21-SEP-2008
Thai Spice
We tried out a new Thai restaurant in Poughkeepsie this weekend. A little pricey, but the food was very good. I'm still impatiently waiting for Bonsai to open, a Japanese sushi restaurant that will be within walking distance from my apartment!
13-SEP-2008
Fileted Flounder
Wandering around on Saturday, Daniel and I found ourselves having lunch in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. This visit brought back some memories for me. My father loved deep-sea fishing, and would occasionally come down to Sheepshead Bay with friends to go out on a party boat and fish for blue fish. I know how much he loved it, but I really hated when he had a successful trip. We would be eating blue fish for months after, not exactly my favorite meal.
03-SEP-2008
Hello Rogue!
I picked up my new car on Wednesday, a 2008 Nissan Rogue, just in time for a weekend road trip to NJ to visit my Mom. I am very pleased with it so far - the Rogue handles well, and is certainly getting better gas mileage than my Xterra ever did!
30-AUG-2008
NYC Puddle Reflection
I spent the Labor Day weekend just hanging out in NYC and enjoying the weather - wandering, shopping, eating, hanging out in a park or two. We even managed to squeeze in a viewing of "The Dark Knight". It was the perfect way to end the summer!
26-AUG-2008
Farewell, Trusty Xterra
I made an important decision Monday night - it's time to get a new car. My 8-year old Nissan Xterra, although running well, is starting to show its age. I want to replace it before I start having to sink a lot of money into repairs. I thought this would be an easy thing to do; I can't believe that I'm actually feeling sad and guilty about this decision, like I am betraying a faithful friend.
09-AUG-2008
San Jose Skyline
I headed to San Jose, California this weekend to attend a conference. The weather in San Jose is perfect - sunny and not too warm. And there seems to be a lot of nice restaurants in the area where we are staying. Too bad I'm going to have to spend the next 6 days inside the Convention Center!
03-AUG-2008
Under the Elevated Tracks
Somewhere in Brooklyn... I always hate driving directly under the tracks - the drive lanes are narrow, the steel structure seems unstable, and the trains are so obnoxiously noisy. My usually mild claustrophobia quickly kicks in, and I can't wait to get out of there!
27-JUL-2008
Colorful Conversion
I've owned my dSLR for over two years now, and up until this point I have never used its RAW image format. Today I finally got the courage to give it a try. I headed to the Hudson River with my camera, but Mother Nature wasn't very cooperative - right at the point where I wanted to start taking pictures, the skies opened up. I tried to wait out the storm, but after 20 minutes, I decided to give up and just head home. Of course, as I was driving, the rain stopped. So I pulled into Locust Grove and spent some time photographing its flower garden, then headed home, eager to start using Canon's Digital Photo Professional to perfect my photos. I quickly learned that I really have no idea what I'm doing. I think the problem is that I have no confidence in knowing what looks right or good. I'm going to have to find a tutorial or two that can guide me. Any suggestions?
20-JUL-2008
Awaiting Inflation
This morning I actually managed to make it to the 6am hot air balloon launch that was part of the 2008 Dutchess County Balloon Festival. Getting me moving at that hour is always a danger, though - I wandered around the balloons and spectators for almost two hours before I noticed that I was wearing my t-shirt inside out!
More photos of the ballooon festival can be found
here.
06-JUL-2008
FDR Rose Garden Grave
I didn't get to see a parade or real fireworks this 4th of July weekend, but I wanted to do something patriotic, so I took a ride over to the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site in Hyde Park, NY. Both Franklin and Eleanor are buried in this rose garden. Keeping them company is a scottish terrier named Fala, FDR's favorite pet. Fala is buried under the sundial.
29-JUN-2008
Rainy Pride
We had hoped to catch at least part of the always fun and entertaining NYC Pride Parade on Sunday, but the weather did not cooperate at all, with several heavy rainstorms rolling through. So instead we spent the afternoon popping in and out of Apple stores. The weekend wasn't a total wash, though. On Saturday evening, we got to see "Curtains" with David Hyde Pierce during its final weekend. It was a very fun musical, one of Daniel's favorites.