Fridays Bring Smiles

Ok, so I fibbed. I didn't update like I said I would yesterday. Sorry! Other things on the mind ya know?

Anyhoo...I've got a few great things to say. First of all, for all you who are interested in seeing part of the Boston Marathon, I've got a video of Brett, George, Mike and myself running around like idiots..but mostly just Brett. ;) But I mean it is his podcast so...

But in other news, Brett a.k.a. The Amtrekker, was on Good Morning America this morning! It was so exciting to see our own V list celebrity movin' on up the ranks as he chatted with Robin Roberts about his life and list! Also, a stunning surprise, they were so glad to get the one and only Donald Trump on the telephone, so Brett could cross the "Tell Donald Trump he's fired" item off the list! Wow! I bet Brett is feeling pretty surreal right now. I hear he's headed back up here to Boston to tell us all about it!

So what else could be more exciting than running with Boston Marathoners and watching a friend tell Mr. Trump he's fired?

SAILING! Yep, the preppy yuppy in me is gonna get all geared up in stripes and anchors and hop on a free ride around the Charles this Saturday. Oh and perhaps tennis in the morning. Man! I'm turnin' into a regular old Ivy Leaguer here!

Well I hope you all have a great weekend! I know I will...I'll leave you with Marathon Madness!

Thursdays Always Come So Soon

Good morning to all! I have woken up basking in sunshine! Mmmm, the best way to wake up most definitely.

Well, I'm off to work. Tonights events should be busy, but I have to say that I'm doing MUCH better after my resting day yesterday. When I get to work I'll have more to say, but until then...say thank you for the things you have right in front of you. :)

I wonder if I made it on TV when Lance Armstrong ran by...?

I'm feeling totally obliterated today...just so you know. I'll have more stories soon, but right now all I can think about is the rolling of my liver inside every crevice of my body.

Thanks Marathon Monday.

In the mean time, check this out:

Would you do it?

"The fierce Kingda Ka is simply the tallest, fastest roller coaster on Earth. This remarkable thrill ride breaks all world records for coaster speed and height, zooming from 0 to 128 mph in 3.5 seconds and catapulting you 45 stories into the sky.

Get propelled horizontally at 128 mph via hydraulic launch
Hang on tight as you shoot 90 degrees into a quarter-turn
Blast 456 feet high, then plunge vertically into a 270-degree spiral
Experience weightlessness as you swoop down a valley and up a 129-foot camel hump"




So...whaddya think? Think I could do it? Think I could do it TWICE! Hells yeah! Man what a weekend I had! Let me tell you about it.

First George and I were intending on driving up to Hampton Beach, New Hampshire to see Josh Kelley and Collective Soul in concert with Ben. We started off right on track and continued on I-95 while having good stimulating conversation about college and our experiences with crazy roommates and Ramen noodles. Anyway, the next thing you know I start to see cars ahead of me slow down...up ahead was a rotary. A ROTARY! (a round-about for all you non-knowers of the term rotary. Yeah I have a funny story about that too...let's just say a rotarian does not sit in a rotary over on the East Coast..) Alright, so thinking it's kind of weird to have a rotary in the middle of the freeway, George says..."Gloucester?! We're in Gloucester!" (pronounced GLAHSS-TAH) We quickly refer to my trusty map that got me across this large country.

View Larger Map

So you see the green arrow? That's where we were! And do you see the little town up the coast north of there called Salisbury? Well that's where we were supposed to BE! Being the smart and saavy travelers that we were, we re-routed to go across towns and backroads to try and get to the casino ASAP without going ALL the way back. Bad luck hit again though when we came to the bridge to cross into New Hampshire. "Bridge OUT OF ORDER!" And yes, it was screaming at us. Bridge out! You've got to be kidding me! We had to back track again...to finally find a through road to the 95. Once there, getting to Ocean Blvd. was easy. Though to think how much time we could have saved by actually paying attention to the signs. Boston officially gets my vote for city with the worst signage system. Officially.

After skipping through the sceevy slash mildly amusing town of Hampton Beach, we finally arrived to see Josh Kelley on the stage...and man was I happy. :) Oh and Collective Soul was pretty good too. All those early 90's songs I'd forgotten about, came around full force in my memory!

Man, but the weekend just gets better.

But rather than writing a novel that I know none of you have time for, I'll just summarize bulletin-stylie!

• After concert, got pulled over in Burger King parking lot for missing tail light. (That damn tail light just loves to give me trouble doesn't it! Thanks for the jail record Mr. Tail Light!)
• After warning ticket, we find out BK is closed. Humf.
• Sleep, but only for 4 hours.
• Wake up, get pulled over again...by the SAME cop. Exact words? "So we meet again..."
• Drive through terential rain to NYC.
• Cross George Washington Bridge to find we have to go back to pick up 1 Amtrekker.
• Pay 8 bucks to fix that mistake.
• Have eggs in a sans English shop in the Bronx.
• See 1 Amtrekker wandering aimlessly.
• Yell at 1 Amtrekker.
• Accidentally hop on the fast track on the turnpike, have to pay MAXIMUM TOLL!
• Drive to Jackson, New Jersey
• See Angel, get in for free to Six Flags Great Adventure! Wahoo!
• Get VIP treatment, escorted to the KINGDA KA! The fastest, tallest rollercoaster in the world!
• Then the rain starts, shutting down the ride.
• We wander aimlessly throughout the park, riding kiddie rides compared to the King...
• 20 minutes waiting for the worst ride that we never got to ride..blah!
• And then...FINALLY! We see the clouds clear and the rain cease, to find ourselves with exit passes to ride the KING! Sheer exhileration!
• Tiger show...

Haha, and then finally as we exited the park...where we were High Fived by all the newbies, or that's what I assume they were. We drove back to Boston that night, making excellent time and making sure that our stimulating conversation was NOT distracting us from the task at hand. All I knew is that I did not want to end up in Ohio or West Virginia...oh Lord please Not West Virginia....

And while I passed out peacefully in my bed, George and one kidnapped Amtrekker continued on throughout the night chasing fooseballs and kitty cats. And that's all. 2 days, a million roads, and one very happy camper.

Whoa Purple People Eater!

Alright, so who has seen the NEW $5 Dollar Bill?

I'll admit, I was a bit freaked out this morning when I was counting money and all of a sudden I realized there was color on the bill. BUT WAIT! Not only that, I flipped it over to find a purple 5 on the back! Now that's craziness.

I just thought I'd share...Check your pockets for lurking magenta imposters! They're almost cute. :)

Punch Awesome!

Hey family! Alright so I've got some homework for you to do. Have any of you heard of Nickel Creek, the band? Well if not, that's ok because a former band member, Chris Thile and his new band PUNCH BROTHERS is just as awesome!

It's a little bit of folk, little bit of bluegrass, and a little bit of soul all wrapped up into one!

I just thought you might want to hear about it and gear up for some great music to put on at the rendezvous this year! I'm looking into getting a flight back home for the shindig now. :)

I'll leave you with this:

Chicken Cacciatore Comes to the Rescue!

Today, you should check out this:

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2008/04/07/ntm.amtrekker.cnn?iref=videosearch

PS. I know him!
PS#2. Brett, come back to Boston!

************************************************************************

So it's really quiet today. I've been here for an hour with not one phone call. But now that I just said that...

That always happens. Grr. So I have to share my latest gripe. Weather forecasters. It's not really their fault I know, I mean weather is fickle. I understand, sort of. I just don't like it when they are WAY OFF! Forecast for Sunday? 45 and Sunny, perfect outdoor weather! Well perfect for us over yonder. 45 is good and 48 is sandal weather...what can we say? When the sting of Boston wind subsides, it feels like Aruba. (not that I've been there...but I imagine)

Anyway, when waking up on Sunday morning I find not only is it not 45 and sunny, but it's not even 44, or 42..heck I'd even be happy if it were 39. But no! It was 32! With wind making it feel like 29! And the sun was indeed being stubborn and shy, so it decided to cry for me. Rain. All day....

Good thing I had some good cacciatore that night, totally saved the day. Thanks Mike.

PS. Mom, I'm going to the eye doctor tomorrow. You'd be so proud of me...

Sweet Caroline!

Four things:



#1. I love watching people

#2. I love watching people sing karaoke.

#3. I enjoy hyperbole.

#4. I enjoy hyperbole while playing the dating game in the Hong Kong Karaoke Bar.

That is all.

HUGE Earthworms!

Glorious Wednesdays return.

I woke up to a beautiful morning today, and although it's a bit colder than yesterday (it was 60!) I can tell spring is practically here! This weekend looks promising, with sunshine and 55 on Sunday. Perfect for getting outside. Frisbee? Lacrosse perhaps?

Speaking of Lacrosse, I picked up my stick and threw around a few weeks ago. Surprisingly I was better than I imagined myself to be after 3 or so years. I feel old. (I know you're all laughing...but think about that threshold you cross from feeling invincible to realizing that your body is constantly changing over the years. Don't laugh when you see me wincing over gray hairs! Sheesh!) Contrary to what you may think, I do like getting older. It's fun because of all the life you get to experience, good and bad, boring and exciting...and even though seeing those tiny wrinkles start to form around the crease of my mouth, it makes me laugh and think I'm lucky I've gotten to smile so much.

Anyway, since yesterday was so warm, I got the chance to 'step out of the city' and into the backyard of Boston. (Basically just across the street...) Even though I could hear cars faintly whizzing by, I felt like a kid again exploring the ponds of the Emerald Necklace designed by Federick Law Olmstead (I knew I knew that name George..and that I did say that about Central Park...but hey, give me a break...they almost have the same initials!) So yes, the guy who also helped design Central Park and is not Frank Lloyd Wright. He designed houses.

Haha, so we ventured out, George, Greg and myself...to find what else besides AMPHIBIANS! Being that both George and Greg were Biology majors and myself itching to get a woodsy camping-ish action, it was a perfect night to explore. Supposedly after the first warm rain in the spring, these creatures rush out of their warm lairs to get a little booty action and food before all their predators swarm the area. That is the most of my knowledge in the area, from what I learned last night. (forgive me for not remembering all of this from 9th grade bio...but that's why I have scientists surrounding me!) Unfortunately, we did not catch any salamanders, tree frogs or toads. We did however catch some fairy shrimp and dragonfly larvae. (cool!) We concluded that all the human traffic has driven out these poor little creatures and that we'll have to venture out further than just across the street to find them.

All in all, (Hey look! It sounds like I'm writing a report, haha!) We had a pretty good night. We walked back through all the cool, old and spooky looking houses of New England. All I could think about were Salem and witches. And that one Disney movie that had witches in it...

March is officially gone now. April caught me with a few Fool's Day jokes...but nonetheless I am happy that the days are getting longer and I'll be able to spend more days exploring the East Coast. So if any of you want to come visit soon, be sure to bring your swimsuits (ok not just yet..) and hiking boots!