Bienvenido!

Hello There!

Thanks for checking out my blog. You are probably here because you just received your invitation and are curious to see what all the hype is about. Please make yourself at home. Show me some love and sign up to be a follower on the right of this post, leave comments, and come back every couple of weeks to make sure I haven't written anything bad about you. hehe

If you have not booked your tickets yet, please do so and kindly RSVP before November 10th. Make sure your passport does not expire before July 2010. If it does, you will not be allowed into the Dominican Republic and we will use your room as a storage place for wedding stuff and a place to hide from crazy family members. As an added incentive, I will send a free copy of the Fodor's Guide- Dominican Republic to three lucky families who are attending and who reply before November 10th.

Let the countdown begin! We have 2 months, 2 weeks and 5 days to go before haba haba ariba ariba andelay cha cha cha!

Si. Muy bueno.

Love,
Ava

School Daze

Now that Este's officially in graduate school mode with night classes and reams of reading, I am faced with hours of free time without a fiance to share it with. The first night by myself, I caught up with all the TV shows Este normally refuses to sit through (i.e. Gossip Girl and America's Next Top Model). The second night I did a girls only happy hour. In the interest of not going brain dead and not becoming a broke alcoholic, I decided to limit the amount of reality TV and drinking. So for the third night, I tried to be productive with my free time.

I went to the gym, went grocery shopping, made dinner, ate dinner, cleared the table, watched some TV, did my nails, trimmed the cat's nails, read, blogged, cleaned my room and picked my outfit for work, all in that order and with time to spare. It was the longest night of my life, and all the while Este was sitting at his desk engrossed in school work. "What are you reading about?" I asked him. Big mistake. He launched into a long lecture on the politics behind the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act which reminded me that I've been meaning to Swiffer the kitchen. Great idea!

Since I have at least two more years of this solitary life to go, I am making a list of enrichment activities for myself. Kat just started this amazing food blog on Iranian cooking called http://www.mimiskitchen.wordpress.com/, so I am definitely going to get my inner Julia Child on. I'm taking Spanish lessons to better flirt with the waitstaff at the Iberostar Bavaro. And I'm training Keesh to use the toilet and walk with a leash. Please don't hesitate to send me any of your suggestions, because...All work and no play make Ava a dull girl. All work and no play make Ava a dull girl. All work and no play make Ava a dull girl. All work and no play make Ava a dull girl. All work and no play make Ava a dull girl. All work and no play make Ava a dull girl. All work and no play make Ava a dull girl. All work and no play make Ava a dull girl. All work and no play make Ava a dull girl. All work and no play make Ava a dull girl. All work and no play make Ava a dull girl. All work and no play make Ava a dull girl. All work and no play make Ava a dull girl.

Power to the People

When I first heard that Ahmadinejad had won the Iranian elections in a landslide victory, and Iranians were challenging the results with nationwide protests, I didn't think much of it. It's no surprise that he would rig the election and that people are unhappy with him. But as the protests continued in larger numbers and became ever more violent, I started to follow the news more carefully along with the rest of the world.

As the days turned into weeks, the air seemed charged with possibility. Iranian households all over the world held their breaths. It's hard not to get caught up in too much wishful thinking. One can't help but think that the last time Iranians hit the streets in such a way, there was a total revolution with new leadership and government. Could it be that the people are repressed to such an extent that they would again risk life and limb for a change? The bloody footage all over the Internet suggests that this is so. And when I saw young 20-something Iranian women going up against fully-armed Basij militia for doing nothing more than voicing their discontent, I could not sit idol any longer.

I desperately want the experience of visiting a country where everyone looks familiar, speaks my Mother tongue, and shares my family's culture. When I went protesting with my mom in DC and New York, I felt a kinship with the crowd around me. We all have our reasons to fight for Iran. One of mine is for the opportunity to see the place my parents and grandparents once called home. That "free" Iran is a myth, but each person who protests against the current regime brings that myth closer to a reality- and that, however small, gives me hope.

*******
See if you can spot Arasb, Sepideh, Aryan, my Mom and Me in this video. (Hint: We appear around 3:29)

Goodbye 25

My twenty-fifth year was awesome, as it should be because my lucky number is five and five times five is 25. This was the year I resumed going to the gym, Este got into Columbia grad school, we set a date for the wedding, I started a new job and my first book there hit the bestseller list, I broke my habit of biting my nails (well, sort of), and we moved into a ballin' new apartment. There have been a lot of changes and for the first time since I moved to New York for college eight years ago, I can feel a new chapter beginning in my life. Bigger than a chapter--more like Part III. After all, 26 is 30 rounded up.

I can only hope that 26 is a better year than 25 and that each year gets better after that. So far, life is damn good and judging by the extent of partying during my birthday weekend, there are thousands (hundreds?) more good times to come. Cheers!


Pre-game in the apartment.


The party continues on the subway.




Partying it up at Alibi Lounge.


Whiffle ball at Central Park. Obviously too hungover to play an actual game, but at least we got a good team photo!

Complete Set

When I first got engaged there were two things I was most excited about: the cake tasting and the chance to hold a scanner and shoot everything in sight for a wedding registry shopping spree. I was practically giddy with excitement waking up this morning, knowing that today was the day to realize the second of my dreams.

The wedding registry lady equipped us with a scanner and a map of the store and then we were off! "This is what it must be like to be rich," I thought as we skipped our way through aisles of bed, baths and beyonds, scanning every single item that looked remotely like something grown up couples would have.

A 3-piece ice bucket set? Definitely. We like our drinks cold. Even outside the fridge.

A $100 waffle maker? Are you seriously asking me? SCAN!

And definitely scan the food scale. I want to be able to weigh everything I eat.

We requested a mahogany box to store the fancy flatware, and a bamboo tray to store the more casual flatware. And a heavy wooden block to support the 17-piece knife set. And that was all within the first five minutes.

After we scanned the 15th item, though, the giddiness started to wear off. As excited as we are for the 10-Cup Automatic Drip Krups Coffee Maker and the Deluxe Recycler Can, everything else is just stuff. And stuff that, when it comes down to it, we really don't need. I don't want Este and I to end up like the famous Collyer brothers, whose decaying bodies were found buried under more than a hundred tons of junk in their Fifth Avenue apartment.

I tried to convince myself that eventually, when we move into a house, we will need to fill it with all the items we requested and ideally we'd like those to be high quality and long lasting. But for now, we live in a Manhattan apartment with limited space and a limited budget. To ask my guests to get us two hundred-dollar Tempur-Pedic pillows in addition to the thousands of dollars they are spending to attend the wedding just seems plain wrong.

We decided to call it a day and head home. When we went to turn in our scanner, the sales lady squealed with delight and said that because we scanned $150-worth of Cuisinart, the company was going to send us a free measuring cup set. Do we want her to fill out the paperwork to receive the gift? Este looked at me with twinkling eyes. "Yes, please!"

It's a Boy!

There comes a point in life, between the ages of 25 and 30, when it seems like everyone is getting engaged and/or married. Seriously, Este and I have had a wedding to go to every four months in the past couple years, and now that we have our own wedding to plan it's like Wedding Overload. But I never would have guessed Baby Fever would rear its oversized head so soon. Don't get excited Mrs. Perla, I'm not talking about me and Este. It's everyone else! And I want to dedicate this post to saying congratulations to the future Moms and Dads of the next generation: Matt and Jean, Alison and Kurt, Parisa and Marco, Jennifer and Will, Shahab and Elaine-- I cannot wait to meet your little honey bunches of oats and squish their cheeks!

All this baby talk has got me thinking. Many people have come up to me, gushing about how excited they are to see what me and Este's babies are going to look like. They assume the Persian/Filipino combo makes for gorgeous offspring, although if you ask me, if they are not beautiful, they are going to be butt ugly. It's one or the other, so I rather not find out any time soon.

But out of curiosity, I went to a site called MakeMeBabies.com and uploaded a pic of me and one of Este. The site takes features from both 'parents' and combines them to create a composite of what your children would look like. You can even choose to morph with a celebrity. We ended up with a boy and chose to name him Este, Jr. after his handsome father. The baby has Este's forehead, but other than that, looks nothing like either of us. Not beautiful but not quite ugly either, just...different. While we will not be entering him in any Cutest Baby contest, a paternity test might not be such a bad idea...

http://www.makemebabies.com/viewbaby.php?bid=baby_13_512956

On another note- The National Geographic special, "The Human Family Tree" airs tonight at 9PM EST, and I finally renewed my passport! You should find out when yours expires. It could take up to 2 months to get a new passport, so now is the time to take care of it. Click here for more info: http://www.usps.com/passport/welcome.htm.

Ain't Nothin But Mammals

One day last summer, Este and I were happily making our way through a street fair in Astoria. We saw these huge cameras and lights set up and a banner for the National Geographic Channel, so we stopped to take a look.

They were conducting research for a study that claims that all humans descended from a group of African ancestors and about 60,000 years ago, started migrating out of Africa to different parts of the world. As they settled in different regions and climates, their characteristic features evolved to adapt to their environment, creating the Asian, European, and North American people, etc.

The Genographic Project is a five-year mission to better understand the migratory history of the human species. They took DNA samples from cheek cells from hundreds of thousands of participants around the world, including me and Este! Astoria is the most diverse community in the world, so they were hoping to get representatives from all parts.

It's weird to think that just by taking a cotton swab to your cheek, you can trace the origins of your family. We waited a few months for the results to come back, and sure enough, there was a little map with a clear red line from Africa to the Middle East for me. Apparently, my people were one of the laziest, because we traveled the least distance from Africa. No comment on the ones that didn't even bother to leave! Este's map had a line from Africa to China, which is interesting because he is an eighth Chinese. Now, if we had chosen to trace his mother's side, the line would most likely have led to Europe.

We were asked to meet in Astoria Park once again to share our reactions. They had all of us stand together in Africa and start walking to our respective origins. It was quite sad as I had to say goodbye to Este early and watch him walk all the way to "China." I was surrounded with all these Greeks and Italians and one Iraqi and about a quarter mile away, there stood Este with about 3 Asians, hopelessly waving a yellow flag at me. He was clearly not a part of the cool club, even in caveman days!

The special is called The Human Family Tree and it will air on the National Geographic Channel on August 30th at 9PM. Set your DVR, because Este and I were watching TV and he randomly started screaming, "That was me! That was me! Rewind it! Rewind it!" There is about .005 seconds where Este is in front of the camera waving a flag with 120 other people. Regretfully, I was behind a 4,000-pound gorilla and was blocked from the camera the entire time. I was pretty disappointed, but the next day we got an email from National Geographic, and lo and behold, Este and I are front and center, scrubbing our cheeks with cotton swabs. As usual, it's not the best picture of me, given the rabbit teeth and all. (Note to Self: Don't open your mouth too wide at the wedding.) But it's pretty flattering that they chose us to be the "face" of the promotional campaign. See for yourself! The pic looks photo-shopped, so I am going to give you a direct link to the site so you know it's real. We are the 3rd picture in the series. If you want, you can bring your Human Family Tree DVD to the wedding, and we will sign it for you- free of charge.
https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/index.html