salience

Pictures from Ryan's Graduation/Cambridge Party in NoVa. (Yes! He is officially Dr. Ruff!)

With his abuela:
Best friends from forever ago (Geoff and Ry). Geoff and I used to pen pal when my familia first moved to GA:
And with Chris and Kaun:
Family shot:
The Doctor and I:

I am not sure I want to live in a world without Michael Jackson.

We had tickets to see him in September in London at the O2 Arena. But I guess September was just too far away.

Here a segment (in 2 parts) of my favorite video of him, from "The Making of Thriller."

Rest in Peace, Mr. Jackson. You will be greatly missed.

Manhattan Wind Ensemble Clarinets after our concert anoche at Third Street Music School. The concert was a huge success! Thanks to all who came out!

It's safe to say I've been afraid of falling in love. The last time I did, I knew deep down it wouldn't work out. I felt like it wouldn't matter in the end though, at least I would have those days, months, years to look back on later, after the inevitable heart break. Even though we talked randomly about marriage, I knew we would never reach that point. At the time, I may have said differently. I was very young and very scared. Scared to find out what the world held for me. Five years isn't a lifetime by any means, but it has put a lot into perspective. When we're young, we all make mistakes. But how do you grow without mistakes?

It takes time to grow into your own skin fully.

My boyfriend now is all encompassing. We've known each other for 15 years at this point, we've been dating for two. We talk practically every hour of every day that we're conscious. I miss him immediately when he leaves, if only to go to another room. He makes me laugh, think and occasionally cry. He challenges me to set goals for myself and holds me accountable: he adheres to a discipline matched by few. He is genuinely a happy-go-lucky person and he's elevated my often cynical, realistic tendencies. I remember being similar once, but it seems so long ago. He provides a balance: he is a good man and I'm lucky to have him in my life. I like who I am when we're together.

We've talked about marriage and it doesn't frighten me. Sure, my last forays into this were fleeting at best, but this? This resonates. He was engaged before, but as I said, we all make mistakes when we're young.

I am not afraid to say I am in love with this man. I hope one day I am fortunate enough to start a family with him. I would do anything for him, just like I know he would do for me.

He leaves for England at the end of September for nine months. To say I'll miss him is an understatement. I already cry just thinking about him leaving. But, I've decided to look at this time apart as just another test for us to face. We are great communicators, very logical and for the most part even tempered.

I can't wait to see what adventures the future holds for us.

Birthday Weekend 2009 Recap:

This year I decided not to throw any sort of party for my birthday, and I have to say, I had one of the best birthdays ever. See I officially turned 26 yesterday, but the celebration began Friday.

Ry and I went to dinner at Porter House New York in the Time Warner Center and were seated at a beautiful table with a view of Central Park. Our steak dinner was so delicious! You'd think our night couldn't get any better, but afterwards we saw "South Pacific" at Lincoln Center. Now I've loved "South Pacific" since I was little, my cousin and I used to watch it all the time at my abuela's house. We're playing a medley of different "South Pacific" songs for CSW, and I'd heard from many friends that the show was nothing short of stunning. And we were not disappointed! Not only were the actors amazing (Paulo Szot gave me goosebumps numerous times as Emile de Becque, especially during "Some Enchanted Evening"!), but the orchestra was flawless. We actually got to see the entire pit whenever the entire stage withdrew, which happened about three times during the show. I had a fantastic time, all throughout the entire three hour production.

Saturday was a big day in that Ry had prepared to make me a full three course meal, all on his own. He kept it all a secret right until the very end, and not only is he incredibly smart, handsome beyond compare, hilarious and very caring, but he can cook! Jackpot! :) Dinner was a great mesclun salad with a home made balsamic vinagrette, broiled salmon steak with homemade macaroni and cheese and dessert of bread pudding. Afterwards we headed into the East Village to see The Proposal, Sandra Bullock's new movie. I had a flashback of my birthday just over ten years ago when my parents took me to see Hope Floats, another Bullock pelicula. The movie was hilarious, the entire theater was laughing to the point of tears numerous times. Not only is Bullock her usual quirky, hilarious self, but Ryan Reynolds held his own! And of course, who doesn't love Betty White? I am also happy to report I did get to have my traditional birthday chocolate cupcake as well, among various other treats. Contest diet? What diet? Ha.

On our way back from the Village, Ry and I were activating these glow in the dark bracelets I had gotten earlier to put on, you know the kind, where you have to snap them to get them to glow? There was quite a crowd of NYU kids heading out for the evening with us on the train, and it wasn't long before we were spotted. "Hey!," one of them shouted, "can I have one?!" We said sure, and before long, Ry was passing out our neon coolness to most of our train car. "Thanks, these are awesome, you totally made our night! Happy Birthday!" one of them said as they all exited the train a stop before us. Ry and I chuckled to ourselves all the way home, New York is such an unexpected, fun place at times. You make friends so quickly and in such random places.

I am sad that Ry had to head back to NoVa (aka Northern Virginia) today for work tomorrow, but still immensely content from the time we did get to spend together. I mentioned how great my birthday was this year to him and he replied with, "I'm going to try and make you happy for the next 80 birthdays." :) I am one lucky woman.

And now, in typical Salience fashion, some pictures:.

Ry doing his Clark Kent impersonation:

View from our table at Porter House:




Only picture I managed to sneak at the show:

Saturday, during the dinner preparations:
Sphinx loves crepe paper:
Like my apron? I was so busy with the not-cooking and all, but I still had an apron:
Yep, I made him take this photo and he indulged me:


Laptop is the new recipe card reference?
The final table-scape:
Getting ready to head into the Village:
Waiting for our train, ducking in out of the rain:
After the movie:
My flowers from Ry:
So many cupcakes!

Apologies for the delay in posting everyone. My favorite brother and favorite cuatas came up to NYC to visit for just under a week. From a trip to the Met, a Yankees game, dinner at Serendipity, an improv show at the Broadway theater and a Nine Inch Nails/Jane's Addiction Show at the PNC Bank Arts Center, we had a great time.

Here are some pictures, first of NIN at the concert we went to and then of us.

Trent Reznor:





It was great being able to take the familia to a show I'd been wanting to see for a long time. I have been a Trent Reznor fan for many, many years, and he is nothing short of astounding on stage. His presence filled the venue, and his musicality was overwhelming. He and the band played songs spanning his entire career (back to 1989), and the crowd couldn't get enough. "Hurt" was the encore, and everyone sang their hearts out. Jane's Addiction put on a great show as well. I could hardly believe I saw Trent Reznor and Dave Navarro (be still my little school girl heart!) in the same night. "Jane Says" was their encore's encore, complete with steel drums, and it was amazing! There is nothing quite like seeing music you know so well performed live, a true test of a musician's ability, in my opinion.

Now onto familia fotos, at the famous Serendipity:






Walking through midtown on a rainy afternoon (I love this one ps):

At the Time Warner Center:

At the PNC Bank Arts Center:



I miss them immensely, hopefully we can all see each other again soon.

All in all, a fantastic start to summer, if I do say so myself.

Hi everyone! Here are a few more pictures from our time at Ft. Walton, as well as from a trip to the Red Hook fields to watch some soccer and sample the food vendors this weekend. The weather was perfect, as was the food!