Came home from a spontaneous trip to San Francisco and was going to post another chic professional work outfit, but decided I would share a few photos from the weekend.  I have found that the Bay Area is always cold, but to my delight, I had brought the Los Angeles sunshine with me and it was a joy to walk around, meet up with up friends, and enjoy the city.  'Till next time, SF!

For Thanksgiving this year I will be having dinner with my family and then taking a red eye to Costa Rica ... I am very excited to say the least, and will, of course, blog photos and stories upon my return.  But for the most important news - I finally joined the 21st century and purchased an iPhone 5!  As a matter of fact, I am writing this blog entry with it.  So, to most people today is Thanksgiving, however it feels like Christmas to me ;)

My job right now involves flying to random states, and staying in cities most of the population has never even heard of. To add to the list, I recently went to Butte, Montana. Population: 34,000. While the population is roughly the same size of Calabasas, the difference is that Butte is spread over almost 1,000 square miles, while Calabasas is spread over about 13! So, it was interesting, to say the least. Below are just a few snaps of the happenings in Butte (or lack thereof).

Hello, fellow bloggers and stalkers. I am back from my 12-day excursion to Chicago and the Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia Metropolitan Area. Thank you to my many hosts, friends, family ... It was definitely an eventful trip :) In Chicago, while my brother was saving lives as a medical resident and my friends were at work, I was left to roam the city and traverse the El. After attending the North American Bahá’í Conference on Law at the John Marshall Law School, I was able to do fun, personal things by myself that one does not usually get to do during the span of our busy and hectic lives, such as shopping at Topshop, getting my hair blown out at the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Salon and visiting the Art Institue of Chicago. It was a a few days of being able to reflect on my own self while experiencing the many different and diverse Chi-town neighborhoods. Here are a few photos from my trusty blackberry (iphone who?) showing my love for vibrant Chi-city.

I just came back from Miami and am now on my way to Chicago and Washington, DC. All these trips are exciting - visiting friends and places I do not normally get to see. It does feel like I am trying to escape Los Angeles ... Nevertheless, Miami was a dream. Gorgeous people, gorgeous building, gorgeous beaches, and a gorgeous atmosphere. My highlights were staying in the Viceroy, eating at Meat Market, partying all over South Beach, viewing the unique art deco, and even biking from Lincoln Road to the Port. No wonder everyone wants to bienvenido a Miami ;) I absolutely cannot wait to go back!

The past couple of weeks I had the opportunity to travel for work to Arkansas and West Virginia. Not very hip cities, but I went places where I would probably never would have actually thought to go to. Here are a few snaps from Little Rock and a couple from my drive to Martinsburg. The former was obviously more exciting, given that the Clinton Presidential Center and Library is there.

I just got back from a weekend in San Francisco where I attended the Association for Bahá’í Studies Conference. The sessions of the conference focused on “Transforming Habits of Thought” in which the theme name came from a message the Universal House of Justice addressed to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors on December 28, 2010: “Apart from the spiritual requisites of a sanctified Bahá’í life, there are habits of thought that affect the unfoldment of the global Plan, and their development has to be encouraged at the level of culture. There are tendencies, as well, that need to be gradually overcome. Many of these tendencies are reinforced by approaches prevalent in society at large, which, not altogether unreasonably, enter into Bahá’í activity. The magnitude of the challenge facing the friends in this respect is not lost on us. They are called upon to become increasingly involved in the life of society, benefiting from its educational programmes, excelling in its trades and professions, learning to employ well its tools, and applying themselves to the advancement of its arts and sciences. At the same time, they are never to lose sight of the aim of the Faith to effect a transformation of society, remoulding its institutions and processes, on a scale never before witnessed. To this end, they must remain acutely aware of the inadequacies of current modes of thinking and doing—this, without feeling the least degree of superiority, without assuming an air of secrecy or aloofness, and without adopting an unnecessarily critical stance towards society.”

Attending the sessions and listening to the varied disciplines in which participants interpreted their “habits of thought” supported my understanding that Bahá’í values can be transformative, but in order to have a positive effect on society, we must align our thoughts with our actions. Nothing will change if we do not act; we cannot act without first transforming our thoughts; and our thoughts must reflect our spiritual nature and values. The conference concluded with a talk by Rainn Wilson, who appropriately quoted a statement by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.”

Flying to Chicago in a few hours for my brother’s Medical School graduation and was thinking about all things Chi-town related such as: deep dish pizza, Bulls, Blackhawks, Cubs, White sox, the Navy Pier, Wrigley Field, Magnificent Mile, Lake Michigan, Sears Tower, the L, Oprah, the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, and the city’s many misnomers, like the Windy city, Chicagoland, and Chi-city, when I started humming “Homecoming”, Kanye’s tribute song to his hometown of Chicago.

Chicago is the Heart of America, with a mix of the East coast and West coast caught up in the Middle. And it really is the place of Sana’s homecoming, as he is graduating from Chicago Medical School and attending family medicine residency program at Northwestern. Congrats and best of luck, my older lil brother!

As promised, here are a little more than a dozen blackberry photos taken while vacationing in Playa del Carmen. It was a fantastic trip, filled with a tour of the Mayan ruins in Tulum, plenty of Mexican food (fish tacos, fajitas, ceviche, huevos rancheros, and enough guacamole and salsa to last me a life-time), snorkeling in the cenotes of the Riviera Maya, rappelling and zip lining through the forest, swimming in the warm and glistening waters of Mamitas Beach, enjoying the nightlife and the laid-back town of Playa del Carmen, and relaxing in our luxurious condo residences at El Taj. All of these adventures, combined with a fabulous group of some of the most fun and delightful people in the world, made for an exquisite and entertaining fête. Big shout-out to the organizers, Roxanne and Roja, with a special mention to Anissa, Martha, Samira, Anyssa, Olivia, Shireen, Navid, Nima, Yvette, Justin, Nima, Carmel, Saam, Leila, Nicole, Gus, Nieku, Nataly, Jen and Crystal. Miss you all, including Joaquin! See you soon in another paradise.

Just got back from Coachella 2011 and am still overwhelmed. The sights, the sounds, the heat, the people, the fashion, and the awesome and unbelievable talent which not only wowed the audience but was so appreciative to be able to perform there. Festival-goers from all around the world were all united for the chance to see their favorite artists. Nothing was shocking but everything was amazing. Unbelievable. It was really an investment into our memories. Need to sleep now. Wake me up in time for Coachella 2012!