There is a lot going on in my life right now. Work is busy, social life is busy, I've over-extended myself on projects around the house, and it is the holiday season on top of that. I feel like the brain hamsters have been spinning their wheels especially fast lately.
Last night as I sat at Wine Night, I pulled some scrap paper (actually, a used envelope) out of my purse and started jotting down things I need to accomplish over the next few evenings, plus lists of things I need to tell certain people so I don't forget. Along with notes to finish paining my cabinets, mail some packages, and write my Christmas cards, I decided to put Meditate for 15 Minutes on the list each evening.
After I got home with my leftover wine, I buzzed around the house for about an hour and a half, straightening and painting and crossing things off the list. And then, just before heading upstairs to get ready for bed, I turned out all the lights except for the candles in the window and the Christmas trees. I sat on the floor, looking up at the lights and decorations of Sam the Balsam. I focused on some of the different ornaments, reflecting on where and when I acquired them. Boo came over for some lovings, rubbing his face on my hands and crawling into my lap for a few minutes. Finally, I sang a couple of very off-tune Christmas carols. It took 15 minutes before bed, and really did relax me.
There are 12 more days until Christmas. I think I will be adding this to my nightly schedule.
Hiking exploits, experimental cooking, general nerdery, and cat pictures.
Seriously. Do not call me Katy.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Friday, November 23, 2012
Buy Nothing Friday
I really dislike how crazy this whole Black Friday shopping thing has gotten. It's the dark side of humanity: stampeding hordes at midnight because they can save $50 on a new tv.
I know people who "do" Black Friday. They do get fantastic deals on clothes, toys, and other things so that they can give their children a happy Christmas morning without breaking the bank. My scorn is not for them.
Heck, I've done Black Friday a few times myself. 6When I have, it's been years when I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to get for everyone on my shopping list, and I was able to finish all or most of my holiday shopping.
After listening to the horror stories from some friends who work retail full-time, I just couldn't do it this year. The whole "stores open at 6am! no, 4am! no, midnight! no, 8-fricken-pm-on-Thanksgiving-Day" is ridiculous. So I decided to participate in the Buy Nothing Day "boycott" of the big-box stores. How did I do?
Well, I wound up spending $80. Not exactly "Nothing". But I tried to be conscientious in my spending, I think I made some pretty reasonable purchasing choices.
-$15 to hire a Personal Minion (aka one of my Girl Scouts) for 3 hrs of helping me put away garden stuff, put up my outdoor Christmas decorations, and gather some firewood and kindling from all the downed limbs in the woods.
-$44 at the Orange Big Box hardware store to rent a multi-position ladder to hang things up high in my stairwell.
-$18 at my local, independent, family-owned hardware store for joint compound and a spreader. Because what everyone wants to do on a holiday weekend is fix drywall. But I have the ladder, so might as well fix the dinged walls that have been driving me nuts for 7 years.
-And finally, $3 on a soda and Powerball ticket. Totally unnecessary purchase, other than the fact that I needed to break a $20 so I could pay my Minion.
Tomorrow is Small Business Saturday. Seems like a good excuse for me to go get frou-frou coffee, a giant cupcake, and some handmade truffles at the local patisserie!
I know people who "do" Black Friday. They do get fantastic deals on clothes, toys, and other things so that they can give their children a happy Christmas morning without breaking the bank. My scorn is not for them.
Heck, I've done Black Friday a few times myself. 6When I have, it's been years when I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to get for everyone on my shopping list, and I was able to finish all or most of my holiday shopping.
After listening to the horror stories from some friends who work retail full-time, I just couldn't do it this year. The whole "stores open at 6am! no, 4am! no, midnight! no, 8-fricken-pm-on-Thanksgiving-Day" is ridiculous. So I decided to participate in the Buy Nothing Day "boycott" of the big-box stores. How did I do?
Well, I wound up spending $80. Not exactly "Nothing". But I tried to be conscientious in my spending, I think I made some pretty reasonable purchasing choices.
-$15 to hire a Personal Minion (aka one of my Girl Scouts) for 3 hrs of helping me put away garden stuff, put up my outdoor Christmas decorations, and gather some firewood and kindling from all the downed limbs in the woods.
-$44 at the Orange Big Box hardware store to rent a multi-position ladder to hang things up high in my stairwell.
-$18 at my local, independent, family-owned hardware store for joint compound and a spreader. Because what everyone wants to do on a holiday weekend is fix drywall. But I have the ladder, so might as well fix the dinged walls that have been driving me nuts for 7 years.
-And finally, $3 on a soda and Powerball ticket. Totally unnecessary purchase, other than the fact that I needed to break a $20 so I could pay my Minion.
Tomorrow is Small Business Saturday. Seems like a good excuse for me to go get frou-frou coffee, a giant cupcake, and some handmade truffles at the local patisserie!
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
In Which We Prove That Every Vote Really DOES Count
Here are some facts and figures to chew on, followed by a rant.
New Hampshire has one of the largest parliamentary bodies (read: legislature) in the English-speaking world. The NH General Court is made up of the Senate, with 24 members, and the House, with 400 members. No, I did not add a 0 by accident. That's right - Four. Hundred.
NH population according to the 2010 US Census is 1,318,194. That gives us 1 Representative for every 3295 residents.
Out of the 1.3 million NH residents, 21.2% are under the age of 18 and therefore unable to vote. So the voting population is (at most) 1,038,736. As of January 2012, there are 791,249 registered voters in NH. Which drops our Rep-to-resident ratio all the way down to 1/1978.
In the 2008 Presidential election, NH voter turnout was 72.5% (kicking the national turnout rate of 61%, I might add). Assuming a similar turnout this year, that puts us at 573,656 ballots cast in NH. Which now drops the ratio to 1 Representative per every 1434 voters. How few people it now takes to swing the election one way or another.
My presidential vote may be a drop in the ocean, but my vote for State Representative is more like a drop in a shot glass. Although, I should say my votes. I actually have 8 votes for State Rep. My district is my town, and based on our town population, we get 8 Representatives. It's not broken down by area any further, so I currently have a ballot with 16 names from which to choose.
I understand not breaking the district down further to assign each Representative a specific area. I'm not crazy about it, I think it makes it much harder for me to understand who my elected Representatives are and who they stand for, but I do understand. I don't really understand why NH needs 400 Representatives, but that's coming from someone who grew up in a similarly small state that manages to get by with merely 151 Representatives.
What I do not understand is why, on Election Eve, I can find so little information on any of my 16 choices. I very much dislike voting "blind" - I want to have at least read up on a candidate or an issue before I make my choice. At this point in my life, I do not vote a party-line ticket. However, I feel like that is what I am going to have to do tomorrow if I want to vote for Representatives at all.
No candidate websites with their policy statements. Barely half of them answered the questionnaire sent out by the Town Patch online newspaper - and that had more questions about their hometowns, families, and education than it did about their ideas for government.
I am incredibly frustrated that I feel completely incapable of making an informed decision. And I'm wondering, if getting elected doesn't actually seem to require any campaigning beyond having a voter decide they like the way your name looks on paper, then maybe I should run for State Representative. I mean, throw up a cheap, static, 1-page website and I'd already be miles ahead of my competition....
On second thought, never mind. A wee bit of research shows that NH Reps and Senators get paid a whopping $200 per biennium. And I didn't drop a 0 this time either.
New Hampshire has one of the largest parliamentary bodies (read: legislature) in the English-speaking world. The NH General Court is made up of the Senate, with 24 members, and the House, with 400 members. No, I did not add a 0 by accident. That's right - Four. Hundred.
NH population according to the 2010 US Census is 1,318,194. That gives us 1 Representative for every 3295 residents.
Out of the 1.3 million NH residents, 21.2% are under the age of 18 and therefore unable to vote. So the voting population is (at most) 1,038,736. As of January 2012, there are 791,249 registered voters in NH. Which drops our Rep-to-resident ratio all the way down to 1/1978.
In the 2008 Presidential election, NH voter turnout was 72.5% (kicking the national turnout rate of 61%, I might add). Assuming a similar turnout this year, that puts us at 573,656 ballots cast in NH. Which now drops the ratio to 1 Representative per every 1434 voters. How few people it now takes to swing the election one way or another.
My presidential vote may be a drop in the ocean, but my vote for State Representative is more like a drop in a shot glass. Although, I should say my votes. I actually have 8 votes for State Rep. My district is my town, and based on our town population, we get 8 Representatives. It's not broken down by area any further, so I currently have a ballot with 16 names from which to choose.
I understand not breaking the district down further to assign each Representative a specific area. I'm not crazy about it, I think it makes it much harder for me to understand who my elected Representatives are and who they stand for, but I do understand. I don't really understand why NH needs 400 Representatives, but that's coming from someone who grew up in a similarly small state that manages to get by with merely 151 Representatives.
What I do not understand is why, on Election Eve, I can find so little information on any of my 16 choices. I very much dislike voting "blind" - I want to have at least read up on a candidate or an issue before I make my choice. At this point in my life, I do not vote a party-line ticket. However, I feel like that is what I am going to have to do tomorrow if I want to vote for Representatives at all.
No candidate websites with their policy statements. Barely half of them answered the questionnaire sent out by the Town Patch online newspaper - and that had more questions about their hometowns, families, and education than it did about their ideas for government.
I am incredibly frustrated that I feel completely incapable of making an informed decision. And I'm wondering, if getting elected doesn't actually seem to require any campaigning beyond having a voter decide they like the way your name looks on paper, then maybe I should run for State Representative. I mean, throw up a cheap, static, 1-page website and I'd already be miles ahead of my competition....
On second thought, never mind. A wee bit of research shows that NH Reps and Senators get paid a whopping $200 per biennium. And I didn't drop a 0 this time either.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Two Days Left In Paris? Merde!
I have reached the frustrating part of vacation where my brain is at "See All The Things!" while my body is at "Nope! Tired! Gonna ignore the alarm and sleep in!" Sadly, the body is winning. Which yeah, I know, there was no was I was going to be able to do everything I wanted to anyway, and it's a great excuse to come back sooner rather than later, and Paris isn't going anywhere (unlike Venice, which will probably sink completely before I manage to return), but dammit, I feel like I'm wasting so much time!
My museum pass is used up. I still have one day extra on my rail pass. I am a little overwhelmed with trying to prioritize what to do.
Things checked off the list so far, successfully or otherwise:
- Climbed the Eiffel Tower and drank Champagne
- Climbed the bell towers at Nortre-Dame, but did not see Quasimodo
- Visited the Louvre, saw the Big Three (Mona Lisa, Manley's horses, Winged Victory) and plenty of other art
- Visited the Musée de l'Orangerie (Monet's Water Lilies)
- Visited the Musée d'Orsay (Impressionism)
- Took a cruise on the Seine
- Spent a day at Versailles
- Visited Chateau Fontainebleau
- Drank wine and read books in cafés
- Hung out at Shakespeare & Co, the iconic English-language bookstore in the 5th
- Wandered around the Center Pompidou (modern art)
- Stared at some gorgeous furniture and tapestries at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs
- Took lots of artsy-fartsy color photos with the 35mm SLR
Still on the list for this trip:
- Monet's house and gardens in Giverny (tomorrow)
- Wander around in Pére Lachaise cemetery
- Montmartre and Sacre-Couer
- Street shopping along the Seine
- Drag ass out of bed early and go take pictures of the great neighborhood I am staying in
Potentially still on the list, depending on if I decide to buy another 2-day museum pass:
- Go back to the Orangerie and stare at the Water Lilies some more
- Go back to Musée d'Orsay on the night they are open late and hopefully actually get to see the art, not just glimpses of it from behind other tourists' heads
- Go through the Paris sewers (yeah, I know, I'm weird. Blame it on too much listening to Les Miz as a child!)
- Climb the Arc de Triomphe
- Go to the Musée de l'Armée and Napoleon's Tomb (again, weird, blame it on growing up in a military family!)
- Head over to Chartres to take pictures of the stained glass windows in the cathedral in late afternoon
- Maybe, maybe go to Chateau Vincennes in the Bois de Vincennes, a large park on the southeast corner of Paris
Totally going to have to wait until next time:
- Side trips to either London or Brussels (what was I thinking?!)
- Side trip to Strasbourg (sorry cute Israeli coworker who lives there now, I just can't fit visiting you in!)
- Champagne tours in Reims and Eperney, kind of disappointed on this one, but know that I'd have more fun doing it with a friend
- More chateaux, specifically the Chateau de Chantilly, which was also on my museum pass and I totally should have gone there instead of Fountainebleau
- Taking artsy-fartsy black and white photos of Paris with the 35mm SLR
And with that.... On y va! Let's get going, because it's noon already!
My museum pass is used up. I still have one day extra on my rail pass. I am a little overwhelmed with trying to prioritize what to do.
Things checked off the list so far, successfully or otherwise:
- Climbed the Eiffel Tower and drank Champagne
- Climbed the bell towers at Nortre-Dame, but did not see Quasimodo
- Visited the Louvre, saw the Big Three (Mona Lisa, Manley's horses, Winged Victory) and plenty of other art
- Visited the Musée de l'Orangerie (Monet's Water Lilies)
- Visited the Musée d'Orsay (Impressionism)
- Took a cruise on the Seine
- Spent a day at Versailles
- Visited Chateau Fontainebleau
- Drank wine and read books in cafés
- Hung out at Shakespeare & Co, the iconic English-language bookstore in the 5th
- Wandered around the Center Pompidou (modern art)
- Stared at some gorgeous furniture and tapestries at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs
- Took lots of artsy-fartsy color photos with the 35mm SLR
Still on the list for this trip:
- Monet's house and gardens in Giverny (tomorrow)
- Wander around in Pére Lachaise cemetery
- Montmartre and Sacre-Couer
- Street shopping along the Seine
- Drag ass out of bed early and go take pictures of the great neighborhood I am staying in
Potentially still on the list, depending on if I decide to buy another 2-day museum pass:
- Go back to the Orangerie and stare at the Water Lilies some more
- Go back to Musée d'Orsay on the night they are open late and hopefully actually get to see the art, not just glimpses of it from behind other tourists' heads
- Go through the Paris sewers (yeah, I know, I'm weird. Blame it on too much listening to Les Miz as a child!)
- Climb the Arc de Triomphe
- Go to the Musée de l'Armée and Napoleon's Tomb (again, weird, blame it on growing up in a military family!)
- Head over to Chartres to take pictures of the stained glass windows in the cathedral in late afternoon
- Maybe, maybe go to Chateau Vincennes in the Bois de Vincennes, a large park on the southeast corner of Paris
Totally going to have to wait until next time:
- Side trips to either London or Brussels (what was I thinking?!)
- Side trip to Strasbourg (sorry cute Israeli coworker who lives there now, I just can't fit visiting you in!)
- Champagne tours in Reims and Eperney, kind of disappointed on this one, but know that I'd have more fun doing it with a friend
- More chateaux, specifically the Chateau de Chantilly, which was also on my museum pass and I totally should have gone there instead of Fountainebleau
- Taking artsy-fartsy black and white photos of Paris with the 35mm SLR
And with that.... On y va! Let's get going, because it's noon already!
Monday, September 10, 2012
A Caprese Kind of Day
What does 14.98€ (around $19 with the current exchange rate) get you at the corner market? Well, this for starters.
To be fair, the baguette did not come from the corner market. It came from the corner boulangerie where they have fresh, hot, crunchy-on-the-outside, chewy-on-the-inside baguettes twice a day Monday through Friday. They are kitty-corner from the corner market and even closer to my apartment. Dangerous - and delicious!
The Reblochon I am very excited about. It's a cheese I fell in love with when I was in France in 2009, staying in Haute-Savoie for work with Connectors R Us. As far as I can find out, Reblochon is not available in the US. At all. It's made from fresh, whole, unpasturized raw milk - which according to the USDA is a huge no-no. So no importing, and I'm not even sure that the right ingredients could be found to make it, nor the right storage conditions to cure it. I will just have to enjoy it while I am here.
The baguette, tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil combined to make four incredible caprese sandwiches. Two I wrapped up and took with me today for a picnic lunch. The other two became dinner, pictured below. I was too hungry to bother with picture-taking at lunchtime, but rest assured, it looked very similar! Just substitute a green bench and the gardens of a former royal hunting lodge for the table and nighttime Parisian backdrop.
Those of you linked to me on the Book of Face may have noticed my earlier comment about hordes of unsupervised teenagers being annoying in any language. Today's trip to Fontainebleau was definitely a mix of good and bad, leaning more heavily towards the bad, so for now let's just savor the food and wine, and I'll revisit that story in a later post.
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| Clockwise from top left: 2L milk, 2.52€ - Sauvignon Blanc from Pays d'Oc, 3.95€ - fresh baguette, 0.90€ - fresh basil, 1.35€ - fresh mesclun salad greens, 0.70€ - fresh tomatoes, 0.51€ - fresh mozzarella cheese, 1.12€ - cucumber, 0.70 € - Reblochon cheese (OMG, love!), 1.95€ - tabbouleh salad, 2.04€ |
The Reblochon I am very excited about. It's a cheese I fell in love with when I was in France in 2009, staying in Haute-Savoie for work with Connectors R Us. As far as I can find out, Reblochon is not available in the US. At all. It's made from fresh, whole, unpasturized raw milk - which according to the USDA is a huge no-no. So no importing, and I'm not even sure that the right ingredients could be found to make it, nor the right storage conditions to cure it. I will just have to enjoy it while I am here.
The baguette, tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil combined to make four incredible caprese sandwiches. Two I wrapped up and took with me today for a picnic lunch. The other two became dinner, pictured below. I was too hungry to bother with picture-taking at lunchtime, but rest assured, it looked very similar! Just substitute a green bench and the gardens of a former royal hunting lodge for the table and nighttime Parisian backdrop.
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| Caprese dinner. With wine. Of course. |
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Climbing the Iron Lady
Things my guidebooks tell me: How much it costs to take the elevator from the ground to the first level of the Eiffel Tower, how much it costs to take the elevator from the ground to the second level of the Eiffel Tower, how much it costs to take the elevator from the ground to the third and top level of the Eiffel Tower, and how much it costs to climb the stairs from the ground to the second level of the Eiffel Tower.
Things the English version of the Eiffel website tell me: How much it cost to go to the second floor or the top by elevator, and how much it costs to climb the stairs to the second level.
Things that NOBODY seems to tell you: That even in the middle of the week in "off" season, you need to book your elevator tickets from the bottom to the top a month in advance, unless you want to take your chances standing in an hours-long line to maybe get a spot. Oh, and also that you can climb the stairs to the second level, where you can then buy an elevator tickets that goes just from the 2nd to the 3rd, with little-to-no line.
Yeah.
Merrow and I started off the day by sleeping in, which was much needed after 3 increasingly early mornings in Iceland. We had planned on this as our non-museum day, so our only real plans involved climbing the Eiffel and wandering around in the city. Now, Merrow was in Paris last summer and didn't make it up the Eiffel; they didn't check far enough in advance to book tickets. And in retrospect, I'm pretty sure she's mentioned that to me before, but it didn't register and so I didn't look at getting elevator tickets until this morning.
First available trip to the top in the elevator is September 27th. No, that is not a typo.
So we resigned ourselves to climbing to the second level (which was kind of on our plan anyway) and taking fantastic pictures from there. We finally got ourselves ready and made it all the way to the café on the corner where we stopped for lunch - wine, bread, and huge salads.
After lunch, we headed over towards the 7eme arrondissement and stood in the short line to climb up. Twenty minutes later we were ticketed, security screened, and ready to begin our butt workout.
Going up and up, 360 steps to the first level, which has a restaurant, a café, and shops. Over my shoulder is a view of the Parc du Champ de Mars and the École Militaire from the first terrace.
We walked around the first floor for a bit, taking pictures from all directions, and then it was time to go up some more. Another 350-something stairs to the second level, which is actually two stories.
As we strolled along the second level, we saw the exits for the elevators coming from the ground level, and the entrance to the elevators that go all the way to the top. And just outside that entrance, we noticed a ticket window. At which point we looked at each other and said "Can we really buy tickets to the top from here?" And the answer is yes, yes you can. We stood in a line that was maybe 5 people long, snagged our tickets, waited another couple of minutes for the elevator, and headed up.
There is a Champagne bar at the top of the Eiffel, and our plan was to have a celebratory glass there. In true French fashion, though, just as we got there the bar closed for 45 minutes. We decided not to wait around that long, that Champagne from the café on the first terrace would taste just as good. But we spent some time walking around, admiring the view, and checking out the exhibits on Eiffel history on the third level. I think my favorite was a pictogram of the tallest buildings in other countries, plotted against the height of the Eiffel and located in the approximate direction of said countries from Paris.
So much for not being able to reserve a time to go to the top until September 27th! I still don't understand why in all of my research I never found anything that said climbing to the second level and THEN taking the elevator to the third was an option. And it definitely was an option, when we bought our tickets we did not have to prove we had previously come up on the elevator, and we did figure out that the signage at the ticket window at the base of the Eiffel (kind of) showed that option. Poorly. In French. Still, we wound up feeling like climbing ninjas AND super sneaky elevator-goers, so I think it worked out quite nicely in our favor.
After about 20 minutes at the top, we elevatored back to the second and then climbed down to the first level. Where we immediately got our Champagne, found a quiet table that overlooked the edge, and chilled out for a few.
Back on the ground, with some more random Eiffel shots. I may be slightly obsessed with the Iron Lady.
We headed back towards the Métro stop in the 15th, and grabbed dinner at a sidewalk café before heading back to the apartment. We both had quiche. It was delish. Served with a green salad and, of course, wine. Because Merrow and I can't go anywhere without wine.
So that was our "free" day in Paris. Plans for tomorrow are to go get our museum passes. Six-day pass for me, 2-day for Merrow since she leaves early Saturday morning to meet C at the airport and head off on their own adventure. The museum passes are for consecutive days, so I'll be a whirlwind of museums for the next week. Can already see that I'm not going to accomplish half of what I'd like to do!
Things the English version of the Eiffel website tell me: How much it cost to go to the second floor or the top by elevator, and how much it costs to climb the stairs to the second level.
Things that NOBODY seems to tell you: That even in the middle of the week in "off" season, you need to book your elevator tickets from the bottom to the top a month in advance, unless you want to take your chances standing in an hours-long line to maybe get a spot. Oh, and also that you can climb the stairs to the second level, where you can then buy an elevator tickets that goes just from the 2nd to the 3rd, with little-to-no line.
Yeah.
Merrow and I started off the day by sleeping in, which was much needed after 3 increasingly early mornings in Iceland. We had planned on this as our non-museum day, so our only real plans involved climbing the Eiffel and wandering around in the city. Now, Merrow was in Paris last summer and didn't make it up the Eiffel; they didn't check far enough in advance to book tickets. And in retrospect, I'm pretty sure she's mentioned that to me before, but it didn't register and so I didn't look at getting elevator tickets until this morning.
First available trip to the top in the elevator is September 27th. No, that is not a typo.
So we resigned ourselves to climbing to the second level (which was kind of on our plan anyway) and taking fantastic pictures from there. We finally got ourselves ready and made it all the way to the café on the corner where we stopped for lunch - wine, bread, and huge salads.
After lunch, we headed over towards the 7eme arrondissement and stood in the short line to climb up. Twenty minutes later we were ticketed, security screened, and ready to begin our butt workout.
 |
| Only 700-something stairs to go! |
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| Northeast view from the first terrace |
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| Merrow on the lower level of the second floor. The red-roofed building in the back is Stade Émile Anthoine. |
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| Looking southwest along the Seine towards the Allée des Cygnes. |
As we strolled along the second level, we saw the exits for the elevators coming from the ground level, and the entrance to the elevators that go all the way to the top. And just outside that entrance, we noticed a ticket window. At which point we looked at each other and said "Can we really buy tickets to the top from here?" And the answer is yes, yes you can. We stood in a line that was maybe 5 people long, snagged our tickets, waited another couple of minutes for the elevator, and headed up.
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| Second level to the top baby! |
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| Clearly thrilled to have actually made it to the top of the Eiffel! |
After about 20 minutes at the top, we elevatored back to the second and then climbed down to the first level. Where we immediately got our Champagne, found a quiet table that overlooked the edge, and chilled out for a few.
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| Happy Kate and Merrow... |
 |
| ...with tired feet. And yes, we DID climb the Eiffel in sandals. |
Back on the ground, with some more random Eiffel shots. I may be slightly obsessed with the Iron Lady.
We headed back towards the Métro stop in the 15th, and grabbed dinner at a sidewalk café before heading back to the apartment. We both had quiche. It was delish. Served with a green salad and, of course, wine. Because Merrow and I can't go anywhere without wine.
So that was our "free" day in Paris. Plans for tomorrow are to go get our museum passes. Six-day pass for me, 2-day for Merrow since she leaves early Saturday morning to meet C at the airport and head off on their own adventure. The museum passes are for consecutive days, so I'll be a whirlwind of museums for the next week. Can already see that I'm not going to accomplish half of what I'd like to do!
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Goodbye Reykjavik, Hello Paris
4AM is a really horrifically early time to get up, particularly when you are on vacation. Necessary, though, to get picked at your Reykjavik hotel, dropped off at the bus station, and bussed to the airport in plenty of time to make your 7:30 flight.
Bad news: I should know better by now than to buy the $25 el cheapo suitcase, but I did, and leaving the hotel it fell and threw me off balance which caused me to trip over who-knows-what, and I totally wound up going ass over teakettle onto the cobblestones. Luckily part of what threw me off balance was my backpack swinging around (note to self: use BOTH shoulder straps!) and so I mostly just landed on that. Result: scraped the back of my left hand pretty good, scraped up both ankles, good bruise potential on my shins, and a wicked beating to the pride. At least I stood up laughing!
Got to the airport in plenty of time to check in and hit up the Icelandair lounge for breakfast. Seriously, the Economy Comfort tickets were the best splurge EVER, and will definitely be a consideration when traveling back to Europe! It was actually Second Breakfast for us, as the hotel put out a spread for the early birds that was almost as full (and just as yummy!) as their normal breakfast. I would also like to point out that we did NOT avail ourselves of the free alcohol at the airport lounge. We waited until we were on board and ordered sparkling wine and OJ for mimosas.
And suddenly we were in Paris! The less said about arriving at Charles de Gaul and taking the Métro to the apartment, the better. I got to attempt to dredge up the remains of 4 years of high school French to explain to the non-English-speaking temporary Gardienne of the building that she needed to give me the key and it would be great if she could show me where the apartment was too. And then....we were in! Great apartment. Huge sliding glass doors for windows in the living room and bedroom. It's on the 10th floor, overlooking the courtyard and facing towards the Père Lachaise cemetery. Nice and quiet, very safe building (we need 3 keycodes to get in, plus have a crazy-ass key/deadbolt setup!), and a great residential, non-touristy neighborhood. The only "problem" is that there are too many corner cafés, so I will probably not manage to settle on a local in only 2 weeks' time!
At this point I was incredibly grateful that I had decided to suck it up and go with the building with an elevator, because there was no way in hell I wanted to haul my stuff up any more stairs than I had to. Merrow and I explored the apartment (separate toilet room! teeny dishwasher! 2-in-1 washer/dryer! open up the windows and get a fantastic breeze!) and unpacked ourselves a little. Around 5 we headed out to see what we could do about food and wine before heading to the Seine cruise and Illuminations bus tour I had booked for us.
We found wine at one of the many corner cafés on the way to the Métro. Along the way, we passed so many little local places that just make European city living so different from my normal suburban US-ian life. We had our wine and opted not to order dinner as we were running tight on time. Instead, we went to the local supermarket and bought a container of tabbouleh and some emergency forks (which will live in my purse for the rest of the trip!). Bench picnic for 2 coming right up!
We headed off to our tour, which started with a sunset cruise on the Seine, and then finished with a bus tour around Paris to look at some of the major sites and memorials all lit up at night. Figured it would be kind of cheesy and kind of overrun with middle-aged tourists (right on both counts!) but we also figured it would be a nice way to chill out while still seeing some stuff on our first evening in Paris.
We climbed on a bus for the short drive to the boats. I saw the Eiffel in person for the first time:
We got to the boat, which was a much more "serious tourist" deal than either Merrow or I were up for. They were taking photos of each group as they boarded the boat, which you could buy after. We knew there was no way in hell we were spending money on that, so we did devil horns and KISS faces. Really, we should probably not be allowed out in public. As we were sitting on board, waiting for liftoff (wait, wrong mode of transport...) we checked out the houseboats moored to the banks of the Seine. I can think of worse places to live!
We cruised up and down the Seine for about an hour. And our expectations were met - relaxing and got to see some cool sights!
There were lots of Parisians lining the quays of the river, picnicking, drinking wine, and just generally hanging out. Merrow and I took one look at that awesomeness and decided we'd cram that into the schedule too.
We wound up the tour just as it was starting to get dark and so just as the Eiffel Tower lit up the night sky.
After the cruise was the bus tour. Honestly - not nearly as impressive. But a good chance for us to completely chill out while seeing some sights. The best part though, was the Germans in the back of the bus. The audio guide to the tour had French music playing in between the descriptions of the sights. The Germans decided to accompany said songs. At which point Merrow and I lost it. Our conversation went something like this:
"The Germans are drunk."
"The Germans are singing!"
"The Germans are singing Frère Jacques."
"Badly."
"And in French."
It may have been less amusing if we hadn't been awake for 18 hours at that point.
Bad news: I should know better by now than to buy the $25 el cheapo suitcase, but I did, and leaving the hotel it fell and threw me off balance which caused me to trip over who-knows-what, and I totally wound up going ass over teakettle onto the cobblestones. Luckily part of what threw me off balance was my backpack swinging around (note to self: use BOTH shoulder straps!) and so I mostly just landed on that. Result: scraped the back of my left hand pretty good, scraped up both ankles, good bruise potential on my shins, and a wicked beating to the pride. At least I stood up laughing!
Got to the airport in plenty of time to check in and hit up the Icelandair lounge for breakfast. Seriously, the Economy Comfort tickets were the best splurge EVER, and will definitely be a consideration when traveling back to Europe! It was actually Second Breakfast for us, as the hotel put out a spread for the early birds that was almost as full (and just as yummy!) as their normal breakfast. I would also like to point out that we did NOT avail ourselves of the free alcohol at the airport lounge. We waited until we were on board and ordered sparkling wine and OJ for mimosas.
And suddenly we were in Paris! The less said about arriving at Charles de Gaul and taking the Métro to the apartment, the better. I got to attempt to dredge up the remains of 4 years of high school French to explain to the non-English-speaking temporary Gardienne of the building that she needed to give me the key and it would be great if she could show me where the apartment was too. And then....we were in! Great apartment. Huge sliding glass doors for windows in the living room and bedroom. It's on the 10th floor, overlooking the courtyard and facing towards the Père Lachaise cemetery. Nice and quiet, very safe building (we need 3 keycodes to get in, plus have a crazy-ass key/deadbolt setup!), and a great residential, non-touristy neighborhood. The only "problem" is that there are too many corner cafés, so I will probably not manage to settle on a local in only 2 weeks' time!
At this point I was incredibly grateful that I had decided to suck it up and go with the building with an elevator, because there was no way in hell I wanted to haul my stuff up any more stairs than I had to. Merrow and I explored the apartment (separate toilet room! teeny dishwasher! 2-in-1 washer/dryer! open up the windows and get a fantastic breeze!) and unpacked ourselves a little. Around 5 we headed out to see what we could do about food and wine before heading to the Seine cruise and Illuminations bus tour I had booked for us.
We found wine at one of the many corner cafés on the way to the Métro. Along the way, we passed so many little local places that just make European city living so different from my normal suburban US-ian life. We had our wine and opted not to order dinner as we were running tight on time. Instead, we went to the local supermarket and bought a container of tabbouleh and some emergency forks (which will live in my purse for the rest of the trip!). Bench picnic for 2 coming right up!
We headed off to our tour, which started with a sunset cruise on the Seine, and then finished with a bus tour around Paris to look at some of the major sites and memorials all lit up at night. Figured it would be kind of cheesy and kind of overrun with middle-aged tourists (right on both counts!) but we also figured it would be a nice way to chill out while still seeing some stuff on our first evening in Paris.
We climbed on a bus for the short drive to the boats. I saw the Eiffel in person for the first time:
 |
| First view of the Iron Lady, through the bus window. Merrow says "you'll get much better pics of it later!" |
We got to the boat, which was a much more "serious tourist" deal than either Merrow or I were up for. They were taking photos of each group as they boarded the boat, which you could buy after. We knew there was no way in hell we were spending money on that, so we did devil horns and KISS faces. Really, we should probably not be allowed out in public. As we were sitting on board, waiting for liftoff (wait, wrong mode of transport...) we checked out the houseboats moored to the banks of the Seine. I can think of worse places to live!
 |
| Me and my houseboat and the Parisian sunset |
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| Pont de la Concorde |
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| One wing of the Louvre with the Pont Royal |
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| Picnicking at the tip of Ile de la Cité |
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| Notre-Dame, in case you couldn't tell by the flying buttresses |
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| Obligatory tilted-to-fit-in-the-frame Eiffel pic |
After the cruise was the bus tour. Honestly - not nearly as impressive. But a good chance for us to completely chill out while seeing some sights. The best part though, was the Germans in the back of the bus. The audio guide to the tour had French music playing in between the descriptions of the sights. The Germans decided to accompany said songs. At which point Merrow and I lost it. Our conversation went something like this:
"The Germans are drunk."
"The Germans are singing!"
"The Germans are singing Frère Jacques."
"Badly."
"And in French."
It may have been less amusing if we hadn't been awake for 18 hours at that point.
Monday, September 3, 2012
*Insert Jaw Drop Here*
Words do not describe how epically cool today was. We had a windy, rainy, chilly day, and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it! I'm truly not sure either my words or my pictures can do it justice, so here's what you need to do.
Go to Iceland. Look up Sterna Travel in Reykjavik. Book their Golden Circle and Kerlingarfjöll Highlands tour. Try to get Gunnar as your tour guide, though I hear Cippy is also excellent. Do NOT wuss out of ANY of it, no matter what the weather conditions. Dress warmer and pack more dry clothes than you think you need, lest you wind up like me with souvenir wool long johns and wool socks! Eat the lamb stew at Gullfoss. Hear lots of stories of trolls and elves. Hike in some incredible areas and mud-ski back down. Touch a glacier. And maybe, if you are very lucky, your tour guide will sing you Icelandic drinking songs on the way home.
Go to Iceland. Look up Sterna Travel in Reykjavik. Book their Golden Circle and Kerlingarfjöll Highlands tour. Try to get Gunnar as your tour guide, though I hear Cippy is also excellent. Do NOT wuss out of ANY of it, no matter what the weather conditions. Dress warmer and pack more dry clothes than you think you need, lest you wind up like me with souvenir wool long johns and wool socks! Eat the lamb stew at Gullfoss. Hear lots of stories of trolls and elves. Hike in some incredible areas and mud-ski back down. Touch a glacier. And maybe, if you are very lucky, your tour guide will sing you Icelandic drinking songs on the way home.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
In Which the OMG I'm 35 Trip Turns Into the F*#% Yeah I'm 35! Trip
Sunshine in Iceland!
Today was another fantastic day. We wound up getting to bed earlier than originally planned last night - it was cloudy and the Northern Lights tour was cancelled. Made it much easier to get up early this morning!
We had a quick breakfast at our Guesthouse - cereal, fruit salad, homemade bread, cold ham and cheese, and coffee/tea/OJ. Delicious! Then we got picked up for our next tour, Reykjanes Peninsula and the Blue Lagoon.
The Reykjanes Peninsula is at the southwest corner of Iceland. Relatively flat, mostly covered with ancient lava fields, and very few houses or settlements. We saw a few "villages", some of which consisted of about 8 farmhouses. Very desolate area, even though I know this is one of the more populated parts of Iceland as it's less than an hour drive from Reykjavik. It was overcast when we started out, but the sun came out and we had such a beautiful day! Driving along the Atlantic coastline was just amazing. Again, pictures are coming (or if you know me, you can check the Book of Face) but the upload speed from the hotel is just really slow right now.
We got dropped off at the Blue Lagoon Spa around 11:30. Merrow and I were starving, so we hit up the cafe for lunch - Caesar salad and wine - before spa-ing it up. After my experience at the Dead Sea, I was expecting it to be much more sulfuric than it was, but the water was mostly just salt and calcium. The locker rooms open out into a huge thermal pool area. Some parts are warmer than others, depending on how close you are to the steam vents. We did silica mud on our faces, and then just chilled in the water for a couple of hours. It was sunny, the sky was bright blue, and it was probably about 55-60F outside. You can stand up and cool off when you get too warm, and slide back down into the water when you get chilled. No extra spa treatments for us, but we did partake of the swim-up bar. The white wine was good, but the strawberry champagne was better!
After the spa, we headed back to Reykjavik. Wandered through the local flea market, grabbed cold (non-alcoholic) beverages, poked through a few shops, and grabbed an early dinner at a place called Cafe Paris. Seemed fitting. We both had burgers, which we pretty much inhaled - long day! Unfortunately, as we were eating, the clouds started rolling back in. So strike 2 for trying to see the Northern Lights. One last chance tomorrow, which doesn't look good. Ah well, I will just have to come back!
And come back I will. Iceland is just incredible. The people are so nice and friendly, and the scenery is just amazing. Completely out of this world. Merrow and I were saying to each other tonight that we've run out of words to describe it - pretty unusual for either of us! So one photo for now, and good night.
Today was another fantastic day. We wound up getting to bed earlier than originally planned last night - it was cloudy and the Northern Lights tour was cancelled. Made it much easier to get up early this morning!
We had a quick breakfast at our Guesthouse - cereal, fruit salad, homemade bread, cold ham and cheese, and coffee/tea/OJ. Delicious! Then we got picked up for our next tour, Reykjanes Peninsula and the Blue Lagoon.
The Reykjanes Peninsula is at the southwest corner of Iceland. Relatively flat, mostly covered with ancient lava fields, and very few houses or settlements. We saw a few "villages", some of which consisted of about 8 farmhouses. Very desolate area, even though I know this is one of the more populated parts of Iceland as it's less than an hour drive from Reykjavik. It was overcast when we started out, but the sun came out and we had such a beautiful day! Driving along the Atlantic coastline was just amazing. Again, pictures are coming (or if you know me, you can check the Book of Face) but the upload speed from the hotel is just really slow right now.
We got dropped off at the Blue Lagoon Spa around 11:30. Merrow and I were starving, so we hit up the cafe for lunch - Caesar salad and wine - before spa-ing it up. After my experience at the Dead Sea, I was expecting it to be much more sulfuric than it was, but the water was mostly just salt and calcium. The locker rooms open out into a huge thermal pool area. Some parts are warmer than others, depending on how close you are to the steam vents. We did silica mud on our faces, and then just chilled in the water for a couple of hours. It was sunny, the sky was bright blue, and it was probably about 55-60F outside. You can stand up and cool off when you get too warm, and slide back down into the water when you get chilled. No extra spa treatments for us, but we did partake of the swim-up bar. The white wine was good, but the strawberry champagne was better!
After the spa, we headed back to Reykjavik. Wandered through the local flea market, grabbed cold (non-alcoholic) beverages, poked through a few shops, and grabbed an early dinner at a place called Cafe Paris. Seemed fitting. We both had burgers, which we pretty much inhaled - long day! Unfortunately, as we were eating, the clouds started rolling back in. So strike 2 for trying to see the Northern Lights. One last chance tomorrow, which doesn't look good. Ah well, I will just have to come back!
And come back I will. Iceland is just incredible. The people are so nice and friendly, and the scenery is just amazing. Completely out of this world. Merrow and I were saying to each other tonight that we've run out of words to describe it - pretty unusual for either of us! So one photo for now, and good night.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
OMG 35 day 1 and 2
Update, 9/23/12: Now with pictures!
Flight over yesterday was fantastic. If this is how the rich and famous travel by plane, sign me up! With our Economy Comfort tickets (which were essentially Business Class), we got lounge access pre-flight, free wine for the entire flight, and when we dropped the fact to our flight attendant that this is my birthday trip, she gave us the First Class gift bags with refreshing toiletries, socks, eyemasks, candy, and More Wine.
We entertained ourselves with wine, and more wine, and food, and wondering what the story behind the "Happy Marriage Cake" on the menu is, more wine, and Strategery on Merrow's iPad.
Today was a slightly slow start to the morning (see above re: Wine, Too Much), but we rallied by 10ish and wandered around Reykjavik for a while. Weather was overcast, cloudy, foggy, drizzly, and partly sunny - in about the space of 10 minutes time. A quick stop back at the hotel, a little snack of cheese and crackers, and we headed off for our first tour - lava cave exploration!
We wound up in a small tour group of 6 and headed out to some ancient/cooled lava fields about 45 minutes outside of Reykjavik. At some point in time, the lava made tunnels and caves, and we were able to crawl inside for about an hour. We probably walked about 3/4 of a mile total, in a figure 8 pattern. Coolest. Thing. Ever! Fantastic experience.
For dinner we headed to a local bistro where we split an appetizer of traditional Icelandic meats - cured beef, double-smoked lamb, and puffin, all served with blueberries. Puffins are cute - and DELICIOUS.
Now we are getting ready to head off and hopefully see some Northern Lights. Though, doubtful, as it's pretty cloudy right now.
Pictures tomorrow!
Flight over yesterday was fantastic. If this is how the rich and famous travel by plane, sign me up! With our Economy Comfort tickets (which were essentially Business Class), we got lounge access pre-flight, free wine for the entire flight, and when we dropped the fact to our flight attendant that this is my birthday trip, she gave us the First Class gift bags with refreshing toiletries, socks, eyemasks, candy, and More Wine.
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| Merrow, demonstrating that the third seat between us is not so much a seat as it is our own personal drinks table. |
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| Announcements in English and Islandic |
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| Moonrise over the Atlantic. Full moon Friday night! |
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| World domination is always more fun after a couple of drinks! |
We wound up in a small tour group of 6 and headed out to some ancient/cooled lava fields about 45 minutes outside of Reykjavik. At some point in time, the lava made tunnels and caves, and we were able to crawl inside for about an hour. We probably walked about 3/4 of a mile total, in a figure 8 pattern. Coolest. Thing. Ever! Fantastic experience.
For dinner we headed to a local bistro where we split an appetizer of traditional Icelandic meats - cured beef, double-smoked lamb, and puffin, all served with blueberries. Puffins are cute - and DELICIOUS.
Now we are getting ready to head off and hopefully see some Northern Lights. Though, doubtful, as it's pretty cloudy right now.
Pictures tomorrow!
Friday, August 24, 2012
Almost There: Another Parisienne ADTL Update
One! More! Week!
- Renew passport since it expires less than 3 months after I'll be
traveling and it would be great if the countries I'm planning to visit
didn't refuse me entry.
- Make sure taking off the Friday before is ok with my boss. Boss
is A-OK with me not working the Friday we leave! Which is good, since
we need to be at Logan shortly after noon for our flight.
- Research flights with the work travel agent and confer with Merrow that times/dates work for her too.
- Book flights.
- Research places to stay:
-Iceland Booked! We are staying here.
-Paris (one place or two?) One place, because we don't want to move all our shit merde via Métro halfway thorough. Booked and staying here.
-Alps Done. C and I finally agreed on a hotel, and Merrow said whatever was good with us was fine with her.
- Book lodgings.
- Research transportation options:
-Airport transfers in Iceland Booked!
-Airport transfers in France I think the easiest thing is just going to be to buy a Métro ticket for the trip, rather than trying to add it on to the Navigo Découverte.
-TGV tickets/France rail pass/Paris metro pass France Rail 5-day pass booked; buying the Métro pass there.
- Plan Iceland activities with Merrow.
- Book any Icelandic adventures that need to be pre-booked. Done! We are doing this and this and this and this! And probably not much sleeping.
- Make a list of everything I want to do in Paris. Done. It is loooooooong.
- Edit list to a realistic length since I will be there for 12 days, not 12 years. Hahahahahahaha, this will not actually happen until I am on the plane home and cannot cram in any more activities.
- Determine what on list shall be done with Merrow and what will be done on my own. We have a rough idea of what we're going to do together. Events will probably include climbing the Eiffel tower, lots of café sitting and wine drinking, the Louvre, the Orangerie, Versailles, and we booked this tour for the first night we're there.
- Book any Parisian activities that need to be pre-booked. Wait, do I really need to pre-book "sit in a café for hours on end with wine, crêpes, and a good book"?
- Plan Alps Side Trip activities:
-Determine what dates to head to the Alps End of week 2.
-Determine if there is enough time to make a side side trip to Other Alpine Town Sadly, not this time. Which is too bad, because I know Merrow and C would love it, but they are going to have a kick-ass time in Switzerland, so next time.
- Make any Alpine reservations that are necessary. We're going to play it by ear, so all we really needed booked were the hotel and our train reservations.
- Start packing. This weekend. Really. NOT next Friday morning. I am not going to start this trip stressed out.
- Oh, and re-learn French. :) Merde. This totally did not happen. Let's hope that I can get by on my 17-years-ago memory and a decent translator app!
- Book any Parisian activities that need to be pre-booked. Wait, do I really need to pre-book "sit in a café for hours on end with wine, crêpes, and a good book"?
- Start packing. This weekend. Really. NOT next Friday morning. I am not going to start this trip stressed out.
- Oh, and re-learn French. :) Merde. This totally did not happen. Let's hope that I can get by on my 17-years-ago memory and a decent translator app!
Thursday, August 23, 2012
The iPod Project
I currently have 19,164 songs on my iPod. That's down from a high of around 23,000-something, but doesn't include the last few album purchases I've made. Figure another 100 songs to throw in there. That is 54 DAYS of music.
Too much. A lot of this music has been hanging around since my high school and college days - pushing close to 2 decades now. Even more has been, er, not-entirely-legitimately acquired from a friend who's musical tastes are 70% overlapping and 30% "I can't stand that crap". And there's a few songs in the category of "like the artist, bought the whole album, don't care for this song."
So I'm going to edit my collection. My goal is to work my way through all the damn songs (or at least a really good portion of them!) and delete off the ones I don't like. I finally broke down and bought an iPod transmitter so I can listen in my car, which makes this whole project possible. Thank goodness for the Last Skipped column in iTunes, since I can skip what I don't like and then sort them out to delete all at once.
Songs 1-150:
Deleted - 15 songs (really? It seemed like I skipped so many more than that.)
Rediscovered favorites - "A House" by Doves, "Courage" by Glen Phillips, "Colorful" by Rocco Deluca & the Burden
New total: 19,149
Too much. A lot of this music has been hanging around since my high school and college days - pushing close to 2 decades now. Even more has been, er, not-entirely-legitimately acquired from a friend who's musical tastes are 70% overlapping and 30% "I can't stand that crap". And there's a few songs in the category of "like the artist, bought the whole album, don't care for this song."
So I'm going to edit my collection. My goal is to work my way through all the damn songs (or at least a really good portion of them!) and delete off the ones I don't like. I finally broke down and bought an iPod transmitter so I can listen in my car, which makes this whole project possible. Thank goodness for the Last Skipped column in iTunes, since I can skip what I don't like and then sort them out to delete all at once.
Songs 1-150:
Deleted - 15 songs (really? It seemed like I skipped so many more than that.)
Rediscovered favorites - "A House" by Doves, "Courage" by Glen Phillips, "Colorful" by Rocco Deluca & the Burden
New total: 19,149
Friday, August 10, 2012
Personalized Vanity
One of the benefits of having a rather lengthy highway commute (and trust me, there's not many) is that I get to amuse myself with other people's vanity license plates. Here's a few of the better ones I've noticed. I think the Mini Cooper owners have the best sense of humor.
Paprika-colored Mini - PEPPAY
Silver/black two-toned Mini - VRM VRM
Bright red Chevy Aveo - SODACAN
Smart - DETHTRP
Some kind of sedan, in black - IT NINJA
Definitely a ninja, as he's so sneaky I don't remember what his car is!!
NH's conservation fund plates have a moose on the left-hand side, and we also allow some special characters on our plates. Ran across one personalized conservation plate that was &SQRL. I think we need more Rocky & Bullwinkle themed plates in the world.
My own license plate is an unremarkable, impossible to remember 7-digit number. I keep it programmed in my cell phone under 'License Plate' for when I have to give it out as I seriously cannot remember it. I've thought about getting a personalized plate before, but can't come up with anything that doesn't either make me look like an idiot or I won't get sick of in a few months' time.
Paprika-colored Mini - PEPPAY
Silver/black two-toned Mini - VRM VRM
Bright red Chevy Aveo - SODACAN
Smart - DETHTRP
Some kind of sedan, in black - IT NINJA
Definitely a ninja, as he's so sneaky I don't remember what his car is!!
NH's conservation fund plates have a moose on the left-hand side, and we also allow some special characters on our plates. Ran across one personalized conservation plate that was &SQRL. I think we need more Rocky & Bullwinkle themed plates in the world.
My own license plate is an unremarkable, impossible to remember 7-digit number. I keep it programmed in my cell phone under 'License Plate' for when I have to give it out as I seriously cannot remember it. I've thought about getting a personalized plate before, but can't come up with anything that doesn't either make me look like an idiot or I won't get sick of in a few months' time.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Parisienne ATDL Update
Just over 2 months to go! Merrow and I have plane tickets, a place to stay in Iceland, pretty solid plans for our Icelandic activities, a rough idea of our Parisian activities, days we will be road-tripping to the Alps (is it rail-tripping if you take the train?), a tentative place to stay in the Alps, and no idea yet of where to stay in Paris.
I also have, in my hot little hands, a brand spanking new passport (which will not be "new" by the time I go as I'm heading back to Israel for work next month) and a 5-day France Rail pass.
- Renew passport since it expires less than 3 months after I'll be
traveling and it would be great if the countries I'm planning to visit
didn't refuse me entry.
- Make sure taking off the Friday before is ok with my boss. Boss is A-OK with me not working the Friday we leave! Which is good, since we need to be at Logan shortly after noon for our flight.
- Research flights with the work travel agent and confer with Merrow that times/dates work for her too.
- Book flights.
- Research places to stay:
-Iceland Booked! We are staying here.
-Paris (one place or two?)
-Alps
- Book lodgings.
- Research transportation options:
-Airport transfers in Iceland
-Airport transfers in France
-TGV tickets/France rail pass/Paris metro pass
- Plan Iceland activities with Merrow.
- Book any Icelandic adventures that need to be pre-booked.
- Make a list of everything I want to do in Paris.
- Edit list to a realistic length since I will be there for 12 days, not 12 years.
- Determine what on list shall be done with Merrow and what will be done on my own.
- Book any Parisian activities that need to be pre-booked. Wait, do I really need to pre-book "sit in a café for hours on end with wine, crêpes, and a good book"?
- Plan Alps Side Trip activities:
-Determine what dates to head to the Alps
-Determine if there is enough time to make a side side trip to Other Alpine Town
- Make any Alpine reservations that are necessary.
- Start packing.
- Oh, and re-learn French. :)
I also have, in my hot little hands, a brand spanking new passport (which will not be "new" by the time I go as I'm heading back to Israel for work next month) and a 5-day France Rail pass.
- Research places to stay:
-Paris (one place or two?)
- Book lodgings.
- Research transportation options:
-Airport transfers in Iceland
-Airport transfers in France
- Book any Icelandic adventures that need to be pre-booked.
- Make a list of everything I want to do in Paris.
- Edit list to a realistic length since I will be there for 12 days, not 12 years.
- Determine what on list shall be done with Merrow and what will be done on my own.
- Book any Parisian activities that need to be pre-booked. Wait, do I really need to pre-book "sit in a café for hours on end with wine, crêpes, and a good book"?
- Plan Alps Side Trip activities:
-Determine if there is enough time to make a side side trip to Other Alpine Town
- Make any Alpine reservations that are necessary.
- Start packing.
- Oh, and re-learn French. :)
Monday Montage
Which is posting on Tuesday. Oh well, at least I'm posting! Moving on....
Miss me? I've just been slowly going crazy with an overwhelmingly overloaded schedule here!
I spent most of Memorial Day weekend with my parents in the Lakes Region of NH. We went to the Canterbury Shaker Village on Sunday and hiking on Monday.
Earlier in June, I took this group of munchkins to Washington DC for 4 days. We had such a blast! The girls all had a fantastic trip - we got to tour the US Capitol Building, visited the Air and Space Museum and the American History Museum, spent almost 3 hours at the National Archives, walked all over the Mall, and went a giant Girl Scout Sing-Along at the Washington Monument. And I do mean GIANT:
We all had a blast at the concert, but I think the highlight of everyone's 90-degree day was when the Washington DC Fire Dept stopped by with their ladder truck. Giant sprinkler party!
Tired feet after a long day.
I left DC and flew directly to San Francisco for work. Do not pass NH, do not collect $200. I was only in town for a few days and most of it was spent either giving training classes or trying to catch up on some sleep. I did get a chance to walk around Pier 39, have a drink, and see the sea lions though! And I got to spend the night with Red and her awesome husband.
After a convoluted planes-trains-automobiles trip home from CA, my parents joined me at my house for another weekend and we hit up Ribfest. Ribs, pulled pork, bbq chicken, beer, grilled corn on the cob, fresh cut French fries, fried Oreos, and a really good Beatles cover band. Perfect weather, it was a great night.
Mom and I made a long-planned visit to see Auntie L, my grandma's twin sister. Today the twins celebrate their 83rd birthday! I will be seeing Grandma this weekend when I make the trek up to Maine for some family celebrations.
Miss me? I've just been slowly going crazy with an overwhelmingly overloaded schedule here!
We all had a blast at the concert, but I think the highlight of everyone's 90-degree day was when the Washington DC Fire Dept stopped by with their ladder truck. Giant sprinkler party!
I left DC and flew directly to San Francisco for work. Do not pass NH, do not collect $200. I was only in town for a few days and most of it was spent either giving training classes or trying to catch up on some sleep. I did get a chance to walk around Pier 39, have a drink, and see the sea lions though! And I got to spend the night with Red and her awesome husband.
After a convoluted planes-trains-automobiles trip home from CA, my parents joined me at my house for another weekend and we hit up Ribfest. Ribs, pulled pork, bbq chicken, beer, grilled corn on the cob, fresh cut French fries, fried Oreos, and a really good Beatles cover band. Perfect weather, it was a great night.
Mom and I made a long-planned visit to see Auntie L, my grandma's twin sister. Today the twins celebrate their 83rd birthday! I will be seeing Grandma this weekend when I make the trek up to Maine for some family celebrations.
Friday, May 4, 2012
May the Fourth Be With You
Obligatory Star Wars nerd post for 5/4.
Now with crappy camera phone photo! The Yodas (Yodi? Yodae? A Force of Yodas?) are off one of the printers at work. We released some new materials, I needed some samples of said new materials, and was bored with flat rectangular material samples.
I can't believe I've been working here for over a year now. I still love the job and the company, though mildly apprehensive as there may be some shake-ups coming along soonish. Nothing formalized yet, so no further comments for now, but along with my mild apprehension, I am cautiously optimistic that this will be a good thing.
Happy Friday everyone, and I promise that I will try to be better about posting, both in frequency and in post content beyond endless to-do lists!
And May the 4th be with you. ;)
Now with crappy camera phone photo! The Yodas (Yodi? Yodae? A Force of Yodas?) are off one of the printers at work. We released some new materials, I needed some samples of said new materials, and was bored with flat rectangular material samples.
I can't believe I've been working here for over a year now. I still love the job and the company, though mildly apprehensive as there may be some shake-ups coming along soonish. Nothing formalized yet, so no further comments for now, but along with my mild apprehension, I am cautiously optimistic that this will be a good thing.
Happy Friday everyone, and I promise that I will try to be better about posting, both in frequency and in post content beyond endless to-do lists!
And May the 4th be with you. ;)
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Ambitious To-Do List - La Version Parisienne
So many things to do in the 4 months before my OMG35 trip. Time for a (very) ATDL again.
- Renew passport since it expires less than 3 months after I'll be traveling and it would be great if the countries I'm planning to visit didn't refuse me entry.
- Make sure taking off the Friday before is ok with my boss.
- Research flights with the work travel agent and confer with Merrow that times/dates work for her too.
- Book flights.
- Research places to stay:
-Iceland
-Paris (one place or two?)
-Alps
- Book lodgings.
- Research transportation options:
-Airport transfers in Iceland
-Airport transfers in France
-TGV tickets/France rail pass/Paris metro pass
- Plan Iceland activities with Merrow.
- Book any Icelandic adventures that need to be pre-booked.
- Make a list of everything I want to do in Paris.
- Edit list to a realistic length since I will be there for 12 days, not 12 years.
- Determine what on list shall be done with Merrow and what will be done on my own.
- Book any Parisian activities that need to be pre-booked. Wait, do I really need to pre-book "sit in a café for hours on end with wine, crêpes, and a good book"?
- Plan Alps Side Trip activities:
-Determine what dates to head to the Alps
-Determine if there is enough time to make a side side trip to Other Alpine Town
- Make any Alpine reservations that are necessary.
- Start packing.
- Oh, and re-learn French. :)
Luckily Merrow and I have plans to hang out and drink wine on Saturday (after running a 5k - this is going to be ugly) so hopefully we can nail down a lot of the plans.
- Renew passport since it expires less than 3 months after I'll be traveling and it would be great if the countries I'm planning to visit didn't refuse me entry.
- Make sure taking off the Friday before is ok with my boss.
- Research flights with the work travel agent and confer with Merrow that times/dates work for her too.
- Book flights.
- Research places to stay:
-Iceland
-Paris (one place or two?)
-Alps
- Book lodgings.
- Research transportation options:
-Airport transfers in Iceland
-Airport transfers in France
-TGV tickets/France rail pass/Paris metro pass
- Plan Iceland activities with Merrow.
- Book any Icelandic adventures that need to be pre-booked.
- Make a list of everything I want to do in Paris.
- Edit list to a realistic length since I will be there for 12 days, not 12 years.
- Determine what on list shall be done with Merrow and what will be done on my own.
- Book any Parisian activities that need to be pre-booked. Wait, do I really need to pre-book "sit in a café for hours on end with wine, crêpes, and a good book"?
- Plan Alps Side Trip activities:
-Determine what dates to head to the Alps
-Determine if there is enough time to make a side side trip to Other Alpine Town
- Make any Alpine reservations that are necessary.
- Start packing.
- Oh, and re-learn French. :)
Luckily Merrow and I have plans to hang out and drink wine on Saturday (after running a 5k - this is going to be ugly) so hopefully we can nail down a lot of the plans.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
World Thinking Day
When I was a wee lass, I was a Girl Scout.
Actually, since I was only ever a Girl Scout Junior (never a Brownie or anything else), and back in the 1980s Juniors were girls in grades 4 - 6, I suppose it wasn't so much that I was a Girl Scout as a wee lass, as it was that I was a Scout as a moderate-height-but-still-skinny lass.
I don't actually remember a whole lot about being a Scout. I do remember selling cookies, and earning a bunch of badges (the last of which I just sewed on my old sash last weekend. 23 years later.) I remember going to day camp and making a really nice woven basket that is still on my dresser to this day. I remember my troop going on a hiking trip to a local mountain on a cold, rainy fall day. I had a uniform - sash, green and blue polyester blouse, and a little button neck tab/tie thing - but I'm pretty sure there are no pictures that exist of me in said outfit.
After 6th grade, I aged out of Juniors and there was no Cadette troop locally for me to join (and I'm not sure I would have kept going at that time anyway) so I figured my Scouting career was over.
Flash forward 2 decades. Four years ago, I was flipping through the local free newspaper and saw a community announcement for an interest meeting for Girl Scouts, both interested girls and adults were welcome. I had been thinking I wanted to get involved with some form of community service, to give back a bit, so I went to the meeting. The rest is history!
Not having a daughter, I've kind of been able to float around and fit in with troops that didn't have a second or co-leader. Last year, I hooked up with Mrs. J and her troop, and I can say without a doubt that I have definitely found my place! It's a Junior troop, just like I was (although Juniors is now only for grades 4 and 5). The girls are fantastic, really active and interested in learning new things, doing community service, and getting out and doing some of the traditional Girl Scout activities like camping and hiking. 2012 is the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouting, and we are planning so pretty big and special ways to celebrate in our troop!
Today, February 22nd, is World Thinking Day. It is the shared birthday of Lord and Lady Baden-Powell, the founder (and wife) of Boy Scouts. They were friends with Juliette "Daisy" Gordon Low, and inspired her to found Girl Scouts in 1912. World Thinking Day is a day when Girl Scouts and Girl Guides around the world take time to think of their sisters in Scouting, and hopefully spend some time learning about different cultures.
So Happy Thinking Day to all the other Leaders, Scouts, and Guides out there! I am happy to be your sister in Scouting.
Actually, since I was only ever a Girl Scout Junior (never a Brownie or anything else), and back in the 1980s Juniors were girls in grades 4 - 6, I suppose it wasn't so much that I was a Girl Scout as a wee lass, as it was that I was a Scout as a moderate-height-but-still-skinny lass.
I don't actually remember a whole lot about being a Scout. I do remember selling cookies, and earning a bunch of badges (the last of which I just sewed on my old sash last weekend. 23 years later.) I remember going to day camp and making a really nice woven basket that is still on my dresser to this day. I remember my troop going on a hiking trip to a local mountain on a cold, rainy fall day. I had a uniform - sash, green and blue polyester blouse, and a little button neck tab/tie thing - but I'm pretty sure there are no pictures that exist of me in said outfit.
After 6th grade, I aged out of Juniors and there was no Cadette troop locally for me to join (and I'm not sure I would have kept going at that time anyway) so I figured my Scouting career was over.
Flash forward 2 decades. Four years ago, I was flipping through the local free newspaper and saw a community announcement for an interest meeting for Girl Scouts, both interested girls and adults were welcome. I had been thinking I wanted to get involved with some form of community service, to give back a bit, so I went to the meeting. The rest is history!
Not having a daughter, I've kind of been able to float around and fit in with troops that didn't have a second or co-leader. Last year, I hooked up with Mrs. J and her troop, and I can say without a doubt that I have definitely found my place! It's a Junior troop, just like I was (although Juniors is now only for grades 4 and 5). The girls are fantastic, really active and interested in learning new things, doing community service, and getting out and doing some of the traditional Girl Scout activities like camping and hiking. 2012 is the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouting, and we are planning so pretty big and special ways to celebrate in our troop!
Today, February 22nd, is World Thinking Day. It is the shared birthday of Lord and Lady Baden-Powell, the founder (and wife) of Boy Scouts. They were friends with Juliette "Daisy" Gordon Low, and inspired her to found Girl Scouts in 1912. World Thinking Day is a day when Girl Scouts and Girl Guides around the world take time to think of their sisters in Scouting, and hopefully spend some time learning about different cultures.
So Happy Thinking Day to all the other Leaders, Scouts, and Guides out there! I am happy to be your sister in Scouting.
 |
| Troop 12270, getting a little crazy! |
Monday, February 13, 2012
Cranial Equipage
I bought a very Maisie Dobbs* hat at a very Maisie Dobbs price. ($5.08 - Thank you Target clearance section!)
So then I needed a Maisie Dobbs haircut to go with my hat.
The red has toned down a little bit; the above picture was taken the morning after the dye job and I hadn't washed it yet. I am completely in love with the haircut though. I've been thinking about going short for a few months now. Initially I wanted to wait until after Red's wedding, so I could wear it up. Then I wimped out at my next appointment and just went with a trim. This time around, I was planning on just a trim again, until the day of the appointment. I spent lunch Googling around for pictures of short curly/wavy hair bobs, found this photo of the fabulous Maggie Gyllenhaal, and had Kristi chop over a year's worth of growth off hair that night. Love this so much more than any of the short cuts I've had before!
*Maisie Dobbs is the heroine of a series of mystery novels written by Jacqueline Winspear and set in 1930s London. You should check them out!
So then I needed a Maisie Dobbs haircut to go with my hat.
The red has toned down a little bit; the above picture was taken the morning after the dye job and I hadn't washed it yet. I am completely in love with the haircut though. I've been thinking about going short for a few months now. Initially I wanted to wait until after Red's wedding, so I could wear it up. Then I wimped out at my next appointment and just went with a trim. This time around, I was planning on just a trim again, until the day of the appointment. I spent lunch Googling around for pictures of short curly/wavy hair bobs, found this photo of the fabulous Maggie Gyllenhaal, and had Kristi chop over a year's worth of growth off hair that night. Love this so much more than any of the short cuts I've had before!
*Maisie Dobbs is the heroine of a series of mystery novels written by Jacqueline Winspear and set in 1930s London. You should check them out!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
In slightly over 7 months from now...
...I will be heading off on my big, extravagant OMG I'm 35 trip!
I stopped in Barnes & Noble on the way home on Friday to pick up a travel guide, and walked out with 3. Ooops. What can I say, I am a sucker for pretty pretty travel pictures.
There is still much planning to be done. Other than concrete plans of dates and where I am going, things are pretty up in the air right now. I need to start researching airfares, and I need to start looking into short-term flat rentals, because despite saving for over a year and a half (by the time I go, anyway) there is no way I can afford 2 weeks in hotels. Nor do I really want to. Merrow will likely be joining me for at least part of the trip, so a flat will give us a little more room to spread out. There is so much I want to do that I could probably fill up 2 years, but 2 weeks is a good place to start.
So where am I going? I'll give you a hint.
Here:
With a stopover here on either the way there or the way back:
That's a thermal spring in Iceland, in case you were wondering.
I stopped in Barnes & Noble on the way home on Friday to pick up a travel guide, and walked out with 3. Ooops. What can I say, I am a sucker for pretty pretty travel pictures.
There is still much planning to be done. Other than concrete plans of dates and where I am going, things are pretty up in the air right now. I need to start researching airfares, and I need to start looking into short-term flat rentals, because despite saving for over a year and a half (by the time I go, anyway) there is no way I can afford 2 weeks in hotels. Nor do I really want to. Merrow will likely be joining me for at least part of the trip, so a flat will give us a little more room to spread out. There is so much I want to do that I could probably fill up 2 years, but 2 weeks is a good place to start.
So where am I going? I'll give you a hint.
Here:
 |
| Photo used under Creative Commons, courtesy of dvpfagan on Flickr |
With a stopover here on either the way there or the way back:
 |
| Photo used under Creative Commons, courtesy of taivasalla on Flickr |
That's a thermal spring in Iceland, in case you were wondering.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Losing It
Somewhere along the way in the last 2 days, I lost my memory card reader. Which means no more picture updates from the road right now. Sorry!
We've had a productive 2 days in the north of Israel. Went to a winery tour and wine tasting on the way up to Tiberius yesterday. We had meetings yesterday afternoon and dinner at the hotel, and then I wound up at an Irish Pub with most of the Israelis. Also at the Irish Pub - about 50 18-year-old drunk Americans on a Birthright Tour. It was an interesting flash back to college days! I can't believe we were ever that young and stupid (though I'm sure we were, and then some).
Today was morning and early afternoon meetings, and then an offroad Landrover tour through the area around the Sea of Galilee. It was fantastic, though out of all the days of the year in an arid, desert climate, it was raining today of course. Still, we had good views (if not fantastic) and a little bit of rain made the offroad track slippery and fun to drive on with the Landrovers!
Tomorrow we head back to Tel Aviv in the afternoon, and I meet up with my mom for a few days of sightseeing. Can't wait! And just maybe, I left my card reader at the TLV hotel and it's still there in lost and found.
We've had a productive 2 days in the north of Israel. Went to a winery tour and wine tasting on the way up to Tiberius yesterday. We had meetings yesterday afternoon and dinner at the hotel, and then I wound up at an Irish Pub with most of the Israelis. Also at the Irish Pub - about 50 18-year-old drunk Americans on a Birthright Tour. It was an interesting flash back to college days! I can't believe we were ever that young and stupid (though I'm sure we were, and then some).
Today was morning and early afternoon meetings, and then an offroad Landrover tour through the area around the Sea of Galilee. It was fantastic, though out of all the days of the year in an arid, desert climate, it was raining today of course. Still, we had good views (if not fantastic) and a little bit of rain made the offroad track slippery and fun to drive on with the Landrovers!
Tomorrow we head back to Tel Aviv in the afternoon, and I meet up with my mom for a few days of sightseeing. Can't wait! And just maybe, I left my card reader at the TLV hotel and it's still there in lost and found.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Tel Aviv
View from my hotel room. I'm on the south side this time, so have a nice view all the way down to Old Jaffa. Surf is much higher that it was in May, too.
Saturday night dinner at Gordo's Beach Bar. Chicken escalope and steamed veggies. I ate at Gordo's several times back in May, and I figured they would probably be closed for the season along with all the other open-air beach cafes. Nope, they just put up temporary walls for the winter, invest in space heaters, and offer you a blanket if you are cold!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
That Which Everyone In the Israel Office Would Like To Know
1) Why aren't you staying for the RTS meeting?
and
2) Your mom is coming to Israel for only 5 days? Why such a short time?
The answers being
1) Sigh. Ask my boss.
and
2) Yes, because I can only afford to stay that much longer after my work trip. Some of us only get a couple of weeks of vacation and have to use our days judiciously.
Some quick background on work. My official title is Applications Engineer. I work for the Customer Support department. There is one other Apps Eng in the company who also works for the CS department; he is in the Israel office. There are actually quite a few other Apps Engs around the world, we've got two in our office back home, but they all work for the Sales Operations department. Basically, they are the technical applications resources up until the customer signs the purchase order; and I am the technical applications resource after installation. We also have 3 Regional Technical Specialists in our office who also work for the CS department. They deal more with the "my machine broke, how do I fix it" side of things. Ultimately, we do all collaborate together, but we each have our own special areas of focus. Clear as mud?
So. Even though I work for CS and not SO, I got myself invited to the annual SO Applications Worldwide meeting (which is why I'm in Israel right now). That's this week. There is also a RTS Worldwide meeting next week. Back in December when we got the dates for both of these meetings, I asked my boss what he wanted me to attend: Apps, RTS, or both. One of the Apps guys in my office had already forwarded me the agenda for the SO Apps meeting; it's pretty heavy on the sales side of things. Nevertheless, my boss said I should go to that as it would be a good chance to mind-share knowledge. He also said that the RTS meeting agenda was focused on hands-on "how to fix the broken machine" stuff, and I didn't need to plan to go to that one.
So I booked my tickets and hotel. My mom booked her tickets and hotel. And the following week, I got the agenda for the RTS meeting, which yes, has plenty of "how to fix the broken machine" sessions, but also has several theoretical and applications-based sessions. That I really should be at. But now it's too late. Argh!
And yes, Mom and I would both love it if we could stay an extra 2 weeks. However, I only could manage to take 2 extra days of vacation. Maybe next time. You'd be surprised how much you can see and do in 4-5 days though, especially in a country the size of New Jersey.
and
2) Your mom is coming to Israel for only 5 days? Why such a short time?
The answers being
1) Sigh. Ask my boss.
and
2) Yes, because I can only afford to stay that much longer after my work trip. Some of us only get a couple of weeks of vacation and have to use our days judiciously.
Some quick background on work. My official title is Applications Engineer. I work for the Customer Support department. There is one other Apps Eng in the company who also works for the CS department; he is in the Israel office. There are actually quite a few other Apps Engs around the world, we've got two in our office back home, but they all work for the Sales Operations department. Basically, they are the technical applications resources up until the customer signs the purchase order; and I am the technical applications resource after installation. We also have 3 Regional Technical Specialists in our office who also work for the CS department. They deal more with the "my machine broke, how do I fix it" side of things. Ultimately, we do all collaborate together, but we each have our own special areas of focus. Clear as mud?
So. Even though I work for CS and not SO, I got myself invited to the annual SO Applications Worldwide meeting (which is why I'm in Israel right now). That's this week. There is also a RTS Worldwide meeting next week. Back in December when we got the dates for both of these meetings, I asked my boss what he wanted me to attend: Apps, RTS, or both. One of the Apps guys in my office had already forwarded me the agenda for the SO Apps meeting; it's pretty heavy on the sales side of things. Nevertheless, my boss said I should go to that as it would be a good chance to mind-share knowledge. He also said that the RTS meeting agenda was focused on hands-on "how to fix the broken machine" stuff, and I didn't need to plan to go to that one.
So I booked my tickets and hotel. My mom booked her tickets and hotel. And the following week, I got the agenda for the RTS meeting, which yes, has plenty of "how to fix the broken machine" sessions, but also has several theoretical and applications-based sessions. That I really should be at. But now it's too late. Argh!
And yes, Mom and I would both love it if we could stay an extra 2 weeks. However, I only could manage to take 2 extra days of vacation. Maybe next time. You'd be surprised how much you can see and do in 4-5 days though, especially in a country the size of New Jersey.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Shalom
Guess where I am?
I'll give you a hint. Today it was sunny and in the 60s, my body is still all jet-lagged, and now that the sun has set and Sabbath is over and all the restaurants are open, I'm going to go grab a quick dinner.
That's right, I'm back in Israel! Shorter trip this time; back in May, I was here for 3 weeks. This time I have a week of work, and then using a couple of days of vacation time to give me a 4-day weekend of sightseeing with my mom. She is flying over next week to join me, arriving on my last day in the office. Tomorrow I go into the office and meet with my Israeli counterparts in Customer Support. The rest of the week I am attending the Applications annual meeting - which oddly enough, looks to be focusing mainly on sales. Ah well, it is a good experience and good face time with some of the other guys as well. Plus, they are taking us off-site for a couple of days up to Tiberius, which will be cool as I didn't get to head north last trip.
The trip over wasn't bad, though didn't go exactly as planned. My flight out of NH was delayed an hour, and then we were delayed again after we boarded the plane and pulled away from the gate. I was supposed to have almost a 3:30 layover in Newark; instead I had about 45 minutes between getting off one plane and wheels-up on the next. It was just enough time to switch gates, go to the restroom, stock up on water, Pringles, and sleeping pills, and then go through the secondary security for the Israeli flight. By that point, most of the passengers had boarded the plane, so I got to scramble for overhead space and crawl over my two seatmates to get to my window seat. Although I was stuck in coach, my carry-on suitcase got to fly in business class, since there was not enough overhead space available in my cabin. Harumph. I hope my suitcase enjoyed it.
As usual, I forgot things. On the "still at home" list this time are both sleeping pills/melatonin, as well as workout clothes. Boooo. I picked up some Unisom in the airport and already had Advil PM with me, so fingers crossed that will work to get me on the right sleep schedule ASAP. As for the workout clothes - well, I may be the girl going running in a bathing suit top and yoga pants along the Tel Aviv beachfront. We'll see!
I'll give you a hint. Today it was sunny and in the 60s, my body is still all jet-lagged, and now that the sun has set and Sabbath is over and all the restaurants are open, I'm going to go grab a quick dinner.
That's right, I'm back in Israel! Shorter trip this time; back in May, I was here for 3 weeks. This time I have a week of work, and then using a couple of days of vacation time to give me a 4-day weekend of sightseeing with my mom. She is flying over next week to join me, arriving on my last day in the office. Tomorrow I go into the office and meet with my Israeli counterparts in Customer Support. The rest of the week I am attending the Applications annual meeting - which oddly enough, looks to be focusing mainly on sales. Ah well, it is a good experience and good face time with some of the other guys as well. Plus, they are taking us off-site for a couple of days up to Tiberius, which will be cool as I didn't get to head north last trip.
The trip over wasn't bad, though didn't go exactly as planned. My flight out of NH was delayed an hour, and then we were delayed again after we boarded the plane and pulled away from the gate. I was supposed to have almost a 3:30 layover in Newark; instead I had about 45 minutes between getting off one plane and wheels-up on the next. It was just enough time to switch gates, go to the restroom, stock up on water, Pringles, and sleeping pills, and then go through the secondary security for the Israeli flight. By that point, most of the passengers had boarded the plane, so I got to scramble for overhead space and crawl over my two seatmates to get to my window seat. Although I was stuck in coach, my carry-on suitcase got to fly in business class, since there was not enough overhead space available in my cabin. Harumph. I hope my suitcase enjoyed it.
As usual, I forgot things. On the "still at home" list this time are both sleeping pills/melatonin, as well as workout clothes. Boooo. I picked up some Unisom in the airport and already had Advil PM with me, so fingers crossed that will work to get me on the right sleep schedule ASAP. As for the workout clothes - well, I may be the girl going running in a bathing suit top and yoga pants along the Tel Aviv beachfront. We'll see!
Monday, January 2, 2012
2011 Review - Q&A Style
Editing to give credit where credit is due. I got this list of questions from Nothing But Bonfires, and blatantly stole Holly's answer to the final question. It's true though, and I elaborated on it in the comments.
1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?
Went to Israel. Got recruited for jobs instead of being the one to send in my resume.Went to a Stanley Cup playoff game.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
My only real resolution was to find a new job in 2011. I did, and it is fantastic, but it certainly wasn't on my own terms. Thanks, shitty former company for laying me off for the second time.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My friend (and former coworker) Sunshine had a daughter this past spring.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, thank God.
5. What countries did you visit?
Israel. Around the US, I went to Michigan, Wisconsin, California, and the usual New England states.
6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
A stable relationship. I'm definitely ready to settle down with someone.
7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
1/6 - layoff; 3/30 - job offer; 4/18 - started my new job; 5/14-6/1 - Israel; 6/6 - Stanley Cup Game 3; 6/15 - Bruins win the Cup; 10/8 - Red's wedding; 11/11 - M&M's wedding; 12/9 - my Girl Scout troop visiting me at my office.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Kicking complete and total ass at my new job. For the first time since college, I feel like I am consistently good at what I do. Also, finding a Girl Scout troop to mentor that is such a good fit for me.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Let's just say the first two months when every bit of my life fell apart, and leave it at that.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing major.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
A ticket to the Stanley Cup! The Wii is a close second, if only for the expression on Smalls' face when he watched a bunch of drunk white girls try to bust a move to songs on Just Dance at my Christmas party.
12. Where did most of your money go?
After mortgage payments, taxes, and bills, to hockey tickets and half price wine night!
13. What did you get really excited about?
My new job. It sounds trite, and I always swore I would not be one of those people who couldn't stop talking about her job, but I really do love it. People ask me what I do and I'm excited to talk about it. People who have known me for years have said I have never sounded this enthusiastic about my career.
14. What song will always remind you of 2011?
Adele "Someone Like You"
15. Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder? Thinner or fatter? Richer or poorer?
Job- and family-wise, happier. Relationship-wise, definitely sadder. Exactly the same weight as I started off the year, through pretty much no effort on my part. Yes, you may hate me. Financially, I think I'm about back to where I was when I got laid off.
16. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Family, stop reading and skip to the next question. NOW.
...
...
...
...
Sex
...
...
...
We now return you to your regularly scheduled survey.
17. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Being a basket case in January and February. I'm still curious if things would have been different.
18. How did you spend Christmas?
In Maine with my family.
19. What was your favorite TV program?
Downton Abbey. Mad Men. I don't really watch much TV any more. I caught up on both these series on Netflix streaming.
20. What were your favorite books of the year?
Side note - I read over 100 books this year, mainly due to having 3 months at home not wanting to get out of bed. Some of my favorites:
Homer's Odyssey - Gwen Cooper
The Happiness Project - Gretchen Rubin
Shades of Grey - Jasper Fforde
The Poison Tree - Erin Kelly
The Help - Kathryn Stockett
21. What was your favorite music from this year?
As much as it makes me all sentimental and melancholy, Mumford & Sons and Needtobreathe.
22. What were your favorite films of the year?
The King's Speech. Yes, I know it came out in 2010. I didn't see it until 2011. It counts! Sarah's Key. The Help.
23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Turned 34. Had lunch with former coworkers, spent a bunch of money on my car to get it to pass inspection, and then met up with Merrow and LaLa for drinks/dinner at an Irish Pub and an outdoor Great Big Sea concert. In related news, I hate Lowell.
24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I'm going to be honest here, and you're all going to yell at me, but it's the truth. Being able to share the year (especially the great parts once I started my new job) with LCF. I still feel a very strong connection to him, and there's a big hole in my heart that wants to be filled by him.
25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
First 3 months: "Fuck it, I have no reason to get out of PJs"
The rest of the year: "Thank God I can wear jeans to work everyday again"
I should probably work on stepping this up a bit in 2012.
26. What kept you sane?
Antidepressants and my therapist. And the cats. I'm hoping to wean myself off the first two in 2012.
27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.
Things work out.
1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?
Went to Israel. Got recruited for jobs instead of being the one to send in my resume.Went to a Stanley Cup playoff game.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
My only real resolution was to find a new job in 2011. I did, and it is fantastic, but it certainly wasn't on my own terms. Thanks, shitty former company for laying me off for the second time.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My friend (and former coworker) Sunshine had a daughter this past spring.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, thank God.
5. What countries did you visit?
Israel. Around the US, I went to Michigan, Wisconsin, California, and the usual New England states.
6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
A stable relationship. I'm definitely ready to settle down with someone.
7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
1/6 - layoff; 3/30 - job offer; 4/18 - started my new job; 5/14-6/1 - Israel; 6/6 - Stanley Cup Game 3; 6/15 - Bruins win the Cup; 10/8 - Red's wedding; 11/11 - M&M's wedding; 12/9 - my Girl Scout troop visiting me at my office.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Kicking complete and total ass at my new job. For the first time since college, I feel like I am consistently good at what I do. Also, finding a Girl Scout troop to mentor that is such a good fit for me.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Let's just say the first two months when every bit of my life fell apart, and leave it at that.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing major.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
A ticket to the Stanley Cup! The Wii is a close second, if only for the expression on Smalls' face when he watched a bunch of drunk white girls try to bust a move to songs on Just Dance at my Christmas party.
12. Where did most of your money go?
After mortgage payments, taxes, and bills, to hockey tickets and half price wine night!
13. What did you get really excited about?
My new job. It sounds trite, and I always swore I would not be one of those people who couldn't stop talking about her job, but I really do love it. People ask me what I do and I'm excited to talk about it. People who have known me for years have said I have never sounded this enthusiastic about my career.
14. What song will always remind you of 2011?
Adele "Someone Like You"
15. Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder? Thinner or fatter? Richer or poorer?
Job- and family-wise, happier. Relationship-wise, definitely sadder. Exactly the same weight as I started off the year, through pretty much no effort on my part. Yes, you may hate me. Financially, I think I'm about back to where I was when I got laid off.
16. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Family, stop reading and skip to the next question. NOW.
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Sex
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We now return you to your regularly scheduled survey.
17. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Being a basket case in January and February. I'm still curious if things would have been different.
18. How did you spend Christmas?
In Maine with my family.
19. What was your favorite TV program?
Downton Abbey. Mad Men. I don't really watch much TV any more. I caught up on both these series on Netflix streaming.
20. What were your favorite books of the year?
Side note - I read over 100 books this year, mainly due to having 3 months at home not wanting to get out of bed. Some of my favorites:
Homer's Odyssey - Gwen Cooper
The Happiness Project - Gretchen Rubin
Shades of Grey - Jasper Fforde
The Poison Tree - Erin Kelly
The Help - Kathryn Stockett
21. What was your favorite music from this year?
As much as it makes me all sentimental and melancholy, Mumford & Sons and Needtobreathe.
22. What were your favorite films of the year?
The King's Speech. Yes, I know it came out in 2010. I didn't see it until 2011. It counts! Sarah's Key. The Help.
23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Turned 34. Had lunch with former coworkers, spent a bunch of money on my car to get it to pass inspection, and then met up with Merrow and LaLa for drinks/dinner at an Irish Pub and an outdoor Great Big Sea concert. In related news, I hate Lowell.
24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I'm going to be honest here, and you're all going to yell at me, but it's the truth. Being able to share the year (especially the great parts once I started my new job) with LCF. I still feel a very strong connection to him, and there's a big hole in my heart that wants to be filled by him.
25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
First 3 months: "Fuck it, I have no reason to get out of PJs"
The rest of the year: "Thank God I can wear jeans to work everyday again"
I should probably work on stepping this up a bit in 2012.
26. What kept you sane?
Antidepressants and my therapist. And the cats. I'm hoping to wean myself off the first two in 2012.
27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.
Things work out.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Shiny New
Welcome 2012! May your low points be better than the high points of 2011.
This is going to be a good year. I can feel it. I'm feeling inspired to do big, expansive (and probably expensive), exciting things in the year I turn 35. Stay tuned for what will hopefully be many updates!
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| Boo says "Happy New Year from the tip of my nose to the tip of my tail!" |
This is going to be a good year. I can feel it. I'm feeling inspired to do big, expansive (and probably expensive), exciting things in the year I turn 35. Stay tuned for what will hopefully be many updates!
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