Bookworm

Ahh, to have enough time to read a book every day...

How do you say Forrest Gump in Chinese?

I want to date this guy, although the facial hair would not fly well.

Is this where Dante had in mind when he wrote L'Inferno?

[DISCLAIMER: this post may inflame Texans and especially Houstonians. If one of them happens to be my brother's ex-fiancee, here's hoping you spontaneously burst into flames anyway.]

Three days in a town is not enough to grasp the essence of a particular place, especially when most of the 72 hours is spent behind a desk. I did not have great expectations of Houston when I found out I'd have some business to take care of, in mid-summer no less. My impression has not changed much. Turbulence on landing and on take-off, sweltering heat, and lack of pedestrians anywhere would do it. We drove three blocks, which is heretical for New Yorkers.

I will give Houston this: everyone (minus the ex-fiancee devil spawn) is incredibly nice. I have a few friends who live there and some who are soon relocating. Plus, prices are really low. Still, not enough reason for me to pack my bags and buy a ginormous house.

Back to the Salt Mines...

I have a tremendous amount of work awaiting me on my return from Lisbon. You will not hear much of me for the next month, don't take it personally....

Portugal

It's a good thing and a bad thing that more Americans don't go to Portugal. It's cheap, friendly, not overtrodden (except the Algarve), easygoing, and has really great uncomplicated food and wine. The seafood is out of this world. Don't think about it too hard, just go.

Try-athlon

Many of you have expressed concerns about my mental health lately. Just to clear the air, lots of people do triathlons every year. Several thousand just participated in this morning's NYC Tri. Moreover, the Hudson is safe for swimming. It's similar to bathing in a swamp, yes, but the EPA tests it regularly. (Not sure if that will inspire confidence; maybe the fact that I wore a wetsuit is better.)

After having swum 1500 meters in said river, biking 40k (25 miles) up and down the potholed and puddle-slicked West Side Highway with extremely aggressive competitors whizzing past, and running 10k (6.2 miles) after that, I am exhausted and cognitively fuzzy but HOOKED! Training for this event has been challenging, and my cycling is still very slow. It doesn't help that I'm riding the bike I've had since I was ten, with some modifications to make it race-ready. The upside is that I have been eating ravenously but have trimmed down a lot. The triathlon club I joined has been great for preparation, and there are some great people in it. As an added bonus, triathletes are HOT.

Random Thought

To neglect a girlfriend, cheat, lie, break up abruptly, try to weasel out of paying half from a shared vacation and leave mounds of crap behind in her apartment, spread lame BS to all mutual friends about the relationship, and then send disturbing anonymous text messages is one thing. It's really pathetic when a Facebook profile picture was is posted from said vacation with the now-ex-girlfriend (from two years ago, mind you), while now being engaged to someone else. Time to move on, everyone else did a long time ago.

"You don't know what love is, you just do as you're told" sums it up about right. (Thanks, Jack White.)

Virginia Beach

Spending the 4th weekend with my coworker/friend and her family. We are both very much looking forward to doing not much of anything. Plus, our families are very similar so I feel right at home! Virginia Beach is great, although on the boardwalk I have to watch my p's and q's as there are great no-swearing signs.

Farewell to Youth

When FOX started displaying a report from TMZ that Michael Jackson was dead, I didn't fully accept it. This may reflect on the questionable reliability of a gossip website, but I think it goes a little deeper. The sudden death of an iconic global figure (well, has-been icon) attempting a comeback is a classic, almost textbook, tragedy. That pill-popping may have been a factor should shock no one where MJ is concerned with everything else in his past. Regardless of his personal struggles and eccentricities, there is no denying his tremendous contribution to popular culture and music. Michael Jackson represents the 1980's and America at its best - exuberance, creativity, success, hope for a better world - and worst (overextravagance, hubris, commercialism, crotch grabbing, body dysmorphia).

For me, the timing couldn't have been more cosmic, as I turn thirty in four days. Additional coincidence is that I plan to go out for some 80's dancing on Saturday. Growing up, I spent hours singing along to Thriller on my Fisher Price record player, starting songs over if I didn't get all the lyrics right. My mom had a hard time tearing me away from "break dancing" to his hits on my babysitter's living room carpet. I still remember watching the video premiere of Bad on network television with my next-door neighbor. Michael's death carries a symbolic passing away of my childhood, a marker that I really am not a kid anymore. No longer can I blame actions on being young and stupid. Yes, people are cushioning the blow of aging by declaring that thirty is the new twenty. In my opinion, it's just rationalization for shirking personal responsibility and perpetuating emotional immaturity. Then again, I don't believe that you can't trust anyone over thirty.

So goodbye, childhood. Bring on thirty, as well as the inevitable VH1Classic lovefest of MJ tribute music videos on repeat.

Another Sign of the Apocalypse (and Motivation to Elope)

WE is having a Bridezillas marathon today. These women are snarky, obnoxious biatches. And most of them are morbidly obese. I have absolutely no desire to throw away that much money, piss off everyone around me, and lose sanity over one day. Yecch

Keep Austin Awesome

Austin is the one of only cities in Texas (I have been to so far) that I could live in. This was confirmed over Memorial Day weekend. We popped up to Fort Worth to visit M's sister M, and I quite liked it there, although I'm still not ready for the 'burbs. At least it wasn't Dallas. Big fan of the kolaches in West, Texas, tubing, and the kitschy neon signs all over town.

Good Day Sunshine

It's my yearly trip to Palm Beach to visit the aunt and uncle. Yet another trip where I do pretty much nothing, which is just fine. However, I did go on two runs, one five-miler on the beach (look out for washed-up man-o-wars!) and one six mile run/walk. The amusement this trip was getting hit on by a 70-something divorcee from easter Europe. Guess I still look hot in a string bikini.

I need to get the hell out of New York for an extended period of time, preferably somewhere with better weather...

Set Adrift

I'd love to figure out which building this started in. You may become very meditative watching the plane land - this is normal.


Flying from Sam Fuller on Vimeo.

З Великодніми святами!

Easter is here, although from this chilly weather you wouldn't know it. To unleash my creativity, I learned how to decorate eggs the Ukrainian way, known as pysanky. It's not that easy, it takes a steady hand and some knowledge of folk art and symbolism. Since DailyCandy's mailing didn't indicate reservations were required, we almost were not able to get a seat at the Spacecraft class, but it was worth the wait and tension. I don't know if M enjoyed it as much as I did, but I'd definitely trek down to E 7th St to get the supplies needed to make them again. The traditional designs are beautiful, but even more contemporary designs are fun as well.

Take the Good and the Bad, Fort Greene Edition

Fort Greene as some awesome places to discover. I like the laidback vibe but minimal hipster invasion (so far). It's a perfect nabe to hang out with friends and throw a few back. Brooklyn Public House is a perfect example of this. Good beer selection, chill ambience, even though I can't comment on the food. We almost needed to, though, because we were undernourished and overcharged at Ici right across the road. Some entrees were barely appetizer portions, leaving most of the strapping lads in my party hankering for hamburgers. Plus they overcharged us and it took three passes at the bill to get it right. For all of its "fresh, seasonal, and local" hype, it's not worth the price tag.

Seeing Red

This video gets my goat a little, in that I am an alumna of a state school (although my masters is from an endowed college). Granted Keith Olbermann is a pompus douchebag, last time I checked, there was no distinction between the private and state-subsidized colleges in what constitutes the Ivy League. I could care less if Ann Coulter graduated cum laude; she is still a crazy b1tch. Pick on something more substantive to debate.

Eating Less Is More?

Humanity has been searching for the fountain of youth and longevity since the beginning of time. Naturally, eating less generally helps with maintaining a healthy weight. Some studies have shown that reducing caloric intake can improve health and possibly lengthen life span. Now an experiment in Germany indicates it can also increase memory in elderly.

Makes you wonder if religious-based fasts were intended to increase retention of doctrinal teachings, particularly for those followers who traditionally were not literate.

Happy (and memorable) Lent!

Relajar

Hola. This week I am on vacation in Mexico. Even though O and I planned on hiking, exploring a cenote, and snorkelling, I think we are just going to do nothing but morning yoga on the beach, swimming, and sunning/reading.

Sliders

This is a pretty interesting picture. See if you can find the guy flipping off the camera and those that know they're being photographed.

No Leftover Recipe: Stuffed Zucchini (Among Other Things)

M's 30th birthday was last night, so a bunch of us had brunch and then hit the Met. Given times are slim, we decided to cook instead of get dinner out. In addition to my mom's honey chicken recipe (family secret), I whipped up Yukon Gold and yam home fries and this zucchini recipe. Yes, it's Rachael Ray. From past experience, she either has good concept recipes that require very slight tweaks, or they just suck. This one probably needed slightly less liquid in the filling, but everyone devoured it. Happy Dirty 30!