Merry Xmas to me

Someone hit my parked car & took out my side mirror among other things. Fantastic.

first snow storm...

new Philly holiday tradition?

the 3D show at the Comcast Building....not as entertaining as the building itself.

U2 360...

just got tickets to see U2 next summer!!
to prepare me for this event i'm writing a song, consisting of all U2 lyrics....i've got more than 7 months to do it....as a wink to the friends who will be joining me, i'm using this working title today: "magnificent surrender 40".

accidental school spirit...

went back to good ol' Penn campus this afternoon to meet up with my friend, who was visiting from out of town. little did we know it was Homecoming Weekend.....tells you how much school spirit i have for my alma mater. we tried to score these red and blue scarves that they were giving out, but alas we were too late....that was about as excited as i got about homecoming weekend. perhaps i'll consider going next year, a BIG one for my class....also makes me feel rather old--did we actually look like infants when we started out in college???

happy halloween...

helped out a friend with manning the photo station at a children's halloween party thrown by a neighborhood association down in south philly. lots of cute kids in costumes, and parents who were somewhat impatient and rude at times b/c they had to wait for the *free* photograph to be printed....fun.

brauhaus...

drinking my dunkel, listening to Germen folk music, or was it pop music? and watching American baseball....

hug-a-mug...

Mexican hot chocolate by the bold guy....mm-mm good....

the sound of silence...

darkness has fallen on my car's clock/radio....yesterday i was trying to charge my cell phone in the car and everything went out! apparently it's the fuse (what did we ever do before google?), and i will attempt the change myself....after i read the manual, but hopefully some time soon, cuz Paul Simon's words are ringing in my ear...
silence like a cancer grows...

has hell frozen over???

i can't believe i'm going on record and saying that i actually enjoy going to a....*gasp*....buffet!! for my dad's birthday we took him to a Japanese buffet in a NJ mall (yes, not only a buffet, but a buffet in a mall!). you might think i've become psycho, but this place actually has decent sushi and other cuisines that are not bad...including a raw bar.
i'm still not a fan of this type of eating, but as with cruising, it's some times easier with families...okay, my family, to not argue about where to go b/c everyone wants different things.

but don't start inviting me to buffets now...i'll still likely veto the idea.

visiting the muchkins...

...niece Ava at 2 months,
and her silly brother, who talks non-stop, and will only allow you to take silly pictures of him....

sailing weekend, amongst other diversions...

spent last weekend in Rhode Island with girlfriends...we learned a little bit about racing a sail boat, America's Cup-style in Newport, ate yummy lobster rolls and clam bellies, enjoyed WaterFire in Providence, brunch with drag queens... and i fell in love with the "heavenly bed" from the Westin hotel....maybe i just needed sleep, and away from my "smoker's paradise"....

amazing grace...

one of my elderly clients, N, has been dealing with some feelings of guilt regarding all the "bad" things he's done in the past---referring to his participation in wars and the things he had to do b/c of it, as well as other things in his past. in our sessions he's processed some of these horrible things, and a few weeks back he told me he didn't think he'd "make it" (meaning, to heaven, which he believed in. as a young man, he had been thinking of becoming a pastor like his father).
one of the songs we always sing in the session is "amazing grace" and we had talked about what that meant, and i reminded him of the criminal on the cross next to Jesus and what Jesus' response to his plea for remembrance of him. grace is just that, undeserved favor. it is not karma....we get grace when we ask for forgiveness and believe what Jesus says is true of himself and of us.

today, out of the blue, N tells me, "i've been thinking about what you said....i think i'm going to make it."

i felt like the angels rejoiced.

don't feed the animals...

outside the construction site where they are building a new Walgreens around the corner from me.

smoker's paradise...

...that is what the new place that i just moved into is being called right now. previous tenants were chain smokers, who lived there for the last 12 years with their 4 cats. i'm having a very difficult time adjusting, physiologically, to this place since my vocal cords are irritated when i'm there...and i was feeling a bit light-headed this morning spending time there with the painters (or perhaps that's due to not having had my morning coffee?? let's hope so).

we ordered these smoke removal things called "room shocker"--yeah, not sure about the name, but i'm hoping it'll work. would hate to have to move out before i even got a chance to move in....though, it'd be easier, since everything is still mostly packed.


a positive from the move: amazing friends who are willing to help us clean!! you guys rock!

another move...

i should really be packing my stuff for the move at the end of the week....*sigh* there is no real motivation, since i'm only moving 3 doors down. i mean, who wants to pack everything in boxes when you can just walk each item over? okay, it'll take a lot more time to move then, but ugh! i always think i have less stuff than i do.

nasty crash in the TdF...

veteran rider, Jens Voigt, had a nasty crash in yesterday's stage. it was brutal to watch him go down while riding full speed down the mountain...so close to the end! he had to be rushed the the hospital after loosing consciousness for a few minutes, and is now out of the tour. very sad indeed....and i'm not only saying that because he is in my fantasy cycling team...yes, i know, i know...

TdF 2009...

ahhh, le tour....so begins another month of me glued to the television. i tried to watch the initial stages on youtube and other online websites since i didn't have the Versus channel on my cable plan, but it was just not doing it for me. finally i caved and called to upgrade my plan for this month so i can feed my obsession.

this year is a fun year to watch the tour...who would've thought Lance Armstrong would be racing again? and my man Cavendish is also going to try for the green jersey (fingers crossed for him to finish the tour this year)....it's gonna be fun.

Baby Ava

Meeting my new niece for the first time. She threw up for the first time...on me.

Nebraska...

there were lots of corn fields in Iowa and Nebraska--not much in terms of scenery, which reminded me of Windows desktop screen savers with it's green fields and blue skies.

i stopped in North Platte, NE for a break and some good steak lunch...gotta have beef here, right? it also happened to be the home of Buffalo Bill.

Iowa...

driving through Iowa, there were these amazing giant wind turbines that were everywhere. it was a cool sight to see....however, it's not recommendable to take photos while driving 80mph...

Java House

just for you, Liz...stopped in Iowa City for great cup o joe.

windy city...

as i walked around Chicago, i noticed that it was not very bike-friendly like Philly, but it was quite pedestrian friendly....every road construction area that hindered people walking on the sidewalk has these barricades that sectioned off part of the street so people can walk in safety, and not having to cross the street to the other side like Philly...not only that, it was also handicap friendly...EVERY one of those sectioned off places i saw had a ramp! pretty amazing.


Monica and i walked from the West Loop to Grant Park to do the Taste of Chicago, which is this annual festival that food/restaurant vendors from the city sample their food...you buy tickets ($8 for 12 tickets), and each booth have tasting portions for about 4 tickets
each....there were also free concerts in the evening...i saw the Counting Crows, with an opening band, Augustana. it was a hot day, but with good food and free music, it was a good day.

chicago...

so the plan was to stop off around Pittsburgh, PA for the night, after i didn't have the sleep i wanted to the night before the trip. however, i felt good/alert throughout the ride, and made good time even though i left around 11am....and decided to shoot for Toledo, OH, where i would sleep for the night before driving to Chicago.

the tiredness never came as i drove, and it helped that i was going west and the sun didn't set until i reached Indiana around 9:30p...by then i thought it was only a few more hours to Chicago. got here to Chicago at 11:30p after my inexperience with the GPS directives looped me around the city more than it should (while i love the technology, i still love my maps).

meeting my friend, Monica this afternoon to explore a bit. and possibly heading out tomorrow or first thing Monday morning for the open roads again.

still driving...

getting into Ohio.

...and i'm off...

the cross-country mobile all packed to go...

get your kicks on route 66...

in less than a week, i'll be driving cross-country; i've agreed to transport my friend's car from Philly to San Fran. driving cross-country is something that i've wanted to do for a while, and when the opportunity presented itself, i had to take it....even though, i realize, a week is really too short to get a full experience of the vastness of America. never the less, i will try to take in as much as i can.

the plan (which is non-existent right now, since i've only recently agreed to do it) is to take the northern route...not sure which places to hit yet (will take suggestions), especially since my geography beyond the east and west coast is a bit sketchy....what do you mean, there are places to visit in the Midwest?!? this also forms my current trip plan: Chicago-?-?-?-Portland-drive down coast to San Fran. all this will likely change once i start doing some research...

sweet home Alabama

we had a packing party (what's a party without champagne?), and said goodbye to our good friends, Loren & Jon, as they move down to Alabama. i'll miss their company, and yes, even their psycho cat, Maggie....who, in spite of being mean and hissing at everyone ALL the time, had a unique talent of skating on CDs across the floor that i found endearing.

Momofuku...

lunch at the noodle bar in NYC.

thoughts on mortality...

one of my favorite clients passed away last week. G. was 81, but in relative good health, and was not battling with any life-threatening conditions....so, it was rather unexpected. i was caught off-guard when i found out the news. today i went to her funeral at her church, and it was a joyful celebration of her life. though there was sadness for the loss of someone who is special and loved by many, we were reminded that G is not "lost", and her life was indeed a reflection of her favorite song that she used to sing:"Let the work of my hands speak for me." i thought that G. would have loved the music sung during the service, though it made me emotional as i recalled the many times we've sung them in the 7 years i saw her. G. had told me many times how she valued our time together, and how the music we shared helped lift her, and we joked about how she could be a walking ad for music therapy. as i reflect on our relationship, i can say that she had encouraged me more than she'll know, that she ministered to my soul even as i was there to "help" her.

the scripture reading for G's service included these verses. i know she has always loved the passage in John; she is home now.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal;a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh;a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose;a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew;a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate;a time for war, and a time for peace. -Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" Jesus said to him,"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. -John 14:1-6

Jury duty...

This will be where i'll be the next few days. Lucky me... just been selected to serve on a trial. $9 a day, baby!

somewhere over the rainbow...

driving up to NYC this afternoon on the NJ Turnpike i hit a lot of traffic, but it allowed me to enjoy seeing this rare double rainbow.

Philadelphia Film Festival...

saw "The Answer Man" at the Philadelphia Film Festival last night with my friend, Cyndy (who is covering the film festival for a local radio station, which you can read here). Jeff Daniels was there for some award, and there was a Q&A session before the film was premiered. i thought the film was pretty good....didn't really have high expectations going in, so perhaps i was just pleasantly surprised. it didn't hurt that the film was shot entirely in Philly, and one of the major locations for the film takes place around the corner from where i live.

where have i landed??

Cappadocia...final leg of my amazing trip....place that i almost didn't go, had i not impulsively extended my stay for another 3 days just to fit this in. this whole region in the center of Turkey is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and it's not hard to see why. its landscape is truly out of this world, with caves/dwellings cut into the rock, underground cities where persecuted Christians used to hide...i can't do it justice with words so here are some pictures:


i met up with Steffen again, and we both found this part of Turkey fantastical. S was especially fond of the caves...i suggested he buy a rock and make a dwelling for himself, seeing he's an architect and all. a little snow didn't stop us from hiking through this amazing landscape, though, i have to admit, a heat lamp that followed me around would have been really nice.

Istanbul not Constantinople...

met up with my friend, Jonathan, in Istanbul and had a whirlwind of a weekend. we managed to pack in almost all the must-see historical sights (Blue Mosque,Hagia Sophia, Underground Cistern, Hippodrome, Grand Bazaar, Topkopi Palace....) and even had time for to go to a Hamam (Jonathan squeezed in a second one before he had to fly back to Dubai). all this, plus i experienced my first ever ATM card being eaten up by the evil money machine.

we also managed to eat some fantastic food, and in spite of the rainy weather, and my tiny pink umbrella that really didn't serve any good in keeping us dry, we had a great time.

on Sunday i took a ferry and crossed over the Bosphorus to the Asia side (Istanbul spans both Europe and Asia, divided by the Bosphorus), and attended services at a church that had connections with the one i attend in Philly. i had very little idea of what was being said in the service, but enjoyed learning to sing some Turkish songs, and just get a taste of worship amidst people of all nations....made me appreciate the grand reach of the gospel, that it's not just for a certain people.

on my way back to Europe, i decided to take a taxi so i could have time to pick up my luggage from the hotel and head to the airport.....and this is the beginning of another adventure. i was stuck in a taxi a lot longer than usual since there were a whole bunch of road closures and detours due to some protests. my cab driver spoke absolutely no English, and we conversed in Turkish (or at least i tried) the entire time....during which i surmised that he was indeed trying to pick me up. it was a most ridiculous situation, with language barriers like you wouldn't believe, and physical attempts by the cabbie to woo me--can you imagine him trying to dance with me in the car? and...at one point he took my hand and kissed it. if this had been anywhere else, i'd gotten out of the cab, however, we were on some highway or somewhere (i had no idea), and i really needed to get back and not miss my flight. long story short, he wasn't creepy enough that i used his services from the hotel to the airport- since i was able to get him to give me a cheaper rate. he did give me his phone number, and after asking for mine, i finally just lied and told him i had a boyfriend i was meeting, so he'd leave me alone.

Ephesus...

saw Ephesus in the pouring rain....not the best way to see the ancient city. but it was still pretty cool to walk through it. the upside is that there were practically no tourists! i much rather have that than moving among throngs of people. the beauty of having a car and all our belongings with us is that one could change clothing when needed....had to peel off my soaking jeans afterwards, and was glad that i have dry pants to change into.