Click on the photo for my Rio de Janeiro journal. I'll update it on regular basis while I'm there.

Click here for the video clips of the dance performances from ABC's "Dancing With The Stars" TV show.

Click on the collage for the report on my trip to Shenandoah Valley over the Memorial Day weekend.

I finally posted the review of my vacation in Puerto Rico.

I had a great time in hot and sunny Puerto Rico and I am back in cold and rainy New York. Unfortunately my luggage did not make it back. It got stuck at our connecting point - Philadelphia. My coworker was not surprised when I told her this. She quoted: "Luggage with US Air never makes it through Philadelphia". And yes, we were flying US Air. Here are some past news headlines to justify her quote:

• US Air's Luggage Lament
• Luggage problems continue to plague US Air passengers
• US Airways Officials Promise To Reunite Passengers With Luggage
• Fliers' anger may imperil US Airways

Well, I'll look at the bright side: they promised that the luggage will be delivered to my house on Wednesday, so I don't have to carry it myself.

The dark side is that my laptop charger was in the luggage, so I can't post the photos until I get it. But once I do there will be plenty of them on my site.

Leaving for Wyndham El Conquistador resort in Puerto Rico for 6 days! Update:For my trip report click here.

Yum! Today James showed his hidden cooking talent. He made us the Luisiana specials: Chicken and Sausage Gumbo and Shrimp Etouffee. Here is the chef himself talking about the delicacy: This was DELICIOUS!

Trying on the jacket which is part of the company cycling team uniform.

Today at work we had a monthly birthday lunch for the April Birthdays. Got a bit delayed this time, but that's because indisposable Angela was on vacation.

James, Joanna and I had a nice trip to New Rochelle to visit our friend Angi. We took Metro North railroad from Grand Central and got there in half an hour. I have not been to Angi's place before and because of the fact that we had to take a train other than the subway to get there, I expected to see a house with a driveway and grass. But to my surprise we ended up going into a multi-story apartment building which in fact used to be Bloomingdales department store.

First we went to Angi's parents' apartment for dinner. They really made us feel at home. The highlight of the dinner was the Fatty Pork. Before I saw it I was very skeptical because I don't like to eat meat with lots of fat. But this one was so tender, it really melted in my mouth. It took 5 hours to cook it!

After having dinner at went to Angi's apartment for dessert. The modern look of her apartment was totally opposite to the old-fashioned style of her parents' apartment. Going for the desert was like a leap from the past into the future. As usual I found the most comfortable piece of furniture.

We finished off the night at a club called Zen Tango. Contrary to the name there was not tango dancing there at all. Shortly after we got there the DJ put on some cool 80's disco songs and we kicked off the dancing on the dancefloor. They were serving all kinds of drinks there including something called James. I was so inspired by the drinks that on the way back I got a bartender job in the bar car.

All Photos

Playing with my co-worker's new 8.2 megapixel camera.

Today I learned how to bake a cake and how to make a popular in New Zealand dessert called Pavlova. It was as a lot of work, but the cause justified it - my birthday party. Thanks to Joanna for bringing in the supplies and instructing me how to make the desserts. The Pavlova traditionally contains fruit on top, but since James does not like fruit on dessert, we put grated chocolate on top so the Pavlova ended up looking like this. The cake was a double-layered chocolate cake.

Photos
Videos:

Birthday Dance

Catching Coconuts

Don't forget to get your free ice cream from Ben & Jerry!