Life

San Francisco

Posted by Pam on Jun 25, 2009 in Life, Photography | 4 comments

This past weekend my brother Roy and I flew to San Francisco. This is my first time visiting San Francisco or California for that matter. I would have liked to visit “the mothership” in Cupertino but it was going to be about 2.5 hours by bus and we really didn’t have the time.

We scoured what seemed like most of San Francisco on our first day. My god is San Francisco hilly! I was warned about this before the trip but I didn’t realize how out of shape I am – well OK I know I’m out of shape but it was a big reminder! We went through Chinatown then North Beach for a boat ride around the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. At times the boat ride seemed more like a roller coaster because the waves were pretty big at one point causing the boat to bounce up and down. As a result, the last 15 minutes of the ride I was feeling pretty nauseous. I don’t see how people do cruises for several days, maybe with a larger boat you don’t feel a lot of the bumps. Later in the day we went to the Castro and I saw where Harvey Milk’s camera shop used to be and my brother pointed out several areas where memorable moments happened. I’m not too familiar with Harvey Milk outside of what I’ve seen in the film “Milk” but he seemed to have made an impact on Roy.

While we were in San Francisco we also went to the California Academy of Sciences with one of Roy’s friends and his wife. They had a rain forest exhibit going on that was pretty cool or shall I say humid! ;-) It didn’t seem like we were there very long before they made the announcement they were closing. We didn’t really plan that one out too well. That evening we went to an italian restaurant called Steps of Rome. Earlier in the week I got my hair cut and my stylist recommended going there and getting tiramisu for dessert. He was practically salivating when he was talking about the restaurant so I thought it would be a good idea. The pasta dish I had was just OK but he was right about the tiramisu; it was heavenly.

The trip seemed to go by really quick but then again most weekends do go by pretty fast. And as always I wish that I would’ve taken more pictures. I’m glad I had the experience of going to California, but I don’t think it’d be my first choice for vacation. A lot of people – which I’m surprised that’s even a factor given that I really like NYC. Then again it is NYC.

Away We Go

Posted by Pam on Jun 23, 2009 in Film, Life | 1 comment

Our last evening in San Francisco my brother and I went to see “Away We Go” at the local cinema. First off, are amenities fees normal at cinemas in bigger cities? We ended up paying $11 plus a $3 “amenities” fee. Here I thought paying $9 to see a film was ridiculous but then again I don’t go to the cinema a lot. Anyway . . .

I was a little nervous about seeing this because the artwork looked a lot like “Juno”, but it looked really good from the trailer and I didn’t want to be disappointed. I’m used to seeing John Krasinski as Jim on the television show “The Office” and it was refreshing to see him in a somewhat serious role, this is definitely a comedy but also a tearjerker at times. I liked that Alexi Murdoch‘s music is used as the soundtrack for the film, it seemed to make the film come together and give the emotional parts that extra punch. Hopefully this film will give him more attention because he’s an amazing songwriter.

The movie seemed to hit close to home in some aspects because the two main characters keep searching for home. I’ve been away from Kentucky for a little over a month now and I’ve put into perspective a lot of things I like and miss about KY. Maybe KY is home after all – or at least for the time being. I’ve grown used to living in an isolated area and it’s kind of annoying sometimes having neighbors so close. It’s surprisingly quiet right now, usually people are out in the parking lot talking and/or have horrible rap music blasting out of their cars, setting off fireworks, or I’m hearing what I believe to be gun shots in the distance. Several gun shots were going off around 8:30 this evening, I guess whoever it was got it out of their system then. LoL.

Back to the movie: if you only see one film this year make sure it’s this one, and if you need more convincing watch this trailer.

Live from Seattle

Posted by Pam on May 28, 2009 in Life, Photography, Travel | 6 comments

On Friday I will have been in Seattle a whole week. The days I’ve been here have flown by, probably because my friends and I have filled it with lots of sightseeing. My first two nights I was here I found myself quite overwhelmed by being in a new place, and I’ll be honest at times I wanted my Mom. Back home I’m used to the comforts of a lot of space from other people, so it felt odd being surrounded by people. It still feels odd but I seem to be coping a lot better. My friends are heading back home tomorrow and it’s inevitable that I’ll probably freak out again. Heh-heh.

Speaking of freaking out, Tuesday was our first time using public transportation by ourselves and it was a complete disaster. It took a good portion of the day switching from bus to bus to get to the Space Needle. Finally we got there and I don’t think any of really got to enjoy it from all of the walking we did during the day – trying to get there. Today was a lot better. My friends stayed at a hotel last night and are doing so tonight. I met them down at their hotel today and made it there without any trouble. Go me! I feel a bit more confident using public transportation because of the problems we had on Tuesday; I guess it was a blessing in disguise.

Here are just a few photos I’ve taken of Seattle so far . . . I’ve still got lots and lots of editing to do and hopefully I’ll get around to it eventually. I’m feeling very inspired being in Seattle right now.

Planning: Part II

Posted by Pam on May 3, 2009 in Life, Travel | 2 comments

If you’ve been reading my blog you’ll know that I’m embarking on a cross-country road trip in fourteen days! It’s hard to believe how fast time has flown by since the entry in which I initially mentioned going to Seattle. I’m excited about this, but I wish I had more time to get some extra cash, and had some time to rest before leaving as I’m leaving right after the semester is up.

I’ve been downloading all sorts of new music to have for the trip. I’ve been burned out on my current music selection for a while so the new music is welcomed. I got a few recommendations from friends for road trip music, and if you have some to add please do. Today I downloaded Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog OST (saw this recently and loved it), The Dandy Warhols (Odditorium Or Warlords Of Mars and Welcome To The Monkey House), and Tinted Windows – Taylor Hanson’s side project. I’m really interested to hear the Tinted Windows album, it’s Taylor Hanson (from my favorite band of all time Hanson, obviously), James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins), Bun E. Carlos (Cheap Trick), and Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne and Ivy). It’s got a lot of good reviews, but my opinion will be biased either way.

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Trip Itinerary
Day 1 (Sunday, May 17th)
- Leaving early morning, stopping in St. Louis for lunch near the Gateway Arch.
- Drive through the night to South Dakota. We’re half way there!

Day 2
- Arrive at Mt. Rushmore in Keystone, SD to sightsee.
- Travel a couple more hours to Wyoming to Devil’s Tower. Should I see the Steven Spielberg film “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” before going? Apparently it was filmed there many years ago.
- Drive a few more hours to Red Lodge, Montana and stay the night in a hotel. Are we going to wake up the next morning? Heh-heh.

Day 3
- That morning (late morning, I hope) begin the Beartooth Scenic Byway. I think this will be my favorite part, from the pictures I’ve seen the views are incredible. My friends will probably hate me by the end of the drive because I’ll be stopping too many times to take photos. ;-P
- Find a hotel and relax. Those were the plans, but we found out on Friday that the Beartooth Scenic Bypass is only open seasonly – Memorial Day weekend to early September. I was a bit disappointed in that, but there are several bypasses in Seattle and Oregon that I can do on my own time. Plans for the extra day we’ll have are still up in the air.

Day 4
- Day at Yellowstone National Park.
- Get mauled by a bear. :(
- Recover and depending on how we feel we will either drive the 11 hours to Seattle, or we will stay at the hotel again and leave the following morning.

Day 5 (Friday, May 22nd)
- Arrive in Seattle after 2,600+ miles of driving (!!)

Planning

Posted by Pam on Apr 10, 2009 in Life | 0 comments

Today Lauren, Leigh Ann, and I went to the local AAA office to get them to map out our trip, aka TripTik. In hindsight we could have done this ourselves, because the lady who “helped” us just highlighted on maps what interstates we’d be taking. We thought she might give us hints of landmarks along the way that might be worth checking out. We ended up leaving with several AAA books of states we’ll be traveling through, along with a few maps and the TripTik. I took the Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming travel book to look over. So far we’ve decided to stop at Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone National Park along the way. I doubt we’re going to have a great deal of time for anything else if we want to make it there within 5 days unless we make really good timing and drive through the night a couple of times.

While we were at lunch today we were thinking it would be fun to record the road trip but none of us have video cameras. I thought it would be nice to find someone who already has a video camera and knows how to use it to come with us, and of course pay their own way, too. I don’t guess anyone would be interested in that, would they? Ha-ha! Also at lunch Leigh Ann thought we should all buy cowboy hats for when we go through Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana. I bought the one above, they had more feminine hats, but I knew this one I could pass on to my Dad after using.

I promise to update more often once school is over with . . . only about 5 weeks left and I’ll be done . . . well until August! ;-) Hope you’re doing well!

Rambling

Posted by Pam on Feb 24, 2009 in Internet, Life | 1 comment

I marked on the calendar at work my last day – Friday, May 8th. I haven’t officially decided what day I’m leaving for the trek to Seattle but I imagine it will be the following week. I wanted to have some time to pack and spend time with friends before heading out. I’m still feeling a little nervous about the drive, and honestly I’d still prefer to fly out there but my brother thinks having a car out here would be helpful.

This week is definitely calm compared to last week. Last week was filled with a lot of stress because I had 3 tests, one of which I wasn’t really prepared for. Plus, I’ve taken on a web design job for my brother’s friend. It’s not a big job but it’s hard to balance putting in time for it with work and school. I have a hard time enough trying to get myself to study let alone do anything else. I’ve been trying to get better by getting rid of sites I waste time on, but I’ve only got rid of BrightKite and Livejournal. I briefly thought about doing away with my Twitter account, too, but I just can’t make myself do that. Heh-heh.

This weekend was my friend Diane’s birthday and we celebrated at her and the hubby’s house with lots of wine – which helped calm down my stress levels. I’m not normally a huge fan of wine but we were told to bring a bottle. I decided to bring a bottle of wine called “The Little Penguin” which won for most unique label. As far as taste it was just okay, but like I said I’m not a huge fan of wine. I’m waiting for embarrassing videos and photos to start showing up on Facebook but none as of yet. Heh.

Speaking of Diane, a while back she asked me for copies of these photos (1, 2, 3) and I was surprised to see them hanging on their wall. If I wasn’t “out of it” at the time I would have taken photos. It’s nice to see my art on someone else’s wall.

I hope you are having a good week! :)