P30 Holy Shit

For $200...he will do my nudes.
Scott Church is my favorite photographer in the entire whole wide world, and the reason why I fell in love with erotic photography.
You may remember my frantic celebration of scoring 4 of his prints for only $100 in his insane New Years sale. (Normally $50 each.)
They are still unframed, but what if I could put me right up there too!
He is daring, and funny, and his web show has become a guilty pleasure while I get ready in the mornings.
*falls out of chair*
I could truly and possibly have him do this for me.
HIM?...shoot ME?
I'm just...stunned.
Must think how to make this happen.
(He is in rural PA, so I would have to be in a city he is teaching in, or travel to him.)
It must be done. Oh yes, it will be done.

Project 30: Nine Days East & Back

Tentative Itinerary with lots of travel methods and big sites.

Friday - Travel Day
Fly into Long Island Airport, Take shuttle to train station in Ronkonkama, Take train to Penn Station, Walk to East Village hostel, Estimate Arrival 11pm.

Saturday - NY Tour Day
Wake up and be out by 7am
Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island (Ferry), TKTS South Seaport Booth, Brooklyn Bridge, NYSE, Wall Street, Battery Park, Trinity Church, Grand Central, Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, Carnegie Hall, St Patrick's Cathedral, Trump Tower, Bloomingdales, Saks, Tiffany's, NASDAQ, Radio City, Rockafeller, Times Square, MOMA, Museum of Television & Radio, NBC, Lincoln Center, Broadway Daytime, Broadway Show @ Night

Sunday - Museum Day
TKTS Booth Times Square, Gugenheim, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Jewish Museum, Whitney Museum, UN, Museum of Sex, Gramercy Park, Flatiron Building, Museum of Natural History, Broadway Show @ Night

Monday - NY Leftover Day / Broadway Dark / Museums Closed
Leave hostel for Chelsea Hotel
Empire State Building @ Night
Central Park

Tuesday - Travel Day
Travel to Philadelphia via train

Wednesday - Philly Tour Day
Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, Carpenters Hall, Christ Church

Thursday - Travel Day
Travel to DC via train
Lincoln Memorial @ Night

Friday - DC Tour Day
Capitol Building, Lincoln Memorial, White House, Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Korean War Memorial, National Gallery of Art, Holocaust Museum, Dupont Circle, Georgetown, Library of Congress, Supreme Court, Union Station, National Archives, Smithsonian Museums, Arlington

Saturday - Festival Day
Cherry Blossom Parade - 10am, Grandstand Ticket to Purchase
Cherry Blossom Street Festival
Any leftover attractions

Sunday -
Metro and then transfer to Bus to Baltimore, Fly home to San Jose, Drive home to Santa Cruz

East Coast Update

I wish I had more money, this would be easier, but it's really forcing me to do my homework and figure it all out. I now have a reservation for a place to stay in all 3 of my cities in 4 different establishments. Though I still owe about $450 on the various places over the 9 nights still, I still think I'm getting off light with less than $1000 for lodging on a trip to a place where the average hotel was $200-$500/night, with most over $300, and I can deal with my moderate establishments. AND maybe the hostel for the first 3 nights in the beginning will help me be more social for the entire trip.

The next line items are to get Train tickets between cities, Broadway tickets online, Tickets to the monuments that I can online that I don't have and figure out a packing plan.

Project 30: Planning New York in April

I now have a reservation at a cool hostel in the East Village, that came by recommendation, for my first 3 nights and then I'm splurging on a random 1 night at the Hotel Chelsea, because the artist in me creams her pants just thinking about it. I have reservations to both. YAY. My hotel costs for NYC will be less than $250 for 4 nights. AWESOME. AND, I only had to pay a deposit. Woohoo.

That freed up some money for my next purchase. I now have a 3 day New York Pass with access to over 40 attractions. I saved myself $25 by buying it today on their Vday special. Their average 3 day savings at full price for an adult doing 3 attractions a day is $75. I'm guessing I save a bit more since I pack stuff in, so I bet overall, buying that pass just saved me at least $150, but probably closer to $200. Since this is a super budgeted trip, that just got very, very awesome.

I'm starting to feel much less scared and much more inspired. YAY for knowledgeable ladies and knocking things down. Logistics for New York are shored up, now on to Philly and DC!

Project 30 Us & The Bull

Task 6/30: Mechanical Bull Riding in Texas at Cowboys in San Antonio
Complete: February 14, 2008







See all the pictures here!

MISSION COMPLETE!

P30: Austin here we come.

Ok, Bull, let's do this. I'm scared. I hurt my knee on a chair in the office, who can only imagine what this mechanical bull is going to do to me. I assume there is a bull. I didn't really think to ask. I just think the ladies have it handled. We even have chocolate strawberries on order from Amy's. I can't wait. Why does everyone keep demanding pictures like they won't exist? This is ME we are talking about. This is for the PROJECT and there is no way in hell I am going to miss this very unsexy moment in my life, as I fly through the air, since it will only happen ONCE. Yes, pictures. This is a BIRTHDAY PRESENT to myself after all. I must revel and laugh and enjoy. This is a gift. ENJOY it, stop stressing you silly girl.

The amusing thing is that I am wearing my zendik.org "Stop Bitching and Start a Revolution" t-shirt which is getting various reactions from everyone at the airport. I didn't think I would have to come through security again when I got here to SD, but I did. I've gotten strange looks and thumbs up. It's all just funny. Much like voting day and wearing my "Bad Samaritan" shirt, I didn't mean to stir up trouble. But hey...it happens. I meant to wear a sweatshirt.

See you in a Austin!

Project 30: Inspriring Others!

Bluej is starting Project 25A on Monday.

Check it out! and wish him a Happy Birthday!

Spiderman, Hannah Montana & Elmo! Oh My!

Task 5/30: See Wicked in Hollywood with .
Complete: February 2, 2008



I've lusted to see this show longer than I can remember. I do know that ever since the show came to SF over 5 years ago and a friend fell through on tickets that I assuredly would have had secured myself, I have been trying to figure out a way to see it. Well, magic happens when you have adult friends with incomes and theater habits who also have no issues splurging on nice tickets, hotel rooms and trips to strange cities. (We've been upping our momentum on trips this past year, you have to love southwest in California.) So the trip to LA was booked, a room pricelined and beautiful seats at the Pantages Theater were secured. They were off.

I flew into Ontario, the airport you think San Jose dreams about, with ample space and no security lines. I laughed, reflecting on my 7am Saturday morning wrapped into the parking lot praying I would make my flight. Having only packed for 1 night, I quickly scurried to the curb and met my partner in crime for the weekend and off we were to the beautiful Hotel Renaissance in Hollywood. Well, kinda, we thought we'd check out where we were going to maybe stay, at the Ramada, a few miles away, but that was okay, because we got a tour of the 'hood we were to "cruise" the next 36 hours. Once we were redirected, yay for the Treo, we checked into our room.



Our hotel was in the Hollywood & Highland Center, part movie set, part mall, set in front of the Kodak Theater, Grauman's Chinese Theatre and the freak show that is the Walk of Fame and Hollywood Blvd. It was a strange combination, but our hotel was actually trendy and nice and a good deal at the Priceline rate. No complaints here. We quickly dumped our stuff and went in search of food and to tour the freak show.





We landed at Johnny Rocket's, and just in time to slide up to the counter and watch some burgers "lovingly" made, but at least they give you a ketchup happy face to start. The food was yummy, and the people watching only just beginning. We were saddled up next to a Mom and a Hannah Montana fan so exhuberant that later, when we found out that it was only the movie across the street, it was even weirder. But we were ready and full of energy to start our adventure.





We went to the front of the theater and did the whole feet in the feet thing and walked amongst the tourists snapping away. This poor guy who has to stand there like a British guard while people take his picture. I felt so bad, that I took my own picture. I'm so nice. It was weird to see how old some of the prints were, and what strange things people said, and even who was there. I remember being there once as a kid, this was more fun.



It is at this point we are declared "Non-Tourists" since we "grew up there" and are just "revisiting" and get to be annoyed with all the tourists. Our evidence to this fact is our lack of amusement with the costumed freaks that the people are letting their children climb on and photograph with. Who knows how old the man in the Elmo suit is, but he wanted a hug and to take a picture with us big girls anyway. Ew. I just can't ever look at Elmo the same way. We had to get away, but before we even got to the corner, we saw this:



I wished I had hand sanitizer in my purse that I could give this girl to bathe in. We guessed maybe Suicide Girls shoot? I don't know, the guy looking back at me was a little too amused with himself and his job of towing the rolling suitcase around. It was really gross all around, but really freaking funny. We had a few more scary creepy guy incidents in the next few blocks, as this guy was parked in front of a random theater and said we could take a picture inside his car for free, and then the other guy who would "give us a star tour" in his big, scary van. Dude. Where's my pepper spray?



We walked on, into a few weird shops and where the stars were dirtier and less famous before we turned around. Hollywood Blvd with msred was some of the best laughs I have had in...ever. Seriously, that place is a trip, and on our way home we saw both Batman and Flash Gordon walking home with their McDonalds, probably earning enough tips for lunch and a break. So sad. But then, we saw this little Hannah Montana wanna be and her Hanson-like brother, who later we also saw in front of the theater at Wicked. This girl gets around!



Check out all my Hollywood Blvd. pictures here.



During our eating of yummy, but messy cream puffs in the court of the mall, we discovered that we could take a shuttle to the show for a cheap $3, rather than having to deal with directions and parking. So we ate some quick CPK while laughing at the old lady telling the bus boy he wasn't trying hard enough to seat her, and then caught our shuttle off to the show.



It was nothing short of absolutely, freaking, incredible. The story isn't anything deep, but it fills in to the Wizard of Oz nicely with a hands down blowout of a stage show. The vocals, the costumes, the scenes...just blew me away. I want to see it again and again, and again. Our seats also were really nice and I was really happy. Especially since this weekend was a birthday present to myself, I reveled in my show, hotel room and company at every chance. I love theater and I felt full of life again, ready to Defy Gravity. We went back to the hotel and watched the best part of a big rig chase through LA before they cut away and it ended lame anyway.



Sunday, we decided to kill the day driving around LA, so we went to Rodeo Drive first, the only place where you can see both these cars in 1 block. We spent some time walking around and laughing at people and shops, and made our way into a tiny little gallery. Poor lady who tried to sell us some Picassos and seemed genuinely disappointed when we didn't. Do we look like art buyers? I guess so, or she should work on her profiling, we just wanted to peek. Check out more Rodeo Drive pics here.

We roamed down Sunset through BH and Pacific Palisades, down to Santa Monica and Venice, deciding on lunch at this interesting little tourist cafe at the end of Washington. It was a good afternoon of driving aimlessly and checking our the burbs of the Inland Empre laughing at people. Ha people. It was shortly time for me to fly home, so airport bound I was and this mission was declared COMPLETE!

Project 30 Update

I've been a project slacker, but my life has just been more full than planned with work and other stuff. So yeah, anyway, January left me a little behind, (2 tasks) but that's why we have make up months! Today, I am off to Hollywood to stay in a fabulous hotel and see a fabulous show with a more than fabulous friend. I can't wait. " See Wicked in Hollywood with Maria, Task 5/30" here I come!