I hope everyone out there in reader-ville had a good holiday, from Thanksgiving all the way through to the New Year. I've been busy - mostly having fun, which is the best way to be busy.
I met Mom and GraceAnn (my sister) in New York City on the evening of the 23rd - amazingly I didn't have a delay at the airport, as the big snowstorm that caused the Chicago airports to cancel practically everything zipped through Minneapolis dropping only a few fluffy little snowflakes and leaving behind blue skies and crisp cold. I arrived at JFK around 11 pm and headed to Midtown to enjoy a few drinks and catch up with Mom & GraceAnn.
We started the 24th at Bloom's having one of the best breakfasts I've enjoyed anywhere and then traipsed through the rainy (but warm) streets to Bryant Park, where we did some shopping at the outdoor market and watched the ice-skaters slog through the puddles on the park's ice rink. We enjoyed some coffee and cheesecake while escaping the rain, then wandered some more before heading to Grand Central Station to catch the train back to Mom's house in Connecticut.
Christmas morning we enjoyed a lie-in and then shared presents and had some breakfast. We went to Mom's boyfriend Gary's mother's house for a nice Christmas chinese dinner in the afternoon and spent the evening back at home playing gin and having a few nice margaritas. :) yum.
GraceAnn and I left for Saginaw (Michigan, not Texas) on Friday - we got up a bit late and missed the train into New York, so Mom had to drive us all the way to JFK. Fortunately we didn't hit a lot of traffic on the way down there - but I think Mom may have sat in some on the way back while GraceAnn and I were having a pleasant lunch at the airport. We had a few delays on the way to Michigan, but got there in the end. Uncle Mike and Aunt Annette picked us up at the airport and we spent the next two days at the hotel playing games and catching up with family.
I headed back to Minnesota on the 29th and right back to work for a few days, before taking off early on the 31st to head to my friend Jean's house to help her get ready for a New Year's party. She had a handful of people over and we had a nice dinner and played games while waiting for 2008 to tick over to 2009 - I forgot to set my watch for the extra second, so I got there a bit early.
It was back to work on the 2nd and this week for the first full week of work in a while. Now I'm counting down to the Inaguration for my next long weekend (and excuse to swill champagne like France is going out of business!).
Happy New Year to everyone!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Thursday, December 18, 2008
November/December wrap-up
Yes, I know, a long long time between posts.
I finished the month of November with a week in London and St Albans visiting friends and having a much-appreciated break from work. I bopped around various pubs, restaurants, and coffee shops, catching up with people I haven't seen in almost eighteen months - a perfect vacation, really. The weather in London was typical for the time of year - a bit cold, a bit rainy, but not really too bad at all. All in all, a brilliant trip full of rugby, beer, fantastic food (yum, sausage rolls again!!), wonderful friends, quaint tea shops, the english countryside, a visit to the bank (boo to HSBC!), and, of course, a tasty curry enjoyed whilst watching Have I Got News for You. Fan-tabulous.
I did manage a bit of culture while there, visiting the Tate Modern to see the Mark Rothko exhibition with Lynn. I wasn't convinced at first - the murals are large canvases in dark rectangles of red, orangey-red, brown, blue, and black (usually only two of these colours at a time, though....) but as we moved through the rooms I started to like the works. I found the darkest works - reddish-black on black - to be quite soothing as they took a bit of looking to discern the layers of colours. When we went back through the biggest of the exhibit rooms, which housed the murals that appeared in the Four Seasons restaurant, I found the huge red canvases with their grey and black rectangles had really grown on me.
It was back to Minnesota on the last day of November and back to work the next day. And then on the 2nd of December I arrived back home to the park&ride to discover that my lovely Jeep had been stolen. A bit of a shock, to say the least. However, yesterday I received a call from the police saying they'd found my Jeep abandoned in a parking lot about 30 miles south of where I live. It is now safely in an impound lot there and I'm going to collect it on the weekend. The police couldn't tell me if it would start, but they did say no windows had been smashed and most surprisingly, the ignition/steering column hadn't been torn apart (leaving me to wonder how the bastards started it). Hopefully it will be running and even more hopefully the lousy theives didn't bother to steal my non-valuable belongings.
Next week I'm off to New York to meet up with Mom and GraceAnn (my sister for those of you who might not know). We'll spend the 23rd/24th in NYC, then head to Connecticut to spend the 25th at Mom's house, then back to NYC on the 26th. GraceAnn and I are leaving on the 26th for Saginaw where we'll join the Manor family for some pegs & jokers, margaritas, and general fun times.
Then it's back to work on the 29th and getting ready for the end of the year. I'm still trying to figure out how I can get to the Inaguration in January but I might have to give up that plan and just kick back here with a couple bottles of champagne and some friends and watch it all on the teevee machine.
Have a good weekend. Cheers!
I finished the month of November with a week in London and St Albans visiting friends and having a much-appreciated break from work. I bopped around various pubs, restaurants, and coffee shops, catching up with people I haven't seen in almost eighteen months - a perfect vacation, really. The weather in London was typical for the time of year - a bit cold, a bit rainy, but not really too bad at all. All in all, a brilliant trip full of rugby, beer, fantastic food (yum, sausage rolls again!!), wonderful friends, quaint tea shops, the english countryside, a visit to the bank (boo to HSBC!), and, of course, a tasty curry enjoyed whilst watching Have I Got News for You. Fan-tabulous.
I did manage a bit of culture while there, visiting the Tate Modern to see the Mark Rothko exhibition with Lynn. I wasn't convinced at first - the murals are large canvases in dark rectangles of red, orangey-red, brown, blue, and black (usually only two of these colours at a time, though....) but as we moved through the rooms I started to like the works. I found the darkest works - reddish-black on black - to be quite soothing as they took a bit of looking to discern the layers of colours. When we went back through the biggest of the exhibit rooms, which housed the murals that appeared in the Four Seasons restaurant, I found the huge red canvases with their grey and black rectangles had really grown on me.
It was back to Minnesota on the last day of November and back to work the next day. And then on the 2nd of December I arrived back home to the park&ride to discover that my lovely Jeep had been stolen. A bit of a shock, to say the least. However, yesterday I received a call from the police saying they'd found my Jeep abandoned in a parking lot about 30 miles south of where I live. It is now safely in an impound lot there and I'm going to collect it on the weekend. The police couldn't tell me if it would start, but they did say no windows had been smashed and most surprisingly, the ignition/steering column hadn't been torn apart (leaving me to wonder how the bastards started it). Hopefully it will be running and even more hopefully the lousy theives didn't bother to steal my non-valuable belongings.
Next week I'm off to New York to meet up with Mom and GraceAnn (my sister for those of you who might not know). We'll spend the 23rd/24th in NYC, then head to Connecticut to spend the 25th at Mom's house, then back to NYC on the 26th. GraceAnn and I are leaving on the 26th for Saginaw where we'll join the Manor family for some pegs & jokers, margaritas, and general fun times.
Then it's back to work on the 29th and getting ready for the end of the year. I'm still trying to figure out how I can get to the Inaguration in January but I might have to give up that plan and just kick back here with a couple bottles of champagne and some friends and watch it all on the teevee machine.
Have a good weekend. Cheers!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
I hate people
SOME BASTARD STOLE MY JEEP TODAY.
IF YOU ARE READING THIS AND YOU ARE THE BASTARD WHO STOLE MY JEEP PUT IT BACK YOU ASSHOLE. IT IS MINE NOT YOURS AND NOW I HAVE TO WALK TO THE BUS AND IT IS COLDER THAN HELL OUT BECAUSE IT IS DECEMBER IN MINNESOTA.
:(
IF YOU ARE READING THIS AND YOU ARE THE BASTARD WHO STOLE MY JEEP PUT IT BACK YOU ASSHOLE. IT IS MINE NOT YOURS AND NOW I HAVE TO WALK TO THE BUS AND IT IS COLDER THAN HELL OUT BECAUSE IT IS DECEMBER IN MINNESOTA.
:(
Monday, November 10, 2008
Why I will never sleep again
So last night I'm in bed, fast asleep, and I hear a bit of scuttling from behind the wall. I'm not suprised or concerned; since the weather is getting colder the little animals run up and down the walls OUTSIDE sometimes.
And yet, the scuttling and scratching grew louder. and closer. AND SCARIER. And at TWO IN THE FREAKING MORNING I am woken by a loud thud and VERY CLOSE LOUD SCUTTLING. And as I put on my light and specs, I see a GIANT SQUIRREL SCOOT INTO THE BATHROOM. And it is not the only one!!!
I jumped out of bed and slammed the door to the bath, trapping the bath squirrel (who later drowned in the toilet: Mary 1, Squirrel Army 0). Then I grabbed some clothes and my handbag and ran from my flat. (Ok, Mary 1, Squirrel Army 1).
I drove to a friend's house (who is even lovelier for not being way pissed off at me for rocking up at two-thirty in the morning and crashing on her couch) and stayed there. I phoned the 24 hour maintenance hotline and was told "Oh, sorry, animal invasions are not on our list of things to bother with. Even in the middle of the night, when it is 20 degrees F outside and you have had to flee." Thanks, maintenance hotline bastards. I hope squirrels get in your house too. And eat all your pretzels.
So today the building manager informs me of the death of the bath squirrel (Yay!) but that they have 1) not been able to find the other squirrels and 2) they can't find where they might have come in. So building management's position is "oh, well, one dead squirrel in the toilet is okay, come on back and live here" whereas my position is "NEVER AGAIN IN THAT HOUSE IN THE NIGHT TIME." I'm sure we'll come to some reconciliation. But probably not tonight.
So if I ring you up in the middle of the night and come live on your sofa, this is why.
And yet, the scuttling and scratching grew louder. and closer. AND SCARIER. And at TWO IN THE FREAKING MORNING I am woken by a loud thud and VERY CLOSE LOUD SCUTTLING. And as I put on my light and specs, I see a GIANT SQUIRREL SCOOT INTO THE BATHROOM. And it is not the only one!!!
I jumped out of bed and slammed the door to the bath, trapping the bath squirrel (who later drowned in the toilet: Mary 1, Squirrel Army 0). Then I grabbed some clothes and my handbag and ran from my flat. (Ok, Mary 1, Squirrel Army 1).
I drove to a friend's house (who is even lovelier for not being way pissed off at me for rocking up at two-thirty in the morning and crashing on her couch) and stayed there. I phoned the 24 hour maintenance hotline and was told "Oh, sorry, animal invasions are not on our list of things to bother with. Even in the middle of the night, when it is 20 degrees F outside and you have had to flee." Thanks, maintenance hotline bastards. I hope squirrels get in your house too. And eat all your pretzels.
So today the building manager informs me of the death of the bath squirrel (Yay!) but that they have 1) not been able to find the other squirrels and 2) they can't find where they might have come in. So building management's position is "oh, well, one dead squirrel in the toilet is okay, come on back and live here" whereas my position is "NEVER AGAIN IN THAT HOUSE IN THE NIGHT TIME." I'm sure we'll come to some reconciliation. But probably not tonight.
So if I ring you up in the middle of the night and come live on your sofa, this is why.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
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