Project 30: Spice Girls in Las Vegas

Task 3/30: See a show in Las Vegas.
Complete: December 8, 2007



Yay! Vegas! It was off to Vegas for 36 hours of fun highlighted by the Spice Girls reunion concert. It was truly one of the most amusing and terrifying flights ever as we thought the plane was going to fall apart and the couple in front of us got into it with the flight attendant and almost had the air marshall called. I was so happy to just be off the plane and in Vegas, but was full of amusing stories much funnier in hind sight. When we got there, it turns out it was fight weekend, rodeo weekend and then for some undiagnosed reason, full of singing rugby players. It was such a strange mix as the casinos played 50% country music and cowboy hats and wranglers were easily spotted within arms distance everywhere you went. Cute boys with accents sung out from every corner of every casino and everyone was shoving boxing shirts down your throat.



We grabbed some food and freshened up in our room to get a true Vegas post-midnight start. The highlight of the evening was my only true Vegas must, cocktails at the Red Square in Mandalay Bay, the fault of my vodka obsession and a beautiful room to relax in elegance. I got to taste the Pomegranate Van Gogh I had been lusting after, and tried a delicious Raspberry lemon drop martini, and we stylishly took in the people around us. We roamed around some more, but bad shoe choices and long work days had us off to our rooms at 3am to recharge for the next night and our true mission.





After we slept and prepped, we headed out of our temporary home at the New York, New York to get some food and go shopping before the big show. I got to eat at my very first luxury buffett at the Mandalay Bay and then we strolled past the Bellagio water show where I got to see a whole one, rather than the tail end seconds in all my previous trips. The water gets so high and it's just amazing to gather around with tons of other people and enjoy it. We pondered what qualifications it takes to be the designer of such shows and what a sweet job it would be. I just want to push the on button once.



We went to M&M World! Now really, there should be more rides in there it is so big. At 4 floors, it blew us all away and we tromped through gazing at the collections of things that it was a marvel that people found need for. There was even a neat dizzy tunnel, and a 3d movie. It was all a bit much for me, and children everywhere, but neat none the less. We did some shopping at Caesar's and the mall at Planet Hollywood and got dressed up in all our new goodies and headed out to the show. The crowd control aspect was unspeakable and I tried to breathe and not punch someone that was invading my space. I had left my camera behind because I was told too on the tickets and ended up being crushed that I had no pictures of my own to show. The girls in front of us passed the time prior to the start of the show by taking camera phone pictures of their bloody new nape piercings and sending them to their friends. I was really grossed out. People watching was it's own adventure as little tiny spice girl clones ran about everywhere screeching and bouncing to the music, including an adorable set of of drag queens.



When the 5 ladies took the stage, the house came down and it was a great show complete with handfuls of set and costume changes, ten male dancers and glitter exploding from the ceiling at the end. I had so much fun after 90 minutes of pop fabulousness, I felt satisfied with my adventure. They rocked their solos and the old hits and flew around the stage with flair. I did not leave disappointed. (...and heir final screen left me amused!) See all my Vegas pictures here. Yay Vegas!

3 down...27 to go!

Project 30: Whale Watching on Monterey Bay

Task 2/30: Whale Watching from Moss Landing
Complete: December 1, 2007



I've wanted to go Whale Watching on the Monterey Bay for a while. I have grown up around boats my whole life, though admittedly not a huge fan, but have serious family roots in the whole nautical culture and think whales are cool. I can't remember the last time I was on a boat, when my parents went fishing, I road my bike but I had been whale watching once before on a ship in the 6th grade and we saw whales breach and it was amazing. I was eagerly wanting to take advantage of the access I had so easily living on this coast and there was no point in putting it off any longer. A ton of people also thought this was a great idea and we ended up with a pretty nice sized group to venture out on to the open ocean. But well, it was a boat. A small boat. Probably big to most people, but yeah, way smaller than I was expecting. Our group of 5 was half of the tourists on the boat, and then there was the captain and his deck hand. The boat supposedly could have held way more, but I was pretty pleased that we didn't feel like we had to step over people most of the time. (Since I stayed on the back of the boat the whole time, I rarely saw anyone else but my friends, since the other people stayed up front.)





The harbor part was actually really neat. We could have maybe just tooled around the harbor and looked at otters and birds and I would have been happy. I loved all the old fishing boats and trawlers. They have so much charm to me, even if it is all smelly. There were hundreds of birds of dozens of kinds. It was beautiful to see even though I usually strongly dislike birds. It sort of felt like an eerie horror movie as well, feeling that at any point, the birds could swarm and attack. There were otters playing and it was cute to see them just floating around on their backs. What a nice life that must be.



Once we got out onto the open sea, I started realizing I hadn't really thought through all that this was going to take out of me. I hate the ocean, I can't swim well, and I hate boats and now it was RAINING ON US. WHY the hell am I doing this again? Yeah, DUMB. I wasn't the only one who thought this was sort of a dumb idea after a while, and I started to beg everyone to still be my friend after. I hadn't done it from the start, but I wish I had, and quickly tracked down the crew lady to buy myself a relief band to shock the sickness out of me. It was beautiful. I cranked that sucker to 5 and my stomach eased itself away in time to enjoy the bulk of the sights, including a really awesome full double rainbow. It was really amazing and I was happy. I sat back and did some quiet thinking about mother nature and the world and respecting this great body that was carrying me safely. I thought about sailors who worship the waves, and who live for the floating feeling beneath them. It felt nice and I once again was happy that I was there.



We continued on and my focus point on the shore was merely a tiny speck. We got radio calls that there were some orcas and you could see the many boats circling about. All of us expressed some concern about harassing the whales but the other boats quickly gave up while it was only us that continued on. We truly benefitted too because we ended up finding the tricky little things and following along with the same pod for quite a while. I love orcas, they are so beautiful and such an amazing unexpected treat. We thought we were heading towards the orcas but ended up finding a group of Risso's dolphins, a rare type of dolphin you can only see in the ocean, as they do not survive in captivity. They look like they are glowing under the water because they are a shiny silver and reflect the green of the water.





We headed back in, and the ride in was much smoother as we went with the waves but it still seemed to take forever. On the docks, I walked quickly over the planks to the parking lot, just so grateful for ground under me that wasn't moving. Between the freezing cold and wind to the rocking of the waves, your body is wiped after and I still had a bit of a drive to crawl back into bed. I was pleased with the trip, but I bet you it will be quite a while before I get myself on a boat again! This gal is a land lover for sure, but Mission Accomplished!

2 down...28 to go!

Project 30: Lola the Ipod

Task 1/30 Purchasing an Ipod
Complete: December 1, 2007



LalalalaLOLA, LalalaLOLA... Damn I love that song. I've always thought I would name my daughter Lola, but just like Bella, we've had to just go ahead and stop reserving the names and use them for things I care about. Like my beautiful baby girl Lola, the new black 80GB Ipod Classic. (Lola the song is also frequently covered by Steve Poltz and the name of his cherry red Taylor guitar. Since almost 1/2 of my baby will end up being Poltz filled, I thought it very fitting.) Right now, we are up to about 13GB with a huge stack of CD's to still go through before we even get to most of the live stuff I have laying around, anticipating falling in around 30-40GB when I am done ripping. I love her so much. We now find car trips and our longer commute so much more entertaining when switching from Annie to Outkast with the push of a button. I love my music so much. I know that it's been so much lower priority than my camera in the past, but I am just not sure how I ever lived without this wonderful storage device for all my beloved tunes. I am ecstatic that the piles of cases that have been hidden away for years have now resurfaced and exposed me again to their wonderful amazing sounds. It works out well that majority of my CD collection is greatest hits albums and soundtracks, so it's like having a an endless supply of singles. I definitely have a variety of tastes in music. I wonder what the first person who looks through my Ipod will say when they see multiple albums by Garth Brooks, Jimmy Buffett and then random rap and hip hop mixed in. I love it. Love it. I love my Miss Lola and she and my camera are now fast buddies in my purse going everywhere with me. It's awesome. I'm so very glad that I now have this.

One thing down...29 more to go!

Project 30: Kicking off a year long birthday celebration!

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday dear meeeeeeeeeeeee, Happy Birthday to me. Okay, not for another 6 months, but hey, it's the year of me and we're starting early!

December 1st saw the kickoff of my much anticipated adventure, Project 30, 13 months to complete 30 adventures that are on my life list. I will track my progress on lj, myspace and on Snapped in Sin and you can live vicariously through me. Hopefully you'll actually be joining me on some of my adventures as well...

We kicked the project off with project preparation! I've not been given flowers in so long, (and only 2 boys have ever bought the right kind), that I thought I should start a year of treating myself by treating myself to my favorite flower in the world - Stargazer Lilies!



And while a big spa and spoiling day is on the agenda, I felt it not fair to rush into that activity just because I was desperate for a haircut, so I took my snazzy little coupon to Tonic Spa and Salon and sexy girl Erin rocked my hair. Granted it isn't all blown straight anymore because I don't have that much time in my life to waste every day, but I still think it's cute and I'm happy. Yay for sassy new hair!



So with flowers making my house smell pretty and me feeling a bit better about myself we begin...

Here's to a year of wonderful adventures!

Project 30: Cirque du Soleil

I now have *1* ticket to Kooza in San Jose on Feb 28. This may just be a Project 30 wild card. Or just a nice thing I did for myself. I'll decide later. I was on the fence for a month now watching the tickets for the earlier dates sell quick, but at $55 through Goldstar in the last 2 weeks of the run before they are sold out vs. $80 or higher later to last minute it, I think I have to just say go. I've never really been drawn to it, don't really like acrobats or circus stuff. But, yeah, I guess I have to see it. If people who I think wouldn't like it said I should see it, I should see it. And well, since this is coming, I guess I'm going. (I'd prefer to see Zumanity in Vegas, but this will have to do.) It's a random Thursday night in February, and I'm going to go by myself. It should be neat. Yay!

Next up...Booking Wicked tickets w. , the NYC/DC plans, and then in 6 days I will be in VEGAS BABY!

And so it begins...

Happy December 1st and welcome to Project 30!

We already have one project completed. The Ipod will charge today while I am completing task #2.
(I bought it yesterday but waited to open it until this morning so it met the rules of the project.)

In just shy of 2 hours, I will be whale watching on the open ocean.
I'm terrifed and excited all at the same time!

Here's to a year of awesome and exciting adventures, friends and fabulous memories.

P30 and Travel

In a folder in front of me is a paid reservation for whale watching, booked itineraries to Vegas in December, Denver in January and Austin in February and tickets to a St. Louis Blues vs Sharks hockey game in March. Oh yes..it is happening.

Project 30 Official List

Project 30 Official List:

December:
Vegas & Spice Girls
Whale Watching

January:
Hangar One Tour
Seals at Ano Nuevo
Monterey Bay Aquarium

February:
Wicked w/ Maria
Austin & Bullriding

March:
Hockey
Secret Stencil Mission

April:
Broadway Show in NYC
Museums in DC
Horseback Riding in Half Moon Bay

May:
Train to San Diego
Spa Day
Art Show at my House

June:
Berry Picking
Dance Classes
Limo in Napa

July:
Baseball Game #1
Multi-Course Dinner

August:
Baseball Game #2

September:
Disneyland
Football Game

October & November:
Clean up Months.
Complete anything that hasn't been completed.

Unscheduled:
Gun Shooting
B&W Pictures
Ipod
Vodka Display
Frames for Pictures

Other:
2 WILDCARDS
For use at my choosing at anytime I remember "Oh yeah, I wanted to do that" and want to count it towards the project

Rules, Regulations, Stipulations, Explanations, Fine Print, Exceptions, Excuses, etc.
Goal is to launch the project on December 1, 2007 and complete the project by December 1, 2008, with the "13th month" allowed if absolutely needed. Right now the goal is to be done in 10 months, allowing for 2 months for rescheduling by very booked Spring activities due to unseen events. Notice Skydiving and Scubadiving dropped, as they were unrealistic project goals and bigger than the scope of the idea, being larger fears that need to be dealt with individually. Added since last discussion are Hangar One, Guns, the Aquarium, Ano Nuevo, and Disneyland, as well as the wild card concept. I reserve the right to change, modify, edit, bitch, complain, rearrange, etc. this list because it's mine and just mine and if you don't like it, I don't care so there. But yeah, come play with me, it should be fun. ;)

Project 30: Progress Update

I have flight numbers and times and plans in the works for almost confirming Austin in February. A Bull has been found in San Antonio.

I now have amazing seats for the Sharks vs Blues hockey game on March 14. Expensive Seats. 2 of them. Maybe i will have a sports loving boyfriend by then. No future football or baseball tickets available since the seasons are still going on.

I have begin planning NYC and DC. It seems smarter to do 1 long east coast trip and hit both on the same plane ticket. I'd like to be in DC sometime during the end of March, beginning of April for the Cherry Blossom festival, but I also wanted to be in New Jersey for the likely Poltz family show in May. Decisions, Decisions. But either way, it seems like it will be about a 10 day trip, 4 nights in NYC, 2 in PA and then 3 in DC, flying home the last day. No solid plans or decisions except actually, really investigating what I want to do and when I want to go.

Hangar One has tours of its distillery in Alameda on Saturdays and Sundays at 1pm. I'm looking at January for this. Any weekends definitely out for anyone who wants to go?

Horseback riding on the cliffs in Half Moon Bay will probably be in the spring as well. It's $60 each for a 2 hour ride, and $20 for the group for a guide. (Or only $35 each if you go at 8am!) Is there anyone who wants to do this with me?

Whale Watching has humpbacks right now, and tons of dolphins. I want to go SOON. Maybe December 1 or earlier depending on who I can get to go when. A 4 hour cruise in Monterey Bay is $42 and parking is $3. Who's in and what are your date preferences for a Saturday or Sunday at 10:30am?

People have jumped on the berry-picking but we'll schedule that in Spring.

The gun-toting looks to be picked up by antiproton and cuz, so I'll coordinate that further there.

I wrote down all the sizes for frames I need.

I tried to figure out what Ipod I want based on my music collection and think I know now. That will definitely be magically in December, or much closer to my birthday.

I can get 3 private dance lessons, 1 series class or four drop-in classes, 1 free dance party for Only $159!

For the train ride, I'd like to go from Paso Robles (only about a 2 hr drive) to San Diego on the Pacific Surfliner with a group of friends, spend the night in SD and take the train back the next day. The train alone is about $170.

Multi-course meal will definitely be in SF. I'd expect to spend about $250 for myself for this.

Spa Day should be about $350. I need to pick a spa, I started looking. It will likely be a 2 part experience, with the spa stuff and then the hair stuff.

Limos in Napa are about $80 an hour for 6 hours and can take 6-8 people. I'm thinking probably spring again.

Additional Things to Consider for Project 30

Tour Hangar One facility in Alameda.
Go to a gun range.

Unofficial Draft of 30 things list

Currently 25 potential things on the list
Some of these may drop, and I obviously need a few more, but this is a good first pass and I have to get this stuff off my mirror so I can actually use it.

Sports
SJ vs STL Hockey (Jan or March 2008)
SF vs STL Baseball
SF vs SD Baseball
SF vs STL Football (Fall 2008)

Trips
Spice Girls in Vegas w/ Maria and Brian
Wicked in Hollywood w/ Maria
Mechanical Bull riding w/ Shannon & Carence on Vday in Austin
Winetasting in a limo in Napa
Berry picking in Davenport
NYC to see a Broadway Show
Washington DC for pictures and Museums
Horseback riding on the beach
Full Spa Day w/ Massage, Body Scrub, Facial, Manicure & Pedicure, Haircut
Train ride on the coast
Whale Watching
Scuba Diving

Purchases
Frames for all my nice & signed prints
Vodka cabinet
Ipod

Other random
Very classy, printable, hanging in my house for eternity, showable to my Dad B&W nude pictures
Art show, even cocktail party in my house
Stealth Stencil Mission
Ballroom Dance Class
Skydiving
Multicourse Meal w/ Wine Pairing at a swanky restaurant

Celebrating 30 years of ME

So there I was, sitting on this bar, directing fur clad ex-citizens of BRC to shuffle into some organization while buying their tickets into Decompression when this guy walks up and sticks out this bumper sticker and asks if it applies to me. I say yup, in fact, it really does, and I take it and continue on. I didn't even wait until I got home to stick it on, I put it right on top of a summer's worth of dirt on the opposite side of my bumper from my "Keep Santa Cruz Weird" sticker. I fucking love my new sticker. Why? Because well, I'm realizing I really do love me. I'm much different than anyone in my life. Most of my friends float between different groups, and I, myself, am fringe on many circles, and generally float solo and free. It actually rocks more and more as I realize the power in realizing it. If that makes sense. I'm really starting to embrace how much I rock.

Anyway, what's this mean to you? Why am I babbling on full of myself? Well, I turn 30 next year. After talking to a friend or two about the expectations to have some big landmark event, and pressuring myself for years to go to South America or some launching world travel trip '"by the time I am thirty", I have settled on something far better. 30 events, purchases, trips, or etc that I have always wanted to do, attend, or own. This gives you 30 chances to participate in my celebration, me a chance to complete a lifetime of "I wants" and a full year of memories to look back on instead of one event.

I started brainstorming about a week ago, and now on my mirror I have a list of 16 things that I want to do. All are very me and things that I have talked about wanting more than once and I am certain I can complete this next year with some minor planning. So I thought to kick off this event, and while I brainstorm to complete the list, I thought I'd see if you could guess any of the things on my all time want list. If you guess something that is on my list already OR happen to name something that really should be on my list and even I forgot I wanted it that bad, then YOU win a prize. If you happen to have talked with me about this in the past week, I have asked you already to one of the events, or you have seen my bathroom mirror list, you are not eligible to participate. What's the prize? Well, I guess it depends on what you guess. I'd like to keep it related to the event(s) you know me for. So if you happen to figure something out, maybe it's a free ticket to go with me, or a postcard back from that place. You just have to play to see now won't you?

The kickoff to this adventure will be December 8th, when , and I will all journey to Las Vegas and start the year of our 30th birthday celebrations dancing to the Spice Girls. Now really, you can't go wrong with Brian, Maria and Vegas. Add the Spice Girls reunion tour, and man, Yay, I'm in. (Brian and I did Britney a few years ago, and it will go down as awesome forever, no matter what a crack head she turns into.) What else will this next year bring? I'm not completely sure...but what do you think?

No matter how long you have been reading me, or how well you know me...i'd love to have you complete this sentence as me.

"I've always wanted...."