Budapest, Coffee, and Wine

I had my first real European adventure this last weekend. Around the end of December I decided it was time to start touring the European countries around me- I really didn't have a preference as to where I was going to go, I just had to be able to afford it. Fast forward two weeks- Budapest, Hungary. Absolutely beautiful city. There's an energy to it that I really like and I have a feeling that it has something to do with the many coffee shops everywhere. You see, the coffee culture hasn't hit Denmark yet. I'll give them 10 years. 


Honestly- I love being in Denmark but I don't quite understand how a coffee addict like myself ended up in a country with no Starbucks. The only Starbucks that exists in my area is in the Copenhagen airport.  How much do you want to bet that I had a ''real'' coffee before my flight? 


If you ever have a chance to see Budapest, I'd definitely recommend it. Here's a couple pics of me in Budapest that my photographer friend took. 

To get back home I had to take almost every form of transportation available besides a boat. 3 metro trains, 2 buses, one plane, and 2 trains. Sunday was a long day. :D


My home state is Washington and I just want to give a shout out to our wine there. Apparently it MUST be good because they served it at Obama's big State dinner where none other then Jackie Chan attended! And of course, the Chinese President Hu Jintao... And from the Washington Examiner:

"Obama repeatedly stressed that he is seeking "a level playing field" for U.S. companies doing business with China. The White House has been pressuring China on economic issues that include monetary policy and trade imbalance."

That's all very well to want a level playing field but in my opinion, when you owe someone a large sum of money you pretty much lose your chance at a level playing field. Just saying. It is a nice picture to dream about. However, I don't think the Chinese politicians like Americans too much. I seem to recall Sha Zukang saying just that at one point. I think he had too much to drink before he said that though- but I can't quite remember. 


But all of that really won't matter by December 2012 seeing as we will all be dead.. Or at least George Lucas thinks we'll be dead. At least we have until 2012- Dr. Kermit Gosnell made it so quite a few wouldn't ever even have the chance of dying on 2012.  From philidelphia.cbslocal.com we have:

“I am aware that abortion is a hot-button topic,” said District Attorney Seth Williams. “But as district attorney, my job is to carry out the law. A doctor who knowingly and systematically mistreats female patients, to the point that one of them dies in his so-called care, commits murder under the law. A doctor who cuts into the necks severing the spinal cords of living, breathing babies, who would survive with proper medical attention, is committing murder under the law.”

I really don't care what your opinion on abortion is... the whole thing is really awful and I hope he gets the full extent of whatever they can give him when it comes to the law. 

You're SOOOO Vain

Carly Simon sings a song “You’re so Vain.” When I was growing up my music exposure was limited and I heard that song for the first time in the movie “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.” One of my favorites as far as typical chick flicks go. I'm sure that had something to do with Matthew McConaughey. There’s a line in the song that goes “I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee, clouds in my coffee.” Now I’m sure there’s a real and official interpretation of that line, but I haven’t bothered to use Google and look it up. Here’s what I believe it means.

I was house-sitting for a family a few months ago. They have this beautiful sweet kitty who does not like alone time. It was one of those mornings where you really needed your coffee and I gave in to the desire. I made myself coffee and then went for the milk. I can go without sugar… but I really do like my milk. I poured it in and to my dismay, all these white flakes jumped to the top. So in the song, my interpretation would be dreams gone sour. Never drink coffee or any beverage when there are white flakes at the top. 

In China the one child rule is under discussion. Apparently China would like extra workers and additional members for a society that is growing older. In my family I’m one of eight. It’s strange to think of only being allowed to have one child. If my parents had lived in China I would not exist. Stop.Listen would not exist. I think one day I would like to go to China and see it. It is a country that is indeed fascinating. Maybe if a family is allowed two children China will have more girls!  

On a side note, I try not to discriminate by saying things like “I don’t like all people who live in Antarctica!”  Sha Zukang a UN official for China said “I don’t like Americans” amongst a lot more. It must be tiring to have to put on an open and negotiating peaceful front all the time. In politics it’s all about diplomacy. If your opening words are insulting your chance of influencing the second party is pretty much nil. Unless they dig the insult thing.  When it comes to politics or religion one could talk until their face was blue and the other person would likely still stick to their guns. That’s why I find debating somewhat pointless. Nobody wants to change their mind! Most people I know hate change. If there’s change I’m initiating, I’ll initiate it as slow as I can. The end result is something we’re pleased with but the getting there is a difficult process. 

To burn or not to burn. I don’t know what your opinion is… but if it was any other book besides the Koran I doubt anybody would care. 

And that’s Emily reporting to you live from Sk- Washington. 

By the way, I just read an article that discussed the use of facebook as a correlation to one’s narcissism tendencies. Interesting.  I’m starting to feel defensive. 

The Evils of Google

Is it just me or has Google been in the news a lot this last month? Usually about invasion of privacy, China and Google, Germany and Google, or “bedbugs sighted in Google’s Office!” I suppose the last one is the most amusing.  So if Google’s getting the heat from all over right now, how do YOU feel about Google?

They’ve recently added a feature called Google Dashboard so you can see what kind of information Google collects about you and how public that information is to others.  I use Google as my primary search tool, I like how it looks and I haven’t had much opportunity to locate something else. Apparently Chrome has a function that allows you to search “privately.” I don’t believe that really solves anything though.  I have a conspiracy theorist inside me though, so I always think there’s probably more than meets the eye in most situations.

If you want to check out Google and privacy, look up google.com/privacy. On the left side you’ll see a link titled Dashboard. Go ahead and click it, you might just learn something about yourself.

People are not happy with Google and now they’re speaking out about it.  If you‘ve ever been to Times Square you were probably one in a million walking about. A 15 second clip of the movie below will be advertised there around Christmas. Check this video out: Can we all say CREEPY together? Wait... that would probably be even more creepy.



So in my last post I talked about Starbucks. I really do spend a lot of time there so that makes us pretty tight. I read a story about a 28 year old woman who stepped out of her car and was heading into Starbucks when an African American woman threw acid in her face. Her eyes were saved by her sunglasses but can we all say HATE CRIME? That’s so awful! And she was right outside a Starbucks I visit all the time in Vancouver Washington. Eeek. It gets worse, the same thing happened to a woman getting out of her car and heading to her home. Her HOME!! What’s up with these people? Dude. Like are you serious?? I suppose that means we should all be on our guard no matter where we’re headed. It's disturbing.

By the way, I learned how to take snap shots of my screen- thrilled! I love having techy brothers and knowing how to use the Google search function.

And that's Emily reporting to you live from Sk-Washington.
Stay safe and enjoy the holiday!

Cribbage, Tigers, and Accounting

I learned how to play Cribbage last night. Get a couple competitive people around one of those boards and you will have a show worth watching. Cribbage involves a bit of math though. Some people feel that because I’m an accountant, I must be good with numbers. That is not true. I USED to be good with numbers… but in textbook accounting it’s not all about addition. Oh yes, you have to add up huge columns of numbers and hope the equalize. But that’s what I have a trusty HP Financial Calculator for.

I have decided that it is in my best interest to become a good cribbage player. Therefore, I shall have to learn to add basic math again. Cribbage came around in the 1600s. There was a card game called “Noddy” beforehand that was tweaked/fixed up till it became Cribbage. If you haven’t ever played Cribbage, go buy a board, find a friend, and play. John Suckling (yes, that‘s really his name) is known for the “tweaking.”

My friends, I want to be the first to inform you… but I know that shall not be the case. We are losing our Wild Tigers. According to Reuters we  have less than 50 in China. You know when you leave your nice car in a bad place in the city, you come back only to find the wheels and rims gone, etc… and not much left? Well there’s a tiger trade in China that is alive and well. They use the poor things down to their whiskers. So it should not be a surprise that the tigers are near extinction.  If you want more information check out this website:

Oh and it looks like Mel Gibson is in for it. But that might have been the case for awhile. He was always one of my favorite actors too.

And that’s Emily reporting to you live from HB, California.

Peru, Casa Inka, Resomation, and UFO's

If you have never eaten at a Peruvian Restaurant you are missing out on a treat. A treat that I myself missed out on until last night.

In the 1500’s the Spanish Conquistadors conquered Peru. One of the more well known and developed Andean civilizations, captured by the Spanish Conquistadors, was known as the Inca Empire. If you are inclined to thank someone for founding Lima, the capital of Peru, you can thank Francisco Pizarro.

So, what do Peruvians eat. According to this website their diet regularly consists of  “potatoes, rice, beans, fish, and various grains.” The seafood is a logical extension of Peru being bordered by the South Pacific Ocean. And yes, lots of starch. I had the opportunity to sample Yucca root last night. It’s actually kind of tasty. It tastes a bit like sweet potato only drier.

The Restaurant, Casa Inka, is doing well despite the economy. Though it was Thursday night it felt like a Friday night. The waiter was excellent and the atmosphere was casual. We settled on seafood that was done just right.

Between psychic parakeets, psychic octopuses, and saving the environment through resomation, I’ve decided resomation is a topic worth mentioning.  Microsoft Works Word Processor thinks I’m misspelling it and the word isn‘t in their dictionary. Burials and Cremations are becoming a thing of the past. Why would someone choose resomation? Less energy used and less carbon dioxide expensed into the air. They use alkali, pressure, and heat to take care of remains. The process has been around for a bit and it appears to be controversial. Maybe I’m only looking at the surface but if someone wanted to do that, why not?

UFO sighted in China and stopped flights going out. I think I’d be a bit annoyed if I was at the airport trying to get somewhere. Especially considering it’s just a military craft that’s top secret.

And that’s Emily reporting to you live from HB, California.