Wednesday, January 23, 2013
On the shores of old Lake Kimball
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Live Simply and Smile
Monday, April 9, 2012
California Dreaming
A couple of weeks ago, My friend Tori and I decided to take a long weekend trip to visit our good, old friend Jess in California. Jess was my neighbor back home growing up and we both shared the same passion for traveling and discovering the world. My big step was moving to Michigan, hers, Cali. This was actually my first time visiting the golden state (aside from transferring flights at LAX) and it was definitely a great experience. Jay lives right outside of L.A. so we managed to knock out a lot of the touristy attractions throughout the area. We started our adventure by taking a stroll down the walk of fame and then took a moment to match our hand prints to the celebrities outside the famous Grauman's Chinese Theatre. For those of you who are wondering, I have the same size hands as Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) -__-
It is always exhilarating to be able to witness something so famous that you've only been reading about or seeing on tv. This is the exact feeling I encountered when being here and admitting the awe of seeing the Hollywood sign.
Later that afternoon we hopped in the car, opened the sun roof/windows, cranked the music and began to cruise. Sunset Blvd, Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills; all just as picturesque as I imagined. The houses, the cars, the interesting people, it was just a fun and very chill time witnessing it.
The next day we dedicated our time to the beaches. Starting at Laguna and standing on the "top of the world" to Huntingdon, Newport and Seal. The Pacific is gorgeous and I loved every minute of being on the shores. We managed to get ourselves into several other frolicsomeness during my visit, especially during St. Patricks day. I think I'll save that for another day though ;)
It's funny that while visiting this short time and sharing stories with Jess and her family I was able to see a vast difference between the lifestyles of the West coast and East. From her experiences so far, Jess has landed multiple jobs and I was quite shocked as to how she managed it. I've found out that people like to be independent and Angelenos or Californians want to make it happen on their own terms and will sacrifice to have a better quality of life. I am constantly amazed at the tech world, the entertainment industry, the fashion, and incredible writing communities here. People on the east coast typically have one job. People on the west coast have multiple. I find it kind of invigorating. At first, not so much, but now I see why. FREEDOM. People are chasing their dream and working where they can to support that dream.
When you grow up in the North East, everyone around you is talking about what prep school or prestigious college they would like you to attend. This talk starts fairly early in our youth. Often many generations attend the same school and it is an honor to continue that legacy because so and so’s grandfather has their name on the building. College is just considered a minimal start. Having a master’s degree, PhD etc. is just an extra something to have under your belt. I have found people on the West Coast are not raised with the same educational whip. I was surprised when Jay was telling me about how it's not a big deal at all. Many high school and college drop outs are quite successful. This “drop-out” thing would be unheard of on the East Coast, but sometimes I think this non-education thing creates people who work and learn skills at an early age because they have to, and often have real world life skills than many of us who spend years and years in classes don’t have.
On another note,
I know for me, I get extremely excited when I see a celebrity (and it does happen occasionally). One evening, we were leaving our restaurant and I just stumbled into Steve-O from Jack ass and got my picture with him. Well, it was pretty awesome but ya know in LA, locals are not phased too much by anyone since they share all of the same commodities like gyms, restaurants, sidewalks etc. Considering I am so used to the East coast way of life, I strongly admire this new lifestyle. It really makes me step back and re-evaluate how I want to live my life. I mean, part of my life motto is to live simply, do what I love and from there everything tends to fall into place. This was a memorable trip and I thank Jess for letting it all happen.
It is always exhilarating to be able to witness something so famous that you've only been reading about or seeing on tv. This is the exact feeling I encountered when being here and admitting the awe of seeing the Hollywood sign. Later that afternoon we hopped in the car, opened the sun roof/windows, cranked the music and began to cruise. Sunset Blvd, Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills; all just as picturesque as I imagined. The houses, the cars, the interesting people, it was just a fun and very chill time witnessing it. The next day we dedicated our time to the beaches. Starting at Laguna and standing on the "top of the world" to Huntingdon, Newport and Seal. The Pacific is gorgeous and I loved every minute of being on the shores. We managed to get ourselves into several other frolicsomeness during my visit, especially during St. Patricks day. I think I'll save that for another day though ;)
On another note, I know for me, I get extremely excited when I see a celebrity (and it does happen occasionally). One evening, we were leaving our restaurant and I just stumbled into Steve-O from Jack ass and got my picture with him. Well, it was pretty awesome but ya know in LA, locals are not phased too much by anyone since they share all of the same commodities like gyms, restaurants, sidewalks etc. Considering I am so used to the East coast way of life, I strongly admire this new lifestyle. It really makes me step back and re-evaluate how I want to live my life. I mean, part of my life motto is to live simply, do what I love and from there everything tends to fall into place. This was a memorable trip and I thank Jess for letting it all happen.
Laguna |
Saturday, February 11, 2012
MIchigan's Little Bavaria
A few weeks ago, my friends and I spent our day off by taking a road trip across the state to a small Bavarian town known as Frankenmuth. This really is a place where you can partake in the simple joys of life. "Willkommen. In German it means welcome. An offer to come and join in. Something we don't hear enough of these days." Like I said before, Germany is probably my favorite European country that I've visited so far and it was because I genuinely felt welcome and really enjoyed the hospitality I received while staying there. Not to mention, I love the quaint, cobble stone street, eclectic, privately own shop type villages. Frankenmuth itself portrays a typical German style town from its building arcitecture to unique Bavarian shoppes and other cultural traditions. During our visit, we managed to catch the end of their annual winter-fest. Aside from walking around the town looking at all of the illustrious snow and ice sculptures, we would also wonder into some of the stores. From the leather shop, beer museum, health food store and cheese haus, I was continually falling more in love with this place as we went along.
Now prior to our visit, I heard about two things, the famous chicken dinners and Bronner's Christmas Wonderland. Well, without a doubt, I had to experience both of these. We actually began our visit by feasting at Zehnder's, known for these aforementioned family style dinners. And the verdict is: I loved it! I mean who doesn't love a good chicken dinner?!
Eventually we made our way down the street to Bronner's. Just by stepping one foot into this...metrapolis, I don't even know where to begin with explaining this place. I was in such awe by the overwhelming amount of decorations and don't even get me started on tree ornaments. Literally any kind of Christmas tree ornament you can think of was here. Whether it be a your favorite dog, a shoe or even a sushi roll, they had it all! I did get my sister and bro-in-law a pickle ornament that goes with an old German tradition that I've mentioned in a previous post so I was excited about that.
After doing much walking through winter wonderland, we decided to rehydrate ourselves by paying a visit to Frankenmuth brewery. Micro-breweries are my favorite and I'm definitely a fan of this one! I tried a variety of their brews and even got a VIP tour of the brewery itself. Pretty cool, however, most of the stuff our guide said went way over my head. I have much to learn about brewing :) Regardless, it was a real fun visit. The only downfall of this trip is that I was un-able to find a pair of lederhosen to wear (but maybe that's a good thing =p)
A town of rich history with many goals while facing them with confidence gives me great respect for this place. I look forward to visiting again, perhaps for the world beer expo this spring. ;)
http://www.frankenmuth.org/
a taste of Bronner's |
Leia Mais…
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Sehebok Mani Paduseyo
The title of this entry is Korean for "Many new years blessings to you".
Seollal, the Korean new year, is one of the more important events of the year. This 3 day tradition is scheduled in February, based off of the lunar calendar (so it falls under different dates each year).
There are many traditions that go along with this holiday such as wearing clothing called Hanbok. This is worn on New Years day and the hanbok is characterized by many colors and simple lines, it also has no pockets. With having no pockets, both men and women carry around elaborately decorated purses.
maedup |
In Korea, there is a tradition of giving a hand fan as a special gift for the Dano Festival (the 5th day of the 5th lunar month). Men usually use folding fans and women mainly use round fans.
New Years is also the most important holiday in the Chinese culture.
The Chinese Zodiac calendar is based on a lunar calendar. There are 12 animals that represent the Chinese zodiac. An animal is assigned to each year according to a 12 year cycle, 2011 was the year of the rabbit and 2012 is the dragon! What's your animal?? >>>Chinese Zodiac
This celebration ends with the lantern festival where people carry lanterns in parades and the dragon dance is performed. Other customs include lighting fireworks to scare away evil spirits and giving gifts of money in red envelopes for good luck.
Happy New Year! Leia Mais…
Friday, December 23, 2011
Fröhliche Weihnachten from Germany!
one of the Lauscha glass bulbs on our tree |