Happy Little Accidents

Painting is tough, but Bob Ross made it look so easy. I thought Vanessa had wasted her money by signing us up for a painting lesson. It was a special lesson in which it involves painting your pet. The paintings they showed on their website were amazing and I thought that ours would not even come close to that. It was a four hour class and with our cats already pre-sketched onto the canvasses, we took helm at bringing our kitties to life. The instructor was pretty knowledgeable about the style he wanted us to follow, and his helpers were always walking around. It was tough at times trying to blend colors and keeping the paint wet and thin, and the middle stage of the painting was awful to look at. I was hesitant and reluctant to believe that it will turn out okay when he told us to use colors that don't match our pets, but I was wrong. Towards the end, it was coming together, and I could see our cats. It was a fun and draining experience, and it tickles the idea of picking up this hobby, but not now.

Was that really him?

A few weekends ago, Vanessa and I sketched out a route circling downtown Los Angeles. We wanted to visit famous buildings and parks to work on my photography. We were able to visit Greystone Park, Park Ave Building, and the Fine Arts Building. These local sights were mostly empty and quiet, which was a nice change compared to other L.A. landmarks.

We stopped by Joan's on Third for lunch and Vanessa saw someone at the line resembling Leonardo DiCaprio. At first, I just shrugged it off as a look-a-like since he was disguised with a cap and sunglasses. But as I saw the the girls behind him trying to get a good look at him with eyes wide open, my doubts faded. He placed his order and immediately left the building, having his friend wait for the take-out. It was fucking Leonardo DiCaprio.

Indian Cuisine

I apologize for being absent here in the past two months. I will regret this is the future, I'm sure of it. To be fair, however, it will be easy to catch up.  We have gotten hooked with yet another leisure activity.  The obsession this time around is Indian cuisine.  Ever since I started working with the Ghelani family last July, I feel in love with their exotic dishes.  Vanessa and I tried several places before discovering the local hidden gem down the street from her house.  We have gone once a week for the past five weeks, it is ridiculous.

This will also mark the place where both Vanessa's and my mom meet for the first time.  It was pretty sudden for the meet, but it went surprisingly well despite the language barrier.  Mrs. Navarro was nervous, so she brought Krystal for moral support, haha.  Naturally, I was the translator for the two, as they joked about their children and husbands.  After the dinner, Mrs. Navarro gave my mom a grand tour of the unfinished house and their animals.  My mom had a smile the whole time, which was nice.

Life is swell.

Weeks are going by much faster these days.  Things have been good, and I feel good.

I'm in the last steps of finishing my application for graduate school.  My finances are still unstable, so hopefully furthering my education will help with my career.  My job hasn't changed much, I'm still patiently waiting for more hours, giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Vanessa and I have been practicing our archery in her backyard.  We have improved a lot and its barely the beginning!  It will be a matter of time until I get mine, :).  

Let's get turtles

We arrived at the Bahamas on our second day of the cruise. And we had one full day to explore the paradise. After much reviewing and contemplating, Vanessa and I decided that we had to visit Atlantis, the fancy resort we all saw on television as a child. We took a cheap ferry ride over and we purchase an all day Beach and Aquarium pass. We had access to two beaches and multiple aquarium exhibits. With the water so blue and the sand so white, my eyes were squinted even smaller. We laid in the given beach chairs as Bahamians frequently stroll by to sell us fresh coconuts, drinks, and toy turtles (that's right, toy turtles). The guy who sold those had a weird, yet hilarious sales pitch, "The sun is out, it's hot as hell, let's get some turtles."

We eventually left and took a cab back to the port where we explored the straw market, a place where you can find both neat souvenirs and hecklers. And with time being our enemy, we had our last stop at the bar for a few drinks and we headed back to our ship before it got dark. With one day remaining left on the cruise, we spent it sleeping and eating, sighing on the fact that our vacation is nearly over. Time to save up again for our next trip, because this one was perfect.