Facials

After years of acne problems I have a very strict rule about not touching my face and not having anyone else touch my face --the oils from my hands being more detrimental than stress or any other acne causers. So to this end I have always avoided facials or make-up trials. Until today that is...

Today my boss took me for my first mini facial at Origins. I LOVED it! It's akin to leg massages when you leg pedicures or having your hair washed before getting it cut. It's incredibly relaxing! I think I missed most of what the facialist was telling me because I was enjoying the massage.

So as a new convert I would recommend that anyone get the free mini facial at Origins, it was a great experience and they don't pressure you to buy anything.

WAHOO Conjunctivitis

Ok so as bizarre as this sounds when I woke up this morning with red, crusty, swollen eyes; well after the initial "oh crap I have pink eye again" I really had a fantastic day. I spent a grand-total of 30 minutes at the doctor/pharmacist getting eye drops and then had a random Tuesday off because of the whole contagious factor. I'm not in pain, I'm not tired, and I really got so much done today! and all really pesky errands (going to the DMV, grocery shopping, etc) that I would have spent a portion of my weekend doing that now I don't have to. So as far as having a legitimate illness where you have to be out of work I really recommend conjunctivitis.

Smiling...

So I was at a bar this weekend celebrating a colleague's 30th birthday and I start having a nice but banal conversation with this guy (where we're from, what we do, etc) and then he makes the comment that I have heard oh so many times before in one form or another "You should smile more," "You'd be so pretty if you smiled more."

Guess what --I'm not a puppet, I'm not performing for you; I don't smile all day long. Want to see me smile --say something interesting, funny, or give me an honest compliment. But telling me I should smile more makes me want to slap you --and then maybe I'll smile about that.

I flew through the air...

more or less with the greatest of ease.

And now for the catalyst that actually prompted me to start this blog. On Friday, as a birthday gift from Lora and Joe, I took my first flying trapeze lesson on top of Pier 40 in Chelsea, NYC overlooking the Hudson river.

After seeing it on TV and serendipitously running into while taking a boat cruise out of Pier 40 I knew I wanted to give it a try. So thanks to Lora and Joe's generosity I got to fly on Friday for 2-hours.

So after a very brief demo on the ground, I climbed the 30 foot ladder, placed all 10 toes over the edge, grabbed the bar, and flew!

It was an amazing feeling! I just swung out and lost every thought in my head that wasn't "I'm flying!!!!". I came out of the euphoria to listen to the instructors commands below. The first few swings we focused on swinging out, getting your knees onto the bar, letting go to reach for the catch, hands back to the bar, legs down, and safely fall to the net. Once I got that down I learned a back-flip dismount and ended the session successfully completing two catches. It is both incredibly easy and incredibly hard but all I can think about is how much I want to do it again.

Check out my complete photo album at http://www.flickr.com/photos/40812182@N05/sets/72157621743392455/

Back-tracking: 25 candles

Saturday July 11 marked my 25th birthday.

While normally I get very introspective around my birthday (and this year was no exception) in the end instead of trying to plan out the next year of my life and agonizing over the past year I should instead be grateful for my amazing family and friends; step-out of my comfort box a bit more, and enjoy life as it comes.

All in all it was great day, spending the morning with family and the nighttime with friends. Pictures to come.

Back-tracking: 4th of July 2009

Back from Seattle and after a quick 2-day work week where I more or less caught up on everything from while I was away, it was the 4th of July.

After a lazy morning I headed out to friends, Brian & Carolyn's apartment for a backyard BBQ and rooftop fireworks show with friends. Brian and Carolyn made a great meat-eaters/vegetarian/vegan picnic. On their rooftop we enjoyed a tremendous, Turner-esque sunset and fireworks from Brooklyn, Manhattan, and all along the New Jersey skyline. Because it was such a clear night we could see fireworks all along the horizon.

Back-tracking: Seattle, WA June 26-30, 2009

I continue with the other highlights of my summer so far.

In late June I traveled with my friend (and soon to be roommate) Dayne to her hometown of Seattle, WA. This marks my first trip to the Pacific Northwest; and it will definitely not be my last.

Dayne's brother and sister-in law were kind enough to let me stay with them even though they were in the midst of a massive home-restoration project. My first day we took they ferry to Bainbridge island, while crossing the Puget Sound I was completely struck by the beauty of this city, how green and lush everything was. While on the ferry, the clouds moved and Mt. Rainer appeared, faint almost like an apparition more than a snow-covered solid mountain top. On the island we rented bikes and explored the town. I haven't ridden a bike in ten years (thankfully it is true that you never forget) although I didn't really trust myself on the roads with cars whizzing by. After 4 hours we headed back to Seattle to meet with the rest of Dayne's family who had come down from Ellensburg. After touring the Wallingford neighborhood; Dayne and a high-school friend showed me the area by the Space Needle and we headed to a local pub.

The next day we met up with Lora and Joe, who included Seattle on their Northwest Tour. Dayne gave us a tour of the University area, her old neighborhoods, and Capital Hill. We then joined her family for a BBQ at Gasworks park, where the city has turned all their old steam pipes and hoses into works of art.

The following day we toured Downtown Seattle, walking along the river, through the sculpture garden. We had lunch at the famous Iver's Fish Market, while the fish was good the experience was terrifying. We sat out on the back patio and I felt like I was in the Hitchcock film "The Birds"seagulls swarmed to snatch french fries from the hands of patrons and then without warning would fly off, but just as quickly swarm back, circling overhead and landing within inches to try and nab my lunch. After lunch we headed to Pike's Market, a shopper's heaven of fresh fish, fruit, flowers, and souvenirs.

On my last day there Lora, Joe, and I took the "Underground Seattle" tour by a man with a striking resemblance to SNL's Norm MacDonald. With dry wit throughout we learned how Seattle was once built on a flood plain, so that with every incoming tide the ground and streets would be soaked, and the painstaking process of overcoming this. We wandered downtown a little more, coming across the Seattle Mystery Bookstore (I dragged Lora and Joe in of course) and a quick lunch it was time to head home to NJ.

My overall impressions: Seattle is a beautiful city that is a perfect balance of metropolitan excitement and nature. But how can I not love any city so populated by boats, bookstores, and coffee shops.

Check out my complete album at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/40812182@N05/sets/72157621849090186/

Back-tracking: Memorial Day weekend 2009

While it is already the end of July, I want to back track a bit and start this blog at the beginning of the summer. For me the official start was a trip to Ocean City, NJ --a trip to the beach.

All New Jersey beaches remind me of my childhood and our annual trips to Long Beach Island, where my family and friends would fall into the idyllic patterns of days spent lounging on the beach, jumping in the surf, and building castles on the shoreline so that they could be destroyed by the incoming tide.

With a group of six friends I travelled to Ocean City, NJ. Ocean City has all the features of my childhood shore experiences as well as a boardwalk as the main attraction. The weather wasn't quite warm enough for swimming but it was lovely to lay in the sand, stroll the boardwalk (dodging bikes and surreys), and relax with friends. I am proud to report that Joe and I won the 2-day trivial pursuit games thanks to his knowledge of San Francisco's 1908 earthquake. I was not so lucky during our game of mini-golf, coming in at the bottom of our group (I tell myself that I am saving my skills for the regular golf course). Overall it was a great weekend and I was sorry to have to head back to work on Tuesday.

Welcome to my new blog!

Well I've only been talking about this for the last two years, so this beautiful Saturday morning I have decided to sit down and actually start a blog. My life is about to change in some fairly significant ways so I thought this would be an easier way to share my experiences. Thanks for reading this.