What's Up in Our World...The Official WebBlog of Tim & Kendra!!!

Nerdy Tattoos & Starscape 2008

2008-06-08T15:38:00.011-04:00

This weekend was one where I think we were invited to about 400 things. Cool things. Things we wanted to go to. Probably one of the things we most wanted to go to was a seriously cool cluster balloon launch that my crazy yet intriguing friend Jonathan orchestrated and totally pulled off! (YAY)!

However, we didn't think we'd be able to go to any of them. Tim was in Florida all week and was supposed to have a show on Sunday. This wasn't going to allow enough time to drive to NC in time or get back in time. Then, the Sunday show ended up being canceled, but of course not in enough time to hike down there for the balloon launch. So, with about 2 hours each of pre-planning, I decided to go check in on my sister and Tim decided to go to Starscape 2008 in Baltimore, proving yet again that Tim and I operate either via meticulous planning or fly by the seat of our pants improvisation. Nothing in between.

I'll back up though.

Morning: We wake up to a day imported straight from Manila. We decide to play frisbee. We lose our body weight in sweat. We drink it back in water. We look around all that we have to do at the house and, apparently, quickly decide to leave. If we can't see it, IT ISN'T THERE.

I got ready for dinner in Mount Joy with my sister where I'd meet some of her new friends. Dinner was very nice, even if it was short. I arrived there at around 6:15pm and was on the road again by about 9:00pm.

Tim got ready to spend the entire night dancing in a beautiful setting with hundreds and hundreds of strangers.

In hind sight, I wish I would have gone with him. However, he didn't ask me to go, and he prefers to do his own thing at parties. But I felt sad when he showed me all of his videos, I saw that there was a really cool lightening storm that came through, and Dieselboy was there. We used to go to the Planet of the Drums together every year. Tim is probably correct that I wouldn't have appreciated the close quarters in a humid tent when it started to rain, but how I would have reacted in real life can't really be predicted. Depends on how hot I was, how many people were trying to touch me (the chemically altered your so soft state is only entertaining sometimes), and how tired I was by then.

Tim did take some very awesome videos and edited them. They are great and definitely worth checking out. Anyway, I'll turn it over to Tim for more on his experiences.

Tim:
Starscape 2008 was quite an experience. The first being the very serious realization that walking almost a mile from my car to the gate in the severe heat and humidity may very well kill me, not to mention the thousands of other attendees overly dehydrated from the side effects of Methylenedioxymethamphetamine.

Not having to worry about that, I was more concerned with what the temperature would do to my body after only 5-10 minutes of dancing. As it turns out, I didn't have to worry about this for long. About 2 hours after I arrived. a nice refreshing breeze blew into the drum'n'bass tent which was down by the water's edge, effectively cooling us all off and reviving the crowd.

[Pretty good results with the Canon Powershot and no tripod]

Unfortunately, this cool breeze was brought to us via the darkest, most terrifying-looking mass of swirling black clouds I've ever seen.

As it slowly approached, the music played and people watched both the DJ (Cannon Boyz at the time) and the happenings overhead with great interest. Then, once thick bolts of lightning began slashing from the sky to the ground, all attention turned to the weather. A few minutes later, the torrential down-pour commenced, leaving the brave souls out on the pier to come scambling back for cover. The music and lights faded and left us to ooh and awe fireworks-style at the hundred or so streaks of lightning.

Eventually, the rain subsided, leaving a much cooler and less humid environment. Still waiting for the music to come back on, the glowstick crowd returned to the pier and allowed me to capture this video as the departing storm flashed it's last.

After a few more minutes, the lights resumed, the bass rumbled back on and the DJ's came back to the tables for the rest of the night, uninterupted. I stayed for the most part down by the water at the drum'n'bass tent, given the fantastic lineup of:

DIESELBOY W/ MC MESSINIAN
TEEBEE
PHOTEK
JOHN B
DARA
DYLAN
EVOL INTENT
JOE NICE
CANNON BOYZ
BASSMACHINE B2B WICKED SWAY
POLTERGIEST Feat Glue & Feight
DEMETRIOS

Being there by myself, I didn't do much socializing, however I did have 2 interactions...both originating from my tattoos. The first was a group of people sitting by the rocks on the bay, who spotted my Cancer symbol and shouted out, "Hey! Are you a Cancer?! We're all Cancer's over here!". The second was a girl who wanted to know what the anandamide structure was, and who then shared her own "nerdy tattoo": a depiction of Darwin's first sketch of the Tree of Life.

I stayed till sunrise. If you leave Starscape before you watch the sun rise, you might as well not come.

It was a really fun time. I danced hard- I probably need to replace my sneakers (torn apart by the roughly paved surface) an am still feeling it. (I'm not in my twenties anymore and doing this every weekend). It was good to be back dancing.

It was good to see Dieselboy again.
Even with the ridiculous facial hair.

A Fine Day for a Swing

2008-05-24T11:47:00.018-04:00

Tim has always been good at planning little last minute surprises. When we first moved in together, the little surprises usually consisted of a snack or special drink he had waiting for me in the car when he picked me up from the airport. As we both started to travel, it would be little notes left for me when I got home. Now that we are both supposed to live in the same place, but still manage not to see much of each other, he has moved on to planning date nights.

We had both taken Friday off work, and so this time he planned an overnight trip. This was partially to celebrate the long Memorial Day weekend, partially to celebrate our happiness at selling the house, and partially just because we are both tired and could use a getaway.

He didn't tell me where we were going. My instructions were:

Wear an outfit and bring supplies to spend Friday hiking, and
Bring a "biker type" outfit for Friday night*.

So, Thursday night I arrived back to the apartment in a rush after staying too long with a friend from work celebrating, completed the paperwork for the condo sale, started packing, and tried to get some sleep.

We woke up on Friday, finished packing, made sure Elora would be OK while we were gone, and got on the road. Before the adventure could officially begin, though, Tim needed to drop somethings off at work, and we needed to get breakfast.

So, finally we were off!

Tim had printed out directions to take all beautiful, scenic back roads to our destination. It was really beautiful. Since all the states (PA, NJ, DE and MD) are pretty close to each other, I had no idea where we were going or what state we were in. We passed the next two hours looking at all the trees and listening to the radio.

[Gorgeous Blue Sky, Lush Green Grass, and the Open Road Ahead]

Ultimately, we ended up in Maryland at the Susquehanna State Park. The setting was not a surprise to me even if the location was. I knew we would end up in the woods and I knew we'd be near water. It is where we met, the essense of our life together, and a setting that always brings me some measure of both peace and sadness. Tim and I are essentially guarded and solitary creatures - even to each other - and this is only emphasized on such a trip. Let me try to explain...

"Come on, Bee-Bop." Tim said to me, and we walked towards the trail head. He invites me to walk with him as we head down the trail (or behind him when it gets too narrow), but he retreats into himself (like the squirrels disappear into the woods when we walk too close to them) and I only really know of his thoughts and feelings left on the trail (and those are not many). Take only pictures, leave only footprints.

We kept walking, and I knew that soon we'd be at the river. I could hear it and I'd already spotted about 5 blue herons through the gaps in the trees. I seemed to have a sixth sense for them on this trip. We crossed a little creek on our way there, which was fun. We had to balance on several logs and jump from rock to rock - some of them slippery.

I developed a love for rivers in college when I would take many walks to sit near the Mississippi River and think. It was my therapy. Rivers are on a journey to somewhere else. The are all at once turbulent, calm, rushing, taking, keeping, giving up, and crashing themselves against rocks that wear down over time. They are doing all of this at once, but you only really experience the one part of a river you can see in your location, and few people have the dedication or desire to follow the length of one.

Tim tried to take a picture of an elusive blue heron while I looked at the river.

Eventually, it was time to head back on the trail. We decided to follow the old rail lines back until it connected much farther up with the main road and a path to the picnic area where we were parked. This part of the walk had a much more open trail and it was a more relaxed walk and the air didn't feel as heavy as it did up on the ridge.

[A straight and level trail of old railway tracks through the forest....]

[...some parts of the supporting ground had been washed away, necessitating some good balancing skills.]

In all we spent about 4 hours hiking. We hadn't eaten lunch and it was close to 4:30pm by this point, so we decided to head into town for our Bed & Breakfast. We got there earlier than we were expected. Since no one was home, we left our car at the house and decided to go find some food and a drink. Port Deposit, Maryland was a small town with quite a lot of the variety even in the 3 blocks we walked. It had everything from the quaint B&B and dining establishments to the row homes full of people sitting on the porch (and sidewalk) talking.

[C.M. Tug's Grub & Pub..ordered a hamburger topped with a crabcake- delicious!!]

We stopped at a little pub that had a wide variety of food and each ordered a beer. We tried to catch each other up on what was going on in our jobs. We almost never talk to each other about work. Tim has apparently been doing some really cool things at his job and helped create and publish their first print ad and has his digital signage videos up all over their office. He has a little video editing room where he can do all of these. His boss showed me when we stopped by in the morning. Everyone there is very proud of him.

Before long it was time to head back and check into the B&B. There was a nice, chattly lady there to greet us and show us the place. It was beautiful and thankfully not too full of lace even though it was called Granite and Lace Bed and Breakfast. It was actually very tastefully decorated.

Our room had a jacuzzi tub, so I took a bath right away. I had gotten a pretty nasty bruise on our hike by falling on a rock, and needed to soak it. The bath was full of wonderful bubbles just as I like it!

Tim fell asleep. He has been very tired. I barely got him awake at 9:30pm to see if he still wanted to unveil his surprise that required the "biker outfit." He eventually woke up and we headed to the Union Hotel Tavern. This seemed to be essentially a bar for the Harley lovers in the area who work hard and just want a good place to unwind, bring their dogs, and listen to some music. (Probably without the likes of us, "blessed" though we apparently were... At least so said the bartender who asked for our IDs, looked at the DOB, looked at us, looked back at the DOB again, and just shook her head). It actually reminded me a lot of the Rusty Spur in Arizona, except minus the ladies' undergarments in abundance on the walls.

We had a couple of drinks and listened to the live music before heading out again to find something to eat, since the kitchen was closed. The only thing we could find open and serving food was a Denny's where we shared a massive breakfast plate.

We were pretty exhausted by the time we got back to our room even though it was only 11:30pm. We fell asleep immediately and woke up in the morning to the wonderful smells of breakfast coming from the kitchen.

The food was GREAT. Judy made a florentine omelette, organge pancakes, fruit, and great coffee. It was delicious!

[Fresh, Aromatic rosemary on the plates!]

After breakfast, we packed our things and headed east, through Maryland, into Delaware and around the outskirts of Wilmington before turning north into PA.

It was a very nice surprise planned by Tim and great start to the holiday weekend! I'm looking forward to the couple additional days that we have to relax and do fun things before returning to work.

[Oh, yeah, we saw a snake hanging out on a tree trunk!]

Have a great weekend everyone!

*For all of you expecting this, I assure you what I wore was exactly this.

Sold!

2008-05-24T11:34:00.003-04:00

These last few days have been very happy ones for Tim and I. On 5/22/2008 (exactly one month after we put it on the market) we finalized all paperwork/negotiations for the sale of the condo, and now all we have to do is attend the settlement (scheduled on our anniversary date, actually) and remove the last few things we still had at the house to help it show nicer.

We consider ourselves definitely fortunate considering the housing market and were very pleased with the outcome. It was like the stars aligned just right.

Thanks to everyone who wished us luck and kept your fingers crossed!!!

Barack's Big Day

2008-04-22T22:06:00.005-04:00

Here's the rest of the pictures from Friday's big Obama rally in Philadelphia.
Here's the gallery

Old City Philadelphia Real Estate - Condo For Sale!

2008-04-22T09:02:00.004-04:00

This one will go fast!
Great Location in Old City, Philadelphia!! Beautiful Space!

Bridgeview (315 New St.)
Unit Assets:

Efficient 2 bedroom, 2 bath floorplan on 6^th floor of historically preserved building formerly home to Thomas Scientific.
High, angled ceilings
Sunny, southern-facing oversized warehouse windows in living room and both bedrooms
Floor-to-ceiling exposed brick in living room and both bedrooms
Living room has light-shaded wood Pergo flooring,
2^nd Bedroom has grey, slate-style laminate flooring. (Professionally installed 2 years ago)
The rest is brand-new carpet (Professionally installed mid-April, 2008)
Oversized mirrors in each bathroom with vanity lights
Quiet location on top floor at the end of the hall…only one neighbor to the side.
Electric GE oven/range.refrigerator/garbage disposal
Dual deadbolt locks on front door
Lots of kitchen cabinet space
Light Switches placed for handicap-access
4 year-old Trane HVAC system w/digital thermostat

Recent Upgrades:

New Whirlpool Washer/Drier Combination (unused, professionally installed and connected March 2008)
New Whirlpool Stainless Steel over-the-range microwave (unused, professionally installed and connected March 2008)
All existing carpeting replaced (April 2008)
Custom-built easy-access hinged door to water heater/HVAC filter area in ceiling (built early 2007)
Oversized, “airplane propeller” ceiling fan with light (waiting for replacement part for remote)
Bedroom/Hallway/Living room walls painted.
Rainspout in bedroom sealed with black iron pipe sealer paint

Building Assets:

Quiet, half-block cobblestone street (Permit 10 parking) across from 2 historical churches, blocks from restaurants, art galleries, theaters, historical landmarks
24-hour concierge/doorman
Video coverage of building access
Garbage/recycling rooms on each floor
Well-decorated and well-maintained common areas (including lobby, covered brick walkway and brick courtyard)
Common areas scheduled for a make-over in late ’08
Discounted HD cable TV service through buildings bulk-rate plan
Extra secured storage space on each floor
Dedicated areas for easy parking for unloading and guests
Dual elevators (recently redone)
Great location, 4 blocks from SEPTA/PATCO
Roof deck in future plans

Check out the Photos Below!
If interested, leave a comment with your contact information. Comments will not be made public.

Barack Obama Draws 35,000 people to my (old) backyard

2008-04-19T10:35:00.006-04:00

So, the Old City condo's just about to get listed, so I'm planning to leave right from work to get back to the city and take some shots of the building and the unit. A critical audio/visual emergency mission lets me leave early and gets me downtown just as traffic is turning into a real nightmare. I drop off the gear where it's needed, head into the old neighborhood and see that Obama is coming to the lawn in front of the Constitution Center and Indepedance Hall Visitor Center. No streets are closed off, but there are people, news vans and cops everywhere.

Still driving around with a valid Old City #10 Parking permit, I snag a spot on New St., spend an hour inside shooting up the condo for marketing pics, then drop in another Flash card and wander over to where the action is.

People who have tickets are lined up for blocks, snaking down Vine Street, 6th Street and in front of the Visitor Center to get in. The sidewalks are all still open, which presents a good opportunity for some photographs until the rally organizers start moving us along. So I head to the grassy area around Independance Hall and the Liberty Bell which is jammed packed with people of all types.

2 and half hours go by as the music plays, the sky darkens and the crowd gets more and more restless for Barack to take the stage. He does, and speaks for a very short time, but the massive crowd stretching from the Constitution Center to Independance Hall is pumped, enthusiastic and quite an impressive sight. The shots from the news choppers was amazing, although from the camera floodights in his eyes, I doubt Barack even saw 1/2 of the assembled masses that came out.

Getting the condo pics up and to the realtor is my priority this morning, but I'm pretty sure I got some good stuff during the evening. They'll be up shortly. Here's two to start you off with.

[the 55-200 USM lens was on it's A-Game last night...no Photoshop needed on that one!]

Digital Camera Compare & Contrast

2008-04-14T20:40:00.004-04:00

Here's the Lineup:
A Canon Powershot S2 IS - one shot at the wide end of the optical zoom, one shot at the far end of optical zoom.

A Samsung S85 - again, one shot wide, one shot far, all in the optical zoom range of the manufacturers lens.

A Canon 350D (or Digital Rebel if you're in the U.S.).
at both ends of a Canon 18-55 kit lens.
at both ends of a Canon 55-200 EF USM lens
And finally, a shot through a Canon 50 mm prime 1.4 EF lens.

All cameras places in Full Auto Mode (white balance/exposure/focus).

Taken straight from the camera and resized to 400 pixels wide via Paint.NET

Hosted on Photobucket.

Which is which?
(no cheating with image properties! I had to label the pics somehow so I could keep them straight!)

My First Picture on My New Camera

2008-04-13T22:09:00.003-04:00

I haven't been able to find the rest of the books that go with this set of bookends. I'm sure they are in the bottom of one of the boxes that I still have lying around!

[Tim's Note]: This is Kendra's new "I-want-a-camera-that's not complicated-and-will-fit-in-my-pocket" camera. It's a tiny Samsung model that goes for about $120 at Target and uses SD flash and AA batteries. Stay tuned for a side-by-side comparison of this and the 350D (whenever I have some free time!).

Oh what an interesting weekend...

2008-04-13T16:10:00.005-04:00

Saturday started innocently enough. It was warm - about 70 degrees - and breezy, and I was in a very good mood. Both of the former states have been rare lately, so this in itself was someone of a miracle.

We played with Elora on the balcony. (Let the pictures below of me trying to play with her illustrate for the thousandth time that Elora clearly loves her daddy more than she loves me).

We even went out to breakfast at the Coffee Station and had a very nice talk. After this we drove around for awhile and enjoyed the weather. At 2:30 or so we both drove into the city. Tim was going to meet the carpet installers and I was supposed to meet a friend at the Hilton.

You see, after several months of having a practically non-existent social life and hiding out in Chadds Ford, someone finally talked me into a date on Saturday night. This would be my friend - Miss S.M. She was driving up from Harrisburg, and we live a bit outside the city now, so we got a hotel and just planned to have some good old girl time.

So, the setting...

Mistake #1: Someday it will be scientifically proven that it is actually impossible for S.M. and I to ever have a low key evening or ever fail to get into as much trouble as possible. In the future, should I decide to break a long period of hermiting, I would be best served to remember this and choose my first date wisely.

Mistake #2: Our realtor left a message on my cell phone just as S.M. and I were heading out to dinner. She wanted to stop in Monday to see the place and start the listing process. So, I (very stupidly) agreed to go by the condo in the morning and finish all of the cleaning and arranging that needed to be done in order to make the place look as nice as possible. When this morning actually did arrive, and I was hating myself - ever so much more than just a little - for each and every dirty martini consumed the night before, and nonetheless had to scrub the floors and fight to get some unidentifyable spilled condiment out of the fridge, the weight of Mistake #2 was fully realized...for 4 hours.

Realization #1: My love language is clearly kicking my own ass.

Realization #2: I am officially too old to even pretend I can party.

With the self-discovery points out of the way, here is a bit more about Saturday and Sunday.

S.M. arrived at the Hilton at around 4:30pm or so. We were both hungry as we had both skipped lunch altogether. This would probably be a good time to explain that our relationship is one of the longest, oldest, most honest, real, confusing, supportive, yet oddly destructive relationships in my life. We have a lot in common and people used to think we were sisters when we were younger. We are both Leos born in the same year; we are generally the center of attention; we can be loud, boisterous, cutting, harsh, and also quiet, sensitive, loving, and caring. We know each other very well despite long periods of being absent from each other's lives. We love each other to death. This being said, it is frequently difficult to tell if we are supporting each other or competing with each other.

Probably both.

So, all this to say that it was absolutely no surprise to me at all that we should both arrive in the same situation to the Hilton after a year's hiatus. Of course we both skipped lunch and were dying for a good meal and a drink. Of course we also both had kind of the same outfit on, so we changed clothes.

A key difference between us should be explained now for effect. S.M. is 6'5" while I am 5'9". So, take the description above and consider the fact that one of us is even more prone to attract attention, and tell me why I thought this would be low key.

Dinner was nice. We had a drink at the bar first and then sat down for our meals. The servers were all friendly and sweet, and we had a nice talk.

After dinner:
S: Where do you want to go next?
K: Hmmm... Can you walk in those shoes OK?
S: Uh-huh.
K: OK. Let's go to the Continental. There is a roof deck which is nice. We can get a few drinks there and go somewhere else.

OK - something like 3 hours later we finally managed to leave. Good Lord. We went to the roof deck, got our drinks, eventually found a table. Had more. Talked. At this point in time, everyone else at the bar started getting intoxicated enough to have the guts to come up and ask Sherry how tall she is. This is how it always starts. I'm not exactly sure how many different parties at the bar we ended up talking to, but Mike's birthday party was the first one. I started arguing with him in the bathroom.

Readers: Why was Mike in the bathroom?
K: Because it was one of those hip joints there the men and women share a sink area.
Readers: What did Mike do?
K: Probably nothing but ask S.M how tall she was, and I was tired of having people around me.

It is always interesting to meet people, but I think I just wasn't ready for it. S.M tells me that I wasn't so nice. But the good thing about our friendships is that it is OK if I'm not nice sometimes. She understands.

S: Yeah, you were a bit antagonistic.
K: I guess I can be kind of a b**** sometimes.
S: Yeah.
K: Have I always been?
S: No. Just when you are defending the people you care about in your life.

Very nice.

The evening ended sanely enough when we escaped that bar and all the crowds and went to another place to just chill out. Well, of course by that time, we had had quite enough to drink, as the bartender observed. I was fine with water, but now it was S.M.'s turn to be antagonistic. He ignored it and let us be. I guess it was a good thing there were not bouncers.

Despite the drama - and there always is drama - it was great to spend the evening with S.M. again. I'm REALLY happy she pulled me out of my hibernation to go see the world again! Friends that are worth putting up with crowds of annoying people and suffering through a pounding head the next day are few and far between. Besides, the girl can't help it...

April is a Tease

2008-04-02T21:38:00.003-04:00

A New Farmers' Market and Easter Mushrooms

2008-03-22T22:38:00.004-04:00

We didn't make it back to spend the holiday with family this year even though Easter is probably my favorite holiday*. Rather, today we continued to work on getting the apartment settled, and tomorrow, we will be at the condo.

Tim had the idea to stop by the Booth's Corner Farmers' Market this morning to see what it had to offer and get breakfast. We went to a little diner at the market run by an Amish family. Everyone was very sweet and the food came out very fast. As we were leaving, we saw the kitchen was full of women. Assuming each one of them cooks at the same rate my mom does, it more than explained the speed with which our orders came out despite the packed restaurant!

We didn't get any vegetables at the market, but they definitely have a lot there, and I'm sure we will be back!

After this it was off to the storage unit to move into a smaller unit and bring a few more boxes back to the house for us to go through. Although I wished I would have packed like this to begin with, we now have to go through all the boxes, take out what we need to keep at the apartment (or for things that add aesthetic value, want to keep), and pack the rest again to leave in the storage unit. Our initial packing was in stages and couldn't be completely organized.

By the time 3:00pm rolled around, we had the storage unit switched, unloaded the car from all the boxes we brought back with us, completed our search for a small dining room table (our first actual dining room table since Minnesota), and bought a vacuum cleaner.

We unpacked and sorted through things for the next 3 hours and then I went to Trader Joe's to get some food for our supper. I made black beans, rice, sliced avacado, and portobello mushrooms with garlic and onions. (Not the traditional Easter fare, but hey - I cooked - sort of. I admit the rice was the microwavable kind).

So, now we are a bit beat and will head to bed soon. Happy Easter everyone!

*I wondered recently why Easter had been my favorite holiday and came up with a few reasons:
1) I was early proof of my desire for individuality. Although I can appreciate the aesthetic reasons behind dressing your daughters alike for a photo, it started bugging me after awhile. I was really happy when the Easter came that we didn't have to wear the same dress.
2) It really allowed me to foster both my hoarding and organizational obsessions. Immediately upon getting an Easter basket containing candy totalling at least half my body weight, I sorted the candy into piles by size and type, found a place to store it, and proceeded not to eat it. I was always surprised when it was spoiled by the time the next Easter came around.

Tim's Note:

I'm hoping that we'll have time tommorow to do our Easter (and often Christmas, as well) tradition of watching The Life of Brian.

And after some nightmare customer service issues setting up Comcast cable, I'm currently looking for a cable provider who carries The Holy Rosary with Mother Angelica, and the Nuns of Our Lady of the Angels in bright and colorfuly crisp HD.

Some of you may remember the electronic/house/chill track I produced ("Hail, Mary") using samples from there.

The Fence

2008-03-09T14:48:00.003-04:00

Hello Everyone!
Tim here with a much needed update post.

It's been a crazy couple of weeks, whirlwind-style, here in our world. Things have developed quickly and we haven't been able to get the word out to the masses in timely matter.

Well, to cut to the point, as of last week, this is our new neighborhood:

Yeah, not alot going on as you can see. It's a whole different universe than our Old City Philly residence, but we're adjusting. To be honest, I thought that I'd be writing up an emotional, tear-streaked farewell post about our heart-breaking exit from city living and describing the painful realization that we're now a good 40-minute drive from the dozens of our favorite locations that were previously right in our backyard and how we're now isolated from all culture and intelligent life in a horrific suburban nightmare.

Maybe it's just that we've been so busy with the move that it all hasn't sunk in yet, but it hasn't really been that bad. Granted, there are driving rules out here that neither Kendra nor I have figured out yet or a single bar that we would even consider possibly walking to. We no longer have a doorman, elevator, trash service, ATM or dry cleaning service in our building. Fireworks at Penns Landing are nowhere to be seen. In fact, not a single building over 3 stories high is visible out of our window. I can't check the traffic on the Ben Franklin Bridge with my own eyes or tell when the Eagles scored a touchdown firsthand. I won't ever be able to walk to a show at the Ritz, 4 Seasons, Rittenhouse or Loews Hotels and the days of walking to work alongside the Ben Franklin & Betsy Ross impersonators and horse & carriage tour guides are over. From the subway station on 2nd Street to my front door used to be every upscale/downscale/funky/hip/fetish/formal/trendy clothing boutique imaginable as well as a half a dozen different places you could pick up an amazingly delicious seared Sashimi Ahi tuna dish. Currently, I have a Super Wawa across the street. That's it.

But then, there's always a flip side to every record. Flip this particular record over and it's spinning a happy, whistling tune of a 10 minute commute to work, massive $$ savings in gas (just in time!), a fond farewell to the paycheck-draining Philly wage tax and a parking lot where the even the last remaining spot in the remotest corner would be considered a nice short walk home. It's a tune of more square feet for Kendra, the cat and myself; no more drunk New Jersey kids, their stupid SUV's and their trash; no more blaring PATCO horns on the BF Bridge and a whole lot less time wondering what the homeless guys might find worthwhile to break into my car for. I can't see my current neighbors using lawn chairs and trash cans to "reserve" parking spots after a big snowfall. Trips back from visiting the family will no longer be doubled in length just because of a Sixers game. We are now paying ZERO condo fees for questionable "improvement projects". Our laundry exhaust is now actually being vented outside our unit. No longer do we have to reserve an elevator to use for large deliveries, sign in our guests, use 15-minute parking zones or borrow wheeled carts to unload from our runs to Target. Right now I can see my own car out of the window and don't have to go move it around the block in an hour and a half. The first Friday of every month will no longer strike fear in our hearts with the knowledge that insanity will reign supreme over our neighborhood just as were getting home from work.

But how cool was it on First Friday's to see every artist in the area out on the street and every gallery serving wine to the public? How cool was it that to get a six-pack of beer, amazing sushi, a top-of-the-line massage, the best coffee in Philly, a bottle of wine, gifts for every occasion and the latest independent films were all less than a mile in any direction? And having all this nestled in between the most beautiful and significant landmarks and structures in American history?

As you can see, we're still on the fence.

But at least we don't have a fence. Or a Yard. Or a Garage. We haven't gotten so suburban that we're fighting with the neighbors over when we mowed the lawn last or how many cars are parked in the driveway (or yard, for some!). We're renting an apartment in a very cool complex (we've already taken advantage of the fitness center we have here and have gotten other exercise from having to take our garbage and recycling outside for the first time in 7 years.) There's an outdoor pool with BBQ grills for when it gets warm and a business center, movie theater, pool table and party space as well. Elora loves the windows and is doing better than she ever has with her walking and keeping her litter from getting strewn everywhere.

We're making slow but steady progress on fixing up the condo to sell. We're trying to put as much effort into squeezing as much value out of it as possible.

So that's the deal. We'll let you know when we're ready for a big Tim & Kendra style get-together here at the new place for all of you. Right now we're getting the place to look more like home and not Raleigh-esque corporate housing.

And so far no complaints from the neighbors about any noise. The Samson Sub is back online and you know how I like my bass!!

Peace, Out.

Things that sound great in Italian, humorous in English, and would be just atrocious in German

2008-03-02T14:53:00.003-05:00

Today we spent about five hours at the condo patching holes in the wall, cleaning, and generally taking steps to get it ready to put on the market. For lunch I went to Sassafras to get us sandwiches. I really like those Bacio chocolates and so one for each of us was added to the lunch menu.

Tim's Bacio contained a beautiful phrase from Voltaire... although sometimes the beauty can be lost in translation...

Chiedete al rospo che cosa sia la bellezza e vi risponderà che è la femmina del rospo.

Or:
Ask a toad what beauty is and he will answer you that it is his toad wife.

TOO romantic...

For Jen - My Sister

2008-02-24T08:25:00.007-05:00

The essense of things hoped for...

2008-02-22T18:37:00.005-05:00

Hope is a funny thing. You can hang on to it for awhile until reality makes a huge pendulum swing into your face.

For a long time I hoped that Elora simply had an active imagination when she would stalk the bottom of the refrigerator or a small opening in the closet for hours waiting for something. But today (while working from home) I passed her toying with something that was a little too alive and wriggly to be one of her ubiquitous rabbit fur mice, and those hopes were dashed. Not sure where they dashed off to either, but I didn't stick around to catch it.

I hoped today that I hadn't actually broken the washer four days before moving by stuffing it too full and burning out the motor. Then Tim came home and the angry face forcing its way through a very, very bad cold told me I was completely wrong about that too.

Which brings us to the CFA exam that I just committed to studying for the remainder of this year and taking in December. And here is where I admit that I hope that I haven't peaked ten years ago. I had a good long run where I seemed to excel at everything I tried, and I was never quite sure why that was. So, now I am faced with another challenge, and I wonder if I still have what it takes. My energy is different, I'm more tired, and my interests have all changed. For that reason I almost didn't say "yes." But I'll give it a shot. I can only hope I'll surprise myself!

... the evidence of things not seen.

Defying the Laws of Physics and a few others...

2008-02-18T22:07:00.002-05:00

Number of creatures in the bed: 2 (1 human, 1 feline)
Length of cat at maximum stretched out position: 23"
Size of bed: 6.5' x 4.5' (approximately)
Amount of space for Kendra: Maybe 8" x 3'

Please explain.

Have another little piece of my heart now, baby...

2008-02-16T22:35:00.003-05:00

In a few weeks, I will move into my thirteenth residence. If you count my long term corporate housing assignments, it will be my twentieth (and for the sake of avoiding bad omens, perhaps we'll stick with that number).

I love picking out people who are used to moving and people who aren't. As a frequent mover, I have to control the twitching when I catch someone throwing away the original packaging to something. (No! You are going to NEED that in another year)! I also understand perfectly how the same person can be so relaxed and accepting of change (because it happens all the time), but will act a bit cagey if people mess with their stuff too much. (You can move my desk five times a year, but for God's sake put down that little stuffed monkey, because it is one of the few constants I've had in the past 30 years)!

My mom and sister are also members of the frequent movers camp. They came today to help us pack and bring a *few* boxes I've had in various houses of my mother's forever. It was very nice of them to come help, because my sister is in the process of moving now and my mom is still recovering from knee surgery! However, she will not be deterred, and is probably the fastest packer I know!

Unfortunately, along with the A/V and Computer packaging, they also brought along a box with a bunch of my school papers starting from elementary school in them. This naturally was a great reminder that my neurotic behavior has been around from the beginning. I showed Tim a creative writing story I made at the age of 8, complete with cast of characters, family trees, and a developed conspiracy theory, and I think he was seriously considering making a run for the door. Good thing we have about 50 boxes blocking his exit.

In all seriousness, though, while moving over and over again seems to be the norm for me, and I am appreciative of the mental toughness that I have as a result, there is definitely something to the cliche statement of leaving little bits of your heart wherever you go. I've left pieces of myself all over the place - some places claiming bigger chunks than others. Everytime I move, I evaluate whether it is time to either reclaim some of the pieces or try to exist where the largest pieces are.

Hard to know, isn't it?

This is when you know you have had far too much exposure to Paint.NET.

2008-02-02T08:49:00.000-05:00

This morning I looked in the mirror at a particularly annoying pimple, and for a second actually thought of getting Tim to photoshop it out.

About Paint.NET
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Where's Jung When You Need Him?

2008-01-26T09:54:00.001-05:00

Last night I managed (with the help of an exhausting week and two glasses of wine with a very late dinner) to get a few hours of very deep sleep. I was so far down into my subconscious that when the phone rang* early this morning, forcing me awake, it still felt like I was taking a freight elevator slowly up into consciousness.

And while I slept, I dreamed. It was rather interesting, so I thought I'd write about it. All of my dream books are packed, so I'm not really sure what it means, but thought it made for an interesting story nonetheless.

This is what I dreamed.

There was a beach. It wasn't a packed, sizzling summer beach, but more of the kind of beach that families would go to in the fall. The water looked cold, it was windy, and there were some tree branches reaching over the stretch of sand. I was watching myself walk on the beach.

There was a wooden family house near the beach. I think it was a house where my family was living (but not in real life). I know it had multiple stories to it and a kitchen, because I did one of those strange stunts that you seem to typically do in dreams... The whole "I know that there is a stair case, but it seems more logical that I should swing over the banister upstairs, catch onto the hood above the stove and slowly lower myself into the kitchen where 12 people are trying to cook" logic.

There was a bus - a yellow school bus - and my sister was with me on it. We were grown up and we were talking excitingly because were were supposedly going to go to a presentation at a large church, but I forget what the speech was supposed to be on. For some reason, we were excited to also go to Burger King either before or after (even though I am about as anti-fast food as you get). The bus stopped in between the church and a university and I lost Jen in the crowd. I switched from observing the dream to active participation (the kind that you just know is causing you to thrash around and whimper in real life, and you feel a bit ridiculous for it even in the dream). "Jen! Jen! Jen! JEN! JEN! I lost you!" Finally she came running up next to me. She had changed clothes and hidden her money.

There was an all white, rather sterile looking apartment building/hotel. I was in there with some of my current co-workers, but ones I don't really work with that often. We were arguing and fighting over how work should be divided and who should do what and generally all the typical battles. Then for whatever reason, the conversations all turned contentious and we were yelling at each other about who said what about whom, and it was too tiring for me to continue that conversation, so I left. I ran into a large man on my way out. I don't work with him, but I understood that he had just vacated his corporate apartment because he thought it was haunted or something. He thought I'd like to see it. So, I went, but I left him in the hall.

There was an open, airy, almost empty condo that you could walk from the front door in the building's hallway all the way back to the outside. I understood that this was the same place as that beach house from earlier in my dream. It was haunted, but I wasn't scared. I saw little transparent girls with dresses on running around and hiding in the closet. I walked through all the rooms until I reached the back. The man had left in a hurry and left some of his clothes folded up in the sun room. A blue plaid button down collared shirt was on top of the pile. A cleaning man came in and was surprised to see me there. I quickly walked out again.

There was an apartment in the upper floor of a building, and a man lived there with me who never spoke, but was always there. The room had yellow and wood colors. Once when I came home, he was in my garbage can eating flies. (And this is especially when I knew I was dreaming, because if I had flies in my garbage can, I'd throw the entire thing out - man and all). He got out of the garbage can when he saw me and stood next to the counter looking at the mail. I spoke to him and had the impression that this was the first time I had done that. I didn't ask him to leave, but I held open the door to see if he would. He didn't. So, I left again and locked the door behind me.

*If you are like me, you will be distracted through most of the rest of this post, because you will be wondering who called. Answer: I'm not sure, because I didn't answer and there wasn't a message (and we don't have caller ID on our home phone). So, with that resolved for the psychotically curious, I'll go on.

Elora has a crush...

2008-01-20T11:06:00.000-05:00

...on some dude from the Serengeti.

I tried to explain to her how difficult long distance relationships can be. I also pointed out the fact that he already has a harem of lionesses, and that she is a sophisticated city chick and he lives in the wild.

She won't listen.

Elora: Haven't you seen Titanic? That totally worked out.
Me: Honey, he died at the end of that movie.
Elora: You don't understand me at all.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood!

2008-01-07T18:45:00.000-05:00

So, after a few weeks of relative calm and regularity, my work again starts up with some wacky travel schedules. I'll be in the Southern part of the country towards the end of this week into next, so today was my day off.

Couldn't have picked a better day!!

One week into January and we've got bright sunny skies, a great breeze and mecury into the 60's! Seems like weather suited for a walk!

I posted earlier my first attempts at shooting with my newly acquired Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Prime lens and by the end of the excursion couldn't tell if my lens was faulty or I was just having one terrible day as a photographer. Not having touched it since, I threw in a fresh CF card, dropped the 50 prime onto the 350D and headed out into the warmth.

The results were OK. I didn't have the huge failures of focus I saw previously, but there did seem to still be some random occasions where the focus I had in the lens didn't seem to be there when I zoomed into the pixels after the shot.

This one of the street sign turned out nice and sharp and exposed properly (straight out of the camera, no post-processing except for a resize for web).

These others looked good, too, although they have been tweaked in Paint.NET (get it..it's free!). These are of the big mural along Callowhill Street between 2nd and 3rd.

I wandered North and found myself back in the vicinity of the old Space/Motion venue (ravers from back in the day will know of it's legendary status in rave culture [here is it's story], but nothing but weeds and chipped paint adorn the walls now. (Even as a couple, Kendra and I have some very fond memories of this place, before we ever thought about moving to Philadelphia from Minnesota! We partied like it was 1999 -literally!- here to bring in the new millenium).

I did however, find one lingering piece of Philadelphia-based electronic music imagery: This faded and peeling promo sticker for Dieselboy's Project Human album stuck on an even more extremely faded "No Parking" sign on a telephone pole. The interesting thing is that this album came out probably within months of Space/Motion closing it's doors. Wow, I'm old! I've been into this music since I was 15 and a whole generation has now come and gone......

April

2008-01-06T16:44:00.000-05:00

Sometime last night, Jen and Jason's dog, April, died in her sleep. My sister found her this morning when she went down to see why she hadn't come upstairs. I can't even imagine how they feel, but I do know they didn't need one more thing to go wrong.

It wouldn't be much of an exaggeration to say that in our family, we consistently treat our animals better than we do each other. Jen frequently speaks the position that "our animals don't hurt us; they only love us." I know April , along with her two other dogs, have carried her through some very difficult times already.

I am very sad that I can't be with her right now. Our hearts are with Jen and Jason, and we are very, very sad.

[A memorial moment for 2 friends now reunited.]

If you plan to have a heart attack in Old City, don't do it on Sunday.

2008-01-06T12:59:00.000-05:00

(or "Jesus loves me, so the rules do not apply.")

Maybe I'm just bitter. Maybe I resent the not insiginicant number of parking tickets we have received for just trying to park near our house. Or maybe I should have realized long ago that we could have invested the money spent paying all those violations to the Lord's work if only we were church goers.

You see, for some reason, every Sunday, parking rules go out the window to allow for church parking. This is not an anti-church going post, however. I happen to think the many churches right around our house are beautiful. I'm glad people attend them. From my perspective, however, it occurs to me that parking regulations are in place for safety reasons, and if they aren't, then we should be allowed to park wherever we want throughout the week (which would save me many chilly walks in the dark from my car).

If any emergency vehicle tried to get through during church hours, it wouldn't be able to, which is likely OK, since the health of all those in the community is no doubt being remembered in fervent prayer continuously by all of the people blocking said emergency vehicles. I suppose the theory being that it is easier to remove the need for emergency vehicles than to find another place to park.

We went grocery shopping this morning, and returned to this situation (like we do every Sunday). For some reason, it was too much for Tim this time, and he printed out fliers to post on some of the cars parked in the places that were most blocking the free flow of traffic. I found the fliers hilarious, but didn't want him to do it. But who knows, maybe it will get the point across.

From this point on, I am no longer going to give Tim allowances for his lack of assertiveness...

[Tim's Note: If I were truly assertive, I would have gone out and confronted those people face-to-face after they came out to their cars after worshiping the God that allows them to disregard city ordinances (my flier references certain verses in Romans 13). My actions may seem cynical to some, especially in regards to something so trivial as parking, but, as I distance myself further and further from any organized religion, the inconstancies of Christian dogma, the ridiculous pick-and-choose approach to theology and the life-in-a-bubble problems really start to become more evident. ]

Do Not Let Us Be Infected By Our Own Propaganda

2008-01-05T22:39:00.000-05:00

One has to give Tim credit for trying (and succeeding!) this weekend... I was taken on two dates. Two dates planned by Tim (both of which I was also accompanied by him). Remind me of this fact when he's gone for most of the rest of the month and I am sulking.

Friday night we went to dinner at a cool Belgian/Australian restaurant called Zot in Society Hill. It was really fabulous food and wine and a nice (albeit cold) walk.

Tonight we went to see a play put on by the Lantern Theater Company - Anthony Lawton's adaptation of C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters. The adaptation was great. The entire play only had two actors - Screwtape and his assistant, Toadpipe. There was also a screen on which various pictures or quotes would flash as Screwtape was talking to Wormwood.

To break up the dialogue between Screwtape and Wormwood (who was offstage and not audible), there were funny little interactions between Screwtape and Toadpipe as each new letter from him was delivered.

There was a tap dance to Prodigy's "Their Law", a solo dance performance by Toadpipe to "She's Nineteen Years Old", a tango type dance to the Squirrel Nut Zipper's "Hell", a S&M dance complete with a large whip that I swear was awful close to clipping us more than once, and several other performances.

We really enjoyed the play. Anthony Lawson had some notes in the program about the adaptation that I thought were very well-expressed. Here is an excerpt from that:

Based on his preface, I do not think that Lewis meant The Screwtape Letters to be a work of demonology -- he wasn't primarily interested in explaining devils, or in attributing the world's evil to devils. I think Lewis uses devils, as a conceit, to write a work of theology -- that is, to write a book about God -- and to write a work of psychology -- that is, to write a book about the psyche, or soul.

The Christian tenet that seems to most interest Lewis is Love. And the psychological -- i.e. "spiritual" -- crisis that most interests him is our failure to love.

The alternative to love, Lewis argues, is the paradigm of dominance.

So, as appropriate, we'll leave this post with a quote from the book itself.
"The safest road to hell is a gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts."
-C.S. Lewis

Happy New Year - 2008!

2008-01-01T09:53:00.000-05:00

Continuing with the theme of completely non-standard holiday celebrations, let me recap to you how Tim and I have spent some of our New Year's Eves since getting married**:

- Driving home from being out of town and missing the ball drop, because we couldn't find parking. (I actually think this happened twice).
- Apart because Jen and Jason had come up for the event, Jen was sick (not drinking sick, legitimately sick), so Tim ended up taking her ticket to the party and I took Jen home. (Poor sister)!
- Half-crying because it was the first year after Dick Clark's stroke, and it broke my heart to see the change in him. (At the same time, I was super proud of him for continuing on).

We aren't extremely superstitious, but there definitely is a feeling that how you ring in the New Year dictates to a certain extent how the rest of your year is going to go. So, I always hated when things like the above happen. (Except-the-time-with-my-sister- because-I-love-spending-time-with-her- even-if-she-is-puking-on-my-shoes- and-no-one-will-pick-us-up-in-a-cab-to-take-us-home- because-they-think-she-is-drunk- and-I'm-grateful-when-one-of-them-finally-shows-mercy-because-it-is-freezing- and-Jen-has- my-coat-because-she-wore-a-tank-top-and-I'm-afraid-she-might-die).

Well, this year we went to a proper party with friends, and it was great! Jon and his wife Amy invited us to their New Year's Eve party which had an Indian food theme since they are leaving shortly for an extended trip around India! Jon works with Tim, and I liked them from the first time I met them. They are such beautiful, relaxed, laid back people that it would be very hard NOT to completely fall in love with them.

Tim and I both made it back from work on the 31st at a reasonable time, found parking in Old City (right by our front door Woohoo!), cooked up the ingredients I had prepared earlier, and then took a cab to their house in Fairmount.

Tim brought some bottles of Yuengling's Lord Chesterfield Ale and I brought my trusty flask of JD. It takes serious dedication to Jack to drink it straight, but it takes serious dedication to sobriety to drink only a single beer on New Year's Eve (Kendra = not a beer drinker), and my dedication to Jack is stronger.

[Cell Phone pictures on New Years Eve!]

The party had a great vibe. The music was fun, the food was wonderful, and there were a ton of interesting people that they had gotten to know through their jobs, school, just around, or some band or another that Jon had been in. People were mingling and even started dancing after awhile.

Closer to midnight, Jon projected the TV onto the wall so that we could do the countdown. There were lots of high fives and New Year's kisses. It was really great!

We left soon after midnight and walked home. Although it is a fairly long walk, no vacant cabs seemed to be coming, and on the plus side, we got to observe all the very interesting New Year's Eve behavior of people. As I have in the course of my life been on several places along the continuum of drunkenness, I can't judge. But I can be amused! :-)

So, now it is the first day of the New Year. We are just going to straighten things up around the house, catch up on our bills and correspondence with people, and I'll cook a real meal today again too. :-)

Happy New Year to all of you!

**-Playing Scotland Yard with wonderful friends in Hershey, PA was actually one of the more fun and non-bizarre New Years Celebrations we've had together. (The full post from '06)

The Philosophy of Documentary-Style Photography

2007-12-30T18:58:00.000-05:00

Documenting an Event (no matter how trivial) helps to mark it's fleeting existence in time and human memory. Even the smallest Event, with a supposedly minute significance to outside observers, is, by definition, the Here And Now for it's immediate participants. This gives this Event a meaning and significance far surpassing any prior Event, therefore deeming it worthy of Documentation. A Documentation of this sort allows one to acknowledge this meaning and significance, recognize its place as a Moment in Time for it's participants and preserve its existence in the collective memory of society. Then there's the whole "A picture is worth a thousand words" thing coupled with my passion for the photographic medium and you've got the basic philosophy behind the seemingly mundane and everyday pictures found here on the blog.

It is interesting to note that throughout our travels overseas, what's mostly sparked my curiosity and attention is exactly those everyday, normal activities of the inhabitants of whatever foreign culture I found myself. The posts throughout our time in the Philippines, Australia and Costa Rica are chock full of detailed descriptions and photographs of locations and activities that the local population would find completely unworthy of attention, but which have allowed me to learn, grow and experience so much more than I could possibly have spending time seeking out shots that others might find more Interesting or Beautiful.

Henri Cartier-Bresson, known as the Father of Modern Photojournalism has this to say: "To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as the precise organization of forms which gives that event its proper expression. I believe, through the act of living, the discovery of oneself is made concurrently with the discovery of the world around us. In photography, the smallest thing can be a great subject. The little human detail can become a leitmotif."

Whether it's on the other side of the planet or in our own kitchen, I guess we're always in Discovery mode- of what's inside and outside of ourselves- through the the uses of letters, words and sentences as well as shapes, lines and color. Hopefully, our blog has been a vehicle for sharing some of that discovery to our readers, as well as a catharctic activity for Kendra and I...even if not all of the pictures rank up in the category of Fine Art.

Ansel Adams says: "Do not depreciate the importance of a snapshot. While to many it is the symbol of thoughtlessness and chance, it is a flash of recognition. It represents something of value in the world, which -for many reasons- we wish to perpetuate. It represents something seen, it may have real human and historic value. The more we look, the more we see... the more we see the more we respond. When we begin visualizing our response to world in terms of images we become photographers in the most rewarding sense of the word."

Teethbrushing. We (and this girl) do it everyday.
Mundane & Everyday event for the immediate participants? Yes.
Content worthy of Documentation: Maybe not
But a Rewarding capture of a moment in the photographer's existence? Absolutely

Whole Foods, I Loved You Once

2007-12-30T15:59:00.000-05:00

So, we've had a little trouble getting it together lately; and we kind of, sort of have not been going to the grocery store. When we have picked up the occasional vegetable, I only end up remembering much later when it is half rotting in the drawer. All of this has been great for order-in establishments near our house, which we have used when we have gotten around to it.

But holidays do not wait for fickle, indecisive people to get moving. They come regardless. This year we are invited to a combination New Year's Eve/Send Off to India Party hosted by one of Tim's co-workers and his wife. I can't wait to see them again, and I'm very excited for the party.

However, this did pose a bit of a dilemma: Do I actually remember how to cook? And I think Whole Foods is on 10th and South... right? This was not something I could go at half-cocked. Indian food has about a bazillions steps and often requires significant prep work. And the invitation clearly stated: Bring an Indian Food dish. Oh boy...

So, this morning, after our coffee, off we go to Whole Foods. The walk was nice. We even remembered our eco-friendly canvas bags, and I had my list. Walking into the store was funny. I used to go shopping every week. I haven't been in months and months. It was like a new world!

Oh - let's get some crackers here instead of paying $5.50 for them at the corner store! Maybe I can cook for New Year's Day! What do you want!?

So, after some dazed walks up and down aisles, a lighter wallet, and encumbered with our groceries, we headed home. However, my enthusiasm waned as soon as the stuff was spread out on the counter. But, I have to work tomorrow, which means I need to prep as much as possible today and finish it when I get home.

[Hands on hips. Stares at cauliflower.]
K1: Kendra. Pick up the knife and get a friggin' move on.
K2: You know I'm reading a really good book -
K1: NOW!
K2: OK. Yes, Ma'am.

So, I did, and all is well, and if it isn't the best Goanese Vegetable Curry tomorow those cats have ever had, I hope no one tells me! :-)

[If you try your best, but you don't succeed (or think the murder rate in Philly has a better chance of going down first, before you finish)...]

[... use your blender and grind the hell out of it.]

Tim even joined in on the action to purchase and cook a bratwurst for himself.

[Yes, I took the photo; and yes, it is blurry. And yes, that's a bottle of Yuengling Porter being used as a marinade. It's supposed to be good.]

You may wonder why on earth we end up with pictures like this for the blog.
1) Tim.
2) Tim gets excited when I take out the mortar and pestle, and ran over with the camera right away. He likes seeing me pound things to a pulp.
3.) Tim's Note on the Philosophy of his photography.

Making Use of Our Storage Unit... FINALLY!

2007-12-29T12:00:00.000-05:00

Sometime in April, Tim and I started packing up parts of the house in boxes for what we thought was going to be a relatively quick decision making process and a move. There were several reasons for this:
- We both have long commutes out of the city to work.
- Our place is pretty small - 804 square feet.
- Our condo fees keep going up, and the wage tax in Philly just isn't going away.
- We thought Tim might move to Costa Rica for awhile.

So, despite the fact that we love living here and we love being in Old City, it just seemed that things were not going our way to stay.

So, Tim rented a storage unit for us.

And we packed up a lot of stuff.

And then we waited.

And then we decided nothing.

And then we got busy.

And the piles of boxes were in my already small living room forever.

And we continued paying for our storage unit.

And I got increasingly more annoyed.

And winter hit and we had nothing warm to wear.

And actually had to start unpacking boxes.

And by this time I was almost livid.

So, you will be happy to hear that today, we drug our a**es out of bed at 6:30AM (despite having had a great dinner and drinks - more accurately drinks and dinner - with our friend Liz the night before, and feeling like we probably could have used more sleep), and we headed to the UHaul place. We brought the truck back and loaded up as much of the stuff as we could and headed over to the storage unit.

See here the (lack of) evidence of our labors!

[Who can see her floor? I can see my floor!]

[Oh yeah... Yello... anyone?]

[So, we didn't actually have boxes in the ceiling, but once Tim starts taking photos, it is hard to contain...and I guess this does provide a nice view of our propeller-like ceiling fan and melting clock.*]

[My little squatty liquor cabinet back in its proper accessible place by the window... And if I fail to mention the HDTV, Tim might divorce me. :-)]

[And by this point, I guess we are just showing off...]

[A close-up of the stitching. From the frame on the far left in the above picture.]

[Yes, it is a plant. Yes, it is alive. It is from my boss, Mary Lou. She specifically told me it is hearty. I believe she correctly made the mental association that the inability to bake and the tendency to kill plants were linked. Through the window you see the Ben Franklin Bridge.]

So, we finally have that out of the way. On to the next question - should we stay or should we go?

*I am obsessed with clocks - huge, artsy clocks. We have two clocks that are over a 3 feet in diameter and many other creative time keeping devices. As I type this, it does make me wonder why I don't wear a watch. Well, I guess it is because I check the time on my cell phone, and I always have my cell phone. I am one of those people who thinks she hears her cell phone ring and beep even when it isn't ringing or beeping. And I blame my previous employer for that.

It Must Be Christmas Time...

2007-12-26T13:58:00.000-05:00

Christmas, '07 was a relatively low drama, low hassle time for Tim and I. This was a very welcome break from too many years rushing around from place to place and not enjoying any of them as much as we should of as a result. Nonetheless, there were a few predictable activities that told us it was Christmas time.

[Kendra can't believe she's actually a part of her crazy family sometimes !!!]

1. Attending church multiple times in a 12 hour period.
We did the family thing the weekend before Christmas this year. As both of our families are full of good, church-going people, and both of our fathers are still pastors, it stands to reason that they all would invite us to attend their church. We chose two this year - the Saturday evening service at my sister's church, and the Sunday morning service at Tim's sister's church. We should be pretty set now until next year. :-)

2. Seeing both of our families.
We don't see our families nearly as much as we should - especially not all of them together. This year we saw most of my immediate family (Jason was not feeling well), and all of Tim's immediate family (plus Sam). We had a good time in both cases and had some good times of talking and playing games. I highly recommend Uno Attack! for your next family gathering.

[Kendra and Chris]

[Kendra and Jen]

3. Donkeys in the middle of the city.
I always look forward to the live nativity at 4th and Arch. It is a nice place to walk past on your way to do other errands, even if I do worry that the animals get too cold. All the dogs in the neighborhood seem to enjoy coming to say hello to the cow, donkey, sheep, goat, etc..

4. Tim and I celebrating Christmas with completely non-Christmas activities.
Since we are the couple that ordered a pizza and watched Carrie on TV on our wedding night, it really should surprise no one that we celebrated Christmas Day together by going to brunch at Tavern 17 in the Rittenhouse area (complete with mimosas) then walking over to The Bridge Theater to watch Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. We walked a lot that day - over 80 blocks total. The movie was very interesting and it was a nice day for a walk. My calves are still a bit sore, because (also predictably) I did not wear appropriate shoes for such a walk.

[Kendra sending out Christmas greetings to friends and family via text messaging]

So, that was our Christmas! I hope all of you had a great holiday!

First Publication!!!

2007-12-23T23:04:00.000-05:00

I'm pleased to announce the release of the first volume of my photography: "Documenting Life: 100 Images of Humanity and Nature; Captured by Timothy Wingert".

Thanks to online publisher Blurb, I've chosen 100 one of my favorite images from the Philippines, Australia, Hong Kong, Costa Rica, San Francisco, Philadelphia and some other odd locations around the globe and crafted them into a beautifully bound 10x8 book, available online in softcover or hardcover with full-color dust jacket.

It took a long while to pick out my favorite 100 images (I had about 150 chosen and I almost couldn't bear to cut it down any further, but I managed to in the end!) I'm quite pleased with the results, though...the 100 pictures really do capture the wide range of cultures, adventures and natural beauty that I've seen in the past few years. I was debating whether or not to put detailed descriptions of each shot, but decided to just list the title of the photograph and the location where it was taken. Maybe in the next book I'll write the backstory and circumstances behind the photographs and all the technical info for each, but for now it's just a collection of really pretty pictures that would look great on your coffee table!!

The book is now available for sale online through Blurb (get one now while I'm still unknown and my stuff is cheap!) through the link below.

Documenting Life

100 Images of Huma...

By Captured by Timoth...

Book Preview

2 Years of Blog!!

2007-12-17T19:05:00.000-05:00

Well, once again I'm back setting up audio and video for a certain year-end company broadcast- the same place in northern New Jersey where I was where the first post our blog was published and again at the one-year anniversary. Now another fabulous year has passed (we've been back from our overseas Philippines experience for over 16 months), and a whole new chapter of adventures and drama have been written and (most) have made it onto this wonderful electronic medium.

We hope that all of you have enjoyed reading our posts - and we know who you are - the web traffic trackers have let us in on some surprising, interesting, humorous and downright scary details about who visits our site (and when and why and for how long and etc, etc).

Kendra's been doing the majority of the posting lately (she's gotten the Blogger's Bug of thinking in blog-post-mode as things happen- this happened to me when we were in Manila alot.) I plan to take up some of my slack soon and share some of my inner thoughts as well.

So here I am again waiting for my co-workers in other venues around the country to get their gear operating and tested so I can get to my hotel and get some sleep (I've got one of the simpler sets for this one).

Kendra and I both send a big "Hello!" out to all our blog readers online and to our friends and family who we'll be seeing over the holidays and thereafter. You know where to find us or contact us, so don't be strangers.

Here's to another year!! -Tim

Value Your Good Vision... Unless You Are Like Me...

2007-12-08T18:00:00.001-05:00

... and have really horrible eyesight.

Eyesight which is normally corrected by my contacts or glasses, without which I can't see much more than 5 feet in front of me.

So, it only stands to reason that today on my walk, just as it was beginning to get dark, one of my contacts disappeared. To add insult to injury, it was the contact for my left eye, which is approximately twice as bad as my right eye. When I say "disappeared", what I hope I mean is that it simply fell out onto my clothes or the ground. What I fear I mean is that it rolled back in my head where it will break down in some fashion that results in a tumor 5 years down the road.

So, there was really nothing to do but complete my errands looking for all the world (I'm sure) like a half drugged slightly swaying fool. It is very hard to dodge human traffic when you can't really see them until they are almost on you. It also gets very confusing when you realize that, when blurry, a lot of people look like someone you know. I'm sure it is a little demoralizing for people who see me "walking" towards them with a huge smile on my face only to have it disappear when I get within 5 feet. There's no telling how many cases of paranoia I caused today.

Regardless, I'm back now, having trampled no people or small dogs, and I'm wearing my glasses.

So, if you are like Tim, and still have 20/20 vision, don't take it for granted.

[These are my real eyes... until lasiks]

I Gotta Peaceful, Easy Feeling

2007-12-04T21:15:00.001-05:00

Feeling mostly all better and therefore released from my captivity, my luck is beginning to change.

I got home late tonight because I had a dentist appointment after work. It was just a cleaning, and I have no new cavities - just 2 teeth on the watch list for old work that might need redone. (Yay)!

When I got home, I walked down to South Street again, which is a walk of a bit over a mile each way. I needed to return my movies, check if Season 2 was in yet, and get a gift for my person for the Compass Secret Santa party tomorrow.

It started snowing as I walked. It seemed I hadn't seen the snow for a long time, but I'm sure that can't be the case. Most likely I saw the snow but didn't really experience it. It was nice to watch it drift down in the street lamps.

My walk was very nice and peaceful. I didn't notice the cold as much as I usually do.

When I got to South Street, Season 2 was in. (What luck)! The store I wanted to get my present at was open and they were even having a sale! (Can it get any better)?!

On the way home, I stopped at Mulberry Market to get a 6-pack and some bread and cheese, and I am making a small dinner now.

So, things are looking up tonight. :-)

Note: Tim is in Florida. He informs me it is 80 degrees there!

Malcontent (noun) - a person who is discontented or disgusted

2007-12-01T17:43:00.000-05:00

I am so discontented today that I could literally carve my heart out with a butter knife just to have something else to focus on. This would actually serve two ends:

1) With no heart, my aching throat and perpetually runny nose would be of absolutely no consequence to me. It also would mean nothing to me at all that I am currently too sick to call one of my friends to head out into the cold night and actually have some fun.

2) I would get some use from the fact that all of our knives are clean, as I am trapped in an 804 square foot space all weekend with little else to do but clean, unpack from our trip, do laundry, do the bills, and try not to worry about the 50 other things hanging over my head that I can do exactly nothing about right now.

So, as I have tried to shake this feeling for the better part of the day without success, I will list some of the things I'd rather be doing just to see if that helps:

Last night I ventured to South Street to get a movie (without which my mood would be even worse now), and I stopped to get some fun nylons. I would much rather be at a nice dinner wearing an outfit which incorporates a pair of said fun new nylons.
My sister and mother spent all day hanging out and shopping. If feeling better, I would have even rather done that. (Despite the fact that "Christmas Shopping" combines two things I rather detest, the presence of my mom and sister makes up for it).
I would also like to see the movie Beowulf, and was hoping to have seen it this weekend.
I also would love to be getting my hair done again. It has been awhile, and I'm starting to feel oh-so-conservative with my single length, getting longer, almost 2 or 3 colors only hair.
This reminds me that I need to get my eyebrows waxed again. But I might just have to try to touch them up myself. This would actually be rebellious in a fun sort of way, since both my sister and my waxing lady have more or less issued a restraining order for me from my tweasers. Something about "I don't know when to stop".... suuuure.

Well, I guess I'll stop there. I'm feeling a bit better already... now if only I didn't have to actually log on and pay all these bills stacked up before me...

Germany Day 6 (Rothenburg/Würzburg)

2007-11-27T18:14:00.000-05:00

[Now this is a whole new side of Germany!!!]

Quiz Answer:d

Since both Tim and I have a good bit of German in us, our facial features and physical appearance blend in here pretty well. In addition, there is enough variety of clothing that nothing in our wardrobes really stick out, including the US sports team clothes which we see plenty of people wearing. What really makes it clear we are not from the area is when we get our coffee to go and can’t be bothered to sit down and take our time to drink it like the locals! We always get an amused smile when we ask for it to take along with us and we never see any other people walking down the street or on the trains holding coffee.

*****
For our last full day in Germany, Juan Carlos rented a car to drive us out to Bayern (in English – Bavaria) so that we could experience a medieval city. After getting ready, we took the S Bahn to the Hauptbahnhof where all the car rental places were. Although the car we ended up getting was wholly unacceptable to Juan Carlos (having gotten used to very nice BMW or Mercedes vehicles), we thought it was a perfectly fine car, since Tim and I are of the variety that generally rents the cheapest possible cars we can get (and the BMW Smart Car was a little too small for the three of us, but they were available for rent).

I haven’t yet mentioned Ray and Juan Carlos’ aversion to lids on their coffee. (This is possibly an aversion shared by much of the country, since “to go” coffee is such an anomaly). But picture Tim and I with our “to go” Starbucks and Juan Carlos with his but without any lid. All of us are in the car, and Juan Carlos is driving (stick shift, mind you), speeding (as much as you can in Germany), with his open coffee cup. AND HE DIDN’T SLOSH OR SPIL A DROP! Quite impressive!

Contrary to what some might think, not all of Germany is without speed limits. But it is pretty cool to see that there are different speed limits posted for each lane! I really wish that my morning commute had the same feature, and I’m sure that Tim thinks so as well. Juan Carlos was very upset that our American made car could not go much above 160 kph without shaking.

[Our rental car...I believe that the lightning bolt on the back means that it can go fast!!!]

[It was pretty cool to eventually see the speed limit signs show up with a nice red "X" over them..meaning that the speed limit was no longer enforced.]

On the way to Rothenburg, we stopped at a rest stop to use the bathroom. This was one that you paid 50 cents (in Euro) to use it. This has happened to us several times with public toilets, but I actually prefer this system as the restrooms are very clean most likely as a result, and in the ones we went to they are generally well stocked. With the 50 cent ticket, you can use it towards a snack downstairs if you wish or just throw it away.

Anyway, enough about the bathrooms. We arrived in Rothenburg, parked, and walked into a small town straight out of a Disney movie. All of the houses and businesses were in the medieval style and all of the streets were cobble stoned. It was a shock to see actual cars driving on them. Tim loved this place, as it was so visually interesting and he took a ton of really cool pictures. In fact Juan Carlos and I kept losing him and found ourselves looking back every 5 minutes to try to spot him.

[Tims Note: This place was pure photographic gold. I could have easily stayed a week here. The following is case in point:]

[It was amazing how you could walk right through this little town and see structures built for defense and daily life in the 13th century and in the same view see modern life (including tourism) fitting right in without spoiling the romanticism of it all - in a way, alot like Old City, Philly, but alot older!!!]

We ate lunch at a little diner that had a good variety of things. Since I was so cold, I ordered Grog, which is hot rum and water. It definitely warmed up my body! Tim had a bratwurst on top of sauerkraut along with some potato soup.

[Schneeballs on display]

After lunch, we walked along the ramparts and city wall which was complete with slots for archers, cannons and a very stereotypical tree in the middle of the courtyard. We took some cool pictures peaking out of the windows at each other.

In late afternoon, we took one last stroll around the city and decided to head out to Würzburg before it got dark.

Juan Carlos parked at a parking garage in Würzburg and we immediately headed for this really cool bridge that lead over to a castle high up on a hill. It took us 20 minutes to climb all the stairs and hills to get up to the castle, but we trudged along. There were some really cool picture opportunities along the way with all the little tunnels and stone statues and lofty views of the city.

The castle itself was really great. We got there just as it was starting to get dark, which gave the surroundings a sort of surreal feeling. I tried to take some pictures of Tim in the courtyard, but they go blurry. I am not meant to focus a camera that complicated, and my vision is probably really too poor to do it properly. So, you can blame all the blurry pictures on me.

After touring the grounds, we walked back down and across the cool bridge and then around the city for awhile. This city also had a bit of a medieval charm, but had more modern things mixed in, such as a big mall in the center. We stopped for some hesse shokolade (hot chocolate, which puts any cocoa you’ve had in the U.S. to utter shame). Eventually, we headed back to the car – cold and tired, but happy to have seen this area.

The drive home was fun, listening to German music on the radio and trying to avoid getting merged into by the truck drivers.

For dinner that night we went for Spanish tapas and had a good talk with Ray and Juan Carlos. I can’t believe the vacation ends tomorrow!

[The inevitable collision of modern day communication technology and medievel architecture.]

Wiesbaden/Mainz

2007-11-26T18:13:00.000-05:00

[Another Train Station....somewhere in Germany...]

11/26/2007 (Wiesbaden/Mainz)

Quiz: What makes us look the least German in this picture?

a. Our facial features.
b. Kendra’s jacket.
c. The Phillies sweatshirt Tim is wearing.
d. Our “to go” cups of coffee.

Answer tomorrow!
*****
This morning we woke up at around 8:30AM Frankfurt time. We had planned to leave at around 10:00AM for the train to Wiesbaden with Juan Carlos, but he slept in, and we were too shy to wake him up. So, while we waited for him to wake up, we cleaned the kitchen, worked on the blog posts, and took a walk to get coffee at Café Y. It was a nice leisurely morning, which was very nice and the sun was shining as well.

[Religious sticker tags (Frankfurt)]

[A cigarette vending machine in Frankfurt]

Finally, at around 11:30am or so, Juan Carlos started to stir upstairs and so we got ready to leave for the walk to the train station to take the S Bahn to Wiesbaden where our walking tour (led by Juan Carlos) would begin. Wiesbaden and Mainz are two cities that are across the Rhine River from one another. They largely were spared the bombing from the war, during which time they both had a large American presence.

Before we arrived at Wiesbaden, we had a one hour train ride from Frankfurt. We tried to all get our tickets from the machines, but apparently made a mistake, because although we paid the right amount for 3 day passes between Frankfurt and Wiesbaden, we ended up getting only 2 actual tickets somehow. One was between Frankfurt and Wiesbaden. One was for some remote area of Northern Germany and Frankfurt which cost 25 Euros. So, we were a bit stressed out for the duration of our train ride. Correction – I was stressed out. I’m not sure Juan Carlos or Tim get stressed out about such things. This could explain how it was that I lost my hat and gloves when he had to unexpectedly switch trains. I realized my mistake as soon as the train left the station and was very sad. This meant that I lost my mittens that my friend bought me and also that I’d have to buy new ones at our destination because it was very cold outside. Eventually, I realized there are worse things in life and got over it.

When we arrived in Wiesbaden, we did try to play the dumb American card and remedy the ticket situation, but we were unsuccessful. The woman agreed to exchange our 25 euro pass or one pass for Frankfurt worth 13 euros but would not exchange it for 2. So, we had to chance it on the way back, and thank God were successful.

[The train station in Wiesbaden]

Our first impression of Wiesbaden (after the fiasco with the ticketing customer service) was that the houses along the main had an architectural style that reminded us of parts of Boston. We initially headed out from the train station to the center of the city, walking along a park. As has been the case for us, one of the first things we saw was a beautiful and ornately designed large church.

[Steeples and Spires]

We went inside where I bought a votive candle for 25 cents (Euro) and lit a candle for my sister with the closest approximation I get to a prayer (which normally resembles something more like a “please help” or “I’m so confused” plea).

[The Candles of Prayer]

Also, as has been the case during most of our time here so far, it started raining with some wet snow mixed in. This made the purchase of a new hat and gloves even more of a necessity, so we ducked into a mall, and I got a plain pair of black gloves and a very interesting olive green hat with what I was pretty sure was the logo from Hustler on the front of it, but we aren’t really sure. You see the hat – tell us what that’s from, because we are dying to know what I’m walking around supporting!

Also around this time, we turned a corner into an alley and found a quaint little café/pub/restaurant named Der Kleine König (The Small King) and stopped in for some lunch. Juan Carlos had cup of coffee #4 for the day and a very large thin pizza-type dish, I had water and a baked potato (which came with loads of soft cheese), and Tim had a beer and goulash and a farmer’s bread with cheese. It was a cute little bar that played exclusively American music on the radio.

["Farmer's Bread" with cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers and pretzels on the side. Delicious!]

Wiesbaden is mostly known as a spa city, but we managed to avoid most of that. We did walk over a very interesting bridge to a park. Although the surroundings were very appealing and quaint, there was no shortage of graffiti (as has been pretty much everywhere here in Germany so far). One of my favorites was someone who had painted a Tom Petty lyric– “Let’s get to the point. Let’s roll another joint, and let’s head on down the road. There’s somewhere I gotta go.” This was written on the wooden boards of a very old-looking bridge across a winding narrow street.

Before heading out to Mainz, we stopped in at one of the famous Gummy Bears stores (that’s really all they sell!) to get some snacks for my co-workers and my mom.

[Rain, clouds, sun...it's all unpredictable here, but it makes the sky look pretty dramatic!]

Final commentary on this city is that 80% of the women between the ages of 18 and 35 appeared to have nose rings or studs. It was interesting that it actually stuck out to us as being a lot of people since that piercing is pretty common.

[These signs are how you can tell how many open parking spaces are in the various garages and lots around town.]

By the time we got back to the Hauptbahnhopf, on the correct train and into Mainz, it was dark already (remember it is winter and we are as far north as Calgary, Canada). Because of all the puddles we had stepped in throughout the rainy day, both Juan Carlos and I had wet feet. He got us new socks, which were very warm and actually had the “L” and “R” labeled, which I found amusing! The extra socks helped to keep us a bit warmer, as we walked along river and through the city.

This city looked like San Francisco to us. It was hilly, the houses were of the typical San Francisco style, and there were cable cars. Although we weren’t able to go inside, we did see the outside of Gutenberg’s church. Gutenberg is famous for the printing press and there are several Gutenberg Bibles.

Finally, any visit to any of the German cities during this time of year would not be complete without witnessing the set up of a Christmas market!!! Mainz was no exception to this.

We sat at the very back of the train on the ride back and chatted. We were all pretty tired, but we still had the evening ahead of us during which we planned to go to the opening night of the Frankfurt Christmas Market and meet Ray for dinner. We ended up going directly to the Christmas Market from the train station. We drank hot Glühwein and Tim got a bratwurst from the round grill like he wanted to when we were seeing the market getting set up. Tim also picked out a nice German beer stein that will be a good souvenir of our experience here.

[Cheers to a nice hot beverage on a cold night in Frankfurt!]

I think that Ray and Juan Carlos would have preferred to get food at the Christmas Market and eat standing up at one of the little tables. However, I was way too cold by this point, and I wasn’t really looking forward to a potential dinner of donuts, sausages, and more Glühwein. So, we ended up walking over to have dinner at Schönen Müllerin. This is one of the restaurants that Ray and Juan Carlos have been frequently and knew many of the staff there. I ordered an omelet type thing and Tim ordered Hessen Schnitzel. We also each got a dark beer.

At the end of the meal, we headed back and were looking forward to a good night’s sleep! Tomorrow would be our last full day in Germany.

Berlin – Touring the City II

2007-11-25T17:43:00.000-05:00

11/25/2007 (Berlin – Touring the City II)

We slept in again and didn’t crawl out of bed until close to 11am. Tim had developed a cold during the night and I had been awake at various points throughout the night with my bad dreams again. I remembered my dream in the morning, but I don’t now anymore. There was a lot of yelling and screaming and running around, and the whole mental experience was a bit exhausting. As a result, we ended up downstairs pretty much right at the noon checkout time. (This was OK, though; because it is the time we had agreed to meet Ray and Juan Carlos for the day anyway).

We checked out, and decided to return to that bombed out church in former West Berlin that we had passed in the dark the night before. (The official name of this church is, surprisingly, not “the bombed out church” but the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche. It was really amazing, as was the modern sanctuary built right next to it. Again, I’ll let Tim’s pictures communicate the story to you.

After this, we walked over to the shopping area where we also stopped for lunch at a Mediterranean place that served falafel. It was a very good lunch, and I was happy to have such an easy time to order something vegetarian.

Following this we resumed our walking tour of the city. We crossed many interesting bridges, looked at many architectural wonders of buildings, and passed by all types of people. Our tour of the Dom Kirche really stands out, because we walked all the way up to the top of it, and stood outside looking over the entire city. Tim has pictures of the inside of the sanctuary, various places of the climb up, and also pictures from the very top. It was a little scary to stand up there with only a chest high wall separating you from certain death. But we were very glad to have done it.

After touring the church, we walked through a sculpture garden by the Columbian artist Fernando Potero. He is apparently famous for making art with very fleshy people.

Unfortunately, after this it was time to head back to the train station for the train back to Frankfurt. It was dark already and the weather was starting to turn, so it was time, but we were sad to leave the city. However, we do have to look forward to the full-scale opening of the Christmas Markets in Frankfurt when we return.

In Berlin - Day 1

2007-11-24T17:46:00.000-05:00

['Tis the season for mulled wine (Gluhwein here in Germany). On blustery, overcast and chilly day in Berlin in November, nothing warms the soul like a glass of this ruby-colored deliciousness!!]

11/24/2007 (In Berlin)

I have neglected to mention thus far that I am very allergic to something here. As I am sitting on the train to Berlin with my eyes stinging and watering and my nose running, it is hard to ignore this fact. I took Loratadine about 20 minutes ago to no effect thus far. Let’s hope it kicks in soon. But, I’m getting ahead of myself…

This morning, our cell phone alarms went off at 6:45am so that we could make sure we were ready to take the subway to the Hauptbanhof and board the train to Berlin. It turns out that I didn’t really need the alarm, because I have apparently adjusted to the time zone, and my old habit of waking up at 4am has reappeared. I went downstairs at this time and actually checked my work email for the first time during the trip. Seemed nothing major was going on. I’m not sure why I’m having such a hard time focusing on vacation for this trip. I checked my personal email. I felt really far away. I went back upstairs and tried to sleep.

Ray and Juan Carlos had the opposite problem – their alarm did not go off, and they slept in. I was really bashful about knocking on their door. I thought that they were probably up and just in the bathroom or something. But finally at 7:35am, I knocked and they had still been sleeping! The next 15 minutes were a flurry of activity while the guys tried to get ready, Juan Carlos called a cab, we made sure we had everything, and sprinted down the stairs to the cab.

When we got to the station, we all ran inside, found the correct track, and made it in time! So, now we are about an hour and 20 minutes into the four hour train ride to Berlin. It’s a really nice train, with some pairs of seats, other areas with table for four and other enclosed areas for more than 4 people. Tim is snapping pictures out the window, and I’m trying to look like I’m not sobbing (“it is only allergies” auf Deutsch?).

After we sat down with relief that we didn’t miss the train, I went to get us all coffee. A very friendly German guy was trying to talk to me, but I didn’t really understand what he was saying and had to just smile and tell him I didn’t understand. Ray later went and got us croissants for breakfast.

Towards the end of the four hour train ride, we had the unfortunate (yet comical) experience of sitting a few seats away from an American tourist FROM ORANGE COUNTY CALIFORNIA (spoken about 30 decibels louder than necessary) wearing (I kid you not) a pink outfit with a black hat that said “spoiled rotten” on it in rhinestones. She was asking for directions via subway to some remote place in Germany. A local woman on the train was doing her damnedest to try to help her, but as the directions got more and more complicated, and Miss O.C. kept saying “should I just take a taxi” (in high-pitched-my-daddy-buys-me-everything-I-want tone), it was just embarrassing. It was all Juan Carlos could to keep quiet.

Of course I am making fun of Miss O.C. However, I was dressed in my paint ball outfit that day just because it was the most comfortable thing I had brought with me. So, I was sporting the opposite look, very closely resembling “Miss G.I. Jane”. I’m not sure which is really worst when traveling in a foreign country to be honest.

More when we get to Berlin!

11/24/2007 (Berlin – Checking into the Hotel and Touring the City)

Although I didn’t realize it until the second day there, Berlin reminds me a bit of a very unusual and complex family. It is as though a couple gets married, starts beating each other, is forcibly separated one morning via court order, but not before having a few kids. Then, they each get remarried; hate one side of the family or another, and one of the former spouses ends up on welfare and destitute with 2/3 of the children. Then, sometime much later in the future, they all decide to make up, sit down for a large extended and step-family photo, and somehow they all look beautiful and adjusted in a defiant sort of way.

We walked around the city nonstop for the better part of two days. It really gives you a good pulse for the people of the city when you get a chance to do that. We stayed at a hotel in former East Berlin, and you can definitely still tell today that it used to be East Berlin. The architecture is quite boxy and stern and colorless. However, there is construction everywhere and former east and west are starting to blend and merge in ways that surprised even Ray and Juan Carlos who have been there several times before.

The population of Berlin seemed much younger than Frankfurt and there seemed to be a very large contingent dressed in punk and industrial styles. (And this was not a put on look from Hot Topic or anything commercial/pop trendy like that… some of these people gave me a bit of pause… even with, or possibly because of, my G.I. Jane get up).

Anyway, I’ll return to proper chronology…

We took a taxi from the Berlin Hauptbahnhof (Main Train station) to our hotel – Mödenpick. It was a fairly new and very trendy looking Swiss hotel near the old (now bombed out) train station in East Berlin.

However, our rooms were not yet ready at this time, and so we left our bags at the hotel and set out on foot. It was on this adventure that we became acquainted with the main layout and structure of the city. We visited a nearby Christmas Market all set up with Christmas stands and food and drinks. Tim got some apple donut looking food (Shmaltz-kuchen) which resembles pieces of a funnel cake..

Although I am not really a big one for Christmas, even I could manage to get in the spirit with these merry ad cheerful surroundings! We also passed by a large snow tubing ramp set up in the middle of one of the squares with snow imported from Austria.

We walked all over the place! There was a lot of shopping and people of all kinds out and about. We noticed that the Ampelmännchen at the crossings were in the old East Berlin style with the red man with arms out and a hat on for “Don’t Walk” and the green man walking with a hat on for “Walk.” (Learn more here) I am still on a mission to get a hat here. There are so many kinds! A lot of the hats have that red star on them that Che Guevara wore on his hat. There are also several very cute knit hats with tassels on the top and little braided yarn down the sides. But I remain as of now hatless except for the WWF Panda hat that I got for my donation this year and which had not been packed into storage this past spring with the rest of our stuff.

Of special note in the walk was passing through the Brandenburg Gate...

...And Tim's newfound love of bratwurst. I'm impressed when he eats these with gloves on and tons of mustard and ketchup and manages not to get it all over himself. I am certain I don't have that skill. I personally think they look like little devils with the long bratwurst curling out from both sides of a much too small bun.

As for the rest of this tour, I’ll let Tim’s pictures speak for themselves. Despite the darkness, the cloudy and rainy weather, and the cold, I found my surroundings extremely interesting and beautiful. There was something about the city that resonated with me on an inexplicable level.

After our whirlwind self-guided tour, we returned to the hotel, completed the check-in process, and got our bags. We were really happy with the way the rooms looked. There was a very large bathtub in the middle of the room, which seemed a bit odd, but looked cool.

All of the fixtures and things were quite modern as well. We decided to get settled, changed, and then meet Ray and Juan Carlos downstairs in about 30 minutes to decide what to do the rest of the day.

When we got downstairs, we realized we were all very tired. Juan Carlos especially was almost asleep. But we ordered a round of Glühwein and got a few pamphlets to go through.

After ruling out the cabaret (I wanted to see a show, but we determined that we might not pick up on all the German humor), we decided to just set out for more walking and end up in a section of former West Berlin that had several cool restaurants and choose one for dinner. During this tour, we went to the former West Berlin. We stopped at a bar that served Paulaner (from Munich) on the way, since that is a type of beer Tim had wanted to try. We also saw (in the dark) an old church that had been bombed in WWII and a new, very modern sanctuary built next to it sometime later. We said we wanted to return there in daylight because it just looked so cool.

After much walking around and browsing, we ended up at a very good Italian restaurant for dinner. For the appetizer, we shared a salad with wonderful goat cheese on it. I had vegetarian lasagna and Tim had gnocchi. Ray picked out a very good bottle of wine and Tim had the darkest beer I have ever seen! Of course, the meal also came with the requisite amount of good bread which kept refilling itself. It was a very good meal. At the end of it, we walked back to the train station to return to the hotel for some much needed sleep.

We were amused that on the way home there were those same hip people waiting on strategic corners to pass out fliers for various clubs and parties that were going on. One young man came over to hand me fliers and said “Do you want to go dancing tonight?” in an adorable German accent. I said “Not tonight” and smiled. The guys were all teasing me.

Tim filled the bath for me when we got back. It was very hot water and very relaxing. (Even I – the queen of purposely scalding herself – had to wait for about 20 minutes before getting in).

Link to all pictures from today.

Rainy Day in Frankfurt (Germay Day 2)

2007-11-23T16:48:00.000-05:00

[Good coffee, a good book and a cold rainy day in Frankfurt, Germany]

11/23/2007 (In Frankfurt)

Today we did not wake up until 11:30AM Frankfurt time. I know, I know… very, very lazy. We have jet lag, but there is only a six hour time difference from the east coast, and I really thought it would not be this hard to adjust. Maybe we just both have colds or are still worn out from the fall.

[Tim's Note: The medical experts say "one day per one hour difference" is necessary for complete jet-lag recovery. Or try this alternative method.]

Whatever the case may be, we slept in big time. When we woke up, we got dressed and decided to head out on the town again. Juan Carlos decided to stay in while we wandered around. (I asked him if he was getting depressed from the lack of sunshine… he said “soon”). Tim and I headed out into the cold, rainy day and walked up Bergerstrasse.

Our intention was to walk around, look at some of the shops, and then step in at the Snack Stand so that Tim could get a currywurst. In reality, the Snack Stand was very crowded and the rain was much worse than it appeared, so we only stopped in at two stores for browsing and then had a late lunch. (We would have gotten an umbrella, but with the exchange rate, it might have cost as much as our mortgage. So, we suffered through).

The first shop we stopped in at was a skate/snowboarding shop which had a lot of really cool looking shoes, hats, and clothes. There was also a great collection of snowboarding helmets. Tim and I joked about getting one for my generally clumsy sister for everyday use. J Next we stopped in at a book store where we browsed through the books and Tim ended up picking out a children’s book called “Wo ist Tim?”("Where is Tim?"). For lunch we stopped in at Mirador where I got eggplant and Tim got a chicken dish. We each had a tall glass of Heffeweisen dunkel.

[Bread and beer...one could survive in Germany on this stuff....]

It was at this restaurant that I told Tim we really need to get more serious about using our German. We generally start out in German, but then because we aren’t thinking in the language, if the person we are talking to knows English, he/she quickly realizes the German is not our first language and switches over for us. This is very polite, but will never help us learn!

After lunch, we saw the rain had not subsided, so we went back to Ray and Juan Carlos’ apartment to get our books and spend a few hours at the coffee shop next to their house (Café Y). Tim ordered an Irish Coffee and I ordered a glass of water and Caffe Grog. Although it probably seems ridiculous to go to Europe only to sit in a coffee shop reading, it was a nice way to spend a few hours. We hardly ever get to do that in the US. I guess my take away was that if I did make the time to do such things more often, perhaps I wouldn’t need to leave the country for a week of vacation. Food for thought…

[no lack of supplied reading material at Cafe Y]

At around 5:30 or so, we returned to the apartment and talked to Juan Carlos until Ray got back from work. Juan Carlos showed us some of his favorite British comedy shows. Anyone who knows me knows that comedy isn’t really my thing, but I did laugh. J

Ray had promised we could take them out to dinner that night, so when he got back from work “early” at nearly 8pm, we spent a bit of time deciding where to go and ultimately headed out for an Ethiopian restaurant. We took the subway to get there, which was on the honor system. Passengers used automated machines to purchase tickets which may or may not ever be collected. However, if a conductor does come to collect your ticket and you are without, it is a 40 Euro fine (which is approximately 1000 USD currently… ok, kidding – but it is still a lot – something close to $67).

When we arrived at the restaurant it was very crowded already. There were several unique places that groups could sit to eat included, but not limited to – the back of an ox cart, a hot tub, large bed type things covered in something resembling ox hide, and then the traditional table. I was not sure if I should be expecting a group of women to emerge and start dancing on the bar or what.

Because all the tables were taken, we were seated on a long bench downstairs for drinks while we waited for a table to open up. This bench and table were located in the little hall way area right outside the women’s restroom. I joked that we were like the frat boy greeting party that sits in a table either right inside the door or right next to the dance floor at a club and gives every single girl that passes by the look over.

Eventually, much to my cousin’s happiness, a real table opened, and we were able to sit in a circle to eat and talk. The food was great. I told Ray that it seemed strange to be eating all of this food from other countries while we were in Germany, but he said this is typical for Frankfurt.

In other cities we visit on the trip, we’ll have the authentic German experience, although it is doubtful there will be much for me to eat. But, I knew this going in.

After dinner, we discussed what to do for the weekend and decided to go to Berlin. We would have to get train tickets and pack and find a hotel, but Ray took care of arranging all of that. We decided to take the 8:13am train and stay at a hotel in the former East Berlin. We are very excited for this!

[Ray and J.C.'s abode in Frankfurt- very sleek!]

[A test shot that actually turned out OK in B&W. As a photographic side note, all shots taken during this trip will be with a Canon 350D with a 18-55mm Canon lens and post-edited with Paint.NET (check it out....it's free!]

Heading to Germany - a.k.a. The Continuous Wednesday

2007-11-22T12:58:00.000-05:00

[In Germany you have The Quaint...]

[...And the Commanding]

11/21/2007 (In the US)
Several months ago we booked flights to visit my cousin Ray and his partner Juan Carlos in Germany, leaving 11/21 and returning on 11/28. Tim and I have been so busy these last couple of weeks – actually months – that we hadn’t even really had time to really get excited about the trip. As a result, when the week of 11/19 finally came around, we found ourselves packing and getting ready the two days before, when we finally realized we were going on vacation!

Wednesday morning we headed out at 7:30am from the house after saying good-bye to Elora, and took a cab to the airport. It seemed we were both still in a not very relaxed mode, but we were trying! We got our boarding passes and through security without hassle and decided to have some coffee and breakfast. Tim got the coffee drinks at the central airport coffee shop while I ordered some food for us at Au Bon Pain. It was a nice leisurely breakfast, since we had so much time until our 11:15am flight would leave to take us to Boston (where we were connecting).

After breakfast we headed over to our gate to read until we would board. All of this was also nice in helping us unwind before vacation.

Finally, we boarded the rather uneventful flight to Boston where we continued to read our books.

In Boston, we switched terminals and went through security again for Lufthansa. Although the international terminal lacked excitement, it did have a Houlihan’s, which enabled us to enjoy a few glasses of Sam Adams Winter Ale and lunch, which ate up at least an hour. (Traveling is a constant reminder to me that you never have time when you want or need it… when you don’t need quite that much time alone with your thoughts, time is there in abundance).

After lunch, as I was waiting in line to take advantage of the absolutely horrible exchange rate and get some Euros, I heard our name called from the check-in desk. It turned out that they just needed to scan our passports again. However, while I was up there, I took the opportunity to chat with the gals and joked around about how I thought they were calling us up to upgrade us. Although this was a complete joke on my part, to my surprise, THEY DID!

Flying from Boston to Frankfurt in Business Class, when we had been pretty sure we were going to suffer through a horrible experience in coach was absolutely wonderful. We were able to have a few drinks, recline the seats, and get a lot more relaxed. The flight was not long enough to fit in dinner, a movie, and a decent night’s sleep. However, we were able to get a few hours of sleep in before touching down in Frankfurt at around 5:40AM. It still seemed like Wednesday to us, even though it was now Thursday.

11/22/2007 (In Germany)
We arrived in the Frankfurt airport without issue, and immediately noticed that the bathrooms were funny. There were several sets of bathrooms – all with only a single stall! So, Tim had to go into about 5 of them before finding one that was available. Soon after this, we also noticed that 2 out of 3 of our bags just were not coming.

So… I headed over to Lufthansa’s office to file a claim. The woman was very nice and tracked down the bags. After consulting her computer, she told me that they never made it on the original flight out of Philly, so they sent them on a later flight, and the airline would deliver them sometime between 10am and noon that day. So, hopeful that at some point in the near future, Tim would have his clothes and I would have my makeup and toiletries, we headed for the exit.

Ray had provided us with very explicit directions for getting a cab and dictating the route to be taken to their apartment, so that we weren’t given an expensive and impromptu tour of Germany. I was very thankful for this, as it definitely seemed from our interaction with the cab driver that tour would have been forthcoming otherwise.

The cab ride was a bit of a surreal experience, as it always is when one arrives in a different country in the dark when they have been up all night, realizes most of their luggage is somewhere in the airline matrix, and he/she is not entirely present. So, basically, I watched my surroundings out the window with a bit of detachment as though I were watching someone else watching. I did notice, however, that everything seemed quite a bit smaller. The lanes on the highway were smaller, the cars were smaller, everything was posted in kilometers (of course). The day was starting out cool and clear, but it was still mostly dark.

As we got closer to Ray and Juan Carlos’ place, the streets started looking quainter and narrower. The part of Frankfurt they live is called Bornheim. We paid the cab driver, piled out with our carryon bags and started across the street to their apartment. We buzzed their apartment and a very sleepy looking Ray came out to greet us. It was great to see him! I felt bad that we were arriving so early in the morning – even before he would have had to wake up for work! But, as usual, Ray was great and talked to us for awhile, showed us our room, and then showered and took us out for breakfast. We went to a place called Ypsilon (Café Y). I had black coffee, bread and a special kind of cheese (kräuterkäse). Tim had bacon, sausage, eggs, baked beans with carrots and tomatoes, bread, and black coffee.

After about an hour, we headed back to the apartment so that Ray could get ready for work, and Tim and I decided to allow ourselves a nap before Juan Carlos woke up. (We learned later that Juan Carlos keeps slightly odd hours – sleeping from about 4am until noon – because he keeps more or less US hours to watch his TV programs and keep in touch with friends and family).

I awoke from a rather disorienting sleep to the phone ringing and our luggage was delivered! Whoo-hoo!

[Tim’s Note: Kendra had a nap- I fell into a coma. I spent about 30 seconds lying horizontal before I was out cold. No dreaming, no rolling over- just out cold. Never heard a phone, never hear anything until Kendra came back up the stairs with our missing luggage].

Around this time, Juan Carlos also woke up, so we decided to get ready and within the next hour, we were out the door for what would be a fantastic three hour walking tour of the city lead by Juan Carlos (which I think he should make a side job out of). I think we walked up and down every major street. He is a very good tour guide! The tour also consisted of hilarious commentary by Juan Carlos on various people passing by us. This is a hallmark of spending time with Juan Carlos, and one of the reasons I love him. (Example: "That person already sticks out a lot because of their height and now he is ugly too. What a pity".) He has such a big heart. All of this is just part of his sense of humor.

[German cuisine- take your pick! Almost every eating establishment had these chalk and chalkboard menus (speisekarte) out front, and all seemed to be written in the same, not-quite-instantly-readable handwriting]

Because we are still a little jet lagged and sleepy, we probably did not pick up on as much as we should have on this tour. However, we walked through Frankfurt and Sachsenhausen (walking over two bridges back and forth from these cities over the Main river).

[A lovely, shaded walkway along the Main River]

[Kendra and Juan Carlos on the bridge over the river Main]

We noticed that the "walking men" lights here are green instead of the white color they are in the US, which really makes a lot more sense.

["Wir warten auf Grun!" "We're waiting for the green!"]

We also saw the ubiquitous Smart car made by Mercedes. They are so small you can park them almost everywhere, and people do.
(Article on the Smart Car)

[See? You can pull straight into the curb and still only take up the same amount of room that another Smart car takes up long-ways. Amazing!]

We had the opportunity to walk through a great farmer’s market. There was an abundance of sausages suspended from the roofs of small huts. There was also a lot of cheese, wine, and mulled beverages. It was all really neat to experience. There were several people eating food, standing, and small round tables in pairs or by themselves. I told Juan Carlos that this surprised me, because I would think that people would take a lot of time with their meals. He told me that this is the case, but the meals I am seeing people eating casually and standing up are not meals – they are just small snacks. I think Tim was happy to hear this, considering it allows him to have as many in between meal bratwurst sandwiches as he wishes.

[Some yummy mushrooms and rice from the Farmer's Market]

[Multiple varieties of sausage and bratwurst being cooked on a large circular grill]

I was a little intimated by this, as I think if I ever were to eat a bratwurst, I would not be hungry for the rest of the day (but then I’m not sure I have ever eaten one – even before becoming a vegetarian – so I probably have no basis for comparison… they just seem very filling).

[Kendra getting some amazingly stomach-warming gluhwein (spiced mulled wine) from a street vendor. The objects in the foreground are ketchup and mustard (senf) dispensers for the bratwurst.]

[Take it down slowwwwwwly...it warms the soul!]

We went into the Dom Kirche, which is a beautiful old church that is in the process of being restored. Tim took several pictures of the inside, even though it seemed slightly irreverent to do so. But – I’m glad he did, or we wouldn’t be able to share it with you!

Also, everywhere workers were out decorating for the Christmas Markets (Weihnachtsmarkt) . The environment was very festive, and I’m sure after a night’s sleep, I’ll be more alert to it all.

[One of the hundreds of Weihnachtsmarkt stands. Most were still being built and stocked- this one was open for business and the whole will probably look (and smell!) amazing in the next few days!]

[A bar/cafe in a Mercedes-Benz showroom in Center City Frankfurt]

We stopped at a little restaurant on the way home for a standing up snack. Tim and Juan Carlos had potato (kartoffel) soup and I had to go across the street and bring back a bread and cheese, because all the soups in the shop were made with meat stock. I think bread and cheese will be my friend on this trip  Juan Carlos was getting antsy at me for not eating more. I think my mom called him in advance ;-)

[The fountain in the square was dyed pink for some function at the opera house...either that or the punks from York College of Pennsylvania have been visiting...]

At around 5:30pm we headed back to their apartment to hang out and relax before dinner. We had reservations to meet Ray at 8:30pm at a restaurant on the outskirts of Frankfurt called Speisekammer.

I ended up taking another nap before dinner, since I was fading. Tim and Juan Carlos got his laptop hooked up to wireless and listened to music and TV (including the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade via satellite from New York). Also during this time we were amused to find that Ray and Juan Carlos keep separate stashes of wine. Most of Tim and I’s stash of wine is probably closer to Juan Carlos’ :-)

Ray got home at around 8pm and we all got into a cab and headed for the restaurant. If one was taken to this restaurant and not driving, I highly doubt he would ever find it again. The cab wound through countless streets and alleys and finally dropped us off outside a beautiful little restaurant. We all walked through the nice outdoor patio in the back and into the restaurant.

Ray was clearly a regular there. The staff loved him. We got a nice table in the front and ordered our food and drinks. It was a beautiful meal. We got to talk when we were all slightly more awake and caught up on what was going on with our families. We were there for about 2.5 hours. At the end of the meal, we started walking back since we had consumed quite a bit of food. On the way, we passed by two large stuffed animals propped against the wall. The teddy bear, unfortunately was marked for assassination with a large "X" on his forehead.

[It's the end of the line for Teddy on the back streets of Frankfurt]

Although we intended to take the train home, a cab came sooner, and so we decided to go that route. This ended up being a wise decision, since the last train of the evening passed the cab shortly thereafter, and we probably would have missed it.

I was asleep later that night almost as soon as I got out of the shower.

[The view from where we are staying in Frankfurt...yes, there is legal parking on the sidewalk.]

AI Paintball Bonding!

2007-11-16T18:15:00.000-05:00

On Friday the AI group at my work had a team building activity of paintball! This was my first time, which likely explains why I put a lot more effort into planning my outfit than my strategy for not getting shot. It also explains why I now have about seven very nasty and painful bruises. But, hey - live and learn. (Or as more often is the case for me - live and live and live and sometimes learn).

We all met at the office at 8:30am and loaded into the bus. The AI people from our Denver office and our London office were in town for the occasion, which was really great. We don't get to see them nearly enough!

I had a really hard time maneuvering the gun, not spilling my paint balls, running, hiding, trying not to get shot myself, and shooting my gun all at the same time. When you take this along with the fact that I didn't really seem to understand the fundamental concept of the games we were playing, I was not exactly our teams strongest player. However, I did give it my all. I crawled on the ground on my hands and knees and stomach and rushed behind barricades, and eventually, all too soon, got shot. I was sore for a few days afterwards. It was a great experience in the end, and I enjoyed bonding with my co-workers.

Here are a few pictures from the day! There were a few other shots I know I was in with my friends, but those pictures are not posted yet. I will update this, when we return from Germany, if I see more in the coming weeks.

[A few of my friends are in this photo below. From L-R: Chris (partially obscured by someone's thumb), Howard (looking at the camera), me (with green hat and camo shirt on), Kate (with bandanna), and Kevin (well, the back of Kevin's head)]

[Kate and Kendra - super heroes!]

Someone is tired of her daddy being gone...

2007-11-11T19:19:00.001-05:00

I have two theories:

1) Tim is actually being scheduled for so many hours this fall that he might as well be an indentured servant.

OR

2) Tim has a second wife in either Boston, New York City, or the ambiguous "Central New Jersey" region. (You would think he would have learned his lesson with the first wife... me).

Regardless of which theory is correct, Elora is putting her paws down. As I returned from another load of laundry (the required turn over for each trip is a bit demanding), I saw Elora firmly planted in Tim's half packed suitcase. You can see she has abandoned playing with her mouse in mid-game and just nestled in with a determined look on her face.

The vast majority of the time, mommy feeds her, cleans her, and makes her litter box nice... but I'm not daddy.

Google Plug

2007-10-30T09:09:00.000-04:00

Just a quick note here to promote Google Desktop, which I discovered a few days ago and is super cool. (Free download here). It puts a column down the far right side of your screen, in which you can place all sorts of useful gadgets. I use it for a nice big "analog" clock (complete with "mechanically" twitching second hand- reminds me of staring at the overhead clock in boring high school and college classes - the ultimate, of course, being The History of Africa by Professor Sarfo at York College of Pennsylvania Tuesdays and Thursdays at 12:30pm in the MAC building...it's been almost 10 years and still the scars remain....).

I also have the current local weather and a slideshow randomly presenting pictures from all over my Pictures folders. The coolest part, though, is the Web Clips area, which I have set up to show me the latest 3 posts from a dozen of the websites, blogs, etc. that I look at daily or on a regular basis. You just need the RSS/Atom feed address for the site and it eliminates the need to open a browser and access a different Bookmark or type an address for each site to check for new content. I also have a scratch pad, which you can type notes on. All this is customizable and able to be hidden from view whenever needed. Here's a screen shot of mine:

UPDATE: I was just going through the list of available gadgets for Google Desktop and saw that there is a laundry timer. You can see when your washer/drier will be done. Awesome!

Of Farmer's Markets and South Street

2007-10-28T15:45:00.000-04:00

Today Tim and I took a rare break from his busy fall schedule at work to take a walk and spend a bit of time together. We got out of bed reluctantly (but out of necessity due to the persistent Elora) and decided to head towards Head House Square where there was a farmer's market. On the way we picked up much needed caffeine at Starbucks.

It has been awhile since we were able to take a walk together, but we immediately fell back into the roles of Tim looking for anything interesting to photograph and me helping him. Anyone close to a photographer will know exactly what I am talking about, but it gets to the point where you just don't look at anything for the function it performs. You don't see an Aaley. You see lighting, angles, interesting contrasts, a story. You stop together without speaking and wait for the shot to be taken. You continue on. You see a discarded mask and realize that your partner will not consider it a discarded mask. You stop. You wait. You continue on. You shiver because it is getting cold. You realize that when all else fails, you will be photographed. One million times. Lift your chin. Look right. Don't smile. You continue on.

When we arrived at 2nd and Lombard the market was already packed. It was fun to pick out vegetables and fruits. It must have been fate, because we had just enough cash with us to buy everything we wanted. We got great baby bokchoy, spinach, tomatoes, onions, apples, and cheese. We packed all of our purchases in the backpacks we brought along and decided to walk along South Street for awhile.

It was on this detour that I noticed one of my favorite things about living in the city. As Tim and I contemplate moving out of center city, it is small things like this that make me hesitate. We turned the corner of South Street and a man about our age in a casual suit and tie with purple/green/black hair in a loose ponytail came whizzing by me on a skateboard. I smiled at him. It was early and there were hardly any cars, so he was able to skate down the street without interference. It is the existence of so many people in one place who are so utterly themselves that I love about being here. The attitude of "you may not think all of me fits together, but it does, because I am me, and I assure you that it all makes sense somewhere in there" is one that I absolutely need to have around me. Of course everyone has confusion and insecurities and delusions, but they are trying. Anyway, I'm happy I was there. I'm still not sure what we'll do about moving. It depends, it depends.

Tim has some pictures of our day, so he'll likely update this post when he gets back from work.

That's all for now!

UPDATE: (Tim)

An easy audio gig has allowed time for me to upload some pictures from Sunday.

"Discarded Halloween"

"Autumn Apples"

"The Farmer's Market at HeadHouse Square, South St., Philadelphia"

If anybody knows if Molletta (formerly on N. 3rd St.) is relocating, it would make somebody very happy!

Tweaked-Out Kendra in Elevator

Stemming Green Beans

2007-10-13T13:00:00.000-04:00

It has always been amazing to me that from day to day, I have zero time and am always running around in whirlwind* mode wishing I had an hour to myself. However, during times like now when I have entire days to myself, I end up staring at the wall.

Last night I got home from work at around 8:00pm and didn't feel at all like cooking. I ordered Indian food from Cafe Spice and decided to order an On Demand movie. I chose Factory Girl, which I liked, but found it simliar to and not as good as Gia. My oversimplified take on both movies is that they are about tragically beautiful and lost girls who misplace their love and end up dying young and lonely. Maybe I'll watch Gia again this weekend. I really did like that movie, even if it made me cry.

Tim is gone for a 5 day stretch in D.C. for work this weekend. Next weekend, he'll be in Tampa, Florida to visit his friend Mike. I hope to accomplish a lot around the house during this time as well as get together my thoughts on numerous big decisions we have to make in the near future and probably should have made by now (to move or not to move, etc. etc.).

So, I've been plugging through the household tasks, but 1/3 of the way through stemming my green beans today, I became overwhelmed by how unmotivating of a task it was. I'm only even eating them for lunch because I bought them and don't want them to go to waste. Anyway, this is how it has been. I need to just write my stuff to do down and do it without analyzing!

This is likely just all a sign that I could use some more sleep. I'm sure it will be a more productive evening than morning :-)

*Whirlwind: Name Tim made up for me to describe my habit of tearing around doing 7 things at the same time. Useage: "I see you are being a whirlwind again. Where is my belt (or wallet or pants or book or glass of water) that was just laying here?

Girls Gone Wild in Arizona!

2007-10-08T21:43:00.000-04:00

For the last few years, my mom and sister and I have made it a priority to go on a girls vacation in the fall.

So, this year, from September 27th - October 2nd (well, it turned out to be October 3rd, but more about that later), my mom (Faye), my sister (Jennifer), and I (Kendra) enjoyed a nice restful vacation in sunny Arizona! The weather was perfect during our stay - not too hot, but sunny, and feeling a bit like just the start of fall.

I had created a very detailed agenda for my mom and sister, especially since they would have to take the first leg of the flight alone, as they were flying out of Harrisburg and I was flying out of Philadelphia. They did very well (after some security confusion on mom's part), and I met up with them in Detroit! After a quick lunch, we boarded our plane to Phoenix. I was upgraded on all of my flights, because I still have status from working at Accenture. I wanted mom to take my seat, but she wouldn't and sat with Jen.

We arrived in Phoenix, and my mom and Jen experienced the familiar shock at the unique landscape of the south west. I am not sure my sister has ever seen a cactus in the wild. It was really cool to see their surprise.

After some drama over the discount rate, we loaded into our Rav 4 and headed for the resort!

I'll pause here to comment about the luggage situation we were facing. Now, while I will admit to being a bit girly and coordinating my outfits, years of packing has trained me to stick with one color group and minimize accessories while on vacation. I packed a backpack for carry on and checked a medium sized duffel. Well.... although Jen packed an entire suitcase of shoes and copious amounts of hair product, she neglected to pack a single sweatshirt for the cool evenings and also neglected to bring any container for water. My mother - ditto, except a few less pair of shoes. So, if you just take a moment to picture us trying to carry 7 suitcases and 5 carry on bags between the 3 of us through the airport, you will get the picture. I feel entirely justified in giving mom and Jen crap about this because I never heard the end of my agenda and budget spreadsheet (which I swear they requested) :-)

So, back to the story. Our room was very nice at the Sheraton, with a complete kitchen, balcony, and whirlpool bath. The resort had beautiful grounds and two pools with water falls.

Before long, we were getting organized, ordering some lunch, and heading out to the pool. We went to the grocery store later than evening to get some food for breakfasts and some other meals and to stock up on two large containers of spring water to tide us over our many day trips.

We arrived home just in time to have the battle of the season openers. Jen - The Office vs. Kendra - CSI... Good thing the room had two TVs. Although I did have to question how substantial the plot of the The Office was when Jen came prancing into the room 15 minutes before CSI had ended... she thought her show had ended already. :-)

So, our first day was a success. We had arrived all in one piece with all our excessive luggage, we were getting relaxed, and we settled into the room.

Friday we woke up to a great, albeit decadent, breakfast made by my sister. She made french toast stuffed with strawberry cream cheese. Soon after this, we headed out to look around Old Scottsdale for awhile before our appointments for our tattoos! (Yes, we got another one).

It was so nice to be together and have the time to casually browse the stores and make suggestions to each other of what various people might like. Before long, it was time to head out to Divinity.

We arrived just a few minutes until the official opening time of 11am and headed in. We were immediately assigned our artists (each a different one) and started describing what we wanted. Jen and I got the same design, although, since we had different artists, the end result was still unique, which was cool. We got a tiger lily on a vine (with thorns) with the Chinese characters for "older sister" and "younger sister" incorporated. The design was meant to be symbolic of Jen and I together.

This one hardly hurt at all. My other ones were all on bony areas, which is more painful, but this one was on my chest which had more fat and really didn't bother me.
We were really pleased with the results, and Jen was especially pleased with her artist (Dan). She thought he looked like Jesus (and told him so - he is probably still getting teased for that) and developed a crush in a hurry.

We spent the rest of the day sight seeing and made a stop by the book store to replenish our reading material. I bought a book called "Personology" on sale for $9.99 and we had great fun the rest of the evening having cocktails on the balcony and looking up everyone whose birthday we knew to laugh about the insights on their personalities. Some highlights:

Kendra: (Sun) Noble and regal, these proud individuals expect the very best that life has to offer. Unfortunately, since they are not geared for failure they are frequently unable to handle the disappointment of setbacks. Their frustration level tends to be low and also their patience. In order to achieve happiness they will have to become more accepting while being less demanding. (Reaction: Such B*** S***!... completely messing with you - I know it's true!)

Jen: (Saturn) Shyness and extreme modesty may be the result of this Saturn placement. Such attitudes could make his individual more attractive, in fact, but easily overlooked by the average person. Like an unusual flower growing by the wayside that not everyone sees, this person is there only for the few who recognized their beauty. Learning to be just a bit more assertive will help them in life. (Reaction: We were laughing so hard after hearing a derivative of the words "shy" and "modest" that we didn't really hear the rest of this entry)

Mom: (Neptune) A preoccupation with computer software, technical intricacies, cars, and websites is characteristic here. Such individuals do well as consultants and troubleshooters, ferreting out problems and solving them. Usually strong in design concepts, they are never happier than when dreaming up a new plan for any group or organization. Being appreciated for their services is important to them in all aspects of life. (Reaction: While I personally think my mom has caught on to computers very well, I have spent enough hours on the phone with her trying to dictate how to access her email that the idea of her as a computer consultant was almost too much to bear...) ;-)

So, after getting way more than ten bucks worth of fun out of that book, we headed off to bed.

Saturday we woke up, ate breakfast, loaded up water and first aid kit in the car, and headed to Sedona! When Tim and I were in Arizona last, this was probably our favorite place. It is rustic and beautiful and fun and very unique. It took us about 2 and a half hours to get there. We headed into the town area first to book our Red Rock Jeep tour and grab lunch at the Cowboy Club. I treated for lunch so that my mom and sister would try the rattlesnake and buffalo. Although giving me a lot of resistance, they both said they were really happy to have tried it and be able to tell people that. I was happy to drink down a prickly pear cactus margarita, which I hadn't had for 3 years.

Following this, cowboy Randy took us on a jeep tour! Jen sat in front with him so that she didn't get car sick where she proceeded to be a salacious flirt (although she claims otherwise). When Randy started in being sweet to me, I rebuffed him, claiming he had already been flirting with my sister. Mom informed us we were both scandalous. (This is probably why Jen and I aren't meant to live TOO close... woe betide the town that has both of us).

After the tour, we spent some time looking at the many gift shops in town and then headed back. When Tim and I were there, we went around to the vortexes, but there wasn't much interest in that from this crew. That was fine with me, as we were pretty tired.

When we got home, we went and picked up a few pizzas for supper and hung out at home.

Sunday we woke up late and spent our time at breakfast, talking and trying to decide what to do. We ended up deciding to go to the Grand Canyon that day, even though I knew we'd end up spending more time driving there than at the Canyon. Although it was a really long day, it really did end up to be awesome. After about 10 stops on the way (Jen needed ice cream, numerous bathroom breaks, etc.) we ended up at the Canyon, paid our fee, and got the map. It took me awhile to figure out how to get to the view points. However, we figured it out and ended up at Yaki point just before sunset. It was gorgeous. We ended the day with a dinner at one of the Lodges where we talked more. It is great to experience just an awesome view with the two most important women in your life.

Monday it was back to Old Scottsdale for souvenir shopping, including lunch with live guitar music at the Rusty Spur.

Afterwards, we had some relaxing by the pool. (Me in my jeans, because I didn't feel like shaving) :-p We ended the day by packing (or trying to pack) all our stuff into the same suitcases we came in.

Tuesday was back to the airport where we were greeted with significant delays including an overnight stay in Minneapolis. The airline put us up in a hotel since I had been upgraded to First Class (and finally convinced mom to take the seat), and we all arrived home in the afternoon of the 3rd. All in all, everything worked out for the best!

I will have many memories of this trip in addition to the ones above:
- The ridiculous amounts of text messages my sister received and the fact that she kept her phone on all night to get them (AND has a ring tone to indicate text messages).
- The realization from all of us at how very different we all our in everything we do, but in how much we love each other despite the differences.
- I eat less but drink more, which made for tensions when I'd skip meal times by hours not realizing my mom and sister were hungry. Equally tense moments resulted if I did not have my coffee in the morning, my glass of wine in the afternoon, or some other drink at night. Between the three of us there is a perfect amount of both eating and drinking ;-)
- Neither Jen nor my mom have the slightest appreciation for how beautiful they are.
- Several discussions on moral dilemmas, choices we make, happiness, and life in general.
- The reminder that we would always be family for better or for worse.

Looking forward to girls' vacation 2008!

For more pictures (including some horribly purposely posed ones), please see this link:

Lens Test

2007-09-30T11:43:00.000-04:00

This morning I got up early for an excursion to try out a new lens, the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM (a 50 mm prime lens in English). I drove out to the Fairmount park area and walked around some of the hills and playing fields as the sun rose. Given the recent baseball success in the city, I took a few shots with the diamonds in the foreground and some of the trees dotting the park. Then I drove back into the city for some off-the-street shooting.

This lens has been given an infinite number of glowing reviews about it's sharpness, speed and operation in low light. I'm thinking a may have gotten a defective lens. I had an awful time trying to get clear, focused shots and there didn't seem to be any consistent method behind why it wasn't happening. The sun was over the trees by then, so it wasn't terribly low light but the majority of the shots were coming out horribly unfocused:

And it wasn't the fact that it was handheld...some of them came out great (or as I would have expected them to with any other lens) (I kept everything full frame- (no post-shoot crop) so you can see what this lens looks like):

So these previous few looked alright, but it was really annoying trying to capture good shots with the thought that maybe the lens I had wasn't performing up to it's standard, or that it was user-error and I was going about it completely wrong.

To make myself feel better, I returned home, switched over to the ever-dependable 18-55mm Canon lens and took a stroll around the block, getting image quality like i'm used to:

So, I'm looking into getting the 50mm Prime replaced. In the meantime: Go Phillies! Go Eagles!

Mariya's 30th Birthday

2007-08-26T14:49:00.000-04:00

At around 3:30am the morning of August 18th, Tim and I woke up to the alarm clock and forced ourselves out of bed. We had a car to pack and a long drive to Montague, Massachusetts to celebrate the 30th birthday of my friend from college, Mariya.

Although our schedules have been crazy, the last several times I've seen Mariya, she has made the drive out to me, and I definitely wanted to make the effort to see her this time!

She had planned a picnic at a lake near her home from about 10am - 1pm on Saturday followed by dinner and a party that evening at the house she shares with several other families and couples out in the country.

The drive out was pretty neat. First of all, there were not many cars on the road at all and the weather was good, so we made good time. Second of all, Tim had been gone quite a bit the week before, and we had not spent much time together, so being in the car for a long drive was a good chance to see each other again.

We didn't actually get lost until we tried to find the picnic and realized we had the wrong directions. Mariya had been trying to call us to give us the right directions, but my cell phone did not have coverage in the middle of the woods. Finally, we got through to her, got the directions, and found it - after a few more turn arounds.

The location for the picnic was at the Conway pool - actually lake with diving platform. There was a small beach and picnic tables, and it was a pretty tranquil place. There was excellent vegetarian food (Mariya's entire family is vegetarian) and Robin and a friend had made cute green t-shirts for everyone there which had been imprinted with some of Mariya's favorite native plant life. (Mariya is a horticulturalist).

It happened to be that it was freezing cold outside. This was very ironic considering how hot and humid the rest of the week had been. Despite the weather, Mariya and her cousin Robin decided to swim anyway! I had on the beach in a sweatshirt watching.

After some great food and some freezing cold laps on the part of Mariya and Robin, we caravaned back to Mariya's house to relax a little before the party that night.

Mariya is renting an apartment in a large farm house which historically was a "poor farmer's house" meant to house something like 3o families. At present the house had been converted into about six units, I believe. The people in the house had formed a community and most of the residents really seemed to get along well. It was a very unique thing to see.

Tim and I brought our tent and set about finding a place to pitch the tent and hopefully take a nap before the party. Our plans were postponed a little while to meet Mariya's awesome neighbors and their children. The little boy, Wiley, loved Tim and asked him a lot of questions. There were two other very young children who did not talk much, but just observed us in silence.

Finally, we lay down for some reading and a nap and realized how exhausted we were after the long week and the drive.

Tim woke up before I did and tried to get me awake, although it took awhile. Finally, I drug myself out of bed and helped everyone set up for the party. There was another huge vegetarian feast for the party. My job was to bring the alcohol, so I brought a bunch of wine and vodka, most all of which would be consumed by the end of the night!

After a great meal and lots of conversation, we all pulled our chairs to the fire and finished up our drinks and the "vodka watermelon." (You'll have to ask Tim, Mariya, and Robin about that one... I was sleeping). We told stories and chatted for several hours before all heading to bed.

It was a very nice time although I definitely experienced mixed emotions about the whole experience. To begin, I realized how very different Mariya and I's lives were. It is nearly to the point of being difficult to identify with each other, although on some level, we still understand and care about each other. In addition, it was a reminder of how hard it is to really be fulfilled and content in life. So many variables from location to socio-economic status to family to friends to work contribute to how you feel about your life. It is hard to know what the right situation is.

As I shared stories about some of my struggles and stressed, it was interesting to hear struggles and stresses shared from people who lived in the woods in such a tranquil environment. I'm sure all of this isn't coming across clearly. It was just a little discouraging to me. I have felt from time to time that if my environment were not so stressful, and I had more peaceful surroundings, I'd be happier. But I'm not sure that is really the case. Problems follow you everywhere, and my guess is that you'd leave one and another would come!

After our philosophical evening and too much wine and vodka watermelon, we all reluctantly got out of bed and set about the clean-up efforts. After helping with this and packing up our tent, Tim and I headed back on the road for home.

We did make a pit stop though to pick up some growlers of beer from a local microbrewery. The containers the beer come in are really cool, and I knew my sister would like a few for decorating at her house.

Mariya also left that same morning with her parents for an 8-day birthday vacation. They were heading to Nova Scotia and had stops and activities planned at several locations up and down the coast.

The drive home for us was MUCH longer than the one there - almost twice as long. We took an alternate way around New York City because traffic was almost at a stand still as we got a few hours from the city. That was an adventure. We started the week feeling a bit behind in energy and sleep, which really showed. It was great to see Mariya and friends though!

Happy Birthday, Mariya!

[Tim at the Conway Pool]

[Happy Birthday Sparklers for Mariya]

[A small part of the feast in Mariya's backyard]

[Wiley hiding in the hammock]

[The group chatting and eating... Mariya's mother is standing on the right side of the picture. Her father is sitting down in the foreground and has a beard and his legs crossed.]

[The Conway Pool]

[The motel room for Tim and Kendra]

[Kendra and the beautiful Mariya... I know it looks like I'm strangling her... unintentional!]

Happy Birthday, Kendra!!

2007-08-05T20:14:00.000-04:00

I (Kendra) turned 30 on August 2, and to celebrate my family came down on Saturday, 8/4/2007 for a day of festivities. I was very excited about this, because my family is rarely all together in one place, and if they are, it has only one other time been in Philadelphia. So, it meant a lot that people made the effort. Chris and Lisa came down Friday night and stayed in a hotel (after getting stuck for 2 hours on 76 behind a burning dump truck). Jen and Jason and Mom and Dad came down on Saturday around lunch time.

We had planned to all go out to lunch at Soho that day, but it was incredibly hot, so we just decided to order food in. That worked out pretty well. We all ate lunch and had fun together until it was time for the special surprise of the day. I had gotten tickets for everyone to the Ride the Ducks. I knew this would take some effort for some of the guys to enjoy (and it did), but everyone seemed to have a great time. My dad brought his cane and walked the 6 blocks in the extreme heat to where the ride departed from. He was being a very good sport.

Our drive and tour guide were very fun, and he even had the entire bus/boat sing Happy Birthday to me (even if he thought my name was "Tendra").

After the ride, we headed back to get ready for dinner. We had reservations for that night at Konak, a Turkish restaurant in Old City. We were joined there by my cousin, Martha, and another cousin Ray and his partner Juan Carlos. It was great for all of us to be together! The food was great, although the restaurant was definitely understaffed for the volume that was there that night. I think there were three waitstaff and the place was packed. In the end, though, we all got our food and drinks, and we had a great time.

After dinner, we saw my family off, and we met up wtih Matha, Ray, and Juan Carlos at the Four Seasons lobby for a few drinks.

It was a great 30th Birthday!

Just when I thought the festivities could not be more, we had surprise guests on Sunday, 8/5/2007. It was Tim's parents who had driven down from Elizabethtown bearing gifts of vegetables from their garden. They made a wonderful veggie feast for us, and we had a good time talking and looking at pictures.

So, now I am 30, and I won't have to worry about celebrating birthdays again for another 10 years!

Back Home!! (and tan!)

2007-07-27T19:59:00.000-04:00

Hey! We made it back! We've returned from a fantastic week-long action-packed whirlwind trip to Costa Rica (we tried to see the entire country in 7 days, but fell just short...). There's a million stories to tell and just as many pictures to post (really- a million- I'm not exaggerating!). However, we've both been busy with work and doing laundry (I haven't created such a horrifically-smelling suitcase since that one week of summer camp when I was 11.....

Anyway, the important things are that we all had a great time, no serious injuries to speak of, and Josh and Sherry got married successfully and in full Caribbean beach fashion! We'll have the photos and narrative up (we'll be posting them as the actual dates they happened, so they'll appear below this post) as soon as we have a spare moment!

Costa Rica (Day 8) Departure

2007-07-25T19:52:00.000-04:00

We had managed to get to bed by about 9pm the night before. So, even though Brian’s phone cum alarm clock rang at 3am, we still got about 6 hours of sleep, which seemed like an eternity for this whirlwind, action-packed trip!

We drug ourselves out of bed and finished getting ready. It was definitely a baseball cap morning for all of us. Tim went ahead to check out of the room and we called the front desk to come get our bags.

As Brian and I stumbled up the steps, we saw that our driver was Enne again! We were actually hoping it would turn out to be Enne because we had found the entire tipping situation to be so confusing that we felt later perhaps we had undertipped him on some of the earlier trips. We had planned to give him an extra big tip this time. We felt bad, though, because each time we had Enne as our driver, the three of us had either been exhausted or up at the crack of dawn and hadn't been very good company as he drove us around the countryside.

Our drive to the airport was foggy and dark, and Enne had Bob Marley music playing. It was a very surreal feeling to be riding along winding roads past places we had visited the day before, but without being able to really see where we were going until we were right on top of a sharp turn. We were competing with large trucks for the road, and if we hadn’t already driven with Enne several times, I might have been scared.

After about an hour, we arrived at the airport safely, gave Enne the tip we had planned (he was very happy), and headed in to check in. Before getting our boarding passes, we had to pay our $26 each exit fee. After this we stood in line at the ticket counter. The lines were long and moving exceedingly slow. It took an entire hour to get our tickets and get through security. That doesn’t seem like a lot until you remember it was 5am.

Once we were in the terminal, Brian set off for some last minute souvenirs and Tim and I shared a small cheese pizza for breakfast.

As we waited for the plane, we were sad our vacation was coming to an end. It was a wonderful vacation, but man, are we tired!

Costa Rica [Day 7] Heading to Villa Blanca

2007-07-24T18:01:00.000-04:00

Official Agenda ARENAL VOLCANO / CENTRAL VALLEY
At 10.00 am board the Sunset Tours van for the 2 hour drive to Hotel Villa Blanca. Arrive and check into a deluxe casita. Take the rest of the day to enjoy the hotel and the area.

The next morning, we all woke up at 7:30am to get ready for the day and pack all of our stuff again for our final location. We realized that somehow all of our belongings and added gifts/souvenirs were no longer fitting as nicely into our suitcases and that the situation required some creative packing! In Brian’s case, as he tried to jam items into his fanny pack, it ripped! I told him I would sew it with the small hotel-provided mending kit after breakfast because he didn’t have any other bag to use and we had 2 days to go!

Before that, though, we headed back to the pool restaurant for breakfast. The breakfast buffet was pretty good, now that I was able to eat! We ordered omelets from the made-to-order station and had some fruit and coffee. The waiter was in a good mood and very friendly and was asking questions about my tattoos. It was a nice, relaxed morning.

[A worker at the hotel trimming the bushes with a pair of machetes]

[A shot of the water wheel from last night's restaurant]

[These cool fish were swiming around the base of the wheel]

After breakfast we returned to our room where Brian read, I sewed his bag, and Tim disappeared to try to capture the local flowers and the elusive hummingbird on camera. During this adventure, he discovered a little stream with a great view of the volcano.

[Finally! A decent shot of a hummingbird!]

At around 9:40am or so, we called for a golf cart to take us and our luggage to the lobby where we settled our bill and waited for our 10:00am pickup to Villa Blanca, which was closer to San Jose and the international airport than the Arenal area.

When our driver arrived, he introduced himself as Elfrin. He was very nice, friendly and accommodating. He told us that we had a few hours drive to the hotel and that if we wanted to stop anywhere on the way to just let him know. I told him I’d like to get some necklaces made by some local artists and that also we’d like to get some souvenirs for family/friends.

Our first stop was in a nearby town where we were brought to a little stand on the street corner. The vendor was just setting up a small table with hundreds of handmade necklaces. He told me this was all his own work. My first thought was, "Sure it is. 6 year olds who are kept home from school made these". (I know, jaded). However, I was pleasantly surprised when I realized he did make them (or at least knew how to make jewelry). He was able to easily swap out pieces of one necklace for another, customize the clasps, and change the necklaces in real time to get them how I wanted them. It was really cool to watch! Some of the tools he had for jewelry making I have myself, but I don’t use them quite as well or as quickly! I ended up getting three necklaces, although they were all so pretty I could have easily gotten many more!

After this shopping spree, we headed back on the road where Elfrin pointed out many interesting sites. We elected for the windy scenic route. We saw some beautiful scenery, although after awhile the winding was a little much. We survived though!

As we neared the turn off for the hotel, he brought us to a little food stand where we got cheese, bread, candy, and other treats! It was really cool to talk to the vendor and pick out the food and treats.

[These hanging balls of cheese would soon prove to be some of the best cheese in the world!!]

When we were done there, Elfrin brought us to a nice souvenir shop which had many options at prices much less expensive than in the places that were in the hotels or right in the city. We all picked up some gifts for our family and friends. I wish we had gotten more gifts there, actually, because things were so much more expensive everywhere else.

[This guy was showing off several 3-ring binders full of foreign currency]

After at least an hour looking around the shop, we finished and Elfrin took us to the Villa Blanca, which was at the end of a long dirt/gravel road lined with cows.

[Sometimes you just have to have your priorities in order...]

The hotel was absolutely beautiful. It contained several casitas scattered along a path with lighting along the side. The casitas were surrounded by the rain forest, and the grounds were lush and expansive. We were immediately very sorry that we had only one night here and that it was such a short night.

Upon checking in we were told we had received a complimentary upgrade to the honeymoon suite. This was kind of funny. Tim asked if it still slept three people, and we were told that it did. Additional confusion ensued when the person bringing our luggage couldn’t understand who else we were waiting for. Brian and I were outside with the luggage and Tim was purchasing a bottle of wine for us to drink with the food we bought at the roadside stand. Finally, with the help of the receptionist, we were able to convey there were three people in our party, and indeed, we were all staying in the honeymoon suite. I was a little embarrassed by the whole situation to be honest, but what can you do? It is not as though we set out to book the honeymoon suite for three people.

When we got to the room, we found it to be beautiful! We received a tour of the room by the person who brought our luggage and then Tim went around to take the initial pictures of the room. It had a large Jacuzzi bath tub with large "tub to ceiling" windows opening to the lush rain forest outside. It had a large shower and a great covered patio with 3 chairs. In the living room area it also had a great stone fireplace.

[We saw these flowers along the road during the drive in, and they looked like cauliflowers. Our room had a bunch of them growing next to it.]

Around this time, it started to pour down rain. We sat out on the patio in the pouring rain and ate our ball of cheese, the bread, and some fig/pineapple snacks, and drank the wine. It was a great lunch!

[Fantastic food, fantastic people in a fantastic environment!!]

Following lunch, I tried to take a bath only to find out the tub seemed to be unable to hold water. The boys made a fire in the fireplace during this time, so the room was very cozy as it rained outside.

[I must admit I've had very little experience building fires in foreign countries. It wouldn't seem to be that different, but this type of wood had some crazy properties that befuddled Brian and I for a while until we got it going well. No matter how many glowing coals and smoke we had, it didn't seem to light until we put a flame to the coals.]

At around 5:00pm we headed over to the lodge for happy hour. We were the only customers, so we chatted with the bartender and watched a bizarre National Geographic episode dubbed over in Spanish of a man trying to live like a submissive wolf in the pack. He was even eating raw meat from a kill. We tried a sour local drink made from sugar cane liquor.

Before eating dinner, we looked at the souvenir shop. The souvenirs were very expensive there, but they had some beautiful wood products. I got a wooden frog for my sister and bargained down the price due to some scratches on the back. I also got a set of coasters for our house. The staff was extremely friendly, but then they did outnumber us about 3 to 1. The hotel was not very busy.

[This little church down in the valley was visible from the hotel as the forest mist lifted off after the hard rain]

We headed over to dinner. I vaguely remember Shannon and Steve telling us not to eat there. But at this time of night, and considering how far away the hotel was from town, and also considering we had no rental car, we were pretty much stuck. Besides, we weren’t sure how the food could be that bad at such a nice hotel. But… it was. The food was definitely the most expensive place we had eaten so far, and I could only get down about 3 bites of my fish. It was so dry and overcooked. The boys seemed to like their food OK, though, so maybe it was just some dishes that were not very good.

After dinner, we walked back to the room. It was kind of an odd feeling as we walked back. We passed a family heading to dinner with a flashlight. The flashlight, the family, the walkway, the fact that I was with Tim and Brian, and the woods reminded me of camp. My mind had a little trouble remembering where we were exactly. I had a strange sense of many places being pretty much the same and that the people you are with is the biggest distinguishing factor. But then it was gone, and we were entering our casita to pack for the last time.

The packing went pretty easy this time. We had to be up at 4am in the morning for our 5am pickup to the airport. We tried our best to fall asleep right away.

Costa Rica [Day 6] Canopy Tour at Arenal

2007-07-23T20:21:00.000-04:00

Official Agenda (Costa Rica Online Travel.com): ARENAL VOLANO

After an early breakfast the guides and staff from the Sky Tram / Trek will pick you up at the Volcano Lodge’s main lobby, approximately at 8.15 am, to start the half day adventure in the rainforest. After a 20-minute drive to the park, board the sky tram for the 10-minute aerial ride through the rainforest. Take in magnificent views of the volcano and the Arenal Lake on your back. One you reach the main platform, review the safety instructions and receive the required gear. Embark on one of Costa Rica’s top canopy adventures as you glide down 10 zip lines for a total of over 2 miles of cable.

We woke up in the morning to Brian’s phone alarm. It was a good thing he set his phone as a backup, since the scheduled wake up call never came! I found that my nausea had been replaced, but with a splitting headache. I was moving pretty slowly. I decided that I would try to go to breakfast, and if I made it past that, I would go on the canopy tour. The canopy tour wasn’t supposed to involve a lot of rigorous hiking. Rather, it had a sky tram ride to get up to the zip line platforms followed by over two miles worth of zip lines.

Breakfast went OK. I still did not have much of an appetite, but I managed to eat some rice, hot tea, and a piece of watermelon. The boys enjoyed a large breakfast from the buffet, complete with sausage, cheese, eggs, fruits and toast.

[A clear, bright morning makes for a great view of the Arenal Volcano]

On our way to meet the tour bus, we stopped to make spa appointments for later that afternoon, figuring that would help make us all feel better. Although this has been a wonderful vacation so far, we are all exhausted from the packed full schedule.

[A little more dramatic-looking volcano shot]

[And a yellow flower with morning dew that didn't look that great in color]

The tour van picked us up on time. However, upon going to the Tabacon Springs Hotel, we ended up waiting for over 30 minutes for the family that was to join us to emerge. We all had plenty of time to get extremely annoyed in this interval. When the family finally came out, the mother apologized saying, “I’m sorry! We didn’t know anyone else was coming along.” We had a rare moment of complete silence when none of us answered her. Generally, I try to take the high road even when the boys are silent, but this time we were all pretty tight lipped, and the ride there was pretty awkward. Fortunately, the family turned out to be pretty friendly and we warmed up to them more as the tour went on.

When we arrived at the location, we were all fitted with our equipment, including a harness, carabineers, helmet, etc. Our guides were very friendly and funny and took many opportunities to take pictures of each group, which was very nice, and saved us the $10 they charged for pictures of us at the end.

[The troops ready for action]

We boarded the sky trams and they slowly started up the incline, gliding high over the rain forest, to the main platform. We had great views of the canopy, and the guides pointed out some animals and other things of interest. Tim, who wasn’t sure about the whole situation, started to get a bit nervous especially when the car stopped high above the canopy and began to swing. We sat down for awhile and he looked at some other pictures on his camera to get his mind off of the situation. I was proud of him for even going this far, considering his extreme hatred for situations he feels he has no control over.

[Elevator going up!]

[The peak of the volcano coming nearer through the clouds]

[White gasses from the volcano and purple flowers on the ground]

[At the main zip line platform]

As soon as we arrived at the main platform and got out of the cable car for our first look at the cables stretching far across the valley disappearing into the jungle on the other side, Tim told the guide that he did not want to do the zip lines. The guide was very patient and told him to just take his time and that maybe he would want to do the two practice lines before heading back. Tim said he didn’t want to, but he ended up doing them anyway. I was very proud of him, and I got a photo of him on the first practice one.

[Just pretend that I'm hundreds of feet above the rainforest (I'm really about 5 feet above the ground...REAL EXTREME!!!)]

[Kendra gearing up for the real thing....]

[What it looks like before you let go...]

[...and there she goes....]

[...and goes some more.]

[Brian's on deck...]

[...and Brian's gone.]

[Hangin' out in the big sky.]

After the two practice lines, Tim took the stairs down off of the platform, and took the tram back to the headquarters. On the way, he chatted with a young employee who asked him if there were any rainforests in Philadelphia and if the main language of Philadelphia was English or Spanish. Tim answered the former question as “No” and the latter as “A little bit of both!”

[Some good views of the mountain on the ride back down]

Brian and I continued on down the zip lines. The cables went very high over the rain forest canopy and were very fast moving. It was a lot of fun, and the guides were great. It was especially cool how you could still look down and see streams flowing far below and the trees.

On the last leg, we could see the main building and I flagged down Tim. He saw us and waved and took photos of us on the last platform as we came down.

[Kendra coming down the final line]

[Brian's triumphant entry]

[A graphic portrayal of what Kendra and Brian had just completed]

On the way home, we saw some howler monkeys in the trees and the drive (Jorge) stopped to let us take some pictures. Tim got some great shots of the expressions on the monkey’s face with his zoom lens.

When we arrived back at the hotel, we had lunch at the pool restaurant. I was able to eat a little more by now and ordered a medium serving of pasta. Tim finished what I couldn’t eat. We all headed back to the room and took a nap for an hour before going to our spa appointments.

[When we arrived back at our room, our bath towels had been transformed into a shirt (on Brian's bed) and a pair of swans (on ours).]

[Dessert at the pool restaurant was definatly photo-worthy!]

I got a volcanic mud body wrap with was very warm and relaxing. Tim got a Swedish massage, and Brian got a deep tissue massage. After all of our treatments we relaxed a bit before heading off to dinner around 6:30pm. We had made reservations at the main restaurant of the hotel, which was supposed to be the best in the area. Our waiter was very precious and reminded us of Michael Dur from Tim's work. The waiter’s name was Dagoberto (“Dago”).

We ate a ton of very yummy food, included a dessert of en fuego banana prepared right by our table!

We headed back to the room, stuffed and tired, and started to pack yet again. We were leaving again in the morning for our final destination before having to leave for home.

Costa Rica [Day 5] Trip to Arenal Volcano

2007-07-22T10:59:00.000-04:00

Official Agenda: MONTEVERDE / ARENAL VOLCANO

Following breakfast at 7.50 am, you will be picked up by the driver from the Sunset Tour Company for your Land/Water/Land transfer to the Volcano Lodge in the Arenal region. Climb down from the Cloud Forest Region on the north side, driving to the shores of Lake Arenal. After reaching the lake, board the boat for the short ride across, where you will be met by staff members of the tour company to start the 30 minute drive to the Hotel. Arrive and check into a standard room at Volcano Lodge. At 2.55 pm the staff from Sunset Tours will pick you up to start the Arenal Volcano Hike with entrances and dinner at Tabacon. You’ll travel by minutes 25 minutes to the far west side of the Arenal Volcano to begin the tour in Arenal National Park. You’ll cross the river, and spend about 2 hours exploring the park. Your expert bilingual naturalist guide will find the animals, point out indigenous rain forest plants, and educate you on a few. Frequent sightings include: monkeys, wild boars, two types of toucans, White-Nosed Coatis Oro Pendulas, Golden Eyelash Vipers, Boa Constrictors, and Great Curassows. Overnight in a standard room at Volcano Lodge.

We woke up at around 6:30am the next morning and could definitely tell we were dragging a bit. The excitement of our vacation and having time together had carried us so far, but we were starting to feel more and more tired.

As we packed our bags again, Tim made some coffee in the hotel coffee maker, and we drank it in the bay window area. Our makeshift clothes drier/dehumidifier/odor eliminator worked to a small degree, but we all still had a bag full of damp and stinking dirty laundry to haul around.

Eventually, we made our way to the main lobby building so that we could check out, get our items out of the safe, and meet our pickup at 7:50am. Tim took some last minute pictures around the area until our driver pulled up and said, “Kendra?”. That would be literally the only thing he said to us during our entire 5 hours together – even when we asked questions in both English and Spanish! But at least the conversation started off on the right foot!

[Bright blue skies this morning. Perfect for a cool, rainforest tree silhouette. ]

We headed out and before long stopped inexplicably by the side of the road. Eventually we were joined by two additional people – Nathan and Phil – two backpackers from Utah. Nathan was more on the quiet side and Phil was all over the place. They were extremely entertaining and took lots of pictures and videos during our drive. They were both Mormon and told us about the missions they had done. They also spoke Spanish very well. Phil was even reading the new Harry Potter book in Spanish! We drove off again and headed down the mountainside, passing fields, farms and a few small colorful houses.

[Nathan and Phil- from Utah]

[This guy was taking an ox-pulled cart of metal canisters up to the Fonda Vela hotel]

In another hour or two, we again stopped inexplicably right in the middle of the road. Our driver left the vehicle and went over to another van also stopped in the middle of the road to talk to him for quite a few minutes. I was starting to get a bit nervous. There was another passenger in front and we asked him in both English and Spanish what was going on and received no answer. We still have no idea what the deal was. However, our driver eventually came back, moved the van to the side of the road, returned to the other driver for several more minutes, returned to our van and drove away again. Very odd.

[Some funky plants on a Costa Rican hillside...]

[...and some more rolling green hills.]

Before long, we stopped at a little road side stand for a break. There were bathrooms there, some souvenirs, some food, and a parrot. It was a pretty funny setting all in all. Phil as asking me for advice on what to get his female friend and if I would recommend a small purse he had picked out. I talked to him a bit about style and how the purse would not be as versatile because it actually said “Costa Rica”. Perhaps a bag with a pretty local design would be more useful?

[Pretty Bird! This one being not as agressive than that crazy, camera-biting parrot in Palawan.]

We ate some bean turnover food which was really good and Tim took pictures of the store, a nearby creek, and a neighboring shack where a man was playing pinball. In fact I had no idea where he was half the time or where he had wandered off to.

[Inside our roadside rest-stop...complete with pool tables, souvenier shop, and ice cream]

[This guy and his young son were playing some old pinball machines at the building down the road]

Eventually, we all loaded back into the van and headed for the water where we would cross over to the Arenal Volcano on a ferry. We had an hour or two more of winding roads and lots of cows, goats, and sheep.

[Cattle loose on the road]

When we got to the lake shore, we unloaded our luggage from the van and started to head for the ferry. A boy (maybe 13 or 14) saw me struggling with mine and ran out to me saying “Lady! Lady! Let me!” It was very sweet. Although he did not appear to expect a tip, I gave him one anyway, and he stayed loyal to me the entire trip.

[On the shores of man-made Lake Arenal, with the Arenal Volcano in the background, it's peak lost in the clouds]

The boat ride was a lot of fun. All of the people on the boat (several vans worth of passengers) seemed in good spirits and were taking a lot of pictures. Four people were allowed up front at a time to take pictures there. Tim and Phil headed up and stayed up there the entire time. Pretty soon the 4 person limit was not enforced, and the entire boat seemed to be up there.

[Our boat captain is not using his hands.]

Phil told Tim he wanted to learn how to make panoramas with his camera (also a Canon). Tim showed him and he started taking panoramas of everything! He probably took fifty of them on the boat ride alone  We started joking with the more subdued Nathan that Phil was going to have him pose in the front of the boat and take a panorama of him! This teasing took place about 3 minutes before he actually was called up for a picture of the two of them together ;-)

[Phil- in the middle of his panoraam-taking frenzy.]

[Going close up on the volcano...still in the clouds.]

Another funny part of the trip was as Brian walking back to his seat from taking pictures in the front of the boat, the guide pointed to him to sit down in what he thought was Brian’s seat next to someone else’s wife so that he could give them instructions for what to do when we get to shore. Brian looked confused, shook his head, and came and sat down in front of me. I was laughing. The guide got flustered and apologized to me. I said it was OK – he isn’t my husband. At that time the lady’s actual husband came back. I guess you had to be there, but it was a pretty funny situation

[Finally, the clouds move on to give us a clear view of the top of the volcano (a good luck sign- many tourists come here and never see the whole mountain and volcano cone. This would be a very lucky trip for the three of us, seeing that we saw lots of clear views on the volcano on numerous days. On the very rightmost edge of the volcano you can see the smoke and gases of the strombolian lava eruptions.]

When we got to shore and had all of our instructions from the guide, we had a very steep walk up to the main road. The boy grabbed my back and carried it up without me even asking!

[Walking up to the road after exiting the boat]

[There were some roadside vendors at the top of the hill. One stand had a metal pole covered with these massive lengths of thousands of tabs from soda cans.]

We all loaded into the van and headed off to our respective hotels. Phil and Nathan were in our van again, although they were going to stay at the backpacker’s hostel rather than the Volcano Lodge.

We said good-bye to them upon being dropped off at the Volcano Lodge and wished them well on the rest of their vacation.

I was very happy to see that this hotel was very modern and very nice. They even had a spa! I felt I needed some rejuvenation! I was even happier we were staying at this location for two nights in a row! That should aid our ability to catch up on some sleep!

We and our luggage were taken to our room on a golf cart. We unpacked a little bit and then decided to head over to the pool side restaurant for lunch and some swimming prior to our 2:55pm pickup for the Arenal Volcano hike and Tabacon Hot Springs tour.

[The clouds move back in as we get into the Volcano Lodge]

[More fantastic food at the Volcano Lodge next to the pool...you can never get too much avocado!]

We waited at the reception area for the tour to come pick us up along with a mother and her two grown daughters who were also going on the tour. Our tour guide finally came, and our guide was Jose. We learned that we should have brought our swim suits along, which we didn’t know beforehand, so the tour bus drove around close to our casita so that we could get our swimsuits.

Jose was a very friendly and informative guide, but he moved extremely fast and it was very hard to follow what he was saying sometimes. For this reason, the majority of the people on the tour were perpetually confused. Brian seemed to be able to follow him well enough though and served as a translator.

The tour van first dropped us off at one part of the volcano where we could hike down and see with binoculars a cross which had been put up in the valley below to some rescuers who had tried to save some stranded people and were killed themselves during an early eruption.

[I believe this is a Long-tailed Tyrant]

[This was one of thousands of tiny ants carrying leaves many times their size across the ground]

We then loaded back in the van and headed to a different section of the volcano for the main part of the hike. We hiked through the rain forests surrounding the volcano, moving very fast and climbing higher and higher. We would pause periodically to look at a tree, plant, or animal that Jose saw.

[Welcome to the Jungle!]

I did pretty well keeping up, but I started to struggle the higher up we went (the elevation of the area was already pretty high to begin with). The nausea I had experienced earlier that day came back and was a lot worse this time. Then I started to get dizzy. Then I was sure I was going to throw up. About that time, we all stopped again – this time to look high up in some trees at some monkeys. Apparently at that time I turned an unnatural shade and attracted Jose’s attention who asked if I was OK. I wasn’t. Jose mentioned that this could be the altitude, and I had experienced something similar when visiting my aunt and uncle outside of Colorado Springs when we were mountain biking. Tim and I went ahead of the group so I wouldn’t throw up on them.

This put a bit of a damper on the tour, because I was feeling so incredibly terrible. Even though we all wanted to enjoy watching the volcano erupt lava down the side and the Tabacon hot springs and subsequent dinner at the “Investment Banker Hotel”, I was so sick that I could barely get from place to place. At the Hot Springs, I did get in for a few minutes, but got so dizzy I had to get out and sit on the side. We found a cool pool and I sat in there for most of the time. Tim will have to add comments to the rest, since I was just counting down the minutes until we got back to the hotel by this point! I wanted nothing better than to leave that minute, but we were on a tour, and I had to wait until everyone else was ready, which was a terrible feeling.

What I do recall is that we waited by the side of a road waiting for lava to come down the volcano. I sat down because I couldn’t stand. I was rewarded by a swarm of attack ants all over me which were absolutely impossible to get off!

When the lava came down, it wasn’t in huge streams of bright red, but from our distance looked more like bouncing steam with the occasional spark moving down the mountain. We would tell that it was moving extremely fast, though.

When we got to the Tabacon Hotel (the hotel formerly referred to as the “Investment Banker Hotel” when we were teasing Shannon and Steve for splurging on a stay there), it was a scene of chaos. There were multiple tour groups in line to get locker keys, towels, receive instructions about eating dinner there afterwards, etc.

It was complete mayhem in the area where we all got the towels and changed into our swim suits. Women were crawling all over each other to get their swim suits on, their clothes stuffed in the locker, and scamper out to the already very crowded hot springs.

Once I found the boys, we walked around to find a less-crowded pool of water, since there were many pools of all types and temperatures. We went into one with waterfalls first to let the pounding water massage our muscles and necks. That felt very nice, although soon the heat and steam became a bit overpowering. We walked around a little more to find one that was more isolated. We found the cold water pool just in time and I just sat down in there.

After an hour, we changed back into our clothes (but had not brought any brushes or combs, so after I rinsed off in the shower, my hair was just a huge tangled clump) and headed over to the Tabacon hotel restaurant which is supposed to be one of the best in the area! It was very odd to be going there in my hiking closes with unbrushed hair and a while/yellow shade of face.

I was only able to get down a glass of ginger ale, white rice, and a piece of watermelon. However, Tim and Brian seemed to love their food. Tim got rice, beans, fresh fruit, cheese, beef, coffee, chocolate fountain, and an Imperial.

After what seemed like the longest hour in the history of man kind, we were all done with dinner, and headed out to meet our 9:30pm transfer home.

As soon as we got to the hotel, I took out my contacts and fell into bed. We were all a bit worried that I would not make it to the next tour in the morning. Sadly, that was the one I was the most excited about – the zip lines. Tim gave me some Advil and water and the boys read for awhile as I tried to fall asleep. It's been a very busy, fun-filled adventure!!!