One of the things I love about visiting Amy and Shane is the breakfasts Shane cooks. After a crazy couple of days I woke up Sunday morning to the smell of bacon, eggs, and pancakes. The Whites definitely know how to make people want to come back and visit :-).
Adri, Mo, Katya, Charity, and I all headed to the Boston airport around 9am. I was a little nervous because we were each trying to do completely different things. Charity needed to get back to Atlanta. Katya was flying on a buddy pass to Frankfurt and we wanted to change it to go via Cincinnati. I needed to buy a ZED fare (discounted ticket based on distance) on Cape Air and try to get a flight to Martha's Vineyard. I was worried Charity wouldn't get a flight at all because they were full. I was worried Katya wouldn't make it to Cinci or that she wouldn't get first to Germany. I was worried the ZED fare wouldn't work, never having used one, or that the flights to MV would be full.
I finally got both girls checked in and purchased my ticket, which has to be done at a Delta counter, and headed over to find Cape Air. This is when I discovered that I hate the Boston airport. It has 4 terminals - A, B, C, and E - and instead of being set up all in a nice row like Atlanta, they're in a circle. There's a shuttle that runs between them, but after waiting 10 minutes I decided to walk. I walked from A to E which was easy enough. Then to go from E to C you have to go through what seemed like the old airport graveyard. It was hallways covered in tiles from the 50s that had empty baggage carousels and lots of empty rooms. It seems that when they decide they no longer like a part of the airport, they just build a different terminal.
A very long walk later I found the Cape Air counter. They were very friendly and told me there was space on the flights. They also asked me how much I weighed and weighed my rollaboard and laptop bag. This should've been a sign that I wasn't going to be on a big plane. I finally got to the gate and had to wait an hour cause I had just missed the 1pm flight (they leave on the hour, every hour). When they started calling for boarding they would call section 1 passengers 1-8, then section 2 pax 9-17. I then looked out the window and saw the little fleet of Cessnas. I figured out that depending on how many tickets were sold they were take 1-3 planes every hour. Each plane carried 9 passengers and 1 pilot. We finally went down to board the plane and the captain told us that a plane had just run off the runway in MV so the airport was closed!!! I figured it was par for the course for my weekend travels. Thankfully it was temporary and we began boarding shortly thereafter. They asked if I could take the seat up front. I sat in the seat behind what would've been the First Officer's seat. Then the captain turned around and asked if I would mind sitting in the front since someone was going to have to! I kept trying not to laugh because it seemed like a joke almost. I couldn't believe that I was riding on such a small plane, nevermind in the right seat. It gave me a new appreciation for when people get on our planes and are amazed at how small they are. Though in our defense our cabins are at least pressurized and we do fly actual jets at normal speeds and altitudes. It was really fun to ride in the front as we took off after a United 757. We had a great view of Boston as we took off and never got so high that we couldn't see the beautiful houses along the coast. About 35 minutes later we were in Martha's Vineyard.
Joy picked me up at the airport. It was really great to see her happy, smiling face. I really had no idea what to except when I arrived on the island. I didn't know how big it was or what the terrain was like. We drove for about 10 minutes through a lot of trees until we finally got to Oak Bluffs, which is where Joy lives and works. The house she lives in is a beautiful house painted in shades of lavender and blue. I was amazed at how many perfect little gingerbread style houses were everywhere. We dropped my stuff off at the house and went to Pomodora's, the Italian restaurant where she works. There I met a lot of the people she had told me about. Everyone seems to love her, but really, who doesn't? One of the cooks made us a great salad with different types of meat, cheese, olives, peppers and dressing.
Later in the afternoon it started raining so we slogged over to Joy's friend Kiera's family's house for a barbeque. Even in the rain everything was beautiful. It was the nice kind of warm summer rain that I love. Everywhere we went we stopped along the way to say hello to different friends. Kiera is Irish and her uncle lives on the island. She is here for the summer working and has become good friends with Joy. Her parents were in town for the week to visit so most of her friends had managed to get the night off work and spend the evening together. Joy's Brazlian friends, Alex and Jean Luca, cooked steaks for everyone. Instead of serving them to each person on plates, they would slice them in strips as they came off the grill and we all sat around on the porch eating. It was a really nice evening.
The next day Joy and I went to the beach for a little while before I had to get the bus to the airport. I was surprised by how clear the water was. I have very little experience with New England beaches and have always had the impression of the cold, dark, possibly dirty Atlantic. As many of you already know, this is far from the truth. Unfortunately I slept late and only got to spend about 30 minutes there before it was time to go to the airport. The bus took longer than we had been told so I missed the flight that I was hoping to make. The next flight didn't have any seats on it. By the time I flight came along with seats on it it was 5pm. I was looking at the flights from Boston to Atlanta and they looked terrible. I was really worried about getting back in time for my trip that started at 8:30 this morning. I didn't want to get rid of it because it had a long overnight in Fort Walton Beach and I needed the hours. But when 5pm rolled around, there was only one more flight out of Boston, and two naps came up in open time I had to trade it. This gave me another day and a half to get home without any penalty.
I decided if I was going to be stuck somewhere I'd rather it be the Vineyard with Joy. I got on the bus and went back to the restaurant where she was working and surprised her. I ended up hanging out there until Kiera's parent's came in and we ate dinner together. Kiera's cousin BJ is four and was so amusing. I had told him on Sunday night that I didn't have a belly button, so he was going around pulling up people's shirts to check for belly buttons. He pulled up Kiera's dads and came back to tell me "Jared has a belly button and it's kind of gross." That's pretty much how he was the entire time.
After we ate and all the kids got off work we went wandering around the town. Joy has a really interesting combination of friends and it's fun to be around them. We ended up at a place called the Island House and danced until it closed. Joy won a bag, tshirt, hat, and flip flops for being such a good dancer :-). After that place closed we were standing on the sidewalk trying to decide what to do when three guys came along and started talking to our group. One was wearing a shirt that said something about Iraq veterans against the war. He started into his campaign, explaining to us their three goals and how they intended to implement them. Alex seemed pretty interested, but I'm a little wary of any sort of fanatic. I believe in causes and I respect people who are passionate about things, but I like to meet someone who can wait more than 5 minutes of meeting you before getting on their soapbox. In our attempt to get away from these guys we started walking toward the beach. That didn't work and they came with us. Joy, Kiera, and I started wading into the water. Joy had told me about this algae they have there that lights up when you disturb them. When you walked into the water in certain spots it was like clouds of pixie dust surrounded your legs. Sometimes it looks like lightning bugs in the water. We were enjoying this amazing sight until one of the veterans decided he wanted to swim properly and took all this clothes off and ran into the water (stirring up loads of lovely algae, I'm sure). Thankfully he warned us so we didn't have to see anything too traumatic. Not five minutes later though, the cops came along and informed us it was time to call it a night. It was kind of annoying because there weren't any signs posted saying the beach was closed. We weren't doing anything besides walking in the water (except for naked guy who the police quickly spotted). It was a beautiful night though and we had a great time. I'm glad I got stuck there another day.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
And so the journey began...
I'm sitting in the Martha's Vineyard airport, yet again, waiting for a flight to take me to Boston where I will try to catch a flight to Atlanta. This is hopefully the end of a trip that I wasn't sure was going to begin.
Friday I got up at 4:20, flew back from Providence, and did a Memphis round trip. On the way back from Memphis I had a proper celebrity on my flight. It was Robert Plant, lead singer of Led Zeppelin and famous solo artist. I did not recognize him by sight (there are very few singers I'd actually recognize by sight) but one of the rampers told us he was on the flight and from there he was easy to pick out. The British accent elped, plus the curly ponytail, and cool but not over the top jewelry. I never said anything to him indicating that I knew who he was. I always feel weird approaching celebrities. But I did chit chat with him a few times. He had a good sense of humor.
After we got back to Atlanta I, like the heartless flight attendant I am, dumped our wheelchair passenger off the plane so I could run over to the next gate, meet up with Charity, and try to make the flight to Portland, ME. They cleared me for the flight, but since I was going to have to wait several hours in Portland, and Charity didn't get on, we decided to just wait in Atlanta together. This ended up being a good decision because we were waiting forever. There were about 5 more Boston flights and another Portland. I almost got on the next Portland without Charity, but once I got on the plane they realized someone couldn't count and there wasn't actually a seat available for me. Thanks to Charity's refusal to give up and Adri's willingness to pick us up in Boston whenever, we finally got on the last flight to Boston. At this point I had been in one airport or another for about 17 hours. I was seated between two quiet, friendly people, but it seemed that the rest of the plane was full of crying babies and obnoxious children. There was a girl sitting behind me, who was at least 10 years old, who sobbed and wailed because her mother's reading light was bothering her. I was so tired I folded over on my stomach and slept for a while.
We finally got to BOston and in the car with Adri, Mo (Adri's roommate), and Katya (Mo's girlfriend) around 12:30 or so and set off for the great north. Amy and Shane had left Portland earlier to go set up the campsite and get ready for rafting the next day. We finally arrived in West Forks, ME around 5am. It was starting to get light already. We parked near some cabins and walked through misty, good-smelling woods to the field where the tents were. We were all in a tired daze and weren't really sure which tents we were supposed to sleep in. Shane finally heard us and came out and told us where to sleep. Turns out, they had barely gotten back to the campsite. They had been across the street earlier in the evening and our rafting guide was attacked in a bar. Shane tried to intervene and got scuffed up as well. Black eyes and police reports ensued. Sounded like an exciting evening, but I'm glad I missed it. I finally fell asleep dreaming of the bird-like mosquitos that were hovering around my head and any piece of uncovered flesh and slept a few hours.
The actual rafting trip the following day made all of our pain and suffering up to this point completely worthwhile. We left the campsite around 10am and rode up to the top of the river. The day was perfect. The sky was blue with the occasional puffy white cloud and the sun was warm but not hot. As we got in the river and started through the rapids we found that the water was really nice (you all know how I love cold water). The river was rough enough to get your heart pounding, but not so rough that you thought you might actually die. Our guide was a regular New Englander who liked to yell and scream at us. His command for us to stop paddling was "good" which I have decided is the stupidest way of telling someone to stop. Sometimes it sounded like "ok, good, stop" other times it sounded like "good job, keep it up". After we got through the rough stuff we went swimming for a while. The water was so clear you could see your feet down below you. I learned how to pull someone into the boat and took pleasure in feeling strong and powerful heaving people out of the water. We had left a cooler halfway along the river and ate lunch sitting on some rocks with our feet in the water. Our guide gave Charity some guiding lessons and before we knew it she was bossing us around as well (oh wait, she always does that... hehe). We had such a good time in the sun and the water. It was a wonderful day.
When we finally made it back to Portland that night Shane, Amy, Charity, and I decided since Charity had never been to Portland before we needed show her the town. After driving all the way from MA the night before the rest of the crew decided resting was more important (understandably). It was so nice to be able to go out in Portland at night without wearing a jacket and snow clothes. We went to a few places we'd been to before and ended up at a bar with a huge outdoor patio and a live band. The main draw, though, was the super size Jenga games they had. I think it's a genius idea. People enjoy playing. People enjoy watching. It's an easy way to keep people occupied for hours. While we were watching one of the games I recognized a pilot I'd flown with a few months ago who was there for the overnight. It was pretty bizarre that we happened to be in the same place at the same time considering how many pilots we have and how many bars there are in Portland. It was a good time. charity is the Jenga queen. We finally went home and crashed at Amy and Shane's.
It is now time for my flight to Boston so I will have to tell about the rest of my journey later.
Currently reading : Her Last Death: A Memoir By Susanna Sonnenberg
Friday I got up at 4:20, flew back from Providence, and did a Memphis round trip. On the way back from Memphis I had a proper celebrity on my flight. It was Robert Plant, lead singer of Led Zeppelin and famous solo artist. I did not recognize him by sight (there are very few singers I'd actually recognize by sight) but one of the rampers told us he was on the flight and from there he was easy to pick out. The British accent elped, plus the curly ponytail, and cool but not over the top jewelry. I never said anything to him indicating that I knew who he was. I always feel weird approaching celebrities. But I did chit chat with him a few times. He had a good sense of humor.
After we got back to Atlanta I, like the heartless flight attendant I am, dumped our wheelchair passenger off the plane so I could run over to the next gate, meet up with Charity, and try to make the flight to Portland, ME. They cleared me for the flight, but since I was going to have to wait several hours in Portland, and Charity didn't get on, we decided to just wait in Atlanta together. This ended up being a good decision because we were waiting forever. There were about 5 more Boston flights and another Portland. I almost got on the next Portland without Charity, but once I got on the plane they realized someone couldn't count and there wasn't actually a seat available for me. Thanks to Charity's refusal to give up and Adri's willingness to pick us up in Boston whenever, we finally got on the last flight to Boston. At this point I had been in one airport or another for about 17 hours. I was seated between two quiet, friendly people, but it seemed that the rest of the plane was full of crying babies and obnoxious children. There was a girl sitting behind me, who was at least 10 years old, who sobbed and wailed because her mother's reading light was bothering her. I was so tired I folded over on my stomach and slept for a while.
We finally got to BOston and in the car with Adri, Mo (Adri's roommate), and Katya (Mo's girlfriend) around 12:30 or so and set off for the great north. Amy and Shane had left Portland earlier to go set up the campsite and get ready for rafting the next day. We finally arrived in West Forks, ME around 5am. It was starting to get light already. We parked near some cabins and walked through misty, good-smelling woods to the field where the tents were. We were all in a tired daze and weren't really sure which tents we were supposed to sleep in. Shane finally heard us and came out and told us where to sleep. Turns out, they had barely gotten back to the campsite. They had been across the street earlier in the evening and our rafting guide was attacked in a bar. Shane tried to intervene and got scuffed up as well. Black eyes and police reports ensued. Sounded like an exciting evening, but I'm glad I missed it. I finally fell asleep dreaming of the bird-like mosquitos that were hovering around my head and any piece of uncovered flesh and slept a few hours.
The actual rafting trip the following day made all of our pain and suffering up to this point completely worthwhile. We left the campsite around 10am and rode up to the top of the river. The day was perfect. The sky was blue with the occasional puffy white cloud and the sun was warm but not hot. As we got in the river and started through the rapids we found that the water was really nice (you all know how I love cold water). The river was rough enough to get your heart pounding, but not so rough that you thought you might actually die. Our guide was a regular New Englander who liked to yell and scream at us. His command for us to stop paddling was "good" which I have decided is the stupidest way of telling someone to stop. Sometimes it sounded like "ok, good, stop" other times it sounded like "good job, keep it up". After we got through the rough stuff we went swimming for a while. The water was so clear you could see your feet down below you. I learned how to pull someone into the boat and took pleasure in feeling strong and powerful heaving people out of the water. We had left a cooler halfway along the river and ate lunch sitting on some rocks with our feet in the water. Our guide gave Charity some guiding lessons and before we knew it she was bossing us around as well (oh wait, she always does that... hehe). We had such a good time in the sun and the water. It was a wonderful day.
When we finally made it back to Portland that night Shane, Amy, Charity, and I decided since Charity had never been to Portland before we needed show her the town. After driving all the way from MA the night before the rest of the crew decided resting was more important (understandably). It was so nice to be able to go out in Portland at night without wearing a jacket and snow clothes. We went to a few places we'd been to before and ended up at a bar with a huge outdoor patio and a live band. The main draw, though, was the super size Jenga games they had. I think it's a genius idea. People enjoy playing. People enjoy watching. It's an easy way to keep people occupied for hours. While we were watching one of the games I recognized a pilot I'd flown with a few months ago who was there for the overnight. It was pretty bizarre that we happened to be in the same place at the same time considering how many pilots we have and how many bars there are in Portland. It was a good time. charity is the Jenga queen. We finally went home and crashed at Amy and Shane's.
It is now time for my flight to Boston so I will have to tell about the rest of my journey later.
Currently reading : Her Last Death: A Memoir By Susanna Sonnenberg
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Oh my darlin’, oh my darlin’, oh my daaarlin’ Clementine
Except Clementine's in my stomach. I'm on my fourth one today. They're practically my favorite orange. The facts that they're easily peelable, the size of a golf ball, and ever so tasty make me want to eat them all the time. And also the fact that I bought a whole bag of them on Sunday and am realizing if I don't eat them all they'll go bad. I've also eaten almost a whole box of strawberries and a plum today. I seriously overestimated my fruit consumption, but am determined not to let it go to waste.
I'm in Rochester, NY and it is just as exciting as I hoped and dreamed it would be. We got here an hour late because of weather in Atlanta and had 4 babies on the plane, of which no less than 3 were screaming at any given time. Add that to the fact that my fellow flight attendant's fuse was getting a little low and you can imagine how much fun my last 3 hours have been. A man asked me if we had any antihistamines or nasal spray cause the lady next to him had a cold. I told him all we have is pain killers. Then he asked the other flight attendant who gave the same response. Then the man persisted in asking if either of us had any personally. I suppose if I had had some tylenol cold I would've shared it, but nasal spray? I think not. I should've lent her my tissue that I just blew my nose in.
I was wondering why I was feeling loopy and why the room seemed bizarre and just remembered I took my last ambian hoping it would send me into a deep and dreamless sleep until the morning. That last sentence took a lot of effort and back spacing. Good night all!
I'm in Rochester, NY and it is just as exciting as I hoped and dreamed it would be. We got here an hour late because of weather in Atlanta and had 4 babies on the plane, of which no less than 3 were screaming at any given time. Add that to the fact that my fellow flight attendant's fuse was getting a little low and you can imagine how much fun my last 3 hours have been. A man asked me if we had any antihistamines or nasal spray cause the lady next to him had a cold. I told him all we have is pain killers. Then he asked the other flight attendant who gave the same response. Then the man persisted in asking if either of us had any personally. I suppose if I had had some tylenol cold I would've shared it, but nasal spray? I think not. I should've lent her my tissue that I just blew my nose in.
I was wondering why I was feeling loopy and why the room seemed bizarre and just remembered I took my last ambian hoping it would send me into a deep and dreamless sleep until the morning. That last sentence took a lot of effort and back spacing. Good night all!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Because I don’t want to pack
I don't want to pack. I have to pack for two separate trips and it's overwhelming to the point of not doing anything at all. I did just have the brilliant realization that I don't have to fit it all in my suitcase for the next four days, which helps a little bit, but not enough. I'm doing a four day tomorrow, then going immediately to Maine to go rafting, and then hopefully after that going to Martha's Vineyard to say hello to Joy.
Today I did a dayline. I had some really stupid people on my flights. I had a lady get on and ask me where 12A was. I said "It's row 12", and I pointed to the number over row 1. She then proceeded to go through the cabin and stop and look at each row number as she went past. I don't know if she thought we were going to sneak 12 in after 6 or mix the numbers up for kicks or what. Then another lady got on. I was already unimpressed by the vast amount of fast food that her family was dragging on board with them, so when she said "Is row 10 in the front?" I couldn't even dignify it with a response. Once again, we in the civilized world number things for a reason. And in our civilized world counting typically begins at 1 and proceeds upwards IN ORDER. When I went through the cabin I got to her and she was holding her seatbelt and repeating over and over that she didn't know how to work it. Once again, for all of you people who laugh when we do the demos, some people can't seem to figure it out. They check their brains in their bags. They were also smelly people. Not the "I don't wear deoderant" kind of smelly. Just the "I don't shower or wash my hair regularly". Can you tell I had an amazing day? I had four different sets of smelly people today. One was plain old BO smelly, one group of 4 was curry smelly, and the other two were the generally unwashed kind. It's very sad to me to see/smell that.
I did have some friendly people, but my first round trip was to Nashville and very short so I really only had half the customer interraction. I had a man start talking to me while I was serving. He said he liked my name and had wanted to name is daughter Grace or Constance(????) but his wife vetoed it. Then he asked me when my birthday was. He said his wife is in to birthdays and star signs. He said he could usually guess when people's birthdays were, but evidently he still didn't peg me as an Aquarius. He also told me that guys that were born in late September were good matches for me. Funny that I know several born then and am not a good match with any. I told him he was out of his mind and his wife should stop wasting her time on that crap... Not really :-P Then there was the creepy starer in 1D. One of the first lessons in Man School needs to be that looking is flattering but staring is just gross and creepy.
I started reading the first Harry Potter today. I figure 10 years later (or whatever it is) I should get with the times. So far so good.
Currently reading : Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1) By J.K. Rowling
Today I did a dayline. I had some really stupid people on my flights. I had a lady get on and ask me where 12A was. I said "It's row 12", and I pointed to the number over row 1. She then proceeded to go through the cabin and stop and look at each row number as she went past. I don't know if she thought we were going to sneak 12 in after 6 or mix the numbers up for kicks or what. Then another lady got on. I was already unimpressed by the vast amount of fast food that her family was dragging on board with them, so when she said "Is row 10 in the front?" I couldn't even dignify it with a response. Once again, we in the civilized world number things for a reason. And in our civilized world counting typically begins at 1 and proceeds upwards IN ORDER. When I went through the cabin I got to her and she was holding her seatbelt and repeating over and over that she didn't know how to work it. Once again, for all of you people who laugh when we do the demos, some people can't seem to figure it out. They check their brains in their bags. They were also smelly people. Not the "I don't wear deoderant" kind of smelly. Just the "I don't shower or wash my hair regularly". Can you tell I had an amazing day? I had four different sets of smelly people today. One was plain old BO smelly, one group of 4 was curry smelly, and the other two were the generally unwashed kind. It's very sad to me to see/smell that.
I did have some friendly people, but my first round trip was to Nashville and very short so I really only had half the customer interraction. I had a man start talking to me while I was serving. He said he liked my name and had wanted to name is daughter Grace or Constance(????) but his wife vetoed it. Then he asked me when my birthday was. He said his wife is in to birthdays and star signs. He said he could usually guess when people's birthdays were, but evidently he still didn't peg me as an Aquarius. He also told me that guys that were born in late September were good matches for me. Funny that I know several born then and am not a good match with any. I told him he was out of his mind and his wife should stop wasting her time on that crap... Not really :-P Then there was the creepy starer in 1D. One of the first lessons in Man School needs to be that looking is flattering but staring is just gross and creepy.
I started reading the first Harry Potter today. I figure 10 years later (or whatever it is) I should get with the times. So far so good.
Currently reading : Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1) By J.K. Rowling
Sunday, July 20, 2008
the start of a new week
Tomorrow is the beginning of another week of flying. Unlike my easy three day week last week, I'll actually be flying 5 days this one. Imagine that - working every day of the week! Sometimes I envy people who go home to their own beds every night and have nice normal lives. Sometimes I pity people who sleep in their own beds every night and have nice normal lives.
This weekend was way too short. It was nice being off during the day on Friday, which isn't my norm, but I worked at the amphitheater for some play that night, and did a dinner catering last night. The catering was ridiculous. It was for some lady's 60th birthday party and her daughter, who had organized it, was sooo demanding. I almost snapped when she started telling me how to serve sodas... If there's anything I know something about, it's serving sodas (unfortunately).
My brakes have decided to leave me. I've been meaning to get them fixed for a long time, but it's hard to negotiate leaving my car somewhere for long enough to get them fixed. I'm taking it in while I'm away on Tuesday, but all weekend I had to get chauffered around. It was kind of nice cause I don't like driving sometimes and cause then I got to spend time with whoever was driving me around. J did the honors yesterday and took me to my haircut. Then we went to Jersey's pool for the afternoon. Today the parents did the honors and we went to check out a potential house. We aren't sure about how much work the house would need, but I'd almost get it for the land around it. It reminds me of our Roscoe Rd house (property-wise) which was the most beautiful area we've lived in. Who knows if anything will come of it, but it's interesting.
Tonight I did laundry, made my room walkable, and watched True Life about these two girls who are compulsive shoppers. It made me feel much better about my money problems. Nothing like looking at people whose lives are disasters to feel better about yourself. That's all for now. I'm going to try to rise and shine and get stuff done before work in the morning.
This weekend was way too short. It was nice being off during the day on Friday, which isn't my norm, but I worked at the amphitheater for some play that night, and did a dinner catering last night. The catering was ridiculous. It was for some lady's 60th birthday party and her daughter, who had organized it, was sooo demanding. I almost snapped when she started telling me how to serve sodas... If there's anything I know something about, it's serving sodas (unfortunately).
My brakes have decided to leave me. I've been meaning to get them fixed for a long time, but it's hard to negotiate leaving my car somewhere for long enough to get them fixed. I'm taking it in while I'm away on Tuesday, but all weekend I had to get chauffered around. It was kind of nice cause I don't like driving sometimes and cause then I got to spend time with whoever was driving me around. J did the honors yesterday and took me to my haircut. Then we went to Jersey's pool for the afternoon. Today the parents did the honors and we went to check out a potential house. We aren't sure about how much work the house would need, but I'd almost get it for the land around it. It reminds me of our Roscoe Rd house (property-wise) which was the most beautiful area we've lived in. Who knows if anything will come of it, but it's interesting.
Tonight I did laundry, made my room walkable, and watched True Life about these two girls who are compulsive shoppers. It made me feel much better about my money problems. Nothing like looking at people whose lives are disasters to feel better about yourself. That's all for now. I'm going to try to rise and shine and get stuff done before work in the morning.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
if only work was always like this
I love doing three day trips. It was crazy and wonderful to realize yesterday, on day two, that today was the last day of the trip.
We just got back from Nassau. It was a nice overnight and instead of avoiding it like I've done before, I think I'll try to go back. I usually don't do international overnights if they're less than 14 hours or so (Nassau is 11), but since the airport is small and customs is a joke I think I can deal with it. The hotel is actually a Wyndham Resort and is really nice. My crew and I sat on beach chairs on the beach last night for an hour or so and just enjoyed being near sand and water. I'd love to see more of the area. The water was beautiful and we came in as the sun was going down which made it to die for :-P. I love the blackness of the people and how everyone is so relaxed and friendly.
The night before we were in Key West where the people aren't as much black as they are ridiculously tan. The locals all seem to have their brains fried, and you can see every imaginable (and some you'd rather not imagine) type of person. Three of us went out and about and had a jolly good time. For once, it was below 1000 degrees and the humidity was only 97% instead of the usual 125% person. I am evidently a beast because I sweat so much (thank you, Captain).
My prime disappointment with this trip has been that at both hotels, which are known for their king beds, I got full or queen. I know this may seem silly, but I love those beds so much. I feel towards king sized beds like I feel toward showers - a kind of unusual degree of love and enjoyment :-P. There's just something fabulous about knowing I can lie in any direction and still be completely on the bed. Oh well... Maybe next time.
If anything else amusing has happened in the last few days, I don't really remember. I have another 2.5 hours to entertain myself before I do one more round trip to Burlington, VT - then home!
We just got back from Nassau. It was a nice overnight and instead of avoiding it like I've done before, I think I'll try to go back. I usually don't do international overnights if they're less than 14 hours or so (Nassau is 11), but since the airport is small and customs is a joke I think I can deal with it. The hotel is actually a Wyndham Resort and is really nice. My crew and I sat on beach chairs on the beach last night for an hour or so and just enjoyed being near sand and water. I'd love to see more of the area. The water was beautiful and we came in as the sun was going down which made it to die for :-P. I love the blackness of the people and how everyone is so relaxed and friendly.
The night before we were in Key West where the people aren't as much black as they are ridiculously tan. The locals all seem to have their brains fried, and you can see every imaginable (and some you'd rather not imagine) type of person. Three of us went out and about and had a jolly good time. For once, it was below 1000 degrees and the humidity was only 97% instead of the usual 125% person. I am evidently a beast because I sweat so much (thank you, Captain).
My prime disappointment with this trip has been that at both hotels, which are known for their king beds, I got full or queen. I know this may seem silly, but I love those beds so much. I feel towards king sized beds like I feel toward showers - a kind of unusual degree of love and enjoyment :-P. There's just something fabulous about knowing I can lie in any direction and still be completely on the bed. Oh well... Maybe next time.
If anything else amusing has happened in the last few days, I don't really remember. I have another 2.5 hours to entertain myself before I do one more round trip to Burlington, VT - then home!
Monday, July 14, 2008
On top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese, I lost my poor meatball, when somebody sneezed.
The advertisement at the top of my myspace page just now said "Music lessons= happiness". It made me laugh. Let me tell you, when I took music lessons they brought me more stress and tears than very many other things.
Tomorrow is my Monday. The thing that makes me happy though is that my trip this week is only 3 days. It also makes me happy that I'll be in Key West tomorrow night and Nassau Wednesday night. I don't know what it is but three day trips seem so much shorter than four days. I almost feel like I don't need to pack anything (but I am anyway).
Today was a fun day off. I got to have lunch with J before he went to work. It's hard to beat Chick-fil-a and a good looking man. But then I hung out with Michal and Mama the rest of the afternoon. I also went to the library and checked out the first Harry Potter book. I haven't read any of them and feel so behind the times. Michal had her second lesson learning to drive a manual car. She is doing quite well, though sometimes it makes me laugh a little to realize I'm teaching my baby sister to drive. She is already driving an automatic around which is strange enough. Then we did some shopping which just wore me out. I ran over a snake on the way home, thinking it was a piece of tire, and it made me feel bad and gross.
There has been lots of other stuff going on but I haven't felt like writing. I'm trying to do a better job of keeping up with my friends and family. I realized the other day how little I know about most of my friend's (and some of my family's) lives right now and it really bothers me.
I ran yesterday and intend to do so at least several more times this week. I also talked to my bosses today about some money issues and got more that I thought might be owed me so is another thing going well. It seems like life is a constant struggle for balance. If you are doing well work and money-wise, it seems you neglect relationships. It's hard to do all the good things you want all at the same time. I focus on eating well and exercising for a while, and then I fall completely off the wagon. I am good about calling people and writing and then I get distracted for months. I wonder why we're that way? Now I'm going to focus on getting a good night's sleep so I can be refreshed when I get to Key West tomorrow.
Tomorrow is my Monday. The thing that makes me happy though is that my trip this week is only 3 days. It also makes me happy that I'll be in Key West tomorrow night and Nassau Wednesday night. I don't know what it is but three day trips seem so much shorter than four days. I almost feel like I don't need to pack anything (but I am anyway).
Today was a fun day off. I got to have lunch with J before he went to work. It's hard to beat Chick-fil-a and a good looking man. But then I hung out with Michal and Mama the rest of the afternoon. I also went to the library and checked out the first Harry Potter book. I haven't read any of them and feel so behind the times. Michal had her second lesson learning to drive a manual car. She is doing quite well, though sometimes it makes me laugh a little to realize I'm teaching my baby sister to drive. She is already driving an automatic around which is strange enough. Then we did some shopping which just wore me out. I ran over a snake on the way home, thinking it was a piece of tire, and it made me feel bad and gross.
There has been lots of other stuff going on but I haven't felt like writing. I'm trying to do a better job of keeping up with my friends and family. I realized the other day how little I know about most of my friend's (and some of my family's) lives right now and it really bothers me.
I ran yesterday and intend to do so at least several more times this week. I also talked to my bosses today about some money issues and got more that I thought might be owed me so is another thing going well. It seems like life is a constant struggle for balance. If you are doing well work and money-wise, it seems you neglect relationships. It's hard to do all the good things you want all at the same time. I focus on eating well and exercising for a while, and then I fall completely off the wagon. I am good about calling people and writing and then I get distracted for months. I wonder why we're that way? Now I'm going to focus on getting a good night's sleep so I can be refreshed when I get to Key West tomorrow.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
flying hiiiiigh
I'm sitting in Atlanta. We just got back from Montreal and have a 3 hour break before we go to Burlinton, VT for the night. I'm happy cause that's one of my favorite overnights. I wish we were spending 17 hours there instead of in Providence, RI tomorrow night. Someone is sitting a few chairs down from me in the lounge snoring. It amuses me. I should be sleeping because I am le tired, but alas, I am not.
Last night in Montreal I started week 8. This week is a 28 minute run in between two 5 minute walks. I ran four times last week, and am determined to run at least 3 times this week. I have set a weight goal for the end of the month. I'm excited to reach it.
Monday night I went with Jamie to the Dave Matthews concert at Lakewood. It was my first DMB concert. I was impressed by several things. First was obviously the band. It's nice to see a group where all of the musicians are so talented and work so well together. I'm sure this is part of why DMB is so popular. It seems most of the time you have one or two people who have the talent and keep things going, but they are all amazing. Second, I was amazed by how much weed people were smoking. I seriously thought I was going to get stoned just standing there breathing. Third was the crowd. It seemed like Jamie and I were the chaperones for a frat party. I haven't seen that many drunk/stoned children in a long time. Everyone was very enthusiastic though. We stood for at least 3 solid hours. The place was packed. We had a great time. I have to thank Susan for not being able to stay in Atlanta all weekend and thereby making it possible for me to be Jamie's stand-in date :-).
Last night in Montreal I started week 8. This week is a 28 minute run in between two 5 minute walks. I ran four times last week, and am determined to run at least 3 times this week. I have set a weight goal for the end of the month. I'm excited to reach it.
Monday night I went with Jamie to the Dave Matthews concert at Lakewood. It was my first DMB concert. I was impressed by several things. First was obviously the band. It's nice to see a group where all of the musicians are so talented and work so well together. I'm sure this is part of why DMB is so popular. It seems most of the time you have one or two people who have the talent and keep things going, but they are all amazing. Second, I was amazed by how much weed people were smoking. I seriously thought I was going to get stoned just standing there breathing. Third was the crowd. It seemed like Jamie and I were the chaperones for a frat party. I haven't seen that many drunk/stoned children in a long time. Everyone was very enthusiastic though. We stood for at least 3 solid hours. The place was packed. We had a great time. I have to thank Susan for not being able to stay in Atlanta all weekend and thereby making it possible for me to be Jamie's stand-in date :-).
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Back in the saddle
I'm back at work after six wonderful days off. I'm still exhausted and am looking forward to the wonderful hotel room in Key West this evening. I got home from Buenos Aires about 5:30 Sunday morning. I went home and went to sleep and was so tired and asleep that even in my dreams I was tired and couldn't move. I got up and had lunch with the parents but was feeling pretty lousy. I was coughing and my whole body hurt. Not sure how much of the aching was due to spending 10 hours on a plane. That night I had my usual fever breaking dreams and woke up with wet sheets from all the sweat - so I'm assuming whatever I had went away then. I'm still kind of achy, but not nearly as bad.
Yesterday I hung out at the pool with J. The weather lately has been amazing and almost makes you forget how brutal Atlanta can be. After that we went running, shopping and cooked supper. It was a really nice evening and we got to sit on his balcony and watch the reflection of the sunset off the buildings in Buckhead. Such a beautiful night.
When I travel I have the problem of not writing during the trip, and when I get home it's so much to write about that I never do. I did that with Puerto Vallarta, but don't want it to happen this time, so I'll try to write about it in bits and pieces.
My first impression of Buenos Aires was from the back of a taxi. I feared that I would die before we ever reached the city. Roya and I arrived in Buenos Aires around 7:30am. We'd had a nice flight (both in Business) and were ready to take on the world. Her friend, Alfredo, met us at the airport and we got in the cab to go to the hotel. Because of the traffic it made a 30 minute ride almost twice that long. I spent a lot of the trip looking down or anywhere except at what was in front of us. In Argentina there is total disregard for the lines on the road. Everyone is weaving back and forth. If you pull up at a light where there are three lanes, but there's room to squeeze in between two of the cars, they'll make four lanes. The driver would come up behind and between semis like they wouldn't squish us completely flat if we got in their way. Roya tried to video it but it was so stop and go and unpredictable that it was difficult. I'm glad to say that we survived, but I think that it was the most scared I've ever been in a car in my life.
Yesterday I hung out at the pool with J. The weather lately has been amazing and almost makes you forget how brutal Atlanta can be. After that we went running, shopping and cooked supper. It was a really nice evening and we got to sit on his balcony and watch the reflection of the sunset off the buildings in Buckhead. Such a beautiful night.
When I travel I have the problem of not writing during the trip, and when I get home it's so much to write about that I never do. I did that with Puerto Vallarta, but don't want it to happen this time, so I'll try to write about it in bits and pieces.
My first impression of Buenos Aires was from the back of a taxi. I feared that I would die before we ever reached the city. Roya and I arrived in Buenos Aires around 7:30am. We'd had a nice flight (both in Business) and were ready to take on the world. Her friend, Alfredo, met us at the airport and we got in the cab to go to the hotel. Because of the traffic it made a 30 minute ride almost twice that long. I spent a lot of the trip looking down or anywhere except at what was in front of us. In Argentina there is total disregard for the lines on the road. Everyone is weaving back and forth. If you pull up at a light where there are three lanes, but there's room to squeeze in between two of the cars, they'll make four lanes. The driver would come up behind and between semis like they wouldn't squish us completely flat if we got in their way. Roya tried to video it but it was so stop and go and unpredictable that it was difficult. I'm glad to say that we survived, but I think that it was the most scared I've ever been in a car in my life.
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