Silly Cat

A little while ago, we received a shipment from my Aunt in a very large box with a bunch of packing peanuts. Hilarity ensued (I'll let the pictures speak for themselves):


And my personal favorite (apparently packing peanuts are YUMMY!):

Excuses....

Not that very many people read this blog or anything, but I thought I'd write a mea culpa about why I have been so lax about writing. (A bit ironic no? writing about not writing...hmmm....must think on that some more)

Well, I haven't had much to say these days, as not much has been going on in my life. One would think, with a bunch of free time, tons of (surprisingly) good weather, and generally a world-is-my-oyster time period, a person of moderate creativity could find a way to make something interesting happen. I guess I'm just not one of those people. I've been reading, relaxing, and generally taking stock of my life. I have decided that I have no idea what I want my life to be, and have started setting out to figure out what I really want out of this strange world called life. I know I want to work, I know I want to contribute, and I know I want to use my (not small, if I do say so myself) skills dealing with China. But that's about where it ends.

So I have been silent as a ghost. I do believe, unless something momentous happens, that I may be silent for a bit to come as well - as I am not one for posting my innermost thoughts on the web for posterity to read. If you, dear reader, happen to stumble upon this post in your wanderings though the web, know that I am here delving into the strange world that is my dreams for the future...whatever those are. But for the moment, I may only say hello occasionally to my web-friends (whomever you may be)...

In the meantime, I will be blogging quite extensively here, as I train for a century bike ride (109 miles to be precise) with my other half, which will occur in Tuscon, AZ in November. I'll be raising money for a great cause, so stop by here if you would be so kind and help a cancer surviver.

Road Trip to a Great Wedding

Like many people these days, I’m amazed at how expensive flying has become. Day was, you could fly from Washington, DC to Chicago for about $120-$150. Unfortunately, those days are long gone. But we had to go to Chicago for our friend Catherine’s wedding, so we decided to take a road trip. We drove from Washington, DC through Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana, to Chicago, IL. There were some great sights along the way, including this really cool wind farm in Somerset, PA:

Given the amount of time we had on the road, Doug and I had a bunch of time to discuss all sorts of issues, including how cool an old-fashioned drive-in called Swensen’s is (read about our meal there, and other thoughts on our road food on my other blog here):

Also discussed was why this truck was hauling an electronic bull across Indiana, seen at a rest stop somewhere on the Indiana Turnpike:
But most importantly of course was seeing our great friend Catherine get married after 10+ years with John. The ceremony was lovely, with an emphasis on reading really wonderful poems and quotes and such (I have to admit I did tear up a bit a couple of times). We hung out with a few friends, blew some bubbles outside Bond Chapel at the University of Chicago, goofed around a bit, and generally had fun celebrating with our friend:

Kayaking in Connecticut, and Waterfalls in New York City

This week I am in New York City, taking advantage of the fact that Doug is at a conference in Manhattan to wander around the city where we may end up before the end of the year. Although we both would rather be back on the West Coast, life, the universe, and everything, is conspiring to make us believe we will likely end up here in New York before long. Since his conference was immediately preceded by the Fourth of July long weekend, we decided to visit our long-lost friends who moved to South Norwalk, Connecticut in March. They have a lovely two bedroom little house with a back deck abutting a hillside (to read about our fun grilling on the deck check out my post here), and we spent a relaxing weekend drinking wine and chatting about life.

By Sunday we were all ready to get out and about, and had a great time renting sea kayaks in Rowayton, CT and paddling out to the Long Island Sound past the most ridiculously large houses you’ve ever seen. I don’t have any pictures of the kayaking adventure, because I didn’t bring my waterproof camera, but here’s a picture of Rowayton looking out towards the sound past all the adorable boats:

We got into New York City on Monday afternoon, had some great Indian food at Tiffin Wallah (how can you beat $6/person for a delicious, authentic, buffet?), then relaxed in our lovely hotel room with a view of downtown and the Brooklyn Bridge in the evening and caught up on our sleep.

Today I was on my own as Doug attended the conference. For the first time, I decided to do something really touristy (but not TOO touristy), and take a boat cruise to see the new installation art piece called Waterfalls. Funded by the Public Art Fund, it is a series of four artificial waterfalls created over the river, including one under the Brooklyn Bridge and one on Governor’s Island. I went early in the day to avoid the hordes, and it was well worth it, as I was one of only 10 people on a huge boat to see the falls. I am always intrigued by large-scale installation art, and found it to be really lovely, although I found the one under the Brooklyn Bridge to be the most organic and with the best sense of place. Here are a few photos from the morning:

This afternoon I wandered up to Chelsea Market, and was heartily disappointed by what I saw. I guess it’s a factor of the changing costs associated with the neighborhood, but what was supposed to be a great place to buy meat, fish, and vegetables directly from vendors, apparently has lost much of that character. On the bright side, it does appear they are trying to turn it into something resembling the Ferry Building in San Francisco (which I adore). This evening, Doug and I will be trying to get in to Tia Pol for dinner, about which I will blog over here tomorrow.

Fun Quiz

I'm part of a group that sends out China-related business information, and fortunately they also insert some levity into the situation as well. A link to a website was included in the most recent email. I read it and got a huge kick out of it. Anyone who has spent time in China is alternately terrified, annoyed, or amused, by the apparent lack of any meaningful logic to the way people drive. I have generally concluded that it is survival of the fittest, i.e., whomever gets there first, and woe the person who tries to buck that system!

I'd suggest you take the driving quiz...it's quite amusing!

Fun with Tags from Other Blogs

So…I’m new to this whole tagging thing, but I’ve been tagged by The Tragic Optimist, and since she’s such a great friend, I’ll indulge her. Plus I guess I haven’t blogged in like 2 months so I should get off my rear end and say something, lest you all think I’m a total loser!

I guess the tagging thing works like this: you are posed a list of questions, which you subsequently answer in your blog, then tag some other people. Ugh…answering questions…

Here goes nothing:

What was I doing 10 years ago?

• Exactly what I am doing right now (weird huh? It’s like I’ve come full circle):
  
• being unemployed
• trying to discover where I fit in in the world
• trying to motivate myself to get back in shape
• Graduating college and learning how to live in the “real world”

What are 5 things on my to-do list for today?

• Work out then go to the pool
• Cook something really yummy for dinner
• Apply to two jobs
• Try not to melt in the blistering heat
• Update my blogs

Snacks I enjoy….

• Chips & Salsa or Guacamole
• Wine (is that a snack?)
• Blueberries
• Potato Chips

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

• Buy a little place on the beach somewhere
• Endow a charity to help fund education in rural China
• Pay off all my debts and the debts of my family
• Travel around the world doing voluntourism and learning how to cook in kitchens of wonderful people everywhere
• Move to San Francisco and open a restaurant to help at-risk teenagers learn a trade

Places I have lived:

• San Diego (the first 18 years...)
  
• Northfield, MN (2 addresses, 4 years)
• Minneapolis, MN (2 addresses, 3 years)
• Arlington, VA (3 addresses in the same building, 2 1/2 years)
  
• Washington, DC (in our first owned home, 2003 - present)
  
• Beijing, China (2 addresses, once in college, once at a homestay)
• Maastricht, the Netherlands (in college)
  

Jobs I have had:

• Office Assistant, Financial Aid Office at Carleton
• Barrista
• Cashier
• Project Analyst
• Marketing Manager
• International Trade Analyst for the US Government
• Independent Consultant

Bloggers I’m tagging for this meme…

• David, Angela & Rowan
  
• All About Charlotte
• Gwinn in MN
• You…since I really don’t have any other blog-friends :-)

Hope I did ok on my first meme....

Save the Honeybees?

I just saw the strangest thing....

It's an ad from Haagen Dazs, which I saw for the first time on TV today. I guess by now we've all heard about hive collapse disorder (bees are disappearing at an alarming rate and no one seems to know why as of yet...). It's a little odd to think that we've reached the point where an ice cream company is making commercial to save the bees! Then I think about it some more, and I wonder how soon it will be until we have a really serious problem in our food supply due to not enough honeybees (to say nothing of the crisis right now due to food prices in the developing world).

Just some food for thought.

Oh, I'm back in DC for those who are wondering...