It's Bananas - B-A-N-A-N-A-S

I can’t believe I didn’t mention this before. When we get to the New York airport, we’ve got plenty of cushion time. We’re nothing if not early birds when it comes to air travel. Anyway, Shawn took our big suitcase (remember the water) to check, and I stay put with the small carry-ons.

It’s super early – pre-6 a.m. – but everyone who walks in the doors looks around at the crowds in a panic, wide eyes and hearts beating too quickly. Eyes dart, looking for escape, or at least the shortest line. Eventually that leads to acceptance, and they trudge in line like everyone else. But the panicked faces continue to flow into the terminal. And I just stood there and watched, fretting as more and more time ticked off the clock (what a way to start a vacation, right?)

After about 30 minutes of that (i.e. how inefficient can American’s check in system be? VERY!), a group of 20-something girls comes through, and they each have small rollers. There’s something stuck underneath one. It’s small and white-ish, and it’s hard to tell what it is. I thought she’d dropped something and I was going to tell her, but then her suitcase rolled over it and it was obvious – AN UNPEELED BANANA.

Seeing as how I had no paper towels and no way to navigate with two rollers anyway, I just stood there and watched as people smashed it, slipped on it and wheeled through it. It got caught underneath a few suitcases as well, until finally a cleaner happened by and wiped it up. Nobody fell, thank goodness, but it was still ridiculous.

Butch, our cruise director, told us to look for those “once in a lifetime experiences.” I’d say seeing an unpeeled banana act interrupt the day of dozens of travelers is something I’ll only see once in my lifetime!

State Room Video

Cruise 2010 Cabin Video from Mari on Vimeo.

This is the video of our cabin on the Carnival Liberty cruise. I mistakenly say the bed is smaller than ours, when in fact it is larger -- two twins together make a king, and at home we have a queen. I realized it a few days later but was too lazy to reshoot this clip. Enjoy!

Edit: Also, our stateroom was 8352 (in case I ever need to know that)

Bittersweet

Last day working from home, at least for now. I just carted the two computers, monitor and phone, plus assorted cords, to FedEx. After a somewhat harrowing walk with my granny cart loaded down with more than 50 pounds of equipment, it took more than an hour to get everything shipped, mostly due to the incompetence of the employees working there. I guess you can't expect much more than that.

What's done is done, and although I didn't find out how much shipping was (i.e. no way to make a judgment call as to whether it actually made SENSE to ship everything vs. recycling it), too late now and hopefully I won't get in trouble. What are they going to do, fire me? Badum-dum-shee.

I didn't expect to feel quite so sad, or feel so empty when looking at the big expanse of my desk. It's dirty and there's still my printer, laptop, speakers, keyboard and external hard drive. But it's not the same. My life will never be the same.

For this I am happy, and excited. But at the same time I'm beyond scared and certainly sad to say goodbye to the way of life I've known for so long -- four years working, with nearly two and a half from my NYC apartment.

Shawn is my constant, my bliss which I follow. So I can't feel entirely bad.

I have started packing some things -- had to do some today to make way to get all the computer stuff together. But I've got a long way to go and many boxes to fill. I have a feeling my goodbye to the city will involve more packing and less touring, but maybe we can take a break tomorrow for a jaunt to governor's island and/or the UN. There is some shopping to do and a few museums I'd still like to see/revisit. I just don't know that there's time.

Screaming Banshee

Or actually a dinosaur ... but don't worry. It's just a costume!

Last webcamming session from NYC in all likelihood. *tears*

Traveling Woman

Oh geez. I am the world's worst traveler. Like I mentioned, it's the anticipation that gets me. The packing, the pre-worrying about the lines, missing connections, etc. And I've just had my share of travel ... and it continues! Some samples of recent hiccups:

In the taxi in Miami, en route to the cruise ship. The driver feels the need to tell us that we would have much more fun if we were going with more people on the trip, i.e. take some friends next time. I'm seething, mostly because I don't think that's an appropriate thing for him to say to us. It felt all around rude and judgy. And besides, who takes friends on a honeymoon cruise? ARGH!

Will be mentioned in cruise-related posts, but we had a bit of stress involved in getting on/off the boat and taking part in our excursions. We carefully planned everything in advance only to have times change on some of the excursions and/or the time we were in port be shorter than expected. Basically we missed one (but got a refund) and missed some shopping because I was too stressed to take a chance to walk over to the shopping center before getting in the giant line to re-board the ship.

In the Miami airport, we are five-ish hours early, because Carnival never gave specific information about debarkation or when we could expect to be off the ship. We certainly didn't want to schedule a flight before we could get to the airport, so we had hedged our bets and chosen an early afternoon flight.

As we're checking in, a woman comes up from behind and rolls her GINORMOUS suitcase into my foot and leg. I instinctively scream and she looks at me with disdain and sidles up to her screen without so much of an acknowledgment of what she had done. I'm left with a small scrape on my ankle and a giant bruise on my calf. Charming.

We check in our bag, only to realize that we could have tried for an early flight. If we got on an earlier flight now our bag wouldn't make it until much later, so we'd just be hanging out at the NYC airport instead of the Miami one.

And travel continues -- on Monday I'm taking a trip for job hunting purposes. It was certainly not in my plans, but you never know what's going to be thrown in your path. And I'm going to do my best to stay positive and turn things into a good situation for me. If nothing else, this will be amazing experience and help me become more employable. I can learn from any missteps and practice public speaking (!) and general interview techniques.

I know I prayed for employment, but I forgot to mention that I'd like it to come a couple weeks after we moved so I could get our apartment settled!

Quick Cruising

For whatever reason I'm not feeling like writing. A lot of things are going on, and I'm feeling pulled in a hundred directions. In reality I just have to slow down, enjoy the time I have left and deal with the rest, including snatches of time in the city I'll never get back. Be careful what you wish and pray for, because getting them can impact your other plans!

But onto the cruise ... Overall a good time, but in hindsight I wished we'd stayed longer in the ports and had fewer "fun days at sea" on the ship.

We weren't as impressed with the food as we thought we might be. Also the "golden dining room" was pretentious ... and unnecessarily so, especially since nearly ever surface was painted gold -- and clearly paint. Yikes. We did eat breakfast in the silver dining room one morning, and although it was a little less tacky, we mostly stuck with the buffet. I will say this that there was always a lot of food, but I wouldn't say it was very good quality -- except the fruit, and I did like the coffee OK.

The shows were pretty good. At first I was unimpressed because the dancers weren't an par with what I've seen on Broadway. But as the cruise progressed I realized -- we're on a moving ship! So it is probably a lot more difficult to hit your marks when they're moving. So I appreciated their work much more after that realization!

The first night's welcome show was overly hokey though. F-U-N was the name of the game, i.e. that's the Carnival tagline and almost everything includes the word (Fun Ship, Fun Times, etc.). Anyway, the medley of songs HAD to be the result of a Google search for "songs with fun" -- everything from "All I wanna do" to "Girls just wanna" ... But otherwise the variety song shows were good. I especially liked the Around the World one -- the Irish and French dance sets were especially fun to watch. All together their sets and costumes were flashy and over the top. But I guess they want people to think they're getting what they pay for!

One night there was a juggling show, which was right up Shawn's alley. The two jugglers, The Village Idiots, were from Oklahoma! They also had a juggling workshop the next afternoon.

I posted photos on Flickr (click thru for a few captions and the photo titles). I plan to write posts about each port and a post about ways things could be improved to suit me (although again I'm not the target demographic, some of these are no brainers). I'll also read through the journal/notes I kept of the trip and share some snippets that make most sense. Until then...

Equilibrium

Oddly I still feel like I'm on the ship -- a bit of rocking motion. Maybe just feeling slightly dizzy or perhaps an inner ear issue. I do know that I'm still tired from the travel and commotion of it all. Otherwise, headlines are: we did not get sea sick and we did not get sunburned (although Shawn's shoulders got red in Cozumel). We had a good time overall.

I took loads of notes on the trip, and I will probably do a series of posts about what we liked and what we didn't. I intend to send customer feedback to Carnival on ways they could improve, but we also came to realize we're not the target demographic for cruising. More on those thoughts later. I'll also do a post each about the ports, create a photo album on Flickr and post a video or two on Vimeo.

But that will wait until I make it through this work trip. Tomorrow morning I have to wake up at 5 a.m., put on work clothes and take the train south for one last trip. For now I'm going to unpack our FreshDirect delivery and PACK a bag for my trip tomorrow. Here's one photo, rum punch in Jamaica:

Happy Birthday

 
To the best sister in the galaxy!

Techno-Break: Cruising

With this post I've crossed the halfway point to my goal of 300 posts in a year. I should be able to catch up, given diligent blogging about the upcoming move as well as post-wrap up of our cruise. (After a full week of NO computer access, which means I won't type at all ... for the longest break ever for me since ...)

We leave the apartment tomorrow VERY early. Our flight leaves around 7 am, and we will be in Miami by 10. Gives us cushion time for delays, and in any case want to get on the ship around 12:30 or 1. (Leaves around 4.)

I'm not the best traveler. I am OK, in that I can navigate airport terminals, and I'm quick through security and stowing my luggage. But it's the ANTICIPATION of the delays, the hassle, the gretchy feeling that makes me all tense.

I was also a bundle of nerves today because I had two Skype interviews for "perfect-for-me" jobs I may have mentioned before. Very much blessings, and I'm hopeful they will turn into real live job offers. It's not too soon to hope, and I've done all I can at this point -- thank you notes sent, references given, etc. I'll follow up upon my return and even if nothing works out before we move, I'll hope my good luck in landing interviews (and relevant job openings EXISTING) continues.

We're trying to pack this evening. I've put my small rolly suitcase together, and I know we're overthinking everything BUT this is who we are. Will be glad when we make it to the ship with our luggage and can REALLY relax. In the mean time I'll do my best to pre-relax while we pack.

This is our honeymoon, after all, so going into it with all the love and anticipation that should go into that type of vacation.

I painted my toenails (purple, natch) for the first time in ages (maybe over a year?) -- in anticipation of taking pictures of bare feet at all our stops and in various stages of recline on the ship. So you have that to look forward to on my return! Right?

In any case, talk to you then.

Hunger

I am hungry, and it's almost all I can think about. Very troubling but expected. I don't want to buy groceries and can't bring myself to eat the scrappy things we have left in our cupboard. The worst, and poor Shawn.

Last night Shawn and I decided to take advantage of a break in the rain and take part in a free movie screening on the Hudson River. It's like Screen on the Green in DC, except with NYC in the background instead of the Capitol Building.

We walked a mile and a half, only to find that the event was canceled due to inclement weather. I suppose that could be true if there were any more storms slated to come through ... but there weren't. Oh well. We got a 3+ mile round trip walk in really nice weather.

Evening wasn't a total wash because we were home to watch the season premiere of Psych. Man, that show cracks me up. What I HATED was the weird credit card advertisement bumper that featured the actors in character. Ick.

Similarly, I hated the Closer's "Salt" tie in -- you could see the movie ad on a bus in the background of an early scene, and then the safe word at the end was "salt." Grrrr. Would I be as peeved if the movie in question didn't feature AJ? Probably not.

Unrelated: SO excited for Ramona and Beezus movie. Seriously.

Boxes Boxes Everywhere

My boxes are actually full of other, flat boxes. There are about nine boxes of boxes in total throughout our apartment. Here's a mini slide show to give the full effect. I didn't use a flash though, so the pictures are kind of blurry and rushed (kind of how I feel).

I write like?

I write like
David Foster Wallace

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Not sure about this. The first one said James Joyce, but then I pasted four other posts and got this each time ... I've never read his stuff, although I've heard of him because of the blogosphere explosion following his suicide in 2008. My reality TV post said I write like Stephenie Meyer. Wonder how the algorithm works on this thing!

Read and Watch: Notes on a Scandal

Notes on a Scandal: What Was She Thinking?: A Novel by Zoë Heller
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Picked this up at Greenflea for $4. The movie was in our Blockbuster queue and got to the top BEFORE I had a chance to read the book. So, once I'd seen the film, I decided to go ahead and read the book now (clearly I'm buzzing through my cruise reading prematurely).

A quick read that wasn't as tense as the movie, and there was a change to one of the major characters that made the movie better than the book, in my opinion.

It deals with sexual abuse of a child, and the double standard when the adult is a woman (although Roman Polanski anyone?). So the book (and movie) wouldn't be for everyone, but I found them entertaining enough and I liked the language choices in the book and the perspective of the narrator.

View all my reviews

My Now

I tried to leave a comment on mandythompson.com's post "What's your 'now'?" and was thwarted by the computer -- or something. So going to post my list of 15 words that describe my now here:

marriage
NYC
packing
waiting
impatience
job-searching
planning
wishing
praying
hoping
loving
writing
crocheting
exercising
sweating

Righting the Ship

I still haven't figured out the blog's RSS feed -- why it just wasn't working. It is working again for me, but I'm not 100% convinced of its health.

I AM happy that FeedBurner stopped including FriendFeed followers in the subscriber count. 20 is much more realistic than 244 for this piece of internet real estate. (And it's more like 4 people who actually read regularly -- hey-oh!)

Other technical glitches include my regular website and the inability to connect via FTP to my silvermari.com server. The place I host with says the problem can't be theirs, so my next step it to talk to Time Warner. Is it wrong that I want to just wait until I have a different ISP to test the connection? I'm convinced the issue is with the web server, since I can connect to other FTPs without issue. Grrrr. Oh, and I also tried on my work computer ... and was able to connect. So something is fishy. Windows 7 failure? THAT would be my luck I know...

Probably what I should do is switch this blog to be my main page and then drop the web host entirely, just paying for the domain name.

Random: Delivery.com updated its site navigation, so when I ordered Thai last night (I know, bad wife) I failed to check "pay by CC" (I think it used to default to that?) and the delivery guy needed cash. Uh ... Luckily I just called the restaurant and charged the order, but so humiliating ... and still makes me feel yucky. Clearly I have issues...

Got a pair of kicks repaired yesterday -- they had been ripped to shreds on my last visit to Old Town Alexandria. For $15 they've got new heels and should last a while, once I start wearing them regularly (please oh please oh please). Nothing concrete to report on the job hunt ... yet. Being away all next week will probably put a hitch in things BUT we need the vacation more than the possibility of employment. We'll see if I still feel that way in a few weeks when I'm sitting in our new apartment going stir crazy.

Hey, I guess I can always just blog my boredom.

Complete: Baby Blue Bow Tie

Hooray! I finally finished this labor of love, a blue and white baby blanket for Baby Gunther! Just in the nick of time ... he's scheduled to make his appearance in the world on August 1. Now I just need to get it in the mail, on its way to Woodbridge, VA. Hope his parents like it. A few more photos in my crochet set on Flickr.

Some notes on the process and pattern (also on my Ravelry, membership required):

The kit I purchased from Herrschners contained the right amount of “weight” listed in the pattern, but not enough yardage. And even after they sent me an additional skein of blue and white (one each), I still didn’t have enough blue to make the pattern to size. I basically needed twice as much yarn as was included in the kit, and a bit more than what was listed in the pattern. Perhaps I just have loose tension, but I don’t think it’s THAT loose.

All that said, the pattern is adorable and the resulting “bow ties” that are created with single crochet and chain (read: it takes forever), plus the puffy stripes created after the fact, made a darling blanket that I’m quite proud of. I also loved the border and the long double crochet, which was done across groups of double crochet to make a really nice diagonal design around the border.

Read: The Way We Were

The Way We Were by Marcia Willett
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Not a bad book, but the dialogue was what got me. It wasn't so much dialogue as back-and-forth monologues. Bizarre, and I can't imagine ANYONE speaking that way (although thinking that way, definitely).

There's also the non-linear storyline, in that it jumps back and forth through time. I hated it at first, but as the story kept going I liked it, and Willett is clear by labeling the sections by year. So it's pretty easy to know exactly where you are in time.

I didn't like the over-abundance of characters. There were at least 20 to keep track of, and 5-10 main characters, depending on how you define "main" ... so it was just a bit much, especially for a 300 page book.

Overall it was mostly inspiring in an "I should be able to do this too" kind of way. We'll see...

View all my reviews

New Shades

I'll have MANY more snaps of these glasses in action from our honeymoon cruise, coming up in a few short days. But seriously, how cute is my husband?!

High Horse

I've slowly felt the welcoming of my New York church (more than two years later), but mostly it's just a place I go worship and then retreat. I know a lot of the experience is up to me, but I've covered those thoughts in other posts.

Today included the report from annual conference. The first report was great, and the second left me seething. So much so that I thought I might get up and walk out, as if anyone would have noticed I left!

The woman started off OK, and then was able to put into words everything I find deplorable about the elitist mentality that thrives, including (perhaps especially) in the church.

She was talking about the discussions and debate around gay marriages, a hot topic in the church conference. She said that the NY conference has been able to become much more prayerful and graceful in its debate ... and that she wanted to point out that the NY conference is very diverse in its views, race, ethnicity, etc., unlike the one-dimensional conferences you'd find elsewhere in the United States where everyone is the same.

As a product of one of these "other" conferences, I took great issue to that. It was difficult for me to sit still while she yammered on, including about how she disagreed with the theology of one of the guest speakers (making sure to point out that he was from Nashville -- the horror!) but no specific topic given that she found distasteful or wrong.

Her point seemed to be that the "other" conferences are all of like minds, mainly agreeing that gay marriage shouldn't be allowed in the church. I haven't researched this to know if it's true, but in my heart I know it's not. This is an issue the the church as a whole and conferences across the country struggle with.

And this is definitely oversimplification, but isn't her prejudice against other, non-liberal, non-elite conferences along the same lines of prejudice against gay marriage?

It upset me terribly, and Shawn got an earful when we ate lunch today. I should probably drop it and not even publish this post. Yeah right.

Driving Gloves

Yesterday Shawn and I went out to Queens for a test drive -- a 2010 Honda Accord. Our salesman was OK, and we know he's just doing his job, but ... the odd pressure at the end, when we'd told him we were just shopping and really needed to compare the best price he could give us with the best price we could get in Baton Rouge. Basically it's going to come down to price. (Because we're pretty much set on a Honda ... although I didn't know we weren't supposed to tell him that!)

So color us surprised when the best he could do for us was the MSRP from the website. Uh ... we've gotten lower quotes from other dealers in this area via email. So, he kinda "screwed the pooch" on that one. Ick.

Driving the car was really fun, and it was the first (and probably only time) that I used my New York driver's license IN New York.

Still a lot to do before the move and getting everything lined up. Just wanted to share this anecdote about the stupidity of salesmen ... or basically a major flaw in the car sales structure. It's no wonder they're losing money. Gretch!

In other pre-moving news ... want to know how to make a ~480 square foot studio apartment feel even smaller? Just add boxes. Maybe some pictures to follow...

The good news: this time next week we'll be enjoying a "fun day at sea."

My Own Paparazzi

I constantly think about blogging, and how to do it better. There's nothing "right" or "wrong," but ...

I read a lot of others' blogs. Sometimes just a post, other times devouring everything a blogger has written and following her recommendations for other blogs. (Recently Better Off Wed and Motherload ... you can see where my priorities lie) I'm always on the lookout for more, for inspiration, for entertainment.

And I'm noticing some trends, at least among what I read. Although it's not entirely coalesced in my mind in a way that can easily be articulated I do want to talk/write/think about the blog as self promotion and self documentation (self preservation?).

I do see that basically we can use a blog, when we're writing about ourselves, as our own gossip magazine. The blogger is the editor and star. Photos of thrifty/clever outfits and cute write-ups of adventures. Using phrasing and poses and layouts reminiscent of US Weekly, Life & Styles, etc. But leaving out the self-snark ... any snark will be directed to others (or launched on Facebook, which is an even more popular way of self promotion than blogging).

(I don't read gossip mags on a regular basis, because I would basically break the bank if I got started, but I do enjoy Jezebel's weekly feature Midweek Madness ... which generated this post idea.)

And I kind of love it. I'm not adept at it, because my life feels just ... so vanilla. But others can -- and do -- turn a hum-drum life into a humming blog enterprise, complete with sponsors and giveaways and actual readers.

I don't get dressed up ... ever, so daily outfit posts are out. And even if I did, I'm not sure my style is worth publishing or that I'd be able to stand a blog with photo after photo of myself. Weight loss is out of the question; I think it's boring. I can't crochet enough ... or make up my own patterns ... to justify a crochet-focused blog. Writing about the job hunt just seems like a bad idea. Hair and makeup? Don't make me laugh! (Although perhaps I should start thinking about what content I can and do create instead of what this blog can't be.)

Like I've written before, I love the archive I'm creating. A record of myself and my life. And I'm OK that the value goes no farther than me and a few close associates. I'm not sure about taking a next step and making entertaining others -- the anonymous blog-o-verse -- my top priority. (And scared/certain that if I tried I'd be a big fat failure!)

Some of my favorite blogs are really open and honest. Including about their kids. In a Jon & Kate Plus 8 kind of way you can see the kids grow up, with everything documented, even if you're a total stranger. (And most often I am ... I can't think of any of my new parent friends who blog about their kids, or anything for that matter.)

And although this is so getting ahead of myself and future thinking I don't know if I could open up my child's life to that kind of scrutiny EVEN IF no one was reading. But at the same time I would love to make use of the new media tools and my straight up LOVE of blogging to document the experience from trying to conceive (TTC) through birth to Kindergarten, high school graduation and everything in between. Turning the traditional baby book on its head. BUT it's a little too personal, invasive and possibly weird. (Also, what happens when kid #2 comes along? Does she get her own blog, or do you fold them together in one overarching family blog?)

But I think about Erma Bombeck and how amazingly she wrote column after column about her life and managed to maintain her family's dignity and general privacy while spilling the best, funniest parts of their lives. And there are bloggers out there doing the same who I'd like to emulate. So much to consider, and clearly putting the cart before the horse with pre-worrying...

Bottom line - I don't know what I'm doing. I'm just doing it because this is what I do, with a healthy pinch of narcissism thrown in for good measure. Thanks for reading.

Reality TV and Me

I'm not sure that my TV viewing tastes mirror that of the United States as a whole, as I haven't watched a reality show religiously since America's Next Top Model during the years directly following college. But I still know who all the reality TV stars are because of my pop culture consumption online.

I don't like competition-y shows on HGTV or Food Network and have never seen a full episode of American Idol or most of the copy cats, despite being fond of AI's two biggest stars Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. (I did watch an episode of America's Got Talent at my cousin's house recently, and it was OK but didn't become required viewing for me.)

I do my part in keeping bad dramas and sitcoms on the air though. I was a loyal viewer of Saving Grace, mostly because of its setting -- Oklahoma City -- but was completely wounded by its series ending and wished I'd never watched an episode. I still find myself thinking about Olivia from Fringe and worrying about how they're going to get her back from the alternate universe! I love cop, hospital and legal dramas, hokey family and workplace sitcoms, and basically everything that Shawn hates about TV.

Lately I've become enamored with a different type of reality TV. House Hunters is my go-to show. I love and hate it. Love the properties and seeing different price points around the country (and world, in the case of International). Hate the b*tchy, gripe-y home buyers ... nothing is ever good enough and heaven forbid they have vinyl floors or laminate counters. I also get a big laugh when 2,000 square feet is "tiny and unlivable."

Last night a Baton Rouge-area episode came on. E-GADS.

In looking for the link to that episode I inadvertently peeled back the veneer and found out what is sort of obvious w/ the show -- it's all staged. They find home buyers who are already under contract and then film "back in time" two houses they didn't choose. I can't imagine this is always true for the international version, BUT who knows. I'm just a gullible American television consumer.

Oil and Baton Rouge

I've been reading about my future home, subscribing to Baton Rouge bloggers and watching the official sites for the city (in addition to scouring the interwebs for relevant job openings).

Here's a post from the visitors' bureau blog that I read about a month ago, about the (non-) impact of the oil disaster on the capital city.

While the Baton Rouge economy is closely tied to the petrochemical industry, visitors to our region have not experienced any change in services due to the spill.  Baton Rouge is located approximated 160 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and as such, has experienced no environmental or physical impact from the spill.

I hope this remains the case, and beyond that pray for a resolution to the disaster!

Video: Saved by the Bell

Saved by the Bell cover, via The Daily What

Guillemets

Who knew that the <> had a real name? These are things I come across in my regular reading. Random, but the more you know...

For some reason my FeedBurner isn't pinging properly so posts are showing up much delayed -- sometimes as much as 12 hours late -- at least in my reader. So sorry about that. I fiddled with some settings so maybe it will be better.

Skyping an interview went OK. We'll see what comes of it. Don't want to talk too much about it or jinx things. Trying to get lots of things in the works, a la The Five O'Clock Club.

Weird story about an alligator on the LSU campus.

Interesting story about native English speakers' inability to understand passive sentences. Pretty weird, via @GrammarGirl.

My sweet moo nephew wants a Titanic toy for his birthday, but not just any toy. He wants one that floats, but also breaks apart and sinks -- in the exact way the real Titanic broke apart and sank. Oh, and it needs the same number of life boats as the real Titanic had, and its smoke stacks need to make real smoke. It should also come with a small, hard, plastic toy iceberg. Somehow I imagine I'll be letting him down. BUT maybe he's ready for a model kit to build his own, although it wouldn't be bathtub-ready. Hrm.

My summer is slipping away, and I'm OK with that. I'm doing my best not to take city life for granted, but I'm also impatient and ready to get moving. I go to sleep at night thinking about packing and how things will fit together, loading the truck, the drive, etc.

NaBloPoMo isn't something I'm participating in this month, but I really dig their writing prompts. Today's is If you could change one thing about your appearance, what would it be? Or would you change anything at all? Hard to say, because a change to my BODY wouldn't be for appearance's sake, although it would be nice to not have to work so hard to lose weight.

On that note I need to get out and get moving. Eschewing the gym today for a big walk -- post office, library and then back to rest, trying to head off this summer head cold at the pass. Hope it's all in my mind!

The Sweetest

Hope the Skype connection holds up tomorrow. Fingers crossed for me, but I have to believe there's something greater than me at work here. Let it unfold ... and all that jazz.

(P.S. Increased posting because I realized how far behind I am in my "300 posts in 2010" goal, given that we're past the halfway mark of the year (!) and I'm only at 134... Bear with me in any case as I play catch up! And feel free to send post ideas my way.)

Write More

My husband's advice. Need to take it to heart. But write what? Remains to be seen, but I don't think blog posts are what he has in mind!

I'm reading a book, "The Way We Were," (not related to the Streisand-Redford movie) written by a woman whose author blurb says she was encouraged to write by her second husband, and this is her eighth tenth book. And it is awful, at least from a literary perspective. It's another non-linear storyline, which I know is a legitimate technique when done properly, but what's worse is her dialogue. EGADS. The characters talk in paragraphs and there's very little actual conversation. I don't know. It's easy to be critical and b*tch about published authors' work instead of doing it myself.

I have the time. I guess mostly afraid of confirming that I'm no good.

Kissed a Nerd

Via The Intersection

The Fifth of July

fireworks-2
Originally uploaded by "O62"
(Pic of the floating fireworks I said
were "neat" ... clearly I'm not a
real New Yorker!)

Our last Fourth of July in NYC was pretty great and low key. We started with church, and cousin Kellie met us there. It was another loooooong service, but we were in a fan's path, so it was comfortable and the songs were good, sermon too.

Then caught the crosstown bus and headed to the Upper West Side, home of brunch-y places. We ate at a funny place called Fred's ... and I geeked out on some delicious-o coffee. We parted ways after that, but plans to meet up for fireworks later.

Kellie was at our apartment at 7, and we scooted over to Hudson River Park to wait for the dark. Hanging around and listening to hipster doofus conversations, enjoying the warmth. Crazy kids running around and wanting to try juggling like Shawn. He even let them try. One of them said "You must be some kind of juggling expert!"

Finally the fireworks began, and we hastily threw together our picnic blanket and stadium seat backs and ran to the sidewalk to watch the light show over the river. It was really good -- solid 20 minutes of lights. We were too far south to hear the music, but good none-the-less. Our favorite moment was just after the show started and some goomba turned to his buddies and said "All right, I'm going to the bathroom now." That sent Kellie and me into a fit of giggles!

Being a real New Yorker, Kellie was able to navigate us around the crowds, even in the wind-y crazy streets that are the West Village. We got back to the apartment, enjoyed some AC and watched the fireworks again -- this time on TV. I recorded the special. We watched Justin Bieber ... he wasn't even AT the show -- it was pre-recorded (in Prospect Park?) ... AND HE'S CANADIAN. Geez. Shawn liked LeAnn Rimes, although I'd never heard her version of "Swinging," I like that tune a lot. (Looked it up, originally John Anderson.)

And here we are at the Fifth of July, an anti-holiday first celebrated by me seven years ago. "Good times." Anyway, great that there's no work/it's a federal holiday and we've already had our revelry so we can just relax. Of course the museums and other outstanding items on our "things to do in NYC" list are closed, so we're going to do a little shopping. Shawn needs a new pair of shoes! And hopefully we'll end the weekend with another cousin visit. We plan to have dinner tonight with Lisa!

Read: Third Husband and Straight Up

Why My Third Husband Will Be A Dog: The Amazing Adventures of an Ordinary Woman by Lisa Scottoline
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

My mom recommended this book and it's the kind of thing I like -- short essays a la Erma Bombeck or Dave Barry. This woman is good, but not THAT good. Overall I enjoyed it, and it made a couple workouts go by quickly because I was entertained. I didn't like the Jennifer Aniston bashing (or the converse worship of Brangelina ... yuck), and I'm not a big fan of dog and chicken kissing, although to each her own. I also took issue to something she wrote in the intro about no good female characters in literature (other than what she writes in her own books).

Some of the essays made me tear up -- especially when she talked about her parents and family love. And some made me laugh out loud (good thing I have exceptional balance on the elliptical machine!). Overall it's good for what it is, but I'm glad I didn't buy it and that I was able to check it out at the library. NYPL for the win.

Straight up and Dirty by Stephanie Klein
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read Stephanie Klein's Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp a while back, and liked it. I've read her blog for at least that long, although I never delved into the archives to get the full story this book, her first, covers.

It was a little weird knowing what her kids look like and knowing her husband's real name (he comes in at the end of this book, albeit with a pseudonym, like everyone in the book). It did make reading it a little less suspenseful, knowing that she gets her happy ending (and is still happily living and blogging it!).

The writing style is good and she's very confessional. It's likened to "Carrie Bradshaw" of course, as any single gal in the city who blogs/writes successfully is heir apparent. But that seemed more true for this book, as she was constantly dating, being wooed and visiting the hot spots and Hamptons mentioned on Sex and the City.

The flow of the book was awkward, and I was often confused because it jumped around her divorce, the central event of the book -- so you'd read about her getting over it and dating, then jump back to good times with her first husband before they were married, then forward to just before the divorce, back again to the wedding -- and on and on. I guess non-linear story telling is en vogue, but I think I prefer a little more clear cut narrative.

Picked up the book for $4 at Strand -- a nice hard cover that looks really cool because its cover is dozens of thumbnail images of her. I read it now instead of on the cruise BECAUSE it was hard cover. And I made it through in just over a day. So a quick, fun read.

View all my reviews

Facebook Thoughts

I have major issues with Facebook and its high school mentality, even among adults (a group that I scarily consider myself a part of). Facebook often leaves me feeling bad, even when the negativity is not directed at me. And I'll admit that Facebook also tinges me green. I like being able to keep up with the lives of people who would fade away otherwise, but I hate that I feel jealous and otherwise unworthy, even when I love my life! But this is a different type of ickiness that exists. Me calling it out just puts me in the same awful category, I know. But here goes.

Recently a former "mean girl" from my middle school/high school years posted a couple awful things. First, a cell phone picture of a stranger from behind whom she deemed "too fat to be in public" (who was maybe a size 10 or 12, i.e. much smaller than me, which is part of what irked me I know) and all her friends started commenting in on the body snark ... OF A PERFECT STRANGER! A couple days later she posted an outtake video of a black reporter's stand up in which he complained (vividly) about his situation/location/the bug that flew in his mouth ... and she captioned it "watch this guy go ghetto in 15 seconds" ... what retort is there for either of those?

In the end I clicked "hide" so I don't have to be offended directly any more, although I really should just "unfriend." Hateful, mean and cutting posts do upset me, but then also get me feeling high and mighty about being "better than that," when posting this rant proves that I'm not!!!

I think Shawn has the right idea staying off Facebook entirely.

Employment Search

I'm on an email list called "Job of the Week" for PR/media types. The jobs are from all over the country, so I have to search w/in the email to find the rare Louisiana job (there's been one, and it was the joke one of that issue).

Searching for "LA" in the last issue this job came up:

PR and Social Media Specialist, CRAYOLA, Easton, PA

How cool would it be to work for Crayola?

Read: Lonely

Lonely: A Memoir by Emily White
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read most of this earlier this year, right after it came out. Then got busy/distracted and finished the last bit recently. She gets her seemingly happy ending (and reading her current blog seems to be working out), but this is less memoir and more academic report on loneliness research, which I found really helpful.

However, I haven't fully absorbed what the idea of loneliness as a condition/disorder means to me and what, if anything, I want to do about it. I know I'll be more proactive and such in our new hometown. But there wasn't a lot of practical advice in the book, mostly because it doesn't really work like that. Needs more thought on my part, but TBD.

Cranky Britches Continued

Scene, Yesterday:

Arms loaded with laundry -- sack on my back. Elevators open on my floor, and two fat, fluffy cats race by the opening doors -- looking, to me, like deranged rodents. These are same cats who meow incessantly at each other during the day (luckily can only hear them in the hallway, not from in the apartment).

They dare me to exit the elevator and seem to threaten getting on with me. I flip out and hit the close door, letting the elevator sink. Trying to decide what to do. These house cats aren't anything to be afraid of, but I've let myself become frightened and worked up.

Do I tell the doorman and ask him to send someone up to remove the cats or speak to the cat lady who lets them roam in the hall? Or to give me a broom so I can sweep them out of my way as I get into my apartment?

It seems stupid to make an even bigger deal of it, plus my laundry is getting heavy ... so I pull up my big girl panties and hit "8."

The cats race by again when the doors open -- seemingly just to freak me out. I yell into the open door of the cat lady apartment, matching her crazy for crazy, "Not cool. UNCOOL. I really don't like this." as I make my way into my apartment around the corner.

When I go out for a drug store run (I don't like to be low on TP) the cats are back in their apartments, but I still feel agitated.

Bring on the party kid neighbors at LSU! (I'll eat those words in a few months, I'm sure...stay tuned.)

Cranky Britches

Someone wrote an email addressing me as Marilyn. This someone is not a stranger and was asking me to do something, copying four other people.

I replied as best I could and signed off "My Name is Mari."

I think I'm in a bit of a turbo-b*tch mode today.

(How's that different from any other day? ba-dum-bum-shee!)

FWD: Cooking Tips from the Experts

To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in  the bag with the potatoes
 
Buy Hungry Jack mashed potato mix. Keeps in the  pantry for up to a year.

When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan,  use a bit of the dry cake mix instead and there won't be any white mess on the outside of the  cake.
 
Go to the bakery! Hell, they'll even decorate it for you!

Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the  refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.
 
Celery? Never heard of it!  

Cure for headaches: take a lime, cut it in half and  rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go  away.

Take a lime, mix it with tequila, chill and  drink! All your  pains go away!

Don't throw out all that leftover wine. Freeze  into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and  sauces.
 
 Leftover wine??????? HELLO!!!!!!

Lastly, if you don 't forward this to 1 of your friends within the next 5 minutes, your belly button will unscrew and your butt will fall off

Via Auntie Sue

Photo Montage: Walkers in the City

We had a marvelous time, outlined below!

• Arrival on Thursday was without incident, and after a brief rest (and the end of my workday), we went to dinner in the East Village. Margarita! We also took a peak at Washington Square Park and the nearby Edgar Allan Poe residence, which has been turned into the NYU Law School (or one of its buildings at least). We were kind of miffed that the museum (what it was) is only open Thursdays from 9 am-11 am. Weird!
• Friday was kind of a dud. We first tried to go to the Museum of TV and Radio, which is now the Paley Media Center (or something like that) and no longer has exhibits (if it ever did). We decided not to pay the entrance fee to look at separate TV monitors and went to lunch at a place with bull riding, although the bull was silent during the day. There was tennis on a huge screen TV and it was quiet with good food. Then we went uptown to the New York Historical Society, which of course was also closed for renovations. They had a traveling exhibit of the Grateful Dead, but we didn't pay to see that either. We did make some purchases at the gift shop (Titanic coloring book?!) We walked in Central Park, saw Strawberry Fields and the Dakota then headed home to rest before our night out.
• Around 6 we went to the Staten Island ferry and met my church young adult group. After brief ride on the ferry -- nothing better than Lady Liberty, a light chop and evening light -- we were at the Staten Island Yankees ball park. We had seats behind home plate (which looked directly to the skyline of Manhattan), had all-you-can-eat wrist bands (so we gorged on hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, popcorn, soda and water) and got free baseball caps ... for $18 each! What a deal. There was also a fireworks show afterward and lots of entertainment between innings for the kiddos. It was really a lot of fun and the weather was perfect. The ride back featured a full moon and sparkly lights of downtown. The train was arriving just as we got downstairs and we whisked home. 
• Saturday we got a slow start, ate some real NYC bagels at home and then quiche and salad for lunch. Then it was time to see "Hair" on Broadway. Ace Young, of American Idol "fame," is one of the actors. To be honest I'd forgotten until I read the playbill and have never a full AI episode (although I do love Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson), but I digress. The other lead actor was much better. Steve really enjoyed the show, and it was good. I think Shawn and I couldn't appreciate it as much because we never experienced the '60s. There really wasn't a true story or plot, and at times the instruments were much louder than the actors' voices ... which made understanding the songs even harder. 
• After the show we took an express train down to South Street Seaport, where we relaxed with views of the Brooklyn Bridge and ate dinner. It was happy hour, but we couldn't get the discounted drinks at the table -- only if we went up to the bar. So, we didn't drink. Oh well. A quick stop at Century 21 for the bathroom and for me to buy out the rest of the Tiny Temptations' White Buttercream candles (the checker said it smelled like diabetes ... really so sweet I love it). Then it was home to watch a movie (The Gift ... set in the South appropriately).
• On Sunday we rolled out for brunch at Washington Square Diner, after which we headed uptown to the Green Flea. We all found good scores -- a CD of the original "Hair" songs for Steve, a big shoulder bag for Dale, a $1 book for Shawn and me ... I got a couple funny letterpress cards, a leather pouch that can also be worn on a belt and a couple novels for our upcoming trip. Then we took a bus to the Times Square street fair that was taking place. It was SUPER crowded, and the bus stop took us several blocks past the street fair. But we persevered and were rewarded. I found a $5 necklace, and Steve and Dale each got souvenir NYC T-shirts. 
• Next we took the subway downtown to cousin Kelli's workplace at the ESPN match truck -- a traveling catering truck that also shows the World Cup games on a big screen on top. We got free water and had a brief chat with her, then went into Chelsea Market to cool off (and take funny mustache pictures!) We were pooped so headed home, and we had authentic pizza for dinner. Love that Mercado's!
• Monday was low key. I started work on time (or maybe a little early because I was geared up after being off on Friday ... uh ...), and they got up too to get packing. After they took one last turn around Washington Square Park, we had leftover pizza for lunch and they took off for the train. They made it home in 9+ hours, but home nonetheless. As far as I've heard the house is still standing and the cat is still alive.

I know how lucky I am to have in-laws I enjoy being with so much. We had a great time, and I can't wait for our next family "vacation" when they come visit us in Baton Rouge!

Tik Tok: Star Trek

Via Love Maegan.

Too good not to post IMMEDIATELY.

The Eyes Have It

Vanity, thy name is ... Mari?

Seriously, this is cosmetic only, but finding out you have a wart growing on your eye is enough to gross you right out. I have a small tag or something on my left right eye too, but he didn't think it was big enough to burn off (yet?). SHUDDER.

My eye is healing nicely, and there was never a true black eye. A very minor bit of bruising that disappeared in a couple hours (so maybe a figment of my imagination anyway). These photos aren't sized great for comparison sake but you can definitely see the spot and then the red places where they were burned off.

GEE-ROSS!

Brief Ocular Update

Kind of a let down -- no black eye. Just three red spots where he burned the marks off. Right now it looks worse than it did BUT when they heal should be gone all together (and it won't feel like I've always got something stuck in the corner of my eye -- eeeeeyew!)

I'll still post pictures later, but my camera is in a bag, and I'm in the dark. My inlaws are still snoozing, Shawn is at work for a quick meeting and I'm checking email/reading blogs while drinking my allotted one non-water drink as a cup of milky coffee.

short story long

went to the dermatologist today to get some skin tags removed from the corner of my eyelid. took off 2 hours of work.

had to wait one of those hours to see the doctor -- he was running an hour behind. (would have been nice to have been called, since i could have just left work later!)

procedure took 15 minutes tops, and he told me i would get a black eye. i would have put off the procedure because my inlaws are coming today BUT i'd already waited an hour, was starving and just wanted to be done.

i also didn't want to have to put in for more time off to come back and wait even longer, although i've got enough sick leave to last me months and months and months.

made the 20 minute walk back to my apartment in 15 minutes in the 85+ degree heat on the sizzling sidewalks.

cooled down now, and my eye is a little bruised BUT mostly it just hurts where he numbed the area w/ a needle. those g-d pin pricks hurt.

before and after pictures to follow. i want to give the eye a chance to blacken if it's going to, so the pic will be really dramatic!

Webcam Restored?

Relative to last week the quality is 100 times better. Hope it lasts...

La violette bâton

Shawn suggested a name for my blog (post-move) -- something about the purple stick, only translated to French, like Red Stick = Baton Rouge. I like violette better than mauve, although if you just translate purple you get pourpre, which I kind of like. Google Translator for the win. But I'm still not sure what I'll do. I still think I need to have silvermari.com go directly to the blog and do away with my Dreamweaver coded HTML pages that live there, so outdated and sad. 

Moving on. A recap of recent days:

• On Friday after work Shawn and I raced to MoMA for the Target free Fridays, after 4:30 the normally $20 entrance fee is waived (or perhaps paid by Target? That is unclear). What is also unclear is WHY Target would sponsor something in the city where there are no Targets (same logic behind advertising in Times Square I guess). Maybe just for the tourists? Anyway, the museum was as expected. Very crowded but got to see some "important art." There were some pieces I liked (Picasso's Kitchen), some I didn't get (Pollock) and the every-body-loves-it Starry Night. Overall not a bad (free) date, although we both were glad we hadn't paid the $20. We're closing in on having seen all the museums we want to see ... maybe two or three left on the list!
• Yesterday after the gym I went to Old Navy to spend the blood donation gift cards, and I got a new pair of shorts in a size I haven't worn in years. That was pretty exciting. I also got a cover up dress for the cruise and some layering tanks (on sale for $5 each ... can't lose). A negative to weight loss has been that my wedding ring is now a little big, so I'm worried about losing it and rarely wear my engagement ring at all. When I do I'm hyper vigilant, checking it every 5 seconds -- or wear the rings on my middle finger, which is slightly bigger although looks really weird with a ring on it. My ring finger knuckle is big enough to keep the rings on, but they still slip and slide and scare me!
• After lunch on Saturday, Shawn and I walked to the Hudson River and read/crocheted/juggled for a few hours. The grass was really plush, and having the water right there is just spectacular. 
• We watched "It's Complicated" while we did our laundry last night. I thought it was really good, and I'm a sucker for romance of any kind.
• Today has been church (new baby baptism made me tear up!), lunch at Silver Spurs and lounging after the gym. I also paid some bills, applied (probably fruitlessly) to some more job postings and, clearly, created some blog posts! Shawn is working away, reading and computing at the table. High level stuff, don't you know? 

In a bit I'll get dinner started. We have FreshDirect coming tomorrow, and Shawn's parents will arrive on Thursday. I'm taking Friday off work ... but we don't even have a plan yet what we'll do for most of the time they're here! We have some meal options in place plus two outings -- a Staten Island Yankees baseball game and tickets to Hair on Broadway. We know we want to do a street festival and/or Greenflea on the weekend. But otherwise I guess we'll just see what strikes our fancy! Can't wait...

The Past or The Future

...depending on how you look at it. How cute was our Shawn boy?

103 Things I Hate About You, New York

If I can do a list of 212 things I'll miss about NYC, an equal list of things I won't miss should be doubly easy.It was not, so I had to scale back to 103, a play on our ZIP code. I started on June 10, and here it is 10 days later and I was stuck around 110 or so. I just had to give it in and know I couldn't come up with another 100 things to hate (and why force negativity anyway?) so condensed a little and landed here at 103.

Aside: 10 Things I Hate About You was one of my favorite movies -- I think it came out when I was a senior in high school or thereabouts. I love Julia Stiles (who by the by will be starring in the next season of Dexter -- huzzah!) and could watch the movie over and over -- not something that's true for many movies and me. But I digress. Like the movie, my relationship with the city is not really about hate but love-hate. Some of these are definitively HATE, while others are dual sided and could even be featured on the love list.

1. The bedbugs -- I know not limited to NYC but this is where we survived them -- including the itching, swelling hives, the paranoia, the expense of cleaning up after them, and constant vigilance -- if it hits the floor it has to be washed
2. The smells on the street -- pee and poo especially, both human and canine
3. The weird burnt cheese smell -- from the vendors perhaps ... or the subways ... or both
4. Dirty hot dogs -- yuck when you think about that bacteria infested hot tub (go for the grilled)
5. The crowds -- people everywhere, even in seemingly open places you'll still see 50-100 people
6. The stifling heat -- I know I'm in for even worse in BR, but something about sweating in the city is even less appealing
7. The bone chilling cold, although right now I'm thinking that wouldn't be so bad
8. No way to seek refuge in a car w/ AC
9. The subway heat
10. The subway delays, including weekend track work and unexpected delays
11. Ever increasing subway ticket prices while service does not improve or speed up
12. Cutting full subway lines and service while also raising fares
13. The noise in general, including subway noise, garbage truck noise, loud sirens, NYU carts wheeling across cobblestone under the window
14. Having only a single window
15. Dogs peeing on sidewalks -- concrete soaked in urine is so gross. NEVER wear flip flops around this city
16. Neighbor's cat randomly in the common areas/hallway (specific to my building but STILL)
17. Laundry lugging and communal washers/dryers
18. Walking EVERYWHERE
19. Expensive rents
20. Small spaces: no bedroom and miniature kitchen w/ 3/4 size appliances
21. Expensive EVERYTHING, including high utilities and insanely high city taxes
22. Too expensive for a car
23. Parking, or lack thereof
24. Too expensive to RENT a car (maybe that's just me being cheap!)
25. Ticket costs for plays, shows, etc.
26. Museum entrance fees
27. Drug store gouging
28. Duane Reade -- they're everywhere but you can never find EVERYTHING you need in a single trip
29. Boutique shopping -- snotty, too-good-for-you feeling
30. High brow restaurants that cost too much, give too little food and leave you with the same too-good-for-you feeling 
31. Feeling like there's so much great cuisine here and feeling bad for not fully taking advantage
32. Same for not fully taking advantage of the cultural opportunities
33. Or the shopping (also partly me being cheap/frugal)
34. Lugging purchases I do make on foot
35. Lugging purchases in the rain
36. Lack of access to yarn and other craft items; have to take a long subway ride to get to a Michaels, and the price of those goods when you do finally get to them
37. RATS -- subway and otherwise
38. TOURISTS: taking your picture as part of their panoramas, looking up when they should keep moving, clotting around on the sidewalk to look at maps instead of stepping aside, not knowing how to use their Metro card on the bus, delaying the movement and lengthening a trip for everyone
39. Sketchy people
40. Hipster doofus people
41. Hateful, rude, snooty people (I know they exist everywhere)
42. Excessive tipping -- doormen, super, etc. (although I know their value in my life, it's still a PITA to tip)
43. The particularly obnoxious doorman who made me cry after coming home from my first DC trip after moving here
44. Obnoxious cabbies who don't know the city 
45. Cabbies who try to gouge you with roundabout routes
46. FILTH - on the sidewalks, in the subways, everywhere
47. Air quality
48. Lack of park access -- mostly because of construction but still
49. Ridiculous commute to church -- 30-40 minutes to get a couple miles
50. Never made it here -- i.e. never had an NYC job (my own failure, but still stings)
51. Complete anonymity isn't always a good thing
52. Health care seems hard to come by, but maybe it's just my experience w/ my doctor, who I will not be sad to never see again
53. Rude nurse who works at the doctor, so brusque and unprofessional on the phone
54. Same with my dentist -- although much less so
55. The commute to get to my chiropractor
56. Tiny, smelly, overpriced grocery stores
57. Even the semi-decent one is pretty bad, AND it's a far piece to walk to, especially lugging groceries
58. The limited selection at FreshDirect (some things I just can't get there -- sugar free jello pudding cups, for example)
59. Bagels, street vendor pretzels, etc. -- the temptation of highly processed carbohydrates so warm and luscious
60. Obnoxious subway performers
61. Panhandlers (I don't like to be harassed on the subway or sidewalk for spare change)
62. Do-gooders looking for signatures or money for causes on the sidewalk (similar don't harass me request)
63. Hike to any airport -- but particularly Newark
64. CRAZY people, especially drunk crazy people at night
65. False statement: the city that never sleeps (my foot!)
66. Graffiti - including scratch-iti on trains' windows
67. Pigeons -- aka rats with wings
68. The traffic -- bus rides take way too long sometimes
69. The stupid pedestrians who walk against traffic or scramble to make the lights, mucking up everything further
70. The stupid drivers who do the same
71. Stupid bus and subway drivers who screech and jerk at every stop 
72. Bicycles -- particularly those who ride on the sidewalk
73. The dirt: within a few days after a thorough cleaning the apartment is covered in dust again
74. The lack of ventilation in the kitchen -- everything is covered in cooking grease that is nearly impossible to remove
75. No dishwasher to get everything clean
76. A tiny sink that makes dish washing by hand even worse
77. The big hump in our floor from bad construction/steam pipes
78. The steam pipe heating itself -- too hot in the winter
79. Parades that block traffic divert buses and change subway lines
80. The lines everywhere, and being cut off in those lines, especially at the drug store
81. The people who think that living in NYC somehow makes them better or cooler or something like that
82. Water in this old building -- scalding at times
83. The stupid bathroom sink here -- weird bump between the faucets
84. The corner restaurant that hoses down the kitchen mats on the sidewalk, which is especially hazardous in the winter when the water freezes!
85. Halal food smells when mixed with nearby fruity stores (esp. Lush, which stinks on its own)
86. Crowded subway trains and buses 
87. The rude people who jostle/fondle in such situations
88. Smokers on the street (because no smoking in bars) and then their cigarette butts all over the place
89. Trash randomly on sidewalks, subway tracks and in the water
90. Bags of garbage regularly below our windows
91. Wind whipping through the streets
92. The New York Blood Center calling obsessively
93. The rude blood center staff who couldn't care less if you donate DESPITE those calls
94. No access to Walmart, long commute to a trashy Target and the K-Mart is awful, although I will give it convenience (although still have to lug purchases!)
95. Lack of church culture (but maybe I'm not running with the right crowd!)
96. You have to go to New Jersey to find a real mall
97. Disgustingly small locker room at the gym
98. And the awful women who inhabit it -- dripping in water, ignoring general etiquette
99. The sometimes grungy equipment in the gym
100. The sweltering heat inside the workout room
101. No pools, unless you count the one in the gym, which is not made for lounging ... and I can't swim well enough for laps
102. Lack of public bathrooms
103. It's so far away from almost all the people I love!
     

Webcam Distortion

See how bad the pixilation is getting? It's like the internet is getting WEAKER in Oklahoma ... OR maybe the Fios people are messing with my TWC connection here. There were a wad of them in the lobby yesterday trying to sign up new customers. Another for my I Hate NYC list ... which is taking me longer than I expected!

ABCs of NYC

I've had this first 26 set done for about a month, but kept putting off uploading them. I wanted a mouse to make it easier, and I just got my new wireless one in the mail!



Click through for photos w/ the captions.

Art Appreciation

... or lack thereof.

Maybe I could take a class or something to understand, but for whatever reason a slightly deflated inflatable toilet is not my idea of art. I'm OK if other people want to look at it, but as for me, I think one trip to the Whitney was enough. There were some pieces I liked and could see the artistic value. Others ... not so much. Like a series of snapshots of a kid playing. Great -- but in no way unique. I guess it's the story that goes along with them ... i.e. what the artist is trying to convey. But that was not evident just looking at these pictures of a kid in his PJ's. Anyway. Another bucket list item checked and I'm actually glad two floors were closed -- the price was cheaper and I didn't have to look at double the amount of weirdness. The gift "shop" was even a big disappointment. Live and learn.

I'm going to try to hit the other missing pieces of my NYC tourist time in the coming weeks, including a few more art museums that will probably be over my head.

Shawn wasn't with me yesterday because he's recovering from a cold, but today after we had brunch at Cozy we passed by an NYU art installation. It's basically a camera that films people and you can interact with the TV screen in the window. It's a game where you shake the picture by moving certain parts -- and keep other parts of the image still by freezing. We got the high score so far and it was pretty funny. I tried to find the URL to link to it but not having luck. I'll have to walk past it again and see if I can figure it out better/if there's a link listed on the project.

Now we're about to go out and enjoy this incredibly mild weather. Seriously, you'd think it was early spring or late fall it's so nice. I guess NYC is loving on us so we'll miss it even more when we hit the road in a few weeks (~six weeks 'til our honeymoon cruise, and about eight weeks until we load a U-Haul for the drive south).

Edit -- just kidding. Looks like rain, so we're going to either do a movie or the usual -- i.e. sit around and look at each other/the TV/our computers. m-e-h.

Edit 2 -- found the art installation (it's on Waverly and Broadway): http://madparker.com/recurse. 

Eight Hundredth: That Old Ache

I write about the ache every time Owen leaves. His absence surrounds me for a while and I feel so sad, knowing how much I miss between each visit and how happy his sweet face, voice and general demeanor make me feel.

After this trip realizing that being closer to him and the chance to be a bigger part of his life is a number one reason to be excited about the move to Baton Rouge. There are a million other things that are going to be amazing. And it goes without saying that where Shawn goes, I go. He is my main reason for everything. And he helps temper the hurt of saying goodbye after a fun, relaxing, BUSY week of vacationing in the city.

Not sure if I can chronicle everything ... but I do enjoy looking back on these vacation posts and remembering. Makes the photos somehow better/more complete with the words to accompany them. But I can do a quick hits post.

• Tuesday was arrival day, and Owen took a nap. After that we went to Union Square Park, did some light shopping (first day of the new NYU bookstore!) and Lisa came over for dinner -- quiche and salad and cherries (we ate in WAY more than we ate out or ordered in)
• Wednesday we went to the Chelsea Market -- where Food Network is. We didn't see any celebrity chefs, but it was good to say we'd been there. We also walked along the water and Chelsea Piers. Then, because Owen asked to ride the A train we rode up to Washington Heights -- 181st Street and the Little Red Lighthouse. It was SO not worth the trek and I cannot discourage you enough. Keep it OFF your list. Apparently there's a children's book about the little red lighthouse and big gray bridge (GW). Whatever the case, we saw it and walked for over an hour, part of that in a somewhat sketchy neighborhood, then a windy trail by the river with no signs and then trying to get BACK to civilization we wandered again without signs until finally we found a way to cross the West Side Highway. After the ride back and walk across the park, we collapsed at home and ate chicken fajitas (Fresh Direct FTW).
• Thursday we went to Queens for mall shopping. We had our unlimited ride Metro passes, but we probably should have gone out to New Jersey for the full mall experience (PATH trains don't take unlimited ride cards though, so it would have been more traveling expense and we're nothing if not thrifty ... or something like that). After dinner at home (spaghetti and meat sauce w/ salad), Mama and Beth went to West Side Story. Owen and I went to Toys R Us and deliberated how best to spend his $20 budget. (We went with a cool only in NYC set that included a taxi, police car, fire truck and garbage truck.) Our boy's a good shopper! Then we had ice cream in Times Square -- nothing better than snacking under the glittering lights.
• On Friday Beth took a train to Boston to visit her friend Crystal. So it was just us three. We went to the New York Public Library's main branch. Mucho fun for my mom the librarian, and Owen and I liked it too. We got a children's book about New York at the gift store and spent some time in the children's section, where the original Winnie the Pooh toys are. So cool! We went to FAO Schwarz (verdict: Toys R Us Times Square is much cooler) and rode the 5th Avenue bus home. After a rest we bussed to Tompkins Square Park and played for over an hour in the sand and water. We walked home through St. Mark's Place, gawked at the hipster people but didn't buy anything. We ate leftovers for supper and went to bed!
• Saturday was the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn. I'd been looking forward to it for so long! Live Action Etsy was how I described it to my Aunt. I bought a cool headband that I want Beth to replicate (or teach me to sew so I can create more) and had a lot of fun looking. Mama got some earrings made of postage stamps. We got to ride the L train, which pleased Owen, and he got to eat some blueberry ice cream. But we had to walk around a lot in crowds, which did not please him. We were going to the playground near the fair, but Owen changed his mind. We ended up riding FIVE subway lines because of transfers and weekend service (when will I learn?) but finally made it home and walked through the Washington Square Art Festival booths. (Maybe someday I'll have enough dough to collect paintings ... or even have one!) We rested and then walked to the Washington Square Park Fountain, where Owen played for over an hour and the light hit the water just right to create a rainbow. So fun! Shawn came home just in time for hamburgers for supper.
• Sunday morning, Mama and I went to church, leaving Owen and Shawn home for an hour before Beth arrived back from Boston (she was super tired!). After church we met for brunch (the only time we ALL went out for a meal, although the four of us minus Shawn ate some lunches while we were out), and then Owen, Beth and Shawn were off to the World Science Festival! I was sort of sad to miss it BUT was happy with what my mom and I did -- SHOPPING! We ran out of steam on Saturday to go to the World Trade Center (to be honest the MTA snafus took the life out of me and I just wanted to go home). But Sunday was a breeze and we made it, saw the construction site and all the progress being made. Then it was Century 21. We had WAY more luck than I've ever had there. We found some souvenir things, beach hats (hello cruise!) and the best smelling candle -- it's like birthday cake baking w/o the effort (or the calories!). We met back up w/ the science festival kids, who had amazing fun and won lots of prizes and saw cool things, just before it started to rain. We relaxed before dinner (bacon cheesy pasta -- no kidding around here) and then Mama, Beth and I went to Billy Elliott. Uncle Shawn and Owen had a good time together -- did a craft project (assembling a balsa wood airplane) and went to the Washington Square Park fountain again. We had nosebleed seats, but it was a good experience and a fairly good -- although LONG -- musical. On the subway we ended up talking to a couple guys from Memphis, one of whom grew up in Lawton. Small world, I guess. When we got home Owen was snoozing so we all went to bed too.
• Monday was CONEY ISLAND. So fun. Beth put up some pictures on Facebook already (and of the World Science Festival too). It took an hour train ride to get there (and almost as long to pack everyone up). Despite the broken glass all around on the beach (major fail), we managed to survive w/o slicing our feet and had a really great time -- nice weather (not too hot), beautiful sun and softly lapping waves. Owen and I even got in and swam a little and made a new friend, Will from Puerto Rico, who gave me a whole discourse about Obama's policy on undocumented immigrants. Very weird, as he was no more than 10 years old. Owen had fun splashing with him though! The hour ride home seemed much longer because we were so hungry (the picnic lunch of bologna sandwiches and sweet potato chips didn't tide us over what with the surf and sand play!). When we got home and dropped our gear, we threw Owen in the tub and ordered pizza from Mercado. YUMMO. After Mama and Beth were so energized they went back out and did some last minute shopping at local shops. I was too tired (and can really feel the sand walking in my thigh and butt muscles today)!
• Today we just woke up and lounged about. Owen played www.transformers.com (he says the entire URL each time he asks for it). They got packed up and I deflated the air mattress, cleaned a little and spent time drawing with Owen and trying to help him beat the blasted Transformer games. I'm not a gamer and never was! The car came around 12:15, and Shawn was back from work to see them off. I did my best to not cry, but let myself feel a little sad when I was back in my room alone. 

I don't think the ache is any less than past visits, but I will say that it is tempered by the knowledge that I can be home for Owen's birthday in late August (job or no job, although hopefully there's a job) and that they will come visit us for fall break and in general I will be a more regular presence in the life of Owen. One can hope anyway. This turned out way more detailed than I intended. We walked enough that I dropped another 3 pounds. Hope it keeps on coming off! I'm closing in on a big milestone w/ weight loss too!

Happy 800th post!

My Week

 

Pretty much sums things up. More details later this week. Still in vacation mode but tomorrow afternoon will be back to work.