airport adventures

Today I woke up at 6am local time, 12 pm “my” time. Can you still call it jetlag even if you did not fly on a jet? Well, I thought I’d me more tired and wake up later than this, but I guess not. Last night I went to bed at 4am “my” time. I made it to Dallas!

Yesterday was a very busy day. It all went very smoothly… at the beginning. We got to the airport on time, I checked in and now they ask you all sorts of “new” questions now, like “did you borrow something from someone?, where did you pack your bags? How did you get to the airport? Where were you sitting in relation to your bags on the train?”. I went through passport control and through security in less than 40 minutes, not because there was a line (there wasn’t) but because the airport is so big I had to walk a while to get from one place to the other. We boarded and took off. 3 episodes of House, 1 top chef, 1 Fraiser, and 2 movies later (not to mention a pack of peanuts, a chicken meal, and a sandwich and chips) we got to Newark. The flight is 9+ hours and I did not sleep a wink. I was super glad that we were actually 20 minutes early arriving in Newark. Have you ever heard of a plane being early?

Once in Newark I stood in line for Immigration. Those lines are worse than at Disneyland!. I thought I’d be fine with the extra 20 minutes and the not-too-bad fast-moving line but I wasn’t. I started to worry when 45 minutes in when I wasn’t even half way through the line and I still had to go get my bags, go through customs, check the bags in again, go though security and make it to the gate. A guy was letting people with children skip ahead in line, so I asked him about my flight and if he thought I would make it. “Nah! You wont!” “WHAT!” I said. That was all. He did not even try to give me a chance… I was not bumped to the front of the line. The rest of the wait was shorter because people started piling up (I guess another plane arrived) and they opened twice as many stations. I was already prepared to miss the flight, but after seeing the time after my passport had been stamped (that was pretty uneventful), I thought I’d give it a shot. I had 30 minutes!

I ran to get my bags and got a cart to move them because after an accident in Zurich now they were both missing a wheel. I found the bags, loaded them and ran to customs. I saw that people we were just handing off their filled out forms, so I kinda got in front of a guy who was looking for something in his bag (you snooze, you loose) and gave the form to the officer and ran again! I thought: “If I am supposed to stay or have my bags checked, they will call me”. They didn’t so I kept going. I found the line for baggage check-in and it was not too long. A lady was asking people when their flights were, and a couple in front of me had a flight at 3:20, and she said “oh, my! You probably wont make it” and she took them to the front of the line. Mine was at 3:15. I followed them, even though nobody told me to, and when she saw me there she tried to send me back to the line. I showed her my boarding pass:
-Me “Mine is at 3:15!!!”
-Lady “you probably wont make it”
-Me “but I have to try
-Lady “well, the bags WONT make it”
-Me “I don’t care”
Someone took my bags and I took off running

I still had to take the monorail to get to my gate. Follow the signs, follow the signs. I got to security and the line was not too long. I guy behind me told the attendant “My flight leaves in 15 minutes, can you call and tell them to wait?” the answer: “NO”. I showed my documents and was let through. The guy ended up in line behind me and I asked him if they had done anything for him. Turned out we were on the same flight. We started asking people to let us get in front of them in line, and we made it to the front (it was only like 10 or 12 people). I put my bags (and everything else I had on the x-ray machine and walked through. I beeped! I forgot to take my passport pouch off, also my shoes. Went back thorough. This time I was OK. As I was packing my bags again the guy said “if you make it there before me, tell them there’s one more person coming”. I didn’t even put my shoes on properly and started running. I could see the gate. There was no one in line. Did everybody board? It was already 3:15 and boarding had started at 2:40. So I got to the counter:
-Me “did I make it?”
-Guy at the counter “made it where?”
-Me “made the flight?”
-Guy at the counter “oh. We haven’t boarded yet. We’re running a bit late”
-Me “…”
I had made it!!! That was my Amazing Race moment for this trip (so far)

last zurich post of the year!

hello all!
I am super excited!
In a few hours I'll be on my way to Dallas!
i have my bags packed, and my passport ready.
See you soon (some of you at least!)
ciao
jazibe

euro2008

Next year the Euro Cup (soccer championship) will be here in Switzerland, so last year Gera signed up for tickets. They have a whole lottery system where you have to sign uo to "maybe" get tickets. He requested 3 games (the ones in Zurich), and luckily he got 1 (2 tickets for 1 game)! The game is next year and only recently did they make the sorting for the groups, and turns out the game he has tickets for is Romania vs France (on June 8, 2008). The tickets are alredy selling for 600+ euros. I say "sell those tickets!!" ... we'll see....
Only a few more days... I am packing, sorting, and getting nervous. I only have 1 and a half hours in Newark to change planes and go through customs... will that be enough? I hope so.

Christmas decor

This (photo above) is the extent of my holiday decoration. That is all. There will be nothing else. Just that. Cinnamon scented toilett paper! Since we're going out of town, there's really no point.
Also, I made christmas piñatas! (which should actually have 7 pikes, not 4, but who's counting?) I will bring them to our Posada next week. I like how they turned out. Posadas are filled with symbolism, here's a bit to read: posadas.
This is the last post for november. NaBloPoMo is over! and I failed! at least I was not "official" hehe. but hey,20 posts in 30 days is my personal best! I will post a couple more things next week, but then, i am off to Dallas!

remembering

We had such a great time when the gang came to visit last may!
This is just a sample of us being silly.
here's a brief translation:
jazi- Are they here yet? (refering to the ETs, because it sounded like the mothership was landing)
robe -you're mom is going to say you're inviting "spirits" (because they lights flickered)
abril - they DO sound different (then they make no sound!)
gera- yes, they're different!

so much fun!

Today I am having my friends over and we're making pumpkin pie! I'll have some pics for you tomorrow.
later!

blast from the past: wedding

This post is better suited for our anniversary, but since i just found the CD with this pictures (i thought I had left it in Mexico), i will share them now. Our wedding was 7 and a half years and many many pounds ago! (July 29th, 2000- except the civil ceremory, which was a few weeks earlier).
I continue packing, or rather just throwing stuff in the suitcase, i will sort and pack later. I made a big calendar for the wall with special notes and reminders (take out trash, pay bills, etc) to leave everything sorted out when Gera heads out (we really dont want to repeat the cucumber incident of 2002, when we left a cucumber in the fridge during our winter vacation, and when we came back it had exploded and the whole fridge smelled horrible!).
see you soon!

happy thanksgiving!

Last night I made a mini-pseudo thanksgiving dinner from scratch! Although I cooked a chicken insetad of a turkey, everything turned out really good, and it was a first for everything except the mashed potatoes! I made bread stuffing and pumpkin pie (and not from a can!), and everything was excellent. (we suspect that it was the butter in everything that made it so sinfully delicious)
I hope everybody had a good dinner with family and friends, but remember to be thankful for your blessings everyday and not just once a year.
The clock is ticking, only 22 days until my trip!

tamales

this edition of blog brings you more cooking adventures.
Today I made corn tamales. This kind of tamales is a bit different that the traditional pork tamales (red), and they have corn, cheese and cream (and chile slices in the middle). My mom makes them when I visit (they are typical in our native state of Sonora), and they're always a favorite (with refried beans). I made a point to write down the recipe, since it is a made-up recipe, as the original/traditional has fresh white corn as the main ingredient, and i used canned. The photo is from last year's batch (my first time making them). I have only made them once since, but I totally screwed up the recipe and they were awfull, hence no tamales since then.

rosca + cooking

today i made Rosca de Reyes (king's cake). This was a test run, because a rosca is not typically eaten until January 6th. Also, you're supposed to hide a plastic baby toy and whomever gets it has to put together another party for Dia de la Candelaria, in february (12th? 2nd?.. i forget), but I was fresh out of blastic baby toys (hehe) l. The rosca turned out good, but not like a traditional rosca. This one had a bread consistency, and a rosca is more like cake. I will look for another recipe and try it again next week. I've been a lot into cooking lately. have you seen my recipe blog?

some links

some of the crafty/diy links in my collection:
not martha
ikea hacker
craftzine
etsy
ready made
instructables
threadbanger

some of the places i get my tv fix:
tudou
veoh
youtube

henna stuff:
henna page
hrnna tribe

what's up with Huevo

Our dog Huevo was left to live temporarily with my parents in Mexico. He was inside for a couple of months, but soon after i left to come here, he was moved to the laundry room (still inside, but smaller) because he caused allergies. He shares the laundry room now with 3 chihuahuas and the ocasional cat. He has loosened up a lot (he was very scared of everything!), and now goes out runing to the park and plays around with the neighborhood kids. My parents even taught him how to "shake", and before he would never ever let you touch his paws. He seems to be doing great, and I do miss him, but I am sure he is very well taken care of and happy.

random stuff

(photo: my backyard this morning)
sorry i did not post yesterday... so much for nablopomo. At least i was not "officially" registered and failed the challenge like this other person i know (hehe).
Oh well, i guess i am runing out of things to post ( i dont have a project to show, or kids to give me material).
For today, i have a collection of random stuff...
-It snowed! yes, there was snow on the ground this morning (it had snowed last week like the forecast said, but nothing stuck).
-The suitcase is OUT, and I am filling it with stuff. Seems like we're going to have a "suitcase situation" for this trip. You see, Gera brought 1 garment bag, 1 big suitcase, 1 small carry on... the big suitcase arrived all thorn, brocken and unusable. I brought 2 big suitcases, 1 small carry on (plus cumputer bag)... When the sibllings came to visit, they arrived with a brocken suitcase (the wheels broke), and when they left, they switched bags and left the brocken one here . So if you're keeping track, that means we have 2 brocken suitcases (unusable), 2 small carry-ons, 1 big suitcase, 1 garment bag. Will that be enough? i hope so... i just know that my carry-on will be heavy with chocolates... that makes me wonder about customs... i should check on that.
-yesterday i made menudo (the soup, not the boy band). It was ok, I was actually quite disapointed with the flavor... something was not right. I guess if I try to look at it from the bright side, when i go home it will taste so much better!

artsy crafty

i think i am running out of things to write (hehe), so I will write this pseudo-meme I remember reading somewhere...
-My artsy crafty self-
Crafty things I do regularly:-
henna (on skin, wood, paper), photography (not too many :(

Crafty things I've done before and enjoyed:
candle making, hemp jewelry, polymer clay beads and pendants, printmaking (silkscreen), woodworking (carpintery)
, bookmaking,

Crafty things I've done before but dont really care to do again:
origami, metal working (soldering scares me), decoupage,

Crafty things I would like to try:
mosaic making, soap making, lip gloss making, sewing, scrap booking, cake decorating, felt monsters, altered books, tiedye,

Crafty things that I dont really care for:
knitting, beading, sand art, crocheting, doll houses, quilt making,

Gera on TV!

Gera was on German TV today! I will link here to the "official" clip later. For now, the screenshots are my only evidence of our path to world domination! (muahaha) (yes, i recorded the TV :) )

Love skype!

Skype is a software/service you install on your computer, and it lets you connect and chat (voice/text/video) with other people who have skype too, FOR FREE! (You could also call regular phones, but that is not free). We use it all the time and that’s how we chat with our family every weekend without having a huge phone bill. So go to skype.com, install it, and then email to give me your username! (did i mention it is free?)
(thanks Ambica for sharing Skype with us!)

Just playing

(photo: bread on a slipper at a restaurant called "crazy Cow", kinda cool)

About a month ago Gera ordered a computer game online. It was more expensive to order it through the local (European) mac site, so we ordered through the American site, and had it shipped to Abril’s home, the she shipped it to us (we have a whole underground network… not really). The game is Civilization III (not the latest version in the Civ series, but my little powerbook is so old, it would not be able to run the latest one L ). Gera has fond memories of the previous civ games, he used to play them when he was younger. Together we had previously played the Diablo series, and another one called Shivers (similar to Myst). Well, I have been playing this game almost everyday! It is addictive! You play as a world leader, and have to build a civilization and survive wars and make scientific advances and research. Its pretty cool!

snow, books and bazaars

We are expecting some cold weather! I am sooo excited about the snow forecast. This morning we got what I thought was snow, but I guess it was more like really small hail. Whatever it was, I hope we get some more. Why so into the cold weather? I don’t know, its just fun and different for now… but I am sure I’ll be sick of it by January, and with 3 more months of cold still ahead of me.
Today I went to a used book sale and stocked up on reading material for the upcoming trip. I got couple of Koontz(s) and a couple of Deaver(s) for my thriller fix. I found out this library has a book exchange program, so I will be going back soon with some of my used books to see what other goodies I can get.
This weekend there are a lot of bazaars (and/or junk sales) going on. On Sunday there’s a Mexican Bazaar one in Zollikon (like a Zurich suburb), I think I’ll be going to that one. They are advertising food and music, and the entry is free (food not included). Although I am sure whatever food they are selling I can make better and for less $ … (look who’s all confident in their cooking abilities…)

What I am taking? What am I bringing?

(photo: typical swiss/zurich dish in a convenient packet, just add mushrooms, cream and veil... I think i am taking some of those with me...)

I am making a list, I am checking it twice!
I’ve got 1 month and 1 day before my trip to Dallas, then Ruston, then Juarez. So in my weird little ways, it is time to start packing!!! Well, at least start thinking harder about what I need to pack (the actual suitcases will make an appearance in 1 or 2 weeks).

But before anything else, first, I make a list of the things I want to EAT! Yes, EAT! I don’t want to come back and think “oh! I should have eaten---while I was there”. So in my list of things to eat I write thinks like:
-horchata (rice water with cinnamon
-hotdogs (from a special place in Juarez: parque borunda)
-Ham and cheese torta with a ton of avocado (from Victortas in Juarez)
-Sushi (from the Monday/Sunday sushi buffet: all you can eat for 120 pesos=$11US=12.50CHF… and the sushi buffet here costs at least 45 CHF! You can bet I’ll be eating there every Sunday!)
-corn tamales (maybe my mom will make them for Christmas)
-Fast food! (taco bell, arbys, burguer king, oh my!)
-Barbacoa (mmmmm, that is all I have to say)

I’ve already started a box with things I will take with me, but when the suitcase comes out of the cellar, this is what is going in there:
-the ton of chocolate bars I’ve been collecting for family and friends (will probably go in the carry-on)
-gera’s old xbox (abril and robe brought it with them as a surprise last may, but forgot the cables… and the adaptor for the plug was going to be almost as expensive as buying an xbox here, so I am taking it back to sell it on ebay)

I haven’t thought much about what I am bringing because anything I bring will somehow have to make it back sometime… but for now, this is what I am thinking:
-candy (for gera’s labmates, who always bring candy back from their home countries)
-a popup tent for baby (my friend asked me to buy her this, she cant find it here)

So let me know if you want stuff from here,,. you’ve got time to do a little research and find that special, non-fda-approved product you’ve always wanted and could not get. (I take paypal and credit cards, hehe)

my wish list

My wish list
This year Gera and I are gifting ourselves a new camera! Our current camera is a Canon Powershot A80 that has been very useful for the past 4 years, but now I even have tape on the battery opening! We really liked the swivel screen because it allowed us to take self-photos more accurately, but if we want something smaller and more lightweight, we’ll have to live without it. So behold the Canon PowerShot SD800 IS. It is not the latest model, but has what we need at almost half the price that the latest releases.


I have many more wishes on my list, but I am already getting the very best one: being with my family and friends!!

whats up with the henna?

Many of you know that I have been doing henna body art (aka henna tattoos) for many years now. At one point I had a nice online business (through ebay), and when we moved from Bloomington I had to sell ALL my henna stuff (inventory and personal stash). The only thing that was left was a half empty (or half full, depending on how you see it) shoe box with a bit of henna powder, a couple of applicators, some oils. Fortunately, my henna shoe box has grown a bit in the last year (thanks to a bit of volunteering on transating henna books to Spanish in exchange for henna stuff).
So whats up with the henna?
I have been part of the Henna Page forum, and in there I post a “monthly henna challenge” aimed at making artists of all levels try out a new technique or just go outside their comfort zone. I also participated in last year’s Holiday Gift Swap, and this year I am in too! There’s another henna group that I recently joined called Henna Tribe. With them I’ve volunteered to put together a henna design ebook (where people donate pages of designs and I put them together to be distributed). I have been working more with henna, doing a design on me (or gera) almost every weekend! Also in the works is a website about henna (bilingual), but that will not be done until probably next year.
Do you like henna?