sophia’s travel by night

still hv lots o work 2 do b4 michigan trip, so hadn't time 2 really finish writing about the rest o my oz trip. being home in cali didn't help cuz i ended up not doing ANY work. just spent time w/kids n beach. took a break last evening (8pm) 2 visit the rose garden n refill our depleted fridge (tho we did stock up on fruits n veggies from farmer's mkt) o breakfast items. when u work from home, u'd end up just eating whatever is available n nvr bother 2 leave t/house. anyway, here r some amazing roses. the most surprising is the Lagerfeld variety since it's named after, i presume, karl lagerfeld? it starts out lite lavender n as it blooms fades into a very pale shade o white, 8k 4c 7m (i think)? and this deep red, i think black rose isn't far away.

it's been a while since i've done proper yoga. having the right teacher is very important. since i've been in portland ths past 1/2 yr, i've yet to find a space/teacher i find interesting for me. mainly also, vinyasa is the most popular n some ashtanga n hot yoga types. not my cup o tea. but in newport beach, cali, Juris's classes r always so fun n interesting, building strength n flexibility n breath w/out the show-off ppls, etc. of course, in tpe ths last couple o yrs, i've been going to Rob's classes, which may seem basic but u build alignment while gaining strength/ flexibility. in yoga, difficult poses doesn't mean anything if ur balance is off or ur muscles, etc rn't aligned properly. so being home for a visit means i get to refresh on my fav yoga sessions n learn new things. and the sunshine/ beach!

travel plans: sat 6.13-6.22 (pdx-tpe) mon 6.22-6.28 (pdx-melbourne) sun 6.28-7.1 (mel-Hamilton Island) wed 7.1-7.4 (hmi-Sydney) sat 7.4 (syd-PDX) 1. after a week in taipei, i flew to Melbourne via HK arriving 6am, 6/23/09. after we met up at airport, we wnt to Mim's place [Brunswick] which is just north of city center. then we all wnt to chinatown for some chow's. too bad the intended resto was closed, so ended up at Post Mao nearby. it's ok food. i find chinese food in restos tend to b a bit heavy on the oil & salts. still, it was good lunch n time spend w/just mim & nicky. a great discovery today for me is a couple of aussie products. the very popular skin care line, Aesop , their most famous product being the parsley seed stuff, which i ended up buying 1 to use, very nice indeed! the other is Papaw , pronounced [poe poe] according to locals (mim). this ointment, i absolutely adore! it is as great n versatile as mim claims. so i bought a tube n a big tub... tho ...

in memory of michael jackson. we saw him walking in his signature shorter pants everywhere we went in australia.