For those of you that hadn’t heard it is a recent development… less than a week since the offer. So there has been a frantic pace of apartment hunting with this Clinton Hill duplex the front runner:

I am also tempted by high rise living.. something about a corner apartment on the 40 somethingith floor of a mid-town building…..

So I’m furiously packing and trying to remember what it’s like to have over a foot of snow on the ground.

I’d appreciate any suggestions on where to find good people, music, and food! And when you find yourself on the East coast know that you’ll have a place to stay!

As Twenty-Ten approached I found myself slightly adrift and unaware of what the next year’s theme might be. Surprisingly enough the theme revealed itself on New Year’s Eve. 2010’s Theme is NYC!

With that in mind preparations are being made for the move to New York City, with a focus on the Park Slope, Bed Stuy, and Gowanus neighborhoods of Brooklyn. I am open for suggestions on good good neighborhoods and places to shy away from.

So changes are in store for me and the residents of Chez Kitteh.

I want to learn what makes the area special and to find a way to show that to the rest of the world.

So send me a message if you have some time to show me around….  You can see the beginnings at Tampa Bay 365

I’ve still yet to visit:

• Bradenton
  Brandon
  Largo
  Lakeland
  Palm Harbor
  Sarasota
  Spring Hill
  Town ‘n’ Country
  Auburndale
  Bartow
  Bayonet Point
  Bayshore Gardens
  Bloomingdale
  Citrus Park
  Dunedin
  Egypt Lake-Leto
  East Lake
  Elfers
  Englewood
  Fruitville
  Greater Carrollwood
  Gulf Gate Estates
  Gulfport
  Haines City
  Holiday
  Homosassa Springs
  Hudson
  Jasmine Estates
  Keystone
  Lake Magdalene
  Land O’ Lakes
  Lealman
  Lake Wales
  Lakeland Highlands
  Lakewood Ranch
  Lutz
  New Port Richey
  North Port
  Greater Northdale
  Oldsmar
  Palm River-Clair Mel
  Palmetto
  Pinellas Park
  Plant City
  Poinciana
  Riverview
  Safety Harbor
  Seminole
  South Bradenton
  South Venice
  Greater Sun Center
  Tarpon Springs
  Temple Terrace
  University
  Westchase
  Winter Haven
  Venice
  Zephyrhills
• Bradenton
• Brandon
• Largo
• Lakeland
• Palm Harbor
• Sarasota
• Spring Hill
• Town ‘n’ Country
• Auburndale
• Bartow
• Bayonet Point
• Bayshore Gardens
• Bloomingdale
• Citrus Park
• Dunedin
• Egypt Lake-Leto
• East Lake
• Elfers
• Englewood
• Fruitville
• Greater Carrollwood
• Gulf Gate Estates
• Gulfport
• Haines City
• Holiday
• Homosassa Springs
• Hudson
• Jasmine Estates
• Keystone
• Lake Magdalene
• Land O’ Lakes
• Lealman
• Lake Wales
• Lakeland Highlands
• Lakewood Ranch
• Lutz
• New Port Richey
• North Port
• Greater Northdale
• Oldsmar
• Palm River-Clair Mel
• Palmetto
• Pinellas Park
• Plant City
• Poinciana
• Riverview
• Safety Harbor
• Seminole
• South Bradenton
• South Venice
• Greater Sun Center
• Tarpon Springs
• Temple Terrace
• University
• Westchase
• Winter Haven
• Venice
• Zephyrhills

Robin came to St. Petersburg this past weekend.  He says it was for computer training, but deep down inside it was for pancakes.

Calamity and I gave him the full St. Petersburg experience

• Alligators in the wild
• mini golf with alligators
• a trip to PUSH Ultra Lounge
• Dinner at Caddy’s
• Tour of the downtown St. Petersburg Night life
• Trip to Wal-Mart
• Late night conversation with non-sober, fake boobed, blonde cougars.
• Plenteous trips to Starbucks
• A visit to the Saint Petersburg Saturday Farmer’s Market
• A trip to Kahwa Coffee for a granita
• short bike ride about the area
• Shopping at International Mall
• Day trip to Ybor City
• slice of Key Lime Pie
• a Cuban Sandwich

A few things that we did not get the chance to pack into the weekend:

• Dolphin spotting
• finding a manatee
• Trip to Ft. DeSoto PArk and beach
• drive over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge
• Feeding the Pelicans
• Kayaking

So there are lots to do here in Saint Petersburg.. well at least enough to do for about three days.  Overall I’d say Robin’s visit was a five star encounter.

Present Theories:
Jacob is the father trying to raise his child.  A loose parallel of Christian and Jack.
The Island is a prison: Jacob and “friend” are in the prison.  Jacob is a warden whos “powers” can escape the island.

I’ve come up with a list of questions for which I’d like to find answers:

• How is Jin hopping thorough time in Season 4 with the other Island persons but not helicopter crew, which should have been physically closer to the Island?
• What did Daniel do/see while he was time shifted (like Desmond) What about his GF?
• How did Claire get pregnant? Is it Jacobs baby?
• What’s up with the polar bears?
• What is special about Claire’s baby?
• Is the statue the Egyptian God Sobek?
• When did Richard get to the island?
• How did the Other’s get to the island?
• Who is funding the Others?
• Is the dog (Vincent) real or vision? – I’m leaning to a vision, cause the dog died in the crash.
• The Island is a fake. or possibly constructed (by Jacob?) e.g. not an island like Hawaii is an island
• What lies in the shadow if the statue?
• Who is Jacob? and his friend?
• How did Desmond call Penny on Dec 24 at her home, only to have her pick him up a few days later in the middle of the ocean…. but it would depend on how long they were in the life raft.
• Whose side is Daniel on?
• Why were no baby’s able to be born on the Island from the time Alex was born until Claire’s baby was born?
• What is the significance of the rain?
• Where/When is Charlotte?

Some observations about the show:

• Show takes place in relatively real time.
• Two sides – there always seems to be two sides from Jacob and entity, Kate & Juliet, Sawyer & Jack, Dharma Initiative & Others, Ben & John, Ben & Charlie, temple & Statue
• Island on top itself as it hops through time (During season 4 as the Island time shifts it loops back upon itself)
• All “visions” are from Jacob’s “friend”, Jacob prefers to make direct contact with people.
• Interesting that John can only walk on the Island since the fall when he met Jacob.
• Claire’s not remembering the time she was with Ethan is a result of being taken to the temple in the same way that Ben was taken as a child.

Theories

• Claire’s child is Jacob
• The Monster, John (after his death), Vincent (the dog) are all manifestations of Jacob’s friend and are never seen on the screen at the same time.
• The group in the helicopter was not taken along with the island because they had to safely deliver Claire’s baby to Claire’s mom (the only other safe person other than Claire)
• Whispers have some relevance to the rain and the others. – present theory is that the Others can walk between planes of existence, different dimensions if you will.  The rain is a physical manifestation of the cross over.  Also explains why they cannot be tracked.

BTW I think this is a great show and ranks high on my list of Sci-Fi series to watch….

I had also forgotten how long it takes for the sun to cross the horizon once the eastern sky begins to lighten. I was watching for over 45 minutes.

Watching the sunrise energized me for the day. I felt more active and alert and that I checked more thing off my todo list than in previous days.

Next step.. catch a sunrise after an advernturesome night.

You can get tickets ($15) online here: http://fla.vor.us/wafform.aspx?_act=eventview&_pky=62715

I’ve been following deadmau5 since I first heard him play in 2007 when he opened for DJ Raydeus at Mighty in San Francisco. deadmau5 has a great stage presence and one of the top acts at this years 2009 Ultra Music Festival in Miami.

Looking forward to seeing you all at the show!!!

I am putting together a presentation on Thailand and your contribution would be most helpful! Hoping that it gets me in as one of the finalists for a job… but more on that later, once I hear back.

Thanks

P.S.
you can either send me the info via messaging or email (kestrachern at gmail dot com)

Saturday was an longish day broken up with the Folk Festival held two blocks away from the apartment. McTastic and I took a break in the middle of the day for some investigation. It was much like all the other street fairs we’ve found in the Tampa Bay area. Lots of vendors offering arts/crafty products some music (this time folk style related) and the local merchants having a mini sidewalk sale to entice people into their shops. A few movies tonight… The Hangover was a great movie, at least better than I expected. Kept my attention throughout.

A raindrop dodging bike ride to Pinellas Park put some spice in Sunday. We ended up at Freedom Lake park watching the R/C sailboat regatta and waiting for the rain to pass. A bit of luck came our way when we opted for Vietnamese fare for lunch. Randomly chosen Saigon Sandwich was a total delight. Yummy fresh Vietnamese Sandwiches and Frozen Mango Boba were just what we needed for the ride home. However, upon entering neither Miss McTastic nor I noticed the sign that read “Cash Only.” Finding an ATM felt like it took nearly as long as the meal itself.TEnder problems aside it was great to find a little pocket of another culture dropped in the middle of strip mall Florida. As an extra bonus I found some Vietnamese Red Bull. I’ve not opened the bottles yet, but if it is any good I may switch for it is 1/2 the cost of the US canned version. There was this tree… looked like it had zucchini growing on it.. know what it is?

So there in ends another weekend. The coming week for me holds substitute teaching, repairing of MooseB8, writing and photography, and finishing up a website for a client. At least those are the expected bits of the week.

Hands down Paris was my favorite place. I had a feeling it would be the moment I stepped off the train.

London was the first stop on the trip. McTastic and I flew into Heathrow and spent the night in a small bed and breakfast near Paddington Station. Roaming about London we found the Portabela Street Market, Ministry of Sound, and several great pubs! I felt really good walking around the city and wanted to spend more time exploring the city. Little did I know what I would find at the other end of the EuroStar.

Paris. I did not want to leave. With the exception of a day trip to Bruxelles we explored the city as best we could and ended up only seeing a small portion of what the city had to offer. My now outstanding goal is to return to Paris for an extended stay.

Bruxelles was a great day trip. We met up with Moe and Phyllis who were winding up their year in Europe. It was the most green city I have ever seen. The escalators even paused when no one was riding them.

In addition to Paris I decided that riding trains is the best best BEST way to get around. Nearly as fast as flying and much less hassle.

OK back to work. Paris is calling