Intern, get me a Campari.

What a thrilling life I do lead. It was raining this morning and now it seems to have turned into a wintry mix. It's quite deceiving, actually, because it looks like fat drops of rain, but if you look at the windshield of, oh, LIL RED, then you see some slush sliding off. Hey Winter - I think you've overstayed your welcome. Hit the bricks.

This week I visited my Gramma who is in Mary Ann Morse undergoing rehab for a crippling addiction to Jack Daniels. Actually, at 87 years of age, my Gramma is in rehab to make her muscles strong enough so that when she gets enraged, she will be successfully be able to tear off her denim shirt a la the Incredible Hulk. If my Gramma were a boxer, she'd be in the 97 pound division. She's less than 5' tall, which is crazy considering her offspring has created offspring that are 6'2 (my brother) and 5'11 (me.) The point is, I went to visit this tiny woman and she demanded that I get her some ice cream. She must have really wanted it because she asked 4 times. Well there is no Ben & Jerry's at Mary Ann Morse, and there is no Brigham's, so I went to the grocery store to get a pint of Vanilla Ice Cream when I stumbled across this gem:



I immediately purchased it, but it's now sitting in the freezer. Do I bring it to my Gramma before she Hulks out? Or do I save it based on the fact that it's probably the greatest name for Ice Cream known to man? And exactly when do I stop singing "Dirty Water" by the Standells?

Weddings

It's tough to plan a wedding. Mostly because I don't know where to start.

Groom? Check.

And that's about it for now...

Speaking of which, this is my future husband:



And this is me:



Personally, I think I got the better deal.

To the future!

Living Like a Retired Person

When you find yourself back at home after 6 months of unemployement in a foreign country, with nothing else to do but errands, the days really drag by.
This morning I woke up at 8am and met my Gramma for breakfast at 9. After lunch we drove to the South Natick Dam (below) which could be the site for the Robbins/Connor Pact, Part 1.



Then we excercised our civic duty and voted. And I voted the hell out of that ballot. If there's one thing I love more than voting, it's Jury Duty. God I love Civic Obligations. Except for paying taxes. I could do without that.

Great Friday

Today my Mom read a letter from my future in-laws and started crying because she was so happy. She loves them already, which is to be expected, because she loves my fiance more than she loves me.
Today is Great Friday. Great because the Stock Market is closed, so had I been employed, I would have had the day off. But since I decided to move to another country and was forced to take a 6 month sabbatical, I have ever day off.
My friend Bill tells me that Sam Summer is out already. It makes sense. And now I begin the neverending quest to find it again.

Reruns.

I get a lot of joy watching Jerry Seinfeld and the gang get up to their crazy shenanigans. Being unemployed and living in another country for 6 months without Seinfeld has severely depleted my Seinfeld stock. Thank feck for TBS reruns. Tonight's episode (I use the term "tonight" loosely because though it's only 5:40pm ET, I am ready to go to bed. Aaah the life of the unemployed) features Kramer's personal assistant. This episode is wonderful, but not nearly as wonderful as the Merv Griffin episode.

And that is all I will say about that.

In other news, today I met up with some old co-workers for lunch in the beautifully scenic South Boston, Massachusetts. I had a delightful time at Lucky's, one of my secret favorite places. Secret because good luck finding it, and favorite, because I firmly hold on to the belief that you must know a secret handshake to get in. I thumb my nose at thee, Viga.

I miss the SJC.

Las Vegas

Las Vegas. What a place. You're literally in the middle of nowhere surrounded by millions of people and bright lights. A huge thanks to the Colorado River for making it all possible. Here are some pictures of the Las Vegas I saw.

This is our hotel, dubbed "The Stratosphere" and at the top of the strip, in between Old Timey Las Vegas and the Newer, Flashier Las Vegas.


On our first day, we took a trip down the strip. I thought we were in New York City because of the Statue of Liberty, but then I realized that New York City doesn't have palm trees or a rollercoaster that goes from the Empire State Building to the Chrysler Building. New York Ney Work is much more condensed that NYC.


I was also shocked to see a mini Paris in the middle of the Nevada desert. At first I thought I was halloucinating and severly dehydrated, but then I realized I was in Las Vegas and it was time for a cocktail.


One of the many places to enjoy cocktails is called "Margaritaville." Ever heard of it? It's a relatively small place by an underground musician called Jimmeny Buffett. Or is it Jimmy Buffett. I hope this guy hits the big time because I like the way he thinks.


As night falls in the Nevada Desert another opportunity to hit the streets arises. Here is the view of a sunset from the top of the Stratosphere.


Our hotel at night.


We went to see the infamous Bellagio Waterworld. The waterworld part was impressive. The soundtrack ("My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion) was less so.


I enjoyed the Flamingo as well due to it's tropical theme. Also Toni Braxton is still revelant in Las Vegas, so there is some hope in this world for MC Hammer.


My eyes were weary after such a spectacle of lights. Luckily for me, I spotted something at the Venetian that was truly a sight for sore eyes.


In conclusion Las Vegas is fun and there is really something for everywhere. For me, that something was spending a week with the Love of My Life in a warmer climate.

East Coast

I'm back from Las Vegas with about 200 photos to sort through, exhaustion, and a severe case of missing my future husband.

I'm in Massachusetts for the next month, living the dream catching up on "Ghost Hunters" and running errands for my parents. More to come.

Vacation

Tomorrow the SJC and I are headed to the desert by way of Boston for one day.


After the week is up, the SJC will continue back to Dublin via Boston for two days, and I will be

FOR A WHOLE MONTH.

I don't know how I will survive day to day without seeing this face:



Though to be fair, he is very very important.

No, Madame President, I do not think that's the best way to handle this negotiation. I want the files on my desk in the morning!! I have to go, my 20 cent time limit is *click*

Yoinked from Beth

Your Slanguage Profile

New England Slang: 100% Canadian Slang: 50% Prison Slang: 50% Victorian Slang: 50% British Slang: 25% Southern Slang: 25%

What Slanguage Do You Speak?

I never knew I was so...New Englandy...

Cuts, Bandaids, Blisters, and a Chance Encounter

Sometimes I have to stop and marvel at how a single action can change everything or deciding to go to Starbucks randomly can result in catching up with someone you have met once and never thought you'd meet again.

But first, to clarify the blog title.

This morning I was trying to take a Ninja Shower. You know - the kind that's so fast people don't even know you've taken one? With the invention of the shower cap, this has become much more manageable. That being said and in the interest of divulging some information that you may or may not want to know, I shave my legs every other day. And on the "other" day, I wash my hair. So, if you're following me, I wash my hair one day, showercap it up and shave my legs the next day, and so on a so forth. And now that you know that much about me, let's all sit around a campfire and sing Kumbaya, shall we? So we've established that I shave every other day. Today was Shave Day. Shave Day and Ninja Shower are a dangerous combination unless you are very very careful. Today, I was not very careful. I had a lot on my mind like "Hurry up and take this damn shower so you can get your ass to EuroSpar to buy milk!"

Slice. I cut my ankle. All women know the spot. On the outside of the leg, right above the ankle. "Suicide Alley" as I like to call it, because when I cut it, it hurts so much, I want to commit suicide.

That brings me to my next topic - Bandaids. This happened before the EuroSpar trip so I had to fashion a bandage out of tissues and scotch tape. Then I got some bandaids and slapped them on and all was well in the world.

I was on my way to meet The Lovely Liz for lunch when it suddenly occured to me that the bandaids which I had so haphazardly slapped on were in danger of coming off and in the words of Romy from Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, "I cut my foot earlier and my shoe is filling up with blood." Nice, huh? Luckily Liz was on the scene and brought me a bandaid, thus saving my black leather Clark boots. Thank you for a delightful lunch AND for the bandaid, Liz!

After lunch was over and we started walking back to our respective places - hers of employment, mine of solitude and an episode of Lois and Clark that needed to be watched, I realized that my feet hurt. Damn these thin socks and my sliding feet. To fight the onslaught of blisters, I decided to pop into Starbucks to get the usual, grande non fat caramel macchiato. (I get the non fat so it evens out the harm that caramel sauce does.)

As I was waiting in line to pick up my ordered beverage, I turned to my right to see a person whom I never thought I'd ever see again. This person is someone that I had regular contact with at my old job, because he was the head of the Dublin office branch of my former company. I interviewed with him twice in the hopes of making the move to Dublin, but to no avail. That damed Visa will be the end of me. He has since left the company and now works somewhere else. It was completely random and a completely chance encounter.

I left Starbucks and started walking back to the apartment, marveling at how a single action can change everything and how it's such a small world and you never know who you'll run into. And all it took for me today was a split decision to go to Starbucks and - that's when my marveling stopped because "Billie Jean" came on my iPod and I wanted to walk down the street and try to make the concrete blocks light up.


SeeqPod - Playable Search

Quotes

I love movies and it's no secret that I'm a big fan of Wes Anderson movies. That being said, here are 10 of my favorite quotes from some of my favorite movies. (I would have played the whole guessing game but I don't think that many people read this blog.)

From Bottlerocket
Dignan: Bob Mapplethorpe, potential get-away driver: go!
Bob: Well, I think there's a real air of mystery about me.
Dignan: Don't complicate it. Your number one strength is you have a car you can provide. Sell yourself! Start over. Ready, go!
Bob: Okay, alright. I'm a risk taker! I'm growin' an entire crop of marijuana plants in my parents back yard! I think that shows...
Dignan: Wait, you're growing an entire crop of marijuana in your back yard?
Bob: Dignan, look. I'm just not very good at this selling-yourself stuff, okay? So, I'm just gonna tell you the truth. I really wanna be a part of this team. And I'm the only one with a car

From The Royal Tenenbaums
[about Margot's play]
Young Chas Tenenbaum: What'd you think, Dad?
Royal: Didn't seem believable to me.
[to Eli]
Royal: Why are you wearing pajamas? Do you live here?
Young Richie Tenenbaum: He has permission to sleep over.
Young Chas Tenenbaum: Well, did you at least think the characters were well developed?
Royal: What characters? There's a bunch of little kids dressed up in animal costumes.
Young Margot Tenenbaum: Good night, everyone.
Royal: Well, sweetie, don't get mad at me. That's just one man's opinion.

From What About Bob?
Dr. Leo Marvin: Are you married?
Bob Wiley: I'm divorced.
Dr. Leo Marvin: Would you like to talk about that?
Bob Wiley: There are two types of people in this world: Those who like Neil Diamond, and those who don't. My ex-wife loves him.
Dr. Leo Marvin: So what you're saying is that even though you are an almost-paralyzed, multiphobic personality who is in a constant state of panic, your wife did not leave you, you left her because she loves Neil Diamond?

From Office Space
Bob Slydell: I'd like to move us right along to a Peter Gibbons. Now we had a chance to meet this young man, and boy that's just a straight shooter with upper management written all over him.

From Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory
Willy Wonka: If the good Lord had intended us to walk he wouldn't have invented roller-skates.

From Pride & Prejudice
Mr. Darcy: You must know... surely, you must know it was all for you. You are too generous to trifle with me. I believe you spoke with my aunt last night, and it has taught me to hope as I'd scarcely allowed myself before. If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes have not changed, but one word from you will silence me forever. If, however, your feelings have changed, I will have to tell you: you have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on.

From Oceans 12
Linus Caldwell: Well, I spent a million on talent development, so I guess that leaves me at 7. Boy, that interest just kills you, man!

From Anchorman
Ron Burgundy: Guess what, I do. I know that one day Veronica and I are gonna to get married on top of a mountain, and there's going to be flutes playing and trombones and flowers and garlands of fresh herbs. And we will dance till the sun rises! And then our children will form a family band! And we will tour the countryside and you won't be invited!

From The Princess Bride
Inigo Montoya: I just work for Vizzini to pay the bills. There's not a lot of money in revenge.

From Rushmore
Max Fischer: I like your nurse's uniform, guy.
Dr. Peter Flynn: These are O.R. scrubs.
Max Fischer: Oh. Are they?

I could have given the top 20, but tomorrow is another day.

Ahem

I must get this off my chest.
There are two things I hate almost as much as Chevy Chase, Garfield, and Horses.
That's when people refer to the Red Sox as the "BoSox" and when they call Boston "Beantown."

And now, for something completely different:

Wine comes in at the mouth
And love comes in at the eye;
That's all we shall know for truth
Before we grow old and die.
I lift the glass to my mouth,
I look at you, and I sigh.
-W.B. Yeats

Remember the 80's? Kind of...

1. How old were you in 1980? 0 - 1
2. How old were you in 1989? 9 and 10.
3. Were you a Toys R' Us kid? Absolutely not. We lived maybe 2 hours from the closest one.
4. Did you watch Transformers? Not really.
5. Did you see E.T. on the big screen? Yes but I think I fell asleep.
6. Did you own a Lite Bright? Oooooh yeah.
7. Who is your Favorite Golden Girl? Dorothy.
8. When someone says " Who you gonna call? " You think: Ghostbusters.
9. What was your favorite toy? We didn't have a lot of toys because we played a lot outside. But I did like my Cabbage Patch Kid.
10. Did you have a Pogo Ball? Yes. You stand on it and jump. I hated it.
11. Did you listen to New Kids on the Block? Very much so.
12. Which New Kid was your favorite? I was a Joey fan but he got too mainstream so I switched to Jonathan. That's how I roll.
13. Did you play M.A.S.H? Of course. I think the last time I played it was last year or something equally ridiculous.
14. Did you watch The Care Bears? We saw the movie.
15. Did you have Jelly bracelets? I was Queen of bracelets.
16. Did you have a charm necklace and/or bracelet? I think I did briefly, but it was probably lost somewhere by the frog pond during a riveting game of "Johnny Danger."
17. Did you own a glo-worm? No, but my friends did.
18. Did you ever own a slap bracelet? Of course. And I used to rip them open when they got old, so I stopped wearing them.
19. The Breakfast Club or Sixteen Candles? Sixteen Candles. I give the Breakfast Club Props where it's due, but Sixteen Candles had John Cusack.
20. Did you have a crazy hair style? Nope, my hair was always straight and long.
21. What was your first bike? Something with a banana seat that was a hand me down. Then I became taller than everyone and got my very first ten speed. It was a good day.
22. Name one thing you still own from your childhood? I'm sure it's in storage somewhere.
23. Did you have a Cabbage Patch Kid? Yes. Gwendolyn Faith.
24. Did you dress like Madonna? Nope. I don't like Madonna.
25. Rainbow Brite or Strawberry Shortcake? Rainbow Brite! My sister Kate had a Strawberry Shortcake that she accused me of smelling the sent out of. As in - I smelled it until it was gone.
26. Did you watch Miami Vice? We weren't allowed. The only clip we've ever seen happened to cut into a recorded version of "The Parent Trap." For years we thought that while the girls were in the cabin, someone in Florida was releasing a skunk and kidnapping a baby.
27. Did you own a pair of Jelly Shoes? Ooooh yes.
28. Did you own a Trapper Keeper? Yes I did.
29. Atari or Nintendo? We weren't allowed to have them until Gramma gave us a Nintendo. That was an awesome Christmas.
30. Did you play Pac Man? Not really.
31. Which was better: Jem and The Holograms or Barbie and The Rockers!? JEM!!
32. He-Man or She-Ra? She-ra of course.
33. What movie scared you the most? I hate the movie "ET."
34. Did you try to dance like Michael Jackson? My family would go over to another family's house and have dance parties to Thriller and Tina Turner's Private Dancer. No wonder we are the way we are.
35. What Is The First Thing That Comes To Mind When You Hear "FLUX"? Capacitor. 1.21 Jiggawatts.
36. What other colors did Pepsi come in? Brown and clear. I remember drinking Crystal Pepsi at the Mahan's house in Canton and Mom applauding us for drinking water. It was Crystal Pepsi.
37. Roger Rabbit Or Howard The Duck? Roger Rabbit. See Molly's Blog for our Howard the Duck story.
38. Did you ever beg your parents to have your school picture taken with the "Laser" background? Yes. They never let me. I think Kate got Soft Touch once. A modern day Liz Taylor.
39. Do you know what the Ninja Rap is? I'm aware of the concept, but this is more 90s than 80s.
40. Do you know why people cringe when they hear the word BUCKNER? BILLY. That's old news.
41. Can you name the family members from National Lampoons Vacation movies? Again, we weren't allowed to watch these picture shows. Also, Chevy Chase sucks.
42. Wally World or Europe? What is Wally World?
43. What was your favorite movie from the 80's? Back to the Future.
44. Who puts Baby in the corner? Nobody puts Baby in the corner. 20 years later, I can still pick up on the soundtrack when they play it at our local grocery store. Thank you, movie magic.