friends, food and floridian fun (many showers and hardly any sun)

Some pics from a recent trip to the "Oklahoma" of the other sunshine state... Had the opportunity to hang out a bit with Suzy, Sonali, Arlene, Brian and Jose. Spent most of the time onsite at the Orlando World Center Marriott... I'd never seen so many chefs convened in one place!!!





Pics from the Rajbhog Foods | Bombay Kitchen booth at the American Culinary Federation National Convention...







Other exhibits:

thinking of home today...

Thinking of home today... My parents are gearing up for their final move to Las Vegas.

To get a sense of where I grew up, here are some links:

Chatsworth, Los Angeles, CA

St. John Eudes

Chaminade College Preparatory

St. Genevieve High School

Apparently, Chatsworth's changed quite a bit since I left in 1993... Marilyn Manson lives there now, and in addition to several adult entertainment production companies, "24" films there as well. Hmmmph.

starstruck saturday

Got to meet one of my favorite "Heroes" tonight at a journalism event at Columbia University, courtesy of el trabajo...

yelp! i'm a yelpaholic...

Lookie what arrived in my [e-] mailbox today... It's official now.

Sam P. writes:

"Congratulations!! If you're reading this, you are now officially a part of the Yelp Elite Squad! Woohoo!

[...]

In the meantime, just keep representing the Yelp Elite Squad proudly by 'yelping' about the all the great local businesses and services that make your neighborhood and the rest of New York so special. You're now a Yelp role model to other "regular" yelpers, as well as your fellow Eliters, so make sure to compliment other reviewers and their reviews, and vote (funny, useful, cool) for your favorite ones as well."

See, Marisa B., I'm following in your footsteps!!!

If you'd like to check out my cheesy reviews of local NYC haunts, visit my Yelp profile here or click on one of the datapoints on the Yelp map.

atypical A.M. commute

This is the view from the 1 train subway platform on 125th Street, which is the only above-ground station in Manhattan (at least that's what I hear). I dropped off Siobhan's purple Pontiac at the mechanic's this morning, and I have to admit that it was kind of nice not having to wait for the train underground.

This is facing the Hudson River (Jersey's beyond the bridge and the West Side Highway).

Happy Monday!

saturday afternoon @ a NYC "beach"

Today was filled with laughter and light-hearted fun with family - Chip and my favorite munchkin - along with friends Mike, Idene, Johnny, Mark and Marisa at the Water Taxi Beach in L.I.C., featuring an amazing view of Midtown Manhattan. After some time in the bright sun, we moved on to a BBQ feast at Fette Sau, swung by a Rastafarian street concert, grabbed drinks at Union Pool, and played 80's video games at Barcade in Williamsburg. All in all, it was a very good day.













Hat tip to J. Mac for some of the pics.

3.5 miles to happy hour...

... is a cleverly placed phrase on the back of one of the company tees in yesterday's Chase Corporate Challenge, which is more like the Corporate Shuffle. Maybe they thought that would motivate the 15,000 folks that flocked to Central Park.


Unfortunately, most of us were in for an unwelcome surprise as rain hit us right before and then later again during the last leg of the race.

Some pics (not bad considering they're from my Motorola KRZR cell):

it's been awhile....

...since I've posted a heartwarming, cheesy inspirational quote!

The serious one:

"A moment's insight is sometimes worth a life's experience."

-- Oliver Wendell Holmes

The fun one:

"A hot dog at the ballpark is better than a steak at the Ritz."

-- Humphrey Bogart

* * * * *

HAPPY SUMMER SOLSTICE! The weather's friggin' awesome today here in the City, sunny with hardly any humidity. Perfect for a run (or in my case, jog/walk) with colleagues in Central Park at the Chase Corporate Challenge. Kick back and enjoy the day, friends!

UPDATE, 10:35 P.M. -- Rain, pouring rain! Scratch what I said about "hardly any humidity."

travel voyeur

view and rate this entry in the Dreamy Dubrovnik by trizzy

work stuff here....

I secured this Forbes.com interview for a client. Since I have a number of friends in the IT industry, I figured I may as well include a link. Very Web 2.0, I know!

read more | digg story

travel + astrology

From the LA Times....

You consult your astrologer for everything from craziness to confusion to love. Did you know she's a travel agent, too? Places have compatibility with sun signs, just like people do. Crazy, but true -- these places seem to intuitively match their sun signs!

[...]

Capricorn: Places rich in tradition and history allow you to connect to your roots. Your roots ground you to your earthy spiritual center, your wisdom touchstone. The Capricorn city of Ravenna, Italy is off the beaten path -- perfect for the solitary Goat. Fifth and 6th century churches with Byzantine mosaics are visual and spiritual feasts. It's small enough that you can walk everywhere. Local Cap City: Seattle.

[...]

woo hoo... it's finally summer!

Here's a pic I took of Union Square this afternoon.

Absolutely gorgeous day in the City, and even better, the office closed early for the holiday! The weather was near-perfect --- 80's and hardly any humidity. Keeping fingers crossed that it stays like this the whole weekend.

Have a good one, all!!!

westside sunday: a walk and i-scream

Some pics from the AIDSwalk this weekend... We handed out 20,000 frozen treats to walkers, including college friends from the TEP Phi Chi Alumni Chapter. Over half of the treats were generously donated by Sach and Suzy's family business, Rajbhog Foods, available on FreshDirect.

Afterward, a group of us hung out in the Upper Westside taking full advantage of all-day Happy Hour prices and a neighborhood street fair.

Do good = good times.






SHORT VIDEOS: One of the kids shows off her skills!!! Check it out.