Book Review: Blink

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

Right from the beginning, this book caught my attention. In the first chapter, he talks about relationships and how a psychologist named Gottman can predict the success or failure of a couple's relationship just by listening to them for mere seconds. I found myself going down the list of reasons why he states couples fail and trying to see if my boyfriend and I have done any of the things on it.

Watching a normal conversation such as "should we get a dog or not?" he interprets the couple's facial movements during the conversation and gives them each a code. Disgust for example is a 1. He then translates EVERY second into a number, which then is translated yet again to a complex equation. His success rate is usually above 90%.

The premise of this book is that people can actually make very rational decisions in a very short amount of time. Gladwell believes that you should go with your first instinct, which he calls "thin slicing". He states that sometimes when you over think things, you can actually come up with the wrong decision more likely that you would have if you used snap judgment. 

I found this book very interesting, as even though I consider myself a rational over thinker (I am almost never spontaneous), I realize that even I too make snap decisions. I have picked a book from the shelf without knowing why (the packaging); I have decided I like Coke better than Pepsi (flavor, marketing, packaging); I have decided in the blink of the eye whether I like a new coworker (a certain facial expression, a hidden sneer). There are many things we do without even realizing it.

I would recommend this book and give it a 3 out of 5.

Kung Fu Fighting

Have you ever taken the subway in a big city? Have you done it during rush hour? With your next 6 months worth of clothing on your back? We usually try to avoid the subways during rush hour times and sometimes if we do have our luggage, we will walk or even spring for a cab rather than bashing people with our items.

However, when you live in a country with approximately 1.5 billion people, you get bumped around no matter what. The subways are always full; people are rushing on and off and up and down the stairs. It is quite a sight. But the best was today, when we HAD to ride during rush hour. We were smashed into the car (luckily without bags!) with about oh, maybe 1.4 billion other people. You can't move or hold on to anything; you just hope that if the train stops the other 1.39 billion people will hold you up.

This has happened to me before. In San Francisco coming home on the MUNI after a Giants game is a pretty tight squeeze. I have ridden a non-air conditioned packed full (smelly) subway in Paris. In Japan, they have an attendant with a cattle prod who keeps pushing more and more (and more!) people into the train. However, I think China tops them all. Not only were we smashed in so tightly, but if someone in the middle wants to get out they just squirm their way to the edge. Even better was something else I saw today; it was basically a mosh pit of subway riders. When the train stopped, people were trying to run off the train; others were trying to run on…It was like they were fighting. Everyone was shifting and leaning and pushing and jumping and swaying and GWWWWARRRR! I felt like body slamming someone. Everyone else seemed to be having fun doing it.

As funny as this is when you are only doing it once in a while, the sheer excess of people in China has also caused us a little problem. February 3rd is Chinese New Year. That and the (basically) two week period before that are called the Spring Festival. This means: starting Wednesday the 19th and going until February 3rd, people are on vacation. Kids are out of school; people in the cities go home to visit their families; EVERYONE travels somewhere. What does this mean for us? This means we cannot get a train, bus, boat OR car out of Beijing. It's like a bad movie.

Our plan was to go from Beijing south, eventually ending up in Macau, where we would celebrate the New Year and then go to Vietnam. CHANGE IN PLANS!!! We can't get out. Even if we do get out somehow, we won't be able to go anywhere from there. So we have decided to, unfortunately, leave China early. Bangkok (and about a 70 degree raise in temperature) here we come!!! Instead of heading south from China to Vietnam, we will head north from Thailand to Vietnam. Crisis (and cold weather) averted. Phew.

Have you ever been stuck somewhere? Was it because of weather…or…? Did it ruin your trip? Are you a calm traveler or do you freak out in situations like this?

Summer Palace in Winter

Near Beijing, there is a palace that the royals used to use in the summertime. it is called the Summer Palace.  It gets really hot in the summertime in the city, so they enlarged Kunming lake and built a palace on the hill next to it, where they went to swim and relax. Today we went to see this marvelous place. However, as you may be aware, it is not summertime (in fact, it's downright freezing here!) You may think this may make it worse, but it actually is a sight to be seen. The entire lake is frozen over, along with all of the little channels that run through the property. People ice skate and sled on the ice.

The architecture is gorgeous. The roofs are all hip and gable and have jade statues of dragons and different sorts of other animals on the peaks. There are arched stone bridges across the channels. The interiors of the buildings are all carved woodwork, meticulously painted. The palace sits on a hill where you can see for miles and has a great view of the frozen lake with all the little skaters on it.

However, even though all of this was great, my favorite (or maybe the thing that amused me the most) was the names of things. Here are a few examples. See if you can guess what kind of structure these are.

The Realm of Multitudinous Fragrance: If your answer was "a stone and brick archway", you are right! Apparently it was thought that it resembled the holy land of the Buddha, hence the name.

Hall of Dispelling Clouds: Yup, it's a hall. It was built to celebrate the Empress' birthday.

Garden of Harmonious Interests: Yup, it's a garden. I guess you can't go there with anyone you don't agree with? P.S. Mr. Lovely and I did not go there.

Okay the last two weren't that difficult. But isn't that fun? Don't you want to visit those places? Doesn't it seem like nothing but good could come to you here? Have you read Anne of Green Gables? Don't those names sound like something she would make up? There are also names such as The Hall of Benevolence and Longevity, The Hill of Longevity, The Temple of the Sea of Wisdom and many more.

I guess what I am trying to say is, even if you come to Beijing in the winter time, don't let the name fool you; the Summer Palace is just as fun in the wintertime!!

What is your favorite place to go in the summer/winter? What is your favorite fun(ny) name of a place near you? (P.S. Near my parents' house are the towns of Cool, CA and Maybe, CA.)

Ten on Tuesday (4)

Another set of questions from Chelsea of Roots and Rings!

1. Is there a band/artist that you HATE?
Nickleback....he is so whiny and annoying.

2. What do you do when you get a gift that you do not like? How do you react?
I try to pretend I like it, although I am not very good at pretending.

3. How is your work office/cubicle decorated?
I had a calendar from my aunt and a photo that a friend of mine took of the French Quarter. I have an anal retentive calendar of my own with days marked in different colors depending on category of the item.

4. Do you use all of your vacation every year?
Yes. And then I take more unpaid vacation. I like vacation.

5. Did you have a real or fake Christmas tree?
Real...when I have one. They smell so good! We even go and chop them down ourselves. That's half the fun.

6. If you could have anything for dinner tonight, what would it be?
Pizza. REAL pizza, thin crust. MMmmmm...

7. Do you bite your fingernails?
Never. I keep them cut really short.

8. How many cups of coffee do you drink each day?
1 - infinity, depending on where I am and what I am doing. I can easily drink a pot without realizing it.

9. Do you have a nervous tick?
I don't think so.

10. How often do you vacuum?
Never. Well, when you are on the road/staying in hotels and hostels all the time, you dont have to!

Blocked! and other China randoms

- Not only is Blogger blocked in China, but also these sites as well: Facebook, Goodreads, Wordpress. I am sure there are many more; I won't find out until I try to use them. At least Flickr works.

- The number one MUST HAVE item in China -- a shiny poofy jacket with a fur lined hood. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE has one. Old, young, boys, girls and everything in between. EVERYONE has one. Except me. THIS is a good example of what I am talking about. Are people wearing these at home? I am so behind in the fashion world.

- I am happy to report that ALL BOOTS are now in style. I have seen short ones, tall ones, brown, black, slipper style, high heel, low heel, no heel, furry, pointed, round, square....etc. No matter your boot style, all is good!! Now would be a good time to stock up on all of your favorites. Maybe I need a bigger backpack. Or a Chinese Lady Bag. I guess I am in the right place for that.

- Best thing about China? Meat on sticks. Pork buns on the street. Dumplings on the street. So I guess what I mean to say is...street food. For about a dollar, you can get 2 chicken on a stick, 6 pork bun or 6 dumpling. I have eaten about 100 of each already.

- NOT cheap? Coffee!!!! Darn it. I tried to live without it for a few days and had a huge headache. So, I am living on Nescafe instant coffee for now (and supplementing with a treat of a mocha from time to time)

- A couple of Chinese words (and totally butchered spelling I am sure) I have learned: Thank you = Xiexie (pronounced shay-shay), Hello = ni how

- Price of a beer = .50 cents
- Price of a Starbucks coffee = $4.50
- Price of a clean room, with heat and a hot shower = $12
- Price of a clean room, without heat and who knows if the shower was hot because I wasn't about to try it = $7
- Price of a sleeper bed on a train from Shanghai to Beijing (~650 miles) = $50

That's it for now! I am still emailing posts in and am going to try to hopefully have a couple pictures included here! Please let me know if they don't show up! The round door is in Little Likeng, Wuyuan Province. The tower is the Oriental Pearl in Shanghai.

El Willy Food Review

When we are traveling, we generally eat a lot of top ramen. For less than 50 cents a meal, or $1.50 a day, this is how we can afford to travel. Seriously. By saving on food, we gain an extra day  here or there to do the things we want to do. SO… top ramen is my friend.

However, once every blue moon we like to go out for a "real shebang" and eat at a nice restaurant, if one is available. January's pick of the month was El Willy, in Shanghai. El Willy is a tapas joint and we saw it on the ONE English channel in China that we get, CCTV. We decided to see if it was any good.

By the way, if any of these are spelled wrong, its because this computer doesn't know any Spanish or Italian, and I am not good at spelling. I apologize in advance.

What we ordered:
Pickled anchovies
Octopus with Iberian Ham and garlic aioli (photo at bottom)
Crispy suckling pig, cooked 12 hours
Seared Fois Gras
Pork Loin with arugula and parmesan
Layered Fois Gras pate with croustini

Our Ratings, out of 10:  (*=Mr Lovely, & = me)

Food Quality and Taste: *9, &8 (great food, some dishes were small)
Ambiance: *9, &9 (very open space, warm and friendly)
Service: *7, &8 (waiter was very nice, coffee and wine were a little slow to arrive)
Price: *7, &6 (it was a little too expensive for the size of the plate)
Location: *6, &6m (could walk easily to restaurant, however, it had no view whatsoever)

Total: 75  Average = 7.5/10

I would recommend this place to anyone if they are ever in Shanghai and want a nice Spanish meal. My favorite dish sways between the crispy pork and the first fois gras dish. However, if you are looking for a water view, this is not the place for you. If you want huge portions, this is also not where you should go. Stick with the traditional Chinese, family style portions. Mr Lovely had to get a hamburger after eating here.

Please let me know, as I am emailing due to blogger issues: Is there a picture below? Are there any links? I have no idea if anything is working and will be in China with problems for another few weeks.

The photo below should be of the Iberian ham wrapped Octopus. Yum! Hopefully the photo, if it is there, is not super huge.


Big Trouble in Little China

If you ever wondered, and I know you did, why I am not blogging so much lately, I will tell you why.

Did you know that in China they DO NOT LIKE BLOGGER. In fact, they block it. You cannot get on any blogspot sites (sorry guys, but I am still checking you out in Reader); you cannot get onto blogger.com to post your blogs. So, I am going to try to post by email; hopefully the formatting isn't totally messed up because I have had that experience before when emailing. We shall see. The saddest part is that I can't even access my blog to make sure it posted okay and I can't access anyone else's to comment!!!! This sucks.

I guess you can help me. Is my format messed up? Do you know how to get around the blogger ban in China? I am sorry I am not commenting on anyone's posts!!

Besides that, being in China is interesting. First of all, barely anything is in English; barely anyone speaks English. We always pretty much do all our travel on our own; we don't use tours. Here it is a little bit difficult. You should have seen us when we first arrived at the Guangzhou train station and ALL THE INFORMATION was in Chinese. With kanji (Chinese characters), NOT Latin letters. To top it off, it is almost Chinese New Years, so we arrived and there were 17 mile lines at all the ticket booths. We sat and scratched our heads for a while, let me tell you.  We are using a lot of pointing, sign language and nodding etc.

We finally figured it out, paid too much for our train ticket, and were on our way. Next we wanted to do a tour of an area where there were a lot of little towns and ancient architecture. We got our tour, complete with an overpriced driver who didn't speak ANY English! Its been an interesting adventure! Ordering food is a lot of grunting and pointing at pictures, if there are any. Luckily I know how to say Chow Mien (fried noodles) so that is my fall back plan. Hopefully I don't hurt myself, because asking for the hospital would be downright impossible.

To top it off, it is winter. I mean, snowing and freezing cold winter. Many of the places where we, gung ho as we were, thought we would "go hiking", are frozen solid. You can't get in or out and the locals don't have any water or electricity. But it is beautiful all the same. We are in Shanghai now, more on that later, and heading for Beijing in a few days, more on that later as well.

I hope it is warmer where you are than it is here! Please let me know if anyone has any tech savvy Chinese blogger evasion tips!!!

I am attempting to post a photo below. Please let me know if there isn't one!!! It is Shanghai at night.



Best iPhone Apps

Do you own an iPhone? Even if you don’t, you may love these apps (on your own phone) as much as I love them (on mine)!!! By the way, these are all free. **even if you don't have a phone, you can use many of these on your computers!**

Voice Memos: Did you forget something? Did you want to blog about something? Did you finally think of something cool to give your brother for Christmas? This is your savior, especially if you are driving and don’t have time to use the notes feature. I was actually going to buy a digital voice recorder from Target for Eighty dollars, and then they came up with this app. I am so glad.

Pandora: Do you like music? Have you used this on your computer? Well, it’s even better on your phone; you can make your own music stations; you can listen in the car, on the go, at work…wherever! And it’s free: both the app AND the program on your computer, so even if you don’t use it on your phone, do it on your computer!! You can listen to Cyndi Lauper! Metallica! Whatever you want and MORE!

Yelp: Do you want to find a place to….rent a bike? Eat Mexican food? A new gym? A place to buy a pair of shorts? Yelp is your friend! It is reviewed by your peers and can tell you where the closest place to you NOW is (this is what I use the most…I am HUNGRY…where can I eat within walking distance?)

Lose It: Are you trying to lose weight? Track your eating habits?  Do you want to know how many calories is in a 6 oz glass of white wine (or a 14 oz oneI? Lose It can tell you all of that. You enter in what you are eating and what exercise you are doing and VOILA it tells you your deficit and how many calories you can have per day if you want to lose X amount of pounds (or just stay healthy!!)

Flickr: I use this on my computer, but it is really nice on my phone. I can easily upload a photo from my phone, tag it, add it to a group and then blog about it. This has been a GODSEND for my 365 project.

Stanza: This, before I found out about the free Kindle download, was a way I downloaded a bunch of public domain books (ones that no longer have a copyright) FOR FREE!!! It is a little bit hard to read on my phone, but when you are in a pinch, it is great.

Kindle: And then I found out about the iPhone Kindle download and I now have both this and Stanza and have still not figured out what I like best, so I thought I would mention both. I got a bunch of FREE books from the Kindle website, which are also on the public domain (think: Sense and Sensibility, A Christmas Carol etc) I won’t tell you which I like better; you can decide on your own and then let ME know!!!

Shazam: Have you ever heard a song on the radio and said, “oh my god this is Journey!!!” and your boyfriend says, “NO it’s not; this is Flock of Seagulls!!!” and you get into a stupid argument about it? Enter: Shazam. You hear the song on the radio, you push the “listen now” button, Shazam says, “Journey: Don’t Stop Believing” and you say, “BOO YAH!!!” and then your boyfriend buys you a scoop of vanilla ice cream with almonds. You just can’t go wrong with this app. It will settle ALL BETS.

OpenTable: So, you are in New York City on a Friday night and you just got in from La Guardia and you are starving. You check OpenTable for restaurants within walking distance that have an available reservation in a half an hour. No problem! OpenTable to the rescue. They tell you who has space, what kind of food they have and when to show up. They make the reservation for you. Not only that, but you get “points” so if you make a certain amount of reservations with OpenTable you get dining dollars for your next trip out. Even if you go out once a year, it can add up eventually.

Bump: Does your friend have an address or phone number of a friend that you want? No problem, just use bump and literally bump your phones together to get the information from her phone to yours. Easy as pie.

ShakeItPhoto: So you took a cool photo with your phone. Now you want to see what it would look like as a Polaroid. Pick the photo; shake your phone and you are set! It creates a cool effect and is fun to boot!

Which ones are your favorites and why? 

Ten on Tuesday (4)

I am linking up with Chelsea at Roots and Rings for Ten on Tuesday! Unfortunately, her list this week was all about the home and as you know, I have none, so I am using an old version instead. This one is from Dec 14.

1. What is your favorite kind of cheese?
I like all cheese. My favorite is probably bucheron.

2. Do you prefer fudge with or without nuts?
Neither. It is too sweet.

3. How do you feel about cats?
They are better than dogs, but animals are just too much work usually.

4. Meg Ryan or Julia Roberts?
Meg. There is something about Julia that bugs me.

5. Do you wear a watch?
Always. And I check it more than I realize because if I don't have it on, I drive myself crazy checking.

6. What are a few of your favorite songs from the 90′s?
Well, I was into Alice and Chains and other similar bands at the time. I would probably say...something by Pearl Jam -- Footsteps, maybe.

7. Do you like scented candles?
The expensive ones. But nothing that smells too perfumey. Vanilla or spices are good.

8. What do you like on your hamburger?
Bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo, mustard, ketchup.

9. How often do you cut your fingernails?
Every other week maybe.

10. Do you sleep in socks?
Pretty much never. I hate the feeling. I like to feel sheets on my feet.

Where I Live

The Muses are doing a Where I Live series and I liked the idea, so I thought I would do a post of my own (yup, I am taking their idea and running with it). I may even make this a reoccurring theme.

Where I live seems like an easy thing to explain. Most people live in one place for months, if not years. In the last 15 years, I have lived in no less than 13 places. Between most of these places have been stints of travel, where I “live” in a hostel or a guesthouse, usually only for about 1 day at a time, sometimes five at most. So I really don’t stay in one place for very long.

However, between all these moves, different job locations and travels, the place I always go back to remains the same. This is where the love is; this is my family; this is “where I live”. 

Graeagle

Rock Creek

Salamander

The Feather River

Grizzly Dome

Pacific Crest Trail

Lupines and Mountains

Snowy Bridge

 Sorry about the heavy picture post but I think in this case, a picture IS worth a thousand words!

Year End Review

I know I am jumping on the bandwagon here, as everyone else is also doing lists of goals, highlights and resolutions, but I just love lists too much to not join in. I am always making lists of things I want to accomplish, places I want to go and things I want to try. So this is not “always” a New Year thing. However, since it is the beginning of a new year, here is a list of my favorite things, places, foods, accomplishments and momentous occasions from 2010.

- Learning a lot about photography. I have found unbeatable resources online and met some great photographers that I couldn't have done without. I did not finish my 365 project, but it was more about lack of computer access than it was about lack of photographs. I had a great time trying and can’t wait to learn more in 2011.

- Running the Jackson Day Race in New Orleans. I have gone back and forth on my running; I like to do it but I admit: I sometimes do not make the necessary time for it. However after barely training, I ran the race on a cold January day in NOLA, by myself. And it was fun. And I didn’t totally suck. My running career is not over. I know I still have more in me.

- Riding a bike around San Diego. There were more hills than I had expected, but I made it all the way from downtown to Castillo point and did not die. Plus, the weather was perfect and I got to see my favorite ocean, the Pacific.

- Participating in the Bay to Breakers. Most of it. I met up with some friends in San Francisco for one of my favorite races and one that I have never run because it is just way too much fun to walk it instead. That way you get to ogle the naked people and laugh at all the drunks and to take photos with the buffalo in the park.  We cut out a half a mile before the finish to go have Pho at 9th and Irving.

- Going to one of my best friend’s weddings in Sacramento. She looked beautiful, it was a nice spring day and I really like her new husband. Triple happiness.

- Getting a chance to read a lot of books. I love to read. Fortunately, I HAVE managed to fit it in this year. I started off in a Meetup group in New Orleans and loved it. I also got some great tips on new books to read! I also polled my friends for some of their favorite books. I also took the list from the Busy Bookworm, but I didn’t read ANY from that list. However, I have plenty of books on my TO READ list. Traveling is great; it gives you plenty of down time (translation: LONG bus rides) in order to work on your reading list. The only drawback is that it is sometimes hard to find books in English, so you read what you can, which is not always good. I need a Kindle.

- Learning how to say “thank you” in a few new languages! A few examples: Arabic - Shokran, Albanian - Falam Nderit, Afrikaans - Dankie.

- Hiking the Himalayas. We had to cut our trip a little short, from 21 days to 12. I loved every minute of the hike and WILL go back to complete the hike. It is beautiful, the food is good and the people are nice. What more can you ask for, except to actually set foot on Mt. Everest, which I DO plan on doing someday.

Okay so really I could list about 100 more things. As I worked on this list I realized I had a great year in 2010. I have learned a lot, traveled to some great places and had a lot of fun in the past year. Here's to 2011!

Two Times Happier

Happy New Year everyone!

Here in Hong Kong it is 16 hours ahead of California, so I figured it out: I could actually celebrate New Years here and then hop right on a plane and go home and celebrate it there. It is a 14 hour flight so it would be cutting it close, but I could make it! However, I think instead I will watch the fireworks and maybe the ball drop in Times Square. That's Times Square, Hong Kong. Yes they have one too! So when it's 8 am, or 9 am or whatever time it is where you are from, think of me, bringing in the New Year.

A couple of interesting things about Hong Kong:

- when I see a Louis Vitton handbag or a North Face jacket, I assume it is fake. They do sell the real stuff, but why would you buy a 3000 dollar LV handbag when you can get the knock off for 300?

- they have an EXCELLENT transportation system here. You can even check your bags IN THE CITY and then take a fast train to the airport, turning a one hour taxi ride into a 20 minute train ride. The train opens up and you walk RIGHT INTO the correct terminal.

- they have mobile phone chargers in the train stations. With all the cords, not just an outlet. So even if you don't have your cord, its NO PROBLEM. They have it covered.

- You can almost walk around the entire city above ground. You know how Minneapolis has the skyways so you don't have to be cold when you are walking? They have the same thing here, but just to get you over the multi lanes of traffic. I still haven't figured it out though and sometimes I walk into a building hoping they have the overpass but instead just get looked at/followed by the security guy.

That's it so far! Happy New Year to all!

Escape: Successful

I made it safely to Hong Kong!! Its a gorgeous sunny day! Now I'm just
waiting for Mr Lovely who got stuck in the snow in Boston for two
days. Once he arrives, we head for China!

Ten on Tuesday (3)

This week I am linking up with Chelsea at rootsandrings.com for Ten on Tuesday.  

1. What was the number one item on your Christmas wishlist?
A printer that I could use to print out photos. One of my holiday time goals was to work on my photo albums. I got about halfway through. 

2. Did you get the number one item on your Christmas wishlist?
I bought it for myself because I couldn't wait until Christmas. 

3. How long has it been since you’ve had a pedicure?
Ummmmm... What's a pedicure. I clip my own toenails and do not paint them. 

4. How cold is it in your city today?
"My" city. In San Francisco it is about 50 degrees.  

5. How many pillows do you sleep with?
Two. Because one is not enough and three is too many. Unless they are really fat, then I only need one. 

6. Can you roll your tongue?
Yes. 

7. Do you always buy the same mascara or do you try new ones each tube?
I use whatever. I don't really care. I do like Clinic though; it's not clumpy at all, but it's too expensive. 

8. What’s your favorite cookbook?
Duh. Joy of Cooking 1960 edition. 

9. What was your first pet?
A black lab!! He was the best!! 

10. Do you wear jewelry on a daily basis?
One ring and earrings. The same ones every day; I never change them. 

Sharing is Caring

Grant & UJ playing with their toys.

Great Migration!

My Dad and I went for a drive the other day to see the migrating birds in the rice paddies between Chico and Yuba City. We couldn't have picked a better day. The weather was perfect, the waters were calm and clear and the reflections were beautiful! We got lucky because it had been overcast in the morning and it cleared up just in time for some photos!

Snack-a-Palooza & The City

Macy's shiny balls

I used to live in San Francisco. Every year  around Christmas time my family would come down to visit and we would walk around looking at the lights and store windows. It became a family tradition. Although I have not lived in the city for a while, my family still continues the tradition.

K, A & I at A La Turca

This year, we combined traditions. My friends and I like to wander around, eating one dish each from several restaurants until we are stuffed. This year, we only made it to two places (our eyes were pretty big at the first one) but we also went to the Tom and Jerry house on 21st St to see their wonderful decorations.

Mimie & Aila at Tom and Jerrys

The first place we went to eat is one of my favorites, A La Turca, where they have the best hummus in the city! It is a little hard to get to, as it is right on Geary and there is usually no parking, but we got a front row seat. That never happens!! Aila must be our good luck charm!

The next place we went was Mimies pick - Marnie Thai. It is down off of 9th and Irving. I had never been there before so it was a nice addition to my city restaurant tour. We had the sweet cakes, which are like coconut corn fritter things and are cooked one of those pans with multiple sections; these were round and delicious.

After that we went to Tom and Jerrys. These guys have been decorating the huge tree in front of their house as well as placing huge fake presents under it, for as long as I can remember. They have to get a building permit and no parking is allowed near it, it is that serious!

Next I met up with the Fam at Macy's where we looked at all the decorations and then wandered around the city before meeting up with my brother for some ramen in Japan Town.

All in all it was a wonderful time and an awesome Snackapalooza!

A Very Happy Soul

 

frosty loves sledding

Originally uploaded by kyria!

 

Merry Christmas Everyone! I hope everyone is having a wonderful day!

I Listed a Little (Halfway Point)

A while back I wrote a post about what I was going to do while I was home. I wrote the first half of this post about a month ago, when I had completed half the items. Now, it is 3 days left before we head BACK on the road (yikes and yay!) so I am here to see if I completed what I said I would.

1.  Make cookies with my Mom. And Banana Bread. And…. I did this. I also made pies, turkeys and turkey pies. It has been very fun. I still have not gotten the nesting feeling out of my system.

2.   Get the BIG CAMERA (yay!) out of hiding and USE IT. I did this! To see some of the photos that have been the result of this, you can GO HERE.

3.   Cook a Thanksgiving turkey (actually, it will be my first time) Yes! A great Thanksgiving! A non dry turkey breast. Life is good.

4.   Meet K’s new baby A (and see K and A of course) see photos and details HERE.

5.   Have a couple of glasses of wine with my brother done!

9.  Chop down a Christmas tree (it’s a family tradition) We tried, really we did. But it snowed, REALLY hard and we couldn't make it up the road. So we stopped and bought one from the boy scouts instead.

13. Have lunch with Grandma B and dinner, and breakfast, and coffee, and more lunch! and great conversation!

14. Go to the Pig Roast in Acushnet (last year’s photos are HERE) Much pig was eaten, many stories were told. Much talk about the Patriots was to be had.

17. Make/send Christmas cards Call me obsessive, but I finished them before Thanksgiving!  Yay!

18.  Meet N’s new baby (C) and see her new house So colorful -the house. So calm - the baby. We looked through old photos of childhood -- it was a lot of fun!

25. Help Dad with the “winter” cleaning Sheet rock. Check. Window washing. Check. Shelf building. Check. I am becoming an expert with the screw gun. **Added - fix the roof, check! Caulk is my friend! (hehe)

26. Beat my parents at Rummikub. Hopefully. Beaten, they were. Play them again, I will. (I lost to my brother in ping pong though -- there WILL be a rematch!)

27.  Go see The Moth in NYC So FUN! If you ever get the chance to go, do! If you like funny stories told by real people, you would love it! 

28.   Visit my East Coast Family breakfast with Aunt and Grandma! A fabulous time!

As of today, December 24:
6.     Go to the Mission district in San Francisco and EAT a BURRITO. Yum. Went to the Mission but did not eat a burrito. Instead ate Thai, Turkish and Japanese...yum.
7.    Do a photo walk around Tobin (The Muses are doing a “where I live” series I am looking forward to contributing to) I did do this, but have not posted it online yet
8.    Make a snowman NOT YET!!! I am dreaming of a white Christmas!
10.   Drive from Quincy to Des Moines - a beautiful drive! See photos here.

11.   See Lea’s new house - so cozy! and I had a wonderful time!
12. Go to Target to re-up my travel supplies (and to gawk…I havent been to Target in ages!) I love Target!
15. Organize all my travel photos (eeek) halfway done. I did make a slideshow, does that count?
16. Finish my journal (or at least TRY to catch up) got up to August 4th...I guess I am still behind!
19. Day After Christmas breakfast with the girls In the works!
20. Take a walk on the beach on both the East and West coasts. Did it on the East but not the West.
21. Fix the roof of my house (dread) Not as bad as I thought it would be
22. Autograph Sara’s favorite photo Just did it now!
23. Read some books (I have been slacking lately) I read ONE. Review coming up.
24. Try to finally complete one of Katrinas Photo Walks (even though I am months late)

I had a wonderful few weeks at home/visiting friends etc!! Now its time to make like a tree and leave. In three days, I fly back to China for a contination of the adventure!

Sleeps With The Fishes

I have had many people ask me…where do you stay when you are on the road? I, along with my trusty notebook (where I [naturally] keep all my lists) am here to give you a few examples. FYI, we generally do not make any reservations; we just take what we find once we decide where we are going.

- Usually we stay in hostels. They are generally the cheapest option and almost always have an availible bed. For usually about 10 US dollars each, you get a dorm bed. Yes, you have to share a room with other people sometimes. But normally it is only a couple other people and for the amount of time we spend at “home”, we are not there enough for them to bug us. In fact, you oftentimes end up making friends with the people in your room and usually get along with them well enough to even hang out the next day! If nothing else, you get great travel advice this way.

- We also did a lot of camping. Unfortunately, we ended up going to a few countries where even the hostels were too expensive, so we traded a Europe guidebook for a tent (thanks S&R!!) and this is how we lived for a couple of months. The camping facilities where we were (Zambia, Namibia and South Africa) were wonderful usually. They mostly had great views, were in nice locations and were anywhere from $5 USD to $10 USD each.

- Guesthouses in some of the cheaper countries, such as India and Nepal (and Southeast Asia), are definitely the way to go! You get your own room WITH a bathroom (Hallelujah! In most hostels you have to share) for only about $1.50 USD - $5 USD. If you feel like splurging, you can get a room for (gasp) $8.

- Thanks to my job, which forces me to stay in a hotel about 9/10 of the year, we have hotel points**. Although using them is about 1,000 times faster than gaining them, we did get a few free nights at a nice hotel, which we saved for special treats OR places like Venice, where a simple hostel is about 25 Euros each!! (that’s about 32 dollars…EACH!) **if I have not blogged about these before, which I am sure I have, let me suggest that even if you only stay in a hotel a couple nights a year, make sure you sign up for these programs! You will eventually get a nice reward out of it.

- One time we slept in a car, which fortunately we had, becuase we were staying in a tent and it was pouring rain and everything was soaking wet. This was not the most comfortable night, but it was an adventure!

- Lastly, although we would not pick this on purpose, once or twice we could not get accommodation (like I said, we do it all on the fly, without reservations) and we had to pay for a night in a regular old hotel. We saw it as a treat, although that was not our first choice.

So, this is where I sleep. Some of the places are nice; some are not. None of them were downright scary, but some definitely were not super clean. All of these are great places to find out about the area, meet other travelers and hopefully get some laundry done.

Where do you stay when you travel? Do you splurge on accomodation? Or do you sleep in your car on the side of the road? What is important to you? A clean bathroom? A pool?

Crafts and Creations!

Come and visit us over on the Holiday Pals website, where we are blogging about crafts and food!!! Also, if you have a great recipe or craft idea, we always want to hear it!

Happy Holidays!

For All The Whos Down in Whoville

According to Entertainment Magazine these are the top nine (I don’t know why it’s nine and not ten) Christmas movies.

1. A Christmas Story
2. Love Actually
3. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
4. It’s a Wonderful Life
5. Elf
6. The Muppet Christmas Carol
7. Miracle on 34th Street
8. Die Hard
9. Scrooged

What is this world coming to? I mean, lets start at the top. Why is Love Actually a Christmas movie? Is it because it has a scene where there is a Christmas play involved or because Hugh Grant opens a Christmas card from the hot assistant? Maybe I have a bad memory, but my overall memory of the movie was not Christmas related.

Next, don’t even get me started on the next one. Really? Can a National Lampoon really be number THREE? What about all the others? This really tops Miracle on 34th Street and It’s a Wonderful Life? Who is voting for these movies? 12 year olds? (I apologize if you voted for or really love these movies. I just believe there are tons of movies that are better than these.) This also goes for Elf (I am not really a Farrell fan, except when he was the cheerleader on SNL) and Die Hard. Really? DIE HARD? Excuse me if I don’t understand.

So, let’s talk about really good Christmas movies. In our family, Christmas movie watching is a sport. We usually have one on in the background at all times. My Mom especially is a Holiday movie aficionado. Here are a few movies (in no particular order) that I believe should have made the list (this list is supplemented by both of my parents as well).

1. Rudolph
2. White Christmas
3. Santa Claus is Coming to Town
4. Santa Claus the Movie
5. How The Grinch Stole Christmas (the original, cartoon version)
6. Charlie Brown’s Christmas
The above, along with numbers 1, 4, 6 and 7 above, would constitute our top 10 list of Christmas movies.

Photo Credit

What are YOUR favorite Christmas movies? Do you agree with the Entertainment Weekly list? Are you tired of A Christmas Story or can you never tire of repeating, “IT’S A LAMP!” and “Fragile, must be Italian” and “Help Me God, he had YELLOW teeth!”?

Oldies But Goodies

I have been home for the last week and on my to do list for probably the last 5 years (or so) has been to "scan old photos". I finally got around to doing a few of them! The quality is not great, but here are a few anyway!

Letter to Santa 1982

My Two Moms 1988

Girls Soccer 1993

How I Feel About My Brother 1984

Rock and Roll

I have so much to say that I don’t even know where to start. It’s been two weeks since my last confession.

In case you don’t know, it is not always easy for me to get on the internet. You take for granted your smart phones and your high speed internet. I do as well, at times. However, now, today, I do not. I am staying with my parents for the holidays. They do not have cell service. They do not have broadband. They have a land line, which works most of the time (more about that later) and they have….bum, bun, buhhhh…..dial-up. Yep. Dial-up. You thought that most people in the world had high speed internet? Well, you are wrong.

When I am not at my parents, I am usually traveling. While most places do have faster internet than my parents (imagine that. Africa – Medium Speed. California – Internet like a turtle) it is not always easy to find a computer, or one that has the internet. Needless to say, I am not one of those bloggers who blog every day. Some people I follow even blog multiple times per day! How do they do it!? I don’t know.

Here in California, in the mountains, in the “civilized” world, we can’t look at photos; we can’t check our Google reader; we can’t do much. So we just don’t do anything which includes the internet. It is too frustrating to try to get online. So we try to find other things to do instead. You would be amazed at what is exciting in these parts.

First off: Rocks.

My parents live on a very windy road. In case you don’t know it, it is in the Mountains near Sacramento. Think of Lake Tahoe. If you have been there, you know it is beautiful. There are endless spans of green pine, cedar and fir trees. There are peaked snowy mountains. There are windy mountain roads along gushing rivers. There are tiny mountain towns. People ski and snowmobile for fun. They sometimes have to do this to get to their houses because the roads are not plowed. It is the boonies. I love it. I think it is beautiful.

However, with beauty (and boonies!) comes danger. Snow creates accidents. Windy mountain roads are slippery. Mountains are full of…you guessed it. Rocks. Now you know where I am going with this story. Last Friday a rock came down on the highway and a lady ran into it and died. Yes, I said A ROCK. One rock! Here is a photo from the local newspaper.

On Tuesday my parents went “to town” (yup, we say that. We live that far out of “town”) to run errands. About 30 minutes after they left (and in the middle of a batch of cookies! Luckily the stove is gas!) the power went out. With it went the phones. This is the phone I was talking about before: the one and only phone, the land line. So I sat in the dark with no phone and no TV, trying to read my book with the light of two candles.

Yesterday (today is Thursday the 16th, who knows when this will actually be posted) there was another rock slide. This actually closed the highway. The big rock in the photo above was huge, but “luckily” only covered half of the highway. Mind you, there is not really a way around. If this highway is closed, you are SOL. Unless you have a 4WD vehicle, know your way around the mountains and are prepared to drive in snow, you have to wait. They said the road would be closed for about 3 hours. It was still closed today, 24 hours later.

So, we are on a roll. In the week I’ve been home we’ve had two rock slides, one causing a death, the other closing the one-and-only highway for at least 24 hours. We’ve had a power outage; we’ve lost our phones; we’ve had an unusual amount of rain. We’ve tried to trap a skunk (as of yet unsuccessful) and we’ve almost run over dozens of deer (without any luck).

Who says life is not exciting in the boonies without internet!?

On Procrastinating

I just wanted to say really quickly that if you haven't made your Christmas cards yet, you are in luck.

Kim at What am I Going To be When I Grow Up tipped me off on a great deal. Shutterfly is giving away 50 free holiday cards to bloggers! I already made my cards unfortunately, but maybe I will get started with next years' cards! Wink, Wink!

Anyway, even though I am probably not taking advantage of this great deal, I though you may want to! Good luck, Happy Blogging and Happy Holidays!

By the way, if you are a friend or family that normally receives a card from me and you haven't gotten it yet, please email me! They should have been there by now!

Road Trip: Day Five (aka Last Day)

Oh the last day of a road trip! You just want to get to your destination, so you don't stop to take photos or go to the Wizard of Oz museum because it is 30 miles off the highway and you don't want to spend another half an hour on the road.

Today's trip: Salina, KS to Des Moines, IA

Have you ever taken a road trip? We used to take them as kids. My dad had a 1970s era motorhome that was orange and white. I remember going to the Grand Canyon. I remember asking him, "how much gas mileage does this thing get?" (I think the answer was about 8 mpg.) I think asked him, "and how much does gas cost?" Then I would figure out how many miles we had to go and how much the entire trip would cost us. That was fun for me.

We would also play the license plate game, which is where you try to find as many different states' license plates as you can. My brother and I had a contest to see who could get the most. I honestly can't tell you who won those games. However, I still play that game, even when I am by myself. I found so many different plates on this drive!

The License Plate Game:
Farthest away plates: Alaska, Maine, Florida
Most common plate (other than states I was in): Minnesota

On this trip, I went through a total of 7 states. California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and Iowa. 
Here are some of the stats:
Flattest state: Colorado (I did not go through the Rockies in CO)
Snowiest state: California
Coldest state: Nevada
Warmest state: Kansas

I have to say, call me biased, that the most beautiful state of all the states that I went through was, you guessed it, California. I like trees, preferably green ones that smell like pine. And mountains. If you can have both, that is even better. Although all the other states were beautiful in their own way, I still love California the best!

So, I guess what I am trying to say is that no matter how far you roam, "There's no place like home!"

Which state do think is the most beautiful? and why? 

Highway 70, California

Santas Little Blog Helpers

I follow a lot of blogs. There are several reasons for this. I can relate to a lot of the things that other people say, whether it is a problem, an opinion or a joy. I find lists that I didn't know I needed to make yet. I learn how to take better photos.

And taking better photos is what Katrina Kennedy does. I have been following her blog for a while and she has given me so many good tips! She is teaching an online class this month to help other people learn how to make the most of their holiday photos. If you are interested, you can find her info HERE. 

She is also doing a giveaway for a free class, which I believe ends this Friday, so put your name in the hat now! You can find that HERE. 

She also does a photowalk most months. She is from Sacramento and I'm sure would love your company. Or, if not, you can find her list online and do your own at home (that is what I will do, since I am in Iowa this weekend!) It is a good way to keep your photographic eye sharp!

Road Trip: Day Four

Country music is funny. Today on the radio, since I could not get any other stations, I listened to these songs:

1. All I Want for Christmas is a Real Good Tan
2. Pretty Good at Drinking Beer

After that I turned it off. I don't mind country, if there is nothing else, and I will definitely pick it over Christian rock, but how silly can you get? Speaking of driving through Kansas, I have found out a few things about Kansans:

1. They LOVE Jesus
2. They HATE abortion (there are tons of signs on the side of the road to prove both of these)
3. They make their bales in rolls. I like the rolls better than the cubes. (see photo at bottom)
4. Their BBQ is okay, but not "the best BBQ in the country". Sorry, Kansas. Actually Iowa so far has been the best I have eaten.

Today's journey: Denver, CO to Salina, KS.

Agate, CO

Agate, CO

Genoa, CO

near Grinnell, KS

Tomorrow is the last day. I will travel from here to Des Moines, which is about 350 more miles. There I will get to see my HS best friend and some old work buddies (in case you didn't know, I worked in Iowa for about 7 months and I learned a lot about corn while I was there).