Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve

Despite the fact that I've lived out in the Antelope Valley for 4 years now, and have attended the "Poppy Festival" every year, I had never made it out to the Poppy Reserve a few miles out of town. Brad and I decided to check it out yesterday, and it was really pretty!


We weren't sure what to expect, and were a bit surprised to find out it was just large fields of Poppies (the California state flower, FYI) and walking paths. It was lovely, but unfortunately it was so windy that all the flowers were closed up. Still made for some cute photo ops though!

Palm Springs - Girl's Birthday / Spa Weekend

Heather suggested we go out to Palm Springs to celebrate our 27th Birthdays! I decided to invite a bunch of my girlfriends, including those I knew couldn't go. Turns out only Angie, Heather and I could go, but I knew we'd still have a blast!

I hadn't been to Palm Springs since I was a kid (we used to go out there for Dance Competitions) so I really had no idea what to expect! It was a bit of a drive, but mostly due to hitting traffic on the 10. I wished I'd had time to stop and check out the Cabazon outlets, but per normal, I was running a little late (I had stopped at a MAC counter - can you blame me?). All 3 of us girls were driving separately and had planned to meet up out there around noon and get lunch. The hotel was really pretty


with a great pool side view,

(despite a little bit of strange graffiti) so we checked in and dropped off Mooshu.



Since Heather got stuck in horrible traffic, Angie and I went out searching for Mexican food. We found this place that looked cute and homey and decided to order bean and cheese burritos. Guess I should've known when the chips came out cold, and the "salsa" consisted of a quarter slice of tomato in some liquid that lunch wasn't going to be great, but we were starved, so we didn't care. Our burritos came out with scalding burnt beans inside of a tortilla with maybe 7 shreds of mozzarella on top. Not a great start to our trip, but we were still cool. We stopped at a liquor store to pick up some liquid refreshments and headed back to the hotel.

By the time we got back Heather had arrived and we all headed out to the pool to enjoy the beautiful sunny day!

We quickly decided that 99 degrees in the middle of the desert was a bit excessive, but at least the pool was ice cold!


Once the heat drained us, we headed inside to take a nap. Later we went out on the town for dinner and some fun.

Had great food @ a Mexican place down the road, and had this funny, sassy waitress. We returned to the hotel a bit tipsy and decided to go down to the spa (even though it was closed).

A quasi "guard" came to kick us out, but realized we were 3 cute girls so he let us stay with a simple word to be quiet.

The next day we went to the day Spa, Revive, for some much needed pampering. I got the "Balancer" package which included a massage, facial, and mud wrap (incredible!). While we had gotten a great deal on our package prices, we probably should have gone to one of the more expensive places! Everything was really pretty, and calming, but it just seemed like everything was mediocre. Guess the old adage, you get what you pay for, stands. Nevertheless, we had a good time, and all in all it was a wonderful weekend!

Oklahoma City, OK - For Work

Spent the week in Oklahoma City for work and froze half to death! I always forget that just because it is beautiful in California, does not mean it's not still winter in the rest of the country! This time I was traveling with my Dad, and we arrived on Monday afternoon around 3 pm. Since I knew we'd be super busy the rest of the week, I wanted to get a chance to go to the Oklahoma City Bombing memorial, so I barely let my Dad unpack at the hotel before I dragged him out of his room to go exploring with me.

Thankfully, my Dad had brought along my mom's TomTom (GPS device) and we had maps, however we still got lost all week! The freeways there are ridiculous. They have no rhyme or reason to the way the streets work -- the on ramps are so short you practically get killed every time you try to merge! When two freeways intesect, sometimes the one you were on becomes the other one, and vice versa! Not to mention the map we had (from the rental car place) only had about 50% of the streets on it. I was very fortunate that my Dad did the driving and had some clue of where he was going since he'd been there before!

Anyhow, we finally made it to the memorial, right as the museum was closing. However, there were signs everywhere and a walking tour, so we were still able to enjoy (though that sounds awfully macabre) the memorial. It is designed on the city block where the Federal Building had been with 2 giant archways marking the entrances that say 9:01 and 9:03.

This is to signify that the moment in between is the moment where everything went crazy. The memorial is designed on a slope, with the top of the "hill" holding this OLD tree they call the living tree. Despite the fact that the bomb blew up the building, and all of these other things around it, this tree somehow managed to survive.


At the bottom of the slope, on the site of the Federal building are 5 rows of metal and glass chairs signifing the people who died on each of the floors of the building. Each one is engraved with someone's name, and they have tiny chairs for the chairs for the children who were in the nursery on the bottom floor.



It was so beautiful and poignant -- I cried. It is lovely to see how the memories have been preserved, but so sad at how quickly we all forget.

After that, we headed up for dinner on this pretty lake. It was beautiful, and nice to lighten the mood. I had no idea there was even water in Oklahoma, so it was a bit of a surprise!



The rest of the week we were super busy, but we did get to have dinner with my old boss (and family friend), Dave

and check out the steak! I still don't think it can compare with Texas steaks, but they were still awfully tasty!

My impression of the city was that it was tragically bleak and poor looking. Obviously some of that could have had something to do with the fact that it was winter and all the trees were barren, but nothing special. Can't say I'd be too interested in taking a job out there personally, but it was a friendly area in the mid-west.

Orlando, FL - Vacation with Brad

Brad and I decided to go out to Orlando for a vacation the week after Christmas since we both get that time off of work! We didn't want to spend too much money (since we were poor from Christmas presents and such), but since we could stay at his parents house and use one of their cars for FREE (since they are currently living in Mississippi and the Orlando house is empty) and possibly get into some of the theme parks for free, it was a deal we couldn't pass up! The timing was a little awkward though since everyone assumed I was going out to "meet his family", but we decided we didn't care what anyone else thought and went anyway!

I am so glad we did! Despite everything being busy and super expensive (all of the freeways are toll roads), it was such a great time. Everything is beautifully green, and the weather was fantastic (despite the humidity giving me a giant afro)! There are lots of lakes everywhere, and moss hangs from the trees. We got a nice opportunity to check out some of the suburbs when we rented some bikes and rode down the West Orange trail.

There are some very rich areas with huge homes, but plenty of poor sections too. The swimming pools were all covered (I forgot why), and it just felt so home-y. Brad's parents (and brother, Wesley) ended up coming down to Orlando for the duration of our trip, so it was nice to meet them and they made us feel so welcome!

We took a day trip out to Kennedy Space Center to check it out since I hadn't been there since I went to Space Camp as a kid (yes, I know I'm a geek). I couldn't believe how much stuff was out there! It took us all day to do everything, and we still didn't cover it all. We got to see some of the neat stuff they are building to send up to the International Space Station, the shuttles, lots of rockets, and of course, enjoy freeze-dried ice cream. =)

Afterwards, we went out to dinner at a very "Southern" restaurant and Brad convinced me to try Gator tail! Not bad, I thought it tasted a bit like fishy chicken!

We spent several days checking out a bunch of the different theme parks - Universal's Islands of Adventures, MGM, and .

I wanted to check out Epcott too, but time just didn't allow for it. I got a chance to meet 2 of Brad's friends, Maurice and Andrew. The three of them turned into band geeks all over again, but it was really cute, and the guys were so nice. We really enjoyed all the parks, but did start to get tired of the crowds - esp. at MGM, as everyone had come to see the Million Light display!

We went to dinner at a BBQ restaurant, and I quickly discovered that any BBQ I've ever eaten in the past was a very poor imitation of the way BBQ should test. It could've had something to do with that fact that I was starving, but it was mezmorizing. I think I could eat BBQ like that every day and not get sick of it (though I'd probably get very fat)! After dinner we stopped and got gas, and I discovered that the gas stations reeked! Apparently Florida doesn't use filters on their gas, and it actually has a higher octane level than the stuff we get in California! Interesting... guess we get used to the things we see all the time and assume everyone else is strange!

On New Year's Eve, Maurice's family invited us to join them for a block party. It was a lot of fun with booze, games, and loads of fireworks! They are legal to buy and set off there! Brad was so sweet, and stopped at a stand and bought me a bunch of them (everything from sparklers to bottle rockets) and showed me how to set them off! He couldn't believe I'd never gotten to them before (always living in fire hazard areas) and was such a good teacher for his little pyro girlfriend. I was giddy like a 5 year old little girl - it was a blast!

Brad also was a good sport and went with me to some of the cheesier things I wanted to do like go to the Arabian Nights Dinner Theater. We were both a bit bummed though b/c we were expecting the normal show, but got theese corny Christmas show instead. Guess we should've figured, but were suprised it never mentioned it in anything we read!

We also tried to do an Indoor Skydiving Adventure, but unfortunately the air compressor broke right before we got there, and they were booked solid for the rest of our trip. Oh well, we found out there is one in LA, so we're hoping to make that a fun date night sometime when we get back!

Overall, a delightful trip back to Florida! What a great start to 2008! =)

Long Beach, CA - for work...

So, this week (Wed night - Friday) I went on a business trip down to Long Beach (the first of many down there I'm sure...). I know, I know, LB isn't very far away so it shouldn't really count, but since I stayed in a hotel and got food and everything paid for, it counts. I must begin by saying how much I love traveling and business trips - even though I am working (and generally longer days than normal), it just feels like a mini vacation - so fun!

Day 1 -
Anyhow, I picked up my rental car, which turned out to be a Dodge Caliper.




So, I'd recently seen this car, and thought it seemed like it might be fun. WRONG! What a heap... no joke I'd literally driven out of the rental car place and was 1/2 tempted to turn around and exchange it. Oi. Perhaps I should have, but cest la vie! First of all, it has no gusto. You push on the gas and it takes a good 3 seconds to respond (not good at all for trying to navigate in LA traffic), it has the worst design ever (you can't reach the A/C panel while the car is in park b/c the gear shifter is in the way; the A/C vent on the driver's side is literally at the same level as your stomach, etc.)!

Anyhow, I make it down to the swanky hotel I had booked in downtown LB, with relatively little traffic - but by this point it's about 7 pm and I'm starving for dinner.


Despite the fact that I'm staying within a very short walking distance of hundreds of nice restaurants, I decide to eat at the one in my hotel restaurant b/c it was recommended by the front desk and I wanted to eat fairly quickly so I could make it up to my room by 8 to watch SYTYCD. At first they aren't sure they can seat me b/c it's a "soft opening" AKA friends and family only. But after a short discussion I'm allowed to eat there as long as I sit at the bar. I look at the menu and wonder why nothing has prices listed, but don't really think too much of it and order some food. While I'm waiting for my food, the bartender starts talking to me, and asks how I know the chef. I mention that I don't and he proceeds to tell me about how she's this big celebrity chef and blah blah blah. The panic starts to set in about the price of the meal I've just ordered. Mind you, we are allowed to eat really well on business trips, but still within reason. Well all I can say is the food was spectacular, but I think I might be in trouble at work for the bill. Oops.

Day 2 -
Get up and go to this big meeting I was down there for. Meet a lot of new contacts including this guy who I will probably be interacting with a lot. He seriously looks like he stepped off the pages of an Abercrombie catalog- it was taking major willpower not to completely drool.



Not to mention he's incredibly smart, and genuinely sweet - no surprise, he's married -- oh well.

So after work I head back to my hotel to clean up for dinner with my cousin, Dana. I walk in the hotel and the lobby is packed with the most bizarre bunch of people I have ever seen. Turns out, there is an Anime convention going on..

Anyhow, afraid and confused, I head up to my room. I'm pretty irritated b/d I'd left the room at 7 am, and here it is about 6 pm and it's still dirty, Not 2 minutes after I'd gotten back the maid knocks on the door and when I try to complain realize she speaks maybe 5 words of English. I explain to her in Spanish why I'm upset, she makes some lame excuse, and I tell her to come back in an hour b/c I'll be gone for dinner then. Dana and I head off to an entertaining dinner and end up chatting for several hours.

I finally realize it is somehow 10pm already, and that I'd promised to go to Brent's (my twin Heather's bf) birthday bash up in Hermosa Beach. I call Heather to find out where they are (they were planning to hit a bar for drinks after dinner), and of course, my cell phone dies and I have no charger. I decide to try my luck and head up there anyhow. A small miracle happens and I actually find them (another entertaining story but this blog is already long), and we end up hang out until about 2:30 am (pics to come). Exhausted and a bit tipsy I drive back to LB, for 3 hours of much needed sleep.

Day 3 -
Thankfully I only had to work a half day as my brain is incredibly groggy. I got to meet more people, and get a tour of all their labs (I'm so jealous, they have all the nice new stuff that we can't even get!). Then I head out to lunch @ CPK. Should I mention I hate eating alone? It is really the only drawback of work trips. While waiting for my check, I get up to go to the bathroom. When I come back, my table had been cleared and there were already new people sitting there. Way to feel like a loser, yeah... Anyhow, I leave and head out for IKEA (a family friend had asked a huge favor of me to stop and pick something up for him) - I hadn't been there in ages, and had forgotten it's like a mini Disneyland - so fun. Amazingly I leave without spending much, though I did have to pay 5 cents for each plastic baggie - talk about cheap, eh? Then I proceded to sit in traffic for several hours on my way home.

I get home, return my rental car, and take Mooshu out for a well deserved walk, then crash for a nap. When I get up my roommates tell me a friend of theirs (ours, I guess) just got his pool installed so they are having a BBQ/ pool party / game night over there. We eat incredible steaks, get a little drunk and play a couple rounds of UNO. Hilarity for sure... end up crashing back in bed about 4 am this morning. Ah, such fun, and the weekend is just beginning...

Kansas City, MO - Society of Women Engineers National Conference

I just spent the whole week in Kansas City... Missouri. I knew that there was a Kansas City, Missouri, and was pretty sure there was a Kansas City, Kansas, turns out they are actually one and the same. The only difference, which side of the river you are on. Who knew? Anyhow, I had a rental car so I ended up driving / getting lost all of the city. The maps that I'd gotten at the rental car place in the airport were virtually useless, I'd have paid good money for a GPS device! Especially during my 45 minute drive to the city's downtown area (and my hotel) when it was pouring down raining - and did I mention I'm a typical Californian who can't drive in the rain? Oy, what a mess... Anyhow, I finally arrived at my hotel with my snazzy new Diane Von Furstenburg luggage-- sopping wet, but content.

(A picture driving into the downtown area - on a rare moment it wasn't raining)


After settling in to my hotel room and discovering that the bathroom was covered in weird artwork (a fat Mona Lisa?)


I walk the 2 blocks to the Convention Center to do my Conference Registration and try to meet someone nice to have dinner with (I hate eating alone - the 1 major downfall of business trips). Despite finding everything still relatively quiet since most people won't be arriving until the next day, I decide to check out the city within walking distance of my hotel. While I'm walking I notice many types of "artwork" which I was later told was part of Kansas City's "1% for art" program. Basically it started as a way to try to keep their downtown area pretty (instead of just being a bunch of ridiculously large buildings) and meant all new construction had to include 1% for art - cool idea. I liked it, despite some of it being sort of odd (though I guess UCSD prepared me for odd art)!

(The top of the Convention Center:)


Day 2
I spent all day in the Conference, going from 1 outstanding session to another. It was so empowering to be around a bunch of other incredibly intelligent, impressive women in Engineering. I had many "I am Woman, Hear Me Roar" moments throughout the week, and met all kinds of neat people.

After freezing all day (as I hadn't bothered to check the weather info. before leaving and had packed for "California Fall"), I was told it was supposed to snow the next day. So, I figured before turning into a human icicle, I should head to their local shopping area (Crown Center Plaza) with the 1 spare hour I had and buy myself a coat. It wasn't until I'd gotten down there that I realized this was indeed the Ritz Carlton of shopping malls - they even had a Halls (the Department store of the Hallmark Card Company)! My snobby "Mercedes taste" side was in heaven, my wallet was crying. Nevertheless I found many gorgeous coats (not really the worst idea ever as you can't find that kind of coat in California), and bought a beautiful full length black pea coat, and love it immensely despite it's hefty price tag.

That evening I has gotten tickets to go on a "Taste of Kansas City" tour that was touted as "the BBQ places, best pubs and jazz halls". Right on! A little nerve wraking at first as everyone was already in groups of their friends they had come with, but after the first pub that wasn't really a problem =). I wasn't particularly impressed with where we had dinner (since KC is "famous" for their BBQ), but later in the week I tried BBQ at another spot that was superb, so it seems it was just that restaurant. The jazz bars were soooo much fun though! What a neat town for going out - every where you go there is live music.



Day 3:

Wednesday was the first day I had actual reponsibilities to represent Boeing at the Conference. There was a HUGE Career Fair, where Boeing and a few of the other companies were actually doing interviews and hiring - crazy, right? Anyhow, I got to help out move people around between HR screenings and talking to them / calming them down while they went through screenings with different managers and interviews. It was neat to talk to these college girls (and a few guys oddly enough -- since it is Society of WOMEN Engineers -- though they don't discriminate) about what I do for a living and what they are interested in. It really kicked on my Boeing pride badge, and my ego loved that these people were impressed by me! Woah! In my spare breaks, I headed out to check out the other booths (there were over 500) and talk to representatives from every Engineering Grad School in the country.

Later in the afternoon, I had signed up to go to the Sprint / Nextel Plant for a tour, and I was so excited. It was about a 45 minute drive from the downtown area, and it was a beautiful campus (shame I couldn't take pictures)! While they showed us all the new and upcoming technology (GPS in the phones - with capabilities that are a bit frightening actually; motion sensors in the phones - for dice like capabilities for games; the new ruggedized laptops, etc.), but there was so much they couldn't show us it was actually a bit disappointing. I later wished I'd chosen to go on the Hallmark tour instead - esp. since I heard it was incredible - boo!

Kansas City is very odd b/c it becomes almost a ghost town at night. The nightlife isn't in the downtown area (like almost every other big city I've ever been to), but actually has moved out to the suberbs. It is so bizarre since it's pretty busy during the day. Went out on the town that night with a couple of girls I'd met on the tour, and we discoved this awesome martini bar with something like 50 different types of martinis - loads of fun!

Day 4:

This morning I had to get up really early to help out with another Boeing Event - this one was a special seminar (AKA had an extra cost in addition to the Conference Fee), and was a 4 hour Lean Event. Before you groan (I know), I must say it was soooo entertaining! We taught the concepts of Lean through hands on building of 777 jets with Legos... oh yeah, it was really fun.

That night I'd picked up tickets to go to the Kansas City Ballet. Twila Tharp was doing some of the choreography so I was a bit apprehensive, but it was to be done to Beach Boys music, which I love, so I was looking forward to it. The company was superb. Most of the work they did was a very modern spin on classical ballet, but it was really cool. Then came the Twila Tharp stuff... wtf? Imagine Beach Boys on acid meets modern dance by dancers who just happen to be wearing pointe shoes. Yeah, not my idea of ballet... but then again I'm a traditionalist when it comes to ballet.

Baltimore, MD - Work Trip

So I've been there twice now over the last month for work (though I didn't get to enjoy it the first time because I was too busy working)! This time, however, I went out there by myself, and since I stayed over the weekend, I actually had a little bit of free time to check out the city, and make some great new friends!

1. Here is the city Skyline:

It is so pretty that everything is surrounded by water! I was also very lucky, the weather was pristine, about 82 degrees and very little humidity (apparently very rare for this time of year).

2. The saying there is "Balmer, hun"... apparently that was what all the old biddies say back in the day and it kinda stuck.

3. They have a tour around the city called the "Ducks of Baltimore".. It is this bus that also becomes a boat. They give everyone on the tour a "quacker" to use around the city... bizzare, but funny! Didn't get a chance to go on it, but perhaps when I return...


4. The trendy thing there right now is Vera Bradly purses, such as this:

Honestly, I don't get it, but then again there's a lot of "fashion" I don't get..

5. Obviously, the big food item there is Crabs...
-I discoved the best crab cakes in the universe: www.gandmcrabcakes.com
They ship them Fedex overnight uncooked wherever you want... shame the shipping is so expensive bcause they are incredible!
- However, I also found out (though I think they are tyring to keep it a secret), the famous soft shelled Crabs don't even come from Maryland anymore! Due to overfishing, most are coming from Florida and other areas then shipped to Maryland to meet the consumer demand..
- They put this spice powder on everything (crabs, fries, etc.).. I forgot what it was called, but it is yummy! Tastes a little bit like the spice from Red Robin...

6. It seems everyone there is a huge Baltimore Ravens fan.. this amuses me as thier record is terrible. However, since you have to drive right by the stadium to get into the city, it does make some sense that the locals would feel the commraderie.

7. I finally got to meet my friend Andrew's adorable wife, Terri. She is so fun, cute, and reminds me so much of myself (gosh that sounded cocky). Such a shame we live on opposite coasts! Anyhow, they made me feel so welcome and were so proud to show me around their city. We had dinner on friday night in the famous "little Italy". Great company, and excellent food! They were playing a movie on the side of a building where everyone could come out and watch... super neato. They also invited me to go with them to a block party (see picture below), which was such a blast.


8. I learned the meaning of "riding dirty" and the existance of Urban Dictionary!

9. I spent an afternoon down in Annapolis, MD which is about 30 min drive from where I was staying. In case you didn't know, it is the state capitol, as well as the home of the famous U.S. Naval Academy.

It is spectacular, with all the historic brick buildings, and the waterways that are the backdrop for every "crew" type movie I have ever seen (think "Skulls").


The history is just amazing, and something you just don't see on the West Coast... cobblestone streets, and buildings with real history. Not to mention all the cute Navy guys in their white sailor suits!

(A view looking down on the city of Annpolis at the memorial)


All in all, it made me miss living in a big city SO badly! Despite the few dinners eating alone (though even in super fancy restaurants, is still majorly depressing), I had a wonderful time!