Tuesday, March 24, 2009
The Secret Life of Jason
Today I discovered that Jason has been moonlighting, modeling for action figures. Check out the dude, bravely weilding a safety razor:
Sunday, March 22, 2009
A visitor from abroad!
Last Saturday, Julie showed up on my doorstep around 8:30 AM. Fortunately, I knew she was coming.
During her 4-day visit (nearly to the hour - she left 7:30AM Wednesday morning), we went out and were super-tourists! It was a lot of fun having Julie visit, and it was also fun having an excuse to get out and see my surroundings.
On Saturday, Jason, Julie & I walked for hours around town: we tried to go to Westminster Abbey (unsuccessfully - it closes at 2:30 with last admission 1:30, however we arrived at 1:15 and were turned away), we walked along the river and then across to Borough Market for lunch, then we visited St. Paul's cathedral and climbed as far as we could (the top tier is closed for another couple months). Afterwards, we visited a small, old pub called Seven Stars for a much-needed beer.
Brighton Pier
Trafalgar Square, pre St. Patty's day pubbing
Of course there are more pictures - album link at left! I've also put up a link to the pictures from my & Jason's day trip to Windsor & Eton from the previous weekend. Enjoy!
During her 4-day visit (nearly to the hour - she left 7:30AM Wednesday morning), we went out and were super-tourists! It was a lot of fun having Julie visit, and it was also fun having an excuse to get out and see my surroundings.
On Saturday, Jason, Julie & I walked for hours around town: we tried to go to Westminster Abbey (unsuccessfully - it closes at 2:30 with last admission 1:30, however we arrived at 1:15 and were turned away), we walked along the river and then across to Borough Market for lunch, then we visited St. Paul's cathedral and climbed as far as we could (the top tier is closed for another couple months). Afterwards, we visited a small, old pub called Seven Stars for a much-needed beer.
View westward from St. Paul's Cathedral
On Sunday, just we girls went to Brighton for the day. It's a popular seaside escape here - pretty chill environment with a boardwalk full of fish & chip shops and a pier chock full of rides and other amusements for kiddies. We combined the two and had fish & chips on the pier. The weather was perfect - about 60F and sunny! (As an aside, Julie somehow managed to pick the 4 nicest days of the year to date for her visit.) We wandered around some small winding alleys and did a bit of shopping before heading back.
Brighton Pier
On Monday I went to work and left Julie to venture into the city on her own, but on Tuesday I returned to the tourist role (note: much more fun than working) and we visited alt-hippie Camden, strolled through Regent's Park, and went to the National Gallery for proper afternoon tea (my first experience with that!) and a bit of Impressionist browsing. Then, being St. Patrick's Day and all, we hit the pubs for a mini-crawl.
Trafalgar Square, pre St. Patty's day pubbingOf course there are more pictures - album link at left! I've also put up a link to the pictures from my & Jason's day trip to Windsor & Eton from the previous weekend. Enjoy!
Greetings for Mums
Today is Mother's Day or "Mothering Sunday" in the UK. Of course, Jason's 'mum' is English so he is obliged to observe Mother's Day today (though when he lived in the States he would observe it in May - even when she was living here!). However, so as not to miss out on card-buying opportunity - they certainly won't still be selling Mother's Day cards come May - I accompanied him to the Clinton Cards shop down the street.
I have been receiving greeting cards from various people on this side of the pond (mainly Jason's mom & aunt) for several years now. I have always been amused by the specificity of the greetings available. For instance, one winter I think we received a card that read: 'To a special nephew and his fiancée on the Christmas before their wedding.'
Today I really liked this one: 'For my beautiful fiancée on Mother's Day'. I mean, really. Imagine the market for a card like this. This is specifically for a man, engaged to be wed, who has a child with the woman to whom he is engaged. There are obviously many unwed parents, but this one captures the market of those who are officially planning to marry. In printing these cards, they assume said man will spend enough time looking for a card for his baby mama-fiancée to find this particular card. I question the business sense in creating such niche products, but at least greeting cards do not expire; this can be trotted out next year for the new crop of engaged dads.
And on that note, Happy Mummy Day to all the Mums out there! (Any Moms will have to wait til May for their greeting.)
I have been receiving greeting cards from various people on this side of the pond (mainly Jason's mom & aunt) for several years now. I have always been amused by the specificity of the greetings available. For instance, one winter I think we received a card that read: 'To a special nephew and his fiancée on the Christmas before their wedding.'
Today I really liked this one: 'For my beautiful fiancée on Mother's Day'. I mean, really. Imagine the market for a card like this. This is specifically for a man, engaged to be wed, who has a child with the woman to whom he is engaged. There are obviously many unwed parents, but this one captures the market of those who are officially planning to marry. In printing these cards, they assume said man will spend enough time looking for a card for his baby mama-fiancée to find this particular card. I question the business sense in creating such niche products, but at least greeting cards do not expire; this can be trotted out next year for the new crop of engaged dads.
And on that note, Happy Mummy Day to all the Mums out there! (Any Moms will have to wait til May for their greeting.)
Friday, March 13, 2009
In support of Jenn
To family & friends,I've just made a donation in support of my cousin Jenn, who has run the Boston Marathon the past several years in support of Dana Farber Cancer Institue.
Jenny runs each mile in honor or in memory of someone who has battled cancer, and I've put the list below. 4 of her honorees are relatives of mine. The picture at left shows Jenn's patient partner, Lia, running along side her in the 2007 marathon. Lia lost her battle this past October, and is Jenn's honoree in the last mile.
If any of the names below are familiar to you, or maybe they remind you of someone, please consider donating to Jenn's cause. She's about 25% of the way toward her $8,000 goal this year. Ambitious, but not out of reach.
You can see Jenn's official page and donate here: http://www.rundfmc.org/jenns2009. Either way, thanks for reading.
Mile Marker:
1 Patrick Byrne
2 Melissa Mitchell
3 Rick Larson
4 Renee LeBlanc
5 Carol Madden
6 Cailey Delahanty
7 Lorrie Belinsky
8 Robin Roberts
9 Sandy Zawojski
10 Randy Pausch
11 Lauren Grella
12 Corey McGuigan
13 Lorraine Krueger
14 Gina Vigo
15 Dr. Bill Tombari
16 Eleanor Heath
17 Joe Andruzzi
18 Kathy Gundrum
19 Allan Minehan
20 Elsie Krueger
21 James Troy
22 Marie Carey
23 Henry Krueger
24 Jacques Dupont
25 Jon Lester
26 Lia DiFronzo
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Chamonix
Yikes, I just noticed it's been a month since my last post. This must mean I've been busy. I have! The last 4 weeks have been crammed full of stuff: some good, some not so good.
Since the last post:
Week 1: Very stressful at work, preparing to be away for 2 weeks.
Week 2: Spent in The Hague, actually in Scheveningen, which I usually pronounce with about 3 extra syllables. It's the premiere beach resort of The Netherlands. (I know: What?)
Week 3: VACATION!
Week 4: Catching up on all the work I didn't do while I was gone the last 2 weeks.
So, this post will focus Week 3, but in case you're wondering why I spent Week 2 in the Ocean City of Holland in February (similar weather to NJ at that time of year, too), well the answer is simple. Margarine Camp! Now I know more about margarine -- and mayonnaise -- than, well, than what I did before.
Now on to the good stuff.
For 7 wonderful days, Jason & I were in Chamonix. It's a ski-town in the French Alps, close to where Switzerland, Italy, and France come together. Our friend Jim (from Long Beach) met up with us during a few weeks' leave from his post in Iraq, and he managed to rent the apartment right next door to the one we stayed in. Our lodging was basic but cozy and comfortable, and right in the heart of Chamonix... and part of the deal was they bring you fresh baguette & croissants every morning!
Chamonix was a quaint but bustling little town, full of tourists but without a completely touristy feel. We managed to find some great food, including snails and fondue one night, and a real gem of a local restaurant on another, Maison d'en Bas, where I had the opportunity to use my French about to the maximum I'm capable. The owner / waitress / hostess was very patient with me (her English was non-existent), and we managed to communicate pretty well. I helped her add 'raw' to her list of how meat can be prepared. Apparently, she's had more than one unhappy patron who did not understand that beef tartare (Jason's main course) is not cooked. The food was delicious, to boot.
I skied for 4 days with the guys, and Jason & Jim skied the last one on their own. We all took Wednesday off for recovery. We were about a 5 minute walk from the ski bus stop, from which you can get a shuttle to about 5 different mountains. We skied at Brévent-Flégere (I can't figure out how to make an accent grave), Le Tour - Balme, and Les Grands Montets. One day, we drove through the Mont Blanc tunnel to Courmayeur, Italy. There we discovered the Italians have a need for speed. No surprises, I suppose, from the country that brings you the Ferrari. We really lucked out with weather; the first day was snowy and the second very foggy, so visibility was really bad, but the rest of the week was sunny and about 35F. Perfect. Our day at Le Tour (the foggy day) was actually pretty cool - the clouds were sank so low, that the lift carried us above them into the clear. Then we skied through the clouds where you could see about 10' in front of you, down to the clear air below. The pictures are great but they still don't do it justice.
A side remark: the queuing system for the lifts every mountain we went to was atrocious. They never separated you into distinct lines as you apprached, and people would literally elbow their way past you in line. Completely unacceptable!
On the last day, Jason & Jim hired a guide and joined a small group to ski the Vallée Blanche. They took a tram to the highest point in Chamonix (and by some accounts the highest in the Alps), and after traversing a 2' wide winding path, skied a 20+ km (about 15mi) trail back down to the valley. Chamonix is known for its off-piste skiing, so they were right on trend to take advantage of that. Me, on the other hand, being a comfortably intermediate skier without aspirations for much improvement, took the day off and rode the Montenvers train to the Mer De Glace, an ice cave in the same mountain the guys were skiing. The scenery was beautiful but the grotto itself was a bit tacky. I think it's more of a spring / autumn activity. Then, I enjoyed a long crepe and beer lunch, read my book, and wandered around town til the boys got back.
We took loads of pictures, and I've tried to cull them down. There are 2 albums: one that shows the story of the trip, and one that has some nice scenery shots. Together they're less than a third of the pictures we took. Lots of white landscapes!
Our next trip is planned for April (4 days in Istanbul) but we're hoping to do something smaller before then. Either way, check back soon for more posts - hopefully things are calming down a bit and I can write more!
Since the last post:
Week 1: Very stressful at work, preparing to be away for 2 weeks.
Week 2: Spent in The Hague, actually in Scheveningen, which I usually pronounce with about 3 extra syllables. It's the premiere beach resort of The Netherlands. (I know: What?)
Week 3: VACATION!
Week 4: Catching up on all the work I didn't do while I was gone the last 2 weeks.
So, this post will focus Week 3, but in case you're wondering why I spent Week 2 in the Ocean City of Holland in February (similar weather to NJ at that time of year, too), well the answer is simple. Margarine Camp! Now I know more about margarine -- and mayonnaise -- than, well, than what I did before.
Now on to the good stuff.
For 7 wonderful days, Jason & I were in Chamonix. It's a ski-town in the French Alps, close to where Switzerland, Italy, and France come together. Our friend Jim (from Long Beach) met up with us during a few weeks' leave from his post in Iraq, and he managed to rent the apartment right next door to the one we stayed in. Our lodging was basic but cozy and comfortable, and right in the heart of Chamonix... and part of the deal was they bring you fresh baguette & croissants every morning!
Chamonix was a quaint but bustling little town, full of tourists but without a completely touristy feel. We managed to find some great food, including snails and fondue one night, and a real gem of a local restaurant on another, Maison d'en Bas, where I had the opportunity to use my French about to the maximum I'm capable. The owner / waitress / hostess was very patient with me (her English was non-existent), and we managed to communicate pretty well. I helped her add 'raw' to her list of how meat can be prepared. Apparently, she's had more than one unhappy patron who did not understand that beef tartare (Jason's main course) is not cooked. The food was delicious, to boot.
I skied for 4 days with the guys, and Jason & Jim skied the last one on their own. We all took Wednesday off for recovery. We were about a 5 minute walk from the ski bus stop, from which you can get a shuttle to about 5 different mountains. We skied at Brévent-Flégere (I can't figure out how to make an accent grave), Le Tour - Balme, and Les Grands Montets. One day, we drove through the Mont Blanc tunnel to Courmayeur, Italy. There we discovered the Italians have a need for speed. No surprises, I suppose, from the country that brings you the Ferrari. We really lucked out with weather; the first day was snowy and the second very foggy, so visibility was really bad, but the rest of the week was sunny and about 35F. Perfect. Our day at Le Tour (the foggy day) was actually pretty cool - the clouds were sank so low, that the lift carried us above them into the clear. Then we skied through the clouds where you could see about 10' in front of you, down to the clear air below. The pictures are great but they still don't do it justice.
A side remark: the queuing system for the lifts every mountain we went to was atrocious. They never separated you into distinct lines as you apprached, and people would literally elbow their way past you in line. Completely unacceptable!
On the last day, Jason & Jim hired a guide and joined a small group to ski the Vallée Blanche. They took a tram to the highest point in Chamonix (and by some accounts the highest in the Alps), and after traversing a 2' wide winding path, skied a 20+ km (about 15mi) trail back down to the valley. Chamonix is known for its off-piste skiing, so they were right on trend to take advantage of that. Me, on the other hand, being a comfortably intermediate skier without aspirations for much improvement, took the day off and rode the Montenvers train to the Mer De Glace, an ice cave in the same mountain the guys were skiing. The scenery was beautiful but the grotto itself was a bit tacky. I think it's more of a spring / autumn activity. Then, I enjoyed a long crepe and beer lunch, read my book, and wandered around town til the boys got back.
We took loads of pictures, and I've tried to cull them down. There are 2 albums: one that shows the story of the trip, and one that has some nice scenery shots. Together they're less than a third of the pictures we took. Lots of white landscapes!
Our next trip is planned for April (4 days in Istanbul) but we're hoping to do something smaller before then. Either way, check back soon for more posts - hopefully things are calming down a bit and I can write more!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)