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5.26.2009 ||> Memorial Day and beyond
After a weekend of Memorial Day partying,Tony and I are settled back into his apartment and trying to get errands done before I go to New York. I'm still a bit apprehensive to tell the truth because I still don't know when or how I'm coming to the place I'll be in for the next three months. But I'm also really excited, because I think New York is going to be really fun.
This last weekend we went to two friends' houses, and they couldn't be more different. The first was with people Tony had grown up with in their beautifully decorated, spotless home. The second was with his college friends in their house that is like Tony's ultimate dream of a fixer upper. I really liked both, and it really shows that it doesn't matter where you live, or how, but the people. And that there is beauty to be found in different living situations.
Labels: friends, holiday, vacation
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On every road trip we go to, the return trip is always taken in a different direction than how we begin. That way, we get a different adventure both times. The weekend of the 4th, Tony had the idea to go to Centralia, PA, which is an old mining town that was evacuated and demolished in the 80s because of a coal mine fire that is set to burn under the town for 250 years. You might be more familiar with it than you think if you watched the movie Silent Hill. The fictional town was based n Centralia.
It was pretty eerie, and I've been to ghost towns before on field trips in school. It was like we were entering the beginning of a horror movie, where the kids go on a trip for some kicks and get dismembered by the guy in the mask. Of course, since we didn't do any drugs or have sex there, we survived.
There was this part of the highway that had been so ruined by the fire that it had to be closed down and another highway was created in its place. So, of course, Tony wanted to find the old highway and walk down it. It was pretty cool, and obviously lots of kids used it, as was indicated by the spray paint all over the old asphalt (Look Here if UR GAY!!! or "Welcum to Hel"). The part where the street was ruined was very hot, and sort of reminded me of the post-apocalyptic movies where people walk down the now abandoned roads in the faint hope they will find more survivors. (Anyone else going to Boulder, CO if that happens?)Then we saw a Black Bear and booked it out of there before we all got eaten.
But over all, it was a great trip. We all had headaches for days. Because the fire was burning up coal without a filter, we were inhaling mercury and arsenic as well as the soot. I don't know how the people who live there (Population: 11) do it.
Labels: friends, holiday, vacation
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When I am going on a trip, I usually try to bring my camera this weekend. This weekend was a perfect example of why I like to do that, so of course I forgot the damn thing and have no pictures.
On Friday Tony and I took a road trip into central-eastern Pennsylvania, which is incredibly rural. Like, cue the dueling banjos rural. His old college friend was having a wedding reception/4th of July celebration/pig roast at his... compound. I really don't know how else to describe it. It was in the middle of nowhere. It took us one country highway, then an off road dirt path. Then, we had to park in a field and go by foot down another dirt path to get there. Then, as soon as we did, it was like... the most beautiful lodge ever. Next to a lake, there was this beautiful log building, fire pits and abundant greenery everywhere.
I don't know how they got all the food there, but there was wine, sangria, margarita machines, a beer wagon. For food, I was not interested in the pig roast, but there was table upon table stacked with food. I gorged myself on spaghetti, brownies, chocolate-covered strawberries, rice pilaf, and salad.
We were there for about 7 and a half hours total, beginning around lunch time and ending at 11 pm after the private firework show. I have to say that it was the most amazing thing I've seen in a long time. We were about 15 feet from where the fireworks went off and it lasted about 45 minutes, with about four finales. Tony estimated that they probably spent about ten thousand dollars on the fireworks.
It was the nicest 4th of July I've spent in a long time and it just kept getting better. We left the party still going, and called a hotel that night. It was like nothing could go wrong that day, and it was amazing.
Labels: friends, holiday, vacation
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I flew back home last week at this time. It was a 20 hour flight in which I went backwards in time and saw two sunrises.
I am getting all my pictures rounded up and I will have some funny stories to tell. In the meantime, have a happy holiday season. I am working today, have tomorrow off, and will be working the rest of the week after that. I actually have 3 hours of paid time off left, but I guess that's all gone now.
Last week was the company's annual Holiday Party, and I don't say much about work here, but I will say that the party was full of wacky fun. Like when a Director of Sales pole danced. She's about as old as my mom, and couldn't even say she was drunk! But there she was, hugging that pole for all it's worth while the company laughed. I hope that the pictures I have will secure my job for some time...
We were also kicked out of the bar and the place shut down early because we "broke the law." Which was pretty stupid, but I had a feeling that something was going to come to a head earlier that night when the bartender tried to refuse us shots at an open bar. The reason why it's open is because we are paying for it!
I don't get drunk or out of control except on rare occasions, so I was stone cold sober the whole time. So the next day when everyone came in hungover and wanting to either die or eat the greasiest food imaginable, there I was, plugging away efficiently. It was like a free day, with no one able to keep track! Excellent.
Labels: holiday, vacation, work
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My nephew's 1st birthday is coming up on the 26th, and my first response was "Oh, man, I gotta get something for him!" But now I think I'm taking a step back.
1. My neices (who I faithfully get birthday and Christmas presents for) have never really gotten me anything (and I know it wouldn't be them anyway - but still). On my birthday, they did color pieces of paper that were inserted in a card - and that's all I need really. My nieces rock. So maybe this reason isn't so big.
2. He's 1. It's not like he's going to remember the Super Duper Toy(!!!) I got him.
3. I think I have kid fatigue. Three kids is 6 times a year for presents, plus Mom, plus Snuggles, plus the twins, plus my aunt, uncle and cousins. That's some serious cash I have been shelling out already. I'm not sure if I can put any more people on the list. Any more people and it'll be A Very Dollar Store Christmas.
So... a card? With a pretty picture?
I am the greatest aunt EVER!
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This year, I have done a lot of thinking about war and our troops. I have had discussions, debates and arguments with people about body armor, helmets, the appropriateness of beer ads exploiting patriotism and how to get us out of Iraq.
I don't normally post about my anti Iraq war feelings on my website, even though I think about it every day, mostly because I don't want people trolling here telling me to get out of the country, or something equally vicious. Like I don't support people in the military or something. And my website is my website, where I am allowed to be as nutty or boring as I choose. It allows me to write in a forum where I can go back and either remember or cringe at how I wrote before. (Usually, it's cringing.)
But let me say this: this weekend, like all weekends I support everyone who has gone over to Iraq or Afghanistan, or South Korea, Vietnam, or Germany and France. Anyone that has had to fight and die and get PTSD or lose a body part so far away from home, I feel for you. I appreciate you, even when we disagree on politics, or even if I don't like you as a person.
So this weekend, I implore those of us who have never been in the military to help our soldiers the rest of the year. Call a congressperson about increased funding for VA care, or donate to a fund that supplies better helmets or body armor. Write to a soldier on the front lines or send a care package. But do something other than adding a magnet to a car or just eating barbecue. And enjoy the long weekend, I know I will!
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Candlemas is tomorrow.
In Wicca, we call Candlemas Imbolc. However, I like the name Candlemas, because it really does show off the festival of lights feeling I get from the holiday. The first of the new year, it is the time where spring is almost there. It's the most painful time to me for this reason. I hate winter and the snow and ice that come with it (why again did I leave Arizona?), so I really look forward to the spring kicking winter's ass. During Candlemas, I fill my space and life with light, in the hope that the sunlight will do so shortly.
Of course, now that we have global warming, the sun does come sooner. So I count my blessings.
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The funniest thing that happened in New York was on the way there. My boyfriend's mother asked me if I smoked pot.
If it had been anyone else, I would have been totally put on the spot. But since she used to grow it in the childhood home, I was more nervous that she would think I'm weird for not smoking. So, I explained that while I did try it, I really didn't like it. Maybe I'll go into it further later, but it makes my throat feel like it is being fried alive and being stoned was never my thing anyway.
The reply was classic, coming from a 67 year old woman I am trying to impress for my boyfriend's sake: "Oh, that's just because you only smoked the bad shit. If you smoked good shit, that wouldn't happen."
Suddenly, I got a vision of my own mother, shivering suddenly in the warmth of Arizona. She doesn't know why, but it feels like someone just walked over her grave.
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The longest night is tonight. Tonight is my holiday, almost forgotten in the debates about other holidays that tangentally affect me too. Will this store be papered in blue and white, or red and green?
Tonight, for me, it will be black. At least, until the Lord comes back and light is restored to those of us praying for an end to cold weather.
Happy Solstice, and a Cool Yule!
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I have been surfing the Internet lately for new and inventive ways to wrap presents. I also have been to the library and checked out books. For the first time in my life, I am finally happy with my wrapping job this year, even if the packages could be described as "eclectic" at the very least.
Growing up, my sister was the Appointed Wrapper of Everything. Girl easily used a roll of scotch tape per 10 gifts, but they looked picture perfect, all the creases aligned perfectly and like you paid some "professional" to do it for $5 per box. My stepfather, if I recall correctly, paid her 50 cents.
My presents, on the other hand, looked like they had been spending their days in football practice before stumbling in, half broken. This year however, I have been going over to Japanese gift wrapping sites after a friend mentioned that they wrap presents in Japan like they do origami. Who doesn't want to do gift wrapping origami? It's got to be more interesting than the usual "fold at the bottom and the two sides, flip over and affix a bow."
The Japanese believe that any package, no matter how trivial means something. A gift is even more so, as it is a reflection of your heart. So this year, I really want the presents to be about how much I care for my family and friends, and I will reflect that in both the choice present and way it is presented.
Labels: family, friends, holiday
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