Bright at Brighton

It was very sunny at Brighton today:












Check out the panorama from the top of the Great Western Express lift:

Belated videos from Powder Mountain- (they take a while to upload on a shared connection)

Skiing through the powder at PowMow.


And here's how it looks from my POV.


My cousin Charlie calls this my Blair Witch video- I need a stabilizer of sorts. Maybe the Chicken Head Stabilizer featured on youtube?

Day 2 at beloved Powder Mountain

I could never cheat on a significant other, so I returned to Powder Mountain for a second day of powder. Hence the powder field below with fresh tracks (I know the contrast could be better- but it was a snowy, grey day):


The way the mountain is set up, there are a couple of areas where there is amazing snow and no lift. So the management organizes a bus shuttle that takes everyone back up the mountain. Cousin Charlie in yellow is about to cross the road, and cousin Sid is already waiting (big surprise) on the far left.

The crowd taking the bus is tight lipped with no stories being shared about secret powder stashes. It was a full busload each ride, yet we never actually saw those said people on the trails. Hard core.

I took it easy the last couple of hours and found in the trees a gnarled trunk that looks like a modernist painting of a face:


And two polar bears kissing in a river:

though maybe it's a moose & a polar bear- depends on your point of view.

I want to marry Powder Mountain

I want to marry Powder Mountain, and since I'd never cheat on a spouse we are going back again today. More video and shots to come...

Hard to tell in the shot below as my camera isn't too fancy, but those are my fresh tracks through the trees.


These trees were so tall I couldn't fit them in the shot.

This gnarled little tree in the upper corner perches alone in an area called "Paradise." Enough said.

Utah Powdah

20 inch storm last night in the mountains surrounding Salt Lake City. Spent the day at Solitude Mountain getting fresh tracks in the am. Too cold for a camera- pics to come soon at other favorites.

All bundled up

My "Little Sister" Melany and I went skating at Bryant Park today. It was cold. Verrrry cold. How cold? Check out the icicles on the fountain below.


And check out Melany's pretty rosy face.


And check out how even the lights froze, er, turned blue on the Empire State Building.

Are you sure that's the path to financial security?

The cold weather and tough workouts this week made me sore pretty sore, so I indulged in a 15 minute massage at my local nail salon. The ladies and I are still on very friendly terms, even if I’m not as much of a “regular” as I used to be. When I told them about my downsizing- there was a collective sympathetic groan from all 8 of them- pretty sweet and funny.

Well on Friday one of the ladies came over to me and opened up a cosmetics bag which was full of sparkly bracelets. She encouraged me to take one, and I couldn’t decide on a color! I asked her “Red is good luck in Chinese culture, right? There aren’t any red ones- is there one which will be good luck for finding a new job?” And her response was “Take a pink one for finding a new boyfriend!” Ha!

Curveball in the Self Taught Department

My vanity is making this post difficult, because it’s hard for me to bring up a project which might not make it. (Kinda like my cooking) But here goes, because the kickoff of this project is taking such an unusual route.

One of my goals during my "sabbatical" is to learn a musical instrument. Surfing is my physical challenge, reading & writing is my mental challenge, and I wanted to add in something that would take me to task physically AND mentally. 25 years ago I played the cello, so I thought a string instrument would be a good way to go. I settled on the ukulele due to the light sound and the right size for my surfing safari.

Yesterday my new toy arrived, and the biggest surprise is that the strings aren’t in “order.” i.e. they’re not descending/ascending in pitch like they are on a cello. The order is G-C-E-A. Curveball! This is going to be less instinctual to pick out melodies than I thought it would be. Time to hunker down with youtube/instructional videos.

MoMa and Midtown Stroll

It was a grey achy day yesterday- so I identified with Fernand Léger's painting "Three Women" at the MoMa. Certain body parts felt oddly pronounced.

My dad kept me company in the morning- here he's looking at Picasso's "Ma Jolie."

A word to the wise- no checking of laptops at most NYC museums- but at the MoMa they are nice enough to provide a sturdy bag to schlep it in.

We both agreed that we don't know much about the generation of artists that came in the 60s-70s after Picasso, Miro, et al., and that we'll hit that era on our next visit.

After a late lunch the weather cleared up, and I walked through midtown to get to Grand Central. If you have the luxury to do so, I highly recommend strolling on a weekday afternoon- the whole scene is digestible, even if the lights aren't on in their full glory:

Couch Surfing

My friend Pascale always looks put together (ohh les filles francaises). I wouldn't call her formal, but she's permanently organized, cheery, polite, polished, and shod in swanky shoes. So it surprised me that she was the one who forwarded me a blurb entitled "Skip the Hostel, Couch Surf for Free" which was about the website http://www.couchsurfing.com/

The site's mission statement is "CouchSurfing seeks to internationally network people and places, create educational exchanges, raise collective consciousness, spread tolerance, and facilitate cultural understanding."

Um, and travel on the cheap.

Not that that expensive accommodation seems to be an issue in Southeast Asia (hence <2% of exchanges are in that region) but I will try it with the goal of meeting in-the-know locals. (There’s a “just meet for coffee” option) For those Yanks traveling to Canada & Europe- might be fun to try out the whole shebang.

PS For those who haven't been to my apt, pictured above is my ingeniously designed pull out mattress stored in my galley kitchen.

Typhoid Vaccine, Take IV

4 doses of Typhoid vaccine- only 1 trippy dream set remembered...

Oddly enough, though, that particular dream (See 12/11 entry) might have been a precursor to actual events.

My friend Andrew recently blogged about Constitution Day in Russia, including a blurb on the "Miss Constitution" pageant held outside the Kremlin. The swimsuit portion, like the rest of the event, was held on an outdoor stage in subfreezing temperatures.

Follow this link from the LA Times for the whole report- it makes my hazy visions seem tame:
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fg-missconstitution13-2008dec13,0,7463223,full.story

Hunter Mountain

My first day of skiing for the season was filled with pretty views, Magic Shell-like encrusted chairlifts, the sounds of snowblowing machines & the thunderously low scrape of edges against ice. (Northeastern Ice...)

Switching Sports in NY

In theory, one could still surf in NY, but it's feeling more like ski/board season to me.

Certain things I’ll miss:



Others I won’t:

Sweet Swirling Dreams, Take II

The first round of typhoid vaccine+sleep resulted in dreams of me feeling nervous about competing in a “Russian Beauty Pageant” because

A) I wasn’t sure that my Czech would be of any use for me in the Ruský Q&A section

B) My fanciest dress, i.e. my real-life perfectly pretty purple dress, isn’t truly a ballgown.

Perhaps the sequence was inspired by me watching “Eastern Promises” before bed, but I would have much more appreciated something with Viggo Mortenson within rather than some pageant. Let’s hope that tonight typhoid vaccine+sleep equals something more trippy-happy.

A House in Bali by Colin McPhee

I’ve been reading in anticipation of the trip- studied the “Need to know’ info in the Lonely Planet, skimmed the balance, and I picked this up expecting it to be a “Spinach” book- i.e. good for me but not necessarily tasty. But it turned out to be charming, and much funnier than I anticipated. Can't wait to hear the gamelan and all of the other instruments he described in person. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/A-House-in-Bali/Colin-McPhee/e/9789625936291/?itm=1

Sweet Swirling Dreams

The listed side effects of my typhoid vaccine do not include trippy slumber, but considering how straight edge the rest of my life is, here’s to hoping that I get some crazy dreams tonight.

Cowgirl Creamery

I have had a love affair with stinky cheese ever since I wrangled, and eventually wheeled around the “cheese cart” at my waitressing gig in France. My friend Jenny went through this transformation with me, though her love affair took a more intellectual tone as she wrote her final thesis on the politics of cheese in the EU. You read that right- her university career was capped by cheese. So she’s the most trustworthy source in recommending “new” cheeses- and she did me good. She brought me to the DC cheese mecca: Cowgirl Creamery, and yes, I’m now hooked. http://www.cowgirlcreamery.com/aboutus.asp

So upon my return to New York (stinky cheese is a faux pas on the BoltBus) I went to the NY, and one could argue, American mecca of cheese. (Imagine a holy-sounding choir singing in the background) Behold. The Cheese Section of Zabar's.

And behold, the newest cheese in my repertoire: Red Hawk.











And behold, I might be suckered by a marketing ploy to buy this cheese on my next visit.



PS if you want to read the clever descriptions, double click on the photos to make them larger.

Tony Robbins on Pause

Is it a good, neutral, or bad sign that my acupuncturist was watching Tony Robbins on YouTube when I came out of my treatment?



As of now, my hip is feeling much better- who am I to judge on what's getting me (and him?) to a better place?

I'm assuming they only have Chevy Novas over there

In DC my friend Annie, as always, cooked thoughtfully delicious food for me. One night, after she laid out a cheese platter with Brie, Manchego and sliced baguette, I decided to focus on “food that I can’t easily get in Asia” over the next few weeks. What better way to kick off this kick than with a trip to Barney Greengrass. Thank goodness my high school friends were willing to share with me so that I could sample all the more. Latkes (not pictured) an Everything Bagel, Eggs with Nova and Onion, and Eggs with Horseradish and Cheese. New York culinary heaven.

Cell Phones vs Lockets

Had a quick visit with friends and my Godson in DC. My favorite nickname for him these days is the Roomba because his current crawling style is more like a soldier on his belly going through trenches rather than a crab tottering around. The result is that his belly mops up the floor no matter how many times my friend vacuums.

On my way back to the BoltBus I was able to pop into the National Portrait Gallery. They have a beautiful “new” enclosed courtyard with a fancy undulating roof. The exhibition that struck me was a tiny one about “Photographic Jewelry”- i.e. lockets, watch fobs, pins, etc. that were popular in the 19th Century. It was fun to compare the typical images that people use on their cell phones today for reminders of their loved ones versus how portraits were staged 150 years ago: http://www.npg.si.edu/exhibit/jewels/index.htm

Pudding Pooling Out Flat

The acupuncture is getting odd, not disconcertingly odd, but definitely odd. The Dr. was spot on about certain things- he said I’d feel sleepy after the treatment, and yes, I did laze around the couch quite a bit more than usual at my parents’ house for Thanksgiving. One could argue it was due to my cleaning out the basement, discovery of the “True Blood” series on demand, or heavy doses of tryptophan, but I’d like to give the Dr. the benefit of the doubt.

The 1st time I went in they told me that the treatment requires me keeping relatively still for 28 minutes after they put in the needles. Yesterday, after the usual “You feel better, don’t you?” leading questions, the Dr. put in a slew of needles, and left the room.

And I behaved. I used the time to come up with the images to describe the sensation: it is as if some parts of, though not the entirety of your muscles, start to feel very heavy. Like they were injected with (non poisonous) lead. And after a while they feel like really thick pudding pooling out flat. It’s not unpleasant, but it does makes one feel tired.

But only so tired. I slept very well the previous night. The clock read 28 minutes, and I was ready for the Dr. to come in and send me on my way. Then the heat lamp went out. And I tried to meditate, and make up stories in my head, visualize what the beach in Bali’ll look like, and amuse myself while keeping perfectly still, but the time wasn’t passing very quickly. I had needles all around my calves and I couldn’t physically see how to get up without jabbing myself to yell out the door “Hello! I believe you may have forgotten about me! The nice warming lamp ran out 32 minutes ago! I got here at quarter to and now it’s 20 to! Did you run out for a slice or something? ”

When the Dr. finally came back he was very surprised to find me gingerly sitting up, plotting how to scootch to the door for the yell. When I mentioned that I had arrived over an hour earlier and I was concerned he had forgotten about me, he told me that sometimes it takes “a time and a half to work.” Fuzzy math? Or overly revved up New Yorker?

Latest Culinary Obsession

Electrolytes, no sugar, instant pick-me up post Annie Whupping. (Annie is my new-ish trainer)

http://www.zico.com/

Can't wait until I can get the non-tetrapacky version on a regular basis. Flight leaves Jan 13 for Bali!

Rock and Roll at the Huntington Theatre

Last week my father & I saw Tom Stoppard’s “Rock and Roll” at the Huntington Theater in Boston. The Boston Globe has a slideshow which captures the main actors and scenes:

http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/specials/14rocknroll

In regards to Czech authenticity- the beer bottle size was off, the accents were atrocious (they sounded more Russian than Czech- thanks to the James Bond franchise for making a generation of russophile accent inflectors), but the actors seemed to capture bits and pieces of mannerisms and traits of people that I knew when I lived in Prague.

The writing was fantastic- I had no idea that the playwright was born as Tomáš Straussler in Zlín, The Czech Republic. The feature that stood out most to me were (was?) the really simple sets - there were only about 4 in total, but they looked truly lavish and big budget. René Augesen, an actress I’d never seen before, was phenomenal- she plays 2 roles that made me well up repeatedly. Maybe we’ll see more of her in the future?