Arizona, The Vacation

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Several weeks ago I decided to visit Arizona. I have a friend, Michell, who moved there to teach and since the end of her school year corresponded with Memorial Day weekend, I decided to take advantage of the extra day off and have myself a mini vacation to Arizona.

I had two requirements for this trip. First, I needed to see the Grand Canyon. I didn’t have to do anything, I just wanted to see what the hullabaloo was all about with this gigantic hole in the ground. Next, I wanted to get a photo standing next to a cactus that was taller than me. You see, in New York, the tallest I’ve seen a cactus grow was well, not very tall.

My trip began at 8 on Friday night, when I flew out of JFK to Phoenix. Michell picked me up at the airport at and we had an authentic Arizonan dinner – In N’ Out Burger.

On Saturday we took a trip to Williams to visit our friend Jay, and to see the Grand Canyon. Williams is a small town, about an hour south of the southern rim of the Grand Canyon. It’s WINDY. It’s chilly. It’s quaint and it has a strip if Route 66 running through it.

We arrived at the Grand Canyon on Saturday afternoon. It was breathtaking. Yes, it is a giant hole in the ground, but what a grand hole it is! I can’t explain the beauty, I think this is something one needs to see for themselves. I mean, it’s a lot of rock, but the vastness of it and the history of how it came to be is just mind boggling. Water is powerful.

I promptly found my favourite rock.

I mean, come on … it is cute. Right? Continue reading →

BEA in a Nutshell

Posted in Bookish by

For a somewhat detailed blog about my BEA experience, see my book blog. 

I woke up super early for this, but, see my badge? I’m legit!

Saw Ally Condie and got a copy of her upcoming book, Crossed. I liked Matched, but I didn’t like the protagonists’s love interest. I think this might be the first dystopian novel in which I’m rooting for the Society.

I am a fan of the covers though! Some girls standing behind me were wondering out loud what the colour and the bubble would be for the third book. I wanted to join in on their conversation, but I didn’t …

After a few more lines, I stood in another rather long line for Scott Westerfeld. See the ipad on his desk? That’s geektastick!

Leviathan is one of my absolute FAVOURITE trilogies, so it was my honour to hold Goliath in my hands, months before it’s release date. This will probably be one of those books I get a signed copy of from Books of Wonder or something.

After a long morning, lunch was AMAZING. Putting chips in my pulled pork sandwich = awesome!

Apparently he’s got a book coming out ….

This is a working, steampunkesque, reading apparatus. This photo does not do it justice. I would like to have one of this … just for fun!

The books.

The End of Days

Posted in Religious Musings, Thoughts by

While I believe that Harold Camping has a few screws missing in thinking that he could predict the end of the world, I will admit that I do like having a bit of fun with his prediction. End of Days party, anyone? However, when I woke up this yesterday to find a retweet in my feed, I stopped short and did a bit of thinking.

My first reaction was, “I wish people wouldn’t lump this craziness with Christians. We don’t think the world ends this Saturday!” and this is true for all the Christians that I know. However, along with this, a number of other thoughts rolled through my mind. No man knows the hour; generalization of a people group is often incorrect; I am hungry, what’s for breakfast? The last thought is irrelevant, but after that another thought tumbled by – suppose the world does end, but more specifically, suppose my life comes to an end, am I ready for that? What would I have left behind?

In the broader sense, if the world was to end and everyone dies then what? Well, we will find the answer to the much argued question – is there life after death? If there is no life after death then we are forever gone, and for me, it makes living meaningless – like running a race with no one knowing (or caring) that you’ve finished. If there is life after death, our souls will be wondering through eternity, forever trapped or freed due to our decisions on earth. Eternity is a long time. Eternity is endless and that’s awfully long to be wrong. More on this topic in another post! 😉

In the narrower sense, what if my life comes to an end? In regards to my soul, I am content in my beliefs and have the hope that my soul is accounted for eternally, so that’s not something I worry about. However, I do wonder about the people that I will be leaving behind on earth. My family, friend and my church are all an important part of my life, they are the people I spend most of my time with (outside of work).

I also wonder about my legacy. Will I be missed? How will I be remembered? Will lives be touched because of me? Will I pass from this world as a whisper or will I go out with a bang? I like to think of myself as a wallflower, but I do want to go out with a bang!

As these questions ran through my mind I took a look at my life and thought about all the projects that I’ve started this year and all the ideas that I am trying to implement. Perhaps there’s a part of me that woke up when 2011 came along and shook the cobwebs off and started moving. Perhaps that part of me can sense that an end is near. Perhaps there is a primal urge inside of me to live on in the things that I create. Perhaps I am no longer content with watching life pass me by. Whatever the case may be, if I had only a few days to live, I know that the life I am living now is the life that I want to be living and in that I am content.

End of the world? Bring it on.

Tea Service at Cha-An

Posted in My New York, Plateful by

I went with my bookish friend, A, to Cha-An last week for dinner. They are located on the second floor and as of last week they only take cash.

They are rather small, and have a tea room in which they do 30 minutes Japanese Tea Ceremonies. Inside it’s very nice; the decor is very earthy and peaceful.

I decided to do the Afternoon Tea Set ($18) which came with two bagel sandwiches, scones with preserves and cream, an assortment of sweets and tea of your choice. The bagels were on the small side but were soft and yummy. I loved the salmon that came with the sandwich. I chose the genmaicha tea, which had a very earthy taste due to the rice that sits soaking in the tea. I loved it! I forgot the tea that A had, but I remembered that it was a fruity one and she liked it as well.

The bagels came in a little basket, but I was too hungry to remember to take a photo of it. I did remember to take a photo of the dessert though. It came with a green tea macaroon which was yummy. The scones were crunchy on the outside — due to some sugar-like crystals — but was soft on the inside.

The mochi dessert was A’s choice; all three were chocolate mochi and it was delicious!

The portions were small but filling, which was good. Usually tea services are so large that it’s difficult to finish it all; however, I was able to finish everything without issue. I’d definitely go here again; their lunch menu looks delicious.

Brunch at Alice’s Tea Cup

Posted in My New York, Plateful by

I’ve been a patron to all three Chapters of Alice’s Tea Cup and every time I go I usually get the tea service, as there are usually people in my party who have never had tea or been to Alice’s. So when my friends and I decided to go to Alice’s for brunch, I was excited. Ecstatic. Practically giddy with excitement, and I must say, Alice’s did not disappoint.

The brunch menu had a lot of choices, including the regular tea service; however, while I did want tea, I wanted something more breakfast-like and so I decided to go with French Toast. The toast was infused with apricot brandy and it also had fruit coulis, vanilla creme anglaise and a few berries alongside.

I have to say, this was the best french toast I’ve ever had! I want to go back just to have the french toast! It was amazing. Fabulous. Fantastic. Magnificent and such.

 

My companions had some egg dishes which they enjoyed. I heard the potatoes were delicious! As usual, Alice’s did not disappoint.