Last week I was obsessing over a scooter. I still am, but some of my fellow bloggers brought up some good points which I wanted to address...
Shauna brought up a few points:
1. My BAD car accident luck. Yep, in my last car I had horrendous luck. Over the course of three and a half years, I was rear ended four times - and 3 of those times were over the course of about six or seven months. As ridiculous as it sounds, I really think that that car was cursed. Somewhere (don't remember where) I read that green cars are one of the most commonly hit - that car was a lovely dark green. Since I dumped that car, I've had no fender bender issues at all.
Yes, a scooter would definitely have a higher risk than a car. I would definitely have to be a more defensive driver, but I would take the extra measure of taking one of the CHP motorcycle driving courses to learn how to safely operate the scooter and defensive maneuvers.
2. Residual back pain from the above accidents. Honestly, I hadn't thought of this. My back hasn't bothered me too badly in the past few months and when it does, its primarily due to carrying heavy bags - I've taken care of that recently by switching from a messenger bag to a backpack, but I suppose I could work on strengthening my back anyways. I do have a gym membership that I haven't been using.
Tanya mentioned that theres a place in East Sacramento selling scooters for $1,700 - another friend had mentioned this place, but I found Sac Cycle in the Rancho Cordova area (off of Sunrise & White Rock) where they're selling the same scooters for $1,500 out the door with tax, registration, all that stuff, out the door.
A friend of mine knows the owner and has bought 2 from there (matching his & hers for her and her hubby). She's also been kind enough to extend the offer of taking me out for a scooter ride so I could get a feel for it and see if I really want one before committing to buying one.
John asked why I hadn't considered using public transportation on the days that riding the scooter wasn't a very good option.
I wish I could use the bus/light rail for my daily commute - I really do.
If I only commuted to and from work, there would be no problem. My dilemma is that I also go to school in the evenings.
I've checked out the trip planning options on Regional Transits website, getting to work in the mornings would be no problem. Getting from work to school would pose a little bit of a challenge - I would have to be sure that I got out of work at exactly 5pm (this is not always feasible) and I would barely make it to class on time.
Getting home in the evenings is whats proving to be impossible. I go to school at ARC and don't get out of class until 9:30 pm. There are buses that leave the school just before 10 pm, but I could only get as far as Sunrise Mall. The bus would drop me off there at just before 10:30 pm and that late at night, the bus line home from the mall has ended and I would exactly feel comfortable walking three and a half miles home, by myself, that late at night.
This is one of the things that I miss about living in Boston. The years that I lived there I relied solely on public transportation. The network of subways and buses was amazing and they ran late enough that I didn't have these kinds of issues. Utilizing public transportation was extremely convenient.
I hope that Sacramento RT recognizes how much usage is increasing and plans on extending route hours.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Obsessing
Anyone who knows me well knows that once I get an idea in my head, I obsess about it.
Lately, that obsessions has been this:
Yep, I am fully and completely fixated on the idea of getting a scooter. I've been going over all of the advantages, and disadvantages, that would come with scooter ownership. I've been contemplating what color scooter would best suit me, all kinds of things along those lines.
This is what I've brainstormed so far....
Advantages:
1. If I used the scooter ONLY for my daily commute (home to work to school to home) I would save at least $100 per month in fuel costs.
2. Insurance would be super cheap, approximately only $30 per month, and my car insurance would go down since I would be putting less miles on it.
3. Parking - parking permits at school for a car is $40 for the semester. Its only $15 for a motorcycle.
4. Parking, part deux - parking for motorcycles at school is RIGHT OUTSIDE the building that most of my classes are in. For the cars, its a bit of a walk. Yep. general laziness is a factor for me.
5. Commute - I imagine that I would be able to reduce my commute time on a scooter. While I may have to sit through a couple of light changes in my car because of congestion, in a scooter I would be able to lane share and pass by all of the sad cars sitting there waiting to inch forward and cut straight to the front of the line.
Disadvantages:
1. The elements - in the scorching Sacramento summers, I would be without air conditioning and in the cold I'd be without heat. No, I wouldn't ride in the rain, I don't have a death wish. A friend of mine who has a scooter says that she uses it roughly nine months out of the year, the other three months she solely uses her car due to the cold, rain, and winds.
2. Crazy ass drivers who don't pay attention - I would definitely be vulnerable to them.
3. Music - scooters don't have radios! How would I sing in traffic?
4. Purse - would it fit in the little storage area under the seat or would I need to start using a backpack? If I use a backpack would my back get all sweaty? Ew.
Simultaneous advantages and disadvantages:
1. Smoking - can't exactly smoke while riding a scooter. This would be anxiety provoking initially, but would certainly help me to cut back on the amount I smoke.
2. Cell phone - can't really chat on my phone while riding a scooter either. But then again, you're not exactly supposed to talk on the phone while driving a car either, are you? And if you can't talk on the phone you can't text either. Yep, I do text and drive. I am a horrible horrible citizen.
3. Coffee - can't drink coffee on a scooter. Bad for my coffee addiction, good for helping me to cut back. I drink A LOT of coffee. Too much, in fact.
4. Shopping - wouldn't really be able to do any heavy duty shopping on a scooter, but that would certainly be good for my budget, wouldn't it?
Now, for color. Part of me is tempted to go with some kind of super girly pink... but should it be a pastel pink, or a hot pink? Or should I go with a flashy red? Or maybe a classic black, or silver. But, maybe I should go with something bright so that I'm more noticeable in traffic. I am leaning towards the pastel pink, but maybe thats only because I saw a super cute brown backpack with pink flowers a week or two ago. Yes, I am considering how I would accesorize when contemplating what color to get.
Heres the full color options.... I'm not going to assume that the swatches on that page are really true to color, just that they give a basic idea - they just look rather generic on that page.
Thoughts? Any opinions on color? Any more ideas of advantages or disadvantages?
The biggest drawback... I'm not quite sure how I'll finance it at this time. I have a another big expense I'm facing in the near future - a new laptop. Mine is dead dead dead and I do have to prioritize a laptop over a scooter at this point since I'm going back to school. Both cost about the same, $1,500, and I don't really have that kind of cash lying around (see all of my traveling this past year). And if I'm going to discuss large purchases that I don't have the funding for, theres also lasik eye surgery.. I am sick of my glasses and can't wear contacts for long periods of time. Any suggestions of how I can make about $10,000 quickly, and legally, that doesn't involve a pyramid, trapezoid, or anything like that? Whats the Super Lotto jackpot up to these days?
OH, another thing I get kind of obsessive over? Blogging about innocuous things while I should be writing an essay thats due in just a little over 15 hours.
Lately, that obsessions has been this:
Yep, I am fully and completely fixated on the idea of getting a scooter. I've been going over all of the advantages, and disadvantages, that would come with scooter ownership. I've been contemplating what color scooter would best suit me, all kinds of things along those lines.
This is what I've brainstormed so far....
Advantages:
1. If I used the scooter ONLY for my daily commute (home to work to school to home) I would save at least $100 per month in fuel costs.
2. Insurance would be super cheap, approximately only $30 per month, and my car insurance would go down since I would be putting less miles on it.
3. Parking - parking permits at school for a car is $40 for the semester. Its only $15 for a motorcycle.
4. Parking, part deux - parking for motorcycles at school is RIGHT OUTSIDE the building that most of my classes are in. For the cars, its a bit of a walk. Yep. general laziness is a factor for me.
5. Commute - I imagine that I would be able to reduce my commute time on a scooter. While I may have to sit through a couple of light changes in my car because of congestion, in a scooter I would be able to lane share and pass by all of the sad cars sitting there waiting to inch forward and cut straight to the front of the line.
Disadvantages:
1. The elements - in the scorching Sacramento summers, I would be without air conditioning and in the cold I'd be without heat. No, I wouldn't ride in the rain, I don't have a death wish. A friend of mine who has a scooter says that she uses it roughly nine months out of the year, the other three months she solely uses her car due to the cold, rain, and winds.
2. Crazy ass drivers who don't pay attention - I would definitely be vulnerable to them.
3. Music - scooters don't have radios! How would I sing in traffic?
4. Purse - would it fit in the little storage area under the seat or would I need to start using a backpack? If I use a backpack would my back get all sweaty? Ew.
Simultaneous advantages and disadvantages:
1. Smoking - can't exactly smoke while riding a scooter. This would be anxiety provoking initially, but would certainly help me to cut back on the amount I smoke.
2. Cell phone - can't really chat on my phone while riding a scooter either. But then again, you're not exactly supposed to talk on the phone while driving a car either, are you? And if you can't talk on the phone you can't text either. Yep, I do text and drive. I am a horrible horrible citizen.
3. Coffee - can't drink coffee on a scooter. Bad for my coffee addiction, good for helping me to cut back. I drink A LOT of coffee. Too much, in fact.
4. Shopping - wouldn't really be able to do any heavy duty shopping on a scooter, but that would certainly be good for my budget, wouldn't it?
Now, for color. Part of me is tempted to go with some kind of super girly pink... but should it be a pastel pink, or a hot pink? Or should I go with a flashy red? Or maybe a classic black, or silver. But, maybe I should go with something bright so that I'm more noticeable in traffic. I am leaning towards the pastel pink, but maybe thats only because I saw a super cute brown backpack with pink flowers a week or two ago. Yes, I am considering how I would accesorize when contemplating what color to get.
Heres the full color options.... I'm not going to assume that the swatches on that page are really true to color, just that they give a basic idea - they just look rather generic on that page.
Thoughts? Any opinions on color? Any more ideas of advantages or disadvantages?
The biggest drawback... I'm not quite sure how I'll finance it at this time. I have a another big expense I'm facing in the near future - a new laptop. Mine is dead dead dead and I do have to prioritize a laptop over a scooter at this point since I'm going back to school. Both cost about the same, $1,500, and I don't really have that kind of cash lying around (see all of my traveling this past year). And if I'm going to discuss large purchases that I don't have the funding for, theres also lasik eye surgery.. I am sick of my glasses and can't wear contacts for long periods of time. Any suggestions of how I can make about $10,000 quickly, and legally, that doesn't involve a pyramid, trapezoid, or anything like that? Whats the Super Lotto jackpot up to these days?
OH, another thing I get kind of obsessive over? Blogging about innocuous things while I should be writing an essay thats due in just a little over 15 hours.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Exhausted
School is simply exhausting me. My typical day has me leaving the house at 7am to go to work, racing from work to school, in class until about 9:30, getting home close to 10:00, then figuring out dinner for Grandma and myself, and by the time I take care of any homework and studying, I'm not getting to bed until about 2 am. Yes, I am exhausted. No, I have no clue how I'm doing all of this aside from catching up on my sleep on the weekend - Friday nights I'm tending to get about 12 hours of sleep or so.
Of course, with work and school occupying all of my time, I'm not getting anything done in the way of knitting, crochet, crafts, or photography. This sucks because I have a lot to get done in all of those fields.
1 - One friend is expecting and due in about.... oh, 3 weeks. Number of projects I've completed for the little one.... 0.
2 - Another friend is expecting but not due for several months. I have plenty of projects in mind for this little one but have yet to start a single one - I figure that I've got plenty of time. Of course, I'll keep saying that I have plenty of time and the next thing I know it will be just a couple of weeks from the due date and I'll be screwed.... again.
3 - My neighbors daughter (whom I grew up with) just had her little one two days ago. I've done nothing.
4 - I've got all kinds of ideas of items I could put up on Etsy, but have done nothing.
5 - I have another photo show next Saturday (yep, one week from today) thats of photos from my recent trip to London. While I have gone through all of the photos from the trip and selected the ones that MIGHT be show-worthy, I still have to go through those and narrow them down to the ones I'll actually have in the show and do any photoshop corrections if necessary, then print them and what not.
Yes, I have plenty to do this next week before the show - in addition to all of that, I have a paper to write for my composition class. FUN!!!
Meanwhile, gas prices here in Sacramento are averaging $4.50 a gallon. Yes, I know thats still cheap in comparison to what gas prices are in Europe, but Europe also has better public transportation than what we have here in Sacramento. Unfortunately with my work and school schedule, public transportation is not an option for me - at least not with the system that we currently have here in Sacramento.
I am considering one thing to reduce fuel use and to save money, this:
but I'm not sure about the color. I'm thinking maybe something more like this:
or possibly this:
Of course, my grandma is dead set against the idea of me getting a scooter. My mom and dad would like to see me get something that has a little more power. Something like this:
I don't know about the motorcycle... motorcycles are rather butch, and scooters are so much CUTER.
Earlier, I mentioned Etsy. I love that site. So many creative types, all of their creations out there, its absolutely inspiring to see so many beautiful things. I recently found this awesome quilt
I wish I could afford it. Unfortunately, its just a wee bit out of my price range, but is definitely inspiring for making something similar myself.
Of course, with work and school occupying all of my time, I'm not getting anything done in the way of knitting, crochet, crafts, or photography. This sucks because I have a lot to get done in all of those fields.
1 - One friend is expecting and due in about.... oh, 3 weeks. Number of projects I've completed for the little one.... 0.
2 - Another friend is expecting but not due for several months. I have plenty of projects in mind for this little one but have yet to start a single one - I figure that I've got plenty of time. Of course, I'll keep saying that I have plenty of time and the next thing I know it will be just a couple of weeks from the due date and I'll be screwed.... again.
3 - My neighbors daughter (whom I grew up with) just had her little one two days ago. I've done nothing.
4 - I've got all kinds of ideas of items I could put up on Etsy, but have done nothing.
5 - I have another photo show next Saturday (yep, one week from today) thats of photos from my recent trip to London. While I have gone through all of the photos from the trip and selected the ones that MIGHT be show-worthy, I still have to go through those and narrow them down to the ones I'll actually have in the show and do any photoshop corrections if necessary, then print them and what not.
Yes, I have plenty to do this next week before the show - in addition to all of that, I have a paper to write for my composition class. FUN!!!
Meanwhile, gas prices here in Sacramento are averaging $4.50 a gallon. Yes, I know thats still cheap in comparison to what gas prices are in Europe, but Europe also has better public transportation than what we have here in Sacramento. Unfortunately with my work and school schedule, public transportation is not an option for me - at least not with the system that we currently have here in Sacramento.
I am considering one thing to reduce fuel use and to save money, this:
but I'm not sure about the color. I'm thinking maybe something more like this:
or possibly this:
Of course, my grandma is dead set against the idea of me getting a scooter. My mom and dad would like to see me get something that has a little more power. Something like this:
I don't know about the motorcycle... motorcycles are rather butch, and scooters are so much CUTER.
Earlier, I mentioned Etsy. I love that site. So many creative types, all of their creations out there, its absolutely inspiring to see so many beautiful things. I recently found this awesome quilt
I wish I could afford it. Unfortunately, its just a wee bit out of my price range, but is definitely inspiring for making something similar myself.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Starting Over
Don't worry, the rest of my tales of my trip to London are on their way as are some photos. I just got the photos put onto disc last weekend, and going through them is going to take some time... I took over 900 photos.
Plus I have a bit of a dilema in that I essentially am without a photoshop program at the moment. On my laptop I had installed photoshop last year, and since the hard drive was just about full, I moved it over to my external hard drive (whom I lovingly call "Max" since its a "Maxtor") and deleted it off the laptop. It still worked just fine when I ran it from Max.
Since it worked when I ran it off of Max with my laptop, I figured it would work the same if I just plugged it in to my Grandmas iMac desktop set up.
WRONG.
Whenever I try to run it now, it tells me that it can't find my user name or serial number. I figure that I'm going to have to install it on the iMac, but first I'll have to find what I did with the original photoshop discs and hope that the serial numbers with them. Yes - I am incredibly disorganized.
So, I've been making do with the limited tools available on iPhoto. Basically, all that I can do is crop, turn to B&W, and tweak brightness and contrast a little bit. Thats it.
In other news, I took today off from work. I would love to say that I took the day off to kick back and relax, maybe do something fun with friends, but no. I went back to school. I went and met with a counselor to get a feel of where I should start. Let me just say that meeting with a counselor was the most pointless thing I did all day today. Essentially what I did was wait for about an hour to have her tell me that I should take the same classes that I thought I should start out with when I was looking at the requirements for the nursing program online this past week. PLUS, the craziest thing is that I told her I work full-time, yet she still suggested that I start out by taking three classes in the summer semester where everything is accelerated AND I haven't been to school in nearly a decade.
So far, I'm only enrolled in one class - General Principles of Psychology - but am considering adding another. I would ideally like to get into a Nutrition class since its a requirement for the program as well, but all of the classes at American River are full. I think that I may have to see if its available at Sac City College. If I can't get into the Nutrition class at either location this semester, I may have to put it off until the fall and see about taking English (Composition) this summer.
Where I'm going to have some potential problems is with math, it was never my strong suit to begin with and today the counselor confirmed that when I took the assessment tests 10 years ago I tested into Intermediate Algebra but she advised that I take the online assessment and print off the results if I enroll in a class so I can show the instructor. I took the online assessment for ELEMENTARY Algebra and got 50%. I totally suck. I don't want to start over in Pre-Algebra and have to work my way back up to Intermediate, but also don't want to go into Intermediate at such a tremendous disadvantage - and I am going to need to improve my math skills for the Chemistry classes that I'll be having to take. Any suggestions?
Plus I have a bit of a dilema in that I essentially am without a photoshop program at the moment. On my laptop I had installed photoshop last year, and since the hard drive was just about full, I moved it over to my external hard drive (whom I lovingly call "Max" since its a "Maxtor") and deleted it off the laptop. It still worked just fine when I ran it from Max.
Since it worked when I ran it off of Max with my laptop, I figured it would work the same if I just plugged it in to my Grandmas iMac desktop set up.
WRONG.
Whenever I try to run it now, it tells me that it can't find my user name or serial number. I figure that I'm going to have to install it on the iMac, but first I'll have to find what I did with the original photoshop discs and hope that the serial numbers with them. Yes - I am incredibly disorganized.
So, I've been making do with the limited tools available on iPhoto. Basically, all that I can do is crop, turn to B&W, and tweak brightness and contrast a little bit. Thats it.
In other news, I took today off from work. I would love to say that I took the day off to kick back and relax, maybe do something fun with friends, but no. I went back to school. I went and met with a counselor to get a feel of where I should start. Let me just say that meeting with a counselor was the most pointless thing I did all day today. Essentially what I did was wait for about an hour to have her tell me that I should take the same classes that I thought I should start out with when I was looking at the requirements for the nursing program online this past week. PLUS, the craziest thing is that I told her I work full-time, yet she still suggested that I start out by taking three classes in the summer semester where everything is accelerated AND I haven't been to school in nearly a decade.
So far, I'm only enrolled in one class - General Principles of Psychology - but am considering adding another. I would ideally like to get into a Nutrition class since its a requirement for the program as well, but all of the classes at American River are full. I think that I may have to see if its available at Sac City College. If I can't get into the Nutrition class at either location this semester, I may have to put it off until the fall and see about taking English (Composition) this summer.
Where I'm going to have some potential problems is with math, it was never my strong suit to begin with and today the counselor confirmed that when I took the assessment tests 10 years ago I tested into Intermediate Algebra but she advised that I take the online assessment and print off the results if I enroll in a class so I can show the instructor. I took the online assessment for ELEMENTARY Algebra and got 50%. I totally suck. I don't want to start over in Pre-Algebra and have to work my way back up to Intermediate, but also don't want to go into Intermediate at such a tremendous disadvantage - and I am going to need to improve my math skills for the Chemistry classes that I'll be having to take. Any suggestions?
Thursday, May 22, 2008
London Calling, Part 1
I left Sacramento on a Monday morning and my mom drove me down to San Francisco to catch my flight. The flight from SFO to Toronto was pretty uneventful. Once there, I had a little bit of a layover before my flight to London. The flight to London was an absolute nightmare. I started out by making the mistake of not packing any type of sleep aids. Customarily, I at the very least include a small bottle of Tylenol PM in my carry on, not packing it will be a mistake I never make again.
I was surrounded by 3 babies and toddlers that screamed and cried the entire time. It was as though they all got together and had a little meeting before boarding the plane and agreed upon which kid would take what shift.
Then, there were two girls sitting behind me, I think they were probably on some sort of graduation trip. They spent the first two hours talking, loudly and obnoxiously, about how great of tans they were going to get on their trip throughout Europe, how cool it was that they wore the same size because then they could share clothes and it would seem like their wardrobes were twice as big. I was relieved when it became apparent that they were going to go to sleep... until the one sitting directly behind me decided that my armrest was her foot stool and the back fat of my arm was the cushion.
With all of this surrounding me, and the lack of a sleep aid, I only managed to get about 45 minutes of sleep on the plane.
In flight, after the flight attendants had passed out the custom papers and I was filling it out, I realized that I had left the paper with the address of where we were staying, at home. I wasn't panicked at the time because I had friends coming in on another flight after me and I knew that they'd have the address. However, I still didn't have the address to fill out the customs paperwork. I contemplated opening up my trusty Rick Steves guidebook and just pick a random hotel or hostel address, but I didn't want to be dishonest on customs paperwork So, I left that section blank. I figured it would be better to be honest and explain my situation to the customs agent and go on my way.
I wait in line to clear customs, walk up to the agent and its a girl who looks like shes about 22-23 years old. She starts with the usual questions:
"What is the purpose of your visit to the UK?"
"Vacation"
"How long will you be in the UK?"
"A week"
"And you'll be staying at....."
she's obviously gotten to the part I left blank
"Where will you be staying while you're in the UK?"
"I'm sorry, I left the address at home when I left the states, but I'm meeting with some friends who are coming in on a British Airways flight in Terminal 5 in about 2 hours and they have the address"
"So, you're saying that you don't have a place to stay during your visit to the UK?"
"I do have a place to stay, I just forgot the papers that have the address at home"
"You are a grown adult with a legal responsiblity to have a legal address when you enter the UK"
At this point I wanted to launch into some smart assed diatribe about what do people who are aimlessly backpacking through Europe do, but I am smart enough to know that if there is any one person I should not get mouthy with it is the customs agent who can deny my entry or send me off to some back room for some sort of interrogation.
"I understand, I'm very sorry. I'll be meeting up with my friends in a couple of hours and they have it"
"Do you have ANY idea as to where it is that you're staying?"
"We rented an apartment on Elgin-something-or-other near the Notting Hill area"
"Ma'am, you are a grown adult with a legal responsibility to have an address when you enter the UK"
"Yes, I understand, I am very sorry"
And with that she stamped my passport and let me through.
Due to this little delay, by the time I found the baggage carousel, our luggage is already down so I find a spot where I can easily reach the baggage when mine comes around. And I stand there, and stand there, and stand there.
Pretty soon I realize that its the same 3 bags going around over and over and over again. F*ck.
I go to the baggage claim desk and hand over my tag that I was given in SFO. The agent looks up my claim number. Apparently, my bag liked Toronto so much it decided to stay there. This is at about noon, the guy tells me that there is another flight coming in from Toronto that will be there at about 9pm, and they can have a courier deliver it to my hotel some time between 11 and 12 that night, approximately. Whats the address for where I'm staying?
Great. This question again.
I explain to him the whole leaving the address at home, but am meeting with friends who will have it. He's very nice and says that if I can remember the name of the hotel he can look the address up for me. I tell him that its an apartment, not a hotel. He gives me some contact information for me to call with the address of where I'm staying once I have it, but that if its a hotel the courier service will deliver any time of night, but if its a residence that they do not deliver past 9pm. The flight is not scheduled to arrive until 9pm. So, even though I am feeling all grungy and covered in airplane, I will not have my luggage until the next morning... and no, I did not pack a change of clothing or any toiletries in my carry on. Perfect.
I was surrounded by 3 babies and toddlers that screamed and cried the entire time. It was as though they all got together and had a little meeting before boarding the plane and agreed upon which kid would take what shift.
Then, there were two girls sitting behind me, I think they were probably on some sort of graduation trip. They spent the first two hours talking, loudly and obnoxiously, about how great of tans they were going to get on their trip throughout Europe, how cool it was that they wore the same size because then they could share clothes and it would seem like their wardrobes were twice as big. I was relieved when it became apparent that they were going to go to sleep... until the one sitting directly behind me decided that my armrest was her foot stool and the back fat of my arm was the cushion.
With all of this surrounding me, and the lack of a sleep aid, I only managed to get about 45 minutes of sleep on the plane.
In flight, after the flight attendants had passed out the custom papers and I was filling it out, I realized that I had left the paper with the address of where we were staying, at home. I wasn't panicked at the time because I had friends coming in on another flight after me and I knew that they'd have the address. However, I still didn't have the address to fill out the customs paperwork. I contemplated opening up my trusty Rick Steves guidebook and just pick a random hotel or hostel address, but I didn't want to be dishonest on customs paperwork So, I left that section blank. I figured it would be better to be honest and explain my situation to the customs agent and go on my way.
I wait in line to clear customs, walk up to the agent and its a girl who looks like shes about 22-23 years old. She starts with the usual questions:
"What is the purpose of your visit to the UK?"
"Vacation"
"How long will you be in the UK?"
"A week"
"And you'll be staying at....."
she's obviously gotten to the part I left blank
"Where will you be staying while you're in the UK?"
"I'm sorry, I left the address at home when I left the states, but I'm meeting with some friends who are coming in on a British Airways flight in Terminal 5 in about 2 hours and they have the address"
"So, you're saying that you don't have a place to stay during your visit to the UK?"
"I do have a place to stay, I just forgot the papers that have the address at home"
"You are a grown adult with a legal responsiblity to have a legal address when you enter the UK"
At this point I wanted to launch into some smart assed diatribe about what do people who are aimlessly backpacking through Europe do, but I am smart enough to know that if there is any one person I should not get mouthy with it is the customs agent who can deny my entry or send me off to some back room for some sort of interrogation.
"I understand, I'm very sorry. I'll be meeting up with my friends in a couple of hours and they have it"
"Do you have ANY idea as to where it is that you're staying?"
"We rented an apartment on Elgin-something-or-other near the Notting Hill area"
"Ma'am, you are a grown adult with a legal responsibility to have an address when you enter the UK"
"Yes, I understand, I am very sorry"
And with that she stamped my passport and let me through.
Due to this little delay, by the time I found the baggage carousel, our luggage is already down so I find a spot where I can easily reach the baggage when mine comes around. And I stand there, and stand there, and stand there.
Pretty soon I realize that its the same 3 bags going around over and over and over again. F*ck.
I go to the baggage claim desk and hand over my tag that I was given in SFO. The agent looks up my claim number. Apparently, my bag liked Toronto so much it decided to stay there. This is at about noon, the guy tells me that there is another flight coming in from Toronto that will be there at about 9pm, and they can have a courier deliver it to my hotel some time between 11 and 12 that night, approximately. Whats the address for where I'm staying?
Great. This question again.
I explain to him the whole leaving the address at home, but am meeting with friends who will have it. He's very nice and says that if I can remember the name of the hotel he can look the address up for me. I tell him that its an apartment, not a hotel. He gives me some contact information for me to call with the address of where I'm staying once I have it, but that if its a hotel the courier service will deliver any time of night, but if its a residence that they do not deliver past 9pm. The flight is not scheduled to arrive until 9pm. So, even though I am feeling all grungy and covered in airplane, I will not have my luggage until the next morning... and no, I did not pack a change of clothing or any toiletries in my carry on. Perfect.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Have You Missed Me???
Last time I updated, I'd been sick for what seemed like forever.
I FINALLY got better, but then my laptop died out on me. Yup, its dead.
It will occasionally still start up, but it always insists that the date is March 31, 1979. As soon as I correct the date, the screen goes completely black. If I don't correct the date, nothing works right. Even then, it will only stay on for a short period of time, then goes black as well.
Best case scenario, I think I'm going to have to replace the motherboard. Or, at least thats what a guy at my work says - he previously worked tech support for Apple. Worst case scenario, I'm going to have to buy a new laptop. Granted, a new MacBook wouldn't be the worst thing to have happen to me, but right now, the price tag isn't exactly feasible either. I would blog from work, but they've blocked all personal blogs and social networking sights. So, I've had to resort to commandeering my grandmothers desktop.
I will have to be commandeering it a lot soon.
I have another photo show coming up at the end of June and I still have to go through a lot of photos and edit some before then. Then, I'm photographing a wedding in July that I will again have to go through and edit photos and burn them on to disc and whatnot.
So, back to the photo show. Its at the end of June, I'll announce the exact date, time and location later, but it will feature photos taken on my recent trip to London.
London was fantastic, I got to see some amazing sites, but we just did not have time to see everything that I wanted to see. I guess that only means one thing, I'm going to have to go back someday. I did love London, and a lot of the stereotypes were defied - the food was not atrocious, there were dentists offices, not everyone
had horrible teeth. Stay tuned for tales of London, and for photos of my nieces first birthday.
My other big news - I'm going to go back to school. I'm not quite 100% certain of what my ultimate goal will be, but I am heavily heavily heavily leaning towards nursing. I would have a lot of prerequisites to work through before I could apply for the nursing program, but there are a lot of opportunities in nursing, a very high demand for it, and awesome pay scale.
I just need a career that has a future in it. I don't feel that I have that where I'm at now. Yes, I'm going through career angst. Again. I'm not actively hating my job like I was a few years ago, but I'm just... dissatisfied. I don't trust that my office won't be relocated out of state in the next 5 years or so, and theres not really anywhere for me to go, not anywhere that I'd be even mildly interested in going anyways. I just don't see a career for myself where I'm at now, and I need to actively do something to improve my future options.
I know that going back to school would involve some radical lifestyle changes. I'd definitely have to cut back on my social activities and exercise A LOT of self discipline in order to focus on studying and give it the attention it needs. Namely, I'd have to cut back on going out to the pub and going out with my friends. I'd have to learn to draw boundaries with my family as to when I'm accessible to them and when I'm not.
So, I'm thinking that I'm going to start as soon as the summer semester. Its awfully short notice - only about 3 weeks, so I'm going to go in and meet with a counselor to see where I should start. I've been out of school for about 10 years, and am very out of practice. I don't know what math and writing levels I'm at, which classes I should enroll in. I'm thinking I may go for a Spanish class to start - I can enroll in beginning Spanish without having to take any sort of assessment tests, and I do seem to have an ability to pick up languages, at least thats been my experience with my travels. Bonus would be that learning Spanish would be very useful in any career setting, and that it would be beneficial to my traveling as well.
Thats another thing I'll have change with going back to school - my traveling. I think this one just might hurt the most. I'll still find ways to travel - they just may have to be on a smaller scale and will have to be timed better so that they don't interfere with class schedules and exams and what not. So, if I was going to travel on a smaller scale, I may do some trips to Mexico or Costa Rica or someplace like that where I could put that Spanish I'm learning to use.
Plus, I may have to rethink my career while in school. I'm confident that I can handle working my current job full time while taking care of all of the prerequisites and general ed requirements, but if I do end up getting into a nursing program I don't know if I could work my current job while in the program. I think the schedules would conflict. So, I'd have to find some sort of part time night job or something along those lines.
But, thats still a bit of a ways off, so I don't think I need to worry on it too much just yet.
I have decided one thing. Boys are stupid.
So, I meet a guy at the pub. We stand off to the side away from everyone else talking for about 2, maybe 2-1/2 hours. When he leaves he makes a point to shake everyones hand, but doesn't remember any of their names - except mine, and he hugs me but no one else.
I've seen him there a time or two since then, and he always hugs only me when he leaves.
So, I'm thinking thats a sign that he may have some interest, but he still hasn't asked for my number or email or anything.
Boys are stupid.
I FINALLY got better, but then my laptop died out on me. Yup, its dead.
It will occasionally still start up, but it always insists that the date is March 31, 1979. As soon as I correct the date, the screen goes completely black. If I don't correct the date, nothing works right. Even then, it will only stay on for a short period of time, then goes black as well.
Best case scenario, I think I'm going to have to replace the motherboard. Or, at least thats what a guy at my work says - he previously worked tech support for Apple. Worst case scenario, I'm going to have to buy a new laptop. Granted, a new MacBook wouldn't be the worst thing to have happen to me, but right now, the price tag isn't exactly feasible either. I would blog from work, but they've blocked all personal blogs and social networking sights. So, I've had to resort to commandeering my grandmothers desktop.
I will have to be commandeering it a lot soon.
I have another photo show coming up at the end of June and I still have to go through a lot of photos and edit some before then. Then, I'm photographing a wedding in July that I will again have to go through and edit photos and burn them on to disc and whatnot.
So, back to the photo show. Its at the end of June, I'll announce the exact date, time and location later, but it will feature photos taken on my recent trip to London.
London was fantastic, I got to see some amazing sites, but we just did not have time to see everything that I wanted to see. I guess that only means one thing, I'm going to have to go back someday. I did love London, and a lot of the stereotypes were defied - the food was not atrocious, there were dentists offices, not everyone
had horrible teeth. Stay tuned for tales of London, and for photos of my nieces first birthday.
My other big news - I'm going to go back to school. I'm not quite 100% certain of what my ultimate goal will be, but I am heavily heavily heavily leaning towards nursing. I would have a lot of prerequisites to work through before I could apply for the nursing program, but there are a lot of opportunities in nursing, a very high demand for it, and awesome pay scale.
I just need a career that has a future in it. I don't feel that I have that where I'm at now. Yes, I'm going through career angst. Again. I'm not actively hating my job like I was a few years ago, but I'm just... dissatisfied. I don't trust that my office won't be relocated out of state in the next 5 years or so, and theres not really anywhere for me to go, not anywhere that I'd be even mildly interested in going anyways. I just don't see a career for myself where I'm at now, and I need to actively do something to improve my future options.
I know that going back to school would involve some radical lifestyle changes. I'd definitely have to cut back on my social activities and exercise A LOT of self discipline in order to focus on studying and give it the attention it needs. Namely, I'd have to cut back on going out to the pub and going out with my friends. I'd have to learn to draw boundaries with my family as to when I'm accessible to them and when I'm not.
So, I'm thinking that I'm going to start as soon as the summer semester. Its awfully short notice - only about 3 weeks, so I'm going to go in and meet with a counselor to see where I should start. I've been out of school for about 10 years, and am very out of practice. I don't know what math and writing levels I'm at, which classes I should enroll in. I'm thinking I may go for a Spanish class to start - I can enroll in beginning Spanish without having to take any sort of assessment tests, and I do seem to have an ability to pick up languages, at least thats been my experience with my travels. Bonus would be that learning Spanish would be very useful in any career setting, and that it would be beneficial to my traveling as well.
Thats another thing I'll have change with going back to school - my traveling. I think this one just might hurt the most. I'll still find ways to travel - they just may have to be on a smaller scale and will have to be timed better so that they don't interfere with class schedules and exams and what not. So, if I was going to travel on a smaller scale, I may do some trips to Mexico or Costa Rica or someplace like that where I could put that Spanish I'm learning to use.
Plus, I may have to rethink my career while in school. I'm confident that I can handle working my current job full time while taking care of all of the prerequisites and general ed requirements, but if I do end up getting into a nursing program I don't know if I could work my current job while in the program. I think the schedules would conflict. So, I'd have to find some sort of part time night job or something along those lines.
But, thats still a bit of a ways off, so I don't think I need to worry on it too much just yet.
I have decided one thing. Boys are stupid.
So, I meet a guy at the pub. We stand off to the side away from everyone else talking for about 2, maybe 2-1/2 hours. When he leaves he makes a point to shake everyones hand, but doesn't remember any of their names - except mine, and he hugs me but no one else.
I've seen him there a time or two since then, and he always hugs only me when he leaves.
So, I'm thinking thats a sign that he may have some interest, but he still hasn't asked for my number or email or anything.
Boys are stupid.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Chez Sicko
I have been sick, to varying degrees, for 3 fecking weeks now.
I've assumed that its the virus thats going around, but its flared back up the last few days. I called the advice nurse who scheduled a phone appointment with a doctor for me. The doctor calls me back a little bit later and I tell him my symptoms and what not. He agrees that its most likely just a virus, but considering how long Ive had it, he calls in a prescription of antibiotics for me just in case its trying to settle into something else.
I still feel like crap.
Now I'm also feeling dizzy and lightheaded and periodically breaking out in a sweat.
I am sick of being sick.
Ugh.
I've assumed that its the virus thats going around, but its flared back up the last few days. I called the advice nurse who scheduled a phone appointment with a doctor for me. The doctor calls me back a little bit later and I tell him my symptoms and what not. He agrees that its most likely just a virus, but considering how long Ive had it, he calls in a prescription of antibiotics for me just in case its trying to settle into something else.
I still feel like crap.
Now I'm also feeling dizzy and lightheaded and periodically breaking out in a sweat.
I am sick of being sick.
Ugh.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
My First Showing...
My premier photo exhibit went well.
There was a nice turnout, I managed to sell a couple of pieces, and I may have a 2nd or possibly even a 3rd show lined up as a result. Possibly even a Second Saturday show at an actual venue.
For those of you who weren't able to come out to the showing, you can see the photos I had in the exhibit HERE.
There was a nice turnout, I managed to sell a couple of pieces, and I may have a 2nd or possibly even a 3rd show lined up as a result. Possibly even a Second Saturday show at an actual venue.
For those of you who weren't able to come out to the showing, you can see the photos I had in the exhibit HERE.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
I've Done It...
I've booked my next trip!
I am going to........
LONDON!!!!!!
I am SO excited! I found some killer airfare ($450 round trip - total! with taxes and everything!) and booked the tickets this morning.
I've bought my Rick Steves London book and will spend the next month and a half reading it to prepare.
I am going to........
LONDON!!!!!!
I am SO excited! I found some killer airfare ($450 round trip - total! with taxes and everything!) and booked the tickets this morning.
I've bought my Rick Steves London book and will spend the next month and a half reading it to prepare.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Overload
Maybe if I posted more frequently, my posts would each have a theme and be a bit more concise. Instead, get ready for an assault of information!
Last month, my friend Caren announced that she is pregnant. I am so excited for her, she and Damien (her husband) have been trying since they got married last August. This past Thursday was her birthday, and that afternoon she had an ultrasound to determine what she's having, its a boy!
So, I have a lot of knitting and crocheting to do. Caren and I have been friends since the 7th grade and I intend on showering that little boy with almost as many knit and crochet goods as I do my little Kylee.
Caren and I have been friends for 20 years now, long enough that we know each others siblings well and are pretty much extended parts of each others families. When Caren got married last year, my grandmother, sister and her boyfriend were all invited to the reception. When my sister had her baby shower last spring, Caren and Damien were invited. It was at my sisters shower that Caren & Damien informed me that they would start trying to make a little one of their own as soon as they were married. I had done all of the cooking for my sisters shower and Caren told me that she liked everything I had made so much that she wanted me to do the same for her. Since announcing her pregnancy she has confirmed that she does still want me to take care of the food and cake for her baby shower.
The problem? No one can remember exactly what I made for my sisters shower. I even checked the history on my blog here and I didn't detail everything that I'd made. I only listed one of the items, and that is one of the few that we can all remember. So, I'm still looking throhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifugh some of the old recipes that I'd forwarded to myself at that time, and heres what I've got:
Turkey Pesto Sandwiches - the recipe calls for prosciutto, but I used turkey to keep the costs down since there were a lot of people there.
Parmesan Puff Pastry - these were EASY and quite tasty. Caren does remember these as well, and it is one item that she specifically requested.
Black Bean Salsa - this is the only item that my mom remembers, and I think the only reason she remembers it is because she was HAMMERED on margaritas and there was a bunch of this left over that she put on salads and what not for a couple of days after the shower. It washttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif quick and easy to do, and I imagine it would probably be better made a day or two ahead of time to allow the flavors to all marinate together.
Finger Sandwiches - I'd made these but substituted kalamata olives. Because I LOVE them. Kalamata olives are seriously one of my favorite foods.
Caren did have a specific request for the cake - lemon and coconut. I'm keeping an eye out for recipes that can fit this. I'm thinking butter cake, lemon curd filling, coconut cream cheese frosting, and then cover the cake with coconut flakes that have been colored blue.
Since a lot of people don't care for coconut too much, I'm thinking that I'll also make some cake lollipops. Its a recipe that was mentioned on Not Martha a week or so ago, check out the photos here, I'm thinking that they would be really cute in blue and white and I could do a couple of different flavors - one with blue frosting, and one with white.
In other news, I'm considering a trip to London. I've found some cheap airfare, $455 (total!) round trip, for the end of April. I'm just going to double check that its within my budget. As soon as I do that, I'll be booking the tickets.
Last month, my friend Caren announced that she is pregnant. I am so excited for her, she and Damien (her husband) have been trying since they got married last August. This past Thursday was her birthday, and that afternoon she had an ultrasound to determine what she's having, its a boy!
So, I have a lot of knitting and crocheting to do. Caren and I have been friends since the 7th grade and I intend on showering that little boy with almost as many knit and crochet goods as I do my little Kylee.
Caren and I have been friends for 20 years now, long enough that we know each others siblings well and are pretty much extended parts of each others families. When Caren got married last year, my grandmother, sister and her boyfriend were all invited to the reception. When my sister had her baby shower last spring, Caren and Damien were invited. It was at my sisters shower that Caren & Damien informed me that they would start trying to make a little one of their own as soon as they were married. I had done all of the cooking for my sisters shower and Caren told me that she liked everything I had made so much that she wanted me to do the same for her. Since announcing her pregnancy she has confirmed that she does still want me to take care of the food and cake for her baby shower.
The problem? No one can remember exactly what I made for my sisters shower. I even checked the history on my blog here and I didn't detail everything that I'd made. I only listed one of the items, and that is one of the few that we can all remember. So, I'm still looking throhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifugh some of the old recipes that I'd forwarded to myself at that time, and heres what I've got:
Turkey Pesto Sandwiches - the recipe calls for prosciutto, but I used turkey to keep the costs down since there were a lot of people there.
Parmesan Puff Pastry - these were EASY and quite tasty. Caren does remember these as well, and it is one item that she specifically requested.
Black Bean Salsa - this is the only item that my mom remembers, and I think the only reason she remembers it is because she was HAMMERED on margaritas and there was a bunch of this left over that she put on salads and what not for a couple of days after the shower. It washttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif quick and easy to do, and I imagine it would probably be better made a day or two ahead of time to allow the flavors to all marinate together.
Finger Sandwiches - I'd made these but substituted kalamata olives. Because I LOVE them. Kalamata olives are seriously one of my favorite foods.
Caren did have a specific request for the cake - lemon and coconut. I'm keeping an eye out for recipes that can fit this. I'm thinking butter cake, lemon curd filling, coconut cream cheese frosting, and then cover the cake with coconut flakes that have been colored blue.
Since a lot of people don't care for coconut too much, I'm thinking that I'll also make some cake lollipops. Its a recipe that was mentioned on Not Martha a week or so ago, check out the photos here, I'm thinking that they would be really cute in blue and white and I could do a couple of different flavors - one with blue frosting, and one with white.
In other news, I'm considering a trip to London. I've found some cheap airfare, $455 (total!) round trip, for the end of April. I'm just going to double check that its within my budget. As soon as I do that, I'll be booking the tickets.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
I've been bad...
At posting. Horrendously bad.
Works been kicking my butt. December and January have always been bad, but this year felt worse than it has in years.
Family has been... complex. The good news is that this past holiday season was my nieces first Christmas and she was ADORABLE. Also, she is now 9 months old! How crazy is that??? Her 1st birthday is just around the corner!?!?!?
This was taken about a week before Christmas. I got to take the little booger for her mall Santa photo. My sister was going to skip the mall Santa photo for economic reasons, but I couldn't let that happen. EVERY child needs to have their photo taken while sitting on some strange old mans lap, right?
And here she is on Christmas morning.
I know that I'm biased, but I just want to eat her up because she is so G.D. adorable.
Anyways, this was Christmas morning on the couch and my moms with a few of the toys that Santa brought her.
And heres the little pooh-bear with her favorite auntie, me, in the midst of the chaos that is the dinner with the entire crazy bunch, I mean extended family.
Aside from fawning over my little niece, theres been other family issues. My moms health isn't so great. She's had 2 heart attacks in the past, the first at the age of 42 and the second at the age of 45. Last month ago there was reason to think she was having another. Thankfully, she wasn't. However, today we learned that her heart is functioning at only 40-45% of its capacity. I haven't spoken with her personally to find out exactly what this means, what the options are, and where to go next.
On a happier note, I went to Italy last November. I know that I mentioned this before, but I never posted any photos. These are a few of my favorites
Italy was beautiful, spectacular, and breathtaking. All at the same time. I definitely will make a point of visiting that country again in the future.
I've been doing better at keeping my travel blog up to date. I'd initially had the blog hosted on Wordpress, and while I liked Wordpress and its format and everything, I didn't like how they don't allow ads. Granted, Google AdSense doesn't pay out a whole heck of a lot, but every little bit ads up, right? Sooo, once it looked as though I was getting a fair amount of traffic I moved the blog over to Typepad. If you care to, you can now visit my travel blog here.
Bookmark it, talk about it, spread the word, whatever.
If you like the photos of Italy up there, and would like to see prints in person I will be having a show of some of my photography next month. Most of the photos will be of my travels - some of Italy, Paris, Ireland, and more exotic locales such as Forest Grove Oregon, Salt Lake City Utah, and our very own Sacramento California. Here are the details
Saturday, March 1 7pm-11pm
It's A Grind Coffee House
2731 Del Paso Road
Sacramento CA 95835
Need directions? Heres a map.
OH! And the best part? It's your chance to meet me in person. I'll be there all night. I may or may not be sneaking outside intermittently for a smoke and to top off my mochas with a wee nip of butterscotch schnapps or something of that genre, but I'll still be there. So, come! Bring a friend!
As I mentioned in my last posting, I've been working on my weight. I started at the beginning of the year and have managed to drop 15 lbs. Granted, I still haven't been to the gym, but it's a start, right?
I've been crocheting lately as well.
A few days after Christmas a close friend of mine lost her brother. I decided to give her an afghan in his honor and presented her with it about a month ago.
In addition to leaving behind his sisters, he also was the father to a 14 year old girl. My friend told me that when his daughter saw the afghan and found out what it was for, she was touched to the point of tears. What choice did I have but to make one for her as well? I finished it a couple of nights ago and should be presenting it to her tomorrow. I didn't get any photos of the afghan I made for my friend, but am hoping to grab a pic or two before I give this one to the daughter tomorrow.
Works been kicking my butt. December and January have always been bad, but this year felt worse than it has in years.
Family has been... complex. The good news is that this past holiday season was my nieces first Christmas and she was ADORABLE. Also, she is now 9 months old! How crazy is that??? Her 1st birthday is just around the corner!?!?!?
This was taken about a week before Christmas. I got to take the little booger for her mall Santa photo. My sister was going to skip the mall Santa photo for economic reasons, but I couldn't let that happen. EVERY child needs to have their photo taken while sitting on some strange old mans lap, right?
And here she is on Christmas morning.
I know that I'm biased, but I just want to eat her up because she is so G.D. adorable.
Anyways, this was Christmas morning on the couch and my moms with a few of the toys that Santa brought her.
And heres the little pooh-bear with her favorite auntie, me, in the midst of the chaos that is the dinner with the entire crazy bunch, I mean extended family.
Aside from fawning over my little niece, theres been other family issues. My moms health isn't so great. She's had 2 heart attacks in the past, the first at the age of 42 and the second at the age of 45. Last month ago there was reason to think she was having another. Thankfully, she wasn't. However, today we learned that her heart is functioning at only 40-45% of its capacity. I haven't spoken with her personally to find out exactly what this means, what the options are, and where to go next.
On a happier note, I went to Italy last November. I know that I mentioned this before, but I never posted any photos. These are a few of my favorites
Italy was beautiful, spectacular, and breathtaking. All at the same time. I definitely will make a point of visiting that country again in the future.
I've been doing better at keeping my travel blog up to date. I'd initially had the blog hosted on Wordpress, and while I liked Wordpress and its format and everything, I didn't like how they don't allow ads. Granted, Google AdSense doesn't pay out a whole heck of a lot, but every little bit ads up, right? Sooo, once it looked as though I was getting a fair amount of traffic I moved the blog over to Typepad. If you care to, you can now visit my travel blog here.
Bookmark it, talk about it, spread the word, whatever.
If you like the photos of Italy up there, and would like to see prints in person I will be having a show of some of my photography next month. Most of the photos will be of my travels - some of Italy, Paris, Ireland, and more exotic locales such as Forest Grove Oregon, Salt Lake City Utah, and our very own Sacramento California. Here are the details
Saturday, March 1 7pm-11pm
It's A Grind Coffee House
2731 Del Paso Road
Sacramento CA 95835
Need directions? Heres a map.
OH! And the best part? It's your chance to meet me in person. I'll be there all night. I may or may not be sneaking outside intermittently for a smoke and to top off my mochas with a wee nip of butterscotch schnapps or something of that genre, but I'll still be there. So, come! Bring a friend!
As I mentioned in my last posting, I've been working on my weight. I started at the beginning of the year and have managed to drop 15 lbs. Granted, I still haven't been to the gym, but it's a start, right?
I've been crocheting lately as well.
A few days after Christmas a close friend of mine lost her brother. I decided to give her an afghan in his honor and presented her with it about a month ago.
In addition to leaving behind his sisters, he also was the father to a 14 year old girl. My friend told me that when his daughter saw the afghan and found out what it was for, she was touched to the point of tears. What choice did I have but to make one for her as well? I finished it a couple of nights ago and should be presenting it to her tomorrow. I didn't get any photos of the afghan I made for my friend, but am hoping to grab a pic or two before I give this one to the daughter tomorrow.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
I Know...
I know that I said I would try to keep this blog up as well as my new travel blog, but, well, I'm slacking. Between work, my social life, family life, and everything else, both blogs are slacking a bit.
Also, I've been off seeing the world again. I spent the week of November 11-17 in Italy and had an absolutely fantastic time. It was a very short trip, and there was a lot more that I wanted to see and do but just didn't have time for. Venice was ideal, I've written about it over on the travel blog, and Florence was amazing. I think what impressed me the most about Florence was the art. The galleries are impressive, the sculptures that are out in the piazzas, just the way the city seems to glow in the sunlight... its definitely a city I want to go back to.
The travel blog is something I need to put a little more work into. I'm looking at turning it into a full blown website, throw a few ads up on there and see if I can generate some additional income from it. Perhaps it can serve to fund my future trips. I am ready to take off for Europe, or anywhere else, again already.
In addition, I've joined a gym. A friend of mine is the owner and publisher of Sacramento's Health and Fitness magazine, and he hooked me up with a free one year membership to 24 Hour Fitness.
I activated the membership last month, but have yet to use it. Part of the reason was that I was in the midst of preparing for my trip to Italy, another was that I lacked any shoes appropriate for working out. You can't do the eliptical trainer in a pair of strappy Born sandals. But, last night I got the shoes and sports bras, and a couple weeks ago I got myself some cute yoga pants, so now there are NO excuses.
I've even found a new online goal tracker so that I can keep some traces of accountability for myself. The first two goals I put on there were to exercise and to update my travel blog. Next I added some of the boring day to day chores that I need to keep up on, such as taking out the trash and doing laundry, but I've also added updating this personal blog a couple days each week. I NEED to write more.
I have a renewed outlook on writing since my return from Italy. While sitting on my hotel patios in both Venice and Florence, scribbling away in my journal, I realized that writing keeps me more in touch with my true self and that its when I put the pen, or the keyboard, away, I lose track of my wishes and dreams, and through losing track of those basic things, I just find myself lost in the BS of day to day life.
Another realization I had on this last trip was exactly how much I dislike my current job. I've been with the same company for over 7 years now, and no longer feel satisfied there. As much as I hate the whole process of interviewing for jobs, I have to move on and find something new. I have found one job to apply for and am in the process of revamping my resume. Please, keep your fingers crossed. I need out. As much as I like some of the people I work with, the job itself has worn me down and I need to find something new, something with a little more security, a new scene, and different challenges.
Also, I've been off seeing the world again. I spent the week of November 11-17 in Italy and had an absolutely fantastic time. It was a very short trip, and there was a lot more that I wanted to see and do but just didn't have time for. Venice was ideal, I've written about it over on the travel blog, and Florence was amazing. I think what impressed me the most about Florence was the art. The galleries are impressive, the sculptures that are out in the piazzas, just the way the city seems to glow in the sunlight... its definitely a city I want to go back to.
The travel blog is something I need to put a little more work into. I'm looking at turning it into a full blown website, throw a few ads up on there and see if I can generate some additional income from it. Perhaps it can serve to fund my future trips. I am ready to take off for Europe, or anywhere else, again already.
In addition, I've joined a gym. A friend of mine is the owner and publisher of Sacramento's Health and Fitness magazine, and he hooked me up with a free one year membership to 24 Hour Fitness.
I activated the membership last month, but have yet to use it. Part of the reason was that I was in the midst of preparing for my trip to Italy, another was that I lacked any shoes appropriate for working out. You can't do the eliptical trainer in a pair of strappy Born sandals. But, last night I got the shoes and sports bras, and a couple weeks ago I got myself some cute yoga pants, so now there are NO excuses.
I've even found a new online goal tracker so that I can keep some traces of accountability for myself. The first two goals I put on there were to exercise and to update my travel blog. Next I added some of the boring day to day chores that I need to keep up on, such as taking out the trash and doing laundry, but I've also added updating this personal blog a couple days each week. I NEED to write more.
I have a renewed outlook on writing since my return from Italy. While sitting on my hotel patios in both Venice and Florence, scribbling away in my journal, I realized that writing keeps me more in touch with my true self and that its when I put the pen, or the keyboard, away, I lose track of my wishes and dreams, and through losing track of those basic things, I just find myself lost in the BS of day to day life.
Another realization I had on this last trip was exactly how much I dislike my current job. I've been with the same company for over 7 years now, and no longer feel satisfied there. As much as I hate the whole process of interviewing for jobs, I have to move on and find something new. I have found one job to apply for and am in the process of revamping my resume. Please, keep your fingers crossed. I need out. As much as I like some of the people I work with, the job itself has worn me down and I need to find something new, something with a little more security, a new scene, and different challenges.
Monday, October 29, 2007
The Big News
Heres the big announcement I mentioned last week...
All of you know of my love for travel - my passion for immersing myself in other cultures and seeing the world. You also may know that I seem to have a knack for doing this for a rather cheap budget.
Taking the advice of some friends, I've decided to share my tips and resources on how to travel on a budget while not sacrificing any of the experience.
You can read my travel blog at:
www.tightwadtourist.wordpress.com
I'll be updating the blog with any of those killer deals I find, general travel tips, stories from my own adventures, and my travel photos.
Please feel free to give my any feedback and don't hesitate to ask any questions.
Bon Voyage!
Vanessa
All of you know of my love for travel - my passion for immersing myself in other cultures and seeing the world. You also may know that I seem to have a knack for doing this for a rather cheap budget.
Taking the advice of some friends, I've decided to share my tips and resources on how to travel on a budget while not sacrificing any of the experience.
You can read my travel blog at:
www.tightwadtourist.wordpress.com
I'll be updating the blog with any of those killer deals I find, general travel tips, stories from my own adventures, and my travel photos.
Please feel free to give my any feedback and don't hesitate to ask any questions.
Bon Voyage!
Vanessa
Monday, October 22, 2007
Monday, October 08, 2007
Before I Begin
First of all, let me apologize by saying that the "o" on my keyboard is a little wonky right now, so please forgive any typos.
Before I begin telling you about the goings on in my life for the past two months, I want to share some background.
Tonight I was able to catch the tail end of Oprah, where she had Dr. Oz as her guest. I saw a little bit of a family who had some children who were beginning to develop weight problems.
OH, how I could relate.
This family was taught healthy eating habits, the children were enrolled in tae kwon do classes and taught healthy eating habits as well as being shown positive self images.
This was where I was no longer able to relate.
When I was 10 years old, I'd started to put on some weight. Yes, I was overweight even back then. I was 4'10" and weighed 130 lbs. I was approximately 45 lbs overweight.
My family did not make any moves to help me develop positive eating habits at that young of age, they didn't help me to develop a positive self image or anything along those lines. My familiy essentially told me I was getting to fat and put me on Weight Watchers. At the age of 10.
Prior to this I was given the green light to drink bottle after bottle of orange soda all day long, then I was thrown to the opposite extreme of green salads with red wine vinegar and lowfat cottage cheese. Meanwhile, the rest of my family was still downing the sodas.
There was no effort made to make the household dinners healthier for everyone, I was just singled out with separate meals from everyone else, singled out at holiday gatherings out with public displays of how I was not allowed to eat what everyone else was eating regardless of how small the portion size. I was not taught healthy eating habits by my family, and I don't feel that Weight Watchers did either. Perhaps if my family had been more supportive the WW principles would have more educational, but the combination of my home life and WW did not create an environment in which healthy eating habits, healthy lifestyle and positive self image were encouraged.
As a result, my weight is something I have always struggled with. I've gone through periods where I didn't give a crap what I ate and basically binged for long periods of time. I've also gone to the opposite extreme where I've wondered if I would have been diagnosed as anorexic if a therapist were to have watched my actions. Granted, I never got down to a weight that was scary or that would cause any health concerns, but I was practicing some extremely unhealthy dietary habits.
I've never really learned the ultimate lesson here though. Its over 20 years later and I still alternate between extremes, never finding that happy medium.
I applaud the parents that were on Oprah today for taking the time to learn how to be healthier, AS A FAMILY, for not making any of their kids appear to feel singled out and ashamed of who they are but for making them want to be healthier. That was not an option that was presented to me at that age. Still I deal with self image issues, and struggle with trying to learn how to adjust my lifestyle and my eating habits so that they compliment one another.
Dr Oz's book may be one of my next purchases, but in the meantime I'm reading up on The French Diet by Dr Montegnac.
Before I begin telling you about the goings on in my life for the past two months, I want to share some background.
Tonight I was able to catch the tail end of Oprah, where she had Dr. Oz as her guest. I saw a little bit of a family who had some children who were beginning to develop weight problems.
OH, how I could relate.
This family was taught healthy eating habits, the children were enrolled in tae kwon do classes and taught healthy eating habits as well as being shown positive self images.
This was where I was no longer able to relate.
When I was 10 years old, I'd started to put on some weight. Yes, I was overweight even back then. I was 4'10" and weighed 130 lbs. I was approximately 45 lbs overweight.
My family did not make any moves to help me develop positive eating habits at that young of age, they didn't help me to develop a positive self image or anything along those lines. My familiy essentially told me I was getting to fat and put me on Weight Watchers. At the age of 10.
Prior to this I was given the green light to drink bottle after bottle of orange soda all day long, then I was thrown to the opposite extreme of green salads with red wine vinegar and lowfat cottage cheese. Meanwhile, the rest of my family was still downing the sodas.
There was no effort made to make the household dinners healthier for everyone, I was just singled out with separate meals from everyone else, singled out at holiday gatherings out with public displays of how I was not allowed to eat what everyone else was eating regardless of how small the portion size. I was not taught healthy eating habits by my family, and I don't feel that Weight Watchers did either. Perhaps if my family had been more supportive the WW principles would have more educational, but the combination of my home life and WW did not create an environment in which healthy eating habits, healthy lifestyle and positive self image were encouraged.
As a result, my weight is something I have always struggled with. I've gone through periods where I didn't give a crap what I ate and basically binged for long periods of time. I've also gone to the opposite extreme where I've wondered if I would have been diagnosed as anorexic if a therapist were to have watched my actions. Granted, I never got down to a weight that was scary or that would cause any health concerns, but I was practicing some extremely unhealthy dietary habits.
I've never really learned the ultimate lesson here though. Its over 20 years later and I still alternate between extremes, never finding that happy medium.
I applaud the parents that were on Oprah today for taking the time to learn how to be healthier, AS A FAMILY, for not making any of their kids appear to feel singled out and ashamed of who they are but for making them want to be healthier. That was not an option that was presented to me at that age. Still I deal with self image issues, and struggle with trying to learn how to adjust my lifestyle and my eating habits so that they compliment one another.
Dr Oz's book may be one of my next purchases, but in the meantime I'm reading up on The French Diet by Dr Montegnac.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Absence Only Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
Im sorry that I've neglected you for so long my sweets. I promise, it will never happen again. I have A LOT of updates for you. A LOT.
I'll be working on them this weekend.
I've had some travel, some adventures, some hum drum. All will be very interesting, I promise you this.
I'll be working on them this weekend.
I've had some travel, some adventures, some hum drum. All will be very interesting, I promise you this.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Where o where have I been?
Nearly three weeks without a posting and you would think that I'd been out of the country again. You would be wrong.
i have had a lot going on though.
First there was a friends birthday, which I once again baked the cake for:
Spice cake with seafoam frosting and caramel. It turned out nicely and was liked by all.
The following Saturday I headed east on I-80, stopping at the Donner Lake vista point for a photo op:
a while later I reached my destination:
Reno, where I met up with 6 friends for a bachelorette party
We had drinks that came in fishbowls
It was great fun, and one of the worst hangovers I've had in years.
Then, there was last night.
I THOUGHT that I was going to the suprise birthday party for a friends boyfriend and it turned out to be a suprise wedding. It was quite the shock, and an absolutely beautiful evening.
i have had a lot going on though.
First there was a friends birthday, which I once again baked the cake for:
Spice cake with seafoam frosting and caramel. It turned out nicely and was liked by all.
The following Saturday I headed east on I-80, stopping at the Donner Lake vista point for a photo op:
a while later I reached my destination:
Reno, where I met up with 6 friends for a bachelorette party
We had drinks that came in fishbowls
It was great fun, and one of the worst hangovers I've had in years.
Then, there was last night.
I THOUGHT that I was going to the suprise birthday party for a friends boyfriend and it turned out to be a suprise wedding. It was quite the shock, and an absolutely beautiful evening.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Cooking and Talking.
I made dinner tonight. I was going through some of my Grandmas magazines this afternoon - she buys all of the magazines at the supermarket checkout for their recipes, yet she doesn't cook. Anyways, I found a recipe for a lasagna that I just jad to make this evening. Instead of using lasagna noodles, you use chees raviolis. It was fantastic - I forgot to take any photos though so you'll just have to trust me as to how good it was. I did modify the recipe a little though and added some spinach to the layers.
While cleaning up after dinner I realized that I must talk to my grandmother about my coworkers A LOT. She asked me if I wanted to take some of the leftovers to work tomorrow, and I said yes. Then, she said "I suppose you'll need some for your two boys as well, won't you?"
Also, I'm in a wedding next month. My oldest friend Caren is getting married. I'd like for my nails to grow out some before the wedding so I think I'm going to have to resort to my old stand by for getting my hair and nails to grow for a special occaision - prenatal vitamins.
I leave you with a photo of my niece Kylee and I, this was taken about 3 weeks ago. She is so cute! I can't wait for her personality to really come out.
While cleaning up after dinner I realized that I must talk to my grandmother about my coworkers A LOT. She asked me if I wanted to take some of the leftovers to work tomorrow, and I said yes. Then, she said "I suppose you'll need some for your two boys as well, won't you?"
Also, I'm in a wedding next month. My oldest friend Caren is getting married. I'd like for my nails to grow out some before the wedding so I think I'm going to have to resort to my old stand by for getting my hair and nails to grow for a special occaision - prenatal vitamins.
I leave you with a photo of my niece Kylee and I, this was taken about 3 weeks ago. She is so cute! I can't wait for her personality to really come out.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Happy Birthday Erin
Today is my dear cousin Erins birthday.
I have to point out that Erin is more than "just" my cousin. We grew up together, taking summer trips to Disneyland with our grandparents, building forts in our grandparents backyard, being given baths together in grandmas kitchen sink.
Erin is more than just a cousin to me, shes like my siter, and shes my best friend.
For the past few months, Erins been going through some rough times - nothing I'm going to elaborate on here in respect to her privacy - but it has not been the best months of her life. Today is her birthday, and with her birthday coming up I felt that she deserved an extra special celebration.
A little over a month ago, she and I were commiserating over dinner and it got brought up that she'd like to attend horse races sometime. With her birthday approaching, I decided that we would celebrate with her friends at the Sacramento Harness Races. To make it a more festive occaision, "Derby Dress" would be encouraged.
Erin and I in our Derby attire:
Saturday afternoon we met up with friends at the pub, then took a couple of taxis over to Cal Expo for the races.
We had a fabulous time. With a group of close to 25, all in various attire, and a handful in some outrageous hate, we drew a little bit of attention to ourselves. For the 4th race, Erins birthday was announced and we rode in the pace car:
You can't tell, but we are in the car there on the left and are being watched by some of our friends lined up at the gate.
Riding in the pace cars was great, and it was reassuring when the driver and another guy who sat in the back watching advised us that the jockeys are not allowed to whip the horses at any time and the SPCA has a box from which they watch every single race to ensure that the horses are treated humanely.
At the end of the 7th race, our entire group was taken out to the finish line for a photo with the winning horse:
Then 5 of use were taken up on the roof to the announcers box:
Afterwards, we headed back to the pub for further festivities and cake that I'd made the night before:
Happy Birthday Erin, I LOVE YOU!
I have to point out that Erin is more than "just" my cousin. We grew up together, taking summer trips to Disneyland with our grandparents, building forts in our grandparents backyard, being given baths together in grandmas kitchen sink.
Erin is more than just a cousin to me, shes like my siter, and shes my best friend.
For the past few months, Erins been going through some rough times - nothing I'm going to elaborate on here in respect to her privacy - but it has not been the best months of her life. Today is her birthday, and with her birthday coming up I felt that she deserved an extra special celebration.
A little over a month ago, she and I were commiserating over dinner and it got brought up that she'd like to attend horse races sometime. With her birthday approaching, I decided that we would celebrate with her friends at the Sacramento Harness Races. To make it a more festive occaision, "Derby Dress" would be encouraged.
Erin and I in our Derby attire:
Saturday afternoon we met up with friends at the pub, then took a couple of taxis over to Cal Expo for the races.
We had a fabulous time. With a group of close to 25, all in various attire, and a handful in some outrageous hate, we drew a little bit of attention to ourselves. For the 4th race, Erins birthday was announced and we rode in the pace car:
You can't tell, but we are in the car there on the left and are being watched by some of our friends lined up at the gate.
Riding in the pace cars was great, and it was reassuring when the driver and another guy who sat in the back watching advised us that the jockeys are not allowed to whip the horses at any time and the SPCA has a box from which they watch every single race to ensure that the horses are treated humanely.
At the end of the 7th race, our entire group was taken out to the finish line for a photo with the winning horse:
Then 5 of use were taken up on the roof to the announcers box:
Afterwards, we headed back to the pub for further festivities and cake that I'd made the night before:
Happy Birthday Erin, I LOVE YOU!
Saturday, July 07, 2007
The Department of Health Is SERIOUS
I had the following conversation with my coworker "Bob" Friday afternoon:
B - So, did you hear about that restaurant in Natomas where one of the cooks had Hepatitas A and all of the employees had to be euthanized?
V - (laughing) Wait a minute. All of the employees were EUTHANIZED??
B - not euthanized, I mean embalmed
V - (laughing even more) thats not any better, "Bob". Are you sure you don't mean vaccinated?
B - So, did you hear about that restaurant in Natomas where one of the cooks had Hepatitas A and all of the employees had to be euthanized?
V - (laughing) Wait a minute. All of the employees were EUTHANIZED??
B - not euthanized, I mean embalmed
V - (laughing even more) thats not any better, "Bob". Are you sure you don't mean vaccinated?
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Motivating
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
~Mark Twain
I love this quote and the message of free-spiritedness (is too a word) which it conveys.
I try to apply this thought process to so much that I do.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Introspective
The past couple of months I've gotten a little introspective, looking at the things I like and don't like about myself and how I'd like to redirect my life and the things I'd like to change.
Theres nothing major, just a lot of little things and many of them are very superficial.
Perhaps it has something to do with having turned 30 last year but I just feel so incredibly frumpy and I'm tired of it.
I think my complexion is always dull, my hair is always pulled back in a ponytail or one of those half assed buns on top of my head, and I'm always wearing jeans and some tired t-shirt.
So, this past week I've done some shopping. I've bought some shoes, a couple of cute skirts, even a sundress. Wearing them to work the past week has drawn some attention, especially considering my typical wardrobe of jeans and a tired, frumpy t-shirt.
I've also been wearing my hair down, curly, and have been wearing a little bit of makeup - which I don't normally do either.
The complexion -- I've been using Immortelle Brightening Polish by L'Occitane. I think it works great, I don't know what it is or how it works, but after using it a couple of times there is a considerable improvement in my skin - more of a glow. I've also ordered this trio of products in Olive Forte from Laventine. Its gotten great reviews all over the web, and I tried some of the facial wash before ordering it.
Even after using the Brightening Polish I felt there was still room for improvement for my skins texture and clarity, and it still looked a little dull at times, so I was at the store tonight and picked up this skin polishing kit and used it as soon as I got home this evening. So far it seems like its made a difference, my skin feels smoother and seems even clearer and brighter. I'm thinking that by the time the Laventine products arrive I will have my skin regimen down pat - just in time for summer, and my 31st birthday.
Thats just some of the superficial stuff though.
I'm tired of being so passive, I allow people to.... disregard what I have to say a lot of the times, to talk over me in conversations, cut me off, stuff like that. Its one of my biggest pet peeves as well.
Theres nothing major, just a lot of little things and many of them are very superficial.
Perhaps it has something to do with having turned 30 last year but I just feel so incredibly frumpy and I'm tired of it.
I think my complexion is always dull, my hair is always pulled back in a ponytail or one of those half assed buns on top of my head, and I'm always wearing jeans and some tired t-shirt.
So, this past week I've done some shopping. I've bought some shoes, a couple of cute skirts, even a sundress. Wearing them to work the past week has drawn some attention, especially considering my typical wardrobe of jeans and a tired, frumpy t-shirt.
I've also been wearing my hair down, curly, and have been wearing a little bit of makeup - which I don't normally do either.
The complexion -- I've been using Immortelle Brightening Polish by L'Occitane. I think it works great, I don't know what it is or how it works, but after using it a couple of times there is a considerable improvement in my skin - more of a glow. I've also ordered this trio of products in Olive Forte from Laventine. Its gotten great reviews all over the web, and I tried some of the facial wash before ordering it.
Even after using the Brightening Polish I felt there was still room for improvement for my skins texture and clarity, and it still looked a little dull at times, so I was at the store tonight and picked up this skin polishing kit and used it as soon as I got home this evening. So far it seems like its made a difference, my skin feels smoother and seems even clearer and brighter. I'm thinking that by the time the Laventine products arrive I will have my skin regimen down pat - just in time for summer, and my 31st birthday.
Thats just some of the superficial stuff though.
I'm tired of being so passive, I allow people to.... disregard what I have to say a lot of the times, to talk over me in conversations, cut me off, stuff like that. Its one of my biggest pet peeves as well.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
You Can't Even Afford An Airplane!
Why are the weekends always so damn short?
Friday night was great, I started it off by leaving work 2 hours early and hanging out at the pub until the very last minute when I had to leave to go to my brothers high school graduation. considering he was graduating from a very small private school with a graduating class of only 38, you would think the ceremony would be fairly short. You would be dead wrong.
First, there were 3 girls tied for valedictorian. All 3 spoke. All 3 thanked each individual member of their family and each individual member of the school staff. The third girl to speak had learned how to use Power Point the month prior and put together a slide show consisting of 3 pages of pictures of every single graduating senior. Then the principal spoke. The principal is also the pastor of the church (its a christian school). He spoke to every single senior. THEN, he gave his testimony. I actually thought there was going to be an altar call.
At that point I started to itch, because I'm a heathen.
The timing was great though because I was going to pick a friend up from the Oakland Airport. Shauna, thank you for flying into Oakland on Friday night. You saved me from what had to be the longest high school graduation ceremony in recorded history.
Picking up Shauna was definitely worth the drive to Oakland and back. We were able to catch up on a lot, and its great to see an old friend whenever I have the chance.
Saturday, I slept in then that night I went to Kelly and Megans for a girls night. Several beers were consumed, snickers cake was snacked upon, and I discovered that Megan and I make a formidable team for Pictionary.
Sunday I went over to my cousin Erins and hung out with her and her parents while they figured out her wireless internet/phone/cable/tivo set up. I also napped with her cat Turtle. He has got to be one of the best nap buddies ever - the epitome of cuddlyness.
Before going to Erins I had to take my grandma up to Placerville to pick her car up from the mechanics. About a month or two ago I decided that what I'm going to do as my birthday present to myself is take an introductory flying lesson. On the way up there from Sunrise and Highway 50 we could see some of the airshow that was going on over at Mather Air Field - at that time they had the small planes doing the aerial acrobatics, which I figured was a good time to tell grandma that I'm going to take flying lessons.
Appropriate timing, don't you think?
I'm anticipating her response to be something along the lines of "dangerous, blah blah blah, assinine, blah blah blah, JFK Jr, blah blah blah, what do you need to be up THERE for, blah blah blah, assinine" so, I brace myself.
"Grandma, I've figured out what I"m going to do for my birthday"
"What?"
"Take flying lessons"
"Great. Just what we need, a PILOT in the family" - now, I cannot express in words the tone in which that was said. The closest equivalent statement would be if you substituted "PILOT" with "DOMINATRIX" or "CAR THIEF" because, as you know, my family - with its addicts, petty criminals, and numerous unwed mothers - is the epitome of white middle class decorum. But, the minute someone becomes a pilot, its all down the crapper.
"Grandma, you know it does take more than 1 lesson to become a pilot. I'm not saying I definitely want to get my license, but if I like it after the one lesson I may end up doing that but it would take a while to actually get my license."
"You can't even afford an airplane!!"
I love her thought pattern here - you want to learn to fly? you're going to have to buy an airplane - too bad you can't afford it. Essentially she's saying "keep your ass on the ground where it belongs"
Erins mom thinks I should make a fake sales contract for a Cessna, take the one lesson and tell granny that I LOVED IT then ask her to cosign on a Cessna. We torment her because we love her.
Friday night was great, I started it off by leaving work 2 hours early and hanging out at the pub until the very last minute when I had to leave to go to my brothers high school graduation. considering he was graduating from a very small private school with a graduating class of only 38, you would think the ceremony would be fairly short. You would be dead wrong.
First, there were 3 girls tied for valedictorian. All 3 spoke. All 3 thanked each individual member of their family and each individual member of the school staff. The third girl to speak had learned how to use Power Point the month prior and put together a slide show consisting of 3 pages of pictures of every single graduating senior. Then the principal spoke. The principal is also the pastor of the church (its a christian school). He spoke to every single senior. THEN, he gave his testimony. I actually thought there was going to be an altar call.
At that point I started to itch, because I'm a heathen.
The timing was great though because I was going to pick a friend up from the Oakland Airport. Shauna, thank you for flying into Oakland on Friday night. You saved me from what had to be the longest high school graduation ceremony in recorded history.
Picking up Shauna was definitely worth the drive to Oakland and back. We were able to catch up on a lot, and its great to see an old friend whenever I have the chance.
Saturday, I slept in then that night I went to Kelly and Megans for a girls night. Several beers were consumed, snickers cake was snacked upon, and I discovered that Megan and I make a formidable team for Pictionary.
Sunday I went over to my cousin Erins and hung out with her and her parents while they figured out her wireless internet/phone/cable/tivo set up. I also napped with her cat Turtle. He has got to be one of the best nap buddies ever - the epitome of cuddlyness.
Before going to Erins I had to take my grandma up to Placerville to pick her car up from the mechanics. About a month or two ago I decided that what I'm going to do as my birthday present to myself is take an introductory flying lesson. On the way up there from Sunrise and Highway 50 we could see some of the airshow that was going on over at Mather Air Field - at that time they had the small planes doing the aerial acrobatics, which I figured was a good time to tell grandma that I'm going to take flying lessons.
Appropriate timing, don't you think?
I'm anticipating her response to be something along the lines of "dangerous, blah blah blah, assinine, blah blah blah, JFK Jr, blah blah blah, what do you need to be up THERE for, blah blah blah, assinine" so, I brace myself.
"Grandma, I've figured out what I"m going to do for my birthday"
"What?"
"Take flying lessons"
"Great. Just what we need, a PILOT in the family" - now, I cannot express in words the tone in which that was said. The closest equivalent statement would be if you substituted "PILOT" with "DOMINATRIX" or "CAR THIEF" because, as you know, my family - with its addicts, petty criminals, and numerous unwed mothers - is the epitome of white middle class decorum. But, the minute someone becomes a pilot, its all down the crapper.
"Grandma, you know it does take more than 1 lesson to become a pilot. I'm not saying I definitely want to get my license, but if I like it after the one lesson I may end up doing that but it would take a while to actually get my license."
"You can't even afford an airplane!!"
I love her thought pattern here - you want to learn to fly? you're going to have to buy an airplane - too bad you can't afford it. Essentially she's saying "keep your ass on the ground where it belongs"
Erins mom thinks I should make a fake sales contract for a Cessna, take the one lesson and tell granny that I LOVED IT then ask her to cosign on a Cessna. We torment her because we love her.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Seeing Stars
Its been a full week.
I've been spending a lot of time at the pub, my time there is not completely spent drinking - I socialize with friends and also use it as some valuable knitting time. I also run into other bloggers, like Tanya (on the right) and her friend, Janet.
This week I decided that I wanted to make Beth's Little Star Afghan. Its a pattern that I've wanted to make for a while, just was awaiting the occaision, and that occaision would be my cute little niece.
I showed the pattern to my cousin Erin, and she had a BRILLIANT idea... make it look like a starfish. So, I doubled up the yarn and did the center with orange and white and the outside with blue and green.
Here is the finished product:
Thats Erin on the right. She doesn't consider herself to be a crafty person, but she had a great idea, don't you think?
Since I doubled up the yarn, this workerd up INCREDIBLY quickly. I started the starfish section (the orange and white) at the pub Thursday evening, and finished the orange section the same evening while still at the pub. The blue and green I started when I got home that evening - I worked on it a little bit that night, a little more Friday night, and finished it Sunday morning. In total, I would say that the whole project took somewhere between 8 and 10 hours.
This is definitely a pattern I will be using again and seeing how many different ways it can be adapted.
Melissa did a beautiful version of it here with some adorable matching pillows that I know I will tackle one day, once I get my "to do" list whittled down some.
The weekend was a blast,
Saturday afternoon/early evening I attended the birthday party of my friend Megan. her birthdays always have themes and this year it was the letter "M". People were dressed as Mary Katherine Gallagher, Memoir of a Geisha, Marlboro Man, a madam, I was Martha Stewart - I wore regular clothes and brought my craft projects with me - but, I think the best was my friend Phil. He threw on a mariachi hat with his regular clothes and claimed to be a mariachi man. We all thought that did not display any tremendous effort in costume until THE MARIACHI BAND HE'D HIRED SHOWED UP! Do you think I'm kidding? I'm not.
Phil is not one who could ever be accused of doing something half assed.
In fact, he went way further above and beyond that evening and got on stage at a concert to propose to his girlfriend of 3 years, Celeste.
She said yes.
My love and congratulations to the happy couple.
I've been spending a lot of time at the pub, my time there is not completely spent drinking - I socialize with friends and also use it as some valuable knitting time. I also run into other bloggers, like Tanya (on the right) and her friend, Janet.
This week I decided that I wanted to make Beth's Little Star Afghan. Its a pattern that I've wanted to make for a while, just was awaiting the occaision, and that occaision would be my cute little niece.
I showed the pattern to my cousin Erin, and she had a BRILLIANT idea... make it look like a starfish. So, I doubled up the yarn and did the center with orange and white and the outside with blue and green.
Here is the finished product:
Thats Erin on the right. She doesn't consider herself to be a crafty person, but she had a great idea, don't you think?
Since I doubled up the yarn, this workerd up INCREDIBLY quickly. I started the starfish section (the orange and white) at the pub Thursday evening, and finished the orange section the same evening while still at the pub. The blue and green I started when I got home that evening - I worked on it a little bit that night, a little more Friday night, and finished it Sunday morning. In total, I would say that the whole project took somewhere between 8 and 10 hours.
This is definitely a pattern I will be using again and seeing how many different ways it can be adapted.
Melissa did a beautiful version of it here with some adorable matching pillows that I know I will tackle one day, once I get my "to do" list whittled down some.
The weekend was a blast,
Saturday afternoon/early evening I attended the birthday party of my friend Megan. her birthdays always have themes and this year it was the letter "M". People were dressed as Mary Katherine Gallagher, Memoir of a Geisha, Marlboro Man, a madam, I was Martha Stewart - I wore regular clothes and brought my craft projects with me - but, I think the best was my friend Phil. He threw on a mariachi hat with his regular clothes and claimed to be a mariachi man. We all thought that did not display any tremendous effort in costume until THE MARIACHI BAND HE'D HIRED SHOWED UP! Do you think I'm kidding? I'm not.
Phil is not one who could ever be accused of doing something half assed.
In fact, he went way further above and beyond that evening and got on stage at a concert to propose to his girlfriend of 3 years, Celeste.
She said yes.
My love and congratulations to the happy couple.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Plaid Baby Afghan & Knit Newborn Caps
When starting this project, I knew that the final steps of weaving the various color yarns through the body of the afghan would be a fairly tedious job - I just didnt realize HOW tedious it would be. It was tedious. As tedious as organizing an entire library according to the dewey decimal system from scratch. I started weaving the pieces through, and half an hour later I only had a few rows completed. I honestly thought that this part would go much much quicker than this - it is just weaving yarn through a mesh blanket after all. YAWN, this project got really boring very quickly. I made it more interesting by taking it down to the pub with me. A couple pints of ale + conversation with some friends made it much more pleasant.
However, I do like the overall effect and the end results:
I'm sure that if I were to actually make the afghan again I'd think of a couple ways to modify it to make it simpler. I'm half tempted to write out my pattern, but I know that its inspired by a pattern that I saw in a book somewhere almost 10 years ago and not knowing how much like the original pattern it is, I dont want to risk infringing upon anyones copyright.
Also, I made a knit cap for my little niece.
It looks SO SMALL. I didnt follow a written pattern, just swatched the yarn, then Googled the average head circumference of a newborn (14" by the way) and went from there. I'm hoping it fits. In the past, I've been notorious for making hats that were too "short" for most adults - mainly myself, I have a HUGE head - but fit on kids. I'm worried about this one because I wasn't following a written pattern, I was just eyeballing it. I had a gnawing feeling that the hat was not going to fit the kids head. So, I've started to make a back up just a little bit bigger.
The Sideways Shell Afghan turned out well. I just love love love this pattern.
The Winnie the Pooh quilt is still in progress, and will be for a while. Really, with everything else that I'm working on, my goal is to have it done by the kids first birthday. If its done anytime before then, then I'm ahead of the game.
I have a feeling that baby/child patterns are going to be my focus for a while.
However, I do like the overall effect and the end results:
I'm sure that if I were to actually make the afghan again I'd think of a couple ways to modify it to make it simpler. I'm half tempted to write out my pattern, but I know that its inspired by a pattern that I saw in a book somewhere almost 10 years ago and not knowing how much like the original pattern it is, I dont want to risk infringing upon anyones copyright.
Also, I made a knit cap for my little niece.
It looks SO SMALL. I didnt follow a written pattern, just swatched the yarn, then Googled the average head circumference of a newborn (14" by the way) and went from there. I'm hoping it fits. In the past, I've been notorious for making hats that were too "short" for most adults - mainly myself, I have a HUGE head - but fit on kids. I'm worried about this one because I wasn't following a written pattern, I was just eyeballing it. I had a gnawing feeling that the hat was not going to fit the kids head. So, I've started to make a back up just a little bit bigger.
The Sideways Shell Afghan turned out well. I just love love love this pattern.
The Winnie the Pooh quilt is still in progress, and will be for a while. Really, with everything else that I'm working on, my goal is to have it done by the kids first birthday. If its done anytime before then, then I'm ahead of the game.
I have a feeling that baby/child patterns are going to be my focus for a while.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Happy Saturday!
Earlier this week I was looking forward to the weekend, thinking that I would have both days to myself. I was so happy at the thought of sleeping in and just lounging around the house doing NOTHING. Yesterday I realized that I would actually have a pretty full Saturday.
I did get out last night, went down to the pub and hung out with some friends. Perused the newest issue of Interweave Knits with a fellow knitter and had a few beers.
This morning I got up, went to visit my perfect little niece - she and my sister came home yesterday - and got to hold her and examine her mop of hair, perfect little lips, adorable little finger nails, and most of all.... the cheeks! I just love those round chubby pudgy little cheeks!
Afterwards I took my car in for an oil change and tire rotation. I suppose I could have sat in the waiting room for the hour and a half and worked on the crochet plaid afghan during that time - I had the feeling that the cashier was a knitter or crocheter (just got that vibe) so she would have appreciated it. Instead, I saw the Big Lots across the street and thought I'd just browse for that hour and half. Can you ever "just browse" in a Big Lots?? I think not. $50 later I walk out with 3 bags of stuff I really don't need. Sure, I got a couple of cute stuffed animals and onesies for Kylee, something for an upcoming birthday gift, a steering wheel cover, and some shampoo and conditioner.
Then, it was a fmaily dinner at Outback to celebrate my baby brothers 18th birthday. My sister and niece joined us, and Kylee was perfect the entire time - slept most of the time and only woke up twice, took a look around, then went back to sleep. She could sense when it was time to eat though. As soon as her mothers food was served, Kylee wanted her dinner as well. I offered to feed her so that my sister could eat her dinner while it was still hot, but she had it covered.
Other than that one feeding, Kylee slept through all of the noise of an Outback restaurant on a Saturday night.
By the way - that cute lavendar afghan? Thats the Sideways Shell afghan I crocheted for her. I gave it to her before I photographed it, so this photo will have to suffice.
Tomorrow, I am knitting. Thats it. Well, and most likely having a pint or two down at the pub.
I did get out last night, went down to the pub and hung out with some friends. Perused the newest issue of Interweave Knits with a fellow knitter and had a few beers.
This morning I got up, went to visit my perfect little niece - she and my sister came home yesterday - and got to hold her and examine her mop of hair, perfect little lips, adorable little finger nails, and most of all.... the cheeks! I just love those round chubby pudgy little cheeks!
Afterwards I took my car in for an oil change and tire rotation. I suppose I could have sat in the waiting room for the hour and a half and worked on the crochet plaid afghan during that time - I had the feeling that the cashier was a knitter or crocheter (just got that vibe) so she would have appreciated it. Instead, I saw the Big Lots across the street and thought I'd just browse for that hour and half. Can you ever "just browse" in a Big Lots?? I think not. $50 later I walk out with 3 bags of stuff I really don't need. Sure, I got a couple of cute stuffed animals and onesies for Kylee, something for an upcoming birthday gift, a steering wheel cover, and some shampoo and conditioner.
Then, it was a fmaily dinner at Outback to celebrate my baby brothers 18th birthday. My sister and niece joined us, and Kylee was perfect the entire time - slept most of the time and only woke up twice, took a look around, then went back to sleep. She could sense when it was time to eat though. As soon as her mothers food was served, Kylee wanted her dinner as well. I offered to feed her so that my sister could eat her dinner while it was still hot, but she had it covered.
Other than that one feeding, Kylee slept through all of the noise of an Outback restaurant on a Saturday night.
By the way - that cute lavendar afghan? Thats the Sideways Shell afghan I crocheted for her. I gave it to her before I photographed it, so this photo will have to suffice.
Tomorrow, I am knitting. Thats it. Well, and most likely having a pint or two down at the pub.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Vital Stats
I forgot to include Kylees stats in last nights post.. I was out of it from lack of sleep.
Kylee Rose
May 15, 2007 5:31 am
7 lbs 4 oz
18.5 inches long
cheek diameter - Pi (theres no end, they just keep going and going)
Astrological stats:
Sun - Taurus
Moon - Taurus
Ascendant - Taurus
Venus in Cancer
I'm not sure what all of this means, my moms into astrology and immediately ran Kylee's chart the first chance she had.
Kylee Rose
May 15, 2007 5:31 am
7 lbs 4 oz
18.5 inches long
cheek diameter - Pi (theres no end, they just keep going and going)
Astrological stats:
Sun - Taurus
Moon - Taurus
Ascendant - Taurus
Venus in Cancer
I'm not sure what all of this means, my moms into astrology and immediately ran Kylee's chart the first chance she had.
Introducing
Kylee Rose
Have you ever seen a more perfect pair of cheeks? I think the cheeks alone make up half of her total body mass.
I am a very proud auntie.
Have you ever seen a more perfect pair of cheeks? I think the cheeks alone make up half of her total body mass.
I am a very proud auntie.
Monday, May 14, 2007
My week in review
Last weeks baby shower went over fantastically. The food was very well received. I intended to take photos of the food and all of the festivities, but I was in the kitchen cooking for almost the entire time. Everything was going so quickly that I missed out on most of the party. I think the favorite dish by far was this Pesto Turkey Baguette. The original recipe called for prosciutto, but with how many people were going to be there I substituted turkey because that much prosciutto would get very pricey very quickly.
It is a great sandwich, very very tasty. I didn't get one at the shower last week, so I made another batch today for our Mothers Day family dinner. This time I used both turkey and a small amount of prosciutto.
Other than that, my week was rather uneventful. Nothing exciting or exceptional. I'm itching to get out of town for something, I'm just not sure what. I'm thinking a day trip to the coast will be coming up soon.
It is a great sandwich, very very tasty. I didn't get one at the shower last week, so I made another batch today for our Mothers Day family dinner. This time I used both turkey and a small amount of prosciutto.
Other than that, my week was rather uneventful. Nothing exciting or exceptional. I'm itching to get out of town for something, I'm just not sure what. I'm thinking a day trip to the coast will be coming up soon.
Friday, May 04, 2007
A Little Q & A Session....
Shananigans asks five questions...
1. You are quite crafty. What was your first craft obsession, and what was the best item you created ever?
Hmmm... this one is tougher than I'd thought it would be.
I think I was about 6, maybe 7, when my great-grandmother first taught me how to crochet. I wasn't that great at it and it didn't really offer much in the ways of instant gratification so it didn't hold my interest for too terribly long. Around the same age I had a brief obsession with beads and would make these friendship pin things with small seed beads and safety pins - my dad kept his on his corduroy blazer for a LONG time (hey, it was the 80's - give him a break about the corduroy blazer already. Geesh!)
I don't recall the little safety pin friendship beads obsession lasting too terribly long though.
After that it was cross stitch. It started with me wanting to make something for my grandmother in Oregon when I was about 10 or 11 and my mom got me to cross stitch some tea towels for her new kitchen. I THINK I made a set of 7, one for each day of the week. Last year, after my grandmother passed away, my family was going through some of mer memento boxes looking for photos to have up at the services and reception afterwards and I found this piece of one of the tea towels I'd made her nearly 20 years earlier
My grandpa said that she'd been wanting to have the piece matted and framed to hang in the house.
It was so touching to see that she'd kept this faded, tattered and worn piece of cross stitch that I'd made as a child. We found a lot of things that I'd made her over the years - hats, scarves, afghans, photographs, drawings, lots of things, but this piece touched me the most.
2. What are looking forward to most about becoming an auntie?
SO MUCH! Theyre mainly all selfish reasons though, like the benefits of essentially having a child vicariously through someone else. Watching her little personality develop, from the first time she coos to her learning to say my name, subverting her mothers authority (hehe!). When she's old enough I look forward to taking her for the day and going to the zoo or the park, her thinking I'm the coolest auntie ever, feeding her a huge sundae untile she's wired on the sugar and then handing her back over to her mother. All of this without having to push a human being out of my va-jay-jay.
Also, I have 2 aunts myself - Gloria was incredibly cool, more like an older sister. I could talk to her about ANYTHING while I was growing up - like boys, kissing, stuff like that. She was only 14 years older than me, so I grew up thinking that she was incredibly cool and hip. While she was in high school and immediately afterwards, she used me as a litmus test for the guys she was dating. If they thought nothing of taking me to the park as their afternoon date, they were okay as far as she was concerned. If they found it annoying to be hauling around a 3 year old on their date, they failed and she dumped them.
My other aunt, my cousin Erins mother, Marla, is more cultured and would take me to the symphony, ballet and opera. She is a high school french teacher and would take students on European tours every other summer, bring me back little souvenirs from everywhere she went and teaching me about the various cultures. When I was 6, and they'd returned from the first tour that Erin was allowed to go on (she was 7) she helped Erin teach me about the french cafe culture, setting up coffee service on their patio table and allowed me to have a teeny tiny glass of redn wine with a french dinner that she'd cooked. I thought it was amazing that she allowed me to participate in such adult activities and that it made me so elegant. She taught me french phrases and I would have to use those during the french dinner or cafe time.
Neither or my aunts ever treated me like a child, never spoke down to me, and always expected me to treat them with respect and they gave me the same in return.
Basically I want to do the same for my little niece that my aunts did for me. Share the cultures that I encounter, and introduce her to the whole world.
3. You’ve got the travel bug. I know you’ve traveled in Europe and have another trip to Italy coming up. Are there any off the beaten path trips you really want to take, like Antarctica or something?
One of my goals in life is to visit 6 of the 7 continents - all except Antartica. There is some controversy on the issue of Antartica though. My father says that I should visit Antartica, that he's heard how beautiful it is and that I should go just for the ability to say that I've seen all 7 continents. That is tempting but I'm not too sure. First of all, COLD COLD COLD! I don't care for the cold. Two - I read something lately where a person had done a cruise down to the Antartic and how beautiful it was and that in a sense they were tempted to tell all of their friends to go, but at the same time hesitant because it is the one continent that has had very little human influence and the more people see it the more you see evidence of that human influence. I feel as though I shouldn't contribute to the degradation of that environment.
There are some other trips I want to take though - after Italy, I'm hoping to make my way to a continent other than Europe. I would LOVE to go to South America, I just have a hard time deciding where. Argentina? Chile? Brazil? I would like to learn to tango in Buenos Aires. Climb to Macchu Picchu (sp?) to see the ruins. Stand at the foot of Christ the Redeemer in Brazil and feel small, even though I'm not overtly religious.
I would also like to go to Asia, but again can't decide where. Japan? China? Hong Kong? Laos? I would like to see the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Walk along the Great Wall of China. See the Cantonese Opera perform, then do a little shopping, and finish the day by watching the sunset over Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong. Go to Laos and feel at peace in a Buddhist Temple.
There are so many places I want to experience.
4. If you could quit your job and make up your own career (threat of financial instability notwithstanding) what would it be?
This one is easy - travel writer and photographer. If I could market myself as the female version of Rick Steves I would do it in a heartbeat. Offering travel guides and tips for the independent woman would make my soul sing.
5. You, like me, are a pub dweller on occasion. What’s your favorite from the tap?
That depends upon where I am.
Here in Sacramento my favorite is Newcastle Brown Ale. When I can find it I do prefer Amber Bock, but thats not easy to come by on tap.
In Ireland - Guinness, hands down. The flavor of Guinness over there is completely different than here, it has a sweeter, almost chocolate, taste to it.
In Germany, it would be Kolsch. I'd never heard of it before going there, and it is much much lighter than what I normally prefer but it was great. I've heard that Curve Ball by Pyramid Brewing Company is highly comparable to the Kolsch of Cologne Germany, where I had it, and we have a Pyramid Brewery here in Sacramento so I may be going there to try it soon.
In France, I only drank wine so I'm not really in the position to suggest anything from there.
If anyone else wants to answer 5 questions, let me know - the first 10 to respond will get 5 customized questions from ME!
1. You are quite crafty. What was your first craft obsession, and what was the best item you created ever?
Hmmm... this one is tougher than I'd thought it would be.
I think I was about 6, maybe 7, when my great-grandmother first taught me how to crochet. I wasn't that great at it and it didn't really offer much in the ways of instant gratification so it didn't hold my interest for too terribly long. Around the same age I had a brief obsession with beads and would make these friendship pin things with small seed beads and safety pins - my dad kept his on his corduroy blazer for a LONG time (hey, it was the 80's - give him a break about the corduroy blazer already. Geesh!)
I don't recall the little safety pin friendship beads obsession lasting too terribly long though.
After that it was cross stitch. It started with me wanting to make something for my grandmother in Oregon when I was about 10 or 11 and my mom got me to cross stitch some tea towels for her new kitchen. I THINK I made a set of 7, one for each day of the week. Last year, after my grandmother passed away, my family was going through some of mer memento boxes looking for photos to have up at the services and reception afterwards and I found this piece of one of the tea towels I'd made her nearly 20 years earlier
My grandpa said that she'd been wanting to have the piece matted and framed to hang in the house.
It was so touching to see that she'd kept this faded, tattered and worn piece of cross stitch that I'd made as a child. We found a lot of things that I'd made her over the years - hats, scarves, afghans, photographs, drawings, lots of things, but this piece touched me the most.
2. What are looking forward to most about becoming an auntie?
SO MUCH! Theyre mainly all selfish reasons though, like the benefits of essentially having a child vicariously through someone else. Watching her little personality develop, from the first time she coos to her learning to say my name, subverting her mothers authority (hehe!). When she's old enough I look forward to taking her for the day and going to the zoo or the park, her thinking I'm the coolest auntie ever, feeding her a huge sundae untile she's wired on the sugar and then handing her back over to her mother. All of this without having to push a human being out of my va-jay-jay.
Also, I have 2 aunts myself - Gloria was incredibly cool, more like an older sister. I could talk to her about ANYTHING while I was growing up - like boys, kissing, stuff like that. She was only 14 years older than me, so I grew up thinking that she was incredibly cool and hip. While she was in high school and immediately afterwards, she used me as a litmus test for the guys she was dating. If they thought nothing of taking me to the park as their afternoon date, they were okay as far as she was concerned. If they found it annoying to be hauling around a 3 year old on their date, they failed and she dumped them.
My other aunt, my cousin Erins mother, Marla, is more cultured and would take me to the symphony, ballet and opera. She is a high school french teacher and would take students on European tours every other summer, bring me back little souvenirs from everywhere she went and teaching me about the various cultures. When I was 6, and they'd returned from the first tour that Erin was allowed to go on (she was 7) she helped Erin teach me about the french cafe culture, setting up coffee service on their patio table and allowed me to have a teeny tiny glass of redn wine with a french dinner that she'd cooked. I thought it was amazing that she allowed me to participate in such adult activities and that it made me so elegant. She taught me french phrases and I would have to use those during the french dinner or cafe time.
Neither or my aunts ever treated me like a child, never spoke down to me, and always expected me to treat them with respect and they gave me the same in return.
Basically I want to do the same for my little niece that my aunts did for me. Share the cultures that I encounter, and introduce her to the whole world.
3. You’ve got the travel bug. I know you’ve traveled in Europe and have another trip to Italy coming up. Are there any off the beaten path trips you really want to take, like Antarctica or something?
One of my goals in life is to visit 6 of the 7 continents - all except Antartica. There is some controversy on the issue of Antartica though. My father says that I should visit Antartica, that he's heard how beautiful it is and that I should go just for the ability to say that I've seen all 7 continents. That is tempting but I'm not too sure. First of all, COLD COLD COLD! I don't care for the cold. Two - I read something lately where a person had done a cruise down to the Antartic and how beautiful it was and that in a sense they were tempted to tell all of their friends to go, but at the same time hesitant because it is the one continent that has had very little human influence and the more people see it the more you see evidence of that human influence. I feel as though I shouldn't contribute to the degradation of that environment.
There are some other trips I want to take though - after Italy, I'm hoping to make my way to a continent other than Europe. I would LOVE to go to South America, I just have a hard time deciding where. Argentina? Chile? Brazil? I would like to learn to tango in Buenos Aires. Climb to Macchu Picchu (sp?) to see the ruins. Stand at the foot of Christ the Redeemer in Brazil and feel small, even though I'm not overtly religious.
I would also like to go to Asia, but again can't decide where. Japan? China? Hong Kong? Laos? I would like to see the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Walk along the Great Wall of China. See the Cantonese Opera perform, then do a little shopping, and finish the day by watching the sunset over Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong. Go to Laos and feel at peace in a Buddhist Temple.
There are so many places I want to experience.
4. If you could quit your job and make up your own career (threat of financial instability notwithstanding) what would it be?
This one is easy - travel writer and photographer. If I could market myself as the female version of Rick Steves I would do it in a heartbeat. Offering travel guides and tips for the independent woman would make my soul sing.
5. You, like me, are a pub dweller on occasion. What’s your favorite from the tap?
That depends upon where I am.
Here in Sacramento my favorite is Newcastle Brown Ale. When I can find it I do prefer Amber Bock, but thats not easy to come by on tap.
In Ireland - Guinness, hands down. The flavor of Guinness over there is completely different than here, it has a sweeter, almost chocolate, taste to it.
In Germany, it would be Kolsch. I'd never heard of it before going there, and it is much much lighter than what I normally prefer but it was great. I've heard that Curve Ball by Pyramid Brewing Company is highly comparable to the Kolsch of Cologne Germany, where I had it, and we have a Pyramid Brewery here in Sacramento so I may be going there to try it soon.
In France, I only drank wine so I'm not really in the position to suggest anything from there.
If anyone else wants to answer 5 questions, let me know - the first 10 to respond will get 5 customized questions from ME!
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Preparations
Saturday is my sisters baby shower and I have a lot of prep work to do. A lot. Theres going to be up to 40 people there and my sister wants the menu theme to be "miniatures". So, I'll be making finger sandwiches, hors d'ouerves, cupcakes, and petit-fours.
To start with, I have about 65 recipes to go through and narrow down the menu for the occaision. Today, Friday, after work I have to do all of the grocery shopping and at least make the cupcakes and petit-fours so that I dont have to do EVERYTHING Saturday morning.
Tonight, I start with narrowing down the menu...
To start with, I have about 65 recipes to go through and narrow down the menu for the occaision. Today, Friday, after work I have to do all of the grocery shopping and at least make the cupcakes and petit-fours so that I dont have to do EVERYTHING Saturday morning.
Tonight, I start with narrowing down the menu...
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