I spent tonight getting ready for Rhinebeck. I'll be out tomorrow after work, so I knew I needed to get things together tonight. What's left for tomorrow is to get patterns (that I want to shop for yarn for) printed, get food together for the weekend, and last-minute stuff that I can't pack until after I use it in the morning (toiletries and such).
And, of course, I'm packing some knitting to take with me.
I'm exciting since I had to miss Rhinebeck last year. And I'll get to see Ria. Yay!
Showing posts with label ria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ria. Show all posts
12 October 2011
24 August 2011
My Earthquake Experiences
As many of you know, the East Coast experienced an earthquake yesterday (or, as one reporter stated yesterday, we "saw" an earthquake, which still boggles my mind).
This was actually my second earthquake. When I was about 12, I was in an earthquake in San Francisco when I was visiting Orin. He was at work, and I was playing a computer game called Zak McCracken. l loved that game, but it did have a problem. Every once in awhile, Zak would get stuck and he'd just be walking into a wall over and over. And you'd just have to restart the computer. Back in those days, you'd do this by pushing the big, red "RESET" button on the CPU. So I did that.
Just as I did that, the building started shaking, I heard a rumbling, car alarms outside started going off, and I thought, "Holy crap! I just wanted to start Zak over!" A few seconds later, the phone rang. It was Orin. "You okay, kid?"
Wait - what? He's all the way at work and he ALREADY KNOWS what I did??????
"Yeah..? I'm okay."
"Congratulations. You've lived through your first earthquake."
"Heh. Ohhhhhhh."
And then I told him I thought I had caused it all.
Yesterday, Ria was getting ready to leave. We were sitting on the couch when the rumbling noise started and the building began to shake. The noise and the shaking steadily got louder/noticeably more... uh, shaky, and I looked at Ria and said, "Are we having an EARTHQUAKE?"
There are some construction workers on my block, working on the top dome of the church. I heard one of them shout, just as the dog next door began barking like crazy, and Felix scampered off of his window ledge and started doing that half-crawling/half-walking thing cats do when they're frightened. Poor guy. (Although he recovered quite quickly when I crunched his treat bag.)
I heard that the 'quake was felt from NC to Canada and as far west as western Ohio. Any good stories?
This was actually my second earthquake. When I was about 12, I was in an earthquake in San Francisco when I was visiting Orin. He was at work, and I was playing a computer game called Zak McCracken. l loved that game, but it did have a problem. Every once in awhile, Zak would get stuck and he'd just be walking into a wall over and over. And you'd just have to restart the computer. Back in those days, you'd do this by pushing the big, red "RESET" button on the CPU. So I did that.
Just as I did that, the building started shaking, I heard a rumbling, car alarms outside started going off, and I thought, "Holy crap! I just wanted to start Zak over!" A few seconds later, the phone rang. It was Orin. "You okay, kid?"
Wait - what? He's all the way at work and he ALREADY KNOWS what I did??????
"Yeah..? I'm okay."
"Congratulations. You've lived through your first earthquake."
"Heh. Ohhhhhhh."
And then I told him I thought I had caused it all.
Yesterday, Ria was getting ready to leave. We were sitting on the couch when the rumbling noise started and the building began to shake. The noise and the shaking steadily got louder/noticeably more... uh, shaky, and I looked at Ria and said, "Are we having an EARTHQUAKE?"
There are some construction workers on my block, working on the top dome of the church. I heard one of them shout, just as the dog next door began barking like crazy, and Felix scampered off of his window ledge and started doing that half-crawling/half-walking thing cats do when they're frightened. Poor guy. (Although he recovered quite quickly when I crunched his treat bag.)
I heard that the 'quake was felt from NC to Canada and as far west as western Ohio. Any good stories?
23 August 2011
Chilling with Ria and Curt
Ria and Curt helped their daughter Angie move back in to Temple yesterday. As is custom, as soon as her stuff was unloaded, they were ceremoniously kicked out, which left them free to hang out with me. Yay! We had lunch at Chickie's and Pete's, where I introduced them to the wonder that is Crab Fries.
We also went to Target, where I crawled around on the ground in an attempt to fix the truck (I failed miserably). We hit Modell's, in an attempt to de-funk-ify my sneakers (we failed miserably). We then hit up Lowe's, where we were more successful -- Curt got a screwdriver set he wanted, and I got some keys made, some sneaker odour-remover stuff, AND I pictures of Chad Knaus! (Okay, a fake Chad, and not even Mini Chad, but a Chad nonetheless). Ria got an even better picture of him, and we decided it shall be my screen-saver for my new job.
From there, we headed to my place to hang out and let lunch settle until we deemed it time for supper. We hit up Pattaya, where they generously treated me to supper as a "congrats on the job" meal - yay! I didn't realise this was Curt's first foray into Thai food! A great time was had by all, I think. I got the drunken noodles, Ria got the late night noodles, and Curt got something that wouldn't kill him (sans shellfish and peanuts).
Curt headed home, Ria and I watched and episode of "Brad Meltzer's Decoded" (it's my mission to get everyone hooked on this show), then we hit the hay. Today, we hit the Gold Standard Café for breakfast, then the post office where Ria nearly got us kicked out for making a scene, the pet shop, and then back to my place for two more episodes of "Decoded." (Ria's nearly through Season One - just in time for Season Two!)
Just as she was about to leave, the earthquake hit! More on that tomorrow!
I also want to give a huge shout-out to Julie who sent me an über-sweet note of luck and encouragement yesterday because she thought it was my first day of work. It truly is the thought that counts. Thank you!
We also went to Target, where I crawled around on the ground in an attempt to fix the truck (I failed miserably). We hit Modell's, in an attempt to de-funk-ify my sneakers (we failed miserably). We then hit up Lowe's, where we were more successful -- Curt got a screwdriver set he wanted, and I got some keys made, some sneaker odour-remover stuff, AND I pictures of Chad Knaus! (Okay, a fake Chad, and not even Mini Chad, but a Chad nonetheless). Ria got an even better picture of him, and we decided it shall be my screen-saver for my new job.
From there, we headed to my place to hang out and let lunch settle until we deemed it time for supper. We hit up Pattaya, where they generously treated me to supper as a "congrats on the job" meal - yay! I didn't realise this was Curt's first foray into Thai food! A great time was had by all, I think. I got the drunken noodles, Ria got the late night noodles, and Curt got something that wouldn't kill him (sans shellfish and peanuts).
Curt headed home, Ria and I watched and episode of "Brad Meltzer's Decoded" (it's my mission to get everyone hooked on this show), then we hit the hay. Today, we hit the Gold Standard Café for breakfast, then the post office where Ria nearly got us kicked out for making a scene, the pet shop, and then back to my place for two more episodes of "Decoded." (Ria's nearly through Season One - just in time for Season Two!)
Just as she was about to leave, the earthquake hit! More on that tomorrow!
I also want to give a huge shout-out to Julie who sent me an über-sweet note of luck and encouragement yesterday because she thought it was my first day of work. It truly is the thought that counts. Thank you!
23 July 2011
Supper by Committee
Last night, I decided it was too hot to cook in my apartment. Of course, this was partly due to my own stupidity. I have window units in my living room and in my bedroom, and when I took a nap in my bedroom, I turned off the unit in my living room in an effort to save energy and money. So when I woke up and returned to the rest of the house, it was stifling hot. (Lesson learnt: Next time, leave it on a wee bit or at least leave it on fan.)
Although I had thawed out two hamburger patties for supper, there was no way I was turning on the stove when the living room was still warm. Now, when I'm on my couch, I sit directly in front of my window unit, so sitting there was fine. But, literally, if I crossed the room, I could feel a difference in the temperature. So the thought of turning on cooking heat was a bummer.
Chinese delivery to the rescue! But what to order? I called Mom for ideas. So told me I was definitely in the mood for cold noodles with sesame sauce and fried rice. Okay, sure. I've not had them before, but anything cold sounded like a winner. But I decided I needed more. So I IMed Ria and asked her what else what I wanted. After some negotiating, we decided I wanted: crab rangoon, veggie fried rice, crab rangoons, and steamed veggie dumplings.
(Note: I had suggested to Mom that fried rice would be unhealthy, but she told me it isn't unhealthy when it's what you're in the mood to eat. I was astonished that she had let me live THIS LONG without telling me this little rule of eating. I think it's sinful, really. But she taught home ec, so she MUST know what she's talking about!)
I ordered from China Inn, and I have to say they have great customer service. I discovered this morning that they had accidentally sent me pork dumplings, and I called them immediately. They checked the receipt and confirmed that I had, indeed, ordered veggie. They offered me my choice of a credit on my account, I could come pick up the correct order, or they would re-deliver. I asked them to re-deliver, and within 30 minutes, I had fresh, hot veggie dumplings with absolutely no hassle. Yay!
Next time I get Chinese, any suggestions?
Although I had thawed out two hamburger patties for supper, there was no way I was turning on the stove when the living room was still warm. Now, when I'm on my couch, I sit directly in front of my window unit, so sitting there was fine. But, literally, if I crossed the room, I could feel a difference in the temperature. So the thought of turning on cooking heat was a bummer.
Chinese delivery to the rescue! But what to order? I called Mom for ideas. So told me I was definitely in the mood for cold noodles with sesame sauce and fried rice. Okay, sure. I've not had them before, but anything cold sounded like a winner. But I decided I needed more. So I IMed Ria and asked her what else what I wanted. After some negotiating, we decided I wanted: crab rangoon, veggie fried rice, crab rangoons, and steamed veggie dumplings.
(Note: I had suggested to Mom that fried rice would be unhealthy, but she told me it isn't unhealthy when it's what you're in the mood to eat. I was astonished that she had let me live THIS LONG without telling me this little rule of eating. I think it's sinful, really. But she taught home ec, so she MUST know what she's talking about!)
I ordered from China Inn, and I have to say they have great customer service. I discovered this morning that they had accidentally sent me pork dumplings, and I called them immediately. They checked the receipt and confirmed that I had, indeed, ordered veggie. They offered me my choice of a credit on my account, I could come pick up the correct order, or they would re-deliver. I asked them to re-deliver, and within 30 minutes, I had fresh, hot veggie dumplings with absolutely no hassle. Yay!
Next time I get Chinese, any suggestions?
15 May 2011
The Week: Looking Back, Looking Forward
In the past week, I had two appointments. One is not worth discussing, but the other was with the doctor who has been trying to figure out what is going on with my hip/groin issue. As you know, I had the big-ass needle inserted into my hip joint the week before, and then they took some images of the joint. This appointment was to get the results of that.
It ends up that he was right all along - I have a torn hip labrum and some of the cartilage in my hip is gone. For those of you who aren't medically inclined, the labrum (in very simple, non-medical terms) in this material that is in the hip joint between the ball and socket parts of the joint. And mine is torn. Let that image sit in your mind for a minute. And then remember that I've been living with this since October of 2009. No, that's not a typo - October of 2009. The plan is to try physical therapy for awhile, but if that doesn't help, then we'll be looking at surgical options.
I also had something else rather exciting happen last week, but I don't want to discuss it, lest I jinx it. But if something develops from it, I'll be sure to let you know. :)
My friend Ria was in town, and I got to hang out with her Wednesday evening. We went to Vientiane, a Thai/Laotian restaurant. Thursday morning, her husband came in for breakfast, and we went to Honey's for breakfast.
My friend Anju and I tried out a new-to-us restaurant that's actually within walking distance from my place - Pattaya Grill, which is a Thai restaurant. I had a coupon for 20% off, and Anju was nice enough to treat me to the rest, which was quite generous of her. I had Drunken Noodles for the first time, and I'm excited to eat them again. Wow - so good!
This coming week, I need to follow-up on a possible job lead that a former colleague shot me on Friday. On Saturday, Rachel is coming over and we're going to watch the end of the Top Chef: All-Stars season. And, apparently, I'll be starting physical therapy - joy.
It ends up that he was right all along - I have a torn hip labrum and some of the cartilage in my hip is gone. For those of you who aren't medically inclined, the labrum (in very simple, non-medical terms) in this material that is in the hip joint between the ball and socket parts of the joint. And mine is torn. Let that image sit in your mind for a minute. And then remember that I've been living with this since October of 2009. No, that's not a typo - October of 2009. The plan is to try physical therapy for awhile, but if that doesn't help, then we'll be looking at surgical options.
I also had something else rather exciting happen last week, but I don't want to discuss it, lest I jinx it. But if something develops from it, I'll be sure to let you know. :)
My friend Ria was in town, and I got to hang out with her Wednesday evening. We went to Vientiane, a Thai/Laotian restaurant. Thursday morning, her husband came in for breakfast, and we went to Honey's for breakfast.
My friend Anju and I tried out a new-to-us restaurant that's actually within walking distance from my place - Pattaya Grill, which is a Thai restaurant. I had a coupon for 20% off, and Anju was nice enough to treat me to the rest, which was quite generous of her. I had Drunken Noodles for the first time, and I'm excited to eat them again. Wow - so good!
This coming week, I need to follow-up on a possible job lead that a former colleague shot me on Friday. On Saturday, Rachel is coming over and we're going to watch the end of the Top Chef: All-Stars season. And, apparently, I'll be starting physical therapy - joy.
23 April 2011
The Week: Looking Back, Looking Forward
This past week was pretty exciting. Remember that development I mentioned a week back? Well, it's still developing. And developing quite well. That's pretty much all I want to say about it for now.
I had an interesting visit with my PM&R doctor about my ongoing hip/groin pain. He now wants me to get a new MRI with contrast done. But while they're injecting the contrast, he also wants them to inject some lidocaine into the joint. If that relieves the pain, it'll give him some information about what might be going on, and if it doesn't, that will also give him some information. Scheduling that MRI was a major headache, and it still hasn't been accomplished. I'll save that story for if/when that saga gets wrapped up.
My awesome friend Ria and her lovely husband Curt were here on Friday to visit Felix. While here, they were kind enough to pretend to hang out with me, as well. We also went to a local place called Rx (it used to be a corner pharmacy) for brunch. I had never been there before, and I'd heard mixed reviews about it, but I really enjoyed what I had and since Ria and Curt all but licked their plates, I think they enjoyed it, too (or else they were just REALLY hungry). I had cornflake-crusted French toast with a mixed berry compote. I was impressed that they managed to coat the toast without making it heavy and doughy. It was so thin and crispy! I tried not to use the syrup since they didn't have sugar-free syrup, but toward the end, I found it necessary to cut the tartness of the berries.
Next week, I have doctors appointments scheduled on every day except Monday. I'll be seeing my friend Anju on Tuesday evening. Med Student is supposed to come over on Saturday (except I've been having trouble getting ahold of her to confirm this and ask her about what we're making so I can shop for ingredients on Tuesday when I have a car). And my friend Deirdre (not to be confused with my friend Dierdre) is coming over on Sunday (we're also cooking instead of going out).
I had an interesting visit with my PM&R doctor about my ongoing hip/groin pain. He now wants me to get a new MRI with contrast done. But while they're injecting the contrast, he also wants them to inject some lidocaine into the joint. If that relieves the pain, it'll give him some information about what might be going on, and if it doesn't, that will also give him some information. Scheduling that MRI was a major headache, and it still hasn't been accomplished. I'll save that story for if/when that saga gets wrapped up.
My awesome friend Ria and her lovely husband Curt were here on Friday to visit Felix. While here, they were kind enough to pretend to hang out with me, as well. We also went to a local place called Rx (it used to be a corner pharmacy) for brunch. I had never been there before, and I'd heard mixed reviews about it, but I really enjoyed what I had and since Ria and Curt all but licked their plates, I think they enjoyed it, too (or else they were just REALLY hungry). I had cornflake-crusted French toast with a mixed berry compote. I was impressed that they managed to coat the toast without making it heavy and doughy. It was so thin and crispy! I tried not to use the syrup since they didn't have sugar-free syrup, but toward the end, I found it necessary to cut the tartness of the berries.
Next week, I have doctors appointments scheduled on every day except Monday. I'll be seeing my friend Anju on Tuesday evening. Med Student is supposed to come over on Saturday (except I've been having trouble getting ahold of her to confirm this and ask her about what we're making so I can shop for ingredients on Tuesday when I have a car). And my friend Deirdre (not to be confused with my friend Dierdre) is coming over on Sunday (we're also cooking instead of going out).
06 April 2011
Ignore this post
This post won't make sense to anyone except one other person.
But in an attempt to kill.. uh... well, several birds with one stone:
JOEY, WILL YOU MARRY ME?
But in an attempt to kill.. uh... well, several birds with one stone:
JOEY, WILL YOU MARRY ME?
12 February 2011
A Satisfying Day
I got more accomplished today than expected, because of help from Ria and Naomi.
I got great news from a close friend.
I got to hear my mom and Ria argue about who hung up on who.
I laughed myself into an asthma attack.
It was all amazingly satisfying.
I got great news from a close friend.
I got to hear my mom and Ria argue about who hung up on who.
I laughed myself into an asthma attack.
It was all amazingly satisfying.
11 February 2011
Getting ready for the weekend
This weekend, I'll be hosting my friend Ria. Tomorrow, I'm having a few friends over for a board game party, and since she lives a couple of hours away, it made more sense for her to stay for the weekend.
This meant that I had to get the house in order. No small feat for someone who has been mostly either in bed or on the couch for the past three weeks.
But I did my best, and I hope she has a comfortable stay. I also hope my guests tomorrow are understanding of the condition of my home.
I did my best, and I think it's mostly okay.
This meant that I had to get the house in order. No small feat for someone who has been mostly either in bed or on the couch for the past three weeks.
But I did my best, and I hope she has a comfortable stay. I also hope my guests tomorrow are understanding of the condition of my home.
I did my best, and I think it's mostly okay.
16 January 2011
Birthday Celebration, Part Tul
Ria and Curt were in Philly today to drop their daughter Angelique off for the Spring term. The residence halls opened at 10:00 a.m., they arrived at 10:02 a.m., were shooed out by Angie shortly after 10:30 a.m., and arrived at my place at 11:00 a.m. straight-up. We exchanged Christmas presents, and they gave me my birthday presents.
I gave them some Candy Cane Joe-Joe's from Trader Joe's. To understand why, you have to understand the backstory to this. Last month, Ria and I went to Philly TJ's for some because I'm not allowed to go to Missouri without these. But they didn't have them. But Ria and I spied ONE box in a display on top of the freezer. The display was a sleigh full of boxes, one of which was a Candy Cane Joe-Joe's box. But we needed some kind of stick-like device to poke the box down. So Ria found a chip clip that was empty in another aisle. But an old lady was standing in our way. So before we knocked down the entire display, we decided to ask if the box was even full. She hands me the big stick and wanders off to ask. So here I am standing in the middle of frozen foods with a big stick. Thanks, Ria! Come to find out, it was an empty box. But the people at the Captain's Desk at TJ's called around and found out that the nearest TJ's that had CCJJ's was the Wilmington TJ's. So I rented a ZipCar (an hourly rental car) and headed down. As it started to snow. What would have normally been a 30-minute (each-way) trip turned into a nearly 2-hour trip because of the snow and the morons who were all "ZOMG - white stuff is suddenly falling and I must drive 35 MPH on the interstate!"
So I got them two boxes of Candy Cane Joe-Joe's, a box of dark chocolate Candy Cane Joe-Joe's, and two bottles of Gate's barbecue sauce - one is Original formula and one is Extra Hot. When you go to Kansas City and ask where to go for good barbecue, people will start wars over whether you should go to Ollie Gates' place or Arthur Bryants. I obviously favour Gates, and I regularly cart his sauce back to Philly with me. But I told Ria I'd bring back some Bryants sauce next time so she could make up her own mind.
Her Christmas present to me was the really excellent book, "Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders." I had a quick look-through when she was here, and I got excited about some stuff in it, and I've looked through it again since she left, and I've already tagged some possible projects. What a great addition to my library!
Her birthday presents to me were two skeins of sock yarn: Noro Silk Garden with some great browns, blues, reds, and purples running through it; and Knit One Crochet Too Crock-O-Dye in the Chocolate colourway. I also got three Aero bars; yummy!
Felix also got two Christmas presents: two catnip mice! Each mouse has a bell at the end of the tail, and it looks like we need to have a talk about not chewing bells. He doesn't seem to understand that bells are not for chewing.
After gift opening, we took Philly by storm. I don't think Beck's Cajun Cafe at Reading Terminal Market will ever be the same after our visit (hint: an hour after we visit, when we go back and ask "Do you remember us, and they laugh and go "Oh YEAH," that's probably not a good sign). IKEA survived, but barely (hey - it's not OUR fault people were in our way!). And Super Fresh will probably be making some changes to their signage after our visit (again - it's not OUR fault it we point out they're wrong!).
Curt was kind enough to install my new-from-IKEA spice rack when we got back to my place (after Curt and Ria kindly helped me haul everything up from the truck). Then we hung out and ate the dessert we had leftover from Beck's.
Ria and I made tentative plans for February.
All in all, a great continuation to my birthday!
I gave them some Candy Cane Joe-Joe's from Trader Joe's. To understand why, you have to understand the backstory to this. Last month, Ria and I went to Philly TJ's for some because I'm not allowed to go to Missouri without these. But they didn't have them. But Ria and I spied ONE box in a display on top of the freezer. The display was a sleigh full of boxes, one of which was a Candy Cane Joe-Joe's box. But we needed some kind of stick-like device to poke the box down. So Ria found a chip clip that was empty in another aisle. But an old lady was standing in our way. So before we knocked down the entire display, we decided to ask if the box was even full. She hands me the big stick and wanders off to ask. So here I am standing in the middle of frozen foods with a big stick. Thanks, Ria! Come to find out, it was an empty box. But the people at the Captain's Desk at TJ's called around and found out that the nearest TJ's that had CCJJ's was the Wilmington TJ's. So I rented a ZipCar (an hourly rental car) and headed down. As it started to snow. What would have normally been a 30-minute (each-way) trip turned into a nearly 2-hour trip because of the snow and the morons who were all "ZOMG - white stuff is suddenly falling and I must drive 35 MPH on the interstate!"
So I got them two boxes of Candy Cane Joe-Joe's, a box of dark chocolate Candy Cane Joe-Joe's, and two bottles of Gate's barbecue sauce - one is Original formula and one is Extra Hot. When you go to Kansas City and ask where to go for good barbecue, people will start wars over whether you should go to Ollie Gates' place or Arthur Bryants. I obviously favour Gates, and I regularly cart his sauce back to Philly with me. But I told Ria I'd bring back some Bryants sauce next time so she could make up her own mind.
Her Christmas present to me was the really excellent book, "Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders." I had a quick look-through when she was here, and I got excited about some stuff in it, and I've looked through it again since she left, and I've already tagged some possible projects. What a great addition to my library!
Her birthday presents to me were two skeins of sock yarn: Noro Silk Garden with some great browns, blues, reds, and purples running through it; and Knit One Crochet Too Crock-O-Dye in the Chocolate colourway. I also got three Aero bars; yummy!
Felix also got two Christmas presents: two catnip mice! Each mouse has a bell at the end of the tail, and it looks like we need to have a talk about not chewing bells. He doesn't seem to understand that bells are not for chewing.
After gift opening, we took Philly by storm. I don't think Beck's Cajun Cafe at Reading Terminal Market will ever be the same after our visit (hint: an hour after we visit, when we go back and ask "Do you remember us, and they laugh and go "Oh YEAH," that's probably not a good sign). IKEA survived, but barely (hey - it's not OUR fault people were in our way!). And Super Fresh will probably be making some changes to their signage after our visit (again - it's not OUR fault it we point out they're wrong!).
Curt was kind enough to install my new-from-IKEA spice rack when we got back to my place (after Curt and Ria kindly helped me haul everything up from the truck). Then we hung out and ate the dessert we had leftover from Beck's.
Ria and I made tentative plans for February.
All in all, a great continuation to my birthday!
02 January 2011
Why Ria owes me... a LOT
Every New Year's Eve, the local hockey team (a CHL team) has a game and we always go. Even though our team isn't all that good, they've managed to climb to first place (as of NYE), which doesn't say much for the rest of the teams in the conference, since our guys REALLY aren't that good. For instance - we're really good at killing our own penalties. And most of the time, when we pass the puck, there's not even anyone there - not even an opponent to be passing to accidentally! Most of the time, the kids who play exhibition games during the intermission are better than our guys.
But at least it's entertaining and it brings back fun memories of when Mom and I had season tickets to the KC Blades games (an IHL team) years ago. We just happened to get our tickets next to where the wives/girlfriends sat and got to know them throughout the years, which... well, if you've met either my mom or me, you can probably imagine that we had some fun times and adventures away from the games with the women, too. :)
Anyway, back to the game on NYE night.
Right in front of us was a guy wearing a NASCAR coat. He had long hair pulled back into a ponytail. This in itself isn't really that remarkable, except that most guys who have long hair and pull it back usually wear their ponytail down on their head. Not this guy - he wore it high on his head. And he used a light blue scrunchie to hold his hair up. Don't get me wrong - there's nothing wrong with this; it was totally harmless. It's just not really how Mom and I pictured a NASCAR/hockey guy wearing his hair, you know?
But the topper of the night was the Super Fan. He sat on the front row by the penalty boxes. He wore an orange outfit (including a hockey mask/helmet) and a light blue cape (orange and blue are the team colours). He had a stick with cowbells on both ends (KC hockey fans are known for ringing cowbells at key points during the game - but usually just holding a single cowbell in one's hand). He also had a big drum that he would pound with a giant stick to lead cheers. But the most... "interesting" part is that the guy would lift up his shirt when a face-up would occur near his seat and show the opponents his rather large belly which had "YOU SUCK" written on it." I IMed Ria to tell her about this, and she requested pictures because at her hockey game, she had nothing this exciting at her hockey game. At first, I was only able to fuzzy pictures as he exited his section:
But, of course, this didn't show the belly action. So I kept trying to get the ever-elusive belly shot.
Finally, during the second intermission, I caught him in the concourse. I ran in front of him and a photographer and I were both getting shots of him. He saw me and said, "You can take the picture, but you have to hug me, hon!" I shrugged and said, "Okay!" thinking, "Ria BETTER appreciate this!" I hugged him and he pointed to the photographer and said, "I won't hug him, but I'll hug you!" and laughed. I wished him a happy new year, he reciprocated, and we went on our way.
But at least it's entertaining and it brings back fun memories of when Mom and I had season tickets to the KC Blades games (an IHL team) years ago. We just happened to get our tickets next to where the wives/girlfriends sat and got to know them throughout the years, which... well, if you've met either my mom or me, you can probably imagine that we had some fun times and adventures away from the games with the women, too. :)
Anyway, back to the game on NYE night.
Right in front of us was a guy wearing a NASCAR coat. He had long hair pulled back into a ponytail. This in itself isn't really that remarkable, except that most guys who have long hair and pull it back usually wear their ponytail down on their head. Not this guy - he wore it high on his head. And he used a light blue scrunchie to hold his hair up. Don't get me wrong - there's nothing wrong with this; it was totally harmless. It's just not really how Mom and I pictured a NASCAR/hockey guy wearing his hair, you know?
But the topper of the night was the Super Fan. He sat on the front row by the penalty boxes. He wore an orange outfit (including a hockey mask/helmet) and a light blue cape (orange and blue are the team colours). He had a stick with cowbells on both ends (KC hockey fans are known for ringing cowbells at key points during the game - but usually just holding a single cowbell in one's hand). He also had a big drum that he would pound with a giant stick to lead cheers. But the most... "interesting" part is that the guy would lift up his shirt when a face-up would occur near his seat and show the opponents his rather large belly which had "YOU SUCK" written on it." I IMed Ria to tell her about this, and she requested pictures because at her hockey game, she had nothing this exciting at her hockey game. At first, I was only able to fuzzy pictures as he exited his section:
 |
| The Missouri Mavericks Super Fan! |
But, of course, this didn't show the belly action. So I kept trying to get the ever-elusive belly shot.
Finally, during the second intermission, I caught him in the concourse. I ran in front of him and a photographer and I were both getting shots of him. He saw me and said, "You can take the picture, but you have to hug me, hon!" I shrugged and said, "Okay!" thinking, "Ria BETTER appreciate this!" I hugged him and he pointed to the photographer and said, "I won't hug him, but I'll hug you!" and laughed. I wished him a happy new year, he reciprocated, and we went on our way.
 |
| "YOU SUCK!" |
29 October 2010
The Dover Race
Sorry it's been awhile. My life has been complicated for the past few weeks, but more on that later. Back to my vacation time with Mom. When we left off, Mom and I were about to enjoy the Dover race package that I had won, compliments of NAPA. The proper name was the NAPA Race Day Experience, or NRDE. We were welcome at the NAPA chalet all day, which was located in Hospitality Village. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
We woke up at 4:00 a.m. and left my flat at 4:30 a.m. after a short pit-stop (ha ha) at Sunoco (The Official Fuel of NASCAR) (where my mom ACTUALLY tried to buy the clerk's uniform off his back!!!) for breakfast. We pulled into the Dover parking lot exactly two hours later. Breakfast service at the chalet started at 8:00 a.m., so we planned on napping in the car for an hour, which would give us half an hour to wake up and find the chalet. However...
Right in front of us were these tailgaters who were literally sitting on their tailgate and hitting the Corona. The fellow on the left insisted on shouting "PUT THE LIME IN THE COCONUT!" every few minutes. Not, mind you, singing the entire song - no, no; just that one freakin' line. After a few repetitions of that, I wanted to put my lime in his coconuts, if you know what I mean:
They were literally about five feet in front of our car. Mom decided she couldn't sleep with them staring at us. I mean, it isn't as if they were staring at us on purpose. They were just kind of mindlessly staring ahead (except when something caught their attention to the side, which is when I took the opportunity to take this picture), and that's where we happened to be. Then, of course, they decided they needed a trash bag out of the back of their truck. That's when the view REALLY improved:
While I was busy snapping this picture, Mom was dying laughing at something happening to our left, which I did NOT get a picture of (sadly). You know those port-a-potty tents? Those little tents that you can take camping with you that hide port-a-potties? These people who had camped out in the parking lot hadn't staked theirs down, and it fell over. Mom laughed so hard I thought she was going to (sorry, I can't help myself here) pee her pants. She was all, "I hope no one was in there!" Meanwhile, to the right of the guys in front of us, we watched a guy (who had a grill in the bed of his pick-up truck) pull up about five inches, get out, shake his head, then back up three inches. Hope that helped, buddy.
We finally made our way to the NAPA chalet, where we received a really nice goody bag. The bag itself is a nice backpack, and in it is lip balm, a set of earplugs, a mini Sharpie, a decal, a diecast, a hat, a koozie, a poncho, and a coupon for wiper blades. They gave us breakfast, an offer for a track tour (which Mom and I skipped), and a lunch buffet (burgers, hot dog, potato salad, pasta salad, mac and cheese, coleslaw, brownies, etc.). We also got to enter a drawing to win Martin Truex, Jr.,'s helmet, and we could submit a question for the Q&A session. Speaking of the Q&A session - most of the people there were people who are NAPA employees or who are somehow affiliated with NAPA, but you could tell they definitely weren't race fans. The guys at our table had actually gone online, printed out information about Truex, and were studying for Q&A session. Mom and I were cracking up.
Martin made his appearance, answered a few questions (no, we didn't have to answer questions about him - shocking, I know), gave away his helmet, and dashed away to the Drivers' Meeting. I felt bad because a few people booed when they announced he didn't have time to sign autographs, but it was written on the information we received with the schedule of events that no autographs would be given, so I don't know what was wrong with these people.
I will say that the hospitality workers were pretty awesome. No sooner did you clean your plate than they whisked it away to the trash for you. As soon as you approached the drink barrel, one would approach from nowhere to ask you what you wanted (God forbid you should actually get your hand cold digging for your own drink!). If you were headed to a trash can with something, they'd take it from you. It was actually uncomfortable at times - "No, really - I can throw it away myself, but thanks!"
Before Martin showed up, we had wandered around to some of the other chalets to see if any of the other drivers were making their appearances. We caught the tail end of Jeff Gordon's appearance at the DuPont chalet. If you look VERY carefully, you can see his silhouette smack-dab in the middle here (ignore the grumpy-looking woman in the foreground; I don't know what her issue is):
If you follow me on Twitter, you know that after Martin's appearance, I SPRINTED like all hell (not easy to do with a year-long groin injury) to the Interstate Batteries chalet to try to catch the future Mr. Min (aka: The Elusive One), but I was told I missed him by about two minutes. Drat.
All of these activities pretty much took us to time for driver introductions. We made our way to our seats, with a quick stop at the restrooms first. And we had to laugh at the sign on the bathrooms:
The race itself was great. Our seats were amazing, and unlike at Kansas Speedway, when the national anthem ended there wasn't a race to sit down first because the seats are so close together (and bleacher style) that you want to claim your butt-space before your neighbour gets her/his butt down before you do. This will be a spoiler for those NASCAR fans who are REALLY behind on race news, but I was very pleased when The Guy Who Drives Chad's Car won the race.
After the race, we got to watch the cars go into the haulers and the haulers pull out. The way this is done at KSS, you can't see this at all. I took several pics of different haulers, but I'm only posting the most beauteous one of them all (and I took about six pics of this one):
Then we got kicked out of the speedway. Literally. The usher guy asked us to leave about four times. We were busy pointing and laughing at something and weren't done yet. It was really Ria's fault. She wouldn't answer her phone.
We woke up at 4:00 a.m. and left my flat at 4:30 a.m. after a short pit-stop (ha ha) at Sunoco (The Official Fuel of NASCAR) (where my mom ACTUALLY tried to buy the clerk's uniform off his back!!!) for breakfast. We pulled into the Dover parking lot exactly two hours later. Breakfast service at the chalet started at 8:00 a.m., so we planned on napping in the car for an hour, which would give us half an hour to wake up and find the chalet. However...
Right in front of us were these tailgaters who were literally sitting on their tailgate and hitting the Corona. The fellow on the left insisted on shouting "PUT THE LIME IN THE COCONUT!" every few minutes. Not, mind you, singing the entire song - no, no; just that one freakin' line. After a few repetitions of that, I wanted to put my lime in his coconuts, if you know what I mean:
They were literally about five feet in front of our car. Mom decided she couldn't sleep with them staring at us. I mean, it isn't as if they were staring at us on purpose. They were just kind of mindlessly staring ahead (except when something caught their attention to the side, which is when I took the opportunity to take this picture), and that's where we happened to be. Then, of course, they decided they needed a trash bag out of the back of their truck. That's when the view REALLY improved:
While I was busy snapping this picture, Mom was dying laughing at something happening to our left, which I did NOT get a picture of (sadly). You know those port-a-potty tents? Those little tents that you can take camping with you that hide port-a-potties? These people who had camped out in the parking lot hadn't staked theirs down, and it fell over. Mom laughed so hard I thought she was going to (sorry, I can't help myself here) pee her pants. She was all, "I hope no one was in there!" Meanwhile, to the right of the guys in front of us, we watched a guy (who had a grill in the bed of his pick-up truck) pull up about five inches, get out, shake his head, then back up three inches. Hope that helped, buddy.
We finally made our way to the NAPA chalet, where we received a really nice goody bag. The bag itself is a nice backpack, and in it is lip balm, a set of earplugs, a mini Sharpie, a decal, a diecast, a hat, a koozie, a poncho, and a coupon for wiper blades. They gave us breakfast, an offer for a track tour (which Mom and I skipped), and a lunch buffet (burgers, hot dog, potato salad, pasta salad, mac and cheese, coleslaw, brownies, etc.). We also got to enter a drawing to win Martin Truex, Jr.,'s helmet, and we could submit a question for the Q&A session. Speaking of the Q&A session - most of the people there were people who are NAPA employees or who are somehow affiliated with NAPA, but you could tell they definitely weren't race fans. The guys at our table had actually gone online, printed out information about Truex, and were studying for Q&A session. Mom and I were cracking up.
Martin made his appearance, answered a few questions (no, we didn't have to answer questions about him - shocking, I know), gave away his helmet, and dashed away to the Drivers' Meeting. I felt bad because a few people booed when they announced he didn't have time to sign autographs, but it was written on the information we received with the schedule of events that no autographs would be given, so I don't know what was wrong with these people.
I will say that the hospitality workers were pretty awesome. No sooner did you clean your plate than they whisked it away to the trash for you. As soon as you approached the drink barrel, one would approach from nowhere to ask you what you wanted (God forbid you should actually get your hand cold digging for your own drink!). If you were headed to a trash can with something, they'd take it from you. It was actually uncomfortable at times - "No, really - I can throw it away myself, but thanks!"
 | |||
| Martin Truex, Jr. |
Before Martin showed up, we had wandered around to some of the other chalets to see if any of the other drivers were making their appearances. We caught the tail end of Jeff Gordon's appearance at the DuPont chalet. If you look VERY carefully, you can see his silhouette smack-dab in the middle here (ignore the grumpy-looking woman in the foreground; I don't know what her issue is):
 |
| Jeff Gordon, I promise! |
All of these activities pretty much took us to time for driver introductions. We made our way to our seats, with a quick stop at the restrooms first. And we had to laugh at the sign on the bathrooms:
 | |||||
| Go Fast; Team Tylenol: Feel Better Fast |
 |
| The Guy Who Drives Chad's Car doing his burn out. Chad had given him strict instructions NOT to hurt the chassis. "Burn all the rubber you want. DO NOT HURT MY CHASSIS." |
 |
| The most gorgeous hauler I ever did see. |
22 April 2009
General life update
I was going to post tonight about a few things: Sara's recent visit, getting to meet Ria, potential travel next month (friends getting married in Connecticut), and work crap.
But after getting up at 5:00 a.m. to shower (because I FORGOT to last night when I got home from my trig mid-term), then working a 10.5-hour day... I found myself almost too tired to eat supper when I got home.
So I'll leave you with these random thoughts: (1) Please fill out the questionnaire from yesterday if you haven't already done so; (2) Really? No one wants to join the Marketplace? It's actually pretty groovy - restaurant gift cards for CHEAP, discounts on electronics, and weekly bargains. According to the email we got on Monday, employees are saving an average of $102 per month using the Marketplace. This week ONLY, I have ten invitations I can give away free. You know you want to!
P.S. I love the SEPTA (that's Philly's mass transit system) guy at the 40th Street Portal today. When I got on at the City Hall transfer point, the trolley driver said she was only going to 40th Street. While I would have walked the seven blocks to my house, I wasn't looking forward to it since I was tired (see above) and the sky was getting ready to open up any minute. But I got on anyway, not wanting to wait for the next one, which would be crowded. So I rode to 40th. When we got there, the guy supervising gave our driver a "WTF?" look. She said, "I kept telling them I was only going to 40th!" He said, "I told you to not to take any riders!" She said, "I'm supposed to be off at 6:25." He said, "I'm not putting riders off. Go to 61st (the turn-around point for that route) and come back - WITHOUT RIDERS." LOVE that guy.
But after getting up at 5:00 a.m. to shower (because I FORGOT to last night when I got home from my trig mid-term), then working a 10.5-hour day... I found myself almost too tired to eat supper when I got home.
So I'll leave you with these random thoughts: (1) Please fill out the questionnaire from yesterday if you haven't already done so; (2) Really? No one wants to join the Marketplace? It's actually pretty groovy - restaurant gift cards for CHEAP, discounts on electronics, and weekly bargains. According to the email we got on Monday, employees are saving an average of $102 per month using the Marketplace. This week ONLY, I have ten invitations I can give away free. You know you want to!
P.S. I love the SEPTA (that's Philly's mass transit system) guy at the 40th Street Portal today. When I got on at the City Hall transfer point, the trolley driver said she was only going to 40th Street. While I would have walked the seven blocks to my house, I wasn't looking forward to it since I was tired (see above) and the sky was getting ready to open up any minute. But I got on anyway, not wanting to wait for the next one, which would be crowded. So I rode to 40th. When we got there, the guy supervising gave our driver a "WTF?" look. She said, "I kept telling them I was only going to 40th!" He said, "I told you to not to take any riders!" She said, "I'm supposed to be off at 6:25." He said, "I'm not putting riders off. Go to 61st (the turn-around point for that route) and come back - WITHOUT RIDERS." LOVE that guy.
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