Well, another year has passed and this year has been very eventful in some ways for me and not so eventful in other ways. I look back at this past year and it was such a whirlwind of memories, I can't believe its about to be 2007.
My life has completely changed from the start of the year until now, going from moving out of Nate's place in New Orleans to moving into Mike's place around the corner. At this point, my house in Lakeview was still sitting there from the flood and my house uptown was just renovated and rented out to help me pay my mortgage. It took me almost 6 months from this point to sell the house in Lakeview, sell the house on Sycamore place, sell all my furniture and get packed up to move out of the city. In the meantime, I quit my job, spent some time with my sister in South Florida and did a sisters weekend in Key Largo, spent some time with my mom and friends before packing up my car and heading west.
In June, my cousin and I packed up our cars and followed each other to California where I dropped my car in LA and then headed up the coast to help her drive to Milpitas. From there, I spent a little bit of time in San Francisco and then headed back down to LA. I left a week or two after that for my trip to South America where I went to the Galapagos Islands, Cuzco, Lima, Macchu Pichu, Iquitos and the Amazon.
Then from there, I had some good friends come to Cali and I got to enjoy the coast a little bit- doing some diving in Catalina Island, camping in Big Sur, lounging at Glen Ivy Spa and riding up Pacific Coast Highway, which is such a beautiful drive (but you start to feel nauseated so thank god Cecilia drove!). I also spent some time with my mom in Las Vegas for Labor Day weekend which was a lot of fun.
After my travels were over, I finally landed a job with Internet Broadcasting after about a month of looking and then it seemed like the next 4 months were gone in a flash. I was traveling a ton for work and really trying to get the hang of this gig, so all of my time was dedicated to this. In November, I finally got a little break and my family and I and my cousins went on a cruise in the Bahamas for Thanksgiving. It was nice to be just with my family and away from everything, although it had been a while since I was in Pensacola.
Christmas creeped up on us so quickly as well and after flying to Minneapolis for some meetings, I was able to spend some time with my family in Pensacola, making a pit stop in New Orleans on my way there.
So that is my year in a nutshell. Although much has happened and there have been so many changes for me this past year, literally so much has happened that I haven't had much time to just sit and think... which I have been doing a lot these last few weeks. Before, something always had to be done- like move, look for a job and a place to live... pretty big stuff. But now things have calmed down for me- I got a job, a new place to live, etc...- and now I am sitting back absorbing it all and reflecting on this past year and it has really hit me like a ton of bricks! Its just now that I am feeling the shock of everything that has happened since my divorce, Hurricane Katrina and moving my life to a completely different place and its really pretty heavy.
I am hoping that 2007 will be the year where I find myself and really come to terms with everything so that I can move forward with my life and live life to its fullest. I want my family and friends to know that I appreciate you guys every single day because without you, I wouldn't be able to pick myself up in times where I am just unsure about where I am in my life, where I am going or choices I have made this last year. I need you all so much and thanks for being there for me always. You guys make me strong and you make me feel complete. I love you all and I just want you to know how much I appreciate you.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
A New Orleans' Christmas

My friend from New Orleans, Vanessa, threw an awesome Hanukah/Kawanzaa/Christmas party or as she says... HanuKwanzaaMas... with a little New Orleans flavor. They have a cute little house in Carthay Circle (my old office!) and it was a blast! Stephanie threw the party with her and it was fun to see some "new friends" that I had just met through them very recently and its so nice for her to share her friends and family with me. Everyone is so nice and down to earth. One of my favorites is her friend Rick who is just full of spirit and great advice. He is such a great friend to have and looking forward to getting to know him better. Here is a picture of him and the girls...



Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Our Christmas Party at the Buonfiglios
I just got here in New Orleans after being in Minneapolis for the last two days for meetings with the team and more importantly, our little holiday party at Dave's house. I was a little surprised about how mild the weather was -- I didn't even have to wear gloves or a hat! I was kind of bummed that there wasn't any snow on the ground because this was my one opportunity all year to see it. Oh well... maybe when I come back in first quarter I will get a little taste.
It was great to have everyone together as a team and be able to talk about stuff as a team, bounce ideas off each other, etc... Here is a picture of all of us at Dave's house for the party... Jeff, Jesse, Kim, me, Catharine, Johnathan, Dave and Peter!!! I love how well the team gets along and I really enjoy spending time with each and every one of our team members, just wish we were closer.
I also got to meet his lovely wife Michelle and his kids Jinny and Christian. Here is a picture of him and his cute daughter!
Here is a picture of Jeff, Jesse and Kim... they are too cute!
We worked hard these past couple of days in back to back meetings but we laughed a lot these past two days too and being around this group, time flies by. Just wanted to let you know that I really appreciate you guys and looking forward to my next trip in (maybe I'll get snow then?). You know, we all travel so much all the time and its so tiring and hard to be away from family and friends, but when we get together... its not so bad. I enjoy your company and just glad that since I do have to be gone from home a lot, at least during these trips, I get to hang out with you guys.
The rest of the pictures are posted here...click here to view! Hope you enjoy the shots and enjoy the rest of the holiday season! Peace and love, Riza
It was great to have everyone together as a team and be able to talk about stuff as a team, bounce ideas off each other, etc... Here is a picture of all of us at Dave's house for the party... Jeff, Jesse, Kim, me, Catharine, Johnathan, Dave and Peter!!! I love how well the team gets along and I really enjoy spending time with each and every one of our team members, just wish we were closer.

I also got to meet his lovely wife Michelle and his kids Jinny and Christian. Here is a picture of him and his cute daughter!





A night at Pershing Square


We headed downtown (thanks for driving JD!) and to my surprise, they were playing outside, on a beautiful stage right in front of an ice skating rink! It was the most gorgeous scene and for the first time all season, it really felt like Christmas (without the snow and freezing cold of course!). The weather was perfect... a bit chilly but nice to hang out and there were a ton of people out! They had some food booths around the rink that had your staples, you know... hotdogs, nachos, hot chocolate and more! The band was great and it was the first time I had seen them play... Blake was so fun to watch and I love how she talks to the crowd in between songs. It was a really good time and afterwards, The Great Northern played which sounds a lot like The Submarines.
If you are interested, click here to check out The Submarines! Hope you like them....
Monday, December 18, 2006
Dena's Holiday Party
Last Friday night, my friend Dena hosted a holiday get together at her house and we had such a great time. For those of you who don't know who Dena is---she is my friend from high school who now lives in LA and we connected a few years back. The funny thing is that not only does Dena live here, but three of our other friends from high school in Pensacola, FL also live in the area. Cory, who plays for the Dustbowl Cavaliers and who you have seen through previous posts, Carey Williams and Eva Lawson (also from previous posts!). Eva and I actually went to grade school together!!! Here is a picture of us from that night.
My friends Vanessa and Stephanie came with me to Dena's and it was nice to have them all meet each other. It ended up being a great night with good friends and Dena even gave us little gifts to take home that were too cute. Thanks Dena for hosting a great night and it was so nice to have us all together. Holidays are a time for good friends to spend time with each other and this was a totally fun night.
After the party, Vanessa, Steph and I actually went back to Vanessa's to continue cooking and getting things ready for the party the following night! I can't believe we did it.. but we did-- although we decorated cookies and they weren't so cute. Oh well, it was the thought that counts and it was fun just to hang out and spend time together.
Saturday, December 16, 2006
My new friend Ellina

After the hurricane, one thing I really learned is that you can't take anything for granted... especially family, friends and just sincere people you meet in everyday life. Now that I am out here in Los Angeles and my network of family and friends hardly exists compared to what I had in New Orleans, I realize now that friends and family in your life are the most important... and trying hard to become a better friend.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Dena's Event & The Dust Bowl Cavaliers




Cory and his band just released a new CD-- they did a tribute to Tenacious D and the album is called BLUEGRASS WRECKS THE MUSIC OF TENACIOUS D: THIS IS JUST A TRIBUTE. They had their CD release at Amoeba music here in Los Angeles and you have to check out the CD! It's awesome... and Cory sings one of my favorite tracks! Support your pepes from good ole P'cola and click here to purchase the CD. I can't wait until the next show Cory and I still owe you dinner soon!
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
New Mexico: Hanging with my girl Jay

Jay is such a dear friend and she is someone who I know I will be close friends with forever. Its been 3 years since I've seen her and it seemed like yesterday. First of all, we both haven't changed much since the last time we've seen each other- that is, the way we look- but of course our lives are completely different now than when we last saw each other. We've talked on the phone a lot, especially since the hurricane, but she now lives in Santa Fe with her 3 kids and her husband Jim. I am so glad this is one of my markets that I handle because its so much fun to see her and now I know I will be able to see her at least 4 times a year!
We had such an awesome time together and laughed for almost 6 hours straight. Great wine, good food and good company- you can't beat it. And her sister Lena is just like her, I am lucky to have made another friend. Thanks Jay for the lovely gift and the wonderful picture that's going up on the fridge! I already can't wait to come back again to hang out with you.

Monday, December 11, 2006
Bahamas Cruise : Day 3 and 4






We all got together for dinner once again and this night, we celebrated all the November Birthdays-- and there were a lot of them. Me, Rose, Dan, Cale and Lucas! They got a cake for us and sang happy birthday.... so sweet.




Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Bahamas Cruise: Day 2



We opened our eyes this day only to find that we were docked in Nassau, Bahamas! Because of all the commotion the day before, we got a little bit of a late start- not to mention eating a 2-hour breakfast, which was easy to do. We finally got our group together and made it off the boat and on the island! We had no idea what we were going to do since it was too late to sign up for any island excursions so we met a guy named Cliff who was with some tour company (or was he?) and he suckered us into doing an island tour with him. Our time was short so we caved in and said yes.









Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Bahamas Cruise : Day 1

The fun was just beginning.... ok, not really. Ron and I were both on phones and computers trying to get in touch with someone at the cruise or the passport office in Miami, hoping that maybe we could get a quick passport when we got there before getting on the boat. Yeah, right. So finally we all just got in the car and started our 3 hour trip to Miami and continued the phone calls and comp work in the van (thank god for broadband cards).







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