blog. (by vanessa)

It really is amazing how much cropping an image can really change it. Previously ignored random moments become kodak moments. Last weekend was Elegance on the Water, so here it is… cropped.

I wish I could crop images for a living…

Note: Some photos obviously taken by Dave

Tonight’s song: Her Morning Elegance by Oren Lavie … thanks kevin

“Hands down. I’m too proud for love. But with eyes shut, it’s you I’m thinking of. I think I’m a little bit, a little bit in love with you… but only if you’re a little bit, a little bit in love with me. “

Swedish singer Lykke Li is my current obsession. Her song “Little Bit” has been remixed so many times now, but somehow I always come across one I like even more than the previous.

Some tracks:

Little Bit (Original)

Little Bit (Death to the Throne Remix) even better.

Little Bit (Villains vs. Drake Remix) the best. completely turns it into a club hit. drake’s addition to the end of the song really flows well. his part comes in around 3:50 and the chorus they do together at 4:50 tickles me. haha.

You can judge me all you want for liking electronic, but hey, i just like to dance.

In other news… school has suddenly become too much. Senioritis is not helping either. Applying for jobs is scary. But pictures are fun….

and one of me by dave

I am sick … which means I am incapable of being productive. I haven’t blogged because, after returning from Europe, nothing seems quite as exciting. So this is the product of carting around my camera and flash at Saturday night’s Violet Ball hosted by NYU and practicing on my drawing tablet while succumbing to sickness this evening:

kelsey & bug

dan & fish

kelsey, meghan, molly & spiders

dg & crown

kate & octopus

erica, boys & stage

vanessa & squid

vanessa, dave & emo river of tears

molly, mike & monster

meghan & buddy

ok, that’s all. i swear i will find something more interesting to blog about.

Two weeks in. After 14 days of living in the Czech Republic, there are some things that I love and some things that have proven to be quite frustrating. For one, the Česky (Czech people) have been anything but welcoming. NYU warned us that they would be a bit more reserved than we are used to back home (example: no one speaks on the metro here), but it turns out that “reserved” was quite the understatement. The citizens of Prague have turned out to be flat out rude. I have been shoved out of the way when waiting for a tram, hissed at when I occupy one of the seats on the tram, and completely ignored when waiting in line to check out at the grocery store… to name a few instances. Now I understand that all of Europe looks down on us loud, annoying Americans, but I have never experienced anything like this before.

Here is a photo of the main transportation system here in Prague, they are above ground trams and they run all over the city.

The trams we use to get around everyday.

Classes started on Monday. It was actually quite comforting to get into a routine again. It made Prague start to feel more like home rather than a four month vacation. Classes I am taking here: Economic Principles, Czech Advertising & Society, Intro to Marketing, and Czech Art & Architecture.  The last one is the class I am most excited about: 50% of class time is spent actually touring the city. Hopefully by the time that everyone comes to visit in November, I will know ALL there is to know about this beautiful city. NYU held a really nice welcome dinner for us on Monday night. They served us a really great dinner and they had an open bar with all the Pilsner Urquel and Wine you could drink. Here is the first and only picture so far of Dave and me in Prague (I guess that’s what we get for being the photographers of the group) we are standing on NYU’s balcony that looks out onto Old Town Square (the heart of Prague).

Dave & Me at NYU Welcome Dinner

Here is my main group of friends here in Prague and one of our RA’s, Lenka (All of the resident assistants for our program are actually Czech students who go to school at the Charles University here in Prague)

My main group of friends

Food. Figuring out what to eat is maybe the most difficult thing to do here in Prague. This is definitely not a good city for a vegetarian– the Czechs are all about their meats and they are delicious. A typical meal you might find for about 50 Kc (~$3 USD) is Klobása which consists of a tasty sausage, some mustard and two slices of mediocre bread:

Klobasa Meal

But the other day we stumbled into a restaurant in Staré Město (Old Town) with a cheap Daily Special Menu. The only problem is that it was entirely in Czech. I decided to just go for it and I ordered Veprove Platek… lucky for me it turned out to be a slice of Pork and it was delicious and only 75Kc (~$5 USD)

Veprove Platek

Tourists. Dave and I did a walking tour from Old Town down along the Vltava river to Vyšehrad (the first castle and establishment in Prague) Here are some photos:

Prague Castle and the Vltava River

Dave and the Dancing Building

Street Market in Old Town

Really Neat Statue

Tourist

I added a bunch of stuff to my Calendar. Dave and I are hopping over to Venice for the weekend in two weeks! We actually got a decently priced hotel in Santa Croce on the Grand Canal. Anyways, I hope all is well back in the states! Ciao!

Today. Just found out today that my boss has resigned. How this affects me: I now report directly into the Vice President of Innovation who is based in New York City and I am now the one and only person working on this web project, which makes things infinitely more difficult regarding my international transition. I am still not quite sure what to do or how to go about dealing with it and I have one week to figure it out.

In Discussion. Dave and I are trying to figure out our plans for Fall Break before we leave for Prague. Just so we have at least that one trip booked. The cities we are thinking about are: Amsterdam, Madrid and Milan. Milan was just thrown in because you have to fly through there to get back to Prague from Spain. We can fly to all 3 of these places for $380 USD!! Not bad right? Any suggestions as to other cities we should try to visit? Also, does anyone know about power converters and plugs in Prague?

Upcoming. My last day of work here in El Segundo is next Wednesday, August 20th and then it is off to Canada!

Last Weekend. Family trip to Mexico was a success. There was lots of taco eating, Olympic watching and beach going. (Remember you can click on the pictures to view a bigger size and for the grandparents: click here to leave a comment!)

Rosarito Beach, Baja California, MEXICO

Puerto Nuevo

Churros

Licores, Don Pisto

The New PORTABLE Hot Tub

The manufacturer said that it fits 4 ADULTS... boy did we prove them wrong!

Family Christmas Card perhaps?

Patty & Dave eating peaches on the drive down

Lobster Dinner

Mmmmmmmmm!!!

Second option for family xmas card