The Misadventures of a Native New Yorker

I've done a few things this weekend:

I've finally finished S3 of Doctor Who (the reboot, that is). And I was quite pleased. I also procured "Voyage of the Damned" to watch on my ipod, so I can get back on the horse with some S4.

I made it back to Corner Bistro. And I have to say, with the right people, the right night, and the right bartender, there are far worse places to grab a burger and a beer. (They have McSorley's on tap for $2.50. Yes, you read that correctly.) The Bistro burger is a succulent pillow of meat, topped with crispy bacon and American cheese. I got an appreciative smile from the bartender as I tried to stretch the last few bites Friday night. They really know what the hell they're doing over there. Why do I never remember to go during summer hours? (I've been watching several hours' worth of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. Can't you tell?)

Saturday I got a chance to do something I've never done before: go to the Jersey Shore. katiebea invited me down, and I got to take in the sights of Asbury Park and Red Bank for the day. It was an excellent time - I finally had some good onion rings, and got to spend some time in, of all things, a pinball museum. A++. Asbury was a beautiful combination of new development and recovering blight. And as someone who on occasion finds decaying buildings beautiful, I was really taken with the buildings we saw. Red Bank is an adorable little town - filled with appealing eateries and shopping (and I finally got to make my pilgrimage to Jay & Silent Bob's Secret Stash. I bought a comic. It was smaller than I was expecting, but I've finally been. The guy behind the counter was watching Mystery Science Theater 3000. If I lived nearby, I'd be back.) We finished the day at a great Mexican place called Carlos O'Connor's. I only wish my stomach had been equal to the challenge, but it was still delicious, and a day filled with good company, too.

Sunday I spent the day watching movies, eating donuts, and drinking wine with airspaniel. Now that was aces. Except I think we overdid it on the crap food after a rather nice home-made brunch of eggs, sausage and a potato-onion-Worcestershire sauce combo airspaniel suggested that I am SO making next time I get my hands on some potatoes. Hot damn. Mostly it was just fun to chill at home.

Today J and I spent some time with my folks, which was also very nice. I was relieved to discover that it is indeed possible to get good whole wheat pancakes outside of the home, as I feared I couldn't after a visit to a Hoboken pancake house earlier this summer. Then we came home, finally watched the last two episodes of Friday Night Lights, had a snack, and just took it easy. I needed that so very much. So very much. I honestly felt really worn out - I don't know if it was due to a specific cause or several causes together - I was just exhausted.

I've been kicking back and watching Bourdain and Buffy, two great tastes that go great together. And I can still say the dialogue along with all of Buffy/Angel scenes in "The Prom," and "Graduation Day parts I&II." No, really. It's kind of disturbing. And still so frigging good. I've been tinkering around with a fic that involves Buffy, Sookie, and Elena from the Vampire Diaries sitting Bella Swan down for an "Oh, honey, NO" type conversation about her relationship. But I'd also really love to write out Buffy and Sookie shooting the shit about all the drama they've endured in their relationships and comparing notes. Because that would entertain me. And Vampire Diaries comes back on Thursday, which positively delights me.

Tomorrow is back to the grind and trivia after! The good part is that we're back to normal hours as of tomorrow. Start by 9, leave at 5. I'm so delighted by this, I don't even care that I no longer get to leave early on Friday. On the balance? This is WAY better. Way better.

And now to make some lunch and get to sleep.

Okay, so I'm awake, about to get the last of my stuff together and head out to the airport to fly out to the weddings of one of my VERY VERY best friends.

I will not be bringing my laptop. Several people agree that some time away from Our Lord Internet will be useful. So I'm only bringing my smartphone, my ipod, and my kindle. (Oh, and my camera, of course). Yes, I am aware of the irony.

I am also very reachable by twitter, facebook and gmail.

Please place links to all important postings in this post, I will respond upon my return.

Have a great weekend, everyone - I know that I will!!

Rather than do one giant dump, I'm going to try inserting topic headings in this post, borrowing a page from fragbert.

Health

Who's got two thumbs and an upper respiratory/sinus infection? *sigh* you guessed it.

So, infections with gross features I'd rather not discuss in polite company mean antibiotics, which I'm fine with, as they've done me solid in the past. (Try getting over bronchitis without them. No, really, I dare you. Herbal tea and yoga don't work in this case.) The only downside of this is that my stomach is getting pissy about all the attention being paid to my sinuses, and has decided to pitch a tantrum of its very own. The last day or two have not been fun by any slice. And, due to varied and assorted work things, calling in sick is not in the cards. So I'm trying to tough it out. *sigh*

School:

For those of you following along with my ongoing saga, I am happy to report that my application was placed in the hands of a bored-looking receptionist at the Administration office on Friday afternoon. Now it's simply a matter of crossing my fingers and hoping for the best. And figuring out the whole paying-for-the-part-I'm-not-being-reimbursed-for thing. (Thanks to redesigner for some of his suggestions and information this afternoon, though.)

Jealousy

j_bkl is going to tomorrow's Yankee game. I am not. I'm FINE with this, really. Hmph.

Budgeting

Since the news came down that Microsoft is no longer supporting its money software, I've been searching for a replacement. redesigner sent this list, which I'm pretty sure grabs every option out there, free or otherwise. I'm open to suggestions and/or testimonials, if anyone uses these budgeting tools.

Music
On Sunday evening, J and I traveled out to Williamsburg to see his sister perform. She had completed something called Willie Mae's Rock Camp for Girls . One of the ways the organization raises money to support their mission of empowering girls between the ages of 8-18 through rock music is having a camp for older women (older meaning 19 and up). The women go through a three-day program where they are put into bands, taught to play instruments, write songs, make t-shirts, and perform. (The girls's camp does the same over a longer period of time). I was happy to go out in support of this, and three hundred varieties of jealous that this didn't exist when I was 15. Then again, there's nothing saying I couldn't do this some year, too. The show had a raffle for a rather sweet Gretsch electric guitar, cherry red and goregous. I (stupidly) did not enter the raffle, as I'm slightly cash poor until payday, but it made me start thinking about maybe doing that again, the way I used to.

Suggestion Corner:
J and I are heading up to Provincetown in a little over three weeks. We have restaurant arrangements (Front Street and Edwige, in addition to a great BBQ thrown by the proprietors of our B&B). However, we are in need of a recommendation of a great restaurant for Friday night dinner. We're not so into the Lobster Pot, but anyone familiar with the area is welcome and encouraged to chime in.

And that's it. I'm going to bed.

One day, I will learn how to pack light. However, it seems like today is just not that day.

I don't get it. I thought I brought a reasonable amount of stuff, but it's ridonkulously heavy in my suitcase. I think it might actually be the suitcase. Yup. That's totally it.

Sigh. Either way, I'm 90% packed. Laptop will be placed in bag after I shut it off tonight, and phone charger will be added after phone is charged, natch. j_bkl is carrying my dresses in his bag, since it has a built-in garment bag part.

I have my camera, my ipod, my ipod charger and camera charger. I have a brand new Pendergast novel I have not read (yay) and have yet to start, and a backup book in case I eat the whole thing on the trip. I have a water bottle chilling in the fridge, and snacks already packed.

And I fully realize I'm going to Boston, and not, say, Belize. I hear they even have like, paved streets, electricity, and stores and stuff. So if I forgot something, I'll still be okay.

Ah, pre-trip anxiety. How I hate your everloving guts. I think I'm going to go and get some sleep now.

This weekend, j_bkl and I are heading to the city of Chowdah and da Sahx and Hahvahd Yahd for a wedding. Thankfully, the aforementioned baseball team will be off in Philly that weekend, so I don't have to deal with Fenway crowds. But I'd love some suggestions from the Boston-savvy about fun things to do or eat. I'm hoping very much to see hermionesviolin if the stars align, and we are attending the rehearsal dinner as well as the wedding Sunday. I know about stuff like the Freedom Trail, Quincy Market, and the aquarium (just so I can ride the T and hear "next stop, Wonderland!" like the big lame, Brad Anderson-loving loser that I am). I'm hoping for a restaurant section or two, or stuff to avoid would be awesome. I'm Yelping like crazy, obviously.

(I also would love a tour of the Sam Adams brewery, obvs, but we may not have time.)

Other than that, I'm just getting ready to get going. I'm very excited!! This is J & my first vacation together, AND our first wedding as a couple, so I have many things to look forward to. I just wish the weather would frigging cooperate already.

Let's see.

I shouldn't really be updating, as it's shaping up to be nice and crazy this week. Great. I suppose that was the giant looming dread I felt that made me want to stay in bed this morning instead of going anywhere or doing anything. Thankfully I have yet to be yelled at for not being in possession of a DeLorean with Emmett Brown mods on it. But as it's not even lunchtime, I suppose there's LOTS of time for that.

I feel like I might be coming down with something. I don't know if it's allergies or what, but I do not feel 100%. I do not approve. This probably is why I did not feel like doing anything except sleep today. And why j_bkl had to use dynamite and a crowbar to get me out of bed this morning.

Good weekend, though. j_bkl had the whole thing off for once (WOO!) so we got to spend time together (omg). Friday we went to drinks at the Draft Barn with some friends, Saturday we saw Coraline and had dinner with some other friends, and yesterday was a fun Easter celebration.

Coraline scared the crap out of me, and this is as someone who read the book. Stuff was changed, but I really loved it as a whole. It's nice to know that people are still willing to make visually interesting, thoughtful and compelling movies for kids (that their parents won't want to beat themselves senseless during) that aren't afraid to teach lessons by being scary. It was also very worth seeing in 3-D - it added to the visuals, instead of just being gimmicky. I highly reccommend.

Yesterday J and I got up super early to meet up with his folks, and we headed deep into the wilds of Pennsylvania for an Easter celebration at the home of one of their parents' very gracious, generous friends. I can't really argue with getting to spend the day with nice people, great food and drink, and an absolutely marvelous dog, a standard poodle named Harley, who won my affection by not JUMPING ON ME or trying to lick my face, but who still was friendly and affectionate (he nuzzled me at dinner, and loved being petted and paid attention to). I guess the general mellow-ness of the dog was due to how much exercise he gets on a regular basis in the woods surrounding the property, or perhaps it was just his personaltiy. But I liked him a lot, as I did the rest of the company. (also, fun fact -Standard [not toy!] Poodles were initially bred as hunting dogs, and Harley still has the instincts. It was amazing to see him in action.) I loved having that day in the country, even though I'm tired from all that traveling yesterday.

So now I have to get back to it. I hope the rest of this week passes painlessly, although I have no idea if it will. :P

I keep starting posts and not finishing them. From the mundane to the less mundane. I'll try to summup.

Last weekend, j_bkl and I celebrated 6 months together. We did so by attending missgyder's birthday party, a performance of Penny Dreadful's at the Brick Theater (had to return to the scene of the crime, after all!) and spent the day up at his parents' incredible country house in Dutchess County. On Saturday and Sunday we were also accompanied by J's friend Will, who was visiting from Colorado for a job interview.

Being in the country was a nice change of place (even if it involved interminable hours of driving on the Taconic Parkway). Still, it reminded me of how very much of a city girl I am. We were standing on his parents' property, looking at the rolling hills of land with very minimal population (comparitive to what I'm accustomed to), and I had a mini panic-attack. The whole notion of "around the corner" being 10 miles or so? Is not something I'm sure I'm comfortable with. (Also? How can it be 'around the corner' if you have no corners?? TELL ME!!)

Anyway, it was a nice day for a road trip, at any rate.

Since then there's been work (yay) and a cold (even more yay). I stayed home from work today because I felt so completely craptastic yesterday and this morning. Thankfully, after a lot of rest and a lot of doing nothing all day except blow my nose and drink fluids, I'm starting to feel better. I'm not all the way there yet, sadly. I'm hoping that tomorrow is the first day out of the cold, honestly. (Part of my mom's 3-3-3 rule about colds. Three days in, where you feel nebulously crappy but can't figure out why, three days on of non-stop sneezy, achy, coughing hell, and three days out of starting to feel better.) The only thing I'll have to decide if I'm up to going to work and going to the party I'm supposed to go to tomorrow night. I hope so.

J will be here in a little bit, so I should go pretend to straighten up.

Thank goodness for quasisonic. Now, I know that she drives me plenty crazy sometimes (she's my little sister. She has to, or else she gets fined by the union), but that's usually made up for by the times when she's completely awesome.

This morning is a great example of this. She took one look at my overflowing suitcase and and my wild, glassy-eyed expression and asked, "Um, are you...okay?" I demurred at first. But, when we were on the train, I explained about all of my packing, and she made me sit down and explain to her what I was bringing and why, and helped me edit it to a more reasonable amount, pretty much sight unseen. ("You still own a ridiculous amount of shoes," she said, "But I think you have a good balance here.") I told her that last night, after a certain hour, I just started panicking and piling clothes into the suitcase for every possible outcome short of a blizzard. ("You're nuts. You should have come and gotten me. I was probably up anyway, and I would have helped you." She said, shaking her head.)

I eventually stopped myself and went to bed, but I probably had two weeks' worth of clothes for a five-day trip. It doesn't matter where I plan to go, really. I pack like I'm spending a month on the Lost island. And, as both my sister and redesigner are constantly reminding me, they have stores in Las Vegas now. People actually shop there! Trufax! Someday, I will learn. Really. But at least I know for sure now what I'll be bringing, so I can edit out what I'll be leaving tonight and throw the last of the toiletries and the carry-on together. Oh, and hopefully find half an hour to paint my toenails.

I was very pleased and relieved that my Edith Keeler outfit is just as cute as I'd hoped. It's no mean feat trying to change a character whose episode took place in the winter into something that you can walk around Las Vegas in during the summer and not die, but I think I've done okay.

Otherwise, I acquired an awesome new pair of walking shoes at Clarks, and spent a lovely evening with J. I'm consistently amazed at how much fun we have when we're doing nothing special at all, but we really do. He's also been awesome about abating my trip panic, too. Plus, yesterday he handed me a pair of his noise canceling headphones and INSISTED that I take them with me on the plane. He even gave me batteries for them.

I also briefly stopped by Casa KipBlerg to drop some things off, and I'm now having some serious apartment envy. They're still in the process of moving in, but that apartment is AWESOME. And the kitchen. I just...no words. Just envy. :)

This is most likely my last post before the trip, so my next dispatch will be coming to you from fabulous Las Vegas. I AM SO EXCITED!!!

I am lucky in that I have a boyfriend who showers me in cute little gifties. Many of these will come in handy on my upcoming Vegas adventure, especially my favorite thing of all - a stuffed Domo kun of my very own! Domo will be accompanying me to Vegas, probably in my carry-on, and hopefully will bring me luck.

Speaking of, I am trying not to panic. STILL have to pack, and I'm still hopeful that I have everything I need (but I should know that for sure after I pack tonight). Spending a few hours at the beach yesterday are about the only reason I'm not a total and complete wreck right now. I napped, swam, stuck my legs in the ocean, read the papers, and managed to file my pre-travel panic down to something manageable. Sadly, this caused me to miss a brunch with the fabulous Ms. firynze. But I'm hoping I can lure her down this fall, as Brooklyn and Manhattan in the autumn are really quite incredible. And, because I'm all but certain she'd love the hell out of Brooklyn. :)

The grandest irony of all was last night's episode of Mad Men. It was awesome, don't get me wrong, but still. If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about. Don't want to spoil it for those who haven't seen it.

I guess it's a good thing I'm going on vacation now, as a nervous wreck who can't go five minutes without scheduling something or writing a list of some kind. I think this long weekend is a fabulous opportunity to re-introduce the concept of "Sharon time." Yes, there will be running about related to the Con and all, but thankfully I'm going with redesigner, one of the biggest champions of naps (and nap champions) that I know. Also, he's been great about calming me down every time some idiot (and there have been a few) has come up to me to inform me that the desert gets to be mighty hot in the summertime! HUR HUR HURRRR Or to inform me about the difficulties in air travel, the economy - whatever has been tried to piss on my rainbow. My parents and J have also been great about this, too.

Weekend was pretty good. I didn't get nearly as much done as I'd hoped to, but I think (hope) I'm one pair of shoes short of everything I could possibly need for the trip. That and one or two other last-minute things that are easy enough to acquire.

I just have to figure out a way to stay awake for the next hour or so. So tired.

So, I'm having a travel-related dilemma.

As most of you know, redesigner and I are about a week away from embarking on our geekiest adventure yet: the Las Vegas Star Trek Convention. We are psyched. Mostly because he found us a pretty sweet suite at a posh hotel that allows us both free-wifi and the use of an in-room safe.

Since acquiring Thalia, I've taken her to my parents' house, to redstapler's house, a writing class at NYU, and to several cafes around Manhattan and Brooklyn. She's never been on a plane before, but I think it would make my life a lot easier (and more fun!) if I took her with me. I have an extra battery, and, it would be lovely to have a personal dvd player to combat whatever awful movie that Continental will be inflicting on us. (I will also have my ipod and books, and I may not even use my laptop while on the plane). Not to mention that I'd get to blog daily about the trip and the con, and all the fun I was having.

Still, both redesigner and my folks have asked why I think bringing my laptop along is "necessary." I don't know if it is, and I can most likely survive without it, but I think it would be more fun with it. Granted, I'm worried about theft and damage, but that's as likely to happen here as anywhere else. The ability to check email, look up important information when we need it and communicate appeals to me. I don't have a fancy phone, so it's laptop or nothing while I'm away.

So, I thought I'd take an informal survey. If you had a laptop, would you pack it into your spiffy laptop bag and venture away, or would you leave it home?

[Poll #1231682]