Andy Explains Stuff 2: Applesauce Bitch

SO here is installment two of Andy Explains Stuff, this time I did Applesauce...you know it's easy to make, hope you enjoy!

travels as of late

Hi folks, haven't blogged much lately, then again I haven't had much time for it or I just haven't wanted to? I don't know, any number of things. Maybe I haven't had much to talk about. I would like to say I have been traveling to exotic places and learning lots of new things, but well it just isn't true. As of late I have not traveled to any place exotic and have no complaints of airlines or travel in general. What I would like to say is that I have actually traveled (again no place exotic) but I have been to some places I have been before but this time I got to see people I have not seen in a while and I got to attend a great conference for the professionals in my field.

Closing the Gap



I suppose that is all, the only other exciting thing about going to MN in October was that it snowed a tad and I got to get to some of my favorite soup from Eddingtons. you'll notice it is right near the hotel...it's a chain but hey it has great soup...YUM!

A Maine Vacation...in under 3 min.

So here is a quick and dirty into to Maine for some people who have never been there...a little more though: This is the woods of Maine so there is no ocean in this video. The places visited include:
Spring Rd, Lake Auburn, Auburn, ME
The Appalachian Trail in Madrid, ME
Piazza Rock on the AT
Smalls Falls, Madrid, ME
Rangeley Lakes State Park
Height of the Land, RT 17

Travels...third times a charm, and a run a few weeks after

SO this was the picture from the seat I was sitting watching my first MLB game since either middle school or college (I can't remember if I went while I was living briefly in Boston.) So while I was in Pittsburgh for a conference I was able to get to go see the Pirates loose to the Cardinals with some great people (one being a co-worker.) I was really excited actually because I had been to Pittsburgh twice already and this time I got to explore the city a little more. I mean don't get me wrong I had fun the other two times but one time I was under age (I did get a tattoo that time) and the other time I was there for a wedding which was tons of fun, but there was LOTS of prep work to do. In the end we had so much fun at the wedding. Anyways, so this is a different trip, different sites to see! So this time I got to see a whole other side of Da Pitt! With my co-workers we ate some great unhealthy food. The first place we went was a saloon beer called Fatheads this place was cool, lots of good beer and other drinks and great unhealthy food. I ate a burger with a pirogi on it, seriously?!?! I don't know if I have had something that great in a while. It not only had a pirogi, but it had bacon, cheese, and onions...the best worst thing ever. So Pittsburgh had some bad food but you know what you need that every once in a while. I did counter this delicious culinary concoction with some good grilled fish, and it good...and it was MAKO SHARK. The place was called Monterey Bay Fish Grotto, silly name, but delicious with a delicious view to match it was on the top of Mt. Washington in Pittsburgh. We also went on the incline, which was very cool. Another fun place we went just for drinks was Hofbaurhaus. This place had the big liters of beer and pretzels and skishots and German music and the like, basically it was a fun time had by all. Pittsburgh was fun and I guess the third time was a charm!


The other thing I wanted to post about was my Half Marathon...or SECOND half marathon. The following are the times from my two races.

Providence Cox Sports Half Marathon: 2:44:38 with a pace of about 12:35

New York City Half Marathon: 2:27:09 with a pace of about 11:14

I have said it before I realize I am not a great runner, I am not a fast runner and have only been running more or less for a little under a year. I have done other 5K races but nothing big, a few in Maine and one in NYC. I was happy with the time, and I know I could have done slightly better. I did walk about half of the mile from mile 11 to 12 and it was also in the 80's (at about 6:30 it was 77 degrees with 75% humidity) so you know, my time was a little affected by the heat...I am sure. I right I am looking forward to another half marathon (maybe a cooler one say February??) I am also looking forward to running in the NYC marathon...fun times fun times!

Andy Explains Stuff: Cooking

Here it is folks, an attempt by me to make some kind of 10 min Vlog or something like that. I hope this isn't the last one, well I am working on one about Science...should be fun!

It's been a month time to post

SO it's been a month and I guess a lot has happened in that month. The most important thing that has happened I think would be be that SUMMER is now upon us, officially. I like summer for a couple reasons, mostly because everything is so much more happy and cheerful, even when it's not, it is. The colors come out, the water and sky are more blue, the grass is more green, the lightening bugs come out. You know happy things. We play whiffle ball in the park, running takes place after 8:30 (oh I found the joys of running at night.) Everything is just that much better. The other thing I have always looked forward to are the rainy days of summer, not the ones that last days on end like we had earlier this month, or the ones that it might rain it might not rain. I like the days that it is sunny, hot an humid for a few days, and than we get a nice break with a rainy day. These are the days that kind of reset everything until it's sunny out again, like a nice cleanse for the world. That is today and I think I may be the only one who likes this weather. Maybe it is because I don't feel bad about staying in and getting stuff done in my office, like cleaning.

So in the past month it seems like I have been trying new restaurants left and right. I must say these restaurants are a crap shoot (and I only mean this literally for one or two of them.) A friend of mine was in town going to see a show and I thought I would meet her afterwards. We walked around and decided we were all hungry. As you usually do when you are hungry you kind of pick some place random (if you don't know anything around) and hope for the best. Of course we were on 10th ave...and I don't know 10th ave (Hells Kitchen...something like that) and we picked a what restaurant...Ethiopian...yah...it was to say the least interesting. Orion described it after I told him we ate it as "a diaper full of different colored baby poops," yah that just about sums it up. There is no telling the differences (besides color and spicyness) of the plops of "food" and of course the Ethiopian jokes quickly ensued...fabulous.
We also ate at a restaurant in Little Italy...bland. Unless I don't know the different tastes of Italian food...it was bland bland bland...Parmesean, Eggplant and Chicken are three foods that are good...but when combined...bland...not great and well I don't recommend this restaurant.
Besides the sushi place (Yo sushi...I don't know what it is called but I love it) The other new place is this little hole in the wall in the Bronx, in our neighborhood called Go Green. Delicious panini sandwiches, Yuca fries...everything was really good. I am excited there is a good "go to" place in my neighborhood, that isn't a chain. Well I guess that is all, been busy here getting the apartment put together and training for those races...and loosing a little weight (197ish now) so I will post again soon...btw I am still mad about the BMI charts...

training, pride, stuff

So here it is mid-June. I am happy it is June, but at the same time, June is making me angry. Summer is suppose to be warm, nice clear skies, and maybe night time showers only during the week and clear weekends (unless I am camping on vacation, than it should just be clear and dry the WHOLE time.) So I have been keeping busy training for this crazy half marathon and marathon wondering how I am going to do and what not. I have had some AWESOME training days lately but that seems to last for two weeks and then I have a bad training week WTF!?!? Also I have the schedule from NIKE+ that I follow but the saturday runs always get screwed up with Pride parades or moving (we are moving this weekend.) So I have been moving my long run to Monday, nothing wrong with it, but I would rather run a long run on a weekend when I don't have to take a good chunk out of my day just to run. Soon my long runs will take up more then 2 hours...when I get there...I guess I get there, but those days will be in September when I have more weekend time. I digress. I have start to love running again, and since I am losing weight, or fat maybe (down to 199.6!!) It has become easier for me to run, yah yah yah I know the deal the less you weigh the faster you go, but you know I am okay with me being a little bigger, I guess it is where my body wants to be, and I am a healthy individual, I eat good, I exercise, I am active in community activities...I am happy and healthy. So why does some person who is skinny and probably can spend hours and hours at the gym and lots of money of all the healthy food in the world tell me the size that I need to be? A friend of mine works at Banana Republic and is in the fashion industry (or use to be...not sure anymore) but she has the same rant, it is true, the world as we know it does not like fat, and they don't like anyone who is not the "ideal" the worst thing in the world is a fat doctor, or ever slightly overweight doctor (which for 5'8" apparently anything over 160 is overweight.) Seriously, I don't think I have been 160 since 7th grade...and I have never looked overweight. I think I would look funny if I weighed 160. I am aiming for 185 to start, and even that is overweight, I am apparently teetering on the obese edge. Yah sure, you look at me and say WOW THAT GUY IS WAY OBESE!! I really don't understand where this comes from. I mean I may not be long, lean and slightly muscular (the perfect man APPARENTLY,) but I am healthy damnit and until I drop dead, I am going to be healthy, no matter what so F U BMI chart...F, U!

NYC Marathon??? ME?!?

So just because I wanted to run a marathon, I don't know if I really wanted to do it so soon, I was a little upset when I bought my membership to the NYRR (New York Road Runners) and saw that I would only qualify for the NY Marathon in 2 years and not next year if I ran all the qualifying races this year because I registered 2 weeks or so late. What a kind of silly rule. Put a qualification in the middle of the month instead of the end. So I decided to do the next sensible thing and enter the lottery which I did just to see if I would get accepted. Knowing that I would never get accepted because I have only run a Half Marathon, and am not the fastest runner (some races have those silly qualifying times like Boston,) I looked for alternative like raising money for kids or Lupus, or cancer, something like that, but again, they want you to raise $2500 and up. In this economy, I really don't think that is likely. So the other day I was checking my email and I got an email from Marathon mailer (thinking the worst of course,) thanks for trying but sorry try again...instead I got this letter:




Yup so you guessed it, I beat the lottery and now I am sure there is a line of pissed off marathoners who did not get in through the lottery. I am sure they will not be cheering me on (just kidding how do they know I got in through the lottery.) SO I am going to give it my all, and realize my newest goal of running a marathon before I turn 30. Amazing, I didn't think I would do it, but it happened I am going to run 26.2 miles...26.2 miles...26.2 miles...through all five boroughs and lots of bridges and some not so fun hills...wish me luck cause damnit I am going to need it. I also think maybe I will raise some money for something. Who knows.

It's been a while...Let's get reaquainted

Hi all my three followers and stragglers who come everyone once in a while to get those oh so precious updates from me, your friendly blogger. I really have not had much happening in the last month since I ran my first half marathon. I really think it gets you in this mindset of I can do this more often, and I want to do this more often, so I am. I signed up for a 5 miler in June and another Half in August. Great an August race is JUST THE BEST DAMN THING! 13 miles is hard enough by itself, but add in the scorching August head, lots of water for me. I might also add that I have added some new restrictions to my diet. Yay.



So because of this book, and some thinking to myself, I am no longer eat diary, eggs or caffeine, (and soon no meat) but I am not one to drink tons and tons of coffee anyways, just a cup now and then, and even then it would take me a while to drink that cup. Oh well, in 30 days we shall see how this is going to go. Apparently the book states that Cheese and Milk has this enzyme in it which is like Morphine so our bodies become addicted. Well in 30 days, we shall see. Also if you cut it, you will drop weight, which I could drop a good 20 or so pounds, again, we shall see, as of Tuesday I was at 207 so hopefully by the end of the summer 185? I think that is reasonable, as long as I keep up the running and the dieting, I think 185 will work great and be achievable. The other thing is running this fangled half marathon in about 2 hours...that may be a stretch but so far my long runs have been pretty good, my last 9 mile run was something like 1:27? so that would make at Half around 2:07 which would be AWESOME! I am aiming for under 2:30, but we shall see. Hope all is well out in cyber-land. By the way I highly recommend this book if you are looking to change the diet! There is one for girls too, called Skinny Bitch (can I say that on a blog...I think I have said worse)

half marathon and bloody nipples

Hi readers,
I thought I would recount my last few months of training for this freakin Half Marathon, which yes I set my mind to and completed. I must say I surprised how nice it was to run with a group of others who are not fast runners and who are doing this for other people not just themselves. While I always run by myself and the music coming out of my headphones into my head I always think about things and wish I had something I could write on or save these great ideas while I was running. The next run I will have some names on my shirt so people know I am not just doing this for myself, but also for some people who have passed away. My new found love of running/jogging and competing against myself has made me think more about training and going to the gym instead of just running. I think I will need to drag myself to the gym and use the membership I never use. I guess I need to do some weight training help out my muscles and stuff. I also need to find a cure for blisters and chafing. I must say one of the most unpleasant things in the world is chafing, bleeding nipples...OUCH! I mean yes I have had my nipples pierced a few times but this is a WHOLE NEW type of pain. I mean I didn't realize my nipples (only one actually) was bleeding when Jeremy said he saw one guy with blood streaming down the front of his shirt, so I looked and said "eeee, so THAT is what that pain was!" (seriously I say eeee, instead of EEEK) Now I need to wash that shirt. Also I signed up for the NYC half Marathon, may not be ready for a full marathon, but you never know, I could be next year, so my goal of running a marathon before I turn 30 is still on the back burner but there are still some marathons in Jan and Feb that I could run! We shall see!

running...over coming fears

I just want to start by saying since I started running again, and according to the NikePlus site (which records all my running activities,) I have run 105.52 miles, now for someone who is 200lbs, that I mean is a lot, maybe not some small skinny little thing, but i admit my frame is neither small nor thin. I would qualify in most long races as a "Clydesdale," seriously...that makes me feel great about my weight, you are equated to a giant horse that pulls beer trucks around, whatever. So my upcoming race is looming in my mind and I hate, hate, HATE treadmills, so I refuse to run on one...period, end of story! It has been raining weather crappy, and me in a foul mood, I don't want to run either, but I will finish, oh yes, I will finish. Here is today's time for my run...it is always in mile 7, 8 and beyond I slow down, I know there are services during those miles, so hopefully that will help.




So my second reason for posting is because well, I am admittedly not fond of heights. So when the opportunity to walk the Brooklyn Bridge rears its ugly head at me, I refuse. I did it once and was on the verge of panic needing an Adivan after. I'm telling you, wooden walk way, bikes, tourists, cars zooming under you...not fun at all! So today I did an appointment on the Brooklyn side of the bridge and said myself...SELF! do it...walk the bridge...and I did it gritting my teeth the whole way, trying not to look down, of course I did, and survived. That's all, my story, all written down so you don't have to write it!

HACKED!!!

So for all the readers out there, if you happen to know me and my bad grammar you know it is some what bad, BUT if I were to send out kind of an S.O.S. message from a old email address I would probably a) let people know I was going on some kind of trip (such as Africa, news like that travels fast) b) post something of the sort with updates on facebook c) I would capitalize my freakin I's. SERIOUSLY PEOPLE! I have never work on AIDS/Malaria research of any sort...and probably never will...well I won't say never. I would also put the name of the hotel in the email. Because if I was at the "city library" I doubt I would have all day to wait for emails and then return emails. So far the culprit has not emailed me back, my email went something like, "You don't know ho you are messing with jackass, none of my friends and family are dumb enough to send you money, the police have been notified..." really the police will do nothing...but oh well empty threats but my friends and family have been notified. Here is the letter...jackass.

Hello Dear,
I know this message will come to you as a surprise since i did not inform you of my trip to Africa for an International Seminar on "The devastating effect of poverty,H.I.V/Aids,Malaria on sub-saharan Africa" This is an extended programme taking palce in three major English Speaking west African countries of Ghana,nigeria,and The Gambia.I thought i could use this time out to see what Africa looks like.Hey its been a horrible experience.
It's been a very sad and difficult moment for me out here as iam stranded as a result of the loss
my little bag containing my money and some important travelling documents. I actually forgot it in a taxi i boarded from the airport in Lagos back to my hotel.Efforts to retrieve the bag has been unsuccessful.The problem now is that iam so distressed iam unable to pay up my hotel bills.This has been so embarrassing as the hotel staff threaten to seize my luggage and handing me over to the Hotel management.
I have never been this embarrassed in my whole life as iam so stranded that i find it difficult to feed since i do not know where to go for help.
This place is kinda hell!!.Please help me with some money ,i will pay back to you as soon as iam back.I need $800 to pay up the hotel bills and at least $500 to sort out other minor problems.I will want you to send me a total of $1,300 which i shall pay back to you immediately i arrive home safely.
Please try and understand how urgent i need your help.I am sending you this e-mail from the city Library because i do not have access to a telephone here. I will appreciate what so ever you can afford to send me for now and I promise to pay back your money as soon as am back home.
You can send the money through Western union money transfer or MoneyGram to the Hotel manager whose details i shall send to you as soon as i hear from you.
Iam counting on your urgent assistance.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Thanks,
andy



Every I write better then this, and those of you who have corrected any of my writing know that. Also I capitalize I's and correctly space between sentences. Also all the spelling mistakes I would pick up on spell check...jackass.

when I grow up?

Today folks I thought I would take a trip down memory lane, mostly because the books I have been reading of late have been "easy" reads for me and well I finished them in a day or so. The other thing is I have been thinking about how I am almost completely different then I was when I was a weird-o pre-teen/teenager and how the education that kids get now is almost different then when I was a kid...kind of academic sounding huh?

I started to write this big rant about how I hated school mostly English, writing, Science and Math, which leaves me with Social Studies, Music, Gym, and those electives we had to take, but then I erased it all. I just was thinking how when I am FORCED to read something, I don't want to, and it is uninteresting and blah blah blah, but when I am generally interested in something and it flows and kind of follows my thinking pattern. I like it. Just as an example in the last few months these are the books I have read:

Salt
Cod
Schyuler's Monster
Various Issues of National Geographic
The New Yorker

On the outside people would say huh pretty non-fictionish selection of reading material and I would say yes, it is. I would also say that they are interesting reads. I picked up Salt on a recommendation from my newest Brother-in-Law Ansgar, he is intellectual and well read, MBA from MIT, sailor, cool, and German. Plus I hadn't read anything in awhile, I picked it up and read maybe 100 pages the first day and after that I almost missed stops on the subway because I was so into it. I mean yes, honestly it is about what the title is: Salt...but come on do you know all about salt??? Well Cod is written by the same author, so I thought I would give it a go...finished it in 2 days, and again, it is about just what you think...the fish. So the third on the list is about a father and his quest to be a good father and his daughter who he is discovering can not talk. His struggle with becoming a father of a "word-less" child and so on. I finished it in one day albiet I did have two flights today and I just stayed up for 3 hours finishing it and I have been following his blog, but it was a good read. When I read with fervor I just feel like I am my father's son. I remember growing up and he would spend hours upon houses devouring the latest John Grisham novel or Stephan King book. He would also read them in like a day. I enjoy read when I am interested, when it's forced, it sucks...nuff said, but just to beat a dead horse here is my list of the novels I can remember being forced to read...and hating every word I did or didn't finish:

Moby Dick
William Shakespeare...honestly nothing stuck out to me
Chaucer...hearing my 12th grade english teacher recite them in Old English...
Frankenstein...apparently I didn't "get it"
I am the cheese
Clan Of the Cave Bear
really anything I had to read in High School...sorry I didn't enjoy reading them, I have tried again and again, but to just sit down and read one of those books...makes me want to sleep...

Although the ones I did enjoy:

1984
Animal Farm
The Time Machine
Walden
The Client
Jurassic Park
The Sphere
Andromeda Strain
lots of historical books I found for 5 dollars or less
and others.

Point being... don't like to be forced to read books...but I still like to read, so why force kids to read certain books? Go ahead cut me down...but do you find relevance in Moby Dick in your life or was it time you could have spent reading a different book you were more into?

Bunchgasm...Bloodymarys and Meat-Cupcakes

So a while ago Orion and I had this idea to one day make a Meatcake. The only draw back of said meatcake was that it was A LOT of meat and didn't make some economic sense and blah blah blah. I mean the idea had been brewing for a few years now. So finally Orion's birthday comes, I call him up and say, okay what are you going to make or get for your birthday brunch? He rambled off a bunch of ideas and Meatcake was one. After the call I called him back and said...NO Meatcake...MEAT CUPCAKES!!! I have a cake decorating set, then everyone can have one or so, less waste...etc. So Orion came over and we did preparations for the Meatcakes, they also included making bloodymarys, since I have been craving one and haven't had a good one in a while. So what you will get next is the steps of the "Day Before" brunch preparations...ending in a Brunchgasm!

BLOODYMARY

1. First off I gathered all the ingredients, you can see the picture as to the ingredients I use, but I must say Absolut Peppar delicious, some say Absolut Citron, but no...Peppar...delish!


2.Alright you all know, ice goes into the pitcher first...keep it cold people!


3. I use V8, and this time I happen to buy Low Sodium, gotta watch that sodium intake right? I also like using Spicy V8, it gives it something different and some more veggies!


4.Horseradish, key ingredient, I just eye ball it, but seriously, I think I have used to many commas here, yah think?


5. Frank's Hot sauce, just a little, but I like mine a little on the spicy side, I didn't add a lot, eye ball it!


6. The worcestershire sauce, adds that something special, yum!


5. *no picture* add Vodka Absolut Peppar, delicious, gives the little kick of spicy and you know, you need vodka for these. I think between two pitchers I used 3/4 of a bottle of vodka. they were good!

6. Add a celery stalk and enjoy!



Alrighty, so we were enjoying the Bloodymarys when we made these Meat cupcakes, BUT we did buy all the ingredients FIRST, and then we enjoyed the drinks. I had also made a list so we didn't go off and just start adding ingredients into the shopping cart, I suggest that because if I didn't have the list I am sure Orion's pressure of adding ridiculous ingredients.

So here is the recipe for a Brunchgasm...Meat Cupcakes!

Meat Cup Cakes:
3lbs Turkey
2 eggs
Bacon
Onion Soup mix
chopped celery
Dash of Worcershire Sauce
Gorganzola Cheese
Bread crumbs (I used GF ones)

"Frosting"
Instant Mashed Potatoes (we used garlic and butter flavored)
Butter
Milk
Water
(optional) Food Coloring...come on you need to decorate

Other kitchen tools I used:
frosting bag and tip
cupcake paper
cupcake tins
cookie sheet

Other prep notes:
Preheat the oven for 425
put the cupcake pans on the cookie sheet...the grease will get all over the place.
Cool the potatoes and cake before frosting, just like a cake. Alright here are the instructions.
MEAT CUPCAKES:

1. Again, gather the ingredients first, there is tomato sauce, but my meatloaf was to wet, so I chopped up some Gluten-Free Bread and made breadcrumbs...









2. Chop the celery, you need your veggies don't you? of course you get some vitamins here.











3. Next add the meat, just put it in there, use your hands, go ahead get in there...hmm meat.











4. Add the eggs, I used the 2, probably could have used one, but whatever, helps keep things together!






5. Here is a trick my mommy always did, I am sure it's nothing special and I am sure it's one of those "everyone knows about" things, but I loved my mommy's meatloaf as a kid, so I use her ingredients...Onion Soup Mix...there is spices, and dried onions, and MSG...I know...horrible.










6. Worcestershire Sauce, it adds that special something no?









7. MIX IT UP, with clean hands (of course) mix up the meat and get everything all together, its a party in the bowl and everyone is invited.











8. Twas a little wet, so I added the breadcrumbs, it was like 3 slices of GF bread which makes great bread crumbs since its crumbly to start with. I think it was like 1/2 cup or so...eye ball it until the mixture is a little more dry.











9. The meat mixture...delish!











10. Line those cupcake tins with the bacon, sounds gross, but trust me in the end you WILL be happy...it's drool worthly!











11. Spoon the mixture into the bacon cups, you know they look a little like big meatballs wrapped in bacon, add as much or as little as you want, I make mine like cupcakes, duh.











12. IMPORTANT STEP!!! Make a little hole in each meat cake...and add the key ingredient here (this is a-la Rachel Ray) a little (or big) piece of Gorgonzola Cheese, it adds something YUM!











13. Put em in the oven, remember we preheated the oven for about 425, you gotta put them on a baking sheet, less mess, trust me. Bake them for about 20-25 min, check the internal temp with a meat thermometer (or you can just tell)











14. Transfer to a plate to let them cool, put them in the little cupcake papers, refrigerate to cool.










15. While the meat is cooking, make the mashed potatoes...the directions are on the box. You do need it a little more "frosting" texture, that's why I used the instant mashers.








16. You need to now put all the mashers into the pastry bags. Here I painted some of the potatoes different colors. Orion wanted Green, Blue and Pink.









17. This is the colors we chose...really pink is hard to make...and ours came out this gross color.









18. I put green down on the meat first, then we decorated with the other colors.









19. I started with that fabulous pink I made...it was horrible. I put blue on top of this...








20. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ENJOY!!!!












So this was a great day, I mean fantastic meat, great bloodymarys, good company. Over all it was a great day. Today we ate the meat cupcakes, cheetos, various flavors of pringles and nuts. I must say, delicious day overall, good thing Orion had a birthday!

living tourists hosting tourists, the best

So to explain the title, I sometimes still feel like a tourist in NYC, even though I pay the stupid taxes to the state and city, and stimulate the NYC economy and have for the past two years (yah that worked out great for me at Tax time 2007...3 months and I was paying income tax.) I really have only lived here what live 18 months or so? Anyway we live in the Bronx which unto itself is a whole different world the Manhattan. Each borough is its own world though. This could be a little retrospective of my last 18 months, maybe not, but sort of. I love the way I write but it's not as appreciated as I would like it to be but whatever. So here we go. I have lived here for the last 18 months and am in my second job in the city. The first one was good, and I met a lot of really interesting people, and learned a lot new things. I also got to explore parts of Brooklyn even my cousin who has lived in the city for a while hasn't even explored. So I got to work in Midwood? East Flatbush? Who knows, no one I even worked with really knew. It was even in a part of Brooklyn that had some lettered streets (but no Ave Q...honestly, O, P, R, S...etc...no Q) I guess Ave Q belongs on Broadway...Har Har Har. Alrighty so I goto go explore those parts of Brooklyn, but now with my new job I get to explore even more...most Jersey, but still I get to see lots of area I probably wouldn't normally want to see, and meet people I would not have met before.
Alright so I like the area, its great and as you may have noticed in the past posts I have stated my feelings about NYC and living here. I like the area, I like the fact that I have almost everything at my fingertips, but you know, even though I have some of my favorite people I see on a weekly basis, it is still a very lonely city. I know people will disagree with that statement and I suppose some will say I haven't lived here long enough to judge it, but oh well. I think a big part of it is that I am from such a close knit community and coming into a city that is established with established close knits groups, it's hard...this is how the immigrants feel huh? Except they have each other and find each other and make groups, enough of that...that is a whole other post. So I guess I should get to the point of the blog. The point I am making was the fact you live in the city and I have friends who don't and want to come visit (I now know how my friends felt when I visited,) but you know I like entertaining and I like seeing people I haven't seen in a while. It's nice to play tour guide. In fact when I play tour guide I get to see sites I haven't yet seen. For example, Beth and Crazy Susan (lovingly called of course) came down for a few days to the big ole apple and we explored the Finacial District, Greenwich Village, and the UWS. These are neighboorhood...I honestly probably wouldn't really go to, but I did and they were cool. I mean we had drink in the financial district, brunch in Greenwich Village, got Tattooed, went to an outdoor market, had breakfast in the UWS. It was a VERY fun weekend. I am glad I get to play tour guide for my friends. I am also glad I get a break from playing tour guide this weekend. A well deserved weekend of no plans before traveling for work, stayed tuned a blog about Minneapolis, my first attempt at a half marathon, and the joys of house hunting are in the works.

...only in dreams...

So this is a new post, on a few dreams I have been having lately. Jeremy and I have been looking at houses...well we physically saw 11 houses together, I saw three other houses also. You know get an idea of whats in our price and where we are looking. Anyways so I have also thought my dreams mean something and if I have a particularly vivid one I will look up on-line (since the internet is the end all be-all...sarcasm really) about what some of my dreams mean and then I put them together. The other weird thing is that years ago when I was working for Americorps I had this boss Sandy who was big into interpreting dreams and stuff like that and I would ask her, and they seemed to always come true and be real. Plus I think I am a little psychic...maybe...who knows. Who knows anything anymore. Here is the dream:
I am shopping or something in a mall (the details of what I was doing previous to the important events are fuzzy) and I go out to my car, turn it on and start to drive away until I realize I forgot something or something causes me to Perpendicularly park my car get out and walk away from my car only to have this older woman go to my car and drive off in it (of course I left it running). So I go to the online internet and search what these things mean and here is what I came out with:

Car:Cars are symbols of the real life conscious world. They are symbols of how you are progressing towards your goals. So think about the practical ways in which you have been moving towards your goals. Is the dream making some point about how well or how badly you are progressing. Are you heading in the right direction. A car at a standstill could suggest that you are taking a pause or that you have come up against some delay.

STEALING : Stealing links to issues of self respect, prestige and recognition. It can also link to moments when you feel taken advantage of or when someone has not shown proper respect for your property. If you are robbed then it may link to a real feeling of resentment that you have missed out on some opportunity.

WOMAN : Unknown men in dreams are usually quite easy to deal with. Unknown women are less clear symbols. They are often quite difficult symbols to work out. Women tend to be more associated with our emotions. They may show you have been assessing your feelings on something. Women often link to behavior which women are more noted for. Women are better communicators and negotiators in life. They are also more contented and may link to your general happiness and contentment.

Well so here is where the weird part comes in and it comes back to the house hunting. So one of the houses we were looking at struck a chord with us and we were planning on looking at it a second time. Notice I wrote PLANNING. Well so I hear from my Realtor because we are going to see houses on Saturday with Jeremy's parents and he tells me the house I want to see again...IS IN ATTORNEY REVIEW!! I realize there is a chance it will fall through BUT STILL, I WANTED IT!

so I take it a couple ways...we have been talking a and expressing our feelings toward buying houses lately so, that could be one thing, but then again...I think it was just foreshadowing the fact the fact that someone is now in attorney review of this house...but then again maybe it wasn't meant to be. OR (and I like this one best) the attorney review falls through its back on the market and we get it! Oh well, he has some more houses for us to see...we'll see on saturday!

Lovely Lady Liberty with her book of recipes...

So here it is, my first visit to the place where lots of people have visited...and I haven't. Jeremy's uncle and cousin came down to the city for a visit from Western Mass. I love playing tour guide especially to places I haven't visited, kind of a good excuse to go to those places I normally wouldn't go by myself or with Jeremy. So we investigated online about going to see the Lovely Lady and found they only allow about 2000 visitors a day up the monument, so we reserved. the other thing is the actual statue is free, its getting there that is the price. So for 12 bucks we boarded the ferry to the statue and set sail...well not sail, but whatever. We boarded the ship around 12:30 after going through security checkpoints like we were going through the airport...step one. The ferry went through New York Harbor to the statue and we landed on Liberty Island, pretty cool, step 2. Next we went to find the next part of the journey which was going to the statue, step 3...more security. This time it took a little longer, and we got checked for explosives. While in line something occurred, and I must say it was kind of humorous. You know when you are in line waiting and there are signs that say you must have your tickets out blah blah blah. Well at the statue as I said they only allow a certain number of people up the statue and it usually fills up fast. So all these people are waiting to go up and the security guards are like "LOOK AT YOUR TICKET....IF IT SAYS...NO MONUMENT ACCESS...THAT MEANS...NO MONUMENT ACCESS, PLEASE LEAVE THE LINE." Then it happened a disgruntled Asian tourist said the famous words, "What do you mean??" and the conversation went something like this:
Guard: G
Asian Tourist: A
Other Tourist: O

G: If your ticket says no monument access, you can't go up.
A: What do you mean?
O: If we can't go up then why sell the tickets?
A: What do you mean?
G: There are only 2000 people allowed up to the statue a day.
A: So I can't go up?
G: Does your ticket say "no monument access?"
A: Why don't you tell people this?
O: Why don't they tell people this when they buy the tickets?
G: Go to the website and reserve your tickets next time.
A: I came from around the world for this
G: Go online and come back another day

Eventually people looked at their tickets, and the rejected "no monument access" ticket holders got out of line holding their heads in shame. It just reminded me of that old Phone commercial...You should have called first. Oh well, we got in. So we waited in the line until we got into the tent...more waiting. We waited in line like the good citizens of America, apparently though there is an express line so people like Charlie Crist, his family and his gun toting security guard could jump line and go in front of everyone, I am sure they had to get tickets JUST like everyone else...RIIIGHT. So we went through the cattle pen until finally we went into the next room. Oh whats this? More security, like the security coming onto the boat wasn't enough. This time we went through those machines that detect explosives, they blow puffs of air all over your body...kinda weird, and I am SURE the metal detectors would have done there jobs the first time and detected...okay enough security, we got to the statue. It was neat,

there were lots of cool things, like a scale model of her face and foot made of copper in the same fashion as she was, then this picture was one of the torches, maybe the one right before the current one? I forget. So we climbed the stairs to the bottom of the actual statue. You can't go the statue anymore, which would have been neat but oh well, maybe soon, I heard they want to reopen the upper part.
So we left the lovely lady and returned to waiting in line for the next ferry. I have been getting a kick out of lines, and people who don't understand that when someone says keep walking forward...big steps, go faster, you're holding the line up, etc...that's what it means. There was a guy standing in front of me getting on the ferry and everyone around me and myself were following the instructions that I previously said, but this one guy? NO he needed to turn around and talk to the person a few people behind me...and the guy with the bullhorn? He did not like this and was shouting at him, I started pushing him, and he didn't like that, but I think it got the point across, although I did hear someone say "he didn't understand you," I think pushing and shoving is pretty universal.



Top of the Rock


I believe I had posted about our trip to the Empire State Building. So we went to the Top of the Rock, again at night. I must say night time is a good time to go. No lines, and I love lines...har har. SO night time, top of the rock, awesome views, it was great. The coolest thing about the top of the rock was this room that was



this interactive room. The cameras watched you and mapped your movements, pretty trippy. The lights moved it was cool. Worth the ten dollar firefighter admission Jeremy's Uncle paid for us. THANKS UNCLE MATT! It was a fun time overall. Lots of NYC, lots of touristy stuff!

A vacation to Florida...cliche or not it was nice weather...bad airports

So I am not one to bad mouth things...well maybe a little, but I DO NOT do it that often. I just want to start by saying if there is a large city that has a large international airport that is a major hub for a major airline, you would think they would update their airport to the increase in air traffic, or you think they would figure out a way to get out of the 66% on-time rate. As of right now, Newark Liberty International Airport and Continental Airlines are BOTH on my poop-list. The last three times I have flown anywhere around NYC (most getting back into NYC) my flight has been delayed or I have spent too much time (more then I would want to) on the tarmac. I must say this. Some of the smaller airlines are nicer then the older bigger ones. I have flew Airtran a few times now, and I have had nothing but good to say. Continental on the other hand has gotten my goat more then once. I realize airlines can not control the weather or air traffic, but let people know!!!!

Alright better note, went on vacation to Florida and I must say, I had fun. I know I recently went to Florida (see last blog entry) but this time I went for fun and not business. I got to go to the beach and see Gators, and other wildlife. So I will recap for you.


We arrived in Fort Lauderdale to almost 80 degree weather (its Feb and night time...impressed) and hopped in the car to drive to our destination of Miami Beach, we drove around looking for parking...there is none BTW in Miami Beach...finally finding parking in a garage...but the wrong one and they charged us $ 20 to park for about 15 min...REALLY?!?! We immediately changed into shorts and sandals and walked around the beach and what not. Ate a bite and then went to bed, in the tiniest hotel room I have seen, maybe about the size of my apartment bedroom, which if you know...is small. Next day we went walk around, and ended up going on a Duck Tour, very fun and we go to learn more about Miami Beach, went in Biscayne Bay, and it was fun, then we went to the beach. Now if we had stayed in the are just a few more days we would have got to stay for Food Networks Food and Wine Festival, that would have been fun...so I will fast forward a bit.

After we are done with Miami Beach we head down RT 1 for our next leg in Vaca Key which is in the city of Marathon...mid-Keys. We ALMOST saw the sun set but some trees got in the way. Doesn't matter we saw it the next night. BEFORE we got to the keys we thought we would stop over in the Everglades, I must say it's a must see. 10 bucks and you get to see SO much wildlife, and 30+ miles of NOTHING...SWAMP really, but its neat. The alligators looked fake because they are lazy and smelly.
As I re-read this I do realize I sound like I am writing one of those "what I did on my summer vacation" posts, but as I will always say, not many people read this, and the few who do...don't care...or if they do they don't say anything, this isn't junior year english or Writing Lab...so POO ON YOU! Also I know my grammar and such is bad but you know what I am not up for any awards, hence the name of the blog. BACK ON TRACK NOW!

SO saw the gators, pelicans, vultars, beautiful people, some fish and lots of Egrets and Herons. The things I DID NOT see, was Mantees, armadillos, or Pathers. Jeremy equated it with people going to Maine expecting to always see a Moose...Anyways.

We got tostand at the southernmost point in the continental US. It was neat, but not as neat as the Sunset we saw. That was one of the highlights of the trip, a really sunset, the first one I think I have ever seen go over the horizon over water...very pretty and well worth the drive. Next year we are going to drive down...cheaper and more reliable then the planes...gah.

Co-op Farm, disney, meeting co-workers, and running

Co-op:
While I wait for pictures to upload to my computer I thought I would blog about the last few weeks since you know there is a lot that happened and I have been saying "I need to blog about this," and never do. I procrastinate a little bit I suppose so the first I would say would be to talk about the co-op farm we became a part of. It's called Norwood Farm and I am so glad we joined, in Maine we were a part of the Willowpond farm and always got lots of great veggies. SO I decided to take some pictures of the veggies and whatnot that we got so here are the pictures:



They make me want to cook now, we even got a little thing of milk, 2 lbs of beef, and 2 dozen eggs. The funny looking root thing is celery root...delicious roasted with sweet potatoes!


Disney:
So my life long dream...go to Disney World, and well I went since I was in the area for work, took and extra day to see family, and of course a day in Disney! I realize it takes longer to see disney in one day, but whatever I went and decided to go to Epcot...kinda wish I went to Magic Kingdom...but whatever. I did everything I wanted to at Epcot I went on some rides, I met mickey, and I got to eat a giant turkey leg...really giant...

Meeting Co-workers...

Here is a fun time, actually it was I must say I was kind of looking forward to it since I like to meet new people I thought it was cool. I have met a few of them and have met some of them on the phone but putting a real person with a name and such was great. These people are some of the most intelligent, hard working, nicest, and knowledgeable people. They love what they do and they do it good, with well very little complaints, yes every job has complaints but I think it is more with things that are out of our control unless we change it. I think mostly it was insurance companies which are always hard to handle, medicare and medicaid....grrr. OH well, I got to stay in Orlando for free, during a very nice week (I believe it was at least 70 degrees each day.) I got to FINALLY run outside after a few weeks. It was NICE! So I ran two days, drank some bad wine, ate tons of great food, met some great people and learned way too much. I love my job since I love learning confidential info...not gonna tell you what I learned. Well I guess this goes into the next part of my post...

RUNNING!

So here is the maps of my run...it was a little over 6 miles, fun times here is the map, I went around my old neighborhood and then there was the track...I found and outdoor track...a real outdoor track...glorious outdoor track, now I can actually go somewhere and go around in an ellipse when I run, sometimes...It's nice. I can go on the weekends, and if I want take the train to the end of the line, walk a little bit and bam...TRACK! very nice! SO I started running again since I have this half marathon coming up. Most likely...11:30 pace group, should be fine.