Oh, the Places I'll Go!

Today is the last day of Part One (weeks 1-2) of Jamie's Excellent Adventure.  Although I did my race recap right after ODDyssey, I didn't chronicle my travels to Philadelphia.  I also took zero notes while I was traveling, vacationing, and enjoying the hell out of the last week, so I'm using this post to record every thing I can think of.  It'll probably be long, but it's been amazing, so hopefully it'll also be entertaining to read.

The Journey
I set off from home just about 6 am on Friday the 6th.  Without doing a whole heck of a lot of research, I felt like I wanted to make it into Virginia on the first day and then have a shorter but more stressful (DC, Baltimore, and Philly traffic) day the second day.  I listened to the radio, sang loudly, and left my cruise control on almost the whole day.  I split up my food breaks and my gas breaks so I wouldn't be in the car for more than three hours at a time.  And I have to say, I really enjoyed that first driving day.  I didn't quite make it to Virginia, but as it turns out the town I stopped in was 10 miles south of the border.

Random thought I had at 1pm that first day: "I've been driving for 7 hours now.  That's how long I have to finish the Disney Marathon.  I think I might've preferred running."

On the second day, I found myself all of a sudden confused that when the speed limit slowed to 55 heading into DC, suddenly the slow cars around me were going 75.  The previous day, with a speed limit of 70, I was the fast car at 75-80.  I also think I stopped for a total of 3 tolls: one at the tunnel in Baltimore, another random one in Maryland, and the cover charge for the privilege of entering Delaware, which should have just had a sign up that said "closed for construction."  I eventually made it into Pennsylvania and had an "I am woman, hear me roar" moment when I realized that I had actually made it all the way there, all by myself.

And then I ran a half-marathon.

The Destination
My first week in New Jersey was actually pretty quiet.  I bummed around Jackie's house quite a bit, drove around the area (literally for the first time by myself, since I didn't get my license until college and then the only other times I was here I was with Scott), did some shopping and A LOT of eating...  After the stress of the end of school, start of grad school, leaving my old job, packing, driving, and racing I was perfectly happy to decompress and just relax.  Of course, "relaxing" at Jackie's house is an adventure all on its own, what with the kids and the toddlers and the pets.  I have to say I totally love it as a temporary visitor, but I'm better suited for a quieter existence!

The Active Part of Vacation

this IS our warm-up routine!

On Saturday the 14th, I did a 5k with Jackie's whole family.  The course was a small circle that we were told to lap 10 times (though I did 11 laps to make it 5k by RunKeeper standards), and every time I passed the girls they would ask what lap I was on.  Their response was always "so am I."  So I'm not really sure how far anyone else actually ran but I was proud of them for going out and doing it!

...and I also had a 5k PR, so I'm pretty proud of myself too!

oui, je suis une artiste!

Saturday night, Jackie and I went to one of those "drink and paint" places that was having a fundraiser for a group she belongs to.  We drank, ate, and painted.  I think they do a really great job running the place, because there were about 15-20 people there, and no one's painting was completely awful.  They were all also very different, as you can tell by my painting (on the left) and Jackie's (on the right).  There are things about my painting that I don't love, but who cares?  I'm still going to hang it up at home somewhere, probably with all of the paintings I bought at thrift stores.

the family that jazz hands together...

On Sunday (Father's Day), I went up to New York to spend the day with my cousin Jenn and her family.  I drove to Trenton and then hopped the train to Penn Station, where I met up with Jenn and the girls.  We hopped on the subway to Hell's Kitchen, where we had a huge amazing Greek feast (and every time we turned around there was another plate of hot pitas straight from the oven).  Trip and the girls then headed off on their own NYC adventure day, and Jenn took me to see Violet, my first Broadway show in more than 15 years.  (the last was either Miss Saigon or Beauty and the Beast)  I requested Violet because it stars Sutton Foster, and she didn't disappoint.  In fact, the whole cast was great (I bought the soundtrack), but she was radiant.  We both cried too.  There's something so magical about being on Broadway.  The theaters are old and beautiful, the performers are the best in the world... major goosebumps!  (by the way, here's the Tony's performance from Violet, in case you are interested)  The day wrapped up back at Jenn's for dinner, a subway ride (by myself) back to Penn Station, and a train back to New Jersey.

Also, I (allegedly) saw a dead body while I was headed back to the subway station.  There was a man laying on his back, not moving, and an EMT jumped out of a fire truck, walked over and looked at him, and then asked the people standing around what was up.  The guy's head was blocked from my view by a mailbox or something, but he definitely wasn't moving.  Since the EMT didn't immediately check his vitals or anything, I decided that he must have been obviously dead.  My crosswalk light changed, so I didn't get to stick around and find out the rest of the story.

Tuesday the 17th found me back in Pennsylvania, this time for dinner with Dawn and Mark.  I was really glad they were able to meet me, since Dawn was my closest cousin growing up and we haven't had a chance to really catch up in far too long.  We caught up on each other's life stories (between all of us, there was a lot to discuss!), dished some family dirt, and had a genuinely wonderful time.  And despite being full from dinner, I couldn't resist swinging through the Sonic drive-through next door for an orange slush for the drive back to NJ!

Dinner the following night became a mini high school reunion.  Originally planned for Tom and I, it turns out that Bill and Vicky were also able to come out.  Bill showed up with a folder of letters and postcards from the college years that had me cringing, laughing, and crying.  Our relationship has been from the beginning quirky and uniquely us.  I love him so much, and continue to be grateful that he's in my life.  The four of us laughed so much during our dinner I think we all hated that it had to end.

Dinner did have to end though, because I was up bright and early Thursday morning to spend another day in New York.  This time, my hosts were my cousin Alexander and his girlfriend Megumi.  Alexander promised me a day of hijinks, and he didn't disappoint!  They picked me up at Penn Station and our first stop was the Houdini Museum.  The museum displays were moderately interesting, but the visit took an unexpected turn when the man behind the counter asked "would you like to see a trick?"  We then had what was basically a 20-minute private magic show by this guy, who truly knew his stuff.  He transformed dollars, hovered coins, and did a lot of fun card tricks.

We then took the subway out to Brooklyn, where we had lunch at a Vietnamese sandwich shop (yum!) and then went to this place called Film Biz Recycling, where they sell and rent items used by TV and film production in NYC that might otherwise end up trashed.  We returned to Manhattan via the Brooklyn Bridge.  I'm not sure why this was so exciting for me, but it was such an amazing moment.  Walking toward the city, seeing the Statue of Liberty and the new World Trade Center building to the left, midtown to the right, and the cables and iconic structure of the Brooklyn Bridge straight ahead... Wow, I just loved it!

The Brooklyn Bridge: possibly my favorite half hour of vacation

We then stopped for margaritas and a snack at one of their favorite kitschy bars before doing a quickie tour of the financial district.  They rode the subway back to Penn Station with me, I got a bagel, and then hopped the train back to Trenton.

Side note: I had the pleasure of sitting next to a drunk man on the train back from NYC.  He was simultaneously hitting on me, sexually harassing me (thank you for telling me that your thumbs, like your d---, were large), making racist anti-Muslim comments about the man across the aisle (who was black and speaking French, so I think perhaps he wasn't personally responsible for 9-11), telling me about his wife and kids, and talking about how much money he makes.  Really though, he was harmless and got off the train long before I did.  Had he been staying on until Trenton, I might have jumped off at some point and taken a later train.  It was kind of fun chatting with a random stranger though, even a creepy one.

Yesterday, Jackie and I took the kids to Great Adventure.  The park was pretty dead -- the longest we waited all day was 30 minutes, and a bunch of coasters were actually walk-on.  I got to take each of the babies on Dumbo-like rides, and rode coasters of varying scariness with the older girls.  I think I might have ridden ONE coaster that was there when I was younger.  That park has changed a lot!

The past week has been full of memories, lots of walking, and lots of late nights and early mornings.  Today was my last full day in town, and I spent it doing homework and laundry.  I took myself out to Bobby's Burger Palace for dinner (yum!!) and started getting my things together.

I'm so sad to be leaving.  It turns out I feel South Jersey roots that I didn't know I have.  I'm happy I got to see so many of my friends and family members, but also bummed about the people I couldn't connect with or spend enough time with.

On To School
I leave tomorrow morning and head to State College.  My one week summer intensive course starts on Monday at 8:30 and I'm definitely looking forward to getting started...but I'm also terrified at the same time.  It's been a long time since I've set foot in a classroom and actually tried.  I guess we'll have to see how it goes!  Hopefully I'll have another "I am woman hear me roar" moment on Friday when I'm done with the class!

Leapin' Lizard!

I'm having a bad lizard week here at Casa ParkHopper.  Monday I came home to a dead-ish lizard in the middle of my kitchen floor and two cats completely disinterested in assisting with its disposal.  As it turns out, the lizard was only "dead" until Elphie took a half-hearted swat at it and her claw hit it mid-back.  THEN it was miraculously cured and running right at me!  It's now dead (I assume) in front of the kitchen sink.  I won't touch it*, and haven't yet been motivated to pull out the vacuum to suck up the tiny carcass.

Today I kept thinking I was seeing motion out of the corner of my eye, but both cats were asleep on the couch.  Finally I realized there was another freaking lizard in the house, this one very much alive and on the move.  On the stairs.  And then the little effer JUMPED from one step to another.

Did you know they do that?

I guess Little Orphan Annie did!

Anyway, I took some video and uploaded it to Instagram.  I can't figure out how to embed it here, but here's the link.  For the record, once I made my new pet do its party trick for the camera, I did try to rescue it.  I grabbed a big plastic bowl with lid and actually managed to get the bowl over the lizard.  But the lid was pretty thick, and sliding it under the bowl gave the lizard a big enough opening to dart through... of course, straight toward me!  After I squealed and nearly lost my balance 7 steps up the stairs, I chased it down the steps.  It evaded capture and darted under the TV cabinet.

If I'm lucky, I won't see it again until the next time the furniture is moved.  Of course, my luck isn't actually that good...I bet I see that lizard again before bedtime.

*I can't touch dead things, even when they've been motionless for multiple days.  Blame this on an unfortunate fish tank incident when I was a kid.  I was carrying a dead swordtail to the bathroom for a burial at sea, and right when I got to the toilet, the thing resurrected and flopped out of my hand right into its watery grave.  NEVER AGAIN -- zombie creepy-crawlies are REAL!

UPDATE: not sure this is the same lizard, but I managed to catch & release this one! (Sorry for the blur - the phone didn't want to focus through the plastic bowl)

Get off My Lawn!

Being childless, I mistakenly assumed that I wouldn't turn into my parents.  After all, why would I?  But alas, it seems God has a sense of humor.  A sick, sick sense of humor.  

Back in September, I had the following exchange with a coworker:

Co-worker: I'm hungry

Me: do you want my applesauce?

Co-worker: Nah

Me: then you're not really hungry!

This was a classic Jamie-Mom exchange through most of my childhood.  You can substitute thirsty or bored as well.  Apparently bedroom cleaning was a valid boredom buster in her eyes... I still disagree with that one!

Last night, I channeled my father and was genuinely mortified.  A small child (6-8 years old, I'd guess) wandered up to my screen door last night and was looking into my house.  He made eye contact with me and a smile started to brighten his face.

Me: Go home.

Him: Why?

Me: Because you don't belong in my doorway.  GO AWAY!

("Why?"??? I'm going to throw a "this is what's wrong with kids today" in at this point, just to increase my crotchety points.  But it did annoy me.)

I know it seems harsh, but it was about 8:45 at night.  It was pitch black behind my house, and there are no children that age living in my building or the buildings on either side.  I don't understand why this boy and the other two he was with felt compelled to play behind my house.  At the time, I thought they were the little unsupervised monsters who live across the street from me - who once stood on top of a construction sand pile and threw rocks and dirt clods at each other.  I went upstairs for bed at 9, and could see a group of adults a few buildings down, also yelling and carrying on, so at least the kids weren't completely unsupervised.  They finally left my backyard a few minutes before I was going to yell out the window.

So anyway, I guess it's official: I am the "get off my lawn" guy of the neighborhood.  Oh well...I guess someone needs to do it!

Open Sesame

The windows! They're open!

The downstairs windows are open, and with the ceiling fan on it's perfectly pleasant in the living room. Upstairs, all of the windows are open, and all of the doors in the hallway are open too. However meager the breeze, I am determined to suck in the fresh air as much as possible.

Sure, it's still 80, but it feels like fall to me!

Actually...

Here's a list of actual things that Scott and I did today:

1. Trip to Lowe's to buy paint, primer, and a new towel holder for powder room.

2. Removal of old towel bar, using sharp blade and new pry bar.

(also bought pry bar and mallet at Lowe's during #1)

3. Discovery of two perfectly rectangular holes behind old towel bar.

4. Discovery that builders installed vanity light without a junction box and that installation of new vanity light without a junction box is impossible.

5. Googled "install vanity light no junction box," and got great instructions from diynetwork.com on how to install a junction box.

5a. Curse like a sailor, throw brief tantrum.

6. Trip to Lowe's to buy wall patches, spackle, and aerosol can of "orange peel" wall texture to fix holes where old towel bar was. Also bought new junction box. The girl in the drywall section was quite helpful. The guy in the electrical section was dumb as a box of rocks. And he looked like the boss from Office Space. Luckily, there was a nice middle-aged customer who came to my rescue. Twice. I say "my" rescue because, as a man, Scott can't ask for help. So he disappears ("hey - we NEEDED a drywall saw!") while I ask for help. It's ok. At least then I get to hear the instructions first-hand and don't need to second guess later.

7. Scott patches holes in one wall while I cut a big circular hole in another wall.

8. Realize plumbing is close to the wall and that junction box is too deep and therefore won't fit.

8a. Curse like a (&$%(# sailor. Lament that we're stuck with ugly Broadway-style lighting forever.

9. Scott uses drywall saw to cut the back off of the plastic junction box while I watch two hours worth of DVRed TV shows. Yep...two hours. The man is dedicated!

10. Anchor junction box into drywall, install light fixture, and test out lighting.

11. Go to garage and do some test-runs of orange peel texturing on cardboard (and on the garage wall). Damn, it's cold out!

12. Eat dinner of chicken tenders and fish planks at 9 pm while mocking the Olympic opening ceremony.

13. Blog about day that was supposed to be fun but, like most home improvement projects, turned out to be frustrating.

I took lots of pictures today, but I'm saving them for a full before & after. Tomorrow while Scott is at work I'm definitely going to texture over the wall patches and tape off the baseboards and ceiling. I might prime, but it's likely I'll wait for next Friday and Saturday to prime & paint when Scott is there to help. Not that there's room for two of us in there at a time...

IKEA Ideas

Yesterday Scott and I ventured out to IKEA in search of two things that we saw last time we were there. (and of course, so that I could sit in all of the orange furniture. how much is too much orange? maybe this much!)

We ended up not getting either of the items we set out for (still haven't decided on "art" for our bathroom - we're torn between the frog in the flower and the big orange flower), but we did revolutionize our kitchen pantry.

OK, we didn't quite revolutionize it... but we took a step. Our pantry has been over-crowded and pretty much disastrous for years now, and I was pretty inspired by the kitchen set-ups with cabinet shelves that slide out for easy access.

And then we found Antonius. It's an extremely cheap version of what I was hoping to accomplish in the open section of the pantry. We spent a mere $50 for this frame and all of the sliding baskets, and this unit fit about 90% of what was in the pantry and on the kitchen floor. We then moved the stuff we use often (Gladware containers, garbage bags, cat food) into the pantry so that we wouldn't have to move the trash can or the new shelves (which are on wheels).

The ultimate goal is to clean out the pantry on the left so that we can move the junk in the closet on the right into there. Then Antonius can fit into the closet and won't be there in plain sight. Of course, Milo has taken to laying under the bottom shelf. We all know he loves to be places he thinks he shouldn't be, and this certainly fits that criteria!

Cleaning out the pantry did bring one strange situation to light: the 5 cans of green beans Scott is hoarding. Apparently with the price of rice and grains going up, he figures it'll only be a matter of time until green beans are also out of reach. And when that happens, we'll be prepared!

Unsolicited Parenting Advice

...from someone without children

I really don't have much business dispensing advice... to most people. However, I can not imagine a situation where the following story could be considered good parenting!

I awoke at 3 am to the sound of a screaming child. These weren't the screams of a baby, but of a child probably 3-4 years old having an absolute melt down. I had the bedroom windows open, and could tell that the noise was coming from outside and not in another apartment. And I listened to this screaming for at least 5 minutes.

I also heard two other voices, one male and one female (I'll assume they were the parents of the little night screamer). They tried reasoning with the child. They tried threatening the child. They pleaded with the child. From what I gather, the child didn't want to put his/her shoes on. So they wouldn't let him/her get out of the car. Later, I heard one of them say "fine, go without your shoes. just don't step in any dog shit." Then Mom started the "count to three" crap. And when she got to three, she said she was taking away a specific toy.

And during all of this, the child didn't stop screaming.

Finally, from the sounds of it, they grabbed the kid and dragged him/her into their apartment, screaming all the way.

So really. Does anyone else think that the fact that the child was up at 3 am might have contributed to the situation? Get your child home at a decent hour! And if your child starts screaming in the car, get him inside and into bed. And for goodness' sake, on the street at 3 am is NOT the time to experiment with various parenting techniques. The rest of us don't care how you get the child to stop crying, only that you do it quickly.

Next time, I'm just going to fire my air horn out the window.

Work in Progress

I rearranged our dining room/office today. Check it out:



Nope, this isn't the "before" picture!

Right now it still looks like a bomb exploded. But the potential is infinitely greater than the way it was before. Yes, there is still a pile-o-crap in the corner. But that laundry basket in the corner is full of stuff that Scott needs to weed through. And I threw out 2 garbage bags of stuff already. One little decorative screen, and that corner could be its own little closet.

The two biggest changes:

• I set up the old computer on the square table, but only until I can transfer the photo files on that computer onto a CD. Once the important files are off the computer, we'll have to decide whether or not to toss it out the window. That could potentially become the game computer.
• The tall wood table with stools has been moved up next to the kitchen counter so that it's almost an extension of counter space. It also opens up the possibility of eating a dinner for two some place other than on the couch in front of the TV. Once the stuff on top of that table finds a home, I think that space is going to end up utilized very often.

I also had to move the garbage can, which used to sit right where that tall table is now. For now, it's sort of floating in the kitchen. There's also still a lot of paperwork and random odds and ends to sort through. This, however, is a great start. I'm proud of how I spent this afternoon.

Still Alive

Wanted to take a moment to let anyone who read my last entry know that I did not, in fact, die from that massive 99.0 fever. And though I have a boogie nose and my ankle hurts (related? sure... why not?), my face no longer feels like it's going to burst into flame.

That's good, right?

On an unrelated note, I think Ghetto Superstar downstairs from us might be moving out. Either that or someone else on the 2nd floor is either moving out or having their large heavy stuff repossessed. *fingers crossed*

Full Circle

other appropriate titles for this post include:

• A December 25 Post that has Nothing to Do with Christmas
• Why Scott and Jamie Should Be Banned from IKEA
• Matching Your Shower Curtain to Your Listerine is COOL

You know with all of those titles, I think I covered most of the story. But here goes anyway...

During our anniversary weekend, I finally let Scott peer pressure me into checking out the new IKEA store in Orlando. We went and test-drove couches and chairs, checked out book shelves, and ended up buying way more than we had any business buying. We bought two little white shelves ($5 each... plus the cost of screws... plus then we had to get a drill at Wal Mart), two bread & butter plates to replace ones that we have broken (though I opted for pink this time. life's too short to have matching dishes!), a pack of different colored chopsticks, and we bought this curtain set in orange.

Why curtains? Well, they actually had them on display in the showroom as a shower curtain. They have a bit of an iridescent quality, and our Nemo curtain has seen better days. We were going to get blue, but then the orange was calling out to me. So we figured the orange would match the Nemo bathroom accessories and my current pouf. Why not?

And then the curtains sat in the bedroom for 3 weeks. They had to be "hemmed" with an iron and magic tape (which they provided - I'm not MacGuyvering this!), and we also had to buy a second shower curtain rod because they have tabs on the back that wouldn't have worked with the plastic rings. Yes, now we have two curtain rods on the shower. So?

I finally got around to hanging them tonight, and I'm pretty happy with the result. It's bright. Like morning threw up in there.

It also gives me major flashbacks to the room I grew up in. Apparently orange is my signature color. Who knew? So here's the picture - taken in the mirror because that seemed to be the way to get the most bathroom in there at once. We need to get a less-clear curtain liner, but that's an easy fix. And for now, it'll do. I'm just going to have to shower with my sunglasses on!

French Toast A Palooza

Yesterday morning, Scott got up at the same time as me and made French toast for breakfast. But this was no ordinary French toast. He made two varieties, and I had trouble choosing a favorite.

The first was peanut butter & jelly, made like a regular pb&j sandwich and then dipped in batter and cooked on the top & bottom. Then he stuck them in the oven to make sure the sides were cooked as well. It was really good. But we both agreed there wasn't quite enough jelly.

The second was made with just bread - but with eggnog in the batter. It was quite tasty, but since we hadn't put butter or syrup on them, not quite sweet enough.

Oh - and he cut up pineapple to go with it. How lucky am I?

Today I'm having a glass of cranberry juice and then probably toaster waffles with cream cheese. Still, I know I'll have a good lunch break today at work!

Productive

Scott and I tried something new this week: we cooked 3 separate dinners on Wednesday to make lunches with for the rest of the week. We've both gotten into bad eating habits, mostly pretending eating Aramark food was a good idea. So this week we are eating:

* angel hair with shrimp and asparagus,
* pork chops with mushroom risotto and mashed sweet potatoes (yes, it is a little carby. we like carbs!), and
* baked ziti with sausage, beef and mushrooms. (and salad)

It was actually pretty fun. The angel hair was my dish, and I did the risotto and helped with the sweet potatoes. Scott did everything else (plus my asparagus). And since we were reusing the same pots, clean-up was remarkably easy.

And so far, so good. I ended up not even eating my packed lunch yesterday because there were meetings at work with pizza and subs. On the bright side, this means my lunch for today is already packed. And Scott said his shrimp yesterday was muy tasty.

I told Scott perhaps next week we could think about healthier options. We'll see how that goes. Frankly, this is a HUGE step in the right direction and I'm proud of us just for this.

Taking Down the Terrorist*

* Terrorist in this case is defined as anything that terrifies me

Last Monday night, Cat came over to drink crappy wine. Oh - did I say crappy? I meant Crapple (which for some reason isn't listed on the website for the "winery" that makes it). We watched Saved! (oh how I love that movie) and caught up on old gossip topics.

While Cat was here, I visited the bathroom and was about to leave when I discovered the world's largest roach (actual length: somewhere between 1 inch and 3 feet) chilling out on the wall right next to the door frame, waiting to fly at me as I exited. I was trapped! So I did what any clear-thinking person would do: I grabbed my can of spray deodorant, stood up on the edge of the bathtub, and grabbed the mop that lives in the bathroom. Well, after I sprayed the terrorist, he started to run towards the corner. That's when I started in with the mop. I jousted with the terrorist until he fell off the wall and into a canvas bag. Then I banged on the bag a few more times, despite losing visual contact with the target. I knew that I had hit it with the deodorant, and at least made contact with the mop, so even if it wasn't dead I was pretty sure it was fatally wounded.

The roach never reappeared that night. Scott looked for it when he got home from work (a 16 hour shift, mind you) and didn't find it. For the last few days, the giant industrial size can of RAID has lived on my nightstand, just in case I got attacked in the night.

Fast-forward to last night. I got home from work and headed straight to the bathroom (as is my custom - I loathe employee bathrooms). After peeing and changing into my pajamas, I was standing in front of the sink brushing my hair when I spotted something behind me. Now, since I've been seeing phantom roaches in every shadow ever since Monday, I didn't immediately panic. I turned around and there he was - my nemesis - at the top of the wall in the corner of the shower - the opposite corner from where I had last seen him. And then I panicked.

The plan came to me almost immediately. I closed the shower curtain, ran to the bedroom to get the RAID ("why oh why did I ever take it out of the bathroom???") and ran back to the bathroom. I sprayed the RAID up into the corner for a good 15-30 seconds until the roach started twitching and fell from the wall. He landed on the top shelf of the corner unit in our bathtub and I could hear buzzing and twitching as he bounced around between Scott's bottles of face wash. And then I closed the bathroom door and waited for Scott to get home.

And this time, the damn roach stayed where I left him. He had wedged himself between the shelf and the wall, and was still twitching when Scott flushed him down the toilet (apparently it flipped off Scott and yelled something along the lines of "I'll be back..." as it was swirling towards the sewage treatment plant). Then I felt bad because Scott had to wash the RAID off of all of his various containers. But at least I warned him that he would need to do it.

I still did a full bathroom inspection this morning before I got in the shower. It seemed the sensible thing to do. And I probably will continue to do so for the next few days. Because that's how you stop terrorists: vigilance and 1/2 can of RAID.

Fireworks and Other Randomness

So I learned some things last night about my workplace:

1) The second floor gift shop (home of the "cheap" $5 batteries) is an excellent place to watch fireworks from. Of course, I was only in said shop at fireworks time because I was leaving work early to beat the firework crowd out of the area so I didn't stop to watch.

2) The lot where I park my car: also an excellent place to watch the show. Plus out there you get the bonus symphony of 18 car alarms going off at once every time a large shell explodes. Nothing says "God Bless America" like an 18-car salute!

3) A lot of people park in very stupid places (along a 6-lane highway? sure... why not?) to watch fireworks. Why not just park in 30 minute parking and go down to the lagoon? Duh!

So I really only caught a couple disjointed seconds of the big fireworks last night. That wasn't such a big deal to me - they're the same every year. Of course, then I pulled into my apartment complex and it was exactly as Scott had warned me ahead of time - like a war zone. There were 4 or 5 different people around the complex shooting fireworks up into the sky (I was under the impression that anything that launches is illegal... but what do I know? I grew up in a state were sparklers were illegal). Our actual street was filled with delightful sulfur-tinged smoke. And Scott kept watching the drunken morons across the street waiting for them to blow up their own truck. It never happened.

Since I worked yesterday, I have a bonus day off today... until 6 when I have to leave for choir. I started today with a little blog-cleaning. I added and removed some of the blogs on my side bar and did some other minor tweaking. Also on my agenda: trip to Wal Mart to buy cat litter. Stat!

What a thrilling life I lead!