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So much has transpired since the last time I wrote in here that even if I tried, I couldn't possibly rehash everything into this single diary entry. I will do my best to list the highlights, however. From shopping 'til I dropped to taking a tour of Universal Studios to the 3-day bus tour misadventure to walking along Sunset Boulevard to being awestruck at the Hearst Castle to experiencing culture in the form of botanical gardens, libraries containing rare books, and world-famous artwork at the prestigous Huntington Library, my 2-week trip to Los Angeles and the surrounding area will forever be tattooed on my cortex without the painful needles and obese prices. As the Mad Hatter from "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" suggested, I'm going to start at the beginning and when I come to the end, I'll stop. It all started with a Swiss Chalet lunch near two young men who laughed loudly and made crude sex jokes linking finger bowls with women. We went back home to get our last-minute things to pack ready as we waited for the airport limo to arrive. The man arrived, dressed formally in a three-piece suit and it took about an hour to get to the airport. I was both excited and nervous, as this would be my very first flight ever. Checking in our baggage, going through Canadian customs, and waiting for my flight are usually boring-but-necessary events to most people, but since it was my first time, I was fascinated by the procedures, the airport itself, and just how many people had to work together and possess communication efficacy to help others get to their destinations. The funny thing was that my father got the more rigorous metal detection. Of course everyone had to go through the metal detecting "doorway," but a security staff member additionally waved a hand-held metal detector along the perimeter of his upper body and looked at the soles of his sneakers. Meanwhile, my mom and I weren't searched that rigorously. We later joked that it must've been because my dad looked like a shady, more suspicious character...hehe...Oh, and they also saw that he had pens in his shirt pocket, so they asked him to show them his pens. After the September 11 tragedy, I guess they have to be so strict to ensure higher security. We arrived at the airport early, so we had lots of time to look around, get a drink, and go to the restroom prior to boarding the plane. The flight took a little less than 5 hours, but it seemed like forever. The ride back home felt faster, psychologically. They served us a hot meal (a choice of roast beef or chicken), since it was dinnertime. Most people chose the roast beef probably because of all the publicized reports on the avian flu that's supposedly heading our way this winter. During the trip, you could occupy yourself by reading the enRoute magazine provided, listening to music with the plane's earphones, watching the news, or watching the featured movie, "Bewitched," starring Nicole Kidman (which by the way, I didn't care for). The movie shown on the way back was "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Some people get motion-sickness while flying in a plane, but thankfully I didn't, although I DID fool around with the barf bag provided and pretended to throw up very crudely in it. Hey, humour IS one way to pass the time and with more than 4 hours on my hands, I had to clown around a lot. Upon arriving at the airport in Los Angeles, as planned, we met my aunt and uncle, who were kindly offering us room and board at their house for our entire duration of our trip. We hugged, smiled, laughed, and danced the Funky Chicken Dance before walking to the conveyor belt to retrieve our luggage. (Hehe...I was just kidding about the dancing part, although it would've been fun.) The first suitcase we got back was mine, then my mom's. We waited until the very end, but my dad's suitcase was nowhere to be seen, so we inquired at an office nearby. After searching the 'incredible' modern technology of the computer (which is so 'incredible' that it was also the cause of the problem), the staff member informed us that his luggage had been accidently sent to Las Vegas and that they would expedite its shipment to my aunt's house by the next day. We got over the shock and how better to do so than to bang the ole funny bone? I told them that if it's going to Las Vegas, it had better come back with some winnings. Unfortunately my dad was out of luck for that night, since he had packed all of his clothing in his suitcase and none in his carry-on bag. I remember that when we were packing our bags back in Canada, he was reminding us to pack an extra outfit in our carry-on bags just incase the luggage was delayed and of course after nagging us about it, HE had forgotten to do so himself! Yup....Murphy's Laws prevail. I can visualize him rolling around in his grave, although I've now stopped because the mental picture of maggots and rotten things gives me the heebie jeebies. Anyway, don't worry, the next day my dad DID get his luggage and everything was right as rain. (The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plane) <-- Sorry...For some reason, I felt the spontaneous need to quote a line from the musical, "My Fair Lady" starring Audrey Hepburn. Apparently flying on a plane has not increased my sanity. It makes sense though because the higher the altitude you get, the less grounded you are....*Smirk* (Okay, that "joke" made more sense in my mind than when I typed it on the screen. Please bear with me. My brain is lagging.) As I mentioned before, I cannot type out all my escapades in Los Angeles, even though I would very much love to (remember, I'm a Writing Buff). Now is the time to present what we all know and love. Give it up for choppy paragraphs and scatterbrained thoughts! *Sign that says "Applaud Now!" flashes* The following are in no particular order. In fact, I plan to churn out whatever thoughts first come to mind (as usual). The shopping in Los Angeles is a realized dream. There were so many sales on every item in practically every store in the malls and on everything I "needed"...hehe... Shopaholics beware! Consult your therapist before entering these 'modern day churches' with followers popularly labelled as Mall Rats. *Smirk* I am usually good at saving my money, even when I desire to make a purchase, however, when an amazing sale where what you want is (for example) 80% off, you'd have to be a numbskull to bypass a stellar opportunity like that. Off the top, side, and back of my head, here are the things that I purchased over the course of a few days: mauve fitted courderoy blazer, black pointy-toed stilettos, 5 Abercrombie & Fitch hoodies (2 for me, 2 for my brother, and 1 for his girlfriend), brown cuddly hoodie (the material reminds me of the fabric used to make those old-fashioned/old-world teddy bears!), 2 boxes of See's chocolates (which I understand are only available in California), 2 D-ring belts (which originally and separately sold for $16.50 USD, but I purchased each for $2.98), Pink Panther panties, Veronica Lodge (you know her from the Archie comics) panties, Tweety Bird thong, San Francisco souvenirs (black t-shirt showing the Golden Gate Bridge and grey hoodie), Solveng souvenir (brown t-shirt with a California map printed on it) for Mike, purple-plum faux-crocodile print handbag, dark green soft faux-leather hobo purse, dark brown faux-crocodile print Tommy Hilfiger purse, sophisticated wallet (that matches the purple-plum handbag - The retail price was $29 USD, but with all the sales and a coupon, it was mine for only $8.99 USD!!!), and the list goes on. I'm too lazy to list everything. Souplantation is a healthy buffet that we checked out, which offers a wide variety of salads, soup, and some desserts. My relatives told me that they believe Souplantation is only available in California. I know that we don't have it here in Canada. It's too bad because all the vegetables for the salad are fresh. You can choose from 3 pre-made salads and/or you can fully customize your salad right down to the croutons. You are handed a tray from the moment you enter the establishment and on your way to the cashier, you pass bins containing sliced green peppers, grape tomatoes, all sorts of cheese and salad dressing, onions, beets, shredded carrots, black olives, etc. You help yourself to free re-fills for most refreshments. The desserts offered ranged from frozen yogurt to fresh fruit to cake. They also offer about a dozen or so piping hot soups. The premises are clean and the pre-made salads are so fresh that the employees actually use timers to make sure that none are out for more than an hour. Hollywood was also interesting and seeing the stars on the sidewalk with the names of famous celebrities was neat. I had heard about it and saw pictures of them, but to be there gave you a giddy feeling just thinking about the immortalized, historical trail left behind. I also saw the outside of Mann's Chinese Theatre where several stars such as Frank Sinatra and Natalie Wood signed their names and pressed their hands and feet into cement slabs on the ground. I have small hands and I was shocked when my hands fit one of the cement hand impressions EXACTLY. My hands were the same size as Gloria Swanson's! You'll remember her from the classic movie, "Sunset Boulevard." (Hmm...I wonder how many obsessed fans have looked at the size of specific male actors' footprints and tried to gauge the size of his manhood. Andy told me though that he watched a show on the Discovery Channel that talked about an article, which suggested that a stronger correlation is between the size of a guy's nose and his manhood. Scientists study just about everything, huh?) I visited the Huntington Library, which is really a large botanical garden comprised of several themed gardens (e.g. rose garden, desert garden, tropical garden, children's garden, Japanese garden, etc.), an art gallery (containing the original and famous "The Blue Boy" painting), and a collection of rare texts (e.g. Charles Darwin's authentic notebook). It was a cultural feast for the senses. While I took a few pictures of the artwork (with my camera's flash off of course because we weren't allowed to use the flash since it could be harmful), most of my photographs were of the roses. There were plaques on sticks planted in the ground to tell you the name of each type of flower. Some had "funny" names like: Sexy Rexy, Plum Crazy, Fashion, and Love Potion. If I feel up to it later, I'll post some of the pictures on my main website (The Mystic Realm). The children's garden had some bushes that were shaped like animals (e.g. elephant, dinosaur, etc.). The desert garden had all types of cacti. The Japanese garden had tons of bonsai trees and polished rocks. The scenery looked like it was straight out of a painting. There were koy fish there that cost $10,000 USD EACH! It was funny because my mother wondered if people can eat koy fish and I thought, "At $10,000 a pop, I don't think that ANYONE should eat them!" I took pictures of the wooden bridge with the pond below it and the trees surrounding the area. Lots of art students from Parson's School of Design were there with their easels, sketching with charcoal. In the rose garden especially, there were lots of people with what looked like professional high-definition cameras, taking close-up shots. Normally admission to the Huntington Library would cost $15 USD, but since it was the first Thursday of the month, it was free. The place was so large that you could literally spend an entire day there, but they are only open 4 to 6 hours, depending on the day that you go. Another highlight of my trip was going to see the Hearst Castle. There's a bus that takes you up to the castle and the road is winding, steep, and narrow. It reminded me a lot of the movie, "The Shining." You know during the opening credits of that movie where Mr. Torrance is driving along the road up to Outlook Hotel? Well, that's what I'm talking about. When I mentioned this to my mom on our way up, she wondered if the place was haunted...haha. Who knows! There were so many heads everywhere you looked -- the statues, on the ceiling, on the moulding, in the paintings, in the tapestries, etc. Everything in that castle was breath-taking, except for perhaps the toliet, which didn't look much different than the modern day ones. There's always that one tourist who is camera-happy and has to take a picture of everything and at the Hearst Castle, there was no exception. There was a man who I suspect was in his mid-thirties who captured everything with his camera.....even the toliet I mentioned!!! I can just imagine his "My Vacation" album..... "This is the doorknob to my hotel room." What torture! What I will remember the most about the Hearst Castle in particular are the indoor and outdoor pools. They were so majestic. The sky was so blue and the floor of the outdoor pool was too. The palm trees against such an amazingly clear sky really made all my pictures look postcard-worthy. Plus, the white marble columns, statues, and architecture gave a regal ambience that evoked a feeling of importance and solemnity. The indoor pool had thousands of little tiles used to created a mosaic pattern and it took a few men several years to complete. The diving board was decorated with gold and the mystery of the indoor pool was noted. No matter which part of the pool's edge that you looked down into, it looked like it was the deepest part, but really it was an illusion. The pool was a rectangle and neither the sides nor the floor were curved. I don't know how they did that (the illusion, I mean). Also, the pool was 10 feet deep and the original owners usually kept both pools heated to about 75°F or so, according to the Hearst Castle tour guide. Also, there was a little girl who was dying and her dream was to swim in the most beautiful pool in the entire world. The Make a Wish Foundation arranged it so that she could swim in the Hearst Castle indoor pool! Can you imagine?! Anyway, I could easily go on and on about that castle, but I think the description I gave already gives you an accurate flavour of the place. Hehe...while on the bus ride back down from the castle, I joked to my dad that if he becomes filthy rich like the Hearsts, his toliet may also be on display one day and some strange/obsessed tourist will take a picture of it. How's that for an incentive to get rich or die trying? *Smirk* Of the 2 weeks that I was on vacation, I went on a 3-day bus tour that went to several destinations, including the Golden Gate Bridge, Pier 39 in San Francisco, the most crooked street in San Francisco, Yosemite Park, downtown San Francisco, etc. This is the first time I've ever been on a bus tour and I realized that I don't like it. In order to hit so many places and see so many things, you need to get up super early because the tour bus departs at 5:30 AM! Also, it takes about 2 hours of travelling on the highway to get to each destination and when you're there, you get about 1 to 2 hours to look around, take pictures, and eat. It gave me a good overview of a lot of places, but ideally, I would prefer to spend more time at each location to truly enjoy myself. Plus, it was a whacked-out experience having to literally shovel food down my mouth due to the time constraints. That's not a vacation. That's a form of punishment. To get the vibe of a place, you need to relax, walk around, leisurely. I have a LOT of complaints about the 3-day bus tour and the company promoting it, but I've told so many people about it already that I can't stand to regurgitate my woeful tale of misadventure yet again. Let's just say that while on the 3-day bus tour, I felt like I was part of the unreleased "Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events the Sequel." *Smirk* So many negative things came together that it almost seemed as though the planets and stars DID align in conspiracy. Anyway, enough of that. There was this modern, hip, newly-renovated Japanese restaurant that my aunt and uncle took my parents and I to. It was called Kabuki. I know...what a cute name, eh? Mostly there were people in their twenties hanging out. Three of the five of us ordered a dish that the menu called "The Love Boat." It contained beef teriyaki, chicken teriyaki, vegetables, Californian roll sushi, salad, fruit, and more. When the waiter brought out our love boat dishes, it was combined and put onto a single boat. Yes, the dish was an actual wood boat that was about three-quarters as long as I am tall!!!! It was friggin' HUGE! We were all struck dumb and it was a surreal moment. We ate as much as we could, but none of us had a bottomless pit stomach, so we had to ask for doggy bags to bring back home. It was hilarious because there was so much leftover that....get this...the LEFTOVERS filled 5 (FIVE!!!!) take-out boxes! THAT'S how large the Love Boat was! (Side note: There was also a dish called Dream Boat. It had all the same stuff except it didn't have the beef teriyaki.) I went to Universal Studios in Hollywood and I looked around at the City Walk (the place just outside the theme park where there are tons of stores and restaurants). It was my first time in both places and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was probably the highlight of my vacation, actually......It's right up there with the Hearst Castle on my list. I went on most of the rides (Shrek 4-D, Back to the Future, The Mummy, etc.) and I took pictures of almost every neat thing that I saw (and no, I didn't take pictures of any toliets. Are you disappointed?). Like in any theme park, there are people walking around who are dressed up in famous character costumes and you can take pictures with them. I took pictures with a guy dressed up as Wolverine from X-Men. It was funny because when he struck a threatening pose for the camera, he actually made a growling sound. I also took a picture with Spongebob Squarepants, even though I can't stand that show. Oh yeah...and on the wall of one building, there was the Green Hulk statue that looked like it was smashing its way out from the building with rage. I made the same pose, but below it and it turned out quite good. It's a classic photo. I went on what they called the Tram. It was a tour trolley with a tour guide and while riding, we were provided with information about Universal Studios, we went by a movie set with actors filming a war movie, we learned about how they created many of the special effects seen in the movies (e.g. parting the water in "The Ten Commandments", creating a flood, etc.). We passed by the actual movie set used for "War of the Worlds" (the remake with Tom Cruise). The destroyed plane, car, and houses littered with debris were all artistically created or deconstructed to look authentic. It's weird how the devastation scene cost so much money to make and they probably could've just went to any slum/ghetto in the poor parts of the world and filmed it there. It's sad how some people's home surroundings actually look like that and here are film studios spending millions of dollars to recreate it for entertainment. So that was my vacation in a very small nutshell. I hope none of you got allergies along the way. Of course I left out a lot or else this would turn out to be an e-book (which maybe wouldn't be so bad afterall). In general, I enjoyed my stay in warm, sunny California. When I got back to Canada, needless to say, it was much colder and I kept telling my boyfriend in a whiney voice, "I miss Californian weather!!!" He just laughed. Wow, did I ever miss Mike!!! I was away for 2 weeks, but right before I left, Mike went to Miami, Florida for a little more than a week, so in total, we hadn't seen each other for 3 weeks or so. It seemed like an ice age minus the abominable snowman. I remember being so concerned while he was in Miami because that's where Hurricane Wilma was hitting. Thank God that he made it home safely!!! I don't know what I'd do if something tragic happened to him, but it's scary to even think about it, so I'll try not to. Do you recall me telling you in the previous entry how I applied for a job as a web researcher and writer? Well guess what? The woman who interviewed me invited me to go in for a second interview!!! I'm going to call her on Monday to set it up. I'm so excited because I REALLY want this job. The work atmosphere is so creative and fun, yet professional and this job truly combines my experience and interests. It seems like the type of job in which I can improve my existing skills and develop new ones, while climbing the corporate ladder. It looks like it fulfills the criteria that I am looking for in a career. I will keep you all posted as to what happens. I would appreciate it if you kept me in your prayers. Alrighty....it's time for me to end this entry. As Elvis Presley sang, "it's now or never...." Until next time, take care and always remember to spread the sunshine by spreading a smile upon your face. Most people look more attractive and radiant when they smile. Mary Shaw ~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-.~.*-. SONG STUCK IN MY HEAD: "Boyfriend" by Ashlee Simpson...(ARGH! As much as she annoys me, there's something about her that intrigues me. It's a strange love-hate relationship...or a guilty pleasure...) LAST FEW SONGS I LISTENED TO: + "Breathe (2 AM)" by Anna Nalick 
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Sunday November 6th, 2005. - 9:30 PM