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I’m Home

August 16, 2006 By

Got home ok. The flight was uneventful, though boarding was a new experience. New security precautions went into effect while I was en route to Boston last week, so while I was able to pack my carryon in my usual way for the flight out, this was not to be on the return flight. I was half-afraid my suitcase would burst on the way home, because I could not have possibly planned for the new way of packing. Also, this was the first time I’ve ever seen military personnel working at the airport. In the past when I’ve seen military, they were traveling, but this time, MP’s were checking bags at the gate just prior to boarding. It was like one of those weird things you see on the news or travel programs about traveling to countries with political unrest or something. I certainly hope that’s not the direction we’re heading in.

Anyhoo, got into Vegas about 20 minutes early, fought the crowds for my luggage and headed out. Not much traffic tonite, which was nice but as usual there are cone zones everywhere. I emptied my overstuffed mailbox, and now I’m still trying to cool my apartment off since I turned the a/c off while I was gone. I figure the mucho savings on my electric bill will be well worth the sweaty discomfort I have to suffer for about an hour. I have a nifty little digital thermometer that records the high and low temp until you clear the memory, and the high while I was gone in my apartment was 95F. When I arrived home it was 89F. Too hot for sleeping, but it will be cool enough soon.

I’m also pretty hungry since I ate dinner around 6pm in Boston, and it’s now nearly 1am in Vegas and 4am in Boston, so that was quite some time ago. As soon as I can consider turning on the stove I’ll make myself some Ramen so I can sleep without my stomach yelling at me.

So, how did the rest of my trip go, you ask? It was pretty darn good. Let’s see, I last updated you on Monday, so let’s start with Tuesday morning. My nephew woke me up with the announcement that Amma had made chocolate chip pancakes, so I got up, ate some pancakes, and took a shower to ready for my day. I needed a bit of alone time, so I said goodbye to Messy J, since Sis was taking her home that day, and headed out. I just wanted to hit the mall and a few favorite places, so I did that. Had a great steak and cheese sub at D’Angelos, cruised the mall, then went out to a few other places. If I had a goal in mind I may have purchased something at Newbury Comics, but nothing struck me as a had-to-have. Besides, since I can purchase single songs on iTunes, I don’t buy many whole CDs anymore.

I also stopped at Friendly’s for a Fribble, which is better than a frappe (that’s a milkshake to you non-Massholes). But horror of horrors, they changed the recipe! It used to be a hard serve iced milk that they used (as opposed to a frappe that uses ice cream), but now they use *gasp!* soft serve fro-yo. I know how a Fribble should be made, I used to work at Friendly’s when I was 15. Ok, that was a long time ago, but last time I had a Fribble, which was just a few years ago, it was the old recipe. The imposter Fribble I ended up with really sucked since anything made with fro-yo sucks, and next time I’ll know to just order a black and white frappe (vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup, so it’s just the right amount of chocolate. Chocolate ice cream with chocolate syrup is too chocolatey).

While I suffered through the Fribble debacle, I decided to drive through the old neighborhood. Not the area I pretty much grew up in, the house my dad bought when I was 6 and still lives in, but the old house, the one we lived in before that, near Arlington Pond. I was surprised to see that they paved our old street. It looks like they did that within the last few years. It was always dirt before. The beach where we used to feed ducks is now private with a few boat docks, and the old country store is gone. Still kinda cool to check out the hood.

Since I knew I wouldn’t have much time later, I stopped at Shaw’s, another place I used to work at, except this time it wasn’t for a summer. I had to pick up some stuff to bring home, goodies that I can’t get here. I got some Drake’s Cakes Ring Dings, which are far superior to the Hostess crap that is so abundant here. If I had a bigger suitcase or could get more on board the plane under the old security rules, I would probably have also gotten some Funny Bones and Pick M Ups (kinda like a Flaky Puff) also, but space was extremely limited. Maybe Mommy can mail me some ;-)

I stopped at Mom’s to unload the Ring Dings and show her a quick picture I took of the old house, then watched Boo for a minute while she ran an errand, then it was off to Courtney’s house. I wasn’t surprised to read that she had already posted on her blog about our visit. It was really nice to catch up with her, and I’m convinced that we would still be sitting there chatting if she hadn’t looked at the clock at 11pm. I got to meet her husband and her adorable little son, and also her cute but very energetic nephew. I got caught up on her life and her family, and caught her up on my family. She was there when my nephew was born, so hearing that he’s 13 and almost as tall as me was a shock. I shared pictures of everyone and she did the same, but we were so busy flapping our gums that we didn’t take any pictures! Don’t worry Court, there will definitely be a next time, and we won’t have to wait the better part of a decade for it. Also, Courtney agreed to help me out on some research that I want to do, but that’s all I’m going to say about that since it’s just research at this point.

Well, my apartment is cooler, my stomach is louder, and I’m supposed to be up in less than 5 hours for work tomorrow, which is both jobs, but I did call my office before I even got on the plane that I’m gonna be late. I’m no dummy, I knew this would happen so I kept my morning clear just in case I wouldn’t be able to get my ass up. The way I’m feeling, if I didn’t have to be in until dinnertime I would probably still be late, but I made sure I set my alarms so I get there before dark. I do have pictures that I took, but I’ve yet to unpack anything, including my camera, so I’m hoping to get those on my picture page this weekend, assuming I don’t have to work at Job#2. That’s still up in the air. Otherwise, I’ll get them up sometime this year.

Good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow.

Filed Under: Family, Friends, Travels

It’s Later, and Here’s More

August 11, 2006 By

So, where was I? Oh yes. Had dinner last night with Aunt Bird and Uncle N Period. Mom made some kick-ass ribs that were so tender a straw was needed to eat them. I also presented Aunt Bird with her present. It was a talking parrot keychain, but it says really rude things. “Polly wants a fucking cracker! Polly wants a fucking cracker! Give Polly a fucking cracker NOW!!!!” It was hilarious. Her birds don’t talk, but if they hear that keychain that’s probably going to be what they say. Aunt Bird’s mother will come over and one of the birds will greet her with, “Show us your tits!” She’ll be appalled, while Uncle N Period is in the other room laughing like a teenage boy. Anyway, it was a lovely evening and we all watched some television and staggered off to bed. I slept pretty well, too, which was a refreshing change of pace.

This morning I got up, had some juice, sat around talking to my aunt and uncle while my little bro Boo was running around. Then went up to take a shower, which was also refreshing since I didn’t shower yesterday (took the red eye flight and never got a chance to cleanse). Aunt Bird and Uncle N. left while I was in the shower, so Mom and I took Boo to get a haircut. I also needed a haircut and of course had to put in an appearance with one of my bestest friends, Belching Biker Babe. She cut Boo’s hair even though he kept moving his head and was really fussy because he was hungry, then she cut my hair and made a big announcement every time she found a grey one. Yes, I’m in my 30′s. It’s inevitable that my hairs will one by one turn grey and no, I’m not going to dye my hair. Once you start, you can’t stop, so I’m not gonna start. I have better things to spend my money on. Anyhoo, since Belching Biker Babe was working we made plans for Monday and Mom, Boo and I went off to have lunch. Boo was ready for a nap so he was really fussy, but it was 2:00 and I didn’t even have breakfast, so I was pretty starving. We had a decent meal and came back to the house, then I took off for the mall while Mom put Boo down for a nap. I had some presents to buy.

Since I know that Bubba and Messy J don’t read my blog, I’ll spill about what I bought. Messy J was a bit easier, since she just got a Builder Bear (aka Build-a-Bear) for her birthday. She wanted the red wig, since she wants Peppermint to have the same color hair as her, and I also got her a new outfit and shoes. I also have a few other things for Messy J that I’ve been saving up over the past few months, so she’ll get those tomorrow too.

Bubba is a bit harder to shop for since he’s hitting that all-important age: 13. That means he’s a fussy teenager who only likes to play video games and hang with his friends. Well, Aunty don’t play that. I prefer something a bit educational, or at least something the rest of the family can enjoy. I know he loves Napoleon Dynamite, so I got him some ND lip balm, and the $1 gift I found the other day was the ND talking keychain. I’m pretty sure he already has the movie, since he knows it by heart, so I got another movie I know he likes: Benchwarmers. He’s never actually told me he likes this movie, but since it’s his theme on his AIM, I figured it’s safe to say he’ll enjoy this gift. I’m also taking him to the movies on Monday to see Talladega Nights, which I think we’ll both enjoy.

Tomorrow my mom his hosting a birthday party for both Bubba and Messy J, with special appearances by Aunty and Mom. Yes, my sister just flew into town this evening. She’s preggers, so she used this to her advantage to get priority boarding. Her belly isn’t quite that big yet, since she still has about 4 months to go, but my goodness, my tiny twig of a sister has got herself some amazing B00Bs! Too bad they’ll turn back into deflated balloons after the baby is born and she stops nursing.

When Mom and I went to pick up Sis at the airport, we decided to play a little joke on Mom. Sis and I went potty and when we were heading back to baggage claim, I got the idea to call Mom on her cell and freak her out. This was even funnier because the airport here isn’t that large. I called her and kept asking her where the heck she was, trying to make it sound like I was all panicky because she was lost. The whole time I could see her because I wasn’t that far away, hiding behind the information booth. The lady at the info booth was cracking up watching this. Mom was asking me if I could see the lady with the Mickey ears, and I was like, “What Mickey ears? Mom, did you get on a plane again? We’re not going anywhere, we are here to pick Sis up!” It was hilarious.

Anyway, tomorrow is the cookout, then afterward my cousin and I are supposed to go out. I can’t wait to see his vagina gut. See, he’s a stunt motorcycle rider and he had a bit of an accident – something about 80mph, bike on top of him and road rash. He ended up with a wound that the doctors couldn’t or wouldn’t close and the nurse had to come to his house twice a day to clean it. I’ve seen pictures of it. All I can say is GROSS. At least he didn’t hit his head.

I’m not posting my spending right now, but I’m kinda keeping track. I’ll try and post an update when I get home and I’m entering stuff into Quicken. In the meantime, I’ll try and keep track of it all, at least the cash part.

Time to get going now. I should probably go see what stupid movie my nephew picked out to watch. Later, y’all.

Filed Under: Family, Shopping, Travels

I Have Arrived

August 10, 2006 By

Well, I finally made it to my mom’s house. The flight was uneventful, but according to my seatmate (my very w_i_d_e seatmate), we flew through a thunderstorm. I didn’t notice, because I was asleep. I’m glad I can sleep on a plane. Anyhoo, got into Boston a half hour earlier than I originally thought, which was nice because I made the 7:19 train out. And of course I had my beloved Dunkin Donuts, before I even left the airport. The selection was overwhelming.

My dad picked me up at the train station – they moved it down the street and built a big garage and platform. It looks respectable now, and people actually park there. Bubba was playing his Gameboy and had a nice case of bedhead. For someone who was so excited to see me, he barely looked up from his game. When he was 6 he was the same way and ended up dropping the thing in the toilet because he couldn’t put it down long enough to pee.

Anyhoo, I’d write more but my mom is hollering to come eat dinner, which I ought to do because I napped right through lunch. More later.

Filed Under: Family, Travels

Leaving on a Jet Plane

August 9, 2006 By

As if I don’t have enough to do, (most of which is getting ignored), I have to sit down and blog. I want to be out of the house in an hour and I’m sitting here with no pants on and all my toiletries still to pack. Such is the way when preparing to be gone for a week.

I stopped at War-Mart to try and pick up a decongestant, but there was a huge line (3 people and a scooter) at the pharmacy so I walked out without getting what I wanted. Then I went to Tarjay and got a new pair of jeans, because 1 is just not enough. I also got a bunch of trial sized toiletries because I have a whole big drawerful in my bathroom and that is also not enough. And of course I bought a micro-meal because I didn’t feel like cooking tonite. I also stopped at the 7-11 to pick up a liter of water (since I have a habit of leaving things on the plane and I don’t want to lose my nice water bottle). I totally got hit on by the guy behind the counter – he said I had nice skin. Unusual compliment, but he was going on and on about my creamy white skin and beautiful complexion.

Anyhoo, I got home, started throwing clothes into my suitcase and took a quick shower. I originally wanted to take a complete shower, but now I just don’t feel like it. I just wanted to stop feeling all sweaty, which worked for about 10 minutes. Now I’m starting to get sweaty again, which will be complete after I haul my luggage to my car.

I talked to Bubba on AIM and he is going to make sure he’s there when my dad picks me up in the morning. He can’t wait to see me, and I can’t wait to see him. It’s been a whole year since I saw him last, and in less than 2 weeks he is going to be a TEENAGER!!!!! What happened to my little Bubba-Loo? He’s almost as tall as I am!

So, quick spending update:
$21.50 – jeans that fit
$1.87 – micro-meal for dinner
$1.79 – big bottle of water for the plane
$4.73 – drugs to help with ear pressure on the plane
$3.22 – disposable razors because I needed them anyway
$4.30- new small cosmetics bag to replace the zip-loc one I used for feminine hygiene products
$3.20 – travel-sized stuff

And yesterday – $21.12 on a new purse that I’ve really been wanting since we got it in. It finally got marked down to 60% off, plus my 30% employee discount made it a decent deal. I don’t like to spend more on a purse than I’m ever gonna carry in it. Plus, this one is bigger than my old one without being too bulky, and it zips closed which will come in really handy on the plane.

Anyway, I just gotta pack all my toiletries, my carryon bag, water the plants, take the trash out, turn the lights out, turn the a/c off, shut my computer down, double check and make sure I have everything including my tickets, and oh yeah, put some pants on. All in less than an hour. Time to fly!

Filed Under: Family, Shopping, Travels

The Drive to Vegas

March 18, 2006 By

I’ve taken a few road trips in my life. Not really long and great ones. Usually when I needed to I’d just grab a few CDs and drive around aimlessly for a few hours. A few times a year there was the 5 hour drive to visit relatives in the mid-Atlantic states. Though I know that route by heart, it was usually the best road trip I could hope for on my extremely limited budget. I also have a friend in Toronto, and that 10 hour drive I’ve done a few times, most recently in 2001 about a month after being laid off. But I’ve never been on a real go-somewhere road trip, until I moved to Vegas.

Now, I was on a mission to get to Vegas, and since my dad was driving the van with all my belongings right behind me the whole way, I didn’t have a lot of time to dilly dally and actually see anything. So, the trip went something like this:

Day 1: Left early, drove from home to just outside of Columbus, OH. Checked into a Motel 6. Walked to Bob Evans to eat dinner. Food was tolerable, service sucked. Walked back to Motel 6. Wrote in my journal while Dad snored. Fell asleep.

Day 2: Left early, again. Drove from Columbus area to Salina, KS. Checked into Salina Inn (or something like that). Drove to some family style restaurant down the street for some mediocre meal, drove back to hotel. Wrote in my journal while Dad snored. Fell asleep.

Day 3: Left a bit later than usual. Drove from Salina to Colorado Springs. Got some relatives there. Arrived mid afternoon, so there was time to visit. Went to Garden of the Gods, back to relative’s house, ate dinner. Relatives have big house with million dollar view. Dad had his own room, so it was quiet while I journaled. Fell asleep.

Day 4: Left early. Said goodbye to relatives. Drove over Rockies. Dad had headache from the altitude. Utah is full of rocks, almost fell asleep. Dad drove right through a mean dust devil. Arrived in Vegas around 6pm. Unloaded bed, went to dinner at cheap casino restaurant, came home and went to bed.

So, as you can see I didn’t really get a chance to see much. We didn’t even get off the interstate except to pee. I would really have liked to see where so many of those other roads went. Like, in Missouri, where will I go if I get off at Road EE, where will I end up? I want to see the byways – I’ve seen enough of the highways. I want to see the guts of this place, the good people and the hideous yet fascinating roadside attractions. So, with that kind of thinking in mind, this is a bit more what my drive out here went like:

Day 1: Got up early. Said bye to mom and stepdad. Went upstairs to wake nephew to say goodbye to him. He wasn’t really awake, so I picked up his limp body and hugged him until his wicked sleepy dragon breath drove me away. Went in other room and kissed my sweet sleeping niece goodbye. Went back downstairs and hugged my mom until I told her to let go. As I was pulling out of the driveway, I took note of the song on the radio. I hadn’t yet put any CDs in, so the extreme appropriateness of this random moment will stick with me for quite some time. The song was “Drive” by Incubus. You can find the lyrics at the site I have listed in my links. But the song is about not letting your fears be in the driver’s seat. Oh yeah, that was powerful. I never really listened to that song before that moment. Sure, I’d heard it many, many times. I have the CD. But I’d never listened to it. I’m glad that DJ played it that morning.

Got to my Dad’s where he was waiting for me. I took a quick bathroom break and one last look around. Then we were off. Most of that day, we were on roads I was familiar with, and I was having a bittersweet moment all day. I was glad to finally be getting out, but sad that I had no idea when I would next see those familiar sights. Plus, it was a grey, dreary day, perfect for the reflective mood I was in.

Day 2: Definitely no turning back now. The reality was setting in that this wasn’t a dream and I was really going. Left behind the Motel 6 in Ohio and drove through some really rural areas. Ohio, Indiana, southern Illinois, over the mighty Mississippi to Missouri, past lots of billboards for Ozarkland, then to Kansas City. Good thing it was a Sunday and there was no traffic. On the MO side, the highway turned and curved so often that I felt like I was on a roller coaster. I didn’t know which end was up. Then, over the border to Kansas the road suddenly straightened out, and stayed straight through pretty much the whole state. I popped in a CD that I thought was appropriate for the landscape – the Twister soundtrack – and kept an eye on the sky. It was mid-June, and I’ve never seen a tornado. Might be exciting, but not with all my worldly possessions in tow. This was also the most exhilarating part of the drive. Not sure why I thought so. Here’s a picture, maybe you can figure it out:

I felt like I could drive forever in this landscape. I could see for miles, nothing but green fields, along with a few barns and cows. Boring, but I really liked it.

Day 3: This was going to be a short day since we’d be stopping in Colorado Springs. Only 6 1/2 hours today, compared to 14 and 15 hours the last 2 days. We saw more of the beautiful Kansas landscape, then things started to get a little less verdant as we headed uphill into Colorado on the High Plains. Soon the Rockies were in sight, and I was excited since I’d only ever seen them in pictures and once from an airplane. There is something so harsh, though, about the Rockies. Something so unforgiving. Those who have actually spent time there know what I mean.

We took a nice break visiting with relatives (from my Mom’s side – my Dad had never even met these people before, but no matter). Saw a tiny bit of Colorado Springs and Garden of the Gods. Overall, it was a relaxing break from all the driving.

Day 4: It was 47 degrees out the morning we left. I put a sweater on as I said goodbye to relatives. Going over the steep hills and sharp turns of I-70 through the Colorado Rockies, there was still snow on the ground. I admired the scenery a bit, but the road here demanded a lot of attention.

When we got to Utah, wow. Beautiful, majestic, snooze-inducing landscapes. Yes, I nearly fell asleep behind the wheel. There are quite a few ranch exits, but that’s it. Oh, every now and then you come to a travel station. I stopped at all 3 of them. Ok, not sure of the exact number, but seriously, once you hit Utah, you need to stop every time you see one because the next one could be 2 hours off. And Dad thought I was being a freak when I said we’d better stop at every one because you never know when you’ll get the chance again.

Somewhere in the middle of Utah, I saw a dust devil. Not the handful of leaves swirling around in a corner behind the building that we are so used to seeing at home. This was awesome. This was the kind of thing they warn motorist about. It was maybe 10 stories tall (or taller – I had nothing to compare it to). When I drove by, it was in the median. Then I looked at my Dad through the rearview mirror. It was crossing the road. I saw the yellow moving van swerve into the breakdown lane, almost off the road. My stuff!!! Then Dad corrected and kept going. At the next rest stop, Dad was a bit upset at me for making him drive through a tornado. I had no idea, honestly! And he didn’t have to drive right through the middle of it! But we survived, my stuff survived, and we got to Vegas just in time for dinner. Did I mention it was about 105 degrees in Vegas? We went from 47 to 105 in one day.

So I got here, tired and wired. I wanted to see more, but I had to unpack and get the van back. Dad had one more day before he flew home so we went to the Hoover Dam, had lunch on the Strip, and spent one last day together before father and daughter would be living 2700 miles apart instead of 15 miles apart.

Filed Under: Las Vegas, Travels