coolest thing ever?

maybe not EVER, but seeing my cousin on the utah jazz roster has got to rank pretty high

new england fall

for as long as i can remember, i've wanted to visit new england in the fall. by all accounts, the changing of the leaves is spectacular. today, i'm getting my wish, and it's a gift from my boss.

just a couple of weeks ago i realized i was very close to getting gold status on american airlines. there are a slew of benefits, the highlights of which are the 25% increase on my frequent flyer miles, not having to pay to check bags, being able to check in at first class/priority access lines. it's not a stretch to say that this is going to revolutionize my travel in the coming year.

the problem was, that most of my events for the rest of the year are local. the one 'far' trip had already been booked on jetblue (direct flight, comfy seats, satellite tv, etc.), so i was going to be out of luck.

my boss, understanding what a difference obtaining elite status would be, asked if there was another trip i could take that i could justify. there was. one that was already on the radar, but that didn't NEED to take place until february. it's also a trip that he should take with me, but we couldn't find days for the rest of the year that we would both be available. so he told me to go ahead and go solo.

and i am. the other bonus of this trip is that it was significantly cheaper for me to stay an extra day. and because of the airport and meeting locations, i have to rent a car. what that means is that i will actually get to see some of the landscape outside of boston proper...walden pond, louisa may alcott's 'little women' home, and salem, to name a few. as you might imagine, i'm quite excited.

i thought i might be going a little early for good foliage, but according to yankeefoliage.com (yes, there is a map for new england foliage!), the leaves, while not yet at peak, are turning.



should be a great trip!

project city date update

well, san antonio was kind of a bust. unless of course you count the girl who drove three hours to see me. but, since it was a pretty short turn around, i will not let it deter me. the update is that there is a new city...boston!

i'll be in boston from October 7-9, although the 8th is the only viable night to meet that special boston someone. as such, i'm not including it on the official list, but if you know a great single guy in boston (or have friends that might) send them my way!

san antonio

san antonio is another of my favorite us cities. the first three days were cold and rainy, if you can believe it, but the sun finally came out in time for anne's arrival. recently having moved to houston, she made the three hour drive to come spend some time with me.

my hotel was on the river walk, with the balcony overlooking the river below. it made for an easy two block walk to the alamo, the first stop for our day together.


we didn't spend too much time there as we wanted to get on a river tour before it got too hot and too crowded.

this is my second time doing the tour, and although i was annoyed that the price went up from $2 to $8.25 in two years, it's still in an enjoyable trip. best of all, it lets you see a large portion of the river walk without having to walk at all. for someone who clocks an average of 5 to 12 walking miles per day at these conferences (which i know thanks to the little pedometer gift i got from the show staff) extra walking is not on the top of my to do list. a nice scenic boat ride is more my speed!


we learned about the history of the river, saw some interesting buildings, and took a lot of photos.


after the river ride, it was time for another passport stamp. although anne admitte that she had been dreading this one, she agreed to take me to the san antonio missions national historic park. i myself did not know what to expect, but as i've often found, the national park organization is full of unexpected wonders. this was one such case.


we went to the main mission (there are 4 or 5 included), the san jose mission, and it was absolutely spectacular! anne was also pleasantly surprised, commeting 'who needs the alamo?!'


it was a super hot day, at least for me, since my de-adjustment to humidity, but despite the sweat dripping into my eyes (literally), there were to many great photos that seemed to be taking themselves.


after wandering around the grounds for a good amount of time, we made the next stop a nostalgic one. right around the corner from the mission was a sonic. since anne and i used to drive for an hour+ just to get sonic in virginia, this almost seemed to easy.


but on the principle of having to work for it...on the second attempt at taking the above photo without the weird arms crossed thing we both did for some reason, our awkward position prevailed and my rt. 44 strawberry limeade became a rt. 22 strawberry limeade, right before part of my shake ended up in out of the cup and in the footwell. it was pure comedy of errors.

it was back to the ranch at that point for a little more work, then a yummy dinner at a yummy steakhouse before calling it a night!

since i had to work the next day, anne and i said goodbye that morning and she headed home to houston while i wrapped up the conference, and headed home myself the next day.

i actually get to be home for almost an entire month now and i couldn't be more excited.

iphone: a memoir

some time ago i posted the contents of my trunk with the supposition that it served as a fairly accurate self-portrait. since then, the iphone has come along, and with the hours of travel time yesterday getting to san antonio, i not only finished the lost symbol, but started wondering if my apps would 'define' me. :D

i'll admit that i'm a little obsessed with the iphone. whenever i am talking with someone who has one, i like to look at their apps. it gives you a completely unique perspective on people. so, partly because i believe in sharing (and i know at least one person with a brand new iphone), here's the iphone self-portrait.

the most used apps

calendar, contacts, safari, app store - all stock apple
facebook - where all my mobile pics and updates come from
tweetdeck - okay, so maybe this isn't the 'most used' but i'm trying to self-motivate
fring - multi-platform chat program
skype - i plan on making a lot of cheap international calls in germany ;)
idisk - mobile access to my mobile me account
ipod - stock
camena - play a song in the ipod, open camena and see the lyrics
shazam- hear a song you like on a commercial, in a movie, in a grocery store? shazam will listen and identify
errands - a great to do list
assistant - track various accounts in travel, banking, utilities... i love this app
evernote - a far superior alternative to the apple 'notes' app.
voice memos - stock apple. i've used this mostly to record sections of audio books in my car so i can capture a good quote or passage

photos, travel, and random commons

camera, photos - stock apple
smugshot - easy access to my smugmug account to post or view
color splash - a fun photo tool
flight track - an indispensible app for tracking my flights (i've learned about delays before they are announced at the gate), and getting gate info
itranslate - how do you say 'where is the bathroom?' in german? ;)
metro - metro systems for a wide list of cities
american airlines - this is not an app, but rather a website added to my home screen
tip for my new iphone owner friend - if you want to save a website to your home screen that does not come 'built in' with an icon, simply zoom the site as far as you like to create your own icon. whatever is on the screen when you add the page will become your icon.
upacking list - a recent download that should get a lot of use
currency - how many dollars is a euro worth?
frankfurt - a temporary app that will hopefully guide me to the train station from the airport!
postman - create your own virtual postcards and email them or share them via blog, facebook, etc.
google maps - stock apple, and boy do i love it
twc - also indispensable. it's how i knew it would be raining in san antonio
bofa - gotta know how broke i am at all times :)
calculator - stock apple. oddly i use this all the time!

reading, music, movies/tv, health/fitness

scriptures - a great interface
goodreads mobile - the mobile version of one of my favorite sites
wikipedia - for every search happy brain
bloglines - my chosen feed reader (also a website, not an app)
itunes - stock
pandora - if you don't know pandora, try it, you'll like it
music 2 - as long as i have the desktop program open on my computer, i can access my entire 70gb music library from my 8gb iphone
remote- turns my iphone into a remote for my laptop
now playing - movie listings with auto location search. also includes dvd releases
i.tv - localized tv listings
phone flicks - easy access to my netflix account
you tube - stock apple
24 hour fitness - a website for my local club's class schedule
lose it - weight loss tracker
yoga stretch & relax - portable yoga for all my traveling

food and random

urbanspoon & yelp - indispensable tools for finding restaurants in unfamiliar cities
epicurious - a great recipe library
open table - for getting reservations at those restuarants
npr, discovery channel, e! online, and pop candy - entertaining time wasters
boxed up - keeps track of all my earthly desires (a website, not app)
keeper - password storage
clock - my travel alarm clock
air mouse - turns my iphone into a wireless mouse for my computer
deliveries - package tracking so i know when the new toys are arriving
iball - my own personal magic 8 ball
astrology & iscope - mindless entertainment

random and games

natural cures - a new app i'm still test driving. name speaks for itself
eye-fi - upload photos easily to my smugmug
amazon.com - shopping!
my wireless - easy access to my mobile bill
photo - similar concept as the music app. can access photos remotely
ruler - turns the iphone into a ruler :)
games and games

so there you have it, a visual diagram of tara. as you might have noticed, i tend to like to 'group' my apps when it makes sense, which also says a lot about me. :D

so what about you? have an iphone? what apps can't you live without?