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).