial about his situation, and is trying to attract women who are too young (I mean, why not be truthful, then??). A guy I knew nearly 10 years ago is passing himself off online as only being two years older than he was when I met him those nearly 10 years ago.

Be wary of a guy who's too muscle-y. OK, this is probably another fun quirk I have, but I just can't get into beefy guys. Unless the dude is a weightlifter, wrestler, football player or fireman (the latter of whom could be forgiven for many of the above transgressions ;o)), I don't really get the need for all that bulk. Some years ago, my friend Matthew said this hilarious line: "Yeah, I work out and stuff, but not too much. I don't want to have muscles." He was an indie-pop musician at the time, so it totally made sense to me!

And of course, I must mention the classic: Be wary of a guy who's rude to strangers, especially people in service professions (waiters, etc.)

And there you have it! Maybe I'm taking the glass-half-empty view by making a "Be wary" list rather than a "He's a keeper if ..." list, but I'm sure that come together some other sleepless night. Plus, it's just so much more fun and interesting this way!

2009: Hope it'll be mighty fine

2009-01-08T10:23:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been nearly a month since my last post! I wish I could say I was busy doing all kinds of interesting things, but I've mostly just been lazing around, enjoying some down time at work and catching up on DVD/TV viewing due to being snowbound for some time. I couldn't say there are any real "highlights" of the last few weeks, but here're some quickie updates:

1. Was snowed in for 10 days. Well, technically, I should say that I was carless for those days; I live on a hill that gets little direct sunlight, and always has cars parked on both sides, so when it's snowy/icy, I don't even bother trying to move the car. Luckily, I was still able to get around town by foot or on the bus.

2. Had some time to finally start watching "The Wire," Season 1, which comes highly recommended. And it definitely lives up to the hype! I must admit I eventually had to start watching it with English subtitles on -- after I had to stop and rewind a scene for the third time to try and understand what folks were saying. I guess I'm just not that fluent in street/cop/thug speak.

3. Bundled Buster into a kitty harness thing, and then took him out into the snow with my sis. Poor guy was mostly terrified, and partly fascinated. He basically meowed and pawed at the back door of my building, trying to find his way in. And, we discovered later, he peed on my sis' $80 custom Seahawks jersey. Yikes!! Thankfully, it was pretty easy to get the stain and stench out..

4. Got a Blu-ray DVD player, yay! Though...I'm still waiting to receive the HDMI cable I need to see true HD. I ordered it off the Amazon Web site on Dec. 19, but as of today (Jan. 8), it still hasn't arrived. Sucks.

5. I bused to Fred Meyer (local grocery-type store) one afternoon to stock up on some food. Though it was a weekday afternoon, apparently everyone was paranoid about the impending snowstorm our media had been teasing for a few days, because the place was PACKED! I stood in line with my basket for probably 15-20 minutes. Behind me was this family with a teenage daughter who must've had some sort of developmental issue, because she kept yelling things like "CHIPS!" and "COOKIES!" and something about someone named Kai. Then she started rocking and kept nudging me...fun. And I even heard her dad saying "Stop hitting me. Please don't hit me!" Yikes.

6. Have unlocked about 60 of 63 songs in Rock Band (guitar, medium level).

So I'm cautiously excited for 2009. 2008 was a decent year -- I could say the usual "thankfully my family stayed healthy," "thankfully I stayed healthy," "thankfully I still have a job" stuff, but overall, I must say it was a bit blah. I'm definitely hoping for a little more excitement this year!

Mmm, Baconnaise! Genius!

2008-12-10T11:53:00.000-08:00

Was taking a break from work to get my weekly dose of Savage Love in the Onion, and spied an A.V. Club Taste Test product I just have to try: Baconnaise. As most of my friends know, I'm a fan of all things bacon (I even have an "I love bacon" pin), so this is right up my alley. According to the makers' Web site, their products are available at QFCs and Albertsons, so I'll have to go on a pilgrimage next time I need groceries so I can pick this up. As an added bonus, all their bacon-related condiments (which include Bacon Salts and bacon-flavored lip balms [which may be too much, even for me]) are vegetarian and kosher! Of course, I'm a purist in that I'd just rather have real bacon in my food, but this is a good option for when one wants to eat healthier or doesn't want to deal with preparing/cooking bacon.

If you want to read the A.V. Club's review of Baconnaise, click here.

Can't wait!!

Do I need to seek psychological help?

2008-12-04T09:43:00.000-08:00

Hi, my name is Pooja, and I'm an addict. An addict of....the smell of dishwasher detergent. Yes, friends, I must come clean about my little habit. For years now, after I fill up the dishwasher tray with powder detergent, I have to give the box a little whiff before closing it and stashing it back under the sink. No, I don't spend five minutes huffing it -- it's a very delicate sniff -- but I just love that fresh, clean smell. I don't know how I managed without it in the dishwasher-less house I lived in for a few years before I moved to my condo!

Thanksgiving!

2008-12-03T09:50:00.000-08:00

Every year when daylight savings time ends, I can't help getting a little excited, as it means Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year. My family has a long-standing (18-year??) tradition of heading to a family friend's for dinner every year. The family friends are another family with daughters close in age to me and my sister (we know them because the dad of that family used to work with the dad of my family). The guest list has quite expanded since we first started going, as their older daughter is now married with two young boys.

Anyway, the night was really great, as usual. My favorite memory was when the mother, Marilee, my sister and I were peeling potatoes. Scotty (Marilee's older grandson; I think he's five?) said to his mom: "Grandma's playing with her girlfriends." Love it!

That night, my sis stayed at my house and we were up at 5 a.m. to head to Target and hit up their Black Friday sale. We went mainly so I could get Guitar Hero World Tour Complete Guitar Edition for my Wii; it was $40 off. Having done our BF outings up in Lynnwood the previous years, we expected the Northgate area by my house to be completely clogged, so we decided to walk over instead. Of course, just our luck, there was plenty of parking available. Once we got in, I headed straight for the video-games area, while my sis went to pick up some $5 DVDs. The Guitar Hero games were almost flying off the shelves, but I was able to snag one. After we paid for everything, I decided to head downstairs into Best Buy to see if they had Rock Band on sale (as I bought GH, I started thinking that it'd be more cost-effective to get RB, which comes with all instruments, rather than keeping the GH I had bought, which only had a guitar). I talked to a Best Buy dude, and he said without hesitation, "Buy Rock Band." "RB 2" is out, but not yet for the Wii. And apparently the only difference between 1 and 2 is the music (no upgrades to the instruments), so I only need to buy the disc once 2 for the Wii is released. So...we trekked back up to Target so I could return the GH I'd bought maybe 30 minutes prior (likely Target's fastest return ever!), and buy the on-sale RB instead.

Finally, my sis and I headed to the mall. We stopped in JC Penney to pick up this food-warmer thing for my mom. Then, at about 6:45 a.m., we started the walk back to my place. It was a bit of an ordeal, as we had to lug both the Rock Band box and the food-warmer thing. Now we know to bring a car next time! Oh, and of course, we found out a couple days later that my mom didn't want the warmer thing after all; she went to look at it at Penney's later in the day on Friday, and decided the burner spots were too small.

After getting home around 7 a.m., we both went back to sleep until about 10 a.m. My sis headed out a few hours later, and then I hooked up Rock Band and ended up playing it for like three hours. So much fun!! But then I had to put it down so I could head out for some grocery shopping, as I was hosting my family and some family friends for dinner Saturday night.

Anyway...that's the gist of my long weekend. Saturday night's dinner gathering was a success -- all the food turned out great -- and my sister and I got quite a kick out of watching the older adults try various games (including, yes, Rock Band) on the Wii. Sunday was a recovery day, doing dishes and watching a lot of football.

And now it's suddenly December, which is crazy. The weather here is gray and wet, but definitely milder than I'd expect for this time of year. Though, I guess we've been getting more extreme weather in January the past few years.

Hope everyone had a great holiday!

When an iPhone becomes a party saver

2008-11-24T21:09:00.000-08:00

So on Saturday evening, I headed south to Mt. Baker for my friend/co-worker Ben's annual Grand Autumn Gathering (he makes some homebrew in its honor). I'd been to Ben's once before, but it was several months ago, so I used Yahoo! to give me driving directions and wrote them down. They looked a bit more complicated than I remembered, but I'd entered Ben's address correctly, so I just shrugged it off.

Once I got off I-90, I took a few turns off Rainier Blvd. After I'd gone several miles, I suddenly came upon the on-ramp to the West Seattle Bridge. Yikes! I'd obviously gone waaay off course. So I pulled over and fired up the Maps program on my iPhone. It pinpointed my location, and then I entered Ben's address, and it mapped my route to his house. I made a U-turn and was on my way, keeping my phone in one hand so I could turn it as I followed the route (the little pin that marked my location moved in real time on the map). I was even able to improvise a bit when the route dead-ended on a road that was closed for construction.

Finally, about 30 minutes after I'd intended to show up, I made it to Ben's for the party. Yay for the iPhone! And yay for Ben's party!

REI-sale find: My new favorite pants

2008-11-22T11:54:00.000-08:00

I got a flier in the mail earlier this week announcing an upcoming REI sale. Being that I have a chunk of vacation I need to use by Dec. 31 or it'll expire (this is on top of the three weeks I can carry into '09), I decided to take a day off Friday and use part of the day to hit up the sale. I mainly had my eye on a North Face thin fleece jacket I thought looked perfect for cooler-weather hiking (plus, as most of my friends know, I'm a sucker when it comes to all things North Face). I ended up getting one in an awesome plum color; it's really soft and comfy.

I hadn't been looking for pants, but I happened by a rack of REI-brand fleece pants that were on sale as well. And, bonus of bonuses, they were available in petite, regular and long sizes (being that I'm 5'4", it's incredibly hard to find pants of any kind that I don't need to wear heels with). To my further surprise, a pair in the regular length actually was the perfect fit for me. So I ended up getting those in black. I wore them to parents' last night, and I love them even more. They're a thin microfleece, and actually look somewhat flattering, which is hard to do with fleece.

Anyway, the sale is going through Dec. 1. More details here. Head on over there and get stocked up for winter!

I have a hand crush

2008-11-11T10:00:00.000-08:00

OK, maybe this is TMI, but in the past few years, I've suddenly developed a fascination with people's hands...mostly guys' hands. I think it centers on someone I met a few years back (the famous "MHR" some of you have heard of); he was someone I got a little crush on right off -- just based on his looks and personality -- and then I also noticed he has really nice hands. Part of my interest in even checking out a guys' hands has to do with the fact that I myself have large hands, and get a bit weirded out by the thought of being with someone with smaller hands than I have. Anyway, MHR's awesome hands now have me checking out the hands of any guy I meet or see whom I find moderately attractive. Everyone's got their little quirks, right?

BTW, if you're curious, here's a pic of one of my hands. My handspan from pinky to thumb goes from about the letter Z to the letter P on my ergo keyboard (which has a bump and some extra space in the middle of the keyboard). I think it measures out to be like nine inches.

I would've put a shot of MHR's hands, decided not to in case he happens to ever pop by Poojaland...

A change is comin' (FINALLY!!)

2008-11-06T10:33:00.000-08:00

Well, it's now two days after Tuesday's historic election here in the States. And I still have my "Obama '08" button on my bag because it still hasn't quite hit me yet. I guess I was quietly hoping for the best, but expecting the worst just out of self-preservation, and based on how the past few elections have turned out.

Anyway, I drug myself out of bed at 6 a.m. (40 minutes early) so I could zip down to my local polling place around 7:30. There were probably 20 volunteers and about 30 voters in there, but hardly a line, as they had set up a lot of little booths. I was voting using a provisional ballot because I discovered at the last minute that the voting office still had my old address on file, so I spent a few minutes just filling out the various forms. Then, I filled out my ballot, put it in the two envelopes, stuck it in the voting machine, slapped on my "I Voted" sticker and walked back out into the rain.

And then...the waiting game began. On the way home from work that night, I was checking MSNBC.com on my phone every 15 minutes or so, watching as results from the East coast started coming in. I stopped at home to freshen up and get my car, and then I was off to Luau to meet up with some friends. I walked into the restaurant at about 6:45, and the place was quite festive -- red, white and balloons everywhere, tons of Obama posters (I'm SO glad to be living in a devoutly blue area!) and two blaring flat-screen TVs. As we ate, we kept an eye on the TVs, commenting to each other as Obama picked up state after state. I don't think we were even done eating dinner when they announced that Obama had gone over the magic number of 270 -- I think the West coast had just closed its polls maybe 10 minutes earlier! The whole place went crazy, cheering and clapping and high-fiving. We all quieted down for McCain's speech, which was actually very good (and sounded quite practiced, I must say ...), and you could've heard a pin drop when Obama finally took the stage for his acceptance. I must admit I got misty-eyed, not over just his speech, but what his election represents to those of us who are minorities. It's just an amazing feeling to know that someone who's nearly fully non-White was elected to the highest office of our country, and to a post that's of such importance to the world as a whole.

Interestingly, though that day and the day or two prior were typical fall Seattle days (gray, cold, windy, rainy), Wednesday dawned beautiful and sunny. Definitely a sign that the world is getting back on track again!! (Today, of course, we're back to the doom and gloom.) Personally, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off our collective shoulders. Yes, Obama won't be sworn in until next year, and it's going to take him a lot of time to undo this mess Bush has gotten us into, but man, it feels SO GOOD. I'm so excited to be an American (of non-American descent) living here and able to have participated in this amazing event. Here's to the next four (eight, even) years!

Fantastic 10-mile fall "hike"

2008-10-30T12:40:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday, Chrissy had the great idea of taking advantage of our surprisingly clear and sunny fall weather and going on a hike. This year has been unusual in Seattle in that we've had a true fall season, where it's been cool/cold, but clear and sunny. Leaves have changed color and are still on their trees -- usually "fall" is like two days, and then the rains come in and the leaves end up on the ground in a soggy, ucky mess. But the scenery around town lately has been just gorgeous.

Anyway, Chrissy, Tina and I left the city Sunday morning and headed east to Big Creek Falls. En route, we discovered that Chrissy's state-parks permit, which we needed to park at the trailhead, had actually expired a couple months back. I then whipped out my oh-so-handy iPhone, and found a gas station in North Bend where we could buy a $5 day pass. After going through North Bend, we had to rumble down a 10-mile gravel road, that was peppered with potholes. Apparently Chrissy enjoys that sort of driving... ;o) We finally rolled up to the trailhead at about 11; there were only maybe 10 other cars in the lot.

It was pretty chilly -- mid-40s -- so I pulled on my oh-so-sexy bandana/headband/ear-protector thing, two fleeces (one light, one mid) and some gloves. Then we set out for the 10-mile "hike." (I put "hike" in quotes, because it's basically flat; you gain 700 feet of elevation over the five miles.) At the beginning of the hike, we crossed and then walked along the Taylor River. Here and there, we had to cross tiny, low streams, but for the most part, it was a pretty easy ramble. At the three-mile mark, we came across Marten Creek, which had a little waterfall. A couple miles up, we came to a cairn (basically a pile of rocks that act as a marker) on the side of the trail. We scrambled about 100 yards up a hill, then went down the other side and came to the base of Otter Falls. Otter Falls was really amazing -- basically a sheer rock face, with a tiny trickle of water coming down it. The Falls end in a tiny, serene lake. After snapping a lot of pictures, we sat down for lunch. Here are some pics of the Falls; you may have to squint to see the water coming down...

Then I pulled out my handy-dandy Joby camera stand and mounted the camera on a tree branch so we could take a self-photo. That tree behind Tina was so beautiful. (BTW, I turned on the "Autumn" setting on my camera at this point, which made the leaves' colors really pop, but washed out our faces a bit.)

After eating, we found our way back to the main trail, and continued on for maybe a mile or so to our turnaround spot, Big Creek Falls. Here's a shot of Tina, Chrissy and me in front of the falls:

And then...back we went. In total, our hike was about 10 miles. I've never walked that distance before, so my calves were definitely a bit achy the last mile or so. But what a great outing -- the perfect weather, mild exercise, good company, etc. It was almost rainforest-like most of the way, with moss everywhere:

I highly recommend that y'all head out to this place once spring rolls around. Here's a great, detailed description of how to get to the trailhead and what to do/where to go from there: http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/trip-reports/trip_report.2008-10-23.8354142965.

Finally, I leave you with a pic I snapped on the drive home; it shows off more beautiful fall foliage. So glad we took our trip when we did -- the rains are a' comin'!

Fun Halloween activity: Haunted Trails

2008-10-08T15:02:00.000-07:00

If any of you, my handful of readers, are looking for a fun Halloween-related activity, I highly recommend the Haunted Trails at Bastyr University in Kenmore, Wash. The students of the university put it on to raise money for trips abroad. It costs $10 ($8 with a can or dry-food donation), and involves walking in groups of 10 or so through the trails on the university's grounds. Along the way, people in costume jump at you, ghosts on strings fly around and so on. Last year was my first year going. As we waited to embark, the "guide" told us that "there will be no touching," which meant that any time a scary person started toward me on the trail, I would reflexively wave my hands around in front of my face and say "NO TOUCHING!" Yeahh... I'm weird. Mostly, I'm just not a fan of being scared!

Anyway, since I was toward the back of our group, I didn't get truly spooked too often. But despite that, along with the crazy cold, drizzly weather, it was still a lot of fun. Someone in our group brought a big thing of hot cocoa -- spiked with butterscotch schnapps -- which we sipped on after our adventure. Yum!

This year, the Trails will run from 5:30 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday Oct. 17 and 18, and Friday and Saturday Oct. 24 and 25. They're quite popular (last year they had 4,000 folks), so I recommend going early (and of course, dressing warmly). There's also some side events going on for small kids.

More info on everything can be found on Bastyr's Web site. I'm guessing my friends and I will go again this year, but we haven't pinned down a date. If any of you (and by "you" I mean my real-life friends in Seattle ;o)) want to join in, just let me know.

Windy city for a day

2008-10-06T12:02:00.000-07:00

Late Saturday morning, I peered out the window to see trees bending back and forth, and leaves blowing all over. I'd thought it was going to be a relatively mild (well, rain-free) weekend, and though it wasn't raining, the wind looked pretty intense. I could even hear the whir of it from a couple feet from the window.

Anyhow, my day was pretty open, so I pulled my hair into a ponytail, topped it with a baseball cap, and put on one of my two awesome North Face Windwall jackets and some comfy tennis shoes, and hopped the bus to the U District.

Several times, I felt like I was in a wind tunnel; I even had to slam a hand on my head to keep my hat from taking flight. Loose pages of the Stranger (a local alternative newspaper) were blowing around by the traffic lights at one intersection I waited at. At one point, I walked past a guy who was approaching his parked car with two 10-12" pizza boxes and some other assorted stuff in his hands. He set the boxes on his trunk so he could pull out his keys. I'd nearly walked past his car when I heard a thud, followed by "F*CK!" I casually looked back, and only saw one pizza box sitting on his trunk. I couldn't see to the far side of his car to see if one of the pizzas had been ejected from its box, but gauging by the strength of that "F*CK!" I'm guessing it did. Sorry, dude!

Buster goes to the dentist

2008-09-29T14:53:00.001-07:00

Several weeks ago, I noticed that Buster was hardly eating his dry food. Nothing had changed -- the brand of his food (both dry and wet), location, bowl, etc. -- and after I started mixing about a teaspoon of it in with his wet food twice a day, he did eat it. But he was no less hungry, and being that I'm at work for most of the day M-Th., I started getting alarmed over the thought of him only eating around 7:30 a.m. and then 10 p.m. when I gave him the wet/dry food mix. Since his appetite hadn't waned, my immediate thought was that he had some sort of tooth issue going on that made it painful for him to eat the dry food. Otherwise, he seemed completely normal, though a bit more lethargic than usual (due to eating less).

After about a week and a half of his weird eating, I was able to take him to the vet. Sure enough, he had a couple teeth that needed removing. He hadn't been to the vet in a couple years, so he also was due for a couple vaccinations. Buster was pretty good throughout the entire appointment; he was really squirmy and obviously scared, but he didn't hiss or yowl or scratch anyone. On the drive home that morning, I had his carrier on the passenger seat with the open part facing me. The carrier had this fuzzy blue pad/carpet on the bottom, only affixed by a couple strips of glue. Post-vet trauma on the ride back, Buster was able to pull the pad up and crawl underneath it to hide as best he could. I snapped a pic of him at a stop light. Poor guy!

Anyway, Buster had surgery a couple days after that appointment to get the teeth removed. Now it's about a week and a half later, and he seems to be fully recovered. He's back to eating dry food, but not as much as before; I think he got spoiled by the five days or so both pre- and post-surgery when he could only eat the wet stuff. No way am I only feeding him only that, though; that'd add up really fast. Plus, he of course needs food at hand when I'm in the office, and I can't leave wet food out all day as it goes sort of plasticky.

Long-awaited (long) rafting recap

2008-09-23T10:17:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a long couple of weeks, so I apologize for the lack of blogs... That's not to imply that there's been a lack of things to blog about! I've just been short on energy to sit down and actually start typing.

Anyhow, one blogworthy event was the camping/rafting trip I went on last weekend. We went on the Tieton River, and camped nearby in Naches, Wash. (about a three-hour drive from Seattle). Most folks arrived at the campsite on Saturday, so they could raft both weekend days, but I'd had a busy week prior to that weekend, and Nicole was heading down Sat. afternoon, so I jumped in with her. I hadn't been camping in about eight years at that point (I think the last trip was with co-workers from the Science Center to Mt. St. Helens), so I was nervous about what to pack, and the experience itself -- mostly my fear of needing to pee at 2 a.m.! Having been on this rafting trip a few years before -- though minus the camping -- I knew that there were no toilets at this particular campsite. I borrowed a down sleeping bag from Derek, and swung through REI to get some microfiber/quick-dry towels and a sleeping pad. I even found a cheap $14 water-proof "action" camera, that straps to your wrist; it's also reloadable -- bonus! Luckily, I didn't have to deal with the tent issue, as Chrissy took her "big" tent, so Nicole and I were going to crash in with her.

Nicole and I rolled up to the campground just after dark, probably around 8:30. There were about 20 folks there, sitting in chairs around a roaring campfire. Due to my paranoia about the whole peeing thing, I declined any alcohol and just sipped from my water bottle as I got covered from head to toe with amazing amounts of ash from the fire. One dude was playing bits of songs on a guitar, but would snap at people when they tried to direct him or make a request ("I'm trying to figure this song out! Give me a minute!"). This lady next to him had obviously had several drinks.. Chrissy made some comment about having a crush on Michael Phelps, and two minutes later, this lady (I'll call her T) was saying Chrissy looked like Phelps! Um....right. At some point during the evening, T asked if I was Indian, and I confirmed it. A little while after the Phelps business, T suddenly said to me "I love that you're from India! You're like a bulldog! You know, with those instincts, and ..." WTF?? She then went into some rave about Ayurvedic medicine. I was like "Lady, I take Advil!" Whatevs.

Around 11:30, Nicole and I drove about 1/2 mile down the road to a neighboring campsite to use their facilities (a "luxury" Nicole usually doesn't engage in, so ... lucky me this time!). Then we went back to camp to set up our sleeping gear in Chrissy's tent. I slept better than I thought I would, but not that great. Even though I had on fleece pants, two pairs of socks and a long-sleeved tee, it took me a good half hour to get warm. Because the air in the tent was so cold, I ended up sleeping almost entirely inside the bag (it was a mummy-style one, thankfully).

Nicole and I rolled out of the tent around 9, and headed down the road to freshen up (BTW, putting in contacts with ice-cold fingers is NOT fun!). Then we joined most everyone else around the fire (a much smaller version of the night before's) for a delicious breakfast prepared by a camper who's a chef in real life. There were biscuits, hash browns, bacon with potatoes, eggs and biscuits. Nicole and I contributed some apple-spice bread and fresh raspberries.

We sat around and talked some more (Paul, the guy who would later be our main guide on the river was drinking Sparks beer -- which is caffienated -- nice!), then slowly started getting ready for the trip. A few folks who'd rafted the day before headed back home; as I was going to just wear standard undies within my dry dry suit instead of a swim suit as most everyone else, I went ahead and changed back in the tent. Then the remaining 13 or so of us crammed into a couple cars for the ~15-minute drive to the "put -in."

Once there, we pulled the rafts off the top of Paul's truck and rooted around in the bed of his truck to get enough life vests and paddles for everyone. Anything that couldn't go into the rafts was left in Paul's truck (which included my digital camera) and then two cars (including the truck) were driven down to the "take-out."

Here's a shot of me before I stashed my digital camera away. Behind me to the left is one of our rafts; behind me to the right is the actual put-in spot and the river itself.

The rest of us were left to lounge around the put-in for probably a good 30-45 minutes, as I think the take-out was at least 15 miles away. The guys left the truck there and came back in the remaining car.

The first half of the trip was fun, as expected. Chrissy, Nicole and I were all in the same boat. We mostly lazily floated down the river, paddling a handful of strokes every 50 yards or so. Most folks were guzzling beer or hard lemonade from the cooler, but I was of course *not* so I wouldn't have to deal with peeling off the dry-suit to pee mid-trip. Paul was our main guide, but this woman Katie was getting trained by him, so she did most of the vocalizing to us ("All ahead!" "Back left!" etc.) and manned the rudder. About half or two-thirds of the way through the ride, we came upon the dam. The buildup is a little alarming, as there are these "Danger! Dam Ahead" signs that precede it. But I'd been on the river before, and going over the dam had just been like a big rapid. This time, however... I started getting alarmed about 10 seconds before we hit it, as Paul was saying to Katie, "OK, you need to get them going faster." Then he said to us, "C'mon guys, paddle HARD!" We approached the dam, went over the ~4-foot drop, and then WHOOSH, we got pulled under the spray and our raft tipped up. Paul yelled, "HIGH SIDE!" so we all lunged to the side of the raft that was in the air, trying to get the raft to level. But it didn't work; water was pounding into the raft. Paul yelled "Hold out your paddles!" so I grabbed the rope on the outside of the raft's high side and stuck my paddle into the water with the other. Still.. nothing. Paul's two 11-year-old nephews had been in the front of the boat, and I could periodically hear them whimpering. But mainly, I just heard the roar of the water. It was pounding us so hard that I was literally short of breath.

Normally, in these situations, whatever's happening to you happens so fast that you don't have time to process any thoughts. But we were stuck under the dam for probably almost two minutes, so I distinctly remember some thoughts that went through my mind:

"If this goes on much longer, maybe I should let go. But hmm.. I'm not even sure what way I'm facing. I've seen those shows on TruTV -- if I also get pulled into the flow of the dam, I'll go under and basically get pounded to death by the combine of the churning water."

"I wish we'd worn helmets."

"I know I'm being REALLY stupid by holding my paddle and the raft's rope in one hand to adjust my visor [it fell over my eyes], but I need to be able to see" (I actually did this three times!)

"HOLD ON TO THE PADDLE!" (Rule 1 of rafting, as it's much easier to get rescued if you can extend your paddle to a rescuer)

During those heart-pounding minutes, I didn't scream or say anything (or whimper, thank god). I was having those thoughts, but I also focused on Paul's voice, as he yelled things like: "C'mon boat!" "Just keep hanging on, everyone! We'll get through this!" "C'mon, we just need a good surge!"

Eventually...thankfully...we got that surge, and our raft was pushed out from under the flow -- with everyone still inside and my Action Camera still attached to my left wrist. We floated another 100 yards or so down river, "Oh GOD"-ing all the way, then pulled into an eddy where the folks in the other raft -- which'd been in front of us -- had pulled over to wait for us. My knees were definitely shaky when I got out to stand in the water. Paul said he felt our situation had come about due to a number of factors: 1) we weren't going fast enough, 2) our raft was a little under inflated and 3) we got snagged by some sort of rock after we went over. He said that on his numerous trips down the river, he'd never had that happen. "You're a true rafter now!" Chrissy told me.

On the right is the best pic of the dam I could find online (thanks to www.alpineadventures.com/tieton.html), though it really doesn't look all that daunting...I could've sworn the drop from the top to the bottom was closer to five or six feet, but this pic makes it look deceptively tame!! Again, I think it was just a fateful combination of factors that resulted in our little experience.

The rest of the trip was after that was uneventful. I think our total time on the river was a couple or three hours -- maybe 14 miles? Poked around online, and apparently the Tieton is the steepest river in the state, as it drops 50 feet in elevation per mile. Anyway, we pulled up to the take-out and dragged the raft out of the river. Then we deflated the rafts and loaded the back of Paul's truck with people and gear to head back to the campsite. Once there, we all just broke down tents and loaded up the cars. I was once again riding with Nicole; Chrissy had come with Ben.

After making one final stop down the road at the facilities, we hit the road around 6. We stopped in Ellensburg to have Mexican for dinner; I was still a bit disbelieving about the day's events, so I self-medicated with a yummy raspberry margarita. We got back to Nicole's around 10:30, and I stumbled into my own place about 40 minutes later.

Nicole was getting over a cold when we left for the trip, and lucky me, I caught her bug in the middle of last week and am still enjoying the last bits of it (mostly the cough and man-voice bits). I was especially bummed about still having the cold this past weekend, as a bunch of folks actually went back to the Tieton for a day trip yesterday (Sunday). I'd been invited on the trip late last week, and kept putting off calling Nicole with my yea or nay in the hopes that I'd get back to 100%. But alas...it didn't happen, so I called her Saturday evening to tell her I was out. Apparently there's still good rafting there through the end of September, so I've got my fingers crossed there'll be another day trip. Despite that scary adventure, I can't wait to go again!

Whew.. typer's cramp.. I'll leave discussion of my new Wii and iPhone (yes, I got both!) for another time ... Oh, and I'll get pics from the trip posted once I get them developed (if the quality is good). I think I still have about six exposures to use up on the roll.

A fun Saturday-morning outing

2008-09-09T11:52:00.001-07:00

My sister and I went on a fun in-town outing this past weekend -- a tour of the Paramount Theatre in downtown Seattle. Even though I've lived in Seattle nearly my whole life, and have been to numerous shows at the Paramount (of both the musical and stage variety), I still found it very interesting.

The tour's free, and lasts 90 minutes. They of course give you the background of the theatre, and talk about the upgrades that were made in the early '90s, thanks to a $35-million private (!) donation by a former Microsoftee. But you also get to go under the stage to see the "trap doors," a swanky lounge-type of place for VIPs (with its own catwalk to the seating area, so stars can sneak in at the last minute), the "star dressing room" with bullet-proof glass where Bill Clinton spent some time during the WTO riots in '99 and even the projection room. Apparently we got sort of a unique treat in that "Phantom" is starting a run this week, and we got to be in the theatre to see it half set up (the famous chandelier was all strung up, but was in it's "down" position near the stage floor). We couldn't take photos of anything in there, unfortunately. Oh, and the Paramount has one of the three remaining original pipe organs in the U.S.

To the right are a handful of pics I shot with my phone; first is the player-piano, which I believe is usually covered up. It's also original to the theatre. A guy gave us a demo of how it works -- really interesting. Though I must say those pianos always freak me out; looks like a ghost is playing, you know?

The last two pics were taken in the projection room. Whereas underneath the stage are framed posters of shows signed by the stars, the projection booth is where all the behind-the-scenes union workers leave their marks. You can see the souvenir from "Young Frankenstein," which previewed at the Paramount before heading to Broadway in New York.

The same volunteers who run the tour also do the same thing at the Moore on the following Saturday; I'll have to check that out sometime. For those who want more info on the tours, head here.

Strange sightings

2008-09-05T14:50:00.000-07:00

This sign has recently popped onto most Metro buses; it shows a scary, stretched-skin hand and long, red fingernails. I'm not sure why the folks who made the poster couldn't have just used a picture of a REAL hand?? I almost feel like it should actually say "Hold on! The being with this hand has been snatching humans off Metro buses just like this one. Don't be her next victim!"

While I was waiting for a bus earlier this week, this guy got off another bus and then sat on a nearby bench. On first glance, I thought "Hmm, not bad," but then ... I looked down. Wearing Crocs is one thing, but wearing hot-pink ones? When you're a guy?? (I snapped the pic while pretending to make a phone call.)

There's a family of raccoons hanging around my complex. One night, I was getting out of my car; I turned around as I was hefting a bag and saw a raccoon by the front door of my building. I stood there staring at him for a minute, and then he started ambling toward me. I got nervous and jumped back into my car (when he was about 12 feet from me) until he wandered off.

Last weekend, I saw four raccoons in my complex's back yard; they were actually really cute -- rolling around, grooming, playing..

What every Seattleite needs

2008-08-27T11:16:00.000-07:00

How cool is this umbrella?? It's pricey ($48 for this one, $35 for a folding one), but I'm sure it'd be quite the pick-me-up on a gray, soggy day.

Dealing with a smelly man and wild weather

2008-08-24T22:35:00.000-07:00

A couple days ago, I hopped a bus downtown to hit up the REI sale that just started. About two stops after I got in, this guy sat down next to me. Hoo lordy, he had AWFUL body odor coming off him in waves. I tried breathing through my mouth, but then I started getting a head ache. Then I turned to my left until my nose was nearly pressed against the window, but that wasn't too comfortable either. Finally, I rested my elbow on the window ledge and had two fingers right under my nose in sort of a "thinking woman" pose. That seemed to work the best. Anyhow, every time the bus came to a stop, I mentally crossed my fingers that the guy would get up, but he sat next to me for the next 20 minutes, and got off when I did at REI. Ick! Funny bit -- a guy two seats in front of me was sitting next to a lady. A seat opened up behind him (and directly in front of me), so the guy moved back a row to have his own seat. But a few stops later, the lady got off, and he moved back up a row to that now-empty seat. I'm convinced it was because he was trying to get away from the rank odor ...

This morning -- thankfully during the handful of hours it was warm and sunny out -- I met up with my good friend S for some breakfast in Wedgwood at the Sunflower Bakery. The food was great, but our eyes were WAY bigger than our stomaches, so even though we split two small dishes (1: two buttermilk pancakes, along with a side of bacon for me; 2: a smallish cheddar-cheese omelet with potatoes and toast), we only made it through one pancake each and about half of the so-so omelet. Cool place, though. Anyway, around 1:30, it suddenly started pouring down rain. I was twitchy to get in a walk after the heavy breakfast, so when the sun peeked out again about an hour later, I threw on a hat and a light raincoat and headed out to walk to WaMu to deposit some checks. I was just heading back from the bank when the heavy rain came back. I had to deal with the lovely feeling of rain sliding down my collar, and by the time I was halfway home, the thighs area of my jeans was so soaked that the fabric was sticking to my skin. Normally I'd take an umbrella in heavy rain like that, but I was thinking I'd be dealing with light showers at the worst, and I hadn't wanted to hold anything in my hands (or over my shoulder). Ah well, no harm done! The pic is a shot of the damage after I walked in my condo. Just another lovely Seattle summer day!

Icky, Sticky, Uncomfortable

2008-08-16T16:04:00.000-07:00

So we're in the middle of a mini-heat wave here in Seattle right now -- it's been in the upper 80s and low 90s. Call me a wuss, but I'm a true Seattleite in that 80/90-degree temps are just too much; I like milder weather. I generally am always on the cold side, but when I'm outside in direct sunlight, I heat up pretty quickly (the brown skin and black hair are sun magnets). On top of that, I'm not comfortable jetting around town in skimpy clothes, so the end result is that being outdoors in this type of weather is really, really uncomfortable. I did get in some fresh air today, though; Anuja and I met up for some tennis, but although it was somewhat early -- 9:30 a.m.-ish -- it was nearly 80, so we only lasted maybe 40 minutes. Then I made a quick run down to the U District to drop something off at the dry cleaner. My condo's windows all face north, so I don't get a ton of direct sunlight in the summer, but after a couple days of 80-plus temps, it definitely starts warming up in here. So I've got a fan going on low as I'm watching the Olympics.

Speaking of the Olympics.. right now this event called the steeplechase is on. Who comes up with these things?? My understanding is that the athletes do seven laps of a track. En route, they jump over like five hurdles per lap, including one where they step onto the hurdle and jump into a big puddle of water. Huh? I'd like to submit my own Olympic track and field event... you do one lap of the track.. then you stop at a booth and have to knock down three tiers of bottles with up to three beanbags.. then you run another lap.. then you come to a puddle of water, but have to get through it by walking on your hands.. then you do another lap with seven hurdles.. then you have to throw a football through a tire.. then you do one more lap and you're done!

As John Stossel would say: "Gimme a break!"

Twinkie carnage

2008-08-12T10:49:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, my sister sent me home with some leftovers from her birthday party that took place the weeekend before that: two chocolate Hostess cupcake things, and a package of Twinkies. (I haven't had either in years, but they looked mighty tempting, and she didn't want them, so ...) I took out one of the Twinkies last night for a little dessert snack. After hearing the rustling of the plastic wrapper, Buster (my cat) immediately came over to see what I was doing. Out of curiosity, I put a little piece of the Twinkie on my palm, and lo-and-behold, he snatched the thing up. I gave him a couple more pieces, then told him to bugger off so I could eat the rest. I left the other Twinkie in the package; I folded the open end underneath, and left everything on my coffee table.

Woke up this morning and padded into the living room to check e-mail, and there on the floor next to the coffee table was that second Twinkie! Buster had pulled the package off the table, gotten his paw into it, pulled out the Twinkie (no easy feat, since it was stuck to a piece of cardboard within the package) and started munching. He didn't make it as far as the filling, but he did an impressive amount of damage. He likes the junk food, just like his mamma! Here's a shot of the Twinkie, post-Buster:

Don't worry, I don't go feeding Buster people food; I just get a kick out of seeing what all he'll eat. Some examples: avacado, mini marshmallows and whipped cream from a can (as soon as he hears the "whoooosh" of the can, he comes running). Funny guy.

Band-Aid addiction and a scary mannequin

2008-08-11T16:18:00.001-07:00

Hello. My name is Pooja and I'm an addict ... a Band-Aid addict.

Yes, it's true. I think it's largely due to the germophobia I've developed over the past couple years.. anytime I get a cut or scrape, I have to put a Band-Aid on it immediately -- with Neosporin, of course. So partly, I don't want germs to get in there, but another factor is my clumsiness and forgetfulness; a Band-Aid helps me from absentmindedly scratching a paper cut (those things itch nearly as bad as mosquito bites) or getting hand-soap suds into an open wound. I can't tell you how thrilled I was to find Band-Aid variety packs at Costco a couple months back. Each pack had large Band-Aids, waterproof Band-Aids, medicated Band-Aids... I was in Band-Aid-addict heaven!!

BTW, the pic was taken earlier today; I got a papercut while rifling through some papers on my desk, so I immediately hit up the First Aid kit in the kitchen for one of their dingy band-aids and some antibiotic ointment.

On a completely different topic -- I was going through some recent pictures on my phone and came across one I took in the waiting area of Cafe Veloce last month. CV is a great little pizza/pasta place in Kirkland, but they have this car-racer lady mannequin thing by the waiter-station that freaks me out every time I go. I keep forgetting she's not real, so every time I see her in my peripheral vision, I snap my head around to see who's staring at me. Every time!!

Was I in upside-down world?

2008-08-02T00:03:00.000-07:00

In the late afternoon today, I set out on foot to run some errands. First up was my doctor's office to pick up some prescription refills. Being that it was late afternoon on a Friday, I figured it'd be super busy at the pharmacy, so I packed a book in order to avoid dealing with out-of-date, grimy magazines (the book was "The End of Faith," which I've been reading sporadically for at least a year. It's got WAY too many endnotes, and is a little too high-brow for my tastes; I'd recommend "The God Delusion" over "TEOF" if you're looking for something in that genre). Once I got to the pharmacy, though, there were only a handful of people. I took a number -- it was number 94. I looked up, and they were on number 93! So I had to sit for a grand total of about one minute before I was called up to the window.

Then I headed on down the street to the mall. One of my stops was an official AT&T store. Usually, you only need to be within shouting distance of a cell-phone store or booth before you've got someone coming up to you to "help," but this time, I actually had to wait several minutes. And this was after I wasted about 10 minutes by slowly walking around the store and pretending to examine each phone. Yeesh! And it wasn't that they were overstaffed -- in fact, I think they had at least eight employees in there -- they were just really busy. Anyway, once I finally got some help, the employee confirmed what I'd feared: I'm not eligible to upgrade my phone until mid-September. I know I mentioned a couple posts back that I was obsessed with getting either a Wii or an iPod Touch, but now the Touch obsession has been replaced with an iPhone obsession. This is mainly because the idea of having an all-in-one device (phone + mp3 player) is really appealing, not to mention the idea of being able to access the Web and e-mail while I'm on walks or the bus, or waiting at a bus stop (I'm doing a lot more of all three now). Plus, a co-worker gave my officemate and me a little demo of his iPhone and it just looks like so much fun.

So unfortunately, I'm now forced to engage in one of my dad's favorite situations: "delayed gratification." Yay. I guess the silver lining is that as I also mentioned in a previous post, mid-September is bonus time at work. So maybe I'll get a Wii sooner to satisfy one obsession, and the iPhone later for the other! I've obviously been without a new toy for a little too long..

Shoe shopping by flashlight

2008-07-21T22:01:00.000-07:00

I walked over to Northgate Mall Saturday afternoon with the intention of swinging through Nordstrom to pick up some shoes (part of the Anniversary Sale). Once I got inside the mall, though, I got sidetracked by the "70% OFF SALE!" sign outside Ann Taylor Loft. I ended up picking out a few items to try on. Went into a fitting room, took off my T-shirt, and then whoooosh! The lights went out! Some back-up lights popped on right away, but it was definitely dim. (Nobody screamed, for those who're wondering. There were just a lot of "Whoa!"s and laughter.) I decided to go ahead and try on a couple of the tanks, and then wandered out. Turned out power had gone out across the whole mall, and stores were asking people to leave and pulling down their security fence things as customers exited.

I was of course bummed that I hadn't gone directly to Nordstrom (the sale shoes tend to go quickly during the sale, and I have an average shoe size), but I decided to wander on by there just in case they weren't kicking people out. Well, Nordstrom employees and customers sure are a hardy bunch! The lighting was even worse in the shoe area, but it was business as usual -- though everyone was using either flashlights or cell phones for light. The store was unfortunately out of the color of shoe I wanted (burgandy), but had my second choice (black), so I tried those on, using the helpful employee's flashlight to check myself out in the mirror. I ended up buying that pair; they had to ring me up using an old-school carbon-copy receipt thing. (Of course, I was still obsessing over those red shoes [the color is much better in person], so the next day I called the Alderwood store and had them try to order a pair from another store for me. Fingers crossed! They're so classic and classy, I know I'll get my money's worth.)

As I left the mall around 2:30, I heard that power had also gone out at the Target/Best Buy complex across the street. The traffic light at the busy intersection of 5th and Northgate was also out, leading to lots of honking and bad driving (i.e., three drivers going one behind the other, rather than treating it as a four-way stop as you're supposed to). I read later that some City Light workers had inadvertently caused the outage; not totally surprising with all the construction going on in the area. Apparently the power finally came back up around 5:30 p.m. By then, I'd long since left the mall and headed to the U District for some medicinal bubble tea ;o)

I can be your (Guitar) Hero, baby

2008-07-20T00:07:00.000-07:00

So I finally played Nintendo Wii for the first time on Friday night, and now I'm completely obsessed with the idea of getting a console. The scene was my friends L&I's house (they're married). They got their Wii only about a month ago, and were already pretty enamored with it, so part of the tease of the dinner invite was the promise of some Wii action afterwards. It was kinda late by the time we finally got around to firing it up -- 11:30 -- but they were game to let my friend Lara and me give it a try. First up was Wii tennis. So great! Especially since I play in real life. Though, I lost all of the four or so games I played, two of which were against Lara (who also plays tennis). Then we played some other random games.. one where you're on a cow knocking down stuff on a raceway, a shooting game (which I won vs. Lara -- handily) and laser air hockey. But then....we busted out Guitar Hero. Now that was SO much fun. I played two songs on the Easy level (which has you using three of the six [?] keys), and I hit 96% of the notes on the second one! Yeah, it's only three keys, but I still felt a great sense of accomplishment. I also loved the parts when I got to rock out and pull the neck of the guitar up. Ha, and my sense of accomplishment was increased when Lara tried a couple songs and got booed off the stage within about 20 seconds!! (Sorry Lara, but it was only right after my having lost at many other games earlier that night ;o)). I think what I love about the Wii is that it's so simple and easy -- you don't have to worry about what eight buttons mean, or remember how many bullets or grenades you have left, or keep track of some intricate backstory. It's just unadulterated, straightforward fun.

Anyway, I was at Costco this afternoon with my mom and talked up one of the employees about the Wii. Apparently they sell out of the consoles amazingly fast after stock up (they were of course out today). If I were to get one, though, I'd almost certainly get it there, just because of the great warranty and return policy, and apparently, according to the dude, for the ~$300 you plonk down, you get two controllers instead of one, and an extra game or two. Unfortunately, Guitar Hero isn't one of those games; L&I said it was about $100 for the GH game and guitar thing. Ouch! So we'll see. At the very least, I'm hoping I'll be getting more frequent dinner invites from L&I so I can periodically get a Wii fix!

I should mention also that for the tail end of last week, up until my Wii-velation, my obsession was the idea of getting an iPod Touch, mainly because a co-worker brought in his iPhone to show Eric and me and we were just enthralled. But then we did the math on how much more a month we'd be shelling for our cell-phone plan, and we just couldn't justify it. I mentioned that my dad has an iPod Touch that has a lot of the features that the iPhone has, it just needs free WiFi to use them. So we were all fired up about getting one of those. Problem is, they're mucho expensive -- even at Costco, around $389 for the 16G, and $489 for the 32G.

Though.. my iPod Touch obsession was revived a bit this evening when I was at my parents' for dinner and my dad gave me a little tour of his iPod Touch. It's super slick! So now I have to let my obsessions simmer and we'll see if and when I end up buying one of the two. Hm...maybe I'll buy one now, and the other when bonus time rolls around at work in early September...

Emerging from a wedding daze

2008-07-08T11:50:00.000-07:00

Julie and I show off our henna (photo stolen from Julie)

Well, it's been a non-stop week! Early last week, I was busily getting work done in anticipation of taking some time off and the July 4th holiday. Half of the week had been set aside for festivities related to my good friend R's wedding (I've decided to censor unique names here and there, just for my friends' privacy). Wednesday afternoon was the mehndi, or henna. R got elaborate designs on her hands and feet, and most of the rest of us ladies got a simple design on the back of our right hand.

Here's a shot of a bunch of us (who all went to high school together) and the bride (in red) (photo also stolen from Julie):

Thursday night was the sangeet at a waterfront hotel on the East side. There was drinking and eating, and then some singing and a LOT of dancing. There were three choreographed dances (one with little kids, one with a handful of R's girlfriends, and one with about five adult couples), and then the guests were turned loose on the dance floor.

M and I took advantage of the open bar (photo stolen from M)..

Oh, and on the right is a shot of me with one of the groom's cousins from London (thanks M, for snapping it). He had, of course, the great British accent, along with a really deep voice. Plus he was very good looking, and seemed to have a good sense of style the one time I saw him in Western-style clothes. We chatted a couple times at various events, but sadly, that was the extent of our romance.

Thursday afternoon was a relatives/wedding-party July 4th BBQ up in Everett (I guess since I staffed the gift table, I was an outlying member of the wedding party). It was a beautiful backyard, and beautiful weather, though the sporadic winds kept sending paper plates and napkins flying across the lawn. I cruised out of the BBQ in the early evening to give a tried friend a ride home (she'd flown in from New York in the wee hours of that morning) and then stopped by my parents' for a quick dinner. Then it was off to Julie's for a mellow evening in -- snacks and "The Hunting Party" (which I never really got into).

Finally...Saturday was the day of the wedding, which was held downtown. We got there a little early, and since we weren't going to be getting any food or drink until 6:30 (it was 4:10 when we arrived), we stopped at a Starbucks to get some snacks to tide us over. We headed across the street to the hotel right at 4:30, assuming we'd be in time to see the groom arrive on the traditional white steed, in all its finery, but we unfortunately just missed him. We did see the horse being led off, though. I bet all the tourists and shoppers were quite confused!

The wedding itself was very elegant. It was a bit overwhelming in sheer size -- 400 guests!! -- and the ceremony went a bit long at nearly an hour and a half. But the alcohol was a-flowin' (several open bars), and I had a great time reconnecting with high school friends and some out-of-towners I hadn't seen in some time. At the end of the night, there was, of course, yet more dancing!

I was supposed to go on a long (11 mile) hike with Chrissy the next morning, but it was about 12:30 a.m. by the time we finally saw the newly marrieds off, so I told Chrissy, who was also at the wedding, that I was going to pass. Good thing, too -- I didn't pull myself out of bed until 11 the next morning! But I think some four-odd hours of dancing the week prior will make up for having bailed..

Taming Tiger Mountain

2008-07-01T09:54:00.000-07:00

So we had nearly record-breaking temps here in Seattle this past weekend -- topping 90 both days. I'm a true Seattleite in that I prefer all weather types in moderation, so normally I'd be staying out of the sun as much as possible. But this time around, I got in more fun in the sun than I'd expected.

Saturday morning, I had plans to meet up for some tennis with Anuja and her co-worker Jeff for some tennis by my place. Due to a time constraint on Jeff's end, we couldn't meet until 11 a.m. Since our recent "sunny" days start out overcast and then clear up by mid-afternoon, we figured it would be great tennis weather at 11 on Saturday, though they were predicting high temps. Wrong! It was quite steamy. We all slathered on the sunblock, but I think we only stayed out there for barely an hour. Afterward, we lounged around in the partial shade on the side of the court and chatted, waiting for our energy levels to rise. I was invited to a couple barbecue parties Saturday afternoon, but I was still feeling drained even after eating lunch, so I was in no mood to stand around outside in the hot sun and make conversation. So I bailed on both events.

Sunday, I got up at 6:20 (ouch!) to get ready for a hiking outing to Tiger Mountain with some girlfriends. The bridge I'd usually take to get to Chrissy's (we were going to carpool) was closed for the Seafair Marathon, so I gave myself 30 minutes to take the alternate route around Lake Washington. Due to barely any traffic, I made it to Chrissy's 10 minutes early, only to find out that she'd slept in and had sprung out of bed just a few minutes prior. So I played with her cats and dog while she got ready. We made it to the mountain around 8:10 and met up with the other three girls in the dusty parking lot.

Stacey (top), Jill and Jax (sp?), Jill's dog

The hike up was more strenuous than any of us (including Chrissy, who mapped our route) had anticipated.. to avoid the crowds, we steered clear of the main trail, which I think is the West Tiger 3 trail, and instead went up the Nook/Section Line trail(part of which is marked "unmaintained") to the top. The last half or so of the hike was really steep, so the three of us in the "slow" group (we were also a bit back from Chrissy to keep her dog Maggie away from Jill's dog) were stopping every five-10 minutes through the worst of the worst sections to catch our breath. At one of our stops, these two older (early '60s?) men passed by with a quick "hello," then after they were about 50 feet past us, they turned around and said, "You ladies are all Obama supporters, right?" Talk about the REAL campaign "trail."

Chrissy, Maggie (dog) and me on the summit

Once we finally stumbled up to the top, the view was a little anticlimactic -- in the sense that there really wasn't a view to speak of, as it's mostly blocked by trees. (Though, I should admit I didn't wander around the entire summit area.) To continue to keep the dogs apart, we squatted in two sections of the summit to rest and eat some snacks. After about 15 minutes, we headed back down. Due to Stacey's and Jill's bad knees, we went down via the busy West Tiger 3 trail, because it's much wider and softer and has less of a grade. En route, I saw a co-worker of mine walking up the trail with his girlfriend (I think) and some kids. I waved and said hello; he waved back, but I don't think he recognized me, as I was in sunglasses and had my hair pulled back into a ponytail. So I did my Clark Kent move and raised my sunglasses to reveal my eyes, and he said, "Oh! Hi!" and we had a quick chat. Also on the way down, we encountered a man in a hiking outfit I'll never forget: a gray polo T-shirt tucked into neon green, tight running shorts with a funky black-splatter design. Yikes!! We were all holding back our snickers as he passed by us.

I had been madly drinking water through my hydration backpack the entire hike, so by the time we were about halfway down, I was getting really twitchy to relieve myself. Luckily, though, I was able to make it to the bottom where they had toilets. Then we all copped a squat in the shade by our cars in the parking lot to have some chilled drinks and fruits that Stacey had thoughtfully brought along. Turned out on our hike up, we'd gained about 2,000 feet in elevation over two miles, which is quite a respectable (and difficult) hike. On the way down, our alternate trail was longer at three miles.

So all in all, a difficult but ultimately rewarding outing. Two days later, I still feel some stiffness in my quads when I stand and walk after having sat for a while, and I'm still occasionally scratching the six mosquito bites I had the misfortune of getting -- one on my left ankle, one behind my left knee, three on the back of my right shoulder and one on the back of my right hand. I'm just really glad I didn't get one on my face!

That's just how I bowl

2008-06-24T16:52:00.000-07:00

Went to the Garage on Capitol Hill last week for a work event. It was the first time I'd been there, and my first time bowling in...jeez, probably at least eight years. Interestingly, I got my best score in the first of the four games we played: 127. I think I got two strikes. It was a ton of fun; I hope I go bowling again in less than eight years! Just seems like it's hard these days to get enough people together to make it worthwhile. I actually had my 16th birthday party at the somewhat seedy Kenmore Lanes by my parents'; my main memory of that day is from when it was my turn to bowl, and in the process, I accidentally stepped over the line into the lane. I fell right on my ass! That sh*t is slick! And my parents got it all on video -- niiiice.

Anyway, here's a shot of me mugging for the camera (as always), snapped by someone else on my team. Can you tell which ball was a wee bit (four pounds) heavier? ;o)

I'd gotten a ride to Cap. Hill from a friend at work, but then I decided to be adventurous and hop the bus home. I'd written down the timing/bus number, and the intersection I need to go to, but I walked three blocks in either direction on Madision, but couldn't for the life of me find Boren. I usually am paranoid and make myself a little map so I can easily find my destination, but I was overconfident in this occasion, largely because on all my previous bus adventures, the stop is within a couple blocks -- or sight distance -- of where I'm leaving from. Luckily my sister was by her phone and a computer, so she pulled up a map and informed me that I was close -- just needed to go an additional block or two in one of the directions I'd already gone. This was an unusual bus situation in that the walk was longer than usual (I'd also obviously forgotten to write down the walking distance Metro's Trip Planner had given me). The bonus part was that the bus I caught only went another few blocks/stops into downtown, and then hopped the freeway, making it only about a 10-minute trip back to the Northgate Transit Center (which is walking distance from where I live). Most buses I take from downtown or Cap. Hill wind back to Northgate on city streets, and usually take about half an hour, so that was quite a speedy trip.

Did you go #1 or #2?

2008-06-23T10:23:00.000-07:00

Was in training for a couple days last week in a newer building on campus. They have these awesome efficient/water-conserving toilets where you flush it one of two ways depending on whether you went #1 or #2. It was so funny, I had to take my phone in there to snap a picture of the instructions on the back of the stall door. Oh, and for those who are curious (I certainly was) -- it sounds the exact same when you flush, no matter which way you "push" the lever. Yes, I did a little test ;o)

30 is the new 24

2008-06-20T14:31:00.000-07:00

Last week, I turned the big 3-0. It was definitely daunting; I felt like it was sort of a milepost marker, prompting me to review my life up until that point, and compare it to where/what I thought I'd be as recently as five years ago. Instead of wallowing in thoughts of what I feel my life is "missing," I'm trying to focus on the good things, because on paper, I really do feel proud of what I've accomplished so far in my life, and the type of person I am.

Aaaanyway, I took a couple days off from work, which was nice -- especially since the weather cooperated. Anuja came over on my actual birthday, and we bused down to the U District to get my birthday bubble tea at my favorite BT spot (it's kind of silly, though; for your "gift," you buy a BT and then get a coupon for a free one on your next visit). I went there last year, and asked the owner (who knows me by name) how old he thought I was. His response? 22. I still chuckle over the memory of the look on his face when I said "Actually...I'm 29" I gave him a little leeway as I was wearing a ballcap, had my hair in a ponytail, and was wearing glasses. This year, though, I didn't have any of those things going on. And his reply to my "How old do you think I am?" query? "24"!! He was completely shocked -- again -- when I revealed my true, advanced age. Hilarious.

Saturday night, some girlfriends and I met up at the Zig Zag Cafe in downtown Seattle to celebrate. It was a really fun time, as you can see.. I never met a camera for which I didn't ham ;o) A friend was nice enough to give me a ride to and from ZZ, so I didn't have to turn down any of the three martinis I was urged to drink. I didn't get drunk, but I definitely had a good buzz going. I highly recommend the ZZ for anyone looking for a chill, funky place to do an outing like this -- or even just drinks/light dinner -- though the setup was a bit weird, as they only have round tables, so our "table" for 12 was four round tables shoved into a chain-bubble line. Oh, and as far as parking -- there's a parking garage on the right as you go down Western behind the market that only charges $3 if you park after 5 p.m. ZZ is about another blog down Western, off the Pike Place Hill Climb stairs. Originally, my outing was going to be at the Purple Cafe downtown, but by the time we called to make a reservation mid-week last week, the only one we could get would've been for 10:30 (yawn); apparently they were overrun with reservations due to UW's graduation being earlier that same day. I was bummed to miss out on Purple -- always a great time -- but still had a fabulous time at Zig Zag. Here's to a new, exciting decade of life!

'WFL,' Sweeney's 'God' and the Twilight Court

2008-06-14T13:07:00.000-07:00

Last week, we had a work party at Lincoln Square in downtown Bellevue, where MSN has some offices on I think the top half of Lincoln Tower. The food/drink portion of the party was held in the cafeteria, which is on the top (28th) floor. They have an AMAZING view up there, looking out over part of Bellevue, and across the water to Mercer Island and even the Space Needle. Here's a shot from the patio outside the cafeteria:

We were all invited to go downstairs to Lucky Strike to either bowl or play pool, but I decided to cruise out at that point to hop the shuttle back to my office (my smaller team has a bowling outing next week as well). Anyway, Josh and I decided that we're going to start a new triend: WFL. That means "Working From Lincoln," an offshoot of the more traditional WFH (Working From Home). Though I don't think I'd ever get used to that view..

Friday, I went to see another movie at SIFF: Julia Sweeney's "Letting Go of God." It's a film of her one-woman show about her journey from being Catholic to being an atheist (or, as she calls it: a "naturalist"). Though the format (just her, in a living-room setting) got a little tiring at times, I was pretty absorbed the entire two hours, as was the sold-out audience. Julia was there herself (she's a native of Spokane) and got two standing ovations, one after the film, and one after the Q&A. For me, it was just kind of comforting to be in that sort of environment with other non-believers. I just get tired of how god-centric the world is, even in relatively liberal, open-minded Seattle.

Finally, Anuja stopped by on her way home from work this morning for some tennis. We played at the courts at North Seattle Community college. The funky benches they have there never fail to crack me up. How can more than one person sit comfortably on this thing??

Here's Anuja and me, posing for what Anuja dubbed a "Wes Anderson shot":

And then.. in yet more weirdness.. on the adjacent court, there's a green, wood backboard with a white horizontal line to simulate the net. It's a practice area if you want to "play" solo. There was an envelope taped up backward on the backboard -- with nothing inside, and nothing written on it. Then, a couple feet away, was a blank Post-It. Maybe the writing washed off in recent rains (though you'd think either or both items would've fallen off).. weird.

Non-bulked 'Hulk' and the dreaded 'overreactor'

2008-06-10T16:59:00.000-07:00

Saw "The Incredible Hulk" last night. Overall, it was okay; a good popcorn/matinee flick. I enjoyed the scenes with Norton as Bruce Banner, but I couldn't get into the over-the-top action scenes when he was Hulk. It was also a little hard to remember that Norton was the Hulk, because he's super scrawny (especially from the waist down) and the Hulk bears no resemblance to the actor. I've never seen the TV series, or 2003's "Hulk," so I can't make any comparisons there.

We had the misfortune of sitting in the row in front of the type of moviegoer I've decided is an "overreactor" -- after a fight scene ended, she would loudly sigh "Whoa!" and during a funny part, she'd laugh (again, loudly) and then still be laughing two seconds after the crowd's laughter died. She would make exclamations; i.e., when Stan Lee appeared for his standard cameo, she guffawed and said "Stan Lee!" When there was a cameo at the end of the film by the star of a current box-office draw, she was laughing and exclaiming so loudly that we completely missed all of the guy's lines. The worst outbursts, though, were before the movie when they showed the trailer for "Hellboy II: The Golden Army." Only five seconds into the trailer, she yelled "YEAH! HELLBOY!" and then was "woohoo"-ing every 20 seconds throughout the trailer.

After the movie, in the restroom -- the door of my stall randomly opened before I was ready for it to be open. I sat there dumbly (I won't go into further detail about what I was doing at the time) for about a second, and then stood and lunged for the door. Luckily I was in the end stall, furthest away from the line of ladies in waiting, so no one came wandering over to enter the suddenly available stall.

Finally, I must comment yet again on our crazy weather. It felt like October last night! I had to wait for the bus outside Pacific Place downtown for about 10 minutes. It was super windy and really cold (I'm guessing 40s). Everyone at the stop had their hood on, even though it was (thankfully) not raining. I wore a scarf this morning -- on freakin' June 10! Thankfully it's going to warm up the next couple days. The Times said last week was the coldest first week of June in Seattle since they started recording the weather in the early (?) 1800s.

Cherry pickin'

2008-06-09T13:39:00.000-07:00

In my previous post, I forgot to mention another funny weekend event -- I went to Fred Meyer on Saturday afternoon to get some groceries. I went to the fruit section to pick up some cherries. They had the cherries out in little bags. I grabbed a plastic produce bag and started rifling through the bags of cherries, picking out small handfuls to transfer to my own bag. All of a sudden, this 40-ish man appears at my side and says in a semi-accusatory manner: "What're you doing?" I was sort of taken aback, but replied: "I'm picking out cherries. They're for sale by the pound, not by the bag." Then I pointed to a rotting cherry in one of the bags and said, "See, you have to be careful." He paused, and said, "Oh." Then he randomly picked a cherry, popped it in his mouth, said "Mm!" and was gone. A minute later, a lady came up next to me to look over the cherries. She started shooting me these angry glances. I was so tempted to say "Lady! You buy them by the POUND, not by the BAG!" Jaysus!

The story popped into my head a few minutes ago as I was eating some cherries with my lunch. None of them had bruises or holes -- who's laughing NOW, bitches?!

SIFF reviews and more bus talk

2008-06-09T12:40:00.000-07:00

Took a day off last week, and hopped the bus downtown in the morning to take in a SIFF media screening of "The Great Buck Howard." The draw for me was mainly the cast: Colin Hanks, Tom Hanks, John Malkovich and Emily Blunt. I was a bit bored during the film, though I thought both of the Hanks and Malkovich did a good job with what they were given. The plot, in short, is that Colin Hanks is a law-school student who has dreams of being a writer. He drops out of law school and takes a job as the road manager for "The Great Buck Howard" (Malkovich). Howard is a "mentalist" whose main claim to fame is that he was on the "Late Show With Johnny Carson" like 60 times. The film follows Howard as he does shows around the country. I decided later that it was either truly a boring film, or so deep and metaphorical that it was over my head and I didn't get it. I'm scratching my head a bit over the Seattle Times' critic's review of the film in the Times' SIFF blog; the woman said she predicted it would be audience favorite, and also called it "short, snappy, and unexpectedly sweet." Well.... OK! We'll see what the public thinks.

Saw a couple more SIFF films over the weekend -- "Man on Wire" was a fascinating documentary about French high-wire artist/tightrope walker Philippe Petit, who put up a tightrope between NYC's Twin Towers and walked across it in August 1974. The film tells of his early days getting into his passion, but mainly focuses on the planning of his big feat, his accomplices (it was, of course, completely illegal) and how everything went down in the end. The film was successful largely due to the unique nature of its topic, along with the sparkling charisma of Petit and everyone else involved. It was really, really eerie to see the footage of the Towers being built, though, knowing what was in store for them some 30 years later. Too bad the documentarian never asked the film's subjects to speak on that. Anyway, Petit was arrested immediately after his feat -- after going between the towers eight times -- and the film's title comes from a phrase written in the arresting report.

The other movie I saw was "Be Like Others," a documentary about Iranian men who are gay (though they carefully skirt around that label; they claim to be women inside men's bodies, basically) and undergo gender reassignment surgery to reveal their "true selves," as homosexuality is punishable by death in Iran. It was quite sad to see the process these young men (mainly in their early to mid 20s) go through. Most have no support from their families -- one was nearly poisoned to death by his father -- and are disowned by their parents after the surgery. Post-operation, one "woman" told of how she had to do "business" (aka prostitution) to make money. When the interviewer asked if she ever thought she'd fall in love she said "No. I've killed all the love in my heart." Truly heartbreaking. But ... I guess that's the price they pay if they want to become their "true self." One funny part was when one of them talked about how he heard (and this is my best paraphrase here) "they [gay/transsexual people] can do anything they want in America. But getting it from behind is still wrong." That got a good laugh from the crowd.

Got in some hiking (St. Ed's) yesterday with Chrissy, and then some tennis with Anuja right after. It ended up being a pretty gorgeous day, but it was windy, and this white cotton-type stuff was coming off trees everywhere -- it looked like it was snowing! I must admit I was kinda glad to get indoors in the early evening so my allergies could subside.

So I'm trying to take the bus a lot more these days when I have the time to, just because it's more relaxing and of course, saves on gas/parking money and hassle. Plus, I have a free bus pass from work. On Wednesday, when I went to the screening downtown, a woman across the aisle from me was cutting her nails; it was really grossing me out. Every time I heard that "click," I almost physically cringed. She cut them for like 20 minutes, and then stopped. But about five minutes later...it started again! Yew. Then there was this other guy on another bus I rode who was blasting his Discman (yes, Discman) really loudly, and said "Hi!" to every person who got on the bus. The two screenings I went to over the weekend were at the Egyptian on Capitol Hill. It was my first time taking the bus over there, and though I had to take two buses, it only took about half an hour total. After the last screening, I decided to walk several blocks down Broadway and do some window shopping. Once I got to the end of Broadway's main drag, I approached a construction area (not a rare thing on Capitol Hill right now!). I saw one of those temporary bus-stop markers -- the short, bright-orange stantion thing with a white sign on top that said "Bus only." Now, I've never stood at one of those temp. stops before, but the thought did cross my mind that maybe it was a bus layover area, and not an actual stop. That thinking was confirmed when a few minutes later, the bus I wanted breezed on by me. Whoops! So I walked back another block and found the true stop, which was unfortunately right outside this Pho restaurant that was loudly blasting top 40 hip-hop/R&B. Lovely.

Anyway, that's the recap on recent events. Tonight I'm seeing "The Incredible Hulk," which I'm cautiously optimistic about...

Black Bottle and Wallace Falls: Two thumbs up

2008-06-03T09:27:00.001-07:00

So I have a new bar/restaurant recommendation for other Seattleites: Black Bottle. They call themselves a "gastro-tavern," and they serve mainly tapas/small-plates type of food, though their portions are definitely "shareable," as their Web site also claims. A bunch of us met up there for Marivic's surprise 30th-birthday party. They accept reservations, so we had a table for about 20 set aside for us in the back/side room. Though the room got super loud as the night went on (mostly due to its high ceilings), I really liked the place. I had this flatbread dish with cheese, roasted chicken and dried cherries that was really delish. I ordered an apple martini, and they served it to me in a slightly small martini glass, but gave me the shaker that contained the leftover alcohol (initially, I was really excited about this, but I tend to sip at drinks, so by the time I got to that extra bit, it was pretty watered down by the ice that was also in the shaker). Price-wise, I think the mixed drinks were all around $8, and the dishes seemed to range from $8 to $11. Even better -- BB is located on the corner of 1st and Vine, so it's on the outskirts of the super busy Belltown area, and parking was pretty easy. They're online at www.blackbottleseattle.com.

Sunday was a hike at Wallace Falls with Chrissy and Matt and Nicole and their adorable 10-month-old boys. It was a perfect day for this sort of outing -- clear, but damp with threatening skies (it never did rain). We all hiked together for a couple hours to the Middle Falls:

From left: me, Chrissy, Nicole, Teagan (in carrier), Matt and Korbin (in carrier).

Then Nicole, et al, had to head back down as they didn't want to tire the boys out. Chrissy and I continued on up. I think we had to go about another mile up, and it was all switchbacks (fun). Though I definitely was slow going up them, I'm proud to say I didn't stop once! So the lungs are getting in better shape, slowly but surely.

Here's the view we enjoyed once we got to the top of the falls:

We put a couple plastic bags on a damp log and sat down for some quick lunch. I say quick because about seven minutes in, Chrissy saw a large (10-12-person?) group on a log below us start packing up, and she was worried we'd get stuck behind them on the way down (she had a bit of a time constraint to meet her family for her brother's birthday outing). So I crammed everything back into my pack, and finished up my cherries as we trekked down, spitting out seeds on either side of the path along the way. Our shoes and pants' hems were pretty muddy by the time we got to the car, but all in all, another great outing.

Enjoy 'Sex,' forgo 'Zohan' and learn a new bus trick

2008-05-29T21:49:00.000-07:00

I went to two very different movie screenings this week ... Tuesday, I went to see "Sex and the City." The crowd was mostly women (of course) and totally into it (of course). It was completely over the top and borderline cheesy at times, but I really loved it. Mainly I was just excited to see those four girls again! I was surprised at how much of an emotional roller coaster the film was; it was funny, sad, tragic, dramatic, outrageous... I highly recommend it to any and all "SATC" fans. I may go see it again.

Last night was a screening of "You Don't Mess With the Zohan." Apologies in advance to anyone I know at Sony who reads this, but...man, it was HORRIBLE. The only mildly funny/interesting parts were the cameos. Other than that, it was truly excruciating. Taylor, who sees a lot of movies (2-3 a week) declared it the worst movie she'd ever seen -- even worse than "Son of the Mask." Now, I have a pretty corny sense of humor, and can find "dumb" funny movies hilarious, but this was a looonng way from even "dumb" funny. It was just "bad" funny. So those of you who're thinking to go check it out -- you've been warned. I'm really curious to see what the critics have to say about it.

Finally, on a completely different topic -- I took the bus from work to the screenings, which were at Pacific Place. It was my first time on a Sound Transit bus (I always take Metro). As the bus approached downtown and my stop, I looked around the bus a bit and realized I couldn't see a bell-pull string thing that you yank to let the driver know you want the next stop. I kept looking all around, but couldn't see any instructions on the walls or anything to clue me in to what I was supposed to push/pull/yank to request a stop. I started getting a little anxious, and then decided I'd just walk up to the driver before my stop to tell her that I wanted the next stop. But then -- a guy in front of me reached up to the wall behind him and pressed this thin, vertical yellow strip on the wall and then "bing!" the "Stop Requested" sign lit up! Funky! I was kind of curious to give it a try myself, but as my stop approached, someone else pressed it before I got a chance. Next time! Here's a pic I took surreptitiously on my cameraphone for any other Metro riders who randomly hop on an ST bus:

Rice showers and squatting in the woods

2008-05-28T10:52:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon, my family went to the wedding of a family friend's daughter. She's Indian (raised in Seattle), and he's white, but the ceremony was all Indian. Everything was really lovely. I got some laughs before the ceremony started; my dad was sitting next to me, and for a while, was holding his friend's year-old son on his lap. I heard a family friend behind me ask "Who's that kid on his lap?" I put my hands palms-up, shrugged my shoulders and said, "Surprise!" All our friends within earshot were cracking up.

So, as we had all walked in, we were handed an Indian sweet and this little bag of colored dry rice. About 2/3 of the way through the ceremony, the priest (another family friend) told us that at three times during his next series of incantations, we were to toss a little bit of the rice up toward the bride and groom. My family was sitting about four rows back in an area with seven or eight rows, which meant that every time the tossing started, we'd get pelted in the back of the head by the rice throwers in the rows behind us. And then, some random person behind us (I didn't want to turn around to look and give them the satisfaction) started throwing rice randomly at the wrong time! Yeesh. A few minutes later, the guy sitting next to my dad got up for a bathroom run, and on his seat was this pile of the colored rice! We were all like "Huh??," wondering how/why it had gotten there.

Also, haha, one instruction you'll hear at an Indian wedding that you'll never hear at a Western-style one: "Put the coconut over there."

View of the falls from the viewing deck

Monday (Memorial Day), my friend Chrissy and I headed to Twin Falls for a mini day hike. En route, we picked up Stacey in North Bend. We got a bit of a late start -- noon -- and due to the nice weather (mid-70s), the trail was pretty packed. But it was so great to be walking near the river's edge, and then up to the side of the waterfall itself. There was a great, cool breeze coming off the water, and the falls and river were super full due to all the runoff. Midway up the trail, we walked down some stairs to stand in the mist of the falls' spray. The wind and spray were so intense that when I faced the fall head on, I literally lost my breath. We hiked up to the top -- I think just about two miles? -- and then wandered a bit down the John Wayne trail, which is an old railroad track, now sans track. We sat on a random log off the path to have a snack. And then..

Stacey, Chrissy and Maggie in front of the
falls

I copped a squat in the woods to relieve myself for the first time in like 10 years (the last time was in India). I had been quite enjoying drinking from my new Camelbak backpack, and there wouldn't really have been any place to squat in private on the way down. Then we packed up and headed further down the J.W. Trail, and...wouldn't you know it -- hit some Porta Pottys about 10 minutes later. Typical! Then we walked over some trellises/bridges with some great views of I-90 and the mountains, and crossed an area where people -- even kids as young as three or so -- were doing some rock climbing. Around 4:15, we got back to the car and headed to Stacey's. Her house is amazing -- it's on one acre of land, almost literally at the base of Mt. Si (there's only a road and some trees between her front yard and the mountain). We ate some more, lounged on her patio, tossed the slimy squishy toy to Chrissy's dog Maggie, looked for goats on the mountain ("Goat Watch 2008"! we actually found three), saw a couple birds' nests (one with little babies, one with eggs) and generally enjoyed the beautiful day. I think we sat out there for like two hours; it was a great way to wrap up the long weekend. Here's a shot of the view of Mt. Si from Stacey's yard:

SIFF opening-gala grand adventure

2008-05-23T13:17:00.000-07:00

Wow. So yesterday was ... A Day. The main event was the evening's outing -- the SIFF (Seattle Int'l Film Festival) opening-night gala and screening of "Battle in Seattle." Where to begin..

8:00 a.m. -- I pull on my backpack and walk up the street to catch the bus to work. Keys are (thank god) tossed into backpack and *not* purse.

11:15 a.m. -- Get my purse out of my backpack in order to go to lunch with some co-workers as (another) send-off for Derek, who made a special trip to the Eastside to meet up with us.

1 p.m. -- Return from lunch. Plop my purse down next to -- but not inside -- my backpack.

3:30 p.m. -- Pull on my backpack -- sans purse, still -- and head out early to catch the bus home.

4:40 p.m. -- Back home. Get ready for the premiere, finish up some work.

5:40 p.m. -- Final preparations before needing to head to Capitol Hill to pick up my "date," Lara, en route to McCaw Hall for the gala. Go looking for my camera, then remember it's in my purse and then also remember that, SH*T! I left my purse in my office!! My purse has my cell phone (I have no landline at home), ID and credit cards/cash in it. Run to my computer.. luckily Eric (officemate) is still online in the office. I have him call Lara from my cell -- which was in my purse -- to let her know that I have to head to Redmond to pick up my purse, as I'll likely need to show ID to get our tickets at the McCaw Hall box office, and won't be by her place until probably 6:45 instead of 6, as was the original plan.

5:50 p.m. -- Dash out the door and hit the freeway, negating the fact that I'd been good and bused in to/from work earlier.

6:15 p.m. -- Due to thankfully light-ish traffic, get off 520 in Redmond. Hit immediate backup about two blocks from my office. Traffic is not moving at all. Turn off to try a detour, but again get stuck in a backup. I can now see flashing lights down 148th about a block past the turn off to my office; some kind of accident has the two lanes blocked. After 10 minutes, I've moved about four car lengths. I pull into the 7-11 parking lot and begin booking it on foot the 1.5 blocks to my office.

6:30 p.m. -- Arrive in my office. Say a quick "Thank you!!" to Eric, grab my purse, and begin booking it back to my car. Along the way, my left foot begins hurting where the base of my big toe joins the rest of my foot. I stop for a second to look down. Turns out I'm already getting a f*cking blister! The shoes are good quality (BCBG), and Nordstrom had "stretched" them for me when I bought them, but it was my second time wearing them, and first time wearing them while walking so quickly.

6:40 p.m. -- Head back to Seattle. Hit traffic just past the 520 W/405 S junction. While my car inches forward, I pull off my left shoe and try to stretch that part of the heel out more. I put on my earrings and necklace.

7:05 p.m. -- Am pulling up to Lara's building. Ask her to bring along some band-aids for me. I put a couple on the worst parts of my left food while we wait at a red light.

7:15 p.m. -- Park in pay lot a block from McCaw Hall. Dash (or in my case, painfully stumble) across the street and walk up the now-deserted red carpet, past the $25 (!!) valets. Pick up my tickets -- after NOT being asked for any ID -- and run into the hall. Due to the lateness, Lara and I had to sit a couple rows apart. The timing actually worked out okay, though; they were still just doing general intro/SIFF plugs when we sat down.

7:40 p.m. -- "Battle in Seattle" writer-director Stuart Townsend comes out to say a few words. He also quickly introduces the cast members who came out for the premiere -- Charlize Theron (also Townsend's girlfriend), Michelle Rodriguez, Andre Benjamin and Martin Henderson. Too bad Channing Tatum didn't make it out.. After asking the audience for a show of hands of who was around for the WTO riots -- and seeing a TON of hands go up -- Townsend hilariously says "Oh sh*t." Then...the movie begins.

....

Despite being distracted by my aching left foot and the fact that I REALLY had to pee (no way was I going to make my row stand up again, after I'd been seated late), I really enjoyed the film -- Townsend spent something like six years on the film, doing research and interviews, and visiting Seattle several times. I thought it was a great behind-the-scenes look into the organization/process of protests, and the fall-out -- both of the participants and innocent bystanders. They also showed the reactions from the Seattle mayor and police, and even the frustation of one WTO presenter who was trying to get his important issue heard. I think the film releases in September, so I'd urge Seattleites to check it out. Though most of it was filmed in Vancouver, it's still a really cool snapshot of an infamous part of our history. I can't believe it'll have been 10 years since the riots, come November. The audience really got into the film -- clapping or shouting praise when a character said/did something admirable..

After the screening, the cast and director came back out on stage to do a Q&A with a SIFF guy and take some audience questions. We found out that they all own Priuses! Well, I think everyone but Andre Benjamin, who says they don't look cool enough ... yet. Below, from left: Charlize, Andre, Martin, Michelle, Stuart, SIFF moderator:

Around 9:30, the Q&A ended, and everyone headed to the hall's courtyard for the afterparty. I think nearly all of the 3,000 screening attendees stayed for it.. There were mad crowds around the alcohol table ($5 a drink), and the only foods were cakes and cupcakes. We stood around and ate a little, then headed to what I think is the Exhibition Hall next door, where there was more food, full bars, a small dance floor and lots of areas to sit around and chat. Once in there, we ran into some fun Aussie friends of Lara's from her Amazon days. Though my feet were really killing me at this point (see right), we all stood around and ate (the food we got our hands on was really horrible) and chatted. Around 11:30, Lara and I decided it was time to cut out. I went to hug her friend Liz goodbye; Liz gave me a one-arm hug, but then sort of pulled me towards her, which resulted in my smashing my mouth onto her bare shoulder and leaving a sparkly lip-gloss imprint. Typical!! I wiped it off and mumbled something like "Oops! Haha, I smooched your shoulder," but she was still talking about something or another and probably just thought I was doing some strange sort of Indian goodbye.

Before we left, we posed on the red carpet..

Once Lara and I got back to my car, I remembered that I had my gym shoes in my trunk, so I eagerly pried off my heels and put the tennies on instead. Ahhhhh!

After getting home, I applied Neosporin and band-aids to both of my feet -- two per foot. Now I've got my fingers tightly crossed that I'm in better shape come Monday, as Chrissy and I are planning to do a day hike somewhere..

Some other notes from last night:

Interesting to see how Seattleites decided to dress for this event.. a lot of people were somewhat dressy, like Lara and me, but there were also folks in zip-up hoodies, jeans, and I even saw one guy carrying his bicycle helmet around.

"Celeb" sightings: KING 5 (?) sports dude Tony Ventrella. Super Deluxe lead singer and solo artist Braden Blake (I was going to say hello, since I've been a longtime SD concert-attendee and we're acquaintences, but I didn't). Some older guy Lara swears has a recurring role on one of the "Law & Order" shows (I wasn't able to get a look at him).

So.. all in all, the day ended up well, despite the stress, drama and aching feet. I was worried we wouldn't be able to get in at all, being so late! Hoo-ee.

Spoilt 'Idol'

2008-05-21T20:12:00.000-07:00

Due to the nature of my work (entertainment) and the fact that my office is on the West coast, I often get e-mails to my work address that spoil TV events before they happen here, i.e., a recap of the "House" episode that will start at 9 p.m. PT hits my Inbox around 7 PT. This is the case every week with "American Idol".. I often don't mind if I happen to see one of those mails, just because I'm not that concerned or I've pretty much predicted who'll get the axe. However, tonight, finale night, I was determined to watch it without knowing who'd win it all. So I whipped out my laptop around 8 p.m. PT and let my work Inbox refresh. I parnoidly (is that a word?) covered the subject-line area of all the mails so I could avoid reading a revealing headline (I'm sure you're wondering why I even opened my e-mail at all, but I wanted to make sure there were no non-"Idol" issues I needed to address). I successfully got through the non-"Idol" mails, but then.. in the lower-right-hand area of my taskbar, a new message popped up. In the Outlook I have, the little pop-up says whom the mail is from, has the subject line, and the first line or so of text. When I saw the little pop up, I glanced at it out of habit, and D'OH! There it was... "_______'s 'Idol' win means ...."

So now I know. And the results won't be revealed for like another hour and a half here on the West coast!! I don't know yet whether I'm happy with the results.. I thought David A. did a much better job last night, and I think he has an incredible voice, but....it always seems like he's singing at some sort of religious event. David C. is much more "real" to me, and has sort of paid his dues a bit, but his voice can be a bit too grating at times.

Anyway, watching the show will be a little anticlimactic now (I'm actually TiVo'ing it while I catch up on some other stuff; "Idol" is like a fashion magazine in that 70% of it is nonsense, so I like to be able to fast-forward through the crap), but I'll of course at least watch the last few minutes to see how the reveal goes over with the judges and winners. Augh!

Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket?

2008-05-20T20:21:00.000-07:00

If there's one grand rule of a woman's life, it's that if you set out to find one specific article of clothing -- i.e., a black T-shirt, or some dark jeans or tall boots -- you'll have to go to several different stores on several different days before finally settling on an item by saying, "Wellll, it's not exactly what I wanted, but it'll work." (And of course, you also will find lots of other items you didn't need but just had to buy.)

Anyhow, I went on a treasure-hunt outing this evening. I have a red-carpet event to go to later this week, and had nothing in my closet that would be right for that sort of occasion. In fact, I only own two dresses -- both of which still have the tags on them ... I'd decided that my last-resort option would be my simple black dress. It's not super formal, but would probably do in a pinch. But, I still wanted to see if I could find something more appropriate. So tonight, I started off by going to Ross. I didn't want to spend more than maybe $70, and I figured Ross would be my best -- though most long-shot -- chance of finding a cheapish dress. To my surprise, the store actually quite a good selection of summery, somewhat formal dresses. I almost yelled "WHAT!" out loud when I looked at the price tags: each was between $15 and $22!! I ended up trying on six of them. Two of them were keepers, and I found a third on a second go-round of the racks that I ended up buying as well. I don't know yet whether I'll keep all three... it's very tempting, just so I don't have to do another panicked "What am I gonna wear?" run on a future such occasion.

And the icing on the cake -- out of curiousity, I wandered over to the jackets/blazers section to see if they had any cute jackets to wear with a dressy outfit. They only had like five items in my size, but one was just what I had in mind!

A few hours post-shopping, I'm still sort of in shock. You have to understand that I have a rather odd body shape: I'm about 5'4", which makes me about an inch taller than a true Petite size, but about three inches too short (without heels) for the majority of pants and jeans. I have a small waist, but.. um, "child-bearing" hips. And then I'm pretty small and narrow up top (I often shop in the kids' section -- much cheaper and the fit is surprisingly good). So finding clothes I like and that are flattering is often a huge ordeal for me, especially when it comes to things that need to be somewhat fitted. I could believe I actually was able to do one-stop shopping. It was a banner day!

Gettin' my eatin' and dancin' on

2008-05-18T21:41:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a busy but good weekend. Friday, in the early evening, I met up with some folks from work and their spouses for happy hour at Kate's pub in Wallingford. I'd never been there before, or even heard of it, but I really liked it. Mainly because all their food is half off -- not just the appetizers. Unfortunately, they didn't have any specials on mixed drinks, but I really enjoyed the food and the atmosphere. Very laid back with friendly servers, and parking was a breeze.

That night, it was off to Capitol Hill to try another new place, Chez Gaudy, in honor of Lara's 30th birthday. It's very hidden -- the entrance is an alley and not really marked either by the street or in the alley. Inside, the decor is very eclectic and ragtag -- draperies, funky mirrors, old suitcases. The menu is described as "rustic Italian." I had a funky appetizer -- toast with wasabi and cheese on top, with a wasabi/miso/garlic dipping sauce. Plus some greens with a balsamic reduction and a second dipping sauce of this strawberry-jam stuff. The toast was a little chewy, but I really liked the flavor. For dessert, we shared chocolate cake, fruit trifle and a rhubarb pie tart. The rhubarb pie was gone by the time it came around the table to me, but I really loved the trifle. It had the perfect balance of fruit and cream. Oh, and our server guy was really hilarious. He came by every 15 minutes or so, and if a seat was empty because someone had left or was in the restroom, he'd plop down to chat with us or sing along to the music. So, all things considered, I'd give it a thumbs up.

Saturday was all about a good friend of mine who's getting married in July. Her shower was in the a.m., then we all met up again in the evening for drinks, food and dancing at Ibiza. I'd been hesitant about the festivities since I'm sort of past the age of enjoying clubbing -- and I never went through that phase in my early/mid 20s -- but I actually had a really good time. Once 10:30 rolled around, the place got loud and cramped. It was super, super hot -- I was sweating in my tank top and jeans -- and the other folks there were all much younger. I only had one drink towards the beginning of the night, but as the night went on, well, I couldn't help getting bitten by the dancing bug. I have a good sense of rhythm, but I'm short on moves, so I'm sure I made a bit of a fool of myself, but it was still fun. Though.. I was definitely tempted to take a shower when I got home around 1:30. Yew!

That's me on the left. FIERCE!

Shoe envy

2008-05-14T15:30:00.000-07:00

This afternoon, a random, comedic vignette from my past popped into my head. It's typical of the strange things that either happen to me, or are caused by me. "This is my life as a Cover Girl," as I like to say.

Anyway, this happened probably three years ago. Anuja (my sister) and I were at Nordstrom Rack in Lynnwood trying on shoes. As any of you who've been there (or to any Nordy's Rack, I'm sure) know, the shoe area can be quite messy -- right shoes tossed about right and left. I was randomly trying all kinds of shoes on, and at one point, I stuck my foot into a shoe that'd been on the ground; it was this cool suede clog with some sort of design on top. I took a couple test steps down the aisle, and then a lady at the end of the aisle turned around, looked at my "new" shoe and said "Oh.. that's actually my shoe."

Ooops! I was embarrassed at first, but then I found it to be quite hilarious. Not sure if the shoe's owner found it quite as amusing as I did, but I think she did at least crack a smile after I said "Ha, sorry!" and took her shoe off. At least I'd been wearing socks!

That'll all from the Poojaland vault for this time..

'Vegas': Surprisingly enjoyable

2008-05-12T21:59:00.000-07:00

Last week, Anuja and I went a screening of "What Happens in Vegas," the new romantic comedy starring Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz. We were able to enter and get seated before the general public (none of that waiting-in-line crap for me!); we sat in a row that had two reserved seats on one end. Eventually, a man and woman sat down in those two seats; a minute later, I heard someone in the row behind me (I think they were part of a group of employees from the publicity company) mention something like "That's the screenwriter." The GP filed in maybe 20 minutes later; the man of the reserved-seats pair went down to the front to address the crowd, and surprise! Turns out the woman he was sitting next to is the film's screenwriter! Her name is Dana Fox, and she also wrote "The Wedding Date" a few years back. She said a quick couple of words, and then said she'd do a Q&A after the screening. Next up...the movie.

So I actually liked the movie. Probably not Saturday-night liked, but definitely matinee-liked. The situations were pretty predictable, and it was cheesy in the usual romantic-comedy way, but I thought Ashton and Cameron had great chemistry, and their sidekicks (Lake Bell and Rob Corddry) were really hilarious. It totally revived my crush on Ashton..

After the movie, Anuja had to run off (her work shift starts at 4 a.m.), but I stuck around for the Q&A, as did maybe 1/4 of the audience. Dana Fox was really funny and personable, and also surprisingly open. Some of the interesting tidbits that came out of the session:

• She initially took the script to Vince Vaughn's people. They were like "Uh.. no." She then went to Adam Sandler's team. After months of pitching, she finally got the final "Yes" from him. Then she found out he was tied to Sony, and she (for whatever reason) had to first work through/with Fox. That's how she got Ashton on board. (Personally, I think Ashton worked out much better.)

• Demi Moore occasionally came to the set, and Dana said that surprisingly, Demi and Ashton seemed like a really solid, loving couple.

• Ashton had a scholarship to attend college at M.I.T., but then "something happened and he lost it." I did some research online.. turns out he was caught breaking into his high school and was convicted of third-degree burglary. He was going to study engineering. (I definitely feel better about my crush after finding out he's got some brains.)

• Though Vince Vaughn turned down "Vegas," he and Dana are now working on a comedy titled "Male Doula." It was Vince's idea. According to Wikipedia, a doula is "an experienced, non-medical assistant who provides physical, emotional and informed choice support in prenatal care, during childbirth and during the postpartum period." I think the idea came somehow from Vince's real-life experiences??

Anyhow, that's been all the excitement I've had recently. Now I'm finishing up some work before finishing up the day by watching the "Bachelor" finale. It's gonna be the Most. Romantic. Finale. EVER.

P.S.: It's a couple minutes into "The Bachelor," and they've just promo'd "The Bachelorette," which will star one of the "finalists" from last year's "Bachelor." "The Bachelorette" starts next Monday. Wow. It's not like these series draw in gads of viewers or anything, so I don't know why there're airing them back to back. ABC must be strapped for cash..

'Top Chef' quotables

2008-05-08T22:17:00.000-07:00

After tonight's screening of "What Happens in Vegas" (which I'll try to write about later), I came home and fell down on the couch to catch up on some of my TiVo backlog. Was watching last night's "Top Chef," and they had some hilarious lines -- I couldn't resist dragging out my laptop to make note of them. They're probably funnier if you watch the show and know who the contestants are, but they're sill humorous on their own:

Andrew: "I just got a culinary boner" (at the thought of cooking through the night)

Richard: "This is the most passionate I've ever seen myself" (during the fast-paced Quickfire Challenge)

Richard, on being tasked with buying flowers: "I watch a little 'Martha Stewart,' I wear pink shoes.. that means that I should know something about flowers"

Andrew, as he began several hours' work making creamed spinach: "I'm like Popeye's wet f***ing dream right now, dude"

Judge Collichio on a wedding cake that was basically three rectangles of decreasing sizes stacked on top of each other: "It almost looks like a battleship of some sort"

Lisa, as she packed up the wedding cake she'd made in preparation for the drive to the venue: "I'm going to hold on to that cake for dear life because if it smashes, I'm going to...need therapy"

Longest. Haircut. Ever. (And I don't mean in length)

2008-05-08T11:01:00.000-07:00

Last night I had what I think was my most time-consuming hair cut ever: nearly TWO HOURS. Yeesh. I went to my usual spot, the Gene Juarez Training Academy; it's very close to where I live, and only $12.95 for a shampoo and cut. In general, I almost always have a great experience there, but last night..

So after I got garbed up in the cape thing, the girl and I discussed what I wanted done (again, the usual -- basically just a trim, and very simple). Then she ran off to "draw it up" and I sat around for at least 5 minutes, wishing I'd brought a book. Funny enough, a couple minutes into my waiting period, my phone rang. It was my sister, with my parents on speakerphone. The point of the call was for me to hear my mom say "Cirque du Soleil," which, predictably, she did by pronouncing the last "l" in Soleil, cracking my sister up to no end. Yes, my family is a little crazy!

After the girl finally came back, it was off for the shampoo. That was pretty quick. Then the marathon cut began.. it took ages because she kept re-checking everything to make sure every single hair's end aligned to each other. I'm not sure if she was making up for some previous bad hair cuts, or wanted to really impress her instructor, but it seemed to pay off -- her instructor came over to check my 'do, and gave my stylist two high fives during her critique in honor of how aligned the ends were. However, once my hair had been blown dry, one side was definitely longer than the other, by probably half an inch or so. Due to my concern over that, the stylist brought her instructor back over to take a look, and the instructor agreed with me. Both of them kept saying how it was due to the way the "framing layers" had been done, and the fact that my side part makes for one side of my head having more hair. However...the "heavier" side was the shorter side, so I didn't quite get how that worked out.

Anyway... in the end, the result was just fine, but definitely not a 'do you'd think had taken two hours to cut. I think my usual hair cut time is maybe 30-40 minutes. Still, though, I highly recommend the Academy for Seattle folks looking for a well-priced hair cut that's (usually) a step up from going to someplace like, say, Great Clips. They also do some other services like updos and coloring.

You know you IM too much at work when ...

2008-05-06T14:41:00.000-07:00

...you type out a brief response to an e-mail, hit Enter, and then wonder why your message just sits there in front of you.

Yes, this happens to me about once a week. In general, I send more e-mails than IMs (though both probably number at least 70 a day), but there are some days where I reply to/send queries and responses over IM instead of mail. Most of my team is on IM -- both MSN Messenger and Outlook Communicator -- and it's often easier to get a quick reply via IM. So I definitely get into the habit of type-type-type-type-type....Enter. Wait for response. Repeat. In Outlook, there's a default keystroke combo that will hit Send for you (I think Tab + Enter or something), but I had to eventually disable that as I used to send lots of incomplete mails by accidentally hitting those lucky keys.

Restaurant review: Sonrisa

2008-05-04T09:06:00.000-07:00

Thursday night, Ritu, Marivic and I met up at a new "modern Mexican" restaurant in U Village called Sonrisa. (As an aside, we all thought that meant "sunrise," but thanks to Marivic's boyfriend, who speaks Spanish, we discovered it actually means "smile.") The place was hopping -- Happy Hour had recently ended -- and the environment was pretty casual but nice. But.. in the end, I must say it was a bit of a disappointment. They started us out with free chips and salsa. But the salsa wasn't the traditional kind -- it was sort of a salsa verde thing, so it was really runny and not as tasty as your usual red-tomato-based offering. They didn't really have many vegetarian options, so I ended up getting the veg version of one of their burritos. Good thing I specifically said "vegetarian" -- apparently their usual refried beans have some sort of meat or seafood mixed in (I think either chorizo or ceviche or something??). So I asked for a simple burrito -- beans, cheese and "just a few vegetables." They were pretty good about going light on the veggies, but there was hardly any cheese, and one of the few veggies was zucchini, which just tastes really weird to me in a burrito. Maybe that's just my pickiness coming out again. However, the little sides of guacamole and a corn-cake thing were pretty good.

Sonrisa had a definite chance to redeem itself with dessert; I'd read online that the tres leches (sp?) cake was highly recommended, but when it came out.. we were all a little thrown off from the start. Rather than being a stout cake in a little "juice" or something, it was this tall tower with a little bit of white cream as a frosting and some sliced strawberries. In my experience, tres leches cake is supposed to be super moist, but this thing was basically three flat pieces of pound- or shortcake on top of each other -- extremely dry and dense. Normally, between the three of us, we can make quick work of one dessert, but we just couldn't get through this one. If you want a fantastic tres leches, I highly recommend the pastel de tres leches at Senor Moose in Ballard -- deelish.

Anyway, the final sign that I wasn't too impressed with Sonrisa: I took home half of my burrito (mostly out of politeness than an excitement to finish it later), and totally forgot about it until two days later. Usually, I eat any leftovers as my very next meal, so this was quite telling. Sonrisa does have a happy hour -- while I was waiting for the girls, I actually ran into some family friends who were just leaving after enjoying the HH -- so I'd be curious to check that out sometime. I think it'd be a fun place if you just went for drinks and appetizers, and a dessert other than the tres leches. Plus, they have outdoor seating, so it'd be more motivating to go back once the temps heat up.

For those who want to check it out, the restaurant is located on the Blue C Sushi side of U. Village. It's across the intersection from Blue C, next to the Bank of America.

REI sale: Buyer's guilt/excitement/dismay ...

2008-05-02T16:18:00.000-07:00

In my quest to spend less money on unnecessary stuff, I've stopped going to nearly all the standard yearly "sales" I used to go to (i.e., Express, Victoria's Secret [okay, I do go to this one, but only once a year, and I try to limit myself to only a couple purchases], the Seattle Public Library Book sale ...). But when the REI Anniversary sale catalog popped in earlier this week, well, I eagerly flipped through it, pen and paper in hand. Then I took a few hours off this afternoon to run down to the downtown flagship store before the (bigger) crowds arrived. I already knew I was going to get some hiking boots; Chrissy and I had tried some on at REI a few weeks back, but had resisted plonking $150 down for them at the time in the hopes that they'd come on sale. And sure 'nuff, they were $40 off! I won't reveal exactly how much I spent, since my "dear darling" sister and parents sometimes read this blog and would become a wee bit concerned, but thankfully I should be getting my tax refund soon, and also hopefully some $$ for my birthday next month.

The cashier stuffed most of my purchases in my backpack, so here's what loot I ended up with when I got home:

The details: Vasque hiking boots, Kelty backpack, hydration water thing to go inside the backpack, hip-belt water-bottle holder (for short hikes), three T-shirts, one short-sleeved button up shirt, one tank top and two pairs of hiking socks (though, in my rush, I of course picked up one pair in a small, though I wear a size 8 -- oops). Even Buster was amazed at what all came out of the backpack..

But nearly everything was on sale, and decently discounted, at that. I even ran into another co-worker there who was also cutting out of work to avoid the crowds, though I felt a little silly with my huge shopping bag over my shoulder -- he only had two caribiners in one hand!! I'm sure he'd just gotten there..

Anyway, the sale runs through May 11. You can browse what's on sale online. No more shopping for me anytime soon!

Free Coldplay download

2008-04-30T11:29:00.000-07:00

For fellow Coldplay fans -- you can download their current single, "Violet Hill," for free via their Web site. I think the offer expires Monday the 5th. I've been dying for some new Coldplay tuneage, so I was pretty excited to check it out. Looks like the full album will be released on my birthday, June 12!

Random stuff: Advertising, fruit, Mary Roach ...

2008-04-28T22:18:00.000-07:00

I was waiting in the drive-through line at McDonald's this evening (yes, yes, I often get cravings for McD's french fries, and will periodically satisfy them -- everyone's got their vices!) and I had the random thought that a really great advertising idea would be to hang TVs en route from the ordering thing to the cashier/food windows. Sometimes you're waiting in line between the two locations for a few minutes, and this seems like a great time to slam folks with ads -- they ain't goin' nowhere! I've seen grocery stores that have those TVs by the cashier (with the sound on, they can be extremely annoying), so this idea is a natural extension of that. Think of the extra $$ fast-food restaurants could make. And when the weather's wet/cold and folks keep their windows rolled up, well, fire up the closed captions!

Random note #2 -- was at Albertson's over the weekend and made a splurge purchase -- limited-edition strawberry milkshake creme Oreos. They're a bit pricey for the amount of cookies that you get, but I love all things strawberry and even better -- they're dairy free! Yum, they're delish. Oh, and speaking of all things strawberry -- I did make a second splurge purchase on that trip -- one of my favorite treats: Good Humor strawberry shortcake ice-cream bars. There is no substitute! My other favorite cold treat is (are?) Snickers ice-cream bars. I think I have Julie to blame...er....thank for the introduction to those ;o)

In other randomness...

We ate lunch outside today for the first time in, well, 2008, really. It was a little breezy, and the sun sort of came and went, but it was definitely bearable. This was after it was nasty and raining all morning. I know I talk a lot about the weather, but it's been bloody weird around here the past few months! We're all just eagerly waiting for summer!

My new favorite night-time snack: really cold schoolboy-size Braeburn apples (I get them at Fred Meyer, where they're always $0.98/lb -- nice!) with peanut butter. Semi-healthy, zuibun oishi (Japanese for "very delicious"). It can be a little tricky sometimes spreading PB on the apple slice, as the PB won't really adhere to the apple, so if you tip the slice at all -- whoosh! PB overboard.

If I were a rich girl, I'd hire someone to do nothing but prep fruit for me. Namely, peel oranges, wash and cut apples/pears, de-stem strawberries ... I got an 8 lb. bag of oranges the other week -- which amounted to like 14 oranges -- and thus have had the icky, sticky fun task of peeling one basically every day since then. It becomes a bit of a process when I'm in the office -- 1. get the orange from the fridge (it's gotta be cold); 2. wash hands; 3. wash orange (because I'm a bit of a germaphobe); 4. go back to office; 5. peel orange over the garbage can and try to separate the wedges without giving my face a bath of (too much) orange juice; 6. go back to kitchen and wash dried orange gunk off my fingers; 7. get a fork and go back to office (the fork is so I can eat and work at the same time). Whew! And, of course, then that lovely orange scent gets absorbed into the skin of my fingertips..

Finally, the latest book by one of my favorite authors, Mary Roach, has recently been released. The title is "Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex" (more deets on Amazon). She is HIL-arious. I randomly picked up her book "Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers" at the library a few years back because I was intrigued by the cover (click to see the image and get more info). I loved it from the first page, and have since gotten several friends to become fans of hers as well. If you're looking for an informative, witty and just plain fun read, I highly recommend "Stiff." Her second book, "Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife," is also great, but I like "Stiff" better. Can't wait to check out "Bonk"!

April 24: Dining Out for Life Day

2008-04-24T13:51:00.000-07:00

If anyone stumbles across this in time -- today is Dining Out for Life day in Seattle. If you eat at a participating restaurant, they'll donate 30% of your bill to the Lifelong AIDS Alliance. Here's where to find what restaurants are participating: http://www.diningoutforlife.com/seattle/participating.

The guys and I just got back from dining out at Matador here in Redmond. My cheese enchiladas were great, but I'm still not a fan of black beans, no matter how hard I try. Still glad to have donated to the cause, though!

Watch out for the chicken neck

2008-04-21T17:11:00.001-07:00

Saturday -- now known as The Day of Four Weather Patterns, as we had rain, hail, misty rain showers and sunshine -- I went to see "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" with Chrissy. HIGH-larious! I loved it! The page dude from "30 Rock" had some great lines, and of course, there are the lovely frontal nude shots of Jason Segel. Makes you think he's got more than a little love for Mini Segel, being that he wrote the film and all..

Sunday -- another crazy weather day -- I met up with the family to check out KING 5's Health Fair down near Qwest Field. The highlights:

The four of us (in my family) were standing side by side watching these break dancers perform. The troupe had one guy walking around the spectators, giving out an informational flier on the team. Of all of my family members, he came up to MY MOM and gave her the flier! The rest of us started cracking up immediately, and I think the guy became a little embarrassed as he walked off. My mom was like, "Look! He thinks I can do it!"
We stood in a small crowd to watch the Healthy Housekeeper do a demo. My mom was right up front; I was maybe three people behind her. This lady next to me randomly pulled out this flier and gave it to me after mentioning how she teaches "going green" classes at a local community college. I responded politely but briefly, and put her flier in my bag 'o goodies. Then my mom turned around and shot me this really evil devil stare. The flier lady asked "Uh, is everything okay?" I don't know what my mom's deal was, so I just kind of flapped my hand and said "Oh.. that's just my mom."
Took part in this free chiropractic exam thing. Apparently I'm starting to get the lovely chicken neck thing that occurs to a lot of people who spend most of their days in front of a computer. And I guess I still have the slight scoliosis my doctor discovered in the early '90s when I was in junior high. I'm a little alarmed now, so I think I'll make an appointment with a physical therapist or occupational therapist. Also, I don't know if it was just the power of suggestion, but my neck's been hurting a lot ever since that "exam"!

I'm beat today. I blame it on usual Sunday-night insomnia and the few sips of caffeinated coffee I had at the Health Fair (Starbucks was sampling their new Pike Place Roast, but didn't have decaf). The coffee was really good, by the way. Much less bitter than their usual coffee, and as "smooth" as they've been advertising. Anyway, I think I also have a dust speck or something under my left contact, because it's really irritating me. I keep winking hard with my left eye to try and dislodge it. I wear daily disposable lenses, so I'm trying to avoid switching the lens out (and my vision would be totally thrown off if I took it out completely). Ah, my life is so dramatic!

'Snow?!' retread and reusablebags.com

2008-04-18T18:51:00.001-07:00

Hard to believe only six days ago, we were getting that early taste of summer with an 80-degree day. It dipped into the 40s early this week, and then today -- it's snowing again! It's only been coming down for a couple hours now, but you can see in the pic that it is indeed coming down pretty hard.

In other news -- I've recently been thinking about getting some reusable grocery bags. Mainly, I want something with shoulder straps to make it easier to lug groceries -- plus my purse and mail, laptop, etc. -- from my car and up the flights of stairs to my condo. I'd originally been thinking of getting this funny one from the Onion that says "Stop Staring at My Tote" (see http://store.theonion.com/stop-staring-at-my-tote-tote-p-51.html), but then a friend pointed me to this great site: reusablebags.com. They have basic, generic-looking totes and bags that are similar to the brown paper bags you get at the stores now. Then they also have these really cool (though very pricey) bags made of recycled materials like outdoor advertising banners hung around Seattle and recycled juice boxes from the Philippines. Right now, I'm leaning toward dual-handle bags made from recycled PET or this German bag that folds into a little pouch and could pull double-duty as a casual tote. I'm also going to see if my parents would be up for using one or three if my sister and I buy some for them for their anniversary (which was earlier this week).

Anyways.. hoo-ee, it's still coming down out there, and even sticking! I can hardly see the freeway now from my living-room window, it's so white. Good thing I did some grocery shopping this afternoon -- I think I'm going to stay off the roads tonight and have a movie night.