I have never shopped so much in my life. The plan for today was to visit Bangkok's famous Chatuchak weekend market (JJ) in the AM, and then go see a floating market in the afternoon. We'd heard all sorts of tales of this market, and all our books said to get there early as it gets too hot and crowded later. So we set the alarm, and once we'd had breakfast, paid for the next night in the hotel, walked the 1/2 mile to the skytrain, gone to the end of the line and walked to the market, it was 8:45. We arrived and went in one entrance and we weren't really sure of what kind of strategy we should use to get through. After all, JJ is the largest market in the world. At first we wanted to do a quick walk-through of it all, but we quickly realized that a) we would never see the whole thing, and b) we should probably buy what we want when we see it since we may not find our way back to that booth again. It started out hot outside, even early, so we opted for the interior stalls covered with makeshift roofs. Some stalls were still setting up when we arrived. We started buying. We searched probably 5 stalls minimum before purchasing any item, and then bargained our way down for less (read that linked article. It is EXACTLY on the money hehe). We visited hundreds upon hundreds of stalls, and walked by many more. At 12:30 we realized there was no chance we were getting out of there any time soon, so we stopped to eat some lunch.
At the table next to us sat some Australians, and next to them, 3 middle aged southern American men who fit all American stereotypes to a T. We all had fun talking and swapping travel stories, and when I got up to go pay, one of them paid for our lunch! (granted, it was only like $5, but it was sweet)
Once we'd regained some energy, we went back for more. I think even David was having a good time, even though all the guys at lunch kept telling him he was an angel for putting up with us shopping! Early afternoon brought more heat and more people, and we eventually felt smothered by the quantity of people and the thick air in the stalls, but that didn't stop us! I really wanted to find where the fruit and flower stalls were since I'd seen and heard it was great for photo ops, but we never did find it. By the time we left the JJ market, we had each purchased a backpack full of stuff, and were holding a couple shopping bags too. Our legs were weak, and our bodies were ready to collapse. Leah and DZ may have bought about $10-$15 less than me, but we certainly all did our fair share of shopping. Here's even a list of a bunch of the stuff and their costs:
A Thai Silk Robe - 400 B
Some souvenir gifts - 200 B
4 Skirts - 600 B
Rose string lights - 300 B
Lamp - 130 B
Wall Decoration - 150 B
A couple hair clips - 80 B
2 Pillow covers - 250B
Total purchased - about 2100 baht = $70.
We came home and showered off the days work and refreshed before dinner. We went to a restaurant called "Cabbages and Condoms" for dinner. The Profits from C&C are all used towards promoting Aids/HIV awareness, and educate about family planning. The person who created it has been a huge proponent of education in Thailand, and has apparently made significant strides. The restaurant was really nice, and the food was surprisingly reasonable. They even had free internet afterwards, so I spent a few minutes to write my day 8 blog.
After dinner, we went to the subway station, and took the subway to one of Bangkok's famous rooftop bars. We went to one called the Moon Bar at Vertigo, and it was on top of the 60th floor of a fancy hotel. The bar was so nice that they had a dress code! Leah and I were wearing skirts, but they made DZ change into loaner pants since he was wearing shorts. The bar was really cool, but the prices were ~$10 for a drink. That is WAY more than one would ever expect to pay here, but it was awesome ambiance. DZ got a beer, and Leah and I just enjoyed the view. I was still stuffed from dinner.
Once we went home, we all crashed pretty fast. We were exhausted. But we had a great day.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Thailand Day 9 - Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai is known for their abundance of Thai Cooking classes. We opted to take "the best" one, at the Thai Cookery School. We made six dishes over the course of the day, and were able to eat them all. After course 2, everyone was already full! We made:
It was actually a ton of fun minus the point where I accidentally touched my eye after slicing and cooking with chili peppers. My eye immediately turned bright red and swelled up, and it was incredibly painful. I washed it out, but it took a good hour or two to feel normal again.
Once we were done, we went back to the hostel and picked up our luggage. We hired a taxi (a pickup with seats in the bed) to drive us the 45 minute drive to the top of Doi suthep - the oldest temple and a major landmark for Chiang Mai. We climbed the 400 or so stairs to get to the top, and got to the city overlook. From there we headed to the airport and flew back to bangkok.
Upon arrival in bangkok around midnight, we took a metered taxi (always do this from the airport as the fixed rate often rip you off) to our hostel - "Suk 11" (check out the website link, the place is pretty awesome)
I will write about day 10 later tonight. We're going out now...until later!
Thai Hot And Sour Prawn Soup (Leah and I got veggie broth and Tofu instead of the prawns)
(Tom Yam Goong)
Green Curry With Chicken - mine came out kinda grey instead of green.
(Gaeng Kheo Wan Gai)
Thai Thai Style Fish Cakes - a mix somewhere between gefilte fish and bunuelos. Don't ask. They were good though!
(Tord Man Plaa)
Fried Noodles
(Phad Thai)
(Larb Gai)
Water Chestnuts With
Sugar Syrup And Coconut Milk (Tab Tim Grob)
It was actually a ton of fun minus the point where I accidentally touched my eye after slicing and cooking with chili peppers. My eye immediately turned bright red and swelled up, and it was incredibly painful. I washed it out, but it took a good hour or two to feel normal again.
Once we were done, we went back to the hostel and picked up our luggage. We hired a taxi (a pickup with seats in the bed) to drive us the 45 minute drive to the top of Doi suthep - the oldest temple and a major landmark for Chiang Mai. We climbed the 400 or so stairs to get to the top, and got to the city overlook. From there we headed to the airport and flew back to bangkok.
Upon arrival in bangkok around midnight, we took a metered taxi (always do this from the airport as the fixed rate often rip you off) to our hostel - "Suk 11" (check out the website link, the place is pretty awesome)
I will write about day 10 later tonight. We're going out now...until later!
Friday, May 23, 2008
Thailand day 8 - Chiang Mai - Day Trek
Day 8 began early. We set the alarm and got ready and dressed and had breakfast before the shuttle picked us up at 8:30. We were going on a "1-day trek" which consisted of more individual activities than I could've imagined. We started off the day with the first stop at a butterfly and Orchid farm. It was pretty cool, but neither compared to Botanical or Calloway in Atlanta, but still a nice start. From there we visited our first hilltribe, the Long Neck Karen tribe. In this tribe, it is considered beautiful to have a long neck, and so from the age of 5, all the females put brass rings around their neck, and gradually add more rings as they get older. Most of the tribe lives in Burma, but this smaller portion immigrated here about a year ago. We got some amazing pictures, and I'll post those soon. From there we went Elephant riding. We hopped an elephant, and Leah nearly died of fear. She must've said "oh my god" 30 times in a row as we were descending the first steep hill. A local corrected her and said "no! 'oh my Budda!'" Riding the elephant through the hills, trees, and river was pretty cool, and then when we were done, we fed the elephants some bananas, and then had lunch ourselves. It was a quick buffet lunch, but the food was good. After lunch, we visited the second hilltribe, who had immigrated here 5 years ago by foot from southern China. For the rest of the day we were wet. We first went to the waterfall, where it started raining as soon as we started the walk from the car. by the time we got there, though, the rain had lessened to a drizzle, and we took a dive into the water. Leah and I slid down the natural rock slide, and got a "massage" from the quickly running water in the falls. Soaking, we went back to the van for the short drive to white water rafting. We took a 30-40 minute rafting trip down the river, and although there were not too many rapids, it was pretty fun. The one eyed raft captain had a little thing for leah, and kept throwing her out of the boat. We didn't even get out of the water after the rafting, because we then boarded some bamboo rafts. The river isn't exactly the most pristine, clean river, but it was a nice day out, and we enjoyed the ride. Phew. We had a long day of doing stuff! we all piled into the van for the ride back to the hotel when we got a surprise stop at a place where they make paper out of elephant dung. Yummy.
Tonight we'll hit up the night bazaar again, perhaps for a bit longer than before
Tonight we'll hit up the night bazaar again, perhaps for a bit longer than before
Thailand Days 6 & 7 - Chiang Mai
Day 6:
we spend the AM at the beach, and enjoyed a summer rain while in the water. We went back to the hotel early afternoon and showered and packed. We had lunch in an outdoor cafe (as usual), and headed to the airport. We took 2 flights - from Phuket to Bangkok, and then changed planes to go Bangkok to Chaing Mai.
We arrived in Chiang Mai at about 10:00 pm. All the AirAsia flights have been on time or early, which has been really nice. They're like the southwest Airlines of Asia. Once we got our taxi to drop us off at the hotel, we were confused because it looked closed. it was only 10:15. We tried calling, ringing the doorbell, and no answer. Finally another couple came by who were staying there, and let us in, but said that the hotel owner closed up around 6pm each day, and that they had the same problem. It took us another 15-20 minutes to aquire and call the right number to wake her up and have her son come let us in. Now, I'm no hotel owner, but that sounds like bad business practice to me. Anyway, we finally got to the room and then headed for Chiang Mai's famous night market. I ended up purchasing a backpack that was "Lowe Alpine" brand (of course a knockoff), but it seems like a pretty good backpack. Original price: 3900 Baht ($130). After haggling price: 1250 Baht ($41). Not bad. We'll need it for all the souvenir's we're transporting back with us! Leah and I just can't help ourselves. Also in the market, I bought some cashews, and asked if they were salted. He said no, but filled a tiny ziplock with salt for me to add it myself. It was pretty funny.
In the afternoon, we went on a "riverboat cruise" which was essentially a long tail boat down the river. There were 5 of us total - the 3 of us, an Aussie, and a fifth that didn't speak a lick of english, but was from Asia somewhere. The destination was a farmer's house and garden down the river, and the boat driver (who is also a farmer) took us around the garden showing us all the things growing. The farmers are self sufficient, so it was incredible to see all the things in this teeny plot of land. We saw:
bananas, papaya, mango, rose apples, starfruit, pineapple, black wine "grapes", coffeebeans, limes, sweet potato-like fruits growing from a vine. They had herbal remedies in the plants for snake bites, stomachaches, headaches, and had aloe, citronella, balm for colds (vick's). There was rice, and ginger, chilis, and countless others I can't remember. I even learned how to grind and sift rice.
Once we got back to the hotel, we had 20 minutes until they picked Leah and I up for the night safari. We grabbed some cheese and crackers from the grocery store next door, and ate fast.
The night safari was more like a zoo, and I am not sure why it had to be at night. They had a lot of animals, and you did the first hour walking, and the second on a tram around the area. It all ended with a laser/water/music show.
While Leah and I were at the safari, DZ went to a temple and chatted with a Monk and learned the basics of meditation. He didn't really seem any calmer when he came back, but he said it was cool.
we spend the AM at the beach, and enjoyed a summer rain while in the water. We went back to the hotel early afternoon and showered and packed. We had lunch in an outdoor cafe (as usual), and headed to the airport. We took 2 flights - from Phuket to Bangkok, and then changed planes to go Bangkok to Chaing Mai.
We arrived in Chiang Mai at about 10:00 pm. All the AirAsia flights have been on time or early, which has been really nice. They're like the southwest Airlines of Asia. Once we got our taxi to drop us off at the hotel, we were confused because it looked closed. it was only 10:15. We tried calling, ringing the doorbell, and no answer. Finally another couple came by who were staying there, and let us in, but said that the hotel owner closed up around 6pm each day, and that they had the same problem. It took us another 15-20 minutes to aquire and call the right number to wake her up and have her son come let us in. Now, I'm no hotel owner, but that sounds like bad business practice to me. Anyway, we finally got to the room and then headed for Chiang Mai's famous night market. I ended up purchasing a backpack that was "Lowe Alpine" brand (of course a knockoff), but it seems like a pretty good backpack. Original price: 3900 Baht ($130). After haggling price: 1250 Baht ($41). Not bad. We'll need it for all the souvenir's we're transporting back with us! Leah and I just can't help ourselves. Also in the market, I bought some cashews, and asked if they were salted. He said no, but filled a tiny ziplock with salt for me to add it myself. It was pretty funny.
Day 7:
Our 3 days in Chiang Mai are going to be packed. Our first day we spent orienting ourself around the city walking in the 100 degree heat all over the city. We went into a ton of beautiful temples, and couldn't believe the intricacies in the designs. 3 different people told us about a particular suit shop that makes amazing suits for cheap. We decided to check it out, but once we went in, we realized it wasn't for us. They made suits that people would pay $1000 at least in the states for $300 here. But considering none of us need (or want) suits that nice, we politely left. We took our first Tuk-Tuk, and it was definitely an experience, but squeezing the three of us on the little seat in the back of the tuk tuk motorcycle was a feat. At least we can say we did it.In the afternoon, we went on a "riverboat cruise" which was essentially a long tail boat down the river. There were 5 of us total - the 3 of us, an Aussie, and a fifth that didn't speak a lick of english, but was from Asia somewhere. The destination was a farmer's house and garden down the river, and the boat driver (who is also a farmer) took us around the garden showing us all the things growing. The farmers are self sufficient, so it was incredible to see all the things in this teeny plot of land. We saw:
bananas, papaya, mango, rose apples, starfruit, pineapple, black wine "grapes", coffeebeans, limes, sweet potato-like fruits growing from a vine. They had herbal remedies in the plants for snake bites, stomachaches, headaches, and had aloe, citronella, balm for colds (vick's). There was rice, and ginger, chilis, and countless others I can't remember. I even learned how to grind and sift rice.
Once we got back to the hotel, we had 20 minutes until they picked Leah and I up for the night safari. We grabbed some cheese and crackers from the grocery store next door, and ate fast.
The night safari was more like a zoo, and I am not sure why it had to be at night. They had a lot of animals, and you did the first hour walking, and the second on a tram around the area. It all ended with a laser/water/music show.
While Leah and I were at the safari, DZ went to a temple and chatted with a Monk and learned the basics of meditation. He didn't really seem any calmer when he came back, but he said it was cool.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Thailand Day 5
Written jointly by DZ and Bela
Today was a relaxing day at first - we slept in until almost 11, waking in time for the free breakfast at the hostel. It was raining. We spent some time talking about what to do in Chiang Mai and Bangkok. When we were getting ready to go, Leah got a call from Stephen, eliciting a shreik and a 20 minute delay in the start of the day (normal daily Stephen phone call procedure) Once dressed and ready to go, Leah and Bela went to sit on the beach, while David walked around and had some delicious lemongrass soup with chicken at the food market on the beach. On the way to the beach, we stopped and bought a few postcards and stamps so that if we mail any postcards, they would arrive before us. If you send us 30 baht and your address, we'll send you a postcard. Before more impending rain broke loose, Bela and Leah headed back to the hostel to finish some more trip planning with David.
Once showered and dressed, we headed to a nice dinner at an "Authentic" Thai Italian restaurant where Bela discovered an insect bite, and obsessed that she might have contracted malaria. After being reassured by David that she wouldnt' die for at least 2 weeks after returning to the US, Leah continued dinner by eating the entire bowl of Parmesan Cheese. Our "nice" dinner consisted of eating in an indoor restaurant and ordering an appetizer of garlic bread, and main dishes of gnocci, ravioli, and pizza and drinks along with the meal, and it still cost less than $10 a person.
We looked at a few massage places finally settling on one and trying unsuccessfully to negotiate a package rate for the three of us. Still, cost was 250 baht a person, which was less than $9 for a full hour body massage. David says it was even better than his first massage. Bela couldn't believe the strength of these little Thai ladies. They twist and pull and knead you like they were working out at a gym. During the massage, a shriek of laughter penetrated the calm ambiance of the room. It turns out that Bela thought she overheard David's masseuse say "what size are you? you big man".
Although Bela and Leah tried to hold off shopping until the market next weekend in Bangkok, the window shopping finally got to them, and they ended up buying some place settings.
On the way to the massage, we saw a cart with various crepe pancakes that looked delectable. after the massage, we returned to sample the goods. Bela and David got chocolate & Banana crepes, while Leah got cinnamon and sugar. Thankfully, David was along to finish Bela and Leah's as they each couldn't finish their own. David was concerned that Bela was turning down the rest of a sugary dessert - possibly a symptom of the onset of malaria.
Having been here for a few days, we are almost immune to the hawkers. In fact, when tourists walk by, we find ourselves offering Tuk-tuk, taxi rides, and cheaply made replicas of everything.
Walking down the street tonight, we saw a similar scene of scantily clad, professional Thai "girlfriends" as we'd seen for the past few nights. In fact, it's quite amusing to walk down the street seeing Westerners with their Thai girlfriends. While we first thought that we couldn't tell the difference between the scantily clad Thai women and the "girlfrinds", we soon realized that in fact, they were ALL girlfriends.
Tomorrow if it's nice, we'll spend the morning at the beach before catching an afternoon flight to Chiang Mai.
Today was a relaxing day at first - we slept in until almost 11, waking in time for the free breakfast at the hostel. It was raining. We spent some time talking about what to do in Chiang Mai and Bangkok. When we were getting ready to go, Leah got a call from Stephen, eliciting a shreik and a 20 minute delay in the start of the day (normal daily Stephen phone call procedure) Once dressed and ready to go, Leah and Bela went to sit on the beach, while David walked around and had some delicious lemongrass soup with chicken at the food market on the beach. On the way to the beach, we stopped and bought a few postcards and stamps so that if we mail any postcards, they would arrive before us. If you send us 30 baht and your address, we'll send you a postcard. Before more impending rain broke loose, Bela and Leah headed back to the hostel to finish some more trip planning with David.
Once showered and dressed, we headed to a nice dinner at an "Authentic" Thai Italian restaurant where Bela discovered an insect bite, and obsessed that she might have contracted malaria. After being reassured by David that she wouldnt' die for at least 2 weeks after returning to the US, Leah continued dinner by eating the entire bowl of Parmesan Cheese. Our "nice" dinner consisted of eating in an indoor restaurant and ordering an appetizer of garlic bread, and main dishes of gnocci, ravioli, and pizza and drinks along with the meal, and it still cost less than $10 a person.
We looked at a few massage places finally settling on one and trying unsuccessfully to negotiate a package rate for the three of us. Still, cost was 250 baht a person, which was less than $9 for a full hour body massage. David says it was even better than his first massage. Bela couldn't believe the strength of these little Thai ladies. They twist and pull and knead you like they were working out at a gym. During the massage, a shriek of laughter penetrated the calm ambiance of the room. It turns out that Bela thought she overheard David's masseuse say "what size are you? you big man".
Although Bela and Leah tried to hold off shopping until the market next weekend in Bangkok, the window shopping finally got to them, and they ended up buying some place settings.
On the way to the massage, we saw a cart with various crepe pancakes that looked delectable. after the massage, we returned to sample the goods. Bela and David got chocolate & Banana crepes, while Leah got cinnamon and sugar. Thankfully, David was along to finish Bela and Leah's as they each couldn't finish their own. David was concerned that Bela was turning down the rest of a sugary dessert - possibly a symptom of the onset of malaria.
Having been here for a few days, we are almost immune to the hawkers. In fact, when tourists walk by, we find ourselves offering Tuk-tuk, taxi rides, and cheaply made replicas of everything.
Walking down the street tonight, we saw a similar scene of scantily clad, professional Thai "girlfriends" as we'd seen for the past few nights. In fact, it's quite amusing to walk down the street seeing Westerners with their Thai girlfriends. While we first thought that we couldn't tell the difference between the scantily clad Thai women and the "girlfrinds", we soon realized that in fact, they were ALL girlfriends.
Tomorrow if it's nice, we'll spend the morning at the beach before catching an afternoon flight to Chiang Mai.
Thailand day 4
Oh what a day! this is going to be probably my most interesting post yet! It's raining here on the morning of day 5, so I am taking some time to write about yesterday.
Day 4 was the day to head to the Phi Phi (pronounced PeePee) Islands. We'd heard good things, so we decided to go. We were picked up from our hotel at 7 am, and hopped a ferry for the 2 hour ride. It was a beautiful (hot) day out, and we just relaxed on the way there. We stopped to go snorkeling for a while, and it was my first time snorkeling. I thought I knew what to do, but every time I went under water, I kept inhaling water. As it turns out, for once it wasn't me, it was my equipment - I was missing some sort of one way valve, so it forced me to inhale water. Awesome. Once I got good equipment, it was a lot better. DZ says it was not the best snorkeling he'd done, but it was the best I'd ever done haha :-)
We continued to the main island and had lunch and walked around the many overpriced shops for a while before getting back on the boat to return to Phuket. The boat back, someone walked behind me as we were sitting with our legs dangling into the water. For some reason, he looked a little familiar, but I didn't think much of it. As we were still sitting there, he walked back, and I just started laughing. "Holy Sh*t" was what came out of my mouth. It WAS someone I knew. Basil M., who I knew from school and working in housing at GT. He was our our same boat! not just in the same city, but on the same freaking boat. I couldn't believe it. He was also the fist person I'd come across in all our time here so far that was from the states, and even so, he is living in Singapore, so I'm not sure if that even counts! Wow.
We also met and talked to a few people on the boat who were basically taking trips around the world. That is pretty cool. It's a long trip, and I certainly wouldn't be able to do something like that alone, and whoever I'd travel with would probably get sick of me WAY too fast to take a trip that long, so I'll have to continue taking my 3 week trips as often as possible to give friends and family a recuperation time from spending quality time with me :-)
When we got back to the hotel, Leah met a girl, Isabel who was traveling on her own from Sweden, so after dinner, she came out with us. We went to this bar that was called Crocodile I think, but the funny thing about the bar was that all the dancers were "Ladyboys" meaning that they all used to be men, but are now women. These were BY FAR the hottest trannies I'd EVER seen. No offense to any of my friends, but I definitely do not have any friends as hot as these ladyboys. I could not believe it. They all looked like models. I still can barely believe they were all once men. When I get a connection good enough to upload pictures, they will come.
After that, we got some ice cream and then walked the couple KMs back to the hotel and crashed into bed.
Day 4 was the day to head to the Phi Phi (pronounced PeePee) Islands. We'd heard good things, so we decided to go. We were picked up from our hotel at 7 am, and hopped a ferry for the 2 hour ride. It was a beautiful (hot) day out, and we just relaxed on the way there. We stopped to go snorkeling for a while, and it was my first time snorkeling. I thought I knew what to do, but every time I went under water, I kept inhaling water. As it turns out, for once it wasn't me, it was my equipment - I was missing some sort of one way valve, so it forced me to inhale water. Awesome. Once I got good equipment, it was a lot better. DZ says it was not the best snorkeling he'd done, but it was the best I'd ever done haha :-)
We continued to the main island and had lunch and walked around the many overpriced shops for a while before getting back on the boat to return to Phuket. The boat back, someone walked behind me as we were sitting with our legs dangling into the water. For some reason, he looked a little familiar, but I didn't think much of it. As we were still sitting there, he walked back, and I just started laughing. "Holy Sh*t" was what came out of my mouth. It WAS someone I knew. Basil M., who I knew from school and working in housing at GT. He was our our same boat! not just in the same city, but on the same freaking boat. I couldn't believe it. He was also the fist person I'd come across in all our time here so far that was from the states, and even so, he is living in Singapore, so I'm not sure if that even counts! Wow.
We also met and talked to a few people on the boat who were basically taking trips around the world. That is pretty cool. It's a long trip, and I certainly wouldn't be able to do something like that alone, and whoever I'd travel with would probably get sick of me WAY too fast to take a trip that long, so I'll have to continue taking my 3 week trips as often as possible to give friends and family a recuperation time from spending quality time with me :-)
When we got back to the hotel, Leah met a girl, Isabel who was traveling on her own from Sweden, so after dinner, she came out with us. We went to this bar that was called Crocodile I think, but the funny thing about the bar was that all the dancers were "Ladyboys" meaning that they all used to be men, but are now women. These were BY FAR the hottest trannies I'd EVER seen. No offense to any of my friends, but I definitely do not have any friends as hot as these ladyboys. I could not believe it. They all looked like models. I still can barely believe they were all once men. When I get a connection good enough to upload pictures, they will come.
After that, we got some ice cream and then walked the couple KMs back to the hotel and crashed into bed.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Thailand Day 2 & 3 - In Phuket
We decided to stay in this hostel (Stoney Monday) for another 4 nights. DZ negotiated a rate of 800 baht/night including breakfast, so we couldn't pass it up. The hostel also has a free internet connection, so we can take turns using it when others are getting ready. We are staying in Patong Beach, which is the most developed beach of the area. We knew we'd picked the most touristy beach when on Saturday, which we planned to spend relaxing on the beach, we instead spent on the beach telling countless people we did not want to buy what they were selling. We were probably approached by 200-300 people in total over the time we were at the beach. I'd say a person every 2-3 minutes. They were selling everything. From what I can remember, this is what we weer offered: At first, it was typical beach sales - soda, water, ice cream, sunglasses, fruit, scarves, boogie boards, fans, jet ski rides, parasailing, etc. But spotted between these expected sellers were some unexpected peddlers. We were offered watches, suitcases, fried chicken, dresses, wood carvings, jewelery, brooms, umbrellas, henna tattoos, hammocks, massages, table cloths, and wall hanging tapestries. And it wasn't like there was one peddler of each of these. There were scores. In the evening we went into town and walked around and did some more "window" shopping, and stopped for a drink at the end of the night.
Today we got up early to enjoy our free breakfast at the hostel, which consisted of eggs, toast, french toast, (bacon if you wanted it), fruit juice and coffee/tea. It was actually quite good, but definitely a foreigners breakfast in comparison to what most people eat here. We decided to rent a car today to explore the island of Phuket (the largest island in Thailand). This is an experience in itself since they drive on the opposite side of the road here. DZ must've turned the windsheild wipers on instead of the blinkers at least 5 times. But other than that, he did a great job of driving on the opposite side of the road while I navigated the island. We drove first to Phuket town, and quickly realized that there was not anything to do there, so we continued to a smaller island off the east coast called Si Rae. There we stopped at the monkey watch, where we could see a ton of monkeys hanging out and playing. We also drove around curiously, looking at local life. We happenned upon a gypsie camp, and walked all the way in and through, and accidentally saw a dance performance by some of the children. It was very cute, and a nice surprise.
From Si Rae, we went back across the bridge to the Phuket mainland, and headed north to the Khao Phra Thaeo National Park. In there we saw the Bang Bae waterfall and the Gibbon project (a gibbon habitat helping them prepare to be rereleased into the wild). I also got to use my first squat toilet. Quite the experience. From there, we continued northward, and across the island of Phuket to the northern most beach. On a "wrong" turn, we headed to a small town, and got a snack at a deli and ran into a very nice couple from England with whom we spoke for 20 minutes getting and giving recommendations. Next door to the deli was a shop that sold the most beautiful handmade silverware. If we wouldn't have had to carry it on our backs for the next 2 weeks, I think Leah and/or I would have splurged and bought some. We couldn't get over how beautiful it was. Since Patong Beach - where we're staying - is the most developed, we wanted to see the others. We went by Naithon Beach, which was rocky and beautiful, Kamala Beach which was empty and quiet, and finally Karon beach which was nearly as developed as Patong. There are 8-10 other beaches along the west coast of Phuket, but we figured we'd gotten a good smattering of sights, and headed back. We had left early this morning since we just had the car from 8am-8pm and didn't know how long the trip would take, so when we got back at 6ish, we all relaxed and read and napped for a bit before going out to eat dinner.
Tomorrow we're heading for the Phi Phi Islands on a day trip to see the island and go snorkeling. The bus picks us up at 7 am, so I am headed to sleep.
Today we got up early to enjoy our free breakfast at the hostel, which consisted of eggs, toast, french toast, (bacon if you wanted it), fruit juice and coffee/tea. It was actually quite good, but definitely a foreigners breakfast in comparison to what most people eat here. We decided to rent a car today to explore the island of Phuket (the largest island in Thailand). This is an experience in itself since they drive on the opposite side of the road here. DZ must've turned the windsheild wipers on instead of the blinkers at least 5 times. But other than that, he did a great job of driving on the opposite side of the road while I navigated the island. We drove first to Phuket town, and quickly realized that there was not anything to do there, so we continued to a smaller island off the east coast called Si Rae. There we stopped at the monkey watch, where we could see a ton of monkeys hanging out and playing. We also drove around curiously, looking at local life. We happenned upon a gypsie camp, and walked all the way in and through, and accidentally saw a dance performance by some of the children. It was very cute, and a nice surprise.
From Si Rae, we went back across the bridge to the Phuket mainland, and headed north to the Khao Phra Thaeo National Park. In there we saw the Bang Bae waterfall and the Gibbon project (a gibbon habitat helping them prepare to be rereleased into the wild). I also got to use my first squat toilet. Quite the experience. From there, we continued northward, and across the island of Phuket to the northern most beach. On a "wrong" turn, we headed to a small town, and got a snack at a deli and ran into a very nice couple from England with whom we spoke for 20 minutes getting and giving recommendations. Next door to the deli was a shop that sold the most beautiful handmade silverware. If we wouldn't have had to carry it on our backs for the next 2 weeks, I think Leah and/or I would have splurged and bought some. We couldn't get over how beautiful it was. Since Patong Beach - where we're staying - is the most developed, we wanted to see the others. We went by Naithon Beach, which was rocky and beautiful, Kamala Beach which was empty and quiet, and finally Karon beach which was nearly as developed as Patong. There are 8-10 other beaches along the west coast of Phuket, but we figured we'd gotten a good smattering of sights, and headed back. We had left early this morning since we just had the car from 8am-8pm and didn't know how long the trip would take, so when we got back at 6ish, we all relaxed and read and napped for a bit before going out to eat dinner.
Tomorrow we're heading for the Phi Phi Islands on a day trip to see the island and go snorkeling. The bus picks us up at 7 am, so I am headed to sleep.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Thailand Arrival and Day 1
Well, here I am. I have been talking about this trip for months, and I am finally here. After a 15 hour flight and another 5 hour flight, all I could think is "what was I thinking!??" The flights really weren't bad actually. The 15 hr flight we had exit row bulkhead seats, so a ton of legroom. I slept for a fair amount, but stayed up long enough to watch 27 dresses and Juno. I even watched Dan in Real life on the 5 hr flight. By the time we landed though, all I wanted was to go to sleep. Leah's plane arrived just about 10 minutes after ours, and we headed to Bangkok.
I'd reserved the Hilton for the first night since I have enough points for a free room there, and we wanted to stay somewhere the first night that the taxi driver would recognize Unfortunately, I'd forgotten to change the reservation for 3 people, and so when we got there, they charged me for the third person. I would've snuck Leah in, except the hotel had 2 single beds in the room. Oh well.
We were all awake this morning by about 8:00, but DZ went to walk around for a few minutes before we got up. Once we were all dressed and ready to go, it was about 8:45 AM. The first thing that hit us when we walked out of the hotel was the heat. The heat here is a humid, exhausting heat. We had all soaked our shirts in sweat by the time 9:30 rolled around, and we were in the shade! I'd guess it was about 95 degrees with about 95% humidity. It was unreal. I've never felt anything like that (and I don't care how much people from Atlanta claim we have).
We spent the day just walking around the city and getting a grasp of the new culture and atmosphere. Bangkok, besides being hot, is VERY polluted. People actually walk around with masks over their noses and mouths to not inhale as much pollution. Well, we weren't privvied to this knowledge, so we just sucked it up. Meanwhile, we were hungry. We passed all sorts of street vendors selling everything you could ever think of except food you'd want for breakfast. I finally found a stand that was selling something resembling waffles, made of corn. They were delicious. I paid 10 Baht (30 cents). Leah and David still wanted food though, so we stopped elsewhere where we watched the street vendor making a curry chicken stir fry. It smelled good as we watched, so we tried pointing and asking for it. She put it away in a pot and we (us and her) all seemed confused as to what we wanted. We started walking away since we figured that she was making it to save for later. What we then learned was that these street vendors, making food in their carts, actually have little tables, and people sit and eat next to the carts. They provide silverware and plates, and there's a little dirty plastic tub with dirty water that they "clean" them with once you're done. So Dave and Leah each ordered some of this chicken. She started recooking it with some rice, and threw in some chili. Immediately, Leah and I started coughing. The smell was so strong, we both had to get up and walk away to get some "fresh" air! Once it was done, she brought the two dishes to the table, and Leah and Dave had breakfast. Cost? 25 Bahts a piece. (85 cents)
In the afternoon it started to downpour, so after catching the skytrain back to our side of town. we headed back to the hotel to pack up and catch our flight to the South - Phuket, where we'd spend the next 4 days. We'll be back to Bangkok on the tail end of the trip to do more sightseeing and shopping.
We arrived in Phuket region around 6:00, and once we got a taxi to the town we wanted to stay in, we went in search of a place to stay. We soon realized that the place we anticipated to stay in was either not existant, or just too hard to find, so we gave up. while Dave was looking for another place, I talked to one of the many street vendor travel agents, who set us up in a hostel up the road for 1000 baht/night for a 3 person private room with A/C and a hot shower ($32 total). They came and picked us up, and gave us a cold glass of apple/orange/pineapple juice when we checked in. We decided we like the place and will probably stay here all 4 nights.
After check in, we went for some dinner. Before and after dinner we walked the length of the main road, stopping to see a few menus voluntarily, but stopped to see many more involuntarily by the waiters trying to woo you into their restaurant. We finally stopped for dinner at a place and ordered. DZ and I ordered a beer, Leah a bottled water. Leah and I ordered stirfry noodles with chicken, and DZ stir fry rice with chicken. Our total for the entire meal: 270 baht ($9)
After some more browsing and Leah and DZ each buying a trinket souvenir, we headed back around 10:30. We have read a lot about Thai Massage, and said we'd each get one while we're here, but DZ wanted to get his tonight. So we trooped into the place, and he got his massage while Leah and I each passed the time by getting pedicures. Total price? 550 baht. $18.50
Are you seeing the trend yet? Everything is so cheap. Unfortunately, it's like going to wal-mart - everything is cheap, but then you want to do more, so it adds up.
So far we're having a great time, and plan to hit the beach tomorrow here in Phuket. Don't worry, we'll wear sunscreen.
...all my love, Bela
I'd reserved the Hilton for the first night since I have enough points for a free room there, and we wanted to stay somewhere the first night that the taxi driver would recognize Unfortunately, I'd forgotten to change the reservation for 3 people, and so when we got there, they charged me for the third person. I would've snuck Leah in, except the hotel had 2 single beds in the room. Oh well.
We were all awake this morning by about 8:00, but DZ went to walk around for a few minutes before we got up. Once we were all dressed and ready to go, it was about 8:45 AM. The first thing that hit us when we walked out of the hotel was the heat. The heat here is a humid, exhausting heat. We had all soaked our shirts in sweat by the time 9:30 rolled around, and we were in the shade! I'd guess it was about 95 degrees with about 95% humidity. It was unreal. I've never felt anything like that (and I don't care how much people from Atlanta claim we have).
We spent the day just walking around the city and getting a grasp of the new culture and atmosphere. Bangkok, besides being hot, is VERY polluted. People actually walk around with masks over their noses and mouths to not inhale as much pollution. Well, we weren't privvied to this knowledge, so we just sucked it up. Meanwhile, we were hungry. We passed all sorts of street vendors selling everything you could ever think of except food you'd want for breakfast. I finally found a stand that was selling something resembling waffles, made of corn. They were delicious. I paid 10 Baht (30 cents). Leah and David still wanted food though, so we stopped elsewhere where we watched the street vendor making a curry chicken stir fry. It smelled good as we watched, so we tried pointing and asking for it. She put it away in a pot and we (us and her) all seemed confused as to what we wanted. We started walking away since we figured that she was making it to save for later. What we then learned was that these street vendors, making food in their carts, actually have little tables, and people sit and eat next to the carts. They provide silverware and plates, and there's a little dirty plastic tub with dirty water that they "clean" them with once you're done. So Dave and Leah each ordered some of this chicken. She started recooking it with some rice, and threw in some chili. Immediately, Leah and I started coughing. The smell was so strong, we both had to get up and walk away to get some "fresh" air! Once it was done, she brought the two dishes to the table, and Leah and Dave had breakfast. Cost? 25 Bahts a piece. (85 cents)
In the afternoon it started to downpour, so after catching the skytrain back to our side of town. we headed back to the hotel to pack up and catch our flight to the South - Phuket, where we'd spend the next 4 days. We'll be back to Bangkok on the tail end of the trip to do more sightseeing and shopping.
We arrived in Phuket region around 6:00, and once we got a taxi to the town we wanted to stay in, we went in search of a place to stay. We soon realized that the place we anticipated to stay in was either not existant, or just too hard to find, so we gave up. while Dave was looking for another place, I talked to one of the many street vendor travel agents, who set us up in a hostel up the road for 1000 baht/night for a 3 person private room with A/C and a hot shower ($32 total). They came and picked us up, and gave us a cold glass of apple/orange/pineapple juice when we checked in. We decided we like the place and will probably stay here all 4 nights.
After check in, we went for some dinner. Before and after dinner we walked the length of the main road, stopping to see a few menus voluntarily, but stopped to see many more involuntarily by the waiters trying to woo you into their restaurant. We finally stopped for dinner at a place and ordered. DZ and I ordered a beer, Leah a bottled water. Leah and I ordered stirfry noodles with chicken, and DZ stir fry rice with chicken. Our total for the entire meal: 270 baht ($9)
After some more browsing and Leah and DZ each buying a trinket souvenir, we headed back around 10:30. We have read a lot about Thai Massage, and said we'd each get one while we're here, but DZ wanted to get his tonight. So we trooped into the place, and he got his massage while Leah and I each passed the time by getting pedicures. Total price? 550 baht. $18.50
Are you seeing the trend yet? Everything is so cheap. Unfortunately, it's like going to wal-mart - everything is cheap, but then you want to do more, so it adds up.
So far we're having a great time, and plan to hit the beach tomorrow here in Phuket. Don't worry, we'll wear sunscreen.
...all my love, Bela
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Prep work for Thailand/Renovation
I have realized that over the past few months, my blog entries have dwindled significantly in comparison to the last fiver years. I guess I have kept myself so busy, I haven't made time to write. However, with my trip to Thailand next week, there will be a sudden influx of blog entries, so don't you worry :-)
Ever since ATLX, I have spent my time doing two things: Thailand Prep and Bathroom Prep. I am having a contractor redo my bathroom while I'm in Thailand, and hopefully that means there will be very few days where I can not use my bathroom because of construction. It seems like a good idea now. Let's just hope nothing goes horribly wrong. I will take pictures as much as possible and show the progress. Currently my bathroom is divided in half. the entry and vanity are essentially IN my room, and they're seperated by a wall to the shower and toilet. The plan is as follows:
Tear down wall and door between shower/toilet and vanity.
Remove Shower
Remove linolium flooring
Remove carpet in the entryway/vanity area
Install Bathtub
Tile the floor
Tile the bathtub walls
Replace toilet
Replace vanity top with granite top
Add wall on the end of the bathtub
Add a French door between bedroom and bathroom
Enjoy a hot bubble bath in my new bathtub.
While that is happening, I, along with my friend DZ and sister Leah, will be tourists in Thailand. We're spending a total of 18 days away from home, and traveling all over the country. I'll try to post a travel blog as I usually do (Argentina, Europe), although I am not bringing my laptop, so I'll be at the mercy of the internet cafes.
In other news, our wonderful governor, Sonny Perdue has apparently passed some sort of department of revenue regulation that does not allow breweries to serve beer on Sundays anymore. Not only does that pretty much suck in general, it means our monthly drinking dances that we were holding at the Atlanta Brewing Co. now can not happen anymore :-( That's sad because a lot of people really liked that dance for both the venue, atmosphere, and music. Hopefully we can have something else there in the near future.
and lastly, but certainly not least(ly), my lil sister Leah graduates from UGA this weekend! she's the last of us, but she decided to stay in school longer, and go to grad school at GSU. She is a double major in piano and in violin at UGA, and will continue pursuing her violin studies at GSU. Congrats Leah!
Ever since ATLX, I have spent my time doing two things: Thailand Prep and Bathroom Prep. I am having a contractor redo my bathroom while I'm in Thailand, and hopefully that means there will be very few days where I can not use my bathroom because of construction. It seems like a good idea now. Let's just hope nothing goes horribly wrong. I will take pictures as much as possible and show the progress. Currently my bathroom is divided in half. the entry and vanity are essentially IN my room, and they're seperated by a wall to the shower and toilet. The plan is as follows:
Tear down wall and door between shower/toilet and vanity.
Remove Shower
Remove linolium flooring
Remove carpet in the entryway/vanity area
Install Bathtub
Tile the floor
Tile the bathtub walls
Replace toilet
Replace vanity top with granite top
Add wall on the end of the bathtub
Add a French door between bedroom and bathroom
Enjoy a hot bubble bath in my new bathtub.
While that is happening, I, along with my friend DZ and sister Leah, will be tourists in Thailand. We're spending a total of 18 days away from home, and traveling all over the country. I'll try to post a travel blog as I usually do (Argentina, Europe), although I am not bringing my laptop, so I'll be at the mercy of the internet cafes.
In other news, our wonderful governor, Sonny Perdue has apparently passed some sort of department of revenue regulation that does not allow breweries to serve beer on Sundays anymore. Not only does that pretty much suck in general, it means our monthly drinking dances that we were holding at the Atlanta Brewing Co. now can not happen anymore :-( That's sad because a lot of people really liked that dance for both the venue, atmosphere, and music. Hopefully we can have something else there in the near future.
and lastly, but certainly not least(ly), my lil sister Leah graduates from UGA this weekend! she's the last of us, but she decided to stay in school longer, and go to grad school at GSU. She is a double major in piano and in violin at UGA, and will continue pursuing her violin studies at GSU. Congrats Leah!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
ATLX - Dance or Walk the Plank.
Me having not published anything in the past month has been directly reflective of my life. The past month has pretty much taken it all out of me - travling to three different cities, attending 2 Lindy Exchanges, and life getting in the way.
Work has been good, but my focus the past few weeks has been on dancing and dancing only. I've been going into work knowing that once I leave, the rest of my waking hours will be spent on dance prep. I served my second year on the Atlanta Lindy Exchange (ATLX) planning committee. From the day registration opened in December, until it closed in April, we were pushing hard for this to be the best and biggest ATLX ever. And it was. by a LOT. We had an amazing turnout of nearly 350 people with full weekend passes, and maxed out some of our venues where we just COULDN'T fit any more people. The surveys are out right now to get feedback, but I am actually excited to see what they say. From what I could tell, all the background work went well, and it was reflected in the exchange. People arrived and were checked in quickly, directions between events were clear, housing was announced early, 350 handmade bracelets were complete a week before the event. wow. I honestly had an awesome time planning the weekend as well as participating. I love getting to dance with all of the people from out of town, and I love the energy that comes with participating in an exchange. You are essentially dancing for about 25 hours in one weekend- each day until the sun rises the next day, but you still want more. Your body says no, but your heart says YES!!! You dance with awesome dancers from all over the country (and we even had a few international participants), and you get to meet the ladies from all over as well since there is much of a social aspect to these events.
Thursday evening kicked off the event with the ATLX pre-party at Atlanta Brewing Co. We currently hold dances there once a month, but this event was ours only. We filled the tasting room with some AWESOME dances, unlimited beer, and Jesse and Mike kept the music up and inspiring the whole time. When it was time to shut down and no one had left, I knew the weekend was going to be amazing.
Friday I had to work during the day, but Friday night main was at Agnes Scott. The hall is beautiful, and big enough to fit everyone. The band - the Usual Suspects - did a pretty good job. People were flooding in to register during this dance, and every time I looked at the door, there were more people coming. The weather did not cooperate, but of all the dances to rain during, I am glad it was this one. The late night was at Academy Ballroom, and the band was Chicago Joe. Although they are a good band, they may not have "meshed" well with some dancers, and we didn't have a side room for Blues that night, but it didn't keep people off the floor. The floor was packed.
Saturday was another story. I woke up, and with everyone in the house, as people were getting ready we had pancakes for some sustenance before starting the day. The afternoon we danced at the pavilion at Centennial Olympic Park, which is an awesome location -though the concrete (as in any outdoor dance) did a number on my knees. The weather held out, and the DJs kept us dancing hard for the whole time. The theme this year was pirates, and pirates made a strong showing in EVERY dance this weekend. from eyepatches to bandanas, the theme pulled strong all weekend long. I barely made it to the evening dance. This was the one thing I was rather upset about since I think the Bonaventure sextet did an AWESOME job. Dinner took longer than expected, and then i had to leave early to set up the late night dance, so I missed most of their sets. During this dance, Tiny Bunch had a performance we'd been working hard to showcase. It turned out awesome, and we were really happy with it. A ton of people took video, but thanks to Aramis's video and Heidi's video on my camera, There were two pretty decent quality videos, and my friend Antony clipped them together for one solid video performance :-) that day also happened to be the first time the whole group was together for a practice. Thanks to everyone for their patience as we learned the routine, and to the crowd for cheering us on as we performed. What an awesome high!
Saturday late night was Sean Costello at the American Legion Hall. He was a nationally renown blues artist, and we had people fighting via email and phone to get tickets for this event even though it was sold out. I had a chance to spend some time with Sean before the dance since Iw as there for setting up, and Sean mentioned he wasn't feeling 100% and had a sore throat, so he'd be throwing in a few more instrumental songs than normal. Either way, he kept everyone dancing, and there was a side blues room for those with other tastes. Note: Sean Costello, age 28, passed away on Tuesday after ATLX. No news as to the cause of death just yet. ATLX late night was his last performance. This is a terrible loss to not only his family and friends, but to the Blues and jazz community. What terrible news to find out.
Sunday was a lot more relaxed. The afternoon dance at Grant Park was chilly, but wonderful dance weather. My body hurt, but I couldn't stop my self from dancing. We ate at Eats for some filling dinner, and then went on to Knights of Columbus hall for some more dancing. I wasn't going to go to the late night, but I got convinced, so I went until 3 am. I would've stayed longer if I didn't have to work Monday.
SHOUT OUT to Alan and the entire ATLX planning committee for all their hard work. What an amazingly thrown party.
As a side note, I attended DCLX the weekend before ATLX, and had a lovely time even though the weather did not cooperate on Sunday. Unfortunately, the lead/follow ratio was pretty bad, and I think the event sufferred a little bit because of that. The bands were awesome though, and I got to hear the Boilermakers for the first time. The event had a huge turnout of probably 350-400 people. I stayed with Meghan and Terrace from Atlanta, and we stayed at my friend Adam's apartment. He was a great host for us for the weekend. I had a great time, but I must say I had more fun at ATLX (perhaps because it was OUR event, perhaps because there were more leads, or maybe it was actually more awesome, not sure)
Work has been good, but my focus the past few weeks has been on dancing and dancing only. I've been going into work knowing that once I leave, the rest of my waking hours will be spent on dance prep. I served my second year on the Atlanta Lindy Exchange (ATLX) planning committee. From the day registration opened in December, until it closed in April, we were pushing hard for this to be the best and biggest ATLX ever. And it was. by a LOT. We had an amazing turnout of nearly 350 people with full weekend passes, and maxed out some of our venues where we just COULDN'T fit any more people. The surveys are out right now to get feedback, but I am actually excited to see what they say. From what I could tell, all the background work went well, and it was reflected in the exchange. People arrived and were checked in quickly, directions between events were clear, housing was announced early, 350 handmade bracelets were complete a week before the event. wow. I honestly had an awesome time planning the weekend as well as participating. I love getting to dance with all of the people from out of town, and I love the energy that comes with participating in an exchange. You are essentially dancing for about 25 hours in one weekend- each day until the sun rises the next day, but you still want more. Your body says no, but your heart says YES!!! You dance with awesome dancers from all over the country (and we even had a few international participants), and you get to meet the ladies from all over as well since there is much of a social aspect to these events.
Thursday evening kicked off the event with the ATLX pre-party at Atlanta Brewing Co. We currently hold dances there once a month, but this event was ours only. We filled the tasting room with some AWESOME dances, unlimited beer, and Jesse and Mike kept the music up and inspiring the whole time. When it was time to shut down and no one had left, I knew the weekend was going to be amazing.
Friday I had to work during the day, but Friday night main was at Agnes Scott. The hall is beautiful, and big enough to fit everyone. The band - the Usual Suspects - did a pretty good job. People were flooding in to register during this dance, and every time I looked at the door, there were more people coming. The weather did not cooperate, but of all the dances to rain during, I am glad it was this one. The late night was at Academy Ballroom, and the band was Chicago Joe. Although they are a good band, they may not have "meshed" well with some dancers, and we didn't have a side room for Blues that night, but it didn't keep people off the floor. The floor was packed.
Saturday was another story. I woke up, and with everyone in the house, as people were getting ready we had pancakes for some sustenance before starting the day. The afternoon we danced at the pavilion at Centennial Olympic Park, which is an awesome location -though the concrete (as in any outdoor dance) did a number on my knees. The weather held out, and the DJs kept us dancing hard for the whole time. The theme this year was pirates, and pirates made a strong showing in EVERY dance this weekend. from eyepatches to bandanas, the theme pulled strong all weekend long. I barely made it to the evening dance. This was the one thing I was rather upset about since I think the Bonaventure sextet did an AWESOME job. Dinner took longer than expected, and then i had to leave early to set up the late night dance, so I missed most of their sets. During this dance, Tiny Bunch had a performance we'd been working hard to showcase. It turned out awesome, and we were really happy with it. A ton of people took video, but thanks to Aramis's video and Heidi's video on my camera, There were two pretty decent quality videos, and my friend Antony clipped them together for one solid video performance :-) that day also happened to be the first time the whole group was together for a practice. Thanks to everyone for their patience as we learned the routine, and to the crowd for cheering us on as we performed. What an awesome high!
Saturday late night was Sean Costello at the American Legion Hall. He was a nationally renown blues artist, and we had people fighting via email and phone to get tickets for this event even though it was sold out. I had a chance to spend some time with Sean before the dance since Iw as there for setting up, and Sean mentioned he wasn't feeling 100% and had a sore throat, so he'd be throwing in a few more instrumental songs than normal. Either way, he kept everyone dancing, and there was a side blues room for those with other tastes. Note: Sean Costello, age 28, passed away on Tuesday after ATLX. No news as to the cause of death just yet. ATLX late night was his last performance. This is a terrible loss to not only his family and friends, but to the Blues and jazz community. What terrible news to find out.
Sunday was a lot more relaxed. The afternoon dance at Grant Park was chilly, but wonderful dance weather. My body hurt, but I couldn't stop my self from dancing. We ate at Eats for some filling dinner, and then went on to Knights of Columbus hall for some more dancing. I wasn't going to go to the late night, but I got convinced, so I went until 3 am. I would've stayed longer if I didn't have to work Monday.
SHOUT OUT to Alan and the entire ATLX planning committee for all their hard work. What an amazingly thrown party.
As a side note, I attended DCLX the weekend before ATLX, and had a lovely time even though the weather did not cooperate on Sunday. Unfortunately, the lead/follow ratio was pretty bad, and I think the event sufferred a little bit because of that. The bands were awesome though, and I got to hear the Boilermakers for the first time. The event had a huge turnout of probably 350-400 people. I stayed with Meghan and Terrace from Atlanta, and we stayed at my friend Adam's apartment. He was a great host for us for the weekend. I had a great time, but I must say I had more fun at ATLX (perhaps because it was OUR event, perhaps because there were more leads, or maybe it was actually more awesome, not sure)
Monday, March 17, 2008
Yenta.
It’s interesting. Some people have this inherent desire to make others happy. Others would prefer to just let everyone else do their own thing and make themselves happy. One thing I’ve noticed (particularly in Judaism) is that many people have the common characteristic often classified as being a “yenta”. They want to set people up. Perhaps it’s because we’re such a small percentage of the general population, we figure we need all the help we can get. Or perhaps it’s because in Judaism, there’s a concept that if you successfully set up a certain number of couples, you automatically have a place in Olam Haba. Either way, some people appreciate being on the receiving end of the set-up, and some can not stand it. A story that I’ve told many of you, which is my funniest story, is that of my mom and her friend Nelda. I was backpacking in Europe for the summer, and Nelda’s grandson (smart, Jewish, and handsome – as my mom related) was in Atlanta for the summer. So they trade our cell phone numbers, and that’s it – we’re stuck. Even though we’re only going to overlap in the same city for a couple of weeks, there’s no way that we can pretend we met and lie to our mom/grandmom, so we met and I gained a great friend from the situation. However, there have been plenty of other instances – the most recent being my aunt (in Miami) wanting to introduce me to her Argintinian friend’s son, who is 10+ years my senior, and is currently a resident of Buenos Aires. I mean, sure long distance can be done, but seriously?
Sometimes people make the same mistake with any “minority” dating pool. For example, the same mistake that people make trying to set up gay guys (I have a friend who’s gay, you two should date”) assuming that all gay guys are compatible is the same mistake that people make setting up Jews. There are always certain characteristics one is looking for, and although they must have a particular characteristic requirement for dating (Jewish, Gay, Indian, etc.), it doesn’t mean that everyone is compatible. On the flip side, there’s no harm in trying ;-), it just might work!
I am of the half that loves setting people up (perhaps too much), and likes being set-up. I figure, worst case, I meet someone new, and if it doesn’t work out, then maybe they have friends! I think my friends know me too well and when they’re single are forever asking me to introduce them to someone. Hard thing is that because I love hosting events so much, many of my friends actually have met each other. Convenienty though, there are always new people in and out of town, and luckily I have plenty of single friends.
So the question is – would you rather me try to set you up? Or leave you alone? ;-)
* Sidebar poll: Is it OK for someone you’ve dated in the past to set you up with someone else?
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Thailand, here I come!
I have been talking about making the plans for weeks, I finally have! I am going to Thailand in 9 weeks!!!! =)
Friday, March 07, 2008
Links for a Friday.
If you've never heard of Improv everywhere, check out their site and their past pranks, but this one is pretty funny:
Freeze in Grand Central Station
http://improveverywhere.com/
Another Website to note lately that I thought hit pretty close to home in their humor:
http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/
Enjoy!
Freeze in Grand Central Station
http://improveverywhere.com/
Another Website to note lately that I thought hit pretty close to home in their humor:
http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/
Enjoy!
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Rejections...
It's funny. I have a knack for picking up guys that I am not interested in. Maybe I'm too nice. It is also quite difficult when I am friends with them (or would like to be friends with them), and they say things that make me think they're interested in being more than just friends. My easiest "out" is usually that if you're not Jewish, I'm not interested. Unfortunately, sometimes I AM interested, but have to convince myself I'm not, which is also quite difficult*. My new friend Matthew has taken note of the situation, and has suggested a start for a list of responses to use when getting picked up:
A. I'm married to my career.
B. I'm married to my hobby, dancing.
C. Sorry, you're not kosher.
D. I don't care if you wear "Levi" jeans; that doesn't help your case.
E. Oddly enough, I don't have a phone number.
E. Schvitsing while dancing is cute, but only in moderation. You're gross.
*I can go into detail on this if you're interested, but opted to not include it in this post.
*I can go into detail on this if you're interested, but opted to not include it in this post.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Socializing.
Social Situations and acquaintances. My take on life.
There are certain people that inevitably (by choice or by destiny) are part of your life. I am going to go into the people that are part of my life and who I get to see all the time. Meanwhile, remember that sometimes you can't help who you see all the time - maybe you work with them, or they're part of the same social network or gym as you.
1) "The annoying one" Ever have that one person that you're forced to be around, that the minute they open their mouth, you need to leave the room to keep yourself from going mad? I mean, that person that you work with or have to deal with on a regular basis that you'd literally expend effort to avoid rather than have to talk to them? I think everyone has a person (or two) like that in their lives. With that in mind, ever thought about if YOU are that person? no one ever knows they're that person, so how are you to know? This question applies not just to socializing, but to driving with, or dancing with, or eating with...you know what I mean.
2) "The intimidating one" - I am convinced that every person knows a person that intimidates them. Meanwhile, the intimidator may not know it. Again, this could be someone who intimidates you based on their wisdom, social network, popularity, skill, or something else. My biggest issue is when I am intimidated by someone, and years after knowing them and socializing with them, I am still intimidated! crazy. On the flip side, sometimes you hear the same thing about yourself, and have no idea how to change that....I mean, I don't think I'm intimidating! =)
3) "The Needy one" - Everyone has a needy friend. they may actually be needy, or they may just want to spend more time with you than you want to spend with them (this is in any range...once a year may be too much for you). Either way, this is a touchy balance. Another form of neediness is the amount they want to talk on the phone with you or get your opinion on things that you honestly don't care about ;-)
Anyway, that is my start on breaking down people. Some people are more than one of these, and most people are none of these, but either way, I love my friends, and you probably know already if you're #1 or #3.
There are certain people that inevitably (by choice or by destiny) are part of your life. I am going to go into the people that are part of my life and who I get to see all the time. Meanwhile, remember that sometimes you can't help who you see all the time - maybe you work with them, or they're part of the same social network or gym as you.
1) "The annoying one" Ever have that one person that you're forced to be around, that the minute they open their mouth, you need to leave the room to keep yourself from going mad? I mean, that person that you work with or have to deal with on a regular basis that you'd literally expend effort to avoid rather than have to talk to them? I think everyone has a person (or two) like that in their lives. With that in mind, ever thought about if YOU are that person? no one ever knows they're that person, so how are you to know? This question applies not just to socializing, but to driving with, or dancing with, or eating with...you know what I mean.
2) "The intimidating one" - I am convinced that every person knows a person that intimidates them. Meanwhile, the intimidator may not know it. Again, this could be someone who intimidates you based on their wisdom, social network, popularity, skill, or something else. My biggest issue is when I am intimidated by someone, and years after knowing them and socializing with them, I am still intimidated! crazy. On the flip side, sometimes you hear the same thing about yourself, and have no idea how to change that....I mean, I don't think I'm intimidating! =)
3) "The Needy one" - Everyone has a needy friend. they may actually be needy, or they may just want to spend more time with you than you want to spend with them (this is in any range...once a year may be too much for you). Either way, this is a touchy balance. Another form of neediness is the amount they want to talk on the phone with you or get your opinion on things that you honestly don't care about ;-)
Anyway, that is my start on breaking down people. Some people are more than one of these, and most people are none of these, but either way, I love my friends, and you probably know already if you're #1 or #3.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
No such thing as a free lunch.
They say there's no such thing as a free lunch. Don't take it too literally, apparently there is no such thing as a free anything.
Tonight Adam got free tickets to see Huey Lewis and the News. I (being so out of touch with pretty much everything) of course did not really know anything about them, but it sounded fun. We left my house and got downtown to the Tabernacle in record time. We even snagged a street parking space, which I was so surprised about, I even called my dad to make sure it was free!! The Opening band, called US Beat was actually an excellent cover band, and Adam and I agreed they were probably the better band of the evening. There were a ton of free hors devours and an OPEN BAR. Well, anyway, we had fun, and were planning on heading over to Graveyard Tavern for the fun Wednesday night dance they have there. Upon leaving the venue, we walked towards my car and celebrated a bit that we saw no ticket on the car. What we didn't see however, was that my passenger window had been smashed in, and they took my GPS, my AC adaptor, and my tape converter (yes, I still have one of those!). DAMN IT!!!
I called the cops while Adam got harrassed by a drunk homeless guy, and after waiting 30 minutes and then not showing, I called my insurance and they said I didn't need a police report for that. So, not feeling up for Graveyard (nor really knowing how to get there at this point), we went back home, disheartended.
Free concert? check. Free parking? check. No traffic? Check. Open Bar? Check. Car intact? NOPE. what a night.
Tonight Adam got free tickets to see Huey Lewis and the News. I (being so out of touch with pretty much everything) of course did not really know anything about them, but it sounded fun. We left my house and got downtown to the Tabernacle in record time. We even snagged a street parking space, which I was so surprised about, I even called my dad to make sure it was free!! The Opening band, called US Beat was actually an excellent cover band, and Adam and I agreed they were probably the better band of the evening. There were a ton of free hors devours and an OPEN BAR. Well, anyway, we had fun, and were planning on heading over to Graveyard Tavern for the fun Wednesday night dance they have there. Upon leaving the venue, we walked towards my car and celebrated a bit that we saw no ticket on the car. What we didn't see however, was that my passenger window had been smashed in, and they took my GPS, my AC adaptor, and my tape converter (yes, I still have one of those!). DAMN IT!!!
I called the cops while Adam got harrassed by a drunk homeless guy, and after waiting 30 minutes and then not showing, I called my insurance and they said I didn't need a police report for that. So, not feeling up for Graveyard (nor really knowing how to get there at this point), we went back home, disheartended.
Free concert? check. Free parking? check. No traffic? Check. Open Bar? Check. Car intact? NOPE. what a night.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Nothing new to report.
Well, it's been almost a month since my last post, and I am not even sure what to write about here. Usually I have some great stories about funny things happening in my life, but lately, I've let these things pass and have forgotten to write about them, and of course can't think of anything good to put here now that I have the time to write!
The last few weeks have been really busy. Every weeknight is booked, so I am never home. Mondays I dance at Hot Jam, Tuesdays I teach two dance classes in Decatur, Wednesdays is my day that I don't dance normally, so we go to trivia, but when we can't get our act together for trivia, I have been going to Graveyard tavern to dance to a great live band. Thursdays is Tiny Bunch practice, and of course Friday is Shabbat. The weekends always have something in store.
I have been a bit overwhelmed lately with something every night and having a few awesome projects at work that are fun, but exhausting. I decided this week to take a few weeks off from teaching at down south. I decided that I need one night a week as "discretionary" for a bit, so in a few weeks, my Tuesdays will open.
As always, I try to spend time with friends and family as much as possible, and hosted an impromptu martin luther king day party on Sunday night, and had dancing at one of my house parties for the first time. Meanwhile, Evin, Noah and Kesiah are living here now, so it's awesome to get to see them all the time, and of course spend time with the baby.
We've been working on a new routine with Tiny Bunch, so that is going to be performed for the first time this weekend at Georgia Tech's Dance Marathon, and then again next week at Down South Camp Meeting. It is looking good so far, but we have a lot of practice learn the rest and then practice it, so we have a lot of extra practice sessions over the next two weeks.
Anyway, I have a trip to Oklahoma for work tomorrow for two days, and then it's back to the grind here.
The last few weeks have been really busy. Every weeknight is booked, so I am never home. Mondays I dance at Hot Jam, Tuesdays I teach two dance classes in Decatur, Wednesdays is my day that I don't dance normally, so we go to trivia, but when we can't get our act together for trivia, I have been going to Graveyard tavern to dance to a great live band. Thursdays is Tiny Bunch practice, and of course Friday is Shabbat. The weekends always have something in store.
I have been a bit overwhelmed lately with something every night and having a few awesome projects at work that are fun, but exhausting. I decided this week to take a few weeks off from teaching at down south. I decided that I need one night a week as "discretionary" for a bit, so in a few weeks, my Tuesdays will open.
As always, I try to spend time with friends and family as much as possible, and hosted an impromptu martin luther king day party on Sunday night, and had dancing at one of my house parties for the first time. Meanwhile, Evin, Noah and Kesiah are living here now, so it's awesome to get to see them all the time, and of course spend time with the baby.
We've been working on a new routine with Tiny Bunch, so that is going to be performed for the first time this weekend at Georgia Tech's Dance Marathon, and then again next week at Down South Camp Meeting. It is looking good so far, but we have a lot of practice learn the rest and then practice it, so we have a lot of extra practice sessions over the next two weeks.
Anyway, I have a trip to Oklahoma for work tomorrow for two days, and then it's back to the grind here.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Oh, Jo!
I have this memory of the story "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott where Jo goes and sells her hair, and when she returns her sister says "Oh, Jo! How could you?! Your One beauty!!" Well, that's exactly what I did today, minus the sale.
I chopped off all my hair and donated it. (well, I haven't technically donated it yet, it is still waiting to be mailed, but you get the idea) I figured - cut 10+ inches and do a simple style to what's left. I donated my hair once before, but it was even longer, so when I donated it, It just looked like a shorter version of how it always looked. I decided if I was going to do it, I was going to do it right.
I went to get my hair cut by a long time friend, Moses, who since a little after High School has been cutting and stying hair. He chopped the ponytail and immediately had a vision for how he wanted my hair to look once it was done. He cut it and showed it to me curly before straightening it for the finishing touches (so hopefully it'll look good both ways)
Here are a couple pictures from when we went out tonight so you can see what he did. It is angled to the front and really short in the back, and he actually thinned it a bit to control it when it's curly too.
comments?
And here it is Curly!
I chopped off all my hair and donated it. (well, I haven't technically donated it yet, it is still waiting to be mailed, but you get the idea) I figured - cut 10+ inches and do a simple style to what's left. I donated my hair once before, but it was even longer, so when I donated it, It just looked like a shorter version of how it always looked. I decided if I was going to do it, I was going to do it right.
I went to get my hair cut by a long time friend, Moses, who since a little after High School has been cutting and stying hair. He chopped the ponytail and immediately had a vision for how he wanted my hair to look once it was done. He cut it and showed it to me curly before straightening it for the finishing touches (so hopefully it'll look good both ways)
Here are a couple pictures from when we went out tonight so you can see what he did. It is angled to the front and really short in the back, and he actually thinned it a bit to control it when it's curly too.
comments?
And here it is Curly!
Friday, January 11, 2008
Unreachable
I dread the day that airplanes will have internet access. True, it will prove to be one more form of convenience that traveling will provide. Sure, now not only can we fly across the country for a day for a meeting, but the interim travel time will not be wasted! I think of it as just the opposite. Travel time is the one time that I get to take a break from the world. I get to pretend no one is trying to contact me, and I have an excuse for why I don’t answer my phone. I am not expected to respond to emails, and when people ask, I can simply say “I am so sorry I missed you, I was traveling.” Unfortunately, that excuse will go by the wayside. Similar to how fifteen years ago, one could drive somewhere and be unreachable, now if you’re on the ground, you pretty much have no excuse no not be available by phone/blackberry/etc.
When at home, I have no time to sit down and read. I go straight from work to work out or to dance or to teach dance or to spend time with my family. Lately, I haven’t even enjoyed dinner without multitasking at the same time. But because I traveled this week, I read a book. I wrote a blog entry. I took a nap. And how lovely it was. I read “A thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini. He is the same author who wrote “The Kite Runner” which I read last year. “A thousand splendid suns” was a beautifully written book of the accounts of two women living in Afganistan, whose stories are filled with history, love, fear, growth, violence and faith. I would recommend reading it if you haven’t already.Hopefully this weekend will be nice and relaxing too. If I muster the guts, I plan to chop off all my hair too.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
New Years and beyond.
After my last post reminiscing of years past, I can only write about the future here, right?
This year has started awesomely. I spent New Years weekend in Asheville, NC at Lindy Focus dance camp. I didn't really know what to expect going in, but after an interesting first evening filled with the drive the Asheville, tryouts and dancing, camp began with a bang. For four days, we spent most of every day in class, learning new moves, techniques, and styles. One session of classes was dedicated solely to a choreographed routine, and that was actually pretty cool. As I always say, I love these weekends of dance because not only the classes, but the practice with new leads improves my dancing. I come home only wanting to dance. I was lucky to have been paired with an awesome guy for the class routine, and got to know new friends as the weekend went on.
After dancing from 10pm new years eve until 7:30 am on new years day, all I wanted to do was sleep. But no, I had to drive to Atlanta and do stuff, so I just got a regular night's sleep. While Wednensday night then should've been my "catch-up" night, i just couldn't pass up going dancing at Graveyard Tavern. I guess I'll just have to wait to sleep for the weekend since tonight we have tiny bunch practice and we'll be doing Aerials.
I am looking forward to another great year with friends, family, and some awesome dances.
This year has started awesomely. I spent New Years weekend in Asheville, NC at Lindy Focus dance camp. I didn't really know what to expect going in, but after an interesting first evening filled with the drive the Asheville, tryouts and dancing, camp began with a bang. For four days, we spent most of every day in class, learning new moves, techniques, and styles. One session of classes was dedicated solely to a choreographed routine, and that was actually pretty cool. As I always say, I love these weekends of dance because not only the classes, but the practice with new leads improves my dancing. I come home only wanting to dance. I was lucky to have been paired with an awesome guy for the class routine, and got to know new friends as the weekend went on.
After dancing from 10pm new years eve until 7:30 am on new years day, all I wanted to do was sleep. But no, I had to drive to Atlanta and do stuff, so I just got a regular night's sleep. While Wednensday night then should've been my "catch-up" night, i just couldn't pass up going dancing at Graveyard Tavern. I guess I'll just have to wait to sleep for the weekend since tonight we have tiny bunch practice and we'll be doing Aerials.
I am looking forward to another great year with friends, family, and some awesome dances.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Twas the night before christmas...
I was sitting around today thinking about where I was on this week in past years, so I figured I'd write a blog about it, starting back from as far as I can remember.
December 1999 - Over xmas/new years by friend Becca and I took a cruise for 12 days for what we thought would be the time of our lives. We had been "hired" to go with two families to babysit their kids during the millenium cruise. We were stoked. As it turned out, we had a horrible time, but great stories for years to come.
2000 - I spent my first winter break at GT going to Israel for three weeks on the Jewel program. It was a nice experience, and awesome to get to take a nearly free trip to Israel.
2001 - Let's see, sophomore year for xmas I invited over all of my jewish friends, and we threw a party for my friend (and at the time roommate) JennY. JennY couldn't go home that year, so we baked kosher christmas cookies and my mom and sister whipped out the christmas carols sheet music and played music for the party. For new years I believe I threw a party at my parents' house when they went out for a party, but I don't remember many details other than that I still have a picture or two.
2002 - I remember this year I went to Jacob's house for new years with his friends. Before that, I spent winter break in Cancun with him and his family for a week or so.
2003 - winter break this year was on a cruise with my friend Leah, and her friend Antonette. The three of us gals partied like it was 1999 and enjoyed our break at the beach. For new years I party hopped - first to Jacob's and then to the great Keg drop the the old AEPi guys used to do in the grey house off bellemeade rd.
2004- I spent winter break this year in Chile. The dates fell so that we ended up with 4 weeks of winter break, and I really wanted to get out of town since it was my last winter break while in school, but couldn't find anyone that wanted to join me. So I ventured out doing a bit of research, and ended up going to Chile for the break, and helped out at the Hillel in Santiago, and had a lovely time, and met some awesome people.
2005 - This week in 2005 I closed on my house. My family was in Spain visiting my brother while he was spending the year there, and I went on my own and closed on my house. I (of course) still live in my house, and still love it. I just can't believe it's been 2 years. That same year I threw a new years party in the newly renovated room in the back of my parents' house. The theme was speakeasy, and it was a blast if I do say so myself. Josh and Leah were in town that year, which made it awesome. I still even have pictures here:
2006 - Before christmas, I drove to Charlotte with Josh, and spent a few days visiting with his family and friends. then once I came home, I spent my couple days off for christmas laying the new flooring down at my house. My dad, brother, and Leah W all endured the two days of obstacles to see the lovely final product. It was awesome, and way better than the ugly carpet that was there before. For new years, I hosted a party at the last minute and had lots of fun and fireworks, and used the "liquor cow" for the first time.
2007 - I went to the bagel bash (for the third year in a row), and for new years I'll be attending Lindy Focus up in Asheville, NC. I am actually looking forward to it a lot.
so there you have it. The past 8 years from memory of what I did during these couple weeks of holidays. As always, they were fun, and I look back on them fondly =)
December 1999 - Over xmas/new years by friend Becca and I took a cruise for 12 days for what we thought would be the time of our lives. We had been "hired" to go with two families to babysit their kids during the millenium cruise. We were stoked. As it turned out, we had a horrible time, but great stories for years to come.
2000 - I spent my first winter break at GT going to Israel for three weeks on the Jewel program. It was a nice experience, and awesome to get to take a nearly free trip to Israel.
2001 - Let's see, sophomore year for xmas I invited over all of my jewish friends, and we threw a party for my friend (and at the time roommate) JennY. JennY couldn't go home that year, so we baked kosher christmas cookies and my mom and sister whipped out the christmas carols sheet music and played music for the party. For new years I believe I threw a party at my parents' house when they went out for a party, but I don't remember many details other than that I still have a picture or two.
2002 - I remember this year I went to Jacob's house for new years with his friends. Before that, I spent winter break in Cancun with him and his family for a week or so.
2003 - winter break this year was on a cruise with my friend Leah, and her friend Antonette. The three of us gals partied like it was 1999 and enjoyed our break at the beach. For new years I party hopped - first to Jacob's and then to the great Keg drop the the old AEPi guys used to do in the grey house off bellemeade rd.
2004- I spent winter break this year in Chile. The dates fell so that we ended up with 4 weeks of winter break, and I really wanted to get out of town since it was my last winter break while in school, but couldn't find anyone that wanted to join me. So I ventured out doing a bit of research, and ended up going to Chile for the break, and helped out at the Hillel in Santiago, and had a lovely time, and met some awesome people.
2005 - This week in 2005 I closed on my house. My family was in Spain visiting my brother while he was spending the year there, and I went on my own and closed on my house. I (of course) still live in my house, and still love it. I just can't believe it's been 2 years. That same year I threw a new years party in the newly renovated room in the back of my parents' house. The theme was speakeasy, and it was a blast if I do say so myself. Josh and Leah were in town that year, which made it awesome. I still even have pictures here:
2006 - Before christmas, I drove to Charlotte with Josh, and spent a few days visiting with his family and friends. then once I came home, I spent my couple days off for christmas laying the new flooring down at my house. My dad, brother, and Leah W all endured the two days of obstacles to see the lovely final product. It was awesome, and way better than the ugly carpet that was there before. For new years, I hosted a party at the last minute and had lots of fun and fireworks, and used the "liquor cow" for the first time.
2007 - I went to the bagel bash (for the third year in a row), and for new years I'll be attending Lindy Focus up in Asheville, NC. I am actually looking forward to it a lot.
so there you have it. The past 8 years from memory of what I did during these couple weeks of holidays. As always, they were fun, and I look back on them fondly =)
Friday, December 14, 2007
Chanukkah!
Well, it’s been a pretty exciting week in the life of me! First off, Happy Late Chanukkah! While everyone else is currently scrambling for gifts, our holiday has ended, and let me say, it was a good one!
First off, My older sister Evin, her husband Noah, and my niece Kesiah all moved to Atlanta last week from Chicago. Evin has lived up there for 10+ years, and Noah is a windy city native, but I guess the bad weather and our begging and the hopes for built-in babysitters was enough for them to move. We all got together last Friday night for Shabbat at the ‘rents’ house. Kesiah who is now 18 months old is cuter than cute. She is talking, and speaks hundreds of words. It’s going to be fun having everyone in town.
Second, I got a promotion at work! This has been something that I have been working on with my boss, and making goals and objectives to get there, and I am thrilled to have been promoted. Now I need to set my goals for my next promotion in 2009/2010! My official new title is Project Engineer. I started out here as an Engineering Aide when I was in college, and when I came on full time I was a Design Engineer. Just a few more years and I’ll be running the place ;-)
Lastly, our office moved. The old office was in Norcross, GA, and my ride to work was 5.8 miles and took me 10 minutes. 12 minutes when there was bad traffic and I hit all the lights. No such luck anymore. The new office moved from being up Peachtree Industrial to being in Duluth, GA up I-85, and so now I have to get on the highway and go farther to get to work. The truth is, the ride isn’t really all that bad. The commute takes about 10 minutes longer on a good day, but I hate being on the highway since there’s always the idiot that stalls in the center lane and halts traffic for 3 hours longer than the usual rush hour. On a positive note though, the old office was split into two buildings, so we weren’t all located together. The new building is huge, and we have a ton of extra space with everyone in a single location. In the old office, my cube was at “grand central” – the corner that everyone had to pass to get to a door, the bathroom, or the breakroom, so people were constantly congregated around my cube chatting (to either each other or to me). I don’t mind the talking, but it was quite distracting when I actually had work to do. I requested a more secluded spot in the new building, and boy did I get it! My new spot is essentially in a corner where no one will ever go unless they are specifically coming to see me. Perfect. And lastly, we have a rec room here. Complete with a pool table, ping pong table, couches and an Xbox 360 to play on the plasma TV equipped with Direct TV. Unfortunately I haven’t actually used it yet, but I’m sure I’ll get to soon. Everyone was so excited about the new office, that our annual office party usually held at a nice location was cancelled, and rescheduled to be in the new office. They maintained the formality of the party, and they “unwrapped” the gift of the breakroom during the party. I brough Scott as my date, so that was fun, and after the open bar party, we (with DZ, Trent, and Anke) went out to the Highlands for some more fun.
So overall it's been a pretty good couple weeks. Hope the update was as exciting for you to read as it was for me to experience! =) now time to cook for 14 people. Yikes!Sunday, December 02, 2007
Traveling and California
First, I am going to go on a quick rant about traveling. I travel enough that although I am not what some call a "road warrior", I usually fly at least a couple times a month. I was in the LAX airport yesterday, and it looked really familiar, and it took me ten minutes to remember that I was actually in this airport about a year ago (though for a while had no recollection of this). Most people know exactly what airports and cities they've been to in the last year. Here are a few of my pet peeves of traveling. In the airport bathrooms, everywhere it seems, the stall doors open inward. The direction of the swing on stall doors is never really an issue, except when you're dragging a bag, and you have to walk into a tiny stall, and try to get your bag in far enough to get the door closed. What a pain in the butt! Another pet peeve is when there is a very fat person in the seat next to me. It just so happened that my flight last night was a large lady wearing a large coat. When I get to the seat first, I always lower the armrest to create a barrier of sorts, but she was already there when I arrived, so I was essentially restricted to the other half of my seat. Because taking a red eye next to a fat person wasn't bad enough, some parents brought their screaming baby on the plane, and sat directly behind me. This baby was SCREAMING for more than the first hour of the flight. I thought it would never end. Well I finally got home, and thankfully they didn't lose my luggage too.
Now that I've railed on flying, I'll talk about my trip to California. The trip was actually a business trip to Bakersfield (a bit north of LA), but I extended my trip a couple days to have a chance to visit with friends. I first saw Rina - a friend of mine I've known literally my whole life - since before I was born. Rina got married last year, and just had a little baby boy a month ago. I hadn't seen her since she'd been out there, so I was excited I'd get to see her. I met baby Noam, and although she said he was being fussy that day, I thought he was acting great. He even fell asleep in my arms!! It was nice seeing Rina too since it'd been a while!!
While in LA, I also got to see Ben D. He works for Sony Imageworks and so I met him near his office in the afternoon, and we went to get some food. After working long and night shift hours, Ben has moved up in the ranks and now has a normal daytime job, which is nice =) We went to this Argentine Cafe, and it was really yummy. It really was reminiscent of the cafes I ate at in Argentina earlier this year - Good selection Ben!
I managed to not remember to take pictures at all while still in LA, so sorry for the lack of pictures to this point.
I went to Oceanside (about 90 miles south of LA) to visit with Josh while I was down there, and Josh reserved a time and was cleared to take me in a plane on an "aerial tour of San Diego" so that I could both see him fly AND see S.D., but in the day and a half I was down there, the weather was horrible raining the first day, and really cloudy and windy for flying the second day, so we didn't get to go =( However, we did get to go to the Science museum (a bit reminiscent of SciTREK if anyone is from Atlanta), and a Natural History Museum (similar to Fernbank), but they had a traveling exhibit of the dead sea scrolls, which I'd seen in Israel years ago when I went with my family in middle school, but don't really remember, so that was a pretty interesting exhibit, although I think Josh was a bit disappointed in the actual scrolls - hoping they'd be bigger and more intact. Josh cooked up some yummy fajitas for dinner too
(I even ate one or two vegetables with them just to make him happy hahaha) The second day we went to Camp Pendelton where he trains, and I got to take a tour of the base, but specifically his hanger and helicopter. 
The Cobra was pretty cool, and I actually got to go inside both the front and back seat and check out all the controls and stuff.
pretty nifty. We also went down to Carlsbad where the Pacific Ocean beach was really pretty, though it was really windy and way too cold to actually sit out there.
I left Oceanside to go back to LA to meet back up with Ben, and I got to see his new Condo that he bought which is really close to LAX, and he is currently remodeling. It looks awesome. It's pretty big with a great view! you can see the beach from his windows! It will look really good inside when it's done. I can't wait to see the pictures. Ben and I met up in Santa Monica with Miles and his friend Dan to walk through the 3rd Street Prominade, which is a walking/shopping/movie/eating district. We walked all around the blocks surrounding there too, just enjoying the conversation and checking out the stores. We discussed and deliberated what restaurant to go to until there were no more options left, and finally settled on an Italian place Miles had been to once before. It ended up being pretty good, and we sat in there and talked and ate for probably 2.5 hours. After dinner we walked more through the promenade, mostly in the direction of the parking deck since I had a flight to catch.
all in all, it was a nice weekend, and I'm thrilled I got to see everyone!! What an awesome way to get an essentially free vacation from work. I love extending business trips when I have the opportunity!
Now that I've railed on flying, I'll talk about my trip to California. The trip was actually a business trip to Bakersfield (a bit north of LA), but I extended my trip a couple days to have a chance to visit with friends. I first saw Rina - a friend of mine I've known literally my whole life - since before I was born. Rina got married last year, and just had a little baby boy a month ago. I hadn't seen her since she'd been out there, so I was excited I'd get to see her. I met baby Noam, and although she said he was being fussy that day, I thought he was acting great. He even fell asleep in my arms!! It was nice seeing Rina too since it'd been a while!!
While in LA, I also got to see Ben D. He works for Sony Imageworks and so I met him near his office in the afternoon, and we went to get some food. After working long and night shift hours, Ben has moved up in the ranks and now has a normal daytime job, which is nice =) We went to this Argentine Cafe, and it was really yummy. It really was reminiscent of the cafes I ate at in Argentina earlier this year - Good selection Ben!
I managed to not remember to take pictures at all while still in LA, so sorry for the lack of pictures to this point.
I went to Oceanside (about 90 miles south of LA) to visit with Josh while I was down there, and Josh reserved a time and was cleared to take me in a plane on an "aerial tour of San Diego" so that I could both see him fly AND see S.D., but in the day and a half I was down there, the weather was horrible raining the first day, and really cloudy and windy for flying the second day, so we didn't get to go =( However, we did get to go to the Science museum (a bit reminiscent of SciTREK if anyone is from Atlanta), and a Natural History Museum (similar to Fernbank), but they had a traveling exhibit of the dead sea scrolls, which I'd seen in Israel years ago when I went with my family in middle school, but don't really remember, so that was a pretty interesting exhibit, although I think Josh was a bit disappointed in the actual scrolls - hoping they'd be bigger and more intact. Josh cooked up some yummy fajitas for dinner too
(I even ate one or two vegetables with them just to make him happy hahaha) The second day we went to Camp Pendelton where he trains, and I got to take a tour of the base, but specifically his hanger and helicopter. 
The Cobra was pretty cool, and I actually got to go inside both the front and back seat and check out all the controls and stuff.
pretty nifty. We also went down to Carlsbad where the Pacific Ocean beach was really pretty, though it was really windy and way too cold to actually sit out there.
I left Oceanside to go back to LA to meet back up with Ben, and I got to see his new Condo that he bought which is really close to LAX, and he is currently remodeling. It looks awesome. It's pretty big with a great view! you can see the beach from his windows! It will look really good inside when it's done. I can't wait to see the pictures. Ben and I met up in Santa Monica with Miles and his friend Dan to walk through the 3rd Street Prominade, which is a walking/shopping/movie/eating district. We walked all around the blocks surrounding there too, just enjoying the conversation and checking out the stores. We discussed and deliberated what restaurant to go to until there were no more options left, and finally settled on an Italian place Miles had been to once before. It ended up being pretty good, and we sat in there and talked and ate for probably 2.5 hours. After dinner we walked more through the promenade, mostly in the direction of the parking deck since I had a flight to catch.
all in all, it was a nice weekend, and I'm thrilled I got to see everyone!! What an awesome way to get an essentially free vacation from work. I love extending business trips when I have the opportunity!
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Thanksgiving Weekend
Today is my first day back at work since thanksgiving. After a busy morning, I left and headed to the airport for my flight to California. More on that later. For now, I’ll give an update on what’s been going on over the last week since no less than five people have pointed out to me this week that I haven’t posted lately, and I don’t really remember beyond last Wednesday. This’ll be a long one =)
Thanksgiving at home was uneventful. It was the first time in years that we’d done thanksgiving at my parent’s home with the family. The last few years we’d been apart, on a cruise ship, or at other people’s homes. The week began with Wednesday. I went into work to discover that there was nearly no one there! So few in fact, that the company bought pizza for the lone souls who decided to show up. However, with the projects I’d been working on, I had a lot to do, and managed to be the last one in the building before the holiday. I used Thursday to relax and get a bunch of stuff done around the house. I made a big fruit salad, and in the afternoon headed over to my parents’ house. We celebrated with a family friend and my friend Matt. The food was delicious. I must say that my mom’s first attempt at parve (non-dairy) cornbread was delicious. It might have been because she snuck in some extra sugar when my dad wasn’t watching ;-)
Friday was a day for catching up with everyone. Smitha had organized for all of us old GT Orchestra people to get together for lunch, so six of us met at flying biscuit and had a yummy fill for a couple hours (as if we hadn’t eaten enough the night before). We then walked over to Piedmont park, and played Frisbee for a while, and Moshe took some photos while we played. My college friend Leah was also in town, and we met up in the afternoon to walk around the GT campus and go to the varsity, and walk around Atlantic Station. It had been a while since she’d been in town. We proceeded to the Atlanta Brewing Company, where it was pretty busy with people. We met up with Scott, Courtney, Matt, and a few others for the tasting. From there, Leah had other dinner plans, so she headed out and the rest of us went over to Matt’s for dinner. He had wanted to cook a thanksgiving dinner Thursday, but since most people were going to their own families houses, he opted to host Friday Shabbat instead. I brought some Challah, but other than that, Matt cooked everything. He made a traditional thanksgiving meal – turkey, stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. An impressive showing of his cooking prowess.
Saturday was dedicated to one thing, and one thing only. FOOTBALL. My favorite game of the year is the GT/ UGA rivalry game that always takes place the Saturday after thanksgiving. It is the only time of year we (the GT fans) really bother talking smack to the opponent, and we do it whether we think we’ll win or not. Although many feared the blowout that could’ve been the result of this game, UGA was only favored by 3.5 points, so we continued our smack talk. I decided a few days before the game to host a tailgate, and at 10:00 AM we found a nice spot at Yellow Jacket park (where the old Hightower building was) and set up our tailgate. Everyone was responsible for bringing something, and once everyone arrived, we were set. We had delicious food, and a great turnout! It was a little cold, but everyone was dressed for it, and so we managed fine outdoors. DZ headed up the grilling while Matt E. actually made some of the hamburgers from scratch! Betsy was in town and stopped by for a while, and with her came her famous mankiller cupcakes. I didn’t actually get to eat one, but they sure looked good! After four quarters of cheering as much as possible for my team, we came out with a loss. Our seventh loss in a row to UGA. It’s interesting still that we can have a winning season but if we don’t beat Georgia, the season goes as a disappointment. We’ll still be going to a bowl game, although again it is a bowl that no one really cares about.
Sunday I went down to Locust Grove (south of Atlanta) and spent the AM with Leah before she left town back to WA. We don’t get to see each other that often, so I was trying to take advantage of any opportunity to meet up. After visiting with her and her family, I took a detour to the Tanger outlets and did a little shopping before it got too busy for the day. In the afternoon, I came home to do some cooking. I had dinner guests coming over. A woman I work with, Suzanne, lost her husband a couple months ago, so I wanted to have her over for dinner. Turns out she knows a friend of our family – Manuela - that lives in the complex next to me. So I made a date of it, and invited Suzanne, Manuela, and my mom over for dinner. On the menu was spicy cream of potato soup with homemade wheat bread for starters. For the main course we had my “famous” salmon with Spanikopita, and tomato spaghetti – Cuban style. Then was papaya and melon, followed by chocolate molten lava cake with ice cream. I made brownies too, since I was worried the lava cakes weren’t going to come out, but they came out perfectly, so the brownies were untouched. All this went perfectly with some white wine that Suzanne brought from her visit this week to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville. When you put a Belgian, Parisian, and Cuban and me at the dinner table, the conversations flows beautifully. I think everyone had a lovely time until I ran everyone out of the house after 3 hours since I had dance practice. Dance practice was hilarious. We had a smaller group that usual (about 10 showed for practice), and we were learning some jams for future use at different upcoming performances. We did one called “the worm” that was hilarious. I won’t even begin to describe it, but during the practice, I was kicked in the head and slammed my butt on the floor a bunch of times, and hit my knees on the floor a lot too. Needless to say, I am a bit bruised up today. I can’t complain though, I laughed so hard during practice, my abs were hurting.
So like I said, I am writing this entry on my way to CA. I am heading to CA for the week to work on my ice cream project in Bakersfield (about 2 hours from LA). We were slated to come back at the end of the week, but the office is closed for the big move on Friday anyway, so I opted to stay in CA for a couple extra days, and am taking back the Saturday red eye flight to arrive in Atlanta early Sunday morning. While in CA, I have plans to meet up with four different friends, so hopefully I can juggle it right to get to see everyone. For now though, I think I’ve written enough for one entry to keep everyone appeased for a few more days. Happy Post Thanksgiving everyone!
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
I are an Engineer.
I was sitting at my parent’s house about 7 years ago, and we were all sitting around the table having dinner. My dad had prepared ravioli for dinner, and I remember the following happening: The ravioli were triangle shaped, and I was cutting them into three parts before eating them. By doing this, I’d created three quadritateral pieces, none of which were square, but all of which were identical to the next. My dad was watching me do this, one by one as I was eating them. He finally commented on it and although I was consciously doing the cutting, I wasn’t really focused on the fact of how I was doing it. I’ve realized over the years that I do weird things like that all the time.
On long road trips, I am constantly calculating based on how many miles I have left and how fast I am going, exactly what time I will arrive at the destination, or where I will be by a certain time. I do the same thing to a smaller scale when I go for a run. I come up with shortcuts on my drives until I have figured out the best timing based on traffic patterns, traffic lights, and what days the garbage trucks come. When I eat M&Ms, I pour out the bag, and collect one of each color and set them aside. I continue doing this until I can’t anymore, and then I collect one of each remaining color, etc. until I have a pile of 3 or fewer left. At that point, I eat them, and eat them backwards until my remaining candies are exactly one of each color. I keep my DVDs in alphabetical order. When I step into the garage, I open the garage door and always get the car turned on immediately as the garage door finishes opening. When I get in the car, I have a method so I close the door, put on my seatbelt, and start the car in one swift move. When I set up my kitchen, I put the cups over the dishwasher rather than the plates, so that I minimize trips to put away dishes (since plates can be stacked and all put away in one trip). I plan my recipes when I cook so that I can multitask the recipes and finish in the least time possible. I almost always fall asleep within 5 minutes of getting into bed.
I pin my socks together so I don’t have to match them later, and keep two laundry baskets so I don’t have to sort them later. My closet is arranged by clothing type and then by color. I couldn’t tell you how the internet works, but I can sure find anything I want pretty fast, as I am convinced I am a master of Google. I can’t solve a rubik’s cube, but I could probably solve a Sudoku puzzle faster than most.
I’m weird like that. Or maybe it’s that I am wired liked that. Is that the brain of an engineer? Or the brain of an overly compulsive person? Who knows? I just know that if I leave my house by 8:21, I get to work at 8:30.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Tiny Bunch
For those of you who are in the dark about who "Tiny Bunch" is, here is the update. Tiny Bunch is a new swing dance "team" here in Atlanta. They formed as a one-time deal for a team competition last month in Nashville (which I couldn't attend), and then since decided that it would be fun to continue as a group. That's where I come in. We had our first meeting a couple weeks ago and made the "rules" and "ideals" of the group (aka "the family"), and we had our first post competition performance on Friday night. After just a few hours of rehearsal, we all learned the lindy chorus routine and performed it twice over the weekend. The first time was Friday at the Emory Swing Club dance, and even though we all knew it, we botched it a bit with each couple apparently making a couple mistakes. We had fun anyway though. Sunday we did the routine "perfectly" (at least, as good as we could get it) for a high school group who LOVED it. We gave them a bit of history of the dance and taught them a bit, but we were just thrilled we got the whole routine! This is the first time I have done anything like this, and I am looking forward to getting over my fear of performing, and having some fun while I'm at it. The people in Tiny Bunch are awesome, and I can't wait to do more together!
This is the tiny bunch catch phrase:
oh, if you're wondering, Tiny Bunch is a famous dancer from the 30's when Lindy Hop was first "invented", who was anything but tiny. The name kind of compliments the other (and original) Atlanta Lindy Hop team: Big George. But like we said. We're happy to be second.
This is the tiny bunch catch phrase:
The "second string" is a phenomenon as old as competition itself. Not everybody can be an astronaut; every Dumb needs its Dumber. The Tiny Bunch is a ragtag company of drinking friends with a dancing problem, who have been marginalized, rejected, and passed over—and for good reason. But what others have in training, talent, and technical ability, we more than make up for in alliteration. Always stress free, we take dignity, modesty, and irony to new heights. We dance like no one's watching and hope that is, in fact, the case.
oh, if you're wondering, Tiny Bunch is a famous dancer from the 30's when Lindy Hop was first "invented", who was anything but tiny. The name kind of compliments the other (and original) Atlanta Lindy Hop team: Big George. But like we said. We're happy to be second.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
7 flights in 7 days and homecoming!
Well, for those of you who missed me over the last week, I was traveling all around! I literally flew in 7 flights in 7 days.
Destination 1: Washington State. All photos are here
I went to Washington to visit my friend Leah. She has been stationed out on Whidbey Island for the last 8 months or so, and keeps telling me how beautiful it was there.
So I took advantage of going to the west coast already, and went to visit for the weekend. We spent one day visiting areas in her neck of the woods - specifically Deception Pass State park where we hiked a trail to a cool lookout point and saw this really cool bridge. 
The same day, we also went to the base where she is training. It was nice getting to catch up with her. Then Sunday, we went and acted as tourists in Seattle, going to the space needle, the original Starbucks, Pike Place Market,
and a wonderfully hilarious and interesting tour of the history of underground Seattle.
Destination 2: Las Vegas.
Having not been to Las Vegas since I was about 18, I was looking forward to this trip. I was going for a packaging trade show that happens there every other year, and I had to meet with about a million vendors for a project I am working on. I spent all day for three days talking about equipment. But after dinner, we were on our own, and we took advantage of it. A couple of my coworkers and a few of our former coworkers and vendors and I went out walked around lots of the hotels, got drinks, listened to bands, and caught up. It was fun. However, the week did not include nearly any shut-eye, which by day three was catching up with me. The only picture that is proof I was there is the one here.
Destination 3: Bakersfield, CA
I was going to Bakersfield for work for an on-site visit for an ice-cream project I am working on. As expected, the plant was FREEZING, but I am looking forward to this project since I am working with a new client for me, and with new coworkers as well.
I finally headed home Friday to make it back in time for the GT JSU reunion. I had been trying to get this planned for a bit, and finally compiled a list of alumni. It was homecoming weekend this weekend, and the perfect opportunity to have a JSU reunion! Even with the somewhat late publicity and the lack of email addresses for alumni, about 10 alumni came along with about 30 current students. It was a lot of fun, and we all got to catch up a bit with each other. It brought back memories to my days at GT. I also dropped by Buzz Bash that evening and ran into a million old friends and classmates.
Then yesterday was the GT/Army homecoming game. My company was having a tailgate, which was actually more of a tailgate for Army alumni than one for our company, but it was fun. I brought my dad along, and we then went to AEPi for him to catch up with his cohorts from his days at GT. The game was pretty good, with GT almost beating the anticipated spread with a 34-10 win. DZ and I went to campus in time to watch the Ramblin' Wreck Parade, which is a homecoming tradition and a lot of fun to see.
Destination 1: Washington State. All photos are here
I went to Washington to visit my friend Leah. She has been stationed out on Whidbey Island for the last 8 months or so, and keeps telling me how beautiful it was there.
So I took advantage of going to the west coast already, and went to visit for the weekend. We spent one day visiting areas in her neck of the woods - specifically Deception Pass State park where we hiked a trail to a cool lookout point and saw this really cool bridge. 
The same day, we also went to the base where she is training. It was nice getting to catch up with her. Then Sunday, we went and acted as tourists in Seattle, going to the space needle, the original Starbucks, Pike Place Market,
and a wonderfully hilarious and interesting tour of the history of underground Seattle.Destination 2: Las Vegas.
Having not been to Las Vegas since I was about 18, I was looking forward to this trip. I was going for a packaging trade show that happens there every other year, and I had to meet with about a million vendors for a project I am working on. I spent all day for three days talking about equipment. But after dinner, we were on our own, and we took advantage of it. A couple of my coworkers and a few of our former coworkers and vendors and I went out walked around lots of the hotels, got drinks, listened to bands, and caught up. It was fun. However, the week did not include nearly any shut-eye, which by day three was catching up with me. The only picture that is proof I was there is the one here.
Destination 3: Bakersfield, CA
I was going to Bakersfield for work for an on-site visit for an ice-cream project I am working on. As expected, the plant was FREEZING, but I am looking forward to this project since I am working with a new client for me, and with new coworkers as well.
I finally headed home Friday to make it back in time for the GT JSU reunion. I had been trying to get this planned for a bit, and finally compiled a list of alumni. It was homecoming weekend this weekend, and the perfect opportunity to have a JSU reunion! Even with the somewhat late publicity and the lack of email addresses for alumni, about 10 alumni came along with about 30 current students. It was a lot of fun, and we all got to catch up a bit with each other. It brought back memories to my days at GT. I also dropped by Buzz Bash that evening and ran into a million old friends and classmates.
Then yesterday was the GT/Army homecoming game. My company was having a tailgate, which was actually more of a tailgate for Army alumni than one for our company, but it was fun. I brought my dad along, and we then went to AEPi for him to catch up with his cohorts from his days at GT. The game was pretty good, with GT almost beating the anticipated spread with a 34-10 win. DZ and I went to campus in time to watch the Ramblin' Wreck Parade, which is a homecoming tradition and a lot of fun to see.
Monday, October 08, 2007
Scavenger Hunt Recap
For my birthday, Matt, Scott and I created a scavenger hunt to send my friends all over Atlanta earning points and taking pictures. I have posted the clues, their answers, and the submissions here so everyone can see. I was really impressed with how well all the teams did, and I think they all had a great time doing it. Thanks to everyone who participated!!!
Pictures of the hunt are here. Each picture is labeled with team # and clue name, and are in order of the following clues.
Team #1: Jen, George, Amy, Jeff, Heather
Team #2: Ethan, Matt, Josh, Allison
Team #3: Kevin, Chris, Michelle, Sebastian
Team #4: Moshe, Matt, Randy, Avital
Team #4 was the winning team with a total of 106 points.
Pictures of the hunt are here. Each picture is labeled with team # and clue name, and are in order of the following clues.
Team #1: Jen, George, Amy, Jeff, Heather
Team #2: Ethan, Matt, Josh, Allison
Team #3: Kevin, Chris, Michelle, Sebastian
Team #4: Moshe, Matt, Randy, Avital
Team #4 was the winning team with a total of 106 points.
Scavenger Hunt Rules:
- Teams may be comprised of 2-5 people.
- Teams must return BY 9:15 to the party room or will be disqualified
- Teams must ALL be in EVERY picture (Except one person to take the picture)
- Bonus points will be given on a subjective basis by the judges (Bela, Scott, & Matt) for creativity and “going beyond the call of duty”
- Winning team will receive a gift from the judges.
- Go Cosmic Bowling with the cast of “That 70’s Show” [5] Answer: 10 Pin alley in Atlantic Station
- Fly to Atlanta, but not to ATL [9] Answer: PDK airport
- We take this park for granite [20] Answer: Stone Mountain Park - No submissions for this clue (although we know you guys solved it)
- Bela scared the crap out of her driving instructor here exactly 10 years ago. [9] Answer: Any DMV, Driving School, or the church parking lot I learned in would be accepted.
- Hickory, Dickory, _______ . [6] Answer: the dock at piedmont park, but the creativity of Doc Chey's, Doc Green's, and a loading dock were all accepted.
- These GT boxers don’t give me enough NUT SPACE. [8] Answer: The GT Ballroom.
- 2.5 Venn Diagram Sprinklers [4] Answer: Centennial Olympic Park by the rings - again, no one did this one, but we know you solved it.
- This Atlanta staple finally came out with something new that was liked better than the original. [3] Answer: The Coke Museum
- The honeymoon is over, and poor Alice and Trixie are widowed. [3] Answer: The Aquarium
- It was her Tara. They should have put a crosswalk in. [5] Answer: The Margaret Mitchell House
- Don’t bite this Reuben, he may bite back! [15] Answer: family dog Reuben's picture
- Where can you find a festival of Beer, Books, or Beach, all in the same place? [10] Answer: Decatur Square
- WORK this problem: ((3E/12)(4))2 * (MZ0) [20] Answer: Bela's office (E squared M)
- Here they let the p*ssy out of the bag. [5] Answer: The Cheetah
- It’s a Breeze. [4] Answer: Marta
- The only bank in Atlanta that serves martinis. [7] Answer:Fernbank (although Pie Bar was also accepted)
- With all the bars closed, this fish is out of water. [6] Answer: The Atlanta Fish Market
- Instead of Cardinal Directions, Marrietta’s directions are based off of this. [20] Answer: The Big Chicken
- The only place in Atlanta that you can always see stars. [6] Answer: The Fox Theatre
- Various Arteries Run Slowly In To Your <3 Answer: The Varsity
BONUS: Bring back any of these items and you’ll get bonus points:
a) 1 Dozen Krispy Kreme donuts [3]
b) a Varsity hat [1]
c) A receipt from inserection [3] (get 9 points if the receipt is dated for any day/time before 7:00 pm today)
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