Fun With Hema

I grabbed this off one of the forums I visit. It's a cute Rube Goldberg way of announcing online shopping.

http://producten.hema.nl/

(Make sure the sound is on)

Happy Halloween!

Plymouth Part Deux

This past weekend, we did the rounds again traveling to Plymouth, MA and spending a day at the Cape as well. It was a trip re-deux to make up for previous missed opportunities. When we visited last year, my mother had been in the throws of a serious illness and forgot much of the trip.

Being creatures of habit, upon our arrival to Plymouth, we hunkered down at the Cabby Shack for some excellent grub. Mom had the chunky clam chowder, which I wished I had ordered. As for our hotel, we stayed at the Best Western. Unfortunately, as my mother originally was led to believe, it wasn't right on the water. Yes, a few somewhat walkable blocks away, but not really. Still, the rooms were spacious and lovely. The breakfast was filling, with a make-your-own-waffle station. None of that continental breakfast crap.

The rest of the weekend was filled with making the rounds of landmarks that are requisite if one is visiting Plymouth and the surrounding environs; Plymouth Rock, Plimouth Plantation (yeah, I spelled that right!), and The Mayflower II. On Saturday, we focused solely on the Cape, driving route 6 all the way to the end, Provincetown, and passing through several other quaint towns. We saw a lot of dunes, and while we arrived at the tail end of cranberry season and missed the bogs, got to actually see some cranberries still clinging for life on the bushes. Some stopping points were several National Park Service areas (for cancellation stamps), and a climb to the top of the Pilgrim Monument - by way of about 160 stairs and ramps combined.

The foliage was nice, but seriously lacking in some areas. The best spots were seen from the highway, so there was really no way to stop the car for photo ops.

On our last night in town, we ate at The Weathervane, which can be hit or miss at times. I was hoping they would have the stuffed flounder in a creamy lobster sauce, which was delicious the last time we visited. They weren't offering it, but I went with the stuffed haddock (offered without sauce). Mom ordered the haddock too and chose Mac & Cheese as one of her meal sides. We were both seriously disappointed when they brought out Kraft Mac & Cheese. Yes, I kid you not. It was actually Kraft Mac & Cheese!

Heading back to CT, we stopped off for a bit in Providence, Rhode Island at the Roger Williams monument (yet more stamps!). The weather was beautiful and we got to walk around a historic neighborhood near the park where Williams was re-buried. It was a neighborhood that reminded me a lot of Charlestown, MA.

The trip was successful, if somewhat hard. We brought along my younger cousin and forgot how much a bundle of energy a pre-teen is! Still, it was nice to get away, even if we weren't straying too much from our own region.

Photos here. Enjoy!

You Are Olga

At least that's who this quiz identifies me as.

Which Grand Duchess Would YOU Be?

"You are Olga, the serious, compassionate poet; eldest of the four Grand Duchesses. You can be moody, but you have a heart of gold. You always try your best to help others. You are highly intelligent, and are something of a book worm. You are honest to a fault."

Clicky the linky above to find out which of Nicholas and Alexandra's daughters you would be.

Interesting royal anecdote (I have to throw them in anywhere I can folks!) - Every daughter born into the Romanov dynasty given the name Alexandra died before the age of 20. For this reason, the name fell out of family use in the late 1800's.

Angry Feast

Tonight was a night out at the Scandinavia House for a screening of the 1988 film, Babette's Feast. Excellent movie. If you have the opportunity to watch, I most definitely recommend. The story is centered geographically in the Jutland region of Denmark. Yes, there are subtitles, but you won't get lost in the sauce of the storyline. I promise! The synopsis is a bit similar to the film Chocolat in that the main character, with a mysterious background, arrives in a remote and insular village only to magically transform it later on. Complete with morality challenges. In Babette's Feast however, it is in the form of an exquisite meal for the community paid for by lottery winnings.

Another plus of movie night at SH is that if you order a coffee and a dessert together, showing your movie ticket, it comes out to just $2.00 total. That's surprisingly cheap by Manhattan standards. I lovingly selected a huge ginger cookie on offer from Eli's, and was immediately disappointed at how stale it tasted. However, the coffee was pure Scandinavia - dark and strong.

Now here is where it gets angry. I am one who silently (and sometimes verbally) flips out when a person's cell phone begins ringing at the most inappropriate times, especially when the culprit doesn't answer or seem to realize how much of a nuisance they are causing. So, you can imagine how much I nearly died of embarrassment when my own mobile started ringing during the film.

Normally, I keep it on vibrate and am rarely one to catch a call on time. Of course, that night was, it seemed, the one and only time I mistakenly turned the phone on and it began ringing well into the movie. Keep in mind that I was in the second row, right smack dab in the middle, and wasn't even aware at first that it was my phone. Since it sounded oddly close by, it wasn't until like, the tenth ring that I fully realized the evildoer was me. Trying to sneak into my purse to turn it off, thus hoping to conceal the evidence, all was apparent to several audience members directly in front who the guilty party was. You would have thought I had just eaten a baby dipped in BBQ sauce!

Sigh

Grand Canyon, Here We Come!

Both the flights and hotels are booked. Whoosh! I can now let out a huge sigh of relief.

My mother, brother and I are flying out of the city into Flagstaff, AZ on August 10. We will return in the wee hours of August 16. Those overnight flights coming back from the West coast are an absolute killer on the human body. At least I'll have all day Thursday to recover. The hardest part of planning was finding a hotel. Booked solid. We happen to be travelling during the busiest season, so thankfully, I blocked out a ton of rooms at several different hotels for various dates. Just to be on the safe side. Now, we need to weed out which is which, and then I can cancel some of those bulk reservations. The search for a rental car is Mom's responsibility, but since finding the hotels was kinda hers too, I might have to step in to get the ball rolling - yet again. Sigh.

Our original goal was to fly into Las Vegas and then fly out of Flagstaff. That way, we could get a taste of Vegas and hit the Hoover Dam on the journey into Arizona. Due to airline prices and the way car rental costs skyrocket when you return to a different airport, this plan was sadly, not doable. However, since we have an extra day to play with, there might be room for a day trip. Right now, it's a big "we'll see".

We have a lot to think about and much to plan. It's going to be interesting to be visting a state that has the second highest concentration of Native Americans in the US. I wonder how Mom will fare? For once, she will blend in! We're pretty low key travellers, so rafting trips and the like are out of the question. Hiking excursions will be pretty much just long walks. Much of it for photo ops. I'll need to brush up on the flora and fauna we will experience as well. Okay, I know we won't have a problem, but the headline "Mountain Lions and You" which is in the Grand Canyon visitor's guide, does freak me out just a skosh.

There is so much to do in that decent amount of time. The sights, the shopping, and all that driving. I definitely want to drive on Route 66 for a bit. I got to experience the route in Santa Monica, CA, which is the official end point. That was so cool. Yeah, I confess, I'm a bit corny about stuff like that. Plus, I'll get to exercise my NPS Passport book. Ooh, more geekiness!

The itinerary is still in the beginning stages, but I'm sure many plans will be finalized on the flight over. And, quite possibly, when we are there.

My Moment of Zen

A few weeks ago, I bid for and won a 30GB Creative Zen Vision: M. I am so doing a happy dance over my win considering it was snagged at $100 less than it currently retails for. For the past two years, I've owned a Zen Micro, which I love, love, love - but it only played music. However, I could never hide my disappointment that had I waited to purchase my Zen Micro just a few months later, a Creative product with superior video capabilities would be made available instead. But let's not dwell, okay?

After several trips to visit family and friends, I grew tired of those lulls one faces while waiting on the bus in I-95 traffic, or being held up for whatever reasons never given by Amtrak and Metro North. After the novelty of reading wears off, you really crave something more interesting than staring at your fellow passengers. Last year's return home from Europe also produced much internal frustration due to the lack of in-flight entertainment available to us schlubs in cattle class. Really now, there are only so many times a human being can endure You, Me & Dupree over and over again. Hopefully now, no more!

So far, I have been transferring my music over to this player with excellent results. Plus video and photos, which are the real reasons for purchasing this little guy. As for the videos, I've been downloading them like a banshee and pretty much taxing out my poor laptop in the process. I think it's going to need a spa break in Baden-Baden really soon. I'm also beginning to fear that an intervention is in store should my family and friends see the amount of British television, documentaries, travel and cooking shows I watch.

The Send Off of All Send Offs

If there is one place that I have walked by week after week, month after month, year after year; it had to be Republic. This noodle restaurant on Union Square West. I was hesitant at first, but after I checked out the menu and consulted with others who had eaten there and raved all about it, I decided on the "#21 Pad Thai Noodles", and was pleasantly pleased with my choice. Delicious. Cheap food, fantastic Asian Sangria, and vegetable dumplings that were to die for. It's funny how the establishments we judge to be too pricey because of the aesthetics outside the building, deter us from experiencing what is on the inside.

This is the spot we chose to have a small intimate going away dinner last night for one of my friends. This lucky duck is packing up and moving on to Spain in a few weeks. After dinner, and after perusing through American Eagle, we headed to "Sundaes and Cones", the ice cream place I recommended, which ended up being a hit. The flavors they have are unique and yumtastic. I turned everyone on to the grapefruit sorbet. Trust me on this folks - it's delectable.

Since we were near St. Mark's Place, A mentioned she had been itching for a belly piercing to match her belly button piercing. We found where she'd gone before; to a place called Addiction. J and K couldn't stomach the idea, so I volunteered to hold A's hand throughout the ordeal; while she got it done by a man who looked eerily like Rasputin. Originally, they thought she wanted what was called a "Christina" (warning strong images!), but thankfully, we corrected that misunderstanding immediately. Plus, we learned a new term for the night. I ended up getting pierced as well -- by A's nails as she squeezed my hand during the procedure! While we were indisposed, J and K went and bought the fedoras we agreed upon earlier they looked great in.

The night was capped off by torrential downpours and a make your own cotton candy machine outside a Chinese restaurant that charges only a buck for the powder. Interesting establishment, with a WANTED poster that featured several Asian men. The sign hung next to the stinky cooking station, where, of course everyone would be looking for criminals on the lamb.

On the way to the subway, we four stepped full on into a huge puddle. In flip flops, no less. It's official, we declared - all of us had to have caught a disease after that cataclysmic mistake.

Wildenstein Gallery - Monet Exhibit

Yesterday was the first of the "summer Friday's" that I get to enjoy this year. My workplace allows each employee seven Friday half-days (paid) from Memorial Day to Labor Day in which to choose from. I got to leave at 1 o'clock, and headed uptown to the Wildenstein Gallery for the Claude Monet exhibit. I found out about this exhibit from a travel forum, and thankfully, got there a week before it was to end.

Anyone who was around yesterday knows that it was hot, hot, hot. In the city, it's even more of a killer, and being uptown near all the traffic and all those emissions, made it absolutely unbearable. I didn't realize there would be a long line to get in. And standing there waiting with the sun beaming down on you, makes one even more irritable. Especially once they get inside and are herded like cattle throughout the whole entire exhibit. Regardless, it was exquisite and I'm glad to have gone.

So, there were sixty, count 'em sixty, Monet's on display! These spanned from his early works right on down to the later ones. A few of the later works somewhat resembled Jackson Pollack's (to me anyway) and were far removed from the Monet's that many (including myself) are accustomed to seeing. The later works were not really to my taste, but still, there were some classics and some drop dead gorgeous paintings.

Back to the forum. I had to laugh when one poster accused some of the pieces in this exhibit of being "not of museum quality". What!? Since when is a Monet not museum quality? Okay, there are bound to be some that aren't to one's taste, but, come on!

I had to laugh when a forum member posted this in response to that silliness: "Suddenly it's all very clear . . . Maybe next time you're in town they can trot out a nice Thomas Kinkade for you."

Another highlight of the day, was that I discovered I was near Le Pain Quotidien, a Belgian bakery/coffeehouse. Since I love all things Belgium, and I wanted to try this place out, I figured I'd stop in and grab a sweet. By this point, I was too tired to eat in, but I took note of the atmosphere (they utilize a communal table for dining) and made a mental note that I would definitely stop in again sometime soon. I ended up ordering an Pain au Chocolat with a Brussels tea. Both were lovely, and I need to practice my future orders in French. There were some French speaking staff behind the counter, and frankly, I felt a little self conscious that I don't speak any language other than English. And I hardly manage that with considerable ease!

I Bageled an Onion

Let me explain.

Last night, I took a Knife Skills I workshop at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE). I originally came across the school several months back when I was interested in taking a wine course. Over time, that idea changed and the want of some basic cooking classes took over. I was drawn to the knife skills class because, although I know how to cook (very well, thankyouverymuch), I'm not too comfortable with your standard run of the mill chopping and dicing. I handle a knife as if I'm auditioning for a role in a horror flick. I hack into things with reckless abandonment.

Our instructor, chef Norman Weinstein, was superb. Not only was he incredibly helpful, but funny as well. I really learned a lot and grew more comfortable with the knives we used. Having hands the size of a Barbie Doll, I always figured that smaller would be better for me. Not the case. We worked with an 8" chef's knife only once. That was because Mr. Weinstein wanted us to compare it to the 10" chef's knife he had us use for the remainder of the class. Turns out, he was so right about that.

The techniques I learned last night I think will always be with me, but I know I'll have to practice a lot. In addition to learning the bagel cut (a straight saw cut to the side), and both the high and low technique; the key word of the night was "follow-through". Like in golf. Plus, we were given a handout which detailed what we learned in class to refresh our memories. Also, I can proudly say that I have finally chopped an onion without tears streaming from my eyes. That, my friends, is quite an achievement!

Another thing I liked was Weinstein's honesty about what one needs to stock a basic kitchen. As a professional, he could easily have said we needed tons of knives. Nope. One only needs a few to handle the job.

So, because of my happiness in the course, I am definitely looking into taking another knife skills class. There are four on offer. I learned that you don't need to take them in any order as they are not skills orientated, but usage orientated.

Sophisticated, Escape Artist, New Wave Puritan, Love Bug

These are the traits that identify me for mood, fun, habits, and love.

Take the quiz for yourself and find out your personality traits at Imagini.

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Needing a Detox

Excuse the Bridget Jones like calculations, but my alcohol damage for the week (Saturday to Saturday) was as follows:

3 - Big yummy cups of Sangria
1 - Strawberry martini
2 - Glasses Pinot Noir
3 - Vodka tonics
3 - Shots (2 SoCo and one a watermelon tasting thingy)

The Sangria was consumed at my friend's bridal shower. The martini, after work with friends. The two glasses of Pinot? Originally only meant to be one. I treated myself to my most favorite restaurant, Lamarca, and the waitress gave me another on the house. Rounding off the week was all that vodka...and those shots! Again, this was for the first friend mentioned; but now at her bachelorette party.

Don't get me wrong, the fun times went hand in hand with the fun drinks. I'm not much of a drinker, but to be honest, I feel pickled. I need a detox!

A funny thing happened on the way to the bridal shower. I had to take the NJ Transit train in what seemed like an eternal ride, complete with all local stops. What is it with me, New Jersey, and long exhausted weekend trips anyway? Because the party was out in the sticks, once the train arrived, I had to take a cab from the station to the house. I wasn't exactly feeling the impending cab fare and began to look for an opportunity. I spotted another woman at the ATM machine grasping what appeared to be a shower gift. I approached this total stranger and asked, "Excuse me, are you by any chance going to T's shower?"

Surprised and startled at my question, it turned out she was indeed another shower guest. I asked if she would like to share a cab to D's house; and we both saved time, effort, and money to our destination.

You see, I'm just like that.

Sunday Afternoon at Ikee-ER

Today, I did what I never do much that I should do more often. I went to Ikea. Or, as the family in Maine would call it, "Ikee-ER". One of the luxuries of city living is that places like this actually will do stuff to get you to their locale. Case in point - Ikea offers a free shuttle bus service every weekend, picking up and dropping off from the Port Authority bus terminal. So, it's not unusual to see numerous hipsters waiting in a very, very long line at Gate #5 for this bus.

I went out of want/need of picture frames and didn't find what I was looking for. But I came back with the bendable cutting board (a necessity in my teeny-tiny kitchen), and some cheap towels to place across my windowsill to catch the grime that enters my apartment in the summertime (you have to see it to believe it). Oh, and I couldn't leave without buying some proper Scandinavian licorice.

I like Ikea, but I also hate it. For some time, all I could think was, what is it about this place that leaves me so conflicted? This weekend I figured it out. I go there mainly for the food. Okay, I'll admit it, I treat the cafeteria as if I were really in Sweden. The Swedish meatballs with lingonberry sauce are definitely the highpoint of my trip there. The coffee, which I rarely drink in my day to day life, is strong and smooth. And I get all jazzed up over the decadent desserts (who wouldn't!). My view of Swedish cuisine is forever skewed. I think anyway. I recall visiting the cafe inside the Scandinavia House and feeling let down that the $4.99 meatball plate special was not the focal point of the menu. Such is life I guess.

I guess the moral to the story is that I only emphatically LOVE the place. But, I do enjoy visiting.

So the next time you hear me mention that I went to Ikea, don't first ask what I bought. First ask me what I ate!

Tarrytown

Today, I met up with my mom and cousins in Tarrytown, NY. Mom had wanted to go for awhile and was waiting for good weather and another body in the car for the trip. Her favorite show back in the day was "Dark Shadows", and the feature length films had scenes filmed on location at the Lyndhurst estate, and the Sleepy Hollow cemetery. I was interested too. I figured I'd pay homage to Washington Irving, whose name graces a street and the school that are in close proximity to me.

Turns out, the cemetery was a blast. An old and absolutely huge Victorian set up, complete with mausoleums and beautiful landscaping. The weather was totally agreeable and perfect for exploring. You could get lost here, and at times, we did! We found Washington Irving's grave (who wrote The Legend of Sleepy Hollow) and several cool mausoleums. Oddly enough, they are not really built for the living to enjoy. We found this out from all the effort it took to peer inside where we saw busts and statues, stained glass windows and mosaic tiles. Beautiful. The Rockefeller's mausoleum looks like one should be taking an oath in front of it. What we didn't anticipate were deer - lots of them. With the cemetery situated near woods, and the isolation and greenery of the cemetery, it makes it ideal for their lifestyle.

Naturally, any outing with family results in dirty jokes and much laughter. Some of the surnames on these graves left us in complete stitches with our jokes expanding into "what ifs" and "imagine ifs".

I think we all underestimated how much there was to do there, because we focused on the cemetery for the better part of the day. The center of town was like any other in Westchester County, complete with antique shops and such sprinkled all over. On a recommendation from my co-worker, we ate at Bella's for some good diner food, and had homemade ice cream at Main Street Sweets. Afterwards, we strolled up and down Main Street stopping into the quaint shops.

In the end, we had no time for Lyndhurst, the Rockefeller estate, or Irving's Sunnyside home.

I'm still waiting for photos back from my cousin's camera. She managed to get perfect pictures with a cheapo camera, close up, of the deer. Isn't that always the case? I'll add them when she gets around to sending them to me.

You can see my pictures here.

Freak Out! LeSportsac, C'est Chic. Freak Out!

Yesterday, a co-worker and I ducked out of work and schlepped down to the Metropolitan Pavilion for the LeSportsac sample sale. Apparently, and according to those working there (I guess you could say those in-the-know), this was LeSportsac’s first sample sale in fifteen years. The stuff would be up to 80% off the regular retail price!!

The line outside the sale was L-O-N-G. We waited an hour just to get inside. Thankfully, bossman was away on business, or else we would never have gotten away with that crime against humanity. They were only letting five in for every five people who left. The thing I hate about long lines full of anticipated and easy to anger persons is that you’ve got that infamous game of Telephone going on (or "Chinese whispers" for my un-PC readers). This is great when you really want to create crowd chaos [insert sarcasm here]. Rumors become rampant, and things are taken out of context. To give you a for instance - When someone from the sale came down and told the crowd that the line to pay by credit card was about an hour wait and if you pay in cash, the cash line will be shorter, you heard whispers of “we can only pay in cash!” Of course, someone turns to the other and says, “She said we can only pay in cash, no credit cards”. Not true there, rabble rouser. I can only dare to imagine what that comment turned into by the time it reached the end of the line.

Once we managed to get in, it was well worth it. Luckily, because the space at the MP is big, everything was very organized and easily accessible - considering the ensuing madhouse. There was A LOT of inventory. My heart beating and my feet on go; I bolted around the place clutching the huge bluish-clear heavy grade garbage bag they pass out to you at the entrance for a shopping bag. The thing to do is grab what looks good, throw it in your bag and inspect it later to see if you actually want it.

Prices on the wall indicated the more you bought, the more you saved. So, say, a cell phone holder was for $10. If you bought three of them, they would go down to about $6 each. You catch my drift?

In the end I amassed quite the pile of booty. The line to pay by credit card was long. The cash line? Like, five minutes. I thought I had enough to pay by cash, but ended up having to borrow from said co-worker. Otherwise, I would have been banished to the back of the credit card line like I was being dragged away to a Turkish prison. Perish the thought.

What did I get for my blood, sweat and tears?

• Three Bitsy black cell phone holders [can be used to hold other things] (for myself, my mom and as a gift)

• Two black Sallie camera bags (one for myself, one for mom)

• Two Majorica print purses (one for myself, the other for a relative)

• Plaid Lux small traveller tote

• Stagelights small traveller tote

• Traditional Basic black purse (for mom)

• A classic Black & White Spectator bum bag (for mom)

• Traditional Basic black key coin pouch

Native American Festival & Shad Fest

5th Annual Drums Along The Hudson: A Native American Festival and Shad Fest
Sunday, Apr 29, 2007
11:00 am - 6:00 pm
Manhattan

"Drums Along The Hudson celebrates the spirit of the drum that is the heart, culture and tradition of the Native American people. The event features a powerful get-together of mesmerizing drumming from around the world and includes intertribal social dances like the Round Dance, the Iroquois Smoke Dance, and the Jingle Dance. International foods, Native American crafts and artwork will be for sale.

Shad Fest celebrates the annual return of spawning shad to the Hudson River. Shad Planking demonstrations by Chris Letts of the Hudson River Foundation and free tastings are featured. "Planking " is a Native American cooking method taught to the European settlers. Shad, considered a delicacy, are the only fish that the D.E.C. permits to be commercially caught from the Hudson River because their life cycle allows them to remain PCB-free and, therefore, safe to eat."

Yesterday, I took a journey (and I really mean journey!) to Inwood Park in Upper Manhattan for the Native American Festival & Shad Fest. In what took, like, forever to finally reach my destination, I actually ended up having a good time.

This is the 5th annual festival, and its infancy kind of shows. The representation of tribes was minimal at best. The Iroquois nation made up the bulk of the tribes there, followed by some South American and Caribbean tribes. I felt like there should have been more US and Canada tribes present, and I wondered who was doing the PR for this event. The Algonquin nation is in New England and could have made their presence known too. I hope that in the future, we do begin to see many more tribes featured at this festival. After all, according to the 2000 census, there are over 40,000 Native Americans residing in New York City.

One area was set up for vendors, a lot of it was focused on arts and crafts. I didn't find the right kind of bear (muwin) pendant I was looking for.

Photos here.

Sutra

Friday night and Saturday morning seemed to mesh into one as I felt like I pulled double duty.

I was invited to my friend D's birthday party (she's on the right in the photo), which was a co-bash with another one of her friends. Originally, I assumed I would just stay for a few hours before going home. But, the fun was on and the night was long.

The party started at a club downtown called Sutra. I thought I was fashionably late, but I was the first one to arrive! Once D showed up, everyone else seemed to pop out of the woodwork with her. Soon, the spot was filled up and the music jumping. D ordered a vodka buffet of sorts and the barmaid arrived with a bottle of Ketel One, buckets of ice, drinking glasses, and several carafes of various drink accouterments (tonic water, club soda, cranberry). At least I was being abstemious with the alcohol (only a few to my credit).

Supposedly, Woody Harrelson was in the house. In another room is more like it. If it wasn't him, the bodyguard who was blocking the doorway to the backroom most certainly was acting like he was there. David Blaine made an appearance that night, but outside while D was out there. Me? I seemed to miss the celebs, but this weekend I did see Rachel Dratch (again) of SNL fame walk by me on my street. She was with another person, so I didn't have to see her bugged out eyes staring back. She lives in my nabe but stares at you like she can't place your face. Weird.

So, after the party cleared out, a small group of us were left and we decided to hot foot it to another club. With time not on our side anymore (2am-ish), we decided to go for Belgian frites on Ave A & 7th St. The night was to only get wackier. While waiting for our order, we noticed a man standing in the streets screaming at everyone. He was one of those crazies who stands there in front of the cars, waits for the lights to turn green, and begins acting up in order to hold up traffic.

We must have caught his attention because he came over and began declaring that he was born here, therefore in the neighborhood first, and people like us had no right to be there. Blah, blah, blah. Whatever. His face was covered with those poor looking jail-house type tattoos and he was obviously under the influence of something. I passed my pepper spray to one of the guys in our group who was being engaged by this weirdo while L called 911. The police never arrived!! Our order finally arrived and we escaped back to the front of D & L's house to devour our humongous bags of frites. They were lovely, but I made a mental note never to order a large there - ever.

The night ended nicely. It wasn't until 5am that I finally lay my head on my pillow, but it was worth it.

I Don’t Mind The Swim, But The Roundabouts Are A Problem!

1. Go to Google
2. Click on "maps"
3. Click on "get directions"
4. Type New York in the first box (the "from" box)
5. Type London in the second box (the "to" box) & hit "get directions" on the same line
6. Scroll down to step #23

Tartan Week

Tartan Week kicked off today. Actually, this year it's more like Tartan Week(s), as the annual Tartan Day Parade is not until April 14. Since it was absolutely beautiful outside, I walked the twenty five blocks up to Grand Central where the Scottish Village was set up.

While the layout is always the same, the exhibits change. A few years ago, we were able to view William Wallace's sword there. This year, the main exhibits were paltry at best. However, its saving grace were the established vendors that appear to be non-changing.

Last year, I recieved a free mouse pad of the Scottish flag. This year they were handing out hats with the flag on them. I just love free stuff!!

I was especially interested in the Loch Ness Monster exhibit. I'm not into conspiracies or a major believer in legends, but, if there is one thing I believe in, it's Nessie. Don't mess with the Ness! Of course, there are always the contests, and travel pamphlets galore. I must have entered about three of them to win various trips to Scotland. Don't discount sweepstakes, I certainly don't. I won a trip to England one year through one.

Other than that, visiting the vendors was fun. There was Best of Scotland, which has very beautiful and very expensive cashmere sweaters. Ancestral Scotland allows one to research their Scottish roots on a computer. Thistle & Broom sells luxury clothing, and uses only resources from Scotland. Of course, no visit was complete without a stop at the Scottish Gourmet! I managed to stay away from the tablet (um, tablet!), but ended up purchasing lavendar shortbread for my grandmother, and some pinhead oatmeal for myself. There were many others there, but the ones I listed were the vendors I spent a considerable amount of time visiting.

Walking around, I got a great feeling about myself. A sense of pride. Although I'm English first and foremost, I am deeply proud of my Scottish heritage. Especially since I can trace my ancestry back to the Massacre of Glencoe.

Overall, the atmosphere of the village was one of fun and good times. Regardless of what exhibits are there, each year I manage to have a great time.

Hand Over Mouth, Press Firmly.

Last night, I went out for drinks with a few of my co-workers. Usually, we choose our regular hangouts in the garment district where we clink glasses among all the other garmentos. This time, since the president of our division had a say, and his trusty Am-Ex black card to use (YEAH!), we headed to the Library Hotel for drinks. It was a beautiful unusually hot day yesterday, and we were so looking forward to snag an open spot on the rooftop lounge. However, since everyone and their brother were also enjoying the weather, there wasn't enough room to accommodate us. The ground level lounge would have to suffice.

Well. After much libation, the emotions and friendliness flowed like a river. Boss Man had to leave, and the rest of us were left to our own devices. The mood of the night quickly changed and we were all loosey-goosey with our feelings and laughter. Now, I have an uncanny knack of being full out piss drunk while managing to restrain myself from doing anything weird or out of the ordinary. Lucky for me. Lucky for everyone. Anyway, I was able to shock everyone present with a few saucy confessions, and without doing permanent damage to my reputation. Thank God.

However, the next day, I had this feeling of dread on my way into work of having to face these few co-workers. At first, I couldn't figure out why, because I wasn't the only one who had freed up the 411. I also worried how things would have been had I been out of control and revealed too much. It's not like I once worked at the Bunny Ranch, or Peep World, or anything like that. We all have a past and our experiences are subjective to both the listener and the storyteller. I guess that deep down I realized that my co-workers never really got to know me outside of work. In truth, I felt naked. It was just that I did something I rarely do and always seem to have trouble with - I opened up. Made myself vulnerable. My private life was now up for everyone to interpret in a whole different way. What did they think of me prior to this night, I wondered? What do they think of me now?

Arriving at work, it wasn't bad. Again, it's not like I did anything crazy. I just admitted to some past fun times and revealed some personal opinions. Now? There's a new comfort level that I am just like the rest. Had I kept my mouth shut the entire night, people might have continued to think of me as too shy and polite.

This was supposed to be a fun night - and it was.