Moody

Frustrated. Stressed. Worried. Tired. Scared.
Grumble.

Island Adventure

Perhaps the first word of the subject makes you think of locales like Bermuda or St. Thomas... but that would be incorrect. I mean the island of... Manhattan. However, it was during tropical-like weather that the island adventure did occur, so in some ways it isn't that far off!
Yesterday afternoon, I was invited on an adventure to the city. After taking the ferry in (my favorite way to get there!) it was into the underground to take the subway to Ft. Tryon Park, and since we didn't see the bus, we walked through the park, up to the Cloisters. (Aside - the gardens in the park are lovely, as are the views of NJ!) I haven't been to the Cloisters in years, and it did not disappoint! It is so beautiful, so peaceful and contemplative. We actually felt like we'd somehow made a wrong turn and traveled much further when we entered one courtyard and the only voices we heard were speaking in French! From there, it was back to the subway and all the way to the other end of the island to the village, to Peanut Butter & Co. What an extraordinary place! They make the PB right there and serve it in a bunch of creative ways. I enjoyed a Peanut-Butter-Cup sandwich - wheat bread, crunchy PB and nutella. Oh, bliss! :) I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by the Elvis sandwich, complete with bacon, which was Adventurer Matt's choice. (hey - don't turn your nose up at it until you've tried it!) After such fun, it was off to the Strand for a quick browse and then to a debate - Is America a Meritocracy? - down in SoHo. It was put on by Jinx, an Urban Exploration group. Certainly was an interesting topic - the concept being something I'd never stopped to think about. I sat on the fence of the issue for most of the debate, finally deciding that no, I don't think America is a Meritocracy. (Meritocracy: government controlled by those with the most merit to do so.)

An enjoyable adventure was certainly had, and contained much fun and many surprises. But then again, I'm a sucker for random fun, surprises and anything involving Nutella! :)

On the road again...

Well, here I am in Petersburg, Virginia, taking advantage of a little wifi - hurrah for technology!

This week was long. Reeaaallly long. It's amazing how gloomy things are down in Dowling Park. My grandparents aren't well at all, and it is discouraging to see them like that. But, all in all, it was good that I was there, and I needed to go. But the words "fun" and "vacation" could hardly be considered for a trip like this.
And trust me, the area isn't any paradise, either. The little shops in the village take up a half-hour or so of browsing time, the library is teeny and geared towards the residents of the village (but there was an internet connection!!) and "civilization" is a half-hour-plus car ride away... through fields of trees and very little else. And the town of Live Oak has very little except for a supermarket, Wallyworld , various fast food places and a dollar store. But that's not why we were there, so it's really not important. We tried to make their lives a little happier for the week, and then we had to start to go home, but first stop in Lawrenceville, Georgia to see Aunt Babe.
We got to her with little diffuculty and then headed out to dinner at my cousin Gina's house. We had a lovely dinner with a bunch of family we barely ever see, and then stayed over at Aunt Babe's, leaving really early this morning. And so I am here.
Time for food, a shower and some sleep. Then tomorrow we get home.

It will be good to be home again.

Nowhere, North Carolina

Day One: We left a little after 6am and began the trek to Florida, driving and driving and stopping for a picnic lunch (surrounded by Boy Scouts!) and then more driving, then I drove for a while, then we drove some more, finally getting to the hotel. Which is in Nowhere. Seriously. We had to drive 10 miles for food (at which point there are a million other hotels and eateries, etc - civilization, really!) and then come back here, to a hotel that is this awful salmon pink with sad broken swings and an algae covered little fountain, near nothing except for the highway! And hotels.com - they are a bunch of dumbheads, way overcharging us for this room in advance. But - surprise! - they have wifi, so I can post about it.

More to come in future installments... but for now, I'm off to let this computer rest and charge (a laptop which was rather fantastically lent to me by a boy who has preferred in the past to remain Annonymous!) ... and I know I should probably do the same! :)

What a sweetheart!

Congratulations to my dear friends, Christie and Bud, on the birth of their daughter, Lauren Grace! She was born one week ago today! I got to see her this past weekend, and she is beautiful! But here, see her for yourself...

beautiful Lauren Grace! 

HarryPotterHarryPotterHarryPotterHarryPotter

So, yesterday was the day we've all been waiting for - the release of the newest -#6, The Half-Blood Prince. I'd preordered one at my local Barnes and Noble and went to pick it up after lunch. As soon as I walked in the door, there was the gigundo mound of green books, and some rather creatively dressed sales employees. They said hello, and asked if I was there for the signing. "What signing?" I asked, as I looked over their heads to the banner hanging from the ceiling. It said that Mary GranPre, the American HP illustrator, was upstairs, doing a signing, and if I went upstairs quickly with my newly purchased book I could get it signed!! Imagine my surprise as I went up and was next on line?!?! As soon as I'd said hello and had my book returned to me, the cell came out and I made a few calls, which caused me to buy two additional copies for others and get myself - and my father - in line (I couldn't go through the line three times, could I?) Really, how amazing is that? I was happy to just get a copy to read, but now I have a special one! :)

Shockingly enough, I have still not opened to page one... I am trying to save it for the looooong drive to Florida, one week from today. But I don't know if I'll last that long. I may break down within the next few days... no, it's not a matter of willpower, I just want to read it! ;)

Just to add to the festivities, check this out. It's good for a laugh - make sure you wait around until the third time you see Snape!

out of the past...

Yesterday I went out with mom for shopping and lunch. While waiting on line to be seated, I was surprised when the guy standing next to mom turned to say hello - I was in homeroom with him in high school, and probably haven't seen since June of 1997! How strange! We chatted for a moment before being seated about where life had taken us, etc. It's wierd when you bump into someone you really haven't given any thought to in eight years (8! eek!) Of course, mom made me dig out the yearbook as soon as we got home and look him up. Looking at yearbooks is such a strange thing in itself - high school was bizarre on so many levels. But things like this make me wonder what happened to other people as well...

Beware the rambling...

Isn't it strange how in some cases time goes really slowly and sometimes it flies by before we can know it? Take this for example: It's been one month since June 14. It seems like a lot longer ago, if you ask me. Not that such a thing is bad - considering a comparison to how fast the whole last year went - but... I don't know. I guess it would be best to have you just tell this tired girl to put her ranting and raving to bed. Sometimes I just think too much, and things always look different in the light of day after some sleep.

Pack your bags...

Been thinking about traveling. I do that often, but after last night's dinner-table discussion on this, now I find myself wandering to these sites and daydreaming.

Hmmm... I could be packed in a matter of a few hours...

Doing my part for science...

Waxing Philosophical...

Sometimes summer days are best spent

outside in the shade of a big tree,

with the sun filtering through the leaves

and a gentle breeze rustling the grass.

In such a state of (nature's) quiet,

bliss can be attained by something as simple as a nap.

What kind of girl do you think I am?

...hopefully the right kind of girl! :)


You're a romantic girl. You're kind, caring,
loving, and peaceful. You spend a lot of your
time dreaming and you're not afraid to express
deep emotion, whether it be in a poem, diary,
or words. You hope for love and affection from
your prince charming. I have a feeling he will
come around soon.

What kind of girl are you? (with pix!)
brought to you by Quizilla

Hmmm... not too far off track. And as for P.C.? I think he's nearby, although perhaps a little sleepy at the moment...
Thanks to Marisa (and the million and one quizzes she did the other day!) for this post! :)

Crash!! Bang!! Boom!!

Hope ya'll had a good day yesterday, celebrating our country and hopefully seeing some fireworks! I saw some in Ridgewood last night, and they were very beautiful - if you live in the area, go next year - but get there early! It was a fun evening, not without surprises! Matt returned from the shore early :) and we went to have some of this (I chose oatmeal cookie ice cream with strawberries and Oreos... an interesting combo), and then I was off to meet Alisa at the fireworks. But then - surprise! - my phone rang and our group stretched into three as Matt rejoined the festivities. I brought us glow-sticks (which were cooler than the ones they sold there - we had distinctive colors!) and a Gummi Lunch and we heard a little of the jazz band before the fireworks began. Good music, good fireworks, and good company - what more could you ask for on the Fourth?!

Talk about randomness...

LOOK OUT! ïòð

miss president is a radioactive squirrel!!

Username:

From Go-Quiz.com

Weekend, continued

To pick up where I left off, I did end up playing mini-golf yesterday... and winning! Par for the course was 47 - I got a 61 and Alisa got a 76. Woo hoo - we rock! :) Then, we went to dinner and saw another movie (three in three days! Unheard of!) The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. A good, girly movie - makes you laugh, makes you cry. Addressed some real issues and even took you to Greece, which is amazingly beautiful. A good contrast to Friday's movie, which was dark and loud. I'm actually curious to read the book now - although it is on a long list of books I want to read... and some that I want to re-read.

It's funny - when I post on here, I tend to write random things and wonder if people actually read them or if it just gets sent into a cyberspace void. I know of some who read my ramblings, either faithfully or sporadically. I'm guessing that there are others who I don't know who check out what I have to say sometimes. There are blogs that I enjoy reading (two are on my sidebar) of people I have never met before and never interacted with. I wonder if they think it's strange that people are reading their stuff. I am amused to find that someone who I read on occasion (and actually met once, at the wedding of these folks) also reads mine, since she ended up writing about something I'd talked about the other day! So, hi, Angela - glad you got an interesting post out of the deal!

Fourth of July Weekend, 2005

Well, unfortunately, I have no tales to tell of interesting destinations this weekend, unlike some that I know who are heading for exciting and exotic locales like Martha's Vinyard and Belmar (to name a few...). Alas, I am attempting to have some fun anyway.

On Thursday (I know, technically not yet the weekend), went to see Bewitched with Annonym.... er, Matt. ;) It was cute, and I enjoyed it, although one could spend a large amount of time showing the similarities/borrowed features to another film I enjoy. Yesterday, I ended up going to see another film (two days in a row! can you believe it!?) - War of the Worlds. It was better than I expected, actually, and fulfilled the big "Fourth of July Summer Blockbuster Movie" requirement. I ended up crashing at Alisa's, and then we went to a late breakfast at the diner. We're contimplating mini-golf later, which can always be an adventure in cheating and fun!

As to the rest of the weekend? Well, my guess is as good as yours. Maybe I'll run away and join the circus after all. Maybe I'll go trekking in the Alps. Maybe I'll end up watching a L&O marathon (there must be one - there is for every other holiday!).

Happy Fourth.

Interesting

Interesting website of the day:

http://www.paulsadowski.com/birthday.asp

Tells you stuff about how old you are and your birthday - and if you click on the link at the bottom and fill in your name, it tells you stuff about your name, too. Interesting how it appears to be fairly accurate....

Frugal Miss President (...or am I just cheap?)

Like some others that I know, I enjoy a good bargain. Take, for example, my last trip to see the Woods in MA. Bec and I went to the House of Target and, among other things, checked out their dollar section. There is always a lot to see, and we noticed one whole section that was on clearance - 75% off. Yes, folks, that means that all $1 items were a whopping 25 Cents! And, of course, we are all familiar with my shopping piece de restance - 12 Polar Seltzer bottles for free, plus a nickel! :) (original post on that is Thurs, Feb. 17, 2004 if you're interested)

I have made a new discovery in terms of frugalness and kitch... Below Five. They opened one up near me fairly recently, and I've just had the opportunity to visit this week. How much fun is this store? I could easily spend large amounts of cash on a million rather useless-but-fun items. I almost walked out of there with mini-paper-lantern electric lights and a tin lunchbox (for which the grand total would have been $10) but, alas, I did not.... but maybe next time. ;)

Road trip adventures, roller coasters and... breakfast in Vermont?!?

Yesterday was perhaps not the first official day of Summer, but it was the first official day of my summer, and an adventure was planned to commemorate the day. I was instructed to be ready at 5am (eek!) and was told that clothing appropriate for Six Flags was in order. Being that I live in the same state as this, I figured that the bulk of the adventure was to happen there, with perhaps a quick trip to the ocean included in the package. I get in the car and find myself sweetly provided with blanket and pillow. It doesn't take much convincing to get me to push the seat back and doze off for an hour. When I awaken, I expect to find myself fairly close to the shore... and instead find myself near Hartford! Tricky, tricky... it ends up that I live practically between two parks and the goal was to get to Massachusetts! Imagine my surprise! So, we keep driving and enter the good 'ol Bay State, and keep driving. And driving. And then we get to a sign that says.... Welcome to Vermont. Vermont?!? At that point, it was obvious that something wasn't quite right. We stopped at a beautiful welcome center and found two earthy-crunchy-Vermonters ready to help. Since we were already there, inquiries were made as to how close we were to the location of this, to find that it was "just up the road, at exit 6," and that breakfast could be attained fairly nearby. Back in the car, armed with a brand-new Vermont map, we started off again, only to discover that exit 6 was 30 miles away! So, the whole breakfast-and-shopping-in-Vermont excursion came to an abrupt stop as we turned around and headed back down to MA. Upon re-entry, we visited a second visitor's center, where the story of our adventure became the topic of the day with the ladies who worked there. ("...those foolish New Jersey kids! Don't they know anything?") Ended up getting pancakes bigger than my head for breakfast and then arriving at the park a little after opening. It's a fun place - we hit all of the coasters (one wooden one twice!) and thoroughly enjoyed the day. On the way home, I requested a stop to purchase some of this, and ended up amusing the check-out girls ("...they came three states just to buy seltzer?") before heading out to get some dinner... which ended up becoming another birthday celebration complete with a wait-staff serenade! Yes, it was quite the adventure.

Well done, Anonymous! Your sneaky scheming worked, perhaps better than originally planned! :)

PS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD! Hope you've enjoyed your day!