Sunday, July 31, 2011

Two more hours in the US.....

Getting ready to walk through security screening at LAX to leave the US for the next two years! Supper excited-we will check in with everyone in London!

Our Last Full Day in Los Angeles

Umami Burger....MMMMMM
On our last full day in Los Angeles, we decided to go out with a bang.....

We woke up Saturday morning refreshed from a long two days of packing and moving, met with some of Shari's friends for a quick goodbye and decided to have lunch at Umami Burger.  I heard this place served one of the best Burgers in LA, but I have to admit, I was skeptical....until I tried one!  WOW!

Since we had a good mix of beef and non beef eaters and even a vegetarian in our group, we got to sample a little of everything.  The veggie burger was so meat like that Shari's sister needed to be convinced by the waiter that she was indeed eating a veggie patty rather than a big ol hunk o' meat.  



The Crew at Dantanas
After meeting up to say our last goodbyes to some more of Shari's friends....we picked up Shari's best friend Leena and headed out for Dantanas in West Hollywood.  I've been wanting to try this joint since I moved to LA so I was pretty excited that we were finally going to have a meal there.

Although it was good to see friends, I was a bit underwhelmed by the food.  It wasn't bad, but it was a bit basic and frankly not what I was expecting from a place with such a storied history; therefore, I have to give the all time best LA Italian food restaurant award to Shari's favorite spot, Via Veneto.

Paully D, Lena and Shari at Ugo in Culver City
After dinner, we took a short drive to Culver City to say goodbye to my friends at Boomer's 31st Birthday.  While waiting for the birthday boy to arrive, we stopped off a Ugo to sample some wines, then headed over to the Culver City Hotel for a quick drink with my old friends....I actually saw people I haven't see in years so I am thankful we got to stop by for a bit.

Boomer's 31st B-day
It is now Sunday morning and we are getting prepared to get on the big bird to Sri Lanka in a little over seven hours.  We will miss all of our friends and family very much, but just remember, you are all invited to come visit us, so make your reservations early!

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Time Lapse of My Friends Helping Shari and I Pack Our Shipping Container

Really cool time lapse of the five of us packing our shipping container bound for Sri Lanka…Enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bw8VE2zUsQ8


Sunday, July 24, 2011

2011 Garage Sale at Paully D's.....

Check out the video-great times had by all, much money made and old stuff purged!

Monday, July 18, 2011

Big Bart Battista's 39th Birthday......





Celebrated my good friend Bart Battista's 39th Birthday down in San Diego this past Saturday night. I made a great movie of the night on I-movie, but we will save that for another time.....;) In the meantime, check out some of the less risque pics from the night's festivities......

Friday, July 15, 2011

Bangles at the Santa Monica Pier!




As we ramp up for our big move, we are trying to take some time to spend time with family and friends. One of my all time favorite things to do in the summer here in LA is to go to the twilight concert series at the Santa Monica Pier. The concert series starts in early July and features a different band or musician every Thursday evening through September. The series is sponsored by our local public radio station (KCRW) which happens to be the coolest public radio station in the world!

Last night was a real treat as The Bangles headlined the evening. Since The Bangles are a well known band, we knew the place was going to be packed, so we went early to scope a nice place on the sand just south of the stage on the pier. It was a full moon night filled with friends, food, fun and music. Check out these pics!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Lots to do!

Today was a very productive day! The day started with an evaluation of the things we plan to ship to Sri Lanka. Looking at the picture of our living room, we almost decided not to take our 42" high definition TV because Sri Lanka is on a different analog television system called PAL or Phase Alternating Line. Televisions in the US are on the National Television System Committee (NTSC) system. In order for our TV to work in Sri Lanka, we need to be able to receive the PAL signal. A quick search of Amazon.com yielded a nice converter box for $100 US. This particular brand came with good reviews from US service members stationed abroad, so I decided it was worth the risk to give it a try. If all works out like I hope, it will save us the few thousand dollars it will cost us to buy a new equivalent set in Sri Lanka (electronics in Sri Lanka are very expensive)!

I also ordered the Lonely Planet travel guide so that I can learn more about the country prior to our departure. I heard about this guide during my travels in Argentina in 2009. I met a ton of people from all over the world on that trip and almost everyone of them used lonely planet. The guide should arrive in a few days so I can start cramming-got to make sure I know my stuff once Shari and I hit the ground.






After placing my order for our Lonely Planet, Shari and I ventured to the Sri Lankan Consulate in downtown Los Angeles to get my visa. Ever since we made the decision to move, we've heard various stories of what kind of visa I would be able to get. Since we plan on staying for a while, we wanted to get a visa that would allow us the most flexibility. We were both relieved to hear that I was eligible for a one year visa in which I will be allowed to stay in the country for six month stretches. We will
have to leave the country once the first six months up; however,
we will only have to leave for a day and will be allowed to return for another six months upon our return. I smell a mini vacation to the Maldives in our near future! (Shari tells me it is incredibly beautiful there). Stay tuned for more posts as we continue getting ready for our adventure.....



Monday, July 11, 2011

Count Down to Sri Lanka

After and year and a half hiatus, the Journey blog is back! This time it's "Count down to Sri Lanka" as my girlfriend Shari and I get ready to move to her home country for a few years. We are about three weeks away from departure and there is much to do including:

1. Obtain visa from the Sri Lankan consulate
2. Finalize moving date and reserve our 20 foot shipping container (if anyone is available on July 28th to help us pack the container, come on over! Food and drink will be provided)
3. Get out airline tickets (going with a one way right now since tickets are crazy expensive at the moment)
4. Finish packing
5. Sell or give away the stuff we won't be taking
6. Get vaccinations
7. Spend time with friends and family

We already sold one of our cars and some of our other larger items we won't be taking with us and got our international driver's license from AAA so we are almost ready to roll. I will be providing updates over the next few weeks to document our experience moving to a new country and culture. It should be very exciting!