Nishi's A Dream I Dream, Nishi's Pitas and all images, html and layout (c) Nishi Rajan 1998-2006. Written content & images may not be taken without the written & signed consent of Nishi Rajan.
Nishi is an Indian American who is working as an attorney in New York City. She is also a writer and singer/songwriter who dreams of bringing her songs to the world and moving people with her music. Nishi is passionate about foreign policy, international affairs and international human rights.
When she's not busy pursuing music, world peace, or working, you can find her gazing up at the stars or attending archaeological lectures (she's an astronomy and archaeology buff) and when all else fails, she relaxes with Japanese anime and manga. An avid shoujo anime/manga fan, she's a web designer who's designed over 20 domains. Her websites are listed below.
This journal has existed since 2000. It is a place for Nishi to vent, to share, and to catch up with friends. All readers are welcome to read this blog; however, Nishi is not responsible for minors or anyone else who reads this journal and gets offended by the writings and opinions here. If you don't like what you read, then leave.
Name: Nishi
Where: New York
Faith: Christian
Sign: Aquarius
CH-S: Fire Dragon
AIM: SelenityHime
ICQ: 21380169
MySpace: Nishi's MySpace
FaceBook: Nishi's Facebook
Email: be83398
The Story Thus Far . . .
Currently, I am working full-time as an Attorney in midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York, writing several fantasy and children's stories, and pursuing a music career. In October 2007, I became engaged to my love of almost 7 years and am getting married this May 2008.
Jogging, Martial Arts Kickboxing, Dance - currently middle eastern dance & bellydance, Tennis, Singing (of course ;) and working on my songs, Reading & writing about all the things I am interested and passionate about, watching tv and movies, painting, drawing, astronomy, rollerblading (and trying to get better at it and ice skating!), obsessive anime and manga fan and professional web designing, ancient studies / ancient civilizations, history and archaeology, world mythology, politics and world affairs, international law, human rights, studying many languages (have studied and continue to study spanish, mandarin chinese, japanese and hindi).
Books / Stories
King Arthur and all things Arthurian, Merlin, light and dark; The Crystal Cave, The Dark is Rising series, most anything to do with magic, vampires, werewolves; anything fantasy and romance-like: EMMA, Jane Eyre, Phantom of the Opera, Count of Monte Cristo, The Cask of Amontillado; almost anything Shakespeare wrote; The Harry Potter series; my childhood stories - Sweet Valley High, Twins, Kids, Babysitters Club, Boxcar Children, Bobbsey Twins, RAMONA QUIMBY series; SHERLOCK HOLMES, NANCY DREW; all books dealing with things I love from art, mystery, religion, magic, mythical creatures such as "DA VINCI CODE" and "Interview with the Vampire"
Movies
Emma, Contact, Ever After, Farenheit 9/11, Bowling for Columbine, Legally Blonde 2, Princess Diaries, Sweet Home Alabama, Matrix: Reloaded, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Staw Wars: Episode II, TOMBRAIDER I & II
All-time TV Shows
Three's Company, The Nanny, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, FRIENDS, Relic Hunter, Buffy, Xena, Clarissa Explains it All, OUT OF THIS WORLD, Wings, Mad About You, Simpsons, Married with Children, Carol Burnette Show, Anamorphs, Punky Brewster, Smurfs, Rainbow Brite, and the list could go on forever ;)
Musicals
Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, WICKED
Favorite Drinks
In the summer: starbucks' iced caramel macchaito - decaf and nonfat; lychee, boba/bubble tea/pearl milk tea; thai iced tea; lipton lemon and raspberry iced tea
In the winter: hot chocolate and starbucks' white chocolate mocha non-fat
Fave Alcoholic Drinks
Margaritas, amaretto sours, singapore slings, rum & coke and white wine - pinot
Music to relax to:
The slow version of the sailormoon theme song, the theme for Phantom of the Opera, the theme by Mono from Great Expectations and theme from Romeo and Juliet....so many more.....I can't live w/o music.....
A Fan Of:
I'm more a Democrat so I'm a fan of Bill & Hillary Clinton, Madeline Albright, Margaret Thatcher, Lee Iaccoca
Movie Actresses
Drew Barrymore
Kirsten Dunst
Kate Hudson
Nicole Kidman
Demi Moore
Gwyneth Paltrow
Julia Roberts
Reese Witherspoon
Renee Zellweger
Movie Actors
George Clooney
Johnny Depp
Matthew Goode
Tom Hanks
Ashton Kutcher
Brad Pitt
Keanu Reeves
Adam Sandler
Robin Williams
Magazines etc.:
Vogue
Cosmopolitan
Jane
Shape
Fitness
Allure
Elle
Marie Claire
Archaeology
Mysteries
Foreign Affairs Journals
The Economist
Discover
Astronomy
Sky & Telescope
National Geographic
New York Times
Commondreams.org
In Style
US Weekly
PEOPLE
Reminders:
Salons in NY to try:
Buff Spa at Bergdorf Goodman: 754 5th Ave $$$
Tiffany Nails: 903 Madison $$
Soho Sanctuary: 119 Mercer $$
Maximus Spa - Massage: 15 Mercer $$
Just Calm Down: 32 W. 22nd $$ - get grape gatsby with Essie Bordeaux polish
Ajune Spa: 1294 Third Ave $$
Frederic Fekkai: 15 E. 57th - Mandarin Supreme Pedicure $$
a "princessy" night
Sunday, December 30, 2007
08:32 p.m.
mmmm my body is sore from my workouts. Both yesterday and today I jogged 5 miles outside and then did a bunch of strengthening and toning exercises all-over and lord-almighty do my muscles feel it! But it's good! Already after 1 week of consistent exercise, I feel my body bouncing right back into shape. I'll fit into my gorgeous wedding dress perfectly in May if I keep this up! :)
I loveShape.com. I've been a subscriber to the magazine for many years but rarely use the website and after reading the latest issue, decided to use Shape's Online Food Journal Tracker and it is fantastic! It had everything I ate for the day and helps you total up your caloric intakes at breakfast, lunch, dinner etc. and breaks it down by fats, proteins and carbs. I learned that I eat very well at breakfast but have way too many carbs at lunch (70%) and put waaayyyyy too much sugar in my coffee. The spoons we use are almost equivalent in size to a tablespoon!
I've been having fun this evening on VeraWangPrincess.com - it's a guilty pleasure for those of us who love perfume, clothes and accessories. On the website, you can find what kind of a "Princess" you are, create your own "castle", "crest" and "credo." It's purely for fun. I'm a 'Park Avenue Princess' ;) It also gives credit to who we are inside by highlighting our love of music or poetry or the pursuit of the more meaningful things in life. Here's what my castle & crest look like:
Had a cup of caramel-kiss coffee earlier and am relaxing now with magazines. I should spend time writing tonight but honestly, I just want to do nothing but read magazines and relax....tomorrow is New Year's Eve and I have a half-day of work (get out at 1 p.m.) and I'm not looking fwd to getting up early to go to work - want nothing more than to have tomorrow off and enjoy it and New Year's Day and go into work on January 2nd feeling refreshed and energized for the new year! Oh well - which is why I'm doing nothing but relaxing tonight! :)
I'm worried that my ear is not getting better. I came down with an ear infection in early November and I had about 3 weeks of treatment with antibiotic pills and eardrops. I thought I got better but then in mid-December while out with Ricky, my ear started acting up again and I went to see the doctor again last weekend and started a new round of the antibiotics and eardrops - but my ear still feels like it's not getting better. I'm not scheduled to see my eardoctor again until January 8th. I'll see how I feel in the morning and if my ear still feels like it's bothering me, I'm going to make another emergency appointment. You should never mess with your health - at the first sign something is wrong, go get a medical opinion and treatment and get additional opinions if you deem it appropriate. Regular medical checkups are part of taking care of yourself well.
Speaking of taking care of yourself well, I've now been using DDF Mesojection Cell Therapy Serum and the RELASTIN regularly and have noticed a HUGE difference in my skin ---> it is WAY more softer and more elastic and firmer! The DDF Mesojection serum is a light fluid which contains a peptide complex that's supposed to penetrate the layers of your skin and protect against free-radical damage - it contains anti-oxidants to promote skin-cell protection and is supposed to plump up and firm your skin. RELASTIN is supposed to create better elasticity and promote collagen growth. I think both products are working very well together. Relastin Eye Silk (which I do not own) was voted #1 by Allure magazine's Best of Beauty issue which is why I asked my sisters to get me the moisturizer as a christmas gift - it costs $69 but I feel it's well worth it!
I also recommend using CLINIQUE's City Block Sheer SPF 15 facial moisturizer during the day. It is VERY sheer and light and is designed in such a way that it absorbs excess oil and prevents perspiration. I have combination-skin (where skin is dry on the cheeks but oily on the forehead/nose/chin) and this is the 1st sunscreen product that truly does not make my skin oily nor does it feel like I have "stuff" on my face. I also use DDF's Protective Eye Cream Plus CoQ-10 with SPF 15 over the DDF mesojection and before applying the Clinique - your eye area is delicate and requires good treatment designed specifically for the eye area.
Anywayz, I've been online surfing and writing now for over an hour and a half. Time to read and relax for the next few hours before turning in for bed. *HUGS* to all! I responded to messages in the entries below.
Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!
Saturday, December 29, 2007
11:48 a.m.
Happy Saturday everyone! I responded to messages in the entry below so check there if you don't see a response here. It's almost like a spring day here in late December! It's nearly 50 degrees and the sun is shining and I'm going to go jogging in an hour or so. I want to spend today writing and studying astronomy - going to get on Slooh this evening.
Check out this awesome video from the Discovery Channel on the Mars Rover, Spirit's, journey through Mars. It is amazing how long this little machine rover has lasted when it was built to ensure simply 90 days. I wonder if someone has built a little model of Spirit or Opportunity - I would love to own a copy. If you can't watch the video or want to learn more, visit Discovery Channel's Mars 2008: A Red Planet Odyssey and scroll down to the bottom.
My fam's going to a malayalee christmas show program today and I have no desire to waste valuable hours attending an event I'll find boring when I'd rather be out in nature jogging, hiking and exploring and coming back to write, write, write and then explore the universe on Slooh. No siree bob! Much better to stay home today and enjoy my Saturday off! :)
For those of you interested in the universe and space exploration as I am, check out Nasa.gov which has the latest videos and informations on everything space-related.
Now before I go, a while back I had written about Benazir Bhutto - the former prime minister of Pakistan. By now, I'm sure many of you have seen or read in the news of her assassination. I've been reading some really amazing write-ups on her life - how she attended Harvard at 16 and then went on to study at Oxford in England. The purported 'corruption' charges against her and her husband were later over-turned but the stigma from that has lingered for years to where many of us believed that they had never been over-turned. Check out this well-written Benazir Bhutto Biography @ Achievement.org. Her death is a tragic end to the hope of democracy for Pakistan.
Kayla oooh yes please! I'd love to see the pictures! Do you have any pics of the Donald Trump ones?
Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
11:11 p.m.
Merry (belated) Christmas everyone! I spent Christmas morning up at 5 a.m. getting ready in a churidhar for church and somehow avoided snoozing throughout the entire service which was only over waayyyy after the promised 8/9am (more like a quarter to 10 a.m. thank you very much!) and spent the rest of the day taking pictures with the fam and heading upstate to my uncles' homes. We had fun with all my cousins and with the church show that my relatives' church upstate put together. Saw friends there I hadn't seen or spoken to in years but it's always fun catching up. There are people you know whom you never really get to speak with but when you do, it's like barely any time passed at all! :)
Azure Kaze congrats on making it through your 1st semester in college!! :) I, too, was an English major (Literature and Rhetoric) and loved every minute of it - there's nothing like spending your studying time immersed in books by the great authors of the past and present. My favorite classes, though, were the ones I got to write creatively in. When do you get your grades back? And yes, I got many of the items on my anime/manga wishlist - I updated my anime sites back in 2005 before my computer crashed in 2006 so everything you see there is from back in 2004. But yes, I got a lot of the things shown there. I should really try re-updating it again because this Christmas I got a TON of emails related to the items I owned on there. I bought a gingerbread house for Ricky's parents (my soon-to-be in-laws) as their Christmas present which is what you saw below - I'm going to get one for myself and my family next year though definitely! As for the online journal, thank you :) I have been doing this journal since 2000/2001 and I design all my own layouts and Pitas allows you to completely customize and make your journal your own anyway you want to with no limitations. Pitas, however, no longer accepts new members - it has DiaryLand.com as its partner and I HIGHLY recommend that site because, like pitas, you can customize its html and design your own journal format. Good luck! :)
Sean here's to C's! :) *HUGS* how is your Christmas going? I hope you had a FANTASTIC holiday!!!! :)
Marcia *HUGS* 3 weeks - just think - it's only 3 weeks right? :) Rick leaves right after my birthday in February to head to London and Africa and won't be back until early May. I'm going to write to you a lot asking how YOU held up so well for so long while Sina was away!! :) How was your Christmas? How did you celebrate?
Kayla Merry Christmas sweetie!! I love the idea of your gingerbread house with Donald Trump robbing it LOL!!! :) I want to see pics of your Mark Twain one - did you take pics? And aren't you supposed to have FUN on your winter-break? Seriously, my friends at work and I grouse about the fact that we no longer have anything akin to a winter break since all we do is work now - enjoy it while you have it, I say!! :)
it's past 11pm now and I had a long day at work - my ear is still hurting from my ear infection - time to put the drops in my ear and go to bed. *HUGS* to all and have a wonderful night. To those who actually are having a winter break? You lucky SOBs! :P :) Enjoy!!!! :D
Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!
Christmas Eve
Monday, December 24, 2007
09:51 p.m.
My family and I just finished opening all our presents! I got a Borders gift card, a super-soft very pale-white-gray plush winter robe, a GingerBread House kit, caramel kiss coffee, the 2 new Rose is Rose collection books that came out this year, and a jar of Relastin facial moisturizer which is supposed to make your skin look amazing no matter how much you wrinkle, pucker and tug at your skin ;) My dad and mom gave me $200 to spend how I like and I am putting it towards my credit card debt from this season!
My parents received Ricky's beautiful gift from RedEnvelope.com - these gorgeous gold-plated set of 4 candles that combine to form a stunning centerpiece - they came with 4 dripless, smokeless candles.
Ricky's parents received my gift to them - a custom gingerbread house made from Solvang Bakery in California. I highly recommend them to purchase your gingerbread houses next year (they do wedding cakes too!) - Rick took pictures of them, shown below:
It's after 10pm and I've gotta get my sari ready for church tomorrow morning - we're getting up at 4:30 a.m. - services begin at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow early morning but I don't think we're leaving the house until 5:30 a.m. Ugh. What's the use in having our own church if they're going to still hold services at ridiculous hours. Makes no sense to have our own church and not have Christmas morning service at 10 a.m. like normal people. Sheesh.
Good thing I've got the caramel kiss coffee - gonna need that tomorrow morning!
Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!
Tis the 1st Day of Winter!
Saturday, December 22, 2007
12:58 p.m.
Get out the Yule Logs! Last night at 1:08 a.m., the first day of winter officially began! The winter solstice marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year.
Solstice means "standing still sun" and has historically been a day for celebration. According to KidzWorld.com, "the tradition started with an ancient fear that the fading light would never return unless humans kept watch and had a huge celebration. Tons of cultures and societies have solstice celebrations."
"In ancient Rome, huge feasts were held and houses and halls were decorated with boughs of evergreen trees. In pagan Scandinavia, yule logs were burned because they believed the log could magically make the sun brighter. Europe and many other places still burn the Yule log, but it is now just a symbolic gesture. Scandinavians also listened to minstrel poets sing about ancient legends."
"For Celtic Druids, mistletoe was sacred and Druid priests used a golden sickle to cut it from the tree it was growing on and handed it out to the people, calling it All-Heal. The people hung it in a doorway or a room to offer goodwill to visitors."
I like the tradition of the Yule Log and I think one day I'm going to start having Yule parties to mark the beginning of the winter season! In olden times, according to this French cultural holiday site, "on Christmas Eve, an enormous log of freshly cut wood called the Yule log would be fetched and carried to the house with great ceremony. On Christmas Eve, the master of the house would place it on the hearth, make libations by sprinkling the trunk with oil, salt and mulled wine and say suitable prayers. It was said that the cinders of this log could protect the house from lightning and the malevolent powers of the devil."
The ceremony of the Yule log disappeared when people stopped having hearth fireplaces and replaced them with cast-iron stoves. "The great log was thus replaced by a smaller one, often embellished with candles and greenery, placed in the center of the table as a Christmas decoration." Today, you'll see the Yule log as a delicious cake pastry at the dinner table "smothered in coffee or chocolate-flavored icing and decorated with sugared holly leaves and roses." Read more about it here or here.
There's still snow on the ground from last weekend's snowstorm, the lake is semi-frozen, and after my appointment with the ear doctor this morning, while filling my prescription for antibiotics, it snow-showered for 10 minutes outside of CVS Pharmacy! :) I just looked up into the sky and smiled - it felt magical! :) It's cold though! Went to Starbucks and got an extra-hot, no-foam soy latte!
Mili came home a couple hours ago bearing so many gifts it was like she was Santa Claus this year! She and Mek and Papa are out shopping for Papa's christmas present now while mum and I are home. We're waiting for Nithi to arrive and I'm settling in for an afternoon of writing. Got my mug of hot chocolate in front of me and ready to spin a winter christmas tale as a side-story to the main fantasy faerie series I am writing.
I love the winter feel - not the cold mind you - but the fun feel of winter - of getting bundled up all warm, with mugs of hot chocolate and marshamllows, sitting in front of a warm fire under a blanket with your loved ones and watching the snow fall, or watching tv or reading a good book.
Tomorrow, I am going to bake cookies and cupcakes all day to take for my friends and colleagues at work on Monday. We have to work on Monday but only for a 1/2 day - we get out at 1 p.m.! :) And the whole morning at work we're having a special holiday brunch - so it's not like we're going to get any work done anyway! :D
I am going to settle in now and write. *HUGS* to all!
Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!
The Fountain - SPOILERS
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
11:57 p.m.
I watched Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain tonight - a movie I avoided watching for almost a year because of the knowledge that the movie was so heartwrenching that I would be depressed after it - and quite the opposite happened - I was moved in a very deep and spiritual way and loved it. It was so very beautiful and worth every minute.
**SPOILERS - DO NO READ BELOW UNLESS YOU WANT AN EXPLANATION OF THE FOUNTAIN**
The Fountain is a love story and a story of coming to terms with mortality and death. In the beginning, we are introduced to a man who is avoiding the reality of death, who wants to find only the cure. His name is Tom and his wife, Izzie, is dying of cancer. She, however, has come to terms with death and sees it as a way for creation to begin again. She tries to teach her husband this by writing a story called 'The Fountain' in which her husband is portrayed as a conquistador named Tomas and her character is Queen Isabel of Spain. The Conquistador searches for the Tree of Eternal Life to save the Queen and finally discovers its existance in a Mayan temple. However, before he can get there, he is fatally stabbed by the Mayan temple priest who is about to deliver the final blow.
Before we can see how the Conquistador dies, Tom's character screams no and we wind up some time far into the future (presumably 500 years later) and Tom is now a non-aging man who has the Tree of Life with him on his journey to a nebulae wrapped around a dead star which is to explode soon and give re-birth to life. We learn here, from flashbacks to Tom's actual life in 2006, that Izzie left the story unfinished at the point where the Mayan man was about to deliver the final blow, in order to have Tom finish the story. Her last wish was for him to 'finish it.'
As we witness how her death happened, how Tom kept trying to focus on finding a cure instead of spending time with his wife and enjoying her in the here and now, we see Tom slowly learn that what really mattered was living life now, and not trying to focus on prolonging it.
At the moment he learns that and gives up his quest for immortality and finding a cure to 'save her', he appears back in the conquistador story world and 'finishes' the story - he writes that the Mayan temple man doesn't deliver the blow because he recognized Tomas the the "first father" who sacrificed his life so the Tree of Eternal Life could grow and create all of life, and the Temple Mayan offers his own life to Tomas. Tomas then discovers the beautiful tree, cuts its sap and heals his stomach wound and then drinks of the tree. But Tom of the future does not give Tomas a happy ending. He writes that Tomas' desire for immortality, kills him - he winds up turning his conquistador character into flowers - which is what Izzie, in the real world, had said the 'first father of mayan mythology' did.
Tom of the future - who is real and is the science-fiction aspect of the movie - was also trying to save 'the tree' which may have been a form of his wife or may be 'the tree' in Guatemala which was able to cure age that he was eating to stay alive, but it, too, wound up dying close to the journey's end. It is then, after it dies, and after he is taken through the full spiel of his life and loss, that he finally accepts the death is good (according to the movie's belief) and that, upon acceptance, he is free.
He is then killed in the exploding star and his life is returned back to a key pivotal choice point - follow his wife to enjoy the 1st snow or try to find a cure - this time, he chooses to enjoy the 1st snow with his wife. The ring, which he had lost in his actual original 1st life, when he decided to pursue the cure instead of wife, is symbolic of his loss of what was truly important. When his wife dies the 2nd time, and he stands at her grave at the end, his finger has the ring. This shows that he was given the chance to re-do his time with his wife.
His "planting" of a tree seed at his wife's grave (which the wife gives to him) is fulfillment of her wish to have her death be another form of creation. He looks to the nebulae in the heavens where the souls return knowing that his wife is there and that, he, too, will be there with her one day.
Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!
R leaves this morning in the snowy, sleety, freezing rain
Sunday, December 16, 2007
05:38 a.m.
I just saw Ricky off at the front door. He got into the cab in the sleeting, freezing rain, his shoes sliding in the snow and his dark gray wool coat instantly covered with a layer of white. My house sounds like it's being pelted by a million rocks at 100 m.p.h. In the light of the driveway flood lights, the weather looked so very scary. At least another inch or two was on the ground from all this sleet and hail.......I didn't want Ricky to go this morning to JFK - back to Los Angeles. He didn't want to go either. :(
I watched until he and the cab safely drove away down the road until I couldn't see them anymore, and then closed the garage door. My folks are still sleeping soundly, I have the local news on, and am waiting for a phone call from Rick once he gets to the highway. It is 24 degrees.
We spent the day in the city yesterday. Mummy made Upa Mav for breakfast and Rick and I sat with mummy and papa at the breakfast table talking about our night seeing 'Gone Missing' at the Barrow Street Theater. After breakfast, papa drove us to the train station to Grand Central. Sipping Starbucks seasonal Peppermint Mocha (tall with soy, no-foam and no whip, of course! ;)), I took Rick to the Museum of Natural History over on the west side where we spent a wonderful 1 and a 1/2 hours exploring the Mythic Creatures: Dragons and Unicorns exhibit....I took tons of notes on the history of various mythic creatures and the very old books which had age-old accounts of such - I want to buy copies of these books for my library. I've always loved Unicorns & Dragons, mermaids, gryphons & phoenix - my Chinese sign is apparently the Fire Dragon and I definitely do have its characteristics - my current library is stocked full of books on mythical creatures and fictional stories about them.....their world is the one I love to get lost in and write about.
As I read about lake dragons and mermaids, story ideas were swimming around in my head about the current fantasy series I am writing. I loved it all so much! I'm going to spend the rest of this wintry Sunday writing all day....
After the Mythic Creatures exhibit, we headed to the halls near the Ocean of Life where I loved seeing the colossal-size dioramas and reading about the animals furrowing into the ground for the winter, and how the seeds come up in the spring with the arrival of moisture and warm weather. Interesting was the fact that flowers in their buds are fully formed in the summer/early fall and lie dormant until the next spring.
Just called and spoke to Ricky who said the weather's bad so they're going very slow on the roads. It's been nearly a half hour and the freezing rain and sleet are both still falling very, very heavily.
After the museum, Rick and I went to CAFE FRIDA over on Columbus Avenue and 77th Street where we had *fantastic* food, *fantastic* service, and a simply wonderful dining experience. I highly recommend eating at Cafe Frida - for appetizers, try the 'Sopa Azteca' which is a tomato soup served with a plate of accompaniments on the side you can choose to add into the bowl (add the avacado & the chile ancho chips) or try the chicken soup which Ricky had and I tasted and equally loved!!! For salads - try the JALAPENA (leafy mixed green salad with hot cooked tuna lightly covered in roasted sesame seeds) and for entrees, try the SALMON dish or the taco dish. And for dessert - you MUST try the CREPES DE CAJETA: milk rum caramel crepes with walnuts and mexican vanilla ice cream. OH MY GOD was that good. Oh and Rick and I had a litre of red sangria as well.
I cannot rave ENOUGH about how EXCELLENT Cafe Frida was. I will go there often with friends. Oh, and the service? Very attentive, not at all pushy, very subtle and just right - and this was a busy hopping place. Absolutely loved it!
After dinner, we headed down to Times Square where we caught the 6:15 showing of the GOLDEN COMPASS. Ugh. I was so disappointed by the Golden Compass. I had expected a wonderfully executed movie but it lacked that feeling of cohesiveness - that feeling of correctly putting a movie based on a book together like the Harry Potter movies did so well. I've never read the books but I could tell right away that the movie had tried to throw everything in the books into the movie at such a pace that it lacked proper development. The story is beautiful - with wonderful magical elements - parts of which remain in my psyche this morning and which I mull over wanting to know more, but at the end, it fails to be fulfilling. The acting of Nicole Kidman, Dakota Blue and Daniel Craig - EXCEPTIONAL - they are just so wonderful to watch acting - so very, very talented. Nicole Kidman is just a goddess. At the end of the movie - I said out loud to Ricky 'That's it? THAT is what I was looking so forward to seeing?' Now mind you, I am a child at heart who watches things like AQUAMARINE in the theater - I love everything fantasy and this....I was so sadly disappointed because the movie was not fulfilling.....I think I'll go get the Golden Compass and read it.....
it's now been an hour almost since I began writing, the entry stamp says 5:38 a.m. but it's now 6:25....6:26....the hail is still falling.....
Rick and I walked around Times Square afterwards and went to the M&M Store where we munched on some M&Ms from 2 of the dispensers and checked out all the cool toys. I thought I would get in trouble for so brazenly taking candy and eating it but I've seen so many other customers do it, I thought it might be ok! :) The 2nd time I did it however, one of the store workers asked me if I needed any help finding anything and I got so scared!! Imagine *me* getting possibly in trouble at M&M's in Times Square for eating the M&Ms!! :) I told Ricky then 'nuh uh, no more!' and after happily browsing some more, walked to 30 Rock (at Rockefeller Center) so we could take pictures of Rick where he worked this past week.
my digital camera sucks at taking good pictures of many things at night. I bought it to take pictures of NYC for the NYC book I am writing and while it's fine during the day, I feel I, overall, wasted my money buying the pretty thing. It's an EPSON stylus, pretty in pink, with image stabilization and huge zoom ability but it's a pain to operate between its modes, takes too many blurry/fuzzy pictures, has too much of a delay and its flash was too strong tonight....I should've bought a really good Nikon or Canon even if they were more expensive - a good camera is worth the investment.
It started snowing lightly while we were at Rockefeller Center and this group of tourists started singing 'Let It Snow' :) Was fun :) Rick and I stayed around before we got too cold and tried to take the underground Northern Passage to Grand Central which was closed - we wound up walking under there a long time and finding an empty aisle of shoe-shine seats which Ricky sat on and I took pictures of him in. We found our way back out (we temporarily thought we were lost/stuck under there cause all the gates and re-entry into GCT were locked, but made it out again and walked in the light snow and very cold wind back to GCT. I took Rick through the outdoor corridors of the Helmsley Building. We tried to explore the Campbell Apartment and wound up seeing only the coat room ;) LOL! :) But I enjoyed it!
Went to bed at 1 a.m. hugging Ricky good night and wished he didn't have to go....and got up at 4:45 a.m. We checked all the flight trackers on line including IFly.com <-- great site, made sure our cab was coming....
Rick just called me from JFK airport, he got there fine but he saw some nasty accidents along the way - he saw one car slide of the road and people stopped to help the car....he says it's only heavy rain at JFK which is good - guess we're just getting the snowy sleet because we're more upstate in Westchester....
I am going to put on some coffee and wash my face and change into some warm winter clothing and have some breakfast. I wonder if my newspaper was delivered this morning....this is a great day to spend writing, lost in my fantasy world :)
*HUGS* to all, especially Sarah Beth, Hana, Marcia, Millie, Azure Kaze, Miyu-chan, Caroline, Sean, Memory and Lady
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Saturday, December 15, 2007
12:56 a.m.
Just got home - it's almost 1 a.m. in the morning and I'm soooooooo tired but I had the nicest time tonight! Was out late in the city with Ricky tonight - after work, he and I headed down to the village to catch this show being produced at the Barrow Street Theatre. We saw GONE MISSING and it was awesome!!!
The show is part musical, part comedy, part serious satire and filled with monologues. Unfortunately, Rick and I had left late and missed the first 10 minutes of the show so we were a bit disoriented trying to catch up with the show, and we were jarred by the constant switching back and forth between the actors telling stories of things gone missing, but then about 1/3 of the way into it, things started clicking and it started becoming a very fantastic show.
Gone Missing is the story of things "gone missing", from your cell phone, to your shoe, to your ring, to your sanity, your ability to speak, to Atlantis and, at first - you wonder how can a show about things gone missing be anything worth seeing? But trust me, this show has a beautiful point - a philosophical bent and message that becomes clear as you progress through the show to the end.
Beautifully produced with some gorgeous song numbers. Again, the beginning seemed very strange to me but it's well worth sitting through to be impressed by the talent of the Civilians (the theatre troupe who perform in it) and the shows material. I was most impressed by the voice of Robbie Collier Sublett - watch for his number 'Lost Horizon' - probably my favorite song of the show.
After the show, which Ricky LOVED (I am sooo happy he loved it), it was cold and windy and we didn't want to walk around, so we stopped first at Sushi Samba which was crowded and beyond capacity and then went next door to Pennyfeathers Cafe - a traditional American fare restaurant, and then despite it being 10 p.m., Rick wanted very much to go for dessert somewhere and found this AMAZING place called ChikaLicious Puddin’ over on East 10th Street and 2nd Avenue.
Now mind you, I am wearing pretty 3" wedge heel black boots and did not plan on walking from Greenwich Village (which is in the West Village) all the way to the EAST Village! But Ricky - who is realllly loving the city now - wanted to, and if he was loving the city, I wasn't about to say no, so I said 'ok, this can be an adventure' and grabbed his hand and we walked the whole entire number of avenues and streets all the way east and found this place and let me tell you - IT WAS WORTH IT!!!! At ChikaLicious Puddin’ Rick and I got the hot chocolate and the Adult Chocolate Pudding the Brioche Bread Puddin' and we were in LOVE with it all! The place managed to combine the different tastes and consistencies of the pudding and cake combinations beautifully and I would walk again all over to the east side for that hot chocolate!!
After that, we headed on over to 1st Avenue and 14th and caught the L-train to Union Square and the #5 back to Grand Central where, after picking up a copy of the Daily News and the Post, we caught our train homem and I promptly fell asleep on Rick's shoulder the whole ride home. Rick is going to massage my feet now because I got a blister from all the walking in those boots. He's a sweetheart! :)
Tomorrow we're going to the Natural Museum of History in the city for the Mythic Creatures Exhibit - that is if I ever wake up on time. It's now 1:34 a.m. as I finish writing this entry. I'm going to bed now. *BIG HUGS* to all!
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Thursday, December 13, 2007
05:45 p.m.
it's snowing, it's snowing! :) Actually, now it's sleeting! :) Ricky and I are in my room working on our computers while mummy and papa are downstairs watching AsiaNet's malayalam programming. Work let us our early today due to the weather at 3:30 and I rushed on over to meet Ricky at Grand Central to catch our train back upstate.
Ricky arrived on Saturday early morning to a house full of my family - a house which was also full of mummy and papa's purchases from India. Mum and pop returned from their 3 week vacation in India last Friday and they brought back with them ALL my wedding things - the jewelry (it is GORGEOUS) and my wedding sari (royal purple with diamante diamonds all over) and the wedding cups and a special lighter. My mom got perfect jewelry to match my white wedding dress too! I change into the sari only after we cut the cake at the end of the wedding :)
Went out to breakfast with Rick and Mekha Saturday morning (it was SOOO freezing cold), read the paper and enjoyed egg-white omelettes, and spent the rest of the day with the fam - we took Mekha out Saturday night to a great restaurant nearby in Larchmont called the Globe Bar & Grill - we got all dressed up and ordered wine and awesome food - I realllllly liked the restaurant a LOT! The next day, Rick and I went walking all over the lakes and woods by my home (about 2.5 miles walk) and enjoyed trying to break the very thinly frozen lake by throwing small rocks at its surface. Watched videos of my cousin Jaymon's wedding in India too - so happy for him and his marriage.
Monday, Rick worked from home while I went to work and prepared to chair my first meeting of the Lawyer's Committee of ECPAT-USA - the meeting was held at the office of WHITE & CASE - a gorgeous international law firm over on 6th Avenue and 45th Street and we had people teleconferencing in from San Francisco and Washington D.C. - I had made a detailed 3-page Agenda and we moved well through it - the firm served us wonderful food - they even have their own brand of bottled water! I need to sit down this weekend and draw up the final issues. Was a great meeting and I learned a lot and really feel we'll help to make a difference as a group of lawyers.
After the meeting, I rushed home and my sweetheart Ricky had waited to have dinner with me - mummy, who was still jet lagged hadn't cooked a lot, and told me Ricky had said he would wait for me to come home until he ate and waited all that time (until 10:30 p.m.) for me to come home! :) He's so cute :)
Tuesday, Rick and I commuted in to work together!! :) This was the NICEST thing!! I always sees husbands and wives or gfs/bfs on the train and when they get to grand central, they kiss each other sweetly and wish each other a great day and say they'll see each other in the evening. Well on Tuesday (and yesterday and today too!) that was MEEEE cause MY BABY was finally here in NY with me and working with me! Rick was flown in to NY to work on a project up at Rockefeller Center just for this week (he goes back to Los Angeles Sunday - weather permitting because of predicted snow). As most readers know who read this blog, I love, love, LOVE Rockefeller Center - the rink, the tree, the Today Show, the crowds, Kinkokuniya and my favorite japanese dessert (wagashi) place, Minamoto Kitchoan, are all there!
Rick and I stood for a while watching skaters rehearse on the ice before he had to go inside (he had to be ready to work at 8:30 a.m.) and I had to be at work by 9 a.m. so I headed on my way too. That evening, Rick arrived back late after meeting with 2 of his good old friends from L.A. who now live in NYC - they had eaten at a wonderful restaurant I want to try called FRIDA's CAFE over on 77th & Columbus (south american cuisine). He came home to happy and relaxed :)
Wednesday (yesterday), I had found this awesome restaurant called the SCARLATTO on 47th Street between 8th and 9th while walking back from Rockefeller to work and when Rick text messaged at noon that he wanted to go out for dinner, I made reservations there but then, when I researched it online, I read very recent reviews which said that the food was good but the service terrible and got disheartened and decided to go up there during lunch and check it out. Well, when I got there, I thought it was great but the fact that it had gotten bad service reviewed nagged away at me and I had stepped into another restuarant next door called TRATTORIA TRECOLORI. The guy inside (when I asked him if they had a prix fix for pre/post-theater) was pushy and salesmans-like and said no but that the food was fabulous and made the place sound great, so when I went back, I reviewed both restaurant's menus and decided to go with TRECOLORI - BAD DECISION on my part. I SHOULD HAVE GONE TO SCARLATTO!!!!!
When we went for dinner at TRECOLORI, we found the glasses were dirty, the menu was held together with scotch tape, the bread tasteless, the appetizers were flavorless and overcooked - tough and chewy shrimp and mushrooms (we ordered the 'Classico' and of the items in it, the mussels were the only good thing), and for our entrees, my primavera pasta was good - but I can get a good dish like that at any restaurant - can't go wrong with that - but rick's dish - he had ordered one of the veal or chicken entrees - it was SOOO FLAVORLESS & chewy...ugh....
And - they did the one thing I HATE restaurants in NYC to do - they auto-charged a tip onto our cards. I checked when I got home and was pissed. I believe in tipping well and felt our waiter had done a good job of serving us so I tipped 25%! Yes, I said I tip well, but I was so insulted they auto-tipped us. Never going back there again.
when we walked out, Rick looked at the SCARLATTO and said 'WOW' - he LOVED the way it looked! And I felt crushed - we should've gone there I thought.
So, go to the SCARLATTO everyone - it's on 47th Street between 8th and 9th here in New York City - they have wonderful food, nice decor, and I don't know how the service is, but hopefully it's not as bad as it was a few months ago. I think I'll check out the place next week with a friend and let ya'll know then! :)
Anywayz, today - it SNOWED. Rick and I saw it snowing at 7:18 this morning when we boarded our train into the city. When we walked to Rockefeller together (I drop him off in the mornings this week before walking to work myself), I decided to take pictures of all the holiday windows and my GOD - there's a gigantic crystal start hanging over 5th Avenue by Tiffany's! I took TONS of pictures and will put up everything when I have time this weekend.
Right now, Rick and I are home, safe and sound, and going to have dinner with my folks! :) Mum made delicious pork curry!! :)
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Tuesday, December 11, 2007
11:56 p.m.
no time to write because I need to get to bed but I have SOOOOOOOOOO much I want to share. My fiance, R, is here in NY staying with my family and me (here since early Saturday morning from Los Angeles) and we spent a ton of time with the folks and my sisters this weekend celebrating Mek's receipt of her M.A. portion of her PhD. Monday night I held the 1st meeting of the Lawyer's Committee of ECPAT-USA and it was wonderful - at the offices of WHITE & CASE (stunning offices). R's working at Rockefeller Center this week and going back to L.A. Sunday so we're going to enjoy being together in the city and commuting in as much as possible! :)
I have WAAYYY more I'd want to write but I have to be up in 6 hours! Will have to wait 'til tomorrow! *HUGS* to all!
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'Tis the Season to help the Needy
Thursday, December 6, 2007
09:39 p.m.
For those of you who live near New York City, the city is doing it's annual coat drive! At Bryant Park (go to the "Pond"), Grand Central, Penn Station and all NYC Police Precincts you can drop of your gently used coats you no longer wish to keep and help a needy person who could use a coat to stay warm this winter! Check NYCares.org for details on times.
Similarly, Soles4Souls and PiperLime.com are asking you to drop off your gently worn heels, boots, and sneakers here in NYC at (a) Madison Avenue & 39th Street or (b) Grand Central Terminal at Park Avenue from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, December 7th or at the Flatiron Building on 5th Avenue & 23rd Street on Monday, Dec. 10th or Tues. Dec. 11th also from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Piperlime will match every pair that is donated with $1 to the nonprofit Soles4Souls and give *YOU* $15 toward any $75 purchase on their site, piperlime.com! Check out Piperlime.com for details.
Even if you don't live here in NYC, you can mail Soles4Souls your shoes and include (from Piperlime.com, click on their 'pdf' file to download & print) a note that the donation is a Piperlime donation in order to get the $1 match and the $15 towards your purchase.
See? Do something good and you'll get a little back - as if the feeling of doing something good wasn't enough! :)
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Wednesday, December 5, 2007
11:50 p.m.
Wrote a new song Monday night called 'Like An Angel' - the melody came to me first a few weeks ago when my parents left to go to India for 3 weeks for vacation. The Sunday night after they left, and after my sisters had returned home to their apartments, and I was all alone, I started crying and, as always, I sing when I feel sad, and this melody came to me. So beautiful, so haunting and so, very painfully sad - it took me like 10 tries before I could record the song on my mp3 recorder so I wouldn't forget the melody or the first words that came to my mind to accompany it (Like An Angel). This is going to sound so morbid, but it would be the song I sing for my parents (many, MANY years from now, like 50 years! ;)) after they pass.....
In song, I have always drowned my sorrows and my pain. Singing and composing songs provides an outlet for sad emotions and, in a way, it's very therapeutic and healing. I know one day, I will have to face some of the things I most dread and, at that time, I will lose myself in my music and in my writing. They are my passions, my talents, and the key to the survival of my spirit and my humanity.
I'm the oldest of 4 girls and our family is very, VERY close and tight. I love my parents so deeply, so when they leave for India or Florida, I really miss them, and as they grow older, I worry....worry because at the back of my mind I know that parents start dying in their 70s and 80s and I dread that. I know that when I lose my parents, it will be such an irreparable and inconsolable loss that a part of me will be lost as well - I don't think I'll be the same.
I wish....really wish...that these moments....these precious moments we have with the people we most love and cherish - that they could last forever. That we could always be guaranteed to be back with our loved ones - for many lifetimes to come.....I pray...I wish....I hope.
Ok I'm getting all chocked up and there's no need for any of this right now. The time I have is precious and I'm going to revel in it, and enjoy every second of it that I have with the ones I love. That's really all that matters isn't it? To live and to love, and to not hurt another. So may it be.
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Tuesday, December 4, 2007
07:13 a.m.
it's early this morning...just got out of the shower and need to be ready to leave in 20 minutes....I opened the blinds to the window that views the lake and saw ducks sitting upon the lake. It's 29 degrees out. How're there still ducks swimming in the lake at this time of month? Looks so peaceful out there. It's a very gray cloudy morning....yesterday the wind blew so blustery that I was carried away with it many times while walking around the village during lunch. I explored Bank Street yesterday and the meatpacking portion of Hudson Street.....found Pastis and One Little 12th Street - also found the Christian Loubitin boutique (rich ladies shopping in there alright)!
So peaceful out here right now this morning....makes me want to put on my big coat, boots, gloves, hat & scarf and join the ducks and watch them from one of the rocks....
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Brownies, Bryant Park & Writing
Monday, December 3, 2007
08:38 p.m.
I made fudge brownies for Mili since she came up this weekend and now, I just nuked a couple pieces in the microwave - nothing like hot fudge brownies on a very cold early December night!
I walked back to Grand Central tonight from work and on my way, decided to pass through Bryant Park and just admire the holiday tree and the holiday shops. I wound up spending a good 20 minutes there taking pictures of the tree and the shops and the ice skating rink. It's just so quintessential New York! :) Everyone was out enjoying the skating on the "pond" and so many people were just milling around, taking photos, kissing by the green tables and shopping the cool crafts shops. I love Bryant Park!!! Even better now that Kinokuniya is across the street!
I'd put up the pictures I took but I'm immersed in my writing now and am in my magical world I've created. I get so absorbed in this fictional world I'm writing that I lose track of time. It honestly feels like heaven to write and get so lost in it like this - I haven't felt this way since before my law career and before law school when I used to write regularly in college and high school.
Since then, I only recapture that feeling when I'm immersed in song writing - but song writing is another whole experience separate from fiction writing. Song writing is all about the beauty of the melody, the emotions behind the words and the poetry of those words. In 2 hours I can compose a song and melody that is deeply cathartic and completely satisfying and a joy for me to sing whereas writing fiction takes me days and months and even years to be completely happy with!
Anywayz, I've ventured long enough from my writing world - time to sink back because I really, REALLY, want to write and tell this story I am working on - I really love it. This is the kind of story I would love to READ. Once I've finished it and copyrighted at least the first draft, I'll put it up here so you all can read. Hopefully, if I can finish it by Christmas or the end of the year, I can have it self-published for my birthday to give to friends and loved ones and then attempt to get it really published somewhere.
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Sunday, December 2, 2007
03:42 p.m.
Mili and I woke up this morning to a sky whirling with snow! And we both said 'OH NO!' Because Mekha's Masters Ceremony was today in Connecticut. We turned on the news, which had told us that the snow wouldn't start until afternoon with freezing rain, and lo and behold snow was all over New York and we'd get 1-2" and everything to north 2-3".
We called Mek and told her the bad news. Neither Mil nor I like driving in bad weather and if we have to drive back in snowy, freezing rain down the Merritt Parkway - it's just dangerous - it's 2 lanes and the drivers are always getting into accidents there.
:( I felt so bad. The school had mailed the tickets to us at home so now Nith couldn't go either because we had her ticket. Luckily Bill is up there with Mek and Mek's friends too will be there. :( This is awful! Why did it have to snow TODAY? Or, better yet, why didn't the school have their ceremony SATURDAY?? Why hold things on Sunday when people have to travel back for work the next day. Ugh!
Mek didn't sound sad on the phone but I hate to think that inside she was feeling upset :( She's always there for the rest of us whenever we need her and I wish we could've been there for her today :( We're going to take her out next weekend when everyone comes home.
Mil and I went out for breakfast at the local diner instead this morning, where we had delicious french toast on raisin bread with fresh strawberries and scrambled egg whites with yummy coffee. We read the paper and worked on the jumbles. Then she came back and left to go back to Long Island before the freezing rain hit. I finally finished making my Christmas Wish List for my sisters - they've been begging me since before thanksgiving for the list! :)
The lake behind my house is semi-frozen but ducks are still sitting in its cold waters. Aren't they freezing? My weatherbug desktop thing says it's 27 degrees out. Yeesh!
I still feel so sad about makkie's masters ceremony :( I'm gonna go buy her Christmas presents now.
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Saturday, December 1, 2007
10:47 a.m.
good morning everyone. Happy Saturday! Been a while since I wrote (was under the weather). Feeling much better this morning and have been up early writing, writing, writing. I'm working on the multi-book fantasy faerie kingdom tale I've been writing for months now, based upon the beautiful woods and lakes I live by. It's coming together wonderfully and I would say I'm nearing 50% completion. It is so full of mythology, symbology, and I've had to learn so much about things from animal behaviors to medicines to how a sword is made and decorated. I'm a little surprised myself by how deep and well-thought out this story has become.
It's almost 11 a.m. here but I have not had breakfast yet, and must find time to clean the house and sit down again and write more. My sister Mili is coming up this afternoon and we're going out for dinner tonight. We're both going to our other sisters' apartments in Connecticut because one of them is having her Masters Ceremony at her university (she is obataining her PhD. and has officially earned her Masters). We're going to buy balloons and flowers and all of us will take her out for dinner. Heard it's supposed to snow tomorrow though which worries me - the Meadowbrook Parkway coming back from connecticut is a hard deal to drive.
I'm happy to announce that the new Lawyer's Committee of ECPAT-USA I started now has 25 members! :) We're holding our first meeting in 10 days and I'm happy to see that many of the members have MUCH experience on the issues of trafficking and child victims.
I'm talking with some fellow musicians about putting together a NYC awareness benefit on this issue and donating the money to child organizations here in New York. I'm thinking of asking every musician I know to perform for free that night - I was part of a similar Tsunami Benefit back in 2005 I think and that raised so much awareness and money for the tsunami victims. Here in New York, I think many people are unaware that child victims exist here and that they are being trafficked in illegally and laws are not in place to help protect them and prosecute those who traffic them in and abuse them.
I was so moved the other day by the whole issue that I wrote this song about the pain a child-victim went through. Writing the song made me sob hysterically cause I'm such a child at heart myself and I love children! To imagine the pain these kids have gone through and what hardened and scarred teenagers they have become, it breaks my heart!!
I'm still feeling under the weather a bit so maybe I shouldn't bother cleaning today and just take it easy and rest up some more. I'm going to put on my red sweater. It's a bitter-cold fall 1st day of December out there - 30 degrees and the wind has been scattering the leaves everywhere. I can now see the white mansion again that sits across the other side of the lake behind my house. During the summer months, it's covered by the trees. Sometime, I like to take my binoculars and spy their grounds (it's so beautiful!) :) hahahaha :)
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An absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving Weekend
Sunday, November 25, 2007
09:04 p.m.
I have so much to write and catch up this diary on. I'll break it up by days.
My darling R arrived here in NYC on Wednesday morning!! :D I was so happy talking to him on the phone as I walked from Grand Central to work that morning - he was still at JFK waiting to take a cab to my home in Westchester. Usually, I never get to talk to him in the morning walks to work because he's in Los Angeles and with the 3 hour time difference, he's still alseep. So I relished the knowledge that here was my baby right here in the city (cept in Queens at JFK) but at least in New York state!! :D
We got out of work early on Wednesday for the Thanksgiving holiday and I rushed home and found my fiance sleeping in my bed all tucked in. I kissed my prince awake is what I did :) He was so adorable, all sleepy! :) 2 of my sisters had gone shopping and the 3rd arrived home later that night and it was a full noisy house - just like I like it! :)
Thursday morning, we all got up super early at 5 a.m. and headed out to catch the 6:33 a.m. train into the city to see MACY'S Thanksgiving Day Parade!!!! Here are me, R and my 3 sisters:
My family and I were right at 44th Street and so we had a fantastic view of EVERYTHING - from Charlie Brown to the dancers and performers (saw High School Musical's Ashley Tisdale and saw American Idol's Jordin Sparks!) and the balloon-floats were literally RIGHT in front of our faces - so close! Here are a few photos R was able to take:
After the parade was over, and after avoiding being stampeded by the crazy crowd of people, we headed down to 23rd Street where I took R and the girls to Chelsea Square Restaurant for some brunch. We took funny photos while there, especially Nith and me who had to fix her hair and apply make up ;) She's beautiful anyway! :) All my sisters are beautiful!!
Now there is ONE float rom the Thanksgiving Parade we all found hysterical! And it's of this clown-like character I think might be on Nickelodeon? Well, it's left hand was "flipping the bird" i.e. sticking up its middle finger!! Here's the proof:
:) How funny is that!?
After walking around the city for a bit, we all headed back upstate home and napped for a while before getting up and getting ready to head way upstate to Dutchess County for thanksgiving with our uncles, aunts and cousins. This was Rick's first thanksgiving with my relatives on my Mom's side and it was SO MUCH FUN! My uncle George gave him the grand tour of his home and I hung out with my cousins and showed one of my cousins, Kripa, the Dora the Explorer float from the parade that morning on my camera. She loved it! :) We didn't get back home after the turkey and desserts (stuffed mind you) until after 11pm and we all zonked out from having been up since 5 a.m.
Friday I took Rick into the city where we bought almonds from the nut-vendors and walked around enjoying the Christmas windows at Lord & Taylor's. Viewed the Holiday markets at Bryant Park and the ice skating taking place at the annually constructed ice rink 'Pond' at Bryant Park . We then headed down to Waverly Place, had coffee at Joe's the Art of Coffee and went to THREE LIVES BOOK COMPANY over on Waverly Place (quite possibly my new favorite bookstore) and spent time browsing its amazing collection of books (simply ONLY the best) and then showed Rick this pet store on Christopher Street/Stonewall Place that had the CUTEST puppies in its windows!! Rick fell in love with this one dog - a bulldog/New England Terrier mix with this patch of white on its forehead that I named "Star." I didn't have my camera with us that night so we came back the next day (I'll get there).
We saw an AWESOME movie Friday night down by Houston Street at the Landmark Sunshine Theater called INTO THE WILD directed by Sean Penn and based on the true life story of Christopher Johnson McCandless - a young man of 24 who ventured into the Alaskan wilderness to live off the land. The remarkable thing about him was that he was from a well-to-do family from the south, college educated at Emory, mega-smart, but turned off by society and empowered by an overly developed social and moral conscious. He decided to let go of all his earthly trappings and go 'into the wild' and spent years of his life traveling around the U.S. before it culminated in Alaska. His story is SO SO beautiful and even though I cried, it was WORTH seeing. It's one of those movies of a story which u just HAVE to see because it affects you as a human being at your core. If you can see that movie, please GO!!!
After the movie, we went to the famous 'KATZ's DELICATTESSEN' down on Houston as well and the friendly guy behind the counter cut me samples of strips of pastrami after I asked him 'I heard you're famous for your pastrami, what do you recommend?' :) Rick and I ate there - I think close to midnight - and the place still had lots of people. Apparently, its the site where 'Harry Met Sally' and the 'I'll have what she's having' was said ;)
Saturday Rick and I went back into the city to see the Mythic Creatures and Dragon's exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art but when we got there, the shows for the exhibit had sold out. So frustrating but when we walked back outside, Rick said he wanted to walk so we walked from 81st Street all the way to 49th Street to Rockefeller Center. We passed Columbus Circle and Rick swears it looks like Market Street in San Francisco. :) He and I made a deal that he'll live in New York for some time if we can also live in other places like San Fran etc.
We browsed around Banana Republic at Rockefeller Center and I went into Kinokuniya and browsed manga before I treated Rick to wagashi (Japanese Pastries) next door at Minamoto Kitchoan. He LOVED the Gobangai (bean tart) and Kurizutsumi (bean cake) and these jelly pastries called Yuka and something else I forget now. We then headed down back to Waverly Place to find the pet shop again and get pictures of that dog. It turns out the dog costs $3,500 to purchase. Here are pics of R with the dog:
We went out to eat at this Thai place afterwards called Cafetasia on East 8th Street - from the outside, it looks like this gorgeous and hip restaurant. Inside, there're candles everywhere but the tables are small, and the view outside is unimpressive (the interior decor is prettier). The food.....we had mixed results. I loved the Thai Crepes I ordered (dumpling-like appetizers) and loved the brown rice green tea, but the main entrees we ordered left much to be desired in taste. I forget now what R ordered but it was bland and tasteless, and what I ordered: a Jumbo Shrimp thing in some type of grass noodles, well the shrimp still had their tails (which is a pet peeve of mine because I hate having to cut them out) and the whole concoction was brown and slightly oily. It tasted better, though, than R's dish; he wound up eating my entree instead ;) - but it didn't impress my taste buds as a 'wow' dish I had to have. Disappointed we were and don't know if we'd try it again - not when NYC has so many hundreds of other delicious thai places I know of :) I think I might try it again and sample the other dishes - they may have just had an off night - who knows. The place itself, however, is pretty and a great place to meet up with friends or take a date.
We came home afterwards after being unable to catch a local NYC play at the Barrow Street theater (it's next showing was at 11 p.m. and we had no plans to stay that late) and watched my DVD set of ESCAFLOWNE! :) A great anime series I love and which R now likes a lot too :)
Today, Sunday, we headed out for a long drive to New Jersey! Today was the wedding day of my friend Bhumika! We went to this gorgeous wedding hall called Royal Albert's Palace in Fords, New Jersey and the whole wedding was beautiful. Bhumi is Hindu and witnessing the ceremony was absolutely enchanting. Rick and I loved the food and sat with some of my friends from work.
Here are Bhumi and her new husband, Uday:
And Rick and I :) I'm wearing one of my lachas in purple:
We hit a lot of traffic both going down to New Jersey and going back home and it sucked spending 4 hours on the road doing nothing but driving but t'was worth it to see Bhumi's wedding :) We came home and Rick packed to go back to L.A. tonight :( I came back about a half hour ago now from dropping him off at JFK airport and I'm so so so sad. I miss him and my sisters all so much. *sigh*
All I need, to be happy, are my loved ones by my side.
Here are a couple of Rick and I taken on the subway and tonight at the airport garage.
I am now going to spend the rest of the evening watching the recorded eps of Regis & Kelly I had and maybe do some writing as well.
Hope you all had as wonderful a thanksgiving weekend as I did. I only wish it could have lasted longer.
Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!
Calling all Lawyers (and law students, legal researchers and paralegals)
Monday, November 19, 2007
08:32 p.m.
Today I met with Carol Smolenski, the head of ECPAT-USA. ECPAT is an international organization that is fighting to end Child Prostitution, Child Trafficking and Child Pornography. I will be the Chair of the brand new Lawyer's Committee for ECPAT-USA. As an attorney who is passionate about human rights and international law, children's rights (especially) are dear to my heart and I am taking a stand as an attorney to help end the victimization of children.
I am asking lawyers, law students, and anyone familiar with legal research, to join my new Lawyer's Committee of ECPAT-USA and offer your legal research and writing services on a strictly pro bono / volunteer basis.
For those unfamiliar with the issue, children are being illegaly trafficked in to the United States from all over the world and being victimized and exploited sexually. Some of these children are as young as 4 or 5 years of age. Some are older, 12-17 and are being arrested and jailed as ' prostitutes' without being cared for as victims or as children. The crimes against these children are much more horrific and terrible than you can imagine and I cannot write about them here on a public journal, but we all have or know children whom we love - we would never want them to be victims of sexploitation, and certainly not here in the U.S.!
If you care about human rights, children's rights, and saving the lives of children who are being victimized here in the U.S., then please join this new committee. Please spread the word to other lawyers (or anyone who can do perform legal research) that you know and help us to do the legal work necessary to put laws in place that will help prevent child sex-ploitation from taking place and help the victims of this horrible practice now.
Lawyer's Committee of ECPAT-USA - will be hosting meetings in New York, but this will be a national group and I am asking every lawyer and legal researcher all over the U.S. reading this, to join and support our efforts. We will need members from every state to research their states' laws and how their state handle child prostitution.
Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!
Monday, November 19, 2007
07:16 a.m.
oh my god. It's snowing.
I just woke up and showered and came back into my room and opened all the window curtain-blinds.
It's still fall, it's only 35 degrees, all the red-orange leaves are on the trees and on the green grass, and snow is falling.
This is the most beautiful sight I'll behold all day.
Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!
Sunday, November 18, 2007
10:34 p.m.
The Anime & Sushi Potluck Night I hosted at my home tonight was lots of fun! Just 4 members of my group showed up but they're such cool and sweet guys and they cracked me up! :) I have some seriously good new anime series I want to try and watch now like Haibana Renmei and FLCL; not to mention finishing my own copies of Spiral and Escaflowne.
My Rickers surprised me with awesome news: he's coming for Thanksgiving!!!!! :D All last week he had me convinced he wouldn't be able to come because the tickets are horrendously expensive but he pulled it off :D I love my baby :) Now, all my sisters and he and I are going to attend the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in the city Thursday morning and then head upstate to my uncles' homes for a huge family Thanksigiving celebration. This is going to be such an awesome Thanksgiving! :D
I hope I can sleep tonight - I drank a ton of hot chocolate while watching anime tonight and I'm not even counting the yummy Dunkin' Donuts Cinnamon Spice coffee Mek and Bill bought me this afternoon or the one I had with Mek when I made her breakfast this morning (my special French Toast with blueberries, blackberries and strawberries) - I believe in healthy breakfasts! ;)
Tomorrow during lunch I'm looking forward to meeting with this amazing woman who runs ECPAT-USA - it's an organization that fights against the illegal sex-trade of child prostitution and sex-trafficking. Protecting the innocence and lives of children and women sold into the sex-trade is something dear to my heart and I'm going to be speaking with her about how I can do pro bono work as an attorney on behalf of their organization.
It's now 11pm and I am going to call my Rickers and head to sleep. *HUGS* to all and good night!
Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!
Saturday, November 17, 2007
10:44 p.m.
evenin' folks :) happy saturday night to all! 2 of my sisters and I are in my room watching 'Lucky You' on dvd (it's boring me so I'm online). We went out to Cosi's tonight for dinner and had super yummy food - Cosi's always has the most delicious food but I hear that the one here at home is better than the ones elsewhere - lucky us! ;) If you're lucky to go to a good Cosi's near you, order their Aurora Meatball sandwich or their 'Signature Salad' (it has cranberries and grapes in it) and their tomato basil soup and their mint mocha coffee and finish it off like my sisters and I did - with Cosi's S'MORES!! :D They serve you an open flame-iron thing that you can cook your marshmallows over and then put on your graham crackers and add Hershey's chocolate to. I love S'Mores! :)
I'm debating whether to go to chinese class tomorrow morning (I've missed so many classes past 2 months) or stay home and write, write, write. It'd be better if I stayed home because I'm hosting a Japanese Anime and Sushi Potluck night tomorrow evening where anime fans bring 1 episode of their favorite anime series on DVD and some type of food (ergo the potluck). I miss my friends from Chinese class though - we always have fun in class and go out to eat in Chinatown afterwards and I haven't seen them since before I got engaged in October. Agh, I'll see how I feel tomorrow morning.
Azure Kaze what does SailorMoon mean to me? Well...yes, I agree, I love the story in all its forms and agree 100% that manga is the best. To answer your question, though, it means to me inspiration in hope and love and belief in the goodness of people deep within and the bonds of love and friendship. Those are things that I believe in deep inside and why SMoon resonated so deeply and honestly within me.
Sean it snowed? WOW! So early!! And I'm going to agree with you about the Staples vs. FedEx Kinko's. I LOVE FedEx Kinko's now! And I could go no more than 2 weeks - I'd run out of clean socks by then.
Sanoj thank you! :) Are you back in TX now? If you're still in NJ, we still need to meet up!!
Kayla I loovveeee Target!! :) I'm going to check out MusicShake.com!! Thank you for recommending it! :) *BIG HUGS* Are you going to be working at TG over Thanksgiving? I can only imagine how hectic it will be!
Marcia how're you going since Sina left for Iran? Has he called/written? *BIG HUGS* to you!!!
Anywayz, it's time for bed soon. Good night and *HUGS* to all!
Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
11:33 p.m.
After work today, went to my favorite salon on the east-side and got a haircut - just 1/2 an inch trim to keep my hair healthy and because I'm growing out my hair really, REALLY long for my wedding next year. The best part of the cut though is the blow-out my hairdresser Lora gives - it leaves my hair bouncy and soft and is perfect every time and worth every penny! They say you need a trim every 6 weeks but I'm fine going every 10 weeks because I take good care of my hair. I use Pantene and Sunsilk conditioners and Loreal Vive Pro shampoo and Garnier Fructis 2-in-1 S+C (at night).
After my great cut, caught the 6:20 train home and had dinner with my mom: a big bowl of 'cuppa' with beef curry and hot herbal tea and red seedless grapes for dessert; then, introduced her to Pushing Daisies on ABC. I LOVE that show! :) I so hope Chuck and the Pie Maker will finally get to be TOGETHER! I also loveeee Kristin Chenoweth's character Olive. I had taken my mom and one of my sisters to see The Apple Tree musical last year when Kristin Chenoweth was starring in it on Broadway and my mom adored her too!!! She has such a cute voice and she's short too! :)
Talked to my Rickers during the commercial breaks and then went upstairs to my room to watch Gossip Girl in private - that show is not meant to be watched with your conservative Indian mummy! ;) Can I just say how much I like the character of Serena and I LOVEEEE Dan + Serena!!! I really hope Vanessa doesn't get in the way (it's a little like "The O.C." in that sense). I LOVEEE DAN's character on Gossip Girl!!! How gorgeous is that guy??????
Then . . . drum roll watched PROJECT RUNWAY!!!! :D I sooooooooo thought the girl with the hideous blue destroyed peacock like dress should've gone home but I guess she's redeemable for her choice of color and her attempt to be unique in her innovation. I felt bad for the girl with the boring dress but she deserved to go home too - this is a competition amongst some of the absolute top designers in the country - to be "in" you need to *consistently* design an AMAZING outfit that says 'WOW' - if you can't, "you're out!" All the other designers brought a 'wow' in some way or another - they all deserved to stay. And the winner? He was my FAVE! He's so cute too!
It's late now and I need to head to sleep! Hope everyone is having a fabulous night! Sweet dreams!
Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!
beauty & exercise
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
09:00 p.m.
oooooooooohhhhhhhhh myyyyyyyyyyyyyy gaaawwdddddddddddd I'm so gladddddddd to be HOMEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
Both yesterday and today I raced to Grand Central after work and made the 5:14 train home which drops me off at 5:45!! :) If my dad picks me up then, or if I get a cab right away, I'm home by 6 and on the treadmill by 6:15. Feels so good to be working out intensely again. I do 60-minute incline workouts on the treadmill and then do 30 minutes of muscle toning/strengthening and stretching. And all while watching the evening news and then E! News and the Daily 10! :) Gotta love E! :)
Just finished a big dinner of rice with beef curry and squash curry (so yummy) and am drinking raspberry tea and having my dessert of an organic red apple. I feel very healthy right now. Not to mention relaxed after a good warm shower.
I've been using these new beauty products I bought at Sephora earlier this month and so far, so good! (I LOVE Sephora!) They definitely make my skin feel protected from the day's sun and pollution and I feel like they're effective at night as well but I've yet to see a dramatic difference in my skin. Takes 8 weeks I believe and I'm on week 2 I think.
I'm using DDF's Mesotherapy Cell Injection Serum which purportedly has a tri-peptide antioxidant complex that's supposed to infuse my skin with antioxidants and help my skin stay firm and beautiful. It definitely feels like its infusing my skin and tightens and brightens it as well. After that's sunk in, I use Vichy Reti-C eye cream to prevent eye wrinkles and Clinique's RepairWear Intensive Night Lotion over the rest of my face and neck.
During the day, I also use DDF's Mesojection but follow it up with DDF's SPF eye cream and Clinique's City Block Sheer SPF 15 lotion (it doesn't make my skin greasy because it's oil-free!) So far, Clinique and DDF make me feel as though I'm doing serious improvements to my skin, but time will tell if my skin actually looks amazing ;)
I'm going to faithfully use these until the products finish and evaluate my skin at the end. I have good skin to begin with (thank you mummy and papa) but I also credit it to years of using products by Nivea (their Q-10 line and anti-wrinkle night cream are awesome) and Oil of Olay (I recommend their Total Effects Intensive Restorative Treatment at night - comes in a black tube) and Neutrogena (I recommend it's Anti-oxidant Age-reverse Night Cream - comes in a red and white tube). I still use these products because I feel they truly work!
However, I'm always looking for the newest most effective product for my money and when I'm finished with these lotions, I really, really, really want to buy Prevage and Relastin Eye Silk - so expensive but I believe in skin care and that better products with proven good customer reviews are worth the money. These 2 have gotten the most favorable reviews by regular people like you and me.
As they say: "Love the skin you're in!" :)
Time to watch my recorded ep of this morning's Regis & Kelly and then talk to my Rickers and go to bed. *HUGS* to all!
Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!
Monday, November 12, 2007
11:36 p.m.
just gave myself a manicure as I watched my recorded ep of Regis & Kelly and am waiting for my 3 coats of clear polish to dry before going to sleep - I wanted to paint it a dark purple or maroon but this late at night, it's too likely it'll get ruined during sleep - clear's better :)
had my ear appointment this morning and the doctor hurt my ear by putting in a drainage/vacuum thing and then using a long probing thing to tell if the "bony overgrowrh" was hard or soft and learned it was soft and concluded it isn't bone - it's scar tissue. He put me on another 10 days more of a new antibiotic to make sure it gets all the ear infection bacteria the 1st antibiotic couldn't get and I still have to put eardrops in my ear. He suggested that he could 'cut out' the scar tissue at a future date so that my ear canal is open. I'm going to get a second opinion. He was too rough and hurt me and said rude things like 'I'm not going to stick this through your brain' when I was apprehensive and jumping from the pressure/pain of his methods in my ear.
I took the antibiotic and put eardrops in my ear about 1.5 hours ago and the ear still feels sore from this morning.....he really went at the scar tissue or whatever it is. Ugh.
think my nails are dry now and I can sleep. Going to call my rickers.
I'm writing in a lot of lowercase tonight. Must be tired ;)
Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!
Sunday, November 11, 2007
06:28 p.m.
Listening to Motorcycle's As the Rush Comes - God that song is gorgeous.
Nith just left to go back to her apartment and I'm sitting in my room, tidying up and trying to think if I want to work out in an hour or not. We went to the Mall this afternoon at 12 and spent the entire afternoon browsing and I almost bought things but decided I really don't need anything - not pants, not sweaters, nothing. I have everything in my closet already. Instead, I bought the new volume of SKIP BEAT (#9) and we picked up dinner for the fam at Cosi's - I love their Aurora meatball sandwhich! :) Drinking chai now and relaxing...
Fous De La Mer's song Conmigo just came on my playlist - puts me in a dancing mood :D
Have an appointment with the ear doctor tomorrow morning so going in to work late. I feel so restless, sad that Nith left and now nobody to hang out with and talk to...mummy and papa are busy...think I'll call my darling Rickers and veg out with some TV.....recorded one of my new favorite Disney Channel shows 'Wizards of Waverly Place' and 'Twitches Too' and might be a good night to watch those :D
Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!
Saturday, November 10, 2007
10:35 p.m.
I'm going next week to see Chita Rivera at the Regency!! :D I'm so excited!!! She is an AMAZING singer and performer. When she gets on that stage, the whole ROOM becomes electric - she commands EVERYONE's attention - she is just....astounding and I am so so so crazy happy to see her sing! :D
My sister Nithi came home this weekend and she and I just ordered in chinese food and are watching tv and reading magazines. Earlier we were planning my bachelorette party in Miami next April :D
It's getting late and I have Chinese class in the city tomorrow morning so I've gotta get to sleep. *HUGS* to all! Good night!
Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!
Jogging, Martial Arts Kickboxing, Dance - currently middle eastern dance & bellydance, Tennis, Singing (of course ;) and working on my songs, Reading & writing about all the things I am interested and passionate about, watching tv and movies, painting, drawing, astronomy, rollerblading (and trying to get better at it and ice skating!), obsessive anime and manga fan and professional web designing, ancient studies / ancient civilizations, history and archaeology, world mythology, politics and world affairs, international law, human rights, studying many languages (have studied and continue to study spanish, mandarin chinese, japanese and hindi).
"In ancient Rome, huge feasts were held and houses and halls were decorated with boughs of evergreen trees. In pagan Scandinavia, yule logs were burned because they believed the log could magically make the sun brighter. Europe and many other places still burn the Yule log, but it is now just a symbolic gesture. Scandinavians also listened to minstrel poets sing about ancient legends."
