Odyssey: A New Life in North Carolina

Eastern Triangle Farm Tour

2010-09-19T20:28:00.008-04:00

This weekend my parents and I visited several local farms as part of the Fifth Annual Eastern Triangle Farm Tour, put together by the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association. It was quite fun! The hours are 1pm-5pm, and there were 24 farms participating, spread out far and wide. We had to pick just a few to visit. It was a tough decision. Hopefully this will help any future participants choose.

Saturday

1. We started out at Turtle Mist Farm in Franklinton. It was easy enough to find (we used the Garmin) and were greeted by two volunteers who gave us our "Support Local Farms" button that would serve as our ticket for all the visits (I'd prepaid for the tour online--only $25 per car load for all farms, both days). We were warned that the fences were electric, but that they weren't lethal; just a mild shock. Of course that meant I had to touch to see what it felt like! Not painful, but definitely not comfortable! The first thing we saw was a beekeeper selling honey. We bought a glass of "honeyade," which was delicious. We walked over to the chicken coops where they had several different breeds. They were allowed to just roam around wherever they pleased. Then we went down to the pens where they keep turkeys, ducks, and geese. We spoke with someone who I believe works on the farm. She gave us info about raising the birds and showed us the incubator where she was keeping turkey eggs warm until they hatch. We strolled around the garden area a bit, then wandered over to the pasture where the pigs are kept. There were four big brown ones, and a box of past-their-prime vegetables to feed to them.

They were in a mud hole and splashed around trying to get around each other to get the food I was holding out. We saw a cow, but it was behind fencing so we couldn't get close. We walked back up to the front and bought a cup of lemonade (it was a HOT day) and then it was off to the next farm.

2. Next was Homestead Harvest Farm in Wake Forest. I enjoyed this one more because we had a guide the whole time who answered all our questions and provided lots of information. We had to put little surgical booties on to prevent contamination of the farm. Here we got to hold a baby chicken.

If I remember correctly, this one was 4 weeks old. He (she?) was very warm! He was molting so wasn't fully covered with feathers, and his skin was against my hand. We walked around to several of the "chicken tractors," which are coops that you can move around to different parts of pasture so they always have fresh grass, and they fertilize as they go along! These were meat chickens. The laying hens were in a different type of portable coop, one with boxes where they could lay their eggs. My dad is interested in building a coop and having laying hens so he had lots of questions. We also saw a couple of pigs. They were young, but not babies. I got to go inside the pen and pet the girl.

She was very sweet. The boy was not as friendly. Next we walked down to see the turkeys. They have a ton of them and they are so vocal! It goes in waves. If one starts off, the rest chime in. I was squatting down to get some photos and one came up to me, very curious. Then she suddenly reached out and bit me! It wasn't a big deal, but it was funny. It's also funny to see the males, who can turn their faces blue to impress the ladies.

We went inside the processing house, where the chickens are defeathered, dressed, etc. We bought more lemonade (!) and then headed back to the car.

3. The final farm for Saturday was Meadow Lane Farm in Louisburg. This was also enjoyable because the owner, Martha, gave us a tour and filled us in on all the history. The farm has been in her family for almost a hundred years, and the farm house was originally built in the early 1800's. They are in the process of restoring it, which is quite an undertaking. We met Lily, their sweet Australian Shepherd working dog, and stood in the shade of an absolutely enormous pecan tree. We saw the goats that they show at the State Fair,

and as we were driving in we saw lots of their cattle. They raise them as nature intended--open pasture, lots of sun, etc. They are even certified humane. Mom and Dad bought a pound of ground beef and I said I'd eat a hamburger made from it...since I know it came from a cow that lived a happy life. It will be interesting to see what it tastes like. I don't know if I'll even like it! They were giving out samples of their bratwurst, but I didn't have a piece. One thing I was shocked to learn from Steve, Martha's husband, was that only about 10% of what's sold at the Raleigh State Farmers' Market is actually grown in NC!! He said the Durham Farmers' Market is much stricter about who they let sell there. I will definitely have to check that out soon.

Sunday

1. I ventured out on my own to visit Prodigal Farm in Rougemont. They raise goats and have a dairy that was just certified two weeks ago. I was escorted to where the next tour would begin, and while I waited with some others, we sampled different cheeses. I tried the marinated feta (delicious!) and the "Bollywood" which had curry and pear. I also had a sample of the "goat cheesecake." It was chocolate flavored and tasted just like regular cheesecake until the end, when you got that little punch of goat cheese flavor. Dave, the owner, brought the goats up to the dairy

so the visitors could pet them. They were very friendly and liked to rub up against you. I caught one little goat drinking from what I would assume was his mom, but who knows. He wasn't a baby, but must have been young enough. I went over to get a picture but then he stopped. I pet him, and when I stopped, he took his hoof and pawed against my leg, which I interpreted as, "Don't stop!" I love the shape of their pupils.

We got to see where the goats are milked, but they didn't do a demo--the goats are only milked in the morning and evening, and put out a half gallon each time. We were told that other breeds produce much more. Then we went into the room where they put the curds and whey into molds and let the whey drain out. Then, depending on what kind of cheese they're making, it either goes into one fridge to age, or it goes into a colder one until it's time to be sold. They did have a few things for sale but apparently Saturday's crowd pretty much cleaned them out. That's a good thing!

2. Next I went to Son Rise Farm, which was the tiniest farm I stopped at, and was the shortest visit at only about 10 minutes. I saw sheep and chickens,

but they supposedly have rabbits too. They spin the wool into yarn,

and make soap out of the goat milk. There were signs up around the different pens, explaining the different breeds, but most of the animals were out of sight, likely due to the heat.

3. The last farm I visited was Brinkley Farms in Creedmoor. It was the biggest operation that I could tell, at least in terms of produce. We got to go on a hayride

around to the different fields (they're currently growing different kinds of beans and arugula as well as late-season corn)

and see the pastures (again, all the animals were out of sight in the shade). They had a big barn where they were selling pumpkins and other squash. I got one to put on my porch. I heard another tour participant saying that they really enjoyed Vollmer Farm, so I'll have to remember that for next year.

Tips for future participants: Bring lots of water! Wear closed-toe shoes. A hat might be helpful to keep the sun out of your eyes. Bring cash to purchase drinks or the items the farmers are selling. There was no pressure to buy though. All of the farmers I met were very friendly and eager to share about their lives, the land, and what they grow and raise.

There is another tour in the Spring--the Piedmont Farm Tour in April. Here's an article about last year's tour.

Natalie Merchant at the Shaker Heritage Society

2009-09-27T22:44:00.000-04:00

Today I met Natalie Merchant. Five words I couldn't be more ecstatic to write! Here's the story.

Saturday morning I flew from Raleigh to Baltimore to Albany, NY. I rented a car and drove straight to the Shaker Heritage Society, the organization hosting the event.

The story goes that Natalie was in Albany about 10 years ago, getting some repairs done on a car she was going to give to her mother. To kill some time, the dealership suggested she check out the Shaker site. She's a history buff, and although she enjoyed her visit, back then it was hardly anything to speak of. Fast forward a few years, and Natalie has a baby. Around age 3, she becomes obsessed with the Shakers (apparently after being exposed to them via a Ken Burns documentary on PBS--only Natalie's child would have such an archaic and esoteric fixation). Imagine a three-year-old singing one of their hymns over and over and dancing around to it, Shaker style no less. Natalie makes her a Shaker outfit and she wears it constantly, even insisting on wearing it to her first day of preschool. Then, apparently Natalie visited the Shaker site a few months ago and saw all the work being done to restore it, and offered her talents to help raise funds. So the benefit concert idea was born.

When I heard about it, I was intrigued, because this kind of venue is uniquely Natalie. I contemplated going, and wavered, mostly because it involves a flight, a hotel, and not-cheap tickets. But the more I heard about it, I was ever more tempted. I priced everything out and decided I wanted to take the plunge. I found out there would be three tiers of tickets. I settled on the middle one. Then they announced a tour of the grounds with Natalie herself, for an extra (hefty) donation. My parents graciously gifted me the funds as a birthday present so I could participate. Then they announced that the first show had sold out and a second was being added! I figured, I'm already paying all this money to get there, I might as well see her all that I can!

So anyway, I arrived at the Shaker Heritage Society (SHS) and toured the itty bitty (but very informative) museum, met Brother William the meeting house cat, and purchased a couple of things from the gift shop. The volunteer who rang me up was full of fascinating information--did you know that the Shakers were not granted conscientious objector status (and thus exemption from conscription) during the Civil War until they agreed to supply the Union Army with herbal medicines (including opium and cannabis) and provide a rocking chair for Abe Lincoln himself?

I walked around outside enjoying the bright blue sky and the crisp fall air. In the pasture were three oxen, one of which (the biggest, I might add) came over to pay me a visit.

Last night I didn't sleep well at all, too full of excitement and anticipation for today. I'd set my alarm for 6:30 am so I could check in for my Southwest flight home and wasn't able to go back to sleep. I didn't know what to do with myself. Finally 11 am rolled around so I could go into the little gift shop to get my tickets. (They were will call only.)

I'd managed to score fifth row on the side for the first show, and sixth row dead center for the second. They were sold over the phone only back in August (no online option), and it took well over 100 calls for me to get through, so I was grateful I didn't end up in the way back! SHS is a tiny operation--they have like 3 phone lines. This was the first event of this kind they've ever held, way beyond the scope of anything they've ever done before.

Back to getting the tickets (whoo, lots of tangents!) So the shop is attached to the meeting house, and I could hear Natalie rehearsing! I tried to sneak a peak but they closed the door. :( She sounded AH-mazing. Just a little teaser for what was to come!

I still had an hour until the tour, so I went back to the car and saw a gentleman walking around. We exchanged "hi's" and of course were both there for the same reason, so we hit it off immediately. Oh, let me tell you how satisfying it is to have a conversation with someone who has the same passion as you! Andrew and I are both Natalie nerds to the core, we had so much to talk about, it was nonstop gabbing. Shortly before noon we located Justin and his wife Carmen. Justin and I go "way back," as they say--back to the days of trading bootleg cassette tapes of Natalie shows--but we'd never met. He's an even bigger fan than I, if you can imagine. He goes to everything. Her performance with the Boston Pops? There. Her week at the Hiro in NYC? There. I WISH I could have gone to those!

Anyway, so noon rolls around and we're told that Natalie is finishing up rehearsal. Our guide, Starlyn, the executive director of SHS, begins speaking to the 13 of us about Shaker history. It really is interesting--you should read about it if you get a chance. About 8 after, Natalie emerges. Down the steps she comes, wearing a black trench coat, black scarf, and black boots, hair in a bun. I have a freeze frame in my mind of the instant I saw her. I'd told Andrew before, "I hope I don't gasp." I did. Thankfully she wasn't close enough to hear me. :) Sadly, though, she went to the back of the group, and pretty much stayed there the whole tour. And it wasn't much of a tour, really. We learned a lot, but we stood in one spot for 15 minutes, then moved to another spot 30 yards away for another 15 minutes, and then finished up back by the first spot. I mean, whatever, right, I wasn't there for the tour per se, I was there to see and meet Natalie. But she kind of made herself inconspicuous, so I felt like I had to sneak pictures even though I'd arranged with Starlyn weeks before to be "the SHS photographer" for the event. Nevertheless, sneak I did.

Natalie wasn't wearing any makeup and was squinting in the daylight so they weren't the best shots, but I was mere feet away from my all-time idol, so what do I care, right?!

So our time is up, and Starlyn says thank you to all of us for taking the tour, and Natalie starts to leave. I tap Starlyn on the shoulder and say, "Can I get a picture of you and Natalie?" Totally professional, right? It's for the organization! So she literally jogs up to Natalie and asks her to step aside. I take two quick shots and then thankfully someone in the tour group (Justin's wife Carmen!) asks Natalie, "Can we take a few pictures with you?" Natalie said, "Yes, as long as it's quick. I have to get back inside to finish rehearsing." So that began the parade of people posing with Natalie. Somehow I ended up being everyone's photographer--they all just handed me their cameras! Fine by me, I love it! Then there was no one with her and she said, "Come on!" to the group, with her arm out to the side, motioning someone to come get a photo. So I handed my camera to someone--anyone who would take it!--and Natalie asked me, "So where are you from?" I said, "North Carolina." Then we smiled for the camera (the woman didn't know how to work it, but with some coaching from me and the newspaper photographer, she figured it out--kinda). And that was it. I wanted to tell her how much I love her voice, and how much her songs mean to me, and how I've adored her for 17 years, and how much getting to meet her meant to me, but of course none of that came out, probably for the better, I guess.

Anyway, she left, and I looked at the photo of me and her.

Alas, it's quite overexposed but at least we're both looking at the camera and--AND--at least it didn't rain! Oh my word, I was so grateful that the rain held off! Talk about a blessing. And, of course everyone else had cameras too--both Justin and Carmen have iPhones, and they both took pics of me while I was with Natalie, so they both instantly emailed them to me. I posted Carmen's on Facebook. I took lots of pictures of Andrew when he was with Natalie--he'd met her before, and was telling her the story of it, so he spoke with her the longest.

After that, we got in line to go inside (btw, more rehearsal my hat! They were letting people into the meeting house not five minutes later!) We entered through the back (which is where the Shakers would let "worldly" people in to observe their prayer services) and I sat on the far left, fifth row. (Andrew had front row center!) There was an opening act, Shelving Rock, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why, until later I learned that one of the members is on the SHS board. They were good--a fiddler and a guitarist--but honestly, we were all there for Natalie. Gabriel Gordon and Eric De La Penna were her guitarists, and there was a cello player too. They came in first, through the front doors, and started playing a slow song. Natalie came in through the back, which waxed a bit bridal in my opinion. Come to find out later that she'd planned to have a candle and incense, but the fire marshal put the kibosh on that! When she reached the front, she started singing, and not more than 10 seconds into it, she stopped abruptly. The acoustics of the meeting house are such that you can hear every. single. sound. So the shutter clicks were quite disruptive! She gave a good-hearted lecture about being "in the moment," and she gave us all "a moment" to capture. She pranced around with a big smile on her face and we all furiously took photos. Some of my faves, although none are of a technical quality I'm particularly proud of:

Then we had to put our cameras away. This was contrary to her previous consent that we would be allowed to take photos for the first three songs. But, it's Natalie. You do what she asks.

She started another song (never finished the first one, btw, not that I knew what it was--perhaps it was the Shaker hymn). She did lots of poetry ones (she's been on a kick of setting old poems to music she writes), some folk ones from House Carpenter's Daughter ("Owensboro," "Weeping Pilgrim," Bury Me Under the Willow Tree,") and then a few "mainstream" ones, like "Break Your Heart" and "Kind and Generous." The whole performance seemed very disjointed. She interrupted herself in the middle of many songs, either to have someone tune their guitar, to comment on a passing airplane (we were across the street from the airport), to start some lyrics over, etc. She didn't seem to know what to do with herself, not having a microphone. Oh yes. The whole thing was completely unplugged. No amplification whatsoever. Which was supposed to be awesome, because the acoustics of the meeting house are amazing. When it's empty. Put 310 living, breathing, coughing, sneezing, squirming bodies in there on folding chairs, and the acoustics change--imagine that! So she was walking up and down the center aisle, going to the way back so they could hear at least something, her guitarists following her around like a three-person mini parade. It was kind of awkward, but Natalie just rolled with it, and was very good humored about it. She conducted two sing-alongs, one to "Tell Yourself," and the other to "Kind and Generous." It was funny how people used very soft voices in order to try and not drown out Natalie, but then she wanted everyone to clap, and that was the end of that. No hope hearing her over all that ruckus! But it was fun nonetheless.

Another feature of this old building--no ventilation. It was only 60 degrees outside, but it was SO hot and stuffy inside. Poor Natalie, wearing a wool jacket. She commented on her poor choice of clothing, and I wasn't surprised that for the second show she changed into a cooler dress.

I unfortunately did have a coughing spell during the show, but thankfully a) it was when Natalie was performing in the back, and b) I was seated right next to an exit. Water, cough drop, and a swig of cough syrup (from a film canister!!) and I was all better.

She was supposed to end at 3:00, but played till about 3:25--yay! Andrew and I went to Panera for a snack and drink and then back for the 5:00 show!

Oh my word, it couldn't have been more different!!!! This show made my life. I can die happy now. It was absolutely incredible. SO. She entered through the back again, but somehow this time, there were only like 2 camera clicks, so she didn't stop mid-song. She sang the whole thing, and again, I think it was a Shaker hymn, but I'm not sure. Hard to know since she did so many poetry songs. After the first song, she did the briefest little "camera moment"--nowhere near as flaunting as the first show--then told us all to put our cameras away. She promised there would be another camera moment later, but there never was. :( But you could tell she was in a different mood, she felt more in control, she knew what she was getting into and had a plan.

She danced more, and since she was wearing a flowy skirt it made a nice prop for her to fling around. There was still some spontaneity to the set, and she even did some different songs, like "Calico Pie" (a children's nonsense poem by Edward Lear), which she really seemed to enjoy.

By the middle of the show, it was getting dark outside. There were three lights pointed at the front of the room, but nothing in the rest of the meeting house. So when she'd venture to the back, Eric and Gabe in tow, she was in the shadows. Again, it added to the atmosphere of the venue. For "If No One Marries Me," she went to one side of the back and did a verse, then went to the other side and did the same verse, so they could hear. The audience got a kick out of this, especially since it's the verse that talks about getting old at 28 or 29, and buying an orphan girl to raise as her own (this is a poem from the Victorian era).

She didn't stop in the middle of any songs this time around...unless you count "Tell Yourself," where she tends to get choked up at the end. But it was a great moment. She commented that whenever she sings, "And there's just no getting 'round the fact that you're thirteen," all her painful teenage memories flood back and she can't help herself. "I gave those to God and he just sends them right back to me!" she shouted. And might I add that this took place literally three feet away from me. As I said, I had an aisle seat this time, and she walked up and down that aisle a dozen times, and each time she passed me I got to hear her voice--unamplified, pure, and natural--up close and personal. Oh my lord, it just gets to me! Something about the tone of it, the timbre, it is just so sublime. So even though I was in the sixth row, I felt like I was in the front row more than once. But never more than during her last song.

She ended with "Kind and Generous" again, and at the end there is this one bit that just repeats over and over--"Thank you, thank you. Thank you, thank you." So we're all singing along, and she's walking down the aisle, and she looks right at me, and I look right back at her, and we're both singing, and she leans in close to my face--we're talking inches away--and sings, "Thank you, thank you!" Well, you can imagine my glee, my sheer bliss at that moment. As I'm writing about it now, I want to just scream: "AAAAAAH!" The thing is, she has lots of rabid fans; we are a hard core--but benevolent!--group, and that has to be awkward, knowing that there are these people out there that practically worship you. I understand why she's shy. But that one moment, just that small gesture, meant the world to me, and I am so grateful for it.

Test your hearing

2009-07-12T14:46:00.000-04:00

You are a thirtysomething

You're a little frustrated that you can't hear all the tones that the young 'uns can but will be more than happy if it means you don't have to listen to their damn ringtones on the bus anymore.

The highest pitched ultrasonic mosquito ringtone that I can hear is 14.9kHz

Find out which ultrasonic ringtones you can hear!

Back in the USA

2009-06-24T01:32:00.002-04:00

Our plane landed at LAX ahead of schedule and we are safely back in So Cal. The FlyAway was a madhouse, but we made it on finally and once again, our first stop was good ol' In 'n' Out. Gotta have it! I took over 3000 pictures in total (of Australia and NZ, not In 'n' Out!) so my task tomorrow is to go through them and write about each day of our trip. There are so many stories to tell!

We leave tomorrow!

2009-06-08T10:06:00.004-04:00

I arrived in L.A. yesterday and the first thing we did was go to In-n-Out. Yum! Then hopped on the 405 and sat in traffic. Welcome back! We headed for Nicole's friends' house--Aaron, whom she teaches at La Mesa with, and his wife Kim. They have an 18 month old baby girl, Kara. She is so cute! She was a little unsure of me, but while I was there, she played fetch with Ellie (their min pin), and giggled profusely at the dog's reaction to the squeaky ball. She ran across the yard with Aunt Nicole. She stared intensely at her shelves of books until finally picking out two for her daddy to read to her. And she ate a tomato like an apple! Earlier in the day, Kim had told her that she could go outside after dinner. So when Nicole and I came in with the food, she immediately went to put on her shoes. What a memory!

I tried to sleep on the plane and thought I would do really well, because I was feeling nappy when we first got on, and I figured taking 2 benadryl would seal the deal. But it was still pretty much a very deep "rest" more than a light "sleep." I think the key is the alcohol-benadryl combination! Also, only a 5.5 hour flight, in the middle of the day. The flight to NZ will be 13 hours and overnight, so that will also encourage sleep. The onboard movie was He's Just Not That Into You, which I'd already seen, so I didn't bother watching it. But afterwards was an elephant documentary which was very interesting. You know how most nature films they're like, "This baby has wandered away from it's mother and will surely die. Elsewhere on the plain..." and you're like, "You're right there, why don't you help it for crying out loud??!" Well, this film was about people who DO intervene to help, so that was very satisfying. I saw the part where they had to sedate a baby and its mother to give the baby an injection of antibiotics for its broken foot, which had become infected internally. High drama, because there was a risk that the mama would pass out on top of the baby. Then it looked like the mama was going to land on her chest, blocking her airway. They had to tie ropes around her and use their vehicle to roll her over! In the end everything worked out though. My kind of animal documentary!!

So I made it until about 10:00 pm last night, which is 1am Eastern time, before I had to crash. I slept until about 6:30. I had a disturbing dream in which I took my iPhone out of my purse, and a bracelet I'd brought was wrapped around it. The problem was, the bracelet was magnetic (?) and had messed up the phone pretty bad. (Of course, there is no hard drive inside the iPhone--it's flash memory--which is not affected by magnets. But you know how dreams are!) So in my dream I was very upset because the phone basically wouldn't work, and I could take it to the Apple Store and have them restore it to factory settings, but then I would lose all my content. Not forever, because it's on my home computer, but my home computer is 2500 miles away at the moment! Oh so distressing. I was very relieved when I woke up and realized it was a dream! I do have to call AT&T customer service, though, because yesterday at Dulles airport I was unable to use the AT&T wireless service which is supposed to be free for all iPhone customers. It said something about not recognizing my number. When I called the wifi customer support, they said something is wrong with my account, but of course AT&T is closed on Sundays so all he could do is authorize access to the wifi as if I'd paid, and then I could deal with AT&T the next day. I swear, I've had nothing but problems w/ AT&T. If I was not absolutely head over heals in love with and addicted to my iPhone, I would go back to Verizon in a heartbeat. I have heard rumors that Verizon might be getting the iPhone next year, and if that's the case, I will be switching back for sure. I don't care if I have to pay an early termination fee! At least Verizon doesn't screw up your account twice in 4 months!

Whew! I must be in a mood to type! I haven't posted this much in eons. The plan for today is to get pedicures and maybe go to the movies. Pretty chill. The weather here is super nice. Unseasonably cool for June. I'll take it! Mid-70's all week, while it's high 80's and low 90's with thunderstorms in NC! That is one part of NC I won't miss while I'm gone! I do miss my baby, though. Comet is in good hands, though, and I am just going to keep telling myself that animals don't really have a sense of time, so me being gone 3 weeks isn't different from me being gone overnight. Hard to believe, but that's what they say.

Okay, ta ta for now!

Some web finds

2009-05-22T21:58:00.003-04:00

If you're like me, you have a bunch of stuff in the fridge, but when you open it, you say, "There's nothing for dinner!" There's a website to help us! It's called SuperCook, and all you have to do is enter in all the stuff you have on hand, and then it will generate a list of recipes you can make right now! Of course, if all you have is ketchup and Diet Coke, you're out of luck, but even seemingly random ingredients can come together and make a yummy meal. If you sign up for a free account, it will remember your list of foods so all you have to do is update it (out of carrots, but bought oranges, etc.). According to the site, I can make almost 800 recipes right now, including Chicken Cacciatore, Asparagus Risotto, and Breakfast Tortilla Strata. Of course, all I did was boil some ravioli, but it's nice to know I have options.

Just One Club Card is a website for those of us with a multitude of plastic "loyalty" cards. All you do is enter the barcode numbers from the back of the cards and choose the store names from drop-down boxes. The site then generates a credit card-sized image with up to 8 barcodes on it, which you can print out and even laminate if you wish. Not only does it save room on your wallet or keychain, but it makes it much easier to find the card you need. Mine has Kroger, CVS, Food Lion, Borders, Lowes Foods, PetSmart, Hallmark, and Dick's Sporting Goods. You can also do library cards via the "Advanced" tool.

And finally, if you like kaleidoscopes, you will like Repper. You can do stuff with the images that result if you want, but I just think it's fun to play with.

Best SNL skit in years

2009-05-22T21:00:00.002-04:00

Leave it to Will Ferrell and a surprisingly hilarious Tom Hanks to produce one of the funniest skits to appear on SNL in quite some time. (Well, those Tina Fey/Sarah Palin ones were pretty entertaining!)

Piedmont Wildlife Festival

2009-05-12T15:45:00.003-04:00

A couple weekends ago I was the "official photographer" for the Piedmont Wildlife Festival in Durham, NC. I volunteered for the role, and was pleased as punch to be taking pix of animals all day. Here are a few of my favorites:

I came to know the Piedmont Wildlife Center when a coworker tried to trap a mouse in my office and it went terribly awry. Only the poor little guy's leg was caught. I tried to release him into the woods behind our building, but he didn't want to leave the box we'd put him in. So we took him to the wildlife center, where they accepted him with no hesitation, with as much care as they would a grander animal. Alas, he didn't make it, but I was so grateful to be able to take him somewhere that would give him a chance.

Susan Boyle's makeover

2009-04-24T14:10:00.003-04:00

From what I've read, half the world is up in arms over Susan Boyle's recent makeover. Detractors say she is losing her "ugly duckling appeal," and risks becoming too polished. I say she looks fantastic, and more power to her! All she did was cut and dye her hair, trim her brows, and get a new outfit. It's not like she got lipo and a fake tan, people. She still looks like a "normal" person. Just a bit more fashionable. Trust me, if you've seen any interviews with her, you know--stylish locks will not strip away her somewhat awkward, down to earth personality.

Lately

2009-04-24T09:42:00.006-04:00

I am set to end the week having answered the most tech support calls in the department. Go me!
Comet was up at 3:30 hurling...but not just his usual one time. There was nothing for him to bring up. Poor baby. I think he might be working on a hairball. I hadn't been sleeping well anyway so I just got up and went online. Yay for buying memory cards on New Egg at 4 in the morning!
I am not bringing my laptop to Australia so I want to make sure I don't run out of space on my camera. I should be set for 5,000 photos with 2 8GB cards. The one I bought this morning was actually a micro SD and included an adapter AND a USB reader for about 20 bucks. This is in stark contrast to the memory stick duo I was forced to purchase in Florence, Italy in 2004...128 MB for over $100. We have come so far.
I have been listening to the audio book In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson on my drive to and from work lately. It is so enlightening and funny! I am beside myself with anticipation and excitement for my upcoming trip. It is going to be too fabulous for words. That I get to spend a few days in L.A. before and after is serious icing on the cake. I cannot wait for the Dario's buffet brunch...here I come, cheese enchiladas! And that I will have 3 solid weeks with my BFF Nicole is like a giant scoop of ice cream on top of that piece of iced cake!
On Wednesday, I went to a "mixer" for the newly formed UCSD alumni chapter of the Triangle. We all unanimously agreed that there is NO good Mexican food to be found here.
It is going to be in the 90's here this weekend. Yikes. I'm hoping to see the new Disney movie Earth. It should be quite the spectacle.
At work, my manager is ~~making~~ having us read Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People. I find the book to be, for the most part, repugnant. It is an easy read and has many illustrative anecdotes, but it is basically a user manual for manipulating people. The author is always reinforcing that you must be genuine about this or that. If you genuinely cared about other people, you would not need a book to tell you how to get friends. And you certainly would not actively be seeking to influence them. My rancor towards this book has brought out a negative tone in me that I don't like. I've tried to just stay mum but now I am in charge of leading the (online) discussion. Hmph.
Oh, I never did write about Easter, did I? I was originally going to be in Washington, DC but that fell through, so I ended up picking up Cassidy and having her Thursday and Friday night. Friday we went to Pullen Park here in Raleigh and she had so much fun riding the train, the boats, and the carousel.

Friday evening we decorated Easter eggs.

Sunday was the Easter egg hunt...of the plastic, candy-filled variety, not the chicken embryo variety. I still get a rush when I see an egg peeking out from its hiding spot, even though I helped fill and hide them. That girl ended up with enough candy for 20 kids. We helped her eat it though. :)

More old pics

2009-04-15T22:24:00.005-04:00

This is the best old pic I've come across. I love Matthew's expression, my dad would probably still buy that t-shirt today, and the backdrop is beautiful (no idea where it was shot though--some western national park no doubt). My hair is hideous, but I was in junior high...who looks good in junior high??

Then there's this one...those are some stylin' shades! Much improved hair. And my legs are actually not a blinding shade of white!

Time capsule

2009-04-14T21:20:00.005-04:00

I scanned in a handful of old pics this evening and hope to do more in the days ahead. Here's a little taste of what's in the mix:

When I taught 7th grade world history, for the Middle Ages unit we did a Medieval Faire. This is the year I dressed in costume like the kids! I think it was 2001 or 2002. I remember the night before going over to my parents' house and asking my mom to sew the cape for me. Because she's such a good mommy, she did.

Wall-E Computer

2009-04-09T14:22:00.002-04:00

This is the craziest, most tricked-out computer case ever. The Russian guy who did it put a ton of work into it. Pix of the "wow you really liked that movie, huh?" process here.

Lost & Hopefully Found

2009-04-08T14:20:00.005-04:00

This morning a dog that looks just like this one was waiting for me outside my garage. He (?) was so friendly and cute. No owner anywhere to be seen. He followed me down to the mailbox, and then wanted to jump in the car with me. I spent a couple minutes petting him and talking to him ("Where's your mommy? Do you know how to get home? I bet your mommy is missing you.") I finally had to leave, but he did not move along. I had to back out the driveway an inch at a time, keeping my eyes glued to all my mirrors, and then when I closed the garage door, make sure he didn't run inside. He was wearing a collar with a tag, but it did not have a local phone number on it. I hope that he found his way home.

Dog show

2009-04-06T16:18:00.001-04:00

So this was a few weekends ago, but I wanted to post about it because it was so much fun. I went to the Raleigh Kennel Club dog show. I'd seen dog shows on TV, of course, but never in person. And this one is a small local show so it wasn't anything fancy, but I was just there for the dogs! They were everywhere in large numbers and it was spectacular. They are (almost) all just so adorable. My two new favorite breeds were the Shiba Inu (looks like a fox!):

And the vizsla:

I think what's so striking about the vizsla is its sleek reddish coat, and the fact that its nose and lips are pink, rather than being black.

I've always liked weimaraners. Their coat is such an unusual greyish brown color, and their blue eyes are beautiful. I think I may have overcompensated on the red eye removal, but here's the weimaraner I saw:

Here are some more pictures from the show:

I love great danes! They are sweet, gentle giants.

A collie all fluffed up for the judges!

I wanted a beagle for a long time. They are the perfect size, I think. But I heard they have a strong natural odor, and the last thing I need is a house that smells like dog!

A ginormous Irish Wolfhound...I'm not a fan of the shaggy hair though.

All the basset hounds looked like grandmas with their ear protectors on.

Here's a basset in all his (or her!) beauty.

Wow, those are some hairy, hairy paws! And again with the ear protectors. Not sure what kind of dog this is.

I love how whippets are so sleek looking. They are very similar in appearance to Greyhounds (which are bigger) and Italian Greyhounds (which are smaller).

Must be named Fifi. That, or she escaped from the Yearning For Zion compound. That part down the middle, it's meticulous! Owners of these dogs must have never gotten over their My Little Pony phase.

The whole reason I even knew about the dog show was because my friend has two purebred Sharpeis and she was showing them. This is the male, Marker.

A poufy Keeshond.

Here's a shot of all the pugs in a row. I wish it was of their faces rather than their behinds, but no matter what side of the ring I was on, it always seemed to be the wrong side.

How does he even see?

We saw lots more dogs, but my photos of them are mediocre: Chihuahuas, dalmatians, bulldogs, pit bulls, boxers, minpins, Dachsunds, spaniels, corgis, Chinese cresteds, sheepdogs, labs, terriers, and German shepherds.

If you have a chance to check out a local dog show, I highly recommend it. It's a great way to spend a morning or an afternoon. You just need to make sure you get a schedule of what breeds will be in what rings and what times, if you care about seeing a certain kind of dog. But you can also just wander around aimlessly, or pick a chair and camp out and watch the dogs pass by you. Most owners were happy to let me take a picture of their dogs. But there were signs in the grooming area that said no photos or videos allowed. That was a bummer since that's when the dogs were up high and holding still!

Time for a new look!

2009-04-03T16:38:00.002-04:00

I chose the photo above because I think it looks like the countryside in New Zealand. I hope the new look of everything is pleasing to everyone. I'm not sure how I feel about the super narrow columns on the right, but it's something different I thought I'd try. Oh, and I fixed my Comments...they weren't working...but now they do!

Bye bye, old template. You served me well.

Cute video!!

2009-04-01T11:01:00.000-04:00

78 days until Sydney!

2009-03-24T15:47:00.004-04:00

The ticket for LA isn't booked, but I have no choice: if I'm going to catch my flight from LAX to Sydney, I have to get my booty to the City of Angels by June 9. The plan is to leave Raleigh on June 6, have a few days to ~~eat In 'n' Out and Mexican food nonstop~~ chill in So Cal, then spend 5 nights in Sydney, 2 nights in Cairns (Great Barrier Reef), and 5 nights in New Zealand. Every time I think of it I have to pinch myself because I can't believe I'm going! I've had a thing for Australia since 6th grade, when I did a report on the country and also saw the Facts of Life movie where Blair, Jo, Tootie, and Natalie visit the land down under (note to self: check Netflix, would be awesome to watch movie again before going). The only things keeping me away were 1) the cost--tickets are regularly over $1500, and b) the length of the flight necessitates at least a 2-week stay to make it worthwhile. Well, 1) I found an aMAZing deal on Air New Zealand, and 2) I have enough PTO banked and Nicole has the summer off, so...no more excuses!

I have never planned an overseas trip with this little advance notice; I realize it's over 2 months away still, but with London, I planned for a whole year, and even with Paris I had 4 months. I mean, hard core planning only takes a couple weeks, but part of the fun is the anticipation, just browsing online and exploring all the beautiful and fun things we will get to see and do. Of course, the benefit of it being so close, though, is that I don't have to wait so long!!

Compilations of interesting photos

2009-03-19T10:40:00.005-04:00

Photos at unusual angles

Creative advertisements

Photo Manipulations by Erik Johansson

Funny Twitter Video

2009-03-17T12:51:00.001-04:00

This will probably be most amusing to those who use Twitter on a regular basis.

Trip to Atlanta

2009-03-15T16:32:00.010-04:00

Last weekend my mom and I drove to Atlanta, GA. We left on Thursday and came back on Sunday. The weather for our entire trip could not have been more perfect: sunny with highs in the low 70's. I am thankful we postponed from the previous weekend, which was when it snowed both here and in Atlanta.

Our first stop was Atlantic Station for Dialog in the Dark and the Bodies Exhibition. I was pleased that they extended the dates because originally both were going to end on March 1. Our ticket was for a 5:00 pm entry, but we got there early and although you'd think no one had ever asked to go in early before, they did eventually let us. Our group only had 4 people, and all of us were women. I'm glad, because once you're in the pitch black darkness, you run into each other and touch each other a lot as you're trying to find your way around. They do give you a cane to use, but I still found myself walking with my arms out in front of me. Although I'm not afraid of the dark per se, I did find myself getting nervous in the "dimming room," as I contemplated what it would be like not to have any clue what's around me. The entire experience was very much worth it. I found a great blog entry that does an amazing job of describing it. Here's an excerpt:

Your guide’s voice appears out of somewhere. Asking you to use your ears to follow his or her voice, and the cane to fathom what’s immediately around you, you move through a series of chambers created to emulate a park, a store, a busy street corner, a dock and so on. You use your senses of hearing, smell, taste and touch to identify and explore your surroundings.... The street scene was most difficult and frightening at moments. There are sounds of speeding cars and the voices of pedestrians, all wired to be approaching/departing with spot-on Doppler sound effects.

Next we went to Bodies and although it was interesting, I think I'd heard too much about it and seen too many pictures online so it lacked some of that "ooh, ahh" factor. Hopefully I won't offend anyone when I say that the baby section was the most fascinating. It is incredible how a fetus goes from a tiny speck to palm-sized in just a few weeks!

There were several good options for dinner right downstairs when we left Bodies, but we decided to go check into our hotel. We stayed in Buckhead, an upscale suburb north of downtown. It was very nice. For dinner we ate at Annie's Thai Castle, which was delicious.

Friday morning we started out at the World of Coca Cola. It ended up being my favorite attraction.

I loved all the memorabilia, and the introductory 3D movie was clever. The tasting room, not surprisingly, was the highlight. We found that getting a cup of water from the drinking fountain helped us cleanse our palates in between tastings; otherwise, everything starts tasting the same. Our favorite was Bibo, a very sweet fruity drink from South Africa. Our least favorite was Beverly from Italy. Ugh!! The gift shop has more Coca Cola branded merchandise than you could ever imagine!

Next we headed over to the aquarium. It was crowded just like we'd been warned. It wasn't horrendous, but it was enough to take away a little of the enjoyment. We passed by a lot of windows that had crowds in front of them just because we didn't want to wait. Sadly, the penguin exhibit was closed, and they are doing major construction for a new dolphin exhibit. We did get to see the Beluga whales, the sharks, and the otters. Those pesky otters are hard to get a good photo of! I know this aquarium is the world's largest and all,

but personally I felt that the one I visited in Denver last year was much better. Again, maybe it was due to the crowds. We did pay the extra to see the Titanic exhibit, which was good, but for Titanic buffs like my mom and I, it didn't hold much new insight. I did enjoy the displays of passenger effects though. And we each got "boarding passes" when we entered, with a name and some background about our person. At the end they had a roster of who lived and who perished--my mom survived, but I wasn't so lucky.

After the aquarium, we had lunch, then walked through Centennial Olympic Park to the CNN building for the tour. Our guide was just eh. She knew her stuff, but was seriously lacking in personality. One thing that was neat: my mom was wearing a bright green sweater, so when we got to the green screen part of the tour, my mom went up to it and on the monitor she disappeared except for her head and hands! I learned that they don't use green screens for weather anymore, but rather rear projection.

To wrap up the day we walked over to the Westin Hotel and rode the elevator to the Sundial viewing deck. Unfortunately the glass elevators were blacked out for our ride, as they are doing construction right now. But the view from the top was lovely. We spent about 15 minutes up there.

We walked back through Centennial Park and caught the fountain show. Water shoots out of jets arranged in five interlocking circles--the Olympics logo. Kind of neat. We drove back to the hotel and then walked to dinner--several restaurants were nearby--and afterwards I surprised my mom with a massage at Massage Envy.

Saturday morning, we made our way to the Botanical Garden. We stopped here for just about an hour or so to see the orchids.

Perhaps later in the spring or in the summer there would be more to see. Then we headed over to the Atlanta History Center, where we went on the Swan House tour, the Tullie Smith farmhouse tour,

and stopped in to see the Olympic museum and the Civil War museum. We weren't really up to the large amounts of reading that would've been necessary to get the most out of the museums, so we passed through those quickly. Even so, we spent about 3 hours at the Center. Our guide for the Swan House tour was nice, but not very articulate; the guide for the farm house tour was in costume and much more adept.

For lunch, we went to Souper Jenny's, a place I'd read about on TripAdvisor, and was very excited to try. I was not disappointed. The lunch special for $12 includes a TON of food--two items plus drink, bread, and cookie. In fact, splitting it with someone is not out of the question. I got the turkey chili and the turkey pita, while my mom got the chicken tortilla soup and the tomato-mozzarella baguette. Everything was delicious. My pita was divine.

After lunch we went to the High Museum for the Terracotta Warriors exhibit.

I had "high" hopes (ha ha) when I was given a photograper's pass but those hopes were dashed when I found out it only entitles you to photograph permanent exhibits, not special ones. (The pic above is taken in front of the museum with a cardboard cutout.) We arrived at 3:30 on the dot four our timed entrance, but still had to wait about 10 minutes in line to go up the elevators. It was somewhat crowded, but for me, it kind of lent to the excitement. All these people here to see these amazing artifacts! This was the whole reason I'd planned a trip to Atlanta in the first place! The soldiers were great. You could get up very close to them. I loved the exhibit and the audio tour was excellent. We briefly checked out the Louvre exhibit, but it's really not much. We were super tired at this point. We decided to go to the movies (saw Shopaholic--cute, but very different from the book--and then were lazy about picking a dinner spot; we just went to Chipotle.

Sunday we checked out of the hotel and drove to the King Tut exhibit. Our tickets were for 10am, and we pretty much got in on time. We got the audio tour but frankly I could have done without it. It was kind of dry, and the placards provided enough info in my opinion. Audio tours are always hit and miss like that. I found the artifacts interesting and enjoyed the overall experience of the exhibit, but there was a somewhat anticlimactic ending. The big golden sarcophagus is not on display. I had a feeling it wouldn't be--but I still thought maybe... There was yet another 3D movie (this was our third in as many days) but it was just so-so. The gift shop had tons of stuff to buy but it was all rather expensive. One neat souvenir was getting your name printed in hieroglyphics from this kiosk. It was only a buck.

After that, we drove home. I must add that we stopped at the brand new Ikea in Charlotte. We had a ball shopping in the marketplace (the non-furniture section). I got a wok for $7.99!

So that's our trip to Atlanta. I had a great time overall, but just wish more places let you take photos. If you want to see my photo album, you can do so here.

Stephen Colbert is not a coward

2009-02-28T09:51:00.001-05:00

Fast forward to 2:30. Stephen Colbert is too funny!

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

The Word - Ablacknophobia

Colbert Report Full Episodes
Political Humor

Joke of the Day
Stand-Up Comedy

This is what my bosses do all day...

2009-02-24T17:18:00.000-05:00

Everything's amazing, nobody's happy

2009-02-24T12:53:00.003-05:00

This is absolutely hilarious because it is SO TRUE. I can't embed it here but trust me, it is worth watching:

**Louis CK on Conan O'Brien**

Bye bye, appendix!

2009-02-21T13:05:00.001-05:00

Wednesday started out like any other day. I did have a doctor's appointment in the morning--completely routine--so rather than pack my lunch I decided I would go out. The morning at work was normal, if a little slow. I booked a hotel for my upcoming trip to Atlanta that I'd been planning for myself and my mom. At lunch I went out for Subway since they recently announced the "ANY footlong for $5" promotion. If you know me, you know that I am a sub snob. Jersey Mike's is the only way to go, but lacking that, Quizno's is an unfortunate but acceptable substitute. Subway, however, is so inferior as to be laughable. Most people think I'm crazy, but there are a couple of girls at work who are on the same page as me. When they heard I went to Subway, they stuck a post it on my monitor that said, "Traitor!" It was a good chuckle. Well a couple hours after I'd eaten, my stomach hurt, so I Skyped them, "That Subway is coming back to haunt me," or something like that, and they both said I deserved it, ha ha. The rest of the afternoon I had a stomach ache but I figured it was just indigestion and would go away.

I got home from work and did not feel any better. The pain had migrated and was now mostly in my lower right abdomen...right where the appendix is. I was considering going to urgent care but it was right before 8pm and the ones near me all close at 8. So I looked up the symptoms of appendicitis and decided I should probably go to the ER. I live right down the road from Wake Med North, so I got in the car and went. The whole time I kept thinking to myself that I was probably overreacting and they were going to tell me I have gas and go home. As I got deeper and deeper into the process--questions in triage, sent to a room, put on a hospital gown, get an IV!--I thought gosh, won't I feel dumb when it turns out I just have gas. Then the doctor came in and did an exam and told me my white cell count was 18--it's supposed to be around 10. So that was a sign that my body was fighting something. He said I should get a CT scan. Well now we're talking expensive stuff and I'm thinking it will be such a waste when they tell me I just have gas. At this point I am constantly touching my abdomen to make sure it still hurts because wouldn't it just be perfect if it started to get better on its own and I had gone to all this trouble for nothing.

I decided (with my dad's advice) to do the CT scan with contrast because it had a better chance of picking up my appendix. The appendix is itty bitty, of course, and a CT is just a fancy Xray, which is meant to pick up bone, not tissue. So the contrast would help it stand out. I had to drink 32 oz. of apple juice with tasteless contrast in it. Ninety minutes later I was lying on a very narrow platform going through the middle of a big machine shaped like a circle. They injected more contrast through my IV and it made me feel all hot from head to toe. Weird! It's amazing how fast stuff circulates through your veins. The pictures were taken pretty quickly and it wasn't a big deal. An hour later I got the results: the appendix doesn't look like it has full-on appendicitis, but it's not normal either. Oh, and guess what, we found an ovarian cyst too. So they decided to transfer me to the main Wake Med location on New Bern Ave. about 20 minutes away. Apparently the north campus doesn't do even simple surgeries like an appendectomy. At this point I'm thinking geez, now an ambulance is involved and if this all turns out to be gas I'm going to feel like a major idiot. Yes, at this point I am still thinking I'm being dramatic. I thought for sure they would go to take out the appendix and it would be perfectly normal. But I kept all these doubts to myself and just went along with everything. I hadn't been in the hospital since I was three going on four, and my adult experience was limited to the NBC show ER, and Grey's Anatomy.

The ambulance ride was bumpy in parts, which was painful. I was actually transported with another patient, which surprised me. I didn't know you could fit two people in an ambulance. The old man went in the normal way, through the back, and then I went in on the side and laid perpendicular to him. The EMS guys were very nice. They were big and strong and handsome and even though I only saw them a short time I had a little crush on them. :)

At this point it is 4am Thursday morning--I had checked in around 8:30 pm the night before. A female doctor came to see me and said that they were going to probably just observe me and see where I was the next morning. Perhaps do a repeat CT scan, but if I was feeling better, they would just send me home. Then not more than 30 minutes later, another doctor came in, a male surgeon, and he said they are just going to go in and get my appendix. So ok, I go from observation to "let's rip it out!" in 30 min. Whatever. As far as the ovarian cyst, he said they would have an ob/gyn check it out while they were "in there" to see if it needed to be removed.

I laid in the ER at the new hospital until I was taken to surgery. They kept telling me my room was going to be ready soon, it just needed to be cleaned, but no dice. I managed to sleep from about 5am to 7am, which was good. I signed a consent form for the appendectomy--to be done laparoscopically unless there were complications that required them to open me up. A short time later they came in to amend the consent form to include the ovarian cyst part, and at this point I was told that if there were complications with that, they may have to remove the whole ovary! Okay, this is getting out of hand, people! But I was just rolling with the punches.

Around 8:30 security came in and took all my stuff--phone, book, purse, and most devastatingly, my glasses--and wheeled me up to pre-op. I hated being blind! My parents were on their way but I'd been told my surgery wouldn't be till 9 or 10 so they hadn't arrived yet. In pre-op they put "leg squeezers" on me, which basically do exactly that--squeeze your calves by pumping air into the sleeve and then releasing it--so as to improve circulation and prevent blood clots. I found them delightful and wish I could have taken them home! The anesthesiologist came in and asked me a bunch of questions--many of which I'd answered 100 times already--and was going to put me under but then at the last minute the ob/gyn came over and said he wanted to do an ultrasound to get a better idea of where the cyst was because the CT scan wasn't very clear. The pictures they printed looked exactly like the kind pregnant women get but instead of a fetus, mine showed a big white blob. It looked huge but the doctor said it was only 2cm. And to see the picture, I had to hold it about 2 inches from my nose! Nice.

At this point my parents arrived and I can't even tell you how good it felt when I heard my mom call my name (I was hidden behind curtains). Until this point I had been all alone--entirely by choice, but I didn't realize how alone I'd felt until they got there. When I first went to the ER, I thought about calling them but didn't want to worry them because, of course, it was going to turn out to be just gas. Then when I got the CT scan it was 1 in the morning and I didn't want them to have to drive all that way at such an ungodly hour. But I sure was glad to see them! The anesthesiologist gave me something "to relax me" and I think the last thing I remember is seeing lights in the OR, but it is just a split second memory. I was totally out and didn't wake up until I heard someone say, "You're out of surgery Melissa and it went very well." I was dying to know how bad my appendix was and if I still had my ovary but I just laid there quietly--not in a display of restraint, mind you, more because I was totally out of it!

Eventually I was wheeled into my room and saw my parents. They told me that the doctor had told them it was acute appendicitis and definitely needed to be removed. And no, they didn't have to take my ovary. Yay! I was not only vindicated, but I was also still fertile! I continually denied pain medication because I really wasn't in much pain. From the moment I checked in to the ER until I left, they were constantly asking me to rate my pain on a scale of 1-10 and I kept saying 1 because it wasn't all that bad. Now prior to the appendectomy, if I moved, or pressed my belly, it would go to a 5, but just lying down I was fine. Even after surgery I didn't have any pain meds. My massage therapist tells me I have an incredibly high pain threshold because no one can take the amount of pressure I like, so I guess she's right.

So at this point I think it's about 3 pm maybe when I got back to my room. My mom told me that Taylor and Sy came from work and brought me flowers and a card. That was so sweet and thoughtful!

They also brought word that Kim and Susan would be bringing my laptop by that evening. I was excited to hear this because there's no better way to pass the time than surfing the web! I was delivered a gourmet dinner of chicken broth, jello, and apple juice but I wasn't super hungry anyway. Apparently when they do a laparoscopic surgery they fill your body cavity full of C02...and then don't squeeze it out so when they sew you up you are like a giant balloon. It's oh so comfortable. They said the best way to get the gas to reabsorb is to walk but I wasn't ready for that yet.

I think my parents stayed until like 5 pm. After they left I watched TV and dozed a little until Kim and Susan came, along with Rebekah. They provided some very welcome comic relief. While they were there a nurse came to take my vitals (for the 1,000th time) and the blood pressure machine makes a funny beeping noise when it's done. Kim said I must have won a prize! Susan said it sounded like ski ball so my prize was probably just a string of tickets! It was so nice of them to come by and cheer me up. They stayed over an hour, past visiting hours even, and when they left I watched Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice. The nurse who came by to--you guessed it--take my vitals again said that everyone was watching the same show! After the show was over, I got up and walked the hallway a little bit. I had to drag my IV pole around with me which wasn't such a big deal but it was a pain when you had to go to the bathroom. You take for granted just getting up and going. You also take for granted being able to bend your arm! I was so happy when they took the IV out finally so that I could bend both my arms. You try tying a hospital gown in the back with one arm you can't bend. Ha.

So I slept from about midnight until 6 am, and then went online. I think that's when I posted to Facebook. Breakfast came around 8:30 and I was happy to see I got solid foods: a scrambled egg, grits (hey, this is The South) and a biscuit.

Around 10 they got my discharge papers ready and I got dressed. My pants wouldn't button and zip because I was full of air, but my sweater was long enough to cover it mostly. I called my parents to come pick me up, and after stopping to get my car which was still at the original hospital, I was back at home sweet home by noon. I had some chicken soup for lunch then watched Lost and American Idol, then went upstairs to sleep for about nine hours. I had "dinner" at like 2 am, and went back to bed for another 4 hours. Around 9 I finally took my first shower in 4 days, which felt wonderful. I still haven't taken any pain meds and the only area that hurts is the lowest incision. I have three tiny ones: one by my belly button, one about four inches to the right, and one really low about four inches to the left and below the belly button one. That's the one that hurts when I cough or blow my nose. I have to go in for a follow up appointment in two weeks and should hear before then if the cyst they removed is benign. 90% of this type are so I'm not too worried.

Well, that's the big excitement in my life lately. I'm curious to see how much I will end up having to pay after insurance. I haven't decided if I'm going to postpone Atlanta or not. I'm going to wait and see how I feel on Monday. Today I'm going to the mall to do some walking in hopes of getting rid of some of this bloating. I hope I didn't go into too much boring detail for you, my dear readers. There is so much more I could have added, like how there was a criminal with a police guard in pre-op with me, as well as a Downs syndrome girl. And how the nurses at the first hospital were so incredibly nice and friendly. The second hospital had good nurses too, but they were much busier. And how the slippers they give you as a patient are actually quite comfy, but the blanket on the bed is like a bad hotel towel. Okay, I'm done now.

Oh, except for one thing: I'm never eating Subway again.

If Abe were on Facebook...

2009-02-17T14:02:00.001-05:00

See the full image here.

Handwritten Post

2009-02-16T10:01:00.002-05:00

Valentine's Tulips

2009-02-15T11:43:00.003-05:00

Thursday at work I got a special delivery--flowers from my parents for Valentine's Day! I love tulips and these are so pretty. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Maybe I'll get a pig instead...

2009-02-14T13:39:00.000-05:00

Kingsford is too cute!

Kingsford Goes to the Beach - The funniest home videos are here

Girl Scout Cookies!

2009-02-12T11:18:00.003-05:00

Girl Scouts started going door-to-door in January, but no one ever came to mine! (At least not while I was home--but I'm home a LOT.) I heard that friends of friends had gotten their hands on some cookies already, and I hadn't even seen a troop selling outside the supermarket yet.

Yesterday I posted on Twitter that I need to know where I can buy some. I can't miss it, because then I'd have to wait a whole year more before tasting the sumptuous Samoa (called a Caramel De-Lite in these parts, who knows why) or the refreshing Thin Mint. No one replied to me. I guess I don't have enough followers for those kinds of public pleas to be effective.

But it seems I had a moment of temporary insanity, because it never occurred to me to just LOOK ONLINE. (Duh, that's the answer for everything, don't ya know.) I guess I figured it was some sort of closely kept secret, the whereabouts of the ever elusive Cookie of the Scout. But no. As my mom helpfully pointed out, there's a website where you can type in your zip code and they tell you when they're on sale. For the Raleigh area, the booths will be open Feb. 14 through March 15. (Apparently some areas got special permits to have booths on Superbowl Weekend--thus the early cookies.)

So no, I have not missed my chance. I also love how the girls get excited when they approach me for the sale and then, instead of declining like the majority of shoppers (I assume), I eagerly say yes. I suppose their excitement increases as the weeks go by. I guess I always catch them at the end. Not this year, baby.

Web finds

2009-02-11T13:04:00.003-05:00

Fireman in Australia. (Found on Digg.)

What?! No pot of gold?! (Also found on Digg.)

Today's last web find is courtesy of my dad. He forwarded an email to me about the Newseum's interactive front page viewer. It is very cool! Go check it out. It will only take 30 seconds (unless you want to view lots and lots of cities' front pages).

Five course meal

2009-02-09T14:12:00.004-05:00

So clearly I have failed miserably at my resolution to post on my blog every day. I couldn't even make it one month! I just don't think I have enough blog-worthy material, and posting for the sake of posting wastes everyone's time. But I really had to write something because I wanted that uncouth title of the last post to stop being the first thing you see when you come here.

William, a coworker, had invited me and several other coworkers over for dinner on Saturday night. His fiancee is French and is a very talented cook. We were told to arrive promptly at 6pm, so as not to throw off the timing of the 5 courses in the kitchen.

We started with individual herb souffles, prepared by William himself, that were perfectly aloft. They were served alongside a field greens salad with a simple vinaigrette. Next was my favorite: fresh scallops and shrimp sauteed with garlic and butter, served alongside sauteed wild mushrooms prepared in much the same way. The scallops melted in your mouth! The third course was a pasta dish: penne tossed with olive oil, herbs, some sort of chile powder, and olives. Following that was the cheese course: four types including brie and ricotta (which was solid, not creamy) and two others I don't remember the names of because I'd never had them before. This was served with fantastic country bread sliced from a gigantic round. The dessert course was two mochis garnished with blueberries and currants. I'd never had a mochi (or currants for that matter!) but they were delicious in both flavor and texture. And Trader Joe's carries them so I will have to add them to my cart next time.

The conversation over the meal was delightful and background music alternated between French songs and classical piano. It was quite an enjoyable evening for everyone.

Imagine if your hometown was Titty Ho

2009-01-29T12:30:00.006-05:00

When I look at properties--either to actually buy, or just for fun--I pay much more attention to the street names than, I would assume, most people do. I grew up on Row Ct. It was so simple--easy to spell, quick to write. Then I lived on a street with a French name. Oy. With my current street name, I always have to spell the first word. But at least everyone (...most everyone) has heard of Raleigh.

Today I read an article in the NY Times about unfortunately-named streets and towns. Such as:

The examples are quite amusing. I am particularly curious about the ones they said were too naughty to print. I hate to think I would have to pass on an amazing house just because the street name was horribly embarrassing. But as for the town names...that affects a lot more people. I just think I wouldn't move there to begin with!

You can read the article for yourself here.

Top 10 Fast Food Chains

2009-01-28T18:53:00.002-05:00

Top 10 Fast Food Chains in Customer Satisfaction:
(percentage is the number of "excellent" ratings in a recent survey by a market research firm)

1. In-N-Out Burger, Irvine, Calif., 60% - don't have anymore, but LOVE
2. Raising Cane’s, Baton Rouge, La., 59% - don't have
3. Giordano’s Pizza, Chicago, 56% - don't have, but I think I've been
4. Chick-fil-A, Atlanta, 55% - have, LOVE
5. Panera Bread, St. Louis, 54%- have, LOVE
6. Chipotle, Denver, 52% - have, LOVE
7. Pei Wei, Scottsdale, Ariz., 51% - have, LOVE
8. Firehouse Subs, Jacksonville, Fla., 51% - have, LOVE
9. Taco Tote, El Paso, Texas, 50% - don't have
10. Qdoba, Wheat Ridge, Colo., 49% - have, LOVE

Article here.

Hilarious airline food complaint letter

2009-01-27T12:37:00.002-05:00

This is a funny read. It's a complaint letter from a Virgin Airlines passenger to Sir Richard Branson, the owner.

Now I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking it’s more of that Baaji custard. I admit I thought the same too, but no. It’s mustard Richard. MUSTARD. More mustard than any man could consume in a month. On the left we have a piece of broccoli and some peppers in a brown glue-like oil and on the right the chef had prepared some mashed potato. The potato masher had obviously broken and so it was decided the next best thing would be to pass the potatoes through the digestive tract of a bird.

Once it was regurgitated it was clearly then blended and mixed with a bit of mustard. Everybody likes a bit of mustard Richard.

Cruise warning

2009-01-27T12:28:00.002-05:00

I just read this article and it is unsettling. Basically, a couple paid $2000 to cruise through the Panama Canal. Then at the last minute, Carnival changed the itinerary. This happened to me on my cruise in the Bahamas, and although I was bummed to miss the "private island," I understood that the waters were too rough for the tender boat. The port we ended up at instead was sub par, but whatever, the cruise was a few hundred bucks if I recall. But if you are looking forward to going through the Panama Canal, and then you end up only visiting some lame Caribbean islands, that is a huge difference. But apparently it's completely within Carnival's right to do such a thing. That's awful.

The article is here if you wish to read further.

Sunday report...a day late

2009-01-26T09:43:00.001-05:00

I only worked out once last week. Shame on me. No good excuse, I was just lazy. But I have every intention of hitting 3 this week.

Rent at DPAC

2009-01-24T23:59:00.000-05:00

This afternoon my parents and I went to the first show in our four-season package at the Durham Performing Arts Center: Rent. First of all, the theater is lovely. It is far from ornate but its brand new-ness makes it seem nicer. The lobbies are lovely, full of natural light. The seats are wide for a theater and are quite comfortable. Our seats were dead center, at the back of the orchestra level. The rows are tiered just enough so we had a perfect view with no obstructions.

Now, despite Rent being a long running hit on Broadway as well as a major motion picture, I had never seen it nor was even familiar with the plot. I knew it took place in New York City and had something to do with AIDS. This morning I read the synopsis on the official website, so I would be better able to follow along (musicals I'm unfamiliar with lose me easily since I miss half the words in the songs). I found that helpful, because I knew what was happening in each scene. Of course, that meant I was not surprised by any of the events, but seriously, in a play where half the characters are sick, someone's gotta die.

The actors all had great voices. According to the program (which we did not get a copy of until after the show--they ran out! How is that even possible?) three of the actors were part of the original Broadway cast, so that was cool. I think my favorite was the woman who played Mimi (not an original cast member). Her voice was strong and beautiful.

Since we did not have a program until on the way out, I was unaware that photography was prohibited in the theater. Oops. I didn't get any good shots of the play itself, but here's the stage before the show started:

Here's the lobby of the second floor:

Here's the view from the lobby:

And here's the outside, on the way from the parking lot to the theater:

I must say, whoever designed the parking structure with a single small elevator ought to be drawn and quartered. How truly idiotic. And the signage to get to our seats was lacking as well. We had C Orchestra, but there are only doors for A, B, D, and E.

For dinner we went to Thai Cafe on University Drive. It was delicious! I had the Massaman curry, my mom had "Drunken Noodles," and my dad had a veggie medley. We all shared, but each of our favorites were the ones we ordered for ourselves!

Shonda Rhimes, you're killin' me

2009-01-23T22:52:00.002-05:00

Both Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice were tear jerkers this week. I especially liked Grey's. Good storylines all around. Can you believe what happened to McSteamy? Yikes. I thought Ellen Pompeo's acting was superb with the compassion-for-the-convict plot. But Bailey. When Dr. Miranda Bailey breaks down, you know it's serious. The one moment that sealed it for me was when she was on the verge, but holding it back. Then the Chief put his hand on her shoulder, and she lost it. Isn't that always how it goes.

I do have to say, though, that I could have done without the double dose of assisted suicide plot lines. Or she could have at least spread the episodes apart so they weren't on the same night.

Short post for today. Not much to write but tomorrow I'm going to see Rent at the Durham Performing Arts Center, so I will let you know how that goes. I'm a little concerned that my parents might not like it--I haven't seen the movie myself, but I hear it has to do with gays and AIDS, not exactly their ideal comfort zone.

Strike two

2009-01-22T22:45:00.003-05:00

I did not get the puppy. :( I knew it wasn't good when I hadn't heard from the foster mom even by 10pm. I checked my work email after I got home from the department dinner, and saw that the potential adopter was apparently able to convince her husband to take the puppy.

I know there are plenty of dogs in shelters that need good homes, but I am wondering if the universe is trying to tell me something. This is the second dog I have tried to adopt that has fallen through. Both times they just came to me, crossed my path, fell into my lap, so I thought it was meant to be. Perhaps I should take heed that neither adoption panned out. I do have enormous anxiety over how Comet will react to a dog. He is my baby. We are best buds. He is not like the average cat. He is waiting for me at the door when I get home. He follows me up and down the stairs. We cuddle in the mornings. If I am sitting, he is on my lap. If I am lying down, he is right next to me or even on top of me. I love him more than is healthy, and I'm afraid if I get a dog he will change. He will hide all the time. He will be scared and mad at me and hold a grudge and feel betrayed and ignored. But when I see dogs, my heart aches for one. I want to take my dog to dog parks, and for car rides, and to bagels, and to the flea market. I heard of a restaurant that allows dogs on Sunday afternoons. How great is that?! For these past two adoption attempts, I have talked myself into taking the plunge, and then when they don't come to pass, part of me is hugely disappointed, but part of me is also hugely relieved.

I think the best thing for now, since my ambivalence is so strong, is to wait. I think I remember saying that last time. Perhaps if and when I am truly ready, the right doggie will come along.

I have not heard about the puppy...

2009-01-22T17:22:00.004-05:00

...and it is driving me mad! The latest news is that there is only one left, a female,

and it was promised to someone already--IF she can convince her husband to get another dog. The woman who is fostering the puppy said she would give them until today to decide. I hope I get a call soon.

It's almost quittin' time, after which I will suit up for the gym, and then we have our new monthly department meeting off-site. We are going to Napper Tandy's, an Irish pub in downtown Raleigh. My manager promises it will not be too loud to talk, seeing as that is the whole point of the meeting. But hey, free dinner, I'm in.

I went to Meredith College today for lunch with my coworker Ashley, who graduated from there in 2007. It is a girls only liberal arts school only about 5 minutes from my office. We ate at the student cafeteria. It's only $6.45 for "guests," (non-students and non-staff) and of course it's all you can eat. I had a little pasta with chicken, some corn, a salad from the salad bar, and Diet Coke. Oh, and a cookie for dessert. I would totally go back and try the deli and the soup, with maybe some soft serve for dessert. They also had chili and cornbread, ribs, mashed potatoes, fried shrimp, and grilled cheese. It's a good deal.

Here's a pic of the campus.

Visitors

2009-01-21T16:50:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I made a point of not mussing up my front yard, because I like the pristine "blanket of snow" look. But this morning, I woke up and someone--or something--had brazenly stomped all through it. In fact, it looks like two creatures.

Upon closer inspection, there are a couple of clear prints.

The guy who was here today to look at my heater is a hunter (but he's a really nice guy) and he confirmed they are definitely deer prints. This makes sense, because one night last summer I opened the front door and a deer ran away from right near my porch. They love whatever it is I have growing on my walkway.

I just went outside to look for the little marker that says what kind of plant it is, but it's covered in snow and a brief dig revealed nothing so it will have to remain a mystery for now.

Snow art

2009-01-20T17:39:00.003-05:00

Can you tell what these are? They don't photograph very well.

Snow in Raleigh!

2009-01-20T11:18:00.004-05:00

It is beautiful!

More pix here.

Best dog video ever

2009-01-19T23:17:00.001-05:00

Excitement 'round these parts

2009-01-19T13:10:00.007-05:00

From the National Weather Service:

Precipitation is expected to begin as a mix of rain and snow this evening... transitioning quickly to all snow overnight... continuing through Tuesday. Storm total snowfall is expected to be at least two inches across the area... and could reach four to six inches by Tuesday evening in some locations.

I asked a coworker what HVAC company he uses, and called them today. I got a machine, probably because they are closed due to MLK Day. So, likely no heater appointment tomorrow. However, the above news may indicate I get to stay home anyway!

In other exciting news, another coworker (Jace) sent out an email this morning offering up stray puppies for adoption.

Seems a daughter of a coworker of Jace's wife (could you follow that?) found them and is trying to find homes for them, but all the "adoption centers" have said they're full. She is even willing to pay for the first vet visit and first round of shots! I have already emailed to follow up. If it happens, it was meant to be! They look like they're gonna be big boys, but last weekend I was watching the Doggie Day Care at Petsmart, and I was so drawn to the Great Dane, it makes me think a big dog would be a Good Thing.

Sunday report

2009-01-18T23:11:00.005-05:00

Another week of not breaking my New Year's resolution! I exercised 3 times. Twice at the gym at work, and once at home. This morning I got on the Nordic track. It wasn't as bad as I was dreading, due in large part to watching Game Show in My Head while I worked out. That show is unbelievable!!

I know, I know, I have broken my other resolution several times by missing a few days of posting here. But you have to admit I'm doing better! Yesterday I was out all day, first at bagels, then looking at houses with my friend Kim from work, and then at my parents' house. Today I exercised, had breakfast, took down the Christmas tree (finally!) and had my massage. There were many other things I had hoped to get done this weekend--one of these days, my loyal California reader (you know who you are) you will get your belated delivery from Santa!

I am very much looking forward to the inauguration next week, and I wish I could see every moment live. It turns out that my heater needs to be worked on (it is running in the "emergency" mode too often) so we'll see if I can schedule an appointment for Tuesday so I conveniently have to be home.

In other homefront news, my pipes froze Friday night! It has been bitterly cold here the past few days, and when I tried to take a shower Saturday morning, I had all the cold water I could want, but zero hot. Boo. So that evening I went to Lowes with my parents and bought a hot water insulation wrapper (that's just for energy efficiency) and some foam tube insulation for the exposed pipes. As we were leaving Lowes, we saw this beautiful sunset:

Oh and in case you were wondering, the hot water was functional when I got home Saturday night, and I left the faucet running ever so slightly so as to prevent the pipes from refreezing, and everything was kosher this morning. Good thing, because me after two days of not showering isn't very pleasant.

I will leave you with a picture of Comet sitting in the box I use to collect recyclable paper.

I saw him in it this morning, and he's sitting in it right now as I type this. Cats are funny.

Game Show in My Head

2009-01-16T11:43:00.000-05:00

Have you seen this? It's on Saturday nights (I DVR it) and it's executive produced by Ashton Kutcher of Punk'd fame. The premise is this: there's one contestant, and one host. The contestant, who is out someplace where there's a lot of people, has an earpiece and the host gives them wacky tasks to complete. If the contestant can pull it off, they win $5,000 per challenge (5 challenges per show). Then, the final challenge gives the contestant an opportunity to double their money. The show is most often filmed at Universal City Walk, the Santa Monica Pier, a farmer's market, or what appears to be 3rd Street Promenade. One time, though, I totally recognized the fountain in front of the movie theater and Borders at Valencia Town Center (my hometown mall)!! Some of the previous challenges:

Give a stranger a ranch dressing facial, complete w/ cucumbers over the eyes. Then get the person to scrape off the dressing from their face with the cucumber and eat it. (Completed)
Get a stranger to help you take a coffin--with a body in it--to a funeral home. The contestant, dressed as a chauffeur, was on the side of the road with what appeared to be a broken down hearse. (Completed)
Get a group of people to line up for something that does not require a line, such as walking up a flight of stairs outside. (Failed)
Sit in a port-a-potty in the middle of a pedestrian mall, and get a stranger to give you a tissue and talk to you for one minute. (Completed)
Pose as a news reporter and get a stranger to go on camera and say they were abducted and probed by aliens. (Completed)
Pose as an infomercial guy selling a new smoothie product, and get a stranger to taste all three flavors (they were nasty, like sardine) and say on camera that they are delicious. (Failed)
Do a stupid magic trick involving a stranger's $5 bill wherein you make it "disappear" by putting it in your pocket, and convince the stranger to let you keep it. (Completed)
Pose as a bride in distress just before her outdoor wedding. Get a guy to pose as your groom, whom you say jilted you right before to walking down the aisle. He has to make up his own vows, say he loves you, and kiss you. (Completed)
Get a stranger to give you his name, address, and fingerprint. (Failed)

It is crazy to see these people pull off these stunts. I doubt I would be willing to do any of the things these strangers do. It's great fun watching the contestants come up with ways to convince the strangers to participate, and then more often than not, they actually do it! You can watch clips here.

Top 5 Web Finds

2009-01-15T16:52:00.003-05:00

1. "Look at me, I have more in my checking account than you'll make in a decade!" Also, an even more cynical approach: "Who cares what the FDIC limits are, Chase is 'too big to fail' so if it collapses it'll get a bailout."

2. The environmental impact of Google searches - The premise: It takes energy to run a computer. It takes lots of energy to run the numerous and ginormous (ginumerous?) Google servers. Thus, searching on Google contributes to climate change. However, the way I look at it, if you comparison shop once for something by searching online instead of by driving to brick-and-mortar stores, that saves enough carbon emissions to offset countless searches.

3. That mouthwash that hurts like heck when you use it? Yeah, it's probably making you vulnerable to cancer too.

4. Good news for those closet cabaret performers: You can now authorize Visa purchases by singing, rather than signing. High school English teachers of the world, you are right--spell check will not always save you!

5. My brother asked for a meatloaf recipe, which sounds like a simple request to fulfill. But it becomes a day long odyssey if you are like me and want to know all the possible permutations out there. Here is a list I compiled throughout the day of people's tricks and "secret ingredients":

Use stuffing mix instead of breadcrumbs. For moister meatloaf, soak the stuffing mix in water before mixing it into the meat.
1 cup of cottage cheese for a richer meatloaf
half a cup of Heinz chili sauce
1 cup French fried onions
1 cup applesauce for moisture
1 cup cooked rice for bulk (or use a flavored one for taste)
1 ½ cups refrigerated hash brown potatoes
1 cup refried beans (for a Mexican version, see below)
Use crushed Ritz crackers instead of saltines
Use crushed BBQ potato chips in place of some of the breadcrumbs or crackers
Grape jelly in the sauce on the top
Pork and beans instead of ketchup/tomato sauce
Chili instead of ketchup/tomato sauce
¼ cup horseradish
Fennel seed (my favorite)
Hoisin sauce (for an Asian-tasting meatloaf)
Condensed cream of mushroom soup (not diluted) as topping
Italian dressing seasonings packet
Add half the meat on the bottom of the pan, layer with cheese, then add rest of meat on top

Have you ever? Meme

2009-01-13T20:52:00.002-05:00

I stole this from Nicole’s blog. It’s a list of activities/experiences. I have marked them according to the following:

Things I've already done: bold
Things I want to do: italicize
Things I haven't done and don't want to - leave in plain font

1. started my own blog
2. slept under the stars
3. played in a band
4. visited Hawaii
5. watched a meteor shower
6. given more than I can afford to charity
7. been to Disneyland/world
8. climbed a mountain (well, it was technically a butte, but I’m counting it!)
9. held a praying mantis
10. sang a solo
11. bungee jumped
12. visited Paris
13. watched a lightning storm at sea
14. taught myself an art from scratch
15. adopted a child
16. had food poisoning
17. walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. grown my own vegetables
19. seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. slept on an overnight train
21. had a pillow fight
22. hitch hiked
23. taken a sick day when I was not ill
24. built a snow fort
25. held a lamb
26. gone skinny dipping
27. run a marathon (but I’ve done 2 5k’s and a 5 mile…)
28. ridden a gondola in Venice
29. seen a total eclipse
30. watched a sunrise or sunset
31. hit a home run
32. been on a cruise
33. seen Niagara Falls in person
34. visited the birthplace of my ancestors (I guess that’s Germany and Lithuania??)
35. seen an Amish community
36. taught myself a new language
37. had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. gone rock climbing
40. seen Michelangelo's David in person
41. sung karaoke
42. seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. visited Africa
45. walked on a beach by moonlight
46. been transported in an ambulance
47. had my portrait painted (if you count a caricature)
48. gone deep sea fishing
49. seen the Sistine Chapel in person (pinch-me moment!)
50. been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. gone scuba diving or snorkeling (But I want to snorkel again, in less tumultuous waters)
52. kissed in the rain
53. played in the mud (surely as a child...)
54. gone to a drive-in theatre
55. been in a movie
56. visited the Great Wall of China
57. started a business
58. taken a martial arts class
59. visited Russia
60. served at a soup kitchen
61. sold girl scout cookies
62. gone whale watching
63. gotten flowers for no reason (doesn’t say someone ELSE has to have gotten them for you)
64. donated blood
65. gone sky diving
66. visited a Nazi concentration camp
67. bounced a check
68. flown in a helicopter
69. saved a favorite childhood toy
70. visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. eaten caviar (eww)
72. pieced a quilt
73. stood in Times Square
74. toured the Everglades
75. been fired from a job (laid off)
76. seen the changing of the guard in London
77. broken a bone (foot)
78. been on a speeding motorcycle
79. seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. published a book
81. visited the Vatican
82. bought a brand new car
83. walked in Jerusalem
84. had my picture in the newspaper
85. read the entire Bible
86. visited the White House
87. killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. had chickenpox
89. saved someone’s life
90. sat on a jury
91. met someone famous (I know! 30 years in LA, you’d think this’d be cake)
92. joined a book club
93. lost a loved one
94. had a baby
95. seen the Alamo in person
96. swum in the Great Salt Lake
97. been involved in a law suit
98. owned a cell phone
99. been stung by a bee

Kitty elevator

2009-01-12T17:30:00.001-05:00

Unhappy Anniversary

2009-01-11T20:04:00.001-05:00

A year ago today my house was broken into. It was around 5:30 am, and I was upstairs in bed, sleeping. I heard a crash. That day I had taken down my Christmas tree and left the bins with the ornaments stacked downstairs. I thought Comet had tried to jump on top, and knocked them over. I came downstairs in my long-sleeved tshirt and underwear and saw that the sliding glass door was shattered.

My first thought was that a fierce wind must have blown a tree into the door or something. As I walked closer (carefully, as I was in bare feet and there were shards of glass everywhere) I saw a sledgehammer lying on the ground outside, and the wooden stick (called a "burglar bar") was disloged.

I believe my words were, "Oh my god." I instinctively looked over to my big TV, but it was still there. I looked around quickly and everything seemed in its place. More importantly, I did seem alone. I ran upstairs and used the on-call cell phone (which was by my bed, of course) to dial 911. After about 10 rings, the dispatcher picked up and I told him what happened. He said he was sending the police right away, and that he would stay with me on the phone until they arrived. At this point my heart was literally pounding outside of my chest. I had never felt it pound like that before. It was unreal. Even so, the guy on the phone said I was handling this remarkably well. As we were waiting for the cops, I threw on some PJ bottoms and finally they arrived. They came in through the back. I remember one saying he had just driven through this area and hadn't seen anything. The other said he would call for someone to come dust for fingerprints. It wasn't until the officer asked me for my ID that I realized my purse was gone.

I was devastated. Frankly, I would have rather the crook stole the TV. Losing your purse means you have to cancel all your credit cards, close your checking account, get a new driver's license, etc. But if you're me, your purse is also a portable electronics store. It had my Canon G7 digital camera, my 30 gb iPod, my brand new iPod nano that I'd gotten for Christmas (red, engraved with my name!), my work pager, my flash drive, almost $100 in gift cards, $40 in cash, and other things that, while not monetarily valuable, I'd always carried around with me. The same tiny mirror since junior high. The same lens cleaning cloth since who knows when. Not to mention the purse itself, which I adored because it was the perfect size and had the perfect number of pockets. I had just gotten it, too. Thankfully the thief had dropped my cell phone outside, and my keys must have been sitting next to my purse rather than in it, because those were still on the table. That would have made the nightmare even worse.

While the cops were waiting outside for the fingerprint guy to come, I hopped online to see if there'd been any activity on my cards. Sure enough, about 6am, my debit card had been used at the gas station half a mile from my house. A $400 purchase. I ran out to the cops and told them to go get the guy! One of them took off, and said I did a good job going online. The fingerprint guy came, and after he put black dust all over the door handle, my phone, and the sledgehammer (which, by the way, the cops found out had been taken from my neighbor's work truck parked across the street), he said there were only partial prints.

By now it was getting light out. The sliding glass door was basically down to its metal frame, because all the glass had been falling out as the cops slid the door back and forth. Thankfully it was about 60 degrees outside--a blessing, since my house was open to the elements for several hours as I waited for a repair man to come. I called my parents and they came over. They watched the house while I went to get a new license. I called work to tell them I couldn't come in until the door was fixed. Of course when the glass guy came, he measured and said it's a custom size so they'd have to order the glass. So he boarded the door up (he did a good job, it was very secure) and cleaned up all the glass, which was a huge help. Even so, I was picking up stray glass chunks for weeks afterwards. I had to pay half of the cost up front, but with what? I used a credit card that I had in my desk upstairs, that I never carry. I was very grateful for that! Another thing I was very thankful for was my homeowner's insurance. I called Allstate and filed a claim, and over the next few weeks they did an awesome job. I received a check in the mail for the door right away. For the stolen items I had to provide receipts for the expensive ones, and just fax them over. I had a boarded door for over a week, and when it was finally replaced it was so bright in the kitchen! Alas, I don't look at that glass much these days. The curtains are pretty much permanently closed (and I clip them together so there's no peeking at all!). The fence into the backyard has a padlock on it. And I always arm the alarm when I go to bed. Not that the alarm would have deterred this guy. This is the definition of irony right here:

It was a smash-and-grab job. He would have been off and running before the alarm even sounded. (It's not instant at the doors. It gives a long beep--about 30 sec, I guess--to give you a chance to enter the code.)

In the days that followed I was ready to move. I wanted to go back to Apex in the worst way. I'd always lived on the second floor. In apartment buildings, I chose the second floor so that I would not have to hear people above me. In my condo, the garage was the first floor. I'm only now acutely aware of how vulnerable I am at street level. Anyone can see into my house. They can see my stuff. I don't like it. I have become a huge fan of certain styles of midcentury modern architecture, where they have windows up very high. That way you can cover all the lower ones but still let in light.

I am tired of living in the dark. I also seriously considered getting a dog, for the security aspect. Alas, that never came to be. Perhaps this is the year.

I am reminded of what happened every night when I am forced to take my purse and computer upstairs with me. I can't just leave them on the kitchen chair like I used to because even though the gate is locked and the curtains are closed...you know the saying: fooled once, shame on them; fooled twice, shame on you. I have trimmed down drastically what I carry in my wallet, but there are still other things you have to carry that would be a pain to replace. My insurance card, all the supermarket rewards cards, business cards for doctors and mechanics and such. At stores I see women open up their massive wallets full of every credit card they have and I cringe.

- - -

So now you will understand why I almost had a heart attack a couple months ago when the alarm went off in the middle of the night. It was not the normal siren sound, but rather a horrible screeching. But when you're dead asleep, a sharp piercing sound is a sharp piercing sound. I immediately leaped out of bed with my heart racing and thumping out of my chest. I tried to enter the code to shut up the alarm but it wouldn't be quiet. I was in the process of calling the alarm people (they are programmed into my cell because I've had so many problems with it) when entering my code finally worked. Needless to say, I could not go back to sleep. I was afraid the alarm would screech again, and that my heart could not take it a second time. I laid in bed and watched TV, and around 5 am it blared again even though it was not armed. I called the alarm company and they sent a person out the next day but that person found nothing wrong with the system and looked at me like I was looney when I described what had happened.

So that's the story of how my 2008 started out. It did not bode well, and needless to say I am elated to be moving on to '09. I did not write about all this when it first happened because the violation and vulnerability were too raw. Even now it's something I think about nearly every day. I get gas at the station the thief used my card at. I wonder if my purse is somewhere in the bushes in empty lot next to it. But you know, life goes on, and every experience teaches you lessons.

Oh, and by the way, I spoke with the investigator assigned to my case several weeks after the break-in, and they did get the guy, although he claims a friend gave him the debit card. I filled out paperwork saying I wanted to know what happened in the case but never did hear. Part of me wants to know he's behind bars for a good long time--this burglary was a first-degree felony--but what if he isn't? Sometimes ignorance truly can be bliss.

Weekly Exercise Report, 1/11/09

2009-01-11T18:53:00.001-05:00

I worked out three times this week. Tuesday and Thursday at the gym at work, and on Saturday I walked in laps around my backyard. It was a beautiful day and I totally rocked out to the music on my mp3 player. It was a blast!

Downtown Raleigh

2009-01-09T23:58:00.000-05:00

Today was my company's annual kick-off meeting, and tonight we all went out to dinner at a restaurant in downtown Raleigh called Humble Pie. It is late, so I will talk more about all that tomorrow. For now, I will leave you with a photo I took on the way home, of the skyline. This was taken from the bridge on S. Boylan, between Hargett and Kinsey.

Oh, okay, I'll show you my entree as well. Stuffed shells. And those brown thingies on top? Garlic chips. Mmm hmm. Slices of garlic, baked (I'm guessing) to a most delightful crisp. Oh my, were they delicious!

The Surge

2009-01-08T22:27:00.003-05:00

Remember when you first heard about surge protectors? They are supposed to protect your electronics from bursts of power coming through the wiring. I'd bet everyone reading this has something plugged into one. It makes us feel like we are protecting our expensive toys: TV's, computers, stereos, etc.

While I understand the theory behind surge protectors, I must admit they seem kinda useless. I mean, have you ever had a surge? Come on, how common are surges? It's probably as rare as winning the lottery, and it's a conspiracy to get everyone to spend 10, 20, or even 100 dollars on an extra piece of equipment. It's a great upsell, the Circuit City salesperson's greatest dream.

Well, I have to say that I believe in surge protectors now. Yesterday there was a surge at my parents' house. Their electricity went out. Not unheard of, since the Triangle region was in the middle of a storm--rain and high winds. Their generator automatically kicked in, and moments later, POP...POP...POP...and the rancid stench of burning plastic and wire.

The TV, DVR, etc. downstairs were plugged into this surge protector:

It was sitting on the floor underneath the TV. Check out the floor:

(Yes, that is a burned-in X from the bottom of the surge protector.)

What's more, they pay the electric company extra each month for a "whole house" surge protector. Which, if you ask me, sounds like you shouldn't have to use the extra surge protectors at each outlet. So today, Progress Energy came out to check on the circuits, etc. Some things were unplugged, some were plugged into the couple spare surge protectors my parents had on hand, and some things, like the brand new front-loading washing machine, were plugged directly into the wall. When the power guy ran his test...POP...POP. No more washer. So much for the whole house protection! Good news is, if you pay for that "protection," if something gets ruined due to system failure, Progress Energy is liable and will reimburse you for it.

But what a hassle! The cause of the problem has yet to be determined. It could be a wiring thing, it could have to do with the generator, who knows. All I know is that I will plug everything important into a good, strong surge protector.

Bonus web find

2009-01-07T20:52:00.001-05:00

Top 5 Web Finds

2009-01-07T17:16:00.000-05:00

1. Pics: Just came across this today from Cute Overload. It made me laugh out loud because I can totally imagine myself trying the same thing with the same results (that is, if I had 2 cats and a dog).

2. Video: Can a cat and a crow be friends? Check out this fantastic video that my mom sent me a link to. It's about 7 minutes, but it is worth it. You especially have to see the pranking action around the 5 minute mark.

3. Article: The New York Times column The Minimalist has some good tips on what to ditch from your pantry and what to always keep on hand. It's amazing how he can make a simple bean recipe sound so delicious. I will have to try cooking dry beans since he says there's a huge difference from canned.

4. Video: Wing Suit Base Jumping. Go watch and prepare to be in awe. Something with 9,000 diggs in 2 days--you know it has to be good.

5. Lists! Who doesn't love lists?! This is a good one: What's In and Out for 2009. I must be behind the times, because I still like a lot of the "out" things (Lost, LOL Cats).

Random Thoughts

2009-01-06T21:11:00.004-05:00

I had no mail today. None at all.
I got a free cappuccino at Sheetz just for filling up my car.
I counted it up today and I did a total of 299 on-call shifts in 2008.
I saw Craig Ferguson on Million Dollar Password and was impressed with his intellect, so I recorded his talk show (the Late Late Show). I am in love with his Scottish accent. And he's pretty funny!
I am currently obsessed with lox and cream cheese.
There were seven other people in the gym at work today. It really is not big enough for that. On the upside, though, I found out they are finally going to put in a new TV in the next couple of weeks. The old one broke and has been gone for about 3 months.
I heart Robert Krulwich's science podcast on NPR.
I know it's time to take down the Christmas tree but I am so fond of the lights.
Quite recently there were no movies I wanted to see. Now there are so many! Marley & Me, Milk, Last Chance Harvey, Hotel for Dogs, Bride Wars, Four Christmases. And in Feb they release He's Just Not That Into You and Confessions of a Shopaholic!

I think it fits in well!

2009-01-05T15:49:00.001-05:00

Granted, it's behind me when I'm sitting at my desk all day. But I have other beautiful items to gaze at.

See Elefante, and the new baby? See the fountain behind the bamboo?

Here's a closeup of the painting.

I think I've posted more about my office (i.e., workspace) than anyone ever would care to know. But when you occupy a space over 40 hours a week, it's important to you. Okay, ME, it's important to ME. But it's my blog. You can get your own blog and post about your own office. Or classroom. Or cubicle. Or UPS driver's seat.

Sunday report, with bonus recipe!

2009-01-04T19:20:00.005-05:00

Update: I forgot an ingredient for the casserole. See below for correction.

I exercised a total of one time this past week. Not to start the year with excuses, but I did just make the resolution on Thursday. I use the gym at work. It is tiny, but it has two ellipticals, two treadmills, and two recumbent bikes, along with some free weights and one of those weight machine thingies where you can do lateral pull downs and such. I suppose I could have gone into the office Saturday or today to get in another workout, but nah. I did walk for several hours at the mall yesterday. Although it was not vigorous, it is much better than my typical Saturday of sitting in front of the TV and/or computer.

My plan is to work out Monday, Wednesday, and Friday after work. Exactly which days may have to be adjusted based on things like what day everyone wants to go out to sushi and the like. This coming week, Thursday and Friday are going to be atypical. We are having our annual Kick-Off, which is supposed to be a kind of look back, look forward event. I'm not quite sure what we're doing Thursday. It's departmental meetings, I think. So I think I can work out that evening. But Friday we are not going in to the office. We are meeting in a conference room at the RBC Center (it is like 1 mile from our building), and then going out for a big dinner. I have no idea where yet. Communication in my company leaves a lot to be desired, but I'm told that's the number one topic at Kick-Off, so hopefully it will improve in the future. I have often thought of proposing that I add to my current position the duties of internal communication. But that would mean I have to know everything that's going on and decide who needs to be informed. And although we've been told in the past that this is a "transparent" company, the current administration comes across as more secret cabal than populist collaboration.

But I digress. Moving on to a more pleasant topic, let's talk casseroles. As in, the one I made for dinner tonight. It is to die for, but the ingredients are so simple. I found it in one of those recipe books they have at the grocery store checkout line. I love those. They're always good for a few winners. This is a breakfast casserole, but honestly, it is good any time of day.

20 oz. fresh shredded potatoes
1/3 cup butter
1 cube bouillon

Melt butter, combine with potatoes. Mash up bouillon cube and sprinkle over potatoes; mix. Press potatoes into bottom and up along sides of 2qt baking dish. I've found that the taller ones result in a moister finished product than the long flat ones. Bake that at 350 for 30 min.

1 lb turkey sausage
1/3 cup onion

Meanwhile, brown the turkey sausage with the onion and drain fat, if any.

1 cup cottage cheese (original recipe calls for 4%--tonight I used 2% and it was just as good, but not as firm after cooking)
3 eggs lightly beaten (I usually use real ones, but tonight I tried southwestern Egg Beaters and it worked fine)
4 pieces of American cheese (please do not get 2% or god forbid, fat-free)

Combine the cottage cheese and eggs. Tear the American cheese into small pieces and drop into egg mixture, then stir. Pour sausage into egg mixture and stir. (You may wish to add some chopped roasted garlic at this point--the recipe does not call for it but I do!) Then pour everything into the potato crust and bake at 375 for 45 min, or until knife inserted at center comes out clean. Allow 10-15 min for casserole to set before eating. You can get 6 servings out of it if necessary, but it is so good you'll probably only get 4.

My only complaint about this recipe is that you have to bake it twice. I may try eliminating the potato baking one day to see if it still comes out okay. Or maybe only baking it until I'm done preparing the filling.

And yes, I realize it may seem ironic starting this post with talk of exercise, and ending it with talk of cheesy comfort food. But the comfort food is the reason and reward for the exercise!

Busy Saturday

2009-01-03T11:27:00.002-05:00

Okay, I cannot lie. I am posting this on Sunday but I backdated the post to Saturday because I am too ashamed to admit I failed on day 3. I did not forget to post--in fact, I thought about it several times--but I was just too busy. And frankly, I'd rather have a busy life and not be able to post than have no life at all with nothing to post about!

I started the day going to the Starving Artist sale at the Holiday Inn. They probably have these in cities all across America. "Original oil paintings! Nothing over $59!!" It was a tiny room with tons of paintings and tons of people looking and buying. I could have spent several hundred dollars but was looking for something to hang in my office. There is an empty wall behind me and I've been looking for something to hang ever since I moved in there. I was hoping for a 24x36 vertical piece, but 99% of what they had was horizontal. So I ended up getting an 18x24 horizontal piece, framed. The frames really make the paintings look nice. After I hang it at work I'll post a pic. It was a hard decision because there were lots of great ones. I was contemplating a Paris scene with the Eiffel Tower or the Arch d'Triomphe in the background, or a Venice scene with gondoliers, but ultimately chose one that could possibly be along the Amalfi coast of Italy or perhaps Greece. It is very colorful and it makes me happy to look at it.

After the art sale I went to Crabtree Valley Mall to do some belated Christmas shopping. I had tons of fun because there are so many bargains out there. I ended up getting several things for myself as well, such as slippers (new slippers are the best!) and some Hallmark ornaments 60% off. There was also a big sale at Bath & Body Works, and it's hard to pass up things that are normally $10 on sale for $2.

When I finally had shopped till I dropped, I called my parents and asked them if they wanted me to pick up something for dinner on my way to their house. We decided Pei Wei sounded good. I love Pei Wei. It's the bistro version of PF Chang's. Delicious food at good prices. At my parents' house we ate then watched a movie called Hope Springs. Netflix had recommended it to me. It sounded good--a romantic comedy with Colin Firth, Minnie Driver, and Heather Graham. It was kind of slow to start, and a little quirky, but it ended up being cute enough.

I'm off to my massage and then to do some grocery shopping, but I promise to log on again for my Sunday post. Speaking of Sunday Posts, have you checked out Post Secret lately? If it's not a regular on your list of sites to visit, it should be. Go check it out!

Day 2, not a failure yet

2009-01-02T15:04:00.004-05:00

Today I'm supposed to write about TV, music, or movies. I chose Friday for that theme because Thursday night is Grey's Anatomy. Except that it wasn't on last night. But new episodes resume next week, and they're also moving Private Practice to that night. Yay!

I'm also highly anticipating the return of Lost. It's been forever so I don't even remember where we left off but I downloaded a recap episode from iTunes so that should help. I haven't watched any video on my iPod lately since I haven't done any traveling. I've yet to catch the "watch shows online" bug. Perhaps if my computer were connected to my TV I would be more inclined. I may have to try that. I think my LCD set has an input for computers.

In regards to cinema, I saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button last weekend. I enjoyed it. I think it is one of those films that will grow on you the more you watch it, kind of like Meet Joe Black. I didn't leave the theater thinking, Wow, that's the best movie ever! But it did have an epic quality that I'm fond of, along with good writing and performances. I thought the setup of having the story be told as a memory from the woman's deathbed while Katrina raged outside was kind of odd. I didn't see any symbolic reason to set it during Katrina, but perhaps I'm dense. I never was very good at catching on to symbolism.

I am dying to see Marley & Me, but it is not appealing to my friends because they know it has a sad ending. I know I'll be bawling, but I still want to see it!

New Year's Resolutions

2009-01-01T12:50:00.000-05:00

I have not been a very good blogger lately, so I might be setting myself up for failure, but I am going to try and post every single day in 2009. We'll see how long that lasts. To help come up with things to write about, I'm setting up some daily themes. My rule is that I can deviate from the theme if I have something else to write about, but if not, at least I can have some direction for those days when the inspiration just doesn't strike.

Mondays: Animals
Tuesdays: Travel
Wednesdays: Top 5 web finds
Thursdays: Gratitude
Fridays: TV/movies/music
Saturdays: Quote of the Week
Sundays: Exercise Report

That last day's theme gives away one of my other resolutions. I must, must, must work out at least three times a week. Perhaps if I am committed to reporting back here each week, I will be less likely to flake out.

My last resolution is a very simple one, but if I can keep it my closet will thank me. After I change into my pajamas, I have a habit of tossing my clothes either on top of the hamper (is it really so hard to OPEN it??!) or on top of the chest of drawers in the closet. My resolution is to either put the clothes IN the hamper, or to hang them back up. Yes, I wear many things more than once in between washings. Don't you?

Christmas

2008-12-30T14:32:00.006-05:00

We had a lovely family Christmas. Here are a few pics:

Santa was very good to me. I got lots of books, a bluetooth headset, some kitchen stuff, a projecting clock, and best of all, a pocket camera. (After much research, I decided on the Panasonic LZ8, for anyone who's interested.) So now I will be able to take pictures even when I don't cart around my big Nikon. Yay!

Green Bay, WI

2008-12-15T10:13:00.009-05:00

Back in mid-November I went up to Green Bay, WI for work. The way my appointments were scheduled, I had a fair amount of time to do some sightseeing. I took in both Lambeau Field (home of the Green Bay Packers football team) and the National Railroad Museum. Here are some photos from the trip.

These seats are uber expensive.

Our tour guide was excellent and our group was friendly.

Those are cheese hats in the back of that Packers truck. The gift store was a sight to behold.

Big Boy...designed specifically to haul payload over the mountains. It needed to carry an ungodly amount of coal.

This is the engine room of the Big Boy. Yikes!

A Pullman (sleeping) car in rather good condition. There was a neat exhibit inside that made use of big LCD screens and an animated attendant would speak about civil rights as they pertained to train travel.

I climbed this observation tower. It has 99 steps exactly!

The view of the museum from the wooden tower.

Looking out onto the river that runs next to the museum...see that ice there? Yeah, it was cold.

In addition to the enclosed warehouse, there was a "trainport" of sorts with more specimens. They were covered, but still exposed to the outside elements. Walking through some of them, it was so cold and quiet, it felt like I was walking through something frozen in time.

I pretty much had the museum all to myself, which was nice.

Do you think there are enough rivets on this train? I think it needs a few more.

Now that's what I call a stainless steel kitchen!

Something about this car reminds me of the show Mad Men.

They had a big display of train logo signs. I really like these two but they were all cool looking.

New Puppy

2008-11-10T12:14:00.004-05:00

My parents got a new puppy a couple of weeks ago. His name is Roscoe, and he's a chihuahua. He is the cutest thing you've seen in your entire life. Picture the most adorable baby animal EVER, then multiply that cuteness by infinity, then you will begin to understand how cute Roscoe is. These pix don't even do him justice.

He was playing with a leaf that was blowing in the wind on Saturday afternoon. Chasing a leaf, people. With such enthusiasm and curiosity and innocence it just makes your heart melt. Into a puddle. Then you step in that puddle and go, "Wait, that's not my heart, that's pee!" Yeah, he's still working on his housetraining skillz. But that only takes away from his cuteness by .1%, so he's still got plenty to spare.

Wind Point Lighthouse

2008-11-07T14:37:00.003-05:00

Near Racine, WI, on Lake Michigan, there is a lighthouse. I went there yesterday after my trainings. I was surprised at how ocean-like the waves were.

And to think in a week this could be covered in snow.

Another Victory!

2008-11-05T07:21:00.002-05:00

Prop 2 passed in CA, with 63% for to 37% against. Yay for farm animals!

Victory!

2008-11-04T23:19:00.001-05:00

Updated 11/5:

NC is still too close to call...let's just call it a purple state and be done with it. Otherwise, electorally, it's a landslide for Obama. In the popular vote, also a clear mandate. Hooray! He has no time to rest on his laurels, as the NY Times says. There is quite a daunting array of tasks ahead of him. The scrutiny will be immense. In the end, he will bring the change we need.

Halloween in the Office

2008-11-01T10:08:00.001-04:00

My coworkers shared my Halloween spirit and it showed in their costumes. I love the people I work with!

Taylor as "McPalin." By far the most elaborate costume at the office.

Jeff as a proctologist (complete with gross smudges), and Susan as an injured (dead?) skier.

Brent as a golfer, Brandon as Maverick from Top Gun, JD as a basketball player, and Jeff again.

Renee as Salt, and Amanda as Pepper. Loved the silver knit berets for shaker tops.

Andy as a beer keg.

Erin as Sarah Palin poses with the other Maverick in the office.

Kendall as a Pink Lady.

Ashley as a cop.

Daniel as Indiana Jones. He really fits the part, no?

Jason as an asp. Ha ha.

Rosie the Riveter

2008-10-31T11:05:00.002-04:00

My Halloween costume:

Video from rally

2008-10-29T22:55:00.000-04:00

Obama rally

2008-10-29T16:54:00.011-04:00

When I heard yesterday that Barack was going to be in downtown Raleigh, I shuffled my appointments and cleared the morning so I could go. I'd never seen a past, present, or future president in person, and figured this would be a prime opportunity. My coworker Erin and I went together. It was a great experience to be with a huge crowd of like-minded people. And thanks to a decent zoom lens and some cropping, I got some good photos:

According to WRAL.com, there were about 28,000 people there! Let's make NC a blue state!!! (Below is a view looking behind where I was standing.)

This is basically what I saw when looking forward. Obama was kind of far away, but still close enough to see his expressions.

We got in line at 9:30 and waited for about an hour and 45 minutes to get "in." The rally was at Halifax Mall, a grassy area near the state government buildings. When we got up to the news vans we knew we had to be close.

Waiting in line--which, by the way, was a freezing cold venture--we were approached by many an Obama volunteer to ask if we had voted yet and if so, if we could help in the effort to get out the vote. There were also many vendors selling buttons and shirts, but I'd left my wallet in the car so I couldn't buy any. Oh well. We saw this sign when we were almost to the front:

We saw these guys walking in and could tell they meant business.

Here are some of them at their posts:

Security was tight for an outdoor rally, but not quite as tight as an airport. We didn't have to take off our coats or shoes, but we did have to go through a metal detector.

Here are some of my other shots:

About half an hour after we made it to the grassy area, right around the published 11:15 am start time, a preacher said a prayer, and then a local politician (pardon me for not remembering his name) spoke a bit. Then the music came back on, until about 15 minutes later when a field organizer came up to give a speech. He was very impassioned. We all expected Obama to come on next, but there was about 30 minutes more of music, which by that point was a little frustrating. Obama didn't come on until about 12:15, but when he did, there was quite an eruption in the audience. I must admit it felt a little like ogling a celebrity. Ooh, there he is! His speech had a couple new tidbits I hadn't heard before, such as:

Obama denounced the attacks on him by his Republican opponent, John McCain, saying McCain's desperation to win next week's election was reaching new heights.

"By the end of the week, he'll be accusing me of being a secret communist because I shared my toys in kindergarten."

There was also a moment when someone in the crowd fainted (not unimaginable after standing for 3+ hours) and since we could not take any drinks into the Mall, Obama reached into his lectern for his personal bottle of water and tossed it over. Of course it was the decent thing to do, but it was still impressive that he stopped in the middle of his speech to acknowledge the situation and help.

Here's an interesting bit of info I hadn't heard yet, that is greatly pleasing, at least to me:

More than 1.5 million people have voted statewide since early voting began Oct. 16. Almost 60 percent have been Democrats, compared with about 25 percent who have been people enrolled as Republicans.

Kim's wedding

2008-10-27T12:39:00.004-04:00

(I'm not in this pic, but I am in the one the real photographer took!)
L-R, Jason, his wife Anna, Jace's wife Cheryl, Kim, Jace, Susan, Sy, random kid, Emily, Taylor, Emily

I have been a slacker when it comes to blogging lately. So sorry. I'm sure no one even checks anymore. But for what it's worth, I went to Kim's wedding 2 weekends ago, and here are some photos. I didn't get any of the ceremony, because I was playing videographer.

(BTW, I work with Kim, and we go to bagels every Saturday morning...except when she's getting married. Or on her honeymoon. Duh.)

(How crazy are these cakes?! So amazing. And delicious too!!)

Kim and Susan

Here are Sy and Emily. Sy caught the garter, and since a little girl caught the bouquet, he put the garter on his fiance Emily instead. They'll be getting married in May!

Next we have Taylor and his new girlfriend, also named Emily.

And lastly, we have Kim with her boss, Jason.

Fun story about the garter: Jeff, Kim's husband, is crazy about the Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins. Months ago she went onto Craigslist and bought two tickets for their game in Miami. At the reception, she stuck them under her garter. So when Jeff went to take it off, he found them! He was totally and completely surprised, and turned beet red. The game was last night, so I hope they had fun!! Rather than come right back up, they are going to stick around and go to Disney World on Halloween. That should be a blast.

Your vote is worth money to charities

2008-10-07T20:52:00.007-04:00

Trip Advisor, a website I hold near and dear to my heart for all the help it provided in helping me plan my London trip, is doing something unique. They are going to donate a total of $1 million dollars to five different charities in the name of helping the people of, and preserving the beauty of, the places we enjoy visiting. The kicker is we, the travelers of the world, get to decide how it gets divvied up. The five contenders and their standings as of today are:

I chose Doctors Without Borders because the work they do is amazing. These are health care professionals putting their own safety on the line to help people in desperate need due to war and natural disasters. All of the charities are worthy, so you can't really go wrong. If you have a spare moment, go to Trip Advisor to vote. (You do have to sign up to cast your vote, but it's free.) For every percentage point someone's share goes up, that's an additional $10,000 for them!

Critters on the porch

2008-10-04T22:14:00.004-04:00

Charlotte has spun a beautiful web on my front porch.

Alas, she herself is not a thing of beauty in my eyes, but she is outside so I will let her live. I don't even want to think of how badly I would freak out if I found her inside though. I will spare you the close-up cropped view; she's a hairy beast.

My parents noticed a green thing up near the ceiling of the porch, sticking to the wall.

They first thought it was a moth, but I took a picture and zoomed in and wouldn't you know, it looked like a frog! How on earth did a frog get up there? We thought maybe it had gone looking for water and perhaps was dead. When my parents were leaving, we noticed the frog had moved its head a bit, so I got a stick and a bowl, climbed on a chair, and poked at it ever so gently. It did not drop into the bowl, no, that would be too easy. It leaped and brushed against the back of my head (it was a BIG leap) and landed on the ground. Then it started climbing up the side of my house again. I sprinkled some water on him and he moved over to the railing.

Doesn't he seem a little tropical for NC?

Where I Go

2008-09-29T12:22:00.007-04:00

Driving to my training in Oklahoma a couple weeks ago, I found myself on Riverside Parkway, right next to--you guessed it--a river. I was taken by surprise, as I didn't know there was a river running through Tulsa, and a beautiful one at that. Just goes to show, you never know where you might find a hidden treasure.

The picture below reminded me of Natalie Merchant's song from her first solo album, titled "Where I Go."

Climbing under
a barbed wire fence
by the railroad ties

Climbing over
the old stone wall
I am bound for the riverside

Well I go to the river
to soothe my mind
ponder over
the crazy days of my life
just sit and watch the river flow

Find a place
on the riverbank
where the green rushes grow
see the wind
in the willow tree
in the branches hanging low

Well I go to the river
to soothe my mind
to ponder over
the crazy days of my life
watch the river flow
ease my mind and soul
where I go

Well I will go to the river
from time to time
wander over
these crazy days in my mind
watch the river flow
where the willow branches grow
by the cool rolling waters
moving gracefully and slow

Ooh child it's lovely
let the river take it all away
the mad pace, the hurry
the troubles, the worries
just the river take them all away
flow away

You can listen to part of this beautiful song here (click the play button on the right side of the screen).

Denver

2008-09-24T18:05:00.006-04:00

I've been meaning to post about this for a couple weeks, but work has been so very busy, and the last thing I want to do at home is be on the computer. Things have quieted down now, so here we go.

I flew into Denver on the 8th of September and after my trainings on the 9th I went to the aquarium. Little did I know, it is not a traditional aquarium. In addition to fish and other sea creatures, they have reptiles and birds, and even tigers!

Of course I get excited whenever animals and photography are involved, so I had a grand old time in there. I couldn't tell you what half the fish are called (and the signage wasn't great) but they sure are purty.

And I think I discovered the missing evolutionary link between land and sea...behold, the fish with legs!

More pix on Flickr.

Me by the numbers

2008-08-30T11:26:00.006-04:00

I'm making up my own meme, folks. Watch out!

1. Number of emails in your personal INBOX: 56 (but only 6 unread)

2. Number of degrees you set your summertime thermostat to: 78

3. Number of live plants in your home: 3

4. Number of clean dinner plates in your cupboard right now: 4

5. Number of loads of laundry you do in a typical week: 2 (white, colors)

6. Number of ceiling fans in your home: 2 (living room, bedroom)

7. Number of CD's in your car right now: 10 (only for when my iPod is dead)

8. Number of times you ate out in the past week: 0

9. Number of trips you've taken on an airplane in the past year: 9 (Vermont, NYC, Baltimore, Tallahassee, Philadelphia, Philadelphia again, Los Angeles, London, Chicago) (In the next 4 weeks I'll be flying to Mississippi, Denver, Mississippi again, and Oklahoma)

10. Number of pets you own: 1 (cat)

11. Number of magazines you subscribe to: 0 (but for some reason I get Self for free)

12. Number of dresses or skirts you wore last week: 0

13. Number of photographs you carry in your wallet or purse: 0 (unless you count the ones on my digital camera)

14. Number of gallons it usually takes to fill your vehicle: 15

15. Number of times you go to the movies in a typical month: 1

16. Number of times you hit the snooze button before getting up: 1

17. Number of minutes it takes you to get ready in the morning: 75

18. Number of sweetener packets you put in a regular cup of coffee: 4 (prefer Splenda, Equal, or Sweet & Low)

19. Number of remote controls you have in the living room: 3 (cable, TV, DVD/receiver)

20. Number of times you brush your teeth in a day: 2

21. Number of vitamins you take in a day: 4 (multi, C, 2 flax oil)

22. Number of ounces of water you drink in a day: about 50

23. Number of schools you've gone to: 6 (Pinecrest Elem, Arroyo Seco Jr. High, Saugus High, UCSD, Dartmouth, CSUN)

24. Number of states you've lived in: 3 (California, New Hampshire, North Carolina)

25. Number of times you've served jury duty: 1 (didn't make it onto a jury though)

26. Number of presidential elections you've voted in: 3 (Clinton, Gore, Kerry...and the 4th: Obama!)

27. Number of times you've been hospitalized: 1 (epiglotitis when I was four)

28. Number of blogs you read every day: 8 (unless I'm really busy, then I at least make sure to hit LOL Cats)

29. Number of weddings you've been to: 5

30. Number of Twitter updates as of right now: 204

80th post

2008-08-24T17:56:00.006-04:00

This will be my 80th post for 2008. Last year I had 116 posts. I need to average 9 posts a month for the rest of this year to reach that number. But in 2006 I had 172 posts!! I guess I had a lot to say!

Today was my friend and co-worker Kim's wedding shower. Or should I say, her first wedding shower. She's having another one in her hometown near Rochester, NY, and a third one in her fiance's hometown of Erie, PA. (Uh, spoiled bride?!) We had lots of fun. Here are some pics I took.

I bought her the pink hand vac she registered for.

Cool bread basket with a warming stone you place inside.

Kim's favorite: money.

Susan got the only humor gift: a "panic button" that has sounds of cartoon characters saying, "Stay Calm!" then screaming bloody murder.

Kim and Susan.

A group shot. Bottom row, L-R: Jenni, Lisa (maid of honor), Kim, Gracie (Kim's mom); Top row, L-R: Rebekah (works in communications dept at my office), Amanda, me, Susan (fellow trainer).

The scrumptious cake, shaped like a bridal gown.

Jelly Belly Warehouse

2008-08-21T17:52:00.004-04:00

In Kenosha, Wisconsin there is a Jelly Belly warehouse, and they give free tours. You're supposed to get to ride on this cute little Jelly Belly train, but the day I went it was in for repairs. So we walked. They wouldn't allow photos on the tour, but suffice it to say there were boxes and boxes of Jelly Bellys (Bellies?) as far as the eye could see, stacked up to the very, very tall ceiling. They had some cool Jelly Belly mosaics we could take pictures of. The tour guide said they can take up to several weeks to complete! I uploaded them full size so if you click on the photo you can see close up.

We got to see how Jelly Bellys are made (on a video--the factory is in CA, which you can tour as well, like Nicole did), as well as hear about the most popular flavor (of all time: Very Cherry; of late: Buttered Popcorn--if that doesn't speak to why America has an obesity epidemic, I don't know what does). After the tour we got to go to the store, which sold--wait for it--Jelly Belly products ranging from the beans to t-shirts to dispensers, etc. I contemplated buying a bag of "belly flops," the ones that don't pass inspection because they're too big, too small, stuck together, or what have you. Although it was a good price for Jelly Bellys, it was more than anyone should ever spend on a bag of jelly beans. One of the coolest parts of the store was the Sample Bar, where you can try any one of the 50 flavors for free.

They had the Harry Potter beans, which include such nasty flavors as black pepper and vomit. What I purchased, though, was the "Bean Boozled" box, where they have the icky flavors disguised among exact twins of good flavors--i.e. Booger looks just like Juicy Pear, and Pencil Shavings looks just like Top Banana. I haven't dared to try them yet...Rotten Egg, anyone? They are fun enough in theory.

There's even a Jelly Belly car parked outside, complete with Asian tourists posing in front of it.

Wannabe MAM

2008-08-21T17:46:00.003-04:00

Is this not the fanciest Goodwill store you've ever seen? It reminds me of the Milwaukee Art Museum, with its cute little baby wings.

P.S. I went inside, and they didn't have anything I wanted. :( New rule: Coolness of Goodwill store on outside inversely correlates to coolness of stuff on inside.

Need I say more?

2008-08-21T17:17:00.002-04:00

Driving from Chicago up to Wisconsin, shortly after you cross the state line, is Mars Cheese Castle. It's not a cheese hut, or a cheese shack, it's a cheese castle, people. And as you must all know by now, cheese is my crack cocaine. I am addicted to it bad, baby. So this? This is Mecca.

Well, not really. They have a lot of cheese, but I'd bet my Harris Teeter has the same amount or more, although granted, it's not direct from the udders of Wisconsin cows. They also have lots of gourmet type foods, like pickled things and homemade jams, etc.

I left with some smoked string cheese. Alas, it was too smoky for my palate. You couldn't taste the mozzarella for all the smoke flavor. Even though my choice was disappointing, the Cheese Castle legend lives on.

Milwaukee Art Museum

2008-08-14T20:00:00.004-04:00

The Quadracci Pavilion is unique to say the least. It begs to be photographed. It's designed with these giant "wings" that open and close several times a day. I went yesterday to watch, and got some good shots even though it was rainy. I went back today and got some better ones. The inside is just as spectacular as the outside. Or at least, the lobby is anyway. I did not pay to see the art. But my old friend Chihuly made an appearance. Seems he pops up everywhere I go. First Pittsburgh, then London (oops, I haven't blogged about that yet!), now Milwaukee. He gets around!

Wisconsin

2008-08-11T18:00:00.004-04:00

It was the perfect day for outdoor photos, and Watertown, WI has a beautiful lake surrounded by all types of trees, including some giant weeping willows, my favorite. I mean, come on! Even down to the white puffy clouds, people! It does not get better than this.

Some E-cards

2008-08-03T14:32:00.006-04:00

Came across this e-card site last night called someecards.com. It's kind of harsh, but some of them are funny. Their motto is, "When you care enough to hit Send." Ha ha! Categories range from "Birthday," to "Congratulations," to "Holidays." This is one I liked from "Cry for Help:"

Here's one from "Sympathy":

This is so true, from "Work Related":

Meme time

2008-08-03T14:05:00.003-04:00

Back in the day, I would come across memes I wanted to do all the time. Nowadays, not so much. I had to actively search for this meme. It came from here. It was kind of hard to complete. I tried not to cop out on too many questions. But like, #18, if someone can answer that I'd be very impressed.

1. My uncle once – flew out here for vacation and went to Washington, D.C. with us.

2. Never in my life – have I burped the alphabet.

3. When I was 5 – Reagan became president.

4. High school was – stressful.

5. I will never forget losing – and then finding my bag of souvenirs in Rome.

6. I once met – a guy in the Bahamas with a loogie on his shirt.

7. There's this person I know who – doesn’t like cheese. Oh, the horror!

8. Once at a bar – in London I saw Emma Jane Thommen perform.

9. By noon I'm usually – thinking about lunch.

10. Last night – I watched the season finale of The Next Food Network Star.

11. If only I had – endless patience, working with stupid customers would be so much easier.

12. Next time I go to church – will probably be for a wedding. Not mine though.

13. What worries me most – is that Obama will get elected and end up being a disappointment.

14. When I turn my head left, I see – a black and white Venice poster.

15. When I turn my head right, I see – a black and white Paris poster.

16. You know I'm bored when – I start cleaning.

17. What I miss most about the eighties – is the relative innocence of the world compared to now.

18. If I were a character in Shakespeare, I'd be – I have no idea.

19. By this time next year – I will have watched 1,460 hours of television.

20. A better name for me would be – I like my name just fine, thanks.

21. I have a hard time understanding – why people don’t recycle more.

22. If I ever went back to school – I'd study zoology.

23. You know I like you if – I send you postcards.

24. If I ever won an award, the first person I'd thank would be – my parents.

25. Take my advice, never – take a mega dose of niacin. You will feel like you’re on fire!

26. My ideal breakfast is – a breakfast burrito with eggs, cheese, beans, salsa, and avocado.

27. A song I love, but do not have, is – I pretty much have everything I want, thanks to iTunes.

28. If you visit my hometown, I suggest – we go to In 'n' Out!

29. Why won't people – be a little more aware?

30. If you spend the night at my house – you can be the first to stay in my guest room!

31. I'd stop my wedding for – Stephen Colbert.

32. The world could do without – flies.

33. I'd rather lick the belly of a cockroach than – live without A/C.

34. My favorite blonde is – my niece Cassidy.

35. Paper clips are more useful than – a gum wrapper.

36. If I do anything well, it's – pampering myself with pedicures and massages.

Passing along good info

2008-08-01T13:29:00.002-04:00

Stop worrying about:

2. Your car’s planet-destroying A/C. No matter how guilty you feel about your carbon footprint, you don’t have to swelter on the highway to the beach. After doing tests at 65 miles per hour, the mileage experts at edmunds.com report that the aerodynamic drag from opening the windows cancels out any fuel savings from turning off the air-conditioner.

3. Forbidden fruits from afar. Do you dare to eat a kiwi? Sure, because more “food miles” do not equal more greenhouse emissions. Food from other countries is often produced and shipped much more efficiently than domestic food, particularly if the local producers are hauling their wares around in small trucks. One study showed that apples shipped from New Zealand to Britain had a smaller carbon footprint than apples grown and sold in Britain.

5. Evil plastic bags. Take it from the Environmental Protection Agency : paper bags are not better for the environment than plastic bags. If anything, the evidence from life-cycle analyses favors plastic bags. They require much less energ y — and greenhouse emissions — to manufacture, ship and recycle. They generate less air and water pollution. And they take up much less space in landfills.

6. Toxic plastic bottles. For years panels of experts repeatedly approved the use of bisphenol-a, or BPA, which is used in polycarbonate bottles and many other plastic products. Yes, it could be harmful if given in huge doses to rodents, but so can the natural chemicals in countless foods we eat every day. Dose makes the poison.

But this year, after a campaign by a few researchers and activists, one federal panel expressed some concern about BPA in baby bottles. Panic ensued. Even though there was zero evidence of harm to humans, Wal-Mart pulled BPA-containing products from its shelves, and politicians began talking about BPA bans. Some experts fear product recalls that could make this the most expensive health scare in history.

From the NY Times.

How crazy is this?!

2008-07-31T13:59:00.002-04:00

Saudi Arabia's religious police say they have begun enforcing a ban on the sale of cats and dogs as pets and walking them in public because men use the animals to hit on women.

Source

Colors, Mad Men

2008-07-24T15:57:00.002-04:00

As you can see, I changed the template for my blog recently. I found it online, and just tweaked it a little bit. The first version featured the dark brown background, with a light brown foreground that appeared on my laptop screen to be a taupe-like color, kind of like hot chocolate (the powdered kind). Then I looked at it on my home monitor, and wow, it was so different. More like coffee with cream. It was a tad too yellow for my tastes, so I adjusted it. Now when I look at it on my laptop, it appears almost pink! So much for being picky about how it looks. It seems everyone will get a different effect, depending on their screen. Oh well.

While I'm here, I'd love to blab on about what's up, but really, there's not much. Work is slow. It can be boring, and the day can go by soooo slooooowly (and yet somehow it seems unreal that July is almost over!!). Yet it also affords time to just sit and chat with coworkers, and I love everyone I work with. At home, things are the same. Comet is well. The house is fine. I've got grass growing now, but it's crabgrass, which is supposedly the bane of every gardener's existence. I say, at least it's green! The weather here has been super hot and muggy, until the skies decide to give it up and just rain already. Then it cools off a bit. Today isn't too bad though. I plan to start growing some herbs, so maybe I'll post some pictures here of the progress.

I've been watching this great show on AMC called Mad Men. It's been getting a lot of attention because it won Golden Globes and now it's nominated for 16 Emmys. There was a marathon on Sunday of the entire first season (Season 2 starts Sunday). I watched many that day, and have been watching the rest this week. It's fantastic. It takes place in 1960 (although I hear season 2 will open on Valentine's Day 1962) and they've created a universe which, whether or not it's realistic, is quite amusing. Doctors smoking as they examine patients, pregnant women tossing back cocktails, children playing with plastic bags on their heads, the divorcee who moves in down the block causing as much controversy as an interracial gay couple would cause in Alabama today. And oh, the womanizing! No wonder women felt the need to start a movement! The main character of the show is Don Draper, an ad man working on Madison Avenue. His colleagues have no qualms about telling the "girls" from the steno pool to shorten their skirts--and they do it! Don himself is married with two kids, but had two affairs in the first season alone. His wife has anxiety attacks (wouldn't you?) so she sees a psychiatrist, who reports on her issues to her husband as if they're dealing with a child. His boss is openly anti-Semitic, and there is nary a minority to be found in the entire office. His boss also has a heart attack, and says something along the lines of, "I always thought it would be my ulcer. I drank the cream, ate the butter, just like I was told, and now this." It's crazy how much things can change in just under 50 years. It sounds like a long time in terms of one person's life span, but it's a drop in the bucket compared to all of history. The Middle Ages lasted, depending on whom you ask, from 500-700 years, where everything stayed basically the same. The pace in modern times is pretty swift.

Final result

2008-07-23T13:21:00.001-04:00

And yes, the ponytail is going to Locks of Love.

Holy ponytail, Batman!

2008-07-22T17:17:00.006-04:00

Wednesday, June 11

2008-07-10T13:53:00.014-04:00

We got up at 7:15 and I took my shower first. Unfortunately when getting out of the shower tub I slipped and fell (the floor of the tub was about 3 inches higher than the floor of the bathroom), bruising my right side and right arm. It shook me up because it was a hard fall but thankfully nothing was broken. Over the next couple of days, the bruises got worse and worse. This was three days later, at lunch in the Cotswolds:

Thankfully it was cool enough most of the time that I could wear a long sleeved sweater so it was covered.

Our intention was to be at the TKTS booth in Leicester Square by 9:30 (for half price theater tickets), and that’s about when we arrived. We'd stopped at a Pret a Manger, commonly referred to as Pret, on the way for breakfast. (It means "ready to eat" in French.) They're everywhere in London (literally--there are two at Trafalgar Square alone!), and they now have locations in New York City. It's basically a sandwich shop, and they also serve coffee and smoothies. Everything's pre-made, but they guarantee it's recently made, with fresh ingredients that haven't been shipped a gazillion miles or doused in chemicals or processed to oblivion. So you can feel good about this fast food. You just walk in and pick it up off the shelf--super quick, if you can decide what you want, because there are many enticing options. I had egg salad, the closest thing to breakfast without meat, and it was yummy--and under ₤3 ($6), so a bargain by London standards. This is a different Pret location, to give you an idea:

And here's part of the display at the Heathrow Pret:

While waiting in line at the ticket booth, we met a very nice Australian couple visiting London for a few days during their 6-week vacation around Europe. They said it took them 9 hours to fly from Brisbane to Singapore, then another 14 from Singapore to London. Yikes! Even though we chatted for a good 20 minutes, we never got their names, so Nicole and I decided they should be Bob and Suzanna. They left their teenagers at home and this was their trip of a lifetime, they said. At first they were going to get Billy Elliott tickets, but while standing in line Suzanna said she really wanted to see Hairspray (which was full price). We decided on Sound of Music. It was between that and Chicago, and SofM just seems more British. We paid about ₤30 ($60) per ticket...can you believe that’s half price??! But it was 8th row, so that was exciting. We checked on the map where our theater, the London Palladium, was located, and then headed for the Tube, towards Shakespeare's Globe.

Alas, I forgot my 2-for-1 voucher for the Globe in the hotel room, so we had to pay full price (₤10 each). The tour was ok. I’d read that tours were led by actors, but our guide was not. She was nice enough though. At first we weren’t allowed to take photos, because the cast was on stage in costume for a press stop to promote their latest production, Merry Wives of Windsor. But then they went on a tea break (!) so we could snap away. The theater itself seems relatively small, and it's hard to believe that 1500 people can fit inside. Even harder to believe was that they used to cram 3000! You can buy tickets these days for ₤15 if you want to sit on a bench, or only ₤5 if you can manage to stand for three hours. Not me! When the tour finished, we walked through the exhibition (costumes, models of the theater, etc.) and then popped over to the Tate Modern next door just for a peek. We went to the fourth floor espresso bar for the view, but alas, the balcony was closed. Even though I’m not a fan of modern art, I couldn’t enter a museum and leave without seeing at least one piece of art, so we walked through just a few rooms--which basically confirmed my “I don’t like modern art” opinion.

We walked across the Millennium Foot Bridge and noticed that the tide was out (the Thames is a tidal river) so we found some stairs down to the shore and did a bit of beachcombing. (This is a view of the beach from our river cruise the following day.)

I’d seen Rick Steves do it on his show about London. He said you can find these little tubes that used to be filled with tobacco. People would put them in their pipes, then when they were finished, they would throw the tube in the river. There were tons of them down there! There was also a lot of broken pottery. I don’t quite know how it all go there, or how old it is*, but it’s kind of cool to find. Nicole and I could have spent hours there, but we had to move on so we could stick to our schedule. My pockets were full of pottery shards as we made our way to lunch.

*After we got back from London, I did a little research, and found this blog post about the pottery in the Thames. Fascinating!!

Back up on the bank, we found a Salvation Army cafeteria that was surprisingly chic looking,

so we had some lunch. The baguette sandwich was kind of dry but they had some hot meals to choose from that would probably be better. We also had some "strong onion and cheese" potato chips (oh, don't get me started on the Brits and their weird chip flavors again!)

At St. Paul's, we bought our tickets (there were never any lines for the attractions--I guess June is a good time to go to London) and then started the tour Rick Steves has in his guidebook. It's interesting how one half of the cathedral lives up to architect Christopher Wren’s preferences (he valued simplicity), while the other half is completely Victorian and gaudy. You can actually see the line where they changed styles. I wish we could take photos! I did sneak a couple of covert ones, of course, with my itty bitty camera.

Taken while sitting up in the Whispering Gallery, at the base of the dome.

We climbed the stairs (150 if I recall) up to the Whispering Gallery, which was so cool, because it worked! They say that the dome of the cathedral is so perfectly shaped, the acoustics are such that you can stand on one side, and your friend can stand on the other, and you can whisper to each other and hear it. It’s kind of weird! Then we huffed and puffed up the next 120 or so stairs to the first observation level, which offered good views of surrounding London. We took lots of pics, caught our breath, and then climbed the last batch of steps (about another 120) to the very top. This time we decided to count, so we would know how much further we had to go. That helped a lot. The views at the very top were spectacular. Totally worth the climb.

(Following two pics courtesy of Nicole.)

You can't get a pic of this unless you climb to the top!!

Going back down--much easier!

We took the tube back to our hotel and got changed for dinner and the play.

We tubed to Oxford Circus and ate at a Garfunkel's. It's a chain restaurant and the food is reasonably priced, more or less. We shared chicken kebabs and a mushroom lasagna. Tasty enough. The play started at 7:30, and lasted until about 10. It's a beautiful theater.

Of course it was a musical, and the lead actress looked so much like Julie Andrews. All of the cast had good, strong voices, and although parts of the story seemed rushed, overall it was very enjoyable. I really liked all the nuns singing at the end. This solidified for me the desire to see an evensong (which we ended up doing two days later). The intermission was kind of interesting...they sell ice cream right in the theater, so you don't have to go into the lobby. We still did, though, to stretch our legs. After the play ended, we went back to our room and crashed. Not before planning out the next day, though.

The perfect summer peach

2008-07-05T14:53:00.004-04:00

Bought at Harris Teeter on Wednesday. Four cost nearly six bucks. Luckily, they've ripened magnificently and are worth every penny. Fragrant, juicy, and sweet!

Tuesday, June 10

2008-07-03T23:03:00.005-04:00

Our flight was uneventful. I managed to sleep 5-6 hours, thanks to benadryl and a few sips of wine. We tried to watch Horton Hears a Who on our seat-back TV's but man, when your body thinks it's 3am, that crap is annoying! As we were nearing the end of the flight, I kept looking out the window, and at one point I went, "Oh my god!" and literally had to catch my breath. My eyeballs must have popped out of my head like in the cartoons. It was the London Eye! I grabbed my camera and started snapping away--I posted the photo earlier.

We landed at Heathrow around 3pm and thankfully there was not a really long line to get our passports stamped. There were at least a dozen agents so it went quickly. The giant sign that says UK Border was begging to be photographed. We managed two shots and then got yelled at by security for taking pictures. Welcome! Our luggage arrived safe and sound, and the chaos of Terminal 5 we'd heard on the news was nowhere to be found. It was, in fact, eerily quiet. We may or may not have seen Simon Cowell's girlfriend at the baggage carousel. (Nicole insists it was her; I had no clue.)

We'd decided to hire a car to take us to our hotel, and our driver was waiting for us with all the others. He took our luggage and led us to the car, which was a Toyota minivan. The drive to our hotel took about 50 minutes. We passed by several landmarks on the way, like Buckingham Palace and Big Ben. The driver could have been friendlier, but we arrived safely and checked in. Our room was “triple as twin,” which means there was a double bed and a twin bed.

The room was huge compared to what I was expecting, and compared to the other London hotel we stayed in towards the end of the trip. Our view was other hotel windows--not beautiful, but we could see the sky at least, and the top of the London Eye. We settled in a bit then went out to explore!

It was a beautiful day; barely a cloud in the sky. We walked along the Thames, across Westminster Bridge (there's Big Ben!)

then up Whitehall (stopping to see the Horse Guard)

to Trafalgar Square.

On the way to Covent Garden we stopped to buy our 7-day passes to use on the Tube. Covent Garden was not as lively as I expected, although granted, it was past 8pm. We had Cornish pasties for dinner--they're like pot pies, but semi-circular in shape, and you hold it in your hands like pizza. Yum! Less than ₤3 each. We stopped at a Tesco to check out what a British grocery store would be like, and ended up buying junk food—Cadbury bar, mint Aero bar, and weird chip flavors (Steak & Onion, Prawn Cocktail, Bacon Rashers).* We meandered our way to Waterloo Bridge, getting some great dusk shots of Big Ben, the Eye, etc.

It’s disarming how late it stays light outside! Then it was back to the hotel to get some sleep in an actual bed.

*Go here to see all the ~~disgusting~~ tantalizing flavors of Walkers crisps. Worcester Sauce? Seriously? Didn't see those.

New Milk Jugs

2008-07-03T22:46:00.002-04:00

This is what I'm talking about. We need more of this.

Click to enlarge.

Read the great New York Times article here. And come on, it can't be that hard to pour.

Elefante gets around...

2008-06-27T11:58:00.004-04:00

While I was away, my coworkers took turns having Elefante visit their offices. And they even took pictures to document his journey.

In Susan's office, he enjoyed playing with the world.

In Sy's office, he even had a portrait of his ancestors.

He felt most at home in William's office, with its lush jungle atmosphere.

My favorite: In Erika's office, the little people run screaming in fear. Relax, he's a gentle giant.

And in Laura's office, he chills out with a brisk refreshment.

Meaty crisps

2008-06-20T18:48:00.006-04:00

You may know that in Brit-speak, french fries are called chips, and potato chips are called crisps. I read this before I went. What I didn't read about is how they apparently like their crispy snacks to be flavored like meat. My favorite was Bacon Rashers.

A rasher is a serving of bacon, as in, your eggs come with two rashers of bacon. But Bacon Rashers are crispy corn and rice snacks that look kind of like dog treats, and taste very, very much like bacon. And yet they are "suitable for vegetarians." (How much do I love that all vegetarian things are labeled as such, and every place we ate had veggie options clearly labeled on their menus.)

The drawback of Bacon Rashers is they "give back" in a very unpleasant way, so you can only have a few at a time.

(Tesco, by the way, is a grocery store chain.)

We also tried Strong Onion and Cheese potato chips (not bad) and Steak and Onion potato chips (yuck!). At the airport we saw Roasted Chicken potato chips...we did not partake.

And they're not Lays potato chips. They're Walkers. But the design of the logo seems to indicate it's the same company.

Cornish Pasty

2008-06-20T18:41:00.004-04:00

These are so yummy! It's like a calzone, but instead of pizza dough, it's made with a flaky crust, and there's a pot-pie-like filling inside. We had these twice. Once for dinner our first night in Covent Garden, and then again for lunch in Bath. Chicken and vegetable, cheese and onion, chicken and mushroom, yum yum yum! And by the way, you pronounce it past-ee, as in not the future, but the past. It's not paste-ee, like glue. Cheerio, love!

Big Ben Bong

2008-06-20T10:00:00.000-04:00