Virtual Christmas Gifts

Finances are tighter than ever, with this recession, and with the financial savings and honeymoon budget goals and all. But this year, I would like to wish myself a very Merry Christmas with the following virtual Christmas gifts (since noone else will buy these for me):

Liveaboard Trip in Palau (Price: $2300/person - Big Blue Explorer)

First and foremost among my virtual gifts to myself would be a scuba liveaboard trip to Palau (see above). The price is $2300/person for 7 days aboard the cheapest liveaboard in Palau, the Big Blue Explorer. This includes up to 5 dives/day, all meals and even transportation from the airport. Why Palau you might ask? It is considered one of the best places to dive in the world, and certainly one of the most varied places to dive, featuring a jellyfish lake, WWII wrecks, coral reefs, sharks and all. Furthermore, there are tons of above land attractions: one of the most famous WWII battle sites was on the Palau island of Peliliu, and some of the most exotic South Pacific culture can be experienced on the neighboring island of Yap.

Resistance 2 (Price: $71.99 from OnSale.com)

Resistance 2, is a violent, "first-person-shooter" game. Based on the prequel with the same name, this new game is supposedly badder than the first. The game's name, by the way, is a double entendre. There is the resistance against malevolent aliens attacking Earth, but there is also the resistance that the protaganist, Nathan Hale, has against the alien virus, which prevents him from completely transforming into an alien species, but allows him to obtain some of the alien's super-human strength. We have spent many an hour, without eating, or going to the bathroom, playing the former game. I am up for the challenge of playing the sequel.

La Furla Handbags (Price: $408.87 from zappos.com)

I do have a girly-girl side. And I do espouse somewhat to the philosophy that a very high-quality handbag goes a long way to dressing up a person. I could literally wear sweats, Uggs and either of the above handbags and NOT look like a baglady. Look at the luxurious leather, and the perfect proportions. (Sigh.) My purses get trashed after one year, and money spent on a handbag, however, would not be a dollar well spent.

Trench Coat Like the Burberry Ivybridge Trench (Price: $1,295 from burberry.com)

I have been searching for a while for a basic trench coat, much like the one pictured above. The joy is in the search as much as in the usage, and the Burberry trench coat, is one of those investment items that you can wear forever. However, the price is prohibitive. So I have been eyeing a much less expensive version by Soia & Kyo, below. Still debating, however. It doesn't look as classic as the original Burberry.

Soia & Kyo Black Trench (Price: $119 - 50% off at Nordstroms.com )

California Academy of Sciences

If you are a designer in any way, whether it be of mechanical systems, of interiors, or of anything for that matter, you may be interested in visiting the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. This newly reopened museum, which supposedly cost $500 million dollars and 10 years to build, is a well designed experience.

Most prominent is the fact that the Academy is an Aquarium, Natural History Museum and Planetarium all rolled up into one, which breaks previous molds for science museums. Furthermore, these entities are mixed together. For instance, the 4-story rainforest and Amazon river exhibit (see above) are housed in the same glass dome. Much has been done to break down the glass barrier between the viewer and the exhibit. The rainforest, for instance, houses orchids, tropical birds, butterflies, and even tiny frogs out in the open for viewers to experience first hand.

A most bizarre experience can be had by gazing down into the Amazon river exhibit from high up in the rain forest canopy. Looking down into the water, you see giant catfish, arapaima ... and people. There is a a tunnel underneath the river, allowing people to gaze upwards at the fish, and people gazing down from the rainforest.

Breaking another mold of sorts is the museum's architecture. The traditional museum is a neoclassical monstrosity, replete with left and right wings, tall columns, and imposing stone steps. Exhibits are designed to fit within the confines of this stone building. Not vice versa. In contrast, the new building is designed around it's two key exhibits: the planetarium and the rainforest. Indeed, the building seems almost shrink-wrapped around these dual domes. The green expanse of the building's living rooftop is broken up only by the twin spheres forming these exhibits.

The museum is almost as entertaining from a design perspective, as it is from a natural history perspective. What's missing from making the museum the most fully integrative for the viewer would be a few water slides, and some scuba gear.

Thanksgiving NorCal Style

Below, some images from our quintessential, Northern Californian Thanksgiving weekend.

Maverick's Surf Area

Half Moon Bay Tide Pool

"The Age of Innocence" - A Book Review

Michelle Pfeiffer and Daniel Day Lewis star in "The Age of Innocence" the movie

Having just completed the book, I can't wait to see "The Age of Innocence" the movie. This movie stars Daniel Day Lewis as the protagonist, Newland Archer, Winona Ryder as his beautiful, but dull wife, May, and Michelle Pfeiffer as the outsider, Countess Olenska. I am looking forward to seeing the beautiful costumes, the sumptuous opera nights, and the exotic dinners that fill the days of the rich, according to author, Edith Wharton's portrayal of Old New York.

This book is about the strict social rules governing rich New York society. Surprisingly, in trying to emulate the ornate social rules of the Old World, the New York upper classes have out-stiffed the Europeans. Europe at this equivalent time was more liberal and tolerant (interpreted by New Yorkers as more decadent). It was at about this approximate time frame that Emily Post, Edith Wharton's peer, wrote her seminal book, "Etiquette".

Young and rich, Newland Archer can play the social game. On the verge of marrying May Welland, a gorgeous, but conventional and unimaginative young woman, Newland meets Ellen Olenska. Ellen Olenska is an outsider, with the taint of Europe and scandal surrounding her reputation. Through very few, but poignant interactions in which the two characters barely touch each other, Newland falls desperately in love with Ellen. In Ellen, he sees living outside of the narrow limits of New York society as a possibility for the first time. In Newland, Ellen finds the rarity and intense beauty of unconsummated love.

I won't completely describe the most chilling moment of the book. But in short, the New York "tribe", which had been rallying around the wronged wife, May, succeed in maneuvering the two lovers apart through chilly demeanor at one ornate dinner party.

When viewing how strictly regulated society was at that time, I am reminded how life in the Silicon Valley is just as limited and narrow, but in a different way. I, like Newland, feel that I could be living life in a Bigger way. We are all in this rat race to appear in control, go on more expensive vacations, start one's own business ventures. Perhaps, like Newland, I see glimpses of how to live life outside of this rat race. But, like Newland, I am pulled back into the fray.