Cindy & Joe's Blog

Happy New Year! And Happy 90th Birthday Grandpa!

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pulido) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 23:54:00 +0000

Cindy and I spent New Years Eve this year with Mom, Dad, Marty, Lindsay, and Grandpa Joe. It’s Grandpa’s 90th birthday this year, which is something we can all be proud of. It was fun shooting the breeze with him, and getting to catch up with everyone else as well. We were even able to patch in Elisabeth all the way from Florence, thanks to Skype.

During the day, we walked by the barbershop where Dad had his first haircut. There were some new barbers, but otherwise the place had stood the test of time. We also swung by the Fabulous 40’s, a section of well kept, WW II/ Pre WW II homes. The area went all out for the Holidays; one block strung lights from tree to tree down the entire block, draping arcs of light across the street.

Grandpa was also kind enough to share some of Grandma Pulido’s paintings with us. Grandma got a degree in art, and liked to paint landscapes, nature, and occasionally cityscapes as well. She would travel with a group of artists throughout the greater Sacramento area, selecting a particular scene for inspiration. We’re glad to have that memory of her.

As Grandpa put it to us: “Do you know if you’ll be here tomorrow? Do you? You? No one does, so we got to make the most of every moment.” And for one weekend, we did.

Merry Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pulido) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 06:07:00 +0000

Cindy and I would like to wish all of you a Happy Holiday season. We hope that you have enjoyed your it as we have. We also figured we'd give you all an update as we haven't written in this blog for a while.

Cindy has enjoyed her Part Time MBA program at USC Marshall's School of Business. She has done very well in her classes and has proven adept at mastering a wide variety of business skills. Most importantly, she's been highly motivated and has worked hard, studying well ahead of time to perform well on her exams. During her time between next quarter's classes, Cindy has taken up a Pilates class and is becoming quite strong. She can do quite a few pushups now. I've even adopted a couple of her ab exercises - they're pretty killer.

Fortunately, Cindy stills finds time for me despite her busy schedule. We're still exploring new restaurants in our corner of West LA and sometimes find something new we haven't tried before. Recently we ate at a gourmet cafeteria style restaurant called Lemonade that we enjoy quite a bit. The stews are excellent, as are the side dishes. And it's only a few miles a way, so we can go whenever we are feeling lazy after a workout.

I've enjoyed transitioning from student life to working life, as funny as that may sound. While sleeping in til 10 am can be nice, so too is having a direction and a goal for one's professional life. I have enjoyed rotational program at Toyota, and currently I analyze the long term product strategy of the company. It has proven rewarding and challenging, and a good use of the skills I honed both in Advertising and B-School. New rotations are in the offing, so I will have a new position to learn in March.

To keep myself occupied when Cindy is away at class, I have private lessons in Wing Tsun kung fu. The new techniques I am learning are challenging; I'm also taking the time to relearn some previous material to make sure I have it down pat. I haven't had the ability to take group classes as frequently as of late, so I have placed more of an emphasis on private lessons, personal practice and trying to get together with a training partner when schedules allow.

And of course, there are the things Cindy and I do to rot our brains when we're tired. Cindy just got a Kindle for Christmas and just used it to blast through another novel. I recently hacked and slashed my way through Dragon Age: Online and saved the kingdom of Ferelden from certain destruction at the hands of a mindless, monstrous horde.

We hope you've enjoyed our update, and have a Happy New Year!

Super Post Update

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:01:00 +0000

Things have been hectic to say the least. Joe and I have a lot of blogging to catch up on. Because my MBA program was due to begin on July 31st, Joe and I went down to Orange County the weekend of July 18th to celebrate my brother's birthday. We had an awesome time with my family. We went shopping, played Attack Uno, went bowling (I bowled a dismal 41), and had yummy strawberry shortcake from Angel Maid. It was good to catch up with everyone before I have to hunker down for school.

The weekend of July 25th, Joe and I went down to San Luis Obispo with his family to visit Hearst's Castle. We all rented Ford Mustang convertibles and drove up the coast. Road trips are always fun because you get a chance to catch up with everyone while in the car. Hearst's Castle was impressive - the rooms were filled with invaluable works of art and relics of history. My favorite room was the indoor pool with the gold tiles. On the way back from Hearst's Castle, we stopped by the Madonna Inn for dinner and massive slices of cake. Needless to say, I was happy camper (I love cake!!). The rest of the trip consisted of star gazing and scenic drives along the coast.

And now, this brings us to the weekend of July 31st - a horrendously busy weekend! Joe and I decided to move into a larger apartment in our complex. We bit the bullet and signed a new lease for a 2 bedroom apartment. Unfortunately, we had to move by August 1st. Needless to say, things were stressful. I had class all weekend from 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. In addition to class, I also had tons of homework and reading to do. Thank goodness for family and friends! Thanks to the Pulidos, Trans, and Gautum, Joe was able to paint and move all of our stuff in by August 1st. We can't thank you everyone enough!!! We'll post pictures of the new place once we get situated.

(500) Days of Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pulido) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:12:00 +0000

So, Cindy dragged us to a romantic comedy last night, which she promised me had received an excellent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Given the track record of previous romantic comedies I had been compelled to see, such as Failure to Launch, I had low expectations. Those expectations were pleasantly excelled in every way.

Rather than review the movie and reveal major plotlines, let me just say that if you can find some time in your busy schedule, go see it. You'll enjoy it.

Here's a link to rottentomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/500_days_of_summer/

Nuestra querida Madrid

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pulido) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 07:02:00 +0000

Cindy and I had an amazing 4 days in Madrid. Our night of arrival, a good friend of Joe's from High School, Carlos Candil, took us around town. Carlos - you did an amazing job! Thank you! We went to a great tapas bar, then headed to Twixtu restaurant (a great restaurant where Real Madrid players hang out before games), and finally finished the night off on a rooftop club/bar. It was a great night, and I hope to be able to show my guests around LA just as well as Carlos did us. Also, it was a real treat getting to catch up with Carlos, as we hadn't seen each other in 12 years or so. Congrats on getting engaged btw, Carlos!

The following day we headed to the Reina Sofia to see the exhibitions there. Their main collection with Dali, Picasso, and many other Spanish painters in the modern era is very good. I wasn't so much into the temporary work on exhibition, however. After a brief siesta, Cindy and I headed to the Palacio Real, or Royal Palace. It's too bad we don't have any pictures, but sufficeth to say that the Spaniards refused to be outdone by the French, and they built a ridiculously sumptuous royal palace. While the gardens do not compare to Versailles, many of the interior rooms are as good or better than Versailles. In fact, it gets hard to compare the two, because they are both so incredible.

Tuesday I managed to coax Cindy out of bed and we took the high speed rail to Toledo. It gets you there in only 30 minutes. I wanted Cindy to see an older, medieval city, different from the much more modern Madrid and Barcelona. We had a great time and managed to bring back a lot of unique ceramica (Spanish pottery). Now that I'm a bit older, I appreciate the ceramica, but I remember when we lived there and I was a teenager, I used to hate it when my Mom and Dad would pop into yet another ceramica. On a somewhat different vein, believe it or not, Toledo's cathedral was actually more spectacular than Notre Dame, both in size and in spectacle. It's too bad that they didn't let us take pictures inside, but that was a common problem in Spain that we didn't have in France - no pictures, even if you removed the flash. The last thing about Toledo that I should mention is that I bought a really cool sword there by Marciano Zamorano. Sr. Zamorano is the real deal; he smiths his own swords and forges them the old fashioned way. He makes swords for fighting, and he has two missing fingers to prove it :P. You can check out his website here http://www.marianozamorano.com/english/Empresa.htm. I'll post a picture of the sword as soon as I get it from Delta; it hasn't yet made it back from Spain :P

Wednesday we spent at the Prado Museum, which was closed on Monday. Although the primary collection is very good, after a while you can only see so many paintings of religious martyrdom, battles, and royalty. Which is why Cindy and I fell in love with their temporary exhibition of Joaquin Sorolla. I've never seen such a master of painting before. The paintings captured the bright colors of the moments of everyday life. Unlike a photo, his paintings captured motion, sensuality, and expressed the emotion of a place. In addition, Joe also liked Goya's Black Paintings, which were from the latter part of his life we he contemplated death from a much more raw place.

Which leads me to the end of our journey, wanting to sum it up in a few sentences. What I can say is this - we had a unique life experience, we grew closer together, and we learned more about our place in the world. Oh, and we lost weight. Despite eating like pigs on our trip, we lost two pounds each! Cindy and I are convinced this is because of the copious amount of walking we did. Just goes to show you that you can eat fatty food, as long as you walk your buns off.

Nos encanta Barcelona

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pulido) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 23:07:00 +0000

The first thing you might notice is that this section of our trip was not broken up by days. That is for two reasons: first, we were having a blast and didn’t take the time, and second, we were so tired from all the walking that we just kinda passed out when we were in the hotel room.

Cindy and I arrived in Barcelona on Thursday and were immediately pleased to find that Hotel Villa Emilia was a 4 star hotel that I had managed to nail at an amazing price. After our small hotel in Paris it was a huge relief. Also, the staff was very helpful, and as you will see in the pictures, the hotel had a very cool modern look.

Our first night I showed Cindy around an El Corte Inglés, and the hanging legs of jamón serrano. She told me that while it was definitely more shocking than US supermarkets, the Spanish didn’t have anything on the Chinese what with their hacking up livestock (the key being the live part) on the spot. I had to give her that one.

Later on we walked along the Rambla and found some great jackets for awesome prices at Zara. We then finished our evening with Tapas at 7Sins, which had a live burlesque show/poetry reading. After attending quite a few of my Mom’s poetry readings at Casa Romantica, I wasn’t too impressed by the poetry, but the band and atmosphere were good.

Our second day in Barcelona, we spent seeing the architecture of Gaudi. I took Cindy to Parc Güell, which required a long walk up a hill. I had conveniently forgotten that walk, or maybe we didn’t even do it, because last time I was in Barcelona I’m pretty sure we had a car. The view and park were well worth the climb, and we enjoyed it. Next, we headed to La Sagrada Familia. I noticed that in the 15 years since I had last seen it, they actually had completed a significant amount of the cathedral. They were also charging visitors a significant amount more than they used to, but supposedly these funds were going towards the construction of the cathedral, so I could justify that by feeling like my money was going towards making history. It looks even more impressive now than before, and they’re making progress on the tower of the Virgen. Supposedly they will finish enough of the cathedral to start mass services by 2010, though I wouldn’t place any bets on that date of completion.

After seeing Gaudi’s other works like Casa Batlló, we headed back to the hotel for a nap. In the evening, we decided to salsa dance Barcelona at La Antilla; it was a good club that got packed around midnight. We could only hold on for so long as we had walked so much all day and our feet were raw, but it was fun. After having gone to many salsa clubs in LA, I would give it a good on the fun meter; it’s not the best club I’ve been do but it was good.

Saturday, the third day, we headed to the Gothic district. We ate at this amazing restaurant called Montiel, which was highly recommended on tripadvisor. We had catalan toasted bread with tomato and garlic, a tasty tuna tomato salad, followed by tuna tartar garnished with caviar, a tender cochinillo which was the epitome of culinary art, and a French style flan and crema catalana to finish us off with desert. If you ever make it to Barcelona in your travels, we highly recommend Montiel.

The rest of the day we wandered around the Gothic district, in and out of tiny shops. Although we didn’t buy anything, it was fun to window shop and see the area. We also saw a small Dali exhibition, with some pieces we had never seen before. But the best part, was wandering the Gothic quarter itself. You just got yourself lost and wandered around twisting streets that had been there for hundreds, if not thousands of years.

Now we’re at the train station off to Madrid to continue our adventures in Spain. More tomorrow.

Paris Day 5 - Le Marais

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pulido) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:42:00 +0000

Cindy and I had heard from a couple at the Bistro Deux Theatres that the place to go for shopping in Paris was Le Marais, and that if we asked for "Le Marais" after getting out of the Metro at St. Paul, we should find it. So, we set out in that general direction, and actually ended up in completely the wrong district of town.

This ended up being fortuitous, as Cindy ran into a designer store where she found some amazing necklaces, and it turned out the designer was just around the corner. After leaving with lighter wallets and a few necklaces, we headed in the right direction towards the Marais. Although we didn't find that much that interested us, Cindy did find a couple of things. And, the area was just a lot of fun to walk around.

Our last night there, we also enjoyed Petel restaurant per Jean-Francois, and the cuisine was most excellent! We had tasty sea bass and lamb ribs, and the raspberry dessert was exquisite. It was a great small and authentic restaurant, nearby our hotel. From here, it's on from Paris to Barcelona!

Paris Day 4 - Versailles

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pulido) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:51:00 +0000

Joe and I woke up early to make our trek to Versaille. Thanks to Joe's great planning, we got tickets to the palace before arriving to the palatial grounds. To our chagrin, the line to get into the palace was massive! Thanks to planning on my part, we used our umbrella as a makeshift parasol as we waited through the line. Once inside the main castle, we were blown away by the opulence. Everything was gilded and or embellished in rich jewel tones. Once we finished the main castle tour, we began our exploration of the main grounds. It was vast, to say the least. My feet will never recover. I suspect a blister is beginning to form on my big right toe.

Luckily, we took a lunch at Le Florentine on the castle grounds and had a moment to recharge. After our makeshift break, we made our way over to Marie Antoinette's domain. It turned out to be everything that we had expected and more. I personally loved the colors and designed that went into her furnishings. Our internet is about to run out in Paris - so there will be a more detailed update when we reach Barcelona. Until then, please enjoy the pictures.

Paris Day 3 – Opera

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pulido) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:06:00 +0000

Cindy and I woke up late, which was probably a mixture of being really tired from the previous days’ walking and pent up jet lag we just hadn’t gotten over. We headed to Opera Garnier and checked it out, though unfortunately we weren’t able to see the main amphitheatre as it was closed for a performance. So, we headed to the two largest and most prestigious fashion stores in Paris, Au Printemps and Galeries Lafayette.

Cindy and I walked around and found that most of the stuff we liked was well beyond our price range. However, Cindy did nail a very nice “boyfriend blazer” from a European brand called Diabless. All in all though, Cindy felt like it just wasn’t as amazing as the shopping was let on to be. Largely, she suspects this is because all the major labels have pursued an internationalization strategy which means that almost all of their collections are available at home in Beverly Hills or South Coast Plaza. Hope does yet remain, and we are headed to “la marais” or a series of boutique shops at St. Paul’s metro stop in search of unique pieces.

In the evening, I prevailed on Cindy to walk to the restaurant “Deux Theatres” and the food was exceptional. Between the both of us, we copied the dinner of a French gentleman who was sitting next to us – who knew exactly what to order. His name is Mr. Fabrice Moretti, an internationally famous saxophonist, and we chatted with him a bit. Later on in the evening, we also chatted with the couple on our left, who hailed from London. Overall, we’ve found people to be friendly and talkative, as long as you make an effort to speak French.

Paris Day 2 – Musee du Louvre

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pulido) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:54:00 +0000

Today we went to one of the best museums in the entire world, Musee du Louvre. We started at a nice café right in front of the Louvre, and took the advice to enter at the Carousel du Louvre to skip the long lines. Sitting in the café at the plaza, we understood how one could let hours waste away with a good book and cup of coffee. As much as the café had a nice ambience, it was also the city of Paris surrounding you, that made the scene so you could sit back and think.

At the Louvre, we saw most of the Denon and Sully wings, including the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo, as well as sculptures of Augustus Caesar and Marcus Aurelius. They’ve improved the audio guides substantially since Joe was last in Europe. No longer do you have to continue linearly, but you can click on whatever interests you most and here about that.

For lunch we went to Notre Dame first, and sat in on Mass. After mass, we took pictures of the cathedral, and then headed for lunch right behind the Cathedral. We took Jean-Francois’ advice yet again and enjoyed Berthillon ice cream after Notre Dame – which he promised us was a very French thing to do. And from what we could see it was. There were also a bunch of really cool shops in that neighborhood and we window-shopped.

We were exhausted from the previous day of traveling and getting on Europe time so we went back to our hotel to nap. Thanks to Courtney’s suggestion, we ended up making dinner reservations at Hotel du Nord. The restaurant in Hotel du Nord turned out to be a hip hang out for young Parisians. The food was amazing. We were a bit worried about communicating with our server. As luck was in our favor, he happened to speak Spanis and was able to recommend some wonderful entrée choices for us – which included a yummy Chinese chicken salad, a tuna salad, black angus steak, and a warm chocolate dessert.

Paris Day 1 - Arrival

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pulido) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 23:11:00 +0000

Paris Day 1 – Arrival

Cindy and I arrived to Paris via Air France’s city bus to Montparnasse. Jean-Francois, Joe’s friend, gave us a great list of suggestions, of which taking the bus was one. Once we got to our hotel, which is much smaller than we are used to (though it has a nice and spacious sale de bain), we set out on a city walk to keep ourselves awake. We passed by a lot of the major sights on the left bank, including the Eiffel tower, Ecole Militaire, Champs Elysees and Arc de Triomphe.

Joe has been checking out the European autos. While passing the Ecole Militaire, Joe found an old Mini and had to snap a few pics. Also, there were some interesting auto company stores/exhibitions on the Champs Elysees, and Joe got to check out the new Toyota iQ at the Toyota store. It’s very small, but at the same time quite wide, so that it would probably be quite comfortable as a two seater. Also, it’s a got a kind of futuristic feeling inside. Check out the pics to see more of what I’m talking about.

Paris has not been without its weird, strange moments. While walking to the Eiffel tower, we were shocked to find a screaming man in a giant plastic penis suit, who came in for a nice close hug to embarrass women as they strolled by. Yes, you did just read that, and if you check the pictures, you can see one poor woman cringing.

As Joe had been to Paris before, we waited quite some time at the Arc de Triomphe for the sky to dim and the lights of Paris to show. So we wandered the Champs Elysees and Cindy got some excellent new pink lipstick, that she loves and is very feminine. Cindy is saving her big shopping splurge for the stores around l’Opera. We finished the day on top of the Arc de Triomphe, tired after our long walk and the 284 steps it takes to get to the top, but victorious.

MBA Graduation Photo Slideshow

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pulido) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 06:45:00 +0000

Hello everyone:

We've had a few requests for photos from Joe's MBA Graduation. You can check out the link to see the pictures at a higher resolution, or feel free to enjoy the slideshow below!

Mar Vista Farmer's Market

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pulido) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:58:00 +0000

A place on Sunday that has grown on us is the Mar Vista Farmer's Market. I wouldn't call it the best Farmer's Market in Los Angeles by any means, but it's in our neighborhood. And in a city that is so spread out like Los Angeles, it's good to have something that brings the people in your neighborhood together. There's something primal about getting together in a place with music, little stalls, and buying food. You start to feel like you belong.

It was also a great excuse to take some pictures with our new camera, which you can see below.

Lights, Camera, Action!

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 16:42:00 +0000

Joe is officially an MBA! He graduated at the top 15% of his class this weekend! We're all so proud of him!

The graduation was held outside in Wilson Plaza at UCLA. I think the graduates and their family and friends were thankful for the temperate June gloom weather. It was great to be with our families to celebrate this milestone.

In other news, Joe and I will be heading to Europe in 4 days. For the last couple of months, we've been deliberating on which digital SLR camera to purchase. Now with Europe right around the corner, we finally capitulated and bought the Canon EOS Rebel XSI. I'm really excited about the images that we will be able to capture. We'll definitely share some pictures when we get back in two weeks.

Casual Mafia relishes "In My Prius" rap video. So do we

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pulido) — Wed, 27 May 2009 19:47:00 +0000

Casual Mafia relishes "In My Prius" rap video. So do we

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CACI 2009 is a success!

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pulido) — Mon, 04 May 2009 06:42:00 +0000

After many months of preparation, CACI 2009 was a resounding success. For those of you who don't know, California Clean Innovation is a cleantech conference that I have co-led with Preston Schultz at UCLA Anderson. Preston and I coordinated 12 UCLA students and worked with over 20 UCSD students to put on the conference.

Our team delivered in a big way. We had a sizeable number of attendees, and the content improved on the previous year substantially. The major changes that we made to last year's schedule made a big difference in the flow of the event. Specifically, we added 30 minute breaks, a 1 1/2 hr lunch, and a pre-event reception. All of these changes significantly improved the networking ambience, without taking away from the quality of the panels. Our keynote speaker, Peter Fusaro, commented that our event was one of the best cleantech events that he had attended.

As in last year's conference, the agonizing over details proved to be worth it. It is a special feeling to see something we worked so hard on coallesce into a wonderful event.

This is my last year coordinating the event, but not my last year of involvement. I'm happy that I was able to help move the event to the next level, and wish next year's directors all the best.

Sick As A Dog

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 05:28:00 +0000

I don't know if I had the stomach flu or the swine flu, but last Wednesday I was as sick as a dog. It has been a while since I've been that sick. I couldn't keep anything down and the aches in my bone prevented me from getting sleep. Today is the first day I've felt normal. Poor Joe, he got sick as punishment for taking care of me. I guess no good deed goes unpunished.

Surprisingly, getting sick was a blessing in disguise. It was like going through a master cleanse (not one that I would recommend). The vomiting got rid of the junk in my system and the recuperation forced me to rest, sleep, drink more fluids, and eat better (more nutritiously). Surprisingly, these changes have worked wonders for my energy level. I haven't felt this energetic and productive in a while.

Anyhow, to keep everyone posted on how we are doing: Joe's Clean Tech conference is coming up this Friday. He has worked hard, along with several other MBA students from UCLA and UCSD to organize this sustainability event. He'll probably have updates for the blog after Friday. In other news, he has resumed martial arts with Sisok Mike and in 1.5 months he will be an MBA graduate.

As for me, I've undertaken a couple of side projects involving fashion, styling, and photography as a creative outlet. I'll keep everyone posted on the developments. Until then, know that the Pulidos are employed, happy, and healthy (erm...well...one of us is healthy).

Europe Here We Come!

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:56:00 +0000

Joe and I will be heading to Europe a week after his graduation. We were lucky to find some amazing deals on flights and hotels (when I say "we", I mean Joe). I'm really looking forward to Paris, Barcelona, and Madrid. Mostly, I'm looking forward to the amazing sights, sumptuous food, and fabulous shopping.

Until then, Joe still has a quarter of b-school to finish. Luckily, he is taking on a lighter load this quarter. As for me, I just wrapped up my accounting class. I even managed to pull off an 'A' in the class. Needless to say, I'm ready to take a long vacation before diving into a 3 year MBA program.

All in all, we're still enjoying being newlyweds and embarking on new adventures like Europe and taking dance classes together. I've even persuaded Joe to take a jazz class with me (it is the least he can do considering the fact that we have spent the last 5 years taking salsa classes)!

Happy Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 06:48:00 +0000

Joe and I decided to celebrate my birthday by going to the happiest place on Earth...DISNEYLAND! Dad and James met up with us later in the afternoon. I have to say that there was no better place to celebrate. Not only did they upgrade my free admissions to a twofer ticket (which means Joe and I will be heading back), but I got a "Happy Birthday" button. Everywhere I went, I was greeted with a slew of "happy birthdays". Dad, who is people shy, hid his button in his pocket to avoid being noticed. LOL. All in all, it was a perfect day. The weather was great and the lines were short. A girl couldn't ask for more.

Cindy gets into USC!

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pulido) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 08:49:00 +0000

Cindy has officially decided to accept a position in USC's Marshall School of Business. We do not yet know how Joe is going to deal with a Trojan in the family, but he is determined that love will prevail! LOL. We're very proud of Cindy's decision and looking forward to the challenges and learning that business school will bring.

Now, to plan that trip to Europe before the work begins in earnest...

Cindy & Joe Start a New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pulido) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 23:08:00 +0000

2009 is upon us. Cindy and I have classes on Monday nights, and we have dinner together on campus. Cindy has an extension class in Accounting, and I have a sustainability class. It's funny, even though we met at UCLA, we didn't hang out together much on campus. So, we have actually hung out on campus more after we graduated undergrad than before.

Cindy is awaiting the results from her applications to business school with bated breath, as Joe prepares for the world beyond business school. It's an "exciting" time to be a b-school graduate, so Joe is grateful to have a signed offer in hand.

We are also considering what to do with our apartment; we would like a better looking living room and want to paint it, but just haven't figured out what the color should be.

And we're enjoying being married.

Cindy & Joe visit Sacramento

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pulido) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:25:00 +0000

Cindy & I went to visit Grandpa Joe and Melissa (Cindy's sister) this weekend. We had a lot of fun shooting the breeze with Grandpa Joe; we talked about his memories in WWII, and we learned a lot about his experiences as a fireman. I should also add that we took the scenic route to get to Grandpa's house; we got lost in Stockton and took an hour longer to arrive that we needed to :).

I admire a man who can get up day after day and risk his life like Grandpa Joe for other people. I think that his war training had something to do with that sense of the importance of helping others. As a soldier, his job was to follow orders and act as a unit; that's how everyone survived. They had to depend on each other. Similarly, when he became a fireman, the same needs prevailed.

After spending the weekend with Grandpa, we went to see Melissa at Davis. We hung out, had some good hamburgers (I had a tofu burger of course), and met some of her friends. Also, we went to the Vacaville outlet malls and took advantage of some killer deals.

It was a great weekend, and good to catch up with our family in Northern California. We are looking forward to Thanksgiving!

Our new home on the internet.

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pulido) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 07:54:00 +0000

After finishing our wedding website, Cindy and I have opted for something a little simpler for the time being. Blogger being both free and easy for two people to use seemed like the perfect option!

Check back here occasionally for updates, we like sharing with you how we're doing.

Best,

Cindy & Joe