Paper Bag on My Head

Does The Look of This Blog Describe Me As A Person?

2011-02-01T18:25:00.007-05:00

As you can see, I'm looking for a new look. Not that I don't like the same basic design that I've had since 2004, I just figured maybe part of my apathy towards this whole thing is that I'm tired of seeing it.

Now the problem is finding a theme that lines up with me as a person. And since I find it hard to leave the house without changing my shoes (or at least thinking about it) once or twice, it might take some time before I find a theme that I'm comfortable with.

In the meantime, I just now realized that I've had this blog since 2004. Which is a long time, and pretty unbelievable. 7 years. Or maybe 6, since last year it was pretty much in hibernation. Still. Maybe I'm more dedicated to this than I give myself credit for.

I'll also give a shout-out to my first blog. From 10 years ago. It still exists. Although not in the super awesome original format. It looked a little more like the old-timey internet. I was mostly preoccupied with dissing George W. Bush, and finding internet article about science.

So there it is. And judging by my old blog, there it will sit for a long time. Even if I don't do anything about it.

P.S. Some of the links on WigglePuppy still work. Make sure you check out "Paint By Numbers". The username/password for that blog is long lost in my brain so I can't unlink the bad ones.

Here's to Excuses

2011-01-18T11:29:00.010-05:00

I've decided that my goal for this week (which relates back to my New Year's Megaresolution) is to get back in the habit of tracking all of my calories. I know this is probably one of the least exciting things in the world to write about. So - my bad.

I was so good about it before I started working two jobs. Then all my healthy habits flew right out the window because when you only have about 20 minutes to eat between jobs, those Golden Arches are pretty quick and convenient. And cheap. I've managed to get in the habit of packing my breakfast and lunch with me to work, but taking three meals was getting a little ridiculous. And, cooking and eating dinner at 10 or 11 when I finally got home was pretty much impossible. Mostly because doing dishes at 11:30pm is pretty terrible.

Those are my excuses. Work, work and more work. I'm not even going to get started on the huge piles of snow and ice and slush on my running route. Because that is a whole different goal for the week, and a whole different pack of reasons why I can't do the healthy things that I should be doing. But that's another (not particularly exciting to anyone but me) blog post for another day.

January 1.0

2011-01-10T14:09:00.004-05:00

Last year was a terrible year for this blog. Lost inspiration, lost motivation, but in the end I missed doing it.

So we begin again with the best of intentions.

This is one of the first years in a long time that I've actually written down some New Year's Resolutions. I'm trying my best not to be pessimistic about them. Or cynical about the whole idea. One of those includes updating this puppy regularly. Right now, I'm trying for every two weeks. (Hopefully I can get up to once a week, but let's be realistic.)

Maybe I can get Morsa over there to join in the fun. And then maybe good ol' Bungalow Bill won't be the only one posting away.

Happy New Year and Wish Me Luck

New York Summer

2010-05-01T13:17:00.001-05:00

New York Summer
Originally uploaded by transplant

Susan and Her Hand-Held Computing Device

Happy Valentines Day!

2010-02-14T13:37:00.003-05:00

(what's the point of having a dog if you can't do silly things like this anyway?)

Tornado*

2010-01-21T01:55:00.004-05:00

*Now, with more destruction.

So far I've destroyed a few barns and a few houses. The drawing I'm working on now just has tiny people flying around. I've always been afraid of tornadoes. I think it goes along with my childhood fear of big storms in general, combined with living on the edge of, and visiting family in Tornado Alley. I remember a summer when we visited Chadron, and because there had been a big storm right before we arrived there was broken glass and dented cars everywhere. All the adults were making sure us kids had shoes on when we were playing outside so we wouldn't cut our feet.

These days though I stay up late listening to music and drawing them. I'm pretty sure I've drawn millions of tiny dots by now.

Jolly Holidays

2010-01-01T13:16:00.004-05:00

So it went like this....

Giggle giggle giggle. Jokes. Hehehehe. Jokes about us making jokes. Giggle giggle. Hehe. Gin game. (There were well over 10 games of Gin to 250-300 pts.) Fun stuff like taking pictures, going to West Side Story and then sitting in a rotating bar, and making ornaments. Plus more jokes and laughing. And some Trivial Pursuit. Good Times. Especially if you're a Sis.

Giving Thanks at Tom and Jerry's

2009-11-28T00:42:00.001-05:00

Giving Thanks at Tom and Jerry's
Originally uploaded by transplant

Halloween

2009-10-31T21:49:00.001-05:00

Halloween
Originally uploaded by transplant

Susan

Tornado

2009-10-18T20:54:00.000-05:00

Grand Opening

2009-08-11T09:39:00.003-05:00

On Sunday the Maple Leaf Bakery in my 'hood opened up with quite a ceremony. There was a whole team of traditional dragon dancers and drummers (with numbered uniforms) plus a table and really long pole with cabbage (among other things) on them, plus a whole crowd of onlookers taking part. The drumming was out of sync, and it took more than a few minutes of organizing and smoke breaks to get started, but they did put on a show! The dragons danced around, also not quite in time with each other or the music, and danced inside and while the owners and their families were stuffed in the corners of the place. It was a funny thing to walk into on your way home from the train and I hope they have good luck with their new venture. I'm pretty sure that's what it was about, since it wouldn't seem like a good idea to tempt dragons into your store with cabbage and shallots and things if they weren't going to help make you successful.

Takin' the Kids for a Bath

2009-07-12T09:24:00.003-05:00

It's been a very rainy summer. I think I remember hearing for the month of June it rained 23 of 30 days. It rained more days than it did in Seattle, although it wasn't steady rain really, just a series of never-ending thunderstorms. Which is just fine with me. I also on a couple of occasions grabbed all 12 plant kids from their various shelves and tables and set them out on the fire escape for a shower or two. They certainly seemed to like having all the dust washed off and getting a drink of rainwater.

Sleeping on the N

2009-06-19T21:10:00.001-05:00

Sleeping on the N
Originally uploaded by transplant

Early Career Video Games

2009-06-04T16:30:00.002-05:00

Here's a fun distraction. And another one. Ahhh. Memories.

Internet Radio

2009-06-01T09:08:00.004-05:00

My friend Jason (that's his tattoo below) grew up in Cincinnati and has been listening to this radio station WOXY since he was a kid. They were one of the first internet only radio stations and are still one of the best indie rock stations around. So check it out for some anti-Clear Channel mega-corporation goodness.

Sunday Dinner

2009-05-31T18:31:00.002-05:00

I try to get my chickens from the Halal butcher down the street. Which, according to some people could be more humane than traditional methods. But of course the argument goes both ways. The reason I like getting chickens from them is because they are never frozen, and not shipped across the country before you buy them. Plus even though it was kind of creepy at first, it's kind of reassuring to be able to look into his little chicken face before you eat him.

NYC

2009-05-28T11:28:00.001-05:00

NYC
Originally uploaded by transplant

(it's a parking garage)

photo.jpg

2009-05-18T16:25:00.001-05:00

photo.jpg
Originally uploaded by transplant

Susan

photo.jpg

2009-05-15T18:35:00.001-05:00

photo.jpg
Originally uploaded by transplant

Susan

Clown Number Two

2009-04-21T17:00:00.001-05:00

Clown Number Two
Originally uploaded by transplant

This makes two Working Clown sightings. Strange!

I Guess I've Always Been Hilarious

2009-04-11T17:34:00.007-05:00

And never been able to take many pictures with a straight face. I believe this was taken in a photo booth in the Casper mall. Good Spring cleaning find.

Routine

2009-03-17T09:56:00.002-05:00

Routine
Originally uploaded by transplant

Most of the time I get on the train and everyone is (relatively) normal. Other times I get to ride with a clown on his way to work. If you look close you can see his pants are covered with stars.

I'm not sure what happened to February. I think it fell down a hole of really cold weather and nothing worth blogging about. I figured this was a good way to start up again before March is over and I really have to work to catch up on my posts.

The good news is that I can get away with wearing a lighter coat with a sweater instead of my heavy winter gear.

Neighborhood

2009-02-01T01:36:00.001-05:00

Neighborhood
Originally uploaded by transplant

Susan

Me and My Shadow

2009-01-19T23:56:00.001-05:00

Me and My Shadow
Originally uploaded by transplant

Susan

New Year. More Posts.

2009-01-07T22:12:00.000-05:00

After a bout of New Year's food poisoning, and having to play post December/Vacation catch up at work I'm ready for the January to February lull that takes this city over. This time of year is when everyone slips into hibernation mode, since we all know the weather doesn't get Really Cold until about now, and some of our biggest snowstorms hit in February.

Anyway. It's hard to believe I've had this blog for 4 going on 5 years. Some of those early posts are pretty silly when I reread them, and lord knows there have been times when updating the ol' blog is the last thing I want to do. But, in the end it's worth keeping up with so what I'm doing all the way across the continent isn't such a big mystery all the time. So. I've decided that since I made it up to 45 entries last year. This year Im going for 50. I think even with the occasional writers block (bloggers block? - that also sounds silly) I can do it.

Santa's Pub Crawl

2008-12-13T19:29:00.003-05:00

Santa's Pub Crawl
Originally uploaded by transplant

I'm off work today, but I had 'city' errands to run so I stopped off
at my favorite bar to have lunch only to find that the whole place has
been taken over by Santas. There is a convention of Santas this
weekend, which means they have taken over the city and and today they
are having a pub crawl. Periodically they sing carols and the whole
thing is pretty jolly and hilarious. Another one of those only in New
York moments.

MiG Nose

2008-11-25T14:08:00.001-05:00

MiG Nose
Originally uploaded by transplant

Animal Time!

2008-11-14T16:39:00.005-05:00

Union Square This Morning

2008-11-11T10:54:00.001-05:00

Union Square This Morning
Originally uploaded by transplant

Susan

Election Day and Some Non-Cynical National Pride

2008-11-04T18:46:00.005-05:00

So. I waited in line to vote for almost 2 hours. Once I got inside, and could see the room where the booths were, and hear the levers of the old voting machines being yanked back and forth it was hard not to think about the many New Yorkers that have used these same machines to vote before me. I know the media has been reminding all of us for about the last two years how historical this election is, but that's certainly how it feels, especially when you're faced with the same process first adopted in this state in 1892, and was used nationwide by the 1930's. The machine I used was newer than that, but most likely is at least 40 years old. That's a lot of elections, and a lot of arms on a lot of people turing knobs and pulling the lever back and forth.
Also, all day today, at work and while walking around the neighborhood at lunch, every conversation I've had, or even the snatches of conversation I've overheard (at least between residents) touches on the election. Most conversations start with "Hey! What's up? Did you Vote?" or are ending with "Are you going to Vote?" or "Don't forget to Vote!" I'm also sure that a lot of people will be out in bars tonight, watching the election results instead of some sort of ball game. Everybody around here is proud to be an American today, and it's fun to walk around a city made up of all nationalities and we're all talking about the same thing.

Listen

2008-10-24T13:40:00.003-05:00

This is how stars sound. The full article is here. I wonder what the Milky Way sounds like.

Night Train

2008-10-20T21:04:00.001-05:00

Night Train
Originally uploaded by transplant

Late Afternoon in My 'Hood

2008-10-12T16:28:00.003-05:00

Late Afternoon in My 'Hood
Uploaded on the go by Winnemucca's Own

I took this while walking home from the vegetable stand balancing 4 bags of groceries on one arm, and holding my phone with my free hand. Fall has finally arrived despite the 75 degree days. It's getting cold at night again, and the stars are a lot clearer without the humidity getting in the way. The leaves are starting to change, and I promised myself I would make it up to Central Park this year to see them.

(It's so far away! - hehehe)

Shelby Sketch

2008-10-09T20:55:00.004-05:00

It's been awhile since I posted a dog picture, so I figure this will do. It was a pretty quick sketch, since she very rarely sits still. Unless I catch her sleeping. Like the picture below. I don't know if I've posted that one before, but it ranks pretty high on my dog picture list. Anyway. We just made it through a bout of doggie sick stomach, but all I can say is thankfully everything is back to normal. Not very exciting, but it certainly was a big disruption around here.

From the Bridge Today

2008-10-08T17:02:00.001-05:00

From the Bridge Today
Originally uploaded by transplant

Here's another pic from my commute in the train home.

My Thumbs'all Red

2008-10-01T18:08:00.004-05:00

Creepy Subway Greenery

2008-09-26T21:53:00.002-05:00

Creepy Subway Greenery
Uploaded on the go by transplant

So every time I wait for BK bound train at Canal street, I see this disgusting and facinating growth of moss that has sprung up on a leaky pipe, and has since spread to the column.

It can't be healthy to be close to that thing.

A Little Color

2008-09-12T20:43:00.006-05:00

A Little Color
Uploaded on the go.

Here it is! It's a little darker in here now, and the room is maybe a millimeter smaller. It's called 'Thermal Spring' which is funny to tell people what color I painted. So far I like it. Shelby was a little concerned when I started moving furniture around, but now everythings back in place so she can relax again.

Shared Culture

2008-09-07T21:32:00.004-05:00

I thought this was pretty neat. I found it through the BBC news website, the article is here and explains the whole project better than I can.

I just like the idea that people of all ages from all over the world can share all of these (mostly happy) memories about something as simple as a song.

Name That Fruit

2008-08-29T18:10:00.004-05:00

Took this in the Great Wall Supermarket down the street from my house. I'll have to do some research I guess and figure out what it is since the sign was in Chinese.

Some Good Music.

2008-08-29T16:10:00.001-05:00

Check out Dr. Dog, the album is "Fate" - and it's pretty good. Can't stop listening to it!

Waiting

2008-08-27T11:09:00.001-05:00

Waiting
Originally uploaded by transplant

Website

2008-08-17T14:45:00.002-05:00

At some point in everyone's life, they stumble on a creepy bug they can't identify and therefore worry about.

A couple of things. Plus pictures!

2008-08-11T21:19:00.006-05:00

So. I recently read Lonesome Dove (again) after purchasing a replacement copy for the one I read until the cover, followed by the back pages. fell off. It's always enjoyable. High on my list of favorite books maybe, although that is a hard list to keep track of because all the books I read over and over mean different things at different times.

I got stuck on the internet the other day on the Netflix website, looking at movies that are unique to different cities around the country. For instance, number one is Brooklyn is a documentary about Hasidism in America, in Salt Lake, people are watching a movie about the early days of the Mormon religion more than anywhere else, and in Elizabethtown Kentucky, people rent Stephen King's Desperation at a higher rate than most everyone. It's kinda interesting.

Here is a picture! Or two!

The one above I changed to black and white, then fussed with the exposure in photoshop a bit. the one below I flipped upside down and turned black and white.

They are pictures from the lobby of the Hyatt hotel in San Fran along the Embarcadero.

Something Tiny and Amazing

2008-07-27T21:27:00.003-05:00

While I was taking Shelby out tonight, I came across a dead leaf that appeared to be hovering in mid-air about four feet above the ground, just off the sidewalk in the park. It was hanging from a tree branch, attached to a long piece of silk from a caterpillar or maybe a spider, gently twisting and floating around in the breeze. I left all my gadgets at home, so I'll just have to remember it instead.

From The Archives

2008-07-27T20:23:00.006-05:00

Tiny Pa. I like this picture a lot. It was also when Lil' Sis and I were trying to take a picture of him between her fingers. Which we couldn't get right. Which I guess is good because then we would have been crushing him Kids in the Hall style.

Over the Bridge Again

2008-07-12T14:58:00.001-05:00

Over the Bridge Again
Originally uploaded by transplant

Here is a view that I see every day. Sometimes its dark out. Sometimes its morning. But this is definitely something I see everyday.

I've mentioned it before, but I still like how the bridge always looks twisted and crooked, while the background is normal. Go Go Gadget camera phone.

Happy Independence

2008-07-05T20:31:00.004-05:00

Happy Independence
Originally uploaded on the go by transplant

Here is a picture of the cheese beer. I went to a 4th of July party that was also a re-Americanization of a girl who spent the last year studying abroad. Hence the slice of American cheese stuck to my beer, (which was accidental, I dropped it but it stuck there which was super great.) Eventually I made a face in the cheese, but didn't get a good pic.

Anyway. The 4th of July in Brooklyn is an amazing thing. Everyone migrates upwards towards their roofs, barbeques up there, and then watches millions of dollars explode in the form of fireworks. It makes for a great holiday cause you can hear everyone clapping and cheering across Brooklyn. We had fireworks in the shape of smiley faces, some 3D cubes, and some fireworks that were wiggly lines that hung almost stationary in the air for about a minute.

Nighttime

2008-06-30T20:55:00.003-05:00

Wishes

2008-06-29T19:44:00.006-05:00

I cook quite a few chickens, less in the summertime because it's hot enough without me adding to the problem. I'm saving these up in case I need a wish granted I think. I've been told that they are kind of creepy or gross, and I guess I can understand that, but these people don't know that one of my childhood treasures was a little mouse skull that I found out under a bush on one of our many day trips. (It was already clean when I found it.)
I also remember always asking my dad to try to save the wishbone when we had a whole chicken or a turkey so us kids could snap it and hopefully get a wish granted, but now I understand that they are fragile little things, and a lot of times there isn't much you can do to make sure you get a whole one.

Lil' Tattoo Story

2008-06-24T19:04:00.005-05:00

So. I was at the hardware store the other day in Manhattan. (I'm glad growing up how I did made it so I don't feel out of place in hardware stores.) Anyway. I was getting some duplicate keys made for work, and the guy that was ringing me up on the register said

"Hey, nice tattoo. The coloring on that is really good." And then pointed it out to his co-worker.

And then we had a little chat about where I got it and all of that fun stuff, but I figure that the compliment ranks pretty high. I'd much rather have old dudes with tattoos they got before it was popular tell me they like it, than some lady with a Tweety Bird Smoking A Joint tattoo on her ankle tell me it's nice. So that made me proud. The Tweety Bird tattoo is something that I saw recently on one of our customers, and I thought it was one of the worst I've seen but also hilarious.

I'm still super happy that I got it. It's Awesome.

Summertime Clouds

2008-06-23T22:04:00.003-05:00

Originally uploaded on the go by transplant

From the Archives

2008-06-18T22:20:00.004-05:00

I took this picture awhile ago. I see a shiny drink case pretty much everyday, since at some point I usually have to go in a corner store for toilet paper or something, not to mention the drug stores, pizza places or delis. Like tonight, when I ran out of milk, or earlier today when I had to go to the drug store to pick up some bandaids for the first aid kit at work.

And if you're looking for some new news. My plant has done this. Maybe it's flowering, but there aren't any petals, so maybe its a bud. I've had this plant for a few years now, and repotted it twice, but this is something new. It was very surprising though, since it seemed to sprout overnight, and it grows a little taller everyday. Anyway. I was kinda amazed and proud of my little plant, and have been keeping a close eye on it.

Over the Bridge Again

2008-06-12T10:34:00.001-05:00

Over the Bridge Again
Originally uploaded by transplant

I took this on my way home from work. Because the lil' shutter (or whatever it is in a digital camera phone) is at a pretty slow speed, the bridge and walkway came out kinda curved. An indication of how fast we were traveling at the time.

Anyway. Its been oppressively hot for the last couple of days. I'm not going to start up the dry vs. humid argument again, but this was pretty gross. Standing on a sunny corner in Manhattan when it's 99 degrees with no breeze, baking in the heat being reflected off of the concrete sidewalks, buildings, and all the heat being generated by the cars crawling by PLUS high humidity makes for some miserable conditions. Kinda like being an ant under a magnifying glass. The only tradeoff is that when the weather us like this there are usually some pretty good thunderstorms at dusk into the evening.

Blahg

2008-06-08T09:08:00.004-05:00

I've been somewhat of an apathetic blogger lately. Not feeling too clever or something. I figure the best way to get going is to post another picture, without worrying too much about what I should say about it.

Lil' Sis took this picture (along with some very very silly videos) on our way back to Reno after visiting the Muc. I think between that and the singing along to Tom Petty really loudly it was a good trip. Even with the forgotten melted Gummi bear heads stuck to the dashboard the next morning.

New York City

2008-05-05T17:13:00.003-05:00

New York City
Originally uploaded by transplant

Susan

Pictures

2008-05-03T00:49:00.002-05:00

I think we all took about a million pictures of those logs from various angles

Looking at this reminds me of the sound of the wind blowing through there and making that rusty hubcap creak.

I like the color of the sky in this one...

More to come...

The Man

2008-04-28T18:13:00.001-05:00

The Man
Originally uploaded by transplant

My flight from Houston to NYC is delayed about 2 hours, due to what is probably bad weather and general congestion at the airport there. Its actually kind of a good thing. It gave me a little time to grab a bite to eat and wander around a bit.

I thought this statue was amusing because of the casual action pose. (Was GB1 known for throwing his coat over his shoulder???) The airport is alright, lots of shops and such. They also have a chapel. Which is something I've never seen at any other airport. I'm off to wait, and hopefully find an outlet to charge up my Gameboy.

Breakfast in SF

2008-04-19T14:26:00.001-05:00

Breakfast in SF
Originally uploaded by transplant

We went to a diner where they serve coffee in mismatched random cups.
This was mine. There were also boobs, M&M's, and a Statue of Liberty
one. The food was basic diner breakfast but delicious.

Susan

Spring

2008-04-14T17:56:00.001-05:00

Spring
Originally uploaded by transplant

After a long long long cold February and March its finally Spring here! Trees are budding, birds are chirping, and we're all getting excited for summer.

I took this on my walk home from the train.

Good One

2008-04-12T21:55:00.003-05:00

Hey Pa!

Why didn't you tell me that Beggars Banquet was such a good album?

Haha.

I've been listening to it a lot.

The Future

2008-03-29T22:48:00.001-05:00

The Future
Originally uploaded by transplant

Susan

Train stop

2008-03-06T15:46:00.001-05:00

Train stop
Originally uploaded by transplant

Susan

Funny Dog

2008-03-03T21:28:00.002-05:00

Funny Dog
Originally uploaded by transplant

I'm not trying to turn this into a dog blog or anything. But then Shelby pulls a classic dog pose and I can't help it.

Homeward

2008-03-02T23:24:00.003-05:00

Homeward
Originally uploaded by transplant

I took this on the way home out of the train window while going over the bridge. Tough to get a clear shot with the bridge supports and whatnot flying by. The view is always pretty great no matter the weather though.

Shelby Loves Her Hat

2008-02-26T20:59:00.000-05:00

Guilty Pleasure

2008-02-25T22:10:00.003-05:00

So I have watched a couple of episodes of My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad on NBC, and although no one dies or gets exploded or is a really rich overly dramatic teenager, it's strangely compelling. Kind of like a Japanese Game Show for The American Family.

Last episode the dads had to launch their kids (who were all harnessed up and holding big foam darts) off of this platform, so they could swing through the air and try get a bulls-eye on a super giant target. They were pretty high up, and a couple of kids smacked into the padded wall kinda hard.

This week, the final two dads had to pick up scorpions off a conveyor belt and carry them over to a tank where their kids were sitting and drop them in. The dad with the most was the winner, which this week was the Cool Kid and Nerdy Dad combo. It's also kind of touching to see these dads do all this crazy stuff so their kids aren't disappointed, like the guy who climbed up a 4 story high fake tree even though he was clearly afraid of heights and couldn't go very fast.

Anyway. I like it.

My View

2008-02-16T16:07:00.009-05:00

This was my view of the checkers game. I think it was the intense evil concentration that Morsa was using against me that won her the game. Also. I don't have very many pictures of us making normal faces as you all can imagine.

This is of our fellow tourists taking pictures off the side of the boat. I ended up the frame of the people sitting next to us who were taking pictures of themselves and the boat. Hopefully they notice me with a big cheesy smile (and the remaining half of a breakfast sandwhich in hand) in the background of their vacation pictures. Anyway, I liked this picture.

Lower Manhattan looking unreal.

Sara Loves Liberty

2008-01-16T00:01:00.000-05:00

I sure had fun running around with my sis. We finally made it to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, (which was still fun the 2nd time around). I have been having trouble uploading pics to blogger for some reason, but I finally got these two to work.

Mache Monsters

2008-01-11T19:05:00.000-05:00

Raaarrr!!! We successfully finished our Mache Monsters, it took a couple of days (with some drying time) but they ended up pretty scary. Hehehe. I haven't thought of a name yet though. The eyebrows are pipecleaners. So are the arms.

2007-12-12T22:35:00.000-05:00

2007-12-12T18:30:00.000-05:00

Windy Night

2007-12-04T19:15:00.000-05:00

It's another windy night. I forgot just how much Shelby likes cold and windy weather. She acts like a 8 year old kid who just ate 1,000 pixie sticks and drank a bunch of sodas. Her ears and movements gets all pointy and fast. It's pretty hilarious.

Two things are for sure tonight. The housecats are all inside and there is no one looking down from the top of the Empire State Building.

First Snow

2007-12-02T21:22:00.001-05:00

Snowy station
Originally uploaded by transplant

Today I woke up to a bit of snow on the ground and the general feeling that winter had finally arrived. I never mind the cold if there is snow on the ground.

Bus Drivin

2007-11-20T19:31:00.000-05:00

We went to the MTA Transit Museum today. It was pretty cool cause the whole thing is in an old but still functional subway station. They had some good exhibits, lots of old subway cars with vintage ads in them, and some buses you could pretend to drive. Big Bro makes a jolly bus driver.

I look like Im going to run someone over.

At Home

2007-10-25T18:43:00.000-05:00

Miracles of Modern Technology

2007-10-25T03:15:00.001-05:00

Im writing this from an internet kiosk in El Aeropuerto in Madrid. I ended coming here for training instead of Mallorca, which was a nice surprise. I didnt take too many pictures or walk around too much because I was working until almost dark and the weather was not very picturesque.

I did see a bit of the city though, and meet and reunite with some of my favorite Spaniards though so that part of the trip was good. Its funny to me that I always end up getting shown around in the 'coolest' parts of cities when I visit, I think because Im from New York, and people like to show off the parts of their cities that are most like SOHO. Little do these people know that Im a small town girl at heart and the opportunity to travel anywhere and see international cities is amazing to me, whether I see the cool parts or not.

Ill post a couple of pictures when I get back to New York. Right now though Im sitting out a 2 hour delay due to bad weather in New Jersey. Boredom at its best. Too bad Idont have my sis around to play cribbage and make up slightly delirious songs about waiting

Greener Thumbs

2007-09-25T18:54:00.000-05:00

Before (2005)

After (Now)

I realized today that I have a total of 9 successful houseplants, which is a lot but not a whole lot since the majority of them are pretty small. I have lost only 1 other plant in the last year or so, due to a complete lack of understanding of what it needed. After trying varying levels of water and light it dried up and died anyway, but I figure 9 out of 10 is pretty good.

I get all of these plants from a store down the street. They always give me a tip or two when I get a plant from them, and gave me some potting soil for free when I needed it which was pretty sweet.

Old Man Bunny

2007-09-17T21:28:00.000-05:00

Lots O' Dots

2007-09-12T21:48:00.000-05:00

A Good Thing About Today

2007-09-11T21:21:00.000-05:00

Today is the day in my neighborhood when burly men can hug each other in the street outside the bar and do that manly hug that is all embracing, with lots hard pats on the back without looking around and feeling embarrassed.

I think its a better reminder than having to watch all of the news shows with the same footage and same stories fake being empathetic so they can all pat themselves on the back for the Best 10 o'clock 9/11 Retrospective News Special Feature anyway.

King Robot, Lemonhead and Fishface

2007-09-03T16:36:00.000-05:00

Thank You Carl Sagan and Anonymous Chinese Girl

2007-08-31T19:31:00.000-05:00

Two things happened at once the other day, which led to a funny and kind of interesting thought. I've been reading Contact by Carl Sagan, and really enjoying it. I also watched the beginning of Wizard of Oz, before my Netflix disc gave up and was unplayable. One of the biggest ideas in Contact is that we have been sending our TV transmissions out into space for a really long time, and any alien civilization that has been paying attention has also been able to watch our tv. As I was watching Wizard of Oz, I couldn't help but wonder what the aliens (or the future anthropoligists) think of the movie the Wizard of Oz. Because parts of it are completely crazy. Of course, there is a lot of TV out there that would make other civilizations think twice about the mental well being of all of us Earthlings. Anyway. Maybe we need to send the aliens a copy of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon too.

Here's a bit 'o luck/good karma story that happened to me the other day. I have a small, pink stuffed dog on my house keys, which I have had for a little over a year, and usually is hanging off of my belt loop with the keys tucked into my pocket. It keeps me from locking the keys inside of my apartment, or forgetting them at work. On my morning commute, after waking up extremely late and being generally grumpy, I noticed that it had fallen off in the train station where I switch to the local train. It was upsetting in the "I know it's only a keychain, but I am attached to it anyway so it sucks that its gone" kind of way, but since I was already running late for work, I couldn't really go back and look for it wihch made me even grumpier. BUT as I was walking up the steps to the next train this Chinese girl tapped me on the shoulder and handed it to me. Apparently she followed me around the station to give it back to me. Which was very awesome. Needless to say I thanked her profusely, and then we both went on our ways. It certainly brightened up my day.

Now Thats What I Call An Endorsement.

2007-08-14T22:45:00.000-05:00

The Mice Parade Album called Mice Parade is really really really really really really really really good. Thats a lot of reallys. But I really like it. Even more than I really liked the Blonde Redhead album. Because the Blonde Redhead has a couple of tracks that I skip over. But I don't do that with any of the songs on this one. Because they're all good. And interesting. Which is also good.

Still Going

2007-08-14T19:33:00.000-05:00

After a little break due to numbness in the crocheting finger, I've been working on completing my blanket. It went a lot faster when I could take it on the train, cause I could finish a color on the trip to and from work. Now I just work on it when I'm watching tv or a movie. Its getting bigger and bigger though!

I Like Taking Pictures When It's Near Dark

2007-08-07T21:03:00.000-05:00

Newish Music

2007-08-06T18:51:00.000-05:00

I got my hands on the newest Blonde Redhead Album. You all should give it a listen. I like it!

Home Again

2007-07-28T10:14:00.000-05:00

The sunrise out of the balcony on my hotel room I stayed in for the Retail Convention in Spain last week. We were in a pretty big hotel on the Marina in the city of Palma. Seeing the sunrise was a regular event, since were were scheduled to leave everyday at 8 or 9. We were also scheduled for "Dinners" which most of the time meant hor'dourves and wine until midnight or after, which made for a very tiring but very fun week.

This was the approach to the beach on the Sunday. Luckily, the girl I was traveling with had one of here friends from HQ take us to a beach about 45 minutes away from our hotel. The road leading up to it was very narrow, it would be a single car road for the US, but in Spain most people have tiny cars that could just barely pass each other going each way. Then there is a dirt parking lot, and you had to walk along a trail for a few minutes before getting to the actual beach.

I've never been on a beach as nice as this one. It was pretty crowded with locals and tourists. It made for an extremely relaxing day. It was a little overcast, but the day was still warm, and so was the water. It wasn't until halfway through this day that I finally felt like I was out of the country.

I didn't get a chance to take pictures or sightsee for the rest of the week, since we were all under a full schedule. There were around 75 managers and other retail affiliated folk attending the conference, which during the day was presentations, workshops, and a long lunch in between. For one of the dinners the company rented a catamaran, and we took it out on the sea, and into a bay where it parked and then the dancing began. I was pretty motion sick from the ride over the waves in the sea, but once we anchored it was pretty still. The rest of the night was dancing and drinks. The DJ played a lot of Italian and Spanish pop hits, which was fun at first, but tiring for the English and German speakers a couple of hours in. Everyone says that the Americans are supposed to be the loud and obnoxious ones. But soon after the music started the dancing and the half naked yelling and whistling Italian and Spanish contingent started whooping it up, we all discovered that the stereotype isn't necessarily true. In the words of one of the managers from the UK - "How often do you get the chance to attend an Italian wedding reception in the Mediteranean?" We also had a scavenger hunt as our teambuilding activity one afternoon, which took us over the mountains of Mallorca. We split up in 10 groups of about 7, and had to travel around to a couple of different towns and take pictures, collect items and all kinds of various scavenger hunt type things. It was a bit like a Real World Road Rules activity. Also pretty funny because the groups were divided so the different countries weren't grouped together so everything had to be translated from Spanish into English, and then into Italian. We did a lot of training and the days were pretty long, but all of the sitting in cold air conditioned rooms looking at power point presentations was made up for enjoying the events at night. It was an almost perfect balance, except for the complete lack of sleep throughout the week.

Procrasti-wha???

2007-07-08T10:06:00.000-05:00

I have, of course, like everyone else have been meaning to update the good ol' blog for quite awhile now. New job, combined with laziness, combined with the mental pile o' crap that I've been meaning to blog but never did is my only excuse. I figured I'd start off easy. With a picture of the dog. I'm happy Morsa's Hazel turned out ok. Having a sick pet sucks. I've had a couple of sick Shelby moments, between the vomiting for 24 hours and the cat scratch in the eye, plus a few others here and there. I'm glad I grew up with my parents, who taught me that pets (and people for that matter) are more indestructable than we think sometimes. Like when my Ma cured Tina's kitty eye infection with some left over people pink eye drops. Anyway.

I've been baking a lot of chickens lately too. It all started with a New York Times article about broiling steaks in a cast iron pan instead of the broiler pan that comes with your oven, which is a great idea. It works good as a small roasting pan too. That pan has quickly become one of my favorites. I'm working on perfecting my seasoning now, since I have figured out how long exactly to cook a chicken without poisioning myself with salmonella. I'm not sure why, but I'm pretty paranoid about raw chicken. Which isn't very logical, considering the amount of raw eggs I have consumed while making cookies. Maybe once it's mixed in with two kinds of sugar, the threat of food poisoning isn't so scary. It's nice to have a good chicken dinner. Then I have a week to eat the rest of the chicken in sandwiches and salads and whatnot. It usually doesn't last that long. Also thanks to big bro for the excellent knife set. I wouldn't be carving chickens every week without it! Any tips on successfully carving a chicken would be appreciated. I get lost around the thigh area, and usually resort to pulling off the meat with a fork or my fingers. It gets kind of barbaric.

My friend Nico was in town last week. It's always great when he's here because he has the knack of bringing all of his friends together in one place for beer and shenanigans. He keeps a pretty random assortment of people as friends, so it makes for some fun times. We spent a sunny Saturday at Coney Island for the Mermaid Parade. Which is part small town parade, and part half assed Burning Man. I liked it, because unlike the big parades in the city, it still feels like a regular people parade, with old time cars and the random motorcyle gang getting in on the parade action along with the freaks on the floats.

Mallorca

2007-05-07T16:42:00.000-05:00

I'm happy to be in a Spanish speaking country. I can read menus, street signs, and all of those types of regular things better. I also get to practice my most awesome "Gracias" again. I got into Spain last night pretty late, and then had the morning off. I walked around and found the closest Western Union, and then went back to the hotel so I could take a swim in their pool and use the sauna while I had time (and to relax)

The pool is pretty small. I think the average backyard pool might be bigger, but it was very nice, just not for actually swimming in. I did some floating on my back, diving underwater, and some general splashing around. I also did a handstand and a couple of somersaults which was pretty sweet. I haven't done that since High School on a choir trip. Good thing I was the only one around! I also went and sat in the sauna, which is kind of strange. I'm always paranoid of getting shut in those places, so it took a little while to relax.

After all that splashing around I took a shower and headed to work. The HQ is pretty much what you might imagine after being in a store or looking at their website. Really nice, open and kind of "Dot Commish" Everyone that I met was really nice though, which was good. I'm learning all about their inventory tracking systems tomorrow.

After work, I walked around for a bit and took a few pics before it got dark.

Boredom at the Airport

2007-05-07T16:28:00.000-05:00

I have had enough drama in the past couple days, so I'm glad that I made it out of Paris. While I was waiting at the airport for about 6 hours I had some time to take pics of the empty room I was sitting in while I was waiting. I tested out all of the "best shot" settings of my camera, made a few old timey movies of random people walking by and generally tried to find ways to past the time. I couldn't even plug in my computer and play the Sims, because in the airport in Paris they don't let you check in early (only 2 hours ahead, and that's just enough time to get through securtiy and to the gate), and there are no plugs in the wall to steal electricity from.

Where are you going?

Bordom. But in Black and White.

Eiffel Tower

2007-05-02T14:21:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I went to the Eiffel tower. It was worth the 45 minute wait in line to get to the top. Even with the little kid behind me kicking me. The view is amazing. It's not the same as going to the top of buildings in New York, because there is nothing tall around the Eiffel Tower to block the view. I went in the late afternoon so the shadows of everything were really long.

I took the elevator up, and the stairs down. The elevator has windows, so it's like being able to see the inside of a bulding on you're way up. And it's a pretty complex structure so even the elevator ride was interesting.

I was reminded of my big bro and all of the planning of subdivisions he does. Paris is very complex and it can be hard to navigate since the streets go pretty much in every direction. What they call organic I guess!

I asked this Irish lady to take my picture, since she had like 5 kids and was lining them all up one by one to take theirs. She was pretty funny. Telling me where to stand and which way to turn to get the best shot. Very motherly. Hehehe.

I liked this one. It's just a pic of the steel girders and stuff from the 2nd floor landing.

This is looking straight down. You can see the line that I had to wait in, except when that when I was in line, it wasn't long enough to make a bend. I'm glad that I went when I did!

Sunday and Stuff

2007-05-02T13:53:00.000-05:00

On Sunday I woke up late and walked to the Notre Dame from my hotel. It was extremely crowded both inside and out, which made the whole thing a little strange and not very "churchy." The architechture was very amazing though, and I saw a lot of things that I remember learning about in school. The stained glass windows were very beautiful, and it's kind of sad that it is becoming somewhat of a lost art. I took all of my pictures on the low light setting, so it looks a lot brighter in the pics then it really was inside. There were also a lot of people trying to use the flash on their cameras, which was really annoying (considering there were signs in multiple languages asking you not too). The surrounding area is also pretty much a tourist trap. There are a lot of souvenier shops and overpriced restaurants all called "Le Cite du Notre Dame" or something like that. There was a "Quasimoto" restuaruant too.

There were people everywhere! Especially crowding up front near the alter trying to get a good picture.

On the way back to the hotel, I sat by the Seine for a few minutes, which is a very popular thing to do. This duck got out of the water and came within 4 feet of me. He was cleaning his feathers and it looked like he was posing.

After I got out of the Notre Dame dark clouds were rolling in over Paris, so I decided to walk back to the hotel. I bought a book on the way back so I would have something to do while it rained. It was nice to sit and read inside and listen to the rain and thunder for the rest of the evening.

On the street outside my hotel, I ran into the male, French version of Shelby. I decided that this was her long lost French boyfriend. It was really strange to be on another continent and see a dog who looked so much like her. He was pulling on the leash when they started to walk like she used to do when I first got her. They at least have to be cousins.

I Louvre Paris.

2007-05-01T05:31:00.000-05:00

Hehehe. I hope that you appreciate my joke. I didn't spend too much time inside the Louvre. Its so huge it really would take a few days to see everything, and I don't have that many days off, so I would rather spend most of that time seeing the city rather than looking at paintings, although I would like to make a trip back just to go to all of the museums. I didn't take a lot of pictures from the inside, since most places they won't let you take pictures anyway. I saw the Mona Lisa, which was a bit of a surreal experience. There were a lot of people crowding around trying to get a look. It's like trying to get to the front row at a concert. You have to sort of push and squirm your way up to the front, as people get up there and look and then fight the crowd back out to the museum. I'm glad I saw it though, it looks pretty much as you would imagine. I went mostly so I could see one of the most famous things in the world. After I saw that, I decided that I wanted to see the Dutch and Flemish paintings from 18th century, since I like those the most because of the realism and the subject matter. This was one of my favorites. If you want to see more of what I'm talking about, your best bet is to type in Dutch Golden Age into wikipedia and surf around.

There are a lot of giant paintings to look at. Most of them bigger than my apartment.

Leading up to the museum there are large well manicured gardens and park space. The pathways are covered in gravel and white bug dust. By the time you have finished walking through, you're shoes are pants are covered. I took this pic on Sunday, so there were a lot of people out enjoying the warm weather and the park. The pictures came out overexposed, but it was a hot day, and there was a lot of dust being kicked up into the air.

There were a lot of people sitting around with their shoes off reading and just generally getting a little sun.

Catching Up

2007-05-01T05:05:00.000-05:00

Today is the French version of Labor Day so I have the day off, and so do most people. Except the restaurant workers. Most of the cafes and bars are still open today, which is good, since I wanted to find a decent cafe to use the wifi connection for free (except the price of my lunch I guess) They're are a lot of blocked off streets, and you can definitely feel that it's a holiday and most people have the day off. I'm sitting in Le Tabac du Chatelet. It looks pretty much like an american bar, but with more tables. There is also a big cigarrette counter like in Amelie with a girl sitting behind it. She doesn't look like the lady in Amelie though. Hehehe.

I'll post all of the pictures that I have been meaning to post, because the connection is much better, and it's free so if it does take a long time it's not like I'll be paying for the time. The next couple are from the day that I saw that big headache statue, as ma said.

This cracked me up when I saw it. Its funny to think that all over the world, whenever someone sees a really dirty car, they'll write the same thing on in.

This was inside St. Eustace, I would really like to hear the pipe organs in all of these old churches. I'm sure that they're pretty amazing. I wonder if this one was still operational. I saw on "Dirty Jobs" on the Discovery channel that it can take up to 20 years to clean and repair a big pipe organ, since there are so many pipes in them and it can be a delicate process. And that would be some very old dust inside there.

The ceilings inside was extremely high, like most old churches. All that open space above your head makes it feel like God is really floating around up there.

Candles.

Eating Snails

2007-04-30T15:17:00.000-05:00

I ate snails tonight. It sounds better if I say escargot, I guess, but in the end its the same thing anyway. They were surprisingly good, and surpisingly not very disgusting to eat. At least if you don't think about them when they were alive. They are prepared in a butter and garlic sauce, so thats pretty much what they taste like. If you chew them for awhile there is a definite "earthy" taste as well. You also get a special snail shell holder and tiny fork to pry them out with. The snails that they serve are pretty big. The shells are about the same size as a golf ball and the meat inside is like a big wad of garlicy gum but not that chewy. I had to ask the waiter how to use the special snail tools which was pretty funny. But if I didn't ask, I would have looked stupider trying to figure it out for myself. Earlier in the evening, I was feeling pretty grumpy about the prospect of wandering around to find a restaurant, or ordering room service again so after my meal of escargot, wine, cafe americano and a chocolate mousse all was well again. As you all know I'm usually not that adventurous of an eater so I'm glad everything tasted so good.

The other night I went out to dinner with a girl I work with, her friends that were visiting from Brazil and a couple of her family memebers to a creperie. I've had crepes before, but only the dessert kind, so I tried the dinner version for the first time. They are thicker, and mine had chicken, mushrooms (like I said, French people love mushrooms) and fromage (cheese) in it. It was a lot to eat, but I couldn't pass up a crepe for dessert too. Everything tasted really delicious, but all of that food upset my stomach pretty horribly. I would eat it again though. Hehehe. Maybe just not as much.

Mmmmmm. Crepes.

The street the creperie was on.

Flying Butts.

2007-04-28T17:37:00.000-05:00

I got up this morning with the intention of heading straight to the Louvre, but it was such a nice day that I decided to walk around for a bit. I walked around out of my immediate neighborhood, and ended up in another that I liked much better. It helped that there were a few stores of the same kind that you would find in the Lower East Side of New York. (Cool shoes, T-shirts, graffiti books and whatnot.) It was kind of funny to see the French version. Anyway, I wandered around and discovered this giant sculpture outside a really old cathedral, that when I have time I'll look up the name. It wasn't a really famous one I don't think, but I really like old churches of all kinds. They are pretty amazing places. Anyway.

The people from the neighborhood, and a few tourists like me were all sitting around on the steps enjoying the sun.

There were also these kids. The one doing the trick was pretty good. It always cracks me up that when you see kids skating, there is always at least one of them taking a picture. It was also a perfect place to practice, even though it was on the church grounds kind of. No one seemed to mind, and looking closely at the concrete, you could tell that the spot had been used a lot.

The church was pretty big, and I didn't really get a good picture of the whole thing. I like this pic though. You can see the flying buttresses and a pigeon on its way to the top. I studied all this architechture in Mrs. Murphy's class, so it's neat to see in person. It's also hard to imagine that these places ever got built. Everything is really intricate, especially considering the level of technology at the time. I also looked in the basement window, but the picture didn't turn out. It was full of what all church basements are full of - lots of folding chairs, which made me giggle.

I have 4 more pictures to post, but it doesn't seem to be working, and it's late so I think I'll put these up now, and finish the rest tomorrow!

Proof

2007-04-27T16:19:00.000-05:00

I like this picture a lot. I was lucky to get it. I was trying to take another long exposure of the cars zooming around the fountain, and happened to catch the couple too.

After work I walked to the Arch de Triumph. So I took a picture of myself in front of it as proof that I was really there. I think I may go back during the day too. The neighborhood that it is in is the most like New York that I have seen so far. It's a big shopping district, but full of regular stores like the Gap, Virgin Megastore and all of those. Some things are the same everywhere.

French movie theater showing all of the American favorites. I wouldn't mind seeing a movie, as long as the French part is in subtitles. I don't think I would enjoy "Pirates des Caribes" very much. I get tired of listening to French that I don't understand as it is!

As seen from a distance. Its strange to me that you can have a pretty modern neighborhood, and then run into really old architechture or monuments like this that have been there for a really long time.

For dinner today, I had an old favorite. Roasted chicken and french fries. This meal will remind me of Peru for the rest of my life probably, since it was one of the things I ate the most of while I was there. There was no palta on the menu, or I would have added that too. I decided that from now on, whenever I visit another country (assuming that I do) I'm going to have this meal at least once. It was pretty good, but not as good as the pollo con papas fritas. While I was looking at the menu, I kept wondering why everything came with fries. Then it occurred to me that maybe they call them French Fries for a reason. Hehehehe. Not my smartest moment thats for sure.
Im off Saturday and Sunday, so I'll be able to take some pictures during the day which will be nice for a change.

Some Happenings

2007-04-26T14:30:00.000-05:00

So, today I ate some cheese that tasted like a moldy basement. I believe that it was goat cheese, and that isn't something that I ever need to eat again. I can't imagine putting that in my mouth and thinking "This is really good!" I have however, begun to get over my texture issues with mushrooms, since pretty much everything I have eaten so far has had some type of mushroom in it. So if nothing else, I can eat those now, even if I can't stomach the moldy basement cheese. The cheese came from a Camper party at the store. We have been having a "Press Event" for the fall collection, and for the new line of Camper Kids shoes. At the end of the event, there was a small party for the employees, which was nice. Luckily, there is a girl in the store who speaks very good english, as well as many other languages who has been translating for me. But it is pretty strange to be at a party where everyone is speaking another language. I figure that if I listen enough, eventually I'll be able to pick up on French. It's also funny that every time I met someone, it had to be explained that I don't speak French, and am training to work in the NY store. Although I can't say it in French, I understand when it is being said about me.
At lunch I went to the post office today, and discovered that French post offices are pretty much the same as the American ones, but a little nicer. When I walked in, there was a guy yelling at the top of his lungs in what seemed to me to be frustration. Which I've seen at the post office in Brooklyn a lot. I have no idea what he was mad about, it went on for about 5 minutes. Everyone was pretty much ignoring him. When I got to the counter, I gave the clerk what has become my trademark phrase "Je suis américain." and so that part was easy. The hard part was figuring out where to put my mail, and which box was the correct one. There was no drop box inside the post office, only on the outside, so I did have to ask a French business man where exactly I should drop my envelope. He laughed at me, but at least I figured it out.
I walked to the Louvre before work (I didn't go in obviously) but the grounds around it are beautiful. Lots of grass, trees and gardens. All very well manicured. Lots of tourists too so I blended in. I'll leave you with a picture of the view from the table where I had a sandwich at lunch.

Night

2007-04-25T15:18:00.000-05:00

Taken around the corner from my Hotel. Paris is certainly a beautiful city.