This was one of the more exciting weeks this year. Two trips booked, a Friday evening date, and birthday celebrations!
I bought a ticket to Bosnia after what must have been the shortest decision process.
I still have 22 days of vacation left this year that I had to use before the end of the year. Obviously, I was not good at planning because it's August and I have not used any of those days. So, couple of weeks ago I decided I'll go to Bosnia in September. I also wanted to go somewhere I haven't been and wanted to spend a few days in Germany to visit my godmother. I was hoping I can get a ticket that would allow me a layover in Germany of few days, instead of having to buy a separate ticket from Bosnia to Germany. But, my godmother is on vacation until Aug 19th, I have no way of contacting her (I tried!), and I just couldn't wait till a week before the trip to buy this ticket.
I have never bought this overseas ticket that close to the departure, as the prices tend to go up as the time shrinks, so I new I had to act quickly. So, after searching the web and calling a few agencies, I found my ticket on Friday of last week.
BUT, there was no confirmation email. Not on Friday. Not on Saturday. I thought maybe it's because the agency closed soon after I bought it, then maybe they were not open on the weekend. But when it still wasn't in my inbox on Monday morning, I gave them a call. The first person I talked to just said they'll send it right away. But couple of hours later, the owner of the agency called back and said there was a problem with issuing the ticket. It's not my credit card, it's not their system, there is just something with that ticket that they can't process it. They had no explanation of what it is, they already spent several hours trying to resolve it, and she was basically just giving up on it!
So, Monday was kind of hectic, now researching again all those same resources for another ticket while this agency did the same. By the end of the day, they were able to find me another flight, slightly more expensive and slightly worse connection, but it's the exact same itinerary I used for few years.
Ticket to Bosnia secured - check!
During that week when I have already decided to go to Bosnia for 3 weeks, but before I actually got the ticket, I got an email with a promotional offer for Peru! Now, South America was on my bucket list of places to visit this year. I kind of hoped for it for the last couple of years. But, I couldn't find someone who was excited about going as I was, and since I didn't have a really specific place I wanted to go, it was hard to start the planning. I just had this idea in my head that this year I was going to visit my 6th continent, and the last one I care to visit (Antarctica - nah).
The trip package looked very inviting; 8 days, full itinerary planned (which is huge as I wouldn't have to plan anything), all the guides, tickets,...for half price ($1699). And I have vacations days. And it's in South America! The promotion was ending yesterday, so I had to act quick. Contacted a few friends who I thought might be interested, but only my friend from Canada started to seriously think about it. It took some convincing, long hours on the phone figuring out flight options, but in the end we both signed up for it before the promotion ended.
The agency offered two options for departure, Miami and Los Angeles, but neither of those had good connections with Vancouver for the same day flights. My friend didn't want to have to spend another day in one of those places, so I offered him to come here the day before and then we could travel together. That somehow turned into 4 days before, so my friend will have a mini vacation in Austin before we both embark on our Peruvian adventure.
I realized I still have so much to research about Peru before I leave. For example, I had to look at the map to realize, even thought it's on the west coast, it's not vertically bellow California, but Florida! Now that I know the geographical location of the place I am going, I feel already more prepared! :) Aside from Lima, the capital, I didn't recognize any of the other cities on the itinerary (Cusco, Puno,...). Of course, I knew about Machu Picchu, but that's about it for my knowledge of this country. It will be exciting to learn more!
South America trip booked - check!
Oh yeah, I mentioned something about Friday night date. :) Yes, it was very nice...and that's all I am gonna say about that. For now.
And tonight, I get to celebrate early my birthday with two of my good friends, Julie and CJ. Julie knows how much I dislike having to plan birthdays and pick places to dine, so the two of them graciously suggested we go to the Rainey street. It's a very popular, funky area of Austin, with lots of restaurants, laid back atmosphere, and people on the street. I actually was down there for the first time just a few weeks ago for a coworkers going away party, and got a taste of what it's like. I have a feeling I am going to have a great time tonight!
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Saturday, May 26, 2012
The X Factor
I had so much fun the other night at the live audience taping of the X Factor talent show. Now, I am not a big follower of this show, to be clear. I don't even know which tv network it is on nor when, and I also wasn't sure if they had more than singing on that show. I just know it's a talent show, one of several of that kind, with judges, one of whom is Simon Cowell. And I enjoy watching on those kind of shows some really good talent, and some people who come there obviously having no talent. So, when my friend Julie said she had an extra ticket, I excitedly decided to join her!
It was at the Frank Erwin Center, a huge place that fit 4329 of us in the audience. And this was just one of the four audition tapings in Austin. We parked downtown near my friend's work place, and took a cab. It turned out great because the line was already all the way around the building 45 min before the "arrival time" on the ticket. We actually only had "line vouchers", as everyone else in the line, which were just that, vouchers that allowed us to stand in line to get the real ticket. It was a bit hot that afternoon on the concrete with no shade, but I was just too excited to bother. It was just something out of the ordinary to experience, I was with a dear friend, we might be on tv for a second, I was going to see some celebrities, and hear some interesting performers. What's not to like!
The tapping actually started an hour after the time on the ticket, after everyone was seated and we, the audience, heard some "rules of conduct", welcomed the judges, and had some opportunity to take photos. Even thought the ticket said it will last 5 hours, which we really hoped was not true, the auditions lasted just over 2.5 hours. And the contestants didn't disappoint. The first one, a single mom, was probably the best, and has really set the bar high. It was hard for me to boo in the beginning, especially at the so-so ones, but there were few that were just so bad I had to close my ears. I am sure those will get special air time when the show airs.
We took a pedi-cab ride back to our cars, and it was another new, fun experience for me. All in all, it was a fun experience. Here are some photos.
Oh, and just one more thing. Julie and I were wondering out loud who got to sit in the front rows behind the judges, as those people will be on tv for sure. We actually laughed when 7-8 blonds paraded to the front row, and all set next to each other. They later separated them, to had a more mixed audience appearance, and alternated sleeveless with sleeved dresses. The lady next to us then said here daughter was there, and she was picked out of the line to go sit there. So, they actually picked "pretty people" out of the line to be on tv. Just so you know! :)
It was at the Frank Erwin Center, a huge place that fit 4329 of us in the audience. And this was just one of the four audition tapings in Austin. We parked downtown near my friend's work place, and took a cab. It turned out great because the line was already all the way around the building 45 min before the "arrival time" on the ticket. We actually only had "line vouchers", as everyone else in the line, which were just that, vouchers that allowed us to stand in line to get the real ticket. It was a bit hot that afternoon on the concrete with no shade, but I was just too excited to bother. It was just something out of the ordinary to experience, I was with a dear friend, we might be on tv for a second, I was going to see some celebrities, and hear some interesting performers. What's not to like!
The tapping actually started an hour after the time on the ticket, after everyone was seated and we, the audience, heard some "rules of conduct", welcomed the judges, and had some opportunity to take photos. Even thought the ticket said it will last 5 hours, which we really hoped was not true, the auditions lasted just over 2.5 hours. And the contestants didn't disappoint. The first one, a single mom, was probably the best, and has really set the bar high. It was hard for me to boo in the beginning, especially at the so-so ones, but there were few that were just so bad I had to close my ears. I am sure those will get special air time when the show airs.
We took a pedi-cab ride back to our cars, and it was another new, fun experience for me. All in all, it was a fun experience. Here are some photos.
Oh, and just one more thing. Julie and I were wondering out loud who got to sit in the front rows behind the judges, as those people will be on tv for sure. We actually laughed when 7-8 blonds paraded to the front row, and all set next to each other. They later separated them, to had a more mixed audience appearance, and alternated sleeveless with sleeved dresses. The lady next to us then said here daughter was there, and she was picked out of the line to go sit there. So, they actually picked "pretty people" out of the line to be on tv. Just so you know! :)
Friday, December 2, 2011
Parting After 11 Years
With my car.
Green Toyota Corolla CE. year 2000.
Here is a funny thing: as I signed the papers today to transfer the car title over to the insurance company, I realized that it was EXACTLY to the the day today 11 years ago that I bought the car. To. The. Day!
I'll fill you in on its last few days and how it all ended, but let me remember where we've been.
I bought the car few days before I graduated from college. I had just received the driver's licence couple of weeks earlier. I never owned a car before, and knew nothing about cars. Our lab technician Mike took me to few dealerships around Beaumont to help me find a car. All I knew was that I wanted "a small car that I can easily park, that has radio and power locks and windows". How innocent! :) I had just received a $2000 SWE scholarship, and I was able to dedicate just a quarter of that for down payment. And what fit in those parameters was this, almost new car back then, with about 11K miles on it.
We've had our moments. I drove to Austin just 3 days after I bought it, to hunt for an apartment. My first trip longer than 3 hours. I was a bit weary about the drive, so I took a friend with me. On our way back, just 15 minutes before we arrived, I hit a pothole and blew a tire. Neither of us knew anything about changing tires, didn't even know I had a spare tire and tools in the trunk :), so we stopped someone on I10 to change it for us. I took it to the dealership later and they agreed to put on a new tire. About a month later I went with the family to San Antonio. On our way back, in the middle of nowhere, at night, that same tire pealed off at 70 mph, slamming into and breaking the components under the hood and twisting the side metal. It was really scary! I managed to pull over safely. We pulled over a trucker who took me to a gas station to call the police. We waited for the patrol car to came and drove with them back to the highway where my car was. They helped me patch it together with some bungee cords and roll gauze (!), change the tire, gather parts left behind, and then we drove at 30 mph back to Austin. After some convincing, the dealership agreed to pay for the repair. Some $2400! And of course, can't forget the lasting impact the hail storm of March 25th 2005 (a date reserved for hail) left. It was another $4500 damage, a nice check that went toward the closing cost of the house.
The car was slowly accumulating issues after that. I only fixed safety issues, like the engine mount (although the brakes have been in a pretty bad shape lately) and those that prevented it from passing the state inspection. But there was a long list of other issues that was just getting longer:
- windshield got a crack years ago, from a fast driving police car skidding on some rocks. The crack only got longer with years, reaching over to the driver's side.
- driver door handle broke couple of years ago. I just replace it with the one on the back door. That one was now almost at a breaking point.
- windshield wipers' pump broke. I could no longer spray water when using wipers, which caused terrible smudges unless using them in pouring rain.
- The left blinker would sometimes 'stick' and not come on when switched.
- The engine would sometimes stutter when starting, and sometimes shut off. Luckily this was only when starting.
- Wheel alignment was long overdue.
- The brakes...there were days when I didn't think the car will stop at the sign!
- I lost two wheel covers when I drove close to a curb.
- The steering wheel was chafing. Very annoying while driving.
- Floor carpet had holes.
- few months ago my brother locked keys inside, and the guys fishing them out damaged the rubber on the doors, so the car whistled at high speeds.
- Not to even mention the dings from hail and other unknown cars.
- overdue for maintenance by few thousand miles.
- overdue for oil change by few hundred miles.
But, last Sunday it has met its last damage. I was driving to church, mid day, downtown. As I was approaching the light on 10th and San Jacinto, in a left-turn-only lane a vehicle was sitting at the green light. There were no lights on it. I thought for a second if I should go around it or approach behind. I did the later. I guess I thought they are probably a bit slow to react to the light. At about 3-4 ft behind it, still no lights indicating what it's going to do next, the car went full force backwards! I had a split second to decide if I should a)honk, b)switch to reverse, or c) brace for impact. I didn't have time to process that, so I did c). I think I actually did switch in reverse, but I was still holding my foot on the brake. My body did that motion that the dummy dolls in car safety testing commercials do, with head flying forward and body twisting. The air begs didn't deploy, and my body didn't hit any part of the car. As I raised my head up, I saw the hood half way up, and then the car, the black truck in front of me, taking off. I remember seeing their lights for the first time then. I think I saw the last four digits on the licence plates: 9333. It was the new style plates, with 7 alpha-numerics. But I didn't get what kind of truck it was. So...I just took after it! That was my first instinct. I mean, what else was I supposed to do!
I couldn't quite see well in front of me with that hood up. The truck drove really fast. Taking turns into one-way streets. The wrong way! I went after it! The other cars were moving away. I guess they saw how banged up the front of my car was. I chased it for few blocks. But when we got onto Brazos St., with all that construction going on and traffic reduced to one lane, the truck was able to sneak between other cars and take a turn before I could see where it left afterwards. I lost them!
I drove back to the parking garage where I would normally park. Just then I realized that the car was smoking. As I put it into parking gear, it made a really loud revving noise, so I quickly turned it off. I couldn't open the door on my side, so I went out on the passenger side. There was some fluid leaking. Later I found out it was radiator coolant. That's why it was smoking.
The next few hours were somewhat a blur. I went to Mass - I figured that'll give me time to compose and there will be people there who could give me some help. It was first week of Advent, the first Mass with the new translation of English missal, and I don't remember anything from it. When we all walked outside, I asked to borrow someone's phone to dial 911. That was a conversation starter! It took the police about 45 minutes to arrive. I the meantime, I called the insurance, but we got disconnected. Only two friends, Joe and Raul, stayed around until I finished with the cops. It was a super cold and windy day. The cop pretty much just took a look at the damage, took my statement, and said they see those hit-and-runs every day and "that is why he would never drive his personal vehicle in the city". And that's supposed to help us feel safe?!
I took all the things from the car out, went to lunch with the guys, and Raul later gave me a ride home. My head starting spinning from thinking what all needs to happen in the coming days. My brother had an interview tomorrow morning, so that was the first thing to figure out. A good friend, Amela, let me borrow her car for the day on Monday. Zoran made it to the interview, although a bit late because of the traffic. I made it back to the parking garage just before they called the towing company and begged them to let it stay for the day. They were reluctant because of the leaking, possibly hazardous fluids from the car. Applied for a car loan at my bank. Got in touch with the insurance adjuster and begged for an appraiser to come the same day. Went to three dealerships and started test driving some cars. Met with the appraiser, he declared the car totalled, found a tower that could remove the car first thing in the morning. Got the adjuster to arrange the rent-a-car. Picked it up, returned the borrowed car, got home and crashed.
This whole week was pretty stressful. Working and looking for a car on a tight timeline is no fun. But, it too shall pass. It could have been much worse. I did, after all, need a new car very soon.
Green Toyota Corolla CE. year 2000.
Here is a funny thing: as I signed the papers today to transfer the car title over to the insurance company, I realized that it was EXACTLY to the the day today 11 years ago that I bought the car. To. The. Day!
I'll fill you in on its last few days and how it all ended, but let me remember where we've been.
I bought the car few days before I graduated from college. I had just received the driver's licence couple of weeks earlier. I never owned a car before, and knew nothing about cars. Our lab technician Mike took me to few dealerships around Beaumont to help me find a car. All I knew was that I wanted "a small car that I can easily park, that has radio and power locks and windows". How innocent! :) I had just received a $2000 SWE scholarship, and I was able to dedicate just a quarter of that for down payment. And what fit in those parameters was this, almost new car back then, with about 11K miles on it.
We've had our moments. I drove to Austin just 3 days after I bought it, to hunt for an apartment. My first trip longer than 3 hours. I was a bit weary about the drive, so I took a friend with me. On our way back, just 15 minutes before we arrived, I hit a pothole and blew a tire. Neither of us knew anything about changing tires, didn't even know I had a spare tire and tools in the trunk :), so we stopped someone on I10 to change it for us. I took it to the dealership later and they agreed to put on a new tire. About a month later I went with the family to San Antonio. On our way back, in the middle of nowhere, at night, that same tire pealed off at 70 mph, slamming into and breaking the components under the hood and twisting the side metal. It was really scary! I managed to pull over safely. We pulled over a trucker who took me to a gas station to call the police. We waited for the patrol car to came and drove with them back to the highway where my car was. They helped me patch it together with some bungee cords and roll gauze (!), change the tire, gather parts left behind, and then we drove at 30 mph back to Austin. After some convincing, the dealership agreed to pay for the repair. Some $2400! And of course, can't forget the lasting impact the hail storm of March 25th 2005 (a date reserved for hail) left. It was another $4500 damage, a nice check that went toward the closing cost of the house.
The car was slowly accumulating issues after that. I only fixed safety issues, like the engine mount (although the brakes have been in a pretty bad shape lately) and those that prevented it from passing the state inspection. But there was a long list of other issues that was just getting longer:
- windshield got a crack years ago, from a fast driving police car skidding on some rocks. The crack only got longer with years, reaching over to the driver's side.
- driver door handle broke couple of years ago. I just replace it with the one on the back door. That one was now almost at a breaking point.
- windshield wipers' pump broke. I could no longer spray water when using wipers, which caused terrible smudges unless using them in pouring rain.
- The left blinker would sometimes 'stick' and not come on when switched.
- The engine would sometimes stutter when starting, and sometimes shut off. Luckily this was only when starting.
- Wheel alignment was long overdue.
- The brakes...there were days when I didn't think the car will stop at the sign!
- I lost two wheel covers when I drove close to a curb.
- The steering wheel was chafing. Very annoying while driving.
- Floor carpet had holes.
- few months ago my brother locked keys inside, and the guys fishing them out damaged the rubber on the doors, so the car whistled at high speeds.
- Not to even mention the dings from hail and other unknown cars.
- overdue for maintenance by few thousand miles.
- overdue for oil change by few hundred miles.
But, last Sunday it has met its last damage. I was driving to church, mid day, downtown. As I was approaching the light on 10th and San Jacinto, in a left-turn-only lane a vehicle was sitting at the green light. There were no lights on it. I thought for a second if I should go around it or approach behind. I did the later. I guess I thought they are probably a bit slow to react to the light. At about 3-4 ft behind it, still no lights indicating what it's going to do next, the car went full force backwards! I had a split second to decide if I should a)honk, b)switch to reverse, or c) brace for impact. I didn't have time to process that, so I did c). I think I actually did switch in reverse, but I was still holding my foot on the brake. My body did that motion that the dummy dolls in car safety testing commercials do, with head flying forward and body twisting. The air begs didn't deploy, and my body didn't hit any part of the car. As I raised my head up, I saw the hood half way up, and then the car, the black truck in front of me, taking off. I remember seeing their lights for the first time then. I think I saw the last four digits on the licence plates: 9333. It was the new style plates, with 7 alpha-numerics. But I didn't get what kind of truck it was. So...I just took after it! That was my first instinct. I mean, what else was I supposed to do!
I couldn't quite see well in front of me with that hood up. The truck drove really fast. Taking turns into one-way streets. The wrong way! I went after it! The other cars were moving away. I guess they saw how banged up the front of my car was. I chased it for few blocks. But when we got onto Brazos St., with all that construction going on and traffic reduced to one lane, the truck was able to sneak between other cars and take a turn before I could see where it left afterwards. I lost them!
I drove back to the parking garage where I would normally park. Just then I realized that the car was smoking. As I put it into parking gear, it made a really loud revving noise, so I quickly turned it off. I couldn't open the door on my side, so I went out on the passenger side. There was some fluid leaking. Later I found out it was radiator coolant. That's why it was smoking.
The next few hours were somewhat a blur. I went to Mass - I figured that'll give me time to compose and there will be people there who could give me some help. It was first week of Advent, the first Mass with the new translation of English missal, and I don't remember anything from it. When we all walked outside, I asked to borrow someone's phone to dial 911. That was a conversation starter! It took the police about 45 minutes to arrive. I the meantime, I called the insurance, but we got disconnected. Only two friends, Joe and Raul, stayed around until I finished with the cops. It was a super cold and windy day. The cop pretty much just took a look at the damage, took my statement, and said they see those hit-and-runs every day and "that is why he would never drive his personal vehicle in the city". And that's supposed to help us feel safe?!
I took all the things from the car out, went to lunch with the guys, and Raul later gave me a ride home. My head starting spinning from thinking what all needs to happen in the coming days. My brother had an interview tomorrow morning, so that was the first thing to figure out. A good friend, Amela, let me borrow her car for the day on Monday. Zoran made it to the interview, although a bit late because of the traffic. I made it back to the parking garage just before they called the towing company and begged them to let it stay for the day. They were reluctant because of the leaking, possibly hazardous fluids from the car. Applied for a car loan at my bank. Got in touch with the insurance adjuster and begged for an appraiser to come the same day. Went to three dealerships and started test driving some cars. Met with the appraiser, he declared the car totalled, found a tower that could remove the car first thing in the morning. Got the adjuster to arrange the rent-a-car. Picked it up, returned the borrowed car, got home and crashed.
This whole week was pretty stressful. Working and looking for a car on a tight timeline is no fun. But, it too shall pass. It could have been much worse. I did, after all, need a new car very soon.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Goble, Goble, Goble!
Oh, long weekends. How I love thee!
My company gives us 4 days off for Thanksgiving. Plus, since many people took the whole week off, the work was pretty slow. But I started my holiday plans on weekend before.
My girl friends J., M., and T. and I planned to have a little Thanksgiving meal that previous Sunday. We wanted to make the meal together, and since I happen to have the most space in the kitchen, I offered to have it at my place. Some girls were doubtful that we can pull it off and suggested we at least get a pre-cooked turkey, but I challenged them. Since all four of us are single, I thought it would be a good opportunity to cook this meal just for us, and practice for when one day we need to cook it for a larger family.
I got us an organic 13lb turkey from Costco, large enough so that we all would have some leftovers. I figured it would harder to mess up a turkey that is better meat from the start. It was nice to shop the whole week before Thanksgiving, as it was not so crowded. Last year I made a big meal with my brother and sister-in-law, but she was the one who pretty much made the turkey by herself and Zoran brined it for a day before. So I decided to follow a similar recipe.
I found some brining recipes on-line, and Zoran found one in his cooking book. The brine helps keep the meat moist and flavorful. It took some 5 hours to thaw the turkey, and even then I had a hard time removing the neck that was still frozen to the body. The brine used 1 cup of salt, 2 cups of sugar, and 4-5 different spices. I used Zoran's large cheese-making pot and left the bird in the fridge for about 20 hours. then I washed it, filled with some onions, garlic, celery and carrots, brushed with butter, and placed it barest-side down in a roasting pan (that I got on great sale at World Market for $3.99!) with just a little bit of water on the bottom. After about 2 hours I flipped it upside down and continued brushing with pan drippings for another couple of hours. The result: A full pan of awesomeness!
We also made green beans, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, salad, rolls, and pumpkin pie. Now, what more can one ask for!
The actual Thanksgiving day was super slow at our house. We dragged our behinds until noon, which is when my brother decided he'll make crapes for breakfast. We finally ate around 2 pm, and of course weren't thinking about another meal until later in the evening. I also wanted us to go for a walk while it was still day light outside, but since we were slow to react that day, we didn't start making plans till 7pm.
I had this idea to try a black Friday shopping for a new digital camera. Walmart started their sale at midnight Thursday evening, so I figured I'll just got there around 11.30, pick up that one item and be at the counter at midnight when the sale prices begin. How naive of me.
Zoran and first tried Domain for a place to walk, but it was ghostly empty. No cars, no people, all stores closed...I've never seen it like that. Then we drove downtown, and it was the same deal. Barely any cars on south Congress. We saw only one open restaurant. It was quite erie actually, like an epidemic plagued the city. We then went up to Hide Park area, sat at one open desert place until 11.20, and then headed back up north to a walmart closest to the house.
As soon as we got off the highway, near where several retail stores were, the traffic picked up. The Walmart parking lot was completely packed, and people walked toward it from nearby parking lots. Inside, a mayhem. Just like the empty Domain, I've never seen a store this full. C-ra-zy! Lines everywhere, crowds, and tension. My brother immediately said he didn't want to stay there and wanted home. I wasn't happy with it, having to leave now that we were already there, but I realized it would be best for the both of us. Once dropping him off, I left the house around 12.05 and went to a different Walmart. I think the demographics of people at that store was different, as they seemed to behaved more orderly. Plus, the store seemed a bit less crowded, and the midnight sale time already started so the lines were moving.
My entire trip was about 1 hour. Which really wasn't that bad considering how some people sat in front of Best Buys for hours before they could get in. I waited about 10 minutes for a guy to find keys to camera cabinets, another 5 for him to help undecided teenagers, another 10 min for a resolution of some transaction problems for a lady at the head of our otherwise really short line, and some more resolving my own issue where the cashier took some convincing that my camera is the one on sale.
The result: I got this 16.1-megapixel digital camera with 10X optical zoom for $129. A pretty sweet deal! It's a great replacement to my old Kodak that broke on the Adriatic coast. If I had to do it again, I think I'd only do it this way; come on the evening to a store that's open 24/7 so I wouldn't have to stand in line outside.
Late night out meant sleeping in on Friday and another slow day when I could play with my new blue shiny toy!
My company gives us 4 days off for Thanksgiving. Plus, since many people took the whole week off, the work was pretty slow. But I started my holiday plans on weekend before.
My girl friends J., M., and T. and I planned to have a little Thanksgiving meal that previous Sunday. We wanted to make the meal together, and since I happen to have the most space in the kitchen, I offered to have it at my place. Some girls were doubtful that we can pull it off and suggested we at least get a pre-cooked turkey, but I challenged them. Since all four of us are single, I thought it would be a good opportunity to cook this meal just for us, and practice for when one day we need to cook it for a larger family.
I got us an organic 13lb turkey from Costco, large enough so that we all would have some leftovers. I figured it would harder to mess up a turkey that is better meat from the start. It was nice to shop the whole week before Thanksgiving, as it was not so crowded. Last year I made a big meal with my brother and sister-in-law, but she was the one who pretty much made the turkey by herself and Zoran brined it for a day before. So I decided to follow a similar recipe.
I found some brining recipes on-line, and Zoran found one in his cooking book. The brine helps keep the meat moist and flavorful. It took some 5 hours to thaw the turkey, and even then I had a hard time removing the neck that was still frozen to the body. The brine used 1 cup of salt, 2 cups of sugar, and 4-5 different spices. I used Zoran's large cheese-making pot and left the bird in the fridge for about 20 hours. then I washed it, filled with some onions, garlic, celery and carrots, brushed with butter, and placed it barest-side down in a roasting pan (that I got on great sale at World Market for $3.99!) with just a little bit of water on the bottom. After about 2 hours I flipped it upside down and continued brushing with pan drippings for another couple of hours. The result: A full pan of awesomeness!
We also made green beans, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, salad, rolls, and pumpkin pie. Now, what more can one ask for!
The actual Thanksgiving day was super slow at our house. We dragged our behinds until noon, which is when my brother decided he'll make crapes for breakfast. We finally ate around 2 pm, and of course weren't thinking about another meal until later in the evening. I also wanted us to go for a walk while it was still day light outside, but since we were slow to react that day, we didn't start making plans till 7pm.
I had this idea to try a black Friday shopping for a new digital camera. Walmart started their sale at midnight Thursday evening, so I figured I'll just got there around 11.30, pick up that one item and be at the counter at midnight when the sale prices begin. How naive of me.
Zoran and first tried Domain for a place to walk, but it was ghostly empty. No cars, no people, all stores closed...I've never seen it like that. Then we drove downtown, and it was the same deal. Barely any cars on south Congress. We saw only one open restaurant. It was quite erie actually, like an epidemic plagued the city. We then went up to Hide Park area, sat at one open desert place until 11.20, and then headed back up north to a walmart closest to the house.
As soon as we got off the highway, near where several retail stores were, the traffic picked up. The Walmart parking lot was completely packed, and people walked toward it from nearby parking lots. Inside, a mayhem. Just like the empty Domain, I've never seen a store this full. C-ra-zy! Lines everywhere, crowds, and tension. My brother immediately said he didn't want to stay there and wanted home. I wasn't happy with it, having to leave now that we were already there, but I realized it would be best for the both of us. Once dropping him off, I left the house around 12.05 and went to a different Walmart. I think the demographics of people at that store was different, as they seemed to behaved more orderly. Plus, the store seemed a bit less crowded, and the midnight sale time already started so the lines were moving.
My entire trip was about 1 hour. Which really wasn't that bad considering how some people sat in front of Best Buys for hours before they could get in. I waited about 10 minutes for a guy to find keys to camera cabinets, another 5 for him to help undecided teenagers, another 10 min for a resolution of some transaction problems for a lady at the head of our otherwise really short line, and some more resolving my own issue where the cashier took some convincing that my camera is the one on sale.
The result: I got this 16.1-megapixel digital camera with 10X optical zoom for $129. A pretty sweet deal! It's a great replacement to my old Kodak that broke on the Adriatic coast. If I had to do it again, I think I'd only do it this way; come on the evening to a store that's open 24/7 so I wouldn't have to stand in line outside.
Late night out meant sleeping in on Friday and another slow day when I could play with my new blue shiny toy!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Pipes, Art, and Lederhosen
It was an eventful weekend around here. I like those.
It started on Friday when I had plumbers come in to install, replace, and fix some things. I've been wanting to replace the kitchen faucet for some time. It was a pain one that was installed when the house was built, and had separate knobs for cold and hot, which always annoyed me. Then some time ago the cold water started to come out with really low pressure and it was time to look for a new faucet.
About that time the garbage disposal just stopped working. It was an old Insinkerator Badger 1, all rusted inside. So now I had two things to look for. But every time I would see one of those in a store that I liked, I would hesitate to buy it because I didn't have the other picked, and I knew I wanted to replace them at the same time. And the cycle continued for about a year.
Well, couple of weeks ago Costco had this German design Hansgrohe faucet on sale for $200, which I knew was a really good price, and this was pretty close to the design I was going for. I had that moment of: "lets do it already!" and got it.
Next on the list was to look for a garbage disposal. I have done some research before and found that after Insinkerators the next recommended brand was WasteKing. Again I checked with Costco, and found this 1 HP Universal Mount on sale for $119. It was an acceptable price for me.
There were few other items I needed to get for this, like sink strainer for the other side of the kitchen sink, the hole cover, and parts for new outlet that I needed to install under the sink myself. (very proud of myself for that!) There were few other smaller tasks for the plumbers, like replacing stoppers on two bathroom sinks and backflow preventer on an outside faucet. They came on Friday morning, and it took two guys to do all that in just over 2 hours. I am so glad I didn't even attempt to deal with the disposer my self, because parts were so rusted then had to use a metal saw! Love the final result!
On Saturday morning I was expecting the garage door guys to come and install it, but he was running late so I decided to reschedule for next weekend. I had other plans for the afternoon. Zoran and I went to the East Austin Art Tour. He went last year with Emilia, and was telling me how interesting it was. They went on bikes then, but we decided to just drive, then walk an area, then drive again. I liked it better that way, since some parts are pretty far away. He was right, it was really an interesting experience. Totally not suburbs like. :) There were all sorts of mediums of art, and all sorts of styles. Some tangible works for everyday use, some visual representations of real world pleasant to look at, and some totally "out there" expression of an artist mind! Some where in warehouses and studios, and some in people's homes, where they opened all their rooms and even served some drinks and food! Totally different. We spent about 4 hours walking on-and-off, and the day was perfect for it. I kept wondering what is the demographics of all these people, what area of town to they live in, what percentage of them were artists themselves...because it all looked so different and I couldn't see anyone remotely familiar. That's east Austin!
Sunday morning I went with two dear friends of mine, Julie and Maggie to the Wurstfest in New Braunfels. It's a festival of all things German: food, beer, music, dances, and Lederhosen! I guess it's close to the Octoberfest in Germany. It was the last day of the festival and we arrived there just 30 minutes after they opened so it wasn't crowded at first. I had some yummy sausage with sauerkraut, paulaner oktoberfest beer, and cherry strudel. Yum! There was music and dancing in few different areas, some rides and games, so we walked around and then enjoyed our time next to the Comal river. Again, it was a gorgeous November day, low 80s, and it drew a large crowd out in few hours we were there. I am so glad we were able to make it to the festival before it ended. The last time I was there was 7 years ago! It was time to go again. :)
It started on Friday when I had plumbers come in to install, replace, and fix some things. I've been wanting to replace the kitchen faucet for some time. It was a pain one that was installed when the house was built, and had separate knobs for cold and hot, which always annoyed me. Then some time ago the cold water started to come out with really low pressure and it was time to look for a new faucet.
About that time the garbage disposal just stopped working. It was an old Insinkerator Badger 1, all rusted inside. So now I had two things to look for. But every time I would see one of those in a store that I liked, I would hesitate to buy it because I didn't have the other picked, and I knew I wanted to replace them at the same time. And the cycle continued for about a year.
Well, couple of weeks ago Costco had this German design Hansgrohe faucet on sale for $200, which I knew was a really good price, and this was pretty close to the design I was going for. I had that moment of: "lets do it already!" and got it.
Next on the list was to look for a garbage disposal. I have done some research before and found that after Insinkerators the next recommended brand was WasteKing. Again I checked with Costco, and found this 1 HP Universal Mount on sale for $119. It was an acceptable price for me.
There were few other items I needed to get for this, like sink strainer for the other side of the kitchen sink, the hole cover, and parts for new outlet that I needed to install under the sink myself. (very proud of myself for that!) There were few other smaller tasks for the plumbers, like replacing stoppers on two bathroom sinks and backflow preventer on an outside faucet. They came on Friday morning, and it took two guys to do all that in just over 2 hours. I am so glad I didn't even attempt to deal with the disposer my self, because parts were so rusted then had to use a metal saw! Love the final result!
On Saturday morning I was expecting the garage door guys to come and install it, but he was running late so I decided to reschedule for next weekend. I had other plans for the afternoon. Zoran and I went to the East Austin Art Tour. He went last year with Emilia, and was telling me how interesting it was. They went on bikes then, but we decided to just drive, then walk an area, then drive again. I liked it better that way, since some parts are pretty far away. He was right, it was really an interesting experience. Totally not suburbs like. :) There were all sorts of mediums of art, and all sorts of styles. Some tangible works for everyday use, some visual representations of real world pleasant to look at, and some totally "out there" expression of an artist mind! Some where in warehouses and studios, and some in people's homes, where they opened all their rooms and even served some drinks and food! Totally different. We spent about 4 hours walking on-and-off, and the day was perfect for it. I kept wondering what is the demographics of all these people, what area of town to they live in, what percentage of them were artists themselves...because it all looked so different and I couldn't see anyone remotely familiar. That's east Austin!
Sunday morning I went with two dear friends of mine, Julie and Maggie to the Wurstfest in New Braunfels. It's a festival of all things German: food, beer, music, dances, and Lederhosen! I guess it's close to the Octoberfest in Germany. It was the last day of the festival and we arrived there just 30 minutes after they opened so it wasn't crowded at first. I had some yummy sausage with sauerkraut, paulaner oktoberfest beer, and cherry strudel. Yum! There was music and dancing in few different areas, some rides and games, so we walked around and then enjoyed our time next to the Comal river. Again, it was a gorgeous November day, low 80s, and it drew a large crowd out in few hours we were there. I am so glad we were able to make it to the festival before it ended. The last time I was there was 7 years ago! It was time to go again. :)
Friday, October 21, 2011
Camping at Garner State Park
Last weekend I had an amazingly great time camping.
Here are some photos.
Four of us were from Austin. The Zadrozna sisters got all the food, and I met them after work to help make the sandwiches for that evening. After (over)loading the suv, we were on the road around 4.30 pm. Not a good time to leave on a Friday. The traffic was pretty bad coming out of Austin, and we hit the slowdowns in San Antonio, too. But, it was fine. It was nice company, and it gave us time to unwind from the work week. Well, at least for us who were not driving. :) We even prayed the rosary, in 4 different language. We were that kind of group.
We arrived to the camp site close to 8 pm. Another group of 5 from San Antonio, and one lady from Corpus Christi met us there. The guys quickly set up four tents, while the girls gathered some wood and setup up the "food table".
This trip was originally supposed to be to Mustang Island camp grounds, but just a few days earlier we had to change the plans because of the red tide problems on the beach. I was disappointed because the beach camp allowed the camp fires while most of Texas was under fire ban. But, to our great surprise, the Garner park lifted the ban just recently. So, we were able to have the camp fire, the center of every camp trip evening! So, after we all settled in, we lit the fire (with some challenges) and set around it. I only knew the Austin folks, so it was nice to start getting to know the rest of the group. There were 4 guys and 6 gals, within 10-year age range. After dinner, the before-mentioned sandwiches, we started playing games, catch-phrase. It was so much fun! We got so much into it, that until someone yelled (we assume at us) we didn't notice that we were the only ones making. quite a bit of, noise after midnight! It was time to call it a night.
The night was quite chilly. Low 50s, if even. The guys forgot to put the rain tarp, so all the moisture, and cold air, were freely flowing into the tent. I kept adding the layers on me during the night, and was still constantly cold. And barely got any sleep on the hard ground. So, it wasn't hard to get up when I wasn't really asleep. This campsite was really nice. We had electricity and water, and there were bathrooms, even showers, with hot water! Nice.
For breakfast - egg and bacon tacos. With grilled tortillas on an electric grill! This was certainly not a primitive camping. Once we were all awake and fed, the guys led us in daily prayers. And not just lets recite some prayers. No, this was lets take our Bibles, liturgy of the hours, and Magnificats out type of prayers. We went around the circle to read daily reading, and then had a discussion on them! How awesome is that! A mini bible study right there. Loved it!
By 11am we were ready for some hiking. The park is beautiful. Our side was just bellow a hill, so we went up. And up we went! Some of those trails were really steep. I just kept thinking I was glad we were going down on those most steep ones. Several people in that group were avid runners/body builders, so I had some trouble keeping up with them. Someone then suggested we pray the rosary while we walk. Um, really, while we walk people? Again, I was glad we were almost at the top, which meant it will get easier soon. This time we prayed in 5 languages, one for each decade: Spanish, Polish, Bosnian, Filipino, and English. Perfect combination of people for that number.
When we got back to the camp after two ours, I could hardly wait to lay down. But, we first made hamburgers for lunch, which took a while with charcoal. But we all needed that boost of energy. Then we all got our bags out on the grass and had a nap. The weather was just perfect that weekend! Actually, everything about that weekend was perfect.
After that good rest, few of us headed to the other side of the park, where the river was. Yes, even though we didn't go to the beach, we got to swim on the trip! In Frio River. It was supposed to be called (frio) but it was just fine. No colder than the Adriatic Sea. And oh so clean! It had all rocky bottom, so you could see all the way down. Fantastic. It was such a fun time.
After HOT showers, we gathered for dinner. On the menu, pasta with spinach-parmesan dip as sauce, and grilled chicken legs. Grilled on our camp fire. Another treat from the camp fire - s'mores! Gotta have the s'mores. That was yet another highlight of the trip. Oh, and here is another one: karaoke and dancing! These guys thought of everything! They brought the karaoke machine on a camp trip. Yup, nothing primitive about this site. The guys started amusing us with their singing, but since others were not taking their turns, they just started dancing with us. Salsa, swing, waltz, two step,...all that right on our camp grounds. Loved it!
That was such a great group of people. We didn't want to rush leaving the last day, so we pretended it's not gonna happen for the entire Sunday morning. The guys went on another hike early in the morning, and the girls prepared omelets for breakfast. And then, like we really have the entire day, we walked again over to the river side of the camp, where some of use played some volleyball. Then those who didn't get to get in the water the day before decided we all should get in, even if we didn't have the swim suits on. There was some tag-o-war, some girls lost and got wet, some won and stayed in the shade (me!). All fun.
We finally started tearing down the camp site around 2 and were on the road just after 3pm. This time it took us much faster to get back home, about 3 hours with little speeding. :)
Such fun memories of this trip. So glad I went. We should do it again. Soon!
fter two hours
Here are some photos.
Four of us were from Austin. The Zadrozna sisters got all the food, and I met them after work to help make the sandwiches for that evening. After (over)loading the suv, we were on the road around 4.30 pm. Not a good time to leave on a Friday. The traffic was pretty bad coming out of Austin, and we hit the slowdowns in San Antonio, too. But, it was fine. It was nice company, and it gave us time to unwind from the work week. Well, at least for us who were not driving. :) We even prayed the rosary, in 4 different language. We were that kind of group.
We arrived to the camp site close to 8 pm. Another group of 5 from San Antonio, and one lady from Corpus Christi met us there. The guys quickly set up four tents, while the girls gathered some wood and setup up the "food table".
This trip was originally supposed to be to Mustang Island camp grounds, but just a few days earlier we had to change the plans because of the red tide problems on the beach. I was disappointed because the beach camp allowed the camp fires while most of Texas was under fire ban. But, to our great surprise, the Garner park lifted the ban just recently. So, we were able to have the camp fire, the center of every camp trip evening! So, after we all settled in, we lit the fire (with some challenges) and set around it. I only knew the Austin folks, so it was nice to start getting to know the rest of the group. There were 4 guys and 6 gals, within 10-year age range. After dinner, the before-mentioned sandwiches, we started playing games, catch-phrase. It was so much fun! We got so much into it, that until someone yelled (we assume at us) we didn't notice that we were the only ones making. quite a bit of, noise after midnight! It was time to call it a night.
The night was quite chilly. Low 50s, if even. The guys forgot to put the rain tarp, so all the moisture, and cold air, were freely flowing into the tent. I kept adding the layers on me during the night, and was still constantly cold. And barely got any sleep on the hard ground. So, it wasn't hard to get up when I wasn't really asleep. This campsite was really nice. We had electricity and water, and there were bathrooms, even showers, with hot water! Nice.
For breakfast - egg and bacon tacos. With grilled tortillas on an electric grill! This was certainly not a primitive camping. Once we were all awake and fed, the guys led us in daily prayers. And not just lets recite some prayers. No, this was lets take our Bibles, liturgy of the hours, and Magnificats out type of prayers. We went around the circle to read daily reading, and then had a discussion on them! How awesome is that! A mini bible study right there. Loved it!
By 11am we were ready for some hiking. The park is beautiful. Our side was just bellow a hill, so we went up. And up we went! Some of those trails were really steep. I just kept thinking I was glad we were going down on those most steep ones. Several people in that group were avid runners/body builders, so I had some trouble keeping up with them. Someone then suggested we pray the rosary while we walk. Um, really, while we walk people? Again, I was glad we were almost at the top, which meant it will get easier soon. This time we prayed in 5 languages, one for each decade: Spanish, Polish, Bosnian, Filipino, and English. Perfect combination of people for that number.
When we got back to the camp after two ours, I could hardly wait to lay down. But, we first made hamburgers for lunch, which took a while with charcoal. But we all needed that boost of energy. Then we all got our bags out on the grass and had a nap. The weather was just perfect that weekend! Actually, everything about that weekend was perfect.
After that good rest, few of us headed to the other side of the park, where the river was. Yes, even though we didn't go to the beach, we got to swim on the trip! In Frio River. It was supposed to be called (frio) but it was just fine. No colder than the Adriatic Sea. And oh so clean! It had all rocky bottom, so you could see all the way down. Fantastic. It was such a fun time.
After HOT showers, we gathered for dinner. On the menu, pasta with spinach-parmesan dip as sauce, and grilled chicken legs. Grilled on our camp fire. Another treat from the camp fire - s'mores! Gotta have the s'mores. That was yet another highlight of the trip. Oh, and here is another one: karaoke and dancing! These guys thought of everything! They brought the karaoke machine on a camp trip. Yup, nothing primitive about this site. The guys started amusing us with their singing, but since others were not taking their turns, they just started dancing with us. Salsa, swing, waltz, two step,...all that right on our camp grounds. Loved it!
That was such a great group of people. We didn't want to rush leaving the last day, so we pretended it's not gonna happen for the entire Sunday morning. The guys went on another hike early in the morning, and the girls prepared omelets for breakfast. And then, like we really have the entire day, we walked again over to the river side of the camp, where some of use played some volleyball. Then those who didn't get to get in the water the day before decided we all should get in, even if we didn't have the swim suits on. There was some tag-o-war, some girls lost and got wet, some won and stayed in the shade (me!). All fun.
We finally started tearing down the camp site around 2 and were on the road just after 3pm. This time it took us much faster to get back home, about 3 hours with little speeding. :)
Such fun memories of this trip. So glad I went. We should do it again. Soon!
fter two hours
Monday, July 11, 2011
Day Trip To Brenham
This Saturday I went with few friends to Brenham. Now, there is not much going on in Brenham. It's a small town on HW 290, halfway to Houston, with population of just 13,507 (2000 Census).
But we managed to have a good time.
First, I loved it that we didn't have to leave early. We met at noon, so I was able to have an easy Saturday morning.
The main purpose of the trip was a winery tour and tasting that couple of people in the group won at an auction. It was for Pleasant Hill winery, which is a fairly small operation. The owner, Bob Cottle, gave us the tour of the vineyard, explained the soil, differences in grapes, and the history as we sipped chilled vino blanco under the blazing hot sun. There was just a little breeze in the air, and I managed to get sunburn in just those 15ish minutes.
The tour continued in the cellar, a 64F COOL cellar! Oh, yeah! No one rushed to get out of there! We tasted their Cabernet Sauvignon directly from the barrel and heard ins-and-outs of wine making. The entire tour took almost 1.5 hours and we hang around there until about 4 PM.
Next we went to see miniature horses! There were Franciscan Poor Clare Nuns who had a monastery until just a month ago. Now I think there is another order there and the horses are being sold. They were so cute! We fed them and pet them, and took lots of pictures.
The gps was not helping us find one place for dinner someone has recommended to us. I guess Brenham is changing faster than gps can catch up. So, we ended up at K-Bob's Steakhouse, which was just as good!
Good times!
But we managed to have a good time.
First, I loved it that we didn't have to leave early. We met at noon, so I was able to have an easy Saturday morning.
The main purpose of the trip was a winery tour and tasting that couple of people in the group won at an auction. It was for Pleasant Hill winery, which is a fairly small operation. The owner, Bob Cottle, gave us the tour of the vineyard, explained the soil, differences in grapes, and the history as we sipped chilled vino blanco under the blazing hot sun. There was just a little breeze in the air, and I managed to get sunburn in just those 15ish minutes.
The tour continued in the cellar, a 64F COOL cellar! Oh, yeah! No one rushed to get out of there! We tasted their Cabernet Sauvignon directly from the barrel and heard ins-and-outs of wine making. The entire tour took almost 1.5 hours and we hang around there until about 4 PM.
Next we went to see miniature horses! There were Franciscan Poor Clare Nuns who had a monastery until just a month ago. Now I think there is another order there and the horses are being sold. They were so cute! We fed them and pet them, and took lots of pictures.
The gps was not helping us find one place for dinner someone has recommended to us. I guess Brenham is changing faster than gps can catch up. So, we ended up at K-Bob's Steakhouse, which was just as good!
Good times!
Monday, May 30, 2011
3-Day Weekend
It has been a great Memorial Day weekend. If it was up to be, we would have these long weekends at least once a month.
It started on Friday evening when I met with my friend Norma and 3 nine-year-olds at their local pool after work. Even though the temperatures during the day are already hitting triple digits, the evenings are still comfortable, especially in the shade. We had a nice time relaxing and catching up.
Saturday I spent preparing for the party that evening; some yard work, cleaning the house, and cooking. My next door neighbour finished repairing my side of the fence, which was really nice of him, so I brought them some cake. The game night was a success. Some long-time and some new friends came, and we had a good gender mix. My friend Paul, a musician, even brought his guitar and played few of his songs for us. We also tried our skills at playing the didgeridoo. I felt relaxed in the hostess role, which was not always the case before, and everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves.
After Mass on Sunday, I visited with my brother and sister-in-law. We shared a meal, and Indian dish, had coffee, and shared stories from my Ireland trip, Emilia's visit with her family, and Zoran's job search. While they went grocery shopping, I took a nice nap, something that I rarely do, maybe once a year. I guess all that partying has gotten to me. :) It gave me extra boost to then do the laundry in the evening.
I was so looking forward to having that one extra day. It was a day for relaxing and doing some little things that I don't usually get to do on the weekends. I cleaned up the wood planks left ofter from the fence repairing, cooked dinner, and then went for a nice stroll in the Domain with my friend Norma. again, the evenings are comfortable to be outside, so we really enjoyed it.
A lovely weekend. Thank you all veterans who made it possible for us to celebrate this day.
It started on Friday evening when I met with my friend Norma and 3 nine-year-olds at their local pool after work. Even though the temperatures during the day are already hitting triple digits, the evenings are still comfortable, especially in the shade. We had a nice time relaxing and catching up.
Saturday I spent preparing for the party that evening; some yard work, cleaning the house, and cooking. My next door neighbour finished repairing my side of the fence, which was really nice of him, so I brought them some cake. The game night was a success. Some long-time and some new friends came, and we had a good gender mix. My friend Paul, a musician, even brought his guitar and played few of his songs for us. We also tried our skills at playing the didgeridoo. I felt relaxed in the hostess role, which was not always the case before, and everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves.After Mass on Sunday, I visited with my brother and sister-in-law. We shared a meal, and Indian dish, had coffee, and shared stories from my Ireland trip, Emilia's visit with her family, and Zoran's job search. While they went grocery shopping, I took a nice nap, something that I rarely do, maybe once a year. I guess all that partying has gotten to me. :) It gave me extra boost to then do the laundry in the evening.
I was so looking forward to having that one extra day. It was a day for relaxing and doing some little things that I don't usually get to do on the weekends. I cleaned up the wood planks left ofter from the fence repairing, cooked dinner, and then went for a nice stroll in the Domain with my friend Norma. again, the evenings are comfortable to be outside, so we really enjoyed it.
A lovely weekend. Thank you all veterans who made it possible for us to celebrate this day.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
B-Day
Last weekend I celebrated my birthday. And it was a good one.
It first started when my friend Norma came over with little Juan the night before, and brought dinner and birthday balloons! She gave me three options, and I choose Serranos fajitas. She wanted to come over, as opposed to go out, so I could show them my Uganda photos. We enjoyed our visit very much.
On the morning of my birthday, my brother surprised me we with a bouquet of yellow lilies! When I got up, they were already in the vase on the dinning table. It was a very dear and touching surprise. My little brother. I love you! :)
That day was the last day for one of our coworkers in the group, so we all went out to lunch to Rudy's, for him. I usually don't meet people for lunches, because I can't eat real, full meals that early, but that day I went. I know it was for him, but it felt just a little bit like we are going out for my birthday. :)
And then in the evening I met with some amazing women, that I am privileged to call my friends, at a french restaurant Chez Nous downtown. I had to chuckle when even though I was late 15 minutes to pick up Kim, as we were going to drive together, we arrived at the restaurant right on time, with NO rush-hour traffic. AND there was a parking spot RIGHT in front of the restaurant. Just for me. Just for my birthday!
I've been wanting to try their crepes for a long time, but it turns out that for dinner they only serve one type, and it's for desert. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the meal, and had just a fabulous time with my friends! Thank you ladies for celebrating with me.
It first started when my friend Norma came over with little Juan the night before, and brought dinner and birthday balloons! She gave me three options, and I choose Serranos fajitas. She wanted to come over, as opposed to go out, so I could show them my Uganda photos. We enjoyed our visit very much.On the morning of my birthday, my brother surprised me we with a bouquet of yellow lilies! When I got up, they were already in the vase on the dinning table. It was a very dear and touching surprise. My little brother. I love you! :)
That day was the last day for one of our coworkers in the group, so we all went out to lunch to Rudy's, for him. I usually don't meet people for lunches, because I can't eat real, full meals that early, but that day I went. I know it was for him, but it felt just a little bit like we are going out for my birthday. :)
And then in the evening I met with some amazing women, that I am privileged to call my friends, at a french restaurant Chez Nous downtown. I had to chuckle when even though I was late 15 minutes to pick up Kim, as we were going to drive together, we arrived at the restaurant right on time, with NO rush-hour traffic. AND there was a parking spot RIGHT in front of the restaurant. Just for me. Just for my birthday!I've been wanting to try their crepes for a long time, but it turns out that for dinner they only serve one type, and it's for desert. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the meal, and had just a fabulous time with my friends! Thank you ladies for celebrating with me.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Fourth on the Beach
Long weekends are wonderful.
Spending them with amazing friends is such a blessing.
My friends Amber and Cristine, and I went to the beach this weekend. I wasn't sure if I should go because the weather didn't look to be promising. Hurricane Alex has brought several rainy days to Austin, and I figured closer to the coast it would be even more soggy. But I am so glad I went because we didn't have a drop of rain for three days.
Saturday we spent at Amber's grandparents' lake house on Corpus Christi Lake in Mathis. We spent the afternoon on the pier, relaxing, playing games, chatting, and swimming. The water was perfect, and there were just enough clouds to not make it too hot. The two of them tried out some fishing in the evening, while I read on the swing under the shade. After dinner, we giggled while lighting some sparkles and running around and "writing" in the air with them. We ended the night with a game of chicken foot dominoes.
Sunday morning we packed our stuff and loaded the car for the road. We first went to Mass at a local church that Amber's grandparents used to atend. It took us another 45 min to arrive to Corpus Christi in the early afternoon. I was already getting a headache from not having any caffeine that day, so we stopped at Starbucks on the way to lunch with Amber's cousin Eddie. After lunch we headed for the beach. The one on Mustang Island was full of sea weed, so we tried a few others until we found one in Port Aransas that was a tidbit cleaner, but packed with cars. It was still not so nice to be in the water because the weed was all around us. We enjoyed our time, nonetheless, walking on the beach and just relaxing. Since it was 4th of July, we wanted to see the fireworks in downtown Corpus, but didn't make there early enough to sit in the park. Instead, we just parked by the beach walk, ate our take out dinner there, while watching the fireworks with dozens of other onlookers. We stayed there on the steps of the beach until midnight doing what the girls do best: chatting.
Monday morning started early with Mass. Then we went to the city beach, which was completely free of sea weeds and with only few visitors. The water was also clean, and the only mishap was me getting stung on the arm by a jelly fish. Our two hours on the beach went by in no time, and it was time for us to head back to Austin. Our trip ended with Spirit & Truth, a fabulous ending to a great trip.
Thank you ladies for a glorious time!
Spending them with amazing friends is such a blessing.
My friends Amber and Cristine, and I went to the beach this weekend. I wasn't sure if I should go because the weather didn't look to be promising. Hurricane Alex has brought several rainy days to Austin, and I figured closer to the coast it would be even more soggy. But I am so glad I went because we didn't have a drop of rain for three days.
Saturday we spent at Amber's grandparents' lake house on Corpus Christi Lake in Mathis. We spent the afternoon on the pier, relaxing, playing games, chatting, and swimming. The water was perfect, and there were just enough clouds to not make it too hot. The two of them tried out some fishing in the evening, while I read on the swing under the shade. After dinner, we giggled while lighting some sparkles and running around and "writing" in the air with them. We ended the night with a game of chicken foot dominoes.
Sunday morning we packed our stuff and loaded the car for the road. We first went to Mass at a local church that Amber's grandparents used to atend. It took us another 45 min to arrive to Corpus Christi in the early afternoon. I was already getting a headache from not having any caffeine that day, so we stopped at Starbucks on the way to lunch with Amber's cousin Eddie. After lunch we headed for the beach. The one on Mustang Island was full of sea weed, so we tried a few others until we found one in Port Aransas that was a tidbit cleaner, but packed with cars. It was still not so nice to be in the water because the weed was all around us. We enjoyed our time, nonetheless, walking on the beach and just relaxing. Since it was 4th of July, we wanted to see the fireworks in downtown Corpus, but didn't make there early enough to sit in the park. Instead, we just parked by the beach walk, ate our take out dinner there, while watching the fireworks with dozens of other onlookers. We stayed there on the steps of the beach until midnight doing what the girls do best: chatting.
Monday morning started early with Mass. Then we went to the city beach, which was completely free of sea weeds and with only few visitors. The water was also clean, and the only mishap was me getting stung on the arm by a jelly fish. Our two hours on the beach went by in no time, and it was time for us to head back to Austin. Our trip ended with Spirit & Truth, a fabulous ending to a great trip.
Thank you ladies for a glorious time!
Monday, May 17, 2010
The Glass Duo
This weekend I went to the "Polish Harmonies: Chopin & Beyond" concert at the UT. The acclaimed Polish artists, Anna and Arkadiusz Szafraniec, the "Glass Duo", had their American performance debut. Glass Duo's instrument is the biggest glass harp in the world; its range covers nearly 5 octaves.
It was a truly unique experience.
It was a truly unique experience.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
15 Years
May 1st, fifteen years ago, I entered into a new life of being a Catholic Christian.
I was baptized, confirmed and received my first communion in a little, former shoe store, church in Sarajevo. It was during the war, and my life was transformed forever after just four months of first entering that building....(more maybe in another post)
This picture was taken on that day during a little celebration at a friend's appartment with whom I share the same Godmother. We still had plastic sheets on the windows (background).
Every year I try to remember this event in some way, but this year I decided to celebrate it a bit more.
I was originally hoping to have one of my priest friends, Fr. Harry, over for a house blessing and invite friends over to a party. But, since he was not available on that day, I only kept the party part of that plan.
During the day, I celebrated Mass at the St. Mary's cathedral. It also happened to be the feast of St. Joseph (the worker) that day, so it was even more festive. We also witnessed a very humble wedding during that Mass, which lasted no more than five minutes, which was an unusual addition.
In the evening, I had friends over for a "birthday" game party. Some mature and some newly formed friendships. It meant a lot to me to celebrate this day with all of you who helped me grow further over these years. Thank you for your company and your friendships!
I was baptized, confirmed and received my first communion in a little, former shoe store, church in Sarajevo. It was during the war, and my life was transformed forever after just four months of first entering that building....(more maybe in another post)This picture was taken on that day during a little celebration at a friend's appartment with whom I share the same Godmother. We still had plastic sheets on the windows (background).
Every year I try to remember this event in some way, but this year I decided to celebrate it a bit more.
I was originally hoping to have one of my priest friends, Fr. Harry, over for a house blessing and invite friends over to a party. But, since he was not available on that day, I only kept the party part of that plan.
During the day, I celebrated Mass at the St. Mary's cathedral. It also happened to be the feast of St. Joseph (the worker) that day, so it was even more festive. We also witnessed a very humble wedding during that Mass, which lasted no more than five minutes, which was an unusual addition.
In the evening, I had friends over for a "birthday" game party. Some mature and some newly formed friendships. It meant a lot to me to celebrate this day with all of you who helped me grow further over these years. Thank you for your company and your friendships!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Love Spring in Austin!
This time of year, the weather in Austin is just gorgeous. :) Mid 70s, low humidity, grass is green, trees are in full bloom, because of all the rain we've had, the creeks are full, and with the time change, the days area already long, even for evening walks.
I just love this time of year here! And am taking the full advantage of it. Aside from spending the time in my backyard, I like being adventurous and exploring the nature.
Last weekend, I went to the St. Edward's Park, with my dear friend Amber.
The weekend before, my brother and I hiked the Wild Basing Preserve Park.
Next weekend....another adventure, yet to be planned!.
I just love this time of year here! And am taking the full advantage of it. Aside from spending the time in my backyard, I like being adventurous and exploring the nature.
Last weekend, I went to the St. Edward's Park, with my dear friend Amber.The weekend before, my brother and I hiked the Wild Basing Preserve Park.Next weekend....another adventure, yet to be planned!.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Tish Leaving
Several friends gathered for Mass at St. William's Church to wish Tish best in her new life as nun.
Birthday Celebrations
Last week was my birthday. My friend Norma treated me to a dinner presentation at the Tokyo Steakhouse. It is a Japanese restaurant with Teppanyaki type of cooking where eight people are seated around an iron plate. The chef prepares the food right there in front of you, adding a showmanship aspect to it by tossing food in the air and making ceiling high flames. It seems that most groups had someone celebrating a birthday there, because the cooks would sing and drum some chanting happy birthday song around several tables. Each celebrant got a thin sliced birthday cake and and ice cream. Thank you Norma for this really neat experience.After the dinner I went swing dancing at the Fed, where the Austin Swing Syndicate organizes dances every Thursday night. I haven't been going during the summer because it has been extremely hot and the building is not well air conditioned. I had a fabulous time and didn't waste a single song without dancing. At 10.30 PM they always have a birthday dance for anyone celebrating that week and those people stand with a partner in the center of a circle. During a very long song other people from around the circle cut in and steel you for a half a minute dance with them. It is so much fun to be constantly dancing and having dance partners grab your hand from another. In the middle of the song, all the power went off and it was pitch dark because the heavy drapes don't let in any street light in. The blackout lasted maybe a minute and then another couple of minutes until the music continued, but few of us continued dancing even without the music! It was a fab time.
This Saturday, my friends Julie and Sharon treated me to a dinner at Bombay Bistro restaurant. Neither of us are big Indian food eaters, but the dishes we ordered were very yummy and not too spicy for me. We had a nice time visiting with each other and covering all sorts of topics as usually the girls can do. Julie and I afterwards went downtown to check out the Ginger Man pub at its new location. It is bigger than the old place, but has the same homey feel to it, "a coffee place without a coffee" as I called it, although some would not agree with me. It was a relaxing time chatting with my friend while people watching from the comfy couches and sipping a good beer.
Thank you girlfriends!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Rock Climbing
Last night I went for the first time rock climbing. My friend Lindsey invited me to a Lady's Night at North Austin Rock Gym. The day pass, lesson, shoe and harness rental all came out to be just $13.50.They first showed me how to climb with the harness, with another person on the ground loosening and tightening it. My arms were already hurting after just handling the rope for Lindsey, before I even started climbing! Then it was my turn, and I was able to make it to the top! Coming down was harder, and I wasn't comfortable sliding down the rope, so I just made my way down using the rocks.
Then our instructor came and the other girls gathered, about 6 of us.
We started from a simple wall and climbed without ropes. Each rock was marked with a color, orange being the easiest, and we followed the same color all the way to the top. I was actually able to make it to the top, two times, on that first wall. After that we moved to two other walls, each a bit harder, and I only made it half way. By the last wall my hands and arms were so stiff and sore I just couldn't pull myself up any more.I was proud of myself to try this new thing. Most people who were there seemed to really enjoy what they were doing, but I don't think this will be my thing. It requires a lot of muscle power, in the entire body, which I certainly don't have, and don't really have a desire for it, at least not right now. It does not really require much cardio endurance fitness, and I would rather work on that.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Wedding of Norma and Juan Gil
On Saturday, January 24th 2009, Norma and Juan Gill entered into the holly covenant of marriage. Congratulations, my dear friend. May the joy of this day remain in your hearts forever. You are a true example of what God can accomplish when you put your trust in Him.
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