Trike in the park

I spied a colourful plastic kid's trike out the back of Michelle's apartment last Wednesday when we arrived in Washington DC (actually Arlington, VA). It was sitting neglected and forlorn on the grass. A week later, it had been inconspicuously moved to the side of the garbage bins. I decided to take it for a ride because the swimming pool was closed. I spun the pedals with some difficulty, and found the smallest of raised concrete an uphill battle. But when i was cycling around the path at a speed able to instill awe into any 3 year old who happened to be watching my comical gangly appearance, i was outside myself for a few minutes. Disembodied in the purity of the moment. 

When i completed my circuit, a van pulled up in the parking lot adjacent. A young lady and two children clambered out. The youngest boy had a balloon pegged to his shirt at the back. I forget what was on the balloon, but it was a foil balloon and had red edges. He saw the trike and stumbled towards us as his older sister and brother went to their apartment. As he came towards us, he displayed a curious habit. He waved hello and stopped. Waved hello and stopped. Waved hello and stopped, until he finally reached his objective. We of course obliged and waved back as often as we were greeted. 

The wonderment of a child's glee was not lost on us. 

He stole the trike away from us and pushed it backwards to hide behind a tree near his house as dad, sara and i walked back to michelle's apartment. As we departed, the young boy waved goodbye to us for a long time. And as i walked away i thought i'd play along...so i waved goodbye and stopped. Waved goodbye and stopped. 

We all waved goodbye...

I'm guessing the trike belonged to the young korean boy who lives across the grass. 

Today we helped bolster the flailing American economy by spending 8 hours in an outlet mall from 2:30 to 9:30. I surprised myself by actually enjoying the experience.

I high-fived a guy working in a shoe shop because I was wearing my Muse shirt. He had studs in his cheeks.


That is all.

Proof that i actually am overseas

I spent the day at Warped Tour. It's quite different to festivals we have in aussie- with heaps of free stuff, cheap merch and opportunities to meet and greet. I met Underoath, Wade from Alexisonfire, almost met meg and dia (but sara opted to go watch underoath instead- i was keen for some hot korean-american indie chick signing action cos i have seen underoath like 4 times before), and Versa Emerge (very cool bunch of people).

But that;s not what this post is about. Here's a photo. One out of about 900 or so photos so far on this trip. Warped was a tiring experience especially considering that we landed in NYC at 5:45 in the am, and accounting for the time difference between east and west coast. sooooooo i put up only one photo.

Have a photo from a day that is definitely going to be difficult to top.

Disneyland baby. I want to go back there. and/or California Adventure Park across the road. (:

I <3 LA

This week has lasted so long! It's been great. I can't believe i still have another 3 and a half weeks here. I'd be happy and satisfied even if i went home after LA, let alone New York, Boston and DC etc.

We spent Wednesday to Thursday in Vegas. A 4.5 hour drive through the desert heat...As an example of how the Loos holiday quite fluidly, we planned to leave at 5 in the morning, but we got home from Disneyland at about 1am the night before (Disneyland btw was friggin' awesome- anthony your photo challenge was met, but only on space mountain. I had way too much fun there). We woke up at like 11:30 and ended up leaving for Vegas at 2:30pm.

Vegas was HOT HOT HOT. In faranheit it was 108, which translates to 42 celsius in the day. The night wasn't much cooler to be honest. We walked around til 3am, then slept til 12. It was interesting visiting Las Vegas straight after Disneyland. Like one theme park to another- of course the former is a theme park for adults. City of sin! Haha. But in the end, once you've seen one casino, you've seen them all.

Anyway, it's good to be back in LA. Rented some bikes on Venice beach and rode for 40 minutes when all of a sudden we realised we were at Santa Monica beach, the same spot from 4 days previous! It was a beautiful cool beach day and the Venice beachside is very hip and happening.

Food in the US is very cheap. And we watched Harry Potter today (which was also friggin' awesome) at the matinee screening for $6. There's very little i'm not liking about it here.

(:

We leave tomorrow night for NY at 9pm. Arrive there at 5:45 am local time (2:45am LA time), then we drive to New Jersey about an hour away for Warped Tour on Sunday. Sara's been sick (we've kind of passed the flu/cough around the house) so hopefully she won't die or anything from a combination of lack of sleep and music and heat on the day.

Day 1 and/or 2

It's 1:18am.

All you need to really know is that i'm in California- a city (town?) called Diamond Bar about 45 minutes to 1 hour from downtown LA. We're staying with old family friends (mum's old college mate) and it's been good. Can't say i feel too jetlagged- although i did wake up at 7:20 this morning.

It's really sunny and hot over here. Hit up the Getty art centre and then Santa Monica beach today. It's been fascinating having a local's side to things. Life here seems similar at first but oh-so different upon closer scrutiny. Mostly in the way that LA fuctions as multiracial city. Quite eye-opening.

Even though this is only our first day, it feels like we've been here for a week, because...i don't know why. The familiarity with our lovely hosts perhaps?

In short, we're here for a week. I think we're planning either a Vegas or a San Fran trip in the middle of the week. We're not too sure yet. Which do you prefer- 4hour or 7hour drive? That's the real dilemma. haha. Keep in mind i'm not 21 yet, and it's a family vacation so Vegas just has some nice buildings and shiny lights as far as we can tell...?

I managed to watch 6 movies on the plane. EPIC! They were all of good quality except Monsters Vs Aliens, which wasn't as funny or clever as i thought it'd be. Then there was Push, American Teen, RocknRolla, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, and Burn After Reading. My eyes were quite red afterwards.

It is now 1:24am. As far as you can tell, all you probably care to know is that i'm in LA.

Cheerio
kevman

Yes, it's a post about Michael Jackson

This is a special post because i am writing from downstairs and not the usual office. I'm sitting in front of the TV watching Entertainment Tonight's recap of Michael Jackson's memorial service. I have a confession to make- i just watched 4 hours of Michael Jackson on tv (nearly 5) and I enjoyed every minute of it. 

It may surprise you that Michael Jackson is actually quite a significant  part of my childhood. Locked away in my subconscious are the beats, the moves and the lyrics of many a Jackson song. It was only while watching tonight's memorial service that i remembered the connection i had with him (Moonwalker was a childhood favourite, and we had a lot of music videos and concerts on VHS). I've recently admitted that despite the indie and metalcore tendencies i have today, i confusingly felt that i can be a hip hop kid at heart, and tonight I finally understood where this comes from- it traced back to Michael Jackson! 

Even if you're sick of hearing about it, you can't admit that his memorial service wasn't moving- especially when his daughter took the mic and broke down...that is something i won't be forgetting in a while. There were some great words spoken, both emphatically and softly and i was glad i got to witness it. Last night, i stayed up until 2am waiting for the live online broadcast but i gave up with an hour to go...it was too friggin' cold! But i know that if i had stayed up, i wouldn't've been dissatisfied with it.

After the memorial tonight, there was a concert on TV, which i swear we had on VHS so i watched Michael Jackson Live in Bucharest. It was one of those experiences of finding an old childhood relic that triggers all the memory and cloudiness of nostalgia. It's the little things i recognised- the glass coffin in the Thriller set, the 'super lean' in Smooth Criminal, the shouts of' 'woo' and 'ah hee hee'...things i had long since forgotten. It was nice to say the least. And with my older, wiser eyes and ears, i appreciated it a little bit more. especially the finale, when he randomly puts on a jumpsuit and helmet, gets a jetpack and flies offstage...bizarre! And the crowd loved it!

Entertainment Tonight just finished, and now the television is off. The house is quiet as my whole family is sleeping. I haven't been out much since i have been sick and only now just feeling healthy. Today i ate a lot. Tomorrow is a mystery. The day after tomorrow, we fly off to America and we won't be back until mid-august. i don't really know what to do with myself over there. My mind isn't on that straight these days. 

But it'll be good to get away from it all just for a little bit. 

I will close with the wise and inspiring words of Michael Jackson- "Shamon girl!" 

 

I got da flu

I got da flu.

America should fix that.

That's it.