Sunday, June 26, 2005

nyc, boston, san fran & work

Hi y'all--it's been a lo-o-o-o-ong time since I lasted posted in my blog. You know, the difficult thing about maintaining a blog is wanting to always say so much. If enough time passes, then you have more and more you want to talk about--and at that point, it's like having to respond to a friend's really long email. Much has happened in this past month for me--traveling to 3 big cities and my first month at Microsoft. I'll do what I can in summarizing everything without making this entry too long.

New York City
My primary purpose in going to NYC was to be a bridesmaid in my good friend and college roommate's wedding--Anna--to a Mr. Frank Colletti. The whole weekend, to sum it up, was just awesome and memorable. Matt traveled with me (a big relationship milestone--that is, traveling to attend a wedding) and we arrived just in time to catch Christine out of the shower after the girl's bachelorette slumber party at the Waldorf-Astoria (how nice to finally see the hotel). Everyone eventually met up, taking the LIRR over to Rockville Center to check into our hotels and prep for the rehearsal dinner. The wedding was the next day and it was just spectacular. The initial ceremony was in a Catholic church and everything went really well. This was my first bridesmaid duty-o-call and it was a cinch with the way Anna planned the wedding. The reception later was just phenomenal--further down in Long Island at the Bourne Mansion with a great view of the water. The dining room was classy, food and drinks aplenty (4 full open bars! Amazing!). Everyone had a great time and I certainly enjoyed it. Matt was great, essentially being a bridesmaid helper along with Christina. I was really impressed with this wedding...it was gorgeous yet not pretentious. People were really truly dancing and having a ball. Great wedding Anna!

Matt and I spent the rest of the time in NYC, seeing lots of old friends---Teresa, Eugene, Aaron, Katie, Debbie, Saevar, Alice---and just soaking in the offerings of the big city. We got a chance to see the Ashes and Snow exhibit (beautiful) and enjoy the rooftop bar and pool of our fancy schmancy hip hotel, the Hotel Gansevoort. We had a lot of delicious food (Ono, Cafe du Soleil) and I had a chance to drop in on Li Mei's bridal shower. It was a full packed weekend and a memorable one indeed.

Boston
Headed to Boston a week and a half later to attend my brother's graduation from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. We got great weather, ate yummy seafood (Union Oyster House), and got a chance to finally see Aaron's school and apartment. The graduation itself was overwhelming with thousands flooding Harvard Square as the graduation was for every school--graduate and undergraduate. Another highlight was getting the chance to meet up briefly with a Smith friend, Lori---we chatted for awhile in my hotel lobby. It was awesome to see her.

San Francisco
I went straight to San Francisco from Boston to meet up with Matt to attend the SF Symphony Black & White Ball. We stayed with his friend Lucrecia and I got a chance to get to know her better. I also met more of Matt's friends Friday night at a bar. Saturday, we met up with Betina & Justin over brunch at Boogalow's. The ball was on Saturday evening where Matt and I kicked it off by having the most wonderful dinner at Jardiniere--absolutely scrumptious. The setting went well as we were decked out in tux and fancy couture black dress. The ball itself was much fun--we got a chance to see Patti LaBelle, Train, a hilarious U2 cover band and Minnie Driver. On Sunday, Matt and I took the opportunity to check out the bizarre The Universe Within: The Human Body Revealed exhibit in Nob Hill. This is a smaller version of the Bodyworlds exhibit where real human bodies are shown using a technique called plastination to preserve the body. Due to the process, it's possible to show, for example, just the nervous system or just the arteries within the body. Not something that's easy to stomach but completely fascinating (of course, I love watching surgeries on TV). Matt and I ended our Sunday by strolling to the Pier 39, eating chowder in a sourdough breadbowl and checking out the sea lions scream and gawk at each other. Check out all the photos from San Francisco.