Warning: Multiple Posts Ahead

Not that anyone really cares, but I owe quite a few posts. In the past 3 weekends I have hit LA, Hong Kong + Tokyo, and Nassau (the Bahamas). I promise the corresponding posts are coming... I just need to be home long enough to type them (and upload the incriminating photos).

Felix the Cat

Felix

Now I have two kids...


Tobey & Felix

What have I gotten myself into...

It's All in the Wording

Since I'm not up to posting any tidbits of my recent adventures (non-traveling, dating-game-discussing, car-towing type adventures), I would like to leave this airline article for your enjoyment...


The Associated Press
Wednesday, August 9, 2006; 2:03 AM

SAO PAULO, Brazil -- The door of a TAM airlines plane fell off minutes after takeoff Tuesday and plunged into a supermarket's concrete awning, the airline said.

The Fokker-100 plane, carrying 79 Rio de Janeiro-bound passengers, returned to Sao Paulo's Congonhas Airport less than 20 minutes after departing when the door "unexpectedly" flew open and "detached" itself from the plane, TAM Linhas Aereas SA said in a statement.

The passengers continued their flight to Rio on another TAM aircraft, the airline said. No one was injured on the plane or ground.

The cause of the accident was being investigated, TAM said.


I can't decide which part I like better - the way they describe the freakin' door coming off of a plane as "when the door 'unexpectedly' flew open (as opposed to a time you "expect" the door to fly open in mid-air) and 'detached' itself (just so you're clear - the door made this choice on its own)," or the fact that the 79 passengers decided to get on another TAM plane after that experience (I'm sure a door detaching is in no way an indication of the airline's commitment to safety and maintenance).

Overall, it is just a shining example of what some good PR and solid journalism can do for any respectable, door-losing airline. I love it.

Travis and Ivan and Dimitry, Oh My!

I know I've said it before, and I'll say it again... I always have the best time when I'm hanging out with Andrew and Jason. This past weekend was no exception.

I got to their place from Orange County at 11pm, and Andrew and I went to Popstarz. Although we missed having Jason with us, we did get to see an awesome live performance from Frenchie (of American Idol fame) and dance to SexyBack.

Saturday, we ate at LaLa's and then headed on over to El Capitan for a showing of The Little Mermaid, complete with live Ariel and Sebastian appearances. Then, we relaxed at home for a little bit before heading on over to Universal CityWalk for the main event of the weekend... the So You Think You Can Dance Live Tour!

Yes, I realize how this post already looks like I a pop culture mad lib, and I know how I probably sound like a 12 year old girl right now, but I have no problem defending my love of the So You Think You Can Dance show. Besides Project Runway, it is the only reality show I think is worthwhile (although I am considering watching this season of Survivor because the first episode was just filled with so many horribly terrific moments).

Anyways, the So You Think You Can Dance Live show consisted of performances of the best dances from the show with a few new dance numbers sprinkled in. I couldn't help wondering exactly how many truckloads of moola they would be raking in from this tour, because it probably only cost $1 to produce. There were no elaborate sets (no sets at all, really), the video clips and the dancers' wardrobes were the same as the tv broadcasts', and the dancers did all the work... as hosts, performers, and stage hands. The three of us enjoyed it though, especially since we went for free, thanks to a lack of ticket buying coordination and a surprising number of crazed fans bidding on eBay for our extra tickets to this sold out show.

We ended the night at an Irish pub. It was the location of Andrew's friend Missy's birthday celebration, which is apparently, as I understand it, some kind of national or religious holiday that requires several nights of rituals involving a crown and lots of booze. One of my favorite people, Mr. Brad Butler was there. He actually came to see me. Yeah! Everyone loves Brad. It's impossible to keep a straight face around him. Plus, he gave us a ride in his snazzy new car back to our fantastic but distance-challenged parking spot. Who doesn't love that?


Molly Malones

Anyways, after arriving home sometime around 3am, I strategized with a sleepy Andrew about my flight options while he burned me some lovely tunes. In the end, I decided to be hardcore and just drive straight to the airport to catch the 5:50am flight instead of sleeping. That's how I roll (although I have to admit that my reaction times might not have been the best... I found myself thinking, "oh, there's my exit" like a minute before my brain would tell my arms to turn the steering wheel). Good times.

It was a perfect weekend - full of dancing, laughing, tv and movie watching, sightseeing, and good eatin' with the best people. My favorite moment of the weekend has to be the Hollywood & Highland escalator mindbender. I love how Jason was caught trying to go down, Andrew was trying to go backwards, and I was just wondering what the hell was going on :) You guys are the best!

Can't Keep Me Down

Not that you guys didn't already know, but let's recap what has happened lately.

I...

... hit a Porsche (He was parked where no one has been parked for over a year.)

... had my A/C go out, which required the entire unit to be replaced (The first night, I found myself sitting in Kathryn's car in the garage saying to Andrew over the phone, "If I stop talking for a while, call the police because it means we have passed out from carbon monoxide poisoning.")

... and broke into the volunteer services office at the hospital (Too long of a story for this post. Basically, I was not aware that the entire operation shut down promptly at 8:30pm, so when my dedication to my gift shop post caused me to stay later, I was locked out. My subsequent effort to retrieve my things from the locker was like a heist comedy... complete with big ring of keys, deafening alarm, and an accomplice to keep the door propped open long enough for me to escape.)

The only thing I find remarkable about these recent events is that everyone involved has been unbelievably nice... to the point where I'm starting to wonder if our water supply is tainted with crack. People I barely knew were nice enough to offer to let me stay at their place while my A/C got fixed, although I ultimately opted to stick it out for the 4 days it took (I would just stay out till 11pm every night).

Also, both the car and A/C repairman remembered me, so I got a discount. The car repairman remembers me from 8 years ago because I had to visit him 3 times that year. That makes me sound like the classic example of a horrible Asian woman driver, but to clarify, OTHER PEOPLE HIT ME WHILE I WAS PARKED. Okay, so hitting the Porsche was 100% my fault. But, even the guy whose Porsche I hit acted like it was the best thing that ever happened to him. I'm just saying, if I had a brand new 911 Carrera, I would not respond with "Oh no problem! It's not a big deal at all! Thanks for telling me..." in a super cheerful voice after someone cracked my tail light.

All in all, I just can't stop laughing. It's not pleasant to see $3500 go down the toilet in a span of 2 weeks, but I have to be thankful that I'm lucky enough to have that kind of money to spare. Besides, I can't help thinking that this is karma's way of making me pay for all the scheming I had to do to get to those two World Cup games.

Let's just hope I've paid in full now.

Catch Me If You Can

Finally. One night to rest after 2 1/2 weeks of non-stop working and socializing from sun up to sun down (way down).

The whole "just say yes" philosophy has turned me into a social butterfly. Nowadays, I can't get a moment to myself, I'm running from event to event - getting home after 11pm every night of the week and staying up until the wee hours of the morning on the weekends. How many events am I going to? Let's just say I've had to cut my volunteer time on Monday nights at the hospital short for the past 2 weeks because I've had parties to go to... that's right... on Monday nights.

Strangely, I think it all started with me saying yes to going to dinner with a coworker and her family. After dinner at Collina's, we were all sitting around her apartment when her sister randomly said, "You know what? I have always wanted to get in a fight with someone." Instantly, my eyes widened and I turned to her and said, "Oh my god! Me too!" No, we didn't proceed to get into some kind of lingerie pillow fight. I just got excited because I understood exactly what she meant. We both want the opportunity to "throw down"... to get in a real fight with someone where punches are thrown... to just act on our anger and aggression for once. The point is, it's just nice to find that you have something in common with someone else, especially when it seems completely random and unexpected.

Now, I still haven't really found anyone just like me, and I still don't fit in to any group, but I'm enjoying having those "me too" moments. Yesterday, I had an "Oh my god. We think so alike" moment with a coworker when we kept on finishing each other's thoughts. And, today, another coworker/friend was riding in my car (on our way to the first lunch party held at my house) when we discovered that we had the exact same radio stations set in the exact same order (no, they are not in numerical order). None of it is mind-blowing, just fun.

All of these experiences have made me realize that I've been acquainted with so many people for years, but I'm only starting to get to know them. For example, Saturday was the first time I have ever hung out with my neighbors inside their house, and this is after living next to them for 3 years. I guess it's never too late to start.

The more people I meet, the smaller the world becomes. Last night, I volunteered at the hospital before taking Tobey to a coworker's house for a doggie playdate. When I got to the gift shop, I walked behind the counter, and a doctor checking out at the register looked at me and said, "You look familiar." Right. I figured he probably had me confused with someone else, but he kept looking at me. After a minute or two, he said, "I know, I sat next to you on the flight back from Germany." Oh my god. He was right. We sat next to each other on the flight from Amsterdam to Houston at the end of my second crazy World Cup trip. We didn't have some kind of long, 6 hour bonding conversation either (although I have had those before), just a nice 10 minute casual chat, but apparently that was enough for him to remember me, and here we are running into each other in a hospital gift shop. Life sure is funny like that.

None of this may be particularly interesting to you because you already live life to the max. But, this is all new for me. I'm late to the game, but I'm here now, and I'm going to see how long I can last. In fact, I plan on upping the ante and throwing in some physical training and enrichment classes as soon as I can spare some time. I can't wait!

Obligatory fuzzy party photos below:

Friends of coworkers...


Friends of people I volunteer with...


The first real party at my house...


And Tobey's first doggie playdate...

He Got the Brains

Brian, you're ridiculous. A 780 on your GMAT? And you're mad because if you had been paying attention to time it would have been a perfect score? I hate you.

You might have the brains, but at least I have...

Wait, what genes did I get now?