Well, OK iTunes Genius…not bad, not bad at all…except for the Feist tune…gotta delete that one…
Black Grass-Gary Louris
Paperback Bible-Lambchop
John Saw That Number-Neko Case
Everybody Daylight-Brightblack Morning Light
Let's Get Out Of This Country-Camera Obscura
Is It Like Today?-World Party
Another Sunny Day-Belle & Sebastian
Woman King-Iron & Wine
All I Need-Radiohead
Fake Empire-The National
Marry Song-Band Of Horses
Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games-Of Montreal
Naked As We Came-Iron & Wine
She Only Calls Me On Sundays-Gary Louris
Girlfriend-Matthew Sweet
Your Heart Is An Empty Room-Death Cab For Cutie
I Got You-Split Enz
Satellite-Guster
Either Way-Wilco
Two Silver Trees-Calexico
The Swish-The Hold Steady
Can't Say No-The Helio Sequence
Freeway-Aimee Mann
Let's Dance-M Ward
My Moon My Man-Feist
Leaving town is always pleasant…almost always anyway. But returning can be…well, first off, my husband enlisted a friend to pick me up from the airport because it was the first game of the world series and he wasn’t about to miss his beloved Phillies. Fair enough, I don’t know what would keep me from picking him up at the airport but I guess it’s fair game now, isn’t it? Had a nice long talk with said friend on the way though since we were stuck in traffic for quite a bit. That’s how Los Angeles welcomes you home. And then, in the morning, it reminds you again how much it missed you with a two hour drive to work. Fire on the mountain and all that. And a fire on the off ramp as well. Sigh. I did think about turning around and going home but even that would have been another two hour drive I think.
And then, no surprises here, it was about an hour and forty-five minutes to get home. My knee actually feels weak from all the stop and start driving. Yeesh. This morning? Much better, and I drove through the area which had burned. It was kind of spooky. Black and charred and smelling of barbeque. Eerie. This was a case where no homes or businesses were lost and that’s good. The landscape is torched but that’s not so bad, it will grow back and it took care of some of the underbrush. Still, it was close to home and unnerving.
But the trip east (did I mention I was making a surprise trip east? For my mom’s birthday? No? Well…SURPRISE!) was darn pleasant. Everything went off without a hitch. Mom was surprised and her big spectacular birthday cake, a present from my dad at the request of mom, was big and spectacular. She seemed to enjoy her present and the surprise of me sitting in the kitchen when she arrived home from church. Everyone was healthy and reasonably happy and really what more could you ask for? I even spent a morning at a “living heritage” museum hanging out with a spinner, the blacksmith and some ladies in funny dresses.
Sadly, I was apparently not missed much on the east coast. I arrived at work this morning and was greeted by “Did you get that calendar that I left on your desk?” “Um…I just got here”, I replied. “Yeah but did you get it yesterday?” “Uh…no…I wasn’t here yesterday…or the day before…I’ve been gone for almost a week…” “Really?”
Thanks for noticing.
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Friday, October 24, 2008
Monday, September 24, 2007
Cough.
No, no, it wasn’t a two-week vacation. That would have been nice, but no. I got home well over a week ago. Then it took a few days to recover…then it took a few more to get sick. And then recover again, which I am still working on. The recovery, I mean. And no, it wasn’t the typical “caught a cold on the airplane” thing. Although I am very, very good at that. I returned fully healthy and sort of relaxed, even though it would be quite a stretch to call the vacation relaxing. It was pretty hardcore, go-go-go, theme parking. But when I felt pretty well recovered from that, and back in the correct time zone, I noticed that a few of my co-workers were suspiciously missing from work. And the cold has since plowed its way through the office, taking us down one by one.
So I am back but I am not recovered but whatever. I was at Disneyworld for a week. It’s worth the cold. And although I wouldn’t call my vacation “relaxing” it was fun, fun, fun. And surprisingly, everything pretty much went our way. After being told by a concierge that no reservations were available at one of the few restaurants we deemed unmissable, we walked up to the door and were told we could get a table. OK, we said when do you have an opening. Um…when do you want to eat? No fuss, no muss. And it was good. And so was high tea. And so was not having to wait in line for anything for more than about 20 minutes and most of the time walking right on a ride, then walking off and walking right back on again. Sure, it was hot. About ninety-five most days. And humid. 100% humidity and several bouts of rain. There were blisters the size of Cadillacs and emergency “get the hell out of the sun!” moments but it was good. And we had fun. And now we are both at our respective homes and it’s a wee bit sad.
And if you are headed to Disney, do not miss the new-ish pirates. It’s, as I am sure you know, the same old pirates with a few new additions. I’ll be honest. I was never a huge fan of the ride and even less of one after being stuck in it for half an hour back in 1987, but I liked the updates quite a lot and it made the ride less…ok, look, I am afraid of water rides, OK? I can handle “it’s a small word” but that’s about it. I just keep waiting for something awful to pop up out of the water. So far nothing has, but the lovely new animatronics Jack Sparrow kept me engaged without being twitchy. And I am not really a Jack Sparrow fan. I’d much prefer a little more Barbossa myself. Or even more Davy Jones. But hey, yes, lovely job.
Now I’ve got to get back to coughing and wishing I could take a nap. Sigh.
So I am back but I am not recovered but whatever. I was at Disneyworld for a week. It’s worth the cold. And although I wouldn’t call my vacation “relaxing” it was fun, fun, fun. And surprisingly, everything pretty much went our way. After being told by a concierge that no reservations were available at one of the few restaurants we deemed unmissable, we walked up to the door and were told we could get a table. OK, we said when do you have an opening. Um…when do you want to eat? No fuss, no muss. And it was good. And so was high tea. And so was not having to wait in line for anything for more than about 20 minutes and most of the time walking right on a ride, then walking off and walking right back on again. Sure, it was hot. About ninety-five most days. And humid. 100% humidity and several bouts of rain. There were blisters the size of Cadillacs and emergency “get the hell out of the sun!” moments but it was good. And we had fun. And now we are both at our respective homes and it’s a wee bit sad.
And if you are headed to Disney, do not miss the new-ish pirates. It’s, as I am sure you know, the same old pirates with a few new additions. I’ll be honest. I was never a huge fan of the ride and even less of one after being stuck in it for half an hour back in 1987, but I liked the updates quite a lot and it made the ride less…ok, look, I am afraid of water rides, OK? I can handle “it’s a small word” but that’s about it. I just keep waiting for something awful to pop up out of the water. So far nothing has, but the lovely new animatronics Jack Sparrow kept me engaged without being twitchy. And I am not really a Jack Sparrow fan. I’d much prefer a little more Barbossa myself. Or even more Davy Jones. But hey, yes, lovely job.
Now I’ve got to get back to coughing and wishing I could take a nap. Sigh.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Warm.
Oh it must be back to school time because I am looking at notebooks and journals and schoolbags and wishing I needed some. The stationary lust hits hard in September but I am well stocked and have no need for just one more sharpie set or one more blank book. Don’t get me wrong, I will find a reason to have them all but at the moment…nothing. My husband did give me a big ol’ handful of mini gel pens though, that ought to keep me at bay for a while.
So, it’s been hot. Did you know? Like super hot, hot. Like even I think it’s hot kind of hot. I am the girl that requires sweaters until it’s in the eighties and three quarter sleeves until it’s 93 degrees out. I sleep in sweats or long pajamas and even I wore a tank top to bed. Over one hundred degrees for many days. This made the weekend quite unpleasant and claustrophobic as we only have air conditioning in one room. Going to the bathroom was brutal. Going to bed in the actual bedroom was unthinkable. More than ten minutes in the kitchen? No way. But going out? Also unthinkable. Imponderable. Unbearable. So I sat in my little corner of the couch and read and watched Mad Men and…did very little. Hey, I would have cleaned…really…if it hadn’t been so hot. But…you know it was for my health that I didn’t.
Now in truth, it has been my experience anyway, that it’s really only unbearably hot in Los Angeles for about two weeks of the year. Not always two weeks in a row but in general, only about 14 days a year require me to use the air conditioner…but also keep in mind, I am like the lizard. Cold blooded. I like the warm. In general, when everyone else is saying it’s way too hot, I am quite happy. But when I say hot. It’s hot. But two weeks is ok. I can handle that. People tend to forget though. In a week or so it will still be pretty warm and people will start saying things like “It’s September, it should be cooler than this” as they have said every year in all my ten years here. And guess what. Every year it’s been this hot around this time. So, what do I do? I leave. Next week I am off to Florida, where it is…hot. But I will be in Disney where there are may cool places to hide, so I won’t mind. Also, Disney as an adult…much more entertaining. There are already plans in motion for cocktails and…well, more cocktails. I can’t wait. And then after cocktails there will be much shopping and more cocktails and IT’S A SMALL WORLD. It shall be grand, I tell you, GRAND!
So, it’s been hot. Did you know? Like super hot, hot. Like even I think it’s hot kind of hot. I am the girl that requires sweaters until it’s in the eighties and three quarter sleeves until it’s 93 degrees out. I sleep in sweats or long pajamas and even I wore a tank top to bed. Over one hundred degrees for many days. This made the weekend quite unpleasant and claustrophobic as we only have air conditioning in one room. Going to the bathroom was brutal. Going to bed in the actual bedroom was unthinkable. More than ten minutes in the kitchen? No way. But going out? Also unthinkable. Imponderable. Unbearable. So I sat in my little corner of the couch and read and watched Mad Men and…did very little. Hey, I would have cleaned…really…if it hadn’t been so hot. But…you know it was for my health that I didn’t.
Now in truth, it has been my experience anyway, that it’s really only unbearably hot in Los Angeles for about two weeks of the year. Not always two weeks in a row but in general, only about 14 days a year require me to use the air conditioner…but also keep in mind, I am like the lizard. Cold blooded. I like the warm. In general, when everyone else is saying it’s way too hot, I am quite happy. But when I say hot. It’s hot. But two weeks is ok. I can handle that. People tend to forget though. In a week or so it will still be pretty warm and people will start saying things like “It’s September, it should be cooler than this” as they have said every year in all my ten years here. And guess what. Every year it’s been this hot around this time. So, what do I do? I leave. Next week I am off to Florida, where it is…hot. But I will be in Disney where there are may cool places to hide, so I won’t mind. Also, Disney as an adult…much more entertaining. There are already plans in motion for cocktails and…well, more cocktails. I can’t wait. And then after cocktails there will be much shopping and more cocktails and IT’S A SMALL WORLD. It shall be grand, I tell you, GRAND!
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Vacate.
I guess I never did say what I did in Wilmington, NC. I know someone, somewhere is on tenterhooks waiting to hear…is it you? No? Oh…ok.
Doesn’t matter, I’m gonna go ahead and say it anyway. I had a really nice time. It’s a good thing to get out of town every once in a while and for me, getting out of L.A. is crucial. I gotta go somewhere else at least once a year or my head will explode. I’m serious. It’s happened. It’s not pretty.
So I really just went to visit my friend Donovan. His mom and dad were there but you know, sometimes the ‘rents are just…well, you know. Donovan and I did some really cool stuff too. We went to an Azelea Festival Street Fair. I got a toe ring but Donovan got himself a Buddha statue. It’s really pretty and I heard him whispering “Buddha, Buddha, Buddha” to it, so I guess it felt right at home. We also read a few books about trains and had a pretty lengthy discussion about which ones were our favorites. I prefer the purple trains and the commuter trains but Donovan made some strong points in favor of Thomas and steam trains in general.
We also had a lengthy discussion about what our names are. I tried to trick him and tell him that MY name was Donovan, but he never fell for it. He’s pretty wily that way.
All in all we had a really good time together. Naturally, Donovan is a busy guy so he couldn’t spend ALL his time with me. Sometimes he had important things to do at school, or the Kids in Play place, or take naps so he could do those important things. So I had to spend some time with his mom and dad too. That was ok. We did some interesting things too. We had fondue, that was really good. And martinis that I don’t think Donovan would really have liked. We went to a hookah bar that wasn’t really his speed either. He’s a pretty straight edge and I don’t know if he would have appreciated the sour apple flavor we smoked (I only tried it, it tasted too much like candy for me…and Donovan is more a veggies kind of guy, not so much on the candy). He might have liked the Goth bellydancers though. They were pretty cool. I guess I had never considered how well Gothy music would go with belly dancing. Turns out it’s a whole big thing, all over the place. Go figure.
Let’s see…anything else. Well, we watched The Departed, but Donvan said he wasn’t into Leo and went to bed. I thought it was pretty good though.
Oh and I visited a store I had been wanting to see for a long time. Even before Doovan moved to NC.
So it was a good trip. I will go back. I hope. If Donvan will let me.
Doesn’t matter, I’m gonna go ahead and say it anyway. I had a really nice time. It’s a good thing to get out of town every once in a while and for me, getting out of L.A. is crucial. I gotta go somewhere else at least once a year or my head will explode. I’m serious. It’s happened. It’s not pretty.
So I really just went to visit my friend Donovan. His mom and dad were there but you know, sometimes the ‘rents are just…well, you know. Donovan and I did some really cool stuff too. We went to an Azelea Festival Street Fair. I got a toe ring but Donovan got himself a Buddha statue. It’s really pretty and I heard him whispering “Buddha, Buddha, Buddha” to it, so I guess it felt right at home. We also read a few books about trains and had a pretty lengthy discussion about which ones were our favorites. I prefer the purple trains and the commuter trains but Donovan made some strong points in favor of Thomas and steam trains in general.
We also had a lengthy discussion about what our names are. I tried to trick him and tell him that MY name was Donovan, but he never fell for it. He’s pretty wily that way.
All in all we had a really good time together. Naturally, Donovan is a busy guy so he couldn’t spend ALL his time with me. Sometimes he had important things to do at school, or the Kids in Play place, or take naps so he could do those important things. So I had to spend some time with his mom and dad too. That was ok. We did some interesting things too. We had fondue, that was really good. And martinis that I don’t think Donovan would really have liked. We went to a hookah bar that wasn’t really his speed either. He’s a pretty straight edge and I don’t know if he would have appreciated the sour apple flavor we smoked (I only tried it, it tasted too much like candy for me…and Donovan is more a veggies kind of guy, not so much on the candy). He might have liked the Goth bellydancers though. They were pretty cool. I guess I had never considered how well Gothy music would go with belly dancing. Turns out it’s a whole big thing, all over the place. Go figure.
Let’s see…anything else. Well, we watched The Departed, but Donvan said he wasn’t into Leo and went to bed. I thought it was pretty good though.
Oh and I visited a store I had been wanting to see for a long time. Even before Doovan moved to NC.
So it was a good trip. I will go back. I hope. If Donvan will let me.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Psst.
Shhhh....I'm going away...on vacation. I'm gonna go visit my friend Donovan (oh yeah, and his mama and daddy too). Don't make a mess while I am gone!
OH WAIT!!! Go here. See those "Wordy Birdies" cards? Well I made those and you can buy those and if you don't like those, you can buy all kinds of other lovely cards made by little Miss Ambitious Hamster herself (and some by her mom!). AND there will be new stuff added all the time, so if you don't see something that sparks your interest today, go back and look tomorrow, maybe you will find something new!
But what I really want you to do is to tell your friends about our cards. C'mon, everyone buys cards sometimes, right? So next time you, or someone you know needs a card...you get the picture...
OH WAIT!!! Go here. See those "Wordy Birdies" cards? Well I made those and you can buy those and if you don't like those, you can buy all kinds of other lovely cards made by little Miss Ambitious Hamster herself (and some by her mom!). AND there will be new stuff added all the time, so if you don't see something that sparks your interest today, go back and look tomorrow, maybe you will find something new!
But what I really want you to do is to tell your friends about our cards. C'mon, everyone buys cards sometimes, right? So next time you, or someone you know needs a card...you get the picture...
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