that rosebud girl

montreal is awesome.

damn….so yesterday ended what was probably the longest three days of my life….i was wiped out….i didn’t wake up until noon today (with some waking up here and there….stupid ass cats…)…and it was a well-deserved laid-back morning/afternoon today…

so why the long days? well, neeley and i went up to montreal for a mini-vacation. we were off on tuesday and wednesday. ed happened to be up there because the phillies were playing a three-game series, so we figured, what the hell? neeley had never been up to montreal before and i happen to love the city….so off we went….but it meant quite a marathon….

we left about 7 a.m. tuesday….got into town about 3. the drive wasn’t bad at all. a little rainy and cloudy and foggy in the mountains but otherwise uneventful. just lots of mcdonald’s along the way….and this saga in which we tried to find a dunkin’ donuts in plattsburgh…but otherwise, we were fine. we wandered about downtown montreal mostly (or centre-ville….i love french)…lots of fun. we later went to the phillies-expos game and met up with this chick named dawn…she was dennis’ girlfriend….really cool….so the three of us were at the game. and for the 12 people there — i’d never seen such an empty stadium! — they were making tons of noise. those were some hard-core expos fans. and they were yelling in all sorts of languages. and the scoreboard had stuff in french. it was wild. certainly a unique baseball experience. i also got to see youppi! in person….he’s a lot more orange….kind of blinding….but that was cool. phils lost, but oh well.

after the game, neeley, ed and i hung out at this bar called the winston churchill….randy and don bostram were there…had lots of drinks….stayed out until 3….had to eat some burger king afterwards (i really needed it). i’m convinced that canadians don’t care how much bacardi they put in your drinks….i was quite tipsy….but had a great time.

so that was the end of long day no. 1….if you’re keeping track, that’s like, 20 straight hours i was up….crazy….

the next day, we slept in…until about noon….then went to have lunch with a bunch of people. while all the writers left, neeley and i wandered about old montreal…and then met up with dawn…and did lots of shopping downtown….ate at a really cool cafe. going out plans kind of fell through, so we just stayed at the hotel to get some sleep…still didn’t sleep until 1:30 or so….

then came yesterday. the really long day. and quite possibly the worst driving day in history. it started out okay enough….we left around 8 and figured we’d get home between 3 and 4….plenty of time to get to work. montreal was kind of empty because of a local holiday, so getting out of centre-ville wasn’t bad. i had a huge scare near the border when i saw canadian police behind me….with lights flashing and all. i thought the cop was trying to pull me over! i freaked….i didn’t want to get pulled over in canada….and have to pay in canadian dollars…so i moved to the other lane….and he zoomed past me. whew. we hit the border soon enough, and that was just the start of our troubles. we wound up having to wait one hour in line. one friggin’ hour. it sucked. i have no idea why there was such a long wait….but there was a long wait….and i was pissed….and i was hating U.S. customs….

after that fiasco, we got across the border (it took maybe 5 minutes to talk to the border guy) and i managed to make good time to albany. it was a sunny day, and only a few construction delays along the way….and my trusty radar spotted at least six cops…so no problems with tickets or anything. past albany, i tried to make up more time….the garden state parkway was a little jammed, but not too bad….the border fiasco was totally unexpected, so i figured we’d still get into town at 5 and just go straight to work. no biggie, right? ha.

we hit the new jersey turnpike, really the last major roadway. we were near trenton. just over an hour to get back home. and then the big slowdown hit. arrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh. there was some accident down the way, between exits 7 and 8. we’d barely just gotten on the turnpike. and we were stuck for about 45 minutes. and i was low on gas. and my a/c was starting to konk out. and it was hot. and quite miserable. by the time we got past the backup, it was already past 5. we didn’t get into work until 6. it sucked. i was pretty pissed. and tired. and i still had to work. blah. and that was the end of another long day. stupid border patrol. and stupid drivers. if it weren’t for those things, it would have been fine. and to make matters worse, i was out of cat food when we came home from work…..and the cats were hungry….so i had to run to a 24-hour market to buy food for them….and i finally got into bed around 2 a.m., pretty darn exhausted.

so except for the driving fiasco, it was a great time.

whew. i think i’m recovered though. now i need to get ready for work….and find something to eat….

the fightin’ phils.

neeley and i went to a phillies-royals game today….a day game….lots of cool things….

- i saw jim thome homer. twice.

- i saw jimmy rollins hit an inside-the-park home run. i’d never seen an inside-the-parker before.

- i had a really good cheesesteak. with cheez whiz. mmmm.

- i saw some little baby with his parents….the kid was sitting on a counter and tried to grab his dad’s beer bottle….dad took it away….it was funny.

- the phils won. 8-2. so that means the phils are 3-2 when i’ve seen them play in person.

now, though, i feel like i have a migraine….i want to shrivel up into a corner….and i’m still stuck at work….blah….

having a roommate.

okay, so i’ve kind of fallen off the face of the earth…oh well….i’ve been busy….

i worked six days last week. blah. at least it’s extra cash. i could really use extra cash.

i’ve really just been hanging out….i haven’t gone out and done things in a while….it’s so great to have a new roommate….neeley’s cool….and so we go and just do stuff. went to outlets in lancaster one day…shopping at the mall another day….hung out at deer park for a little bit last week….went to dead presidents after work a little while ago….went to the greek festival last week with candice (another intern) and had some awesome greek food….so stuff like that….

yesterday, ed, neeley and i went to atlantic city….not really to gamble, but to hang out on the beach. we were supposed to go to rehoboth, but the weather was kind of sketchy, so we went to the shore instead. it was one of the worst driving days in history….let’s just say i hate new jersey roads….and traffic circles….and stupid rural roads where i have to follow big ass trucks. but it was all good. the water was chilly, but neeley and i waded….got hit by some big waves….enjoyed standing in the kind of rough surf. ed made a stadium and an arena in the sand (pretty impressive, actually.). we then headed to chesapeake city to eat crabs….had some leftovers we carted home. then i crashed on the couch. i was pooped.

i think neeley and i are going to drive to montreal next week. we both have the same days off. sweet. and here i was thinking i wasn’t going to get back up to montreal this summer. ha.

now, time to go back to work….i need chocolate….or some other food….

my first dance recital.

so i made a return to the stage today….a rather successful one…and it was tons of fun….

there was that dance recital today for all the classes at the Y, and i did a ballet number with the adult class. it was tons of fun. and we did way better than we did in dress rehearsal. i did lose a shoe on stage near the end, but it wasn’t a big deal. i managed to kick it off without anyone really noticing. the only funny thing was that no one was able to pick it up when we all went off the stage….and one of the stagehands had to run on and retrieve my shoe. hilarious.

also, two dances before ours, this little 4 or 5-year-old girl threw up on stage during a dance. poor kid. at least they got that cleaned up….

alrighty, back to work….stupid belmont stakes and smarty jones and a dead ronald reagan….it’s keeping us busy….

better times.

feeling better now….

amazing what the power of conversation can do….