Sevilla

I spent the weekend in Sevilla (or Seville). What an amazing little city! Sevilla is very charming and the people are very friendly and open. I spent the weekend with my friend Rafa. By chance my other friend Ruben, who works for my company, and his boyfriend, were spending the weekend in Sevilla so we ended up staying in the same hotel. We arrived late Friday night and got a bit to eat and went to bed. Saturday morning, the four of us got a quick breakfast and began a typical Sevilla Saturday. We walked to the city center and Ruben gave us a quick tour of the city. After we saw the impressive Cathedral, Real Alcazar, and Gold Tower, we headed for the first of five bars to have a beer and a couple tapas. We spent the rest of the day going from bar to bar. For about $45 dollars, we had drinks and food at five different places, quite a bargain!! It was great to spend the weekend with Spaniards as I felt more at home as I was able to have a local experience. After we were good and drunk we headed back to the hotel for a siesta on the sun roof (it was about 80 degrees in Sevilla) and then a siesta in the hotel room.

Around 9 we headed to another cheap tapas bar for dinner (most of the dinning in Sevilla consists of tapas; according to my little book about the city, other forms of dinning are really expensive). I enjoyed most of the food but one type of ham they eat isn't for me. It tastes good, but I'd have to cut all the fatty parts off of it to eat it and I felt stupid trying to do it. After dinner, two girls who work in our store, Yolanda and Fatima, joined us for drinks. Ruben and his boyfriend went back to the hotel and the girls, Rafa, and I went dancing.

Spain's timetable is very different. When we got to the dance club at two in the morning, there was no one there. About an hour and a half later, the place was packed. We had a lot of fun and left around 5 in the morning. My eyes were in pain from the combination of smoke and my contacts (which I'm still getting used to wearing again).

Sunday was a pretty relaxed day as Rafa and I were a bit hungover and tired. We had a nice lunch of paella and then walked around the city again. We walked through the cathedral and into the tower (pictured). We got some ice cream, had some dinner later and picked up our bags from the hotel on the way to the train station. It was a great weekend!

Train Tickets and Terrorists

Last night, my friend Rafa and I went to buy tickets for our trip to Seville. We were unable to purchase them last night because people had made reservations but had not paid for them. (I don't understand this ridiculous policy, seriously!!) So, although we could buy tickets to GO to Seville, we had to wait until this morning to see if those people followed through with their purchases of return tickets. Luckily, Rafa was able to buy the tickets this morning.

We were waiting for the metro after our disappointing trip to the train station, when all of a sudden, Rafa grabbed me and yelled, "ciudado!" (be careful). I felt something push the side of my stomach and turned and saw a man with a black and white scarf (very similar to those seen in terrorist videos) covering his face. His hand was pushing my side and the second I turned, we looked in each other's eyes and he . . . realized I WAS NOT HIS FRIEND HE WAS TRYING TO SCARE!!!. He was down on his knees telling me how sorry he was (all in Spanish) and Rafa explained that I was from the US. The guy, correctly, felt like shit! Rafa and I were laughing for the next 20 minutes until we went our separate ways.

I had a much better Spanish class today. Last night, when I was with Rafa, I realized that I was using some of the things I've learned in class this week so I was a bit more calm and opened minded in class.

Well, we leave for Seville in two hours. I'm not going to bring the laptop so I'll be updating things on Monday!!

Rewind

Before I left New York, Sara visited NYC. Originally, I was supposed to be in Madrid when Sara arrived in New York so it was great that I was able to hang out Saturday and Sunday with her and our friend Hiral who also lives in New York. On Saturday, we had lunch at the Heartland Brewery in Union Square and on Sunday, we had dinner at Sea in my hood. (The following pictures are used with permission from Erik E. Larson)

Per Sara's Request

Sara asked for three things: Pictures of my hood, my apartment, and cute Spanish boys. Well, once I clean, I can post pictures of my apartment, and I'm still working on capturing (pictures) of cute Spanish boys. But, here are some pictures of my apartment building (above, to the left) and a picture of my plaza, and a view from one of my windows. The building looks a bit . . . hmm, ghetto? But the apartment is really nice.

Back to Work

I left Valencia on Sunday night. I had a great time in Valencia and would love to go back to explore some of the areas outside of the city because I've seen pictures of some beautiful nature scenes along the sea. I spent Sunday exploring the old part of the city. I began the day with a cafe con leche at a cafe along the main road and then headed toward the cathedral where I was able to climb to the top of the church and have a spectacular view of Valencia. Other than that tourist experience, I just spent the day walking around, taking pictures, getting some tapas for lunch, and relaxing outside with my book (I'm reading about the Spanish Civil War.)

I started formal classes Monday with a company that has "schools" across the Spanish speaking world. It is a very different experience than I had with my tutor. I'm a bit frustrated with the way class is conducted and I let it all out to Erik on the phone this morning. I'm a bit more relaxed and I'm going to make an effort to adapt to their method and maybe I can say something to the teacher after I'm a bit more settled.

Other than that, I'm back to my life in Madrid.

Back to Madrid

I had an excellent day today. I'll write more tomorrow night. I stopped in the hotel to pick up my bags (I'm still loving how I picked a hotel right next to the train station!!). Ciao for now ;)

A dose of Sun and a pinch of homesickness

I just woke up and need to get in the shower and enjoy my last day in Valencia. I had a great day yesterday and I can feel the results of my day in the sun. I walked around the Carmen district last night but I wasn't really feeling up to going out. I have to admit I'm a little homesick. Most of all, I miss Erik and wish I could be sharing this experience with him. I feel like I've spent so much time away from NYC since moving there (8 weeks in 9 months) that being away for so long makes me nostalgic for a city I hardly know. I'm split between enjoying my time in Europe and longing for the guy and city I love.

Valencia Day One

I arrived in Valencia around 10:30 last night. I thought I was going to be on a high speed train but when I was walking towards the train, I realized that wasn't the case. I guess there are no high speed trains to Valencia. My disappointment was that the 3 hour train I was expecting was the normal time for the trip and not some fast, shorter trip. Oh well, I got to Valencia and my hotel couldn't have been more convenient-it is across the street from the train station! I had a little trouble finding a hotel because it was difficult to judge where hotels were in relation to the "cool" areas of the city. I picked one that looked like it was the closest to the city center and booked it on Travelocity. It has free wireless, is new construction, and was reasonable. When I arrived, I was pretty tired and hungry so I dropped off my stuff and walked until I found a little area with lots of cafes and restaurants. I ate a salad and had beer at what proved to be quite a tourist cafe (it was the most --American-- English I've heard in two weeks. I've recognized more Americans (and other tourists) in Valencia than I have in Madrid. It may also be that Valencia is a laid back city on the Mediterranean Sea so I probably notice other people here as compared to the busy streets of Madrid.

I woke up today and was surprised to find the sky a bit cloudy as it was supposed to be very sunny. I took the risk and wore my shorts as I had planned. For the first couple hours out in the city I was concerned that the clouds weren't going to clear up. Today was going to be my day of walking and some beach time. I made a quick stop in my company's store to say hello and then I made way to the Ciudad de Las Artes Y Las Ciencias (City of Arts and Sciences). The walk to the Santiago Calatrava designed buildings is beautiful: image that your walk to the Eifel Tower was not along the Seine, but in it. The Turia river was diverted in 1960 and now there is a series of gardens that fill what used to be a river. It was refreshing to see flowers and blossoming trees (including some orange trees, although according to Wikipedia, "Valencia Oranges" is a California invention, so no connection).

Calatrava's buildings were amazing. (I'll be putting out an album this week, but below is one of my pictures). It is so interesting how a famous architect can build something and revolutionize the appearance of a city (as Calatrava's building did for Milwaukee and Gehry's Guggenheim did for Bilbao). After a lot of photos, I made my pilgrimage to the beach. It was about a 40 minute walk. When I got there, the clouds, which had dispersed for my time at the Ciudad de Las Artes y Ciencias, made another appearance. I sat and read my book on the beach and ended up with about hour and a half of full on sun which is showing now that I am back in the hotel. I think I got most of my sun while I was walking around, but it felt so great to be on the beach with my shirt off and my feet in the sand.

After a long walk back, I'm in the hotel and I think I'm going to take a shower and maybe a bit of a nap. Tonight and tomorrow I'm going to explore the Carmen district which Paola in my office said was a bit like SoHo in NYC, but on a small Spanish city scale.

Busy Week

It has been a busy week at work. All of the product managers are in Madrid for meetings. We've been doing some training as well as forecasting sales for the new season. It is has been fun but a bit overwhelming as I still need to have things translated for me because unless someone is speaking for slowly, it is difficult for me to understand their Spanish. I haven't done anything exciting this week, but I'm going to Valencia tomorrow after work (and it just hit me that I am sitting here in the office messing around on the internet and I have to go home and pack for my mini trip!!) Valencia is on the water and is supposed to be sunny and . . . 77 degrees Saturday and Sunday. I hope to get some sun from outdoor relaxing. And, of course, I'll be taking a lot of pictures.

Madrid Weekend

Well, I spent another lazy weekend in Madrid. I woke up early on Saturday, ate breakfast, and then took a two hour nap. The day was really cloudy and I didn't feel like sightseeing. I had heard there was free wireless internet at Starbucks so I headed over to the Starbucks at Callao, near work. I should have realized that Starbucks would never offer free internet as it cost about $10 for two hours. Although I felt a bit lame hanging out in Starbucks all afternoon, I figured I should use all of my two hours (I actually began writing this same post when the two hours were up yesterday). After my time at Starbucks I headed home, dropped off my computer and went out to dinner. I went for a few drinks, which turned into many as I met two guys who SPEAK ENGLISH!!! One is Irish/Greek who is studying in an international MBA program and the other is a Spanish Architect. It was very calming to have a night of conversation in English. I feel a bit more recharged now to face a week of speaking Spanish with my friends and co-workers.

I had a very late night as we went to a dance club until 4:30am. I have to pontificate for a second and say how much I LOVE NO SMOKING LAWS. Seriously, the Spanish smoke like fiends. My eyes, fresh off of problems with my contacts, are getting quite the workout not only when I go out, but in most places where I've gone to eat as well as in the OFFICE! Anyway, I got up a bit late, discovered that the movies in the apartment had an English option and I watched Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. I didn't feel guilty about hanging around the apartment because it was raining. But once the rain cleared I made my way up to the northern part of Madrid to see the Puerta de Europe. The "Gate of Europe" consists of two leaning office towers. They are quite impressive, especially because there is little modern architecture in Madrid. From some angels, they seem to have a lot of the same lines as the John Hancock Tower in Chicago.

Weekday Sightseeing Pt. 2

After the museums I saw on Thursday, I made my way to two interesting sights in Madrid. The first was the Plaza de Espana and the second was The Temple of Debod. The Plaza de Espana is in the heart of Madrid, off of Gran Via. In the center is a monument to Miguel de Cervantes. I was able to go to the Plaza right at sunset. My pictures, I think, are pretty cool. They are very rich because I didn't realize I left my camera's blue filter option on so my pictures are VERY blue. However, I think they have a cool effect.



The Temple of Debod is an ancient Egyptian temple which was rebuilt in Madrid in 1968, it was a gift from Egypt. The Spanish helped save some ancient temples in Egypt after the construction of a dam threatened several historical sites in Egypt. The temple was rebuilt in a park with amazing views of Madrid. The sunset on the park was amazing. My pictures can't do the scene justice. Also, as I mentioned, I had my blue filter on which took away a bit of the detail from the buildings in view.

Weekday Sightseeing

My boss was in Mallorca on Thursday so I had a free day after my Spanish lesson. I used the weekday off to see the Prado and the Reina Sofia art museums. I figured it was best to see them during the week and avoid the weekend crowds. I was a bit disappointed by the Prado, although I should admit that I'm not a big fan of "old timey" art. I appreciate these works; I think they are breathtaking, but I can only stand so many pictures of Jesus, saints, and allegorical situations. I was also disappointed by the false advertising on the map of the museum. I believed that one room was devoted to Carvaggio, one of my favorite old timey artists. When I got to the room, they had one, ONE! Oh well. I did enjoy the paintings by Goya and Velazquez and I guess it was good to enjoy two Spanish artists in Spain. One painting in particular was amazing to see in person, Velazquez's The Family of Philip IV or "Las Meninas". I have seen this picture before in a book or in a class, as well as a piece of the picture in a bookmark from the Prado from my friend Mike. I love the reflection of the king and queen in the mirror in the back of the room.

The Reina Sofia was a great museum with art more to my liking: Picasso, Miro, Dali, as well as contemporary art. The most famous piece in the museum is, of course, Picasso's Guernica:


No picture could ever do this painting justice. It is the exact opposite of Leonardo's Mona Lisa at the Louvre. You go to the Louvre, to see this famous work of art, and it is about the size of my laptop monitor and you think, this is it? When you enter the room that houses Guernica at Reina Sofia, the painting dominates the room. It is amazing. Also, the museum has a collection of sketches and paintings by Picasso of the individual elements within the painting.

The other interesting aspect of the Reina Sofia is the architecture. It is a rather simple building with a modern plaza and two glass elevator shafts that provide an amazing view of Madrid. I took lots of pictures which will appear in my next Kodak Gallery, but here are a few with me:

Obama v. Clinton

The 2004 race for the Democratic primary was pretty boring compared to what is shaping up to be quite a competitive race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. The media is going to be obsessed with this story for a lot of reasons: whoever wins will become a historic figure among presidents, the media is interested in who will win the black vote (a half-black man or the wife of the so-called "first black president"), and of course the media loves the Bushes and the Clintons so you know they will track whenever Bill campaigns for Hillary. Editor and Publisher has a great summary of Maureen Dowd's column about this competition:

http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003548043

El Palacio Real

Two nights ago I checked out the Palacio Real, the Spanish answer to Buckingham Palace. It was a bit cold at night, but I took some nice pictures. I would love to walk around the same area on a summer night and I plan to check out the area during the day. In front of the palace is a fountain and statue that isn't as impressive as the statues in front of Buckingham, but I think I got a good picture of it:

Fin de Semana

I used last weekend to relax. On Friday, I went out for a small dinner and a drink with two guys from work. Although both speak English, we spent the whole night speaking in Spanish. I slept about 14 hours on Saturday which was great because I was worn out from a week of speaking Spanish and learning my new job. Saturday night I went to dinner with my friend Rafa to an Asian restaurant which was a smaller version of Republic, a great restaurant in Union Square, NYC. The tables are the same: you have to share them with other people and there is an area under the table for bags and jackets. The crazy thing was that Erik and his friend went to Republic the same night! On Sunday I experienced a typical Sunday for "madrileños." I met Rafa in the La Latina area of Madrid and we walked through El Rastro, which is a huge open air market. It was very interesting not because of the products offered, but because of the large amount of people who were out and about. On Sundays, it seems like everyone spends the day outside or in a bar. After you walk through the market, there is a main square area with lots of tapas bar where young and old enjoy the weekend with wine, beer, and tapas. We had a glass of wine and some tapas at one bar, went to a very popular and traditional Spanish restaurant to make reservations, then went to a different tapas bar for another glass of wine. We returned to the restaurant and ate a Spanish soup with beans and mussels as well as a salad with a Spanish "rosa" dressing. Below is a picture of Rafa and me walking through a side street where dealers were selling some interesting antique items.

Statues

Madrid has a lot of buildings with huge statues on top. I finally had my telephoto lens and sunlight to capture these impressive statutes.

Learning Spanish

My brain is fried after four days of learning Spanish. I begin each day with a private tutor, and then I work in a store and speak with the staff and customers in Spanish. While my training is in English, most people only speak Spanish so, like last night when I went out with some people from work, I spoke and listened to Spanish the whole night. It is a great experience and I know I will learn a lot, but boy is my head tired.

Madrid at Night

Plaza de Banco de Espana

Depsite my long day at work, I couldn't resist taking my new camera and mini tripod out for a spin. I think I got some great pictures (I hope to send out an album after this weekend, depending on my internet access) I walked from work all the way to the Parque del Retiro. It was a bit cold (althought nothing compared to the weather in NYC) and I have bit of a sniffle this morning, but it was well worth it.

Yo Vivo en Madrid

Madrid Metro

I made it to Madrid! Yesterday I went into the office to get my apartment keys and spent the rest of the day walking around the area around the office. The office is in the center of the city, off the Gran Via.

Yesterday was overcast, so I did not get an opportunity to take pictures, but I have six weeks. The architecture is quite impressive in its grandeur. There are many buildings that have huge statues on their roofs. I am looking forward to a sunny day with my telephoto lens.

My days will be very intense, as I experienced today. I started with two hours of Spanish with a private tutor. After my lessons, I went to work in the shop in order to learn more technical and specific words which I will use in work conversation. My friend is the manager in the store I will be working in, so it makes it enjoyable. During my lunch, I ate quickly and then took a few pictures as the sun finally came out.

The rest of my day was spent training for my new job. Unfortunately I do not have internet in my apartment. Until I find a cafe with free wireless, I am stuck with working in the office during breaks. Oh, well

Leaving New York

I'm sitting in the airport right now. I got a lot accomplished: spoke with my Dad,talked to my bank, cell phone company, Erik, and sent out my photo gallery for NYC. I've never had an experience like the one I am beginning today, so it is hard to know what it is going to be like. I've travelled in Europe, but I've never lived in one place for six weeks. Here we go . . .

Barack in Iowa

From Political Wire

"Barack Obama is off to a stellar start in Iowa," writes the Des Moines Register's David Yepsen. "The Illinois senator had what is likely to be the largest kickoff ever seen for any candidate in the history of the caucuses."

"His crowds in Cedar Rapids and Waterloo were huge - two or three thousand per event. In Ames, about 5,000 people were at the Hilton Coliseum. Even a lowly house party in Iowa Falls attracted 200."

CNN, where art thy integrity?

CNN has been on a downward spiral since the creation of Fox news. CNN has participated in a race to the bottom to compete with the Jerry Springer of news. When I'm around in the morning, or Erik and I are running late to work, we catch the late morning show featuring Tony Harris. This guy drives me insane! I reached my breaking point as I was packing this morning for Madrid. Here is my letter to CNN:


Dear CNN,

As if your lack of serious coverage of the world's events wasn't bad enough, you have Tony Harris reporting the news. This "reporter" should be an embarrassment to CNN. He has the journalistic depth of a small town sports reporter for a Fox News affiliate. Seriously CNN, it is hard for me to stomach listening to the good reporting you have from real journalists like Christian Amanpour and Michael Weir, when I know that I am going to have to listing to this laughing fool, Tony Harris, when the real report is over. I'm sorry, but we are at war and there are serious issues to discuss on the news, and Tony Harris seems to find something funny in everything he does while looking bored when there are important reports because he can't find a humorous segue into or out of the story.

Frustrated CNN viewer

More Obama-mania

Because of the password-protected NY Times, I have a summary of this great article by Frank Rich through Rawstory:

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2007/
Frank_Rich_Stop_Obama_before_hes_0210.html

Rich, obviously reading my blog, makes the argument that Obama's lack of experience in Washington is a plus. The money line of the summary by Raw Story is: "New York Times columnist Frank Rich has dismissed criticism of freshman US Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) for not having enough "experience" by noting that before the invasion, the 2008 presidential candidate "had the judgment about Iraq that his rivals lacked."

Isn't judgment what we want in a president? Nixon had years of experience: congressman, senator, vice-president. John Kerry should have won against George Bush based on Kerry's years of political experience and the time he spent in Vietnam. At the end of the day Americans thought it was better to have someone who used his father's influence to get out of war over a man who volunteered to fight, despite being wealthy and very likely able to get out of serving. (Although what does that say about America's need for good judgement??)

Yes, a lot of the hype over Obama is due to his charisma and public speaking abilities. However, when you combine that personality with good judgment, a commitment to a core set of ideals, a willingness to compromise, a history of hard work and an impressive resume, you have the makings of a great leader.

Obama's Illinois roots

Barack Obama is going to announce that he is running for President. I know a lot of people have discussed how his weakness will be his lack of experience (this, of course, is the approved story of the media, which you hear repeated over and over again). I think this is ridiculous, given the fact that Obama has an impressive resume.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/08/AR2007020802262.html

The idiot, I mean president, we have, had a series of unsuccessful businesses and won election to the Texas governorship based on his name. Without the last name Bush, this president would have been a mid-level manager at a pencil company.

I think Barack represents the hope that President Clinton brought to the electorate in 1992, but (hopefully) without all the controversy that surrounded that campaign (and presidency). Obama is someone new but also someone who can move Americans beyond petty partisanship Partisanship is good, as long as it is productive. Voting Republican because you are anti-abortion is pretty unproductive when most Republican policies do not help those who might choose to keep their pregnancy if, say, they had national healthcare and a higher minimum wage.

I like Hillary, but I want to move America beyond Bush v. Dukakis, Bush v. Clinton, Clinton v. Dole, Gore v. Bush, Bush v. Kerry, H. Clinton v. ?, Jeb Bush v.? and then the young George P. Bush (Jeb's half-Mexican son) will think it is his right to run for president. Seriously, SERIOUSLY, lets shake things up a bit!

I'm officially announcing my support for Obama 08.


updated:
The New York Times article about his announcement http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/11/us/politics/11obama.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5094&en=b4428f9eb8e50583&hp&ex=1171170000&partner=homepage

Ok, I'll get my s--t together

Ok, I'm going to get my shit together and keep this blog updated, if for no other reason then to get back into writing . . . something. I was reminiscing with Erik the other day about how often I would write to the Loyola Phoenix and bitch about some bone-headed thing the University was doing that week. Although I am still critical about the world around me, I haven't put things into writing in a long time. The reason I tried to start this blog two years ago was in reaction to the loss of John Kerry and what I saw as the beginning of a new era of conservative control of America (thankfully, I think that era was short lived). Maybe its the hope of 2008 and Barack Obama, maybe its being with Erik, maybe its the idea of being in Madrid for six weeks, but I feel like I need to recapture something I've lost and hopefully writing in this space will help me find what I'm looking for. (damn, I've set the bar really high)

Three days until Madrid

For those of you who haven't heard the whole story, I found out about three weeks ago about my new job with Camper. I am going to be the merchandising manager for the U.S. Camper stores. It is a position I was interested in last year at this time. One of the main reasons I moved with Camper to New York was the hope that the company would create this position (I knew that the job would require living in New York). I will be in charge of the product in each store which includes ordering the product before the season and then managing the sales and stock levels as the season begins. I think it will be an exciting job because I've been very interested in our product(many of you have seen my shoe collection!) and it will be a great opportunity to travel the U.S. (L.A., Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco) as well as travel to Spain three to four times a year (and I'll be able to have more flexibility to travel to other European cities before and after my work trips to Spain).

Originally, I was told that I needed to train for my new job in Madrid for three months, without coming home. However, that has changed to about a month and a half. I leave for Spain on Monday and will return to the U.S. sometime around the end of March or beginning of April. I plan on keeping this blog up-to-date while I am in Madrid. Also, I know I'll be sending out some Kodak Gallery links because I bought a new camera to document my time in Madrid. (send me your email if you want to receive them)

Slacker

Well, I'm sitting in Logan Airport, waiting to return to NYC after a week in Boston working at the Camper store here (yes, only a week this time around!!) Just got off the phone with Sara and realized that I need to update my blog. I'll spend some time this week adding some back-dated posts, and hopefully will keep up with posts in the future.

9/11 Towers of Light Tribute

Last night I tried to get some pictures of the Towers of Light tribute. I had to sneak onto the water front terrace of this Italian restaurant in my neighborhood to get some shots. The pictures looked good on my little camera screen, but, as I expected, they turned out pretty blurry without a tripod or a good support.

Awesome Sunset on the Flatiron Building

Spain, Again!

Ok, my trip to Spain wasn't as exciting as my adventures there last year (I only went for about five days). I spent most of the time with work people, which was fun because the trip is like a family reunion with the managers from around the world. I need to work on my Spanish because most of the Italians and Spanish people who work in the shops don't know English-- we know eachother but it is difficult to communicate. The worst part about the trip was the hangover I had on Thursday for my flight home. Let's just say I'll be more careful about eating enough food and drinking in moderation next year (as if I'll remember). Some visual highlights:

Una Fiesta in a little town outside of Inca, Mallorca



Nancy, my boss from when I was in Chicago, and me



Bernd, the manager from Frankfurt, and me



Gianni, the manager of the Rome store at the Spanish Steps, and me



Laura and me


Me and Ruben, the area manager for Madrid. Ruben visited us in NYC two weeks ago and is a lot of fun (we call him Mango)



Andrew, the manager from Dublin, and me


Joe and Rebecca, from London. Heather from San Francisco, me, and Ana, from headquarters in Inca, Mallorca

Celeb Sightings

The pickings have been slim, but Billy Crystal was in the store a couple of weeks ago. Sorry, that's all I got.

Viva Las Vegas

I spent the first days of August in Las Vegas for the WSA convention (basically a shoe orgy). It worked out very well that I was in Vegas that week because I was saved from the horrible heat and humidity of NYC (and most of the country.) I had the opportunity to meet up with my cousin who was in LV with her husband and two other couples. Overall, it was a great experience and a good change from NYC and being in the store. Here are a few pictures from the wonderfully fake Vegas:

I was just wondering what happened to Toni Braxton

The Flamingo

The Horrible 80s architecture from Ballys

The Strip, from Ghost Bar, at the Palms

Sugar Sugar

Took this great picture of the Domino Sugar factory by our apartment. This picture was taken from the Wburg Bridge.

HOOKED UP!!!!

I have internet in my apartment, a real internet connection that doesn't time out after a few minutes!!

Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore

On Monday, we had a party in my shop for the the King's Cup--a Regatta in Spain. This is the first year there is a second co-sponsor-Camper. Our company designed a new sailing shoe for the race. The party was a lot of fun and it reinforced my decision to move to New York. NYC is the center of our U.S. operation and working here is an awesome opportunity to have an impact in our company. And besides, it was an evening of cute bartenders and free drinks!

Laura and Me at the party with my oversized Camper polo.

Still Alive (after not having air conditioning and internet)

I moved out of the corporate apartment this week. It worked out swimmingly that the heat wave that hit Chicago came east on the day I had to move out of my cushy apartment with very strong air conditioning, to my new apartment with no air (it is with the movers). I also thought I had no internet as my iMac couldn't get online with the wireless base I was trying use (steal). However, I have discovered it works with my laptop, go figure. On the air front, thankfully the heat broke and I can sleep at night. Our apartment stays pretty cool as it is, so it wasn't too horrible!

The Long (and often winding) Road (Part Two)

Our trip to New York went pretty well. The time went by quickly, especially in our nice Buick minivan with iPod connectors and leather seats. Indiana and Ohio were pretty much a boring blur. We got into Matt's mom's house around 1:00 in the morning. It was nice to spend a little time with Matt's mom, despite the power of healthcare attorney and living wills she made us sign (her husband is a lawyer and she is very anal about people having all their legal documents in order). We got on the road in the morning and the rest of the drive was at least more exciting. Once we got into Pennsylvania, the road was quite winding and there were a lot of mountains and tunnel passages. The excitement of the trip came when we were heading into New York City. It was really cool to see the Statue of Liberty for the first time as a New Yorker (although it was really far away). We drove up to the Holland Tunnel, which would take us into the city . . .

As we were waiting at the tunnel entrance, I thought it would be cool to take a couple pictures of the entrance, and then some pictures inside. That was a great idea until we were pulled over by the New Jersey police. The officer had seen me taking pictures and made me erase my camera's pictures of the tunnel. He wanted me to open the back of the van and put the camera away. This, however, was not going to happen as I didn't want the contents of the van to spill on the New Jersey Turnpike. He let me put the camera away and warned they would be watching us on the cameras in the tunnel. We made it through the tunnel, and across Manhattan onto the Williamsburg bridge into Brooklyn. We unpacked, had dinner and made it back to the corporate apartment.

The Long (and often winding) Road (Part One)

Our Journey is complete! I arrived in Chicago late Sunday afternoon at Midway. I was pretty emotional when I landed because the reality of the move finally set in. I felt like I was coming to cut my last official cord to Chicago. When I made it back to the Addison St apartment, I realized there was so much to do. Matt and spent the rest of the evening packing and doing anything we could to get the place in order. A couple friends who live in the hood came over to lend us some moral support (and some DQ Blizzards-thanks Mike and John). We still had a lot to do and we worked until about midnight when gave up and went to bed. After a little sleep, we woke up and got working before the movers showed up at 8:00. Heaven sent us Sara, who helped us pack the mini van to capacity. We finished around 3:45 and hit the road after we dropped off our cable box and modem at RCN.

For the Cheese Lover in You

Just read about this new place in the East Village, sounds great!

http://www.towleroad.com/towleroad/2006/07/nyc_eats_smac.html#more

Madonna (so sad)

So I had plans to go to see Madonna Monday night. My boss had an extra ticket which was awesome because I didn't even try to get tickets because I didn't know when I was going to be in NYC. Got to work on Monday and put a Madonna mix on the sound system before the store opened. As I was doing some work, my boss called: she was on the way to work, but had terrible news. The tickets were for SUNDAY night. We totally missed the concert. Enough said.

Apartment

I've worked the last five days and haven't had much time/energy to write. Thought I'd upload the pics of our apartment.