Chicago Part 1

The trip was very planes, trains, and automobiles (although very little of it was automobile). We departed late from Laguardia (of course) and got to play some Ms. Pac-man. This was really exciting 'cause I can actually control games that solely use a joystick. We got in to Chicago and took the train to the city. That is the world's slowest subway I have to say. We had to transfer to a bus at one point due to track work. So we got to bed really late. The hotel was really nice, so that was good. We got up late Sat, and wandered around all day before the wedding. We hit the Museum of Contemporary Art first. That was a great little museum. One of the installations you could actually climb inside, and there was a see-saw for 10. Unfortunately that installation was not open for demonstration at the time we were there. That was a great little suprise. We had some excellent weird photo-ops all weekend. We wandered around some more and took a jog along the river to the lake. That was an urban jog going up and down staircases and negotiating crowds. The wedding was Sat. night at the Adler planetarium. The venue was fantastic. Right on the water with a spectacular city view, and we got to play with all of the displays in the museum. The wedding was really fun. The reception area was on the water with a glass wall and ceiling for lake and city views. She even got free fireworks! I did not know many people at the wedding, but it was still a good time. Kristen (the bride) is one of my camp friends that used to work at the U. They donated to camp in honor of the wedding which was a nice suprise!

I'm back!

I am tired, but here are some pics. Enjoy the madness.

J.W's day off

I am heading to Chicago tonight for the weekend. I am going to a wedding of one of my friends from camp (sounds like we have been friends since childhood eh? I suppose if I had gone to camp as a kid she may be!) I can not remember the last time I went to Chicago. I really love Chicago, but Mike gets all defensive about NY when I say that. He has nothing to worry about, and I think it is OK to love more than one city after all! I heart NY!!!!!!!! Here is a list of other cities I love so far:
Prague
Salzburg (because I did not want to go there, and I was glad we did. I may have been influenced by the Kaiserschmarren serving guest house nearby and the Eisriesenwelt)
San Francisco
Amsterdam
Boston
Detroit Rock City
I am missing anything?

Diablo Rojo (Rodrigo y Gabriela)

Here is something to wake you up on a rainy day. I am low energy in our rainy, hot, and foggy day. I need this to pick my sorry arse up.

Hey, I feel so trendy!

Just the Thing to Carry Your Conscience In - New York Times I suppose it is more cost effective than a Prius.

Why my eye does not wander on bike tours!

The Bicycling Paradox: Fit Doesn’t Have to Mean Thin - New York Times

Fiona Apple - Parting Gift

I dig this song, even though the lyrics are kinda harsh!

John Edwards Vows To End All Bad Things By 2011

I suppose I am already sick of the campaigning for president. Is it me or are they starting this earlier than usual?

Oh those nutty environmentalists!

Selling a Lofty Concept (Clean Energy) by Appealing to a Basic Desire: Free Beer - New York Times

Physical and phestival

This weekend has been comprised of workouts and various activities. Yesterday we swam and ran early 'cause we decided to go to an afternoon music festival in Pleasantville. The day was beautiful, appropriately hot. We would'nt have gone if it was in the 90s. It was still a challenge not to get sunburned. I lathered a lot of 50 before I went, and we carried some along. Mike is my skin protection cop. He constantly asks me if I am protected, and recently said that we should not hang out on the beach. A couple of days later, one of the nannies I know was yelling at me too about going in the sun. I have been so good about sunscreen that I put it on when I go out to treat the kids I see too. We considered bringing a beach umbrella, but we were not sure if we could bring it in or not. If we do it again we will bring the umbrella for sure. It was a family friendly event, so there loads of kids running around. I bet it was weird for the last band playing to see the kids running around like that. There were jumping castles and activities for the stinkers. One of the activities was face painting. I have to say that the caliber of the face painter had left a little to be desired. I would spot a kid and think their face was bleeding, then realize it was the face painting job. One kid looked like they did blackface on him! We also would get occasional whiffs of diaper smell. Kid watching was pretty entertaining. The bands were good too, and we saw Jonatha Brooks, Sean Mullins, and the Damnwells. The Damnwells were from Brooklyn, so we started looking for Brooklyn people in the crowd. There is definately a Brooklyn look. The most extreme of the look is the mermaid parade people. The formula is people who look like they have not seen the sun for quite a while, funny hipster glasses, weird shoes, and hipster doofus outfits. I swear you can spot them a mile away! http://www.coneyisland.com/mermaid.shtml

On another note, K + A will be sadder to know the Michigan winery article hit #6 in the most emailed on NY Times website yesterday.

More traffic for A+K

Michigan’s Wine Country Grows Where the Cherry Is King - New York Times
Hey, Lelanau has hit big in the NY Times!

the The - Uncertain Smile- LIVE!!

I could not help the nostalgia.

Happy Friday the 13th

I am not superstitious, so I am wishing everyone a happy 13th. I am trying to wake up right now. I am going to work a little today, but I did not have to get up early today. I ended up passing out while watching the World Series of Pop Culture. Mike was really disturbed at some of the info that I knew. The shocking memory that came back was my ability to recall the name of the bar that Jake from Melrose Place bartended! I had some good 90210 background as well. This is due to the fact that I was in college and had a TV when those shows were on. I used to get mad 'cause some of my friends would not go out until they watched those shows. I can appreciate good crappy TV. Heather told me I need to try out for the Singing Bee. I think that would be pretty appropriate. I wish I could remember useful things, but my mind is cluttered with BS.
No weekend plans, but that is good since we will be in Chicago next weekend. I can not remember the last time I was there (not counting layovers and emergency landings!)

Suckin' a little more than wind

For Athletes, an Invisible Traffic Hazard - New York Times

Silversun Pickups - Lazy Eye

fun song, even though they sound remarkably like Smashing Pumpkins.

Back in the swing of things

It is funny all of the effort that I have to make to form a schedule that will only last 6 weeks. When I do it for the whole school year the work is worth it. Many of the kids I picked up at a school will only marginally benefit from me seeing them. By the time I get to know them, they will be gone. Many of them are not verbal, so it is really hard to interpret them. The good news is that I have an aquatics job, so reducing my hours with my agency pre-emptively ended up to be a good move.

Otherwise, just striving to see all of these kiddos in the stinkin' heat. Hopefully this cold front is for real. When the weather gets like this, I start adopting this philosophy.

Shape Magazine Declares July 'Let Yourself Go' Month

more images

Head of the Meadow Beach, our view of the fireworks in Ptown, and a seal popping his head up at the Head of the Meadow. We go to that beach almost every night to watch the seals. He has a fish in his mouth, and we got to watch them eat.

Freezin'

I live in a paradox at home. It is 80 degrees outside right now (11PM), and I am cold. I am under a blanket with a hooded sweatshirt, sweatpants, and socks. I am still freezin my arse off, and I think the temp is 61 in here. This is the only time I can settle under my down comforter all year.

Here's a view from our deck last week. Overnight one night it was storming, and I thought our little cottage was going to be swept out to sea. The next picture are the dunes at the National Seashore in Provincetown. The last you will have to click on, but it is a restaurant we always see on our way to Truro, but I never have a desire to eat there. This is based purely on the cartoon. I am not sure how well you will be able to see it. I think that there is something wrong with the Sea Dog.

This one's for Kevina

Ever wonder where you can buy feather boas and pretty dresses for men? Look no further than this store in Provincetown. I took the picture, because I have seen those scary mannequins before. There was a store recently in Rye that featured them. I found them to be scary (on the order of clown). Before I could snap a picture of them, the store closed (what a suprise eh?). I suppose one of the only towns where those scary faces could last is Provincetown. I also can not decide which store scares me more in that town. There is a shop called Spanking the Monkey, another named Toys of Eros (makes Noir leather look tame), and of course the store pictured above.

Rodrigo y Gabriela Orion (Metallica cover)

We were at the concert (well, outside the gate). This is amazing to hear Metallica in this way, and their guitar is amazing. We got the CD and have been listening to it a lot. That is a feat since I do not like to listen to instrumentals generally.

And I would like to thank my sponsors....

Wow, time does travel fast. Thanks for all of your love and support through the first 5. Sorry we did not have a big party for it out west, maybe for the 50th! There have been some changes since this picture was taken. It is good to step back and take stock of all of the blessings that you have.

Back to reality

I suppose I am not ready to go back to work. This vacation was too brief, but better than nothing. We did a whole lot of nothing in one of my favorite places. I even braved some 58 degree water for about 5 minutes on Saturday. It is amazing how quickly I can kill a day where I do not do much at all.

Glimmer

I need to get the chords for this one once somebody gets around to figuring them out. I think it is a beautiful song, and it is slow enough for me to figure out.

Why is this news?

Girls Gone Wild sued for sex harassment - Yahoo! News

Off to the cape

I may be quiet for a few days. I am working tommorrow and driving to the Cape for a few days. yahoo!

Open House

Today was a full day. We went runnin', swimmin', open housin', and visitin'. We went down to the city with our friends Igor and Regina who are visiting from San Fran. We hung out in the park with our other friends Tracey and Marcello, and we all caught up. There was a free concert in the park that we listened to on the lawn (Rodrigo and Gabriella who are Mexican guitar players from Dublin/they like to play metal classics on acoustic guitars, and they were pretty good!). We ended up having dinner at Cafe Lalo. That is the cafe in "You've Got Mail", and it is usually a tourist zoo. The desserts are really good there, so I have been there several times with actual New Yorkers. On the train home, a baby was in distress. They were calling out for doctors. It was just as we were pulling out of Grand Central, and the emergency response was pretty fast. We had to switch trains before we finally left.
The open houses were interesting. One we just wandered into, and we knew the house was way too damn expensive. It was cool to take a look. The other house we had looked up before, so it was fun to check out. I suppose it is fun until we have to put an offer on a place. Here's the big and cool place that we can not afford! The realtor told us it was one of the best values in Rye.
http://www.coldwellbanker.com/servlet/PropertyListing?action=detail&ComColdwellbankerDataProperty_id=11726543&page=property

"The Kitten"

I think this story is about more than a kitten.

Weddin'

Had fun tonight catching up with some old and current friends. Here are some highlights.

Weekend

Well, we are going to a wedding this weekend. I have not been to a wedding in at least 3 years, and we are going to 2 in the next month. Since the wedding is in Greenwich, I got concerned about my shoes. I realized my dress shoes are all old, navy, or black. I was never concerned about my shoes really until I moved here. I think about them a little more now, but I am not willing to go through major pain. So I ended up buying 2 pairs, so hopefully they will go with something. I thought my friend Regina would have been proud of my choices (she was always pushing stylish yet brutally uncomfortable shoes on me). I swear I tried on about 10 pairs, and I could not walk in most of them. They all have this crazy heel that is like balancing on a nail. My balance is bad enough! The last time I tried to buy dress shoes, they had all of these shoes with heels and no straps on the back. It was like wearing a heel flip-flop. How in the hell does anyone walk in that?

Look what else I found!

I should get a few bucks for them on Ebay!

Emily Dickinson?

When I was in third grade, I fancied myself a poet. I was in some experimental split class that had many self directed times of the day. There I explored my "talent" for poetry. I think my teacher was being nice by encouraging me. I remember thinking this poem in particular was genius. I thought it was very deep indeed. I will let you judge for yourselves. As you can see, I did receive a sticker for my fine work.

Really old n' scary!

Good thing I got over my fear of prosthetics. My job would be really tough. I can not believe I did not fess up to a major childhood fear which is tornadoes!

Old Schtuff

I was cleaning a closet, and I came across a box of old stuff I did not know I had. I found this amoung other photo collages from college, but I thought this was pretty funny. Linda made it for me, and she has 3 kids with a fourth on the way! You may have to click on it, but I love the caption where I am standing in the airline check in desk.

Oh Yeah!!!

White House Is Subpoenaed on Wiretapping - New York Times

Clip From movie Knocked Up

Do not watch if you are planning to see the movie. I just love Jodi!

"This place is a zoo"

Today was really hot and steamy. Despite this, I went to the zoo with a former patient of mine who I have not seen for a while. She is almost 16, and she is doing incredibly well. When I started working with her, she had just had a severe TBI (traumatic brain injury) and was lucky to be alive. She was a gifted kid at the time of the injury (especially in music), and she needed help just to sit up. At the end of a year of seeing her, she was playing violin again and able to get around well. She is a funny kid, and it was really good to catch up. Here are some highlights from my favorite exhibit in my favorite zoo. Mike will be jealous he missed it. As you can see, it was hot out!

knocked out

I saw Knocked Up last night. Good funny flick, and I got to see a lot of my Freaks and Geeks kiddos in the movie. I give it a thumbs up!

Overuse anonymous

wcbstv.com - Coney Island Hot Dog Champ Suffers Arthritic Jaw
Wow, I did not realize even the most sedentary of sports has such a risk of injury!

San Francisco bans bottled water for city staff - Yahoo! News

San Francisco bans bottled water for city staff - Yahoo! News
interesting!

good news squared

1. My knee stopped clicking. I was losing hope, and I went swimming to see if my knee could tolerate it. I have been going stir crazy and not working out for a few days. The swim was terrific! Outside, hot, sunny, (watchin' my shadow on the bottom of the pool which is perfection to me!), cold water, no crowds!!!!! When I got out, clickin' was over (hopefully for good).
2. Last month I went to this awesome aquatic therapy course, and I got all riled up. Since then I had a lot going on, but switching to practicing in the water has been brewing in the back of my mind. Now that it is quiet this week, I finally called one of the therapists who taught the course. She runs sessions in White Plains, and she said I could come by to practice. Turns out she has one of my friends that I used to work with in the hospital here working with her. She said if I like it she could use some help. I reduced my hours with the agency that I work with now, and I would love to get into the aquatics with somebody else instead of on my own. I feel like my learning has stalled a bit, and I could use some colleagues again. That is what I miss most about working in the hospital setting. I also have to be realistic and know that working with the kids is not helping my joints. It will be easier on my knees to work in the water for sure. So, I will have trouble falling asleep tonight.

Slackin'

I do not have many kids that I can see this week, so I am doing some odds and ends. I will clean up the house, etc. I would be doing all sorts of hard core workouts, but my knee is still clicky. I think I will try swimming on it today since the long course pool is open (less turning).
I suppose I could do some paperwork too. I love to put that off. If I am feeling really nice, I could do somebody's laundry too.
A and K, thanks for the recommendations. We ended up going back to Truro, but I am saving it all for another weekend. We do not have much time, and taking the ferry took a day off of our trip. We got a cool place though......
http://www.cyberrentals.com/USA/Massachusetts/Cape-Cod/vacation--Truro/p158083.htm

I met the Mets

We finally made it to a Mets game. This was my first, and we have been talking about going since I moved here. Mike just threw it out there as an idea, and luckily there was a game last night (perfect weather too!). The traffic sucked getting there (a normally 40 minute ride turned into an hour and a half), but it was worth it.
The game was scoreless into the bottom of the 9th, and the winning runs were scored after an error by the Oakland As. So the whole place was satisfied. The other exciting moment was when the catcher got kicked out (while he was batting) and started throwing all of his equipment on the field. When the game ended, Shea was chanting his name. It was pretty funny. Here are some pics, and aren't we so photogenic? I gave up on pictures. I took about 20, and Mike had his eyes shut in all of them, or slightly open.

meet the mets

Going to my first Mets game tonight. The tix were cheap, it is cool and sunny, and my knee is snapping around. I will give you all the full report later.

sorta clean bill of health

Well, my ligaments are intact, and there is nothing torn or floating around in my knee. That is the good news. The doc just thought since there was a little swelling, my synovial fluid is snapping around. Of course it is always fun to see how degenerated my knee are, and we discussed long term planning which was helpful. So I am currently relieved about the status of my knee.

Cheapskates rule!

Not Buying It - New York Times

Threat to the planet

I realize as an American with the typical lifestyle here, I am polluting the earth and being incredibly wasteful. I try to do little things like recycle, use my canvas shopping bags, and turn stuff off when I am not using them. I know that is very little in the grand scheme of things. I wonder what the large scale environmental impact of the printer cartridge is? I always send them in the envelopes the manufacturer provides, but they are so small! They should do that for bottled water as far as I am concerned. That uses a great deal more plastic! (I have considered that they can not process them in normal town plants, but it is funny the great effort to recycle them like they are causing the landfills to overflow!)

He used up the brains in the family

Study Says Eldest Children Have Higher I.Q.s - New York Times
Thanks alot John.

Hippo Birdie 2 Ewes

Happy Bday to Ann. I hope you day is filled with joy! I will never forget dancing on your birthday in the Rock on 5th and ending the night at the Lantern. Of course, this is another highly memorable night indeed!

Snap, Crackle, Pop

A couple of days ago, I got out of the car and my knee started crunching around. It makes a clunky snapping sound with nearly every step now. So I am going to my orthopod tomorrow. It does not hurt, but it is really annoying. I can not figure it out. Maybe something is floating around in there, or I have a flap that is sticking up from cartilage. Soooooo, wish me luck. I am anticipating that I may have to retire from triathlons.

WTF

It tells you how much my service is valued when a client's family calls to cancel an appointment so they could go to the pet store.

Windin' down

I am just trying to wind down on my year here. We spent a great deal of time trying to figure out our vacation for the last 2 nights. Anyone have any great ideas for our long vacation in August? That is going to be our big anniversary trip.