Today is August 1st, 2009. I am officially starting a countdown until the wedding. We've got two weeks before the first event which is the Rehearsal. We have one week before our first guest arrives. And we've got three and a half weeks before Chase and I leave for China again.
There is so much to do and I have made a half a dozen "to-do" lists for each vendor. I hope we can get it all done this week because I truly want to relax that last week and really spend time with the people I love who have come from all over the world really.
Last night a few of my "bridesmaids"and friends- I put that in quotes because we really don't have bridesmaids in Indian weddings, but I wanted to incorporate that idea into our wedding (even though their role is minimal) and honor my friends- came over and tried on saris for the weekend that they are going to borrow. I am so happy that my friends are willing to get into the spirit of things and get dressed up like that. Saris really do make every woman look so beautiful and the fabric and draping is always figure-flattering.
I was beat after that so I went to bed. Today we've got a lot to work on and hopefully we can get things crossed off this list here.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
And we're back
Well, I'm back in the blogging world being that I am back in the US. If you didn't know, the Chinese government banned usage of blogging sites associated with blogger.com. Funny because that's owned by gmail which is still allowable.
Anyways, we arrived in Austin about two weeks ago and they have flown by so fast. We, well, I, not Chase, have been fully immersed in wedding planning and today I have been "ordered" to take a day off. I really don't want to as the wedding is now less than one month away. There is so much to do but yesterday I had a mini breakdown so I must relax today. Let's just say it is so difficult to make everyone happy and I always want to make everyone else associated with the wedding happy before myself and I have been unsuccessful at both. No one's happy.
Today, I woke up brushed Honey's teeth and her hair, fed her, and now am eating yummy Central Market granola with milk. I am going to take her to the dog park. Later I want to take a yoga class except that my left inner hamstring, right were it attaches to the glute is really straining after my run yesterday. This is an injury that has plagued me to varying degrees the past two years and for the first time I can say it's inflamed. I certainly do not practice enough yoga anymore and that is really changing my body. I can tell I am not as strong, don't have good enough balance, and my mind is unable to cope with the swings of life. I really hope that the next few weeks will allow me to have time and energy to practice. I really miss yoga more than I can explain. So hopefully by actually writing these thoughts down they will penetrate my subconcious and help me really make the effort to bring yoga back in my life.
It's getting hot out and in an hour it will be too hot for Lola. So I better get going to the dog park.
Anyways, we arrived in Austin about two weeks ago and they have flown by so fast. We, well, I, not Chase, have been fully immersed in wedding planning and today I have been "ordered" to take a day off. I really don't want to as the wedding is now less than one month away. There is so much to do but yesterday I had a mini breakdown so I must relax today. Let's just say it is so difficult to make everyone happy and I always want to make everyone else associated with the wedding happy before myself and I have been unsuccessful at both. No one's happy.
Today, I woke up brushed Honey's teeth and her hair, fed her, and now am eating yummy Central Market granola with milk. I am going to take her to the dog park. Later I want to take a yoga class except that my left inner hamstring, right were it attaches to the glute is really straining after my run yesterday. This is an injury that has plagued me to varying degrees the past two years and for the first time I can say it's inflamed. I certainly do not practice enough yoga anymore and that is really changing my body. I can tell I am not as strong, don't have good enough balance, and my mind is unable to cope with the swings of life. I really hope that the next few weeks will allow me to have time and energy to practice. I really miss yoga more than I can explain. So hopefully by actually writing these thoughts down they will penetrate my subconcious and help me really make the effort to bring yoga back in my life.
It's getting hot out and in an hour it will be too hot for Lola. So I better get going to the dog park.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Shanghai
It's been a week since we got back from Shanghai and I am finally getting a chance to post about it. Before going to Shanghai, many Beijingers warned me about how Shanghainese are not so nice and friendly, they try and cheat you, and their city was just not as beautiful as Beijing. And in many ways, they are right, it's very crowded and I noticed that from taxi drivers to people on the streeet, the Shanghainese were not as friendly. They have been exposed to the west for a longer period of time and I suppose you can say they have lost their innocence. People in Beijing are just some of the most friendly people I have met. They go out of their way to make you feel welcome in restaurants to seeing you on the street.
However, Shanghai is so beautiful and there are parks everywhere. My eyes were so happy because the green looked greener, the trees were taller and older, and the skyline is beautiful. We ate at The Kitchen (based off restaurant in Tokyo by Salvatore Cuomo) which is across from the Bund and had some of the best pumpkin gnocchi while watching the skyline of Shanghai.
Here's a view of the three most famous buildings in Shanghai right from our riverside table. First, the spindly structure is the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. The one on the lower left is the JinMao Tower which used to be the tallest building in China before the next one was built, Shanghai World Financial Center which is behind that.
We had a great tour guide with us, Chase's friend Lisa from his Trek America days. And she took us around most of Shanghai on Friday afternoon. After lunch we went to the Shanghai One World Financial Center's rooftop bar. Well, actually, after we got to the lobby of the hotel on the 86th floor we found out that the bar we wanted to go to wasn't open so settled for another bar on the 92nd floor. The views were ok only because I was expecting this spectacular view. And it was starting to get foggy because of Saturday a storm was forecasted and the clouds were coming in. Nevertheless, a great experience and amazing how Shanghai is such a sprawling yet condensed metropolis.
Here we are before we went up to the viewing area.
I love sleep. I can sleep almost anywhere. So here I am taking a cat nap on Lisa's windowsill. Notice the great skyline view that she has up on the 34th floor.
The next night we went to eat at Jean George's in the city. Chase has been to the one in NYC and was excited to go back for about 1/3 the price (Thank you China). I broke my vegetarianism and went for a four course meal with chicken as the entree and wine pairings. I felt ok being that it was an organic chicken that I was eating and it was deliciously prepared. I felt that the whole meal was so tasty. Every single bite. I can't forget an artichoke mousse that was served as an intermezzo. Yum. Chase seemed just as pleased with his meal. The service was attentive. Jean Georges when compared to Beijing's best restaurant, Maison Boulud by Daniel Boulud, was light years better....
So after dinner we went around to some of Shanghai's late night hotspots on the Bund and had a great time. Life for foreigners in China and most of Asia is always exciting and we are so glad we can experience all of this while we are still in our 20s. Not that we couldn't later in life, but just that I know we will have different priorities.
So a week has gone by. It's Friday and tomorrow morning we are on a flight to Hangzhou, the city that Chinese people call "heaven". It's one of the biggest tourist destinations in the country and I have an interview for a job there. So we will see how it goes. I am hopeful. After the interview, we will have a good look around. Hangzhou is famous for a place called, West Lake (haha for all you Austin people) which is a beautiful lake lined with pagodas and rich flora. Hangzhou is also famous for tea, Longjing tea. So I am excited to try it out.
However, Shanghai is so beautiful and there are parks everywhere. My eyes were so happy because the green looked greener, the trees were taller and older, and the skyline is beautiful. We ate at The Kitchen (based off restaurant in Tokyo by Salvatore Cuomo) which is across from the Bund and had some of the best pumpkin gnocchi while watching the skyline of Shanghai.
Here's a view of the three most famous buildings in Shanghai right from our riverside table. First, the spindly structure is the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. The one on the lower left is the JinMao Tower which used to be the tallest building in China before the next one was built, Shanghai World Financial Center which is behind that.
We had a great tour guide with us, Chase's friend Lisa from his Trek America days. And she took us around most of Shanghai on Friday afternoon. After lunch we went to the Shanghai One World Financial Center's rooftop bar. Well, actually, after we got to the lobby of the hotel on the 86th floor we found out that the bar we wanted to go to wasn't open so settled for another bar on the 92nd floor. The views were ok only because I was expecting this spectacular view. And it was starting to get foggy because of Saturday a storm was forecasted and the clouds were coming in. Nevertheless, a great experience and amazing how Shanghai is such a sprawling yet condensed metropolis.
Here we are before we went up to the viewing area.
I love sleep. I can sleep almost anywhere. So here I am taking a cat nap on Lisa's windowsill. Notice the great skyline view that she has up on the 34th floor.
The next night we went to eat at Jean George's in the city. Chase has been to the one in NYC and was excited to go back for about 1/3 the price (Thank you China). I broke my vegetarianism and went for a four course meal with chicken as the entree and wine pairings. I felt ok being that it was an organic chicken that I was eating and it was deliciously prepared. I felt that the whole meal was so tasty. Every single bite. I can't forget an artichoke mousse that was served as an intermezzo. Yum. Chase seemed just as pleased with his meal. The service was attentive. Jean Georges when compared to Beijing's best restaurant, Maison Boulud by Daniel Boulud, was light years better....
So after dinner we went around to some of Shanghai's late night hotspots on the Bund and had a great time. Life for foreigners in China and most of Asia is always exciting and we are so glad we can experience all of this while we are still in our 20s. Not that we couldn't later in life, but just that I know we will have different priorities.
So a week has gone by. It's Friday and tomorrow morning we are on a flight to Hangzhou, the city that Chinese people call "heaven". It's one of the biggest tourist destinations in the country and I have an interview for a job there. So we will see how it goes. I am hopeful. After the interview, we will have a good look around. Hangzhou is famous for a place called, West Lake (haha for all you Austin people) which is a beautiful lake lined with pagodas and rich flora. Hangzhou is also famous for tea, Longjing tea. So I am excited to try it out.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Our Weekend
This weekend started with Chinese tutoring make up class on Saturday morning. Here are the characters I was writing on the board while my tutor dictated them to me....
Chinese is written with a specific stroke order. I like to shortcut that order a lot of times because it's easier for me to remember the characters then. But Chinese people call you out on it as my teacher was doing. Once again, a reflection of how they are taught to stay inside the box... don't question the stroke order!
We went out with Ben and Kate (from Russia) to Lan. It's a restaurant that has the craziest atmosphere ever. I would say it's decor is a bit like the MadHatter's Tea Party in Alice in Wonderland.
Chase sitting in one of the chairs in the hallway of the restaurant. No piece of furniture is a like throughout the whole restaurant and club that it attached.
There's tons of art on the ceiling and gorgeous light fixtures. This one I thought was great.
On Sunday we went to the train station to buy tickets to Shanghai for next weekend. It's Labor Day on Friday and I have the day off. So we are going to Shanghai, except it will be by plane.
We walked around to a grassy area near the station which is close to Temple of Heaven park and flew our kite! It was great fun and the new kite looks so beautiful in the air.
All the Chinese people walking around there would stop and look at the laowais fumbling around with their kite.
We made it over to San Li Tun for some food and a massage. While we were in the Village (shopping/restaurant center) we noticed three cranes working on a Sunday afternoon. Labor in this country doesn't rest except when it's raining.
In the middle of the Village, there were some djs playing electronic music with visual effects up on the big screen. And we thought it was interesting how parents would just allow their children to be around the blasting techno music. I wonder what those children will turn out to be.
So we didn't get a chance to go to the Botanical Garden. We both have come down with some sort of head cold and are lacking energy. So hopefully we can make it through this week chomping down lots of multivitamins and C. Four more days and then a vacation to Shanghai!
Chinese is written with a specific stroke order. I like to shortcut that order a lot of times because it's easier for me to remember the characters then. But Chinese people call you out on it as my teacher was doing. Once again, a reflection of how they are taught to stay inside the box... don't question the stroke order!
We went out with Ben and Kate (from Russia) to Lan. It's a restaurant that has the craziest atmosphere ever. I would say it's decor is a bit like the MadHatter's Tea Party in Alice in Wonderland.
Chase sitting in one of the chairs in the hallway of the restaurant. No piece of furniture is a like throughout the whole restaurant and club that it attached.
There's tons of art on the ceiling and gorgeous light fixtures. This one I thought was great.
On Sunday we went to the train station to buy tickets to Shanghai for next weekend. It's Labor Day on Friday and I have the day off. So we are going to Shanghai, except it will be by plane.
We walked around to a grassy area near the station which is close to Temple of Heaven park and flew our kite! It was great fun and the new kite looks so beautiful in the air.
All the Chinese people walking around there would stop and look at the laowais fumbling around with their kite.
We made it over to San Li Tun for some food and a massage. While we were in the Village (shopping/restaurant center) we noticed three cranes working on a Sunday afternoon. Labor in this country doesn't rest except when it's raining.
In the middle of the Village, there were some djs playing electronic music with visual effects up on the big screen. And we thought it was interesting how parents would just allow their children to be around the blasting techno music. I wonder what those children will turn out to be.
So we didn't get a chance to go to the Botanical Garden. We both have come down with some sort of head cold and are lacking energy. So hopefully we can make it through this week chomping down lots of multivitamins and C. Four more days and then a vacation to Shanghai!
Friday, April 24, 2009
This week...
Wow. I am sitting down on my couch for the first time in a few days (well, ok, yesterday I laid on it half asleep) with my my legs up on the "L" part of the couch. And I've got a bottle of Italian Toscana wine at my side. Let me tell you that the wine in China is sub-par even for my amateur tastes. But nevertheless, I broke down, and hoped for the best. And I'm watching this show called Californication that we have on DVD. It's on Showtime and I'm catching up with last season's episodes on recommendation via Chase via Denton.
Chase is out with a friend who is hosting a networking event. We are meeting up for dinner and then tomorrow we have many things to do before a picnic to the Beijing Botanical Gardens on Sunday.
This week my Dad stopped by on a surprise visit on his way back to America. So that was fun to spend a few hours with him. I got to see some of my wedding jewelry as he was bringing it from the jewelers in India. And I must say that the gems are exquisite! I know. I'm bragging. But I just want to get excited about the wedding and it seems that everything is coming together in tiny little pieces and the events are getting closer so it's on my mind every day.
I really wish that I could have been that bride that lived and dreamed for her wedding for the whole year before it actually happened. Like actually visit and talk with the vendors, cake designers, have multiple fittings for my dresses, etc. But I'm so far away that it's all done remotely through my family. So that's my only wish for my time in Austin this summer- to think and breathe wedding, workout a lot, play with Lola, and read.
Anyways, I hear Chase at the door so it's time for dinner!
Chase is out with a friend who is hosting a networking event. We are meeting up for dinner and then tomorrow we have many things to do before a picnic to the Beijing Botanical Gardens on Sunday.
This week my Dad stopped by on a surprise visit on his way back to America. So that was fun to spend a few hours with him. I got to see some of my wedding jewelry as he was bringing it from the jewelers in India. And I must say that the gems are exquisite! I know. I'm bragging. But I just want to get excited about the wedding and it seems that everything is coming together in tiny little pieces and the events are getting closer so it's on my mind every day.
I really wish that I could have been that bride that lived and dreamed for her wedding for the whole year before it actually happened. Like actually visit and talk with the vendors, cake designers, have multiple fittings for my dresses, etc. But I'm so far away that it's all done remotely through my family. So that's my only wish for my time in Austin this summer- to think and breathe wedding, workout a lot, play with Lola, and read.
Anyways, I hear Chase at the door so it's time for dinner!
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Joey Negro
Yeah, we like music and a legendary house dj, Joey Negro, was going to be in town. So even though we were pretty tuckered out from our hike. We went out for a night of dancing.
The bar we went to was called Zeta Bar, a sister bar of the Zeta Bars in London and Sydney.
Roma and I.
Almost all the clubs in Beijing have entertainment- dancers, fire twirlers, laser shows, etc.
WhAT?!?!
The bar we went to was called Zeta Bar, a sister bar of the Zeta Bars in London and Sydney.
Roma and I.
Almost all the clubs in Beijing have entertainment- dancers, fire twirlers, laser shows, etc.
WhAT?!?!
Our Day WIth Roma
We faltered all morning long on whether or not we should go out to Fragrant Hills to hike. The sky was looking cloudier by the minute. But after realizing that on Sunday it was going to be worse and rain, we headed out on the Subway to the end of Line 10 (that's our line) to Bagou to meet up with our friend Roma. Roma's from Australia where she grew up but her family is from the Phillipines. Here's Chase striking a pose on the platform.
Bagou is still in Beijing. But it feels more like a village after living in the CBD for so long. Everything here in the CBD is well lit, signed, and civilized. But out there even though there were still multistory buildings within sight, it felt like a different world- no running water, delapidated homes, trash everywhere, open sewage.
So we took a cab the rest of the way and started our hike up to Xianglu Peak. After about half way up, the path became just a series of staircases because it was so steep. We climbed nearly 500 steps before we had to sit down and take a rest.
After we got up, Roma noticed her butt sweat left a mark on the ground. So while Chase held her back and out of the picture, I snapped this one.
Here we are at the top. We ended up climbing over 1000 steps.
Part of the reason why Fragrant Hills is so fragrant this time of year is because of the blossoms.
There were many pagodas you could hike to and here is one in the distance.
We started our hike down on another more circuitous route that followed a wall like structure on the side of the ridge that has some sort of historical significance. Doesn't ask me for more details. Ask the expert tour guide, Chase.
Hmmmm, I wonder where I could put my trash???
On the way down I met this family that had twins. There aren't many twins in China because of the one-child policy. Well, I suppose the won't make you give a baby away or something if you have twins, but I guess genetically, they are not common. These little ones climbed all the way up to this point by themselves. I had a great time chatting with the Mom. She doesn't look very Chinese in her features and mentioned that a lot of people take her for an Indian. I thought so as well.
Here's that famous wall I told you about. No, I know it's not the Great Wall. So Chase found a spot that he wanted to climb on. He mentioned that was the first outdoor climbing he had done since moving to China.
And here's Roma in Natarajasana (dancer's pose) at the end of our hike.
Our entire hike took nearly 4 hours. Afterwards we went to a cafe called Sculpting in Time where I had some of the best Earl Grey I've had in China. The tea was made by an Indian company, Roma told me, called Dilmah. Never even heard of it! It was smooth, velvety, and rich. Just the way I like my tea. We went through nearly two pots of it! We decided to sit outside on the back patio where we were visited by a stray cat who came and sat next to us hoping to be petted or fed. It was good to hang out with Roma because most of the time we are with a big group of people and don't really get much of a chance to talk and get to know the people we hang out with so often. Roma's really cool and fun and easy-going. So after some good conversation around 7 we headed our separate ways to go home, shower, and get ready for a night out in Beijing. That will be my next post.
Bagou is still in Beijing. But it feels more like a village after living in the CBD for so long. Everything here in the CBD is well lit, signed, and civilized. But out there even though there were still multistory buildings within sight, it felt like a different world- no running water, delapidated homes, trash everywhere, open sewage.
So we took a cab the rest of the way and started our hike up to Xianglu Peak. After about half way up, the path became just a series of staircases because it was so steep. We climbed nearly 500 steps before we had to sit down and take a rest.
After we got up, Roma noticed her butt sweat left a mark on the ground. So while Chase held her back and out of the picture, I snapped this one.
Here we are at the top. We ended up climbing over 1000 steps.
Part of the reason why Fragrant Hills is so fragrant this time of year is because of the blossoms.
There were many pagodas you could hike to and here is one in the distance.
We started our hike down on another more circuitous route that followed a wall like structure on the side of the ridge that has some sort of historical significance. Doesn't ask me for more details. Ask the expert tour guide, Chase.
Hmmmm, I wonder where I could put my trash???
On the way down I met this family that had twins. There aren't many twins in China because of the one-child policy. Well, I suppose the won't make you give a baby away or something if you have twins, but I guess genetically, they are not common. These little ones climbed all the way up to this point by themselves. I had a great time chatting with the Mom. She doesn't look very Chinese in her features and mentioned that a lot of people take her for an Indian. I thought so as well.
Here's that famous wall I told you about. No, I know it's not the Great Wall. So Chase found a spot that he wanted to climb on. He mentioned that was the first outdoor climbing he had done since moving to China.
And here's Roma in Natarajasana (dancer's pose) at the end of our hike.
Our entire hike took nearly 4 hours. Afterwards we went to a cafe called Sculpting in Time where I had some of the best Earl Grey I've had in China. The tea was made by an Indian company, Roma told me, called Dilmah. Never even heard of it! It was smooth, velvety, and rich. Just the way I like my tea. We went through nearly two pots of it! We decided to sit outside on the back patio where we were visited by a stray cat who came and sat next to us hoping to be petted or fed. It was good to hang out with Roma because most of the time we are with a big group of people and don't really get much of a chance to talk and get to know the people we hang out with so often. Roma's really cool and fun and easy-going. So after some good conversation around 7 we headed our separate ways to go home, shower, and get ready for a night out in Beijing. That will be my next post.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)