Jill Made Me do it

Happy hour on a Monday? Who's ever heard of that? Someone gave me some silly excuse about a meeting at a bar and a cruise ship... and I fell for it. Grrrr.

First of all, it was POURING when we left work. I stole Rob's rain jacket and ran to my car with my pant legs raised. My feet were drenched and my spirit soaked. It was horrible.

But what better way to raise your spirits that a good song? Here's me singing "Glory of Love," by Peter Cetera - I love that song. I know I look stupid, but isn't it worth looking stupid for a great song?

Lastly, here's Dave and I (minus the top of his head - sorry Dave) looking cute as ever. Do I make it into your top 10 coworkers now??

Simplify Your Life Week

To help you start out your week, I'd like to announce that the first week of August is 'Simplify Your Life' week. So for all of you out there who feel overburdened, overworked, or just plain worn out - this is the week for you. SIMPLIFY!

The first week of August is also 'World Breastfeeding' week, but I'm assuming that has far less appeal and relevance that the holiday above.

August 1st is also National Girlfriend's Day, as well as National Night Out. Although I plan to be home by 7 PM at the latest (Big Brother is on at 8 PM EST), I think these national holidays call for a happy hour on Tuesday for sure.

I'm Going To Bed, I Swear...

...but I couldn't RESIST posting this. This is the coolest thing I've seen in awhile, and if I had to wager a guess, it may very well make Snay's night. :)

Click here for one of the coolest bloody videos that a Brit ever blogged. (Alliteration is my new hobby).

I can't wait for you all to see this...

Headached

I'd love to show you an 'after' photo of Antonio's toy, but I can't find it. Antonio is getting better at hiding toys under furniture, and my head is too achey to crawl around looking for it right now.

I walked about 2.5 miles today in the disgusting heat. This might be the cause of my headache even though I've been drinking gallons of water since I've been home. But during my walk I saw something funny - I saw 'The Ducks' gassing up! It's just amusing for me to see them at a regular gas station in my neighborhood, I'm not exactly sure why. They really had a hell of a time trying to get out of the station! Ah, well... it's the small things in life, right?

Ditched for Lunch

Since Richie ditched me for lunch today with some lame excuse about helping a friend move or something (ha), I had to get creative in the kitchen again.

I found Giant brand macaroni and cheese in my cupboard, probably purchased on a day I was feeling thrifty (or poor) and when they were on sale. I probably should've just eaten it straight up, but I found a recipe that added bacon and tomatoes, so I tried sausage and tomatoes... and it's not too impressive. It's not horrible, it's just something you'd feed kids who like mac and cheese - just to get them to eat their meats and veggies. I also had tater tots, one of my favorite junk foods ever. (I want this t-shirt.)

On a side note, I gave Antonio a toy this morning. He's destructive with his toys. Here's the 'before' picture. I'll provide an 'after' later today.

Mom, Inspired...

My mom, the poet, felt inspired by the Bags In Trees blog, and wrote a little poem about it... here it is for your enjoyment!

There are Bags in them there Trees

You have to watch those sneaky trees:
The Poplars’ and the Cherry.
And if you have a Cottonwood,
My advice to you, be wary.

Those Walnuts are a stubborn lot-
A dangerous kind of foe.
So if you’ve lost a bag to them
You’d better let it go.

Though the Birch and Hickory
Really can’t be trusted,
There’s real danger with Buckeye Trees-
They’re socially Maladjusted.

So hold on to you valuables
When you’re off the beaten track.
Deciduous trees are mentally ill:
They’re kleptomaniacs.

Pamela Parks Costa

Netflix and Fried Green Tomatoes Revisited

It's Saturday night, and I didn't go out tonight either. A group of friends went up to the Crackpot in Towson... but I just wasn't in the mood for drunken college kids - especially in Towson, where we had the 'altercation' on my birthday. I needed a relaxing weekend anyway...

Second time's a charm! No one responded to my plea for a better fried green tomato recipe, so I just tried again tonight. These were much better, as you can see. I served it over vegetable rice (remember that I'm eating the mismatched foods out of my kitchen), which didn't match perfectly, but it was okay.

I'm not sure if my recipe is bland, or if fried green tomatoes are rather plain. Maybe there's a spice or flavor that is usually added that I don't know about? I think I could make this again if someone asked me to, but it hasn't made it onto my list of top meals. The tomatoes were good, don't get me wrong, but it just wasn't something I think I'll ever crave. Although I like my veggies, I'll always be a meat lover.

Just finished watching Frequency. It felt oddly familiar, so I am not sure if I have seen it before or if there is another movie like it. I actually have a sneaking suspicion that I watched this movie with whoever I was dating at the time it came out, and that I was falling in and out of sleep as we watched it. You know, the whole, "I'm not falling asleep, I swear..." bit.

Anyway, it was really good. That last scene was pretty cool... with the hand and all. Four stars, easy.

Fried Green Tomatoes

The food, not the movie.

I tried it. And it was... interesting. First I want to say that this tomato was green on the outside. I realize it looks ripe on the inside, but once I decided I was going to try this, the color of the tomato wasn't about to stop me.

As far as cooking it, I improvised with the flour mixture and added some sugar (because the woman at the farmer's market recommended it), and I didn't use eggs (didn't have any). I thought I overcooked the first one, but after undercooking the second one, I realized that the first slice was a lot closer to being "right." At that point it was too late to go back and recook.

Overall, they were good, with the second (burnt-looking) one being better. The sugar was a great idea, I could taste it more so on the cooked tomato than the undercooked one. At the end of the day, I like tomatoes, so I'd eat them raw, but this didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. Completely edible, but I don't believe I did this famous southern dish any justice.

Does anyone have a recipe for fried green tomatoes that I can try?

Netflix and Popcorn

That's right... typical movie popcorn today with my Netflix. No fancy foods or creative menus. Just popcorn, oh... and a lone corona. (This is my crazy Friday night.)

So I just watched Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and it was... alright. I think it may have been over-promoted. It was cute and all that, but I guess I expected it to contain more adult humor, like most cartoons have anymore. I'd classify it as 'Tom & Jerry' funny.

Netflixers rated it with three and a half stars... I gave it three, which means I "Liked it." That's really all I have to say about that.

Photo Schmoto

So I have what I think is a neat idea! This brilliant concept came to me while I was looking through all of the seemingly random photos that I take as a result of owning a digital camera.

Essentially it's a mystery photo contest, where I will post obscure, strange photos and you all will get to guess what they are.

To be completely honest, it's more 'guessing' and less 'contest'. I have nothing of substance to give the winners, with the exception of personal pride for being right... which (by my standards) is completely worth the effort. I'll post photos intermittently, with no regular schedule, because I can't exactly place deadlines on my creativity, can I?

So here is the first, and I think it's pretty easy; but I don't want to start out all impossible...

Flashback Fridays

When I was home over the July 4th weekend, I went through a bunch of photos from my childhood and came across this one of my sister. She was probably only 5 or 6 years old here, but I was shocked at how much my neice looks like my sister at that age. Of course, all of Melanie's kids look like her, but I never saw this much similarity before. It's crazy cute.

Melanie at 6 years

Calista at 7 years

I'm a Gangsta

For all youse peeps who is trippin'... its reads "blood" for De Bloods, yo. Rob is De Crips, so I gotsta be respresentin' for my posse.

(Pssstt.... I'm a gangster!) I know... I'm surprised that I have readers, too.

I'm off to jog...

One of "Those" Kids

I am going to be one of those kids.

You know who they are... the kids who return home for holidays and visits, but not to the home they grew up in. Nope. A new home. A different home. That's right folks... my parents just bought a house. In all fairness, it sounds like an awesome house. It's in a fabulous neighborhood and close to my grandparents and sister's family.

Will I miss our house in the 'burbs? You bet. I grew up there, and I love that house. But my parents love this new house. And after years of blood, sweat and tears from raising us... they should have what they want. I am so very happy for them.

For those of you that know the Akron area, the house is on the west side of town near Sand Run. I believe it's in the same general neighborhood where Jessie (Bialke) Price's dad used to live.

Here are a few quick photos (with the previous homeowners' furniture). More to come at a later date.

Wednesday's Beef and Noodles

Tonight I cooked the third meal on my mission to eat all of the random foods in my kitchen. I sauteed onions in soy sauce, then browned beef tips in the onion/soy before adding water, garlic powder, and beef bouillon to the same skillet. While I let that simmer, I made roasted pork gravy (from a packet that I had) and egg noodles. I added the gravy to the skillet with the simmering beef, brought it to a boil, then finally topped it all over the egg noodles.

I gotta tell ya - it's gooooood.

My main concern tonight was that I would cook something bland. I'm still a novice at using spices properly, so I was afraid that it would be edible, but boring. Man was I wrong! I can't really taste soy in the final product, but the beef tips have a lot of fun flavor that must be from the soy.

This meal is just plain delicious, so I think my cooking creativity is 3 for 3. I'm so excited that I haven't ruined anything yet!

Dry Eyes

I had a post-operative visit to my eye doctor today to monitor my overall healing from the three surgeries that I've had. One of my complaints, which I know is quite common, has been dry eyes. After looking at my eyes, the doctor recommended temporary eye plugs.

Uh... Eye plugs?

So she explained. They are dissolvable plugs that block the lower drains in your eye sockets so that your eyes stay more moist. ISN'T THAT WEIRD? I had to start giggling because it seems that every time I visit the doctor, they come up with something else that I have never heard of. First I had an iridotomy, then ICLs, then Intra-lase, and now eye plugs. It's ongoing.

Anyway, the eye plugs are in and painless. We'll just have to wait and see how well they work!

8:16 PM UPDATE: Click here for an illustration of eye anatomy. The lower "puncta" is where the plug was inserted.

Celebrating New Titles

Tuesday a group of us went to Bayou after work to celebrate my new title. I'm not speaking of my "Product Manager" Marketing title, but rather my new title of "Head Bagger" on the Bags In Trees blog. I'd like to extend a thank you out to Brian for the faith he's placed in me to be a part of the BIT Street Team. I am VERY excited.

Z and Donny were thrilled for me! Here they are with their happy faces on... especially Donny. I'm giving him a new title, too: Donny "Big Eyes" Happy Face. It'll be his new Mafia name.

Here's a photo of Jill and I... we always take a good picture. Jill's new title is GVBS, so that we could move the BFF title over to Rob (who is NOT pictured here because he's a poopyhead - yes, I just typed poopyhead).

Once again, thanks Brian and the BIT team. I am truly honored.

Tuesdays About Town

I feel like I'm pseudo-coping out today, because although this is a legitimate topic for Tuesdays About Town, the photos are from January, so I feel as if I am being somewhat misleading because they weren't taken recently. Oh well.

In Baltimore they have a fabulous variation of bowling called "duckpin." The lane size is the same, but the balls and pins are smaller than "regular" bowling, or, as Baltimoreans call it, "tenpin." (Rob, seen here to the left, properly demonstrating his duckpin ball-release technique.)

Duckpin essentially has the same rules as tenpin, but because the balls and pins are smaller you have to be really strategic when you roll/throw/whip the ball toward the pins.

At the beginning of the night I wasn't so good. It was pathetic. Because I am so used to just rolling a tenpin ball down the lane and letting it hit whatever it may, I was pretty crap at duckpin. I'd release the ball and it would roll directly between the pins, taking nothing with it. What's even funnier is that Heather wasn't very good at duckpin either. In this photo I am showing Heather how to properly grasp the duckpin ball (or was I singing - I'm not entirely sure). Man, Heather - weren't you born in Baltimore? :)

This is a serious game, I tell you! Here you can see Heather and Rob properly warming up before their next frame (or were they dancing? It's all so blurry now...) Duckpin is a serious sport in the Mid-Atlantic region, but my friends here wouldn't believe me at first when I told them that there is no such thing in Ohio. For all of you reading this from out of town, you can learn more about Duckpin here.

Well back in January, it only took me a few games (and pitchers of beer) to get the hang of it. By the time we finished up, I had a mean arm... and I ended up kicking some major arse with a 118 on my final game. In fact, if I recall correctly, I even beat Rob at that game! (Did he ever pay me that $10?)


So... what is everyone doing this weekend? I'm thinking Parkville Lanes... who's in with me?

Angelina or Scarlett?

Rob and I might disagree on this one... so I am taking a non-scientific survey. Who's hotter - in a pretty and hot kind of way?

What do you think?

Angelina or Scarlett?

Netflix and Zucchini Pasta

I love Netflix. Do you know why? Because you are introduced to movies that you might have never seen before. Today I watched Paper Clips, a documentary about a middle school in Tennessee that decided to collect 6 million paper clips... one for ever person killed in the holocaust. I'm not going to get into details, because it makes for a depressing blog entry... but the documentary is inspirational and extraordinary. It's a bit choppy at parts, but completely worth seeing. If you have Netflix, go now and add it to your queue.

Here is the official web site for the Children's Holocaust Memorial & Paper Clip Project.

Completely unrelated... I have created my second "strange foods" meal. I sauteed onions and garlic in oil, then added zucchini and squash... and finally a can of diced tomatoes. I took that, topped it over some thin spaghetti, and VOILA! Dinner.

Netflix and Strange Food

I just watched Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I cried - just like every girl who had already seen it said I would. My first tears were when Tibby and Bailey were looking at the stars, then they came harder when Carmen called her dad, and even harder when Bailey died.

I was worried that it would be a lot like Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, which, at times, it was... because it's about a group of girls/women who find themselves. Some parts were a bit too touchy-feely for my taste, but I still rated it 4 out of 5 stars overall. I enjoyed it, and it was a good "pick me up" kind of movie.

Oh... and the hot Greek character's name is Kostas, which I think MUST be a sign that a hot Greek guy is in my future, right?

On another note... I am once again on a mission to eat everything out of my kitchen cabinets. I know that doesn't sound so good after my post this morning, but I don't plan on doing it all in one day. :)

The thing is, that every so often I look in my kitchen and realize that there is nothing to make, nothing to cook. It's not that there isn't food, but rather that the food I have is random. I may have rice, but no chicken, or noodles but no pasta sauce. I could always take the easy way out and go grocery shopping, but that wouldn't be as much fun (or strange) as the alternative.

So my mission begins: eating everything out of my kitchen before I am allowed to shop for more food. (This does not include shopping for milk, though - I can't live without milk.)

This morning for breakfast/lunch, I had breakfast sausage sauteed with sweet onions, fried zucchini, and an egg. Don't be alarmed by the egg's appearance, I cooked everything in my grill pan because my large skillet was dirty. Although a seemly odd mix of foods, I enjoyed it. The zucchini was the strangest at 11 AM, but it provided a good balance against the sausage.

My plan over the next week is to highlight my creations on the blog, so feel free to provide tips if I do something horrendous. I don't have the responsibility of cooking for anyone but myself yet, so that allows me to be more creative (er, destructive) than some of you out there.

Oh... and I jogged two miles today to get rid of some pent up anxiety, so please don't lecture me about eating sausage after complaining about my BMI numbers. Much appreciated. :)

Keeping the Gap in Check

One of my girlfriends posted today about her daughter's 19-month birthday, and since her daughter is teenie-weenie, mentioned that she is in the 3% height range for kids her age. So I got a bit curious and looked up my own height percentile. I am 3%, or at least somewhere less than 5%, so it's an estimate.

But even more disturbing is that my weight percentile is somewhere around 15%. If I use the BMI calculator for women, it says that I am in "normal" range, (I refuse to provide a BMI percentage here - It's just embarrassing) but I am concerned.

Shouldn't these calculations be closer together? I'm thinking I need to either grow taller or exercise to keep this gap in check... but both require so much dang motivation.

Here's the chart if you are interested.

Last night I spent some time around a tiny little 20-something, with 0% body fat. I'm not one to feel too uncomfortable with my body, but her skinny self made me self-conscious. Love handles... good or bad? I continue to have mixed thoughts on it.

You know, if the temperatures (and humidity) would stay below the 90s, I might just be motivated to jog again, but I'm just not a fan of the swollen fingers I get when I jog in the heat. I'm swimming against the tide here.... how frustrating.

The Month Late Beetle

Earlier this week I saw a huge beetle outside of the front door at work. Someone said it was a Japanese Beetle, but I did some research, and it's actually a Green June Beetle (they're cousins). There are a lot of them this year because of the rain and the heat, but apparently it will be even worse next year because they're mating. Gross.

So here's my Green June Beetle, except that it's not June, it's July... so he's already a month late.

I Was Gonna Stay In...

...but I didn't.


Jill, Jaclyn and I hit up The Gin Mill and Lagers last night. We walked back to my house from Lagers, so I'm not feeling much pain today. Maybe I need to walk a mile after every night out on the town from now on.

I Smell B&O

Every afternoon when I come home, I drive over the train tracks just east of Canton. And (almost) every afternoon when I drive over those tracks, I smell spices.....

Now I know that McCormick is located in the Baltimore area, but that's up in Hunt Valley, a good twenty miles or so away.

How does this happen?

Flashback Fridays

Don't laugh. Really. For today's flashback, I am blending my 'Tuesdays About Town' with my 'Flashback Fridays,' and sharing a photo from my family's visit to Baltimore in the late 80s. This is a photo of my sister, Melanie, and I; and I am the shorter, younger girl, while Melanie is the taller chick in the polka-dots. I'm going to make a guess that I am 8 or 9 in this photo, so it would be 1985 or 1986.

As a side note... my returning readers can see why my eye surgeries have been so life changing. Look at the goggles on that kid! :)

ANYWAY - the rockin' thing about this photo is the Power Plant in the background. At the time of our visit to Baltimore, the Power Plant was a Six Flags theme park about a fictional inventor and his failed inventions.

You can read more about the Power Plant here:
Wikipedia
Everything2.com
Some Random Site I Found

The park didn't last long, but to give it some credit, it was one of the first attempts to rejuvenate the Inner Harbor. Most accounts of the park call it a complete failure and misjudgment of what was then Baltimore's young tourism industry, but I remember having a FABULOUS time. You can make fun of me up, down, and sideways, but I have distinctive memories of the Power Plant from my childhood, and I remember loving it completely.

It's relatively ironic that I'm living here over 20 years later, isn't it?

Living with a Deaf Cat

Oh Elliott. Why? Why? Why?

I didn't have the best day, and I am feeling relatively crabby. All I really wanted was to come home and get into PJs and watch Big Brother All-Stars. But no. Mr Elliott has struck again.

Have you ever wondered what it's like to live with a deaf cat? Probably not, I realize that... but THIS is what it's like. This used to be a really nice candle holder. Really.

The problem is that my cat, Elliott, does these things and doesn't even know it. He doesn't hear things clanking or banging or crashing... so he doesn't realize the results of his actions. Unless the thud from a falling object creates some serious vibrations - Elliott is completely ignorant as to what he has done.

So far this month, I have lost a candle holder, a cat food bowl, and a dachshund figurine that my mom's friend Pat bought me. This cat is lucky that he's so sweet.

On a happier note, the falling glass didn't break my dachshund-shaped planter that my sister bought for me. I've never planted an actual plant in it... but I definitely wouldn't be happy if it broke. It's so cool (duh). And how would I ever replace it.??

Yes, Elliott is a lucky dog... er, cat. He's adorable, sweet and handsome to boot. He's lucky. Damn lucky I say.

NUH (Freakin') UH !!

Thank you Melon... I did not see this. I am shocked that my life is so (not) interesting. And just think.... today I just blogged about whether or not to continue my private happy hour.

To check out what I am talking about, go to http://cityguide.aol.com/baltimore/ and scroll down to "Blogs We're Reading."

In honor of this, Jill and I will do a clinky-clinky (courtesy of Walts Inn pineapples).

Beer or Water?

I came back from happy hour and can't decide on beer or water. First vote chooses. GO!

Netflix and Eye Shields

Tonight is my last official night wearing eye shields: those lovely plastic eye patches that have been protecting my eyes while I sleep since I had my eye surgery last week. I planned on wearing them longer (no reason to be embarrassed since I sleep alone), but I'm running out of tape. This may be my last night with them.

The real point of this post is that I've just finished watching The Cave, which earned almost 4 1/2 stars on the Netflix site. My opinion? Skip it. I have no idea how this movie received any more than 3 stars at best. I typically hate creepy movies where things jump out at you, but I guess I thought that the description sounded interesting, so I added it to my queue. The catch with this movie is that things did jump out... and I had little reaction. Despite a few good climbing/falling scenes - the acting was mediocre, the special effects were straight from the Alien movies (but far less scary), and it was so slow.

I also rented Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and I should have watched that instead. I can't believe I stayed up (I have an extremely early meeting tomorrow) to watch this. Very disappointing.

The Perfect Toy

Have you ever seen that PetSmart commercial with the dachshund and the wiener dog toy? You can watch it HERE.

I bought Antonio the same toy yesterday. I was walking down the toy aisle, saw it, and couldn't help myself. It was $6.99. I definitely weighed my options, but the commercial kept running through my head. The thought of Antonio carrying around this cute toy was an irresistible thought and just won me over.

Anyway - he really likes it. After ripping about three holes in it, he decided to take a short snooze and so I slowly picked it up and moved it away from him. He got all wide-eyed, jumped up, and took it right back. I did that about ten times before I got bored teasing him (I'm a very mean mom).

Right now Antonio is laying next to me on the couch with his chin resting on the toy. I suppose he's taking a break from the playing, but he's not about to let me have the toy either. Adorable.

Tuesdays About Town

This Tuesday will be a bit of a twist, because it's aimed at my fellow Baltimoreans (or at least those of you that have been residents at one time or another). Jill sent me this quiz, which scores how well you know certain facts about B-more. After 3 and a half years in the city, I scored a respectable 80%: I missed 4 questions out of twenty.

Snay, I'd like to thank you personally for question #15. I would have never know had you not blogged about it....

Where in Baltimore? Quiz

DON'T CHEAT! Just let me know how you all did.... ;)

Costa Family Milestones

Today was a day of mixed emotions for the Costa family.

Sadly, we lost Tiberius today, our beloved Himalayan family cat. The photo on the left shows Ty Guy (left) and Peek-A-Boo (right). Ty was not the smartest cat, in fact, for the majority of his life he was anxious and timid. He was rarely seen at holidays, but those that loved him knew his sweet disposition. Within the past year, Ty was diagnosed with diabetes, and my mom faithfully took care of him giving him insulin shots daily. He was a sweet and loving cat, and he will be greatly missed.

That is a difficult message to come back from, but in happier news, my parents are celebrating their 35 year anniversary today. On this date in 1971, my 19 year old mother and 24 year old father married in Akron, Ohio. Thirty-five years is quite an accomplishment in this day and age, and I am a lucky girl to have such a compassionate and loving family.

Congratulations, Mom and Dad. I love you.

My Birthday Dinner

This was a birthday that I won't soon forget.

Jill found this totally rockin' restaurant in Towson that is completely non-Towson like. It's called Vin, pronounced 'vine,' and it's pretty swank with a dark wood interior, red vinyl seats, and flat screen TVs everywhere with flower slide shows - kind of like moving artwork. It was all very posh.




Here is a group photo, from left to right: Rob, Jill, Teresa, Charissa, Richie, Heather and Matt.

We had a private room in the back that was closed off from the rest of the restaurant by a heavy door with a huge window in it. We were quite the curiosity to the rest of the patrons! And we had SO much food: calamari, lobster corndog (killer), tuna tar-tar, flatbread (fancy pizza), steak, cheesy mashed potatoes, and a zillion desserts. Oh, and WINE. I think we went through at least four bottles, one of which was a "magnum" bottle... which was about two bottles in one.

I also had a birthday dessert with candles and everything! Here I am blowing out my THREE (not 29) candles and thinking of my birthday wish (only Jill and I really know what it is... it's a SECRET).

After dinner we went out to their outdoor patio, 'The Grove,' which was soooo nice. Our waitress got off work and joined us out there, and we all sat around at built in wooden tables with customer cushions and chatted. After that we ended up at CVP, a bar I will never go to again. There was a bit of an altercation (that I did not cause), and I got thrown to the ground by the bouncer, banged up my knee, destroyed my pants, and today I have a nice bruise forming. Rob fared worse with a fractured hand... the whole thing sucked. Without getting into too many details, I think I am going to press assault charges against the bouncer, but I have to talk to the officer tonight to discuss it a little more. I hate mean people.

But not to end on a sour note... the evening as a whole was so great. I have to thank my friends for completely going out of their way for me. You all made my birthday so fabulous, and I am so very grateful to have you guys as friends. Thank you, thank you, thank you... it was such a great way to celebrate my birthday, my eye surgeries coming to an end (finally), and our friendship. I owe you all big time.

The Becks in B-More

Here are photos from yesterday's lunch with Jodi and her mom.





Last night's birthday dinner was awesome, but ended extremely dramatic. More details to follow later today...

It Feels Like 95 Degrees

Oh my, it is so hot outside. My parents and I met Jodi and her mom for lunch today down in the Inner Harbor. We ate at Phillips because Jodi and Joyce (her mom) wanted to have Maryland crab cakes. I'd never eaten there before, but it was pretty tasty, and besides... they had the great view of the harbor which is essential for out-of-towners who will only be in Baltimore for a half day.

My parents went on a Clipper City cruise at 2 PM, and I dropped off Jodi and Joyce at the aquarium (where they met the rest of their family) and I am now at home to rest.

I seriously considered laying out for all of five minutes, but I realized that laying out in 95 degree weather will probably defeat the purpose of my rest. The sun always makes me more tired.

Photos of our lunch to come later... Charissa and Antonio are taking a cat nap.

14 Things About Me

My very first tag... I am so excited. I feel so included. Thanks, Marie!!

1. How old are you? 29, as you all know by now.
2. How many kids do you have if any? Zero, unless a cat and a dog count.
3. Are you married, single, divorced, or a widow? Single.
4. What is your occupation? Marketing Product Manager.
5. What are your passions? Family and friends, music, theater, computer games, smiling people, and creativity in any form.
6. Are you a dreamer or a dream seeker? Mostly a dreamer, but I've had a few come to fruition.
7. Are you happy with the way you life has turned out? So far so good, it just all happened in a different order than I originally figured, is all.
8. Are you a scrapper? And if so, how many hours a week do you scrap? Yes, but rarely. My apartment is too small to have a scrapping space, so maybe once a year... it's sad, I know.
9. What do you want to do before you die? Lead a life of value. I haven't quite figured out how yet.
10. What is your favorite food? Lee's mint brownie ice cream, anything made from potatoes, my mom's french toast, and steak.
11. What is the food you hate the most? Risotto with sausage and calamari bodies (the rings are fine).
12. What is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you? Do two grand mal seizures in public places count?
13. What is the happiest day of your life thus far? I can't pick one day, but seeing my niece born and seeing the clock for the first time without glasses would rank right up there.
14. Are you a neat freak? Or a dirty house cleaner? I usually have a day of lazy then a day of cleaning. I don't dust every day or anything, but I vacuum and run the dishwasher a lot.

Who's next? I tag:
Missy B.
Snay
West
Melon

(I know this is girlie, but you can HUMOR me guys... it's my first tag for goodness sakes.)

Quick Surgery Update #2

I have no idea how I am going to go to work tomorrow. I'm functional, it's not that, but I have zero motivation. I have napped four times today, and I'm not a napping kind of gal.

My eyes don't actually hurt anymore, but they did yesterday night. It felt like I had sand beneath my eyelids, and they watered continuously. I was popping Tylenol like it was going out of style. Today they are achey and tired, but with very little pain.

Oddly, they are kind of bloodshot, but not in the normal sense of the word. They are red on the sides from the suctioning. Right before the laser makes the corrections, a small suction "holds" my eyeball so that it doesn't move. Here is a close up photo of them for you. They really don't feel as bad as they look.

Every time I lay down I have to tape eye shields to my face so that I don't accidentally bump or rub my eyes - or fall asleep and damage something. It's a pretty hot look, and it actually lends itself quite well to the cat-lady (or dog-lady) image that I am going for. :)

So now I am just trying to heal and rest up as much as I can in preparation for Saturday, when a group of us are going out to celebrate my birthday. I am so excited, although I might have to ask someone for a ride there (wink, wink) and take a taxi home. I am getting a sneaking suspicion that I shouldn't be driving in the dark. Halos aren't just for angels anymore.

Quick Surgery Update

I just wanted to drop you all a quick note on my surgery. I did well, loved the valium, and although the surgery itself was admittedly uncomfortable and I had some pain yesterday evening, I'm doing better today. My eyes ache a bit, and they are a bit bloodshot (apparently from the suction), but I can see (!) and that was the point of this whole process, right?

I'll try to hop online a little later tonight and give you a better update, but for now I think I am headed back to bed (eye shields and all). Thank you so much for the words of encouragement. I really appreciate them all. :)

Awaiting Tomorrow

My parents arrived safely this evening from Ohio. I was going to meet them for dinner, but Jill and I planned on a speedy happy hour, and we ended up being an hour and a half. My parents went to dinner in Canton without me (I'm horrible, I know), but Jill and I had good girl time so it was worth it. :)

That aside, Big Brother 7 was on tonight, and I am rooting for Danielle. I know she's on the block, but I'm hoping she'll make it through this week because I am a big Danielle fan. She's sneaky, spunky and I heart her. Alison needs to go home. I also like Janelle and Kaysar... but it's not likely that they'll all stick around together.

On a final note (before I climb into bed), my final eye surgery is scheduled for tomorrow at 2:40 PM. They claim only 10 minutes per eye, but I have to arrive between 2 and 2:15 pm, probably so they can give me some good valium pills. I can't wait. Whenever someone wants to slice into my eyeballs, I am all for the valium.

Wish me luck. I probably won't blog again until Thursday afternoon/night... staying away from the computer is one of those silly rules they give you. I'm also not allowed to read... so it's a good thing I have audio books to listen to, eh?

(Haha!)

Tuesdays About Town

Baltimore is extremely charming, it really is. In fact, we call our city "Charm City," "The City That Reads," and "The Greatest City In America." These titles are arguable by many, but let's not go there today. Instead I'd like to share one of the characteristics that makes Baltimore charming to me.

Baltimoreans are extremely proud of their homes. As you saw before in a previous "Tuesdays About Town," home owners will decorate their spaces in very interesting ways. Decoration can be in the form of window screen art (click link above), window decorations (such as figurines, stuffed animals, etc.), candles, artwork, or sometimes... flowers.

Seems standard, yes? Au contraire! Many home owners plant plastic flowers. I'll say that again. Many home owners plant plastic flowers. It's true, in the photos I have here, these flowers are 100% synthetic, and it's extremely common to see plastic flowers planted all over East Baltimore (and maybe in Federal Hill).



Consider it: They look gorgeous all spring, summer and fall, and they require little to no maintenance.

Man I love this city. And I love these people. They're both so charming.

Planting.
Plastic.
Flowers.
Is.
Awesome.

Tried To Walk It Off

I tried to walk off my frustration today. I walked two miles listening to what I believe to be a blackmarket audio recording of John Stewart LIVE at RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology). I really enjoyed it, even though there were a few dead spots and microphone issues - most likely because whoever recorded it was probably recording it illegally. 'Quality' must be sacrificed for 'free' apparently. Oh well, it was still pretty funny anyway.

So why wasn't I listening to The World Is Flat, you ask? BECAUSE IT WON'T PLAY ON MY IPOD. Aaaaaaah! It plays in iTunes, but when I try to drag the mp3 to my iPod in iTunes, I get the "denied" symbol... you know, the one with a circle with a line through it. I couldn't believe it. I'll now spend hours trying to fix it, while I should be cleaning because my parents are coming tomorrow.

Today has not been my day...

On a happy note, I'm featured on the Bags In Trees blog again! I've been lucky to find the bags that I've found so far, but my luck can't hold out forever. I'll try to appreciate being famous in the short term. :)

STRESSED

(Funny advertisement that Heather gave me after work. It seemed strangely appropriate after the day I had.)

What a birthday. Twenty minutes after I came into work, I was asked to participate in a conference call where I was assigned a project that could easily take me a full week to complete. Unfortunately for everyone involved, I have another important project due Friday, and I am out of the office Wednesday and Thursday for my final eye surgery. Here's the funny part: I'm the only one who can really do it.

God bless Jill, because she'll be helping me out on a few parts, but the problem isn't that it's a hard project, it's just that most of the project is manual labor... looking up data from other reports and plugging it in, one piece at a time. I just happen to know where all of those pieces of information are located.

So here I sit, trying to decide if I am going to go jogging or not. A small rain shower just went through, and although it might be over, there's potential for another scattered storm. Wouldn't that be just my luck? I am tired and frustrated, and I have zero motivation (even though I brought home some of the "regular" work that I would normally be completing during an average week).

Hopefully I'll have happier thoughts for you later tonight...

I am 29 Years Old Today

Oh. My. Goodness.

I can't believe it, I'm 29. I am now just a jump away from 30, and there is so much I wanted to do before I hit that number. I'm not depressed about it, please don't think that... I am just slightly bothered by it. It's definitely some sort of milestone in a gal's life to be 29. If 'the questions' haven't started before now, they will... 'when are you getting married,' 'when are you going to settle down?' Ugh. I am really not looking forward to that.

It's not so much the 2-9 that I bother me, but rather that I only have 12 months left to be in the 2s. I'm not crazy about that. I'm not ready to be a whole new set of numbers. After this year, I will never get to be a 2 again, and although I don't want to relive my twenties (no way), I'm not 100% ready to leave them.

My mom sent me one of those 'birthday calculators' yesterday, and it calculated the following as of 7/10/2006 12:23:47 AM EDT:
I am 29 years old.
I am 348 months old.
I am 1,513 weeks old.
I am 10,592 days old.
I am 254,208 hours old.
I am 15,252,503 minutes old.
I am 915,150,227 seconds old.

(That's a lot of time that's gone by!)

I am 4.14559686888454 dog-years old. (At least my dog is older than I am!)

Yes I am 29 today, and I have no big plans for the next 24 hours, which is okay. I didn't take the day off, I don't have lunch plans or evening plans. It'll be a regular day, except for the fact that when it's over I will only have 364 more days left in the 2s. I'll get over the fact that I'm 29 eventually - I'm just not completely sold on it yet.

Big Fishing

Hat's off to Rob and Jill... they were right. The first time I saw Big Fish, I wasn't impressed. I really can't remember why, but I do remember that it felt jumbled and disconnected, and that bothered me.

This time around, I loved it. It had a more meaningful message than I realized the first time I watched it because the story isn't presented in a deep way. It's light and comical, so it's easy to merely see the story on the surface, rather than absorbing the full meaning behind it.

Movie Description from Netflix:
William Bloom (Billy Crudup) tries to learn more about his dying father, Edward (Albert Finney), by piecing together the facts out of the various fantastic tales and legends of epic proportions he's been told over the years. Edward was a traveling salesman, and his journeys throughout the South are the seed of the tales. Directed by Tim Burton, the movie co-stars Ewan McGregor (as the young Edward), Helena Bonham-Carter and Steve Buscemi.

It's not that the movie has a complicated message, because it doesn't. The story is about a man making his own way in the world. It's about the experiences he's had and the tales he tells about them. In it's simplest form, the message is that life is what we make it, that we all are the captains (if you will) of our own destiny. It's relatively basic, but you can either allow life to happen to you, or you can participate in the moments and decisions of your life that make it what it will ultimately become. At the end of the day, you are those experiences and those decisions... and you want to be happy with them.

Besides, I love Steve Buscemi and Albert Finney and have a schoolgirl crush on Ewan McGregor, so I how could I be disappointed?!?

Thanks Rob and Jill for encouraging me to watch Big Fish again. Now if they'd only watch the Down With Love DVD that I loaned them.... :)

Book Reading Update

I'm afraid I will have to temporarily pass on Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I downloaded this as an audio book from bit torrent, and the mp3 files were so miss-labeled that I couldn't get them in order. This resulted in the story jumping all over the place, so I decided to tackle this one the old fashioned way and actually read it. Barnes and Noble, here I come.

Instead I am starting The World Is Flat on audio book and The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress in paperback. The first I have always wanted to read because it got so much hype when it was first published. The second is a recommendation from my friend Richie, and it's described as both 'political' and 'sci-fi,' which should at least be interesting, although it clearly has libertarian themes and I'm not too sure I lean that way. I suppose we'll see.

On a final note, I completed Darkness Visible this morning. It was my second time reading it, but at 96 pages it's a light read. It's relatively heavy content though, so it's only recommended if you are into psychology, psychosis, and the strength of the human spirit. I find it fascinating that it's a first-person account of manic depression, but it might be pretty dark for some.

That's my update for now. Comments and recommendations on my reading choices always welcome. :)

Late Night Netflix

The third and final movie tonight was one that I already own called, Kissing Jessica Stein. It's a strange twist on a regular chick flick.

Movie Description from Netflix:
Jessica (Jennifer Westfeldt) is a single, straight, successful New York journalist who, like most of her female friends, has had a history of dating (male) creeps. But when she answers an intriguing personal ad from Helen (Heather Juergensen), Jessica finds herself intensely drawn to her. As Jessica explores this new side of her sexuality, the two begin a friendship that ultimately leads to romance.

It's a very cute and charming movie, and I'd like to clarify that it's NOT porn. It's just cute. They show very little physical stuff, and it's mostly about discovering who you are... etc, etc, etc. (because I've lost most of the guys by now).

Definitely worthwhile to see, but don't be disappointed when you realize it's not 'Girls Gone Wild.'

Note to Brian and Snay: I saw your comments about Homicide. I don't have that in my Netflix queue, but I do have Showtime's series Dead Like Me and the entire miniseries of Vistitor's V. :)

Netflix and Hot Sausage

The hot sausage refers to my dinner... I haven't started on the Coronas because I meant to buy MILD sausage, and instead I bought HOT. I figured that I might need milk with the hot sausage, so we'll see if I get back to the Coronas later, or if I stay with the milk.

Milk is good.

So I just watched Network, a movie from 1976 starring Faye Dunaway and Robert Duvall. It was nominated for Best Picture in 1977, and won five other awards that year, and DAMN... it is good. It is definitely "I think I want to buy it" good. The plot is completely extraordinary and outlandish, or at least we'd like to think so, wouldn't we?

Movie Description from Netflix:
Paddy Chayefsky predicted today's rash of trash television and shock-laden news broadcasts. The writer of Marty created network news anchor Howard Beale (Peter Finch), who loses his mind on the air. Unfortunately, his outrageous rants boost the ratings and intrigue cutthroat network executives Faye Dunaway and Robert Duvall. William Holden contrasts their avarice as an old-school TV journalist hopelessly out of step.

For the record, this movie was NOT recommended by Netflix based on my past ratings. Although I LOVED Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, I hated Annie Hall. I've got to say that it's relatively amusing to me that this movie is a spoof on the Nielsen Media ratings system, because I have applied to be one of those folks. I just thought it would be a lot of fun, and I happen to like being entertained by television, so it seemed appropriate.

Anyway... I'd love to hear anyone else's feedback on this movie. I just loved it, loved it, loved it. Now on to the next one...

Netflix and Coronas

I have dedicated this weekend to watching the movies that I have intended to watch for awhile now. I have three Netflix movies at home, and another borrowed from Jill and Rob. I am determined to get through them all this weekend (sounds lazy, doesn't it?)

Last night I watch Hilary and Jackie, one of those movies you've never heard of, but that Netflix recommends to you because you've liked other movies that are like it. "Enjoyed by members who enjoyed: Elizabeth, Shine, The Magdalene Sisters, The Piano and Iris." I really liked the first four, and Iris is currently 61st in my queue.

Movie Description from Netflix:
Emily Watson stars in this true story about Jacqueline du Pré, a famed cellist whose glamorous but turbulent life contrasts with the quiet existence of her sister, Hilary (Rachel Griffiths). The close but complicated relationship between the sisters strains to the breaking point as a result of infidelity, jealousy and, finally, illness. Based on Hilary's controversial memoir, A Genius in the Family.

I enjoyed it. I really did. Although there are a few moments that really disturbed me. The movie tells the sisters' story up to a point, and then continues in two parts: one based on Hilary's life and the other based on Jackie's life. It provides the viewer with a more in depth understanding of each sister's point of view, and it was really interesting.

I also just watched Road to Perdition, which I remember avoiding when it initially came out. I think the trailer depressed me or something, and at the time I figured that I just didn't need the stress.

Movie Description from Netflix:
Hit man Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks), known in his 1930s Chicago world as The Angel of Death, is on the run after his wife (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and son are murdered. With his surviving son (Tyler Hoechlin) in tow, Michael sets out to exact brutal vengeance. Complicating matters in this crime actioner are a reporter (Jude Law), Al Capone's enforcer (Stanley Tucci) and other shady characters.

This movie was pretty good too. Not as much bloodshed as I thought it might have, so that helped. It's not that people didn't get shot, but it's old-school, so they have a classy way of showing it. The movie mostly revolved around the dynamic between the father's anger and the son's understanding of who the father actually was. I'm usually intrigued by the multiple aspects of human nature.

At the end of the day, I recommend them both... keeping in mind I have an artsy-fartsy side. I'll report back once I've made it through another movie... but first, time to walk Mr Dog.

Flashback Fridays

I stared at this photo for a long time before I figured out where the heck it was from... Marie, do you remember this? The conclusion I have come to is that this photo is from the time we went canoeing at, I think, Mohican. For the life of me I can't remember who else was there: was this high school? College? I have no idea!! I know that we had at least two cars, maybe three, and that someone got stuck in the water and flipped because they couldn't figure out how to row.

This is the only picture that I found, but I'm sure there are more somewhere. Who else was at this thing? This would be so fun to do again!

Today's Horoscope

I don't really believe in astrology or horoscopes. It might have something to do with my experience with a palm reader in Fort Lauderdale (remember, Stephanie? Brooke?). She was very nice, but she told me that I was going to marry Nick, my boyfriend at the time. Since I haven't married him, and I have no idea what became of him, that isn't looking too probable... and isn't predicting future outcomes relatively important in the fortune-telling business?

Anyway, after a crabby day, I stumbled upon a few of my horoscopes. I'm not saying that I believe them or that I don't believe them, but only that they are sort of interesting to read after the emotional day that I just had. I've been frustrated and confused most of the day, and not even about anything in particular, just in general.

As for the second horoscope, it may be referencing a meeting that I had Thursday afternoon. "You may be putting in a great deal of time and effort toward a specific task, only to discover you might not receive any compensation or rewards for your labor." That rings pretty true. So true, in fact, that I may have to rethink my whole position on this astrology stuff. Anyone seen Nick?

From MSNBC
You might feel hesitant to trust your emotions today, dear Cancer. But more than likely, your instincts know exactly where to take you. Your feminine side is grounded and practical. Working counter to this, you may feel a force urging you to be a bit more spontaneous and loving. Go ahead and explore other groups and alternative modes, but don't feel like you need to stay there if it doesn't feel right.

From Astrology.com
You are more prone to delusion and deception in your work environment at this time. You may be putting in a great deal of time and effort toward a specific task, only to discover you might not receive any compensation or rewards for your labor.

Updated Kid Pics

Here are a number of pictures of my sister's kids taken this weekend. AREN'T THEY SCRUMPTIOUS?

This is Zavier, being a complete ham! It only took a few thousand pictures to get this one!

Baby Jude (I know, he's two) and his sweet smile. He's contagious.

Calista and me... we're twins, we know. We just can't help ourselves.








And a few group shots, complete with a bonus dog!

Wine. Is. Evil.

On Monday night, a bunch of us from high school got together for pizza and wine: BJ, Marie and Lily; Cassie, Patrick and Conner; Jodi and me. We had such a FABULOUS time, but a few too many bottles of wine were consumed, and I definitely paid for it on Tuesday.

This is a picture of Marie and I in our New Kids on the Block t-shirts.
I would like to point out that I have on the Joey McIntyre t-shirt because I am his BIGGEST fan and Marie is just a poser. :)

It was so fun getting together like this! After pizza, BJ took Lily home and to bed, and Patrick set up a fire out back for us girls. He took over Conner duty, and the girls talked, cried and laughed into the night.

This photo of the four girls is from the end of the night. See what I mean about the wine? :)

I love you so much, girls... I need to stay in better touch with you all. There are far too many things that we have been through together, and we need remember that we all have each other to lean on.






Tuesday afternoon I went over to Brooke and Nate's house to hang out with a bunch of friends from college. There were LOTS of babies!! We had Brooke, Nate, Ethan (2 years) and Kiersten (2 months); Stephanie, Maddie (4 years) and mystery baby in Steph's belly (-4 months); Lisa, Andy and Brendan (2 weeks); Angela, JB and mystery baby we all hope to hear about any day now; and.... uh..... hmmmm...... me. This photo shows Kiersten, left, and Brendan.

I arrived a little late for lunch (refer to the title of this entry for more details), but stayed with Brooke and Steph until dark with the kids (Nate was watching TV). :)

I hadn't seen Lisa and Andy in forever, Stephanie for 2 years, Brooke for 2 years, Nate for who the heck knows, and Ang and JB I saw (briefly) last August.
From left to right: me, Angela, Stephanie, Brooke and Lisa

I need to stay in better touch with you guys, too. Too much time has gone by, and we tend to lose track of each other's lives. I am defintely going to do a better job of keeping in touch. I have missed you all so very much.

I'm a Busy, Busy Girl

It has been a long time since I have been home, and I've been running around like a madwoman from the moment I got here. For some reason when I pictured coming back home for this weekend, I pictured a few lazy afternoons laying out on my parents' deck, with a laptop on my lap or a book in my hands. That dream has yet to fully materialize.

As I type, I am, in fact, sitting on my parents deck with my laptop, but I am under a screened canopy because it is raining. So far I am staying dry, but Antonio is on my lap and not at all happy that we are so close to the rain. (He hates being wet.) He is watching each and every large drop fall from the edge of the canopy with concern and dread.

But I am not complaining. I have had such a good time, and I have another day or so to go. I have been homesick for awhile now... and I needed to come back here and be reminded of all of the loving family and friends that I have in Ohio. It has been a fun-filled trip so far.

To date, I have done a number of things. A quick list is below.

1. I've attended a BBQ with my parents, sister's family, friends, friends' parents, and friends friends attending. This included a short experience in shock therapy, thanks to BJ's new game, Lighting Reaction Extreme.
2. Went with Jodi's family to see her in Dames at Sea at Porthouse Theatre. This was Jodi's first show as an Actors Equity Association member, and we went out afterwards to eat, drink and be merry! (And I also snagged myself a gay boyfriend... doesn't every girl need one of those?)
3. Went to church service on Sunday morning, which is the first one I've been to in a long while. The minister that baptized me is preaching all summer as an interim minister at a church in my hometown. He does some of the best sermons I have ever heard, and mixes his messages with his knowledge of theology. It was refreshing to hear him again.
4. I had lunch with my sister and mom to celebrate my mom's birthday (on July 4th!). The three of us don't usually get to spend time together alone, so it was so nice to have girl time.
5. Visited my grandpa, and BOY did he enjoy picking on me! When we go to visit him we usually sit around his kitchen table and chat, and he tells us a lot of jokes. He's very funny! Here's a picture of grandpa and I to the right.
6. Went to see The Devil Wears Prada with Marie, Katherine, and Lisa... and I actually enjoyed it (the movie and the girls). I thought the movie would be a bit too "chickie" for me, but I really enjoyed how rude Meryl Streep's character was. I suppose it's not a good sign that I enjoy blatant rudeness, but oh well. I had fun spending time with the girls afterwards too. We went for coffee and when the girls asked for "decaf," I asked for "caf" to be funny. The waitress responded, "We don't have caf here, just decaf." How do these people survive to procreate?
7. Slept in.... THANK GOODNESS. And then spent a few hours going through boxes of old photos. So much fun.
8. I had lunch with my Dad, and we drove up to Yours Truly in Hudson (for those of you that know it). I forgot how good the food is! We had burgers (he had a gardenburger... my parents are so healthy these days) and chatted about all kinds of stuff, then he took me on a driving tour of Akron and all of the changes they are making. It'll be interesting to see how some of these changes pan out. The phot to the right is of the new and improved art museum.

Tonight I'm heading to Cassie's to visit with my high school friends again. I really miss my Ohio friends when I'm away. I love my Baltimore friends so much too, but it's hard not to see everyone on a regular basis. At least we can look forward to times like this. :)

Happy Fourth of July Eve!

Saturday BBQ

Saturday was a lot of fun, even though I was operating on minimal sleep after my drive in from Baltimore. We had our BBQ at Marie and BJs house, and my whole family came, as well as other friends and family members of our group. This is a picture of my niece, Calista, and me.

Marie's Dad also wanted to honor the Bags In Trees blog! This bag is in a tree in Akron, Ohio... but I think it's an honorable tribute. :)

I Finally Made it to Ohio

Yesterday was a long day. I left my house at 4:10 PM after leaving work early, and I planned to get to my parents' house in Ohio by 10-ish. I hit the normal slow traffic on the SW corner of 495, and then headed west on 70.

Since the drive usually takes me between 5 and 6 hours, I took this opportunity to make a number of phone calls to friends and family in Ohio to finalize weekend plans. My boss called during this time, and we talked for 20 minutes or so. After our conversation my phone gave me a "low battery" warning, and I promptly plugged it into my car charger. A short while later my sister called, and we talked for another 45 minutes, meanwhile traffic started slowing down on 70 west as I approached the 270 merge.

Somewhere during this time I realized that my phone charger wasn't actually working: no little green light, no "charging" screen on my LCD. I'm practically bumper to bumper in holiday traffic (who goes WEST for the fourth of July?); an hour into what is turning out to be a longer drive than usual; and my phone is near dead. Great. I actually tried playing MacGyver for awhile. I took the charger apart, saw a broken piece of plastic that might have been causing the problem, and I tried to use a vitamin and chewing gum to fix it. Yes, I am slightly embarrassed to tell you all this, but if I had actually gotten it to work, it would have been a damn good story. :)

At first I only thought that my situation was a mere inconvenience. But the longer I sat in traffic, the more I realized that I'd be driving later into the night than I had originally planned. I knew that I was most likely going to be on the road for a long while, and I hadn't started the trip very well-rested. It just made sense to have a working cell phone in case anything happened. I made a decision to hop off the highway somewhere near Hagerstown and find a Best Buy or Sprint store so that I could replace my charger.

Note to my readers: There is not a Best Buy anywhere near Hagerstown. Unless you live in Hagerstown and already know this, you're just going to have to take my word for it, because I looked. I drove up and down 40... no Best Buy. I drove all around the Prime Outlets... no Best Buy. I finally asked for help from a very nice woman standing in front of a nail salon, and she confirmed that the closest Best Buy was in Frederick (which I had already passed), and I wasn't about to backtrack.

My new friend (who liked my dog, by the way, so she earned extra points for that) gave me directions to Valley Mall, which I found easily, but the Sprint store near the mall was closed as it was after 7 PM by now. Again I pleaded with locals for assistance. An older couple knew there was a Sprint kiosk inside of the mall, so I parked the car, left the windows cracked for Antonio, and ran inside.

By this point my patience is waning, and the woman at the Sprint kiosk earned zero points when she looked at my phone with a twisted face and said, "how long have you had this thing?" I just glared at her. Even though my phone is only a year old, she had no idea what would work with it and told me that my best bet was Radio Shack. Thank God there was one in the mall, although it was clear at the other end. I must have been their easiest customer yesterday, because I walked in and said "I need help." The sales guy promptly sold me a $30 universal car charger. I'm such a sucker.

This has already been a long post, so I won't bore you with the details of the rest of the 5 hour drive. I needed more gas since I had burned up so much driving around, and I still had to stop for food. The McDonalds sign was a welcome sight in Breezewood. I was desperately trying to keep my brain occupied for the remainder of the trip. I even found myself listening to NASCAR for awhile. I finally pulled into my parents' driveway just after midnight, approximately 8 hours after I left Baltimore.