Queenkv’s Brainpickings

MONTEREY BAY – Ten years ago, I visited Mark in Monterey Bay during his business trip. He was attending a conference at the Monterey Bay Conference Center.

This weekend, we’re celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary in Monterey Bay. This time, I’m writing lecture materials for my Russia trip inside the bar next to the conference center.

Both times, we managed to mix business and pleasure. I know I’m lucky to have a husband who understands my need to work on this special weekend. I know the importance of taking a break and enjoying the beautiful weather, wine and food in Monterey and beyond.

Ten years later, Mark is still surprising me. He set up a lovely anniversary dinner at Peppoli. It’s a classy Italian restaurant off 17 Mile Drive. We ended the evening with a decadent flourless chocolate cake and espresso gelato.

Less than two weeks to go before I’m flying to St. Petersburg. I still have a ton of editing and writing to finish. I also have to work on new subjects for new lectures.

I’m sure I will be working on these presentations on the plane. In the meantime, I’m trying to get a better idea of what to expect in St. Petersburg.

Some travel prep notes:

• Travel Document Systems e-mailed my Russian Visa. Woot! It was an adventure trying to apply for a visa at the Russian Consulate in San Francisco. I’ll blog more about it – soon.



• I bought a new battery for my MacBook at the Apple Store in San Francisco



• I borrowed some international converter plugs from Suzanne. I guess I’ll see which one works in St. Petersburg.
• I’m learning some Russian phrases thanks to the one-minute lesson podcasts by Radio Lingua.
• My bedtime reading is the Lonely Planet Guide to St. Petersburg.

I’m still trying to answer the question: “Who get’s to be my ‘Plus One’ on my St. Petersburg, Russian trip? Right now, it looks like I’m leaving Andre behind thanks to the new results of my informal poll.

Louie: 4 votes.
(Louie wants to thank Samantha, Mark, Sara and Dad.)

Andre: 3 votes
(Andre wants to thank Colin, Rink and Andrei.)

My blog poll has been extended to Twitter and Facebook friends as well as young readers offline.

So. Thanks for voting!!!

Today – I’m trying to figure out how to say ‘Hello’, ‘Thank You’ and ‘Good-bye’ in Russian.
Next month – I will step up to the lecture podium and teach a journalism class in St. Petersburg.

One of my co-workers said she didn’t understand why I would need a passport and visa to teach in that city. Then she realized I was talking about St. Petersburg, Russia.

If it’s not obvious on this blog and on my Twitter feed – I love to travel. I’m also thrilled to have the chance to follow in the footsteps of Tchaikovsky and sample Russian food and drinks in what some people call the ‘Venice of the North.’

One of the few pictures of me from our Vegas trip. I’m usually the gal behind the camera, silently shooting.

My long weekend in Sin City feels like a lifetime ago. After working on the weekend shows, I suspect I’m ready for another vacation. I’d love another getaway with island cocktails and a luau, like the one we attended at the Venetian.

In the meantime, I’m happy to watch other people add some spice to their ‘real lives’ by diving into a Bollywood musical. This music video put a smile on my face.

I’m quite happy to catch up with this Comic Con music video by the Guild. My hubby and I would love to check out this geekfest some day. Maybe I’ll dress up!

The Guild also plans on selling this song on iTunes tomorrow! Yup – I plan on adding it to my playlist

I don’t think it’s hot enough in Cow Town. Time to spend our long weekend in a desert.

Later today, we’ll be sipping cocktails in some swanky lounge. Sometime during this trip, we’ll enjoy home cooking with my family.

Maybe Lady Luck will be my BFF as I visit the tables and slot machines. I wonder if she accepted my Facebook friend request. I also tried looking up her profile on Linkedin. No luck there.

Last Decemeber, we saw the Penn and Teller show off the strip. After breaking down the BS in magic tricks – they did a meet and greet in the lobby. If you know anything about this magic duo, you would understand why most of us were shocked when Teller started chatting with fans. When Penn put his arm around me for a photo, he called me ‘Boss.’

Anything is possible in Vegas….Except for beating the house.

When you get older, leave your ordinary life behind and hit the open road.

I’m trying to get used to the fact that I’m officially in my 30s: married, working, domesticated and totally reliable. We have a good life in Cow Town and we have stable jobs. After a few bumps in the road, I am happy to be working as a journalist.

So when May rolled around and we stared at the reality of turning a year older, we decided to celebrate with a couple of weekend getaways.

In fact, it took us two weekends and 1,000+ miles on my hubby’s Corolla to celebrate our birthdays in May.

At the beginning of the month, we took advantage of my 3-day weekend (a prelude to my 10-day work week in the newsroom) and drove to Lake Tahoe. We left the chains behind and looked forward to hiking on the cliffs next to the lake, all under sunny skies.

COVINA,CA – Move over, Rachel Ray and forget about $40-a-day.

My hubby and I enjoyed fresh fish, beer and beautiful beach views in Ensenada for $20.
God bless the 12 pesos-1 dollar exchange rate.

As part of my birthday weekend, I wanted to make this picture a reality: watching the waves crash as I enjoyed fresh fish on a Mexican beach.

My parents have been doing a lot of traveling in the last few months.

In November, they won a cruise vacation. It sounded like a relaxing way to explore the western coast of Mexico. My dad brought back several bottles of tequila and snapped some beautiful pictures at sea. Together – they had plenty of good food, bright sunshine and warm memories.

Now – they’re somewhere over the Pacific. This journey has brought together my mom’s side of the family.

COVINA, CALIF — Watching the morning news. KTLA’s chopper had a cool shot of the Rose Bowl Stadium. It’s all decked out with the colors of the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Oregon Ducks. According to the pilot, choppers are not allowed to fly over the Rose Bowl on Game Day. That’s a damn shame.

A few minutes later, he flew over Highway 134 and showed us a CHP officer dragging a red couch out of the middle of the road.

Random.

This is my idea of the perfect winter day: Sunny skies, 70 degrees and people playing on the beach.

It’s my last day of my Christmas vacation in Southern California. The other day, I ran 4 miles by Newport Beach. My waistline needs all the help it can get after all the holiday eating.