09.18.07[kids with cameras] there's a new photo project by national geographic, in which 15 san francisco teens capture chinatown: kid's-eye view of chinatown. if you like these types of photo projects as much as i do, then i highly recommend netflixing born into brothels. born into brothels is a truly moving documentary that captures the not-so-obvious beauty in calcutta's red light district through the viewfinders of children. i came across this film a few years ago and think that it's worth sharing.
08.22.07[better than the blue box]
08.21.07[when in rome] go razorbacks! sports are a huge thing here... and while i'm not really into sports. i am very into cute logos and graphic design. (which is why i LOVED visiting japan.) i call this little guy a "battlepig" although technically he's a razorback hog and mascot for university of arkansas. so now my car's bumper is adorned with a "soooie." cute huh? ask s to do the razorback cheer the next time you see us. heh.
08.20.07[baked today] for our one year anniversary, we're going to give each other plane tickets. we'll return to our honeymoon suite at the kahala and eat the top tier of our wedding cake using our guestplate... very gingerly.
08.19.07[devil's den] exploring bat caves along the 1.5 mile devil's den hike.
08.18.07[109th grape festival] a mischievous afternoon of paparazzo carnival shots sadly reaffirm a southern stereotype.
08.13.07[just married... several months ago] our marriage certificate has finally arrived! now, i begin the arduous task of changing my name on every legal document, account, policy, licensure, loyalty program, fund, registration, lein, and subscription that i've collected over the past 28 years. while i'm ecstatic to do so, this whole process is a pain-in-the-butt. supposedly starting with your social security card and driver's license renders everything else as simple... but there's just an overwhelming volume of things to change when you've had your name since birth. and it's not just your own documents that need udpating but also other people's wills and trusts. and, if you don't properly notify the credit bureaus then they won't link up the strong credit built during your single years with your new married name. times like these, i can see why some women keep their maiden names. at least this will keep me busy for the next few days... instead of obsessing about you-know-what.
08.10.07[waterfall repelling] here are some pics from our honeymoon in costa rica, courtesy of our new canadian friend, i.
08.01.07[non-productive time] domestic life puts a lot of time on my hands without being very cerebral. example: have you been simpsonized? just upload a photo and kang and kodos will take care of the rest.
07.22.07[stereotypes]
... dispelling and confirming a few myths and legends
about life in northwest arkansas.
God-fearing folk:TRUE,
there are literally churches of every denomination (of
Christianity) every 2 miles. and many businesses are closed on
sunday mornings. there are no synagogues, temples, or mosques in the area
though.
big hair, big nails, heavy makeup, obesity:FALSE,
people here look just like people in so cal. there are a
surprising number of tanning salons here. (i thought that UV
damage was so over, guess i'm wrong.) and most people are very
fit.
prejudice, racism abound:FALSE, nobody has looked
at us any differently or assumed we didn't speak english or (my
personal DISfavorite) assumed we were immigrants by
asking us "where are you from?" ironically, we consistently
experienced stares and s was frequently called "bruce" by uneducated idiots while on the east coast.
**amendment: TRUE, the day after i posted the above... an
older
gentleman not only asked me, "and what country are you from?",
BUT he had the audacity to ask it using a tone like the kind you
would use when asking a small child what flavor of ice cream
they want... arg!!! i could only reply with a forced smile, "the
united states." (duh.) arg, i
posted too soon! i'm sure he didn't mean to be rude... i guess he's just ignorant.**
southern hospitality: TRUE, everyone is SO nice here...
with the "please's" and the "thank you's" and the "ladies
first's" and the "sir's/maam's."
blue laws: DOUBLE-TRUE, we live in a dry county. so none
of the markets even sell liquor. you'd literally have to drive
to an adjacent county to find a liquor store. this isn't a big
deal for us, but we will miss great microbrews like john
harvard's, in boston or
pyramid or
jupiter, both in berkeley.
americana: TRUE, there are a lot of star-spangled banners
waving proudly here and the papers brim with articles on the war...
but being a red state, they're very pro-war and pro-bush; which
is so opposite from the bay area.
homogenous census: FALSE, i feel that it's actually more
diverse here than where my family lives in sd. we've seen asian and
hispanic people everywhere we've gone. although, we've literally only
seen like 2 black people.
limited restaurant selection: TRUE and FALSE, i was
surprised to see that there are tons of different ethnic
restaurants here. there's every type of asian (except korean),
mexican, hawaiian, and even boba (tapioca pearl) tea.
unfortunately there's no greek, indian, or italian (unless you
count olive garden, which we don't.) and, admittedly the ethnic
places tend to be americanized. on a related note, instead of calling the final
bill a "check" they call it a "ticket" or "claim ticket."
deep-fried, double-fried, chicken-fried: FALSE, while you
can get grits with your breakfast, we haven't run into that
deep-fried typecasting typical of southern cuisine. there's
fried food here, but no more than anywhere else. we haven't come across black-eyed peas, collard greens, cornbread, or biscuits either. bbq, now that's another story.
southern accents: TRUE and FALSE, many people have a
subtle southern intonation, but it is nothing as exaggerated as
the drawl of
cletus. and besides, we're the ones with the accents
here.
small town feel: TRUE, half of the intersections are
not traffic-light controlled, instead that have that middle-turn-lane deal. we had to pick up our recycling
bin and establish our water service in person. one can drop off
their income taxes at the dmv office, if they choose. and there
is only one area code for our local area.
big trucks: TRUE and FALSE, there are tons of trucks and
SUVs on the road... but is this really different from any american suburb? however, there are not those
crazy monster trucks with rifle racks and rabid dogs riding
shotgun. (sorry to disappoint you.)
domestics only: FALSE, there are lots of american
cars but there are also lots of japanese cars... german cars are rare
here, and
korean cars are non-existent.
land is dirt-cheap: TRUE, our house is huge (over 2400
sqft on a ranch-style floorplan with upgrades throughout), the
roads are spacious, and everything is very spread out. this is like 'night' to the 'day' of california and hawaii congestion. (ps: since people have been asking -- that red shoe is our rental car and we are only renting the house. we do not plan on purchasing a house out here.)
no traffic: FALSE, darn... i was really hoping for
unobstructed roads
humidity: TRUE, this means frizzy hair for me, but at
least lush green landscapes and a nice view. (it's almost as
humid as hawaii.) our landscaper informed us that it drizzles
every morning, hence the dew, so the lawns stay green without
any deliberate watering.
big ol' bugs: FALSE,
i did see a bug that looked exactly like a blade
of grass... so i've made it a note NOT to lay out on our whopping lawn...
as inviting as it is. and there are fireflies, bees, and butterflies in our neighborhood. but we haven't seen those big juicy bugs anywhere. frankly, i'd hate to run into something bigger than those b52 cockroaches in hawaii... the ca-razy ones, that are the size of tennis balls and crawl up nine stories of drainpipe to assault one bitty stray crumb on your kitchen floor.
country music rules the
dial: TRUE and FALSE, there is a prevalence of both country music and
pop-music stations on the radio. playlists are a paltry nine songs deep.
there's no alternative, house, or
anything with an edge. guess it's mp3s for us.
don't ask, don't tell: TRUE?, i'm not entirely sure on this one... but
until proven otherwise, i wouldn't recommend expressing your "individuality" among this God-fearing flock.
confederate flags and the klan: FALSE?, we haven't seen
any.... but you better believe that we'll be out of here faster
than you can whitewash a fence, if we ever wake up to a burning
cross on our yard.
town name declared by watertower: TRUE, we also saw a
billboard stating "it's your watershed, so take care of
it." no clue what a watershed is nor what that message is all about.
it's funny anyway.
07.22.07[relocation and so cal] we've been in nwa for a few days now. it's definitely better than what i expected from all the stereotypes seeded in my brain long ago by popular media's portrayal of the region. and, being here i realize how close-minded, supposedly liberal and free-thinking, people can be. (specifically those who disparage places they've never been.) we should all be fortunate to have chances in life to grow beyond our little worlds and open our eyes.
(look! mark has found work as a spokescow)
our last few so cal days were spent with friends and family. we
also saw the dead sea
scrolls which are currently on display at the natural
history museum in san diego.
married life is great. it actually feels the same as unmarried life, except
we're together 24/7... which is swonderful!!
07.12.07[the
last few days in nor cal]
were spent
being hypnotized by a crepe in rockridge, going on the
sharfenberger tour in berkeley, checking out the toy section in
the
tar-jé, and assessing two fins
up for
harry potter.
07.09.07[mmm....
squishee]
our cupholder is quite content
07.05.07[
update] so much has happened over the past few months. the biggest thing of course is that s and i tied the knot at an intimate 40 person beach wedding at the
kahala resort on a blessed evening with an auspicious and beautiful, blue-moonrise. we received many compliments on our little affair, and even a few "this is the most memorable/beautiful wedding i've ever been to"'s! (i guess people are supposed to say that.) anyway, this is why they say, "the smaller the wedding, the greater the joy!" the celebration continued as the days to follow included introducing our friends to our favorite beaches and secret body boarding spot, filling up at local restaurants, our one-day anniversary party at
pearl, and
the legendary
halekulani brunch.
(photo credit: chrissy lambert)
after spending weeks in the most southwestern point of the US, we red-eyed our way northeast to attend s's graduation from
hbs, and visit boston and
maine with the folks. several lobsters, microbrews, and a fenway park tour later... we travelled back for loose-end tying and goodbye parties during a one week pit stop in california.
then as soon as we could repack, s and i jetted to costa rica (la fortuna/arenal, monteverde, quepos/manuel antonio) for the best honeymoon ever!! we went on rainforest, cloudforest, volcano, and seaside jungle hikes, where we spied ketzels, dolphins, monkeys, crocodiles, crabs, hummingbirds, various insects and plantlife among gourgeous backdrops. we also went white water rafting, waterfall repelling, zip-lining across canyons (500m runs between mountains!), horseback riding, snorkeling, and catamaran-cruising. ahhh... it was wonderful.
now we're back in nor cal, getting organized to relocate to ozark-adjancent
bentonville later this month. (i'll expose my own prior ignorance by admitting that working in a healthcare bubble, i hadn't heard of bentonville until last year. but, if you've ever picked up a business mag or the wsj in your life, then you might guess exactly why we're moving there.)
we're enjoying our extended time off by going into the city to eat falafel and finally visit the
asian art museum, play tennis, rock-climb, maintain our tans... and search for all the "sleepy seeds" in "spongebob squarepants: creature from the krusty krab." all this fun and unemployment is gingerly squeezed between coordinating the shipment of our car, finishing our 'wedding thank you cards,' and planning our friend go-sees during our upcoming roadtrip down the golden state toward san diego. along the way we'll satisfy our nerdish leanings by sipping squishees purchased from the burbank
kwik-e-mart (7/11 converted for the upcoming
simpsons movie.)
03.25.07[
sfmoma]
an exhibit of
henry wessel's real estate photos has inspired me to publish my own
growing collection of themed photographs.
03.03.07[clayton]
just past the mount diablo state
park, where luxury homes are planted in country club courses crawled
by upper middle class suburban dwellers in sweater vests and golf cleats...
there are actually llamas, ponies, and ostriches... who knew?
02.16.07
- 02.19.07[boston
weekend
recap]
our grand tahoe/reno weekend plans fell through when s's
flight was cancelled due to inclement weather. so, being the
ever flexible couple we site59'd
a last minute fare for me to head east instead. a few hours
after booking the fare, i rushed home from work, packed a
carry-on, and boarded a red-eye to be in boston by friday
morning prepared for an impromptu and exciting weekend.
after eating eggs, toast, bacon, and corned hash at the breakfast club and resting up, we went to the museum of science,
which is by far my favorite museum in the whole world! yes art
is great, the uffizi, louvre, and vatican are truly amazing
collections... but i love how science museums are interactive.
and the geek in me appreciates how science literally explains
how the world works. yup, fascinating. in addition to the
regular staples, the museum of science currently has an
animation exhibit where s and i laughed ourselves silly
break dancing and posing in time-lapse videos and creating
voice-overs. (if only we had brought a camera... our videos are
definitely youtube worthy.) we also watched
alaska: spirit of the wild at the
mugar omni theater.i now forsee an alaska trip in the near future. after the
museum we shopped at the
prudential center for wedding bands. it turns out that
it's difficult to match a simple solitaire engagement setting,
but we found a band that provides a perfect complement. we still
need to find just the right band for s. his preference is
titanium. that night we took out from
basta pasta! i was so happy to finally try basta pasta
as s has been raving every since discovering this italian hole
in the wall...and rightfully so.
on saturday, we woke up early to beat the crowd
at
chung shin yaun for taiwanese dim sum. (soy bean milk,
you tiao, shao bing and the like... not har gow, siao mai...
confused? no worries,
educate yourself). after lunch we took a trip to the
samuel adams brewery, which was founded by a hbs alum,
for education and samples. learning about brewing was like
revisiting chemistry and microbiology classes. in the tasting
room, i found that i like the seasonal white ale and seasonal double
bock the best! we even met some tourists from pennsylvania who
paparazzi'd us with the promise to email us pics! for dinner we
headed to
whiskey's on boylston, a highly recommended sports bar
that played more music videos (hooray!) than actual sports. that night we
stayed in, which was more than welcome since i couldn't imagine another beer outing.
sunday was spent hanging around cambridge like
we've done on so many occasions. i love spending time with my s!
and he'll be here (weather permitting) this weekend. hopefully
we can dust off our boards for a belated tahoe trip.
02.04.07[kp
5k fun run]
01.13.06[
bon
voyage]
we've returned from paris, vienna, and salsburg for
about a week now. travelblog and photo albums to come!! (and
for those who were wondering... yup, we're official! and now the fun really begins.)
12.08.06[m&p
go to nssn]
we barely made it... but we made it! the killers courtesy of
m's camera phone.
11.23.06[
thanksgiving]
last year was irvine, this year was
home-cookin' at my parent's house.
11.11.06
[cannoli
power]
spent veteran's weekend in massachusetts. namely,
new bedford where s, d, and i explored the
new bedford whaling museum and ate fish chowder at
davy's locker, amongst the cute, local,
early-bird-special feasting senior citizens. plus boston,
where morning dim sum in chinatown was followed by a
walk to mike's pastry in north end
and afternoon spent at faneuil hall. while at faneuil hall, we
serenaded a 15 year old birthday girl on a scavenger
hunt with her friends and contemplated battling
the dance troupe on the square with our fierce asian
math skills.
10.13.06 - 10.16.06[
c&m's
wedding]
the best part about hawaiian weddings (and
celebrations) is that they pick and choose the best
parts of each of the many cultures found on the
island... unconventional twists on paper cranes,
firecrackers (bubble wrap), a ukelele wedding march,
"delicious-delicious" food, leis, and a strong family
emphasis. the gods applauded c&m's wedding with a big
island rumble.
[six
weeks]
in pictures... beginning with one day after body boarding in
waimanalo when s and i stopped by the
halona blowhole, which over looks
makapuu. the hole wasn't blowing that day, but it was a great
view nonetheless.
the flat
ala moana
beach, with eye level views of waikiki and
diamond head.
ironically, this was our first trip to ala moana beach, other
than for 4th of july fireworks, despite its close proximity. (we usually frequent our favorite
spot in kahala or the previously little-known lanikai.)
ah...
longhi's.
and, you can't beat breakfast buffets at the pagoda hotel, a kitschy-awesome restaurant floating atop a koi
pond.
