P. D. and J. ...with a special appearance by H
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Our poor neighbors...
Found some videos! Trust me, this is the LEAST offensive to the ears, so imagine WORSE singing the rest of the night. Plus, you can see J's rack, and she was the one taping!
And we did warn our neighbors.
Some more party prep.
And we did warn our neighbors.
Some more party prep.
Cookies: A Series
Last weekend, J-Diddy came out to Chicago. It was her first time seeing out condo. It was also the weekend of our Christmas party. It was supposed to be a much larger affair than it ended up being, but there were several last minute "something-suddenly-came-ups". We would not be deterred! We still made cookies enough for all, whether they showed or not!
The cookies were delicious! We made pumpkin chocolate chip, almond butter kiss, Mexican wedding, sugar (with canola oil -- which ended up tasting a bit fishy *grimace*), and sugar with butter cookies. We neglected to account for the 2-hour chill time for the sugar cookies, so we were frosting them while people were arriving. As a result, they looked like we had taken them to a local kindergarten class to decorate. Also, we didn't end up using many of the tons of cookie decorating items we purchased. But all in all, it was a fun night!
Also, it's not intentional that I'm only including pictures of me in this post. Turns out, through all the karaoke, food and drinks, there literally isn't a single flattering picture of anyone from our party. Not that these are flattering of me, but... well, think of these as an early Christmas gift.
The cookies were delicious! We made pumpkin chocolate chip, almond butter kiss, Mexican wedding, sugar (with canola oil -- which ended up tasting a bit fishy *grimace*), and sugar with butter cookies. We neglected to account for the 2-hour chill time for the sugar cookies, so we were frosting them while people were arriving. As a result, they looked like we had taken them to a local kindergarten class to decorate. Also, we didn't end up using many of the tons of cookie decorating items we purchased. But all in all, it was a fun night!
Also, it's not intentional that I'm only including pictures of me in this post. Turns out, through all the karaoke, food and drinks, there literally isn't a single flattering picture of anyone from our party. Not that these are flattering of me, but... well, think of these as an early Christmas gift.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Cat Cams: What DO Cats Do Home Alone?
Republished from Huffington Post, which sites http://www.friskies.com/scratchingtonpost for the original story.
LOS ANGELES — What do cats do when their owners are away? There was one way to find out – "cat cams."
Fifty house cats were given collar cameras that took a photo every 15 minutes. The results put a digital dent in some human theories about catnapping.
Based on the photos, about 22 percent of the cats' time was spent looking out of windows, 12 percent was used to interact with other family pets and 8 percent was spent climbing on chairs or kitty condos. Just 6 percent of their hours were spent sleeping.
"What surprised me was how active the cats were. I believed my three cats were sleeping during the day," said Jill Villarreal, an animal behavior scientist who collected the data for Nestle Purina PetCare's Friskies brand of cat food.
The 777 photos studied by Villarreal showed the cats looking at a television, computer, DVDs or other media 6 percent of the time and hiding under tables 6 percent of the time.
Coming in at 5 percent was playing with toys; eating or looking at food finished at 4 percent.
Will the cats get movie cameras next? "We are in the think tank now," Villarreal said.
LOS ANGELES — What do cats do when their owners are away? There was one way to find out – "cat cams."
Fifty house cats were given collar cameras that took a photo every 15 minutes. The results put a digital dent in some human theories about catnapping.
Based on the photos, about 22 percent of the cats' time was spent looking out of windows, 12 percent was used to interact with other family pets and 8 percent was spent climbing on chairs or kitty condos. Just 6 percent of their hours were spent sleeping.
"What surprised me was how active the cats were. I believed my three cats were sleeping during the day," said Jill Villarreal, an animal behavior scientist who collected the data for Nestle Purina PetCare's Friskies brand of cat food.
The 777 photos studied by Villarreal showed the cats looking at a television, computer, DVDs or other media 6 percent of the time and hiding under tables 6 percent of the time.
Coming in at 5 percent was playing with toys; eating or looking at food finished at 4 percent.
Will the cats get movie cameras next? "We are in the think tank now," Villarreal said.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
A formal request to Carmen...
Shakira - Loba (Official Music Video) - Amazing videos are here
Baila! And have your parents tape it.
If you've not already seen it, catch Carmen's sweet moves here.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Haaaaaaaaaappy Biiiiiiiirthday... toooooooo P!
Happy Birthday, P! And welcome to your mid-30s. :)
All blog readers are invited to P's official birthday dinner Friday night. We'll be dining at Sun Wah BBQ, then it's off to dessert at George's!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
The Holiday, Part One
There is something I LOVE about walking into a Starbucks and discovering the holidays are here!
What is it...? The sweets and the calories? (Like the 450 calorie grande egg nog latte) The spending of money? The meaningless gifts? ("Here's a gift from Starbucks! What? You don't drink coffee? Who doesn't drink coffee??")
I really think it's something about the graphic design that gets me. All the red and white. Sort of vintagey. Clean and sparkley. It makes me think of homemade mittens and paper-wrapped packages and pretending not to notice that there's way too much rum in the eggnog. It's like I grew up on the Dick Van Dyke show.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
OMG, why won't our cats do this?
I am such a loser. I always tell people that I'm not a "cat person", I've just been waiting for as long as I left home to get a dog but have never been able to. But I do love cats. Not always our cats. But anyhoo, on my google home page I have the "Funny Cat Photo" widget. Every time you log on a new funny cat photo. Some are hilarious. Such as the one here.
Why won't our cats tolerate such costumes?
New great room colors
I was home the last two days (off after 8 straight days of hell at work) and wanted to do something around the house. So it took me two days but I painted our great room and hallway - the bulk of the painting that needed to be done in our condo. Before it was a "sage" (more like mint) green with a dark green accent color. It looked like something your grandma would choose. So we chose antique copper, basketry and chocolate swirl. Ehh?
(By the way if you click on the picture you will see it enlarged)
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Holy Sh**, don't try those moves at home!
This has got to be the weirdest / coolest dance / sex / fight routine I've ever seen. Please no one suggest doing this themselves as they will get HURT. I imagine broken necks and other injuries.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
WELCOME TO THE WORLD, MADELEINE!!
This morning at 2:53 A.M. (PST) our new niece, Madeleine Louise, joined us! So in her honor I thought I would see what other significant events happened on this day in history.
Sorry, Maddy, until today November 5th was not too exciting. But just so that some day you know what else happened on this day, here goes:
1605 Gunpowder Plot: Catholics try to blow up English Parliament. Plot uncovered & leader Guy Fawkes hanged - England now celebrates Guy Fawkes Day on November 5th (exciting!)
1875 Susan B Anthony arrested for attempting to vote (it's never too early to start... vote Democrat!)
1912 Woodrow Wilson (D) beats Theodore Roosevelt (Prog) & President Taft (R) (see, voting is exciting!!!)
1935 Parker Brothers launches game of Monopoly (when you are old enough to play, your Uncle will teach you how to throw the board when you are losing)
1955 New Vienna Opera house opens (we'll go there some time but first I'll teach you German)
1987 Iceberg twice the size of Rhode Island sighted in Antarctic (we'll all try and make sure that by the time you grow up there are still icebergs)
Oh yeah, and in 1977 Your grandma was 15 days away from bringing your favorite uncle into the world!
And who do you share a birthday with? Well, if someday you enjoy the smooth, adult-contemporary sounds of Simon and Garfunkel, we'll know it's because you share Art Garfunkel's birthday. And Corin "Corky" Nemec... unfortunately, you missed his short-lived "Parker Lewis Can't Lose".
So, you see, Maddy you've just taken a boring day and made it much more exciting.
Monday, November 2, 2009
The End is Night(sic)! Part Deux
Speaking of crap shoots, I was a little put out considering I had to FLY OUT OF DENVER ON THURSDAY. TO LAS VEGAS (hence the "crap shoot" reference). Considering getting to DIA is a trek in and of itself, AND considering I am a nervous flyer ANYWAYS, it all added up to way too much anxiety on my part. I couldn't really fully enjoy my TWO SNOW DAYS (well, officially one and a half, but I took liberty with the first one and called it earlier than work did), even though I had company (and had a lot of fun walking to the store, eating sweets and playing Scramble together).
Turned out because the snow was expected and didn't dump in 2 hours as per usual, the drive to the airport wasn't actually that bad. But THEN, there was a breach in security. Then, our plane had encountered a bird strike on the way in and they had to do a mechanical check. And then, of course, we had to de-ice.
But, in the end, it really wasn't that big of an ordeal. THANK GOODNESS.
Friday, October 30, 2009
The end is nigh!!
I am sitting in my new, expensive condo watching the rain POUR DOWN wondering WHY THE HELL I CHOSE TO SETTLE IN CHICAGO!Now granted, the city I left, Denver, was just slammed by a terrible snow storm (I'll tell you this since our affiliate in Denver, J, is apparently dead or drunk or hung over or something... are you now too good for this blog?!) so apparently there is no escaping the crappy weather right now.
But seriously! I haven't seen the sun in what feels like weeks. (Irony alert: I used to complain about too much sun in Denver... oh well!)
Last night, on my way home from one of my last-ever PM shifts, I got caught in a DOWNPOUR. At one point I was trying to avoid big puddles on the the sidewalk and went into the street (bad idea) and got caught in a flash flood! Seriously, I was ankle-deep in water. I had to put my shoes in the drier this morning (YES, D, I did and NO, D, the drier didn't break!) Now today... we are again in a freakin' flood watch.
Oh NBC Thursday... j'adore!
I'll freely admit it... I have no life. I look forward to days of the week based on what TV is on. I should do something about that someday, right? Meh...
In the meantime, let me just gush about the comedic genius that can now be found on NBC Thursday night (note to NBC Universal / GE: please send my commission for this plug in the form of high-end GE appliances at your earliest convenience).
The new lineup trimmed out the show that I didn't watch, namely "My Name Is Earl" and added "Community" which I'm starting to love. Joel McHale... you had me at... whatever you first said in the pilot of your new show. "Parks & Recreation"? Who doesn't love Amy Poehler? No, seriously... who doesn't love Amy Poehler? I want to know because you, sir/madame, are someone that I don't know if I can trust!! And if you missed the wedding episode of "The Office"... well, I'm sorry for you. But there will always be a special place in my heart for "30 Rock". Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski... never has such an amazing ensemble cast been put together.
Now I know what some of you are saying: "damn, if you have such a hard-on for NBC why don't you just... do it!" Well, smarty-ass... you can just... suck it or something. How can you not love the writing on a show that contains a sequence such as this which takes place while Liz and Jack are driving to Stone Mountain, Georgia looking for a new cast member who will speak to "Middle America"?:
Liz: Jack, for the eightieth time no part of America is more American than any other part.
Jack: You are wrong. Small towns are where you see the kindness and goodness and courage of everyday Americans. The folks who are teaching our kids, running our prisons, growing our cigarettes. People who are still living by core American values.
Liz: There are plenty of core American values in New York. [spots garish fast-food joint on the side of the highway] But there are NOT restaurants called "Fatty Fat's Sandwich Ranch"! Turn here TURN HERE!! [grabs wheel to force Jack to make the turn]
Jack: Ah, Lemon if this is going to play out like lunch I suggest you crack your window now and save yourself the embarrassment in twenty minutes. Now... they have hush puppies here which you might know better as a knish or beniet.
Thank you, DVR!! This same episode also featured Tracy Morgan freaking out that he would be the 3rd celebrity to die (they always die in 3) and in an effort to avoid that fate he crank calls Betty White with "Boo!" trying to scare her to death. OMG, who comes up with this! And props to Betty White on that fabulous cameo.
Okay, I'm done...
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
P. D. and J.: Color Correction
P. D. and J.: Color Correction
So, I know we had this whole discussion before in our old apartment, but here we go again. P and I can't decide on colors for the condo. Basically everything in the place is green. Living room/kitchen, hallway, master bedroom, master bath. We aren't green people.
Clearly, we're contemplating color in this shot. Also, it should be noted that this was the final walk-through before we actually owned it. There's a LOT more crap crammed in it right now, which is why you can't see any "live" shots just yet. The living room and kitchen are both in one space. You can see the cabinets in the picture, and that's black granite countertops. No backsplash (yet). At the other end of the room is the fireplace, also granite.
So, smarties, what would you suggest?
So, I know we had this whole discussion before in our old apartment, but here we go again. P and I can't decide on colors for the condo. Basically everything in the place is green. Living room/kitchen, hallway, master bedroom, master bath. We aren't green people.
Clearly, we're contemplating color in this shot. Also, it should be noted that this was the final walk-through before we actually owned it. There's a LOT more crap crammed in it right now, which is why you can't see any "live" shots just yet. The living room and kitchen are both in one space. You can see the cabinets in the picture, and that's black granite countertops. No backsplash (yet). At the other end of the room is the fireplace, also granite.
So, smarties, what would you suggest?
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Hair today...
...more hair tomorrow? I'm doing it. I threaten it every year, but I'm growing my hair out. This is what I'm thinking, though honestly, I can't see myself as wearing it THAT messy. Thoughts? Feelings? Concerns? Discuss. Via the blog comments.
Monday, October 26, 2009
And condos!
So the condo is really great. We have a mile-long list of improvements we'd like to make (and no money to do ANY of them). Slow and steady wins the race, I suppose. I'd post pictures, but the condo is still primping. In anticipation of the pictures, some of my favorite highlights include:
1. The incredibly clean and sparkly bathrooms. We came from a vintage apartment with a very old bathroom. The hot water didn't work until my brother fixed it. And even after it started working, the water would leak all over the top of the sink. Plus, there was only one bathroom, and it smelled like mildew. I bet if you tore the tile off the walls of the shower, you'd find a metropolis of mold.
Our new bathrooms are all tiley and granitey. My new Sunday ritual is to scour them both from top to bottom. My sick secret is that I enjoy it.
2. The incredibly clean and sparkly kitchen. Our old kitchen can be described in one word: sick. It was about the size of a shoe box, and there was about one foot of counter space. The cabinets (all four of them) didn't match, the counter didn't fit, and I had to scrape an inch of grease off the stove when we first moved in.
Our new kitchen has TONS of cabinets and appliances that work. Well, except I hate the dishwasher. It's the most awkward appliance I've ever seen, and none of our dishes really fit. But the REST of the kitchen is wonderful. Our pantry cabinet holds more than all of the cabinets combined in our old kitchen.
3. The closet space. If I was good at html, I'd insert one of those heavenly "ahhhhh!" sounds here. We had no closet space in the old apartment. What we did have was crammed full of my "old lady Christmas village" (P's words, not mine) and miscellaneous other Christmas decorations.
We have a full wall of closets in each bedroom (which badly need organization -- #3 on our list of wants), a coat closet, a linen closet and a full storage room. *sigh* Also, have I mentioned all of our kitchen cabinet space?!
We're definitely still unpacking -- we're also still getting used to where things are. Example: Last night, at about 3:30am, I woke up to a very loud boom. I yelled something like, "holy shit!" and got up to turn on the light. I found P on the floor holding his knee. The poor guy had hit his knee on the corner of the chest at the foot of our bed. As soon as he did, he hit the floor. Hard. He was ok, but I'm pretty sure the cats are scarred for life. Think low to the ground and wild-eyed.
I have these grand ideas that I'll come home from work and completely organize one room each night. What actually happens is that I come home from work, make dinner or clean up after dinner (depending on who is cooking), and sit on my ass watching tv for the rest of the night. If good intentions were dollar bills, I'd have enough to buy numbers 1 through 3 on our wants list. Well, gotta go! "Real Estate Intervention" is on!
1. The incredibly clean and sparkly bathrooms. We came from a vintage apartment with a very old bathroom. The hot water didn't work until my brother fixed it. And even after it started working, the water would leak all over the top of the sink. Plus, there was only one bathroom, and it smelled like mildew. I bet if you tore the tile off the walls of the shower, you'd find a metropolis of mold.
Our new bathrooms are all tiley and granitey. My new Sunday ritual is to scour them both from top to bottom. My sick secret is that I enjoy it.
2. The incredibly clean and sparkly kitchen. Our old kitchen can be described in one word: sick. It was about the size of a shoe box, and there was about one foot of counter space. The cabinets (all four of them) didn't match, the counter didn't fit, and I had to scrape an inch of grease off the stove when we first moved in.
Our new kitchen has TONS of cabinets and appliances that work. Well, except I hate the dishwasher. It's the most awkward appliance I've ever seen, and none of our dishes really fit. But the REST of the kitchen is wonderful. Our pantry cabinet holds more than all of the cabinets combined in our old kitchen.
3. The closet space. If I was good at html, I'd insert one of those heavenly "ahhhhh!" sounds here. We had no closet space in the old apartment. What we did have was crammed full of my "old lady Christmas village" (P's words, not mine) and miscellaneous other Christmas decorations.
We have a full wall of closets in each bedroom (which badly need organization -- #3 on our list of wants), a coat closet, a linen closet and a full storage room. *sigh* Also, have I mentioned all of our kitchen cabinet space?!
We're definitely still unpacking -- we're also still getting used to where things are. Example: Last night, at about 3:30am, I woke up to a very loud boom. I yelled something like, "holy shit!" and got up to turn on the light. I found P on the floor holding his knee. The poor guy had hit his knee on the corner of the chest at the foot of our bed. As soon as he did, he hit the floor. Hard. He was ok, but I'm pretty sure the cats are scarred for life. Think low to the ground and wild-eyed.
I have these grand ideas that I'll come home from work and completely organize one room each night. What actually happens is that I come home from work, make dinner or clean up after dinner (depending on who is cooking), and sit on my ass watching tv for the rest of the night. If good intentions were dollar bills, I'd have enough to buy numbers 1 through 3 on our wants list. Well, gotta go! "Real Estate Intervention" is on!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Just rip it off quickly...
Hello loyal blog fan(s). It's me, P. Who am I, you ask? Good question. I have been absent from this blog for far too long. I'm guessing few people even bother checking in on PD&J anymore. But hopefully we can get this blog goin' once again.
I thought I would blog today about why it has been so terribly long since you've heard from me. It has been the absolute worst 3 months of my life. This summer was hellaciously busy and now we are halfway into October and I'm all, "Hey... wha' happened?" (QUICK, NAME THAT MOVIE REFERENCE!)
So why, you ask (or not... but I'll tell you anyhow...) have you been so MIA? Well, over the summer I (we) was (were):
1. Studying for boards. I will (HOPEFULLY) soon find out that I am a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist. I studied starting in August and took the test in early October. It was a hard test and I spent all of my free time studying. Now that it's over I can finally enjoy my free time (for a little while). You know, leisure reading? I don't remember the last time I finished a book.
2. Preparing for / interviewing for a faculty position at hospital above. I had my interview just about 1 week before my boards. Oh, and I had to prepare a 45-minute presentation for that. And FYI I got the position. More on that later.
3. Some of you might have also seen the last post about how we moved and how much of a nightmare that was. So we were SUPPOSED to close originally only 3 days after my 2-day interview (!!) but that got delayed. As did our move.
In the span of 12 days, during which I worked every single day (yes, the weekend included), I had this job interviewed, closed on a condo, moved (I didn't help as much with that... shout out to D and my mom) and sat for my boards. Ask D: I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Now I'm free and still feel exhausted from the last few months. I could use a long vacation. But alas I work this weekend. But the new job is no evenings, weekends or holidays so just a little bit longer and I'm free!
Monday, September 28, 2009
OMFG: Home Edition
Where. To. Begin.
So today was supposed to be our closing date. But that's not really where I should begin.
We've been looking for a condo. In this whole process, we've put in four different offers:
1. 2 bed, 1 bath condo. Owners were totally unrealistic re: price of that condo. While it was nice, it didn't have a parking spot, had only 1 bath, had tiny bedrooms and had a back patio off the master bedroom *grimace* In the end, it was one of the first condos we were really interested in, and it's a good thing we didn't get it.
2. 2 bed, 2 bath condo with gobs of counter space. This was a gorgeous unit with everything we could have ever hoped for (including a gigantic walk-in closet). In the end, the sellers wouldn't come down to our price (and it had high-ish assessments).
3. Short-sale (aka Dream Condo). Seller is a nightmare and hasn't even submitted all of his financials yet to the bank. Our offer had been sitting for one full month waiting for him so the bank could review our offer. We have since backed out of the deal.
4. 2 bed, 2 bath condo with parking spot and great assessments. This is our condo and the one we were supposed to close on today. At 3pm.
We knew on Friday that there was an issue with the appraisal. We had an approval with bank #1, but the underwriter wanted more comps for "like properties". Turns out, s/he wanted comps for new construction (even though our building was built in 2001 and, therefore, not "new" and even though there really isn't all that much new construction anywhere close to where we are buying, except for properties well above our price point). So, the broker submitted our application with another lender as a back-up (thank God).
Today at 1pm, we learned that we weren't going to be able to close today, at least with a loan and money changing hands. Some other important bits that go along with this news -- P's Mom is in town to help us coordinate all of this and is (was) leaving Wednesday evening, I took today and Tuesday off to close and work with the movers (who were scheduled to move us at 8am Tuesday morning), and P had to move mountains to get off work early to go to closing. At 2pm, I got a call from our agent who said that we were going to close (yay!), but that it would be a "dry" closing. That means that no money would change hands today, but we would get all the crappy paperwork out of the way so that closing (from our end) was over. The money would change hands tomorrow behind the scenes, and we would get the keys early enough so that moving day wasn't impacted. P's Mom and I picked P up downtown and made our way to the 'burbs to close only to learn that our loan docs weren't there. We waited around (with our lawyer, our agent, the seller's agent and the seller's lawyer) for over an hour only to learn that the loan docs weren't going to be there. Lender 2 approved our loan (conditionally) but is requiring our tax transcripts from the IRS. They won't get the transcripts until 4 or 5 hours into the business day tomorrow, after our lawyer will leave town for the day.
By this point, all of our heads were ready to explode. The end result is this:
1. I am now going to work on Tuesday (which is hard to wrap my mind around, having expected to be off).
2. I am taking Wednesday and Thursday off instead (which has caused me to have to clear my calendar completely at work).
3. Wednesday at 1pm is our new closing, which I will believe when I see it.
4. We had to reschedule our movers for Thursday afternoon.
5. We had to ask for a day's extension in our current apartment.
6. P's Mom had to reschedule her flight for the weekend, which cost her $200
7. Aaaaaaand I'm spent.
Buying a house, from this first-time home buyer's perspective, is exhausting and emotionally taxing. I'm sure that when this is all over, we'll be super happy and won't remember all of this crap. But right now it sucks. And I'm over it.
So today was supposed to be our closing date. But that's not really where I should begin.
We've been looking for a condo. In this whole process, we've put in four different offers:
1. 2 bed, 1 bath condo. Owners were totally unrealistic re: price of that condo. While it was nice, it didn't have a parking spot, had only 1 bath, had tiny bedrooms and had a back patio off the master bedroom *grimace* In the end, it was one of the first condos we were really interested in, and it's a good thing we didn't get it.
2. 2 bed, 2 bath condo with gobs of counter space. This was a gorgeous unit with everything we could have ever hoped for (including a gigantic walk-in closet). In the end, the sellers wouldn't come down to our price (and it had high-ish assessments).
3. Short-sale (aka Dream Condo). Seller is a nightmare and hasn't even submitted all of his financials yet to the bank. Our offer had been sitting for one full month waiting for him so the bank could review our offer. We have since backed out of the deal.
4. 2 bed, 2 bath condo with parking spot and great assessments. This is our condo and the one we were supposed to close on today. At 3pm.
We knew on Friday that there was an issue with the appraisal. We had an approval with bank #1, but the underwriter wanted more comps for "like properties". Turns out, s/he wanted comps for new construction (even though our building was built in 2001 and, therefore, not "new" and even though there really isn't all that much new construction anywhere close to where we are buying, except for properties well above our price point). So, the broker submitted our application with another lender as a back-up (thank God).
Today at 1pm, we learned that we weren't going to be able to close today, at least with a loan and money changing hands. Some other important bits that go along with this news -- P's Mom is in town to help us coordinate all of this and is (was) leaving Wednesday evening, I took today and Tuesday off to close and work with the movers (who were scheduled to move us at 8am Tuesday morning), and P had to move mountains to get off work early to go to closing. At 2pm, I got a call from our agent who said that we were going to close (yay!), but that it would be a "dry" closing. That means that no money would change hands today, but we would get all the crappy paperwork out of the way so that closing (from our end) was over. The money would change hands tomorrow behind the scenes, and we would get the keys early enough so that moving day wasn't impacted. P's Mom and I picked P up downtown and made our way to the 'burbs to close only to learn that our loan docs weren't there. We waited around (with our lawyer, our agent, the seller's agent and the seller's lawyer) for over an hour only to learn that the loan docs weren't going to be there. Lender 2 approved our loan (conditionally) but is requiring our tax transcripts from the IRS. They won't get the transcripts until 4 or 5 hours into the business day tomorrow, after our lawyer will leave town for the day.
By this point, all of our heads were ready to explode. The end result is this:
1. I am now going to work on Tuesday (which is hard to wrap my mind around, having expected to be off).
2. I am taking Wednesday and Thursday off instead (which has caused me to have to clear my calendar completely at work).
3. Wednesday at 1pm is our new closing, which I will believe when I see it.
4. We had to reschedule our movers for Thursday afternoon.
5. We had to ask for a day's extension in our current apartment.
6. P's Mom had to reschedule her flight for the weekend, which cost her $200
7. Aaaaaaand I'm spent.
Buying a house, from this first-time home buyer's perspective, is exhausting and emotionally taxing. I'm sure that when this is all over, we'll be super happy and won't remember all of this crap. But right now it sucks. And I'm over it.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
A Blog About Socks
Long story short: I bought a brown sweater dress and brown boots and realized I'm not going to wear any of it until I get me some leggings. But I can't just get brown leggings, or I'll look like a turd. So, have been using my workday to browse the internets for colorful leggings. Harder than you might think. Seriously--they're all tacky and too panty-hose like. Or they are way too wild (i.e., leopard print, pleather) and I wouldn't wear THAT to work...
So then I found a blog called Sock Dreams.
I loved the socks--more specifically, the pictures of the socks make them look like they could change your life or lead you on an amazing adventure! Since most of them are knit, I was afraid I'd have to make my own (which, actually, since I am a Knitter and have been contemplating a fall project, was getting kind of excited about (after the initial annoyance)), but turns out--it's an online boutique!! WHEEE!
So then I found a blog called Sock Dreams.
I loved the socks--more specifically, the pictures of the socks make them look like they could change your life or lead you on an amazing adventure! Since most of them are knit, I was afraid I'd have to make my own (which, actually, since I am a Knitter and have been contemplating a fall project, was getting kind of excited about (after the initial annoyance)), but turns out--it's an online boutique!! WHEEE!Sunday, September 20, 2009
Girls' Weekend, Redux
J and The Sisters McDowell came to town for the U2 concert last weekend. We had a blast! Where to begin? Well, I guess with what they came to town for: The Concert™.
I wouldn't classify myself as a "U2 Fan", but I had never seen them before, and I can fake my way through the choruses of a couple of their songs. Plus, the company I would be keeping that day was top notch, so. My excitement was tamped down a bit when I learned that we would have to get to the concert to stand in line (the crazy ladies had GA tickets so they could get as close to the sweaty band members as possible. Meantime, P and I had seats) half a day before it was even to start. But, as it turned out, J and Sisters decided they were going to try to cut into line at the last second. In their defense (as horrible as that sounded to me at the time), I have to say that I was skeptical that the whole line system they had a Soldier Field would even work. I wish I had taken pictures of the holding areas. The only ones that truly looked like a refugee camps were the ones closest to the start of the line. Those sections were crammed with sweaty and stinky bodies of the weirdos who had traveled great distances to see Bono and Co. The holding pens farther back had next to no one in them. They looked like VIP cattle yards with just a few people sprinkled around for show.
So, we decided to explore a bit. We found a couple of interesting items, like...
An inflatable pub! Which I managed not to get a picture of. Well, except for this one. This is what was left on said pub after I got up. It looked like I had peed. (I didn't.)
The pub was sponsored by Guinness, which sounds exciting, especially since I love Guinness. But the mix was off, and it ended up just tasting like thick water. I still managed to drink my entire beer, for the record. They also had these crazy people walking around having their pictures taken with people. Much to my dismay, they didn't stop anywhere near us. I took this picture out the pub window. I call it "Bubble Boy's Dashed Hopes".
After this, we went to the Blackberry booth where we all got free cell phone screen cleaners. Speaking of, I can't find mine. At the ONE booth, I signed up for annoying email alerts so I can feel like an activist and send harassing emails to my Congressperson. Oh, I also got a bracelet. We also stopped at the Amnesty International booth and spend $25 (each!!!) on a t-shirt. A t-shirt that has already shrunk and can only be worn to bed now. *sigh*
After all of this, we still had several hours to kill. I bought a U2 t-shirt, mostly because I felt like I hadn't spent enough on t-shirts. This one also shrunk, but I learned from the seller that it would, so I planned ahead and got the next size up.
Then, the line theatrics started. Turns out, what appeared to be a system that would leave holes all over the place for sneaking people to... well, sneak... wasn't that sneakable. This is what the line looked like.
This is what everyone else looked like watching this line.
Note the teeth-shattering, tooth-chipping, stressed out grin above.
Note the look of annoyance above. Well, he looks annoyed a lot, so this could have been for pretty much anything.
You can tell that Heather (above) is stressed because she's not looking like a deranged turtle in this picture.
You can't really see Megan's stress level, mostly because she's always smiling. But trust me... there were times when I thought she was going to kill J.
Well, more specifically when I thought they were going to gang up on J and kill her. See, J wasn't so much into the whole "sneaking" thing. She kept saying things like, "You guys are small and can just squeeze in anywhere" (like she was some sort of giantess) and "You guys just go ahead without me. I'll meet up with you on the floor" (which we all knew was a lie. She would have been angry at the end of the concert). Lucky for all of us, they managed to sneak into the line farther back and avoided detection entirely.
The concert was pretty good (coming from a non-fan)! My camera battery died soon into the concert, but here are a couple of neato pictures.
The rest of the time we (1) ate a lot, (2) went to a gay bar (where we were pretty much the only patrons) and (3) took a whirlwind 1 hour trip of Shedd Aquarium.
I have videos from both 2 and 3 above, but am having issues loading them. In any event, that was our weekend. And P and I are ready for everyone to come visit again already!
I wouldn't classify myself as a "U2 Fan", but I had never seen them before, and I can fake my way through the choruses of a couple of their songs. Plus, the company I would be keeping that day was top notch, so. My excitement was tamped down a bit when I learned that we would have to get to the concert to stand in line (the crazy ladies had GA tickets so they could get as close to the sweaty band members as possible. Meantime, P and I had seats) half a day before it was even to start. But, as it turned out, J and Sisters decided they were going to try to cut into line at the last second. In their defense (as horrible as that sounded to me at the time), I have to say that I was skeptical that the whole line system they had a Soldier Field would even work. I wish I had taken pictures of the holding areas. The only ones that truly looked like a refugee camps were the ones closest to the start of the line. Those sections were crammed with sweaty and stinky bodies of the weirdos who had traveled great distances to see Bono and Co. The holding pens farther back had next to no one in them. They looked like VIP cattle yards with just a few people sprinkled around for show.
So, we decided to explore a bit. We found a couple of interesting items, like...
An inflatable pub! Which I managed not to get a picture of. Well, except for this one. This is what was left on said pub after I got up. It looked like I had peed. (I didn't.)
The pub was sponsored by Guinness, which sounds exciting, especially since I love Guinness. But the mix was off, and it ended up just tasting like thick water. I still managed to drink my entire beer, for the record. They also had these crazy people walking around having their pictures taken with people. Much to my dismay, they didn't stop anywhere near us. I took this picture out the pub window. I call it "Bubble Boy's Dashed Hopes".
After this, we went to the Blackberry booth where we all got free cell phone screen cleaners. Speaking of, I can't find mine. At the ONE booth, I signed up for annoying email alerts so I can feel like an activist and send harassing emails to my Congressperson. Oh, I also got a bracelet. We also stopped at the Amnesty International booth and spend $25 (each!!!) on a t-shirt. A t-shirt that has already shrunk and can only be worn to bed now. *sigh*
After all of this, we still had several hours to kill. I bought a U2 t-shirt, mostly because I felt like I hadn't spent enough on t-shirts. This one also shrunk, but I learned from the seller that it would, so I planned ahead and got the next size up.
Then, the line theatrics started. Turns out, what appeared to be a system that would leave holes all over the place for sneaking people to... well, sneak... wasn't that sneakable. This is what the line looked like.
This is what everyone else looked like watching this line.
Note the teeth-shattering, tooth-chipping, stressed out grin above.
Note the look of annoyance above. Well, he looks annoyed a lot, so this could have been for pretty much anything.
You can tell that Heather (above) is stressed because she's not looking like a deranged turtle in this picture.
You can't really see Megan's stress level, mostly because she's always smiling. But trust me... there were times when I thought she was going to kill J.
Well, more specifically when I thought they were going to gang up on J and kill her. See, J wasn't so much into the whole "sneaking" thing. She kept saying things like, "You guys are small and can just squeeze in anywhere" (like she was some sort of giantess) and "You guys just go ahead without me. I'll meet up with you on the floor" (which we all knew was a lie. She would have been angry at the end of the concert). Lucky for all of us, they managed to sneak into the line farther back and avoided detection entirely.
The concert was pretty good (coming from a non-fan)! My camera battery died soon into the concert, but here are a couple of neato pictures.
The rest of the time we (1) ate a lot, (2) went to a gay bar (where we were pretty much the only patrons) and (3) took a whirlwind 1 hour trip of Shedd Aquarium.
I have videos from both 2 and 3 above, but am having issues loading them. In any event, that was our weekend. And P and I are ready for everyone to come visit again already!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Yet Another Time-Waster
Sometimes, the sites I waste time on during my work day help me find OTHER sites. See, for example, this on Huffington Post:
Including such gems as:
I'mma Let You Finish with funny captions to pictures about Kanye West interrupting a bunch of people.
Why the F Do You Have A Kid??
Cheese or Font? A game you can play!
and, finally:
A Bad Case of the Dates: Bad Dates. Good Stories.
7 Sites You Should Be Wasting Time On Right Now: Choose Your Favorite! (SLIDESHOW, POLL)
Including such gems as:
I'mma Let You Finish with funny captions to pictures about Kanye West interrupting a bunch of people.
Why the F Do You Have A Kid??
Cheese or Font? A game you can play!
and, finally:
A Bad Case of the Dates: Bad Dates. Good Stories.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Tomato Pie
Granted, I'm STARVING bc all I've eaten today is an egg mcmuffin (made at home) and a packet of instant oatmeal, but DOESN'T THIS SOUND DELICIOUS???
Tomato Pie
Tomato Pie
Thursday, September 3, 2009
WTF happened to the blog?
I logged in and SOMEONE had changed the layout of the blog. Which is fine, it's just... I didn't recognize it, and you know how I get anxious when I don't recognize something. It makes me think of having to talk to new people, and having to gossip at parties *grimace*. I changed it to something more pleasing (to me). Minimalist, I am not.
A few quick notes on The Life and Times of David:
1. My niece is hella-cute. S, L and C came to visit last weekend. We had a blast. And then I promptly got depressed when they left, and refused to leave the house for a full 24 hours. We did lots of eating and (other) touristy things. This is one of my favorite pictures of C and me, mostly because I think it's funny how different our expressions are. Plus, she looks totally annoyed, which I expect she will be with me when she's a teenager and I'm no longer cool. Which is why I plan to spoil her rotten and offer her free trips to Chicago.
2. WE MIGHT HAVE A CONDO!!!! More on that later, as I don't want to jinx it. But, !!!
A few quick notes on The Life and Times of David:
1. My niece is hella-cute. S, L and C came to visit last weekend. We had a blast. And then I promptly got depressed when they left, and refused to leave the house for a full 24 hours. We did lots of eating and (other) touristy things. This is one of my favorite pictures of C and me, mostly because I think it's funny how different our expressions are. Plus, she looks totally annoyed, which I expect she will be with me when she's a teenager and I'm no longer cool. Which is why I plan to spoil her rotten and offer her free trips to Chicago.
2. WE MIGHT HAVE A CONDO!!!! More on that later, as I don't want to jinx it. But, !!!
Another Thing To Do On A Computer
Okay, I am having a love affair with Google, obv. (Am also thinking of getting the MyTouch--thoughts?)
The Image Labeler is like a game and it's pretty fun, except when I got paired with a dumb-ass teammate who would only guess the main color of each image.
You can also check out Google Reader. It has featured reading lists of journalists, foodies, and techies. Once I run out of my go-to sites, my boredom tends to increase seven-fold.
For example:
The Image Labeler is like a game and it's pretty fun, except when I got paired with a dumb-ass teammate who would only guess the main color of each image.
You can also check out Google Reader. It has featured reading lists of journalists, foodies, and techies. Once I run out of my go-to sites, my boredom tends to increase seven-fold.
For example:
Thomas Friedman
Foreign-affairs Columnist, NY Times
Thomas L. Friedman is The New York Times's foreign-affairs columnist and the recipient of three Pulitzer Prizes. He previously served as the Times's chief economic correspondent and chief White House correspondent. His latest book is “Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution – and How It Can Renew America."
- Subscribe NY Times Home Page
- Subscribe Climate Progress
- Subscribe Dot Earth
- Subscribe Foreign Policy
- Subscribe Grist
- Subscribe Haaretz.com - News
- Subscribe James Fallows
Show all of Thomas Friedman’s picks
Nicholas Kristof
Op-ed Columnist, NY Times
Nicholas D. Kristof has been a columnist for The Times since 2001 and is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner. He has lived on four continents, reported on six, and traveled to more than 140 countries, every Chinese province and every main Japanese island. In 1990 Mr. Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn, then also a Times journalist, won a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of China's Tiananmen Square democracy movement.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
New Series: Things to Do on the Computer When You're Bored
I decided to start a new series in order to revive our blog. it's called "Things to do on the Computer When You're Bored". I was going to call it "Things to do at Work When You're Bored", but I know not everyone sits in front of a computer like I do and not everyone is actually bored at work.
Today's segment: Google Image Labeler
Today's segment: Google Image Labeler
How does it work?You'll be randomly paired with a partner who's online and using the feature. Over a two-minute period, you and your partner will:
After time expires, you can explore the images you've seen and the websites where those images were found. And we'll show you the points you've earned throughout the session. Tips:
 |
What do you need to participate?Just an interest in helping Google improve the relevance of image search for users like yourself. If you log in to your Google account, we will keep track of your points for you. You may also enter a nickname, but we do not require either a nickname or a login to use Google Image Labeler. |
Thursday, August 27, 2009
I Think I'm Starting to Understand Twitter
You can follow me on Twitter, but I wouldn't recommend it.
But, if you're intrigued, you might start with the most popular tweeters (Twitterholic)
And I swore I recently saw some article about the best Twitter accounts, but will have to post that later since I can't seem to find it.
But, I was just recently sent this guy's Twitter link: Shit My Dad Says The tweets are written by Justin: "I'm 28. I live with my 73-year-old dad. He is awesome. I just write down shit that he says"
Like:
"How the fuck should I know if it's still good? Eat it. You get sick, it wasn't good. You people, you think I got microscopic fucking eyes."
"Your mother made a batch of meatballs last night. Some are for you, some are for me, but more are for me. Remember that. More. Me."
"Love this Mrs. Dash. The bitch can make spices... Jesus, Joni (my mom) it's a joke. I was making a joke! Mrs. Dash isn't even real dammit!"
"I didn't live to be 73 years old so I could eat kale. Don't fix me your breakfast and pretend you're fixing mine."
But, if you're intrigued, you might start with the most popular tweeters (Twitterholic)
And I swore I recently saw some article about the best Twitter accounts, but will have to post that later since I can't seem to find it.
But, I was just recently sent this guy's Twitter link: Shit My Dad Says The tweets are written by Justin: "I'm 28. I live with my 73-year-old dad. He is awesome. I just write down shit that he says"
Like:
"How the fuck should I know if it's still good? Eat it. You get sick, it wasn't good. You people, you think I got microscopic fucking eyes."
"Your mother made a batch of meatballs last night. Some are for you, some are for me, but more are for me. Remember that. More. Me."
"Love this Mrs. Dash. The bitch can make spices... Jesus, Joni (my mom) it's a joke. I was making a joke! Mrs. Dash isn't even real dammit!"
"I didn't live to be 73 years old so I could eat kale. Don't fix me your breakfast and pretend you're fixing mine."
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Remember that drag queen?
When we lived in Denver, one night we went to a gay bar (Bricks) and there was a drag show. In this show was a drag queen who performed two different Pink (or "P!nk" as she apparently goes by now) songs. This queen had natural cleavage (and I don't mean implants. Man boobs -- moobs) and really knew none of the words except the choruses. I happen to have both of these songs on my iPod. Every single time I hear them, I think of that queen. Well, more specifically I think of the moobs, which were disturbing. In that same show was a drag queen that fancied herself a taller, manlier version (if that's even possible) of Celine Dion. She did what I call "Celine Dion arms". If I wasn't on the train, I'd do a video on my phone and post it to the blog to show you what I mean. But then, I suppose that leaves something for later, doesn't it?
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
House Hunting Update
As previously mentioned, P and I are condo shopping. We found what we thought was the perfect condo, and even made an offer. The sellers were in way over their heads and wanted too much -- much more than it was even worth. So, we walked away. In the end, it was a good thing. It was a 2 bedroom, 1 bath condo, and probably a bit smaller than what we really need. But it was pretty. I tend to focus on the negatives (since we didn't get it), which include:
1. Balcony was off the bedroom, which is awkward for entertaining.
2. Bedrooms were small. In fact, there was only one possible placement of the bedroom in the master, and if you'd shifted the bed just one inch, you'd have blocked the door to the balcony.
3. Did I mention it had only 1 bath?
Our new favorite condo (which we're going to see for a second time on Sunday) is beautiful. Here, I will focus on the positives!
1. 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms -- Lord knows we need 2 bathrooms as that is one of the biggest bicker points of our current apartment.
2. The master is H-U-G-E! My dream is to build a walk-in closet in that bedroom. And doing that, it would still be bigger than what we have now!
3. Laundry room. That's right, a laundry ROOM. In the unit, with storage and everything.
4. Balcony off the kitchen.
5. Very bright.
6. Very modern.
7. 18' x 30' storage unit in the basement.
8. Gas fireplace (only unit in the building with a fireplace).
So, we'll see where this all takes us. We're going to see this unit and a few others on Sunday.
1. Balcony was off the bedroom, which is awkward for entertaining.
2. Bedrooms were small. In fact, there was only one possible placement of the bedroom in the master, and if you'd shifted the bed just one inch, you'd have blocked the door to the balcony.
3. Did I mention it had only 1 bath?
Our new favorite condo (which we're going to see for a second time on Sunday) is beautiful. Here, I will focus on the positives!
1. 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms -- Lord knows we need 2 bathrooms as that is one of the biggest bicker points of our current apartment.
2. The master is H-U-G-E! My dream is to build a walk-in closet in that bedroom. And doing that, it would still be bigger than what we have now!
3. Laundry room. That's right, a laundry ROOM. In the unit, with storage and everything.
4. Balcony off the kitchen.
5. Very bright.
6. Very modern.
7. 18' x 30' storage unit in the basement.
8. Gas fireplace (only unit in the building with a fireplace).
So, we'll see where this all takes us. We're going to see this unit and a few others on Sunday.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Slow people
I have been behind some slow people on my commutes to/from work. I
didn't think it possible for there to be anyone slower than some of
these jokers. Cut to today. This woman almost wasn't moving, she was
walking so slow. I wish I had had the guts to take a video for the
blog. She wasn't lame or all that old... just lazy, I guess. But I
still made my train!
didn't think it possible for there to be anyone slower than some of
these jokers. Cut to today. This woman almost wasn't moving, she was
walking so slow. I wish I had had the guts to take a video for the
blog. She wasn't lame or all that old... just lazy, I guess. But I
still made my train!
Friday, July 10, 2009
'CITED FOR HP!!!
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince comes out on Wednesday! We are going to see it when my brother comes. We are also going to the Harry Potter exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry!!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
The Park Ranger David Referred To In The Last Post
This post would be so much better if I could track down a picture of Jan Hooks as the park ranger at the Alamo from Pee Wee's Big Adventure, but alas--some things simply do not exist on the internets.
So. When P&D and I arrived for our first tour at Mesa Verde, a large crowd had already settled in under the shade of a small awning. The park ranger who would lead our tour could be overheard telling a few fellow tourists of some of the challenges of being a tour guide.
[Picture Marge Gunderon from Fargo in stature, talkativeness and accent.]
"Oh yeaah... I have to be prepared. I've had two people *holding up two fingers* die on me. Oh yeah. DIE. These hikes can be strenuous, you know, especially for people, you know, from out of state. Each time, they came up from the hike and they were GRAY, their skin *touching the skin on her face*, their hands *touching her hands* - gray."
I think I rolled my eyes at one or the other of P&D like, "Look who takes their job a LI-ttle too seriously".
"I carry everything in this here backpack *gesturing to backpack the size of her torso*... first aid *gesturing as if applying ointment, then a bandaid*, water *making sign for water (to be described in more detail in a minute)*, matches *making sign of rubbing 2 sticks together*... you name it."
She then loudly called the group to order. A few people started walking away, so she called out to them. They obviously didn't speak English as their first language, which cause her to call out even louder. It was finally determined that they had purchased tickets for the tour group that had already left and were, most likely, trying to figure out what to do amongst themselves. Luckily, our tour guide told them to come with us, turning to the rest of the group and chuckling as if to say, "Poor, dumb foreigners." ARGH.
She launched into her spiel only to be distracted by a parked car with its engine running nearby. She tried to get the attention of the adult in the car, but since the woman in the car was concentrating on FEEDING HER BABY and she had the windows up bc the AIR CONDITIONER WAS ON (all apparent to anyone who took a second to assess why the car engine was running), she couldn't hear our park ranger. So, Spunky Jo commented, "Jeez, I wish that guy would turn off his engine *gesturing as if turning off car ignition* so you guys could hear me..." A guy from the group went over and turned off the car, leaving his poor wife and child to fend for themselves inside the car in the blistering heat.
Her spiel included warnings of a 3-story ladder we'd all be climbing (*me quickly assessing how many old and fat people were in the group that might be as scared as I was about that*=not many) and the hole "the size of my hat" which we'd all be squeezing through at some point (which was, granted, a pretty large hat).
Said 32 foot ladder, original to the cliff dwellings. (No, not really.)
"Are you ready to get started with our tour say yes." She gave the fat, sunburned kids she'd picked out as "special helpers" a cue and the group walked down a path towards the ladder that would take us to the cliff dwellings. We got maybe 50 feet down the path before our tour guide stopped us to educate us on the many uses of the plant life in Mesa Verde.
She gestured at a juniper tree and explained that "THIS is the WalMart and Home Depot of the Ancient Puebloans..." and yucca *gesture* "is the Walgreens". She singled out the men in the group and asked them, "If you needed wood to build your house, what wood would you use say juniper."
Then she said she needed a "young woman" to demonstrate something and singled out a woman of about 60 ("This is my 'young woman', okay? *pause for laughter of which there was none*") and explained that the bark of the juniper tree could be stripped off and used to catch baby droppings (in lieu of a diaper. Because it was like buying diapers at WalMart. Only they didn't have WalMart in 1300. So they had to use bark from juniper trees. Because that was their WalMart. Very educational). I think she also implied "young women" would use it when they had their period, but I think her "volunteer" from the audience had slowly ambled back to her place in the group by then...)
So then we FINALLY (did I mention the temperature was in the 90s with the sun beating down on us?) descended to the cliff dwelling. It was here tha she introduced us to "Grandfather" who was, from what I gathered, a Puebloan (as in, a First American from one of the modern Pueblo tribes).
I should probably interject a bit of history (from what we learned from the brochure from the park, NOT from our tour guide): the cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde are believed to have been built by the Ancient Puebloans (formerly known as the Anasazi. I don't know why the term changed. And I can only assume using the term Anasazi would make any modern-day Pueblo Indian (sorry--First American) cringe.) and abandoned by 1300 for unknown reasons.
Unexplained markings on a wall of the cliff dwelling. Now we'll never know what made these holes.
P, D &I were the only ones of the group to peer through this window and into another entire stretch of cliff dwellings that Spunky Jo never mentioned...
So Grandfather had a lot to say about his ancestors, all of which our tour guide took very seriously. Which is not to imply that I find fault with that. It's just that... old people tend to tell stories. Long, pointless stories. Of dubious veracity. And that how all of Grandfather's stories came off (through our tour guide) to me, at least.
For one thing, she had a lot to say about water *always accompanied by a hand gesture of a 'W' against her chin* It was implied that this hand gesture was taught her by Grandfather. Problem for me is--it's the same sign in American Sign Language (I took a class in college--I can actually sign that sentence). I find it UNCANNY that the Ancient Puebloans used a W to make the sign for water.
Anyways, there was a whole bunch of talk about water *hand gesture*, yucca *hand gesture* and Grandfather. What I found so annoying was (in order): the way she demanded our attention when our eyes would wander to the ACTUAL CLIFF DWELLINGS and how the content of her monologue had NOTHING TO DO with the ACTUAL CLIFF DWELLINGS in which we were standing.
At one point, she cursorily pointed to a hand print believed to be close to 1,000 years old high on the cliff wall. needless to say, it was faded and difficult to see (especially for this sorry squinter). As I was straining to see it, a fellow tourist tried to point it out to me and Spunky Jo yelled at us, telling us we were holding up the tour group. AS IF. Spunky Jenn replied that she was about to have a mutiny on her hands if she didn't let people see the hand print.
Another interjection: the cliff dwellings were impressive. The content of our tour was basically: "These dwellings are old, but we don't know much about them. So, I will compare them to WalMart, Home Depot, and Walgreens and tell you a funny story about a little old brown man who was once on my tour and spoke at length about yucca *hand gesture* and water *hand gesture*, all of which still exist around here and for which we, today, have absolutely no use for. Do you feel like you learned something on this tour say yes."
She wrapped up the tour by relating yet another story about Grandfather, this time about how he blessed the tour (? or maybe Jo?) like this. Okay, not quite, but I did laugh uproariously later when P mimicked this hand gesture as throwing up.
So. I guess the lesson for park rangers and tour guides, if they're to take my post as constructive criticism is to 1. talk about what the good people on your tour came to see; 2. don't answer your own questions; 3. don't assume we think you have cred because Grandfather blessed your tour; 4. don't use hand gestures. At all; 5. don't compare historical uses of natural surroundings to WalMart, Home Depot, Walgreens or any other place that does not make use of our natural surroundings. Thank you.
These are, I assume, smoke marks from the dwelling's ancient inhabitants showing where walls used to reach the cave wall. Also not pointed out or explained by our tour guide.
So. When P&D and I arrived for our first tour at Mesa Verde, a large crowd had already settled in under the shade of a small awning. The park ranger who would lead our tour could be overheard telling a few fellow tourists of some of the challenges of being a tour guide.
[Picture Marge Gunderon from Fargo in stature, talkativeness and accent.]
"Oh yeaah... I have to be prepared. I've had two people *holding up two fingers* die on me. Oh yeah. DIE. These hikes can be strenuous, you know, especially for people, you know, from out of state. Each time, they came up from the hike and they were GRAY, their skin *touching the skin on her face*, their hands *touching her hands* - gray."
I think I rolled my eyes at one or the other of P&D like, "Look who takes their job a LI-ttle too seriously".
"I carry everything in this here backpack *gesturing to backpack the size of her torso*... first aid *gesturing as if applying ointment, then a bandaid*, water *making sign for water (to be described in more detail in a minute)*, matches *making sign of rubbing 2 sticks together*... you name it."
She then loudly called the group to order. A few people started walking away, so she called out to them. They obviously didn't speak English as their first language, which cause her to call out even louder. It was finally determined that they had purchased tickets for the tour group that had already left and were, most likely, trying to figure out what to do amongst themselves. Luckily, our tour guide told them to come with us, turning to the rest of the group and chuckling as if to say, "Poor, dumb foreigners." ARGH.
She launched into her spiel only to be distracted by a parked car with its engine running nearby. She tried to get the attention of the adult in the car, but since the woman in the car was concentrating on FEEDING HER BABY and she had the windows up bc the AIR CONDITIONER WAS ON (all apparent to anyone who took a second to assess why the car engine was running), she couldn't hear our park ranger. So, Spunky Jo commented, "Jeez, I wish that guy would turn off his engine *gesturing as if turning off car ignition* so you guys could hear me..." A guy from the group went over and turned off the car, leaving his poor wife and child to fend for themselves inside the car in the blistering heat.
Her spiel included warnings of a 3-story ladder we'd all be climbing (*me quickly assessing how many old and fat people were in the group that might be as scared as I was about that*=not many) and the hole "the size of my hat" which we'd all be squeezing through at some point (which was, granted, a pretty large hat).
Said 32 foot ladder, original to the cliff dwellings. (No, not really.)"Are you ready to get started with our tour say yes." She gave the fat, sunburned kids she'd picked out as "special helpers" a cue and the group walked down a path towards the ladder that would take us to the cliff dwellings. We got maybe 50 feet down the path before our tour guide stopped us to educate us on the many uses of the plant life in Mesa Verde.
She gestured at a juniper tree and explained that "THIS is the WalMart and Home Depot of the Ancient Puebloans..." and yucca *gesture* "is the Walgreens". She singled out the men in the group and asked them, "If you needed wood to build your house, what wood would you use say juniper."
Then she said she needed a "young woman" to demonstrate something and singled out a woman of about 60 ("This is my 'young woman', okay? *pause for laughter of which there was none*") and explained that the bark of the juniper tree could be stripped off and used to catch baby droppings (in lieu of a diaper. Because it was like buying diapers at WalMart. Only they didn't have WalMart in 1300. So they had to use bark from juniper trees. Because that was their WalMart. Very educational). I think she also implied "young women" would use it when they had their period, but I think her "volunteer" from the audience had slowly ambled back to her place in the group by then...)
So then we FINALLY (did I mention the temperature was in the 90s with the sun beating down on us?) descended to the cliff dwelling. It was here tha she introduced us to "Grandfather" who was, from what I gathered, a Puebloan (as in, a First American from one of the modern Pueblo tribes).
I should probably interject a bit of history (from what we learned from the brochure from the park, NOT from our tour guide): the cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde are believed to have been built by the Ancient Puebloans (formerly known as the Anasazi. I don't know why the term changed. And I can only assume using the term Anasazi would make any modern-day Pueblo Indian (sorry--First American) cringe.) and abandoned by 1300 for unknown reasons.
Unexplained markings on a wall of the cliff dwelling. Now we'll never know what made these holes.
P, D &I were the only ones of the group to peer through this window and into another entire stretch of cliff dwellings that Spunky Jo never mentioned...
So Grandfather had a lot to say about his ancestors, all of which our tour guide took very seriously. Which is not to imply that I find fault with that. It's just that... old people tend to tell stories. Long, pointless stories. Of dubious veracity. And that how all of Grandfather's stories came off (through our tour guide) to me, at least.
For one thing, she had a lot to say about water *always accompanied by a hand gesture of a 'W' against her chin* It was implied that this hand gesture was taught her by Grandfather. Problem for me is--it's the same sign in American Sign Language (I took a class in college--I can actually sign that sentence). I find it UNCANNY that the Ancient Puebloans used a W to make the sign for water.
Anyways, there was a whole bunch of talk about water *hand gesture*, yucca *hand gesture* and Grandfather. What I found so annoying was (in order): the way she demanded our attention when our eyes would wander to the ACTUAL CLIFF DWELLINGS and how the content of her monologue had NOTHING TO DO with the ACTUAL CLIFF DWELLINGS in which we were standing.
At one point, she cursorily pointed to a hand print believed to be close to 1,000 years old high on the cliff wall. needless to say, it was faded and difficult to see (especially for this sorry squinter). As I was straining to see it, a fellow tourist tried to point it out to me and Spunky Jo yelled at us, telling us we were holding up the tour group. AS IF. Spunky Jenn replied that she was about to have a mutiny on her hands if she didn't let people see the hand print.
Another interjection: the cliff dwellings were impressive. The content of our tour was basically: "These dwellings are old, but we don't know much about them. So, I will compare them to WalMart, Home Depot, and Walgreens and tell you a funny story about a little old brown man who was once on my tour and spoke at length about yucca *hand gesture* and water *hand gesture*, all of which still exist around here and for which we, today, have absolutely no use for. Do you feel like you learned something on this tour say yes."
She wrapped up the tour by relating yet another story about Grandfather, this time about how he blessed the tour (? or maybe Jo?) like this. Okay, not quite, but I did laugh uproariously later when P mimicked this hand gesture as throwing up.
So. I guess the lesson for park rangers and tour guides, if they're to take my post as constructive criticism is to 1. talk about what the good people on your tour came to see; 2. don't answer your own questions; 3. don't assume we think you have cred because Grandfather blessed your tour; 4. don't use hand gestures. At all; 5. don't compare historical uses of natural surroundings to WalMart, Home Depot, Walgreens or any other place that does not make use of our natural surroundings. Thank you.
These are, I assume, smoke marks from the dwelling's ancient inhabitants showing where walls used to reach the cave wall. Also not pointed out or explained by our tour guide.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
There's something about blogging...
... that is just hard in the summer. And it's not even particularly nice outside just now. In fact, it's raining. I honestly do have a ton I could write about. We did just get back from a fantastic trip to Colorado. That was quickly followed by our good friend being in town for Pride, our first condo-shopping experience, the Air Conditioning Debacle of Aught-Nine (tm), and Fourth of July! Not to mention our new iPhones! But then again, I guess that's all why I haven't been blogging. We've been busy!
In any event, here goes:
1. New iPhones -- P and I took the Friday preceding our trip to Colorado off. Originally, I had requested that date because I thought we were leaving for Denver in the morning. Come to find out, no. But, it worked out very well because that was the very day the newiPhone came out! We were there at something like 5:30am, and the store didn't open until 7. It was pouring rain at points, but that made for a pretty short line. The Apple people are so nice -- people waiting were offered umbrellas when it starting raining. We were also given water and apple Izzes. For those who have never been, the Apple store on Michigan Ave is two stories, with a very tall staircase running up through the middle of the store (Also, but completely unrelated, there's an apple-shaped window on the front of the store that tourists just LOVE to have their picture taken in front of. I'll be sure to take one of S, L and Carmen when they come to visit in August). There were Apple employees lining the staircase clapping for all us losers when we were let in the store. I felt like a giant nerd. P got his phone and had it activated in like 15 minutes. But the guy couldn't port my old number to my phone, so I had to get a new number. Which is sad because P's current and my old number were only two digits off! We spent the rest of the afternoon not talking and playing with our phones.
2. Trip to Colorado -- we didn't get in to Denver until late in the evening, and then spent the night at J's. She even let us have her bed (which we never let her do when she visits us). The next morning, we met Kelly for breakfast at a place we'd never been. There was a long wait, so we got shit-faced on the sidewalk drinking mimosas and bloody marys. The only complaint: the breakfast burritos (which I did not have, but several of my tablemates did have) smells like BO. But I think that's the chilis or something. It was really good otherwise.
We then went to Cherry Creek Mall (our old stompin' ground) where Jenn bought this hat:
That night, we went to Benny's (our old stompin' ground). We went with the McDowell sisters, Sun-Young, Brad, Art, Veronica, and Veronica's boyfriend. We went to Binny's (our old stompin' ground [now in a new and improved location]) to get some booze, and headed to Art's for a little par-tay. There, many exciting things happened. Among them are, a human pyramid (which I managed to get not a single picture of) and a delightful show feat. J's ta-tas. I'd load the video to the blog, but I'm pretty sure J would kill me. Hopefully this will suffice:
We went to JRs Bar (and grill -- our old stompin' ground) after, and then the details get fuzzy. But I'm pretty sure Clinton Kelly from "What Not to Wear" was there.
The next morning, we continued our tour of Denver breakfast eateries at some lesser-known and lesser-liked place, which shall remain nameless. It's not even worth this many words. We then got in the car and stayed there for the rest of the weekend.
We stopped in Telluride for the night (really pretty). My heart almost stopped in the free gondola, and we ate at a cute Italian restaurant.
We got back in the car the next morning and headed to Mesa Verde National Park. There, we saw cliff dwellings, met the maddeningly annoying Jo S---k (sp) and stayed at a MV Motor Lodge. From the outside, it's exactly what you're thinking, but from the inside, it wasn't so bad.
I'm going to let J post about Jo since she had the strongest reaction to her, but suffice it to say, we learned a LOT about "Grandfather", Home Depot, and stupid hand gestures.
We also had to do a lot of scary climbing up ladders, which J and I hated.
We also learned about sipapus and kivas, both pictured here.
The next morning, we made our way to Durango. We had coffee, did some souvenir shopping and went to a gallery where P found his new favorite photographer.
Then it was (you guessed it!) back in the car and on our way to Eagle! That's where Jill lives. She's married and pregnant. On the way, I had to use one of the things I do NOT miss about CO -- the mountain death hole toilet.
We were back to Denver the next morning, and off to Chicago that night. It was a lot of fun. And Colorado is so pretty!
See? Well, that's all I can bring myself to type right now. More later!
In any event, here goes:
1. New iPhones -- P and I took the Friday preceding our trip to Colorado off. Originally, I had requested that date because I thought we were leaving for Denver in the morning. Come to find out, no. But, it worked out very well because that was the very day the new
2. Trip to Colorado -- we didn't get in to Denver until late in the evening, and then spent the night at J's. She even let us have her bed (which we never let her do when she visits us). The next morning, we met Kelly for breakfast at a place we'd never been. There was a long wait, so we got shit-faced on the sidewalk drinking mimosas and bloody marys. The only complaint: the breakfast burritos (which I did not have, but several of my tablemates did have) smells like BO. But I think that's the chilis or something. It was really good otherwise.
We then went to Cherry Creek Mall (our old stompin' ground) where Jenn bought this hat:
That night, we went to Benny's (our old stompin' ground). We went with the McDowell sisters, Sun-Young, Brad, Art, Veronica, and Veronica's boyfriend. We went to Binny's (our old stompin' ground [now in a new and improved location]) to get some booze, and headed to Art's for a little par-tay. There, many exciting things happened. Among them are, a human pyramid (which I managed to get not a single picture of) and a delightful show feat. J's ta-tas. I'd load the video to the blog, but I'm pretty sure J would kill me. Hopefully this will suffice:
We went to JRs Bar (and grill -- our old stompin' ground) after, and then the details get fuzzy. But I'm pretty sure Clinton Kelly from "What Not to Wear" was there.
The next morning, we continued our tour of Denver breakfast eateries at some lesser-known and lesser-liked place, which shall remain nameless. It's not even worth this many words. We then got in the car and stayed there for the rest of the weekend.
We stopped in Telluride for the night (really pretty). My heart almost stopped in the free gondola, and we ate at a cute Italian restaurant.
We got back in the car the next morning and headed to Mesa Verde National Park. There, we saw cliff dwellings, met the maddeningly annoying Jo S---k (sp) and stayed at a MV Motor Lodge. From the outside, it's exactly what you're thinking, but from the inside, it wasn't so bad.
I'm going to let J post about Jo since she had the strongest reaction to her, but suffice it to say, we learned a LOT about "Grandfather", Home Depot, and stupid hand gestures.
We also had to do a lot of scary climbing up ladders, which J and I hated.
We also learned about sipapus and kivas, both pictured here.
The next morning, we made our way to Durango. We had coffee, did some souvenir shopping and went to a gallery where P found his new favorite photographer.
Then it was (you guessed it!) back in the car and on our way to Eagle! That's where Jill lives. She's married and pregnant. On the way, I had to use one of the things I do NOT miss about CO -- the mountain death hole toilet.
We were back to Denver the next morning, and off to Chicago that night. It was a lot of fun. And Colorado is so pretty!
See? Well, that's all I can bring myself to type right now. More later!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)