Glorious weather and clear, cool blue skies today make Los Angeles appear to be the devilish little heaven that makes it so hard to beat. Akhil and I had breakfast at Love Birds in Pasadena, followed by a stroll on Colorado Blvd. where it was neither crowded, nor hurried, nor scorching, nor wet. Perfectly perfect. Oh woe is us. How will we ever decide?

The Jeep broke down again so while it got its latest repairs we went off to look for its imminent replacement. At the Honda dealership we test drove a Pilot and a CRV with our Philippino Elvis impersonator sales guy (yup glasses, high hairdo and all), whose name, I swear, was ... Elvis. (Refer to yesterday's post, please, lest I say it again, "Only in ... ..."

Here he is -- Akhil in tux -- at the Thea Awards last month:


All the freaky stuff that makes the phrase "Only in L.A." so fitting just keeps on rolling here in the City of Angels. This time, it's a loose, now sadly dead, Bengal tiger, killed Wednesday in Moorpark. Oh yeah, and of course there was Paris Hilton's digital address book, "mistakenly" distributed online last weekend. What next? Akhil and I don't know but what we do know is that we are emerging from the "darkness" that was 2004 -- what a tough year. And good riddance to it all. It was like a tunnel into the next phase of our lives -- our "adult" life, perhaps? Could be -- we'll see. But don't worry, we'll never be "mature." As of this month we've been paired up six years. Wow, longer than college.

Last weekend we ventured to Santa Barbara on Sunday despite the wind and rain. It was misty and chilly but offered plenty of parking and room on the sidewalks, and on the way home we stopped in Summerland to see if it's anything like the WB makes it out to be. Could be, but they always seem to leave out the freeways in these TV scenes -- no 101? How did these people get here? We all know what uglifies -- it's automobile traffic. TV pretends cars barely exist. They mentioned on NPR today that L.A. is set to consider a long-term plan to extend the Red Line out along Wilshire to the Miracle Mile. They say it would take ten years at least if they ever approved the project. So, ten years? Pishaw! Ever hear of the Big Dig? I wonder if they realize that at this point, it may not be a matter of choice. (Unless a lot of us make good on our threats to defect by then.)

It is positively raining babies! Craig and Suzanne (Latimer/Wong) welcomed Jasmine Audrey on the 13th. Didn't even know she was in the making. Congratulations guys.

So Akhil's sitting there at Logan, his cell phone rings, it's his boss, who asks him some stuff about actuators. He begins to explain, but after about 3 minutes, the perturbed lady next to him says, "Excuse ME sir, but could you PLEASE take that somewhere else? I am trying to watch this (TV)!"

He moves, but later, in line at the gate, she and a guy start talking a few steps behind him, and the guy says something like "So, are you from here, or from L.A.?" She says, "Oh, we're BICOASTAL." And then, "My husband's at UCLA."

"He's MICHAEL DUKAKIS."

Kitty, how could you?!!!

Akhil always gets all the good airplane stories.

Today it's raining and all's well with the world -- Akhil even came out to Encino to lunch with me. Three-day weekend ahead; what the heck could be better?

My five days of single-ness come to an end this eve when Akhil lands at LAX. He's been in Boston all week and now that I work on this side of the hill, I have to say that being here alone and sleeping in Glendale, to Encino, back to Glendale, (and repeat, repeat, repeat) just really, really sucks. It's sort of bland, monotonous, isolating, gray, and a little bit sinister-feeling. I hope it goes away when he gets back. Oh how I miss the West Side and its shiny, blondish, stylish ways... This week though I met up with Leslie for a drink at Central on the Strip - an ok place but the pricey parking situation is a bit of a buzzkill. Celeb sighting: Eriq LaSalle, but only briefly, in the bar.

The latest excellent news is of Heather's condo purchase. Big score! Two-bedroom right off Charles Street in Beacon Hill (Boston)! The envious portion of my brain lit up when I heard but I am happy for her -- for she is no frenemy. Nice work, H. The NOF just keeps on coming.

Now if only I could find the life I'd layed out for myself 10 years ago. Where'd it go? Maybe it's stuck behind the dryer drum. I certainly I hope I can find it. Soon.

Lots of NOF (news of friends) this week... First, Congrats to Craig and Rebecca and Sophie on the Feb.6 arrival of Willa. And second, it's offical: Nick in Space! Here's the NASA press release:

NASA NAMES TWO FUTURE SPACE SHUTTLE CREWS

NASA has named crews to resume training for the Space Shuttle missions designated STS-116 and 117. The missions are planned for launch to the International Space Station in 2006 to continue assembly of the orbiting laboratory.

Astronaut Mark Polansky will command STS-116. The mission will deliver and attach the Station's third port truss segment. Joining Polansky is first-time pilot William Oefelein (Cmdr., USN); mission specialists Robert Curbeam (Cmdr., USN); Joan Higginbotham, and Nicholas Patrick, Ph.D. Christer Fuglesang, Ph.D., a Swedish astronaut from the European Space Agency (ESA), rounds out the crew.

Akhil and his "Lucky the Dinosaur" team head down to Anaheim tonight to receive a Themed Entertainment Association award, or THEA, for their animatronic achievement. How exciting! Too bad spouses are unwelcome. This morning we'll take a look at yet another house for sale for some astronomical price -- we're in a state of confusion about our living situation, and from the looks of the latest State of the Region report from the Southern California Association of Governments, so are a lot of other SoCal dwellers. Daily News headline: "L.A. gets D+ for Lifestyle" (see full story here).

Thank god! We thought it was just us! Reasons cited: traffic congestion, home prices, education and smog. Okay, so what are we gonna do about it? Remains to be seen... meanwhile Akhil and I are struggling to remain chipper, sane, and at peace with ourselves and with each other.

It's been a week of Glendale-in-the-headlines, but not for anything we're proud of: the train collision here this week and the story of the man who caused it has become obsession for the press and the public, rightly so, perhaps, with its incomparable irony. A friend of mine does a nice job of describing the scene/issues/drama on his blog. We did go over there to try and see the scene for ourselves, and with all the people and rescue vehicles gone, it was eerily silent Thursday evening, except for the other rubber-neckers driving around the otherwise deserted neighborhood bordering the industrial area by the section of track where it occurred.

Yet another item to make you feel lucky to be alive.

Yesterday, Akhil and I decided to mix up our rather dull recent homelife and visit La Canada for lunch at Dish. I don't think we've ever done anything in La Canada, other than visit our since-fired real estate agent's office. It's a little noisy in there, but what a great space - open, light, roomy, and the food was decent though we were disappointed that we missed the breakfast hours - they stop serving it around 11:30 so, no cornmeal johnny cakes for us. BLTs and Eggs Benedict instead. Very low-fat.

Just to harp one more time on my building better cities thing -- the Congress for the New Urbanism, a leader of this charge, is holding its annual conference here in Pasadena in June. If so inclined, take a look at the Web site -- the issues may at least put a new spin on your interpretation of urban layouts and plans and inspire some passion you didn't know you had.

Also, when you get a sec, you have to check out Kunstler's [sad yet hilarious] Eyesores of the Month, on his site, here. You can click backward from the current specimen to see earlier "Eyesores."

No Best Actor nomination for Paul Giamatti? What's the deal with that? Stiffed twice in a row!

I'm reheating fettucini with chicken and would like to say that Whole Foods is a utopian place. Encino is not.

Now we're not sure whether this means I am shallow or thin-skinned or perfectly normal, but this last bidding loss we suffered on Monday evening has put me into deep, physically painful depression. I loved this last house so much, I'd almost steal it if I could. We lost out on the bid to some joker with a 350k down payment.

Sigh. Trying to move on. It is very-very difficult, despite my telling myself how easy and good our lives are in the face of such a terrifying world full of much more horrible fates. Well, I am going to drink this very large glass of wine now, and get over it.

Otherwise... Bush, sworn in again, as leader of the universe, or at least that's what he appears to believe. I liked the protesters' "skit," which included his being inaugurated wearing a crown. And big, huge, baby news from a very dear friend who hasn't told everyone yet, but hint: she's short, somewhat German, lives in Chicago, and played the Wicked Witch of the West to my Glenda in our high school play. Congratulations (gulp)!

Sun? Could it be? All of us (that's the entire population of L.A. County) trodged out to the beach today in celebration of the return of the big yellow ball and it was glorious. Bad traffic, but good times. Akhil and I have had a rough week, so we recuperated for most of the day with a walk along the beach between Santa Monica and Venice, followed by brunch and a little shopping. Speaking of shopping, our automobile search is going nowhere fast as we keep finding reasons to rule out what we thought were our best options -- especially those German ones. And we went to that darn Auto Show TWICE! Mostly, it's because of terrible reliability reports -- and in some cases, styling, which sounds like a bad reason but the crappy plastic details on some of these cars are just too horrifying to excuse. (That means you, Toyota/Lexus! What gives?!) The Prius is an exception. And the new hybrid SUVs coming out mid-year look promising -- for now, the Wagoneer lives on.

We attempted to avoid rain-induced cabin fever today by going to one of Akhil's favorite annual events -- the infamous L.A. car show. It would be fun to take Tom Wolfe there ... but we managed to have enough fun on our own, trying out the cockpits of Audis, Mercedes, Lexuses, Mazdas, Volkswagons, Jeeps, Volvos and even a Subaru among the throngs, and I mean throngs, of so-called auto enthusiasts. Where else can you do all that without pressure from a sleazy sales guy?

Brian Grazer was there too - in raingear and camo, but he was checking out the extra-fancy celebs-only 100k and up, cars-with-hired-drivers section.

Alas, the 1987 Jeep Wagoneer is seeing its twilight days. However, the plethora of so-so, less-than-perfect choices keeps us driving it, year after year. Will this be the last? Stay tuned.

Okay, anyone with an uneasy feeling about the state of the developing universe, especially Los Angeles and its status as the pinnacle of inhumane, soul-destroying, unrelenting industrial sprawl, must read the "Geography of Nowhere" by James Howard Kuntsler, which my fellow disgruntlee Heather gave me for Christmas and I can't put down. "The future will require us to build better places, or the future will belong to other people in other societies," says Kuntsler. And then some. It's giving me hope that there are enough frustrated people in this consistently selfish, uglifying nation that one day, we'll realize a change. A big one.

Rain rain rain and rain.

Lost out on another house that was less than 1500 sq feet but still fetched over 700k. It's worse than it's ever been right now - mainly because there's just about nothing listed but also because we've got 4 more years of good Bushie-nomics coming (though Greenspan's only there til '06!)

Akhil's parents are en route to South America for a month-long tour of the continent. That's where I wish I was at the moment. A little salsa would do me good. Happy belated b'day Jen - not TOO late, I hope. I know you're reading this!

The pressure's on as bloggers take the spotlight as ABC News' "People of the Year." This isn't really a blog in that sense -- no political views, very little gossip, nothing controversial. Akhil and I remain rather private people, and from what I hear, it's a bad idea to talk shop online (so we don't, ever).

Too bad for you -- hope it's enough that this is a way to keep up with friends and family across the miles. Akhil's at Disneyland today, we're about to jump back into "house-shopping mode," and our apartment's heating system crapped out right in the middle of the rainy cold snap here in L.A. Arnold's giving his "State of the State" address as I write this, and things are back to normal so far in 2005 -- at least here in our cozy little world. The tsunmai and Iraq continues to help keep things in perspective. The first full week back at work is somewhat relaxing after the holiday rush.

So, 2005 has begun - let this be an excellent year for us all. Happy New Year!
Congratulations to Mike and Maria on the birth of Evan -- born Dec. 24 as an early Christmas present. He's a gorgeous little guy - we met him this afternoon and I even got to hold him!

Akhil and I traveled to the east coast on Christmas Eve, a rather long and uncomfortable trip (I'm sure you've heard of the airport/flight crew hangups this season) but we made it by midnight and on Christmas Day, food and presents and time spent with the Peavey family was all good:



I hope my parents enjoy their new kayaks. I know I will enjoy my iPod and soon, my printer, and Akhil his fluid bicycle trainer... embarrassment of riches this year:



Five inches of snow were a treat on the 26th - Akhil and I braved the roads to see a movie ("Aviator"), and then Heather at her parent's house (she's from my hometown), where we met Diego, her new nephew compliments of Julie and Juan. We took Metro North to New York on Monday to visit our friends Annemarie and Josh and Craig and Rebecca - our only remaining NYC city dwellers - and their dangerously cute kids, Sophie and Ariel. Now back in California, we saw the floats last night in Pasadena after an impromptu dinner at Luna Negra - how we got seats with no reservation I have no idea.

Despite the rather sorry general state-of-the-world we're dealing with, Akhil and I are looking forward to a great year full of milestones -- here and everywhere. Cheers!

Happy Holidays -- already here! Just one more shopping day -- that is, until Akhil and I are off to the east coast for a long Christmas weekend. We're taking off Friday morning arriving in Providence at 11 p.m. So that means we'll have our own L.A. Christmas here tomorrow night, underneath our holiday poinsettia (no tree this year).

I've been exhibiting the Martha in me this week, having made sugar cutout cookies, apple pie, and Cornish game hens which Akhil has kindly devoured -- and see here his first-ever paint job on Christmas cookies -- he did the two on the top left --not bad:



Looking forward to a spectacular New Year for us all.

This update is way overdue, and somehow the last three weeks encompassed Thanksgiving in Seattle, Leslie's Christmas party, Wayne's wedding, Staffan's U.S. visit, Jon Paul's L.A. visit, holiday card "design and production," east-coast flight booking, a little gift-giving, a lotta job drama, the slightest bit of house-hunting and brink-of the flu.

Phew! I do love the holidays. Well, first -- Thanksgiving in Seattle was great as always -- hard to beat the beautiful pacific northwest when the weather is mild and the mountains are visible. Of course, on the day itself, Akhil and I were nearly asleep during dinner because we'd been up since 4 a.m. to catch our flight (and also because I'd been over at Chateau Marmont Wednesday night to see my long-lost friend Staffan here from Sweden), but it kept me, for one, from eating too much since I was too wrecked to continue lifting my fork.

Here's Staff and me at Chateau Marmont, and him and his friends Michael, Marcus and Bobo:





On Friday we visited the Music Experience museum downtown and then met up with parents-to-be John and Kendra for dinner at Flying Fish in Belltown. First time all four of us have been in town at once! (John's from Tacoma...) Pics forthcoming, I hope.

Saturday, Akhil and I got ambitious and drove up to Vancouver, saw his friend Karon and husband and babies Ian and Forrest for sushi lunch, and tooled around a bit - my first trip to that fair city. Here's Akhil downtown:



Following all this we came back to a very busy week in L.A. that included the first holiday party of the season at Leslie's on Saturday. HOWEVER, Akhil was struck with flu, so I went stag. He made it to Hope and Wayne's wedding in Claremont with me the next day though -- it poured but the theater setting was cozy, and we had a lot of fun. This week JP, my old friend from CT, was here - his first California visit. Here we are at Cafe Vienna on Melrose.



And last night, that would be Thursday, Akhil and I went to see the Groundlings (improv), but his colleague, who was supposed to have been part of the show, had postponed his appearance til next month, unbeknownst to us! Oh well, got us out of the house on a weeknight I guess.

For now all else is same -- and we're stressed out like the rest of the world about holiday chores, plans, and presents.

I'd like to remember the great David Brudnoy, in all ways an exceptional, kind, and inspiring professor, thinker and radio host, whom I had the pleasure to know at BU. He died in Boston Thursday night (see story). He'll always be remembered -- and missed.

We're getting holiday cheer in the form of three feet of *SNOW* here in SoCal this week! Beautiful views in the mountains, and this morning, I hit a traffic jam on the 101 as commuters slowed down to gaze at a rainbow just over the Sepulveda Dam -- it was stunning, really, you have to believe me.

Akhil and I leave for Seattle Thursday morning where we'll spend Thanksgiving weekend -- I've barely had a minute to think about it, but all of a sudden, holidays are here. We got into the pre-Xmas spirit yesterday by watching "Elf," which I'll give oh, maybe a B-, and we also had brunch with his cousin Gita at Blueberry in Santa Monica where the weather was very brisk, windy, and altogether un-L.A.-like, so we froze our flip-flop-wearing toes while waiting for our table. Besides a little real-estate-seeking torture, all else we got done this weekend was seeing "I Heart Huckabees," (which was hilarious -- A!), and some random errand-running on Saturday that I barely remember. I do know that we managed to finally get together for dinner with our friends Mark and Melissa at Cha Cha Cha Saturday night. Face-time with friends is therapeutic - and we don't get enough of it. My list of New Years resolutions will be very long this year.

Secret congratulations to two more Moms-To-Be! It's shocking, still shocking, every time I hear.

Todd passed the 31 mark on Monday and I warned him that this is the killer birthday -- not 30 as everyone tells you all your life. And then, at 32, your memory starts failing you. I have experienced some terribly noticeable changes in my brain function this year and have been attributing it to age -- but could it be too much computer time, or Nutrasweet, or lack of sleep, perhaps? God, I hope so. If anyone knows, please clue me in.

Akhil and I tried our best to entertain Laurel this week, visiting from Boston. We picked her up from her conference hotel, the Ritz Carlton in Laguna Niguel, on Sunday. Following a brief tour of the swanky grounds, we brunched in Laguna Beach, tooled around in Balboa, and spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening at Disneyland where we turned into giant five-year-olds. Laurel and I rode Dumbo, and the 3 of us rode Pirates, Haunted Mansion, and Indiana Jones following all with giant chocolate-dipped waffle cones from the ice cream place. Now on at least my tenth or twelfth visit or so, I'm starting to like that free park entry perk.



Now this is what I have to say about "The Incredibles": great movie, but see it for the Pixar "Bounding" short they play as an intro. It's priceless.

For tomorrow: Happy Diwali to those in the know!

Four more years of lunacy. Unless you're single...

From ABC News online:
...In a bid to help out their like-minded neighbours, a Canadian Web site is asking Canadians to marry someone from south of the border. "Open your heart, and your home. Marry an American," jests the site www.marryanamerican.ca.

"Legions of Canadians have already pledged to sacrifice their singlehood to save our southern neighbours from four more years of cowboy conservatism."

Hundreds of Canadians already have signed up, ready to do their part for the cause.

"We envision a movement where everyone wins," it said. "Freedom of expression and a politically convenient marriage with love and igloos for all."

Today's mandate, of course, is don't forget to VOTE tomorrow! (Preferably for John Kerry, but this is America.) Arnold Schwarzeneggar is on our answering machine tonight, urging us to vote his way on a few California props. Now that's new. Moments ago, Akhil and I saw Manny Ramirez, World Series MVP, and neglected to get his autograph. We also saw Mark Steines, but who cares. See you at the polls!

Happy Halloween and End-of-Daylight-Savings-Day. So far, no trick-or-treaters here at my Glendale apartment. I guess that means I get all the glow-in-the-dark "Shrek" Twix bars to myself! Yesterday, my colleague Mark Essig and I formed a last-minute team to participate in an annual "Amazing Race"/L.A. event my friends Mike and Maria put on. I'd say third place is a darn good finish!

We started at 10 a.m. from a pre-race breakfast at Mike and Maria's house, among 10 other teams, travelling to 16 different clue locations from Glendale to Beverly Hills to China Town all the way to San Pedro.

One nun-baked pumpkin bread, two Grey Goose vodka shots, three obscure soda pop bottles, six sunken Holmby Hills golf balls, 10 semi-legal parking spots, 50 mariachi musicians and a swim in The Standard roof pool later, Mark and I (a.k.a. "Team Anonymous") finished up at 5:37 p.m. at Philippe's the Original in downtown L.A. -- just one minute behind Team #2 and ten minutes behind "Orange Crush." Not bad for first timers. Akhil stayed near a computer and phone and provided technical guidance/directions via Web searches -- he met up with us at Philippe's for the post-race party which included an appearance by actual "Amazing Race" winners Chip and Kim.

Does this all sound crazy and juvenile? If you'd raced, you'd understand. We had such a blast! For a full race report click here.


Clues...

Team Anonymous

Akhil at Philippe's

Mark, wife Melissa, Chip and Kim

We have our life back. Ahhh... No more television commitments, no more weeping. Maria Shriver apparently broke her foot in her Red Sox jubilation. Halloween's coming up, so we'd best get our plans together. Holidays, birthdays, and election day too. Suddenly life's abuzz again. We booked our Thanksgiving tickets this week --we're Seattle-bound.

Let the new paradigms begin.

Rain, baseball, work, all the same stuff still is consuming the average day this week. We may get 3 inches of precipitation this eve, in fact. This past science-themed weekend consisted of two perfect fall afternoons in which Akhil and I did some very exciting stuff - not the least of which was buying new Honda floormats for the Civic. This followed by Red Sox victory(ies!!!) and seeing a rather ill-designed movie called "What the X&@! Do We Know" starring (sort of?) Marlee Matlin that was all about quantum physics, perception vs. reality, and being your own "God." It had way too much cutesy animation in it, a few flighty "experts" and, well, put one of our companions to sleep. They also needed a more heavy-handed editor, but we got the point, at least.

Fortunately on Sunday we redeemed ourselves with a breakfast among the hippest crowd on the east side at Fatty's in, that's right, Eagle Rock, and finally, a trip to the Skirball Center to see the Einstein exhibit. It was packed. Absolutely packed. With a very overly determined mob of senior citizens who were a little too proud of their man Albert, who, one woman realized from the exhibit boards, was somewhat of a "ladies maaaaannnn."

I recommend it - but go early or you're at your own risk. It's a great, well-done, compact show and we'd never been to the Skirball, either, which is an impressive complex.

Otherwise, hmmm... see my Tonight Show feature at:
http://www.tvweek.com/article.cms?articleId=26102

...and don't forget to check out tomorrow night's lunar eclipse.

It's on again. Baseball. Once in a very blue moon I get hooked on a series, and this is one of those times. I am not going to start watching the game until at least the fifth inning.

Rain still falls in Los Angeles as we speak. It's amazing because driving along the 101 in this weather it looks a lot like the Pacific Northwest. Lots of misty hills and trees - it's actually rather nice-looking, until you exit on Sepulveda Blvd.

RAIN. That's is the big news -- and I mean big -- this weekend. It rained all morning. Such a novelty. We're sitting here at home using it as an excuse not to go outside (even though by now I think it has stopped for the most part). You just don't get enough of those weather excuses out here, so if the skies even smack of precipitation you can stay home and read. That's the rule. I heard it from my friend's sister a couple years ago, who worked for a VERY well-known television producer at the time -- the day we saw her, this man had skipped work that day because of a 30 percent chance of rain... Ah, for the love of showbiz.

Okay people, if you tend to like to stay out of harm's way, don't be a Red Sox fan. Enuff said. Thank goodness for the Patriots. Akhil and I went to Book Soup yesterday just because we wanted to see what it's like to hang out on Sunset Strip on a Saturday. Afterwards we stumbled upon an art festival in Beverly Hills and had a coffee on Rodeo. Saw Mike Tyson. And a substantial number of tourists wearing inappropriate clothing. If not here, where, I suppose.

Come on, Red Sox. What the heck?! It's that time of year -- my poor friend-and-family fans are getting emotional again.

At work today I volunteered to become the expert on open-source programming. Now that's devotion. If anyone's got any story ideas, send them my way.

Wow, did I really volunteer to go see "Hero" last night? Well, it was no "Crouching Tiger" but we got through it ok. Today was Columbus Day and so traffic gave us all a little bit of a break. Spent an enlightening lunch hour with my new colleagues who revealed interesting details about their lives that won't be mentioned here. That's the trouble with blogs -- you become your worst censor-nightmare. Definitely necessary. Let's take a moment of silence for Christopher Reeve. A sad loss especially for the world's biggest "Smallville" fan (Akhil).

The youngster who created this blogging tool and sold it all to Google less than two years ago is leaving Google, he said on his blog (seen here: http://www.evhead.com/), to create something new. Such level of accomplishment makes the both of us feel like we're not living up to our potential. Remember those dot-com days? Everyone and his brother was doing stuff like that. Funny, I am once again working for a dot-com - this time, without the stock options. The ones that stuck around have become a little bit lackluster but knowing they might actually be here to stay allays certain job-security fears. Remnants of the old days include free caffeinated beverages and bagels on Fridays, but so far, no signs of home communications reimbursement, expense accounts, post-work cocktails and seafood dinners, or even business cards.

This weekend has, as usual, revolved around food and thoughts of our very hazy, non-directional future. It's been ages since I've been in touch with friends -- fall hits and people get busy. Halloooo out there.

Getting up at 5:30 to be a desk jockey is hard. I wonder if getting up at 5:30 to, say, perform cardiac surgery would be easier because at least the adrenaline rush you'd get would be a little bit energizing. Nevertheless, one week down, one day 'til sleep. I feel like I am in the Twilight Zone. Akhil was in Detroit for 4 days -- he flew back home last night -- so I had a few days of singlehood while adjusting to the new job and it really felt like I'd up and moved to a new city. The Valley is mysterious to me and seems disconnected from the rest of L.A. -- not to mention I no longer work with Hollywood types and that's pretty weird too after more than 3 years in the thick of things. Bizarre. I have to say, L.A.'s still sunny but just not as fun when you're distanced from the biz! Well, s'money. Just noticed my plants are dying. Got to go.

Congratulations to....... ME. Starting tomorrow, I have a new 7-4 schedule. And I'll be crash coursing in all things technological for my new editing gig with an online business and tech news publisher out in Encino - another new neighborhood for me. I drove there today mid-morning and it only took 20 minutes. That alone is life-changing! After five years of bumper-to-bumper, multiple freeway, 1-2 hour commutes, this could be the sign of a new era. I have to bid a fond farewell to my loyal friends over the last six months -- Oprah, Regis, and Dr. Phil.

Meanwhile Akhil and I have been nursing a grudge against the real estate market and looking beyond the box to see what other options may be out there for us. The journey continues.

May this help you all to understand:

41 offers, seven of which were more than $100,000 over asking, for a 2-bedroom 1923 house, and the agent expects bids over $700k. They're taking counters for those seven contenders, with no contingencies. None. Ha hahhhhahh ha ha. HA HAHHHHHHHH Ha ha ha ha haaaaaaaah ha. Go ahead laugh. Or you'll cry. I'm just a little bit numb.

History's in the making: we submitted our first-ever offer on a house today. As did at least seven other bidders...

At least we're in the game! Keep your fingers crossed.

Well, I didn't make it out for that biking jaunt mentioned earlier this week but this morning Akhil kicked my butt with a long, 2 and a half hour ride from our place to Griffith Park, where I survived Garbage Hill. And Akhil gloated about his new "PR" (that's obsessive, competitive, crazy man-speak for 'personal record.')

Home-buying makes you fickle. I swear, I have fallen in and out of passionate love about ten times so far and each time it feels like the last house on earth. I don't know how people do this. We're getting serious now, even have an agent. After our bike ride today we had brunch at Cafe Verde, again, in Pasadena. I almost don't want anyone else to know how great this tiny little place on Green Street is, but it's just such a find. This time I had the eggs florentine, and Akhil reverted to the vanilla french toast. The place seats maybe 20 people so it can get a little crunched in there, but that' s the only drawback, other than the fact that it's closed on Sundays. I also got a letter from my long-lost wonderful friend Ulrika, who lives in Barcelona. I met her in France during our year studying there and haven't heard from her in a couple of years - long enough for her to become a mom! Her letter came with photos of her stunning little blond one-year-old, Alba. I am freaked out and delighted at the same time. We're real people all of a sudden.

I'm trying to muster some energy for a bicycling jaunt after our 'big night out' on Tuesday -- dinner on Vermont Ave. at Il Capriccio was a lot of fun and the food was great, as was our waiter, who could pull tablecloths off without disturbing the salt shakers. Very impressive. We met up with Akhil's friend Elliott, creator of the infamous "The Roomba," and his girlfriend Zoe, a British screenwriting hopeful who was quirkily charming. We talked about the 'silliness' of Los Angeles, the fact that no one walks here - for real - and the similarities between Nebraska and rural England - both exotic to Akhil and me, who grew up on opposite coasts. Did anybody know there's this place called Lake Piru 70 miles north of Los Angeles where you can take wake-boarding lessons? Who knew! Leave it to the newcomers to figure that out.

A whole new world was opened up to us yesterday as we expanded our home-hunting horizons to -- yes, the Valley! All afternoon Akhil couldn't help himself from speaking in that 80s Valley accent so I am not sure we should live there, however, it turns out there really are nice-looking, non-delapidated, four-bedroom homes there that we could even, like, afford, maybe. Hard to take those boulevards though. They are such ecological, aesthetic and sociological disasters. It's so weird how the L.A. area is set up with these gigantic boulevards hiding what they call residential "pockets" between them. And when you get inside these pockets, they could be New England, or someplace in the midwest, like Michigan. It's the most bizarre phenomenon. Food for thought if nothing else.

This was after discovering the mysterious city of Alhambra on Friday night (which is only say 5 miles from our apartment), where we ate Vietnamese food (and were the only two non-Vietnamese people in the Golden Deli - now that's good stuff), and then made our first-ever trip to Fosselman's for white chocolate chip ice cream. I thought the place was quaint and the ice cream was ok - but still not as good as others I can remember, like J.P. Licks. Side note - the system of checks and balances appears to be working -- I was denied unemployment! Victory for the State of California's EDD! (Bastards.)

Holy heat wave! This is excruciating - and since it's the first time I've ever spent one of these hanging mostly at home in our very slightly A/C'd apartment here in the San Gabriel Valley, I realize how bad it really is when it's in the 100s over here. All other years I've been out on the west side, working in a nice, cold office space. They say on Tuesday we scored the highest power usage numbers in the city's history and Wednesday was a close second. Probably because of all the other unemployed folks who are home, cranking the A/C, the fans, the stereo and the computer system all at the same time. Praying for rain...

Once in a while this happens: you go through some period of disillusionment and discontent, when nothing can get you out of your bad mood, only to emerge all of a sudden, almost out of the blue one day feeling like you've just graduated from something. This weekend I had that feeling, on Saturday afternoon, even though it was 105 degrees out and we started the day talking about real estate. We'd had a great dinner with friends Friday night and maybe it had something to do with the conversation there, or, maybe it was the realization that I have the freedom, even now, to turn down a job I don't really want. I don't know, but the weekend was great. I still don't know what the hell we're doing with our lives, but I'm not unhappy about it!

On Saturday, our impromptu brunch with Tony & Angel included excellent french vanilla french toast and french press coffee at Cafe Verde in Pasadena. Afterwards, in keeping with Saturday's French-ish theme, we saw 'Before Sunset.' (Loved the ending.) Sunday was a day of work and housekeeping and grilled salmon that I made with sesame seeds and dijon mustard. Monday we spent the day strolling around in Santa Barbara.

As the venue for our engagement as well as our mini-honeymoon, Santa Barbara's still among my favorite places, but has anyone else noticed lately that it's starting to feel a little like Venice? Lots of "unpleasant" fragrances, transients, unkempt streets and sidewalks and almost absolutely no parking. That's new. Are they trying to get rid of us all of a sudden? They put up these 75-minute parking signs all over and we must've seen one parking enforcement vehicle per 10 tourists - plus at least 3 cars and 1 motorcycle getting pulled over on State Street and at least one car getting towed away. Also noticed some rapidly deteriorating restaurant service. For the first time we left Pacific Crepes because of the foul mood of the waitress. I'm sure we'll try again -- and soon. Can't give up on the creperie that easily - no!

Very interesting to watch Akhil buy shoes. He is getting very adept at it, having done it three times in the last two weeks -- and Cole-Haan, at that. (They have those Nike soles now.) His taste in shoes is more expensive than mine. No verdict on jobs yet - it's very hard to look at these opportunities with only cold, hard facts in mind - no passion, no emotion, no pride. But that's what I'm trying to do. If I want a house, I want a house, alas. Goodbye, journalism, goodbye.

Driving out of the parking lot at the Camarillo outlets yesterday we saw this crazy airplane making loop-de-loops and death-defying dives all over the place and Akhil realized it must've been the weekend of the annual Camarillo Air Show. What luck! Well, I was not totally into it at first, I must admit, but we headed over to the airport to see what was up. It was in the plan anyway to go have lunch at the cafe there -- it's right on the airstrip. Akhil always gets his favorite thing in the universe -- one of their famous tri-tip sandwiches -- which his flight instructor Bob had introduced him to back in his flying lessons days. They had all the WWII planes and helicopters and gliders and stuff I'll never remember the name of but the coolest thing was the actual flying - - the last act was this incredible 21-year-old kid who did the most heart-stopping 30-minute aerobatic show you could imagine. He's apparently one of the youngest aerobatic pilots in the U.S. It was really something - regardless of whether you think you're into aviation or not.

Big stuff this week: Heather is considering an opportunity to relocate to L.A.! A little different here than Boston, though. She doesn't get how people get home after happy hour, and wants to be sure you can walk from your apt. to the grocery store. Don't we all... A lso, my dad called today just to say hi. And you know he never does that.

So I'm tracking down comedians this week. Calling them. Leaving them messages. Generally bothering them and their army of "people." It's very odd, odd indeed, because sometimes they call you back. I always feel weird doing this kind of stuff from my dinky little apartment. And definitely weird when I am still wearing pajamas. Glad technology hasn't gotten over that camera-landline-phone hump quite yet.

This past weekend I helped my friend Tom babysit his kids, 1 and almost 4. We took them to Sand Dune Park in Manhattan. I swear, that is the best place to take kids, ever! Leaping down the dune is a blast for all - even us thirty-somethings. I know it sounds nuts, but try it for yourself. Then Sunday Akhil and I went right back out there - to sit on the beach and read. We walked around the sidewalk sales and had a casual dinner al fresco, and once again, I remember saying at least once that day, "I don't ever want to move!"

Los Angeles keeps doing that to me. The everyday stuff kind of sucks, but weekends by the beach and being able to live your leisure life outside -- hard to complain about that. I have another interview today - downtown L.A. - wow, I could even take the Gold Line.

We caught San Francisco on a relatively quiet weekend. I'd read that California was having a slow summer in terms of tourism and they're not kidding. Of course, that means it's a perfect time to travel around out here. Our drive up was a breeze - we met Gunther at his place in Mountain View early in the afternoon and had lunch in Los Altos. Then we took a full tour of the Stanford campus, met some of his students, reassured him that he had a pretty cushy work situation, and ended the day with a great dinner in Woodside before heading up to the city to sleep.

I can recommend the Cartwright Hotel on Sutter near Union Square. It's a clean, cozy place with free breakfast, access to parking, and a great rate of 99 bucks a night. We spent the day on Sunday walking around mostly - up Columbus Ave. to Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 to see the sea lions, then a little shoe shopping in Union Square, followed by a hot dog/pretzel lunch and quick jaunt over to the Haight where Akhil had a nutella & banana crepe. Here he is in the City Lights bookstore on Columbus Ave.:



Then we headed to Bernal Heights to see his family - his brother has a great house there near his lab at UCSF's sparkling new campus - another beautiful place. The academic world has been showing some nice aesthetics lately. It's got funky furniture, light wood, scientific-looking artwork and lots of chrome. He took us along with his wife Suzanne and his/Akhil's parents to Andalu for tapas -- which was okay but we're food-spoiled now that we live in L.A. We were exhausted by the end of the day - and I would NOT recommend staying at Le Petit Auberge for a quick sleeping spot - we got a small (they called it "cozy") room where we got to hear the garbagemen do their work at 4 a.m. and none of the little niceties like turn-down service, chocolates on the pillow, 4 p.m. wine... we checked in too late, unfortunately. Monday we had breakfast in the Mission with Hiten and Suzanne before heading back down to 'Hell-A' - where we had our best meal of the weekend, actually, at Billy's Diner here in Glendale. I do love San Francisco - it's so opposite of L.A. though it's unbelievable that the two are related. Well, we're still young, sort of...

After three days of 110-degree heat, today is a bit more bearable, so, in a good mood I took the Civic in for its 45,000 mile service. It's overdue, and we're driving up to San Francisco this weekend so it was a good time for an oil change anyway. Saturday we'll visit our friend Gunther and his lab at Stanford, and then we'll meet up with Akhil's parents at his brother's house in the city on Sunday. Plan to be back in town Monday evening with reviews of our two different hotels and whatever food we eat while we're up there. Oh, to be employed and housed in San Francisco. I thought it was the perfect city and I still do -- at least in this country. Sydney has taken over my No. 1 ranking.

Someone tried to jimmy their way into our garage. So glad we got that renter's insurance! Rough neighborhood I guess. Akhil and I are sitting here sweating in our 95-degree apartment, contemplating the blandness of our lives. Well, bland at the moment since we're still waffling over real estate and I still seek work on a daily basis. Before I get into our latest plans and escapades, I'd like to congratulate "you-know-who" on the baby news! As far as I know it's still a secret in some cases... but I for one am very excited about it.

These last two weeks I got back into the volunteering groove and finally met with Liz Thoman, who runs the Center for Media Literacy in Santa Monica. It's so amazing in a way to have a chance to work with her, as she founded the journal Media&Values that we referred to every now and then in our theory classes in graduate school. A remarkable person. I'll be writing a few things for her in coming weeks.

Akhil has been decorating his new office, and I've been nitpicking the decor of our apartment just to get a few more months/years of life out of this place - yes, we thought we'd have moved by now but things are not cooperating. So, I dug up a few gift certificates from the wedding and reorganized. I can't believe what Pottery Barn charges for furniture. Yet, I feel repelled by most of Ikea's. I think there's room for a new player in between.

Let's see... "Big Fish" was good, "Bourne Supremacy" was so-so, "Collateral" was decent (and L.A.-realistic!) and I am about to finish "A Suitable Boy," finally, which is getting good in pages 1200-1375. Tonight we're going out for booze - a rare activity for us these days, but once in a while it's all you can do.

It has been quite a while since I've been in here on the blog. But I really don't think anyone's reading it anymore anyway, (are you?). Basking in the afterglow of my week-long stay on Martha's Vineyard I am energized and catching up on all those back-burner-type things I've been neglecting for the past month. Heather invited me to crash her vacation so I found a frequent-flyer flight last-minute and jetted off to Boston, got to meet Kendra's new dog Bogart, see Todd's finely decorated apartment, and spend a week in a beautiful house in Vineyard Haven. Here is the house, below, and at least part of the crew (Heather, me, Katie, Shelley, Dave). It was exquisite. We cooked most nights, with generally six to eight of us in the house on any given evening, and always had our own at-home "happy hour." Therapy is bicycling to Chappaquidick, spotting seals at Gayhead beach, consuming wine and steamed mussels on a patio overlooking a marina, and going to sleep hearing nothing but a foghorn and softly rustling trees.

Akhil and I celebrated our official anniversary last night with paper gifts (the tradition) and a magnificent dinner date at the Bel Air Hotel. I had the bouillabaise, he had the duck, and we shared an entire bottle of wine and the croissant bread pudding for dessert. A lovely evening.

The last time we'd been to the Bel Air Hotel was for my dot-com company Christmas party in 2000, when tech stocks were flying and our options actually seemed promising. We all got treated to a five-course meal, open bar, and of course, complimentary Cuban cigars. Are you kidding? Of course I smoked one!

Then -- you know what happened. The bust happened, and my old employer bit the dust. I quit before the holidays that year. Fittingly (and I'm not making this up), the 2001 Christmas party was held at "The Shack" (on Wilshire in S.M.), and our office space was rented to Oliver Stone.

Can't quite believe an entire year's gone by since the wedding - we'd thought we'd have made so many more changes than we have by now. Only difference really is that I am less, shall we say, "busy." I had lunch yesterday with my former boss from TV Week, who's now a VP and Publisher. I appreciated his friendly invitation. I know we both still feel pretty bad about the necessity of my layoff. Nothing changes, of course, but at least we got a chance to clear the air. I woke up today feeling like I'm at "Sum Zero."

Since Friday a lot has happened. For one thing, we determined that we're sick of living in Glendale and that as our real estate "project" progresses, we are less and less interested in looking here for prospective homes. Second, we joined the Bush-hating throngs last night and saw "Fahrenheit 9/11" - my former neighbor's latest blockbuster documentary - first documentary in history to become the weekend's top-grossing film. It wasn't quite as, well, relentless, than the hype made it out to be, but still typical Michael Moore of course. Amusing, tear-jerking, somewhat over-the-top but he drives his point home and helps you continue to build your Bush-wacking arsenal -- at least a little bit -- with plenty of bad Bush footage and images that remind you of the reality of the Iraq war and force you to look at the situation from an outsider's perspective. It sort of felt like the audience was way too in on all the jokes though. "Preaching to the choir" blah blah blah. I wonder if any Republicans were in attendance. (I'm an Independent, offically, like Mike!)

A year ago today, Sunday, in Malibu, Akhil and I got married. Our official anniversary is Tuesday the 29th but we had a semi-celebration today of our up-and-down-but-magical first year of wedded bliss. We had brunch in Santa Monica at Babalu followed by a couple of hours sitting and reading on the beach in Malibu. We found a spot just in front of the bird sanctuary by the Adamson House - which is where we tied the knot. Here we are in Malibu... disheveled but content:



After our miniature celebration we stopped at the Supergo to look at bicycle parts. And we had a stellar star-sighting -- Jakob Dylan, son of Bob, and family - buying a pricey green fat-tired bike for one of his three sons. There was no mistaking the blue-eyed stare (could he have recognized that he'd been recognized?) but the dead giveaway, really, was the diamond tennis bracelet his wife was wearing with her Seven jeans, low-top Converse, and "FBI" cap. You know they're celebrities when...

We spent the rest of the afternoon looking at 600-thousand-dollar-plus homes in Pasadena, Cheviot Hills, Toluca Lake and Burbank, yes Burbank. Nothing exists for less than six. Not even there. At least you can count on appreciation... (right?)

Last night, we looked over the documents that you have to sign to get pre-approved for a mortgage. Akhil and I think we're reasonably intelligent people, but I have to say, it's near-impossible to keep your eyes focused on the pages long enough to figure out what the words really mean. How do so many, (MANY!) people do this? I have yet to start working but we know now that this is "home" for a while, so we may as well settle into adulthood and start the home-shopping process. I've got an interview this afternoon, as a matter of fact, so I better run.

Too much caffeine these last two days. Akhil and I are reading about real estate - hoping to make this our next project, now that we're on our way to becoming certified Angelenos. Tried to go to Porto's today, but it was too crowded, as is all of Glendale. You can make a day of it at the new Whole Foods on Glendale Ave., though. It's like a foodie amusement park. They've got sushi chefs -- and serve breakfast.

I had to laugh when my neighbor handed me some classifieds from the newspaper yesterday -- she had starred and circled jobs she thought might be appropriate for me. How did she know? Do I have a big "U" on my forehead? I feel like Hester Prynne!

I picked up a little more freelance work thankfully and have high hopes that I'll find something this month. I can feel it coming to me - employment is on its way. Meanwhile I am reading "Stupid White Men" and anxiously awaiting the release of "Fahrenheit 9/11." I met Michael Moore when we lived in the same building in New York back in 1995. He was at the elevator getting Chinese food delivery and I began gushing about his "TV Nation" show. Thought for sure it was my big break and that he would hire me. He didn't. But it makes me feel a special connection to him - I'm so proud.

By the way, I DID go to the gym yesterday. Had one of those bad mornings but was feeling much better by the time the sun emerged at 3 p.m. in the afternoon. Maybe it was the cloud cover.

Four months -- still no job. It's unbelievable. But this will certainly make me feel very differently about destitution in the future - and not so quick to judge. After all, I have someone here to pay the rent for me. He and I've been killing time on weekends by visiting coffee shops and watching movies until it's finally time to make some kind of move. I attended a media literacy course this weekend given by the Center for Media Literacy in Santa Monica, where I am looking into volunteering, then had breakfast with Caroline, Michael, and the beautiful Sabrina on Sunday at Hugo's. And that afternoon, we spent a pleasant few hours with Joy and Paul at the Castle Green building where they live in Pasadena. There was an open house this weekend so we checked out the stylish open apartments there and talked some more about the price of real estate, which is taking up more brain space than it deserves these days. I just want it to stop! There have got to be places in our range out there.

Poor, poor us, right? Americans can be so annoying.

Home again, home again, and my allergies are gone. I never knew I had any, but wow, Boston was tough on me this trip. Sick most of the week. On the other hand it was great to see Deb and Samantha, Jen at the Daniel Packer Inn, the family, and of course all my Boston peeps! Todd's apartment in Salem is beautiful and I really think the witch/Halloween theme is rather charming. He's going to like it there. I especially enjoyed helping him spend his money on our whirlwind decorating spree. Furniture, fixtures, carpets, dishes... he even put up window treatments this week. I am actually jealous of the place.

Akhil and I stayed in Brookline Saturday, in Salem Sunday, and at the Kendall Hotel, the renovated firehouse, in Cambridge Monday. We flew home Tuesday and managed to get on the same flight. It was a very busy 10 days for me, and visiting the suburbs (Arlington, Lexington, Marblehead, Watertown, Somerville...) was enlightening to say the least. After dealing with sinuses, traffic, unruly pedestrians, and crappy weather, however, I have to say my appreciation for L.A. is once again renewed. Had an interview today at the public television station here in Los Angeles, KCET. Still pounding the virtual pavement... here and in the east.

I flew into Boston last night. Now I'm in Connecticut, but I spent the night in my old Freeman Street apartment in Brookline. It was a surreal experience. There's my old room. There's my old bathroom. Hey, there's my old thing of Victoria's Secret hand lotion!

Katie and Heather and I had Indian food in Coolidge Corner. I was sorry to see that the Daily Bread Bakery is gone, replaced by a Quizno's. But the Brookline Booksmith is still there.

There's an action-packed week ahead, with visits with Jen, Debbie and her baby, girl time with Heather et al and helping Todd move into and assemble his new Salem condo on the agenda. Akhil flies in Saturday for the long weekend, and we'll be dining chez Kendra and John in Framingham Saturday night.

Actually we went to Saladang Song for Thai food which had better ambience and outdoor seating. Here is Akhil with his cake, though we didn't eat it last night because we had sweet sticky rice and mango for dessert instead.


Saladang is great because the food is sort of funky and authentic yet you don't have to worry about the safety of the raw vegetables. We got our usual spicy asparagus & chicken salad and the duck noodles. Akhil felt compelled to tell our Thai waitress about his weird experiences in Thailand like the time he almost got conned into buying "sapphires" on the way to a Thai boxing match. But he didn't.

Gotta go, as I'm busily trying to get some freelance work done by Friday!

Happy Happy 36th Birthday to Akhil! To celebrate I am taking him to Cafe Bizou tonight even though he says he already ate too much cake at work today. Next Monday I am flying to Boston for a week to help Todd move into his new place and visit some friends before Akhil joins me there on Memorial Day weekend. Todd asked me to think about window treatments. I have never purchased a window treatment but I think we're about to do so next week. If I can't furnish my own place, at least I can help furnish my brother's! Also hoping to meet the Mini-Deb - Samantha looks exactly like her. Maybe we'll post some photos from the NE.

After I got my Civic fixed at the dealer today (Honda issued a recall for headlight wiring), I drove out to Santa Monica, enjoyed the view as I walked amid the homeless lying in the sun on Ocean Blvd., and browsed the shops at 3rd St. Promenade. Then I did what no jobless person should do in good conscience - I bought a three-dollar latte at Starbucks. Bad me! Trying to find a balance between being responsibile and not killing yourself for boredom when you've been out of work four months is harder than it looks. My punishment was the hour and forty-minute drive home on the 10 freeway.

But let's put things in perspective. The news I listened to on NPR en route to Glendale was, in typical form, horrifying. It is really pretty incredible that for me and for most of the people I know, things are as good as they are. So I am going to try to stop complaining so much.

CONGRATULATIONS are in order for Debbie and Justin on the arrival of Samantha Jean Harris!!! She was born April 22, weighing in at a healthy 8 pounds. Nice work, Deb! Can't wait to meet her!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY Meena, Mom, MariCris, Debbie, Annemarie, Pam, and Regina! List gets longer every year... Sorry we're not close enough to take you to brunch.

I am serving as somewhat of a discouraging example to my numerous friends who are so fed up with their jobs that they want to just quit and worry about new opportunities later. Happy to do so! I truly think it is a bad idea at this time in history -- not so much because of the quality of your resume or anything like that but because of the extremely intense competition for jobs out there. If you have contacts who can help you, that is your key to success. But if yours is going to be one of 1000 resumes on a prospective employers desk, you need some luck -- which is hard to come by. Someone suggested I get some criticism on my resume - so if you get a second, can you look and let me know of any improvements I should consider? Thanks folks! Here's the URL:

http://my.hotjobs.yahoo.com/display/myhj?ct_hft=myhj/res-center-detail&resid=r055352785

Akhil and I spent the afternoon at Manhattan Beach yesterday and it made me realize my standard of living was leaps and bounds better when I was a kid and I didn't even know it. It takes us about an hour to get out to the beach now - which is why we rarely go - but I grew up 8 miles, or a 20-minute bike ride, from the sea and took full advantage. Wonder how and where we went wrong. Akhil rode 48 miles on his bike Saturday - his longest ride yet - and followed with a nap before we headed to Pasadena to the free movies in the park they're putting on Saturday nights this month. We saw "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and even though I've seen it numerous times, I learned a few more things about the plot, realized that guy who accompanies Indy in the cave in the first sequence is Alfred Molina, and am pretty convinced that it is genuinely a good movie -- much better than all the Star Wars prequels. George Lucas should've stuck with Speilberg! It's May now and still no job. A story on NPR yesterday said 85% of jobs are not advertised and that the key is using your contacts. I am not sure I have many contacts, but if you are reading this and are a contact, expect my call...

Target at 2 p.m. on a weekday is like a little heaven. No screaming kids, no lines at the checkout, no Cheerios strewn all over the shoe department. Delightful experience! I stopped on the way home from lunch with my friend Maria at Senor Fish - tasty fish tacos & some excellent commiseration about the usual - jobs, housing prices, biology... but the good news is that she and Mike (Maria is the fabulous artiste who did my wedding invites) bought a house less than two miles from where I live. I will finally have cool neighbors! And Todd closed on his Salem condo - which means a great apartment near Harvard Square will be open as of June - if you're interested let me know and I'll try and hook you up.

The arts and crafts movement is alive and well is Pasadena. It was at least 90 degrees out Sunday and the crowd was substantial considering the lack of publicity BHNA does for its annual house tour. Most of the houses on show were on Mentor and Holliston Avenues, and Craftsman or Spanish Revival styles. At the last house we waited 40 minutes in line to spend 4 minutes inside. But it was time well spent to see such beautiful architecture and interior design and get inspired to keep plugging away at our savings accounts. Bungalow Heaven is an offical Landmark District in Pasadena, with around 800 homes built from the turn-of-the-century through the 1930s. It's between Orange Grove Boulevard and Washington Boulevard, bound on the west and east sides by Mentor and Chester and worth a browse - just don't stake claim on any of the houses WE plan on buying!

What's Saturday in So-Cal without beautiful weather and the buzz of radio-controlled vehicles? We're back now after our morning in Anaheim at the RCX trade show, where the scene was complete with monster trucks, the Batmobile, and 16-year-old models in tank tops and miniskirts. A little coffee at Swork in Eagle Rock pumped me up for some more PC-jockeying. Actually, I'm gathering info for our excursion to Bungalow Heaven tomorrow morning -- they're having an annual House Tour and I figure this may be our only chance to see what these beautiful Craftsman homes are like on the inside. If you're free and reading this - come with! Starts at 10 a.m. in Pasadena.

Earlier this week Akhil and I went down to Disneyland on a work-related mission to see the Snow White show. It was no Aladdin (which is actually decent!), but we enjoyed our dinner with Akhil's colleagues and our ride inside the Haunted Mansion. Akhil has done some work there on "Liota's head." Still awaiting baby news from Deb and Justin - she is officially due in three days! So by the end of the week we should have a verdict. (We think it's a girl.)

I just had the shortest job interview in history. My appointment was at noon. Got back in the car at 12:02. The ad said, "Seeking a highly motivated individual with editorial experience to fill the position of Managing Editor." But what the lady meant was, I'd have to start Monday, work out of her home office around 25 hours a week an hour away in a residential place far out in the Valley, assign, edit, copyedit, traffic, and lay out the entire book (a 50-page tabloid-format newspaper) every week by myself, and she's paying 300 dollars under the table, no benefits, no retirement, and oh yeah, I'd have to sign an 8-12 month contract.

I pretended I didn't really know Quark.

She: Well, thanks for driving all the way out here.

Me: That's okay. See ya.

Or did I just slam the door?

My brother Toad bought a condo in Salem. I am sad - no more Harvard Square accommodations for Akhil and me. But I suppose his diving into the real estate market is a good move. I'd like to do it myself before the six-figure homes ALL turn into sevens. First though, I better get this job thing taken care of. Employers are now taking advantage of people like me to the tune of cash under-the-table, 300 bucks a week salaries. Have they no self-respect? Have I? I got myself into an interview at one of these places - I hope I will have the courage to tell them exactly what I think of their glorified volunteer opportunity but I have been out of work for months. And that makes people do some pretty desperate things... wish me luck.

In other news, Akhil's fellow countrymen, the Kenyans, swept the Boston Marathon Monday. Katie and Heather had a Patriots Day BBQ at our old/new pad at Freeman Street which, sadly, I missed. You see, Heather is moving into the LCC - the Life Crisis Closet - at 145 this month. Priya doesn't live there anymore because she bought a place in Allston a couple of years ago. But two of the "originals" will be living there once again. Funny how things evolve sometimes, isn't it? Six years ago at this time, Heather and Katie lived at Freeman Street, I was looking for a job, about to move into this apartment in Glendale, and Akhil and I were driving an '87 Jeep. Today, Heather and Katie live at Freeman Street, I am looking for a job and LIVE in this apartment, and Akhil and I occassionally drive an '87 Jeep.

Brief update by popular request: you're not missing anything. Status quo intact. (Jobs report, schmobs report. Hmph.) However, I can recommend Ofoto.com, baking your own bread, and films, television and books: "The Fog of War," "The Apprentice," and Arundhati Roy's "The God of Small Things." In other news, my dad sold the store (congratulations Al!) and, still to come: baby news from Debbie and Justin...

Photos are back... and here's my best shot: the elephants at Lake Manyara.



More photos are at Ofoto.com. Take a look:

http://www.ofoto.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=204762444103&page=1&sort_order=0

Happy Super Tuesday! Akhil and I voted in the primary today - first time ever for both of us to vote in one of the primaries. These times can make a political junkie out of anyone. We also had to vote on some California props related to the state's budget crisis. Funky times when you've got Terminator in office. And the Kennedys! His children, indeed, are Kennedys. Think about that. Arnold's kids are Kennedys. Bizarre.

The blog continues, but there is not much to report. I am still living off the fat of the earth, Akhil is on a regular work schedule, and we have overcome a terrible hardship: as of yesterday we now have our DSL connection working again. We've been sifting through our trip photos, and many of Akhil's slides are pretty good, but my 16-year-old Olympus has some exposure issues, so most of my prints are unusable. Time to put that old machine to rest. Speaking of old machines, this weekend Akhil finally fixed the headlight switch in the '87 Jeep. We played some tennis on Saturday, and saw "The Ghost and the Darkness," in memory of Africa. (Sigh.) Self-education in cooking continues: we tried not to liquify the fish we made Sunday night for our "Oscar dinner," and cereal has resumed its place as one of our most popular entrees. Try those new maple mini-wheats. Fabulous.

So, we tried making chapatis last night. Okay, I tried making chapatis last night. They were a little stiff and coarse but edible so I am calling them "rotla." Indian food connoisseurs will know what I'm talking about! The curried beef was fine.

Meanwhile, on to more important things. My hair. It's passable. I suppose you'll all be happy to know that I have greys! Like Lucy.

Here are couple of photos from Africa - the really good ones, I hope, will be from the film camera batch. By the way, anyone hiring? Call me.

Akhil's birthplace: the Aga Khan hospital in Nairobi...



One of our tented camp accomodations in Tanzania...



A lion in the Serengeti National Park...



And, my favorite, elephants. These were at Lake Manyara...

Another week gone by... but this one in good 'ol Los Angeles! We're home and reeling, sort of, as Akhil prepares for the first day back at work (tomorrow) and I prepare for, well, I don't know what, except for my hair appointment on Tuesday. This time, believe me, it's not a want, but a need! We had dinner out in Beverly Hills last night with Leslie, who caught us up on local happenings. Still not sure what the heck is in store for us this year but we're "working on it."

Putting up some photos -- see a few below - but is anyone still reading this?!!!

As today's bonus content feature, I want everyone to see LUCY, Regina's rediculously adorable schnauzer dog! Jealous!



England photos: Akhil's splendid cousin Sagar...



A village in Devonshire....



Us near the site where the Magna Carta was signed...



Now, some India pics. Here's much of the Madhani crew in Jamnagar...



And a schoolboy in Jamnagar, at my father-in-law's former elementary school...



This week I'll work on Africa photos. See ya!

Alas, it's time to admit we've reached the official conclusion of our trip - tomorrow we fly back to Los Angeles and should reach our apartment by dinnertime. People keep saying, "Geez, you must be so depressed!" But not so much, really. I have a feeling of satisfaction that is somewhat invigorating - though I don't have a job to go back to... Maybe that's why I'm so relaxed at the moment. Akhil may feel a bit differently, since he starts working again on Monday. This past week we spent a few days visiting with friends in Boston and then with my parents in Connecticut. Akhil and I went to the Mystic Seaport on Saturday, which I haven't seen since I was a kid, and saw the Charles W. Morgan - which, as I mentioned, we saw a model of in Zanzibar. Then we went to the Mohegan Sun casino just for curiousity's sake, along with my mom who thought it was very unpleasant - it was absolutely packed - New Englanders have apparently taken passionately to gambling. On the way up here to Boston today we visited with Akhil's friend Archie in Providence - also a surprisingly lovely city these days - they seem to be paying a great deal of attention to aesthetics here in the northeast. California developers could learn a lesson or two.

Happy Presidents Day! Photos will appear by the end of the week - assuming we can get our DSL up and running without much trouble.

Ah, Bahston in February... has it always been this cold?! Here we are back on home turf. We were greeted at Logan Tuesday afternoon by very unfriendly airport security personnel followed by my gracious brother Todd, who picked us up and took us on the long way home to his place in Cambridge so we could see the glorious progress on "The Big Dig." A walk through Hahvahd Yahd to Pinnocchio's pizza and then we went to sleep. Yesterday Akhil and I traipsed around Cambridge, Faneuil Hall and Newbury Street, then caught up with some friends here in town and tried to imagine what life would be like if we were ever forced to live here again. A tough sell when the wind rips right through your thermals!

Now that we've got the hang of this blog thing, it may be hard to stop. So keep checking here for updates - and maybe new photos and other exciting added features. Off to Connecticut tomorrow and then, L.A. again on Monday. Back to reality - what?!

Shannon and I have been having a wonderful time here in jolly old England. We spent another day visiting London, including the imperial war museum, which was tremendous. We had dinner - at a local pub - with my aunt Sudha and uncle Douglas. Steak and Ale pie and a pint of local bitter. Very British, very yummy. Great to see them, trading stories about Nairobi, New Zealand and other places.

Over the weekend, we went with Surbhi, Karan and Sagar to Devon. We stayed in Lynmouth - a beautiful little English town on the west coast. Walked through the woods along a river there and generally enjoyed the scenery. This was where Shelley (the poet and original hippie) lived for a few years. We also saw the home of Coleridge. We ate the the Ancient Mariner (the pub next door). In fact we've eaten at a number of pubs - always a highlight of any trip to England!

Today, we're off to Windsor Castle, which is just nearby... In fact we've got to run!

The trip is winding down now as we are back in the Western world... at the mothership: England. Yesterday we went to Westminister Abbey and saw the tombs of many of the characters from the story we've been following the last three months -- Charles Darwin, King George, David Livingstone... what a journey.

We also saw my old B.U. digs at South Kensington and I showed Akhil the deli where we used to buy our beer and Hob Nobs. We feel like we are home already - here with Akhil's aunt Surbhi and uncle Karan in Weybridge and bopping around London during the day. Heard the good news about the Super Bowl and can't wait to reconnect with our friends in Boston and CT and L.A. next week! Hope to bring this mild weather with us. If not, can I borrow some woolens?

And a few notes about Nairobi. We've spent a couple days here since the safari and still had some wildlife experiences! Went to an elephant/rhino orphanage that rescues animals whose mothers have died. Saw a playful baby black rhino and a bunch of mischievous baby elephants! Pretty funny. Then we went to the giraffe preserve... They have an elevated platform and you can feed the giraffes food pellets directly. I mean you put the food right on his tongue! (Which is about a foot long, by the way.) Pretty strange... We also visited the Karen Blixen museum, now of Out of Africa fame. And today, we'll visit the national museum before heading out tonight on a late night flight to London via Dubai. Bye bye Africa!

For Surbhi and Karan! I (Akhil) haven't been able to access my Disney email lately (Shannon's hotmail account, shannonpv@hotmail.com, still works), so just to confirm our flight information:

Emirates Airlines flight EK 15 from Dubai to London Gatwick. Departing Dubai at 7:55 AM Tuesday, arriving in London at 11:40 AM.

Look forward to seeing you!!!

Finally - an update! Our circuitous tour of East Africa brought us back to Nairobi this morning, after 16 days of witnessing herds of hundreds of elephants, thousands of wildebeest and zebra, and a variety of antelopes and gazelles day after day on the plains, plus prides of lions eating - and playing - within ten feet of our vehicle. Then there were the rhino at Lake Nakuru, the baobab trees at Tarangire, and baboons - well, everywhere.

Africa is sublime! I was not happy to get on the plane this morning, leaving Zanzibar and its white sandy beaches behind. With its unique history combining so many cultures and of course, its abundant spices, the food there is some of the best we've had on this trip. Cardamom, cloves, ginger and lime are used along with fresh fish, vegetables, pineapple and mango. Delish! We took a spice tour yesterday and discovered that cinnamon is a tree, and so is cocoa. Also saw cardamom and vanilla growing, cloves, tasted chickoo, jackfruit and grapefruit off the tree, and met some other tourists - one who knows some friends of ours in L.A. We went swimming off the beach by our hotel yesterday afternoon and had an unbelievable view of Kilimanjaro on the flight here today, but that wasn't enough for me - I could've spent another week there.

At the start of our safari, on our way out of Nairobi we did see the birthplace of Akhil - the Aga Khan hospital. We also got our driver to take us to what we believe is Mina's childhood home. Once out in the "bush," somehow we got very lucky with our accommodations, from the Ark to the Mara Serena to the Tarangire Safari Lodge. I had one bout with stomach trauma otherwise we've been well fed and had an incredible time.

Two more days in Africa before we head to London, continuing on this tour of the former British empire! We stop in Boston on Feb. 9 for a week to complete the circuit and reconnect with bitter winter weather. We hope to post some photos from there.

Jambo! We're in Nairobi! A breath of fresh air that was greatly needed. Bombay was actually a very cool place - we saw Akhil's parents' medical schools and dorms, and the Gate of India on our brief city tour before leaving the country Friday morning.

We arrived in Kenya last night, toured around Nairobi a little and then arrived at the Fairview Hotel. Very nice! We had pizza and a beer, a good night's sleep and showers this morning! Plus, a great breakfast, and now a few last minute emails - not sure when we'll have access again. We're off on our safari in 1/2 hour. We hope to stop by the Aga Khan hospital (where Akhil was born) and maybe even his Mom's old house, as it is on the way to the Aberderes, our first stop. A quick itinerary: Aberderes (The Ark), Lake Nakuru, Masai Mara, on to Tanzania to Lake Victoria, the Serengeti, Ndutu, Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara and Arusha. Then three days in Zanzibar before returning to Nairobi and heading to London!

See you after Safari!

Another Akhil post... We're back in Ahmedabad, preparing for Uttran (the big kite festival). Well, actually, my Mom is doing some last minute sari binge shopping, and Shannon and I are trying to prepare for Kenya/Tanzania. Have I mentioned that I've eaten enough ghee (clarified butter) and sugar to supply the energy needs of NYC for a year? More soon!

Technical note from Shannon: If the archives have disappeared from your view of this blog, that's because they have been pushed down to the bottom of the page (we have to make our sidebar wider somehow...) So, if you want to get to the archives to see the new photos we added for NZ, Australia and Bangkok, just scroll on down and you'll see the links on the left. Also, you can try viewing the text on "Small" or "Smallest" font size in your "View" menu.

Just when I was getting adept at the art of the bucket bath, suddenly I realize, our India experience is nearing its end! Today is Monday and we depart early Friday for Nairobi from Bombay. We've reached Ahmedebad and it was a little sad to leave Jamnagar after nearly two weeks there - enough time to almost feel like a local. I don't even notice the cows in the median anymore...

After our farewell dinner out with the family last night, Akhil and "the guys" had paan -a betel leaf stuffed with any combination of candy sweets, tobacco, calcium carbonate and coconut paste. It's an acquired taste, I think. I haven't quite acquired it yet. I have acquired a taste for mustard-chilis and 4 p.m. masala chai though. Akhil and I complain about the chaos and the caste system, the corruption and the filth, and the confusing, seemingly hypocritical treatment of various unfortunate animals (if you're a dog, STAY AWAY from India!), yet we're both very sad at the thought of departing so soon, when there's so much left to see. Maybe next time we'll come for Diwali.

Here is another India photo from Jaipur, where we rode an elephant to this palace gate. We're adding some old photos today from Glenorchy, Bangkok and Sydney in some of the archival posts, in case you're interested!

Can't get the theme song to "Kal Ho Naa Ho" out of my head....

For the most part, we've been lazy bums the last couple of days, doing nothing more than shopping around town, playing with Akhil's entertaining 10-month old, 3-year old, and 6-year old cousins Simeron, Rushali and Isha, and ingesting way too much very tasty Gujerati food, including this millet-flour tortilla type of bread called rotla that you top with ghee (clarified butter) -yum! And this vegetable and potato mash you eat with grilled buns called pao baji (sp?) - Akhil was able to consume no less than 8 buns himself. Needless to say you may not recognize us when we see you next! Please be kind... We're planning to leave Jamnagar tomorrow afternoon for Ahmedabad for the kite festival, Utteran.

Jamnagar is known for its tie-dye, or "bandhani" textiles. Apparently much of the work is done by women who work from home, tying thousands of tiny knots in cotton and silk fabric, and dying it in stages, one color at a time. We bought so much stuff, Akhil's parents were forced to stuff an extra suitcase that they're graciously taking home to the U.S. for us. Akhil's aunt Aruna Foi also took us to the teaching hospital where she is a professor in the OB/GYN wing. I got masked up and peered into the O/R, and visited the maternity ward and labor rooms. There is a sign on the wall near the entrance to the hospital that says "First two deliveries free." They encourage tubal ligations after that.

I know this is out of sequence, but here is a photo from our days in Rajasthan - of the palace in Udaipur.

Another quick note. We did a day trip from Jamnager to Dwarka to visit a temple, day before yesterday. There are many priests who live there - something like 30 according to different castes. They each keep a book with signatures from visitors. We found the priest for our caste and found the signature of my great grandfather, from 1928. The books are well kept. My father wrote our names in the book. The funniest comment was from the priest who, upon finding that Shannon and I were married, quietly asked my father "is she of the same caste?" My father replied "not quite!"

Oh yes, in case you were wondering, India transvestites DO wear saris. That one even threw my parents a little.

Yesterday, we went to Junagadh, the site of Mt. Girnar. There are thousands of steps constructed to a series of temples on this mountain. Another site for pilgrimages. Apparently, at one temple, 1108 saddhus go each year and magically dissappear. My father asked if there was a trap door someplace - they didn't think that was funny.

We climbed 5500 steps today to the third peak, where some holy men were smoking weed and asking for money. We gave 5 rupees for a photograph and came back down. Took about 5 hours total - finally some exercise!

We have received such an education here in Jamnagar. I can't even go into it all. This house has so much history. The fourth generation of Madhani's are living here now. My father was born in a room downstairs, along with most (if not all?) of his nine siblings. We visited cousins in Rajkot yesterday as well. More Madhani's (who knew?)
We're here for a few more days, then off to Ahmedabad on Monday for the big kite festival, Uttran (sp?), before heading to Mumbai (Bombay).

All over Ahmedabad, they are winding kite string onto spools for the festival. They make a mixture of powdered glass, glue and coloring, and run the string through it before winding the spools. They can then have kite fights, trying to cut each others string. I'm told they sell a lot of band-aids this time of year, seriously.

Just as an update - we are now in Jamnagar, seeing the town where Akhil's father spent his formative years! Many stories to tell... more soon.

Okay, here goes, we're going to attempt to post a few photos from India! Below I hope you'll see an image of the Taj Mahal. More to come...

Another quick note from Akhil. Ahmedabad is quite different from other parts of India we've seen. Quite a bit more prosporous. We've been visiting with family and friends for the last three days. Visit, eat, sleep, eat, eat some more, visit some more... We've had the wonderful opportunity to get to know my cousin Devan and his wife Gauri, and their two children, Shreeja and Raj. I played a bit of street cricket with Raj yesterday (he's six, but he has a bat). Shannon got a scooter ride with Gauri (which involves avoiding cows and monkey street-gangs) as well. We went to the sari shop today which was fun - Shannon tried on a beaded chiffon number and wowed everyone (they were laughing, I think that means they were wowed). We visited Gandhi's Ashram, where he lived for 12 years and a famous temple just out of town. Some beautifully and extravagantly dressed Rajasthani women (stone bangles from their wrists to their shoulders, bright saris and huge nose rings with a chain to their ear) stopped, stared and pointed at Shannon - of course we were staring at them!

Tonight, we're having dinner with about 20+ friends and family - and we haven't even gone to Jamnagar yet where most of the family is!

That's it for now - wishing everyone a Very Happy New Year!! At some point I'll explain how they celebrate Christmas for a week with Indian Santas everywhere, but that's another story...

Ah, Ahmedabad. Things are more civilized in Gujerat! We arrived at my relative's apartment last night. This is more what I expected India to be like. Still plenty of cows, camels, autorickshaws and so on, but the storefronts seem more modern and clean and generally well put together. And of course, the hospitality of my uncle Indukaka and family is wonderful. In a few days we'll see the Topiwalas here, before we head off to Jamnagar...

Hello from Delhi! Another note from Akhil...We've been trying for two days to get to Varanasi and finally gave up. We were trying to fly from Khajuraho, but planes have been unable to land there due to insufficient visibility. Apparently, they were doing runway work and accidentally damaged the Instrument Landing System, so they have to fly in on visual flight rules. And they're not repairing the ILS because they don't think it's worth it until after the runway work is complete. So no flights without 3600 meters visibility! It's a wonder that this place functions on any level, it really is.

Anyways, we drove 4 hours to Jhansi (no train station in Khajaraho) and got on the train to Delhi, which was true to form, 2 hours late. We got to bed at about 2:30 this morning and hope to fly to Amedabad tonight to visit family.

An email note: Connections here are very slow, and my Disney VPN service is also very slow. So I'm having trouble accessing email at all in India. I'm not ignoring anyone, I just really can't send email. It usually takes an hour to get one or two emails off. So if you'd like to email me (and please do!!), please do so on Shannon's account at shannonpv@hotmail.com. Thanks!

Merry Christmas! A note from Akhil... We are in Kajuraho, and have miraculously found a working internet connection. So quickly, before the connection dies - we saw the Taj Mahal. Amazing! Walking around with Shannon is quite an experience. People stare, yell and generally harass her. I expected the stares, but the young men yelling "hey girl" and children mobbing her asking for "One pen!!" caught me off guard. Walking through Jaipur in the evening was pretty intense. But then again, it's not everyday we see an elephant (with driver) walking through the street. They honk, but the elephant doesn't seem to mind - he just keeps plodding along. We're trying to go to Varanasi tomorrow, but the Indian way is to kindof hope you get to where you want. Flights have been cancelled for the last four days - too much fog, and too few tourists? We're not quite sure. Driving the roads, I've seen my life flash before my eyes. Big Tata trucks heading your way on a one-lane road, bicyclists, tuk-tuks, motorcycles, scooters, women with firewood on their head, cows, cows, more cows, goats, starving dogs and the occasional man defecating, all share the road. And us in our mini tourist van, flying through it all at breakneck speed. I may become religious before I'm gone.

Ok, that's it for now, before the connection dies again!

It's now Sunday the 21st and we're in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, a fairly large city of more than 2 million. It's not every day that you can say you rode an elephant after breakfast - today's highlight, in addition to seeing the city's palace and museum and astronomical complex. We've travelled for a week now, first from Delhi to Kota by train, then to Bijaipur, Udaipur, Deogarh and now here in Jaipur; tomorrow we set off for Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. People can tell you what to expect when you arrive in India -- you can read about it, hear about it, see photos of it -- but there's nothing that can truly prepare you for the wonder of this society. Cows and monkeys really do wander freely in the city streets - as well as on the highways - which our driver Mohan has been navigating beautifully (not an easy job). On Friday night we were entertained by traditional dancers in Deogarh, along with the former king and queen, who have turned their palace into the hotel we stayed at. Earlier in the week we lunched at the Lake Palace in Udaipur, which you can see in the Bond film "Octopussy" - I can't imagine anything more grand. All of this of course amid throngs of people living in what we'd consider very basic and difficult conditions, but the children seem happy, and the women look beautiful, dressed in colorful saris, even those working in the fields or carrying pots of water along the highway on their heads. This will be a Christmas season Akhil and I won't forget. Thinking of you here in India! Happy holidays!

Mina, Dhanvant, Akhil and I are here in this magical country of India - in Udaipur on the fourth day of our tour of Rajasthan. We've seen several palaces and driven hours through villages of people, places and things that are nothing like anything I've seen before. I'd like to elaborate and will do so soon once we get access to a faster Internet connection. For now, congratulations to MariCris and Lindsay on the birth of Connor!

A quick note from Akhil... We made it to Bangkok! The big, bustling Asian metropolis is nuts of course. Hot here, but not as bad as last summer. We walked all over yesterday, around the national gallery and grand palace. Today, we're taking it easy and browsing in air conditioned department stores! My Levi's are pretty much toast, which leaves me just one pair of khakis for two months, so I'm going to try and find something. Funny how wearing one pair of pants every day is a bit hard on them! Once, again, I think I'm a bit over the whole backpacker thing. Yesterday, we went to Khao San Rd. This is the ultimate backpacker hangout. In the 80's, it was just a street, in the early 90's, when I had stayed there, it was friendly and quaint. Now, it's like the Chiang Mai night market. You can barely walk down it and there's a McDonalds (see photo of the Asian "Ronald") and Burger King there too.



Completely out of control. The Lonely Planet effect strikes again. Globalization and the tourist economics have a radical effect on such places. I'm sure someone has done an interesting study on all of this.

Tomorrow, we're off to India to meet up with my folks - we're looking forward to it!

I saw a kangaroo. Really, I did. It was about 15 feet away in the brush on the trail during our "bushwalk" in the Blue Mountains, just two hours outside Sydney. The area, which I'd barely heard of, is stunning - the valleys are filled with this blue haze they say has something to do with the oil emitted into the air by the eucalyptus trees. Beautiful place. We hiked four hours down into the "Grand Canyon" and just made it back out by dusk, fortunately. Our hotel in Blackheath, the Gardiners Inn, was built in 1823, and Charles Darwin stayed there in 1836 during his five-year trip around the world pre- 'Origin of the Species.' The parlor room had a player piano in it and there were boxes and boxes of music scrolls.

We have been completely charmed by Sydney, having explored on Monday Bondi Beach, the miles and miles of shopping, the Blue Mountains area on Tuesday and Wednesday, and a Sydney Symphony performance last night at the Opera House, which can singlehandedly give you an appreciation for architecture if you didn't have one before. Akhil and I have visited it at least four times and can't get tired of sitting on the terrace at the Opera Bar for sunset cocktails! It's been a superb five days and now we have just a few hours before we depart for Bangkok. I heard about the east coast snow storm that occurred last night. And though I love the snow at Christmas, the 80-degree summer weather we're experiencing here now is nothing to complain about. Sorry, friends! We invited you!

Here's the infamous opera house, inside and out:

After ambling around Christchurch for a couple of days we were rested and ready to leave New Zealand for Australia. Akhil managed to fit at least seven more flat whites in before the departure and I dragged him around a fair amount looking for a new pair of pants. (No luck.) We just missed the Christmas parade Saturday afternoon - turning in our rental car with more than 2400 miles added to the odometer. It looked like it needed a good scrub.

New Zealand is a surreal place - you get a real sense of what truly "unspoiled" land is like - it's raw, even crude at times despite all its well-marked tramping tracks and sightseeing flights. On the other hand, you can see the development happening before your eyes and it's clear that this won't last forever. The hyperactive focus on tourism and real estate will take care of that - but it's amazing that there's any place left on earth that can feel like a "new frontiere." Somehow it's very foreign in that way... and stepping off the plane in Sydney was something of a relief. Like we're part of the world again. This is a huge, invigorating city, with a population of 4 million - about the same as the entire country of New Zealand! We spent our first day just hanging around the harborfront area - The Rocks, the Opera House, and took a ferry out of to the suburb of Manly. There's a whole bar scene just underneath the opera house with live music and terrace tables with a view of the Harbor Bridge - even the locals hang out there. One thing would make it so much more fun - having some friends here to travel with! Any takers?

I would have to say if you come all the way to New Zealand and don't absolutely have to see the albatross colony, skip the southeastern part of the South island. It's a little bit depressing. We spent two nights in Dunedin nevertheless, which is a university town and of course, now it's summer! So, no students. Not much else really either - just my opinion of course. We travelled up through Oamaru, which was interesting because of it's limestone buildings, penguin colonies, and its "Janet Frame" trail. Frame is a novelist who spent much of her life there in Oamaru and whose autobiography became famous when Jane Campion made it into the film "An Angel At My Table" (thanks for that information, Annemarie!).

Then up through Timaru which was so much like New London, CT, it was scary... then on to Arthur's Pass National Park for one last brush with nature. We hiked up Avalanche Peak there and spent the night in a very nice cabin - with six other people of course but that's hostel life. Afterwards it was on to Christchurch - where we depart from on Saturday for Sydney! Here is a photo from Avalanche Peak:



I have come to the conclusion that someone in the U.S. government must have conducted a study to determine the precise number of days one of its citizens could be away from work before they are fully relaxed and are not thinking about work anymore - and it has to be two weeks and two days. Because that is exactly how much vacation time they give us. But just this week, about two weeks and four days in, is when Akhil and I have gotten into the travel groove and we're pretty relaxed and enjoying it all. You know, when you can't remember your boss' email address and have forgotten what day it is and don't even know the names of Madonna's children anymore. We're just about there... looking forward to the next leg of the journey!

Hello from Dunedin, one of NZ's oldest big cities. We visited the Albatross colony on the Otago peninsula today - the only mainland breeding colony in the world for these enormous seabirds. We were fortunate enough to see them nesting and even flying. Hopefully you'll also notice we improved the quality of our images.... take a look!

Just a quick add from Akhil: Driving to Dunedin, we stopped off at A.J. Hackett Bungy jumping. Watched a bunch of folks bungy, including a 70-plus-year-old hitchhiker from England. When we left, we saw him hitching, so we gave him a ride and heard stories of his adventures hitching across the U.S., fighting for the British in Cypress and his other NZ hitchhiking journeys. He said the bungy was easy, but expensive, that getting shot at in Cypress was worse. $140 per jump, not including the video, though he got a "pensioner's rate." Dropped him off at the turn off to Waneka, and then motored on in to Dunedin.