i heart thursdays: 06.06

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

I think I'm already doing this! And it's good!

Here is your horoscope for Wednesday, June 21:

Opt for the scenic route. Better yet, why not take a long walk and really enjoy the sights? Whether you take this advice metaphorically or literally, one thing's for sure -- the stars want you to slow down.

Sunday, June 18, 2006

SIFF: The Seattle International Film Festival

I had a SIFF weekend! Missing two of the three weekends of the festival due to travel, I slammed 7 movies since Wednesday - and saw a few in between trips over the past few weeks.

Favorite: Crazy (Canadian)- A film about a kid growing up gay in Quebec in the 60's/70's - sounds cliche, but this film was brilliant. *Brilliant*. I loved it.

Second Favorite: Russian Dolls (French)- A film about a guy and his struggles to get the girl; some great travel scenes in Paris, London & St. Petersburg, Russia.

Other good ones:
You and Me (French)
A Soap (Danish)

The others were marginal, par for the course in a film fest.

Special thanks to my main movie going pal, Marek, and to Anhl for hitting a few with me too :)

Monday, June 12, 2006

New York Day 4: World Trade Center/Heading Home!

My last day in New York was relatively short – Ron tends to keep a 3 a.m. – 10 a.m. sleep schedule, which to be honest, was fantastic for me since it’s essentially my exact Seattle schedule. I should be right on track getting up tomorrow!

Anyhow, we didn’t really get out of the house until noon or so, when we hopped on the subway to the site of the World Trade Center. There frankly isn’t much to see there…however, it did give me a chill. It’s just creepy to stand in a spot where so many people died. Right there. We took it in for a few minutes, then it just seemed like it was time to move on.

We headed off for some last minute shopping, though we found we were both shopped out from yesterday…so we hit Burritoville. Seems Ron is a man after my own heart who can eat Mexican food every day. Bravo! So, I had nachos (shocking!) and he had a burrito, then we walked to the southend seaport before we took the bus back to the East Village. The bus was cool – it takes a little longer, but you do get to see a lot more.

Oh, and we saw a pack of Amish people. I took their photo. I forgot that means I’ve stolen their souls… Hopefully I’ll be forgiven; though, Ron said it was the first pack of Amish people he’d seen in the city, and the artist in me really felt their hats made for an excellent photo, particularly in mass. And, since their souls are in my Canon SD30 already, I’m posting one.

At 3 p.m., the car I hired to take me to Newark airport arrived. I had a few issues with my ticket, and then security…and then was literally the last person to get on my plane – somehow I mistook the takeoff time with the boarding time and walked up at the very last call (I was off charging my laptop in a different area). That would have sucked, seeing that I was there 2 full hours early (which I never am!).

All in all, my trip to the big apple was perfect. Ron just took me around and I didn’t plan or organize a single thing. Half the time I had no idea where we were – I’d think we were ½ hour walk from home, and then find we were a block away; other times, the opposite – everything seemed familiar but it was a while before we got to our destination. It was truly a nice vacation though; I didn’t have to do any work. We watched mindless, funny TV. We shopped. We talked a lot, but also just sat quietly as we ate meals or just hung out. It was really a delight! (Thanks Ron! I promise to come back, but per your request, not too soon J)

Photos: WTC; Subway shots; Bumming around downtown (with burritos/stolen souls); some shots of Ron’s place; a sad-faced Ron as I leave; and finally, a happy-birthday-to-me sign off an ice cream truck.