Happy New Year! As Frosty would say... I had no idea anyone was still reading this, but a reunion of sorts at none other than Heather's wedding over Labor Day Weekend inspired me to come back and put up an 'ol post. Lots of people asking, "Wherefore are your blog updates?"

My last one was in... December? Well, lots has happened, yet nothing has happened. Akhil and I have managed to:

1. Gain some control over our haphazard garden, adding lavendar, sedum, yarrow, new David Austin roses, narcissus bulbs, and a kumquat tree to the mix
2. Get to a place where 6-7 day workweeks are the norm (for him, anyway)
3. Buy a buffet, a coffee table, a new arbor and a wheelbarrow
4. Entertain the neighbors with an authentic Indian meal prepared mostly by my gracious mother-in-law (95%); only slightly by me (5%)
5. Took a class on xhtml coding, and though I got an A realized I'd *much* rather be taking a course on photography (next)
6. Slip in at least a few good vacations, at my obsessive prodding, of course
7. Went through (Akhil) a massive, competitive bread-baking phase, and learned to make baguettes, pizza, and foccacia
8. Met Floyd Landis at a book signing in Pasadena (Akhil)
9. Rediscovered jogging, biking, and the tricep machine at the gym

Besides all this, my brother Todd has up and moved to Denver, Colorado; and the army of babies continues to grow! We've got Will, born to Regina and Bill in the spring; Ethan, born to Debbie and Justin this summer; & Isabelle, born to Carolyn and Rob on Aug. 30.

Meanwhile the blogger.com interface has changed - now it's connected to my Google account and automatically saves my drafts. Awesome. Maybe I'll try and get back here more often.

Now for the fun stuff: vacation summaries. That's what I'm here for, folks.

I celebrated, reluctantly, getting another year older in San Francisco with Akhil, who took me to the Cliff House for lunch and to the Presidio and the MOMA and all around town to help keep me distracted.

In May we spent four days in Sonoma. We hadn't been to the area since our first year of courtship, in 1999. This time we stayed at the Inn at Sonoma and it was fantastic. I tried a mud bath at Calistoga, Akhil bought tomato plants in St. Helena, which they let us fly home with in a paper bag, and we managed to get as far north as Healdsburg, the new wine snob's favorite place to taste and shop. Our tomato plant experiment was incredibly successful - each of the 3 plants is now about 5 or 6 feet tall and I think I've eaten 300 tomatoes this season.

A month later, for our fourth anniversary, we spent a long weekend in Big Sur (can you tell with like Northern CA?) which truly deserves its reputation as one of the most beautiful and other-worldly places on earth. It's almost heartbreaking. We stayed in the yurts at TreeBones, which were cozy and literally on the edge of the cliffs overlooking the water. At night it was silent save the sound of the waves and the sea lions barking. Hiking at Julia Pfeiffer and then the incredible beach of the same name were pretty much all there was to do, gloriously, besides dine, indulgently, at Nepenthe and at the Ventana Inn, where Ed Norton had the table next to us at cocktail hour on the outdoor patio.

Through the summer we both worked a ton, and were good and ready for the Labor Day weekend celebration that was Heather and Jon's wedding in Providence. Following we hopped a plane to Paris and spent 6 days in Normandy, plus a little Bretagne on the side. I'll give that trip it's own post.

Nick is in space. That sounds fairly simple, until you spend a few days really comprehending what it means to put your body inside a man-made vessel, strap it to a couple of rockets, and blast it into the earth's orbit in about 8 minutes flat. Discovery STS-116 blasted off last Saturday night from Cape Canaveral, and we and at least 1000 others watched it go, the first night launch in 4 years. It was a spectacular experience.

The weekend began with a reception at Kennedy Space Center on the 7th, where Nick's reception, which included every member of his family and about 100 friends, but not him, since he was in quarantine, was combined with that of fellow astronaut Sunny Williams, who will stay on the space station for six months. The KSC has a full visitors center, tour of the property, a couple of IMAX movies and such, where we spent most of the day Thursday awaiting launch attempt #1. They postponed for weather, at five minutes ... talk about suspense! We were able to see my aunt Jane and Uncle Howard in Stuart Friday before we spent another day waiting, along with everyone else, for attempt #2 on Saturday. Our watching spot was on the causeway, about 6 miles from the launch pad, but we had a clear view as it fired up and blasted skyward, disappearing about 8 minutes later over the horizon. Nick was conducting his first mission about an hour later, operating the robotic arm to inspect the craft for damage once it reached orbit. Back at the hotel, one of the guys had a laptop over which we were able to tune into radio communications between the shuttle crew and mission control - we could hear Nick talking to them about his task - amazing! Moving too, to be able to witness someone you know actually achieve a lifelong dream -- he's been waiting for this for a long time, and now, he's one of just about 460 people to ever experience spaceflight.

From Cocoa Beach we headed over to Disney World and stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge - beautiful hotel - and had some fun hanging around the parks with our respective silver passes. (The new job is going well for me at DIG by the way -- I'm happy to report). A former fellow MIT student, Dave, and his wife Cheryl, a historian of American Decorative Arts, including -- yes, that's right -- bungalows! -- joined us at Epcot where the food was impressive (we tried the Bistro in "France" one night, the Morocco restaurant the other).

Florida was more fun than I remember it. What a great week! Now we're back home, the tree is up, and we're getting ready for our first holidays here in L.A. Looking good for '07! But how did it sneak up on us so fast?

Major life goal achieved: I have cooked, all by myself, an entire turkey. We had our own Thanksgiving today after having spent this year here in L.A., with friends, which was nice, but no leftovers. We were kindly entertained by some old friends in Venice on Thursday. This was a unique and beachy Turkey day experience, capped off by a beautiful sunset walk down to Venice pier. However, we desired leftovers.

The opportunity to cook never seems to come. We're too far away to get our families out here for holidays. So, we thought it might be nice to try out the roasting pan we got for our wedding 3 years ago over the weekend and cook a 13-pounder just for the 2 of us.

All I have to say is God bless Martha! I used her cheesecloth-basting method and the bird came out all crispy brown and beautiful. It really works! Soak the cheesecloth in wine, butter and herbs and cover the whole bird with it, then baste every half hour throughout the first three hours of roasting.

Other than that, the holiday season came right up and smacked us just as soon as the car door shut Thursday afternoon. I hit Target for wrapping paper and such on Friday -- the selection's great when you don't put it off til two weeks before the holiday. I'm ahead of the game! (Not.) It's hard to know what to get people for gifts in a year where clearly material goods are flowing freely. Everyone I know seems to have already bought themselves everything they've ever wanted. I am not imagining things, am I? That can't be good.

Akhil and I are suffering from Chosun Galbee hangover today, that is, Korean BBQ O.D. It was Angel's birthday and she and Tony took us out there (corner of Western and Olympic) where this impressive and totally packed establishment in the heart of where else, Koreatown, serves you so much food it's hard to believe. No less than 8 included apps and side dishes, from seaweed soup to potato salad to kim chee, spicy cucumbers, fish cake and who knows what else. We each ate our share of shrimp, galbee (which is their signature beef), sweet potato noodles and fried fish, and only one of us managed to eat a Dots cupcake when we got back home. (Not me, thankfully). Well ok, admittedly, we did sample a coconut-topped, pina colada one before we left the house.

So today I am digesting all of that, but also the incredible mountain of information I absorbed into my brain this week. Starting last Monday, I became an employee of the Mouse, and the week was somewhat of a whirlwind due to this transition, of course. But yesterday, it was house-fixing info that filled my brain to capacity as we had the most incredible landscaper here to consult on the mess that is the "English garden" in our front yard, and a mason from Boston Brick and Stone to tell us how to handle our mish-mosh of an 86-year-old, disfunctional chimney. From there we scrambled over to this amazing, buried treasure of a place out in Highland Park called Mortarless Building Supply, on Fletcher. Places like these are what makes L.A. so continually interesting!

Backing up a bit, I did manage to get some good fun in with Heather here when we saw Joey Lawrence and Edyta do a "Dancing With the Stars" bit at Disneyland followed by numerous rides (like Pirates) and a hearthside cocktail at the Grand Californian (fittingly) before I started the new gig. Then my mom came out to visit all by herself and we treated her to the Getty experience as well as her first taste of Thai at Saladang. Now though, it's back into full overdrive mode, and this weekend we are aiming to get some of the big "Phase 2" home-fixing projects kickstarted.

The garden is my project. I didn't know consulting on such matters was a service that nurseries and landscapers offered, but indeed they do, and I found a great one. There's this little French cafe and bakery on Fremont in South Pasadena, and right next to it, a garden center called Barrister's sells the most beautiful plants and flowers. Well, the proprietor came out and surveyed the scene here yesterday morning and she was a magnificent font of info - I need little more than the hour I spent with her to recommend the place wholeheartedly. We've got a lot of pruning, digging, replanting and weeding to do. It looks like the flippers that sold this house two owners ago had no real long-term cares when they overhauled -- we can't complain much, but when it comes to doing things the right way with just about ANYTHING, flippers kind of suck.

Boston Brick and Stone gave us heartening news on the chimney but the best thing was they pointed us to this little, overstuffed tile place you'd never find on your own out on Fletcher, where the owners have been collecting turn-of-the-century original tile "since they were kids" and have more passion for the stuff than anyone I've seen. Boxes of unused Batchelder, old Malibu and Catalina tile, new reproduction versions of everything and plenty of ideas.

I'm a big fan of California tile now that I live here and was introduced to the whole industry when we discovered the amazing Adamson House in Malibu, where we ended up getting married. Malibu tile is featured in this home-turned-museum, where the Rhoda Rindge Adamson lived when her family owned most of Malibu and ran Malibu Potteries until around 1932. Ernest Batchelder was a Pasadena guy who made tile through his firm from around 1910 to 1932 in his own special style. The stuff is relatively hard to find now, and incredibly expensive if you want anything with a design on it. Friezes can run into the $1000s, sadly. This is the tile style that I'm eyeing though, for a possible redo on the odd textured plaster finish we've got on our fireplace facade. We'd love to get our hands on some of that stuff.

No further evidence needed: we've been extremely busy this fall. Interior paint, shoe molding, lighting fixtures, electrical upgrade, seismic retrofit and an ongoing list of odds and ends has kept us energized and occupied. Now I get it - "pride of ownership" -- you want people to understand the extraordinary amount of work you had to do to whip the tiny house into shape! Well, we are proud -- it's the best (as long as it doesn't rain -- we have yet to test those 81-year-old window seals).

The jack-o-lanterns on the front porch are all the evidence we need to realize we are truly suburbanite old people now. Some of the kids who came to the door last night were at least as old as I am (in my head) and I know they thought Akhil and I were twelve. The teenagers did not even bother to dress up. That's pretty rude, I thought, but I gave them their Willy Wonka Nerds and Sweettarts like the nice old lady that I am.

Heather comes this week to break in the new "guest room" and then, my mom comes out solo next week. Todd already made it out to visit last month -- and we got in a trip to SeaWorld. Does anyone else find it odd that the place is sponsored by Anheuser-Busch? I mean, they have a Budweiser pavilion and a fleet of Clydesdales. Beer and whales. Hmmm... Whatever.

Congrats to Caroline who welcomed baby James last Monday! I get to see him tomorrow since I am off all this week. And THAT's because...

On top of all this good stuff, I report to duty at a fabulous new job at Disney this month. The choice of company is coincidental, and nothing more - Akhil and I will NOT be carpooling - as we are in different divisions, buildings, towns. But everyone has asked.

Needless to say, Carmel provided a blissful getaway and we had to wear long pants and closed shoes for the first time in months since it was only in the 60s - nice change. We had a great dinner at an Italian place (Nico) with John and Kendra and managed to go the wrong, long way on a bike ride out to 17-mile drive, but I probably needed the kick to push me off my duff.

Now we're back -- actually that was all 3 weeks ago now -- and finding that Pasadena tends to trap us on the weekends which makes me miss the freeway-close Glendale location of our old apt. somewhat (what?!) Akhil's old friend Vasan came up over Labor Day weekend from Irvine -- he is a professorial type down there -- and gave us an excuse to go to one of the best restaurants I've been to in a long time: La Maschera on Fair Oaks in Pasadena. I'd been looking for an excuse to go there, esp. after I heard Paul McCartney likes it too, and yep, it's good, with a hip bar area, great wine list and service, and amazing food. Go. When you go, visit us beforehand -- we're just out the way now and people don't make the drive -- come on, we've got all this Ketel One to drink! Somehow it's fall again ... we've almost got all the doors and windows back on just in time for our neighborhood block party next weekend. Suburbia, suburbia, we are entering Adulthood zone.

Goodbye, popcorn ceilings, goodbye.

As reward for our diligence, we're off to Carmel tomorrow, for the annual Kimbell-Tanouye fest, otherwise known as, the Kimbells' rental of a house in the village neighborhood for the month of August, which we like to crash each year (well, we do stay in a hotel, of course).

Congrats to MariCris who gave birth to 9-pound Avery last week! Now Connor has a sister. Happy birthday to Regina, Craig, Tarek, and soon, John, Heather and Katie too.

We're in! And the hot water works! Stay tuned...

Guilty break... from packing our mountains and mountains of stuff! How did we fit all this into 900 square feet? Beats me, but over 9 years it all seemed to find its place. Now, it's a mishmosh of small, separate piles of dusty, musty, not-quite-junk, and somehow we've got to get it all organized before next Saturday. Akhil alone has nearly 30 file boxes full of papers and files from grad school and beyond. Human beings are not terribly efficient, that's for sure.

A week to go before we vacate California Ave. for good. Bittersweet...

The tremendous subculture that exists around the restoration of older homes has revealed itself to us in more ways than we'd ever wanted to know about -- it starts with Restoration Hardware and goes deep into the painting and stripping biz of Pasadena, not to mention specialty hardware stores from Crown City Hardware nearby on Allen St., to Liz's Hardware on La Brea. It's madness! And you never know or feel terribly confident if you're doing "it," whatever it happens to be, right.

Next steps in the overhaul are in progress but we won't be able move in until at least the middle of August. We hemmed and hawed and picked paint colors, brands and finishes over two weeks and 200 dollars of sample paint and even after all that work it doesn't make much difference -- we still don't know what the right combination really should be. We'll know in a week if our coordination is passable. On a brighter note, Akhil dipped and scrubbed and polished up all the house hardware, and the leaded glass doorknobs and brass window latches are beautifully shiny and looking new after nearly a century of wear and tear and multiple paint-loving owners.

Meanwhile, the heat wave has timed itself perfectly with the buzz surrounding Gore's "Inconvenient Truth" documentary. We've been cranking up the AC more than usual this summer and in a blink it's more than half over already. The annual Brand Blvd. car show celebration was hotter and stickier than ever but hey, they had the Kingsmen, and we got Argentinian food al fresco with Tony and Angel and actually had a kickin' good old Glendale time! We missed Sha Na Na though, if they even showed. Tomorrow we get our first weekend away from it all in months - a jaunt up to Woodside for Gunther's wedding reception. In the midst of all this, we got word that Nick is scheduled to fly on the space shuttle on deck for Dec. 13. The solid Discovery landing this week is a good sign that it'll actually happen this time. We plan to be right there for the launch thanks to his personal invitation.

BBQ season's in full swing - first at Lance's two weeks ago, one last week at Leslie's in Manhattan Beach, and a gourmet version at Caroline's tomorrow night. If we were to start paying back on all the BBQ invites we've had these last few years, we'd be BBQ'ing until December. Better get started, since we now have a backyard -- at least a little one. HowEVER, that would mean we'd have to actually go ahead and purchase a grill.

That entails yet another techno research project though, and now they've got entire Web portals and multimedia presentations and slews of consumer reviews on these things which results in an unsurmountable information overload -- but, no grill.

Maybe we'll just get a hibachi.

Happy Third Anniversary to Us! Three years ago in Malibu at the beautiful Adamson House, we became a family, officially, and here we are, getting ready to move out of our Glendale apt. into a real house, with lots of lessons, tribulations, travels and experiences behind us -- but we know the best is yet to come!

We have been hitting the car shows lately as Akhil feeds his latest obsession: the Shelby Cobra. I plan to post a photo of him with Hank Williams (no, not that Hank Williams) and his original 289, as soon as I can find some editing software on this new hard drive...

Car shows in SoCal -- a phenomenon like no other to be sure. We went to Van Nuys last week (to see the Cobra) where they held a Mustang competition in Balboa Park -- it all calls to mind Tom Wolfe's 'Kandy-Colored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby' -- and now I get what he was talking about. These people get real excited when someone offers to pop open the hood. Hank opened up his hood for us, and started that baby up for the onlookers too. There's something about how an engine sounds that can get you respect but I haven't quite figured out the "language" yet.

While we were up there we discovered they've got cricket fields -- in Van Nuys! At least three cricket games were in progress, with the all-white uniforms and everything. Never ceases to amaze.

We certainly DO live in L.A. now, now that we've made the big purchase: a teeny tiny house! That's pretty much what's consumed our lives these last two months, but since we closed escrow two weeks ago, the hiring of fix-it contractors is intermittent, and I seem to have more time to think of things other than houses for a change, ironic but true.

The house -- well, it's not a mansion but the fact is, it's ours, and that's a real milestone, for each of us individually, and as a family unit too. Strangely it does put us instantly into a whole new club -- the club of SoCal homebuyers-who-bought-during-the-so-called-bubble club. What a distinction! Well, we're learning so much, by the firehose method, with this 80-year-old "project." Some helpful things we've learned include:

1. "Your" agent works for the seller, at all times, keep that in mind.
2. Houses older than 50 years involve a ton of repair and restoration, no matter how good they look.
3. HIRE YOUR OWN INSPECTORS, and heed his/her advice when the advice is to bring additional inspectors in.
4. Closing escrow may be achieved just about entirely by mail, with like, no human interaction.
5. After escrow closes, you will never hear from "your" agent ever again, even if you still have a gazillion questions.
6. Old plaster cracks and sags and flakes -- a lot.
7. Insurance companies do not like knob-and-tube wiring, at all.
8. Painting over wallpaper, not to mention plastering over wallpaper, in multiple layers even, is a BAD IDEA.
9. Chimney repair is wicked expensive.
10. Revel in the printing of your new address labels.

That's just a few tidbits - we have a million of 'em.

So, since I was last here, I've been to visit Regina in Bill in Cary, N.C.; Akhil and I went to his cousin Ami's wedding in Chicago and managed to sneak in an overnight visit with Carolyn and Rob, as well as special guest Khanh; Gunter and Margaret announced they are a married couple (we think, well soon, if not yet); Todd got promoted; Heather and John shacked up; John and Kendra had us over for Dylan's first birthday; Akhil celebrated his 38th; we watched the Mariners beat the Dodgers; finally tried (and loved) Le Petit Beaujolais in Eagle Rock; and got some baby-on-the-way news from Regina and Bill just last week! We also managed to eat at the Toasted Bun at least 4 times in the last month, and went to about five car shows as Akhil feeds his latest obsession.

That's quite a lot for two months, which means an exciting summer must be in store as well.

Stay tuned.

It's fairly unbelieveable that it is April 10, already, for I'm still trying to remember that we're in 2006, not 2004. As proof, I totally blew my poor father's 60th birthday two weeks ago by assuming it was his 59th, and that is an irresponsible, inexcusable mistake. How can he be 60? I think this feeling of shock must be similar to how parents feel when they see their kid start driving, or graduate from high school - like, wasn't he just a pup yesterday? The passage of time really does get faster, warp speed-faster, seriously.

Life is full of ups and downs, so maybe this means the downs pass more quickly - in that case, fine by me. Heather visited post-business trip last week and we were able to indulge in a spirits-lifting weekend jaunt to Santa Barbara with Kendra, who left Dylan at home with John for an overnight with the "girls" -- nothing too crazy, just dinner and margaritas, a beachy hotel and day of shopping and fruit stands along the 126 out through Santa Rosa. Yet another part of SoCal I'd never seen - so far the farms remain out there - with plenty of roadside fruits and veggies! It was great to see that since the 101 through Camarillo is getting scary looking - condo complexes galore.

As Akhil and I try to get our game back on, including tennis, may we recommend a restaurant that's given us comfort in the last month in the form of giant, fattening, delicious Italian food: Greco's on Union Street in Pasadena - try it, it's crazy good, and expect leftovers. We ate ours from our first trip for 3 consecutive nights.

One more thing: Happy Birthday Carolyn Read!

We haven't evaporated from the face of the L.A. earth, no, that's not it. It's just that we're deliberating -- something -- and it's not been fun, nor blog-friendly. Hello out there -- how's the world been? Since the hiatus began we both got hit by crazy drivers who inflicted minor but annoying harm to our Hondas; Heather became an aunt, again, to Joaquin; Todd went to Puerto Rico on business; Dad got a cellphone, Mom got a DVD player; and I got a haircut! That's about it, really -- oh, except wait one minute, that's not true. After 8 years of driving by it every single day on the way out to the freeways, this morning, we finally, yes finally, made our way up the block to eat breakfast at the illustrious local diner known as The Toasted Bun.

We went for breakfast with the Schneider family, and really liked the place, esp. the extra-kind wait staff. Why oh why did we wait so long? Gotta go back soon, because every lunch entree and soup and salad comes with -- what else, a toasted bun. This afternoon we're Valencia-bound to see the new digs that are the Tanouyes' new home. More to come, as normalcy returns to the Pea-dhani homestead.

Well, yup, another year older, that's me. But the Santa Barbara weekend, Cafe Bizous dinner, Porto's carrot cake and chocolate bundt at the office helped ease the pain somewhat as I eased into what is definitely "mid-30s" territory this week. Where does the time, the life, the youth go? I tell ya! This is the first year I've said "Wow I'm getting old" and my parents have not disagreed with me. They're more like, "Yeah, you're getting up there, whoa."

Well, none of us escapes it. That's the comfort. Things I've learned this week: Montecito, where Oprah lives on her days off, is paradisical. And it has some nice bike lanes. Too much cake doesn't sit well in your mid-30s, but it tastes pretty good going down. Having an excuse not to be home to watch George Bush speak to the nation is almost worth getting another year older. Almost. And you can never have too many flowers in your living room.

Happy 2006! Not that it's off to a very happy start with the mining tragedy in W. Virginia and Ariel Sharon's stroke and such, but hopes are high among most folks I know for a more peaceful, inspiring and energizing year for all.

For Akhil and me, the holidays were a wonderful whirlwind. We packed a ton into this trip, with two days in CT with my family for Christmas; including a walk on the beach at Watch Hill where they were in the midst of tearing down the old 125-year-old Ocean House; a day with Carolyn, Rob, Inge, Gary, and Tarek in New Hampshire; some QT with Laurel in Cambridge (including a superb and overly indulgent dinner at Maurizio's in the North End); and New Years Eve with Heather, Jon, Katie and Andrew in Boston, first at the Oak Bar at Copley, then at LaLaRoque in Beacon Hill, then at the Sevens on Charles Street. Akhil and I slipped in a two-day jaunt to Waitsfield, Vermont, as well, where we stayed at a B&B, skiied at Sugarbush and found that ski equipment looks different than it did five years ago - has it been that long? Geez - they don't even have points anymore. En route we managed to see the Morrell family in Manchester and had we only driven over the border to Maine we'd have hit all six New England states this trip.


How we got ourselves to Lexington, Concord, AND to Walden Pond in addition to seeing "King Kong," making crepes with caramelized apples, brunching at the Paramount and cleverly retrieving Akhil's lost cellphone from a homeless man named "Ed" in Porter Square somehow I have no idea. All I know is that we got back here Monday at noon and dashed out to do some gift returning, rather than napping, which is what I WISH I'd done that day. Well, we got to see The Grove's tree one last time, buy some more Farmer's Market pork chops and catch the Mayor himself (Villaraigosa) shopping at Banana Republic. Am I the only one who thinks he resembles Tony Shalhoub? New Years resolutions are in the works, but staying cheerful is on the list. 2005 was exhausting -- here's to a much more joyful and uplifting year!

How do I have time to blog -- with Christmas cards, gift shopping, travel to pack for, people to dine with, dustbunnies to vacuum and prose to write for pay? Super-efficiency, that's right! Or maybe some last-minute procrastination. I have just a few things left to do before we take off next Saturday, and only at Christmas would I be looking forward to cold, snowy weather and a crowded airplane trip with transfers. Kendra and John are here this weekend to shop for homes up in Valencia. We had dinner with them last night and it's surreal and wonderful that they'll be living here again in just 3 weeks. Time has passed so quickly since Kendra left for Boston four years ago -- now they'll be back with Bogart (dog) and Dylan (baby) - as SoCal continues to attract despite the housing/traffic situtation. What is it about this place?

Maybe it's Manhattan Beach, where Leslie had her first-ever MB holiday gathering last Sunday. The fireworks went off at 7 p.m. and all the MB locals had prepared by doing up their beach mansions and cottages in lights. The effect was ethereal and beautiful and I thought to myself, it does not get better than this. Akhil and I agreed that if we hit the windfall one day wherever we are, we'll come back and live there and be smug. That said, we have it pretty good. Happy holidays!

December is turning out to be a rather bustling and festive month after all, with cool "winter" temperatures here in L.A. and snow to look forward to in the east when we take off on Christmas Eve for a ten-day break out there -- marking our third visit to New England this fall. Impressive! If the shopping crowd is any indication, the economy is doing pretty darn well - this year it seems the hoards are out in full force, myself included, but as of this afternoon I think I'll be pretty much done with gift buying -- and two weeks early too. Also impressive! What did we do before the Internet?

We're doing pretty well keeping up with friends too: Julie was here from Houston for a wedding last weekend so I got a long overdue visit with her and Joel at the decked-out Ritz Carlton in Pasadena. Afterwards Akhil and I took Joy and Paul up on an invitation to the annual Castle Green open house tour. She and the other tenants in that building, which is a striking, enormous former hotel built in 1899, are serious about their decor. The place has become somewhat of a house of style, with prices to match, these days. Joy always provides an amazing spread of Japanese food and wine and desserts, that this year included these cream puffs from a place called Beard & Papas in Hollywood. Run, don't walk: you must try these things. They are 100 times dreamier than Krispy Kremes.

That kicked off a week that included our big office move to spacious digs-with-a-view in Encino, dinner at the Huntley Hotel with Tony and Angel last night in Santa Monica, and tonight, holiday fireworks chez Leslie (who's serving chili and beer) in Manhattan Beach. The restaurant at the Huntley is on the top floor (it's called "Toppers") so we got a view of last night's Marina del Rey fireworks during dinner last night, too, which was an unexpected bonus. No time for a tree in our place this year, but we do have stockings, lights and the requisite poinsettia, of course. What I need to do next is get the New Years Resolutions list going. It will be a tome. 2006 will be the year of taking control of our destiny.

I was reading the "Heathervescent" blog mentioned over the weekend in the L.A. Times piece on Los Angeles blogs and took away a real appreciation for what Heather, the blogger does so wonderfully -- she frames everything just right to ensure that life is what it is if you make it that way: a continually exciting and satisfying adventure. Such a great way to look at things! I love the Heathervescent blog. Here are the Thanksgiving Day Seattle participants -- we didn't take much time to appreciate things that day, but you can see we should have.

December starts tomorrow - how frightening. Time is not just flying. It's hurling toward infinity at light-speed these days. Last week, Seattle kindly gave us two sunny days, one with a view of the elusive Mt. Rainier, so my family got to see that it does exist after all. From the Bainbridge ferry to Pike Place Market to multiple museums, the Chittenden Locks, Nordstrom's, Microsoft and the Space Needle, we covered a lot of ground up there. A "Meet the Fockers" situation was avoided and the families together enjoyed a great deal of turkey, salmon and sugary sweets. Nice to be spoiled as always - and then, ah, back to work here in stringy old L.A. I already have the stockings up by the stairs and the holiday CD is playing. All we want for Xmas is -- a housing crash. Yes, Virginia, there really is a bubble.

Happy Turkey to anyone still checking in on this blog from time to time! Akhil and I are packing up this weekend for our east-meets-west Thanksgiving extravaganza in Seattle, departing Tuesday night. My parents, my brother, Akhil's brother and wife, all of us descending on Medina, Wash. for our first-ever blended holiday, Pacific Northwest-style. A momentous event!

We just got back from doing our regular househunting chores -- and I'm slightly happy to report that it's true, the prices seem to have capped out for the moment, as you've seen the media report for most of the country. BUT, here on the "affordable" east side, they still managed to jump up according to the "six-months-ago-plus-10-percent" formula these slimy agents are using into the $720-750k echelon for 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom homes -- in bad school districts. So, we are seeing a lot of one-bathroom offerings just under the 700k mark (we refer to this as the "pain threshold"), though nothing yet has tempted us to make any offers. The interest rate plus holiday slump would make it seem likely that we'd find something next month SOMEwhere, but we'll see. You'll be sure to hear if we make any headway. And you'll certainly be happy to hear the end of this rather LONG story, for sure! Two years ago this weekend we were just getting into our Round-the-World trip, having landed in Auckland as our first stop. Two years later -- here we are, same old digs! Pushing on.

Post-hunting we had an amazing chicken and mozzarella with sundried tomato spread on ciabatta sandwich at this fairly new gourmet deli, wine and cheese shop in Montrose that I have to recommend. It's called Gouda and Vines, on Honolulu Ave. They've got some tasty-looking stuff in there. We'd love to see the place succeed so give it a shot. That's all from the SoCal trenches for this week. We're Seattle-bound.

Here's a helpful tip, just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday: Don't put potato peels down the garbage disposal. I found this out the hard way this week. Lo and behold, there were posts galore all over the Web to this effect as we scrambled to the computer to find out what to do about the glutenous particles spouting out of our sink. What did we do before the Web?

I must express my excitement at the news this week that Kendra and John have announced that they are coming back to the left coast! More details to come later lest I let the cat out of the bag too soon. For now all Akhil and I can say is, Yippee!

My friend Mark's book "Edison and the Electric Chair" came out in paperback this month (hardcover came out last year) and I saw it for the first time today at B&N. Check it out -- good gift idea for those with morbid fascinations, perhaps? We're proud of you, Mark!

Not only is it voting day, it's also Todd's 32nd - happy BDay Toad! That time of year already, is it? Amazing. I'll miss all the calls from John McCain, Dick Reardon, Ahhnold, of course, etc. as we move past another set of props, another ballot. They certainly keep you on your toes out here.

Heather's back in Calif., so last night we took her to a weird French restaurant called "Taix" on Sunset Blvd. The food was good, don't get me wrong, but the decor was that curious, old, art-deco-ey, your great-great-great-aunt-born-in-1897's-parlor-kind of style, dark, with flowery carpet, flowery wallpaper and flowerly sconces, old black and white photographs and renaissance paintings, with long windy hallways. Plus it might be haunted. We liked the roast chicken with burgundy sauce and the steak-frites, but I bet Heather will ask us not to take her there next time.

Sooo, yes, it seems, the housing crash is upon us -- it may be slow moving, but we can smell it coming, in the air underneath the "shady trees" in the "easy-care yards" of the "perfect starter carports" with the "loads of potential." House-gazing was among the weekend's slew of activities, which included two movies with short, yellow-haired, bespectacled, notorious and charismatic title characters: "Chicken Little" and "Capote." Capote is mesmerizing. Philip Seymour Hoffman is superhuman in this movie. It may give you nightmares, but it is a fantastic film -- flaw-free. Chicken Little? Well, kids only. Nice animation and some funny creatures, but the story's not for people under seven.

Fall in L.A. is paradise - beautiful sunny skies and just over 70 degrees. Even the leaves are turning colors, and people are just a little less on edge. Heather was not as happy as she could've been to leave this morning on account of the SNOW, yes snow, that fell all yesterday back home in Boston, but you can't blame her in the least because it's October - now that's just unreasonable!

We didn't get a chance to see her on our short jaunt to the east coast last weekend so she made up for it with a stop here in Los Angeles this week on the way home from business in San Francisco. Here we are at Disneyland yesterday where I finally figured out how to use a fast pass (to go on Indiana Jones) and we saw the Honda Asimo demo in addition to the Haunted Mansion and this Stitch attraction, developed by folks in Akhil's R&D division:



I left the fun, fun office a little early on Friday so we could eat cupcakes at Sprinkles in B.H. and then, the Tut exhibit at LACMA. I recommend the cupcakes, but I don't recommend Tut -- it was over-hyped, over-crowded and unlike the last Tut exhibit that made the rounds about a decade ago or more, this one didn't have much of anything that actually belonged to Tut himself - not even a sarcophagus. I got pretty tired of crushing my body up next to throngs of people to read tiny boards about artifacts that were of course beautiful and interesting but lacking in terms of their relevance to the namesake of the show.

Ah but then there was Disneyland (Heather has been about 35 times to Disney parks here and in Florida). But Laguna Beach, where we strolled and had dinner Sat. night, was the best. The sign in front of one of the little cottages off the main drag down there says it all, I think, and has got it right: "If you're lucky enough to live at the beach, you're lucky enough."

Happy Halloween-eve. Clocks back one hour today too -- bonus! We're going to examine another house for sale today but secretly I think we're still waiting for the crash - cuz 700k for a starter home just HAS to be too much.

Sorry, one more thing. Read this L.A. Times essay by Patrick Goldstein that takes the movies out on Truman Capote ("Capote") and Edward R. Murrow "Good Night and Good Luck") as a jumping point to give a sense of the philosophical battle going on in the so-called journalism biz that I work in. The point is summarized well with his ending, at least from my point of view.

Thunderstorms in L.A.? And, a dam in Taunton, Mass., may burst, and so people are apparently evacuating. This after two weeks of heavy rains in New England. Is weather seriously becoming this much more threatening lately or is media hype making it seem so? Or, perhaps, is weather responding to more media coverage? Hmmm... fishy. Akhil and I saw Broken Flowers this weekend and went out to Thai Town for cheap, good noodles on Sunday. Sketchy part of town (sort of part of Hollywood) but it was authentic. I still think Saladang is better but for the prices. I think I'll swear off blogging for a while til something interesting happens - with 80,000 new blogs a day - that's right, 80,000 (that's one a second, pretty much) - people all over the place are surely boring others to death and I am afraid I might be one of 'em.

Sorry.

"Americans are becoming ruder."

Aha, so it's not my imagination. A CNN story today refers to an AP poll that says a lot of people have noticed:

"A slippage in manners is obvious to many Americans. Nearly 70 percent questioned in an Associated Press-Ipsos poll said people are ruder than they were 20 or 30 years ago. The trend is noticed in large and small places alike, although more urban people -- 74 percent -- report bad manners, then do people in rural areas, 67 percent."

Here's a case in point. I work right next door to a Jewish temple in Encino. Yesterday was Yom Kippur, so it was jammed at temple time mid-morning. As one woman drove up to the entrance to the parking lot, another woman and her children were waiting their turn to drive in as well, and I heard this presumably religious, middle-aged, coifed and primped, ready-to-worship woman scream out her window: "I'm sitting here waiting to get in, you stupid SH-T. Get out of my way, you dumb SH-T."

Not very benevolent. Not very festive.

Meanwhile, we're hoping for much-needed rain this weekend. It's been in the 90s this week and they're warning of an unseasonal power crisis as a result. Our lasagna party last weekend was well-timed and kicked off a decent week, for once! If it wasn't for that unfortunate job I've got to mess it up for me... well, can't have everything.

Red Sox season is over - and I'm surrounded by disgusted fans who thought a team with that good of a season record would've done a little bit better against the White Sox. My poor brother even had a ticket to Game 4 tomorrow. Oh well.

Akhil and I spent the evening cleaning up in anticipation of tomorrow's visitors to our abode, so once again, he's fast asleep with exhaustion already. My early work hours seem to wear on him more than they do me -- one good consequence of starting a job at 7 a.m.: I get by on less sleep. Another good consequence: would you believe I can get from Glendale to Encino in 12 minutes? If I get on the road at the right time that's all it takes - but if you're on the road at 5 p.m. it can be an hour. Who says we don't need mass transit? Don't answer that.

Do try Corner Bakery mini bundt cakes, however. Especially the chocolate one.

More than two weeks since I've been in here? At the moment, it's about 8:30 and the household's already asleep, so, I've got some time to get back into blog action. What have we been up to, well, let's see... there were those fires, which spun a lot of ash around through the valley over the last week or so and made my building in Encino rather smoky. But they've got them all under control now with minimal people-damage. Leslie and I were among about seven people total at Max on Ventura in Sherman Oaks the other night. People weren't terribly interested in dining out that night but inside, you couldn't smell the smoky air. We had trout and filet mignon and french silk pie for dessert. It's been a long time since I've eaten so fancy but we needed a little lift, both of us. The weekdays are a blur, the weekends are too, for the most part. Akhil and I once again dashed all over town this weekend, from Pasadena, to Camarillo, to Manhattan Beach, to Pasadena again. Housing still killing us, or something...

My little mom has become a little bit smaller this week with the extraction of her appendix, which happened unexpectedly on Monday. Quite a scare, quite a scare, to say the least! But she's home and okay now. Should be back on track next week. They did not keep it in a jar even though I asked them to. Oh well.

Fall has kicked us back into "productive mode" (I think) so it was perfect timing for the painters to come last Saturday and buff out the scuffs on the walls -- we're in the midst of reassembling the living room but the new blinds are up and pics are on the walls and it's really quite exciting.

Whenever people get down on L.A. a dose of the Hollywood Bowl seems to pick them up -- me included. Caroline and Mike got us all tickets to Brazilian night last Saturday and we ate picnic dinner beforehand so it was all good even before the orchestra came out -- but man, Pink Martini was fantastic! I had no idea. Vocalist China Forbes puts so many other singers to shame, I can't believe more people don't care about this 12-piece orchestra/band. They played with the L.A. Philharmonic, so you can imagine. Excellent.

Our whirlwind weekend was worth the effort for the perfect weather, QT with the Peavey family, and quick visit with Heather and John -- but I've GOT to find a job with more than 5 allotted vacation days a year. By caffeinating ourselves, we packed a lot into 3 days: Todd took us out into Salem Harbor to the Rockmoor Restaurant, this floating contraption that serves pretty decent seafood, then we drove all over the north shore to ogle beach houses before dinner at Victoria Station near his place up there, right off Salem Common.

Saturday the entire Peavey family (incl. Akhil) paddled out by kayak from Wequetequock (yes, that's spelled right) Cove to Sandy Point, and then we all splurged on a rich and giant dinner at Skipper's Dock in Stonington Borough. It was hard to sleep with pitch black and only the sound of chirping crickets, I'm not kidding, but then it's been a very long time since I've been "home" to Connecticut in the summer. Three years, I think, at least. Amazing! I thought my hometown was kind of lame growing up but now that I've seen some alternatives it doesn't seem all too terribly bad. Here are the intrepid:

Akhil and I zoomed up to Boston to see Heather's funky new condo in Beacon Hill on Monday and then took off to the western burbs to see how the pre-bubble buyers live there, too. The sunny, clear, balmy beautiful weather put the northeast in its best light. Somehow I was still glad to get back to L.A. Sunday night -- at least until the alarm went off at 5:45 Monday morning.

Life has a way of putting things in perspective, and this week has an eerie feel similar to Sept. of 2001. Coverage of the Katrina aftermath seems absolutely unreal -esp. for those who know New Orleans and even for those who don't. My 24-year-old cousin Colin and wife Aimee, a Folsom native, bought a house in Mandeville last year and they drive to New Orleans to teach every day. School was just about to kick off this week but they evacuated to Auburn, AL pre-Katrina and they're fine -- maybe even their house too -- we don't know that much yet. Having spent a couple of memorable Spring Breaks and Mardi Gras there as well (during Colin's wedding weekend), I know why they say it's one of the nation's most glorious cities. I've noticed a lot of people using the word "was," as if they think it's gone for good. Sure looks dire but I just can't imagine there won't be a reconstruction effort. Not much to do but send cash: American Red Cross has our info solidly in their database, that's for sure. Large-scale tragedy has become somewhat of a regular part of our generation's lives. Off to the east coast tomorrow night!

The painters who were supposed to come and shine up our seven-years-faded apartment walls never showed yesterday -- adding another insult to injury in the ever-continuing saga of our borderline-tolerable living situation. Sigh, well, I took Akhil out to Santa Monica in that case so Marivel could give us both haircuts - she's a natural! And doing great in her new career after leaving the world of entertainment PR just under two years ago -- check out Floyd's for yourself: it's just past the Nuart Theatre on Santa Monica Blvd. I think they've got another one in Melrose, but no Marivel at that one.

The two of us are headed -- on different days, different planes -- out of town next weekend to take in the last few days of summer in the place where they do summer best -- New England. It'll be nice to get out of the land of the Fast & the Furious that has become Glendale, CA. I loved L.A. when I worked on the west side and never understood why Akhil didn't feel similarly. Now that we're both confined to this side of the hill every day in the 100-degree heat with nothing to look at but the 134 freeway, I can kind of see his point of view. Major difference.

That said, it's still pretty good -- but good enough to fork out 700k for a place with 2 bathrooms in a sub-par school district? That is the question. A hard, hard question.

Okay, off to cruise the neighborhoods... oh, and Happy August Birthday Regina, Craig and Sabrina Rose!

Tarek Read Anthony, a solid 7 lbs, 11 oz., made it out into the open via C-section very early this morning, at 2:35 a.m. Congratulations Rob and Carolyn! (Tarek = "Morning star" in Lebanese.)

Just this minute I confirmed with Carolyn that she has NOT quite yet given birth. Her due date was Wednesday, so stand by, stand by!

You've got to try La Boheme in Carmel if you find yourself up there. It's a charming French-themed restaurant where just one meal is served each night so you just check the sked and make your reservation. John, Kendra, Akhil and I thought it was great - and no menus means no breaks in conversation - who would've thought of that? We lucked out with filet mignon aux champignons with mashed potatos and broccoli - yum. The wine was Californian.

We finally got to meet Dylan Tomeki, already 3 months old. What a kid! We sorely miss Kendra and John out here.

Ashley Cap, second daughter of Jenner's sister Sam, was born on Friday. And Carolyn is due in days, if not hours! Otherwise Akhil and I are getting our painting gear together to try and polish up some of these seven-year-scruffy apartment walls. Maybe we won't keep living here forever (maybe, just maybe?) but can't hold off painting for eternity.

Well somehow I mixed up the expectation dates for Minda, Kendra, and Carolyn and missed the whole thing in Minda's case - so I am sorry to be late with the news of William Pacifico Alena, born 3 weeks early on May 25! He's a beautiful baby, no surprise there - congratulations Alenas. I'll have to start asking if I'm allowed to post the pix. One more beautiful baby to report: Riya Sheth, born to Akhil's cousin Raj and his wife in July. And one more: Jenner becomes an aunt for the fourth time this week, we think (sister Sam's having Baby II).

Over the weekend Akhil and I reunited with a couple of days on the west side, including dinner at the way-too-popular-these-days Malibu Seafood (strangely, it had somewhat of a Euro crowd this trip), beach reading and a quick visit to the Adamson House. On the way we ventured all the way out to Newhall, then to Simi -- just to make sure we've covered all the bases on feasible housing solutions. Turns out, I think, we have.

Gas costs more than 3 bucks a gallon for some varieties out here, yet, this week oil cos. got tax cuts. Am I missing something? If anyone can explain this please email me. Else I'll just keep reading the Onion.

Baby watch continues for Minda and Carolyn this week! Updates soon...

I realized today it might sound strange to some that I regularly get off the phone with my husband, far away in Florida, with him saying things like, "Well, I just got out of the Hall of Presidents, and later we might go see 'A Bug's Life.' Call ya later!" Perfectly normal. That would be "work." Pity dinner is in order when he gets back on Friday, for sure (you ask: pity for him, or pity for me?). Meanwhile, join me on the latest 'Baby Watch': Carolyn has just three weeks to go til the big event -- and Minda's due any day as well. 'Tis the season of our lives... It's mind-blowing. Time just marches right on by, doesn't it. No respect, no favors!

Working away here at our spiffy new desk, spiffy, that's right. No more dining room table-PC. We've arrived! And so has Lance -- again. Unless you live sous rock, you know he won the Tour. Seven times. Seven. Into cycling or not, all humans must agree we're seeing something pretty amazing here. Apparently, he calls all autograph seekers "trolls." (Does that mean Akhil's a troll? Does that mean John Kerry's a troll?) Our presence during the early time trials surely brought him luck.

Speaking of amazing, it's been topping 100 degrees all this week and we've got -- that's right -- humidity! Why let the east coast have all the sweaty, frizzy fun. Lots of ponytails this week, lots of laundry. We spent the entire day here in the heat yesterday but today we got smart. Manhattan Beach reminds us of the goodness that is/well, can be, L.A. every time, and bonus: We literally stumbled into the Hermosa Beach Open volleyball tournament, only to get front-row bleacher seats for the semi-final with Athens gold-medalists Misty May and Kerri Walsh playing, and winning, against Elaine Youngs and Holly McPeak.

Vive le Lance! Et la France!


We're back with somewhat of an inside scoop on the Tour de France: it's easier than you'd think to see all the action up close! Evidence? Pics like these, taken from five feet away from the man himself. Our ten days began with a Sunday, July 3 arrival at CDG in Paris, taking the TGV to Tours, and checking in to our hotel on Avenue Grammont, the very street upon which the Tour de France teams were to arrive Monday, and depart Tuesday afternoon. Perfect setup.

Seeing the cyclists arrive and depart was easy, as was getting up close to the team busses near the starting line on Tuesday - NO security. None. Simply some steel rails to keep people out of the roads.

Place Plumereau in Tours is quintessential French - 16th century buildings bordering a square filled with outdoor cafes and bistros -- that's where we dined our first night. The Loire runs north of town, and the shopping is decent! From Tours we moved on to Amboise, and from there to Nancy, and over the course of the week we also saw the Tour depart from Chambord -- with the chateau as an unbelieveable backdrop, then the departure from Troyes, and of course we took in the most impressive chateaux, prioritized perfectly, I thought: Chenenceaux, Villandry, and the incredible Chambord:

Chenenceaux:

Villandry:

Chambord:

The departure at Troyes:

Our final Tour experience was the arrival in Nancy on Thursday. The six-hour drive from Amboise was worth it -- and the chance to see it all again after more than a decade was surreal. Ah, the good old days... and they truly were! ICN (my school), St. Epevre, Place Stanislas, even the "Made in France" sandwich place -- still intact, still perfectly beautiful.

We stayed in the Latin Quarter in Paris, just around the corner from Akhil's old digs at College of Pierre et Marie Curie, and by the end of the weekend, we'd become way too attached to the place -- sat by the Seine behind Notre Dame on Sunday night, watching the sun set, well after 10 p.m.



And then suddenly, Monday again. Sadly. France is to SoCal as silk is to cardboard. The people seemed friendlier this time, the wine tastier, the food more indulgent -- although we're off cheese and andouille sausage for a while (okay, maybe forever on that one). Recommended: the Clos d'Amboise, tartes framboises, Hotel Monge and Air France. Not recommended: Delta Song, French-cut boxer shorts and losing your luggage.

See more photos if you're interested here.

This must be one of our busiest Junes ever with the least amount to show for it, but we're just a day away now from our much-needed vacation to France, where we'll challenge our endurance by flying 14 hours and getting straight into a rental car from Paris to Tours. Once there, ahhh... let the vacation begin.

Amidst job dilemmas, another lost house bid ($40k over a fixer in Glendale this time), BBQs with friends and colleagues, etc., etc., etc., our second anniversary crept up on us this week. Two years, already? Feels like one! Here's me on anniversary, with custom wrapping paper for my traditional cotton gift: an LCD monitor.


Meanwhile we're keeping it interesting, at least on the weekends. One of our recent L.A. finds: the house on Lyric Ave. in Silver Lake that Walt Disney lived in with wife Lillian from 1927 to 1933. Here's a photo, but there's a great piece on the renovation you can read here. Drool away, SoCal house seekers -- purchase price? $200k.

Last week we drove to the top of Mt. Wilson, which is a quick 20 mins. up the Angeles Crest Highway, but for some reason we'd never done it before. Worth the trip for some great views, but next time we'll go when the observatory's open.

Bon Voyage until after the 12th -- and Happy Fourth!

We may be nuts, but are we crazy? We booked some flights on a whim last week to go see Lance in France. Of course, that also means we get to spend a week in the Loire Valley as he flashes by with the smelly peleton (we hear the B.O. reeks from a mile off) in Tours, in Blois, and again, perhaps, in Nancy, way up in Lorraine, three hours east of Paris. Nancy, of course, the city in which I spent one of the best years of my life, would be a rather surreal experience for me. It's like I dreamed the whole thing, 1994.

Which reminds me, Khanh has inspired me by taking up cycling, begun at first for raising money for MS in the two-day tour taking place next weekend, but now, she's all buffed up and getting in like 60 miles a weekend! Go Khanh! Lance would be much more impressed with her than with me, or with Akhil for that matter. The girl bought her FIRST BIKE EVER just for this event.

Heather and Jon have departed, Craig and his family are back in New York, and our overly social weekend is behind us so we can once again concentrate on "normal" -- whatever that is. Happy Flag Day everyone!

What a crazy week, trying to regroup and settle back into life in L.A. -- we're in a twilight zone, having discarded quite a load of junk including furniture, clothing and knicknacks, bought and sold cars, rearranged our spaces. But here we are, same old surroundings. Everything's different, somehow.

Heather is back again too, this time with her companion Jon, a very charming and sweet guy who got her (and me) interested in the Congress for the New Urbanism, national conference to be held this week in Pasadena (that's partly why they're here).

I survived drinks and dinner at Mezbaan in Pasadena, Thursday, yummy cakes and treats at the Alcove again on Friday, then Saturday the four of us started at Pedals in Santa Monica, braved a stand-up burger dining experience at Father's Office, and finished up at the gorgeous bar called Toppers at the top of the Huntley (formerly Radisson), also in Santa Monica, which has a killer view of Santa Monica, Malibu, and the ocean. We drove all the way back out on Sunday for breakfast at the Georgian, where they were staying, to revisit our wedding night digs!

Sunday afternoon, Akhil and I konked out for naps but made it back out for Star Wars: Episode III. Gotta see it, whether you think Lucas is FX-loony or not.

If there's one thing Akhil and I know how to do it's get out of town, and so we did, this past weekend, to San Francisco. We needed it more than ever, and made it through 3 days with just a couple of arguments, after a long month of life decisions (more like, indecisions?) made by a pair of very different types of thinkers.

So we hopped in the Civic and headed up early Saturday on the 5 with all the traffic, straight to the Cliff House for lunch at the bar -- a spectacular sea view. The place reopened in September, and the food and the beach were perfect; the crystal clear, sunny skies stayed with us all weekend long. From there it was strolling in Cow Hollow, then to Hotel Rex at Sutter and Powell, which is by far the best place we've ever stayed up there (oh, okay, besides the Mark Hopkins in '98)... highly recommended! Dinner was a trek around town to find long lost Little Joe's, an old Akhil haunt, which is now in the bottom of a dingy hotel on Van Ness but the food's still great.

Sunday was hiking up to the east peak of Mt. Tamalpais in Marin, which was gorgeous, with killer views of the world's best city (except maybe for Sydney -- but it's close). There's a lodge mid-way called the West Point Inn along the railroad grade from the tracks that used to go up until the early 1930s. They tore up the tracks when people started getting their own family cars.

Here we are en route, over the Golden Gate and up on the trail...



We drove all the way out to Stinson Beach so I could see it afterwards, and then we went down to Sausalito for food, followed by dessert in the city with Hiten and Suzanne, and managed a Union Square stroll and Coit Tower ascent on Monday before heading over to Berkeley -- where Akhil spent his formative years -- briefly on the way home, where we treated ourselves to dinner at Saladang in Pasadena. Splurge! Meanwhile, I neglected to publicly wish Akhil a happy birthday earlier this month, so here is a bonus pic of the birthday boy from May 18 (we celebrated a day late, on the 19th, for various reasons, ahem). Happy Birthday my love!

Been a while since I've been in a state of mind that allowed for a visit to the old blogging interface, but here we are. The stay-or-go, stay-or-go, stay-or-go debate will not cease, and it's been among the most exhausting couple of weeks of our entire lives. We did manage a momentous achievement amidst all this, however: Plush has gone off to a new home in Granada Hills, sold for a mere two grand. Oh how sad! Our 1987 Wagoneer with the wood paneling and 130,000 memorable miles is gone, gone, gone! In "her" place is a shiny new pewter pearl Honda CRV SE, with leather interior, oh yes, but no more power seats. Sigh. A bittersweet transition.

Farewell, Plush!


Akhil turned 37 this week and we were too stressed out to celebrate but one of these days we'll make up for it with more than just cake and roses. Anyhoo, enough of the whining, the real point of this whole post is to welcome, finally, the beautiful Dylan Tomeki Tanouye, born May 12 to Kendra and John, a whole week late! Congratulations! And Regina and Bill have officially left New Jersey for a new life in Cary, N.C. Things are rolling along.

We managed to make a brand new experience out of L.A. yet again this past weekend. That's among the most outstanding of the many beauties of the place -- you can do that, every weekend, for like, a decade (well, six years anyway, and counting)... god I love this town!

All we did was see 'Fever Pitch' (don't hate us) in La Canada (first time to movies there), then on Saturday headed to the Alcove on Hillhurst, which I can't believe we've never been to before (just chocolate-dipped macaroons and coffee but they've got a TON of stuff including my favorite: big, bad, sugary baked goods), and then on Sunday, after Fatty's pecan-coated french toast, it was off to Monrovia to look at cars. We're in the market -- I mean it this time. Monrovia is a step back in time, to, like, maybe 1973. Quaint and small-towny, but still western, like Greely, or the old Scottsdale, and a little surreal. Never been there before. Weird. It almost (not quite) felt like a (very) mini vacation.

The real reason for all this was to get a little QT in before Akhil was off, yet again, to Florida for another week. And this time, it's the "big show": Disney's 50th Anniversary Celebration kickoff. He's doing some press (!) for R&D, specifically Lucky the Dino. And never one to disappoint, he had a stellar star-sighting on the flight to Orlando this morning. That's right, folks: Carrot Top. Contain yourselves. Meanwhile, I, left alone yet again to my 7-4 daily grind, feel like the proverbial boiling frog.

Akhil's back after a basically successful three-week period of "Lucky" training, surreal bachelor-style living at the Animal Kingdom lodge, and minimal but sufficient amounts of cavorting through the Disney parks. So, yes, we've resumed our life together, sleeping in the same place once again. It seems to me three weeks exceeds a comfortable limit for separation from your spouse -- after about two weeks and two days you get a little too accustomed to the solo situation; then it takes a good couple of days to get reacquainted with each other.

So, "the stranger" and I finally used our first-anniversary gift certificate for The Raymond in Pasadena on Saturday night. Too bad, but this time, the food was just okay, and our table was pretty cramped. But it was nice to dress up, get out, and drink champagne together after Akhil's long stint with resort chain food and my steady diet of Luna bars and popcorn. We saw "Melinda & Melinda" on Sunday (B-) and tooled around on the West side, where Akhil thinks he spoke with Laura Innes at the Peet's in Brentwood, but I think he didn't. He DID sit behind Syndey Pollack on the plane back from Orlando Friday night, however. It's true -- he always gets the good airplane stories.

So let me be sentimenal for a second. Over the last couple of weeks I finally felt like I have a "home" in L.A., with true, hip and wonderful friends here that I just don't see enough of. When I listen to that "L.A. Songs" CD Heather left here by mistake, I almost get misty-eyed these days. It only took me a little under six years. People had told me that here it takes three -- I think it's probably more like five.

One last thing: Stay tuned for Baby Tanouye, due any day now. We're waiting, John and Kendra!

Heather's gone to San Francisco and so I'm finally alone in my Glendale abode. Akhil's got two more weeks living down in the, ahem, "Happiest Place on Earth" in Florida. I crashed for a two-hour nap after work tonight, after six days of nonstop dining, driving, shopping, strolling, touring, phoning, and yes, working, while the two of us caught up on things -- adulthood is hard, but maybe mostly for the lessons we've learned too late that we can't apply to situations that are gone for good by now. Heather and I don't agree on everything, but on that, I think we're in sync. She's having the best time of her life right now and I think mine just has to be around the corner.

Best discovery of the week: Father's Office in Santa Monica. The beer selection is super (they've got Belgian white), bar scene is solid, but the burgers are the best I have ever had, living up to all the hype. And I don't even EAT burgers -- go -- order -- eat -- and be sure to get a side of the sweet potato fries!

Akhil found an incredible Web site summarizing Glendale's aviation history recently, and the other day, I wrote up a gloriously detailed post. Just as I was about to wrap up, wouldn't you know it, our power went out (again). Luckily, however, my friend Mike has done a better job on his blog - with graphics -- and all I need to do is link! See here for what I wanted to say about that -- and here for the Go Dickson site itself. Thanks Mike!

The airport in Glendale was located precisely where the Imagineering buildings sit just south of the RR tracks that run along San Fernando Road, where Akhil has worked for the last six years. It's fascinating and heartbreaking to see how different the area is now from what it was in its glory days. The main terminal still stands, and we hear that Disney owns and plans to integrate the building into its future campus development there. I certainly hope they keep their word. It would likely be the last standing tribute to the history of what is now pretty much a sprawling industrial wasteland.

The big event in the household this week is the coming unveil of Lucky the Dinosaur to the general public. Akhil and his team set off this morning to Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando where they'll spend three weeks prepping and training Florida staff before Lucky becomes part of Disney's 50th anniversary celebration, kicking off officially May 5. They got a nice mention on the Animal Kingdom Web site -- and even a video clip. Apparently, there's merchandising too... haven't seen the evidence yet.

That said, the serendipitous arrival of Heather is happening in an hour, as she just happens to be doing the west coast leg of her 22-city "Hello, I'm the new big boss" trip this week. She's here tonight until Monday morning, and we are going to rage.

Could anything be more fascinating than the news released this week that octopi have been found to walk on two, er, legs, in order to disguise themselves? Prepare to be amazed: See this Discovery Channel video that shows the "algae" octopus, discovered off Indonesia, and the "coconut" version, discovered near Australia, on the move. Both have found ways to go mobile in which they take on the look of objects in their natural habitats, "walking" away quickly, disguised, when predators approach. This is really something - perhaps what's most incredible is that nobody's documented this before.

A beautiful spring has returned to L.A. this weekend -- cool, clear, though slightly hazy, and the hills and mountains are covered with green. We brunched in Santa Monica this afternoon and plan to view, finally, "Leoda's head" at the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland this evening to check in on Akhil's handiwork. Meanwhile, Todd's in Vegas with the guys, betting on NCAA games, Heather's got a work trip to L.A. (yippee!) planned two weeks from now, Carolyn's prepping for baby, as is Minda, Regina & Bill bought their new house in N.C. already, and Kendra's due in six weeks! Counting down...

They're calling the wildflower explosion in the SoCal desert a "hundred-year bloom" that we're unlikely to see twice in a lifetime. All the rain we've had this um, winter, has created the phenomenon that's driving thousands out to Anza Borrego, Joshua Tree, and Death Valley -- though they say the same type of thing happened after the El Nino weather of 1998. Hundred-year bloom or not, we had to see it. So, we drove out to Anza Berrago, the nation's largest state desert park, about 150 miles southeast of here, on Saturday. They're not kidding - blooming like crazy! And as full of winnebagos and motorcycles as cacti and other flora, I must say.

Here are some photos from the park:





We stayed the night in Julian (pop. 203), an old gold mining town that's very rustic, old-fashioned, and full of pie (we bought a Dutch apple to go). And it was freezing there -- like 30 degrees. First time for us in this area, which took us through Temecula and San Ysabel. Strangely enough, this part of SoCal was really similar to the New Zealand experience. Same type of rocky, hilly landscape, sparsely populated, lots of baked goods. No snowcapped mountains, a few less sheep, sadly no flat whites, but truly striking in resemblance. Ignore the end-of-the-world-like development you'll endure along the 15 freeway. Once you get to the 78 it's pleasantly bucolic.

Back at home, we're anticipating Monday. Doom. This week I'm losing my favorite colleague, Mark, to greener pastures and Akhil's getting closer to his very long trip to Florida (3 weeks).

Just drove back from an early morning power walk in Manhattan Beach -- one of SoCal's greatest features.

Now -- down to business. Houston, we have a satisfied customer. Cool toys for big kids: Here's Akhil in the Shuttle simulator at NASA's Johnson Space Center.

A wide shot:

Mission Control:

Nick & Akhil, and the littlest astronauts:


(Oh, and the conference went well too...)

Congrats to Marivel, who recently restarted her life as a hairstylist, leaving the high-falutin' world of network TV PR to live a dream. First major gig: 1 comment:

Welcome to our new and improved template. My friend Scott told me to enable comments, so I did. Does it work? Let me know (or leave a comment).

Once again, last night, we went to the Fox and Hound, a very odd bar for L.A., for happy hour. They DO have Irish soccer fans here - just like Boston. Except that here, the bartender moonlights as a supermodel and drives a BMW roadster, and the cook drives a Lotus. Well, maybe it isn't the cook's. Perhaps the Aston Martin with the faux UK license plate is. While I'm here -- Khanh I got your message and hope to talk to you asap!

Here in L.A. it's like a glorious, early summer - our windows are open, I'm wearing open-toed shoes, and the flowers are blooming as they do. Taxes are done, too, so we're heading into (offically) spring with all ducks in a row. Akhil's off to Houston on Wednesday where he'll convene with other robot people -- and visit with Nick at NASA. I'll be stuck here as usual -- not too lucky with my allotment of vacation days. But now that I am reading "Happiness," by Richard Layard, I know that being stuck at work is infinitely better than being stuck outside the workforce. Apparently, joblessness is more traumatic than divorce, death, and a variety of other troubles.

We're richer, he says, and more comfortable than we've ever been, but over the last fifty years, the western world's "average happiness" level has stayed just about the same, while trust, faith, and family have fallen. He also points out the Western world's flawed yet prevalent belief that putting yourself first results in the greatest happiness for the greatest number. It doesn't. It results in "Not My Problem" -- and "Go Screw Yourself!"

It's not like the U.S. is the only place with this attitude, but it certainly may be among the worst. Comparing oneself to others, however, seems to be the real killer. And Americans excel at that. Seeking inner peace is a lifelong commitment.

Once again, I've lost touch with most of my non-California friends ... heck, make that just plain friends in general. Where is everyone NOW? Stuck in snowdrifts, I suspect, as Boston pulled down a few more feet in the past week. Here in L.A., the 101 freeway produced another rainbow today after a day of intermittent rain. This has got to be the oddest winter in a century, whichever coast you're on. Akhil's got yet another trip planned - to Houston - next week but otherwise it's rather dull drudgery here at home, where the holding pattern continues...

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.