bits and pieces

Chicago was fun. I don't think I loved it as much as some people do (what do you guys think of Chi-town?), but it was good and I enjoyed my time there. Our flight was delayed a little on Thursday morning, but we made up most of the time in air. It was beautiful out when we landed... sunny, warm, just nice. Miyano and I ate lunch, then took the train into the city. It was an hour long ride, not half-hour, but it was fine. We saw the "body world" exhibit at the science and industry museum (amazing!), then headed to the Sears Tower. We walked around for a bit, then had dinner at a trendy, but fun, sushi place. We got back to the hotel a little after 10:30 and were both very ready for bed.
Friday I slept in, and in the ended decided not to head back into Chicago. It was a cold, cloudy, drizzly day... and I just didn't want to be walking around in that (plus I was still tired, and I had received a call from Mo that she unfortunately was denied the day off). So I relaxed, watched a movie, did 3 miles on the treadmill, and loafed around the hotel. Saturday and Sunday were work all day... but everything went very well and the site was WONDERFUL to work with! I really appreciated everyone there and how easy they made it for us. We flew out Sunday afternoon (when they had a record high of 78*... I was a bit toasty in my long sleeves!) and arrived back in Philly around 7:15. It was definitely good to be home.

Yesterday I had the day off to recover. Flying always makes me pretty tired. So I was a complete lazy bum yesterday... didn't really do much of anything, including not downloading my pictures. Opps. I'll try for that tonight.

Now it is back to work, and pretty much same old same old. Except that it is supposed to be sunny and warm (76*) today. Yay for Spring.
I have a feeling that once it gets warm and sunny (and stops doing this damn back and forth), then it will get warm fast. So I'm going to try and enjoy the spring weather for all its worth before I start complaining about it being too hot!

Well, I have to get back to work... plenty to do.


First, a little fun, Philly news to end on.

© AP
Kal Penn 'Kumar' Actor Has College Teaching Gig
Mar 26, 1:41 PM EST


The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA -- Kal Penn, known for his role as Kumar Patel in the 2004 cult classic "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle," will be a guest instructor at the University of Pennsylvania during the spring 2008 semester.

Penn, 29, will teach two undergraduate courses, tentatively titled, "Images of Asian Americans in the Media" and "Contemporary American Teen Films," the school announced Monday.

"The Asian American Studies Program is delighted that Kalpen Modi, aka Kal Penn, chose our program to host his teaching engagement at Penn," program director Grace Kao said. "Mr. Modi is one of the leading Asian American actors of his generation and is particularly aware of how his racial and ethnic identification has affected his professional experiences."

Students can enroll in the courses as Asian American studies or cinema studies programs in Penn's School of Arts and Sciences, Kao said.

Penn co-starred with John Cho, who played Harold Lee, in "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle." His screen credits also include "Epic Movie," "Van Wilder" and "Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj."

He recently finished shooting "Harold & Kumar 2" with Cho.

The university said Penn, a native of Montclair, N.J., received a bachelor's degree in sociology with a specialization in theater, film and television from the University of California, Los Angeles, and is pursuing a graduate certificate in international security at Stanford University.

Ciao!