LA

We're back in cold, gray NYC after 10 days in warm, sunny LA. I haven't been to LA (or Southern California generally, other than San Diego) in almost 20 years (not counting stopovers at LAX), so any memories I have of LA are generally hazy and very few. I remember that someone took my mom's wallet at the Chinese theater and I remember my mom's cousin visiting us when we were at Universal Studios and I remember going to the Hollywood Bowl, but honestly I don't remember much else. Everything seemed a little bigger and more glamorous back then.

But here's some things I learned or observed on our visit to LA:

1. Based on the main "attractions", it seems people in LA like to shop. Located on all the maps with the same blue dots as tourist attractions were a lot of malls. And we went to a lot of malls. The Westfield in Century City, Beverly Center, the Grove, etc. Not that people don't go shopping in NYC, but we lack the giant malls in the middle of the city. And most of these malls had movie theaters.

2. LA as a city layout confuses me. I'm used to NY and Chicago where most of the big business centers are concentrated in the "center" of the city, and as you go outwards from the center, it becomes more residential. In LA, it seemed like there were houses (not just apartments above businesses) right next to business centers, and business centers all over the place. There's nothing wrong with it, but it confused me. You could change jobs and triple your commute! I know we have businesses in Westchester and CT and elsewhere, but that's not quite what I mean. Hard to explain.

3. Food trucks in LA have a lot more variety when it comes to Asian food (bahn mi, pho, Korean tacos and bbq - I wish we had all of those!) but didn't seem to have the straight "street meat" cart that is all over NYC. Here, it's more often than not a street meat cart, but I didn't see that out there. Granted, we didn't see the whole city (how could we in 10 days?) and there seems to be a little more leeway as far as people just taking a grill and sitting on the sidewalk, but I found it interesting. In total, we went to 9 food trucks (mostly on Twitter) because they were different from what we had at home.

4. Everyone seemed happier when we were there (or maybe it was the sun-induced bliss of the first few days coloring my view). It just seemed that the sunlight and the warm weather made people smile more than people do here trudging around through the freezing cold and gray weather.

5. Sunsets, beaches, ocean. We don't get much of that here in January. Sometimes there's a nice sunset over the river, but I haven't seen many lately, and don't usually get to watch them from the river anyway. That's the thing about visiting a place - I always seem to like it better than where I live because (a) I don't have to go to work, (b) I get to be outside or doing things during my favorite time of day (afternoon), and (c) I'm not burdened with everyday life stuff, like commuting.

6. Things aren't always how they seem on TV. The Walk of Fame? I thought the stars on the sidewalk were on a big boulevard of fancy tourist attractions, but a lot of the stars are in front of random souvenir shops or smoke shops or the like. The Kodak Theater? It's in a mall! Seriously? I had no idea that people walked past the Sanrio store on the way to the awards.

That's it for now - I was supposed to sleep early tonight to try to cure my jet lag and get an early start tomorrow. We'll see what happens.

HC: Bath Products

We spent two weeks in Maui this month for the wedding, and over the course of our time there, stayed at three different hotels/resorts: the Hyatt, Sheraton and Grand Wailea.

Since we compared different items at the hotels during our stay, the "HC" ("Hotel Comparison") series will be putting our thoughts into words. (And, for the things we haven't discussed at length, my thoughts.)

For most things (other than bugs - I'll explain another time), the Grand Wailea will probably win. It's a huge sprawling resort with an amazing spa and pool, and I don't think I've ever been to a place that can compare to it (yet). I suppose we could also make it a 4-way comparison with the hotel we stayed at during our first visit, the Kaanapali Shores, but it was a condo/hotel so it was fairly different in level and style to the other places, and probably wouldn't benefit from the comparison. You probably wouldn't hit Kaanapali Shores if you were looking for a place with a big spa or pools with lava slides.

For the first comparison, I'm going to discuss bath and body products. (Speaking of bath and body, if you go to Bath & Body Works right now, they are giving out Christmas guides with coupons with purchase and also have these "winter indulgence" lotions/creams that are awesome.) It doesn't sound like the most exciting topic, but I just got out of the shower, so it's on my mind.

First up, the Hyatt. The Hyatt's bath products come in these big 2 ounce tubes (big for a hotel size). They come in coco-mango and are the same as the spa (they say). They're usually pretty good about giving you extras even if you haven't finished the old ones, which is really good. They smell good and are pretty good quality. We stayed at the Hyatt twice (thanks, Priceline!) and were really happy with the bath products there (and ended up with so many extras during the first trip that we're still using them).

Next, the Sheraton. The Sheraton's products were made by bliss, and come in mandarin & mint (that's one type, not 2). I was expecting to like these more because they were made by bliss, but of the 3, I think these are my least favorite! They're the least "luxurious" feeling of the bunch, which surprised me since bliss makes spa quality products too. I didn't mind using it when we were there, but I think Hawaii shower water is better than New York water, and I don't think I like the products as much when I use them here.

Last, the Grand Wailea. Like the Hyatt, they also give you products from their spa line, Spa Grande, and they come in honey mango. It's the same exact stuff they sell in their spa store, and they refill your room shelf twice a day (awesome). The quality of these is really good too, and I'm not sure which I like better between this one and the Hyatt.

And I feel the need to mention something about an unrelated resort at this point since I just used the Ritz Carlton shower gel while in the shower. I think Ritz Carlton bath products are my favorite ever. This is a few years old (oops) from my trip to Puerto Rico, and it's still good (and the smell just reminds me of vacations). We went to their spa in Maui once, and they use the same products in the spa showers, and I love them.

I guess if I had to pick, I would pick Grand Wailea by an inch over the Hyatt, and then the Sheraton below it. I just asked A, and he had to think about it between the Grand Wailea and the Hyatt, but came out the same way. He doesn't remember much about the Sheraton's stuff, since we were there less than the Hyatt. And, well, we had other more important things on our minds. I guess it's easier for me to compare since I used Sheraton shampoo and Hyatt conditioner in my shower tonight.

Maybe the key to good products is using mango. :)

It's almost 3:45 and we're still awake... why...

Jet Lag II

I'm going backwards in my jet lag progress!

I was going to sleep at a (more) decent hour, but tonight, here I am at 2:30 am, wide awake! This is bad! The past two days, I had gotten myself asleep by now, but tonight, it's not happening. Annoyed.

And my ears are all clogged and really need to pop. It's been like this for the past 8 hours or so. Really annoyed.

How can I get over my jet lag? Help!

Jet Lag

Remember when I said I didn't know how we were going to adjust to the time when we got back?

Well, it's almost 4 am, and here I am.

I intended to try to "right" my schedule today since I took tomorrow off to get things done and have to be back in the office bright and early on Tuesday (ugh). After spending two weeks in a time zone 6 hours behind, this is going to take some adjustment. Especially when I seamlessly adjusted to that time zone, and experienced no jet lag whatsoever going westward. Going east is so difficult.

So I'm sitting in the dark staring at the computer screen, hoping that this will make me more tired. (It seems to be working, I think.) The best way to adjust would have been to stay awake for the entire second flight from San Francisco, since that would have been from about 10:30 NYC time until 4 NYC time, but I slept through most of that flight. I tried to stay awake and failed miserably, but I guess I didn't really try that hard. Without an in-seat TV, what else is there to do but sleep?

I'm in such a relaxed state of mind that it's so difficult being back, thinking about having to run errands, clean the apartment, do post-wedding stuff and go back to work. I want to spend the day at the spa, the pool, the beach! I think I have post-vacation blues. I read some article before we left about the way most people adjust to post-vacation blues - planning another vacation. Maybe I'll try that. I have research to do. I haven't really been to Los Angeles in almost 20 years (hard to believe it's been so long).

For now, my most immediate goal - wake up at a decent hour! Sigh.

Late Night List

(Warning: Potential TV spoilers ahead! Although SYTYCD should be done airing everywhere - including Hawaii...)

A few random thoughts instead of sleeping:

1. I have no idea why someone would want a denial of service attack on Facebook and Twitter. I was reading an article this evening asking what the point of such attacks would be (and how that may be the point - not having one). (Sorry, I can't remember which article or I would link it.) All it meant was obsessive reloading of Twitter to try to make it work, and annoyance at feeling disconnected from the world! I finally gave in to Twitter, mostly to aggregate my web surfing, and so far, it had worked - I visit many less sites just to check their updates, because I don't need to check as often. But today, I was disconnected again! And today was the day of the Psych and Burn Notice Twitter contests...

2. On to Burn Notice... I can't wait to watch the summer finale again. That was really, really good. I was worried that with all the hype about how good it was, and all the expectations being built up, that it wouldn't live up to the higher expectations, but it did. I really love that show.

3. I've been talking about it a lot over the past couple of weeks, but I really think that USA Network just gets it right now. They are pretty good at reaching people (Twitter and Facebook contests, updates, etc. just an example), making their people accessible to fans and, perhaps most importantly, they deliver on good content. It is at the point where I will watch whatever new show they put out (can't wait for White Collar) because I have faith in their brand. (I will at least check it out. I don't stick with everything. See: Starter Wife.) They find something that works, they give it a chance to develop, and I wish more networks operated that way. Outside of SYTYCD, I think the majority of the DVR right now is USA shows. I have Psych to thank for all of this (and possibly a trip to DC which first alerted me to Psych).

4. On to SYTYCD... congrats to Jeanine! I voted a few times for Jeanine, more for Brandon, but I would be satisfied with either of them winning. I would not have been happy with a Kayla win (she's technically good but I have never felt a connection with her) and even less happy with an Evan win (he's very good at what he does, but just looked out of place when not in his element with the other dancers). I think Brandon was the best dancer this season and would have loved to see him win, but I knew they wanted a girl to win. I think next season they'll want the winner to be an "unusual" or "underrepresented" specialty, or something like that. Or maybe ballroom...

5. I really do like tacos (from the last post). I could have eaten tacos again for dinner today despite having them for lunch. Yum. I really should do one of those favorite foods posts. But it's so hard! So much good food!

6. I'm excited for the fall TV season (Glee!!!!!) and the press tours only make it more exciting. Although I had to scan quickly through anything related to Fringe today (but still managed to see some of it) since we still aren't finished with last season. Yes, I know it's been a few months. But now we have to watch it online because the DVR failed. I hope it's still on Hulu. I love Hulu.

7. We're going to a wedding in Chicago this weekend. Should be fun, even if it's 90 degrees with scattered storms. Classic Chicago summer, right? Although it feels like this trip should still be weeks from now. It hasn't hit me yet that it's August and there's only like 60 days yet to go. Wasn't I supposed to be in shape by now?

8. I haven't done EA in over a week. Part of it is work - late nights, little sleep - and also my knees and ankles were bothering me for a few days. But it's not good to stop doing it! Bad! The past few days I have been using that Slendertone/flex belt thing. I wonder if it works. I feel some tightness in my abs afterwards but does it really do anything? I guess we'll see?

9. I could go for a taco right now. Or a samosa.

10. I need to get into a better sleep routine. Every day around 3 pm, I just can't keep my eyes open no matter what I do and it's really frustrating. Nothing really works either. What foods can I eat to stay awake? I know the answer is more sleep, but I would like to preemptively combat the fatigue by eating things at lunch that don't give me food coma. Suggestions?

Off to get ready for bed and read some more Harry Potter 1 (yes, I am re-reading all the books to make myself feel better after the butchering of movie 6's story).

Wedding Travel

Travel plans for the wedding are taking shape! We already had our flights done, and were planning on getting a room in our room block for the days of the wedding, but now the other parts are taking shape. We just pricelined a hotel room for the pre-wedding planning days, and are really excited because it's the super-nice place where we stayed last time with the awesome pool. Yay! I love that hotel and am super-excited. Now just have to book a place for the mini-moon and a rental car, and all of our travel arrangements for the wedding will be finished! Yay! I'm so excited about it that I just had to share. Priceline always gives me a little bit of a "high." Yay!

Weekend Notes

It's been a really busy weekend. A lot of fun, but late nights, lots of traveling and two weddings have left me completely exhausted. So, only a few quick notes and observations from this weekend:

1. I miss undergrad. It was so great having everyone in the same place, and I think I really took for granted how easy it was to just get together and hang out. Now, with everyone spread around the country and real world responsibilities, it's just so much more difficult.

2. Somehow, we got a better rental car on this trip, booking through Priceline, than we did the last time we rented a car at this airport, directly from the rental company. Not only was it a fraction of the price, but we got a bigger car and it had GPS which they normally charge extra for! Even better, since I was expecting so much less.

3. I love JetBlue. Not only do they still allow you to check a bag for free, but they have free snacks and of course their wonderful DirecTV. And their flight attendants were super nice. Although I don't remember much about our return flight, since I was asleep from the moment we got into the air until we began our final descent into JFK.

4. At last night's wedding, the service for our table was so bad that it was funny. At the outset, we asked them if we could just serve ourselves. (It was a Chinese banquet, and we would prefer to pick out what we liked instead.) I don't know if they were insulted by it or something, but after the first course (which, honestly, most people would want to choose their own food from since it had the pork/cold cut type stuff and the salads), they started serving our table (right next to the head table...) last. And later we saw that other tables had 2 fruit platters, instead of 1. And then we hadn't gotten cake yet, when they went back to the table next to us to offer them seconds. My aunt (mother of the groom...) mentioned to the waiter that our table hadn't gotten cake yet, and he said, "I know, we'll get there" and offered seconds to the other table. Sad, but very amusing. Food was actually pretty good though.

5. Have you ever seen a vending machine serving burgers and fries? How about in a parking garage?

6. All the work I did deleting emails and getting my inbox under 5700 has been undone. I am back above 5850.

7. How far apart do they usually put rest stops on the interstate? 50 miles felt very, very, very, very long early on a Saturday morning. It was actually pretty crowded for 6 am at the rest stop. Yay for hash browns.

8. The new JetBlue terminal at JFK is gorgeous. I can't believe this is the first time we've been there since they redid it, but I guess it makes sense since they don't fly to Hawaii.

9. I love going to weddings.

10. I should be sleeping now, but since I tried to recover last night by sleeping so much, I woke up late, and the late night cycle begins again. So glad it's a 4 day week!!

To the MTA

To the MTA:

Are you still planning to reduce the number of station agents in your cutbacks for the budget?

I really hope not.

You claim that they're not necessary because people can just use the automated machines to get their Metrocards. This misses the point of the agents. The agents are there to help people when machines cannot. Can machines give directions if someone can't read the subway map? No. Can machines clearly tell people what routes aren't working if someone can't figure it out after reading the 50 signs in the station about diversions? No.

And most importantly to me today - can machines help when your unlimited card fails? No.

I bought an unlimited metrocard this morning for use today, knowing that I would take at least 4 trips on the subway, and would save at least $0.50 by getting an unlimited card for the day. I used it twice and there was no problem. On the third try (of course, in Times Square where it was busy), it didn't work. It wanted me to swipe over and over in that turnstile. After 20 or more tries I gave up and tried at least 4 other turnstiles but nothing. The station agent thought maybe their turnstiles were the problem, since she confirmed my card was valid and could even tell when it was last used.

We took our trip downtown and out of curiosity, I tried my card again on the way out to see if I would have further problems. Yet again, it didn't work. So I guess it's not the turnstiles! This station agent told me that if I swiped it 20 times at the turnstile the card would fix itself. I told him I did that at the last station but it didn't work. So he tried it and it still didn't work. The solution? Tell the station agent at every station you're at what the problem is and they'll let you in. Could I get a replacement card since I knew I had at least 2 more trips? No. Clearly each of the station agents I spoke to could see I had a valid card. But could a machine determine that and let me through the gate?

Now, MTA, please tell me. If you get rid of station agents, how would I get through with my unlimited card if there is no agent at the station? Yes, it was annoying having to go through my story over and over, but the card was clearly valid and no one could figure out why it was broken. I would have to buy a new card even though I had an unlimited card, and would you reimburse me for that? Somehow I think not.

So how can you get rid of station agents when you need people to evaluate and solve problems like that? How would that work?

Love,
Crayon

Bookings

It's been a productive night. Didn't do a ton of work (although I figured out the right questions for tomorrow), but got a lot done for upcoming trips.

We booked our flights for the wedding! So excited! The good thing about flying United is that they have economy plus. I'm willing to pay for the extra legroom for really long flights (and when it's cheap like on JetBlue, for not so long ones too!), and Hawaii definitely qualifies. (It's like 4 inches!) Since we haven't done all that much for the wedding over the past week or so, it definitely feels good to get this done! I don't know if I've ever booked a trip this early before, so I'll probably keep checking the flights to make sure they fill up... I never have this many seats to choose from!

(We also booked another set of flights to go to another wedding, and a hotel room for later this month. Yay for Priceline!)

Also watched an episode of 24 (from APRIL 13 - PLEASE, NO SPOILERS), an episode of Reaper (from APRIL 14 - PLEASE, NO SPOILERS) and the 2 hour finale of Desperate Housewives (sigh, I expected more). Yes, I know I'm behind. Also behind on Dollhouse, Chuck, Fringe and the Unusuals. So much to watch!

Glee is on tomorrow! :)

I really need to get to sleep!

Away

We spent the weekend up in Milton at the Buttermilk Falls Inn, and it was amazing. We left less than 12 hours ago, but I already miss it. I miss the ducks that followed us around the grounds, the llamas and the goats, the view of the river, the cute little inn, the spa, and especially how relaxing and peaceful it all was (even if it was 10 degrees colder than at home). It's so sad that it's already back to the work week.

Victoria

Last summer, we went on a cruise to Alaska. The last port before disembarkation was Victoria. I hadn't been to many places in Canada prior to the Victoria stop -- none of the major cities, only a few cities on the eastern coast of Canada (on other cruises).

I really liked Victoria. Unfortunately this was an evening stop and (a) many places were already closed, like the museums and aquariums, (b) it was our last night on the cruise and there was major packing to be done and (c) we had to get back to the photo center on the ship to pick up the photos we ordered before they closed. Therefore, I didn't get to do much in Victoria other than some walking around, photography (golden hour, amazing light), and general soaking in of the city. I think some of my relatives went to a pub and had beers, but I guess they didn't have anything to do back on the ship. All this means is I'll have to go back!

I would love to go on a cruise right now. They are so incredibly relaxing. People do everything for you and are always willing to help. The food (at least on ours) was fantastic (and all included!). You can catch up on sleep (I napped a LOT). There's just something nice about being at sea and resting. I could really use this now (as I'm working...).

Mmm... maybe I'll daydream about cruises to the Mexican Riviera. Sigh.

Rail

Watching this Travel Channel special on national parks and great train rides makes me want to take a rail trip somewhere. There's something about a train ride that's different from flights. I just wish we had bullet trains to get around instead of just Amtrak.

Watching this also makes me want to take a road trip down Route 66. (In addition to the 48 state road trip I have thought about...) Hopefully Ted Drewes will still be there when I have time to do that!

Airport Drama

I hate going to the airport without having checked in for my flight.  Whether I can print the boarding pass or not, I strongly prefer checking in in advance.  I know where it comes from -- back in 2004, Continental cancelled my confirmed reservation (with a seat assignment!).  I could have checked in before going to the airport, but I didn't, and therefore, didn't end up going to Pittsburgh.  These days, I always check in early if I can.

 

Last night, I heard on the local news about issues with American Airlines.  I was set to fly American today, and the aircraft affected was the type of plane I was scheduled to be on.  But when I checked my reservation it said it was on time.  The first leg of that flight number (from St Louis to Chicago) was cancelled, but the leg from Chicago to NY said it was still on time.  I checked in, printed a boarding pass in the hotel lobby, and checked up to the moment I went to sleep to make sure my flight would still be on time.  I went to sleep thinking, maybe my flight wasn't affected.

 

I got up around 6 and checked on my blackberry, and found out that my flight was cancelled.  They knew about this problem yesterday; why did they let me check in?!  After sitting on the phone with the travel agency (good thing this went through the travel agency and not American directly, or I would probably still be on the phone), I got a confirmation code for a United flight and headed to the airport.  I was prepared for chaos, but figured that I was already in a better place since I had been confirmed on an airline that wasn't cancelling all its flights.

 

The travel agent had told me to go to American first to confirm that my ticket was being moved to United.  I walked in and it was just as bad as the pictures showed.  Hundreds and hundreds of people stranded and on line.  I was rescheduled on a 10 am flight and it was a little before 8.  Looking at the line, there was no way I was going to make it.  I checked with an American rep and she told me that if I had a confirmation code, I could just go to United and they would take care of everything.

 

I ran over to United through the underground passageway, the whole time just thinking about how I could have gone to United in the first place.  When I got up to ticketing, I noticed that the lines were so much better.  There was room to breathe.  No news crews with their bright lights shining and video cameras pointed at people's faces.  Unfortunately, the people working there were sending people onto all the wrong lines, and after 15-20 minutes of waiting on the line for "real" United customers, I had to go to the much longer line for the "American" United customers.  Apparently a confirmation code wasn't enough to check in without special assistance.  You needed an "eticket" number.

 

By the time I got to an agent, I knew there was no way I was making a 10 am flight.  (It was after 9:30.)  I doubted I could even get out of the city today.  I started thinking about how I would have to work remotely again and get another hotel room (although that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world).  When I got to the agent, he first tried to tell me that I had to go back to American to get them to call the ticket over, but there was no way I was going to trek all the way back to the American terminal to face what surely was a 500 person line (at least) at this point, a few hours later.  A couple of calls to the help desk later, and somehow they were able to get my reservation over and get me onto a noon flight.  With an aisle seat!  I was so, so, so grateful.

 

It was like a club in the airport, everyone talking about how they had been cancelled off of American and moved to United.  (Made me wonder how empty United's flights had been and also realize how lucky I was to have even made it to Chicago the day before.)  There was the woman who told people she had gotten 6 boarding passes.  The person who stayed up all night and immediately rescheduled her flight as soon as the notifications went out, yet still didn't have a ticket number.  The couple who couldn't make their morning flight to California because the line had been so slow, and the next flight was at 8 pm but was full.  Everywhere people were talking about the American cancellations.  When I eventually heard that over 800,000 people were affected, I could definitely believe it.

 

I was so grateful to get on a flight today in the middle of the chaos that I was even amused that I got selected for special screening.  Amused until I had to wait for a female to do the screening and watched all these men get to go first as my bags sat there on the wide open table.

 

I eventually got back to NY before 3:30 and back to the office by 4:30.  Although I got so sick from my taxi ride that I ate half a bag of Starbursts to try to cure the carsickness and bought potato salad to steady my stomach after I hit unmoving land.  I'm at the too exhausted to sleep point, but I hope it passes soon because I am so exhausted and need to go in early to get all the stuff done that I couldn't get done today.  With that, good night!  And good luck to all those stranded American passengers.  I think this is going to go on for the rest of the week, and they are predicting a nightmare for anyone flying any airline.  What a mess.

Flights

This is the second year in a row that I have come to Chicago for this
event, and the second year in a row that my flight back has been
cancelled. Last year it was due to weather (it snowed) and this year
it's the mass American cancellations. Time to go rush to the airport!

Hello from Seattle

Hello from Seattle!

We got to Seattle yesterday and the weather was absolutely gorgeous all day. The skies were blue, not a cloud in the sky - where was this gray Seattle I'd always heard so much about? (Not that I wanted to see clouds, we have enough of those at home during the summer!) It was back today - completely overcast in the morning - and all the news stations were saying AM fog but that it would burn off by noon, and then when it didn't, someone in the hotel said it would burn off by 4 pm. It did, while we were at the gym. Decided not to go to visit the Space Needle in the cloudiness since the hotel is a good 40 minute bus ride away from downtown and we had a dinner to go to tonight.

It's been a nice couple of days break so far. Did some sightseeing and took a lot of photos at the Pike Place Market. Since the weather was so great yesterday, we also took a nice boat cruise around Elliott Bay. It was a great day to be on a boat, just relaxing, taking in the sights and listening to some stories and history. Relaxed a lot today and finished reading Harry Potter 7. (Quite content and I think it's the best one of the series). Good family time. Excellent shrimp rolls and good salmon and nice clean air.

Need to be up early in the morning. Good night!

Panda Meals

RCSP from San Diego Zoo, November 2006. It was so relaxing to just hang out at the zoo and watch the pandas and other animals going about their daily routines. It's the type of vacation I think I need!

Lake Effect

It was a really mild day in October last year.

I went to Rockefeller Center on my lunch break. The Fire Department was having some special event, teaching people about fire safety and giving out red plastic hats. People flocked to Rockefeller Center, and anywhere outdoors, to enjoy the pleasant sunny weather.

I miss being able to leave the office during lunch to take strolls around the city. Of course, I could still do it, but I would have to bundle up and put on my hat and scarf and mittens, and brave the bitter wind. I would probably be frozen in a couple of blocks. I've survived worse winters (3 years in Chicago!) but somehow wearing work clothes just makes the winter feel a little bit colder (if that makes any sense). So the past 2 days I have gotten soup from the cafe in our building. Business at lunch up there seems to be pretty busy, so I wonder if everyone else is doing the same.

The lake effect snow that they are showing on the Weather Channel seems brutal. So much snow, so much wind, and neverending. They have a table with the measurements of the "NY Lake Ontario Snow." The first thing I noticed: there's a Mexico, NY? I just googled it and the little map that showed up showed that it's near... New Haven, NY. I thought when I enlarged it, it was going to show Chicago, NY as the other city nearby. But Google doesn't seem to be able to pull up a "Chicago, NY" so maybe one doesn't exist.

I have been slowly reading my SDZ Zoonooz newsletter and it makes me miss San Diego. It was so nice to just wake up, not have anything to do and to spend hours at the zoo or the Wild Animal Park. Probably the most relaxing trip since the cruise we took over 3L spring break (over a year and a half earlier). A big plus that it was warm. Warm trips are good. Unless it's like a ski trip or something, I think I am inclined to make my winter vacations warm ones.

Sleep soon since I have to be at work early (for me) tomorrow. Good night!

[Note: I vaguely remembered blogging about this trip to Rockefeller Center before: here's the entry. Turns out I also posted pictures. The same picture. Now, that, I did not remember. Oh well. Cannot dictate what the RCSP chooses.]

Gardens

The randomly chosen photo of the day. From Yuyuan Garden in Shanghai about a week and a half ago. I love the balcony designs and the red lantern decorations. Reminds me that I still have to take more photos off the camera. Somehow it's only 7:30, yet it feels like 10 pm.

Bamboo Flute

November 2006, San Diego Zoo

I haven't posted a randomly chosen photo in a while. Our November trip to San Diego was so relaxing and it was great to see our panda friends so often. I loved watching Bai Yun eating bamboo like she is here. With the big rod pieces, she would crack them and you could hear the cracking noise all the way across the exhibit. I miss hanging out with the pandas.

Curry Puffs

It cost 35 SGD for our admission package to the lounge. But being able to curl up in a huge armchair to sleep, eat as many yummy chicken curry puffs as you want, take a hot shower, relax with a bowl of chicken congee, look over the balcony at the airport's orchid garden, leave to buy postcards without having to carry your super heavy backpack and step right out of the door into the warm Singapore air and the sunflower garden is just priceless. Especially when you're exhausted and not feeling well. Changi Airport may have a huge mall, but this little stop was really what we needed on this layover. So nice and refreshing.