So I’m back from our little holiday to Miami. It was an experience alright! Vacations take on a whole new meaning once you have a toddler in tow! The flight to Miami went well. Rockstar baby behaved, fell asleep for about an hour, and then was awake for the rest of the 3.5-hour flight. We entertained him for a bit and he was content to eat his Cheerios and be read to, but towards the end, he just wanted out of the darn plane! At least he didn’t throw a tantrum and didn’t have any screaming fits. (The flight back home was even better since he was asleep the whole time!)
We stayed at my parents’ condo in Sunny Isles (aka the North Miami Beach area) which is totally not baby-proofed! Within the first hour, rockstar baby did the following: banged his head on the mirrors (he just doesn’t pay attention when he’s walking), spilled a bottle of olive oil on the floor, and threw a garbage can in the toilet! He loves to explore and walk around, so most of our energy was spent watching him and doing damage control. |
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that's my parent's condo in the background |
first day on the beach |
Having lunch at Sushi Samba - South Beach
Chilling at Bayside Marketplace
There were just a couple of things I realized when we got there:
1) Forget visions of sunbathing by the beach/pool: Unless you have a nanny (or other caretaker) with you, there is no sunbathing on the beach while reading a book or drinking a frozen cocktail.
2) Forget the nightlife: Unless you have a nanny/caretaker with you, there is no such thing as going dancing/clubbing at night.
However, we still had an amazing time together as a family. Watching rockstar baby walking around on the beach was wonderful in and of itself! It was great to just wake up together and not have to scramble to go to work. We ate lunch out, spent tons of time with rockstar baby (we had no choice! ;), did some sight-seeing, and stayed in at night. Which is just fine with the hubs and I since we’ve been to Miami several times already (we go about once a year or so). I wanted to take him to the zoo and the parrot jungle, but realized he was just too young to do those things. Another year perhaps?
Our next holiday will be at the beach again –this time, at the local NJ shore for a wedding around Labor Day Weekend. But only driving, no flying involved. There’s also the possibility of going to the Philippines in December, but I have to think twice about flying for 18+ hours with rockstar baby --in coach! I just don’t know if I can do it!
p.s. SPECIAL SHOUT-OUT to KAI: She designed and uploaded this kick-arse new template of mine. Isn't she talented folks? Much love and thanks Kai!Labels: rockstar baby, the travel bug
welcome to miami, bienvenido a miami...
I'm off on holiday! We're taking rockstar baby on his first vacation to sunny Miami. We're leaving tomorrow and coming back on Tuesday, Feb 27th. I'm really looking forward to the sunny weather (it's a predicted 81-degrees over there versus 32-degrees over here), eating out every day, and hopefully getting a tan since I've been looking rather pasty. What I'm not looking forward to the plane trip and lugging the baby's stuff (i.e., the stroller, carseat, etc.) Since it's rockstar baby's first plane ride, we have no idea how he'll behave. Everyone's told us to just give him some Benadryl to knock him out --and they weren't kidding! But we'll see how it goes... Wish us luck! Have a good weekend folks!
Labels: family matters, the travel bug
Schmoozing, Kalamansi Martinis and a Celeb-Sighting
I went to a Filipino Lawyer’s gathering last night at the behest of my pops. It was held at Cendrillon –a Pan-Asian/Filipino/Fusion restaurant in Soho. I actually thought it was a cocktail reception type of thing but it turned out to be an actual dinner with a number of Filipino lawyers. My dad was the ‘most seasoned’ one there I believe, and all the rest were about twenty and thirty-somethings. I haven’t been to any networking, cultural-based shindig/meeting in a long time. The last I’ve ever done is be part of the Asian American Law Students' Association back in law school. So it was very interesting to be part of that whole thing all over again.
I’ve been to Cendrillon a few years back, and the food was still good. They also had buko and kalamansi martinis which were very soothing and refreshing. The entrees were enjoyable and cleverly prepared, but not down-home Filipino cooking (so don’t expect that if you do go). Like I said, this is more of a Pan-Asian type of place. Cendrillon is owned by one of my dad’s old frat buddies (whom I’ve never met), but unfortunately he wasn’t there last night.
But who was there? Ms. Claire Danes of “This place smells like cockroaches” fame. A few years back, she caused a bit of controversy when she uttered that phrase (or something to that effect) about the Philippines when she was there to film Brokedown Palace. So a bunch of us whispered what she was doing in the restaurant! Hee-hee. Well I do like her as an actress even after that statement, but I no longer think of her as a refined or intelligent person. (What’s weird is I’ve actually seen her in person before in Los Angeles –they filmed an episode of her show “My So-Called Life” at my school. I didn’t see Jared Leto though! He was my crush at the time).
Schmoozing and networking is not my thing, and it’s even more uncomfortable with my dad next to me. I dunno why, but I felt I had to “mind” him for lack of a better word. He held his own though, despite the fact that he mentioned a few people he knew from back in the day that we younger folks wouldn’t have a clue about. I had a good time and met a few young attorneys I would actually like to hang out with on a normal basis. Like this guy Justin who was hilarious. There was also this guy there who apparently is my dad’s adversary in a pending case. I said out loud “is that the guy you don’t like?” Hahahah… well I only said that because my dad complained about the fact that he failed to show up in court a couple of times. I saw them talking to each other and I think they’re on cordial terms.
All in all, I had a good time and would enjoy meeting up the group again. I just wish it was more of a cocktail setting rather than an actual 3-hour dinner!Labels: rockstar baby, the travel bug
