tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349809312008-05-12T19:31:46.414-04:00betsyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10717809021552263661noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34980931.post-30836030472787821732008-05-12T16:32:00.004-04:002008-05-12T19:31:46.627-04:00

My college friend Darren – who has become quite legendary in my story-retellings, what with his propensity for random trips to Monte Carlo and also the time he convinced me that lobster antenna was a delicacy – moved to Nashville a few years back and throws a big ole tailgating and afterparty for Steeplechase every year. I had fully decided not to go, but at the last minute, found a ride from

betsyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10717809021552263661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34980931.post-73009756463412903822008-04-30T12:38:00.003-04:002008-04-30T12:45:00.808-04:00

OK, kids. A little change of pace. I don't usually go around asking for support, but this Saturday, I'll be taking to the DC public schools with a paintbrush and a toolbox as part of a city-wide effort to spruce up the schools. (Ha ha, I'm not sure they know what they're in for. Who wants to bet I get relegated to "supervising duty" within the first hour?) The Servathon project is organized by

betsyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10717809021552263661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34980931.post-47815518734123544172008-04-09T13:11:00.004-04:002008-04-09T13:42:24.902-04:00

Does taking pictures of geometrical ceilings of the D.C. Metro station ever get old? I think not. Now that spring has sprung (at least some of the time), it's been great fun getting out and doing various D.C.-y things. We kicked off our personal "Spring in the Nation's Capital" calendar of events last Friday at the Hirshhorn After Hours party, a semi-regular Friday night gathering during the

betsyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10717809021552263661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34980931.post-48056570601232482022008-03-21T12:55:00.003-04:002008-03-21T13:01:31.992-04:00

So, it's spring! Which means: a) Flowers! b) Cute spring clothes in lots of fun colors! c) I actually am starting to want to leave the apartment, which means there will soon be nice long walks, which means there will soon be pretty new photographs to spruce up this sadly neglected site. Most of the pics that would have been here were put on the other site as of late, like in this post and

betsyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10717809021552263661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34980931.post-5008800725628695682008-01-30T02:31:00.000-05:002008-01-31T11:22:57.663-05:00

About two years ago, in the midst of moving from Beijing to Singapore, I sorted through my thousands of China photographs and narrowed down the list to about 60 favorites. Almost all of these have appeared on this site at one point over the past four years, but not all together in one big, happy package like this. China was full of a never-ending stream of photo opportunities, from my home in

betsyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10717809021552263661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34980931.post-61487311503247870342008-01-28T04:33:00.000-05:002008-01-28T04:37:49.269-05:00

Surprise! We here at Betsy Goes to China are enjoying a rare moment of legitimacy today, as I'm actually in China, wrapping up a week spent hanging out around my old home of Beijing. It's been a fantastic trip – it was my first time back to the Mainland since I left in October 2005, and I'm happy to report that Beijing is both excitingly different and reassuringly similar to how it was when I

betsyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10717809021552263661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34980931.post-59871370068960013762007-12-19T18:55:00.000-05:002007-12-19T18:59:31.226-05:00

Okay, just so you don't have to look at my kitties for the next few weeks (who are adorable but perhaps a tad overexposed), here's a shot I took in Vietnam on the last trip I snuck in right before I left Asia. I love the cheery colors of the lanterns...

betsyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10717809021552263661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34980931.post-89541774470005596342007-12-19T13:22:00.000-05:002007-12-19T13:24:09.290-05:00

Firstly, the kitties would like you to know that they are really enjoying America. Apparently, the armchairs are waaaay more comfortable than in Singapore. And they really prefer the snuggly warm of the heating system to that awful, frigid air conditioning. Secondly: yes, we are all in America! We moved back to the D.C. area two weeks ago today and are still very much getting settled in and

betsyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10717809021552263661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34980931.post-45622008199791326182007-11-17T22:21:00.000-05:002007-11-17T22:24:04.381-05:00

Well, hello. It's been awhile. (Cue dramatic, adult contemporary music here.) I didn't really mean to disappear for so long. (And in fact, I'm still over on the other blog quite often, so you can check that I'm still alive by clicking there.) But it occurs to me that my non-fashion-obsessed friends and family – such as dad, Ryan, the brothers Guschl, for starters – might be wondering about my

betsyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10717809021552263661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34980931.post-21747347678813100132007-06-12T02:26:00.000-04:002007-06-12T02:37:23.289-04:00

I've finally managed to whittle down my Burma trip pictures from over a thousand to 75. Which is a lot, I know, but it's my blog and I'll post 75 pictures of Burma if I want to. The trip was really fantastic – we spent lots of time with our friends Megan and Quinn and their son Cooper, who live in Yangon (that's the former Rangoon for you Austin Powers fans). We flew up to Bagan, where more

betsyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10717809021552263661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34980931.post-85468674810058732562007-05-18T20:17:00.000-04:002007-05-18T20:21:49.442-04:00

…is never enough. We did our best though.

betsyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10717809021552263661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34980931.post-61654486048916555252007-05-01T10:21:00.000-04:002007-05-01T22:54:21.392-04:00

For the past couple of years, I've timed my visits home perfectly: in the fall, just as the air turns crisp and cool and sweater-y; and in the spring, when the flowers pop and the air warms up and it smells like freshly mowed grass. The past two weekends have been the nicest to hit Delaware so far this year, and I took full advantage of being able to be outside for more than 30 minutes without

betsyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10717809021552263661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34980931.post-87594168548138301382007-04-03T23:21:00.000-04:002007-04-03T23:31:13.737-04:00

My parents were just here for their semi-annual Asian Adventure. They bopped all around Singapore, headed to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam for five days, and wrapped things up with a quick jaunt to beautiful Krabi, Thailand. It was quite a full trip – we saw nearly every side of Southeast Asia -- with lots of elephants and war relics and Singapore Slings and island-hopping and some extremely

betsyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10717809021552263661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34980931.post-81823545967591057102007-03-13T07:39:00.000-04:002007-03-13T07:40:44.669-04:00

I was lucky enough to spend the last week in Tokyo, where despite the fact that it was very cold (my blood has grown accustomed to 88 degree days!) and that I caught a cold (cold breeds germs, apparently), I had myself a little Japanese-style blast. Actually, I worked a lot, and slept a lot (thanks, cold) but I still managed to make it out and see some fantastic Tokyo things. And now,

betsyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10717809021552263661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34980931.post-51434795695116834202007-02-19T08:58:00.000-05:002007-02-19T09:10:46.732-05:00

Today was supposed to be day three of our Adventures in Burma; however, that is not the case. The Visa paperwork didn't come through on time, so we postponed our trip until April and found ourselves with a four-day holiday weekend (for Chinese New Year) and absolutely nothing to do. Which is sort of exactly what we are doing, save for a little Trivial Pursuit-ing last night. I think it's fair

betsyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10717809021552263661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34980931.post-90031033782380835112007-02-09T21:10:00.000-05:002007-02-09T21:12:19.952-05:00

Last month, Mike and I took a long weekend and headed up to Macau, a former Portuguese colony in the south of China near Hong Kong. It's also the Las Vegas of Asia, thanks to a growing crop of casinos. You know how I love the blackjack. We weren't quite sure what to expect, but were definitely excited to finally check it out. Suffice to say, we loved Macau. The architecture and atmostphere is a

betsyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10717809021552263661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34980931.post-1170897633130170802007-02-07T20:17:00.000-05:002007-02-07T20:24:52.343-05:00

I suppose when one gets to a point where one is getting concerned e-mails from one's parents, friends, and just about anyone she's met since approximately age 11, it has probably been a bit too long since she updated her blog. And so. Hello! Thanks for sticking with me as I balance life with a daily job, cute but demanding kitties and a fresh supply of Veronica Mars episodes (thanks, Andy!).

betsyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10717809021552263661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34980931.post-1166339915032731432006-12-17T02:15:00.000-05:002006-12-17T02:18:35.043-05:00

In the meantime, kitty pictures!

betsyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10717809021552263661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34980931.post-1165572697537666572006-12-08T05:07:00.000-05:002006-12-08T05:11:37.553-05:00

Things have been mighty busy in these parts lately. Mike has been ushering around distinguished visitors and such, and I have been juggling new job possibilities (as well as the usual old ones). We did take a break over Thanksgiving to head to Phuket, where we were able to spend a few days with with the always enjoyable Kevin, who was visiting from D.C. Having Kevin around was good motivation

betsyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10717809021552263661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34980931.post-1164183580281693792006-11-22T03:13:00.000-05:002006-11-22T03:48:34.280-05:00

We are skipping the turkey and trimmings this year in favor of pad thai and spring rolls. Come tomorrow, we expect to find ourselves on the beaches of Phuket raising our pina coladas to the spirit of Thanksgiving, and (I imagine) being thankful that we are on a tropical island and have a neverending supply of fruity frozen beverages. Who needs pilgrim hats when you have fresh pineapple? In any

betsyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10717809021552263661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34980931.post-1162448101853590152006-11-02T00:51:00.000-05:002006-11-02T01:29:10.536-05:00

The very fun Judy and Carl were here visiting this week, which gave me lots of motivation to plow through the jet lag (sort of), indulge in all sorts of delicious food, do some things I've been wanting to do for months and break out the new camera for a quick spin around Kampong Glam. Here's just a few snaps from their trip, to help unveil the new site design. I'm still working on it, but just

betsyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10717809021552263661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34980931.post-1160549452111097082006-10-11T02:50:00.000-04:002006-11-02T01:05:28.516-05:00

Well, hey! Long time, no see. What have I been up to this past month? Lots of work and lots of trips, including Bangkok, Hong Kong, Tokyo and the U.S., where I'm currently sitting in my parents' dining room enjoying some pleasantly cool weather and a delicious cream doughnut. My sweaters and I are happy -- one, because I can finally wear sweaters for a change and two, because big bulky sweaters

betsyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10717809021552263661noreply@blogger.com