Palm Be-ach

Spent the weekend in Florida, which was much needed after last week's work craziness. Nothing like lots of carbs and wine, driving everywhere, bickering with my 'rents, and poolside sun to get me nice and relaxed...

...until I have to go back to work. ARGH

I am really unhappy with Song airlines right now. My Delta silver status did not get me priority boarding, despite the sign at the end of the boarding queue. The Delta "service assurance" representative told me that Song is a separate company. Right, that's why you're checking me in and the boarding pass says "Operated by Delta Airlines". Cow. By the time I got on the plane, they had to put my carry-on 20 rows behind me because every selfish person on board took up valuable space with their small bags in the overhead. I will have fun later on the phone with Delta's customer service representative. It is fun to pull rank every once in a while.

HFStival

My friend John invited me to go to the HFStival with him. I had a great time. Totally went off South Beach this weekend. I really enjoyed the day. We were in the "bowl" during Good Charlotte, which was my first and hopefully last experience with crowd surfers. My neck is sore from ducking errant feet and limbs. John's glasses got stepped on at one point. Billy Idol's face is pulled too tight, but his body is really amazing, especially for an old geezer that did tons of drugs in the Eighties. They forced everyone to leave the stadium right before Coldplay because of lightning - guess they are paranoid of another electrocution per the Tibet Freedom Festival. Coldplay was worth the wait, although it was funny watching Chris Martin hump the piano. I felt like I was watching some weird fetish porn or something. Foo Fighters of course was my fave.

Waffle House at midnight rocks. I wish they had them up here.

Reminder that I'm not getting any

Maybe I spoke too soon. One of my neighbors (probably not the couple with two kids next door) let out a series of orgasmic shrieks last night at around midnight. I don't think she was lifting weights. Ho hum...

This morning on my way to work, the guy next to me on the E train (who was total 80's redux with the jogging pants and the Jerri-curled hair tied back in a small braid in the back) kept using my thigh as an armrest. I had to restrain myself from bitchslapping him. Glaring and squirming didn't work, so I finally tapped him on my shoulder and pointed out that his elbow was on my leg. Ugh...

Safety Last

Some things I hate about living alone in an apartment:

• I have found four bugs so far, one dead. Two of them had thousands of legs and took up residence in my bathtub. My bathroom is not a bug spa.
  
• My neighbors make a lot of noise, between the kids watching Saturday morning cartoons or their parents having late-night conversations in some south Asian dialect. At least they do not have loud sex.
  
• This weekend I grilled a rib-eye on my stove. My apartment still smells like well-done meat.
  
• Speaking of the stove, my pilot lights constantly go out. I live in fear of being gassed in my sleep.
  
• I cannot shower in peace. Tonight, towards the tail end of my post-workout bath, after I'm all nice and relaxed, the smoke alarm went off. My water doesn't even get that hot. So there I was, dripping on my duvet, towel falling off, trying to yank out the battery without getting electrocuted. It took me 10 minutes to get the battery out. My neighbors probably hate me; I know my dad is sick of me calling with all my problems, especially late at night. I had to punch the alarm so that it wouldn't deafen me. Now I need a new smoke alarm.
  

Gah...

ARGH

Very irritated at this point in time. My feet and decolletage are peeling, and my skin has broken out from all the cocoa butter goo I have been slathering on to keep my skin bronzed and supple. Then Jesus Christ Superstar showed up today. Even though I am highly against better living through pharmeceuticals, I think this situation calls for high doses of Xanax. Damn, this summer is gonna suck.

I need a hug, preferably from a hottie with good arms.

Back to the grind...

My vacations was a success! Besides getting to the airport three hours early to compensate for our 100-meter dash to the gate last week, I have a great tan and managed to finish two books and get through most of a third:
The Godfather Returns: Very similar to Mario Puzo's style - easy prose, the usual sex, murder, and good food. No surprise, lots of people get whacked. It's interesting how they make Fredo out to be a finocchio and give Michael a rebellious, family-loathing side.
Avoiding Prison and Other Noble Vacation Goals: I enjoyed reading this on vacation. It evokes some schadenfreude, especially when reading about other people's issues in foreign countries while stressing over whether to sit by the beach or the pool. I don't think I would ever date a convict in a Colombian jail, but that's just me.
The Russian Debutante's Handbook: Very cute. It reminds me of Jonathan Cranzen's The Corrections with respect to the cliches used and the funny business in the former Soviet bloc (although Shteyngart mocks Prague with his phony Prava, Stolovan Republic instead of setting the story in a real city). I enjoyed the peppering of conversation with Russian and the references to locations in New York.

Now, it's back to Reality. Man, I should have taken a couple days off this week after I got back. I am still in Island Mode anyway. Introduced myself to a co-worker I had already met because I didn't recognize him in a suit (although the Island Mode excuse worked well). The client inbox had about 300,000 emails to sift through, most of which ended up in the Recycle Bin. I did get some satisfaction from my tan matching my khaki pants on my first day back.

There is some random guy with really bad posture whom I caught staring directly at my chest - twice! Did he not see me glaring at him when I noticed it the first time? Question to all you men out there - do you REALLY think we are oblivious to this, and that we appreciate it?

Socks on the beach

Provo has been great so far. Did some snorkelling, managed to avoid coral stings and barracuda bites. Lots of beachcombing, sitting around doing nothing, just relaxing. Our biggest decisions are whether to sit by the beach or the pool, whether to sneak into the posh condo resort next door and use their beach chairs and umbrellas, and which of the overpriced local joints to have a meal. So far my favorite is the Tiki Hut, which used to be the Third Turtle Inn when I was here 15+ years ago.
I have been very religious with sunscreen, reapplying my SPF 15 regularly. Especially since on Wednesday I managed to get a patchwork sunburn due poor reapplication, and it was particularly annoying on the tops of my feet. I looked like a defective spumoni ice cream - vanilla chocolate and strawberry swirled together. On Thursday I wore socks poolside, it was so unbearable. My cousin took a picture, but I will not post it.

Paradise found

Yes, I have been really slacking in posting. No, this will not change any time soon. I am in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos, British West Indies (i.e., the Caribbean). No cell phone, no laptop. Nya nya...

Larry Flynt's - Deep Thoughts

You may think it slightly lecherous that I actually set foot in The Hustler Club, but it was free and I was helping a co-worker celebrate his bachelor party before he heads back to Hyderabad to get hitched. So there...

My new best friend and I made some interesting observations while mammaries jiggled and poles were ground:

• I am at least two cup sizes bigger than the employees, on average.
• The workers really enjoyed my company and were more than happy to oblige.
• People outside of major metropolitan areas have minimal to no gaydar. (Baltimore is not a bustling metropolis.)
• Lapdances should be conducted differently for men and women. It does nothing for me to have someone bounce up and down on my thighs, most likely because I am not equipped for this type of movement to excite me.

Bring on the crabcakes (again)

Back in Bal'more to help out my client from last year with some software upgrade and testing issues. Yee ha. I am all by myself this week, but next week the partner is coming. I hope he is happy with my work. Also hope I am not stuck in my hotel room watching Law and Order re-runs ad nauseum.

Next week I'll be at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore, cashing in my free Regency Club Upgrade certificate (yeay Platinum status!)

Any recommendations for good restaurants/bars?

Happy New Year!

Wow, I can't believe I've had this blog for a year. Thanks to my last trip to Vegas, as well as all the other travelling I've done this year, I hit silver status on Delta for the third year in a row - yeay! Here are my resolutions for this year:

• Lose at least 10 pounds - yadda yadda, everyone wants to do this


• Do something cultural or artsy at least once a month, trying to save up some money to buy a tenor sax. (If anyone has a horn that needs a home, let me know!)


• Travel to Morocco to visit Cybele, Eastern Europe and Thailand.

Speaking of Thailand, please please please support one of these charities, whether it's with time, money, or goods, to help the victims of the tsunami:
International aid organizations:
UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund)
United Nations' World Food Programme
Medecins Sans Frontieres / Doctors without Borders (donate!)
CARE International
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

UK/Europe:
Disasters Emergency Comittee (DEC) - comprises a raft of aid agencies, including the below and others
British Red Cross
Save the Children UK

North America:
American Red Cross
Canadian Red Cross
Save The Children

Anders Jacobsen: Webloggers: Give to tsunami victims and I'll give too! - this is my friend Anders' fundraising effort.

I'm planning on calling the Red Cross in New York to see if there are any local activities to support the relief effort. Volunteering after 9/11 was very fulfilling for me, and I hope I can do something to help the survivors stay healthy and get back on their feet. Also, since I have umpteen million Delta SkyMiles, I plan on donating some to the relief effort as well. It's not only about money, people. Yes, cash is needed, but every little bit helps.

Waiting to Inhale

Getting sick in Vegas really sucks, especially right before the red-eye flight home. My ears still haven't popped. My doctor tells me I have asthmatic bronchitis. Ouch.

Time to pass out, right after I huff on some Albuterol.

Grand Canyon

Roadwork in Nevada and lack of signage made the beginning of our trek from Las Vegas Airport to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon very tricky. The Hoover Dam was interesting, but we made a very short stop due to construction and checkpoints holding up the works. A whole lot of concrete was poured over there. To reward ourselves for finding the way eventually, we had a pig-out at Carl's Jr. Bacon guacamole Angus cheeseburgers, criss-cut fries, and Butterfinger cheesecake make everything better, but my thighs are going to be huge tomorrow.

The drive through Arizona heading north from Flagstaff at night was really spooky. A cop got in front of us and decided to stop short at one point, just to mess with us. It doesn't help put us at ease that there is no cellphone service out here.

Who knew that the weather would be so crappy out here? Everyone thinks that Arizona is hot and arid, yet it has been clammy and rainy for our whole trip. However, the temperature was better suited for our 8-mile hike, 5 miles around the rim, and then a 1.5-mile trek down into the Canyon on the Bright Angel trail, and back up. Plus, at the end of our hike we saw a rainbow. It is much harder than it looks to climb back up. The hotel hot tub was in order.

This morning, since the weather was rainy again, we decided to skip our early rafting trip, which would have involved driving at the butt-crack of dawn over to Lake Mead. Instead, we went horseback riding in the Kaibab National Forest. My horse Roni kept trying to eat pine trees and plants along the way, and kept farting. It was good fun, although not as scenic.

Goodbye PAC

Today was my last day on my current project. This assignment really rocked. The people are so smart and friendly too. Most likely, I will never have another assignment quite like this and everything else will seem anti-climactic.

Originally I was supposed to finish last week, but they needed my data entry skills.

Next week - Grand Canyon and Las Vegas!

yawn

Nothing exciting going on. Here's a snapshot in the week of a life:

Monday: Work, gym
Tuesday: Work
Wednesday: Work, gym
Thursday: Work, happy hour
Friday: Work, hang out with friends
Saturday: Work out, nap, go out with friends, crash at someone else's place
Sunday: Wake up, go home, putter around, read the NYTimes, watch original series on HBO or Showtime

bla...

Work work work

This is looking like a long summer. No vacation for me. My cousin and I are supposed to go to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas in October. Counting down!!!

J is still just, well, there. Not sure if there is any boyfriend potential. I guess my pattern of dating one guy a year and then dating dry spell is holding. Ho hum...

Happy 229th Birthday, USA!

What a weekend! Stomach was totally on the brink after my birthday party. I love Delta's policy of changing shuttle tickets for free for Medallion members. Latease's wedding in Boston was beautiful. Silly me, I was in such a hurry to be on time for the wedding that I forgot to pay the cabbie on the way to the church. Luckily I arranged for him to pick me up after the ceremony. He was a nice Moroccan guy; I guess talking about my trip to Oman made him trust me.

Christina's annual 4th bash was a lot of fun on the beach. Unfortunately, one of my friend's attempt to set me up with her fiance's best friend was a miserable crash-and-burn. The guy barely said "hello" to me when we were introduced. Whatever, loser, I'm a catch...

After Christina's gig, went to J's house for more barbeque action. It was interesting, to say the least. Not sure about him, but I guess time will tell. Anyone is better than Ross at this point.

The Big 2-5

Wow, my birthday just came and went - June 29th is the actual day. I guess now everyone will start trying harder to marry me off. Ho hum...

At least the party last night was fun. Picture this, Egyptian hookah bar in the East Village, 20 of my friends seated on floor cushions around low tables, two flavors of tobacco - Ali Baba and Canteloupe, fruit shakes whose name sounds like something Arab porn stars utter while in action (say fakh'fakhina five times fast), and me belly dancing on a chair in a fez. Don't believe me? Check out the pictures.

Now I just have to scrape myself out of bed to make the Delta shuttle to Boston for Latease's wedding. UGH!

"25 years of my life and still trying to get up that great big hill of hope for a destination..." Bonus points to whoever names the band that sang this.

Congrats Becki and Jeremy!

Two of my college friends got married in Millerton, NY. It was very nice and low-key. I got to see a bunch of my sorority sisters; it seems that we have a mini-reunion every year at someone's wedding. Just like being at a crush party except you have to bring a gift.

Since we have friends in nearby Sharon, CT, my folks hung out with them for the day. My father actually went with them to see "Fahrenheit 9/11", of which all he had to say was that it's "liberal propaganda". For dinner, we went to the West Main Cafe for dinner. YOWZA! Fantastic, creative food - loved loved loved it. Monica and Jerry had their wedding there almost two years ago, and it was fantastic then.

Go figure

I'm not single for 24 hours and I meet another guy. Let's call him J. We didn't meet under the best circumstances - I'm rebounding, and ended up getting really drunk because he kept buying me drinks. I'm hesitant to get involved with anyone so soon, especially after all the crap I put with while with Ross. Time will tell, I guess...