Hiatus - To return or not to return

Oddly, I have been away and friends have asked "do you blog anymore on WherewasIyesterday"? It seems with the help of my friend Carey, I turned blogging into Facebook and short comments into Twitter over the past period of time. It might be time to write a few things here or note a few things on the blog, since the blog has stayed true to me and not left but still appears. Amazing. Maybe I will connect these dots on various blogs and social sites, maybe I won't. It might be tomorrow or a few months, who knows. Maybe I'll add more pictures here and less on FB, another thought.

At the moment here in rain drenched Denver, I'm thinking about being in the desert with the stars above on an endless night.

NYC - 24 hours

How do you spend 24 hours in NYC? For some, they would do much more than I did. However, I did get a little beauty sleep and work in between things. I'll post pictures on facebook when I get home to get connected since I forgot the important "cord" - no wifi camera to PC here yet!

Monday evening I arrived and found a great discounted orchestra section ticket to "In The Heights" which is a must see if you like musicals. (Thank you Kimpton hotel concierge and the codes!) On my way to the theater, I walked past the "Tent" at Bryant Park housing Mercedes Benz Fashion Week - and prestigious list of recognizable names showing their Fall 2009 lines. Schwag bags everywhere, tall skinny people, and lots of limos but who could tell who I was looking at with everyone bundled up as if it was cold in New York this time of year? http://www.mbfashionweek.com/newyork/fall2009/schedule/

It was contemporary mixing salsa and rap with a little fun and good neighborhood feel musical. The audience provided standing ovations, so I guess I wasn't the only one in the sold out show to like it. For those addicted to "Rent", it's not about 525,600 minutes in a year, but rather 96,000 dollars in a lottery ticket in the Barrio :)

From there it was off to enjoy a cocktail and appetizer at the Blue Fin and wander home to the hotel at 70 Park Avenue from the lights of Times Square. Here's a Swatch Ad and a toast to the Year of the Ox.

Tuesday started with a little work and alot of walking and museum where I spent the better part of the day at The Met. Wow, how do you describe so much history and fabulous exhibits? Pictures forthcoming. I popped into the Guggenheim since it was in the area, but decided I was museumed out and walked and wandered back to the hotel. As I walked along Central Park, I kept thinking - why all these people wandering around? Out of jobs, why then all the shopping bags? Oh - NYC is "on sale" and it is!

Back for a little work and on to meet Dave for dinner at the Oyster Bar in the bottom of Grand Central Station. We had a great reasonably priced dinner and toured the subway tracks for fun before heading off to wander the streets. Now - preparations are underway for a full business day tomorrow - good night!

SEA MSP - No Sun but lots of Coffee

This week I was in the great northwest, north of Seattle, downtown Seattle and then on to well - the great frozen north, Minneapolis. I haven't seen the sun since maybe, hmmmm, Monday? Here today in Denver - no sun, just my luck! I do love Seattle, don't get me wrong! It was a great week for fresh fish.

At The Brooklyn Seafood, Steak and Oyster Bar restauarant in downtown Seattle, the food and service are top quality. The building is one of the oldest in Seattle. We got to sit at the Chef's View section where you can watch the chef's preparing the food. The chef's are a friendly bunch, and looking at the salad options, I asked Jose (who reminded me of Jose on Top Chef this season), how about a "Quick Fire Challenge salad with Spinach" and poof - he nailed it. If ever the chance, do stop by.

It was quite an interesting coffee discovery week. Yes, Starbucks on more than every corner. I can see why they are closing some locations up there. A new breed of coffee shop is popping up like a fast moving virus in areas north of Seattle to Everett, WA. If there is a 10x10 spot of land in a parking lot, be it Home Depot or the RV shop or the Wal Mart, then it's got a coffee kiosk on it with drive thru and walk up capability. Some of the names of these coffee kiosks are, "Cowgirls Espresso Giddy Up", "Java Juggs", "Bikini Coffee", "Big Foot" - need I go on? There was an article in the local paper discussing public opinion about these locations. Generally, Mom's with kids in vans are not stopping at these kiosks, especially the ones located across from day care centers (which we saw) and married men seem to be shopping for RVs and goign to Home Depot more than ever in the area - coffee intake is on the rise :)

As for Minneapolis, it was the wholesome and normal Caribou Coffee that kept me going through late last night - next week, here I come NYC!

SPI MCI SAN PHX SEA PDX IND - Last 3 Weeks

I have to do a better job blogging since I have forgotten where I was three weeks ago. Then, thinking about it, nothing fabulous comes to mind other than - wow we have a new President! After the inauguration which my sister went to and got shut out of the Purple Zone Ticket area with thousands of other ticket holders, I was in Springfield, MO and Kansas City, MO. Most notable in Kansas City since it was a Friday (ughhh) was the fabulous old hotel Steve James and I stayed at called the President. Remodeled from it's original historic state, it was quite nice. It's now a Hilton property and I can highly recommend it! Most fun was the The Drum Room http://www.drumroomkc.com/history.html The "Rat Pack" actively enjoyed this now restored hotel and restaurant in days gone by.

Over the past couple weeks, it's been a tour de plane and hotel starting in San Diego for the annual sales meeting. We get to sit inside 12 to 14 hours a day and look outside if lucky at the fabulous scenes and sights in San Diego Harbor from the hallways of the San Diego Marriott. The BMW Oracle Race Sailboat was moored in the harbor - that was exiciting to see! (Not too many stories of unruly sales types luckily, except for one fabulous "jab" at Stevie Goodwin due to some silly football game that injured his pride - go Laura!)

From there, it was a quick overnight in Denver then on to Mom's 80th Birthday Bash in Mesa, Arizona. My parents live in a Park Model in the winter with all the other northerners. My sister and I flew in to celebrate not only Mom's birthday but the Superbowl coincidently. (Arizona Cardinals played a decent game - commercials this year were subpar but what can you expect with current economic conditions, even though a record $206million in ad sales?) We did brunch at the one and only Cheesecake Factory.

We drove to Saguaro Lake with gorgeous skies and weather, and motored on back to the TV for the Superbowl. The cousins and neighbors showed up non stop from the time we landed til we left. Lots of visiting. They are lucky to have so much fresh fruit in the park.

We enjoyed fresh grapefruit, oranges, kumquats, limes and lemons - amazing.

After that, it was on to Portland, OR for me for work, then Seattle, WA then Indianapolis, IN. Gotta love the temperature changes the past few days. I must say with all the snow and I mean alot of it on the ground in Indianapolis, the new terminal at the Indianapolis International Airport is simply fabulous! It's truly world class. When Dave Letterman flies home now, he might want to fly a regular airline instead of private, just to check it out! The airport website boasts Indianapolis as the 12th largest city. http://www.indianapolisairport.com/

I must get on with the rest of the weekend activities!

SEA, PDX - After the Deep Freeze...

Leaving Fargo on Monday was classic, probably more than classic than the movie. Planes were "on time" until I arrived at the airport after leaving the bank at 5:30pm. My 7pm plane to Minneapolis was cancelled as was anything else getting out of Fargo EXCEPT the Allegiant Air flight to Las Vegas. it was delayed til about 7:40pm. Our company recently changed travel agents, and after hours travel isn't what it used to be. Therefore, a girl desparate to get out of Fargo does what she needs to do. I booked a one way to Las Vegas (Allegiant does not take American Express, by the way but they did take Visa. I offered to get cash at the ATM even!). After getting through security, I got through to the after hours travel to book the next morning flight from Vegas to Seattle where I was supposed to be Monday night. Upon arrival in Vegas, I ran to the last Alaska flight where the plane door was shut but the ramp not moved back. LOVE Alaska air! They opened the door for me and poof - I landed in Seattle for Tuesday's adventures. Then it was on to Portland, OR for a short couple days and back to Denver Thursday.
Fargo is quite a lovely town - in August and September. If you haven't seen the movie, you really do need to check it out this winter! http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fargo/

In Denver, the weather is fit for both skiing in mountains and biking in town, thus I've been able to bike a day today and now ski tomorrow - gotta love it! Sarabeth turned 50 and we celebrated by doing a spa afternoon, which was fabulous and very relaxing! I also celebrated being in town a few days and acquired the long awaited HDTV, Wii and Wii Fit so we'll see how that plays out in the coming week. I'm trying to work on the economy and help out!

MAZ, FAR - Feliz Ano Nuevo, Blizzard Warnings and Slumdog ROCKS

Happy New Year! I will have to catch up to my camera which seems to be missing temporarily upon my return from my quick trip to Mazatlan. On December 31, 2008, last year, I flew to Mazatlan to celebrate New Year's Eve with 11 friends. I began 2009 in Mexico and might end it there this year too. We had a blast. Art, former chef 16 years, now Accountant rolling the dough....prepared a feast. Lobster Thermidore, Shirmp Scampi, Beef Wellington (yes, I had to pass on the beef.....), green beans, potatoes and "Summer Pudding" from the English folks next door. Art and Diana have a home just north of Mazatlan on the ocean. The lobster and shrimp were swimming around just the day before and no idea about the cow, however!

Art and Diana are about 300 yards south of the most "prestigious place" to rejuvenate in Sinaola, Mexico called Oceanica. http://www.oceanica.com.mx/ The pictures of the beach are real and the property. If you see the scrolling line at the bottom of the weblink, you'll recognize this as THE Betty Ford Clinic of Mexico...in fact, you'll notice an endorsement from Betty in the Mission Statement. Too many happy hours? We have just the spot to hang out!

I spent 7 quick days lounging, doing a "spa day"at AromaSpa in the historic district, celebrating the sunset with happy hour, buying shrimp again from the "shrimp ladies", and cheering on the Venados baseball team who are in their playoffs. Pictures forthcoming.... AromaSpa has their own unique Feng Shui going on as evidenced in the picture. It was very clean, but the "timber" hanging about in various rooms might punch out an eye, beware. http://www.aromaspa.ws/Home_Page.php

Upon return to the US and work, I stuck myself at the PC non stop for 3 days such that a massage was in order to work out the kinks! I did a little biking on the bike path at 45 degrees a couple days, avoiding the mountains for another week til all the tourists return to their homes. Saturday I went to see "The Reader" and "Gran Torino" - "make my day, Clint". Classic Clint, rough, heartwarming, and so very classic if you have grown up in the midwest and had a father or uncle who served in the Korean War - maybe a little too over the top, but yet I did get a little teary eyed at the end.

On The Reader, I did love it. It's a "see" on the list. I have to catch up and see Frost/Nixon, Revolutionary Road (on the fence) and Benjamin Button. I'm holding out on Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler. I mean the guy can't even do a decent TV interview after winning the big award tonight - give me a break. He says he doesn't even watch his own films til about 5 years after they are out....ughh.

I arrived tonight in Fargo, ND (yes Sunday night...) and turned the TV on to cheer on Slumdog Millionaire and it's winnings at the Golden Globes tonight - YIPPEEE!!!!! After that glee moment was over, I turned to the Weather Channel with it's soothing Muzak music as I watched the Blizzard move slowly, repeat slowly west toward Fargo, scheduled to arrive about 2am with 30mph winds (yes, imagine the movie....) and continue through tomorrow. All I want to do is hope the bank shows up and I don't have to come back; then hope the storm stops by 3 to 4pm so my 7pm plane can leave and I can end up in Seattle tomorrow night!

DEN - MPS - Iowa: The Holiday Week

While most of the country suffered transportation shutdown due to snow, Denver didn't do so bad, and was just plain old rotten cold. Since last I posted, I've been to a preseason Mammoth Lacrosse game, scrambled to finish most holiday shopping, went to Iowa via Minneapolis and back for the Christmas holiday with family and now back after some delay (of course.....) at airport due to severe fog and "ice pellets" in Minneapolis.

The photo is from 1935. A relative helping unload Christmas trees from a rail car in Iowa.

My favorite news item this season in Iowa is the use of the 18,000 pounds of excess, outdated garlic salt for use on icy roads. This was supplied by Tone Brothers spices of Iowa. Officials mixed the garlic salt with the road salt since there is a shortage of road salt this winter. I think the moral of the story is still "don't eat the yellow garlic snow"! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/23/garlic-salt-de-icing-road_n_153072.html This might be a little known fact that Tone Brothers in Iowa produces well known spices you might use in the kitchen today. http://www.spiceadvice.com/corporate/about_us.html

My luck when I arrived in Denver, there was a Power Outage - why? who knows... The weather is cold and windy, but alas, the power outage impacted the shuttle between concourses. I landed in B concourse this morning and poof - no walking just waiting and yet another travel delay to round out my year - how appropriate!

I did go to see Doubt http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0918927/ and did enjoy it. I had to think about whether I "enjoyed it" for a couple days, but yes, I am glad I saw it. It was disturbing, felt like a boxing match at times in a good way, and provided tough questions on a difficult topic. Now for the lighter movies for the rest of the year starting tonight!

STL: Last Business Trip of the Year

What a trip to round out the year, here to St. Louis, MO on Frontier! I completed my minimum program status for Frontier, and rounded out three airline miles program achievements for 2009 (Hotel program status was met earlier in the 4th quarter for those of you tracking my revenue and booking numbers).

Concluding a good business meeting with Dave Robb here in St. Louis, we drove to the airport in rain. Dave got on his somewhat delayed flight to Atlanta and should be arriving about now at 10:25pm Atlanta time. I, on the otherhand, am still in lovely St. Louis, waiting for that LAST business flight of the year.

The 'one hour delayed due to snow in Denver" Frontier flight landed, and we were told "there's a mechanical issue and we'll keep you posted".....That was about 7:30pm Central. It's now 9:30pm Central as I watch the rain POUR outside at 30 degrees F, just about freezing.....Frontier is deadheading a plane here with parts from Denver. It is scheduled to land at 10:20pm Central with the "parts" for the other plane, and the flight crew will take the "good plane" and whisk us back to Denver yet tonight - in theory. Tomorrow and Saturday are "green days" and apparently all flights are booked with a big thank you to our troops as the various airlines are flying military folks all over the country (I assume my tax dollars are providing this free flight situation in some fashion -not really the airlines, right? How can they afford that? Lower gas prices or something?)

Of course, after sitting on hold with my work travel agency for well over 55 minutes, I booked one flight for a high dollar at noon tomorrow if everything doesn't work out tonight...... Maybe I can take a flight to somewhere WARM if I can't get to Denver.....

I was telling Dave over dinner last night about the blog and how I needed something bloggable from my trip. Wish Dave well and provide him happy thoughts next Tuesday as he's having his shoulder "done" under the scope. Here's to a speedy recovery for Dave and a hope that I will be in Denver sometime before sunrise!

DEN, ORD - Nutcracker, Milk, Jewels!

Over the weekend after arriving home from the weeks travels to Chicago and Portland, OR, I went to see the Moscow Ballet's Nutcracker at the Paramount Theater in Denver. http://www.nutcracker.com/ The performance was dazzling and very athletic. Full of color and humor and awe, the dancers performed on the stage of the old Paramount Theater in Denver. I highly recommend the show if in your area. http://www.paramountdenver.com/

The following night, keeping with old theater theme, I went to see MILK at the Mayan, another old theater, mayan revival style and restored. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayan_Revival MILK was a great film about the first gay activist, Harvey Milk. Sean Penn does a wonderful job in my opinion with the role, stretching his performances like Meryl Streep. I have to give "Milk" a big thumb's up - but wonder what awards it will take at the Oscars.

Arriving home from a quick but FREEZING cold trip to Chicago, I was thrilled to receive on my door step, some fabulous Belgium Chocolates Jewel Collection from a business partner! How glorious to open the box and enjoy the chocolates along with my new diamond, ruby and Rolex set! THANK YOU, you're fabulous :)

It's off to St. Louis and the Gateway Arch! This the last business trip of 2008 (let's hope) :)

FAR: Hotel Donaldson

One redeeming factor of flying into Fargo, ND on the Sunday after Thanksgiving is to be able to go to the Hotel Donaldson, in downtown Fargo for fabulous appetizers and dinner, and have coffee the next morning at the Atomic Coffee Shop. Oh - I guess that was two reasons :) Truly the website says it all - this will change your image of Fargo (mine too). Before the Hotel Donaldson, all I could think about was the movie Fargo and hoped I would not be living it while working there!

http://www.hoteldonaldson.com/

Sorry so short, but at least I posted, right :)

DEN: Thanksgiving, Australia, Slumdog Millionaire

Thankgiving and thank goodness for Hugh Jackman! That was one of the things on my Thanksgiving Day list, along with the upcoming 1-20-09 celebration widely anticipated. Thank goodness for Hugh Jackman in Australia which allowed me to sit through a very long drawn out version of Australia. Nalluh stole the show for me. Sadly, for over 100 years, Australia allowed the Stolen Generations, the children, to be taken from their families.

Thanksgiving was spent with friends. Sarabeth's sister and husband hosted a Thanksgiving day feast with full trimmings, in Fort Collins, CO. We had a great time. On Friday I was able to get out and bike to start to work off some of the stuffing!

Sarabeth and I went to see the play "The Miracle Worker" at the Space Theater in Denver. The play was done fairly well, though the first act was a bit slow. The Space Theater is a small venue, in the round, with moving stage parts which makes it unique and one of my favorite theaters in Denver. http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/nov/26/theatre-the-miracle-worker/

Tonight I went to see Slumdog Millionaire, based on rave reviews from everyone including Carey in West Hollywood who gave it a "two thumbs up" and offered to give me my money back if I didn't like it. I loved it. It's a harsh and heartwarming film. I loved the music and have attempted my first audio with blog posting (top right hand part of the page, hit play) - should be interesting. Put Slumdog Millionaireon your list. It would be fabulous to see the song "Jai Ho", the Bollywood number with singers and kids dancing at the end of the movie at the Academy Awards in early 2009!

Well - stay tuned, it's been fun at the movies this week and it's off to Fargo, ND for work tomorrow...

DEN: Rubik's Cube and Jet Pack Guy

Thanks to my friend Carey's friend Tyson Mao, I am now the proud owner of "how to solve the Rubick's cube" purchased at Barnes and Noble. http://www.rubiks.com/Academy/Rubiks%20Tips.aspx Since I saw Will Smith from afar at the movie premier event for Seven Pounds over the weekend, and since Tyson taught Will how to solve the Rubik's Cube, I am the proud owner - now if I could just get the plastic off the package, I'll get down to work!

This will also be a day to remember as "jet pack guy" Eric Scott took a successful ride in his jet pack over the Royal Gorge Bridge, no parachute included!

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/nov/24/denver-daredevil-use-jet-pack-cross-royal-gorge-to/?partner=RSS

http://www.royalgorgebridge.com/AerialTram.aspx

DEN: Will Smith,Quantum, Bolt and Twilight

After spending a few days between Tulsa, OK, Springfield, MO, San Jose, CA and San Francisco this week, it's off to the movies for me!

First, several of us went to dinner at La Sandia with the best chicken mole in Denver and fabulous tequila bar. Robert Sandoval has a couple restaurants nationwide, including http://www.modernmexican.com/mm.press.lasandiaparkmeadows.htm. It seems he is a good friend of Plácido Domingo who came to the grand opening to listen to the latin guitarists a few weeks ago.

While attending the Quantum of Solace movie at the Colorado 9 UA theaters in Denver, there was an honest to goodness "not associated with the Democratic National Convention Red Carpet event" at the theater! Will Smith was in Denver, at MY theater promoting his new movie - with real red carpet! He was there with a couple Denver Broncos football players, after giving away 300 Thanksgiving Turkeys and stopping at a kids hospital in Denver. Oh - and I LOVED the most recent Bond film, really liked it. Bond was back and was smooth and sophisticated in Quantum of Solace.

I went to see Bolt and liked it. If you like animals, you have to like Bolt. I loved the pigeons the most I think :) Then it was off to Twilight Twilight Official Trailer tonight. I read all four books and lost a week of my life reading them, including lost sleep in hotel rooms on the road and saw the movie tonight. My friend and I went with three twentysomethings and my girlfriend and I loved the movie. The twentysomethings had varying views. The guy thought there was too much romance, but he loved the baseball scenes. One of the girls read the books not once or twice, but three times and was disappointed in the movie.

As for Stephanie Meyer the author, I read "The Host". If you think you aren't really a fan of "Sci Fi" this is a perfect book to get you hooked. I found the book was interesting, an adult read with a little intrigue. http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/thehost.html. I'm looking forward to the sequels...

MAZ, DEN - Sea Turtles and Zengo

While in Mazatlan, we got to release baby sea turtles which I had never done. Quite a nice event late afternoon. We were told about the history of sea turtles and how they go to the sea and imprint on the beach they are released in, coming back to the beach if they survive their first year in the ocean. We each had to name our sea turtles. Mine was absolutely adorable and swept me off my feet, thus his name was Don Juan DeMarco, in honor of Juan for Mexico and Johnny Depp my favorite actor. We watched the turtles trail off into the sunset, and hope to see them next year!

Back in Denver, my friends and I went to dinner at Zengo, created by Chef Richard Sandoval, for some latin asian mexican cuisine. The restaurant group could be considered an upscale "chain" for those of you searching for unique chains as you travel. I would have to recommend La Sandia next time you are in Denver, which is near Park Meadows mall. Yes, we did celebrate my birthday with a fabulous chocolate creation including a sparkler for a candle.

http://www.modernmexican.com/mm.thechef.htm

MAZ: Shrines

Paul Newman was honored in several shrines as was Audrey Hepburn.

What’s on the Altar, and Why?
The picture of the deceased serves to help the soul’s departure from purgatory, if it resides there, or simply to honor the deceased.
Candles represent the element of fire, one of the four elements that should be present on an altar.
A glass of water is used for the soul to wet its lips, dry from the long journey from beyond the grave. Water is one of the four elements.
Fruits and nuts represent the earth element.
Paper flags (papel picado) represent the element of wind and help guide the soul to the altar.
Sugar skulls represent death, an inescapable part of life.
Liquor represents joyful events of the person’s life and encourages the soul to visit its family again.
Copal incense cleanses the surroundings of evil spirits, enabling the soul to enter the home or place without danger.
Different foods are placed on the altar so that the departed may delight in their aroma.
Flowers provide decoration and perfume so that when it is time for the souls to leave they will do so, content with having shared this moment with their relatives.

MAZ - Dia de los Muertos

Alas, an update to the blog! I will update you with stories in random order since the last update 8/28/08. For now, to get me motivated to blog again and keep the masses from cursing me and sending hateblogmail, here we go! I'll need to warm up on the writing again, so hang in there!

I spent 10 days in Mazatlan, Mexico on vacation. I love the annual Dia de los Muertos celebrations. On Saturday November 1, in Mechado Plaza. The center of this area is the Plaza Mechado (Machado Square). On the north side of the plaza is a line of restaurants. Starting from the east end of the block, is Pedro & Lola's, which is an incredible restaurant with live music most nights. The restaurant is named after two famous musicians from Mazatlán. Next is Altazor ars café, which has the best coffee to be found in Mazatlán and offers live music. Finally, at the far end of the block is Café Pacifico which is the oldest bar in the area with atmosphere, a good selection of tequilla, and free pool and popcorn. Pictures below are from the parade.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead

Just off the corner of the Plaza Machado is the Teatro Angela Peralta, built in 1865 as the Teatro Rubio. It is now fully restored after five years of work. Angela Peralta was a much admired opera star from the 19th century who, after giving her only Mazatlán performance, died of yellow fever in the hotel Iturbides, next door to the theater. Her remains now lie in the Rotunda de Hombres Ilustres in Mexico City. Next year, the opera!

Stay tuned for more vacation shots as I remember where I was yesterday on my travels later today to Chicago!