n-judah love song

how was the trip? how is boston?

I'm still processing the road trip. Really, it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I challenged my fear of heights twice and lost only once. There was much barbeque consumed, history seen, a guy in a moose hat, amazing views from the tops of mountains and the bottoms of canyons, everyone's favorite Utah game: "Crazy, or Mormon?", seat dancing to the 80's station on XM, outrunning of weather systems so intense that we followed a storm chaser through one, ghost towns, long hikes, buffalo traffic jams and many discussions on the genius of Quincy Jones.

Boston feels more like home than I ever expected it to. Our neighborhood is some odd cross between the old U Street corridor (jazz joints, a fish market that actually serves crappy sandwiches, an A.M.E. church on one corner and a Baptist one on the other) and the Upper East Side. If I say something sarcastic, someone comes back with an equally sarcastic reply. There are two Dunkin' Donuts within walking distance.

After seeing so many new sights, it's a wonderful thing to finally be home.

hot sand, good times.

(cross-posted mostly from my top seekrit Comet blog.)

I know many folks love SXSW, or Coachella, or whatever your flavor of overly long, loud, overpriced music gathering might be. Someplace where you not only put up with being surrounded by throngs of people trying to see the same act, but you get absorbed in it. Alternately annoyed with the logistics, and also kind of never want to go home.

For me, that's Winter Music Conference: kicking off my shoes in the sand to shake a tailfeather to the best new tunes, walking on the beach watching the sunrise (rise!) on the ocean, asshole bouncers, deco buildings, the best people-watching on earth, sandcastle sculptures, café cubano, street musicians.

I'm eating via the fabulous guide to the good eats in Miami from my dear Culocho.

It's exhausting, there's a million other places to go for the money, I may never go again, it's the bling bling Burning Man, right, right, I know. Hey, it might be underwater before I get the chance to go next!

Look for some sure-to-be embarrassing photos on Flickr, and I'll see yall Tuesday!

vacating

  Crystal Clear 
  Originally uploaded by oc girl.

The weather forecast for SF is rain for at least the next 10 days. I went to investigate the Flickr clusters for Hawaii for a little sunshine and inspiration.

winter weather

  Ghandi in snow 
  Originally uploaded by miz_ginevra.

This weekend, I learned the technical difference between a "nor'easter" and a "blizzard". The duration of the storm, the amount of snow, and the wind differentiates them: it has to be 35 miles per hour of winds/gusts to qualify as a blizzard.

Regardless of what it was, when I was out in it instead of stuck at the airport, it sure was pretty.

east coast

I'm heading back east - to NYC, Boston and DC until around New Year's. I'm going to have to learn how to parallel park and swear all over again. I've been asking Jenny to make fun of me more so that I can get back a thicker skin.

I might not be updating here a lot over those weeks, but keep an eye on my Flickr account for some fun photos.

Have an awesome holiday season, yall. Overindulge without remorse and smooch under the mistletoe.

I still love you New York

Ryan Adams - New York New York

One of my favorite parts of New York is that everyone has their own idea of what the best way is to get someplace. It must drive (get it?) cabbies nuts. We sat around last night, talking about what the best way was to get where, and it seems no one can agree. So here's a logistical word problem for all yall.

Cin and I land at JFK around 5pm on a Friday, everyone's favorite time to travel. We're heading to 86th between 1st and 2nd. What's the best way to get there? David says tunnel. Steve says bridge. Nearly everyone says cab.

What do you say, internet?

weekender

I'm heading to the mountains for a weekend of fun, friends, and frolic.

see you all on Tuesday - don't do anything I wouldn't do.

thailand

I almost forgot to mention that my little lady Candice has a blog about her travels. Currently, she's in central Thailand, having volunteered with disaster relief there, and plans to go to India and then to Europe to meet up with German Jenny. (She's just called Jenny there, though.) Thanks to Glassdog's post this morning about Thailand for reminding me.

Once again. My brain is simultaneously sponsored by, and rotten because of, the interweb.

fremont bridge

  fremont bridge 
  Originally uploaded by miz_ginevra.

Taken on the way in to the city from Washington. This is my favorite bridge in Portland - Gabriel said it's because of the novelty of seeing triangles in your daily life.

Notice the whole view is a bit rain-smeared. I miss Puddletown.

taxi!

Jenny Jen and Dana are  home on native soil - yay! I thought this was Jen's best story, regardless of the trials and tribulations of Egyptian travel.

She arrived in her hotel after an excruciating day of dealing with overzealous flirts and wearing headscarves: hot, tired, and exhausted. She tearfully asked the manager to call her a cab.

An old man in the hallway next to her pointed and said loudly: "You're a cab!"

She said it was the first time she'd laughed all day and didn't stop for 10 minutes.

too many photos

Lotsa photographs from our Europe trip are now in the sidebar.  Thanks to Lilia for giving me the heads up that I could upload photos as a .zip file.  (and happy anniversary!)

I'm sorry I didn't blog more while away, but a lot of the internet cafes doubles as porn shops, so that was enough to keep me away from the online world. It's also refreshing - when you're attached to something, it's good to let everything go for a while. I've not taken a trip like that - ever - and it's remarkable how different I feel on the other side.

However, I cannot leave her Highness alone again for a while.

tired but inspired.

Thank you, friends, for stopping in and saying hi while I was gone; Stella Lou, for welcoming me back with wet kisses and big paws, and California, for welcoming me home with a stellar sunny fall day.

Things I learned in Europe:

People care about US politics, but not nearly as much as you'd think. The general consensus was "how could you let that man be president?"

There are actually people there who ask "is California like Baywatch?"

People drive FAST. Like no-shit Mario Andretti fast.

the is really fun.

Europe = castles, cheese, and steeeeeeeeeeep stairwells. 

Slovakia was much more wonderful than I thought. Yen's dad - Tata - told me a story once about a sister he loved so dearly, who loved music and art but took a job as a biochemist, who he had seen once since they fled Slovakia. It  was the mother of the woman feeding us dinner and driving us all around town. And she drives CRAZY. We all almost vomited.

Bikes: damn, those bikes were cool. People riding by with babies and kids and puppies and "ding-ding-ding" their whole way on their purple ride. I am SO Amsterdam-izing my bike.

There was once a German price bishop who had a grand toilet placed in the middle of his receiving room. It was a great honor to see him "eliminating", as it were. The whole place still smells like the Tenderloin on a summer afternoon.

Coffee culture - wherein you actually take a break, sit down and drink your (fabulous Illy cappucino) coffee out of a cup is the best idea anywhere ever. Ditto on breakfast.

Food is made without nearly so much processing. You can taste the actual food, rather than the chemicals. Since that was the case, I felt free to eat such things as an unpasteurized cheese called "brynza" and a sausage made from pigs on the farm outside. Yes, I am disgusting, and yes, it was delicious.

Brugge, Belgium = stick 'em up! You will pay through the nose to stay in this tourist town. A plus? Esprit store and TWO H&Ms.

The prostitutes in Amsterdam were really nice, they waved goodbye to us as we trundled off with our suitcases for the station.

Thanks Jenny, for organizing a great trip. Thanks, Yen, for putting up with the henpecking duo.

i went to Europe and all you got was this lousy blog.

more photos later....right now, I'm playing with the dog and readjusting to the time.

hello from amsterdam

hi yall!

surprisingly,I've had little time to post or to so much as download my photos from the trip since Prague. Since then, I have walked through a LOT of castles, eaten some fabulous cheese, slept in a drawer and walked a donkey up a hill to eat brotwurst in a field of ruins. There are loads of great shots I hope to get uploaded when I return to the states. Right now, I'm drinking an Amstel by the Amstel river - just wanted to say hello....

it§s hard to tzpe on praha computers

I§ve put some photos up over on the other page. everzthing is verz quick cos I am in a cafe waiting for the to Slovakia...Praha is lovely, chilly and hard to communicate in. more photos later.....

gone fishin.

I'll be out of reach for two and a half weeks as I travel through Eastern Europe with my boyfriend, best friend, and her boyfriend. I'm so excited I'm about to jump out of my skin. I'm hoping to post up some photos as I go - though I am not too sure of where and when I'll be able to post.

Leave your address if you want me to send you a postcard from any of the following white and uptight locales: Prague, Slovakia, Belgium, Brussels, Germany or Amsterdam.

look kids, big ben, parliament!

I haven't been anywhere off the continent of North America. I am well-traveled when it comes to cars and s and other methods we peasants use to get around.  I can speak decent Spanish to my neighbors. I've been to lovely places in Canada, Mexico and all over the US. However, it makes me a feel a bit like the ugly American. I have longed to see what other cultures who speak wholly other languages do during their day, what their street signs are like, how they relax, how they explore. My folks have been well-traveled, my friends always have been too, so it's time.

We're going to Europe! Jen and Yen and I are going to fly into Prague, meet some of Yen's extended family, then to Germany to see Jenny, then to Amsterdam. I am going to eat all the chocolate and cheese I can hold.  I want to go see the Compost records night (house music)in Munich. I want to take a million photos.

Any ideas for places we must see? A clever corner of the universe that you know of in those two weeks that we simply cannot miss? Travel advice?

I'm totally going to have a Prague Blog, don't yall worry.