For those of you who don't know, I made it back to Green Bay safe and sound and without any problems whatsoever. I must have been having especially good karmic luck that travel day because I even got bumped up to first class on my flight from Seattle to Minneapolis.
The last few days have been a whirlwind of family time, holiday travel, visitations, conversations, relaxation, and sleep. It's been delightful!
I literally sat around in my pajamas all day even while hosting visitors for breakfast, watching the Packer game during lunch, and waiting for my brother to finish up cooking us all dinner. It's almost time for bed again and I still have a week of lounging left!
XO.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Snowy Seattle
I've never seen anything like this.
I'm serious. Seattle, the city where it rarely snows and the place which is completely immobilized if an inch of such aforementioned snow should fall, has received between 1 and 3 feet of snow. FEET OF SNOW. For a city with 27 snow plows and a million hills (good grief), this is A SHIT TON OF SNOW. This is also no small feat.
Never before have I had to dig my car out of the snow so that I could move it. Never before have I gone to a gas station only to find that they are (like many others) out of gas due to the fact that gas trucks cannot get into the city. Never before have I seen 2 feet of snow in the middle of a busy intersection. Never before have I had to pour hot water onto snow before driving on it to ensure I don't get stuck. Never before have I gone berserk driving on the main arterial roads due to snow being so packed down underneath me that it shakes my car and makes it sound like I am veering off the highway onto those strips of cement that tell you you're about to veer off the highway. Never before have I seen people cross country skiing down the roads in lieu of driving. (They're using their snow shoes, too.) Never before have I had to swerve to avoid so many tire chains on the highway. Never before have I had to run red lights to avoid stopping so my momentum will carry me up each hill. Never before have I had to call 15+ taxi, shuttle, and town car companies just to find a service that will drive me to the airport. Never before have I had to pay $129 to get to the airport from 20 miles away. Never before have I seen so many flights canceled. Never before have I been so nervous that my flight will be canceled. Never before have I seen anything so beautiful or so devastating to an entire, functioning, populous city.
If there's anything to say after what I just wrote, it's this: This is absolute insanity!
I'm serious. Seattle, the city where it rarely snows and the place which is completely immobilized if an inch of such aforementioned snow should fall, has received between 1 and 3 feet of snow. FEET OF SNOW. For a city with 27 snow plows and a million hills (good grief), this is A SHIT TON OF SNOW. This is also no small feat.
Never before have I had to dig my car out of the snow so that I could move it. Never before have I gone to a gas station only to find that they are (like many others) out of gas due to the fact that gas trucks cannot get into the city. Never before have I seen 2 feet of snow in the middle of a busy intersection. Never before have I had to pour hot water onto snow before driving on it to ensure I don't get stuck. Never before have I gone berserk driving on the main arterial roads due to snow being so packed down underneath me that it shakes my car and makes it sound like I am veering off the highway onto those strips of cement that tell you you're about to veer off the highway. Never before have I seen people cross country skiing down the roads in lieu of driving. (They're using their snow shoes, too.) Never before have I had to swerve to avoid so many tire chains on the highway. Never before have I had to run red lights to avoid stopping so my momentum will carry me up each hill. Never before have I had to call 15+ taxi, shuttle, and town car companies just to find a service that will drive me to the airport. Never before have I had to pay $129 to get to the airport from 20 miles away. Never before have I seen so many flights canceled. Never before have I been so nervous that my flight will be canceled. Never before have I seen anything so beautiful or so devastating to an entire, functioning, populous city.
If there's anything to say after what I just wrote, it's this: This is absolute insanity!
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Soldiers of Misfortune
There were five tragedies this week.
Tragedy #1: I ordered an egg salad sandwich on Monday at a cafe in St. Louis only to find there it contained celery. I despise celery. I wouldn't eat it if I was starving to death.
Tragedy #2: Flying into Dallas on Monday night was particularly interesting:
My colleague and I had just flew into Love Airport and were delighted that our flight was on time despite delays over the rest of the country due to the "Arctic Front" that was conveniently blowing down from Canada. Not unlike normal, we picked up our baggage at the claim and strolled outside (it was a frigid 20 degrees) to find ourselves a taxi. The first cab was a car and I asked if we would be able to fit all of our luggage into the sedan. The taxi facilitator assured me that we would be just fine. So, we hopped in the cab (it was cold in there as well) and I dictated to the cab driver as he punched our hotel address into his GPS system.
"Can you turn up the heat?" I asked. To no avail. He, a small man presumably hailing from Indian judging by his dark skin and accent, didn't seem to hear me. "Can you turn up the heat?" I asked again as my colleague giggled in the seat next to me.
"Uh, ma'am...the heat, uh, it no work. It mess-ed up." Well, you can imagine that this was a bit of a problem not only considering we were cold (I didn't bring a jacket!), but also because both Dallas and the cab were covered in ice due to a storm that had ravaged the city that afternoon. This also meant that the defroster on the car didn't work.
"What?" I replied. "Perhaps we should get another cab, sir." But he wouldn't have it. "I okay, ma'am. We get to your hotel." Well, alright. What choice did I have? I thought to myself. This is a job that requires me to trust others, especially cab drivers. But can he even see out of his windshield?
Finally, after a solid ten minutes of driving, and just before we were to enter a highway cluttered with cars that seemed to be traveling at speeds of under 10 miles per hour, he hesitated. "Uh, ma'am...I drop you off. I worried about safety of driving on freeway. I want you safe." And within a few moments, we found ourselves stranded on the curbside of a Shell gas station. The driver didn't even help us with our bags, nor did he call us another cab, he just left us for dead at a random convenience store in a random part of Dallas with no idea where we were or where we were going.
We hurried into the store (without paying the driver) and I immediately asked the clerk to call us a cab or car service so we could safely get to our hotel which, as I had discovered, was about 20 miles due west. He agreed to call us a reliable service. We waited for approximately 25 minutes during which featured encounters with a homeless gentleman who stopped inside to go to the restroom on a break from standing at the corner with a sign that read "Hungry" and a student nurse who had just suffered a flat tire and was crying because she was stranded in a bad part of town. (That REALLY made us feel better.)
Finally, after we laughed at the situation once more for good measure, the car service pulled up and we ran to get inside the vehicle. In the end, we did make it to our hotel, but only after enduring a rather "entertaining evening," if you will.
Tragedy #3: At the Dallas airport on Tuesday night, I wore a dress. Unfortunately, I was also traveling with a backpack. These two items do not go well together. On three separate occasions that night (once in Dallas and twice in El Paso), three different people ran up behind me to tell me that my dress had gotten caught underneath the backpack and I was flashing everyone behind me. After I said "Thanks" to him, one guy even said, "Thanks for the show." Oops.
I do love attention, but I swear I didn't do it on purpose.
Tragedy #4: I got delayed for 3 hours at the Phoenix airport on Thursday because of snow in Seattle (ARGH!) and I got delightfully drunk. After boarding, I fell asleep and woke up in the snow-covered, immobilized city that is my current home. JH completely refused to pick me up from the airport (and I don't really blame him since I'm unsure of his ablility to drive in snow) and I arrived at the taxi line only to find that it was (literally) 4 hours long. (I am not joking.) Shuttle Express was booked, I couldn't get a limo or car service. So, after I freaked out for a bit, I rented a car and drove to JH's apartment in all of my fury. I'm telling you, Seattle has been a ZOO with all of this crazy weather!
Speaking of snow, we're supposed to have the storm of the century tonight. I'll let you know how that goes. It started around 5pm and is supposed to snow until late tomorrow night. Let me remind you that Seattle is EXTREMELY immature when it comes to dealing with snow and its removal. I can't even begin to count how many roads are closed in this God-forsaken city due to ice and snow. But I will say this: The hills are TERRIFYING. Mark my words.
Tragedy #5: My most amazing bf has abandoned me during the holidays for a cruise in Mexico. At least now I know where I stand. In all seriousness, I am actually abandoning him for Green Bay. That's right, I chose GB over JH. Ooooooo. We're on.
And finally, some good news! I'll be home (in GB, if clarification is needed) in three days. Yay! For now, I'm enjoying my time in Seattle.
Ciao for now!
XO.
Tragedy #1: I ordered an egg salad sandwich on Monday at a cafe in St. Louis only to find there it contained celery. I despise celery. I wouldn't eat it if I was starving to death.
Tragedy #2: Flying into Dallas on Monday night was particularly interesting:
My colleague and I had just flew into Love Airport and were delighted that our flight was on time despite delays over the rest of the country due to the "Arctic Front" that was conveniently blowing down from Canada. Not unlike normal, we picked up our baggage at the claim and strolled outside (it was a frigid 20 degrees) to find ourselves a taxi. The first cab was a car and I asked if we would be able to fit all of our luggage into the sedan. The taxi facilitator assured me that we would be just fine. So, we hopped in the cab (it was cold in there as well) and I dictated to the cab driver as he punched our hotel address into his GPS system.
"Can you turn up the heat?" I asked. To no avail. He, a small man presumably hailing from Indian judging by his dark skin and accent, didn't seem to hear me. "Can you turn up the heat?" I asked again as my colleague giggled in the seat next to me.
"Uh, ma'am...the heat, uh, it no work. It mess-ed up." Well, you can imagine that this was a bit of a problem not only considering we were cold (I didn't bring a jacket!), but also because both Dallas and the cab were covered in ice due to a storm that had ravaged the city that afternoon. This also meant that the defroster on the car didn't work.
"What?" I replied. "Perhaps we should get another cab, sir." But he wouldn't have it. "I okay, ma'am. We get to your hotel." Well, alright. What choice did I have? I thought to myself. This is a job that requires me to trust others, especially cab drivers. But can he even see out of his windshield?
Finally, after a solid ten minutes of driving, and just before we were to enter a highway cluttered with cars that seemed to be traveling at speeds of under 10 miles per hour, he hesitated. "Uh, ma'am...I drop you off. I worried about safety of driving on freeway. I want you safe." And within a few moments, we found ourselves stranded on the curbside of a Shell gas station. The driver didn't even help us with our bags, nor did he call us another cab, he just left us for dead at a random convenience store in a random part of Dallas with no idea where we were or where we were going.
We hurried into the store (without paying the driver) and I immediately asked the clerk to call us a cab or car service so we could safely get to our hotel which, as I had discovered, was about 20 miles due west. He agreed to call us a reliable service. We waited for approximately 25 minutes during which featured encounters with a homeless gentleman who stopped inside to go to the restroom on a break from standing at the corner with a sign that read "Hungry" and a student nurse who had just suffered a flat tire and was crying because she was stranded in a bad part of town. (That REALLY made us feel better.)
Finally, after we laughed at the situation once more for good measure, the car service pulled up and we ran to get inside the vehicle. In the end, we did make it to our hotel, but only after enduring a rather "entertaining evening," if you will.
Tragedy #3: At the Dallas airport on Tuesday night, I wore a dress. Unfortunately, I was also traveling with a backpack. These two items do not go well together. On three separate occasions that night (once in Dallas and twice in El Paso), three different people ran up behind me to tell me that my dress had gotten caught underneath the backpack and I was flashing everyone behind me. After I said "Thanks" to him, one guy even said, "Thanks for the show." Oops.
I do love attention, but I swear I didn't do it on purpose.
Tragedy #4: I got delayed for 3 hours at the Phoenix airport on Thursday because of snow in Seattle (ARGH!) and I got delightfully drunk. After boarding, I fell asleep and woke up in the snow-covered, immobilized city that is my current home. JH completely refused to pick me up from the airport (and I don't really blame him since I'm unsure of his ablility to drive in snow) and I arrived at the taxi line only to find that it was (literally) 4 hours long. (I am not joking.) Shuttle Express was booked, I couldn't get a limo or car service. So, after I freaked out for a bit, I rented a car and drove to JH's apartment in all of my fury. I'm telling you, Seattle has been a ZOO with all of this crazy weather!
Speaking of snow, we're supposed to have the storm of the century tonight. I'll let you know how that goes. It started around 5pm and is supposed to snow until late tomorrow night. Let me remind you that Seattle is EXTREMELY immature when it comes to dealing with snow and its removal. I can't even begin to count how many roads are closed in this God-forsaken city due to ice and snow. But I will say this: The hills are TERRIFYING. Mark my words.
Tragedy #5: My most amazing bf has abandoned me during the holidays for a cruise in Mexico. At least now I know where I stand. In all seriousness, I am actually abandoning him for Green Bay. That's right, I chose GB over JH. Ooooooo. We're on.
And finally, some good news! I'll be home (in GB, if clarification is needed) in three days. Yay! For now, I'm enjoying my time in Seattle.
Ciao for now!
XO.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Sickity Sick Sick
I'm not sick yet, but I can feel it starting to infiltrate my body, mind, and soul. It's in there, hibernating, but still too frightened to rear it's ugly, snot-filled, ache-inducing head. I need a break. And the break will be well-deserved considering I've been working my ass off these past few weeks. Harder than I've ever worked, or so it seems.
I'm in the office today which is a nice change from traveling. I've been on two-day conferences all week (as opposed to the typical one-day seminars) and I'm beginning to go a little bit crazy in the head. It might be the sickness taking over. From inside my head, it feels double its normal size. You know, I don't think that's a good sign.
This weekend is busy because when you wake up one morning and find yourself as one half of a couple, you also find yourself adhering to, committing to, CHAINED TO someone else's schedule. (Oh, I'm kidding. I'm just being dramatic so you all feel sorry for me. I need a little pity in my life.) There's a Christmas party tonight, a day of Christmas fun tomorrow, a much-needed Christmas eyebrow waxing and haircut tomorrow afternoon, and a Christmas wine-tasting event tomorrow night. I'm even hoping to squeeze in White Christmas (my favorite movie) and some Christmas cookies to boot. Christmas is taking over my life! (Along with this sickness.) I really shouldn't jinx myself in such ways. Louise Hay always says that thinking with intention is one of the most powerful ways to attract ideas into one's life. By intentionally thinking I'm sick, I'm bound to be sick in about 72 hours. Egads! (That's my favorite answer to a crossword puzzle clue.)
I'm healthy and strong. I'm full of life and energy. I'm enthusiastic and joyful.
I'm full of shit! Merry Xmas, G-damnit!
I'm in the office today which is a nice change from traveling. I've been on two-day conferences all week (as opposed to the typical one-day seminars) and I'm beginning to go a little bit crazy in the head. It might be the sickness taking over. From inside my head, it feels double its normal size. You know, I don't think that's a good sign.
This weekend is busy because when you wake up one morning and find yourself as one half of a couple, you also find yourself adhering to, committing to, CHAINED TO someone else's schedule. (Oh, I'm kidding. I'm just being dramatic so you all feel sorry for me. I need a little pity in my life.) There's a Christmas party tonight, a day of Christmas fun tomorrow, a much-needed Christmas eyebrow waxing and haircut tomorrow afternoon, and a Christmas wine-tasting event tomorrow night. I'm even hoping to squeeze in White Christmas (my favorite movie) and some Christmas cookies to boot. Christmas is taking over my life! (Along with this sickness.) I really shouldn't jinx myself in such ways. Louise Hay always says that thinking with intention is one of the most powerful ways to attract ideas into one's life. By intentionally thinking I'm sick, I'm bound to be sick in about 72 hours. Egads! (That's my favorite answer to a crossword puzzle clue.)
I'm healthy and strong. I'm full of life and energy. I'm enthusiastic and joyful.
I'm full of shit! Merry Xmas, G-damnit!
Friday, December 5, 2008
My Xmas List
I know this is a popular post every year along with my infamous "Birthday List" (items carry over, if you didn't realize), so I thought I'd type it out again this year. I think most of you like the specificity and conviction with which I write this list. BUT, I am reluctant to post it because I don't actually WANT any gifts - I don't believe in Christmas presents! It's my new thing for multiple reasons:
1. I do not affiliate myself with a religion and thus, only celebrate Christmas for the food and presents (and the company, I suppose). This, I feel, is greedy and gluttonous on my part. I need nothing (well...except for what's listed). So, in an effort to curb my desire for presents, I have focused on making birthdays more important. Christmas, to me, is a time of family and fun.
2. Part of the pleasure of Christmas is having kids around. Children are no longer a part of my immediate family (and let's keep it that way for a while, Tyler John) and thus, I shouldn't have to get anyone gifts. Hurumph.
3. I HATE FEELING OBLIGATED TO BUY PEOPLE GIFTS. Except on their birthdays. I love birthdays!
4. I'm saving my money. I'm donating my time this year!
As most of you already know, this list is compiled throughout the year whenever I have a brilliant idea (which is often). So, without any further ado, here is my Christmas list for 2008.
-Sonicare toothbrush
-Brightly colored high heeled shoes
-Sephora giftcard or anything from this amazing store
-Nice bed sheets (high thread count)
-Boyfriend watch (Fossil has nice ones)
-Leather bomber jacket (let's make it real leather, people)
-Teeth grill (preferably one that says my name)
-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vintage tee shirt
-Balderdash (such a fun game)
-Yoga mat (I've been needing one for a while)
-Ralph by Ralph Lauren perfume
-Notorious by Ralph Lauren perfume
-Chance by Chanel perfume
-CDs: Britney, Beyonce, Leona Lewis (I'm old school)
-And if you really like me, you can get me a new MacBook.
There's more, but I'll leave you with that.
Happy Holidays!
1. I do not affiliate myself with a religion and thus, only celebrate Christmas for the food and presents (and the company, I suppose). This, I feel, is greedy and gluttonous on my part. I need nothing (well...except for what's listed). So, in an effort to curb my desire for presents, I have focused on making birthdays more important. Christmas, to me, is a time of family and fun.
2. Part of the pleasure of Christmas is having kids around. Children are no longer a part of my immediate family (and let's keep it that way for a while, Tyler John) and thus, I shouldn't have to get anyone gifts. Hurumph.
3. I HATE FEELING OBLIGATED TO BUY PEOPLE GIFTS. Except on their birthdays. I love birthdays!
4. I'm saving my money. I'm donating my time this year!
As most of you already know, this list is compiled throughout the year whenever I have a brilliant idea (which is often). So, without any further ado, here is my Christmas list for 2008.
-Sonicare toothbrush
-Brightly colored high heeled shoes
-Sephora giftcard or anything from this amazing store
-Nice bed sheets (high thread count)
-Boyfriend watch (Fossil has nice ones)
-Leather bomber jacket (let's make it real leather, people)
-Teeth grill (preferably one that says my name)
-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vintage tee shirt
-Balderdash (such a fun game)
-Yoga mat (I've been needing one for a while)
-Ralph by Ralph Lauren perfume
-Notorious by Ralph Lauren perfume
-Chance by Chanel perfume
-CDs: Britney, Beyonce, Leona Lewis (I'm old school)
-And if you really like me, you can get me a new MacBook.
There's more, but I'll leave you with that.
Happy Holidays!
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