Cleaning out my Instapaper links...
Interesting Reads:
Trust your memory? Maybe you shouldn't
"One conversation with Elizabeth Loftus may shake your confidence in everything you think you remember. Loftus is a cognitive psychologist and expert on the malleability of human memory. She can, quite literally, change your mind.
Her work is reminiscent of films like "Memento" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," where what you believe happened is probably far from the truth -- whether you're the eyewitness to a crime or just trying to move past a bad relationship." [via]
Masturbation Is at the Root of the Culture Wars
"The 19th century's secularized anxiety about masturbation was rooted in a fearful reaction to women's growing demands for political and economic power. Simply put, doctors and moralists feared that masturbation made men more dependent—and women less so. Kellogg and Graham worried that boys who masturbated would not only lose their physical vitality, but would become more easily influenced and even dominated by women. The boy who could resist pleasuring himself as a teen was learning the strength he'd need not to allow himself to be manipulated and hen-pecked by his future wife. At the same time, Granville, Baker-Brown, and their peers worried that a woman who learned to give herself sexual pleasure might pursue self-sufficiency in other areas. At a time of rising male anxiety about feminist demands for suffrage, female masturbation became an unsettling symbol of women's independence." [via]
Pope Francis: Being an atheist is alight as long as you do good
I already like him more than Pope Palpatine! [via]
For the Homestead:
Use a French Press to Add Flavor to Your Beer
These all sound delicious, but I really can't wait to try the Framboise with cocoa nibs - yum! [via]
The Best Pocket-Sized Tools for Your Inner MacGuyver
How to Build the Essential Toolbox for Every Level of DIY
The Sweethome
"It’s a list of the best home gear, each item chosen mindfully and in accordance with many hours of research and interviews with the world’s most knowledgable experts and testers, all in service of backing up our own testing and opinions. It’s not a blog. We don’t do news and we don’t post multiple times a day—we just want to help you pick out great gear and get on with your life." [via]
Literary Fun:
Four Literary Pub Crawls We Love
How to make a multi-book secret stash
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Friday, June 28, 2013
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
NYC 2013, Part One
Last week, Jon and I went to NYC. It was an incredibly packed trip - we had something planned almost every day! This is already a super-long post (really unusual for a blog that rarely gets updated anymore), so I'm dividing it up. Here are the highlights from the first half of the week:
Saturday
Our first night, we went to a D20 Burlesque show. This one was especially awesome, because it was a tribute to Joss Whedon!
Even the drinks were Whedon-themed! I had a Slayer-Ade and it was delicious. 
"Anya" and "Xander" sang and danced (and stripped) to "I'll Never Tell" from the "Once More with Feeling" episode of Buffy. 
The best was definitely Astonishing X-Man Cyclops - he even had tasseled pasties over his eyes to mimic optic blasts!
Sunday
That evening, we saw ASSSSCAT 3000 at the UCB Theater. It was so crowded, we actually sat ON the stage. I didn't take any pictures in the theater, since that was a big no-no (and would've been really noticeable during the improv, considering we were practically sitting in their laps), but one of the shows is available on YouTube:
Monday
At the crack of dawn (seriously), we arrived at the Dominique Ansel Bakery to wait in line for our cronuts:
Let me tell you, the whole cronut thing is NUTS. Jon discovered them while he was researching stuff for us to do in the city, and the hullabaloo over them only intensified in the days leading up to our trip. This is an approximation of a conversation I had with my mom the day before we left:
Mom: Are you guys going to get cronuts while you're there?
Me: How do you even know what a cronut is?
Mom: They were talking about them on the news.
Holy cow. You know it's big when my mom has heard about it. So anyway, we got to the bakery a good two hours before the opening and ended up being 10th and 11th in line. One of the men in line in front of us turned out to be a homeless guy who had been paid $40 by a yuppie to wait in line for him. (!) When Dominique opened up the shop, he was really nice and said hi to everyone, but he refused to allow one guy in because he was an honest-to-God CRONUT SCALPER. Seriously, these people buy the cronuts for $5, then turn around and sell them for $20 - $50. EACH.
Long story short(-er), the cronuts were delicious. Maybe not worth standing in line for two hours again, but definitely worth it for the experience. We also went back to the bakery later in the week to try some of the other pastries; I actually preferred the salted-caramel eclair to the cronut.
Our Monday night was spent at my favorite Brooklyn bar, The Way Station. It's Doctor Who-themed! The walls are decorated in steampunk paraphernalia and the bathroom entrance is a TARDIS (because it's bigger on the inside):
The reason we went to the Way Station on this particular night, however, was because of the band playing there: The Doubleclicks! My current favorite song (and not just because they dedicated it to me, the only English major in the crowd) is "Oh, Mr. Darcy," which you can hear here:
Tuesday
We didn't have anything planned for Tuesday, but while I was getting ready in the morning Jon managed to get us tickets to that day's taping of The Daily Show. This involved going to Hell's Kitchen in the afternoon to stand in line to pick up the tickets, then coming back an hour and a half later to wait in line for the actual taping.
Continuing our comedy motif, that night we went to the Sweet Comedy Show. It was kind of a weird show - the comedians were great, but there were some very drunk hecklers in the balcony that really detracted from the show and threw off the vibe of the room. By a strange coincidence, I had read this excellent essay by Patton Oswalt earlier the same day. To read about how hecklers can affect a show and then to actually see them do it was disconcerting. I was glad when they finally left (after being called out by the comedians and yelled at by the rest of us in the audience), but I felt really bad for the comedians who had to put up with them during their sets.
That seems like a really weird place to end this part of the travelogue, so instead I'll leave you with this list of the 10 most satisfying cases of hecklers getting destroyed. Stay tuned for Part Two!
Saturday
Our first night, we went to a D20 Burlesque show. This one was especially awesome, because it was a tribute to Joss Whedon!
Sunday
That evening, we saw ASSSSCAT 3000 at the UCB Theater. It was so crowded, we actually sat ON the stage. I didn't take any pictures in the theater, since that was a big no-no (and would've been really noticeable during the improv, considering we were practically sitting in their laps), but one of the shows is available on YouTube:
Monday
At the crack of dawn (seriously), we arrived at the Dominique Ansel Bakery to wait in line for our cronuts:
Mom: Are you guys going to get cronuts while you're there?
Me: How do you even know what a cronut is?
Mom: They were talking about them on the news.
Holy cow. You know it's big when my mom has heard about it. So anyway, we got to the bakery a good two hours before the opening and ended up being 10th and 11th in line. One of the men in line in front of us turned out to be a homeless guy who had been paid $40 by a yuppie to wait in line for him. (!) When Dominique opened up the shop, he was really nice and said hi to everyone, but he refused to allow one guy in because he was an honest-to-God CRONUT SCALPER. Seriously, these people buy the cronuts for $5, then turn around and sell them for $20 - $50. EACH.
Long story short(-er), the cronuts were delicious. Maybe not worth standing in line for two hours again, but definitely worth it for the experience. We also went back to the bakery later in the week to try some of the other pastries; I actually preferred the salted-caramel eclair to the cronut.
Our Monday night was spent at my favorite Brooklyn bar, The Way Station. It's Doctor Who-themed! The walls are decorated in steampunk paraphernalia and the bathroom entrance is a TARDIS (because it's bigger on the inside):
The reason we went to the Way Station on this particular night, however, was because of the band playing there: The Doubleclicks! My current favorite song (and not just because they dedicated it to me, the only English major in the crowd) is "Oh, Mr. Darcy," which you can hear here:
Tuesday
We didn't have anything planned for Tuesday, but while I was getting ready in the morning Jon managed to get us tickets to that day's taping of The Daily Show. This involved going to Hell's Kitchen in the afternoon to stand in line to pick up the tickets, then coming back an hour and a half later to wait in line for the actual taping.
Continuing our comedy motif, that night we went to the Sweet Comedy Show. It was kind of a weird show - the comedians were great, but there were some very drunk hecklers in the balcony that really detracted from the show and threw off the vibe of the room. By a strange coincidence, I had read this excellent essay by Patton Oswalt earlier the same day. To read about how hecklers can affect a show and then to actually see them do it was disconcerting. I was glad when they finally left (after being called out by the comedians and yelled at by the rest of us in the audience), but I felt really bad for the comedians who had to put up with them during their sets.
That seems like a really weird place to end this part of the travelogue, so instead I'll leave you with this list of the 10 most satisfying cases of hecklers getting destroyed. Stay tuned for Part Two!
Monday, June 22, 2009
There and back again, Part One
I've been home from New York for a few days now, but I'm still trying to adjust. The difference in weather is tremendous - I loved the rainy, cooler weather of NYC and now the heat and humidity of GA is really getting to me. Plus, I have a little over a week to move out of my apartment. The woman who bought it actually harassed my parents while I was away in an attempt to get me out sooner. She also called my roommate (at work!) and told the landlord that she wanted to bring in some contractors to replace the carpet, linoleum, and cabinets, so we needed to get out before the 30th. We finally had to threaten to sic the sheriff on her, and that seems to have done the trick. So it's been an interesting few days...
As far as the trip goes, oh, man, was it amazing!
Day One
I went to NYC with my friend Casey. She had never been to the city before, and had never flown on a plane, so this was a very exciting trip for her! We stayed at my sister's house Wednesday night, and she agreed to drive us to Hartsfield/Jackson in the morning. Our flight was scheduled for 11:40am. Not knowing what the traffic would be like, we left around 8. And then promptly turned around and went back, because I had left our plane ticket/shuttle bus/hotel information at the house. There was little traffic in Atlanta (a shock in and of itself), so we actually made it to the airport in record time. Add in the fact that our flight was delayed due to thunderstorms at Laguardia, and we had roughly three hours to kill before takeoff. Yikes.
The flight went well; it was a little bumpy due to the storms, but nothing too bad. And then, we took a shuttle to the hotel. It was pretty much the scariest ride I've ever been on. Seriously, this guy apparently thought that traffic lights, lanes, and speed limits were just guidelines - we almost hit pedestrians several times, and I was terrified that we would end up in the hospital before we ever saw any sights.
We eventually arrived safe and sound. Casey and I were the last ones dropped off, because we elected to stay in the quieter financial district, rather than in Midtown. Our hotel, Club Quarters Downtown, was just amazing. The people were friendly, the rooms were nice, it was right next to a Subway station (the 2/3, which was really convenient), and there was a refillable water bottle station on almost every floor. We unpacked, and then set off to see the city.
Our first stop was Times Square, because it was really easy to get to on the Subway and we were hungry! The rain had pretty much stopped by then, but it was really foggy:
We ended up eating at Red Lobster, because it was the first restaurant we came to. After walking around for a bit (and buying hoodies emblazoned with "New York," because we were cold and really wanted to look like tourists), we made our way over to Kabin in the East Village to see the anniversary show for Comedy as a Second Language. To be honest, we only went because one of my favorite comedians, Max Silvestri, had e-mailed me to say that he would be there. But it was a great show! We ended up staying for about three hours, drinking $2 PBRs and laughing our asses off. Of course, then we were stuck trying to find our way back to the hotel at 2 am. Drunk and lost in a strange city in the middle of the night - what a way to start a vacation!
Day Two
We didn't set the alarm when we got back to the hotel, so we ended up oversleeping on Friday. Big surprise there, I'm sure. We got up and made our way over to Brooklyn, stopping at a comic book store (natch) before hitting up Mezcal's for brunch. I really don't understand the negative reviews on Yelp!, because they had the most amazing sangria and cerritos. Yum! Next came one of the things I was most looking forward to on this trip:
THE BROOKLYN SUPERHERO SUPPLY COMPANY!
Seriously, this was one of the funnest places we found. They sell "real" superhero supplies - costumes, disguises, anti-gravity devices, invisibility detector goggles, and, of course, capes:
(that's Casey - on the left - and me doing our "fighting for justice" stance)
This place is awesome. And all of the profit goes to 826NYC, an organization dedicated to helping students improve their writing skills. How could I not spend tons of time and money in this place?!
After getting our fill of Brooklyn, we went back to the hotel to change. Dinner was at Sardi's, the one restaurant Casey really wanted to go to. It's a bit expensive, but it's also a landmark, so it was fun to eat there. We made reservations, but didn't really need them as we got there before the big dinner rush. Which gave us plenty of time to eat and then head down to Christopher Street and...
THE CORALINE MUSICAL!
This show was the impetus for this whole trip, so I was really looking forward to it. Our tickets were great: second row, center. Casey hadn't read the book, but she had seen the movie, so I had to explain that it would probably be a little different. No Wybie, for example, which surprised her. The show was excellent! I was a little taken aback at having Jane Houdyshell play Coraline, but she was wonderful in the role. She does "bored tween" very well. Julian Fleisher was amazing as The Cat, and the music was great! I loved the toy pianos and the creepy vibe they helped create. My only complaint: it wasn't scary. It was more funny, or campy. Which is fine, I was just expecting it to be, I dunno, more intense than it was. But overall I really enjoyed it, and I wish I could get the soundtrack.
Aaaaaand I think this has gone on long enough for now. I actually started writing at 8:15, which...yikes. It took me way too long to upload pictures and find links. I'll post more about the trip throughout the week. There are a few more photos on my Flickr page (more coming when I get paid and can upgrade to a Pro account).
As far as the trip goes, oh, man, was it amazing!
Day One
I went to NYC with my friend Casey. She had never been to the city before, and had never flown on a plane, so this was a very exciting trip for her! We stayed at my sister's house Wednesday night, and she agreed to drive us to Hartsfield/Jackson in the morning. Our flight was scheduled for 11:40am. Not knowing what the traffic would be like, we left around 8. And then promptly turned around and went back, because I had left our plane ticket/shuttle bus/hotel information at the house. There was little traffic in Atlanta (a shock in and of itself), so we actually made it to the airport in record time. Add in the fact that our flight was delayed due to thunderstorms at Laguardia, and we had roughly three hours to kill before takeoff. Yikes.
The flight went well; it was a little bumpy due to the storms, but nothing too bad. And then, we took a shuttle to the hotel. It was pretty much the scariest ride I've ever been on. Seriously, this guy apparently thought that traffic lights, lanes, and speed limits were just guidelines - we almost hit pedestrians several times, and I was terrified that we would end up in the hospital before we ever saw any sights.
We eventually arrived safe and sound. Casey and I were the last ones dropped off, because we elected to stay in the quieter financial district, rather than in Midtown. Our hotel, Club Quarters Downtown, was just amazing. The people were friendly, the rooms were nice, it was right next to a Subway station (the 2/3, which was really convenient), and there was a refillable water bottle station on almost every floor. We unpacked, and then set off to see the city.
Our first stop was Times Square, because it was really easy to get to on the Subway and we were hungry! The rain had pretty much stopped by then, but it was really foggy:
We ended up eating at Red Lobster, because it was the first restaurant we came to. After walking around for a bit (and buying hoodies emblazoned with "New York," because we were cold and really wanted to look like tourists), we made our way over to Kabin in the East Village to see the anniversary show for Comedy as a Second Language. To be honest, we only went because one of my favorite comedians, Max Silvestri, had e-mailed me to say that he would be there. But it was a great show! We ended up staying for about three hours, drinking $2 PBRs and laughing our asses off. Of course, then we were stuck trying to find our way back to the hotel at 2 am. Drunk and lost in a strange city in the middle of the night - what a way to start a vacation!
Day Two
We didn't set the alarm when we got back to the hotel, so we ended up oversleeping on Friday. Big surprise there, I'm sure. We got up and made our way over to Brooklyn, stopping at a comic book store (natch) before hitting up Mezcal's for brunch. I really don't understand the negative reviews on Yelp!, because they had the most amazing sangria and cerritos. Yum! Next came one of the things I was most looking forward to on this trip:
THE BROOKLYN SUPERHERO SUPPLY COMPANY!
Seriously, this was one of the funnest places we found. They sell "real" superhero supplies - costumes, disguises, anti-gravity devices, invisibility detector goggles, and, of course, capes:
(that's Casey - on the left - and me doing our "fighting for justice" stance)
This place is awesome. And all of the profit goes to 826NYC, an organization dedicated to helping students improve their writing skills. How could I not spend tons of time and money in this place?!
After getting our fill of Brooklyn, we went back to the hotel to change. Dinner was at Sardi's, the one restaurant Casey really wanted to go to. It's a bit expensive, but it's also a landmark, so it was fun to eat there. We made reservations, but didn't really need them as we got there before the big dinner rush. Which gave us plenty of time to eat and then head down to Christopher Street and...
THE CORALINE MUSICAL!
This show was the impetus for this whole trip, so I was really looking forward to it. Our tickets were great: second row, center. Casey hadn't read the book, but she had seen the movie, so I had to explain that it would probably be a little different. No Wybie, for example, which surprised her. The show was excellent! I was a little taken aback at having Jane Houdyshell play Coraline, but she was wonderful in the role. She does "bored tween" very well. Julian Fleisher was amazing as The Cat, and the music was great! I loved the toy pianos and the creepy vibe they helped create. My only complaint: it wasn't scary. It was more funny, or campy. Which is fine, I was just expecting it to be, I dunno, more intense than it was. But overall I really enjoyed it, and I wish I could get the soundtrack.
Aaaaaand I think this has gone on long enough for now. I actually started writing at 8:15, which...yikes. It took me way too long to upload pictures and find links. I'll post more about the trip throughout the week. There are a few more photos on my Flickr page (more coming when I get paid and can upgrade to a Pro account).
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
New York, New York!
Sorry, no Recipe Tuesday for today. The blog's going to be a bit quiet for the next week or so. I'm currently packing for my trip! Casey and I are going to Atlanta tomorrow morning; my sister and brother-in-law are letting us stay with them, and my sister's taking us to the airport Thursday morning. I'm taking my camera (of course!), but not my laptop, so I won't be updating. I will, however, be twitting my way through the Big Apple, so if you want to get a condensed version of my trip you can follow me there. I'll even be posting pictures!
A big update and more book reviews when I get back. :)
A big update and more book reviews when I get back. :)
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Sunday Salon 15 March 2009: New York, New York!
Good morning, fellow Saloners! I come to you this morning with a plea for help. My friend Casey and I are planning a trip to NYC in June, and we need suggestions!One thing that we're definitely seeing is the Coraline Broadway show - it was the whole reason for the trip in the first place. I've been to New York a few times, so I've seen the majorly touristy things. Casey, however, has never been on a plane, let alone to NY, so I want to make sure she doesn't miss anything. We're going for a little over a week, and I want to cram as much in as possible.
Other things we have tentatively planned on:
Shakespeare in the Park - Twelfth Night starring Anne Hathaway
Yankees game - possibly vs. the Mets
Central Park - including the zoo, Strawberry Fields, and Alice in Wonderland
Empire State Building
Times Square
China Town
Greenwich Village
Harlem
Daily Show/Colbert Report taping - if we can get in
92Y Tribeca
My question to y'all is: If you've been to NYC before, what sights would you recommend? Do you know of any hidden gems that could be fun? And, just to make this book-related, what NYC-set books would you recommend reading before the trip?
Saturday, November 08, 2008
On reunions and death
I apologize in advance for the depressing, reflective nature of this post. It's been a while since I've felt the need to go all emo!kid on a blogpost. This weekend has been bittersweet for me. Yesterday, my mom picked me up after school and we drove down to Statesboro for GaSoU's homecoming. Mom was the only person I could find who would come with me, and I didn't mind because she's one of my favorite people in the world. I graduated five years ago, and the only reason I wanted to go back this year was because the Honors Program had arranged for a reception, and I knew (courtesy of facebook) that a lot of my college friends would be there. There was really one in particular that I really wanted to see, though: Holly*. She was one of my best friends for those four years. We lived in the same dorm when I was a freshman and she was a sophomore, and we ended up taking the same Spanish class first semester. I still remember having to introduce her to the rest of the class that first day - it was one of those silly "getting to know you" things teachers do, but because we were in an intermediate Spanish class, it had to be en Español. The majority of my happy memories from college are tied to Holly: going to Waffle House in the middle of the night to write Harry Potter fanfic, driving to Savannah and singing the "Once More with Feeling" soundtrack in harmony, doing callbacks to Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Russell Union...not to mention all the English classes, Jennifer Nettles concerts, and UHP stuff we did together. We had our rough patches, to be sure, but I always thought we'd be friends forever.
When I graduated, Holly was one of the few people I made an effort to keep in touch with. It got difficult: she rarely responded to my IMs, was too busy to e-mail or phone, and I guess we both drifted apart. I'd try to call and renew contact every year or so, but always with the distinct impression that she didn't really care that much. Then, last year, I joined facebook. Holly sought me out and sent me a friend request, and asked me to join a few groups she had started. Encouraged, I wrote on her wall and waited for the friendship to pick back up.
It didn't.
Which is pretty heartbreaking. I mean, why bother friending someone if you're not going to...you know...be their friend?
Flash-forward to last month. I received an e-mail from the UHP alumni relations, telling me about the reunion/reception. I also got an invitation through facebook, thanks to another "friend from college" that I haven't actually had contact with since accepting their friend request. I spent a frantic week trying to find someone, anyone, to go with me - the drive to Statesboro is boring at the best of times; in the current economic climate, it would be downright painful - before managing to talk my mom into it. Knowing that Holly would be there (along with several other people that I hadn't seen in five years) and believing that I would finally get a chance to talk to her about what she had been up to made me giddily eager for the night to begin.
We got there late and ended up having to spend the first hour or so at a table full of strangers. But then, finally, we were told to mingle and given an opportunity to walk around. I spotted Holly across the room with a group of mutual friends, and practically made a beeline for her.
(You can see where this is heading, right?)
She ignored me completely. I think she might have given me one of those "O hai" head-nod-jerks, but that was about it. And then the whole group - a group of people that I once considered my closest friends in the world - left. The night wasn't a complete bust: I did get a chance to hang out with some other friends, and had a great time with them, but it wasn't the same.
This morning, I asked Mom if we could go for a walk around campus. It's changed so radically since I was in school! Most of the buildings that I really wanted to look at were closed, but we did get into the completely renovated library. And guess who we ran into?
Some teeny, tiny part of me hoped that maybe the night before had been a fluke; maybe they didn't realize that they had totally snubbed me. Surely fate had brought us together (again) so that I could reconcile with my former friends. Right?
Nope. Mom made some excuse and left, giving me a chance to talk without her around. But that didn't matter. I tagged along, feeling like an outsider and trying to make conversation. I asked Holly about her post-collegiate life and was rewarded with a smile and a very succinct answer. I probably only stayed with them for five minutes, but it felt like five incredibly awkward hours. Only one person - Jennifer*, the sweetest person in our group, then and (it would appear) now - made an effort to talk to me. When Jennifer mentioned that she needed to go back downstairs to meet some other people, I said my goodbyes and left with her. I told her, on the elevator ride back, how much I had been looking forward to seeing everyone. She offered no explanation for their behavior and I, not wanted to offend, didn't press. She seemed sympathetic, though, and asked me to keep in touch.
The minute we got back into the car, I unloaded my frustration and hurt on Mom. She gave me the usual Mom-like advice, which was nice but didn't really help. The whole experience saddened me, but it also made me thankful for the friends that I have and still keep up with.
But wait, there's more!
One place I insisted on visiting was the old comic book store. I spent so much time and money in that place, it was like a second home to me. As it turned out, the original store had been sold and closed down, but luckily Mom agreed to help me find the new location. She waited out in the car while I went in, promising not to buy anything.
Unfortunately, this was the first thing that caught my eye:
A tribute to Michael Turner. My favorite comic book artist. A man I actually met in the flesh and totally fangirled over. An incredibly beautiful, talented, and strong human being. He died over the summer, and until I walked in that store, I had no idea. Once I got over the shock, I actually started crying. IN THE COMIC BOOK STORE. And then I had to buy the book, and go out and explain to Mom exactly why I had bought a book when I said I wasn't going to, and of course she understood. I opened it up a few times on the trip back and started reading it, but I kept having to stop because it upset me so much. It seems strange to be so emotional about the death of someone I didn't even know (especially four months after the fact) but I think it was that plus the disappointment of (not really) seeing my friends that did it.
So, that's my really pathetic weekend. Now I'm off to my sister's; we're going to a wedding tomorrow. I have 300+ items waiting for me in my Google Reader, several book reviews and a NaNoWriMo novel to work on. Not to mention a lesson plan about To Kill a Mockingbird to create. If you've stuck with my rambling for this long, thanks. Writing is so cathartic; I really didn't want to have to drive with this weighing so heavily on my mind. Hopefully tomorrow will be better - maybe I'll catch the bouquet or something equally horrifying. :)
* Names have been changed, blah blah blah...
When I graduated, Holly was one of the few people I made an effort to keep in touch with. It got difficult: she rarely responded to my IMs, was too busy to e-mail or phone, and I guess we both drifted apart. I'd try to call and renew contact every year or so, but always with the distinct impression that she didn't really care that much. Then, last year, I joined facebook. Holly sought me out and sent me a friend request, and asked me to join a few groups she had started. Encouraged, I wrote on her wall and waited for the friendship to pick back up.
It didn't.
Which is pretty heartbreaking. I mean, why bother friending someone if you're not going to...you know...be their friend?
Flash-forward to last month. I received an e-mail from the UHP alumni relations, telling me about the reunion/reception. I also got an invitation through facebook, thanks to another "friend from college" that I haven't actually had contact with since accepting their friend request. I spent a frantic week trying to find someone, anyone, to go with me - the drive to Statesboro is boring at the best of times; in the current economic climate, it would be downright painful - before managing to talk my mom into it. Knowing that Holly would be there (along with several other people that I hadn't seen in five years) and believing that I would finally get a chance to talk to her about what she had been up to made me giddily eager for the night to begin.
We got there late and ended up having to spend the first hour or so at a table full of strangers. But then, finally, we were told to mingle and given an opportunity to walk around. I spotted Holly across the room with a group of mutual friends, and practically made a beeline for her.
(You can see where this is heading, right?)
She ignored me completely. I think she might have given me one of those "O hai" head-nod-jerks, but that was about it. And then the whole group - a group of people that I once considered my closest friends in the world - left. The night wasn't a complete bust: I did get a chance to hang out with some other friends, and had a great time with them, but it wasn't the same.
This morning, I asked Mom if we could go for a walk around campus. It's changed so radically since I was in school! Most of the buildings that I really wanted to look at were closed, but we did get into the completely renovated library. And guess who we ran into?
Some teeny, tiny part of me hoped that maybe the night before had been a fluke; maybe they didn't realize that they had totally snubbed me. Surely fate had brought us together (again) so that I could reconcile with my former friends. Right?
Nope. Mom made some excuse and left, giving me a chance to talk without her around. But that didn't matter. I tagged along, feeling like an outsider and trying to make conversation. I asked Holly about her post-collegiate life and was rewarded with a smile and a very succinct answer. I probably only stayed with them for five minutes, but it felt like five incredibly awkward hours. Only one person - Jennifer*, the sweetest person in our group, then and (it would appear) now - made an effort to talk to me. When Jennifer mentioned that she needed to go back downstairs to meet some other people, I said my goodbyes and left with her. I told her, on the elevator ride back, how much I had been looking forward to seeing everyone. She offered no explanation for their behavior and I, not wanted to offend, didn't press. She seemed sympathetic, though, and asked me to keep in touch.
The minute we got back into the car, I unloaded my frustration and hurt on Mom. She gave me the usual Mom-like advice, which was nice but didn't really help. The whole experience saddened me, but it also made me thankful for the friends that I have and still keep up with.
But wait, there's more!
One place I insisted on visiting was the old comic book store. I spent so much time and money in that place, it was like a second home to me. As it turned out, the original store had been sold and closed down, but luckily Mom agreed to help me find the new location. She waited out in the car while I went in, promising not to buy anything.
Unfortunately, this was the first thing that caught my eye:
A tribute to Michael Turner. My favorite comic book artist. A man I actually met in the flesh and totally fangirled over. An incredibly beautiful, talented, and strong human being. He died over the summer, and until I walked in that store, I had no idea. Once I got over the shock, I actually started crying. IN THE COMIC BOOK STORE. And then I had to buy the book, and go out and explain to Mom exactly why I had bought a book when I said I wasn't going to, and of course she understood. I opened it up a few times on the trip back and started reading it, but I kept having to stop because it upset me so much. It seems strange to be so emotional about the death of someone I didn't even know (especially four months after the fact) but I think it was that plus the disappointment of (not really) seeing my friends that did it.
So, that's my really pathetic weekend. Now I'm off to my sister's; we're going to a wedding tomorrow. I have 300+ items waiting for me in my Google Reader, several book reviews and a NaNoWriMo novel to work on. Not to mention a lesson plan about To Kill a Mockingbird to create. If you've stuck with my rambling for this long, thanks. Writing is so cathartic; I really didn't want to have to drive with this weighing so heavily on my mind. Hopefully tomorrow will be better - maybe I'll catch the bouquet or something equally horrifying. :)
* Names have been changed, blah blah blah...
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Booking Through Thursday: Vacation Spots
Today's Booking Through Thursday question: Another question inspired by the Bunch of Grapes on Martha’s Vineyard having burned down on the Fourth of July. Do you buy books while on vacation/holiday? Do you have favorite bookstores that you only get to visit while away on a trip? What/Where are they?One of my new favorite vacation traditions is buying a cookbook featuring the cuisine of the place I'm visiting. I love to cook, and it's fun to remember a vacation by eating like I'm still there. I also like to check out books by local authors - bookstores will usually have a special section, just for them. Reading about the places I visit is also fun - I talked about this during the FBN's Summer Reading Extravaganza.
I also like to check out Friends of the Library sales where ever I go. Some smaller towns may not have bookstores (or may just have the huge chains that you can find anywhere), and I like to support libraries. It's also interesting to see what people in a certain area enjoy reading about. There are two libraries near my little town, for example, and the reading materials available at both differ widely.
One of the best bookstores I ever found while on vacation was in England. I can't remember the name of the shop, but it was in Dorchester. Every "classic" book was available for 50p - about 75 cents at the time (now about $1 or so). I bought so many books that trip, I was worried I might need another suitcase just to get them all home!
But you don't have to take my word for it. Visit Booking Through Thursday for more opinions.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Summer Reading Extravaganza Day 5: Oh, the Places You’ll Go (With a Book)!
Our final topic is books that transport you. It’s hard to take a trip with rising gas prices so thank God we can travel through reading! What are some of your favorite books that transport you to a new place?I mentioned some of my favorite literary travel destinations in yesterday's post, so today I'm going to write about places that you can only travel to inside the pages of a book.
Namely, other books.I love a good sci-fi/fantasy novel, and Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series is one of the best examples, especially if you love books and reading - my friend DeAnna and I describe them as "English major porn." If you haven't read them, you are seriously missing out. The titles include: The Eyre Affair, Lost in a Good Book, The Well of Lost Plots, Something Rotten, and First Among Sequels. The series takes place in 1980's Swindon, and the protagonist is Thursday Next, a Jurisfiction detective who works inside books to help "maintain narrative stability." This includes finding a kidnapped Jane Eyre, living within the narrative of obscure books, talking on a "footnoter-phone," and other silly, book-related adventures. The stories can get confusing at times, but they are always fun. I would also recommend checking out Fforde Grand Central, which has information about the books, "Special Features," and a Dodo Emporium (re-engineered extinct species being a popular pet, naturally).
Visit The Friendly Book Nook for more fun places to visit with a book!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Summer Reading Extravaganza Day 4: Summer Reading Activities
Today’s topic is summer reading activities. What we love so much about reading is that it expands our world! If you have any fun traditions or activities that you share with your kids or students that have to do with reading, today is the day to share them.If you don’t have kids, maybe you have a bookclub that does has some fun traditions or you enjoy organizing your books in the summer. Be creative and share with us!
I don't have any kids, and I don't really have any summer reading traditions (yet), so today I'm going to talk about one that I would love to start.
The summer between my Sophomore and Junior years in college, I participated in a Study Abroad course. We actually had two classes (British Romanticism and Spirit of Place in British Literature). For two weeks, we read a bunch of books and came to class every day to discuss them. Then we traveled to the UK and spent two weeks visiting the places mentioned in the books! It was amazing! My two favorite places were Lyme Regis (I'm sure many of you remember the Cobb that Louisa Musgrove fell down in Persuasion) and Arthur's Seat (site of a rather sublime scene in James Hogg's Confessions of a Justified Sinner). 
Spending three hours climbing to the top made the idea of seeing God in the clouds a lot more believable.We also visited the moors of Haworth (Wuthering Heights), Wales (Tintern Abbey), Hampstead (home of Keats), Newstead Abbey (home of Byron), Dorchester (site of pretty much anything Thomas Hardy wrote), and various other literary locations. It was the most fun I've ever had reading.
I've been talking with friends and family about saving up some money this school year and going on a trip to Italy next summer. I probably won't be able to go for very long, but I'd love to make it a literary tour! Any suggestions for books set in Italy? I'll definitely be re-reading John Berendt's The City of Falling Angels, because Venice is so on my list of places to see.
Visit The Friendly Book Nook for more fun summer reading activities!
Monday, June 09, 2008
Fun in the sun
the view from our balcony
Sand sculptures!
a land shark eating a sunbathing tourist
an eel (?)
the requisite sandcastle
starfish
I didn't actually make any of these, but I thought they were cool and wanted to get pictures of them before the tide came up and washed them away. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that taking my camera from the nice, cold air conditioning into the hot, muggy sunshine would make the pictures come out fuzzy. Oh, well. I also have pictures from a kayaking trip we took through the marsh, but I used a waterproof disposable camera for those and am still waiting for them to get developed. I did make something on the trip (Mom and I both brought our creative outlets; she quilted, and I crocheted), but I'm still working on it. It's actually for Dragon*Con this year, and I'm hoping it'll be a big damn surprise for one of my fellow convention-goers.
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
The Cheese Danish
Matt and I ended upleaving the con early to go to a production of Hamlet at Matt's theater in Princeton. OMFG, that campus is amazing. It looks like a castle just plopped down in the middle (ok, south) of NJ or something.
The McCarter Theater
"The Arch"
Statue of St. George slaying the dragon
Cute statues of Princeton's mascot, the tiger
The play itself was rather...interesting. I was expecting a lot worse, to be honest. There were a lot of people who left during intermission, and even in the middle of scenes, which I thought was incredibly rude. The director definitely had an interesting take on it. Things I liked:
* Polonius standing between the audience and the half-drawn curtain as he listens in on Hamlet and Gertrude. This was really cool, because we saw the scene from Polonius's point of view. And when Hamlet shot him through the curtain, we could see the blood appear on the back of his white robe, which I thought was an awesome visual.
* The same actor playing Claudius and the ghost. This was a bit confusing at first, and I'm sure it drove first-time Hamlet-viewers crazy, but it turned out really well.
Things I didn't like:
* Hamlet didn't die at the end. You knew he was going to, but at curtain he was still alive. Also? HE SHOT HORATIO! That really pissed me off. Apparently, the director wanted everyone dead, so "the audience would be the only witness to the tragedy" or whatever, but still.
* The implied incest between Ophelia and Laertes. WTF? The Ophelia character had a lot of flaws, actually, but doing this cheapened her relationship with Hamlet and undermined her madness, imo. Plus, it was kinda gross and unnecessary.
There were other things, but I can't think of them right now. For the most part, it was just a really strange retelling. Not bad, but not fabulous, either.
The McCarter Theater
"The Arch"
Statue of St. George slaying the dragon
Cute statues of Princeton's mascot, the tiger
The play itself was rather...interesting. I was expecting a lot worse, to be honest. There were a lot of people who left during intermission, and even in the middle of scenes, which I thought was incredibly rude. The director definitely had an interesting take on it. Things I liked:
* Polonius standing between the audience and the half-drawn curtain as he listens in on Hamlet and Gertrude. This was really cool, because we saw the scene from Polonius's point of view. And when Hamlet shot him through the curtain, we could see the blood appear on the back of his white robe, which I thought was an awesome visual.
* The same actor playing Claudius and the ghost. This was a bit confusing at first, and I'm sure it drove first-time Hamlet-viewers crazy, but it turned out really well.
Things I didn't like:
* Hamlet didn't die at the end. You knew he was going to, but at curtain he was still alive. Also? HE SHOT HORATIO! That really pissed me off. Apparently, the director wanted everyone dead, so "the audience would be the only witness to the tragedy" or whatever, but still.
* The implied incest between Ophelia and Laertes. WTF? The Ophelia character had a lot of flaws, actually, but doing this cheapened her relationship with Hamlet and undermined her madness, imo. Plus, it was kinda gross and unnecessary.
There were other things, but I can't think of them right now. For the most part, it was just a really strange retelling. Not bad, but not fabulous, either.
Monday, June 06, 2005
WWP Day 3: Artists!
The last day of the con was spent walking around artist's alley, buying more comics, and sitting in a "Year of the Bat" panel, which was much cooler than I thought it would be.
In artist's alley, we met Chris Giarusso, who draws the Marvel Mini-Mates. He did a super-cute Nightcrawler sketch for me (#2 in my Nightcrawler sketch collection) and an equally cute-yet-grumpy Batman for Matt.
Chris Giarusso drawing Nightcrawler for me.
The finished product!
Plus, I got a copy of Dardevil signed by David Mack. It's the first issue in the second Echo storyline, which Mack wrote and drew. I love the character of Echo, although I think I'm probably in the minority on that one.
I also went back to the Aspen booth and asked JT Krul about upcoming Fathom stories and whether or not characters from the first volume would be returning. Happily, the mysterious blue dude will be back, and if he turns out to be Aspen's brother I will feel completely justified in my uber-intuitive comic-reading skillz. Or something.
The coolest thing about the Year of Bat panel: someone asked who would take up the costume were Bruce Wayne to retire or give it up. Dan Didio said that was something that would be addressed in the Crisis crossover. Crap, now I have to buy the thing.
In artist's alley, we met Chris Giarusso, who draws the Marvel Mini-Mates. He did a super-cute Nightcrawler sketch for me (#2 in my Nightcrawler sketch collection) and an equally cute-yet-grumpy Batman for Matt.
Chris Giarusso drawing Nightcrawler for me.
The finished product!
Plus, I got a copy of Dardevil signed by David Mack. It's the first issue in the second Echo storyline, which Mack wrote and drew. I love the character of Echo, although I think I'm probably in the minority on that one.
I also went back to the Aspen booth and asked JT Krul about upcoming Fathom stories and whether or not characters from the first volume would be returning. Happily, the mysterious blue dude will be back, and if he turns out to be Aspen's brother I will feel completely justified in my uber-intuitive comic-reading skillz. Or something.
The coolest thing about the Year of Bat panel: someone asked who would take up the costume were Bruce Wayne to retire or give it up. Dan Didio said that was something that would be addressed in the Crisis crossover. Crap, now I have to buy the thing.
Sunday, June 05, 2005
WWP Day 2: Sadly, no Seth Green
Apparently, we were supposed to get ot the con super-early, wait in line, PAY for a ticket, then stand in line again to get autographs from Seth Green. Good thing I found out after waiting for only 10 minutes or so. Argh. On the plus side, Matt completed his run of Spectre, so he's happy, and I bought three bootleg dvds: Clone High S1 (yay!) and Eddie Izzard's Sexie and Live at the Ambassadors.
Saturday, June 04, 2005
Wizard World Philly Day 1: I met Michael Turner!
Today, Matt and I took the trains into Philly for the con. I haven't been on a train since my trip to England 4 years ago, so I was WAY too excited about it. When we got there, we had to stand in a long line before we could actually get inside, but we made friends with some fellow geeks, so at least we were entertained. Once inside, we wondered around and found the Aspen booth, so I was able to get my convention exclusives. Then, we went to a panel for Grim Jack, written by one of Matt's comic shop buddies. I was wearing my "Go Pirates!" Veronica Mars t-shirt, and when one of the panelists commented on it, I got to spread the goodness that is VM to a wider audience. Go me!
After the panel (which was really neat, considering I've never even read the comic) we hit a Wawa for lunch. Wawas are kinda like Quik Trips, but without the gas. They had this computerized-sandwich-ordering system that that would've been really efficient, had it not taken me three tries to get a tuna salad sandwich. But bygones, because after lunch....
I stood in line at the Aspen booth and....
I got to meet Michael Turner!
I was telling my line buddy, Stephen, that I would probably make an ass of myself and turn into a complete puddle of fangirl mush. And I was right. I have no idea what I actually said to the man, but he smiled at whatever it was, told me it was nice to meet me, and SHOOK MY HAND! SQUEE!!!
I am such an idiot. Oh, well.
After I recovered, I was able to catch the last bit of DC's "Crisis Counseling" panel, and then it was more Mike Turner goodness in the Aspen panel. Where I made an ass of myself again, mispronouncing the name of a book when I asked a question - EKOS is pronounced "eee-kos" rather than "eh-kos." But I did learn a lot of interesting stuff about my favorite book, Fathom, and it's always cool to see the writers and artists in person.
Tomorrow: Seth Green day!
After the panel (which was really neat, considering I've never even read the comic) we hit a Wawa for lunch. Wawas are kinda like Quik Trips, but without the gas. They had this computerized-sandwich-ordering system that that would've been really efficient, had it not taken me three tries to get a tuna salad sandwich. But bygones, because after lunch....
I stood in line at the Aspen booth and....
I was telling my line buddy, Stephen, that I would probably make an ass of myself and turn into a complete puddle of fangirl mush. And I was right. I have no idea what I actually said to the man, but he smiled at whatever it was, told me it was nice to meet me, and SHOOK MY HAND! SQUEE!!!
I am such an idiot. Oh, well.
After I recovered, I was able to catch the last bit of DC's "Crisis Counseling" panel, and then it was more Mike Turner goodness in the Aspen panel. Where I made an ass of myself again, mispronouncing the name of a book when I asked a question - EKOS is pronounced "eee-kos" rather than "eh-kos." But I did learn a lot of interesting stuff about my favorite book, Fathom, and it's always cool to see the writers and artists in person.
Tomorrow: Seth Green day!
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
The next shark lady?
There were a bunch of guys fishing in the surf last night after dark, and one of them caught a baby shark. It was only 2 feet long, if that, and it looked like a (mini) great white. It was so perfect, it almost seemed fake. They threw it back, thankfully. That little shark was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. It's also the first wild one I've ever seen, even after 20+ years of visiting the ocean.
Every time I go to the beach with my family, my mom asks me why I decided to study Literature instead of Marine Biology. Growing up, I was obsessed with dolphins and sharks. I wanted to be the next Eugene Clark. We started talking about it again this trip, and I've been thinking. How hard would it be to get a second Bachelor's degree in something like that? There's a great program at UGA. It's not a serious idea by any means, but still something to ponder. I'd love to be a perpetual student, and just keep studying something new all the time.
Oh, well. Time to go pack for my next trip. I couldn't find Heir to the Empire or Eragon at the library, which makes me seriously question the quality of the Fulton County Library System. Well, not really. Instead, I picked up Citizen Girl, about a women's studies grad student who starts working at a non-profit agency, and Vox, a transcript of a conversation between two people who meet on a phone-sex party line. Don't judge - my friend Ian's been raving about this book for forever.
Every time I go to the beach with my family, my mom asks me why I decided to study Literature instead of Marine Biology. Growing up, I was obsessed with dolphins and sharks. I wanted to be the next Eugene Clark. We started talking about it again this trip, and I've been thinking. How hard would it be to get a second Bachelor's degree in something like that? There's a great program at UGA. It's not a serious idea by any means, but still something to ponder. I'd love to be a perpetual student, and just keep studying something new all the time.
Oh, well. Time to go pack for my next trip. I couldn't find Heir to the Empire or Eragon at the library, which makes me seriously question the quality of the Fulton County Library System. Well, not really. Instead, I picked up Citizen Girl, about a women's studies grad student who starts working at a non-profit agency, and Vox, a transcript of a conversation between two people who meet on a phone-sex party line. Don't judge - my friend Ian's been raving about this book for forever.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Yay! Beach!
My vacation so far:
Woke up, 2 hours late on Saturday, feeling like hungover crap. Called Sis, who was supposed to have been at the house by this time, got packed (!) in 20 minutes, and drove to Hilton Head. This is the view that greeted us when we arrived:
Man, I love the ocean.
Sunday, Sis and I went to the pool, then the beach, where I saw more conch shells (inhabited by whatever mollusk lives in them - conch, probably) on the shore than I ever remember seeing before. And we've been coming to Hilton Head every year since before I was born. Anyway, I also saw a few people collecting them as souvenirs, which really bothered me because they're animals, you know? And all they're doing is taking them and killing them and then bleaching their homes so they have something pretty for their desk back home. Grr. Anyway, it's now my last full day here, so Mom, Sis and I are out shopping, and then we'll be going back to the beach, then the room for a tradition beach dinner of...spaghetti. Huh. Then it's just two days til Jersey! :)
Woke up, 2 hours late on Saturday, feeling like hungover crap. Called Sis, who was supposed to have been at the house by this time, got packed (!) in 20 minutes, and drove to Hilton Head. This is the view that greeted us when we arrived:
Man, I love the ocean.
Sunday, Sis and I went to the pool, then the beach, where I saw more conch shells (inhabited by whatever mollusk lives in them - conch, probably) on the shore than I ever remember seeing before. And we've been coming to Hilton Head every year since before I was born. Anyway, I also saw a few people collecting them as souvenirs, which really bothered me because they're animals, you know? And all they're doing is taking them and killing them and then bleaching their homes so they have something pretty for their desk back home. Grr. Anyway, it's now my last full day here, so Mom, Sis and I are out shopping, and then we'll be going back to the beach, then the room for a tradition beach dinner of...spaghetti. Huh. Then it's just two days til Jersey! :)
Sunday, April 03, 2005
The Castle: NOT a restaurant
So...my company sent me to SC to help set up for the new Spring season. It was actually a lot more fun than I thought it would be. Drove up Monday morning, which was awesome because it was rainy here in Atlanta, and then almost as soon as I hit the state line, it suddenly cleared up and got really sunny and pretty outside.
Ghoti the traveling fish and Zeus the Moose (patron saint of my bad driving) accompanied me in the car, as always.
I wished I had been playing the license plate game (did anyone else play that during car rides as a kid?) because I saw plates from Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee (not surprising, since they're not that far away), and also New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Lousiana, Rhode Island, and California. So that was amusing. Also fun? Listening to my Sabrina the Teenage Witch soundtrack. Don't laugh - it's actually really great driving music, 'cause it's filled with semi-obscure mid-90s pop. And it was one of the few cassettes I had in my car - I couldn't listen to cds because my phone charger was using the adapter, and I couldn't find a radio station I liked. There was even a Phantom Planet song on there, from the first album, which was a big surprise. It totally made up for the Britney. Afterward, though, I turned the radio back on, and the first song I found was none other than "Baby Girl," performed by Georgia's own Sugarland (featuring Jennifer Nettles)! So that was awesome. I think I actually squealed aloud as I turned it up to sing along. It's always awesome to hear one of the your favorite local artists on the radio, especially when you're in a different state.
Ghoti in SC!
This is how you can tell we're not in GA anymore: Pepsi, Pepsi everywhere and not a Coke to drink. Sad.
The store I was sent to is in a mall, and it's also the biggest store in the Western Division. This place was huge. Like, 4x the size of my store in McDonough. A little bit intimidating. But the people were all really nice and I got to meet Farrah, who's one of the most awesome people ever.
One of the big projects Michael and I got to work on was turning two T-walls into Prep Rally shops (Prep Rally being one of our themes for this season). We started off painting the two walls a lovely shade of bright yellow:
The WALL OF DOOM! before (actually, after we painted it, but before we fixed it up)
And then added shelves, face-outs, lettering, clothes, etc:
My WOD! after
Michael's WOD! after
Our first full day, Farrah kept talking about how she wanted to take us to "the castle" to eat dinner one night. She said they had really great food, but it was somewhat expensive. I didn't mind, as work was reimbursing me for all food and gas expenses this trip. Michael and I mentioned to another visual, Joshua, that we were going to "the castle" one night, which earned us some very strange looks. Turns out, "The Castle" is a gay bar in the city, but "California Kitchen" (or something like that), which is shaped like a castle, is a restaurant down the street. We all had a good laugh at that.
Not THE Castle, just "the castle"
Our company spends thousands of dollars on very silly things. For instance, I regularly receive collateral for brands that my store does not even carry. This stuff gets thrown out, and is therefore a giant waste of money. They also spend gobs of money on stuff like this lamp, which I could probably make for $50:
The $5,000 grade-school arts-and-crafts project
And then there's this little mostrosity, that you couldn't pay me enough to even attempt:
The $6,000 hunting-lodge-decor-gone-horribly-wrong-yet-still-PETA-friendly-world's-ugliest-lamp
Ghoti the traveling fish and Zeus the Moose (patron saint of my bad driving) accompanied me in the car, as always.
I wished I had been playing the license plate game (did anyone else play that during car rides as a kid?) because I saw plates from Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee (not surprising, since they're not that far away), and also New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Lousiana, Rhode Island, and California. So that was amusing. Also fun? Listening to my Sabrina the Teenage Witch soundtrack. Don't laugh - it's actually really great driving music, 'cause it's filled with semi-obscure mid-90s pop. And it was one of the few cassettes I had in my car - I couldn't listen to cds because my phone charger was using the adapter, and I couldn't find a radio station I liked. There was even a Phantom Planet song on there, from the first album, which was a big surprise. It totally made up for the Britney. Afterward, though, I turned the radio back on, and the first song I found was none other than "Baby Girl," performed by Georgia's own Sugarland (featuring Jennifer Nettles)! So that was awesome. I think I actually squealed aloud as I turned it up to sing along. It's always awesome to hear one of the your favorite local artists on the radio, especially when you're in a different state.
Ghoti in SC!
This is how you can tell we're not in GA anymore: Pepsi, Pepsi everywhere and not a Coke to drink. Sad.
The store I was sent to is in a mall, and it's also the biggest store in the Western Division. This place was huge. Like, 4x the size of my store in McDonough. A little bit intimidating. But the people were all really nice and I got to meet Farrah, who's one of the most awesome people ever.
One of the big projects Michael and I got to work on was turning two T-walls into Prep Rally shops (Prep Rally being one of our themes for this season). We started off painting the two walls a lovely shade of bright yellow:
The WALL OF DOOM! before (actually, after we painted it, but before we fixed it up)
And then added shelves, face-outs, lettering, clothes, etc:
My WOD! after
Michael's WOD! after
Our first full day, Farrah kept talking about how she wanted to take us to "the castle" to eat dinner one night. She said they had really great food, but it was somewhat expensive. I didn't mind, as work was reimbursing me for all food and gas expenses this trip. Michael and I mentioned to another visual, Joshua, that we were going to "the castle" one night, which earned us some very strange looks. Turns out, "The Castle" is a gay bar in the city, but "California Kitchen" (or something like that), which is shaped like a castle, is a restaurant down the street. We all had a good laugh at that.
Not THE Castle, just "the castle"
Our company spends thousands of dollars on very silly things. For instance, I regularly receive collateral for brands that my store does not even carry. This stuff gets thrown out, and is therefore a giant waste of money. They also spend gobs of money on stuff like this lamp, which I could probably make for $50:
The $5,000 grade-school arts-and-crafts project
And then there's this little mostrosity, that you couldn't pay me enough to even attempt:
The $6,000 hunting-lodge-decor-gone-horribly-wrong-yet-still-PETA-friendly-world's-ugliest-lamp
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)