Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

Today it just happened to coincide that I went to the Ronald Reagan museum on the 4th of July. I was hoping that there wouldn't be school tours and most people would be home with family enjoying their vacation day, but I was wrong. There was a big celebration with bands, face painting, hot dogs and water balloon tosses, dressed up presidents for pictures and other festivities. Since I had other plans that evening I got there within the first half hour of opening and boy was I glad I did. The cars were parked all the way down the long winding street that leads to the library by the time I left.

Once again a sunny day in southern California, I enjoyed the band for a small bit outside in the courtyard wishing I had a swing partner to dance with me. Then it was on to the tour of the library itself.

I've been to a couple other presidential libraries and this was indeed a very nice one. I think had I not been getting a blister on my toe and also been worried about the time I would have enjoyed it more. There was much to see and read.

This library is well known for it's inclusion of Air Force One, the actual plane that Reagan flew across the world with numerous times in his time as president. They have the plane set up so you can walk in the front just behind the pilot and controls and then wander back and exit at the rear where the press would have entered. Because it was a walk-through it seemed a little bizarre. Walls and doors were missing, a wax figure sat stiffly in a seat, curtains were drawn, and ropes were up with signs forbidding entry. There was no photography allowed, although I watched as two people snapped pictures on their phones before the third was reprimanded. If you're in my circles on google+, new photos will be added there eventually....still working on my last trips pictures first.

All in all, there was a nice flow with good definition between the rooms. Plenty of hands on fun for the kids (and adults), and numerous videos of varying lengths. So far this is in the top two of my favorite libraries. Can't decide yet between the Reagan and Bush library in College Station. Both had pros and cons that I really enjoyed or disliked. I'll have to weigh them all for a few days before declaring my verdict of favorite.

So glad I went. Not sure I should have spent the money at this point in time, but I was here, had the opportunity, had the motivation, and the interest. I couldn't say no. Next library to visit, LBJ in Austin. Slowly working my way through, learning of history, learning of people, learning of places, learning of myself.

Visit Boston MA

Half a year ago I took a short trip to Boston and recently in my continual state or reorganization and moving I came across the itinerary that I had planned. I'd thought I'd write some of the things down so that if anyone is interested in a trip to Boston or has been and would like to discuss it would be helpful.

I was there for three days and four nights. And I packed a lot into that time. The first day began with a trip to the Boston Public Main Library. It's a famous historical landmark and it's free! Centrally located, it's easy to walk to or take the subway and it's worth the time because the building is so beautiful. And who doesn't like a vast room lined with old books and that old musty smell?

Then it was on to the Museum of Science. At the time I was there they had the Pompeii exhibit. Wow, was that amazing. If that exhibit comes near you I highly recommend going because it's very good. Otherwise, the museum was a bit lackluster. I much prefer other science museums I've been to over this one.

After the Science Museum, I opted for the Natural History Museum at Harvard. It had several interesting rooms and so very many animals inside. I couldn't stop taking pictures. It was well laid out and quite informative without being exhausting.

Just down the street was a thing some people may or may not find interesting, but I certainly did. In the Mary Baker Library was a 1611 King James Bible. Apparently it's on tour so if you hear about it nearby you should see it just for the historical worth. The pages and binding and print and language were so intriguing. Some of it was almost impossible to read and certainly reading it out loud like they used to would have been quite difficult because of the extreme elaborate font. But I guess you get used to it like you get used to everything else eventually. It was very cool to see such an important piece of old history.

And if I hadn't been to enough museums yet, I decided to go to the MIT campus museum. This was hands down my favorite museum of the whole vacation. They had a cool Robots exhibit as well as many other ones that were just super fascinating. I spent hours there and it's not that big of a museum, but you just can't take in enough. And some of the items on display are so interesting you just want to not move on to the next . And they have lots of hands on displays too which of course are always fun. Highly recommend this museum if you ever get to Boston. The campus is pretty cool too!

Now on to the topic of food. I like lots of ethnic variety so first I stopped at Lucy's Ethiopian Cafe. If you've have traditional Ethiopian before you will not enjoy this cafe. I didn't. The flavors weren't as good and the service style was too contemporary for me.

Kaze Shabu Shabu (Japanese Hot Pot) was excellent!! Went there for lunch on the second day and there was a big menu with lots of variety of noodles, meat, fish, and broths. It was super duper tasty but....the service was hideous. Our waitress actually left and we had to ask a couple times to different waitresses to get water and dessert and our check. It was absolutely terrible. However, I think it was just our waitress because all the other ones were running around serving guests and clearing tables. It was just ours that went missing in action. Sad. Good food though.

Skipped lunch one day to get as much museum time in as possible, but enjoyed a lovely dinner at the Oceanaire Seafood Room. Open design place with great service. Dressy place but they didn't turn us away for being slightly under dressed. Food was good. I wouldn't say to the level the service was, nor the price. But definitely not bad in any regard. It's a popular place on the tourist list and nicely located and not a waste of time to eat there, but if you have very refined taste like me, I'll tell you where you should go instead.

Menton French Restaurant!!!!!! Far and away the best food I've had in a while. Very knowledgeable and attentive staff. Definitely five star restaurant. It's the traditional pre fixe menu of three or four courses. I opted for three and was treated to a free cheese plate and amouse bouch. Everything was cooked to perfection and tasted superb. The wine suggestion was spot on and to top it off, the check was not as much as I'd expected! You'll pay more in NY or Vegas for sure and the food and service here was cream de la cream. Make sure to make a reservation though because this place got packed! I arrived at the very beginning of the dinner hour with only one other couple and when I left there were no empty tables. This is definitely a place to eat while in Boston.

For an evening of enjoyment I started at Stoddard's Fine Food and Ale. It was dark and had a nice beer selection. Hard to view the tv's so watching the sports was difficult. It was an enjoyable way to duck out of the rain though and I would sit down again with some good company and a good beer.

Another of the nights found me at the Schullers Jazz Club. I'm a true lover of classic jazz. Unfortunately I was unaware that the trio for that evening was contemporary. A pricier place, I would not go back unless in generous company and with confirmation of a desired band.

Probably my most enjoyable night was spent at the Stanza Dei Sigari. A little cozy place with good drinks (I enjoyed tasty port), cigar and hookah selections, and an inviting environment.

All in all, the trip was awesome. If you get the chance to visit any of these fabulous venues do let me know, or if you already have, please share your stories. I can't wait to visit again and create more fun and fabulous memories!

The Gypsy Life

Usually I don't have the opportunity to watch television, yet alone cable. But this week I'm staying in an unusual place this week....a hotel!

When one travels all the time there are many places to stay. I usually find friends with couches. But there are gypsies who own motor homes or fifth wheels or gypsies who stay in tents or even in hostels or long stay motels. I prefer my method because it continually challenges me to adapt to new people and new personalities. It also provides the opportunities for new friends and new experiences.

Honestly, without my friends and their couches and their generosity I'd never be able to have this lifestyle (which is a luxury to me). Now I don't mean I'd be stuck in an apartment. On the contrary; should I not have friends I would be housing in a YMCA or someplace similar.

The schedule is so wonderful. I have been thinking about it recently. It's so nice to have spent a few months in one location but I'm so excited to be on the move again. To travel for a few days here, and a few days there and then a couple weeks somewhere else. With no idea where I'll be in a couple months. It leaves the exciting possibilities wide open and the adrenaline keeps me pressing onward. To learn new things, meet new people, taste new food, see new sights, etc. keeps me in love....not with anyone, but with LIFE!!

To Free the Spirit

There are many things in life to stress us out and make us worry. They seem almost entirely created for the purpose, yet, wandering through life as I do, it seems these things really aren't the cause of stress but the opportunity of adventure and life.

When I say adventure, I'm not necessarily meaning you're a secret CIA agent that's being hunted, but more that you're scheduled life isn't quite so organized.

And by life, I don't mean the mundane one that happens every morning when you snooze the alarm and brush your teeth with your eyes closed.

I MEAN; If the hotel is booked then meet a new friend at the store and really meet them....couch surf. Don't always use the medium of money. Instead share knowledge and skills that make you unique to enrich their lives far more than money can or ever will. Take public transportation and introduce yourself to the person next to you. Share you story so they'll be willing to share theirs.

As you press your face up to the bubble of comfortable existence we all try to live behind it will feel scary and vulnerable. What if? What if? You'll back away and breath a sigh of relief as you burrow into your routine and organized schedule again, but life wasn't meant to be this way and you'll wonder again. What if? What if? And you'll tentatively press your face up against that bubble to see what's beyond.

We all hate change, right? We're supposed to, right? It's scary, right? Have you ever experienced the thrill of your heart pounding at the top of the roller coaster and the rush on the way down? Have you ever jumped out of an airplane? Ok, maybe you're not a thrill seeker. Have you ever tried to make dinner fudging the recipe a little and it turned out better than ever before and no one knew why? Have you ever had to give the company lecture and not had enough time to plan so just winged it and everyone loved it?

Our bodies respond positively to the stimulus of change and only when we train our brain to interpret signals negatively does our body change it's course. When we're kids we have all the desire for change and excitement in the world because our brains haven't been taught to fear it. As an adult change is almost frowned upon unless you're keeping up with the Jones'. There is a set pattern and style of life that is acceptable and everyone that doesn't choose one of the acceptable molds is an outsider. It's kind of like making cupcakes. You pour the batter into the molds and the spilled batter is wiped away; not usable anymore.

It's sad to me, really, that life has taken such a turn. That people see others in such lights and respond to stimuli in pre-rehearsed sequences. LIFE shouldn't be like that. LIFE should be open and available. It should be scary. It should make you stretch. It should make you reconsider. It should be memorable.

If you dare, pop the bubble. 

Maxwell DeMille's Cicada Club

In all of my business of practice, email, job hunt, etc I try to get out and dance. Not just for the exercise, but for the fun!

Tonight it's all about old time vintage. Going to see the show at the Cicada Club up in LA. I'm lucky to be going with people that are friends of the singer. Whoo hoo for knowing people who know people right?

Anyway, it's going to be a fun night of dressing sharp, looking good (except on the dance floor), treating my aural senses and my optics alike. Too bad you all can't join!

Flood in the desert

Wow, it has gotten crazy all of a sudden. Truth be told I'm enjoying myself, but it never occurred to me I'd be scheduling April in February. Now it's March and I feel like I'm tripping over my own heels as I catch myself coming and going. It's all good though. I get more done when I have less time. I guess you could say I work better under pressure. Ideally I'd have some spare time to work on a few things I really want to but I think I'll schedule April so I can instead of how I scheduled March. Live and learn as they say. Still trying to get used to this land thing.

I continue to apply to music jobs overseas. So far none of them have panned out so I don't get my hopes up anymore. Don't you love knowing you're being conditioned just like Pavlov's dog? Grr. But I just don't have the energy to have ups and downs so I'll just stay somewhere in the middle and try to coast, at least for now. Maybe April will hold better probabilities.

Modeling, etc.

With my lack of a cruise contract I've been doing other odd jobs; mostly sales, but some music gigs as well. Well, I finally decided to take a new look into the old modeling career I never really had. So I refreshed some profiles on a couple website. And voila! I now have a paying shoot, a paying speaking role in a movie, and a gallery shoot with half the profits of any sales. And that's just what I've booked this past week for the month of March. I'm also going to be doing a lot of TFCD (time for compact disc) because not only will it give me lots of free new images but the photographers might then hire me for a paying gig in the future.

Speaking of the future; at the end of March I'll be headed to Phoenix for a contra dance weekend and then on to Tucson for a recording session. Finally putting together some new videos of trio and quartet work. With these in place to send out early April we can hope for work in May. Whether we get any is a different story altogether. But one can hope, no?

I've found a little niche here. I play sand volleyball every week, dance swing every week, dance contra and take a tango class a couple times a month, and am looking to start a boot camp workout twice a week. With the random performing jobs and modeling shoots and the ever present arrangement project I'm working on I've got a very full platter. But it's good. It keeps me busy and that's how I get the most accomplished.

Hoping for some friends to come visit. Perhaps in March or perhaps in April, but I'd love to have some old faces in this new place, even if for a short while.

Still in the process of losing weight. Haven't weighed myself in a few days but guessing from the lack of clothing change that I'm not succeeding. Frustrating really. Planning on booking a meeting with a nutritionalist and see if I can change anything that would help. I've been keeping pretty good track of food and workouts till this weekend of insanity at Fiddling Frog. Wow, was that crazy. I was on my feet working, dancing, and sleeping from 8 in the morning till 2 or 3 at night. Surprised I'm still here. I needed a full day of sleep just to recuperate. But it was fun. And I made friends, and memories. And that's why I did it.

I hope you are also making new friends and wonderful memories. That's what keeps your heart warm in the cold recesses of life's reality.