Monday, July 14, 2003
I realize it's been a long time since I've updated my blog. Not that anyone actually reads this anyway, but it's good for posterity sake, I suppose.
So much has happened since April 12. That was less than a month until I moved, which I did. Though, the week was filled with tragedy.
Short story is that while we were painting the new apartment, days before we moved in, my grandfather passed away. My grandfather has had Alzheimer's for a very long time, and while his passing was extremely sad, I think it was for the better. I know, he wasn't in pain really, and he was comfortable and happy at the VA Hospital, but I can't imagine I'd want to live like that for very long.
It was tough for me though. I really, really hate the idea of death. I know most people do, but it bothers me to a greater degree than a lot of people, I feel. When I start thinking about it, as I often do, I my mind just gets in a terrible place. I'm not sure why this is -- surely death is not a pleasant subject, but most people around me are able to deal with the theory of death much better than me.
I think it is because I did almost die once. True, when I was run over by the school bus in 1st grade I made it out with little more than a bruise and stained pants, but the thought that at 6 I could have died has always freaked me out a bit.
And really, I hate the idea of NOT living. In general, I love life. The thought that it will go on without me -- that people will have fun without me -- makes me ill.
But aside from all of that thinking about death, it was my first funeral. Well, my second really, but it was the first funeral where someone close to me, at least in theory, died.
I don't remember much about my grandfather which I find sad. I feel like I spent enough time with him. I spent a few summers staying with my grandmother and him. I spent enough time as a small kid playing with my cousins down at my grandmother's house.
But the things I remember are mostly his recent years. The years where he was pretty much out of his head because he didn't know what was going on.
I do remember, though, how much he was into reading. His bookshelves were overflowing of books, mostly history books and biographies of the famous.
And, despite all of his bickering with my grandmother, he loved her. I know because one summer I was staying with them he yelled at me for being noisy. He was upset that I was waking up my grandmother when she needed her sleep. Sure, it's a small thing, but I think that's love.
And he raised my mother -- one hell of a mother, in fact.
So, I guess that's my very late post about my late grandfather. I hope, wherever he is, that he's in peace and that his pockets are filled with Fiddle Faddle and chocolate covered cherries.
Kerry
.: posted by Kerry 4:38 PM
Saturday, April 12, 2003
It's Saturday and I'm at work. Blech. I guess it comes with the territory (working in eBusiness and all), but boy this sucks. So, I'll get one whole day off this weekend which totally blows. Plus, I was supposed to be gone at 2:30 and we are still here waiting an hour later with no light at the end of the tunnel. And, I'm getting sick. Wah.
So, I had the craziest, busiest week ever; I was out every night until at least 10:30 and didn't get to bed before 12:30 which is probably why I'm getting sick. But the week was pretty fun, so I guess that's cool.
Ok, this is lame. I'm not in the blog mood.
Peace.
.: posted by Kerry 3:34 PM
Monday, April 07, 2003
God, I had the most morbid dream last night. I'm not really sure why either.
Basically, I was on the outskirts of Boston (Newton?) and I think the boys and I were taking a look at the new apartment. For some reason, some of my friends were there as well, though I'm not sure which friends they were. We decided to go to dinner at Chili's and as we were driving, straight ahead of us (which was Boston in my dream) we saw this giant blazing fire begin. It looked like what I would imagine a bomb would looke like, but with more fire than the bombs I've seen on t.v. with this whole war coverage. I gasped, and I cried, and in the distance we saw another flame begin -- this time closer. So, we drive back to the apartment and meet up with the others that were going to Chili's and we decide to drive west, but we aren't sure where to go.
Of course everyone else in the area is driving too. We get stopped and we end up in some building. We are flipping to t.v. stations and radio stations, but nothing will come in. Somehow we get some coverage and find out it's a horrible bombing of Boston by 4 terrorist groups who acted together to do one horrific event and who are waging war on American soil. All of a sudden, members of these terrorist groups are in the building with us, and we are all just begging mercy and so scared they are going to kill us. But oddly, these guys are sort of nice, and they talk about their plan to wipe out all of the cities in the U.S.
And then we are watching more coverage and found out the bombing was taking place after work, during the Boston BluesFest and that all of these people died.
It was really horrible. And I haven't even been watching news coverage of the war, so it's weird that I'd be thinking about it. I think I'm just worried about terror attacks we have coming to us. It's going to happen eventually. Sigh. Why are humans so fucked up?
.: posted by Kerry 9:50 AM
Monday, March 31, 2003
Ah, Monday again. It seems like the weekends fly right by.
This weekend I went to Albany with Sean so that he could visit his parents, and watch Syracuse in the college basketball tournament. All in all, a very relaxing weekend. The weather turned out somewhat dubious, but we didn't have much planned anyway but some "if it's sunny" ideas.
Mostly, I played with Katie, Sean's mom's boyfriend's daughter. Katie is 8 and it was somewhat fun playing with her, though I did realize that I was never really good at being a kid when I was a kid, much less now. I just never found it fun to play Barbies or Cabbage Patch Kids or anything. But, we rented a movie (Tuck Everlasting) and played Meet Me at the Mall (since Sean wouldn't actually let spend much time at the giant mall near his house). We also played with her cat's kitten who is absolutely adorable and reminds me of Krispy when she was a kitten.
Sean and I made dinner for his mom -- a seafood carbonara of sorts. It came out pretty good if I do say so, but really, it's hard to mess up anything when you've added scallops and salmon to the pot.
Sean also took me to this great place for breakfast on Sunday called the Four Corners Luncheonette. Talk about your yummy breakfast; I got apple-pecan waffles with strawberries and whipped cream! Yum! The strawberries were absolultely perfect and the whipped cream was homemade with just enough sweetness.
Yesterday, we spent the afternoon in a bar near the Pepsi Arena, so that we could watch the Syracuse game with some atmosphere. Thankfully, Syracuse won and Sean was in a good mood for the ride back. Despite some snow and rain, the drive took us only a little over two and a half hours, so when we got home we still had time to hang out, eat dinner, and watch the Jimmy Neutron movie with Roj.
On another note, Sean also got a call from Martin (our new apartment manager guy); he's got a lease for us to sign (wahoo). We'll go over tomorrow to sign and take measurements and see about getting in a little early to paint. I'm totally excited about our new place! One month to go!
.: posted by Kerry 1:19 PM
Friday, March 28, 2003
I finally filled out one of those "get to know you" surveys that I get in my email box all of the time; the answers for all of my loyal readers, not that I have any...
1. What's your full name? Kerry Lyn Sainato -- also answer to Melon,
Melonhead, Mel, Sleepy, Kerrisha, and Hey you dork.
2. What pants are you wearing? Brown Corderoys
3. What are you listening to right now? The hum of the florescent lights
and the crackle of Cheese Nips in my mouth.
4. What was the last thing you ate? Cheese Nips :)
5. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? I'd be tie-dye if that's
a crayon color -- it should be.
6. Where did you go on your honeymoon? Um, yeah.
7. Last person you talked to on the phone? A co-worker to set up a meeting.
8. What's the first thing you notice about the opposite sex? His smile (and
his dimples ;)
10. Do you like the person that sent you this? I got this from two of my
cousins -- of course I like them.
11. Your favorite drink? Favorite? Can't decide -- iced coffee, diet coke,
sparkling water rank up there though.
12. Favorite alcoholic drink? Beer and Margaritas
13. Favorite sport to play? I like to bike -- does that count?
14. Favorite sport to watch? Um, generally I don't watch; I read the paper
while Sean does.
15. What's the next CD you're going to get? I have no clue; those are
impulse buys.
16. Did you ever wear braces? Nope; I love the gap in my front teeth.
Madonna has one and she's cool -- so by association it totally makes me
cool.
17. Best memories: I can't pick a best; generally they're all good even if
the time was bad.
19. Siblings and their ages? Tonya, 22
20. Favorite month? Any month that doesn't have snow (except December since
I get lots of presents then.)
21. Favorite food: Puhlease, you want me to pick just one? That's
umpossible.
22. Last movie you watched? View from the Top
23. Are you too shy to ask someone out? I was.
24. Favorite place to go on a date? I like kicking Seans butt at air
hockey; although mini golf is always good because he buys be a consolatory
(is that even a word?) ice cream.
25. Do you like scary or happy movies better? Happy
26. Summer or winter? Spring and Fall
27. Hugs or kisses? They're both chocolate -- so both!
28. Chocolate or vanilla? Vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce!
29. What should you be doing right now? Testing our web site.
30. Who is most likely to respond? Tonya
31. Who is least likely to respond? Probably everyone else.
32. What books are you reading? American Pastoral, The Cheese Monkeys
33. What's on your mouse pad? Support.dell.com
34. Favorite magazine? Cooking Light
35. Favorite smell? Bakeries
36. Least favorite smell? Garbage
37. Worst feeling in the world? Fear
38. Best feeling in the world? Self confidence
39. Future child's name? Um, yeah, right now I'm not planning for that.
40. Glass half empty or half full? Just half.
41. Favorite movie(s): Can't pick just a few.
42. What's under your bed? Dust and my laundry bag and some boxes.
43. What is your favorite number? 27
44. One nice thing about the person that sent this to you? Megan always
speaks her mind and Tara is a very hard worker.
45. Many friends or one best friend? Lots of best friends.
46. Favorite current TV shows? Trading Spacings, Food TV in general,
Gilmore Girls, Andy Richter (if they'd ever bring it back), Everwood
.: posted by Kerry 12:50 PM
Wednesday, March 26, 2003
These are trying times.
I broke down last night. Every once in a while, I realize the world is crap and life is so strange and frightening that I break down. Sometimes I think Sean thinks I'm just plain crazy. I really think crying is cathartic though. Once I cry, I feel better.
But yeah, this whole war has me all messed up. I feel like at first, I was just wrapped up in the debate. Who the hell did our president think he was? What is this war really about? The whole world hates us. All that talking sort of just blinded the fact that people are dying.
I feel for the Iraqi civilians who are living in constant fear; who listen at night while their city is bombed, and who pray that they will make it until dawn alive. I feel for the U.S., British, and Australian soldiers who are risking their lives. The men and women who thought they could fight for their country, but now must feel sick as they get closer and closer to Baghdad looking death straight on and knowing they might not come home alive.
War. It's a disgusting waste of life.
.: posted by Kerry 4:45 PM
Monday, March 17, 2003
Wow, it's been a long time since I've blogged.
Anyway, fuzzypinkbunny.com is down, but I think that's because godaddy is down (my email is down as is budgetoz.com), so it's not because I didn't pay them or anything. Phew.
I visited NYC this past weekend; it was a nice trip and a nice break from Boston -- of course, it went by really quickly.
Friday, March 14
I left Boston on Friday morning, and drove up with Lily. We got to Leah's place around 1. I managed to score a street parking spot for the weekend which was a big win -- saved me $60!
Once we got our stuff into Leah's apartment and made plans to meet Leah for dinner, we took a walk around the neighborhood to stop in the little shops and the big shops. I bought a cool pair of sunglasses at Filene's Basement.
Since it was a Friday afternoon, there were kids out all over the streets shopping. It amazed me that these kids were making purchases that I wouldn't make and I have a job that pays me decently. Of course, they are kids that live in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, so I'm sure they all have their own credit cards that filter back to mommy and daddy.
We were in one store that was selling the whole line of Juicy Couture wear. Now, I have seen all over the pages of People and Cosmo and US that the stars schlep in Juicy Couture. And I can see that considering all of the stuff was outrageously priced -- we're talking $32 for a flimsy tee that would cost $3 in Walmart. I saw terry cloth track pants for $70!
What made the whole thing surreal though, is that kids half my age were spending what amounts to half my car payment on three little tees. Sigh. I was definitely born into the wrong family.
Ok, that's a lie. I was born into the right family, and I know the value of a dollar because of it. But, man, I'd love to be rich for a week.
So yeah, while all the kiddies were shopping for the newest clothes in the Gap, and Steve Madden, Lily and I were looking for bargains at Filene's and from street vendors.
Once we were done, we headed back to Leah's to pick up her wine order and to make final plans for the evening. We called Leah. She had to call us back. We fell asleep. She called and we went to meet her in Midtown.
More walking -- when we got to the street we were supposed to meet Leah, I saw, in the distance, what I thought was the Days Inn that Sean and his posse (his posse being his father and cousin) were staying. I called Sean's cell to confirm, and raced down to say hi.
I got to give him a big hug after missing him for the week, and visited his dad and cuz for a few moments before going back down to find Leah and Lily.
Once we were all together, we went to this pub that Leah's friend was drinking at -- they, Leah and her friends, were going to a concert. Lily and I were meeting up for a pre-show dinner.
We decided we didn't feel like pub grub and went to search out something Asian. We couldn't find anything, so I suggested we get a drink and when Leah went to her concert, Lily and I could eat something.
Off to a bar called Zanzibar. It was a lounge with a middle eastern theme. I got a beer, they got mojitos, and we got a little appetizer of pita bread and hummus and other spreads.
Our waitress was a little dippy -- she was new. Still, she wasn't very friendly. I'll give you some slack if you're new, but geeze, compensate with some personality and friendliness.
Leah's friend Danielle came to meet her and we left Zanzibar. Leah and Danielle went to the show and Lily and I headed to Ollie's Noodle Bar on 66th and Broadway.
Ollies was a giant chinese megaplex. Ok, so it wasn't a megaplex, but it was a three-floor restaurant. Totally chaotic. We got sat on the top floor, in the back. We had a group of annoying teenagers sitting closely to our left.
I decided I wanted a dim sum combo and Lily ordered lemon chicken. So started a trend of Lily being served consistently last. I got my meal about 15 minutes before Lily got hers. It was tough because I didn't want my stuff to get cold, but I didn't want Lily to have to eat alone. I noticed this was happening at a lot of tables (food coming at uneven intervals to tables.)
The food was decent -- not great -- but the prices were moderate, so I wasn't too upset.
At that point, Lily and I were dragging our asses. We'd been up since early and, I for one, hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. We proceeded to take a nap until Leah called to go out.
She called at midnight -- Lily was out like a light and Leah seemed to want to stay Midtown, so I told her not to worry about coming up to her neighborhood and went to bed.
Saturday, March 15
Saturday we woke up bright and early mostly because Lily woke up at 8:00 and showered. I was sooo tired since I hadn't slept well Thursday or Friday nights. Oh well.
We all got up finally and headed over to a diner near Leah's apartment. We waited a while; while we waited this little girl (so adorable) and her dad came in and while they were waiting she said, "I want hot chocolate and bacon." A girl after my own heart! We ended up sitting at the table next to the girl and her dad and guess what she got? Hot chocolate and bacon. You gotta love dads. Mom would be all about making her eat some eggs with that bacon for protein, but dads don't care. Hopefully, if I ever become a mother, I can do things like let my child eat bacon and hot chocolate every once in a while.
I had challah french toast which was delicious! Lily got served last again. Poor girl. After breaky, I got in touch with Sean who said he would get a ride to the corner of 71st and Broadway so that we could meet and go check into our hotel (hmm, picking guys off the corner and taking them to hotel rooms; what kind of girl did my mom raise?)
While I was waiting for Sean, a girl parked at the meter in front of me and was digging for quarters; it was obvious she didn't have any so I offered her some. Unfortunately I didn't have any either; she thanked me though and said it was nice to run into nice people in the city. I like being a nice person and doing little things to help people out -- even if it doesn't work out in the end.
Anyway, Sean finally made it to the Upper West Side and we jetted to our hotel which was gracious enough to let us check in early. I took a much needed shower and we headed out again. This time, to the Peanut Butter and Co. in Greenwich Village. I saw the Peanut Butter and Co. on the Food TV Network and really wanted to check it out. It sells all sorts of peanut butter sandwiches! It was excellent. And cheap. A good combo.
After that, we did a little shopping much to Sean's dismay; luckily I didn't drag him into too many stores. Well, luckily for him and my wallet. We spent a few minutes soaking in a little sun in Washington Square Park and spent some time walking around Greenwich Village. Then we found a pub were we got a pint of beer each -- Sean was shocked that each pint cost $5. After our beers (which Sean hoped were laced with gold), we went back to the hotel to take a little nappy-nap before dinner and the comedy show Leah told us about.
We met Leah at 8:00 in the subway station near her house so that we could go to dinner together. We went to this place that she found in Time-Out. It was a little odd. It was in the basement of this hotel and was totally decorated sheeshily (don't you love my made up words?), but the clientele seemed to be mostly older hotel guests. We felt a little odd being in there since we weren't dressed up, but we decided to stay and eat. The food was great -- I got a grilled swordfish with olives and mussels and roasted tomatoes. The olives were really salty and delicious. Leah, Linda and I shared a bottle of red wine. All in all a good meal.
Once our bill came and we paid, we jetted off to the comedy show which seemed to be a local comedy troupe mixed with a few amatuer stand-up acts. It was pretty enjoyable despite the lack of audience. I think comedy is harder when there are less people sitting in a room for the simple fact that one person laughing makes more laugh, but if there are say, 10 people, and no one thinks the joke is funny, no one laughs -- and then I just feel embarrassed for the comedian.
Leah and Linda knew one of the stand-up guys (they were pretty much stalking him) so we chatted with him at the end of the show and then went off to a pub. At this point it was midnight, and Sean was getting tired, so we only stayed at the pub for a while and went back to the hotel for a good night's sleep.
Sunday, March 16
Ahh, a good nights sleep is so excellent after two bad nights of sleeping. Sean and I slept in until 10:30, and got ready to check out and grab some breakfast.
I have to give a plug to the hotel in which we stayed. It was called Hotel Newton on the Upper West Side; it was inexpensive (we paid $75 for a double) and extremely clean; plus the front desk staff were so helpful and nice. You don't often get really good front desk people when you are only paying $75. I'd recommend it to anyone.
Anyway, Leah recommended a breakfast place: Good Enough to Eat. The line was super long and it took us 30 minutes to get a table, but it was worth it just for the bacon. Sean got bacon with his pancakes and eggs and it was the best bacon I'd ever eaten. It was nice and thick, but still very crispy with a slight sweet flavor to it. Boy. I'd drive back to Manhattan just for the bacon I think.
After I ate half of Sean's bacon and we paid, we headed toward the park; it was a wonderful, sunny spring day. We walked across the park to the East Side where we made a pilgramage to Dylan's Candy Bar -- another Food TV find. What a wonderful place! You name the candy, they had it. Two floors of candy, candy, candy. I felt like I was 5 years old, but I had the money to actually buy any candy I wanted! It was overwhelming.
I realized in the Candy Bar that I will be the worst parent ever if I have kids. A boy and his mom were checking out the store and came across a candy art display; basically, this candy art is like sand art but with colored sugar (think big pixie stick in a clear tube.) The mom explained to her son that it was just colored sugar and she'd prefer he didn't get it. Meanwhile, his mom turned his head and I gave him a big smile and thumbs up sign toward the candy art. I think he was happily surprised an adult-type would give the thumbs up to colored sugar -- he ended up with candy art. Man, if I ever have kids, they'll be bouncing off the walls.
Once we picked out some candy, we headed back through the park to meet Leah for a little while before heading back. We chatted a while, and Sean found out that girls spend lots of time talking about weddings -- just in theory. He was scared. At about 4:30 we decided we really needed to hit the road, so after a pit-stop at Krispy Kreme and to our hotel to pick up our luggage, we got on the Henry Hudson Parkway and headed north.
Unfortunately, it took an hour and a half to get out of the great NYC area -- erg. Sean got road rage for me, and then I got road rage for myself. There was more traffic in CT, but finally, after five stressful hours in the car, we got back to Sean's. Phew.
.: posted by Kerry 4:03 PM
Monday, January 06, 2003
Monday is almost over. Thank god. I really hate Mondays. So, I wake up early this morning and get out to my car by 8:13. Still, I was 20 minutes late to work. I swear, I try to be on time, and still it doesn't work. There was unexplained traffic for about, I dunno, 20 miles. Then I was just lagging and tired all day. And I'm trying to eat better (note: not a diet; just watching myself), so that's all I think about all day. Then I'm all stressed and crampy by the end of the day, so I went to the gym which always makes my body feel better and stretched and all that good stuff that it's supposed to do. Of course, the gym was packed! The first whole week of the new year got everyone and their brother into the gym. It's really funny since I'm a fairly regular gym-goer (granted you probably couldn't tell too much, but hey, it makes me feel good and I'm sure my heart thanks me) to see all of these people in the gym thinking they'll become regulars. I'll bet by February it will be half as crowded as it was today which is good for me.
But, I digress. Recap of the weekend: Friday Gracie and I went to help Keith and Tara move; the only problem is that they had virtually nothing packed and no boxes to pack with. We did what we could and then went to dinner. It was an early night, but it was a rainy night.
Saturday, Gracie and I went shopping. I spent my birthday money from my grandmother and got a nifty jacket from Old Navy. It's sweet. And warm. It's lined with fleece! Saturday evening we (along with Sean) went to see Freezepop. I was sort of disappointed by the show though. First, they only had 45 minutes to play -- I certainly need more Freezepop than that since it's been about 8 months since I've seen them. Second, they seemed a little off during the first two songs. I'm not sure why, but I'm guessing it's because they hadn't practiced their old stuff in a while; the new stuff was great and tight, but the old stuff, sadly, was not. Thirdly, Sean T. Drinkwater was not as funny as he usually is; he was a little off all on his own -- and I do not like his new facial hair. Generally, I'm a fan of facial hair, but I prefer a clean shaven Sean T. And fourth(ly?), finally, and mostly, a giant guy stood right in front of me two minutes before the show started.
I'm starting a new paragraph for this rant. Tall people of the world, please listen to my pleas -- be nice, don't stand right in front of a 5'4'' person at a show if you are over a foot taller than she. Especially when said person had been waiting patiently for the show to begin in her spot 15 minutes before and you sneak up right about 2 minutes to show time. And don't pretend said person is invisible. I mean, it just sucks to stake out a great spot and then not be able to see because of a rude-ass guy. I have no patience for rude-ass guys. Next time this happens to me, I'm kicking ass and taking names later. I am.
Ok, enough of that. Sunday was relatively lazy. Sean and I had KFC as a last hurrah before our die...er, healthier eating. Then we headed off to Milford where I did about 30 pounds of laundry. We decided to cook a roast -- at 5:00. Needless to say, we didn't eat until 9:00, but that was fine. The roast came out delish and Sean got to use his new electric carving knife. It's awesome. I'm glad I bought it him for Christmas. I was in a kinda grumpy mood for some reason. But Sean put up with me; we watched Andy Richter and that put me in a much better mood. It's a great show. FOX better not take it off the air! Do you hear me FOX execs? It's a damn good show. Keep it around.
Ok, enough of my babbling. It's 11:00 already. Where did the time go? Well, at least Monday is over.
.: posted by Kerry 11:15 PM
Friday, January 03, 2003
Happy New Year...a couple days late.
I had my New Year's Eve party (to see pictures go here)and it went well despite no shows. I really hate it when people RSVP and say they are going to stop by, and then don't. I had so much leftover food because 10 people didn't show. Oh well. We still had a good time; most of Sean's friends showed up and that was fun, well, excepting that one of them puked all over my hardwood floors. I couldn't be too mad though, since I know I've puked on someone's floor before.
The place was a disaster the next day, but I cleaned it up pretty quickly with Sean's help. We spent the rest of the day hanging out and had dinner at Gracie's. A decent day off. And I wasn't sick this holiday, so it was much better than Christmas.
Now it's Friday and I can't wait for this weekend to get here. It's kind of nice to have things go back to normal after the holidays. No shopping. No putting together packages. Just my time to do what I want -- which is shopping and going to see Freezepop. Then I want a relaxing Sunday to do some laundry and perhaps see a movie. God, I love the weekend.
.: posted by Kerry 1:29 PM
Friday, December 27, 2002
Christmas is over. My Christmas this year was pretty disappointing, I have to say. I hate to be all negative and I know I should think of all those people out there that didn't have as much as I, but still, I can't help but be a bit disappointed.
First, I was sick. I got a horrid stomach virus on Christmas Eve Eve. I did nothing that night but writhe in pain on my bed. I got no sleep, I was achey, and I couldn't keep a drop of water down. I thought I was a bit better on Christmas Eve, and I was a bit better, but still, I could barely eat a thing, and I fell asleep at 6:30. Then, on Christmas, I was actually hungry. Starving, in fact, since I hadn't eaten much in the two days before (that didn't end up in the toilet). I made some pancakes. It was a mistake because they ended up feeling like lead in my stomach for hours. Basically, I missed out on Christmas dinner.
I also missed out on seeing Sean. He was stuck in Albany because of the stupid snow. We were supposed to meet up Christmas night, but didn't get to see each other until yesterday. I know it's not really a big deal, but I was totally disappointed. It was supposed to be my first Christmas with a boyfriend and it was supposed to be mine and Sean's first real holiday together. I was sad.
Well, hopefully New Year's Eve will be better.
.: posted by Kerry 9:59 AM
Wednesday, December 18, 2002
The Las Vegas travelouge is complete finally. I'll get pictures up as soon as I can, but probably after Christmas.
So, this morning, I was in horrible traffic. The kind on the highway where you move like four feet a minute. Well, as flaky as I am, I wasn't looking in front of me at one point, and I hit this huge, green Crown Victoria. Crap. Then I look and see I did no damage to the monster car, and if I have damage, I don't really care. I wasn't sure whether to get out of my car or not, so I waited a minute. The guy in front of me got out of his car and I see, oh yeah, he's a state trooper in full state trooper gear. Unmarked car. Doh. He was totally nice. The first thing I say when I see he's a statie -- "Oh my god." But he just said, "It's okay ma'am. I have no damage and you have no damage. It's okay." Sweet. I guess I do have some luck left.
.: posted by Kerry 1:56 PM
Saturday, December 14, 2002
Ok, so I know I didn't finish my Las Vegas travelouge (is that how you spell that word?), but I will eventually.
Anyway, last week was my birthday. It was a good one, albeit low key. Sean and Gracie took me to the Brown Sugar Cafe -- partially because it was easy to get too in the snow (yeah, there was a pretty heavy snow storm that day) and because I wanted to eat something served in half a pineapple shell. Yeah, I'm lame, what can I say?
The next day, my parents came into town and took Tonya and I out to the Cheesecake Factory for a joint birthday celebration. The food was good and I got to take home both my leftovers and my dad's leftovers. Fab. Later, I went to Dave's game night -- drank some beer, played some games.
Saturday was great though. Well, actually, it was good and bad. It was Nellie Mae's holiday party at the F1 racing place in Braintree. I was totally psyched to race. The tracks were so cool looking and racers got to wear neat racing suits. Unfortunately, my big ass wouldn't fit into a racing suit. It was devastating because I had to realized this in the middle of a "changing room" with nine of my fellow co-workers hanging around. So, on top of being embarrassed of said big ass, I was totally disappointed because I couldn't race. Then I got upset and cried. Of course, I cried. I always cry. I tried to calm myself down, but I just got more upset and more upset. I couldn't even watch Sean race. Then I started getting upset that I was upset, and upset that I was ruining anyone else's fun time.
I did manage to calm myself down -- after a vodka tonic. Dinner was good, and then it was time for the giving of the "Achiever of the Year" Award. And guess what? I was the runner up! It was awesome. The president of our company read a bunch of great stuff about me, and I got flowers. I was psyched, and it really has made me tons more motivated to do a good job. It just makes me feel so good that people recognize me and really respect me at work. It's was like getting a straight "A" report card.
But anyway. It's getting late, and my parents space bar doesn't work too well. It's annoying the hell out of me. You'd really think they would just buy a new keyboard. I mean, the cost, what, $20?
Peace,
Kerry
.: posted by Kerry 12:26 AM
Monday, December 02, 2002
Wow, it's been a long time since I've written.
I just got back to work from my Thanksgiving vacation or should I say vacations. Las Vegas and Vermont, to be exact.
Below is a detailed travel journal. It's long. I know. But, hey, it's more for me than for you anyway, so here goes:
Sunday, November 24:
I woke up at 5:30 this morning to catch my flight for Vegas. I was hungover from a mixture of rum, vodka, and beer at Tara and John's party last night. I popped everything I could find in my medicine cabinet, threw on some clothes, and grabbed my bags to head for the T. Of course, once I got outside my door, I realized I wasn't sure that I had my keys. I went back inside, tore apart my luggage, found that I had packed my keys, and left again.
I met Mom, Dad, John, and Carol at the airport. Well, after the new federal security agents pulled apart everything in my bag. But that didn't bother me. What bothers me are the passengers who complain about the process. While I know the procedures probably wouldn't stop someone who really wanted to pull a terrorist act, it's their job. Leave them alone, and get to the airport early enough so that you aren't frusterated with security hold-ups.
Our flight was decent. Our stop in Detroit, Michigan was alright. We ate passable pub food ordered from a surley bar wench. She was extremely rude. Apparently in Detroit, you aren't allowed to order booze before Noon. Instead of telling people the deal, when someone would order a beer or a bloody mary she'd just shake her head. The person would look dumbfounded. She'd finally mumble that she couldn't serve alcohol until 12:00. Honestly, how is someone in an airport, probably not from Detroit, to know the drinking laws there. I'm glad we got to leave that city.
We arrived in Vegas at 1:52 local time (4:52 our time). Dad hit on a slot machine for 60 bucks right off the bat. We got our luggage and headed over to Alamo where we got into our full size car.
From Alamo, we headed to our hotel, the Excalibur. It took us maybe three minutes to get there, and maybe 6 minutes to find ourselves at the bar. We all ordered drinks. Some gambled while I watched bags. I finally had enough of watching the bags, and went up to the room, dropped my stuff, and headed straight down to Krispy Kreme where I got my first donut of the trip. I also stopped in the convenience store and bought a Sam Adams Oktoberfest. Ahh, donuts and a beer; Homer Simpson would be proud.
After putzing around the casino at our hotel for a while, and playing some Keno in the Keno lounge, we got organized enough to get some dinner. John's sister, Linda, and her fiance, Larry, took us to the Roadhouse Grille, a steak house chain that we remembered from our days in Florida. The food was alright -- steak was over done, but the rolls, soup, and sweet potato were good. We embarrased Dad with a birthday sundae and lots of attention from the waitstaff. That part was fun.
After dinner, we headed down to Old Vegas or Freemont Street. I'm not sure which it goes by more often. I liked the idea behind Old Vegas, and I really dug the old neon signs, but the over all atmosphere of the place was fairly lame. I like the idea of a part of Vegas that's old school; I could imagine this type of place being where the old timers came to gamble with their cigars and fedora hats. Unfortunately, the casinos are still old, but the people, well they are typical tourists. It reminded me of a downscale version of Disney's Pleasure Island. Tourists walked around drinking yards of frozen drinks and plastic footballs filled with beer. There was a Starbucks. There was a lazer-light show. It wasn't glamerous though, it was tacky. And not in a good way.
At about 10:30 (1:30 our time), I was ready to drop. We rounded up the troops and headed back to the hotel where I soundly crashed, and Dad did not. He was up all night.
Monday, November 25:
I woke up at 5:00 this morning. This will become a theme for the trip. Dad's bed was empty. I started to worry. I've become all anxious and worrisome in my old age. Anything could have happened to my dad, after all, he is an old man now, 50. Mom woke up as well and told me I shouldn't worry because that's what he does when he's in Las Vegas. I said that maybe he didn't remember the room number. Mom and I took showers and got ourselves ready, and headed to Krispy Kreme. Who do we find at Krispy Kreme? Dad.
Seems that he wanted to go back to the room around 4:00, but couldn't remember the room number (I knew it!). He tried to go to the front desk, but because the reservation was under only Mom's name, the front desk clerk wouldn't let him in. He didn't want her to call us and wake us up, so he just hung out until we woke up and found him.
I had my second Krispy Kreme of the trip, and Mom and I went to the bar and ordered some bloody marys while we played video poker and while Dad took a shower. Gotta love Vegas; bloody marys at 6:30 a.m. We then walked through New York, New York; the MGM Grand; and the Tropicana. More gambling ensued (Mom was hot on the Roulette, and I lost five bucks in the nickel slots in about two minutes flat.) After this bit of fun, we headed back to the hotel to find out if Carol and John were up. They were, and we headed off to Red Rock Canyon.
Because of our shotty directions from the front desk at the hotel, we never found Red Rock Canyon. We did find a little road side casino/store run by a native american tribe. We found out that the Valley of Fire State Park was close, so after we used the facilities, and bought some junk food and booze, we headed there. We had fun. John, Dad, Mom, and I climbed a mountain. We stopped and checked out some beehive shaped red rocks. Dad decided he wanted to come back for a backpacking tour where he would live in a cave and live off of the nectar from cactii. This became a source of amusement for the rest of the trip ("When Butch comes back for his backpacking trip...) ecspecially since he's a guy that drives about 1/16th of a mile to the mailbox.
We then took the scenic route home. We stopped at a place called Echo Bay, which, on the map, was called a resort. I was hoping for a bar or a restaurant or anything. The only thing we found were trailors and houseboats (on Lake Mead). Plus, there was no echo. We drove more. Saw some wild burros, and some wild horses, and noticed a lot of crap on the side of the road (presumabley from the wild burros). Dad fell asleep. I got car sick. I realized the combination of donut, bloody mary, beef jerky, fritos, diet coke, and scenic car ride was probably the cause. I asked to be dropped off at the hotel while the others went to In and Out Burger for lunch. I settled on soup and a mini-salad from Quizno's in the hotel. I slept.
After I got up, I joined the rest in the hotel casino where I hung out with Mom and Dad in the Keno lounge. We decided to go to the Rio's buffett for dinner and catch the carnivale show they put on every hour. The show was cheesy but fun. At the end, Chippendale's dancers threw out some Mardi Gras beads. Usually, I'm not a fan of the Chippendale's dancers, but one of these guys was really, really hot.
We headed over to the buffett where we learned we had only an hour to eat. I felt very overwhelmed, but managed to get a little of everything I wanted including some crab legs. Yum! I was stuffed!
Carol gambled, while Mom, Dad, and I checked out the shops in the hotel. I found a fabulous pair of shoes for only $10. They are red and snakeskin-esque! At this point, Dad had been up for a little under 48 hours. He needed to get back to the hotel, and the rest of us were tired as well. No one would go exploring with me, so I watched VH1 and went to bed.
Tuesday, November 26:
So Tuesday, I woke up again at 5:30 a.m. For some reason, Vegas really screwed with my natural waking time. Probably partially due to the time change and probably partially due to me not wanting to waste time.
Mom, Dad, and I headed out together -- John was golfing, and Carol was still asleep. We walked a little ways and then took the bus to the opposite end of the strip so that Mom and I could visit the World's Largest Gift Shop! What a gift shop it was. It had all sorts of tacky souveniers plus all sorts of handmade Native American crafts. I bought a pair of cool dice salt and pepper shakers for Gracie, a tee shirt for Sean, and a shot glass with a nip of tequila for Tonya. I have to say this about the souvenirs in Vegas -- they are cheap! I'm used to going to tourist trap places and paying through the nose for things, but in Vegas, I guess they know you're saving your money for gambling because I found all the cheesy souvenirs totally affordable.
After Dad was thoroughly bored, and Mom and I had purchased our tacky wares, we went across the street to the Sahara for their advertised $1.99 breakfast special. Now, the Sahara is in the older section of the Strip. It's old school and quite tacky hence the cheap breakfast special, but it had $1 blackjack tables! I had been looking for those all trip, so it was an exciting find.
I bought breakfast for the three of us -- I splurged and got the $3.99 biscuits and gravy, yum! Upon paying my bill, I ran into one of the nicest hospitality industry people during my trip. I'll take time for a sidenote right here. During my time in Vegas, up to this point, I had come across a huge percentage of really rude, jerky service people -- mainly bartenders and keno wenches. I was dismayed at this. I mean, don't they know, the nice they are to people, the bigger their tips are? In a place that's so hospitality (read: tip) driven, you'd think there would be a firmer grasp on the "customer is always right" credo, or at least there would be more smiles and less bitchiness. So, it was a nice change to run into someone extremely nice. In fact, everyone in the Sahara was totally nice. Thumbs up -- and the breakfast was great too.
On our way out, I decided I'd give a shot at blackjack. I changed in $20 for chips and sat down. At first, I was nervous about breaking the rules or doing something wrong or losing, but I ended up doing just fine. I came out $3.50 ahead in the end. I know, I'm a cheapskate, but you all knew that anyway.
From the Sahara, we walked down the strip, stopping in casinos along the way. I was disappointed that my father was not at all impressed by the Venetian which I think is a wonder in hotel architecture. He wasn't impressed with any of the new hotels. He just liked the old shitty ones. I couldn't understand it, but then again, I don't often understand him. We went into M&M World which was disappointing because the 3-D movie was not working and there were no free gifts; there were also no "one of a kind" M&M candies to bring home. Boo.
We slowly made our way back to the hotel where we met up with John and Carol. Carol had been sitting at a poker table all day -- and she would stay there for the rest of the day. John had a good day of golf and was ready to take on some new adventures. John, Mom, Dad, and I headed down to the Stratosphere so that we could ride the roller coaster and check out the observation deck.
At the Stratosphere, we learned the ride was temporarily down, but we could wait and it would be back up in 10 minutes. We waited, and then bought our tickets -- or John bought our tickets, what a guy! -- and went on up. John, Mom, and I decided to ride the coaster and Dad just hung out on the observation deck. The three of us got on the coaster. What a rush. The coaster is basically a circle around the outside of the Statosphere on the 112th floor. On the coaster, you're basically on the edge of the building looking below. It's scary. The actual ride isn't too scary -- it was fairly slow and had only one drop -- but that heights thing. Wow!
After the ride, there was a woman selling tickets for the other ride. The other ride was a frightening one. Basically you sat in a chair and were skyrocketed up another 20ish stories -- fast -- and then dropped to freefall. Somehow John talked me into it. We got into the ride and I was soooo nervous and kept bugging the ride attendent that my chest harness was way too loose. After telling me about four times the harness would lock -- it locked -- and we were on our way up -- and down -- and up -- and down...I screamed. Loudly. When we were finally to the ground, the ride attendent asked the guy on my left how his ears were -- that's how loud I was.
When we met Mom on the observation deck, she said she heard me loud and clear. She also informed us that Dad got really nervous on the observation deck and had to go down into the hotel. I'd say he has quite a fear of heights! The three of us check out the observation deck for a little while and went down to meet up with Dad.
So, funny story: we were walking out of the Statosphere -- through the mall -- and John and I were about a hundred feet behind Mom and Dad. All of a sudden I get a whiff of something horrid. I looked at John and said, "I guess we know they are in front of us." When we finally caught up to Mom and Dad I mentioned I could smell them a mile away, and Mom starts laughing. She farted. Ew. Somehow I knew it was her though (on the plane ride to Vegas she actually farted ON THE PLANE!)
We left the Stratosphere and headed toward "some of the sleazier casionos" (I'll let you guess who's idea that was.) We ended up at the Barbary Coast and then the Flamingo. Mom lost the rest of her gambling money on Let It Ride, and I lost about 10 bucks at the bar with John playing video poker. I also watched this guy at a Carribean Stud Poker table ante-ing up with 100 chips. He had $4,000 worth which I thought was funny because he looked like a schleppy guy who hadn't shaved in days and was wearing Teve sandals with socks. I guess you never do know who has money!
At this point, I was getting really tired and hungry. John was hungry too. The four of us went back to the Excalibur; Mom and Dad went to more casinos while John and I went to get some food at the Sherwood Forest Cafe. I had a slightly passable Asian chicken Salad. Advice: Stay away from most of the cafes in the casinos. They are no good for any even quasi-foodie.
After that, I went to bed. I was exhausted from being up at 5:30; Mom and Dad were up until 2:30. I guess they are way cooler than me or something. Sad.
Wednesday, November 27:
Sad. Our last day. I woke up at 7:00 today. Woah, sleeping in! No one else was up though, so I decided this was my chance to get out on my own. I really wanted to go to the Paris Hotel for breakfast becaus I heard that Le Cafe there was very good, so I showered, got ready, and walked on down.
The Paris Hotel is one of my favorites. I think it does perhaps the best job of incorporating the theme. The casino workers all have great costumes/uniforms, and the details are just great. I ecspecially like how the base of the Eiffel Tower actually cuts through the roof and stands on the casino floor. So neat.
Anyway, I found the Cafe and checked out the menu; it was expensive, but not too horrible, so I asked for a table for one on the "patio". The patio is designed to look like you're outside with a garden around and cobblestones on the ground. It's very neat. It took me a while to decide on what to get because everything sounded wonderful, but since I had eggs the day before at the Sahara, I decided to get a sweet dish -- apple crepes. Oh my gosh, they were so good. There were four pockets filled with soft, spicy apples and drizzled with caramel and whipped cream. Fresh berries garnished the place and were perfectly ripe and sweet. I also got a carafe of Parisian coffee which was the best coffee I'd had in a long time (though anything beats the office coffee).
I wandered around the casino a bit and then left to wander in a few more to grab matches for Mom, John, and I. I finally made my way back to the hotel to finish packing and to check out.
Our vacation was coming to an end. We had an uneventful flight home, and Bob picked us up in freezing Boston. I went back to Mom and Dad's for Thanksgiving the next day. All in all, a good trip and I only lost about $60. Not bad at all.
.: posted by Kerry 4:17 PM
Monday, November 11, 2002
It's Monday. Blah. Well, at least it's Monday afternoon and almost (one. hour. to. go.) time to go home. That's a nice thought.
My day started out very poorly. I woke up and didn't want to wake up. Usually I don't want to wake up, but today, I really, really didn't want to wake up. My eyes were as heavy as anvils. But I dragged my ass out of bed and hopped in the shower. There was no hot water in Sean's shower. I took the world's quickest shower, and then went to blow dry my newly cut hair. The blow dryer was acting up; it was overheating or something, so after a couple of minutes, I'd have to wait for it to cool down. The last time I put it down on the counter it fell - into the toilet. Yup, so I didn't even get to properly style my brand new hair cut. It sucks to have a new cute cut, but not have the ability to style it the first day everyone at work sees it! Oy.
But, I digress. It's not that bad. The day has gone by fairly zippy. I started some Christmas shopping online, had a bunch of work to do, and now I can go home in 55 minutes.
On a side note, I had a really fun weekend. Gracie and I saw Sweet Home Alabama on Friday; we went to BeadWorks to make necklaces on Saturday, then met Dave and Jeremy in the North End for dinner and coffee. Sunday, I spent time with my family in Chelmsford and got my hair cut. And I got to see Sean last night. All in all a fine weekend.
.: posted by Kerry 4:08 PM
Tuesday, November 05, 2002
I voted today. I'm very proud of myself. It's the first time I've ever voted. I was able to vote in the last presidential election (able, as in, I was 18), but I never got to the poll. I got lost. I got frusterated. I went home.
This time I really felt like it was my duty to vote as a citizen of the United States. I don't necessarily agree with everything that government does, but how can I complain if I don't vote, right?
I am a little sad that I didn't get an "I Voted!" sticker, but I didn't see any at the precinct. Oh well.
I made Boss Sean a cake for his birthday; pumpkin chocolate chip with cream cheese frosting and mapled walnuts. It turned out really well. I like making cakes I've decided. Man, I really just need to open up a little bakery/cafe and call it a day. Oh yeah, I need money to do that. Doh.
.: posted by Kerry 4:06 PM
Friday, November 01, 2002
It's fixed! Excellent. Sean figured out the problem last night, and I called tech support this morning to tell them how to fix it (server problem). I'm very happy and you should be too since now I have uploaded the pictures of the Sam Adams Brewery from last weekend.
Christine, Gracie, Sean, and I went to the brewery in JP. It was a cold, wet day, so being inside a brewery was a perfect way to spend the afternoon. The tour was short and the beer was plentiful. We tried three types of Sam Adams beers: Sam Adams Boston Lager, Oktoberfest, and Cream Stout. We all really liked the Oktoberfest, but decided the Cream Stout tasted like bacon and coffee. It was one of those super dark beers (like Guiness but not so thick.) A very, very dark roasted beer (I think that means the barley used was roasted very dark, but I wasn't really listening to our tour guide.)
After our tour, we headed over to CJ's house where we played Taboo and Scrabble, and made pumpkin risotto. And then we went to JP licks. Yum. A wonderful, slightly lazy Saturday.
.: posted by Kerry 7:01 PM
Thursday, October 31, 2002
Happy Halloween!
This year, I was basically a Halloween scrooge. I didn't even carve a pumpkin which is highly unlike me. I'm not quite sure why. I guess being too old to get free candy does take a bit of the fun out of it. I wore a neat-o mask to work today. I borrowed it from Gracie. It's all Mardi Gras-esque. I'll wear it tomorrow when we go to a couple of parties.
On a technical note, I'm still wrestling with the FTP stuff. I CALLED tech support today, but still nothing. My firewall at work might have something to do with it, so I'm going to wait until I get home tonight to play around with it anymore. Plus, I'll have my own geek there to help me out. One of the perks of dating a computer whiz - my very own tech support. We'll see. Until then, no one gets to see my pictures of the Sam Adams Brewery from last weekend, so people, root for me!
.: posted by Kerry 12:25 PM
Wednesday, October 30, 2002
Tech support wrote me back and said something to the effect, "We tested it and it works fine. Try again." So, I did. And it still doesn't work. The problem is that I can't upload updated versions of old files; they only tested adding a completely new file. So, of course, it's going to be another whole day before I can add any new pictures or content.
On the plus side, I figured out how to make this blogger page look like my site by changing the template on blogger's side rather than my side, so things look pretty. That's what's important. Beauty is everything, right?
.: posted by Kerry 12:01 PM
Tuesday, October 29, 2002
I'm very frusterated with my hosting service right now. For some reason, every time I try to FTP any new page, I get an error message that tells me "Permission Denied". Grr. Of course, I emailed tech support, but it always takes at least a day for tech support to get back to me. I could call, but then I'd be stuck on hold forever. Oy.
.: posted by Kerry 2:18 PM
Monday, October 28, 2002
Ok, so I stole this idea from Megan, but there had to be an easier way of creating a journal than the way that I was doing it. Too much maintenance on my end. It's nice there are free content management applications out there for the stealing. This is a really good one too, I must say. I'm not really sure how it all works, but I can tell that this will be fun. I'll be able to bitch whenever I want without worrying about creating the HTML myself, and FTPing it, and getting it into the template. Very nice. A simple way to bitch. Ahhh. The world is great.
Not that I will only bitch. Hopefully I can use this as the travel diary that I've always said I would start. I've realized recently that if I can't type something, there's no way anything is going to get recorded. I just type much neater and much, much faster than I write. (Thank god for that high school typing class that they wouldn't let me out of when I begged to switch to something else.)
Alright, enough of this for now. I will probably "blog" - doh - later on. Or tomorrow. More like tomorrow. It's midnight! Geeze. Time does fly when you're organizing your life.
.: posted by Kerry 11:51 PM
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