New York, New York, a wonderful town...

...The bronx is up and the battery's down, and people ride in a hole in the ground...

On Sunday, Matt and I went on a day trip. I love day trips – especially ones in which there is no real plan, just some suggestions or ideas. The main idea of the day was Manhattan.  So, we took the ferry into the city and from there the bus to Times Square. There we visited TRU – a fun place to see, but very crowded on a summer Sunday! By then we were hungry, and Matt had the brilliant suggestion to hop on the subway and go to Gray’s Papaya for an essential New York lunch, which I had never had before!! (Oh - and that link's home will make more sense as you keep reading...)  Then, to my surprise, we walked to this park (another link), which is as lovely in person as it looks on the silver screen, in one of my favorite movies. After that, it was on to the MET, but by the time we walked there it was near closing, so we quickly changed the plan, and went off to Chinatown! Had some interesting drinks with tapioca beads in them (interesting and strange to chew your drink, let me tell you!) and wandered around, up and down and in and out of streets before going to Little Italy for some gelato. Mmmm….. hazlenut gelato…. (happy sigh)
…but I digress. Our last stop of the day – by this time evening – was to the Empire State Building to see the city all lit up in the dark. Absolutely amazing, and worth the security/ticket/elevator wait, let me tell you! :)

What a lovely day it was.   Don't you love New York in the Fall (er... Summer)?

Back to work and the phones...

Well, the joy of returning to work was just so... joyful... that I had to comment. The receptionist is away...again, meaning that I am back at the switchboard for four hours every afternoon this week. (can't you just feel the excitement radiating off the screen??)

People need to learn this little tidbit about calling an office- the person you first speak to in an office is probably not knowledgable about anything that you have to say or any question you might have. Don't try to explain it to them. Politely ask for someone to help you, and don't get mad at the receptionist if said person a) does not pick up their phone, even though they are sitting at the desk, or b) they get someone's voice mail. There is nothing that the receptionist can do about such things. AHHHH!
 
On the other hand, sitting there has afforded me a few minutes to learn to play Spider Solitare, which I thankfully do not have on my computer at home. I am fairly awful at it, but it is addictive.  :)

In other news, I finished Piano Shop before I went to CO. It was very good, and would be a good choice for someone interested in pianos - musician or not.  I was lent the book Lizard, by Banana Yoshimoto as an airplane read. I'm still working on it, but it is interesting. Yoshimoto is a Japanese author of contemporary fiction, and the American translator's flow is very easy to follow.  The short stories are interesting, if not strange, and have to do with various young Japanese characters and a general theme of love and relationships.  Next up on the list is Eragon, by Christopher Paolini, the uber child who wrote a bestseller.

Home again, home again, jiggedy jig....

Hello, and greetings from Colorado! I arrived home late last night after a whirlwind 4 days there and back. Here's the trip in a nutshell (well, maybe not a nutshell... maybe more like a coconut shell, since I'm wordy...)
 
Friday: At 6am, Matt came to take me to the airport. :)  Then I flew from here to Minneapolis, and from there on to Colorado Springs.  Met Aunt E at the airport, and had to wait 2 hours for my suitcase - we all made it off the plane, but the luggage didn't, due to an amazing lightning and waterfall-like rainstorm outside.  Ate lunch at the airport, then finally went back to Aunt E's before meeting Tracey (my cousin) and her two kids for dinner and a movie.  I was amazingly bushed when my head hit the pillow that night!
Saturday: Everyone went to breakfast at Mimi's (New Orleans style decor... humungous amounts of food!) and then Aunt E, Brianna and I went shopping... three generations all together. Aunt E spoiled us two girls by buying us clothes. Then we went to a girly movie before taking Bri home. Aunt E and I went to a cute 50's diner for dinner, then vegged out with movies at home.
Sunday: Outdoor adventure day! Took the cog railway up to Pike's Peak (which is visable from Aunt E's house!!) and then went to Garden of the Gods. Both were spectacularly amazing. I hope my pictures come out half as good as the views actually were! Then we went to a cool place for pizza and on for some ice cream at Coldstone Creamery. Mmmmm! (cake batter ice cream with snickers... yummy!!)
Monday: Breakfast with everyone at Perkins, then Aunt E and the kids and I went to the third movie of the weekend before heading off to the airport. Uneventful trip back, thanks to the loan of a DVD player and the three-seat row that was mine alone on the longer leg of the flight!
 
Fun times! I might have pictures to post in the coming days... we will have to see! :)
(If any of the links are faulty, let me know. I didn't check them all!)

Is this thing working right?

This is a test.... this is only a test. :)

Kids are funny!

I'm going to be off to Colorado in a week and a half to visit my aunt... which is very exciting! My cousin lives in the same town, and her two kids are looking forward to my visit, too. I've only once met my cousin's daughter - the eldest - when she was a baby, and I've never met her brother. (Obviously, I've seen pictures, tho.) My aunt was telling them about me the other day and mentioned that I teach music. This was supposedly cause for joy - their music teacher is supposedly the nicest... except when she doesn't sleep well. Then she's mean. But it doesn't seem to happen often, so as long as I get some sleep while I'm there, I guess I'm in the clear. :)

Happy Fourth of July!

yes, I know it is the fifth of July now, but I hope you did have a happy Fourth. I know I did! Saw fireworks twice, did loads of other fun things (like initiate my Jeep to the world of off-roading!!) and generally had a great weekend.

For those of you who are pyros but want to keep your fingers intact, here are some fun fireworks that you can play with safely.... (thanks, Matt!)

http://www.lavta.org/wheelskids/firewrk4.html

http://www2.aristotle.net/july4th/fireworks/show.html

http://www.crayola.com/kids/games/console.cfm?game=fireworks&ok=true

Enjoy! :)