My high school psychology and math teacher, Mike Maggart, is in the latest AT&T commercial! He's good friends with the famous Hollywood director, Wes Anderson ('Rushmore,' 'The Royal Tenenbaums,' and the latest 'The Darjeeling Limited'), as they both graduated from my high school in Houston, St. John's School.
In fact, Mr. Maggart and several of my classmates had starring roles in 'Rushmore' which was filmed at St. John's during my senior year. Very cool!
Imagine my surprise when, as I'm watching Sportscenter one morning while getting ready for work, and there's Mr. Maggart on my TV!! Crazy!
Check it out!
Saturday, September 29
Thursday, September 20
Sad news
My sweet cousin Jordan's wife, Gina, passed away last Friday, Sept 14 at the age of 28. It was shocking and couldn't be more sad. Her obituary is here: Houston Chronicle.
Please pray for her parents Bob and Charlotte, her brother Chad, and her husband, my cousin Jordan. Her vibrant and caring spirit will be treasured always.
Please pray for her parents Bob and Charlotte, her brother Chad, and her husband, my cousin Jordan. Her vibrant and caring spirit will be treasured always.
Sunday, August 12
Great new website
Check it out: www.seenon.com
This website has partnered with Jessica Simpson to give fans a place to buy what the stars are wearing, both onscreen and off.
Addictive!! And slightly depressing, given the price of these duds.
This website has partnered with Jessica Simpson to give fans a place to buy what the stars are wearing, both onscreen and off.
Addictive!! And slightly depressing, given the price of these duds.
Friday, August 3
A New Obsession
The Playstation game Guitar Hero is INCREDIBLE. I totally rock. At least, that's what the game tells me. You either "rock" the song, or you "fail" the song. I love that the verb for success in this game is ROCK. Yeah! I was totally shredding, man!
However, the only drawback is that all the mad strumming makes my wrist hurt. I may give myself carpal tunnel syndrome all over again! Just call me the Guitar Gimp.
Rock on!
However, the only drawback is that all the mad strumming makes my wrist hurt. I may give myself carpal tunnel syndrome all over again! Just call me the Guitar Gimp.
Rock on!
Sunday, July 8
Back on Terra Firma
I've returned from Hawaii! Who would've thought I'd be so glad to be back in Wisconsin!?! Maybe it had a little something to do with seeing my sweetie again. :) Man, I missed home!
I've posted my pictures at www.scoutfinchinmadison.shutterfly.com.
Here are some very brief highlights:
Me at Pearl Harbor, on the USS Arizona Memorial
Me and my cousin Salem waiting to ride the ferry to see the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor
A gorgeous beach that we stumbled on along Oahu's North Shore
One of the most gorgeous sunsets I've ever seen. It was as if the hand of God were reaching down to Hawaii.
The sunset on July 4th; looks like the mountain is on fire, doesn't it?
I've posted my pictures at www.scoutfinchinmadison.shutterfly.com.
Here are some very brief highlights:
Me at Pearl Harbor, on the USS Arizona Memorial
Me and my cousin Salem waiting to ride the ferry to see the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor
A gorgeous beach that we stumbled on along Oahu's North Shore
One of the most gorgeous sunsets I've ever seen. It was as if the hand of God were reaching down to Hawaii.
The sunset on July 4th; looks like the mountain is on fire, doesn't it?
Wednesday, July 4
Aloha from Hawaii
Happy 4th of July! I'm sitting in my hotel room at the Marriott Waikiki after a lovely day spent by the pool. I've enjoyed my book, loved watching all the kiddos squeal with delight in the pool, gotten a well-deserved massage, and had a pina colada. A fine day, indeed!
I'm out here in Hawaii for a 2.5-week stint for work - not too shabby, eh? Salem, my cousin who lives in DC, joined me for a week and left yesterday. Sigh. She and I had such a lovely time.
Because I forgot my camera-computer connector wire (there must be a more technical term for it, but hey, I'm on vacation today :)), I'm unable to load my pictures to my computer or post them. So in the mean time, I thought I'd highlight Salem's and my adventures using pictures from the web (they're probably better than my own anyway!!).
Friday
I had the day off work, but a colleague needed to borrow my rental car, so Salem and I spent the day at Waikiki Beach, just across from our hotel. We each bought a raft for $1.99 and agreed that the extra .60 was a small price to pay for the ABC Store staff to pump it full of air. Glorious rafts!
We floated to our hearts' content and then made our way to the Marriott pool where we spent the rest of the day.
(Side note: the ABC Store is more ubiquitous in Hawaii than any other store.
As Salem put it, "ABC Stores have out-Starbucked Starbucks! There're literally 2 on every block!" And she's right. They have everything for the weary traveler - sushi, Cheerios, gummy bears (Haribo, natch), towels, bathing suits, t-shirts, sunscreen, macadamia nuts, and naturally, many Hawaiian shirts. When I asked a friend where Hawaiians go on vacation, since they live in paradise, he said without pause, "Vegas. They even have an ABC Store in Vegas so Hawaiians will feel more at home." OMG.)
Saturday
We spent the morning at Pearl Harbor, a definite highlight of the trip and an experience of a lifetime. (Sidenote: I realized that I've had an amazing summer, having seen the Panama Canal AND Pearl Harbor within weeks of each other!) The museum and memorial tour are free, but when you arrive, they give you a ticket with a number on it. You then wait until your number is called (along with about 75 others) when you then watch a 15-minute video outlining the events preceding and including the attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. You then board a ferry to go out to the USS Arizona memorial.
You can see in the below picture what it was like that day, when the Japanese orchestrated an unprovoked attack on the US military stationed at Pearl Harbor. There were several ships lined up along Battleship Row (visible in the bottom right of the picture). 3 of the ships were so badly bombed that they were never to sail again, including the USS Arizona which took only 9 minutes to sink, taking with it some 1800 men. The US Navy decided to leave the USS Arizona where it lay, allowing it to be a tomb for those soldiers, and it still lies there today.
The memorial was quite moving - very simple and elegant. There are several parts of the ship still above water and some are visible just underneath the surface, as you can see in the below picture.
Salem and I were both glad that we'd waited the 2.5 hours to go to the memorial. We both reminisced about our grandfather and how he would've enjoyed the opportunity to see such an important relic of our nation's history.
After Pearl Harbor, we decided to drive to Oahu's famed North Shore. Our first stop was Haleiwa, home of Matsumoto's Shave Ice. (Yes, it's shave ice, not shaved ice...I know, it bugged us, too. :))
There was a huge line, so naturally, I had to have some! I figured that anything lots of tourists are dying to have is something I must try, too.
It was pretty yummy.
We then drove to Waimea Beach, which we'd heard was a great swimming beach...and it was! A very strong current, but there were super cute families to watch and we had a great time.
Later, we learned that Waimea is the world's most famous surfing spot and that in the winter, the waves get to be over 20 feet high!
We decided we liked it better in the summer!
Sunday
We ventured northeast on the Pali Highway to Kailua where we were to have brunch at Boots and Kimo's, a small eatery famous for its macadamia nut pancakes.
Salem and I weren't so sure about the macadamia nut pancakes, so we ordered omelettes instead. But when we took one look at the "mac stack," we had to try them! So we split a side order of the DIVINE macadamia nut pancakes.
The sauce was like cake batter and was so scrumptious that I've sworn off syrup for life!
We then made our way to Hanauma Bay, a volcanic crater turned nature preserve where amateur snorkelers go to come face to face with fish, eels, and other reef-dwellers.
Salem and I didn't snorkel; it's just not my thing, and while I was a bit envious of the people emerging from the sea with big grins on their faces after having seen a "HUGE YELLOW FISH!" I decided that I was just gonna have to be okay with not doing that. Breathing underwater's just not my thing.
When the weekend was all said and done, we realized that we'd driven almost 3/4 around Oahu in 2 days - not a huge task because the island isn't that large, but it was a lovely journey.
God bless America, and aloha from Oah'u!
I'm out here in Hawaii for a 2.5-week stint for work - not too shabby, eh? Salem, my cousin who lives in DC, joined me for a week and left yesterday. Sigh. She and I had such a lovely time.
Because I forgot my camera-computer connector wire (there must be a more technical term for it, but hey, I'm on vacation today :)), I'm unable to load my pictures to my computer or post them. So in the mean time, I thought I'd highlight Salem's and my adventures using pictures from the web (they're probably better than my own anyway!!).
Friday
I had the day off work, but a colleague needed to borrow my rental car, so Salem and I spent the day at Waikiki Beach, just across from our hotel. We each bought a raft for $1.99 and agreed that the extra .60 was a small price to pay for the ABC Store staff to pump it full of air. Glorious rafts!
We floated to our hearts' content and then made our way to the Marriott pool where we spent the rest of the day.
(Side note: the ABC Store is more ubiquitous in Hawaii than any other store.
As Salem put it, "ABC Stores have out-Starbucked Starbucks! There're literally 2 on every block!" And she's right. They have everything for the weary traveler - sushi, Cheerios, gummy bears (Haribo, natch), towels, bathing suits, t-shirts, sunscreen, macadamia nuts, and naturally, many Hawaiian shirts. When I asked a friend where Hawaiians go on vacation, since they live in paradise, he said without pause, "Vegas. They even have an ABC Store in Vegas so Hawaiians will feel more at home." OMG.)
Saturday
We spent the morning at Pearl Harbor, a definite highlight of the trip and an experience of a lifetime. (Sidenote: I realized that I've had an amazing summer, having seen the Panama Canal AND Pearl Harbor within weeks of each other!) The museum and memorial tour are free, but when you arrive, they give you a ticket with a number on it. You then wait until your number is called (along with about 75 others) when you then watch a 15-minute video outlining the events preceding and including the attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. You then board a ferry to go out to the USS Arizona memorial.
You can see in the below picture what it was like that day, when the Japanese orchestrated an unprovoked attack on the US military stationed at Pearl Harbor. There were several ships lined up along Battleship Row (visible in the bottom right of the picture). 3 of the ships were so badly bombed that they were never to sail again, including the USS Arizona which took only 9 minutes to sink, taking with it some 1800 men. The US Navy decided to leave the USS Arizona where it lay, allowing it to be a tomb for those soldiers, and it still lies there today.
The memorial was quite moving - very simple and elegant. There are several parts of the ship still above water and some are visible just underneath the surface, as you can see in the below picture.
Salem and I were both glad that we'd waited the 2.5 hours to go to the memorial. We both reminisced about our grandfather and how he would've enjoyed the opportunity to see such an important relic of our nation's history.
After Pearl Harbor, we decided to drive to Oahu's famed North Shore. Our first stop was Haleiwa, home of Matsumoto's Shave Ice. (Yes, it's shave ice, not shaved ice...I know, it bugged us, too. :))
There was a huge line, so naturally, I had to have some! I figured that anything lots of tourists are dying to have is something I must try, too.
It was pretty yummy.We then drove to Waimea Beach, which we'd heard was a great swimming beach...and it was! A very strong current, but there were super cute families to watch and we had a great time.
Later, we learned that Waimea is the world's most famous surfing spot and that in the winter, the waves get to be over 20 feet high!
We decided we liked it better in the summer!
Sunday
We ventured northeast on the Pali Highway to Kailua where we were to have brunch at Boots and Kimo's, a small eatery famous for its macadamia nut pancakes.
Salem and I weren't so sure about the macadamia nut pancakes, so we ordered omelettes instead. But when we took one look at the "mac stack," we had to try them! So we split a side order of the DIVINE macadamia nut pancakes.
The sauce was like cake batter and was so scrumptious that I've sworn off syrup for life!We then made our way to Hanauma Bay, a volcanic crater turned nature preserve where amateur snorkelers go to come face to face with fish, eels, and other reef-dwellers.
Salem and I didn't snorkel; it's just not my thing, and while I was a bit envious of the people emerging from the sea with big grins on their faces after having seen a "HUGE YELLOW FISH!" I decided that I was just gonna have to be okay with not doing that. Breathing underwater's just not my thing.When the weekend was all said and done, we realized that we'd driven almost 3/4 around Oahu in 2 days - not a huge task because the island isn't that large, but it was a lovely journey.
God bless America, and aloha from Oah'u!
Wednesday, June 13
"The world's largest shipping comp-a-ny in the world"
I just returned from a wonderful trip to Panama City, Panama where I did many things:
- Rode down the Panama Canal
---The title of this post comes from our adventures on the Canal. The groom's family chartered a boat down the Canal along with a bilingual tour guide who had THE most annoying voice EVER. He talked like Paul Harvey - slow, precise, and with every syllable annunciated. He also became a bit redundant. We learned lots of things about PVC pipe, dynamite, the world's largest shipping company in the world (Cosco), and lights that flash green-now white-now green-now white. By the end, we were all pretty amused by his assinine lectures. You can imagine how hard I laughed when he started reciting websites. Double-u, double-u, double-u, dot, boring man, dot, com. So funny!
Here are some pictures from our trip down the Canal:
Me and my mom with the skyline of Panama City behind us
The first set of lock gates begin to close. The Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and because of the tides, the Atlantic ocean is about 60 feet higher (maybe more, can't remember). Therefore, the Canal is made up of a set of locks that act like giant bathtubs. The boat enters the first set of locks where gates close us in and fresh water from a man-made lake is pumped in to the lock, raising us up about 30 feet each lock. Then the front gate opens, allowing us to proceed to the next set of locks where the process is repeated - SOO amazing!
The gates have closed, the water has been pumped into the lock and we've been raised almost 30 feet! You can see the Pacific Ocean (where we just came from) over the top of the gate.
The Centennial Bridge, one of 2 bridges crossing the Panama Canal. This bridge reminded me of my grandfather, Papa Chief, who spent his life designing beautiful bridges. He dreamed of visiting the Panama Canal one day to witness the engineering marvel first-hand, but fell ill before he was able to realize his dream. He would have loved the whole experience, and the beautiful bridge reminded me of his gorgeous designs.
Me touching the side of the Canal - I just had to. But it was really gross and slimey!
- Toured Panama City
Here's a view of the Panama City skyline from the Panama Canal. Panama City looks a little like NYC from afar, doesn't it? It is currently experiencing a period of massive growth, and just about every other building downtown is under construction. It's a pretty exciting place to be.
- Attended many wonderful, scrumptious feasts
- Attended my friend Ashley's wedding
---Ashley is a former student of my mom's who married Gianni last Saturday. Gianni grew up in LA, but much of his family still resides in Panama.
If you'd like to see more pictures of the weekend, please visit www.scoutfinchinmadison.shutterfly.com and look in the Panama album.
- Rode down the Panama Canal
---The title of this post comes from our adventures on the Canal. The groom's family chartered a boat down the Canal along with a bilingual tour guide who had THE most annoying voice EVER. He talked like Paul Harvey - slow, precise, and with every syllable annunciated. He also became a bit redundant. We learned lots of things about PVC pipe, dynamite, the world's largest shipping company in the world (Cosco), and lights that flash green-now white-now green-now white. By the end, we were all pretty amused by his assinine lectures. You can imagine how hard I laughed when he started reciting websites. Double-u, double-u, double-u, dot, boring man, dot, com. So funny!
Here are some pictures from our trip down the Canal:
Me and my mom with the skyline of Panama City behind us
The first set of lock gates begin to close. The Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and because of the tides, the Atlantic ocean is about 60 feet higher (maybe more, can't remember). Therefore, the Canal is made up of a set of locks that act like giant bathtubs. The boat enters the first set of locks where gates close us in and fresh water from a man-made lake is pumped in to the lock, raising us up about 30 feet each lock. Then the front gate opens, allowing us to proceed to the next set of locks where the process is repeated - SOO amazing! 
The gates have closed, the water has been pumped into the lock and we've been raised almost 30 feet! You can see the Pacific Ocean (where we just came from) over the top of the gate.
The Centennial Bridge, one of 2 bridges crossing the Panama Canal. This bridge reminded me of my grandfather, Papa Chief, who spent his life designing beautiful bridges. He dreamed of visiting the Panama Canal one day to witness the engineering marvel first-hand, but fell ill before he was able to realize his dream. He would have loved the whole experience, and the beautiful bridge reminded me of his gorgeous designs.
Me touching the side of the Canal - I just had to. But it was really gross and slimey!- Toured Panama City
Here's a view of the Panama City skyline from the Panama Canal. Panama City looks a little like NYC from afar, doesn't it? It is currently experiencing a period of massive growth, and just about every other building downtown is under construction. It's a pretty exciting place to be.- Attended many wonderful, scrumptious feasts
- Attended my friend Ashley's wedding
---Ashley is a former student of my mom's who married Gianni last Saturday. Gianni grew up in LA, but much of his family still resides in Panama.
If you'd like to see more pictures of the weekend, please visit www.scoutfinchinmadison.shutterfly.com and look in the Panama album.
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