RETURN OF THE KING

I have managed to survive and return from my international travels. My brain is like mush and my body feels like it has aged 9000 years. I am glad for all the experiences but it was definitely a roller coaster of highs and lows. Many many logistical lows.

Twas the night before xmas...

Well management sold off VDV to the archrivals of my PL team. Irony, you taste like poorly translated Spanish news articles.

In other news, I am about to embark on a lengthy trip to the far side of the world. I hope to return less frustrated with LIFE in general and with a tan that lasts through the bleak winter months (haha I wish). I will also have minimal access to Internet and other forms of time-wasting communication. We'll see how this pans out.

I am in Wyoming

The landscape is vast, the weather is unpredictable, and Speed is on TV. Today we drove through three states and THERE IS NO 3G network here. More tomorrow on whether I survive.

Half a day, half a world, and an entire week late

SUCCESSSSSS.

After agonizing over a perfect storm of horribles, I was finally on my way to THE CITY.



I flew Air New Zealand, which served some sort of puffed root vegetable chip in lieu of the usual peanuts/pretzels and produced an admirable attempt at dinner (potato salad, crusted chicken, and pineapple/carrot cake). Between kiwi music and the Irish head steward's numerous loudspeaker announcements, I watched three movies whose progression revealed a possible degeneration of my mental capacities: Easy Virtue, Bolt, High School Musical 3.

Ha-ha-ha-SHAME.

In other news, I now live here:

The location is pretty good aside from the fact that since I live in the City, everything closes at 6 pm and even Pret a Manger is closed on the weekends. I also live along the siteseeing tour bus route so I periodically hear loudspeaker snippets of tours being given while I go about LIVING. This sounds charming but is actually irritating.



YES the flowers are real.



I started on a Friday so here is a picture I snuck of the dessert course during a faboo lunch. I will likely not talk about work as that would make me 5000 years old.

Pinkberry, Pinkberry, Pinkberry, Pinkbeeeerry

Despite the grating, irreverent theme song that gushes out of the Pinkberry website like a bad case of diarrhea, I still must profess my undying love for this magically delicious concoction. As a card-carrying member of the "I only eat foods that maximize calorie straining technology" (sugarfree, fat free, taste free, etc.) posse, Pinkberry was like an overpriced dream come true. Mmmmm yummy. Soon I will make a real entry instead of this purposeless food porn. But first, I must watch the quality CW programming that is The Search For the Next Pussycat Doll.

DAY 1: raspberries, almonds, mango:




DAY 2: kiwi, almonds, blueberries:




DAY 3: blackberries, almonds, kiwi:



(wow can you tell that I might have a weakness for ALMONDS ALMONDS ALMONDS?)

Just one of those days...

It was warm but refreshingly breezy. Just one of those hopeful, pleasant days where everyone is in their kicky urban summer wear, sipping macchiatos with the sun in their eyes. Without explanation, the power went out for an entire block, liberating a storeful of Coffee Bean employees towards an afternoon of irresponsibility as well as a storeful of chocolate samples towards my eager embrace (they would have melted anyway!). And as I strolled about, overcaffeinated (Starbucks) and overdosed on dark-chocolate-with-caramel, I felt surprisingly great because I love this city, I love this state, and I never knew how good I had it until I left. So it's decision time again four years later, and though I know in the future I will want to bitchslap myself for saying this, I hope I make the right one for me.

Pedal boats + heart shaped cloud at Shoreline

It's like ray-y-ane on your wedding day

But even more ironic is that this actually happened, and in Italy of all places. While visiting Milan with my parents, we actually witnessed a rain-soaked wedding. And not only was it a rain-soaked wedding, it was a DOUBLE rain-soaked wedding with two couples. Oh but there's more. Not only was it a double rain-soaked wedding with two couples, it was a FOBBY, double, rain-soaked wedding.



The scene outside in the Piazza del Duomo: uber-rainy.



The slightly wet couples make their way inside the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II (world's first shopping mall!) for wedding pictures. Things of interest: the prevalence of Hong Kong popstar hair (even in the heart of Lombardy), the suspicious looking Asian man in the corner who looks ready to do battle with his ominous red umbrella is in fact, my father.



Yes, I did shamelessly photograph the couples when they were posing for wedding pics. BUT SO DID ALL THE OTHER PPUL OK?? I just couldn't get over that such an adjective-rich wedding was taking place (rainy, fobby, double, Italian). It was like a game of madlibs come to life.

Of course the trippy-est part was when they all spoke Italian.