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That old familiar pain
12 years ago today I lost my father. One minute I'm saying goodnight to him on the phone and by the morning he was gone. Just like that, I no longer had a dad. The oddest part was that everything changed, but everything else was still the same. It was so eerie. Like I had entered a mirror version of my world, where everything looked the same and was continuing on like usual, but something was backwards, flipped, and I was the only one noticing. I was so wounded for so long that I don't normally let myself revisit that day, or the weeks after when I wrote this heartbreaking poem or those lonely years after, only on his birthday and today's anniversary. So, today is my day of full on melancholy. Bring it...that old familiar pain.
I put the below memorium in the Westchester Journal for his friends and family to see and remember. It runs tomorrow.
Join me in the #LiveFamously twitter party
You can join the conversation by following the hashtag #LiveFamously. Plus, you might win a $75 SWAG BAG for participating. The contents include a spa gift card, merchandise and Lean Pockets coupons. The final swag bag giveaway that night will also include a phone call with blogger Perez Hilton.
I hope you can make it. My portion is from 7 to 7:30 p.m. ET. Be sure and tweet "hello" on Sunday and use the hashtag #LiveFamously, thanks!
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post and part of the LEAN POCKETS® ‘Live Famously’ campaign. I'm being compensated for hosting the Twitter party.
European Road Trip
For the first time in my career, I had off of work from Chistmas to New Years, so we decided to take advantage of the time off to do some exploring. So, in November, we called United Airlines and asked where we could go on our miles and discovered that we could fly to and from Frankfurt in Business Class, so that's where we decided to go. From there we planned an aggressive trip visiting five countries in seven days. I'm not counting Switzerland, which we had two layovers in, since we only saw the Zurich and Geneva airports and munched on some creamy Swiss chocolates.
Milan, Italy
First, we had an 8 hour stop over in Milan, so we stored our bags in lockers and took a quick train ride into the city to visit the Duomo di Milano, the fourth largest cathedral in the world and the 2nd largest in the Italy outside of The Vatican. The Gothic cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete and was where Napoleon was crowned King of Italy. We also made sure we took the opportunity to eat some Italian food and some amazing gelato. Yum!
Frankfurt, Germany
This city was very modern, because after WWII instead of restoring the city's monuments, they decided to start anew with a clean slate. However, it still had some charming old churches and pubs in between the skyscrapers. Here we were told that we must try the Äpfelwein (wine made of apples) in the Sachsenhausen, old part of the city. I like apples and apple juice, but this cider tasted like warm piss with vinegar. Yick. I did enjoy some bread dumplings and wurst though.
Prague, Czech Republic
From Frankfurt we drove five hours to Praha (Prague) where we stayed for two nights. Here we visited the old town, taking in some jazz, more sausage dishes, visiting the Christmas markets and a private guided tour through the sights and up the old clock tower. It was also interesting being in the city a week after Havel died, their first president after communism. As a result, we saw several spots with candles and flowers collected in his honor, including the main square.
Slovakia
We chose to drive a route to Austria that would bring us through Slovakia's countryside and pass the city of Bratislava. However, we didn't really get to experience much of the country itself outside of the quick observances we made along the way.
Vienna, Austria
Here we did a bus ride around the beautiful city, where everything looked pretty and rich, with not a building out of place. Since it's known for its classical music, we took in a concert that combined an orchestra, opera singers and ballet. It was really intimate, relaxing and beautiful. I usually don't enjoy these kind of things since I'm easily bored, but I really enjoyed it. While going to Hotel Sacher to order one of their famous Sacher Torte chocolate cakes, I spotted Julie Andrews pulling up in a private car and going into the hotel. I literally stopped short. I mean, what are the chances? She looked elegant in a sort of cape, draped outfit. We were tempted to follow her into the bar area as she waited to check in to her room, but I didn't want to bother her or cause a scene.
Mauthausen, Austria
The city of Mauthausen has the unfortunate history of being home to the last liberated Concentration Camp during WWII. The camp used extermination through labor, killing over 100,000 Jews and political prisoners. The camp imprisoned mostly men though in order to have them work in the nearby quarry. Being a Modern European History buff in school, I had always wanted to visit one of these memorials one day, but at the same time I also feared going, knowing it wouldn't be easy. We visited the day before New Year's Eve and less than a dozen people were there total, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves, making the already eerie place even more discomforting. The worst part, we were literally alone in the crematorium. It was also 0 degrees Celsius with high winds. I was freezing despite wearing a jacket, hat and scarf and couldn't imagine being a prisoner, without food or a coat working in that weather. It was beyond solemn being there. I'm finding it hard to write the right words now to describe the visit. I encourage you to read up on the whole story of the camp on wikipedia.
Salzburg, Austria
Being a huge Sound of Music fan, I was really looking forward to visiting this city made famous for the birth of Mozart and the Von Trapp family, oh and the Mirabel chocolates. I really wish we had more time here and that it was spring or summer so I could frolic up on the hills like Maria and not freezing beneath a coat, scarf and hat. I still got to see the back of the mansion used for the scene where the boat tips over and the kids all fall into the lake, as well as the fountain and some of the statues that the children sang Do-re-mi in front of. We also enjoyed the cute alley ways filled with stores and restaurants.
Munich, Germany
We drank and dined at the famous Hofbräuhaus Beer Garden. More in news week's Wordless Wednesday ;)
I'll have a blue, Blu-ray Christmas
On the week before Christmas, Santa gave to me -- a Sony Blu-ray player!
Years ago, when there was the HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray war, I wrongly chose to purchase for x-mas an HD-DVD player, which has now become obsolete. I was bitter, but finally I caved and have gone to the blue side and am loving my new Sony BDP-S185, Internet connected Blu-ray Disc Player with HD 1080p playback & DVD upscaling for several reasons:
A. Internet Streaming & Apps. This model is also wifi and Internet enabled, so you can access apps like NetFlix, YouTube, Pandora, and more on your HDTV through the same machine easily. Before, I used to play my NetFlix instant videos through my Wii, but that required using a Wii remote, which was a pain since mine are never charged. Also, hooking it up to my Netflix account was much easier than expected and it played nicely with no freezes and the picture was excellent.
B. Affordable. Blu-ray players are a lot more affordable now. You can purchase players like this one for around $79.99. In fact, this model has been in the top three players sold of all manufacturers since Black Friday.
C. TRON Legacy and Gone With The Wind. I can now watch the Blu-ray versions of films in all their high def glory. I actually already own several discs since I bought combo packs just in case.
D. Compact. This Sony Blu-ray player is super sleek and slim and nearly half the size of the typical Blu-ray players out there today. My old player was a behemoth and now my entertainment stand looks a lot less cluttered.
E. Energy Star Compliant. The Sony BDP-S185 meets Energy Star 2.0 standards, with electric power consumption significantly reduced during both use and standby.
F. Quick. Powers on in less than 3 seconds. My old one would take forever just to turn on. It didn't help that I'm so inpatient that I'd hit the power button again while waiting and turn it back off, just so I'd have to wait again for it to load, grr.
5 Last Minute Holiday Gift Ideas for Friends
This year, I've pretty much did all my holiday shopping online. If you're still looking for suggestions, below are five gift ideas that I came across that I thought were particularly fun for friends and family.
Wine Cork Candles
$22; Uncommongoods.com
These clever candles masquerade as corks, but they'll bring a warm glow to your dinner table as quaint miniature lighting. Place one in the mouth of a used wine bottle to turn it into a candlestick. Sold as a set of twelve cork candles.
Remote Control Container
$20; momastore.org
If you're like me and have four different remote controls on your couch for your cable, TV, DVD Player, etc., then this modern container from the MoMA store is the perfect, stylish solution. Hopefully it will also save me time from always searching for the missing remote.
Frangelico Truffles
$15-$46; Nieman Marcus Stores & mariebelle.com
Created by renowned chocolatier, Maribel Lieberman, chef & owner of MarieBelle Fine Chocolates in New York these truffles are a great gift idea for anyone during this holiday season! They come beautifully packaged in five different assortments to choose from with the ganaches painted in holiday patterns as well. These truffles are smooth, almost velvety with hints of vanilla, hazelnut and coffee. If that doesn’t convince you, apparently Oprah is a fan and for some reason that always seems to motivate people.
Tea Chests filled with Top Brands of Tea
$39.95-$54.95; EnglishTeaStore.com
These solid wood tea chests are perfect for tea lovers, hostesses and those that like to entertain guests. They also come empty or pre-filled with eight different types of individually wrapped teabags from either Stash or Taylors of Harrogate teas. This also helps eliminate all the individual paper tea boxes that might be in the cupboard.
Retro iPhone Covers
$1.75-$13.98; Amazon
Calling all geeks and 80s fans. These silicone cases not only protect your phone, but transports it back to another decade. No flux capacitor needed! ;) Raphael has the cassette player case in blue for his iPhone 4 and he's always getting compliments on it. I'm partial to the old Gameboy skin though and there's also the Zack Morris holder too.
Roaring Twenties at The Brandy Library
I have a birthday twin. To make it all the more coincidental, her name also happens to be Tara. We've been friends since high school. This year, was her 30th birthday and she threw a grand celebration in a private downstairs room at The Brandy Library in Tribeca. A group of 25 of us, decked out in roaring twenties inspired attire, did a special Scotch tasting of seven rare single malts. The owner also educated us with a lecture all about the history and process of Scotch as we sampled the "water of life."
To get into the theme, the guys donned vests, pocket watches, fedoras and the ladies recreated old fashion hair styles and brought out their vintage jewelry and dresses. I found a black flapper girl-like dress, borrowed a feather headband from my mother and ordered a platinum blonde bob wing from eBay. Take a look:
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