I don't know what happened. I can't explain where I've been, but it obviously wasn't here. And now I have to pay the price. And you do, too, if you choose to read my blog. But I am going to try to catch up without torturing you. So here's the goal: condense a month of lessons learned into one-liners. This is going to be very hard for a long-winded chick like myself, but I'll take the challenge. I can't promise the sentences will be short. And I'll break it into a couple of posts so it's not too painful.
The first installment is my week in New York. This is tough because I did so much out there and had a ridiculous amount of new experiences (Thank you, Laura & Rick!!), but here I go:
Wednesday, February 25:
In New York, if you live in an apartment without laundry facilities nearby, you can hire a laundry service to come pick up your laundry, wash it, and deliver it back to your apartment for a dollar per pound.
Thursday, February 26:
At the Carlyle Hotel in Manhattan, there is a piano bar called Bemelman's Bar, which was named after the author & illustrator of the 'Madeline' children's books because he hung out there and painted murals on the wall.
Friday, February 27:
I discovered H&M- a store we don't have in Colorado, but is absolutely my new favorite place to shop.
Saturday, February 28:
St. Paul's Chapel is a church located across from the WTC site (which is still basically a large hole), and it is the oldest public building in continuous use, and dates back to colonial times.
Sunday, March 01:
There is a restaurant in SoHo named Public that serves a brunch dish called Turkish Eggs (Greek style yogurt with poached eggs, butter, and spices on top, and toast for dipping), a must-eat if you ever go there.
Monday, March 02:
New York City has the rudest Starbucks baristas I have ever encountered.
Tuesday, March 03:
Touristy attractions that are worth the time and/or money include: Lady Liberty (she has man hands), Ellis Island Museum (history nerds, unite!) and Wicked on Broadway (campy and delicious).
Wednesday, March 04:
I love coming home, no matter how great my vacation was.
26 March 2009
06 March 2009
I'm alive, and I've been learning!
Did you think I left you? I didn't. I just failed a baby-size fail in my goal of updating at least weekly. I'm sure my extremely large fan club was in total devastation. But I have a good excuse- I went on vacation! I was very busy the week prior to leaving and I went to New York City for my vacation, so I spent my time trying to make the most of the city instead of blogging. I'm sure you'll forgive me. But I did learn, and I did make little notes so I would remember. So I will give you this in a two-part series.
Here we go, beginning with the week prior to my trip:
Tuesday, Feb 17:
I went out to lunch with my dear friend (and coworker) Rochelle. Ro introduced me to a great little Japanese restaurant downtown called Yoo Mae's. I'm not a connoisseur of Japanese food, but I thought it was great. I ordered a Bento box, which is basically a box lunch of an assortment of things. It was delish, and pretty cheap, too. So I now have another place I love for lunch.
Wednesday, Feb 18:
I learned a new word!
Quorum: the number of members of a group or organization required to be present to transact business legally, usually a majority (from Dictionary.com).
Thursday, Feb 19:
The 2009 Colorado State Budget passed out of the Senate today on third reading. It then went to the House for Consideration. As it left the Senate, it included amendments made by our very own Senator John Morse, who, regardless of your politics, is undeniably one of the state's biggest champions of services for people with developmental disabilities (DD). If you don't know, I work for a company that serves people with DD. We contract with the state and are bound by State rules and regulations, as well as State funding, such as it is. Colorado has a budget crisis right now that is pretty serious, which has caused a lot of cuts across all areas of funding in order to try to recoup the projected losses before the end of the fiscal year. Human Services of any kind generally get the short end of the stick in terms of government funding, and it is certainly true in the DD world. Morse's amendments restore DD funding that was cut recently in response to the current budget crisis. I could wax on for a long time about the needs in the DD world, but this is very intentionally not a soapbox blog, so if you ever want to hear more about what I do and what the 'services' really mean, please ask me. I'd love to talk about it. But for today, I'm hoping the budget will pass through the House with Morse's amendments intact.
Friday, Feb 20:
I learned that my car is in working order. This seems anticlimactic, I know. But I got my oil changed last weekend and was told there was a residue on the oil cap that could indicate that there is a crack or break in a gasket, which could have cost me around 1000.00 to repair, mostly due to labor. I mildly freaked out, because (reference my lesson from yesterday) I work in human services, and do not have an extra 1000.00 lying around at any given time. And I was getting ready to go on vacation. Yikes! So I took the car in, they checked it out, and there is no leak. I'm told that driving short distances like I do causes condensation to form in the oil cap because the car engine doesn't have a chance to warm up all the way before it is turned off. Apparently the condensation is the residue. So, I breathed much easier today. And learned a little bit about cars (which I assure you, I'll forget quickly).
Saturday, Feb 21:
Today I watched my sister's first dance competition of the season. I love watching these things. It's so fun to see how she has grown in her skill, and to watch the talents of other studios and dancers. I learned something I hope I will never have to use, but here it is:
If you have a tutu, you have to hang it upside down when you put it on a hanger. This ensures that when it is time to put it in, the material is as fluffy as possible. This is critical, you know.
I mean, really, flat tutus? How utterly common.
Sunday, Feb 22:
Tonight some of my girlfriends and I got together to watch the Oscars. We got dressed up, in real live dresses (I haven't worn a dress since September), and we went out for martinis. Since we live in such a fast-paced and metropolitan city, our first two choices for martinis were closed, it being a Sunday at 7pm. But we wound up at one of Colorado Springs' best restaurants- The Famous. I had never been there before, but the martinis were lovely. And while I can't testify to their steaks, I can tell you their crab cakes are wonderful.
Monday, Feb 23:
Another lesson involving food (I really like food)! I went to Outback tonight with some friends. I ordered the salmon, which is my favorite thing on their menu. One of the things I like so much about it is the sauce they give you (rémoulade). But apparently they no longer serve rémoulade at Outback.
So I no longer consider the salmon my favorite thing on their menu. Take that, Outback!
Tuesday, Feb 24:
A re-learn: I am still a horrible procrastinator when it comes to packing. No matter how early I promise myself I will do it, I will not. I will start 'packing' around 8pm or later (tonight it started at 10). It will only loosely resemble packing, as it will include beginning a load of the laundry I want to take...and messing around on facebook...and finding things to clean in my room...and searching the internet for things to do on my trip...and occasionally getting up and putting things in a pile next to my suitcase. Slowly it will begin to look more like packing until sometime after midnight I am ready to go to sleep. There will be a long list on my nightstand of all the things I have to remember to put in my bag in the morning, and then I will sleep fitfully, waking every hour or so, because I am so afraid that I might sleep through my alarm clock since I went to bed too late. This is self-sabotage at its finest.
Here we go, beginning with the week prior to my trip:
Tuesday, Feb 17:
I went out to lunch with my dear friend (and coworker) Rochelle. Ro introduced me to a great little Japanese restaurant downtown called Yoo Mae's. I'm not a connoisseur of Japanese food, but I thought it was great. I ordered a Bento box, which is basically a box lunch of an assortment of things. It was delish, and pretty cheap, too. So I now have another place I love for lunch.
Wednesday, Feb 18:
I learned a new word!
Quorum: the number of members of a group or organization required to be present to transact business legally, usually a majority (from Dictionary.com).
Thursday, Feb 19:
The 2009 Colorado State Budget passed out of the Senate today on third reading. It then went to the House for Consideration. As it left the Senate, it included amendments made by our very own Senator John Morse, who, regardless of your politics, is undeniably one of the state's biggest champions of services for people with developmental disabilities (DD). If you don't know, I work for a company that serves people with DD. We contract with the state and are bound by State rules and regulations, as well as State funding, such as it is. Colorado has a budget crisis right now that is pretty serious, which has caused a lot of cuts across all areas of funding in order to try to recoup the projected losses before the end of the fiscal year. Human Services of any kind generally get the short end of the stick in terms of government funding, and it is certainly true in the DD world. Morse's amendments restore DD funding that was cut recently in response to the current budget crisis. I could wax on for a long time about the needs in the DD world, but this is very intentionally not a soapbox blog, so if you ever want to hear more about what I do and what the 'services' really mean, please ask me. I'd love to talk about it. But for today, I'm hoping the budget will pass through the House with Morse's amendments intact.
Friday, Feb 20:
I learned that my car is in working order. This seems anticlimactic, I know. But I got my oil changed last weekend and was told there was a residue on the oil cap that could indicate that there is a crack or break in a gasket, which could have cost me around 1000.00 to repair, mostly due to labor. I mildly freaked out, because (reference my lesson from yesterday) I work in human services, and do not have an extra 1000.00 lying around at any given time. And I was getting ready to go on vacation. Yikes! So I took the car in, they checked it out, and there is no leak. I'm told that driving short distances like I do causes condensation to form in the oil cap because the car engine doesn't have a chance to warm up all the way before it is turned off. Apparently the condensation is the residue. So, I breathed much easier today. And learned a little bit about cars (which I assure you, I'll forget quickly).
Saturday, Feb 21:
Today I watched my sister's first dance competition of the season. I love watching these things. It's so fun to see how she has grown in her skill, and to watch the talents of other studios and dancers. I learned something I hope I will never have to use, but here it is:
If you have a tutu, you have to hang it upside down when you put it on a hanger. This ensures that when it is time to put it in, the material is as fluffy as possible. This is critical, you know.
I mean, really, flat tutus? How utterly common.
Sunday, Feb 22:
Tonight some of my girlfriends and I got together to watch the Oscars. We got dressed up, in real live dresses (I haven't worn a dress since September), and we went out for martinis. Since we live in such a fast-paced and metropolitan city, our first two choices for martinis were closed, it being a Sunday at 7pm. But we wound up at one of Colorado Springs' best restaurants- The Famous. I had never been there before, but the martinis were lovely. And while I can't testify to their steaks, I can tell you their crab cakes are wonderful.
Monday, Feb 23:
Another lesson involving food (I really like food)! I went to Outback tonight with some friends. I ordered the salmon, which is my favorite thing on their menu. One of the things I like so much about it is the sauce they give you (rémoulade). But apparently they no longer serve rémoulade at Outback.
So I no longer consider the salmon my favorite thing on their menu. Take that, Outback!
Tuesday, Feb 24:
A re-learn: I am still a horrible procrastinator when it comes to packing. No matter how early I promise myself I will do it, I will not. I will start 'packing' around 8pm or later (tonight it started at 10). It will only loosely resemble packing, as it will include beginning a load of the laundry I want to take...and messing around on facebook...and finding things to clean in my room...and searching the internet for things to do on my trip...and occasionally getting up and putting things in a pile next to my suitcase. Slowly it will begin to look more like packing until sometime after midnight I am ready to go to sleep. There will be a long list on my nightstand of all the things I have to remember to put in my bag in the morning, and then I will sleep fitfully, waking every hour or so, because I am so afraid that I might sleep through my alarm clock since I went to bed too late. This is self-sabotage at its finest.
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