Blog continues

I have transfered my blog to a new address. Plese follow this link:

http://web.mac.com/caiila/iWeb/blog_caiila/2006/2006.html

Caïla

Climbing the hills in San Fransisco

Hella... :-)

I just came back to Los Angeles (and pulled the flower out of my hear...) after spending the holidays in San Fransisco with my boyfriend. It was such a charming city! San Francisco is well-known for its diverse ethnic and political communities, hilly (must be hard to pedal up, and you better check the breaks on your bike before going downhill...!! ...those skateboard guy's must be trying to commit suicide) and picturesque terrain, and history of earthquakes. It's the place where hippies are born, and many coolies live here. Maybe that's why the weather is always cold??... (Well, still not even comparable to the temperature in Norway this time a year. So according to that theory norwegians are really super cool ;-)





















Wednesday night last week we did the 6-7 hours drive on the 101-North (the most direct route from the south) to San Fransisco. Considering the holidays the traffic wasn't bad at all. The perpetually-clogged traffic, a confusing system of one-way streets, expensive parking, and a fleet of meter-maids who enforce parking laws with zeal made driving in downtown extremely frustrating. There's good public transportation in this city, and it didn't take long to understand it's better to leave the car home. We tried the world-famous Cable Cars. It was a fun ride, and we even got to stand on the running board. Walking is also a good option to get from one neighborhood to another ...as well as good exercise ...plus you get to see some breathtaking views (as the streets often go straight up and down hills)!! And if the hills are too steep you can always go slalom... The Lombard Street which is the (nearly) twistiest street in America.


We started exploring San Fransisco by walking the Fisherman's Wharf sniffing some fresh breeze from the bay. Because Asgeir "didn't hold his beautiful girlfriend's (yes, that's me :-) hand" while glazing the sea we got pulled over to the side by an "officer", and Asgeir got a failure-to-hold-hands-violation-ticket. He got released by paying a $15 ticket (supporting a creative student group to give food to homeless people on thanksgiving).


So hand-in-hand we went to the old ferry building (now transformed into a gourmet food emporium and farmers market, though it was closed on thanksgiving day), Pier 39 (which is a festival marketplace with lot's of stores, restaurants, a variety of (at least supposed to be) fun-filled attractions and street entertainers) and Ghirardelli Square (a shopping mall that used to be a confectionery and chocolate factory). Well, overall I think the Fisherman's Wharf is a "tourist trap" though it might be a good place to see some amazing street entertainers.

For thanksgiving dinner we were planning to check out one of the raw food restaurants in San Fransisco. It turned out almost the whole city closed down that night, and we had a hard time finding a place to eat. I had no clue how serious the Americans are about the thanksgiving holiday.


Well, I'm not to complain. We ended up enjoying a four dishes meal from the classy vegan restaurant Millennium in our hotel room, and the food was outstanding!



San Francisco is a land of scenic bridges, and most famous is of course the Golden Gate Bridge (...and just to clear up that misconception right away... the bridge is not actually golden in color, but has a red-orange paint that really stands out!). The masterwork (I has even been called one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World) of architect Joseph B. Strauss took seven years to build, and was completed in 1937. Today the bridge is one of the major road routes into and out of the city.

Golden Gate Park was much bigger than I expected. It's a huge urban oasis covered with grassy meadows, wooded bike trails, secluded lakes, open groves, gardens and several museums. I guess we could have spent days form dawn to dusk each day just exploring the Golden Gate Park, but for now we only had the time to do the Japanese Tea Garden which is a small park in the park (like a Russian doll...) of traditional Japanese architecture, koi ponds and bamboo trees.























We did our shopping for fruits and vegetables in the original Chinatown. This was quite an exhibit of local life. The houses are decorated with chinese ornaments, the streets are packed with people, and the side streets especially have stores one wouldn't find in a mall.














Well, what I remember best from Chinatown is a small chinese man with a huge poster with "Bush+Blair=Terrorists" and shouting out a lightly contradicting message "Happy, Happy, Happy!!...." I'm not quite sure what he was trying to communicate, but he was sure funny... hehe.... :-)


The absolute greatest about this trip was to enjoy the lovely raw organic dishes at Cafe Gratitude together with Asgeir and Leemore (a lovely girl I got to know during my NLP education). It's a place that really celebrate aliveness and remind you to love your life, adore yourself, accept the world, be generous and grateful (on each plate it's engraved "What are you grateful for??").



We went to eat here twice so I got to taste most of the dishes on the menu. Among other things I ordered a "I am passionate" (live pizza) and a "I am magnificent" (raw chocolate mousse) ...and when served the waitress said "You are passionate" and "You are magnificent".
:-) :-)



After dinner one day we went to the movie theater where we saw the action-adventure-romance-sci-fi movie "Deja Vu". The performances were great and really suck you in, though tthis movie requires a fair bit of suspension of disbelief. Even though I like the concept, going back in time and change things that has already happened, kind of made it too far-fetched for me, though the heart of the story took me along the ride...


























We got to see a lot, but I guess I'll have to go back there to explore the decommissioned island prison; Alcatraz Island. Now I at least get the time to watch the movie "Escape from Alcatraz" first... And when going back I might also want to do something a little more romantic than trying to figure out how it's like to be imprisoned... like maybe take my beloved Asgeir watch the sunset from a sailboat in San Fransisco bay...??? (he'll have to hold my hand... ;-)

We also had a scenic drive back to Los Angeles on the Pacific Coast Highway with a short stop Santa Cruz just to get some sleep. This coastal highway winds along some of the most spectacular ocean views in the U.S. This is the place where you can get some perfect views of ocean waves breaking on rocky shorelines and cliffs.














































There's also dozens of historical landmarks along the way (mostly from the spanish time) ...among them the world's first motel (built in 1925, and now and for the past 16 years under an extremely slow restoration process).

Love you all!

Caïla

To my gay friends:
If you think you're Gay you've obviously never been to San Francisco ...or in Hollywood at Halloween ;-)

Thank you :-)

Hi all,

Thanksgiving is coming up tomorrow. I think this might be my favorite holiday as I really value the concept of taking the time to be grateful. Well, I guess there will be no turkey for me, ...but I'm sure I'll find some other goodies ;-) Yellow mangos, sweet pomelo and fresh coconut water is even better! ...and I've also found out how to make raw chocolate :-)

Last weekend I was at a raw-food demonstration day at one of the health food stores (Erewhon Market). There were lots of food demonstrations and samples, and I got to taste some new raw stuff and meet some of the movers and shakers of the raw food craze.

The movie "Fast-food Nation" was disappointing, but watching James Bond at the graumans auditorium at the China Theatre was a big experience. This is the most famous movie theatre in the world with it's forecourt (read: the Mecca for anyone who loves the movies) with hand- & footprints of the Hollywood Stars set in cement. Grauman's Chinese Theatre was built in 1926. Since its opening the Chinese Theatre has been the site of more gala movie premieres than any other theatre.

I also went to see a brilliant and original animation movie about singing and dancing penguins. It was very funny and the animation was sooo cute. Irresistible! I would say the year's best animated film. So go watch the movie and sing a song ...or swing those Happy Feets! Just make sure you follow your heart.... :-) After watching "Happy Feets" my feets was screaming for salsa. It's a while since I've been out dancing now, so it felt great to shake that body a little.


Asgeir and myself enjoy trekking. We usually go hiking all year in Norway, and now Asgeir just bought a tent so that we can go camping here too. Actually we decided to go camping right away(!) ...and put up the tent in Asgeirs living-room. Another good thing about being a raw-fooder is that you don't have to take the risk about barbecuing indoors...


What other crazy stuff have I done lately???... Well, we went to Magic Mountain which is a theme park with a huge collection of rollar-costers. Basically this means standing in line for 2 hours to get a 2 minutes roller-coast ride (which is quite crazy by itself...).


At Magic Mountain you find the tallest, fastest, largest looping, longest flying roller coasters on planet earth! Among others you find Southern California's first floorless mega-coaster and the world's first four-dimensional coaster (riders race in vehicles that spin independently 360-degrees forwards or backwards on separate axis). You kind of get to Xperience the Xtreme! It's a "non-stop" high speed (85 miles-per-hour at the fastest) adventure looming 255 feet in the air (at the tallest point) with daring "butterflies-in-your-stomach" plunges like corkscrews, double barrel boomerang turns, huge sweeping spirals, zero-gravity "floating" hills and drops, and vertical loops diving into tunnels shrouded in total darkness... I don't know if that gave you a sense of what that 2 minutes adrenaline kick was like, but if you think you've experienced the giant among coasters before... think again!














We also went skydiving (without a parachute!!). They pulled us (I don't know if I have the guts to do it solo) up by a wire and we (read: I) were supposed to pull a string to cause the free fall (about 60 mile-per-hour). Hanging 150 feet above ground waiting to pull the string I heard the instructions from one of the matchstick men down there; "3, 2, fly!! .......or did they say "3, 2, die!"....?????? That's what I call fly at the speed of fair. Though it may not sound very pleasurable it really was a great experience feeling the freedom of hanging in the air. I might actually put wings on the list when writing my letter to Santa Claus later...
This weekend I'm going to San Fransisco. I'm really looking forward to going. With its steep, inclined streets and trams gliding by I believe San Francisco is a charming city.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Caïla

...listening to the funky local radio-station (fm 94.7 the wave - www.947wave.com) hoping to win a tour to Costa Rica or Hawaii...

Safely back in Hollywood

Just want to drop a line to tell you all I'm safely back in LA. My flight was okay. I always bring my laptop and a book to keep myself busy. I even got to watch a movie. From LAX I had to take the metro, and that was not a very pleasant experience. It was more of a long and frightening tour. Scandinavian tall blond girl on the wrong(!) side of town...! People were talking about guns and robbery on the metro ...and I was the only white... I was quite scared. Well, now I'm safely back in Hollywood. Puh...!

Short visit to Norway

Booooo!! (did you get scared now?)

When writing this I'm on the plain to Norway. I'm going back to teach nlp for a couple of days at NLP Centeret. I guess I'm missing out on all the halloween parties tonight (Oct. 31st). Well, I kind of get a small taste of it as even the airplane is decorated with skeletons, spiders and spider nets.

I've got myself an apartment along the stars in Hollywood which is one of LA's most famous neighborhoods, and I'm starting to adjust to life in Los Angeles. It's not really all that hard to get used to the sun and warmth...














Los Angeles is a highly entertaining city, with several distinct neighborhoods offering a wide range of experiences. In LA you can really keep yourself busy having a good time at the beach, hiking in the hills, visiting top-notch galleries and museums, checking out bands, watching obscure films that no one else in the country gets to see, shopping at cool local boutiques, and eating delicious, healthy food. I haven't got to explore much of the neighbourhood yet so I guess I have an exciting time ahead of me. Asgeir and myself are also planning a trip to San Fransisco. I got to see a lot of the US when traveling with Doug Swenson, but there are still some more cities and states I want to go while I'm overseas.

I've become good friends with my new old car. It's nice to be independent and be able to get around easily. The downside is that I spend hours in the LA-traffic every day. It's crazy. LA is really spread out. In fact, Los Angeles has often been described as more of a collection of small towns connected by a freeway than a proper city. That line from the movie Clueless "everywhere in LA takes 20 minutes!" (...or more) is pretty true -at least at rush hour and when you get lost (which I do from time to time if I haven't brought Asgeirs GPS navigator with me). Well, I just got a new auto stereo installed and I'm planning to keep myself busy listening to audio books, self development programs and a spanish course (I'll speak fluid spanish within a month or two if I'll be driving as much back and forth as I have done so far). I love my Altima, but I also miss my bike!! Even though LA is a place where people tend to be healthy and into fitness the amount of time I spend on exercise has reduced drastically. Other than a Sunday walk in the park and my morning yoga I'm actually not moving very much at all. After returning from the tour with Doug I've been a little tired of yoga. I've been giving myself some slack for a while, but when returning to LA I'm seriously getting back into my daily yoga practice so that I can live up to my own standards. There are also plenty of bike trails, hikes (there's some nice parks quite close to where I live), and climbs to keep outdoor enthusiasts like me happy.














Back in LA I'm also looking forward to go out dancing. I know there's plenty of good places to go for both salsa, tango and lindy. I'm also checking out possible places to go ballroom dancing. It's dance socials every night so there's really no excuse. I just have to find a way to combine the social dancing (read: late nights) with my morning yoga (I find it best to do my practice in the morning). I also want to take some tango lessons with Asgeir. I already do the tango, but I could need to develop a better technique.

In addition to the laidback lifestyle that comes with living in a city on the beach that sees sun most of the year, Los Angeles has a surprising number of cultural goings-on outside of the film industry. There are dozens of theaters and as a resident of Hollywood I feel it's my duty to go to the movies once in a while. I guess I have a peak at what you might get the opportunity to see next year... There are several cinemas here showing a lot of good movies. Now I'm looking forward to watch "Casino Royale" (James Bond) and "The Fastfood Nation" (based on the book) that is coming up next month. Talking about food... the kiosks at the cinemas sell super-sized pop corn baskets and the seats are equipped with a cup holder that fits an XXL coca cola...! It kind of makes me wonder if the americans already have forgotten about "Super-size me"... I always bring a raw-food chocolate bar when I go to the movies. It's even better than the norwegian Melkesjokolade with it's slogan "et lite stykke Norge" (eng.: a little piece of Norway - though the factory has been bought up by an American company now...).

Overall I'm doing very good in LA. I feel happy! :-) The only thing stressing me here is to find a way to get a visa. Maybe I should go back to school or find a rich client (read: sponsor) that really value my work. If any of you have any tips and advice please share them with me. When coming back to LA I'll have another 90 days to sort out a way...

Happy halloween!

Caïla

Getting settled in LA

Hi all,

I'm finally made the decision to go to LA!!!! lol I'm both excited and nervous about coming here. I'm nervous about all the challenges ahead of me and all the fears that I'll have to face when moving to a new country. Well, I guess you need to take on some challenges to grow.... Most of all I'm excited about being here, meeting new people and getting (read: taking) the possibility to focus on yoga and dance. In India I met a few people that really got me think through a couple of things and helped me change my focus. I know what I want in life, and it's my responsibility to follow my intuition, do what I believe in, follow through on my goals and live by my values. I want to do those things that makes me smile :-) I almost can't believe that I'm finally here to fulfill my dream about practice and teach dance and yoga in Los Angeles. As you know I've wanted this for years, but I've been too scared to actually do it. Now I'm here, and it all feels kind of unreal........ I guess it's my dream has become reality!!! I know I'm on the right path, so I'm just going to try to trust and enjoy the process as much as possible and keep myself open to all possibilities (there's lots of opportunities here!).

As you know from the previous posting I was invited by Doug Swenson to come assisting at his yoga workshop across the country for a month. This was offered as an opportunity for me to get a 200 hour Yoga Alliance certification and some experience before start teaching in Los Angeles. As I saw that as a great opportunity to get a yoga teacher certification, practice yoga adjustments, expand my network and getting to see some cool places I decided to come along! Well, so now I've been touring for almost a month teaching yoga. Now I'm back in Los Angeles! -And not counting the days I'll go back to Norway to teach NLP I'm planning to stay for a while (one year, maybe more...).

I didn't manage to get myself a place to live before I went on tour. Asgeir has moved into a place in Hollywood, so I stay while I'm looking for my own place. I've been quite stressed about this because the landlords surely prefer US cidizens with good referals and lots of money in the bank..... Well, I have a gut-feeling I'll find a place soon. And as soon as I get an apartment you're all very welcome to come visit me if you want! :-)

I bought myself a new (at least for me) used car the other day. It's my first car and I'm quite excited about it! It's a Nissan Altima '97. Nobody walks here...





Hopefully I'll also find a place (or several) to teach yoga and dance to financial comfort myself. Well, it's so funny how things just seems to fall in place when you're on the right path though.... I'm so grateful that I got introduced to Heather. She has been so extreemly nice and helpful to me. She has introduced me to some central people in the yoga scene and even referred me some of here clients! So I've had a great start with getting refereed a couple of clients and being on the list to fill in classes at Yoga Works (one of the biggest yoga companies). lol Other than looking out for more places to teach yoga and dance I'll start giving some massages (just ordered a massage-table) and coaching sessions. ...and I'll keep my eyes open for possible modeling jobs and other Hollywood opportunities that might show up ;-)

I've changed my diet and are now eating 100% raw-food. I'm quite proud of myself to even quit eating chocolate!!! Well, have to admit I've found a raw chocolate substitute... It's much easier being a raw-fooder here than in Norway. Here there's a much bigger selection of fruits and vegetable, there's some raw restaurants where you can get some really good (believe it or not!) dishes, and even the climate makes it easier eating raw (cold) food. I'm going to out up a raw-food blog as well: http://TheRawLaw.blogspot.com/



I'll keep you posted.

:-) from Caïla

Yoga Tour

Since September 11th I've been touring with Doug (a world known yoga teacher). The tour started in Reno, Nevada which is where Doug is located (if you can say he's located anywhere when traveling 11 months a year...). Here we did some trekking and took some great photos. From there we went to Bockingham, Virginia to teach a workshop at a yoga retreat center in the middle of nowhere with mostly hari krishna brainwashed people wearing orange (more spiritual...??...) all religious about their guru Sri Swami Satchidananda and secret ash... All they need is their daily rum (chanting hari, hari, rum, rum...)... - I felt I was stuckd in a religious box with no connection to the outside world (no reception, no internet, and far away from Everything...) I guess there are lots of kooky yoga places out there... I'm sooo glad I gout out of there!! ...and without getting brainwashed... ;-) .


After Virginia we drove to Washington D.C. to visit some friends. I got introduced to a yogini called Olivia, and I also got to visit Timothy (which is my salsa friend that introduced me to the salsa scene - and dancing On2 - in LA a few years ago).





















Then we went to the Verginia beach area where we did some other cool shots at a sand dune (on the pictures it looks almost like a desert).






























And this is a great one of Doug. He can do all kinds of weard looking postures!


Next stop were New York where we taught another workshop. One night I also got to go out ballroom dancing with Raphael. That was great fun! I haven't dance ballroom since 1998...!!


I've also met up with an 88 year old yogini and ballroom dancer (her first name is Tao) there. She's amazing!!


I almost can't believe it. She's in such a good shape! I wish I'm in shape when I turn 88.......


I even got to hook up with Lynne (that I met in India) for lunch one day!

I'm grateful for this oportunity to travel with Doug. I very much appreciate his friendship and helpfullness i terms of giving me this opportunity to get a yoga trainer certification. He's a good man and I enjoy his company. And best of it all... he's a raw-fooder as well! Well, I'm not used to have another person around me 24/7 for this long. It's quite intense. We're either teaching, traveling from one place to another, eating (barely time for that) or sleeping (always jet-laged because of the timedifferances) so there's long between the times I get some time to myself. The other day I just needed some space(!) so he gave me a day off and went to Green Bay teaching by himself. It was great just to be by myself for a while.














This weekend we're teaching a workshop at a wonderful studio in Minneapolis, Minnesota.



We get to stay with the people that is running the studio. They have a 9 month year old daughter, and she's just adorable! Having a baby and observing the child growing up must be the greatest thing in life...!



Here in the north it's pretty much like the Norewegian fall. There's some beautyful colours though!


Monday morning (October 2nd) I go back to Los Angeles and a warmer climate. Well, I still have some books to read and some tests to complete in terms of finishing my yoga trainer certification program, but there things I can do when I'm back in Los Angeles. I'm starting to look forward to go back now. It's a bit frustrating to be on the road knowing there will be challenges waiting when I get back. Before I went touring I spent the whole day(!) driving all over Los Angeles looking for a place to live. It's plenty of vacancies, but most of them have a really bad standard and still they also get rented so fast that you have to make your decision right away. It's crazy! It will be nice though to get a place to live (I guess life on the road is not for me long term...) and feel more grounded. :-) ...and I guess I miss Asgeir......


























































I've learned a lot from this experience (even though I tend to be more of a strict ashtanga yogi than Doug which is teaching soft style yoga - that can be very smooth and graceful like a soft dance). I haven't got to do my own practice a lot, but I've for sure got to practice adjustments. And I've made some lovely yogi-friends all over the US. Thank you for inviting us to teach, for coming to our classes, and for being such wonderful people! :-)

- namaste -






*** . * " * " * .. * " *** " * .. * " * " * . * " * " * .. * " *** " * .. * " * " * . ***

...and thank's for all the beautyful salads, Doug! I've had a great time traveling with you, and I'm looking forward to coming with you to Costa Rica in April. You'll have to teach me surfing too then, mate! ;-)