bumblepug

viva las vegas

currently in vegas ____________ (fill in the blank).

gambling
clubbing
getting married
drinking on the streets
enjoying the spa
lounging at the pool
getting heat stroke
shopping at wynn's mall
pigging out at a buffet
watching a show

have i forgotten things that can happen while in vegas?

more on monday.

(irene, call my cell so we can meet up! we're at the mirage.)

re-visiting las vegas

ralph and i are going to vegas.  we talked about it briefly on friday and within 10 minutes we had tickets, a hotel, room, and show idea.  we're staying at the mirage and we're going to see ka (the newest cirque du soleil show in vegas) at mgm grand.  i can't wait to see wynn and the new mall across the street.  i haven't been to vegas in 2 years which is a record and i think it's been 3 for ralph.  i can't wait!  i love lounging near the pools, going dancing at night, and being pampered at the spas for recovery!  yesterday i bought some cute heels and a sparkly top for the occasion!  here i come buffets of vegas!

is there a harmonica in this bag?

on recent travels my bag was received special attention because there was an "unidentified object" in it according to the tsa who scanned my bag.  i thought that was odd because i didn't add anything to the bag and my bag wasn't inspected on the way to my destination.

i complied with the search as the tsa unpacked my meticulous packing job.  he asked, do you have a harmonica in this bag or another type of musical instuement?"  i told him, "i wish i had a harmonica in here because then i'd know how to play it!" but i was thinking, "yeah, i have a piano in this bag that can only fit 2 pairs of shoes!"  note to self and others: if you travel with a harmonica let secuity know.  i thought it could be my ipod or my razor.  after 10 minutes of inspecting dirty clothes and toiletries i was free to go.  what an experience!

babies in bars

we are staying in a house with approximately 20 people 4 babies, and 2 children- and it is about 30 degrees (i think i have frost on my ears).  this is interesting.  we've gone out the past 2 nights and the babies and children have joined us.  i'm sure everybody in scottsdale hates us now.  this experience has made me reconsider having 6 kids and 10 dogs, unless i could have 2 or 3 nannies.  something more realistic is 3 kids and 2 dogs.  as i spend more time with friends with kids this number may decrease! ;)

the weather in az at 118 degrees is hot but i'm not melting quite like i thought i would (even though it's still in the hundreds at night!!!  what is this, hell?).  we've been in water all day and boating was a lot of fun.  i just wish we would've done more boating than we did docking.  oh well, it was still nice to get sun and lay in water all day.

have a hot weekend!

beantown

ralph and i went to beantown (boston) to attend grant and sav's wedding (in cambridge).  we had such a great time and i'm so glad that ralph is a great travel companion as well as the sweetest boyfriend, ever!

aside from the wedding, the highlights were being leisurely in the city and walking until my feet bled (literally), eating ice cream at jp licks several nights in a row, the pride parade, and breakfast at charley's on newbury!  we stayed with mike, wenli, and lee for a few nights then we stayed at the hotel @ mit the last evening.  lee hung out with us and we had lots of fun together.  after riding the t all weekend, i'm saddened to come home to my car and shitty public transportation.

we also ate at union oyster house, which is the oldest restaurant in the u.s.  the food was delicious, as were all the other meals we enjoyed.  for sav's rehearsal dinner we ate chinese buffet at a joint in china town.  it was delicious!  i also ate lobster for the first time this trip!  i'm so deprived!  ;)  as for the bubble teas, don't ever go to the place in cambridge next to urban outfitters- it sucked.  quite honestly, dog could've brewed better tea and softer pearls.  mike had made a tea rec. but it was too far to travel to during our time constrained trip.  boo hoo- maybe next time!

at sav's wedding i did surprisingly well with the reading - no stutters- yay!  she chose awesome food for the wedding dinner, and what do you know...i caught the bouquet!

we have lots of nice photos that we'll post later once we catch our breathes and some winks of sleep.

congratulations to grant and sav on the beautiful and enjoyable wedding!  you did such a great job and your families are wonderful!

gone to napa!

ralph and i decided to drive to napa for the day.  it was a spontaneous day that took shape perfectly!  we went to the napa outlets, dean and deluca for picnic supplies, and then we dined at mustards grill (yum-o!).  i loved our day!

we randomly chose wine at dean and deluca based on price and label appearance.  we were looking for a high priced wine (opposite of what i'd usually do) and a label that appealed to us in the "drink me" sort of way!  whatever we chose (can't recall the name but we didn't choose de santo which was the other one) was awesome and paired perfectly with white cheddar, chocolate, and red grapes.  we picniced in his truck and drank out of little juice glasses that we also had to buy there.  thanks goodness his swiss army knife had a corkscrew or we would've had to buy that, too!  yay for me for drinking out of a glass that at least 10 people have probably touched (and i didn't even get to wash it)- we did wiped it well with napkins and i'm sure the alcohol killed everything!

while we were in dean and deluca i had enough samples to feed a baby goat!  they had this awesome berry balsamic vinaigrette which ralph talked me out of buying which was probably best for my current budget.  he thinks i can make one just as good as my own so stay tuned!

i want to go back to the cole haan, dkny, and calvin klein outlets there.  they weren't crowded and they actaully had good clothing.  the barney's ny outlet was nice, too but still pricey.  i bought a nice hair clip that looks like carved ivory (but isn't) but my fro already broke it!  argh!  pass the pliers (sp?) cause i gotta fix this!  it's too cute to not wear.

what a soul quenching day!

back from a mini vacation

this weekend ralph, dog, and my mom drove to santa barbara.  the day before we left, dog's paw got hurt at the beach and it was quite a mystery.  i don't feel like typing the long story so maybe one day i'll tell it.  she's better now.

on the way down to santa barbara dog almost ran into a busy street while we were eating at good ol' burger in paso robles.  the 3 of us nearly had heart attacks (as if the burgers weren't going to do that on their own) and i've never seen ralph run so fast but dog was still a lot faster.  luckily, she u-turned right before she got to the street and ralph snatched her up.  she escaped from her leash which used to only happen when she was a puppy.  thanks goodness she's ok, and ralph, too since they were both running towards cars!

later that day we snuck her into the hotel because every place that took dogs was sold out.  amazingly, we got away with it!  i think she's traumatized though and will forever hate my mom's ikea shopping bag.

thanks to our hotel neighbors i had terrible sleep because they thought the whole hotel needed to hear the evening rendez-vous at 2 am!!!  then, at 7 am!!!!  jeez, somebody must've told them to get a room!  i wish they had gotten a room elsewhere.

the food in sb was good and the weather was perfect.  next time i go, i'd like to do some hiking, bike riding, wine tasting and get a sitter for dog.

fly me to the moon...

or anywhere else but please don't make me road trip!  this past weekend i spent easter in o.c. with ralph's family.  i had to buy a one-way ticket to get there since i missed my ride (the night before) so i caught a ride on sunday for the return.  i've decided that if i go anywhere that is more than a 4 hour drive, i must fly!!!!  it could cost $500 and i'd still rather fly.  there's nothing fun about being in a car (oh, i guess watching i love lucy and eating junk food from gas station stops) for me since my legs and back are incredibly claustrophobic.  i guess raod trips are fun when they have lots of stops in areas i've never been before.  for example, i'm still looking forward to a road trip from atalanta to the fla keys.

anyways, enough complaining.  easter weekend was nice.  it was my second easter away from my family (the first being my freshman year at bu) in an effort to offer ralph a holiday.  i missed my family because we normally picnic but i was okay with being away.  we spent some time with his family and friends which was nice because i don't get to see them all that often.

on friday night i had a slight case of upset stomach, and a headahce that lasted nearly all weekend developed.  i hate headaches!!!!  more than that, i hate dry heaving in a brewery trying to get the bugs out of my stomach.  that night, we hung out with some of ralph's friends (at the brewery) and i met some hermit crabs- those sure are gross.

on saturday we went to this bar with a small dance floor with his friends and it had great music!  i'm glad his friends peer pressured him into dancing because i would've had to dance on my own.  they were doing some wild stuff on the dance floor so it was cool to be out there to watch, and to work up a sweat.  earlier we celebrated his grandma's bday with his family and melissa got a coke bath.

sunday was easter.  we went to church and i could barely hear the mass because we were in an odd location since it was so crowded.  better next luck year on this. 

all in all, it was a relaxing weekend because i was either eating or sleeping. 

back from the show me state

(pic: ralph, me, and dad) the trip to kansas city was fun considering i was so sick i nearly couldn't get on the flight.  i wanted to postpone the trip because it took a while for the antibiotics to kick in but i was able to pack in 5 minutes and i wanted to go this week rather than next since it was my plan.  it's people like me who i dislike when i fly in perfect health.  i pittied the people next to me because i had to blow my nose every 2 seconds.

i saw a lot of family members, spent some time with dad, went to some nice holiday shops, and had the best bbq at arthur bryant's 2 days in a row.  i think ralph, dad, and i are suffering now from day 2 at ab's because we all have stomachaches, etc. (use your imagination here).  the weather was chilly and i was underprepared for it as usual.  i think my desire to pack as light as possible is bad for winter month trips to states outside of ca and hi.  i'm glad i was able to layer sweater upon sweater and wear my big old pea coat over everything.  i looked like a stuffed sailor.

we saw ray and bridget jones's diary 2.  we had to take advantage of the cheap ticket prices while out of state.  ray was decent but rather long and bjd2 was hillarious.  co-workers told me it received bad reviews but i found it to be as good as the first, and i'd like to see it in theatres again, soon.  i couldn't stop laughing at the skiing scene because it's something i would do- oh wait, it's something i've done.  good thing i've already retired from skiing.

i hope dad feels better soon.  i'll probably take another trip there during the summer for 4-5 days.  maybe i can see andrea then since our timing was a bit off this time.  :(  too bad st. louis is so far from kc.

i heard from connie today and she's done with her mls!  congratulations!!!  maybe you can catalog my life now?!  ;)  as a celebration, she and jos are visiting spain.  how exciting!

must go now.  job approved lsat prep course so i need to enroll asap before seats fill up!

as i sleep on the treadmill

we're back from southern cal! we fell asleep around midnight after the long drive and i'm acutally grateful for the garden blowers (for once in my life, this is definitely the first and last time for this gratitude toward them!) because without them i wouldn't have woken up in time for work since i feel asleep without setting my alarm.

oktoberfest was a lot of fun. it started to rain during the party which i didn't think ever happened in southern cal! ;) ralph's friends are experiencing a lot of life changes (babies- twins!, relocation, etc.) and it makes me realize how much older he is than me! just kidding. we're only 2 years apart but i feel like all of those changes are really far away for me so i feel like a 10 year old compared to the rest, but i suppose that's better than feeling 50.

i'm glad to come home to rain. the rain motivates me to bake and cook which is something i love to do but usually don't do because my kitchen gets way too hot, which then makes my house get as hot as hell causing dog to overheat. tonight i want to carve pumpkins and bake cookies but i'll onlly allow these rewards if i make it to the gym after work.

i'm tired. i should've slept more! has anybody ever heard of somebody falling asleep on the treadmill? i think i could make that a reality. why can't they have tvs at my gym? i almost have all of my playlists memorized and i get bored running. what do marathoners do/think for 26.2 miles? i'm just having a problem with 3.

i hope to locate the pep in my step as the day progresses. perhaps pep is being held hostage?!

lunch to dos:
ask amanda if she wants to join
get pp spinach salad
visit shoe store for eccos

home to dos:
sleep, sleep, and more beautifully glorious sleep!

here is a link from irene that might help you sleep.

happy birthday savina!

happy birthday sav! i hope your day is full of fun suprises, lots of cake, and no wedding planning! that can wait until tomorrow! :0

one of the things i like to do is look at the searches that bring people to my blog. so far my favorites have been:
1. "why do pugs shit on the carpet"
2. "prescription glasses make me feel sea sick"
to my surprise, many end up here as the result of a search for "girl and dog sex." fyi: you're definitely barking up the wrong tree so you may leave now! that's an order!

i'd like to make an attempt at offering some comments on the searches above. 1. pugs shit on the carpet because they are so adorable that they are often ill-trained because the owner works for them. they are also tyrannical little creatures that want you in the palm of their hand, etc., etc. dog had many accidents in the house in her puppy days while she was learning to become housebroken. she eventually saw the light and now loves shitting on grass. now she only has accidents if she wants to piss me off or if she cannot get out of the house to potty for one reason or another (despite the fact that i leave puddle pads all over the house for her- which she would rather use as a bed!). i would recommend puddle pad training your pug and then slowly graduate them to the outdoors. litter training is another option, which i have seen done successfully with dogs. just be sure to give lots of treats! 2. as for feeling sea sick because of prescription glasses, looks like we're on the same boat, mate! i often feel like i'm walking on the moon but i guess it's all a matter of getting used to that sensation, or used to the prescription. perhaps contacts would be a different experience altogether?! i'm sure the sea sickness grossly outweighs blindness.

i just returned from getting allergy shots and i'm in the mood to take a long nap and eat pumpkin pie with massive amounts of whipped cream on it. i was called for three more special appointments and i'm super happy about one of the prospects, which is a stone's throw from my residence. we'll see how it goes. now i have to get my suit dry-cleaned and dig up a pair on nylons- eek! amanda and lindsay call this my 30 year-old outfit, meaning i look older in it than i really am. i'll see what i can do to make it look younger while maitaining a professional demeanor.

we're going to o.c. this weekend for oktoberfest and i'm sure it'll be fun except for the fact that i really dislike beer. any chance they'll be serving sidecars with sugar on the rim? oh well, as long as the food is tasty, i'll be set. anyways, i'm sure jason will create some amazingly satisfying drink for the non-beer drinkers. don't forget that this weekend is also the hmb pumpkin festival. acutally, forget that. it would make you one more contributor to the already scary traffic on 92!

i came across an interesting article this morning about a woman who slept-walked (grammar?) her way into mens' bedrooms and had sex with them while she was asleep, on numerous occasions. if i were her s.o. i think i would've tried boarding the doors a little better. roo was a sleep walker and we put bells on our door so we could hear when she'd make her escape. it worked and one time we found her roaming the block in her pjs. so i suppose sleep-walking your way into sex could happen.

ralph's links of the day are interesting:
halloween alternatives
kerry favored abroad (no shit!)
service owned by google that manages photo sharing better than current methods
thanks for keeping us ahead of the curve!

d finds this link on foundation most interesting.

things to do before trip:
return dakar products b/c of allergic hives on face and excessive sneezing- yuck!
pack
nap
brows (why are these always on the list!?)
gas
gym???
buy road trip snacks (water, nuts, sweets)
walk dog
clean living room and refridge (so not coming home to more of a science project than already is)
eat dinner (as if this has to be written down to remember)

things i want to do upon my return:
bake
eat at nordy's cafe
carve pumpkin
make dog's halloween outfit
finish reading angels & demons and mags
clean (well, this is more of a have to do than a want to do)
update blog

back from maui

maui was amazing and i have to say that my vacations are never long enough. next time i visit, i need at least 10 days there to squeeze in all of the activities and beach time that i really want. in 8 days, we did a lot...

day 1: finally in paradise...
we landed at the airport and it was awesome as usual because it is an open airport. we headed to get ralph's baggage (reminded me of meet the parents because i never check bags, he was greg focker) and then to the rental car. if you ever go to maui, we learned that thrifty is not the rental car compant to use. while all the other rental companies had lines of people waiting, we were the only set at thrifty and we began wondering if we were ever going to get a shuttle to the car rental area. made us worry a bit, but a car is a car, right?

we then headed to costco to buy food for the week and to grab a quick bite at their snack bar. weird destination during vacation. i couldn't find snorkel gear there like ralph did during his last visit so i was bummed about that. we did purchase 3 boxes of garlic bread among other odds and ends. and we had enough samples to last us through dinner.

we arrived at ateeka's place and her condo was amazing! much more than i expected. it was spa-like and definitely feng shuied to the max- fitting for a perfect vacation.

as we unloaded groceries and luggage, i was offered beer and chicken by a passerbyer in the complex. free beer and chicken, untouched- how could i refuse?

day 2: sailing, takes me away
we went for an awesome sail to molikini (sp?) today. we nearly missed the boat because we assumed the boat was departing from lahaina harbor, when in reality it was deaprting from maalaea harbor...oops! we asked a local in lahaina where we might find maalaea harbor and we learned it was 25 minutes from where we were and we had 10 minutes to get there. yikes! we made it to the maalaea harbor and parking was tough. i ran to the stall and the boat was still there so i checked us in while ralph parked the dodge neon, later named willy!

i'm so glad we caught the boat because it was a perfect day to sail and an even better day to be in the water. i swam wth a family and dolphins and nearly had a heart attack swimming out to them because i had just eaten on the boat. wow...and don't they say you shouldn't swim for an hour after eating? by the time i swam to the dolphins, i needed an oxygen tank! it was worth it! there were about 6 of them and my favorite was the baby. he or she was as long as my arm and i wanted to hug it! they were all inches away from me but i didn't want to touch them or ride them (like most obnoxious tourists) because i felt bad enough for being in their space. one of them was really scratched up and had a large "bite" wound that looked like it has healed with a nasty scar. made me wonder...what else might be in the water?!?! it was an amazing experience that i'll always remember.

while on molikini, i saw a reef shark and tons of fish. mildly exciting stuff.

near la perouse bay, we saw some sea turtles and that's also where i had the dolphin encounter. it was time to sail back to the harbor but the dolphins still wanted to play. they lead the boat at our slow speed and they continued to lead even at our cruising speed but eventually dropped out. i have awesome photos and footage that i'll soon be posting.

day 3: bigger is better...
we went to big beach in makena. ralph got tossed around the big beach and my job was to make sure he was still alive. every 5 minutes i would put my magazine aside to find him being whirled around in the washing machine. we took a food break at makena grill, a little cart on the side of the road, and it was awesome but pricey for the small portions. i would rec. a stop there if you are hungry. and then stop at jawz tacos, another cart, on the way out of makena for an awesome shave ice!

later that night i was quite exhausted from our active day so i took a cat nap at 7 pm. well, as ralph knows, my cat naps around 7 pm often turn into good night. he woke me up around 8 and said,
"what was that? something just crawled on me!!!"
me: "leave me alone, i'm sleeping, you're imagining things."
1 minute later...
ralph: "oh my god, it did it again, what was that?"
me: "it's nothing! let me sleep."
5 seconds later...
ralph screams like a girl..."what the heck?!!!"
1 milisecond later...
i wake up to ralphs girl screams and i scream like a monster, "what the fuck?!!!" as i ran to the bathroom.
seconds later...
large black thing runs from bed sheets to corner of the room under the dresser and by that time, i'm laughing so hard at myself that i was crying for 20 minutes from the laughter because i kept telling ralph it was his imagination. when i8n reality, it was a large flying cockroach that had been crawling on his neck and legs! didn't i feel stupis to see he was right?!!!

for an hour we tried taming the cockroach and we thought of millions of imaginitive ways to catch it. we finally gave up because we were too tired. all we found was a dead cockroach under the dresser so we decided it must've escaped. sweet dreams with the roaches!

(and believe me, they were wild!)

(mine is named general and ralph's is named grizz- because he was the biggest horse in all the ranch!)

day 4: wild horses couldn't stop them...
we went horse back riding at piiholo ranch. it was an unforgettable experience simply because of the unforgettable pain that i was in after our 2 hour ride. it was my first time riding and i had always wondered how horse back riding could give the rider exercise when the horse was doing all the work. i learned that my work was done simply by staying on the horse...ouch, abs, ouch, legs, and i'm dying...knees! our guide was a young cowboy from santa barbara. he took us on all sorts of terrain during our ride. we picked guavas from the trees, ate them, and so did our horses.

day 5: sleepless in hana...
we headed to hana and made some stops at twin falls, a black beach, and a gallery. twin falls is my favorite place in the world- of the things i've seen thus far. we swam for a bit and this time, i was not the only person in the water hole. last time i was there, you'd swear there were anacondas in the water...tons of people passed trhough but nobody swam. oh well, more waterfall for me!

on the way out we stopped at the smoothie station in the parking lot. i bought a 4 oz. smoothie for
$4. what was i thinking? oh right, i'm in maui, where everything is overpriced!!!! especially the food!

when we arrived in hana, we checked in at joe's place where joe preceded to tell us that his wife had been bitten by a centipede the night prior. really comforting. just what we needed to know to get those Zzzzs we needed after the long ride there. by that time we were starved and went to scavenger for food.

our options were limited...the town market or the town restaurant @ the take out window. we chose the take out window and i chose the worst thing on the menu. the teriyaki chicken sucked as did the mac salad, so i basically had rice for dinner that evening. ralph was wise to choose a burger. his was good. we had to go to the market to find more food. even there, everything was so overpriced that i left with a can of tuna. i think they mark their prices for tourists and then offer locals a different price. digiorno pizzas were $8!!!! for the small one!!!!

back to joe's place for the night. he had cable so that was a plus! nevertheless, i still felt like i was in a time warp in the twilight zone. another couple was staying there and the guy told us that he saw a huge centipede at 3 am the night before. more information that i didn't need to know!!!! we soon went to our room after that and tried to sleep. it was the worst night of sleep in all my life because i kept waking up to make sure there weren't centipedes, cockroaches, or geckos in the bed. no repeats of the previous night were desired.

day 6: back to our niche on the island...
left hana and stopped at the 7 sacred pools. it was nice but not more beautiful than twin falls, in my opinion. ralph drove the back road home and it was quite a bumpy ride. we were happy yo make it home without losing willy's tire. it had been making this terrible noise from the start.

returning to civilazation and less insects was nice. stopped at costco for lunch. stopped at wal-mart to find snorkel gear for me- score!!! more beach, more sun, back in paradise!

(before all you can drink!)

(after all you can drink!)

day 7: back to big beach...
beach, sun, snorkeling. big beach again and more makena grill. tried marlin for the first time and what a hearty fish it is!

went to feast at lele during the evening and it was awesome! cool performances and all you can eat food and drink from various polynesian islands.

minor disagreement with ralph turned into fight of the century. bad sleep.

day 8: round 2, ding, ding...
the fight with ralph escalated from 4 to a 10. he mentioned to me that he's moving back to so cal on 11/1? what the hell? i was in the twilight zone and the rain over paradise fit with our moods.

we went snorkeling at honalua bay again and i would've almost rather have walked than be in the car with ralph. oh well, what'ch ya going to do with one car? oh right, go snorkeling with him! tears, nervous stomach, etc.

we talked for a few hours in the water as we wilten into raisins. we resolved the issues and then went to a more leisurely beach to catch the sun and sleep. we ate at hula grill and then slept and snorkeled under the suddenly appearing sun!

day 9: feast at hyatt buffet...
we packed it up early in the am and headed to the hyatt breakfast buffet after locking the key in the condo. breakfast was delicious but i always feel uneasy at all-you-can eat buffets because i usually get full with an omlette yet i paid $22?! world's most expensive omlette. well, at least ralph got his money's worth.

we headed to the airport and all i could think about was getting home to see dog and also never wanting to leave the island that i will one day call home.airport sucked as usual and i learned why i never check bags. sometimes you just have one too many souvenirs to carry on your back!

plane ride was shorter than expected. sat next to an odd lady, who wouldn't stop complaining about anything and everything. she really was too angry for her youthful age.

finally, home! i was sad and happy to be home but it meant vacation was over! ecstatic to see dog and my living room! time to sleep!

conclusion...
to come on another day when i feel like blabbing some more and collect my thoughts! pics soon, promise. i think my computer is broken because they won't upload properly!

i can't wait!!!!

i'm so excited!!!!! i can't wait for our trip to maui!!! we just confirmed our excursions . we're going to ride horses down the volcano, snokel at turtle arches and molokini, and we're going to dine at feast of lele!!!! i hope my horse is tame and doesn't decide to ride off a cliff or anything like that. my sister once rode a pregnant horse and it was a tad hormonal. i'm looking forward to the ride to hana; the water is going to be beautiful and the sunsets are going to be amazing!!!

i'm also happy because i bought a halter top at banana republic for $4- on sale!!! yeah! i wanted to buy a lot of jewelry there, but i have to keep thinking...budget, vacation, budget, vacation!!!

yosemite

i didn't get to hike on friday because it was too hot and i was too lazy! instead of hiking, i went to a brewery and then watched collateral. it was an excellent movie (a tad violent) and i never knew jamie fox could act until then. if you are looking for a movie that puts you on the edge of your seat, this is a must see.

ralph, dog, and i went to yosemite yesterday (depite an 11 am start!). it was a lot of fun and quite breathtaking! and who knew it was so close? we didn't get to hike any trails because dog was too hot but we figured this might be the case if we took her. we chilled in ralph's truck bed for a while. he relaxed and i read the da vinci code outloud to them. i think a lot of the passerbyers thought i was reading to myself or doing a reading for them because they kept giving me weird stares. i guess i can understand because they could only see me since the others were zonked out. we'll go back soon minus dog so we can hike some trails and swim. maybe next year we can stay in the ahwanee and hike half dome. speaking of the ahwanee, i don't think i'm allowed in their gift shop anymore after dropping and cracking this frog figurine. it was really embarrassing and i had to escape to the sweet shop to buy some fudge to recover from the incident. i felt bad but at the time i didn't have $80 to pay for a frog figurine. this little boy witnessed the incident and gave me a smirk. he was holding the same thing but he did not drop it, lucky kid! as we left the park, the camera battery died, argh! i wish it hadn't because the colors around sunset were so amazing, they reminded me of golden skin with proper shades of makeup. oh btw, gas inside the park is $2.80, and even more right outside the park!!!! we also saw a volture eating a deer, and then we saw a deer that would probably soon be eaten by a volture for his daring road-crossing antics. i'm just glad he didn't jump in front of us! speaking of voltures (sp?), there was one at my job the other day. looks like i'm surrounded by them so i better be careful on mine and amanda's hiking adventures. one tip on leaving yosemite...if you need to get on to 120 to get home, don't forget that you need to catch it from yosemite avenue. we forgot and were circling lots of small towns that seemed endless and different but the same everytime we passed the same spot. we were totally lost so ralph thought it was fitting to play halloween music! i told him to lock the doors in case we crashed into a corn field and mysteriously disappeared.

i'll post some yosemite pictures tomorrow! if i'm not back, i've been swallowed up by the black hole, called my room because i'm off to clean! pray for me! ;)