ROADTRIP!

I recently went on a week-long roadtrip with my friend, Jacqueline, from California to Texas by way of Colorado (ya know, 'cause it's on the way). Jacqueline posted a detailed account of our journey together on her blog, of which I have a copy here.

I won't bother to repeat the logistics, since Jac kept such a detailed log. But there were some gems on this trip that should definitely not go unmentioned. First of all, that stretch of road along interstate 80, from Salt Lake City up through the corner of Utah into Wyoming, is absolutely beautiful. It's a shame I don't have any pictures. We saw the most beautiful hills (Jac said they reminded her of the the movie "Heidi"), some covered in green grass, some covered in trees. Some were that orange colour you would expect to see at the Grand Canyon, whilst others were different still, made up of visible layers of different sedimentary rocks combining to form a beautiful landscape. I'm glad Jac drove most of that stretch so that I could enjoy the view.

Boulder was another surprise. It was a lot smaller than we had expected, but a very beautiful little city right at the bottom of the Rocky Mountains. We did a couple very short hikes in the evenings, and checked out Denver too while we were out there. Jac is thinking of moving to that area one day.

But why was I even on this roadtrip, you ask? Well, I could tell you that Jac is going on a three month trip to Mexico, and wanted to leave her car in Texas (where she is from), and I went along to keep her company. That's only part pf the reason, though. The truth is, I was born in San Antonio, Texas, but left when I was only seven months old. I've never been back, but have always wanted to see the city. Well, I'm glad I finally got my chance. San Antonio was a lot of fun. I thoroughly enjoyed the hunt for the hospital that I was born at (Wilford Hall), the village we used to live in (Billy Mitchell on Kelly Air Force Base), and the ballet school that my mother used to teach at. We even found an old friend of hers at the studio. Mum told me about an Irish pub, Durty Nelly's, that she and my dad used to hang at on the San Antonio River Walk (pictured right), and Jac and I found it with a very lively pianist inside, so we spent an hour there before heading back to Kerrville, where Jac's home is.

All in all I had a good time, and I can finally say I've seen San Antonio now! Pictures are here.

A New Look

Boy am I slow to write another entry. But here it is, nonetheless.

You may have noticed I've given my blog a new look, and a new name. It was just time for a change. That and I could no longer stand the little strip blogs that don't expand to the full width of the viewing window. How do you like it?

I have now been at Google for two years. Two Years!!! Who would have thought I'd last that long? I've been doing some interesting stuff, though. You can check out the googleblog to see what I've been up to. Google took us on a week-long offsite to Maui. That's right, Hawaii. I know, I know, I live such a hard life ... I just got promoted, too. Cool beans.

Decadance performed at a couple of "Google Idol" shows (this is the Googlers version of a talent show that we have at our annual picnic). We took first place in 2006 with our half bhangra - half schottische piece "Maahi Ve", and followed up with our own rendition of the "Here it Goes Again" choreography in 2007. Here are some pictures, but if you haven't seen the original video, definitely check it out here, and then cf our rendition here (link coming soon). That was my final performance with Deca, as I have now left the group.

A lot has happened in the last couple of years. My good friend from pre-school (yeah, pre-school), one Ms. Jennifer Hines, recently got married. I got to be a bridesmaid and all (check out the dress on the right). Weddings to seem to be in the air, though. My cousin, Mary Beth recently got married in Australia, and my American cousin, Lindsay, is getting married in August of this year. My own sister is even planning her wedding to Raphael Speyer in November of 2009. It's enough to make one feel, well, old.

"Hold on", you say? Who's that there in the photo with me? That's Christopher Beeler. We've been together for about a year and a half now.

Let's see. Oh yes, there's another trip to Australia in there somewhere. Chris came with me this time, and we met up with some of our friends from California and went to the Featherdale Wildlife Park. It's funny, it seemed so much bigger when I was four years old. We stayed with Michela and Raph in Ashfield for a week, then headed up to Long Jetty to spend the second week with my grandmother.

As far as trying new things goes, I'd say this year has been packed. I've started snowboarding, went river rafting and even went backpacking for the first time with my friend, Jacqueline. Chris has been teaching me how to play "disc golf" (some kind of frisbee/golf hybrid) and to rollerblade, while I've been getting him involved in social dancing (that picture up there is us at the Stanford Viennese Ball in 2007).

Graduation (and Angel Corella)

Well, that's it. I am 100% officially done with school. Graduation went well--not too incredibly long (though it was a very hot day and Michela got burned due to my shabby SPF 15 sunblock). Michela and Kristine came out for the occasion and we went to my favourite restaurant, Spalti, for dinner. Kristine gave me a copy of the Australian Opera in La Boheme (yay!), and Michela brought me a bracelet from Turkey.

So, in the meantime, I've been setting up the new house and adjusting to life as an adult. I started at Google a month ago (has it really been that long!?!), having joined the search quality group in their endeavours to make Google's search engine even better. I am still dancing with Decadance, and we are going strong for the summer, learning a whole new set of dances for the upcoming Black and White Ball.

In other news, Michela (lucky-dawg) ran into Angel Corella(!!) (my absolute favourite ballet dancer) in Lincoln Center a few weeks ago. She actually spoke to him, and said "thank you for dancing", to which he replied "thank you for watching" (isn't that awesome?). I am holding a "best of Angel Corella ballet clips" night in honour of the occasion.

Australia

And the adventure continues …

After a brief stop off for Big Dance at Stanford, my travels continue on the other side of the world. After a week at Long Jetty visiting family, we took off to Sydney where mum went to a ballet teaching course. Nana and I toured Sydney and the coastal beaches, including the coastal walkways at Coogee Beach, where we were staying. The Note was found (well, the backup notes were found), and I enjoyed a hazelnut gelato at 600 George street (thanks Ben). I stopped by the Google office in Sydney, located in a high tower at Darling harbour—what a view! And free Australian snacks too!
Just to keep things interesting, I decided to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge at nighttime. Half an hour of suiting up and instructions, and we were off on our 3.5 hour journey, starting the walk underneath the bridge until we reached the arch. Our guide was sure to point out all of the little signs marked “repair”, and especially the one marked “repair??” as we made our way to the ladders. The ladders, incidentally, went up through the two lanes of traffic crossing the bridge, and down between the two railway tracks. There were just two trains that came roaring past as I climbed down, a few feet away. The view was well worth it, though. The city is all lit up at night and reflects beautifully on the water. On the way back down, our guide told us the stories of all the people who died falling off the bridge …

A days rest back at The Entrance, and it was up to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef. I went snorkeling and diving, and made friends with a few fish called Wally, Sarah and Mathilda. The second day we went up to Kuranda, a village located in the middle of a tropical rainforest. We took the skyrail up and the scenic railway back. We went to a Night Zoo at Palm Cove to see the noctural animals, and I got to hold a Koala named Chibby and feed the Kangaroos.

I'm now at Port Stephens ready for some whale watching and swimming with the dolphins ...

Boston

Not quite as exotic as Europe, but a fun little trip nonetheless. I went to Cambridge, MA to see some old friends. I stayed with Cristina, my freshman roommate from Caltech. She was producing “Chicago” at MIT—I was quite impressed with the performance. I also got to see Vicente (From ‘tech) and Andres and Brian (from Stanford). I got a short tour of the chemistry department at Harvard—wow! Very classy. Definitely some money went into those labs. Thanks Andres and Brian!

Andres took me into the Harvard Museum to see the mineral rocks and glass flowers—pretty impressive, they look completely real. I went to the Star Wars exhibit at the Museum of Science with Cris, and got my picture taken with Darth Vader. Then we went on a Duck Tour of Boston in one of those done up WWII vehicles that go on land and water. A final run around Boston before I left lead me around the Freedom Trail. Yes, there is indeed a Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse located in the old City Hall building. All in all, a rather successful two-day trip.

Budapest & The Train Story

So we were in a big hurry getting on the train to Budapest due to a late return from Olomouc. We only had time to buy my ticket, and were informed that it would cost Michela extra to buy her ticket on the train, and that she would not receive the youth discount for being under 26.
Well, we get on the train, and the conductor informs us that, in transit, it is impossible to buy an international ticket. Michela would need to buy a ticket to the end of the Czech Republic, then another for the Slovak Republic, and yet another when we crossed the Hungarian border. So she buys her ticket to the end of the Czech Republic. We get to the Slovak Republic and the Slovak conductor tells Michela her ticket will cost some amount of Slovak currency. Well, we, of course, don't have any Slovak currency on us. The conductor lets out a huge sigh, and asks us what we have. We have Euros. The very irritated conductor converts the amount to Euro. We don't have exact change, so Michela overpays with the bills she has. The conductor looks at the bills, takes HALF the amount of the fare, puts it in his pocket, does not print out a ticket, and tells Michela she's good 'til we reach Hungry.

We get to Hungary. The Hungarian conductor gets on the train. We don't have Hungarian Florints on us. And what do you think he does? That's right, he takes half the fare in Euro and pockets it. Michela ends up paying less than I did for my discounted ticket!
Moral of the story? Well, I'll leave it to the reader to figure that one out.

Budapest was my favourite city to visit on this trip to Europe. The country and people have survived through Nazi and communist occupations. The still visible bullet holes in the walls of the buildings tell the story. We visited the House of Terror, a building (now a museum) that both the Nazis and communists used for torture, the Heroes Square, a Turkish spa bath, the Labyrinths of the Buda Castle, the medievil Lancelot restaurant, and took a river cruise at night down the Danube.

I dragged Michela into the Labyrinth of Courage at the Buda Castle--a room that was pitch black where you could only find your way by hanging onto a rope. Michela's hand was pitch black when we were done (from clutching the rope ...).

Prague & Karlovy Vary

Interesting place they have here at club Andel (Angel). An apartment built for 12 people, mostly international students working abroad for a time. I met Raphael for the first time, an Australian American who speaks fluent German. What are the chances? He will be returning to Sydney University in a few months to finish his Bachelours in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. Incidentally, it looks like Michela will be attending Sydney Law school starting in July to get her Masters in Criminology. Oh yeah, in case you are wondering about the picture, Raph does Indian dancing …

Anyway, back to Prague. Very nice city with beautiful buildings and architecture. Check out Fred and Ginger, so called because the buildings look like they are dancing.


The Old town is full of markets, souvenir shops and artists selling their paintings. I have a couple of the Charles Bridge. In the centre is the astronomical clock. Apparently they blinded the artist who designed the clock so that he couldn’t reproduce his work anywhere else. Lovely …

We took a day trip to see the famous spa town of Karlovy Vary. They have a walkway where it is illegal to run, skate, or be stressed in anyway. You must relax and walk leisurely. Along the side of the walkway are various springs containing the “healing” mineral water. There are special cups with a spout in the handle for drinking the mineral water *cough* tastes like crap *cough*. In fact, the water tastes so good, that they have to stuff their mouths with special “spa wafers” just to get rid of the taste. Either that, or they mix it up with alcohol to make a specialty drink called Becherovka. I have evidence of Michela tasting it for the next time she claims that she “doesn’t drink alcohol”.

Half Way There ...

Ok, ok, people are after me to post another entry.

July 10th--have finished the Nikita series up to the end of season 3. Eyes starting to blur over ...

July 23rd--back in the bay area for my aunt's 50th birthday. After being injured and bruised in the Mickey-Mouse-Bouncer, I pulled off a winning move in the "Lord of the Rings" version of Monopoly (that's right, Danielle, I won the game). Our "Either/Or" task was to dance hustle--with a bunch of tipsy folks singing "I will survive" in the background. You should have done a dip, Paul :(

July 30th--went to the Pike's Place Market in Seattle. The fish smelled a bit, but there were lots of free tastes of nuts and cherries. I found an Australian meat-pie stand around the corner from the market--and they sold Tim Tams too!! Too bad I burned my tongue before I got to them :(

4th of July

I was back in the bay area for the July 4th weekend. We watched the fireworks from a hilltop out the back of Google--definitely the closest I've ever been to fireworks. I also got to work in the Google Mountain View office for a couple of days, which was pretty cool. Check out the new Firefox Toolbar.

In other exciting news, "La Femme Nikita" seasons 2 & 3 have now been released on DVD, which of course means I haven't left my room for the last 24hrs during the Nikita marathon. I am currently on disc 5 of season 2, planning to be finished with season 3 by the end of the week--don't expect any speedy replies to emails.

Llama

Have you heard the llama song?