Ritzy living

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When Panda and I had the fortune of staying at the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey for a few days, I was excited to document the experience. Here are some of the highlights from that stay; click on pics for the full size.

do not disturb door hanger at ritz-carlton marina del rey

A fancy and cool take on the "Do Not Disturb" sign - California Dreamin' (makes me wonder what they have for outside the state).

water bottles with ritz-carlton logo at ritz-carlton marina del rey

They've branded their own water!

ritz-carlton logo on paper travel mug and ceramic mug at ritz-carlton marina del rey

Whether you like your hot drinks in the room or to go, they've got you covered.

ritz-carlton branded milk and dark chocolate at ritz-carlton marina del rey

Yum, Ritz-Carlton chocolates.

blue and gold ritz-carlton couch and throw pillow at ritz-carlton marina del rey

Sitting enjoying the silky couch and pillow.

ihome alarm clock at ritz-carlton marina del rey

A nice fancy iHome alarm clock was playing soothing music when we entered.

bathroom accessories at ritz-carlton marina del rey

They had a nice display of all the things you'd need in the restroom.

glass scale in bathroom at ritz-carlton marina del rey

Oooh, a fancy glass scale! I was afraid of breaking it when I stepped on - it just seemed so fragile.

toilet at ritz-carlton marina del rey with phone in reach

Hmmm, now what do you need a phone for while in the restroom?

toilet paper branded with ritz-carlton sticker at ritz-carlton marina del rey

Should I be surprised that the toilet paper got branded too?

view of the marina from ritz-carlton marina del rey

What a beautiful morning and a spectacular view overlooking the marina!

view of inland los angeles from ritz-carlton marina del rey

Looking inland towards downtown, you get a pretty great view as well.

view looking down at pool and hot tub at ritz-carlton marina del rey

They've got an awesome saltwater pool and hot tub. If water can be more slippery than itself, that's what it feels like.

bed at ritz-carlton marina del rey

The cleaning people usually leave my pillow and baby panda like this on the bed when they make it.

enjoying the pool at ritz-carlton marina del rey

I couldn't resist going for a quick swim in their pool. It felt so comfortable!

bag that the morning newspaper is delivered in at ritz-carlton marina del rey

In the morning as you leave, you'll find a newspaper hanging from your door handle.

Dream schedule

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My, how time flies when you’re enjoying yourself!  In my first week of scheduling freedom, I have started most days around 8:30-9 in the morning, when I wake up naturally.  I then spend the morning whiling away time enjoying an episode of The Voice or some Plants vs. Zombies gaming action.  Around noon, I packed up and headed out in search of places where I could sit and read or go online while enjoying the sunshine.  Sometimes I ended up hanging out in my car and oftentimes I found myself driving around to various parts of LA – Culver City, Santa Monica, Westwood…

I filled up my tummy for lunch, then spent the afternoons first online, then reading through the first book I plan to cross off my reading list: Switch.  Before I knew it, 5 o’clock would roll around and Panda would get back from work to find I wasn’t around.  I’d head back to meet up with him for a brief break to decide where to eat and off we’d go.  By 9 or 10 we’d be back for the night, winding down the day.  All in all a very relaxing and leisurely schedule for me!  Perhaps because it was so nice, it went by in a blur and suddenly I find myself at the end of the week wondering where all the days went.  Luckily, I now have the weekend to enjoy and more weeks of working online and reading offline to look forward to.

Lego music

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Ever want to play a Lego instrument? Well here’s your chance! Just jump on circles on the ground and BAM, music! 😉

Photography skills

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I like to tease Panda about his photography skills because his pictures usually come out blurry. Here is one such case where he took a picture, which looks kind of cool, but doesn’t exactly show you what it is we were trying to capture… (though now that I look at it from afar you can kind of tell it’s a bird). Click on the pictures for larger views!

blurry picture of red bird in background, with focus on branches in near view

This is Panda's idea of a good shot, which is great if you're trying to get branches and not the bird.

clear picture of red bird in trees

This is my idea of a picture in focus. Less artistic but you know what the subject is! 😛

On the brink of freedom

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It’s Sunday night and for the first time in over two years, I won’t be joining the rest of the work force as they begin another work week tomorrow.  It’s a peaceful feeling, to be able to sleep when I want to and not worry about waking up at a particular time.  I’m excited to be able to wake up tomorrow and realize that I don’t need to drag myself up at the crack of dawn to drive for two hours just to get to work.  It’ll take some getting used to, since I even woke up yesterday thinking that I might be late for something.

For the next week, I have tasked myself with two very simple things: pack and read.  Panda’s in town so I’ll be hanging out with him at night.  While he’s at work I’ll need something to do, so it’s a perfect time to get some reading in.  My reading list is full of awesome texts and I look forward to everything these books have to teach me.  Being able to do it by the pool, at the beach, or in a dessert/drink shop makes it all the more amazing.  I’m pretty thrilled to spend my days with less structure and more go with the flow choices.  Hopefully it will inspire a lot of creativity and productivity too!

Jellylife

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The life of jellyfish… slow, meandering, and glowing?

Tortoise and hare

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The Wildlife Learning Center in Sylmar had a special day for Bruin alum because the founder was a UCLA grad himself. We got to see lots of cool creatures!

holding a tiny baby tortoise in my hand

They start so small and light, but then get HUGE!

white rabbit stands on hind legs to sniff purse

What a curious fellow. Too bad I couldn't put him in my purse to take home.

Final countdown

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Well, over the course of the last couple days, it has become public knowledge that I put in my two weeks and will be leaving my company at the end of the week.  Today one of the CEOs said bye to me since he’s off to NY tomorrow and I won’t be seeing him again before I’m done.  It hasn’t quite hit me yet that I won’t be seeing these people again (at least not in a consistent manner).  The good thing is I will likely need to come back to train my replacement whenever they find one, so it’s not completely the end of seeing my coworkers!  I’ll definitely miss them a lot.

Still, it’s time for me to move on, both personally and professionally.  I don’t get to see Panda nearly enough, so I want to dedicate some time to that.  Also, I have some of my own things I want to pursue and it’s a great time to do so.  I don’t feel I can really give it a solid effort unless I were to work on it full time, so that’s the plan.  Luckily, I have so much support around me and not a single person has discouraged me from my dreams.  I have a lot to look forward to and I’m excited to be able to set my own schedule and take control of my life in ways I haven’t yet.

This week, I have done my best to “rally the troops” as I like to say, encouraging them to all join me for my lunch plans.  Many have been working on various health efforts, like juicing or the caveman diet, so they don’t get out to lunch anymore.  Happily, they have been taking a break from their efforts to save money or lose weight and I’m hoping everyone will come out Friday to the last hurrah!  After all, it’s the people who make the place what it is and it’s the people I’ll miss.

Bird invasion

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You can’t see them all but boy can you hear them! The birds had taken over that roof.

Habitat for Humanity company volunteering

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We spent all day Friday out working on a Habitat for Humanity house as a company event, which was quite nice. Since it was overcast and a bit drizzly, we were limited to painting and cleaning. Originally we were supposed to help rip off the roof! Oh well, the guys still got to go to another house down the block that needed some demolition work.

lemon tree in backyard of habitat for humanity house

One of the first things we enjoyed upon arriving was a wonderful backyard with a lemon tree and avocado tree.

backyard of habitat for humanity house

This backyard was strangely reminiscent of China for me.

picnic table in backyard of habitat for humanity house

This picnic table in the yard served as a lunch table as well a commemorative item for the family that will eventually move in here. We all left our mark!

garage with supplies at habitat for humanity house

The garage was used as storage for all the supplies to fix up the house.

pouring paint into small cups at habitat for humanity house

One Habitat employee and one of my company's engineers work together to get paint into cups.

painting side of habitat for humanity house

A bunch of my coworkers begin to paint the side of the house.

kittens next to the habitat for humanity house

These adorable little kittens were grooming themselves outside of a house just down the street from the one we were working on. I wish I could have them!

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