My Great Minnesota Adventure, Day 4!

Today we had a lazy morning and then met up with Jena for a trip to Minnehaha (ha ha ha! ahem, sorry couldn't resist) Falls.  But first, a bit of a side trip.  Our first stop was a quaint little chocolate shop with the most amazing chocolates!!  And the next was to Caribou Coffee, my first actually to the coffee shop, as April was most kind and got me a bag to enjoy coffee at home in the mornings without having to go out for it!

Then on to Minnehaha Falls--a park on the outskirts of Minneapolis.  First on the agenda was lunch at the Sea Salt Eatery in the park.  Of course, seafood was the mainstay of the menu--we all had something different and the portions were huge!  Highly recommended...and try the beer--it's locally brewed!

After that, we wandered around the trail that took us from the top of the falls, down to the bottom, and back up again...

After all of that wandering around, it was time for dessert, which meant ice cream from Izzy's--a local ice creamery and very busy spot for a sunny afternoon!  The interesting part about Izzy's is the Izzy-sized scoop, which is a dollop of a different flavor--your choice of about 30+ flavors.  Actually click here for a list of the flavors currently being served.  How current you ask?  It's updated about every 30 minutes!

After we left Jena (thanks for the fun afternoon), April & I went home to pack our bags and had a bit of dinner (Chipotle!  Which is insanely inexpensive comparatively speaking to NYC prices!!) on our way to the Centennial Show Boat Theatre to watch a play, who's name is of course escaping me at the moment.  It was fun and very Shakespeare-esque!

Then, just when you think the evening is over, April & I stopped for a few provisions and headed north to the lake!  Of course, after 3+ hours of driving in the dark and a quick tour of the cabin, we were ready for bed so we could get up early and go exploring!!

:-P SHEZ

My Great Minnesota Adventure, Day 3!

Four VERY exciting things happened today:

1.  I met April's friend Shana.

2.  Breakfast at Mickey's.  mmmmmm.....it was delicious.  I think I still prefer burgers & milkshakes, but the pancakes were awfully delicious!

3.  We drove to see the Largest Ball of Twine in the World Made by One Person, dubbed The Notorious B.O.T. or BOT for short and actually found it!  I say actually because it's not marked other than on a sign as your heading into the town, which reads "Home of the World's Largest Ball of Twine" but then neglects to tell you how to find it.

4.  We went to a winery.  They had really good wine...and a cute dog.

Four not-so-exciting things:
1.  Shana was sick...although she still went with us, so definite kudos to her!
2.  BOT was in a gazebo, protected by glass, which made taking pictures rather difficult and kinda hard to see (as you no doubt noticed by the picture above).
3.  The BOT museum was closed and there were NO TSHIRTS!!  i mean, c'mon people you are sitting on a GOLD MINE! GOLD MINE!! with BOT tshirts...alas...we drove away empty handed.  :(
4.  The winery did not ship to NY.  Phooey on that!  I deliberately packed light so as not to have to check a bag.  And while the wine was good, I didn't want to have to worry about packing it and checking my bag.  Lazy, perhaps, but well...it's ridiculous.  If you are reading this and live in either MN or NY, write your Representative and Senators and let them know how ridiculous.  Yes, I already did. Why do you ask?!?!?!?

ALSO! In looking at my pictures, I was reminded of yet another EXCITING thing that happened.  After we got back to St. Paul, we went in search of this:

I know you're in awe...and wondering what the?  but it's the worlds largest stucco snowman, mascot, I believe, of the school across the street!  Sit back and revel in its glory for a moment.  I did!  :)

And just when you think it couldn't have gotten any better, that night we met up with more Friends of April for dinner at a brewery (yummy beer!) in Minneapolis.  Afterward, we went to Sharon's house where we played games.  And by played, I mean they played and I--like an ungracious guest--fell asleep on the couch.  oooops!  did I mention how relaxed I felt around April?  And when you add beer and a comfy couch, it's just a VERY anti-social combination!!

:-P SHEZ

My Great Minnesota Adventure, Day 2!

So after a sleep in, I had AMAZING (yes, that's a word you're gonna hear a lot this trip!) Minnesota coffee.  If you ever have the chance to drink Caribou Coffee, Minnesota Blend--DO!  It's wonderful and robust, but smooth and perfectly roasted.

Anyway, I digress.

After lounging around, April, April's Mom, and I had an early lunch (Chinese, YUM!) and headed to the Minnesota Science Museum to go see their exhibition of The Dead Sea Scrolls.  They were AMAZING!  If you're in the area, you should definitely carve out a couple of hours of your time and see them. [on a side note: I recently discovered there is a workshop you can take, which has more in-depth information & guest speakers, which takes place just south of the Twin Cities.]

We were advised it would take 2 hours.  We thought we got through the exhibit much faster, however, to our amazement, it was just over two hours...time flies when you're viewing ancient history and are archaeology buffs, such as April & I are!

Later that evening, we met up with Sara to go watch the St. Paul Saints (whose mascot is a pig named Mudonna) take on the Ft. Worth Cats.  In the spirit of being a devoted Texan, I was one of maybe 5 fans in a packed stadium cheering for Ft. Worth.  We had front row bleacher seats, which was great...until everyone walked in front of us, completely oblivious to the fact that we were (shocking, but true) trying to watch the baseball game.  I mean, really, who goes to the game to watch?!??!?!?

It was a great start to the game, but in the end, the Saints (whose mascot is a pig named Mudonna) came back to pull of the win.  April & Sara didn't gloat...TOO MUCH...although more than my liking, since it meant that Ft. Worth lost.  Oh well, you win some, you lose some....but that's a long way to travel to lose (I'm just saying).

We headed home in anticipation of the next day [spoiler alert: The Big Ball of Twine!!  woo-hoo!]

:-P SHEZ

My Great Minnesota Adventure, Day 1!

So my "Great MN Adventure" began with April picking me up at the airport, introducing me to Flat Nico (more about her later), and heading to dinner at Chevy's with friends of April's who were spending the weekend in NYC, sightseeing and babysitting the darling pupcicle (adventurous of them to say the least!).

Amazingly enough, the trip to the airport and the flights were shockingly smooth and very un-Sherry-is-traveling-like.  Except of course, for my carryon bag (yes, I am capable of packing for a long weekend in a carryon--and even had room for presents!!)...which decided to be difficult and the handle got stuck in the up position, which cause quite a ruckus on the plane from NYC to Chicago, as my bag had to go in sideways (gasp!) and thus not as many bags could fit in the overhead compartment.  Several people with their HUGE carryons were grouchy about it, but the gentleman sitting on the end of the row, very nicely came to my defense and was happy to put he & his wife's bags on and around my bag to help conserve space....but of course, you know some people just need to complain about something.  In case you're wondering, I graciously checked the bag in Chicago, so as to not have any grouchy plane neighbors (see, I am capable of consideration when it is absolutely required).

ON A SIDE NOTE:   April & I managed to fix the handle (with duck tape, of course), however, it wasn't a permanent fix, and well, I ended up having the same problem on the flights home.  sigh...oh well, given my typical airport adventures I'm certainly not complaining!!

After dinner, we had a bit of an early night (thank you April)...and I even slept in the next morning (well, every morning in fact.  I think April is relaxing for me, as I tend to sleep a lot around her...maybe it's because it's not the hustle & bustle of my normal life, maybe it's the nice, cool, air conditioned room, maybe it's the fact that she lets me!)  Regardless....it was a great start to a great weekend!

:-P SHEZ

Look Familiar?

Okay, so if you're on FB & Twitter you've probably already seen it, but here it is again:

http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2010/06/sherry-shares-her-lone-star-birthmark.html

and scroll down--it's really interesting to read the backstories & reasoning behind the tattoos

:-P SHEZ

Awwwww....

Yeah, we're freaking cute...well, okay...Addy is :)

CHEERS!

:-P SHEZ

Just When You Think It Can't Happen To You...

Ah....more traveling woes (because I know that you never get enough of hearing about my traveling travesties!)

Thanks to stress at work and school and general feeling of barely keeping my head above water, I've been, as Brie likes to say, "VERY anti-social" of late...and she forced (well, guilted) me into going to a coworkers housewarming party last saturday. The party was fun (pics on FB if you're interested), but it was the trip home that was, well, the most memorable that I will HOPEFULLY ever have.

Danielle (host of aforementioned housewarming party) lives north of school about 10 blocks, so the commute was very familiar to me....but of course it was the weekend and, even better, in the middle of the night...so keep that in mind.

I am on the train...FOOLISHLY thinking (probably jinxing myself) I might actually make the 3:30am ferry (what? the party didn't start until 9:30...I didn't travel 1.5 hours to stay for 10 minutes to get home at a somewhat reasonable hour)...listening to my ipod, contemplating life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, when a--what I believed to be--slightly inebriated gentleman (using the term loosely), walked over to me, and asked "does this train stop at 42nd-bleh, bleh, bleh" and when i say "bleh, bleh, bleh," i mean "puke, puke, puke."

That's right: HE PUKED ON ME!!!

take a minute. let that soak in (figuratively, of course, but if it helps you can think about it LITERALLY soaking in on my jacket) and join me when I say

EEEEEEEEEEUUUUUUUUUUUUWWWWWWWWW!

ha ha ha ha. i laugh now, mainly to keep from crying.

How does one keep one's composure when this happens? I'm quite sure Miss Manners does NOT have a chapter on this, so I very firmly and loudly yelled "go away from me. go sit over there (pointing to the other end of the train). and yes. this train stops at 42nd street." then I got off at the next stop and puked myself...but IN THE TRASH CAN.

Of course, since I got off the train and had to wait another 20 minutes for another, I then missed the 3:30am ferry...and spent the rest of the evening walking like a T with outstretched arms, in one hand my bag (THANKFULLY and MIRACULOUSLY escaping the deluge of puke--which in the grand scheme of things wasn't that much, but ANY puke from a human of whom you do not know is--in my opinion--a deluge)...and in the other hand my very smelly jacket.

Meanwhile it's about 40F, which would normally make for a nice brisk evening...unless you're reeking of puke and in a sleeveless shirt because you knew it would be slightly warm at the party and dressed accordingly, but didn't give it a second thought because you had jacket to keep you warm while you were standing outside for 15 minutes waiting for the shuttle bus to the ferry (because of course, it's the weekend and there's track work being done and the train doesn't go all the way to the ferry)...oh wait...

on a positive note, I had a seat to myself for the rest of the trip....not much of a consolation prize, but at least I got to take the ferry to the isle of staten and didn't have to make the side trek through Brooklyn again...

:-P SHEZ

PS--if you're wondering about the "human puke" comment, on Friday--the day before--Addy was sick and PUKED all over my feet in an attempt to get her downstairs and outside...so needless to say, but I'm going to anyway--I have had my fill of being puked on, thankyouverymuch (and Addy's okay, thanks for asking...I think she just drank too much water too quickly)

I'm Singing in the Rain....

In case you hadn't heard, NYC has been having torrential downpours, the worst part of which was on Saturday. Also on Saturday my friend Shannon was getting her first tattoo and I told her I would go with her, even though it was in New Jersey. I know Jersey sounds a bit far, since it's in another state, alas, only takes about an hour via public transportation or 15 minutes by car, but of course, this is a story of me and am currently without a car, so it is also a story about public transportation.

It is still raining as I begin my trek home with announcements on the train advising passengers traveling to New York via Newark, they had to get off in Newark and take the buses into NYC. Thankfully that was not me! :) I just kept thinking "pleeeease let me get back to New York and then I'll be fine." And made it I did. Whew! But alas, soon my good luck would run out.

I arrive at 14th Street at 8:10pm and I run (okay, quickly walked) from the train to the subway and caught a southbound 2 train, then transferred to the 1 train and got to South Ferry at 8:27pm, just enough time to run up 3 flights of stairs, huffing and puffing, but able to make the 8:30 ferry, as opposed to waiting for the 9:30 ferry because on the weekends after 7pm, the ferry only runs once an hour. But wait, what's this? Pause the music, take out the headphones, and hear the following:

"Ladies and gentlemen, the ferry service has been indefinitely suspended. If you want to go to Staten Island, take a Brooklyn-bound R train to 87th Street and transfer to a Staten Island-bound bus, s53 or s79."

My first thought: why would I be at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal if I didn't want to go to Staten Island?

My second thought: because of track work the R train, isn't stopping at the Ferry Terminal.

My third thought: WTF?

And the Fourth: Now what?

So I find the nearest MTA worker who advises that I have to take a Brooklyn-bound 4 train to Atlantic Avenue, then transfer to the R train, take it to 87th, yadda, yadda, yadda. Great. (yes, that was a sarcastic great...thank you for noticing). The nearest 4 train subway stop? 4 blocks away. Did I mention torrential downpour? Yes. Did I mention my big umbrella broke while walking TO the tattoo parlor in Jersey? No? I knew I forgot a vital detail.

So I walk...and arrive at the station soaked. Get on a Brooklyn-bound 4 train. Get off at Atlantic Ave, walk to R train platform, so far so good. Then I wait, and wait, and wait...finally--nearly 30 minutes later--the R train shows up. Get on, get off at 87th Street, okay, so it's not great, but it's not that bad. I head above ground, mind you I'm nearly dry at this moment. So I wait, huddled with everyone else who was attempting to catch the ferry and were now schlepping through Brooklyn to get to Staten Island. After about 20 minutes the buses show up and of course, people pile on and I move closer to the front of the line. Now at this point, I should mention USUALLY when a transportation service is halted, there are shuttle buses filling the gaps, but thus far, there has been no mention of shuttle buses. 15 minutes later, the next set of buses arrive--I get on the bus, with absolutely NO idea where this bus will actually take me. The bus driver announces that this bus is going to the middle part of the island, but the bus right behind us is a shuttle to the ferry. Since my house is closer to the ferry (and I have no idea where this bus will take me), I, along with about 1/3 of the bus, opt for the shuttle. So we get off and walk to the shuttle bus, whose driver will not open the door and let us on. Instead, he pulls up, so we follow. Still he will not let us on. He pulls up even further, but still won't let us on. After 10 minutes of this cat and mouse game (and let me remind you still torrential downpour and no umbrella = SOAKED again), driver of "shuttle" announces he will not be our driver and leaves.

We wait, and wait, and wait. Another bus arrives, announcing it's a shuttle going to Staten Island. Needless to say, we're a bit hestitant, but it's dry and warm, so we get on. And we wait and wait and wait...after everyone is on and we're ready, the driver announces that this bus is not going to Staten Island either and everyone needs to get off.

Fifth thought: Are you FUCKING KIDDING ME?

Sixth thought: I wonder how much a taxi is from here?

Seventh thought: Who cares it's worth it.

Eighth thought: Where the hell is a taxi when you need one?

The next set of buses come--this time on the other side of the road, so we all walk over (yes, I realize this is starting to sound like an Arlo Guthrie song, but you should have been there), but those buses are going to the Staten Island mall, which is 45 minutes by bus to my house and I wasn't sure at this point if that bus was still running (good guess, because that bus stops running at 11pm: it was currently 10:39pm and we were still in Brooklyn).

Ninth thought: Screw the taxi and the shuttle bus, I'll take my chances on the s53.

Tenth thought: I sure as hell hope there is another s53.

Eleventh thought: YAY! the bus.

Twelfth thought: Now, where to get off.

I tried to use my phone to map it out, however, with the weather phone was not cooperating, so I called Nico, who was nowhere near a computer. Then I called Christi & Tracy, who helped me navigate bus and by some form of a miracle, the s53 bus drives right past Addy's vet (read: I'm no longer lost). I am still soaked and freezing, but now within 2 miles of home, so my hopes are lifted...until I realize that--knowing my luck--the next bus will probably come along in 30 minutes. Nope! It's 5 minutes away....of course, it was late, but I didn't care...I've never been so happy to get on a bus in my life! A quick 7 minutes later, at 11:24pm, 3 hours and 14 minutes after I got back to the state of New York, I finally arrived home...a bit frozen and a bit pruney, but a very happy--and exhausted--girl.

ahhhh....life in New York certainly is never boring, especially when travel and Sherry are forced to converge.

:-P SHEZ

PS--in case you're wondering, ferry service was restored at 9:30pm and had I waited, I would have been home by 10:05pm. HA HA HA HA HA HA...I laugh mainly so that I don't cry.

Time Flies...

It's hard to believe, but exactly three years ago today, I brought home the darling princess Addy.

Of course, it was initially for a trial-run--depending on if she got along with Stella...and whether she would answer to a new name (originally she was Bella....but c'mon, I couldn't have a Stella and a Bella). However, I think we all knew the minute she stepped foot in the apartment, I was in for the long haul...and now I can't even imagine my life without her.

Yep, that's my baby.

:-P SHEZ

My Kinda Valentines Day...

Valentines, schmalentines....

After a brief stint at work, where one of my lovely baristas made my day with a HUGE kiss--of the Hershey's variety!, I headed over to Toy Fair to meet up with Emily & David. After spending the day exploring all the latest in cool toys--and collecting a few samples along the way--we were invited out to dinner at Arno by one of Emily's vendors. Delicious italian food, good wine, great conversation...and at the end? The coat check attendant gave Emily & I each a red rose. Awww...we fawned. David declared that sometimes is sucks to be a boy.

Yes, David sometimes it does.

:-P SHEZ

Oh Saturday...

...please come back! How I enjoyed my day off--obviously, I'm blogging about it.

I didn't get half the stuff done that I wanted, but I did manage to do some laundry and grocery shopping...so all in all, I'd call today a success, with the exception that it's now over--and i'm back to the real (work/school/work/school/work/sleep/work/school/etc) world....

:-P SHEZ

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow....

Ahhh...there's something magical about being curled up on the couch with the pupcicle watching it snow.

Yes, I realize it sounds crazy, but I love it. And not just because I have a rare day off tomorrow (not that i'm off...I already have tons of homework), but still...perhaps it's just knowing I don't have to get off the island of staten or even leave the house is the true magic...

:-P SHEZ

Happy Holidays!

So I get an email from PetSmart which reads: "Holiday Countdown Event: Save 50% on PetHoliday toys, rawhide, apparel, collars, and more!"

So I scroll down to see what the "and more" is and there's bedding, blankets, gerbils, and snakes...WHAT THE?? GERBILS AND SNAKES?!?!?! yes, that's right...20% off gerbils and 30% off snakes, but you need your PetSmart card for the discount.

I'm sorry, but....Addy will NOT be getting a gerbil nor a snake this year for christmas!

:-P SHEZ

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah....

With all my birthday wishes, also came a lot of "you haven't updated your blogs in awhile."

So, now that midterms are done...I'm vowing to catch you up on the last 4 insanely crazy months of my life...while the Yankees put their heads outta their asses and win Game 2...

So scroll down to the Girls' Weekend posts in June...and read on!

:-P SHEZ

Whaddya Mean There's A Vancouver, WASHINGTON?!?!?!?

So after a relaxing evening chillaxing, April & I got up very early, had a bit of brekkie, and then headed back to the train station to catch our next train from Seattle to Vancouver, which is where we were embarking on the cruise.

We're standing in line to check our luggage, when April overheard the ticket attendant asking the couple in front of us if they were going to Vancouver, Washington or Vancouver, British Columbia.

WHAT?  Vancouver, Washington?  Really?  There is such a place?

Apparently.  So when it is our turn, April confirms that our tickets are to Vancouver, CANADA (eh...lol).  Good thing she checked, because NO, in fact, our tickets were to Vancouver, Washington.

HA HA HA HA.

NOW WHAT?  The attendant, sensing our panic--our ship was leaving at 5pm that day with or without us--directed us to the ticketing office across the station.  Sheepishly, we walked up and explained our situation and begged Adam, the very nice ticketing agent, to help us get to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada before our ship left port and we were stuck getting to the next port (Juneau) on our own dime.  Adam, calmly checked and informed us that for $20(ish) extra, he could rebook our tickets getting us to our desired Vancouver destination in time to catch our boat and avert any further crisis.

WE LOVE ADAM!  i may have even told him this.  what?  genius should be recognized!

Our new train is leaving soon, so we just take the opportunity to use the facilities and grab snacks for later.  I get in line to get our seat assignments.  At first, I just fell in line with the people already queued up, however, then notice that it's the First Class Line.  While April & I are completely first class, our tickets were not.  However, there's no one in the Economy line, so I just slide on over and into first place!

Along comes an attendant who begins seating assignments, with, of course, First Class first.  Turns out half the First Class line actually needed to be in the Economy line and they all got in line after us.  Except for one elderly gentleman, who tried to move in front of me.

I said (I'm quite sure to the shock of April) "Excuse me, but we were first."

He loudly proclaims "I have been here since 5:30am, I am first."

Should've left it alone, but I didn't.  I mean, he's old, but then I realize his wife is in line behind me...so it's not like they were completely oblivious to the entire "queuing up" process.

"Okay, but you were in the wrong line and we were first in this line.  Perhaps you should go stand with your wife."

He now YELLS at me "NO.  I HAVE BEEN HERE SINCE 5:30AM AND I AM FIRST!"

At this point the attendant finishes with First Class and joins our conversation and says "she's right, they were in the correct line first.  I'm sorry, but you need to go to the end of the line."

OUCH.  Needless to say (but saying it anyway), he wasn't happy.  at all.  and proceeded to glare at me and April (the innocent bystander) for the remainder of our waiting period.

The kicker...our seats were right across the aisle from theirs.  HA HA HA  oh isn't it ironic.

Nonetheless we had more important things on our mind--we were now on the correct train to take us to Vancouver, British Columbia, CANADA (eh)....

wheeeeeeeeeeee!

:-P SHEZ

In case you were wondering....

After a thorough search of the, um, backyard....a peach pit was found. :)

bliss is a healthy pupcicle! of course, said healthy pupcicle needs to lose about 10-15 pounds, as she's crept up to to 99lbs! Nothing too bad...vet says since labs tend to gain weight easily as they get older, it's much better (and easier) to do it now...so hopefully with a little more walking and a little less milkbones, we'll be more svelte in no time!

yes, both of us...i completely vow to quit my milkbone habit cold turkey. of course, I don't want to deprave the pupcicle completely, so she'll just get switched to a smaller size of milkbone and not get as many...

:-P SHEZ

Okay, so I'm really starting to believe Sandar's previous comment about me not having the capability of having a drama-free life. The source of drama tonight: the darling pupcicle!

So...guess what she did this evening? She ate a peach--pit and all (however did you guess??). Of course, i get on-line to see what to do and all i find is articles about how peach pits have arsenic in them and are potentially very poisonous (duh!)....call mom. She doesn't answer, so i call new vet.

After 'splaining to receptionist/vet tech/phone answerer that Addy helped herself to my peach (which i stupidly left on table and walked away from, not thinking...like a dumbass), i got a "oooohhh...labs! hold please." Which made me feel slightly better, as my reasoning here--is that if it would be really toxic, she would have said come in now!

The vet gets on phone and confirms that she is a lab and is fully grown and says that she'll be fine. It should go through just fine...just keep an eye on her poo to make sure it comes out (oh joy). If she does start vomiting (double joy), then it means that it got blocked somewhere and bring her in. I then ask if they are poisonous to dogs...and he sighed (probably in exasperation of worried doggie moms who have access to waaaaaaaaay too much information on the world wide web) said no--they're "meant to pass right on through to be dropped and seeded" (nice thought there) of course, usually by horses and cows, but labs are big and as long as they're fully grown, they are fine....

Of course, now i'm watching her like a hawk...so far, she just been snoozing by my feet...

damn dog!

:-P SHEZ

Sometimes You Need To Laugh At The Ridiculousness of It All...

Okay, so I usually don't double dip, or post as it were, with my blogs. However, this one, I feel is double-dip worthy....

http://shezzaspeak.blogspot.com/2009/07/reindeer-beware.html

(or maybe I'm just trying to get you to check out my other blog! i'm kinda sneaky that way! muwahahahahahahaha!)

:-P SHEZ

Snakes Alive!

To quote my friend Sandar (who's name has been changed to protect the guilty) "why does your life have to be filled with drama ALL THE TIME? Can't you just have a quiet day?"

I used to think that it was my friends who had the drama, I just happened to be there when all the shit hit the fan...now, I'm starting to think that perhaps it really, truly is me.

In that spirit, I would like to first apologize to all of my friends for the drama that apparently (through NO desire of my own) follows me around like Pigpen's cloud.

And also in that spirit, have I got a story for you.

Now for those of you reading this and who are not aware: i'm (self-diagnosed, of course) ophiodiophobic (fear of snakes, in case you didn't know/didn't want to look that up on encarta.com)....we're not talking a slight fear or the overall desire to not be around snakes. We're talking stay-up-for-nearly-three-days-because-I-was-sure-there-was-a-snake-in-my-apartment fear of snakes.

Also, I have been living in New York City 1 year, 10 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days and I have NEVER seen a snake. Granted, I do live in Staten Island, but I spend a great deal of time walking around parks and nothing. zip, zilch, nada.

So I'm emptying my coffee filter (SURELY, you didn't think this as going to be a short story...) and spilled some grinds by the trash can. Typical graceful me...can't even hit the trash can. So I'm sweeping up the grind and I notice what I believe to be a black hair band. I reach down to pick it up, when it suddenly MOVED!

BREATHE in with the good air and out with the bad-BREATHE in with the good air and out with the bad-BREATHE in with the good air and out with the bad....because OF COURSE my first thought is SNAKE!

But it's New York City, well, Staten Island--but it's a borough of NYC and has a population of 1 million people, so it's not like being back at the ranch where Granny is the closest neighbor 2 miles away!--so I talk myself into believing that it's an earthworm, a really big, fat, juicy earthworm. I mean, afterall, it's been raining a lot...perhaps it wanted somewhere dry to nap for a bit.

As I am talking myself into this, I have formulated a plan: scoop said earthworm onto dustpan and fling it outside.

Easy, right? Well, after I sweep said earthworm onto the dustpan, it pokes it's pointy little snake head up at me with a "what the fuck are you doing, lady, I'm trying to take a nap?!?!?" I should point out that it was a tiny little snake--only about 12 inches long and the width of a thick pony tail holder, but STILL a snake.

Rather than flinging it outside, it starts to crawl off the dustpan, which is still in my hand. At this point, I scream (like a 5 year old girl) and fling the snake--no, not outside--but..in...to...the...air....

It hits the wall, slides down, and promptly disappears down a hole in my floorboard by the trashcan.

REALLY? REALLY? IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING TO ME????

Oi. only I could move to a city of 8+million people and find a snake in my house.

Of course, landlord is out of town. But not to worry (in case you were), I finally found a use for all those textbooks I kept because I was very sure I needed them...keeping the Sagebiel-Cecil family safe(r).

My biggest fear is that I have this huge den o' snakes under my house....bleh...the thought is truly nauseating, but i'm trying not to think about it too much....but am keeping my shoes on, just in case.

It was a ringneck snake (with an orange stripe) in case you were wondering, which I'm sure you weren't....but I gotta share with SOMEONE!

Meanwhile, my hope is that I traumatized the snake just enough to cross off Jersey Street as one of the top 1,000 places snakes should see before they die.

A girl can dream...a girl can dream...
:-P SHEZ

Girls' Weekend--Day 3

The Best Day!

Once again, beautifully hot :) and so we all pile into the convertible and head to Lynchberg. Home of Jack Daniels. Really, do I need to say more? I think not. But, since you're already here...

Here's a surprising fact and a general head's up before making the hour and half drive to Lynchberg (which we knew and it was totally worth it!): Lynchberg is dry. So that means NO drinking. That's right. No. None. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Not even when you walk to Lynchberg from the distillery--no Lynchberg Lemonades to be bought in Lynchberg. Define irony.

The tour was interesting, the town quaint. We had regular lemonade and ambled about. Bought a few souvenirs. Discovered you can buy a barrel of Jack. Got excited. Found out it cost more than a new car...got unexcited. Sat longingly at the "bar" waiting to be served...but alas...

OMG! I forgot to mention the best part of the drive down: we stopped at Sonic!! YAY! Cherry Limeades!

We refrained from Sonic on the way back, as well, we were in search of a Mexican Food restaurant that was reputed to have THE best margaritas in town. I'm not entirely sure they were THE BEST, but they were pretty damn good....and huge. Gotta love fabulous and fabulously large margaritas!

We saw a noteworthy bumpersticker as we were leaving the restaurant: No Human Being is Illegal!

:)

As we headed back to the hotel, the sadness of what tomorrow would bring (going home) started to decend...but of course, we immediately lifted our spirits with discussion of where to go next year. Never too soon to start thinking about it!! Which reminds me, gotta do a bit of research for destinations. Any suggestions?

:-P SHEZ