history

I spent the afternoon at my junior high school in celebration of National History Day. My brother submitted a group exhibit board on Satellites and my family went to view the exhibits, performances, and awards ceremony. This year's theme is "Communication in History: The Key to Understanding." I liked the exhibit boards just fine (they ranged from Braille to Protest Songs of the '60s to Jane Goodall's Chimpanzees), but was really impressed by the performances. 5 groups of 6th to 8th grade kids got up on stage in costume, set up their own backdrops and props, and re-enacted moments in history such as what it was like to be a part of the All American Girls' Baseball League during WWII, the development of the Pony Express, the AIDS epidemic, the fight for women's rights, and Greek theatre. I don't remember anything quite so grand from when I was in junior high.


one of my favorite exhibit boards


a monologue from "Oedipus Rex"

aging

I spoke with an elderly man who had a very optimistic outlook on life and death. He will be 75 years old on Saturday and said that it's a big birthday, but didn't seem too bothered by it. He said when you turn 30 or 40, you cry because you think you're getting old, but when you're 75, you've already seen a lot of death and accept it as a natural part of life. So, all you can do is look back and ask, "Where did the time go?"

art and high tea

This weekend I had another great outing in Pasadena. My friends and I visited the Pasadena Museum of California Art. It was small, but enjoyable. The museum offers free parking in an attached lot that is the canvas for Kenny Scharf murals. They are funky and colorful, in a graffiti style. I especially liked the one with Wilma Flintstone in a Jetsons type space craft. In the museum bookstore, they sell Kenny Scharf Swatch watches and Zippo lighters. Very cool.

We only got charged half the price of admission. The lady said it was because half of the collection was not there. Looking at the number of empty walls/rooms, it seemed more like 2/3 was missing. That's okay. My friends and I took the opportunity to be our own artwork. We took pictures of ourselves posing as mimes with an empty wall as our backdrop. We also sat in on a panel discussion about a project in which they placed old pictures of Pasadena next to recent pictures taken in the same location. Some pictures showed drastic changes, i.e. Cal Tech where a vocational school used to be, while others looked about the same. They're coming out with an interactive CD/DVD that will have all the photographs plus maps and history. The archivist said this is the direction art is moving, that viewing art in a museum has its limitations in time and 2-D space, but technology allows us to add dimensions. Interesting, though I'm not sure I agree. I learn so much more by seeing a painting live. No picture can accurately replicate the thickness of the paint or the immense size of some classic works. Maybe he was just talking about photography.

After the museum, we had afternoon tea at Chado Tea Room. It was so yummy! My favorite was the round scone with strawberries and cream. I've never had a round scone before. I'm used to dry triangular ones. The round one was moist in the middle. I must get a recipe. The strawberries were surprisingly sweet, given that it is not strawberry season. And the cream! I'm sure it's just whipping cream and sugar, but it tastes so good! I also learned that I'm not a big fan of watercress sandwiches, though I'm willing to give them another chance. It's possible that as my fourth half-sandwich, it was underappreciated compared to the smoked salmon or Mediterranean sandwiches.


parking garage


Kenny Scharf work


afternoon tea

california...adventure

Last weekend, I was the hostess to out of town visitors. On the list of places to see was Disneyland/Downtown Disney. Ugh, I was just there a few months ago. Well, if I’m going to make another trip to the Disney empire, it might as well be to someplace new. I convinced them to go to Disney’s California Adventure Park instead. It costs the same as Disneyland ($49.75) and is right next door. Still, I was not looking forward to it.

I found myself pleasantly surprised. As evil as Disney is, I have to admit that they put on a good show. This park is devoted to the sights and sounds of CA and has more rides and entertainment for adults and older kids. After using our Fast Pass on Soarin’ over California, a ride that simulates flight over CA monuments, we made a bee-line for the factory tours. I love seeing how things are made in mass quantities. My favorite “Sesame Street” short has to be the one where they show how Crayola crayons are made. At the park, we saw the production of food. I was hoping there would be samples. Our first stop was for a short film about how vintners harvest grapes to make wine, presented by Robert Mondavi. They have 4 different films, one for each season. There was a place for wine tasting outside, but $10 to try 3 Mondavi wines? No, thanks. Next we saw how sourdough bread is made. Did you know it takes 72 hours to make one loaf? No samples, but we stopped at Boudin for lunch. Our last tour was the Mission Tortilla Factory. They gave samples—fresh tortillas hot off the presses, yum!

Next, I went on California Screamin’, a high speed roller coaster. I had a blast. The crowds started to dwindle due to the rain and there was hardly a line. The coaster lived up to its name and the droplets of rain whipping on my face only made it more exciting. I’m glad I went, even if the rest of my party was too chicken to join me. I think it was the upside-down loop that scared them. They went on the carousel instead. They preferred the carnival rides. We went on the Orange Stinger, where you spin around inside a giant orange peel, and then the Sun Wheel, where you have a choice between a swinging or non-swinging gondola. It figures, they chose the swinging one and I suffered through the entire ride. Towards the end, I had to sit with my head between my legs.

I persuaded them to ride Mulholland Madness, a mini coaster, and then we went to see “Disney’s Aladdin--A Musical Spectacular”, a 45 minute live performance. Quite entertaining, with flying carpets and jokes referencing pop culture. It was a good respite from the cold. I couldn’t leave the park without checking out The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. On TV, I saw its premier with Michael Eisner riding next to Tyra Banks. They looked scared. I used my Fast Pass and breezed through the line while my friends went to the Disney Animation Studio. I thought the guides were great, keeping straight faces and creepy expressions while delivering cheesy puns. In the picture, I looked very frightened. How embarrassing, but I was also afraid the first time I went on The Haunted Mansion. They hand out stickers once you get off the ride to commemorate your experience. It was fun, I’d go again.

hotel living

For New Year's Eve, some friends and I joined my cousin and her British beau at the Ritz Carlton-Laguna Niguel in Dana Point. He does a brilliant Austin Powers impression. Of course, it comes naturally to him :). After driving through torrential rain, we arrived safely and were greeted by a nice lady who walked us about 10 feet from our car to the awning of the hotel with an umbrella. After seeing all the bags I was carrying, she asked if I had just gone shopping. I sheepishly responded that I had brought items (board games, poker chips) so we could entertain ourselves indoors due to the weather.

By mid-afternoon, the sun had come up and so had our hopes for a tennis match. I had optimistically packed my tennis gear. We walked along the beach and then played a little over an hour of tennis. We played a doubles match and I broke a string, but it's about time I had my racket (racquet) restrung.

Back at the room, I sorted through the bath salts and bubble baths I had accumulated as presents from years past. I went with the peppermint holiday confetti bubble bath and took a nice long soak. It brought me back to my childhood, when precious daylight hours were abundant and I opted for baths rather than speedier showers. Ah well, there are some advantages to growing up, e.g. egg-nog latte. That's what my friends brought me from Starbucks. I've given up coffee for almost a year now and even then I didn't drink caffeine in the PM, but it was New Year's Eve! You're supposed to stay up on New Year's Eve! That coffee kept me up till 5am.

We munched while playing poker and Trivial Pursuit. After running out of glassware, my friend and I went down to the fitness center to grab some plastic cups and bottled water. When I saw that the bathroom there was fully stocked, I went to see what posh items I could take with me. I snagged an individually wrapped emery board and my friend said we were like the Bundys from "Married with Children." How sad.

It was a great night and I was completely worn out the next day. I fell asleep on the Studio Tour at Universal Studios. Luckily, I woke up in time to see Wisteria Lane, the backdrop for the series "Desperate Housewives."


the ritz carlton--laguna niguel


a beautiful day at the beach, dana point


by the pool


view of the pool from the balcony


huge bay windows


decorated for the holidays