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January 31, 2007 07:27 PM Whine  |   Link
American Capitalism

Starbucks in the middle of the Forbidden City
Krispy Kreme in Hong Kong

:)



January 29, 2007 06:10 PM Whine  |   Link
Grease & Childhood Memories

Last Sunday I tuned in(online with tv tuner card) to a new reality contestant type show to cast the next Sandy & Danny for a Broadway release of Grease. I was pretty much just knitting and needed some background noise since J was out and I had free reign to make noise in the house. As I was getting halfway through a row, I hear the name Chad Doreck. "Hey!" I thought out loud. "I know that name." I looked up to see who was on the screen. It was someone who looked familiar but not quite.

I went to a Catholic parochial school in Long Beach, CA in the late 80s. Chad's brother Stephen was in my class. I think the last time I saw Chad he was probably in the 2nd grade? Well it doesn't matter, but the next day went online to look up his profile and it sure did confirm that this was the same Chad I knew when he was a little kid. I can't believe he's all grown up now.



Books I've Read  |   Link
I Miss My Family

I just finished Po Bronson's latest book, "Why Do I Love These People?"

After reading each of the profiles of the families that Bronson shares, there were many aspects of my family that made me realize that living far is challenging without them. This really hit home when I read the author's epilogue. Up until my ectopic pregnancy last February, I never realized how much I missed my cousins on both my maternal and paternal sides. Even though I was far away, they all stepped up to give me a shoulder to cry on, and give me a room to share and just be. Their encouragement made me really think that even though we're scattered all over the place, they really mean it when they say they care and were there for me when needed. It touched me deeply.

In the recent past, I spent as much time as I could with my maternal side since I never really got to know them while growing up but the paternal side kind of went off the radar when I left home. I guess it was just that we grew up together that I wanted to just go out there and meet new people.

So now reading this book and spending a little more time with my cousins I know I miss them. This past Christmas it was more evident that I really like how everyone sticks together to really help each other out. A cousin-in-law even shared how many members of the clan helped him out while remodeling his office...or cousins gathering monthly just to shoot the breeze.

Asking for help is not a sign of weakness in a family. If anything everyone wants to help out in any way possible. Even though the G clan is not as wild and crazy(or at least not as much lately but I can't wait to see all of us in Maui) this past gathering but they definitely know how to show the love.

I can also feel this when I talk to my maternal cousins. I haven't seen 2 cousins in probably 10 years and they were just so excited to talk on the phone when I called last week. I'm looking forward to having them out here sometime this summer.

I guess all this time I wanted to go out and meet many interesting people and I forgot to come back to the family and rekindle relationships with interesting cousins.

So here's to all my G & T cousins, I MISS YOU ALL!!!!!



What I heard  |   Comments (0)  |   Link
Blossom Birth Resources

Wanted to share with friends and family a great resource here in the Palo Alto/Peninsula area for expectant mothers. They offer a wide variety of referrals, yoga for pregnant mothers, birthing classes, etc.

Blossom Birth Resource Center

It's my new volunteer gig as we try we begin a reorganization of their resource library of books, videos, and other resources both physical and digital. I'm looking forward to applying my organizing, library science, and web skills for a really great non-profit organization. I'm doing similar work to what I've done for Family Connections the past year so I'm really excited to start sharing those experiences.

If you have any slightly used fertility, pregnancy, post-partum books and maybe even some hand me down toddler books, feel free to contact me since the resource library is looking to expand!



January 28, 2007 03:43 PM What I heard  |   Link
Lots o' changes happen'

Well just found out another of J's cousin is getting married in May. We're pretty excited. And we were supposed to be at a baby shower but the baby showed up 5 weeks early. S. was born earlier this week at 4.5lbs. So much happening in one week for J's maternal side of the family.

So we have to add one more wedding to the list.



January 26, 2007 08:53 AM Whine  |   Link
Green Clothes?

Well I guess finally someone has stepped up to the plate to remind us that being good to the earth is not just about global warming and SUVs/car emissions but it could also mean all the fashions that end up in the landfills. I hope you take a moment to read about how throw away fashions are contributing to killing the earth. I think the biggest things that's difficult for me is drycleaning. I still have a few items that require drycleaning, but for the most part I hang dry many of our bulky items. I guess one thing I'm going to try this year is to loose weight(so I don't have to buy new clothes), and try to reduce the use of the dryer and not purchase items that require special washing care.

Can Polyester Save the World?(free reg required NYTimes)



Food & Wine  |   Link
Tea, comfort drink for the soul

Was reading an article about Bay Area tea places and will probably make a pilgrimage to these. I even want to return to Ray's Tea house since I ran out of some King's tea. I'm glad somebody has an appreciation for tea and it's great to see all the listings.

Tea's time
Bay Area artisan teahouses offer tastes to rival the complexity of fine wine

Another place not listed in a tea house in downtown Palo Alto called Neotte. It's more like a second office for most people since everyone's got their laptops open and plugged in, they also have free wifi. Very limited on snacks but the selection of tea is pretty amazing. They offer tea tastings and can do more traditional tea servings I think by appointment.



January 22, 2007 11:04 AM Information Architecture  |   Link
IA Summit 2007 or Bust

Please be sure to attend our (along with Margaret Hanley, Tom Coates and Matt Biddulph) panel "Real information architecture – new mighty deeds" sometime Sunday. It's been a 3 year hiatus for me, but it will be great to be in Vegas hanging out with friends & colleagues and learning from everyone.



January 15, 2007 09:35 AM What I heard  |   Link
Wedding Shoes

These have to be the coolest looking and most comfy wedding shoes.



Travel  |   Link
Flu vs. the OC

Went down for an ICS reunion but was battling a cold that turned into a sever cold/flu-like over the weekend. I lost my voice on Sunday and had a "great" time teaching a workshop on financial planning to my brothers. 3 hours was definitely not enough but it was a great start. I'm seriously considering getting my CFP and teaching workshops for high school/college students. It's falls along the lines of helping people empower themselves and making a difference in the world.

I got this super cool t-shirt from my cousin.

Also courtesy of my cousin K, she was wearing these shoes that were absolutely cute and they looked super comfy.

I think I want my own pair of these shoes. I wonder if they have something in orange or green.

Restaurant reviews to follow at MetaFooder
Pacific Whey Cafe & Bakery, Newport Beach
Shake Shack, Newport Beach(as featured in one of Rachel Ray's cooking shows)
Aire Restaurant, Costa Mesa



January 10, 2007 01:59 PM   |   Link
First an Action Figure...

Now a board game, Liebrary.



Whine  |   Link
Halfway there..

So J just turned in GSB apps today. He's printing out his receipt as I type. I'm halfway on my knitting project too but battling a really bad right now. Argh! I doubt I'll be able to celebrate.



January 08, 2007 07:29 PM What I heard  |   Link
Lots o' News from all our Family

1. One cousin having first baby sometime in March.
2. One cousin turning 40 in Hawaii with most of the G-Clan in April.
3. One cousin having first baby sometime in May.
4. One cousin getting married in July.
5. One cousin getting married in the fall(HK or NY?)
6. One cousin getting married in December.

Ok, can someone out there help me shop for these folks ;) No news on our front except that J is busy right now churning out essays for GSB by Wednesday. Oh and a panel I was invited to be on will be presenting in Vegas at the end of March. I'm pretty excited since it's been a while since I've been to the IA Summit.



Travel  |   Link
Job Posting for Friend

I have a friend who is currently hiring for sales positions in her fashion retail shop. The shops are totally amazing.

Leap & Petal Job Posting

Feel free to contact them directly!



January 06, 2007 08:01 PM Whine  |   Link
For the most part...

"Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense". - Gertrude Stein



January 04, 2007 04:20 PM Whine  |   Link
WSJ January 3, 2007

In the past few months I've been actively reading Wall Street Journal. I wouldn't subscribe to it on my own since I was already reading IBD, however there are some really good articles and editorials in there and it didn't hurt that we were getting it for free since J took Kaplan GMAT classes. Oh and we also get Rolling Stone magazine. Thinking about it, that's a strange combination.

Well yesterday there was a really interesting editorial/commentary type article regarding the state of public libraries. If you're a librarian I think you'd get alot about what the writer was trying to say. He had alot of good points and I can really envision the library still being relevant but taking interesting topics in a community and developing a forum for discussion with speakers talking about things that matter. Sort of like the Greek philosophers teaching forum but heavy on bringing communities together. Almost like a mash up of TED conferences and community activism. Yup the books are useful but the value is really the ideas and how people come together to share and improve on those ideas and ultimately take action on those ideas to improve the community. If librarians become equated to stockboys stocking books on the shelves which is what the writer mentioned then it's a pretty sad fate for librarianship as a profession. You think they don't get paid well today, it will be worse in the future.

Citation: 1/3/07 WSJ In the Fray: Should Libraries' Target Audience Be Cheapskates With Mass-Market Tastes?



Whine  |   Link
25% Done

Ok one school down...3 more to go. Upenn went off yesterday and Stanford GSB is next Thursday...then Cal, and Harvard...woah! I haven't seen J work so hard and so passionately for something. I'm super proud of where he is in his career path and super excited of where he wants to go next. I'm dreading living where there is snow...and this time it really is a 2 year stint. IL was really cold and I never thought I'd ever consider living in it again...but you know Ivy league schools are where the snow and cold weather is. And of course everyone wishes for us to stick around; We just hope J gets into any of the schools. As soon as we find out in April, we'll post here for sure so stay tuned!

As for me, 25% done with a knitting project. 2 first cousins will be having babies this year one in early March and another one in mid-May...so I'm knitting up a storm. If you're one of those cousins then you know you're getting something handmade and truly from my heart. Did I mention I was in a knitting craze for holiday gifts for my friend, sisters-in-law, my mom and a cousin. At one point I knitted for 5 hours stretch, which gave me a bad trip afterwards. I couldn't eat or drink, like I had a really bad hangover, a pounding headache and just couldn't stand reading or surfing the net. That had to be the worst trip I've ever had.

Mental note, pace holiday knitting projects throughout the year and not in 2 week marathon. Scope out sales and save up to buy in bulk! Also don't hesitate to mail me some yarn if you'd like me to make a scarf/baby blanket...will start learning how to make sweaters shortly.