do something new once a week

i skipped out on my company party but i went to different ones with platonic guy friends who needed last minute dates to their company party.

• first one was fun, took a really cute picture with my friend. first one i’ve taken infront of a christmas tree since i was very very little.

• second dinner was amazing… my friend’s boss hosted a party at his 4 million dollar home. first time i was in a 4 mil house. he had food from Hudson’s on the Bend catered. I’m in awe of successful filthy rich business men.

• tomorrow i’m making tomato basil soup, garlic chicken, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie forour dinner club. Never made the garlic chicken and pumpkin pie before.

I now regularly go climbing each Thursday, and Aikido on Tuesday and Friday. That does not leave much free time for other new things between lots of work and the fun, but for me work is lots of fun too, so I don’t consider it much of a problem :-)

Also, last week I got a Wii. I am really looking forward to
playing bowling & golf against my parents during Christmas

I just don’t care that much anymore. i don’t need new impulses. I can enjoy myself with regular things instead of always searching for new things to do. I’m happy with things the way they are.

For the first time, I recorded something in a studio. My choir’s greatest hits – so fun.

I made friends with a homeless person this past week.

I tried out two new bars, one I really really like. Pure (designed after the one in Vegas) and Wave. I like them both because they’re of the nicer quality you usually find in the warehouse district of Austin and not on fratty/cheaper 6th street.

Also tried a hibachi grill called Fujiyama. Has more selection than Bennihanas.

• learned how to make delicious chicken scampi
• learned how to make shepherd’s pie
• learned how to make thai basil chicken
• had a silkworm (not going to do it again)
• had soju? is that how you spell it? korean vodka (and threw it right back up)
• got my first raise in my first full time job
• walked out of said job
• looked after myself and went for a better new job with better work conditions (and got the job! with only 3 months experience)

bought tickets last night to see the trans-siberian orchestra :)

Quite a bit has happened since my last posting here. I went to Spain (Andalusia) for two weeks and had a really fabulous time, but now I am addicted to olive oil and gazpacho. I started a new hobby, climbing, this is great fun and excellent exercise in staying calm (believe me, the last thing you want to do is get nervous and start sweating when you cling to two 2cm ledges some 20 meters above the ground). Last week I got a nice Award at the company I work with. This week I have already booked my skiing holidays, one week in Saalbach Hinterglemm (which has 200km of skiing slopes and is Austrias largest connected skiing area :-)
And finally, yesterday my € 60 Ikea bed broke down into little pieces. Time to get something a bit more robust!

Went to Ra Sushi in Houston. Didn’t know it was such a hot spot. People dressed to the nines. Picked up an old friend when I was in Houston and she took me there. She was in a hot dress. I picked her up in my denim mini and a loose tank. Damn, had i known…

very trendy, expensive place. went for drinks. loved the crowd. great place to gossip over drinks and people watch. Definitely going back to enjoy the night scene again. I’m excited to have another place to socialize at in Houston that isn’t in the Rice Village.

it was my turn to cook last week in our dinner club.
i made chicken tetrazinni. everyone had seconds. i fed 6 hungry girls. i’ve never baked a main course from scratch before.

• new local (Austin) sushi place, Banzai. had good lunch specials
• went on my first business trip
• visited and toured CNN in Atlanta
• had my first personal chauffeur
• first time staying at a Ritz-Carlton
• went to the Georgia Aquarium

(check out the eels in the sand in my photo)