Sweatshirt weather at last!
Well, that was a long moment of silence...
Blogging will continue to be brief this month.
The Boy and I visited my alma mater this weekend, and we went to a Mets game. It was fun.
I am really posting this on Sunday but dating it for Monday, just so y'all know. I do that sometimes.
Hope you have a good week.
9/17/2007
9/11/2007
9/10/2007
College life
Students at Harvard used to get a university-issued pillow when they moved into their dorms. But this year, Harvard is discontinuing the practice. They should have gotten rid of it years ago. Aren't Harvard freshmen smart enough to bring their own pillow to school?
Students at Harvard used to get a university-issued pillow when they moved into their dorms. But this year, Harvard is discontinuing the practice. They should have gotten rid of it years ago. Aren't Harvard freshmen smart enough to bring their own pillow to school?
9/07/2007
Ferry good
Last Saturday, the fiance and I took the free ferry from NYC to Governor's Island, a former military base off the Manhattan coast. It's now full of empty brick buildings while the city decides what to do with it. They give free tours during the summer. The last tours were this past weekend.
One guy's apparent homer was declared foul.
A foul ball flew over our row.
Last Saturday, the fiance and I took the free ferry from NYC to Governor's Island, a former military base off the Manhattan coast. It's now full of empty brick buildings while the city decides what to do with it. They give free tours during the summer. The last tours were this past weekend.
A fortress from the War of 1812.
Then, Sunday, he took me to a Staten Island Yankees game. They played the Brooklyn Cyclones, a Mets affiliate. It was one of the more fun stadiums.
One guy's apparent homer was declared foul.
A foul ball flew over our row.
9/06/2007
Unpleasant-ville
Apparently, much of the school board in Pleasantville, NJ got arrested this morning for alleged corruption. I don't know where Pleasantville is, but I guess you shouldn't move there for the schools.
More importantly, when I have more time - some photos from a fabulous weekend with the Boy. Including baseball. This was not our seat:
Apparently, much of the school board in Pleasantville, NJ got arrested this morning for alleged corruption. I don't know where Pleasantville is, but I guess you shouldn't move there for the schools.
More importantly, when I have more time - some photos from a fabulous weekend with the Boy. Including baseball. This was not our seat:
9/02/2007
Linkage
Jon the writer told me he got inspired and wrote a first-day-of-college post of his own. It's very good.
A friend of mine published excerpts from her own elementary school diaries , which are more biting than mine. (Scroll down a post or two.)
Jon the writer told me he got inspired and wrote a first-day-of-college post of his own. It's very good.
A friend of mine published excerpts from her own elementary school diaries , which are more biting than mine. (Scroll down a post or two.)
9/01/2007
8/30/2007
Sold!
I really don't sit around all day checking on how my books are selling. But it occurred to me to check this because I haven't done so in a very long time. Is this true? If so, I want my check! Hahaha.
Note: It's still available on Amazon, so it's not really sold out.
I really don't sit around all day checking on how my books are selling. But it occurred to me to check this because I haven't done so in a very long time. Is this true? If so, I want my check! Hahaha.
Note: It's still available on Amazon, so it's not really sold out.
8/29/2007
Scott Baio's back
The Boy was kind enough to forward me articles about my favorite reality show. Scott Baio will be returning for a second season. I may not watch this one. But anyway, here's the dirt. Warning: Spoilers!!!
The Boy was kind enough to forward me articles about my favorite reality show. Scott Baio will be returning for a second season. I may not watch this one. But anyway, here's the dirt. Warning: Spoilers!!!
8/28/2007
Coupons
During my first few days of freshman year of college, it was sunny, bright, and contradictorily cool. We kept waiting for rain, and there was none, which was good for us suburban kids who weren't used to all that walking around in a city.
Several days were reserved for freshman orientation before classes began, and this orientation included "diversity training" on the grassy college green (where we designed our own skits about racial sensitivity), last-minute dropping and adding of courses, and "campus safety" seminars. There was a tree-lined brick walkway that ran the length of campus, past the Book Store and the main freshman dorm, and along the way, people stalked us trying to invite us to their club, sell us something, offer us membership.
During the first few days of school, everybody wanted us.
If we walked on the brick walkway, we'd get accosted by coupons: The local pizza restaurant, wing joints, bagel shops. Credit card companies set up desks to offer us gifts if we'd use their card, now that we were suddenly independent (probably not such a good idea). Clubs and non-profit volunteer groups begged us to be members.
And there were jobs. "JOBS!" the pink fluorescent flyers screamed, "$12-$15 an hour!" The $15 an hour one involved delivering newspapers on campus from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. before classes, a great way to earn yourself a reputation on your dorm floor while everyone else slept late. There were jobs editing the faculty newsletter, sitting in the dorm computer rooms, and working in the dining hall (which meant a nice discount on meal plan).
One night during orientation, there was an event at the Christian center with free burgers and a showing of a Monty Python movie. Of course, all the non-Christian freshmen came too, because it was yet another free dinner, a way to avoid spending money when people were throwing so many freebies at us.
Everybody wanted us. We were the future.
And we wanted each other, no doubt. Some of us had boy- or girl-friends back home, but not most of us. We were 18, without our parents for the first time, and our hormones were still raging. So there we were, with thousands of people our ages, of similar backgrounds, suddenly sprung from the stuffy halls of high school and shedding the social labels of nerd or geek or jock. Everyone wanted to sell things to us and get to know us.
It really felt like a beginning.
We could do anything from here, and some of us were bound to be successful at it. Those groups, credit card companies, and employers knew it. We were ripe for the picking. Get 'em while they're young. Feed 'em, stuff their mailboxes with offers and event notices, give 'em a plastic blue and red rape whistle if any of their late-night activities go too far.
It was an explosive, exciting time for those of us who'd been mired in the limitations of high school. It was the beginning of independence.
For some students, it was a time when they realized they didn't know how to handle that newfound independence and flunked out. Others started a romance within a few days and never ended it. Some just went through school and had a good time. Some prepared to make a lot of money. Some filled their heads with knowledge and didn't know what to do after graduation.
But no matter what happened, beginnings are nice. We didn't know which path we were about to take, only that it was all ahead of us and not much was behind.
That feeling comes back to me every year around this time, when everyone looked at us as the representatives of the future, and we knew anything could happen in love and life. You don't have to be 18 to believe that, but when you are 18, it sure helps other people feel that way!
During my first few days of freshman year of college, it was sunny, bright, and contradictorily cool. We kept waiting for rain, and there was none, which was good for us suburban kids who weren't used to all that walking around in a city.
Several days were reserved for freshman orientation before classes began, and this orientation included "diversity training" on the grassy college green (where we designed our own skits about racial sensitivity), last-minute dropping and adding of courses, and "campus safety" seminars. There was a tree-lined brick walkway that ran the length of campus, past the Book Store and the main freshman dorm, and along the way, people stalked us trying to invite us to their club, sell us something, offer us membership.
During the first few days of school, everybody wanted us.
If we walked on the brick walkway, we'd get accosted by coupons: The local pizza restaurant, wing joints, bagel shops. Credit card companies set up desks to offer us gifts if we'd use their card, now that we were suddenly independent (probably not such a good idea). Clubs and non-profit volunteer groups begged us to be members.
And there were jobs. "JOBS!" the pink fluorescent flyers screamed, "$12-$15 an hour!" The $15 an hour one involved delivering newspapers on campus from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. before classes, a great way to earn yourself a reputation on your dorm floor while everyone else slept late. There were jobs editing the faculty newsletter, sitting in the dorm computer rooms, and working in the dining hall (which meant a nice discount on meal plan).
One night during orientation, there was an event at the Christian center with free burgers and a showing of a Monty Python movie. Of course, all the non-Christian freshmen came too, because it was yet another free dinner, a way to avoid spending money when people were throwing so many freebies at us.
Everybody wanted us. We were the future.
And we wanted each other, no doubt. Some of us had boy- or girl-friends back home, but not most of us. We were 18, without our parents for the first time, and our hormones were still raging. So there we were, with thousands of people our ages, of similar backgrounds, suddenly sprung from the stuffy halls of high school and shedding the social labels of nerd or geek or jock. Everyone wanted to sell things to us and get to know us.
It really felt like a beginning.
We could do anything from here, and some of us were bound to be successful at it. Those groups, credit card companies, and employers knew it. We were ripe for the picking. Get 'em while they're young. Feed 'em, stuff their mailboxes with offers and event notices, give 'em a plastic blue and red rape whistle if any of their late-night activities go too far.
It was an explosive, exciting time for those of us who'd been mired in the limitations of high school. It was the beginning of independence.
For some students, it was a time when they realized they didn't know how to handle that newfound independence and flunked out. Others started a romance within a few days and never ended it. Some just went through school and had a good time. Some prepared to make a lot of money. Some filled their heads with knowledge and didn't know what to do after graduation.
But no matter what happened, beginnings are nice. We didn't know which path we were about to take, only that it was all ahead of us and not much was behind.
That feeling comes back to me every year around this time, when everyone looked at us as the representatives of the future, and we knew anything could happen in love and life. You don't have to be 18 to believe that, but when you are 18, it sure helps other people feel that way!
8/27/2007
Bat dog
The Boy and I went to a Trenton Thunder minor league game on Saturday night. The team had a "bat dog" that actually went out and picked up the bats after the players were done with them in the first inning. It was a Golden Retriever, I think. They also featured a dog later on that was up for adoption. So, definitely my kind of game. Anyway, we left early because it was soupy-hot that night. The Thunder apparently won 7-0. The next night, they played a 14-inning game!
Bloggin' may be light over the next month. But I will write something about the first day of school soon.
The Boy and I went to a Trenton Thunder minor league game on Saturday night. The team had a "bat dog" that actually went out and picked up the bats after the players were done with them in the first inning. It was a Golden Retriever, I think. They also featured a dog later on that was up for adoption. So, definitely my kind of game. Anyway, we left early because it was soupy-hot that night. The Thunder apparently won 7-0. The next night, they played a 14-inning game!
Bloggin' may be light over the next month. But I will write something about the first day of school soon.
8/23/2007
Uh oh!
A boy read my diary! It was my fiance! Okay, so it was my diary from when I was 8, but still...no boys allowed.
Now that he knows that I didn't get invited to Johanna's birthday party, or that my brother got better Life Savers flavors than I, I hope he will still be kind enough to marry me.
And I tried so hard to keep those things a secret...
A boy read my diary! It was my fiance! Okay, so it was my diary from when I was 8, but still...no boys allowed.
Now that he knows that I didn't get invited to Johanna's birthday party, or that my brother got better Life Savers flavors than I, I hope he will still be kind enough to marry me.
And I tried so hard to keep those things a secret...
8/22/2007
8/21/2007
8/20/2007
8/16/2007
This just makes no sense
Today I got an e-mail whose subject heading said "Help! My boyfriend's p*nis is too big to fit in my mouth!"
Interesting dilemma! I had never heard of the person who was sending it, but I was quite concerned for her (his?) well-being, so I opened it. It said:
"Dames always shrieked at me and even gentlemans did in the water closet! Well, now I smil at them, because I took Mega-Di*k for 6 months and now my c*ck is dreadfully longer than average."
I don't understand this crazy logic. If it gets bigger, then it will have even less chance of fitting in the mouth. Maybe this person should take Mini-Di*k for 6 months. Hmmm. Count me puzzled.
Today I got an e-mail whose subject heading said "Help! My boyfriend's p*nis is too big to fit in my mouth!"
Interesting dilemma! I had never heard of the person who was sending it, but I was quite concerned for her (his?) well-being, so I opened it. It said:
"Dames always shrieked at me and even gentlemans did in the water closet! Well, now I smil at them, because I took Mega-Di*k for 6 months and now my c*ck is dreadfully longer than average."
I don't understand this crazy logic. If it gets bigger, then it will have even less chance of fitting in the mouth. Maybe this person should take Mini-Di*k for 6 months. Hmmm. Count me puzzled.
8/14/2007
I am officially even more lame than before
I am afraid to go on rollercoasters. Not just rollercoasters, though. The last time I rode on the Buccanneer in Great Adventure, I was scared and decided I'd never go on that again, either.
Last time I was coaxed onto a Ferris wheel, I also decided I would never go on one again.
Now that I see that people actually died on one, I have more reason - although I know that's incredibly rare. Still, I think I'll skip it if I can.
I am afraid to go on rollercoasters. Not just rollercoasters, though. The last time I rode on the Buccanneer in Great Adventure, I was scared and decided I'd never go on that again, either.
Last time I was coaxed onto a Ferris wheel, I also decided I would never go on one again.
Now that I see that people actually died on one, I have more reason - although I know that's incredibly rare. Still, I think I'll skip it if I can.
8/13/2007
Talkin' baseball
The Boy and I had a nice weekend. We decided to see a minor league game out of the area. You may have heard of the incident a few years ago when people at a Toronto Blue Jays game witnessed a couple having sex in an attached hotel. Well, the team we saw also had an attached hotel, although we provided no such "free shows."
The minor league team, the Manchester New Hampshire Fisher Cats, were an affiliate of the Blue Jays.
Here is the view from our room:
The night we were there, the local Boy Scouts had a "sleep over" on the field. The Boy and I both agreed that it would have been a cool thing to do when we were growing up. However, by 6:30 the next morning, most of the people were packing up to leave. I could tell the adults had just had enough.
We went to a game the next day and had a lot of fun. There were fireworks after. Unfortunately, the boy caught a free t-shirt and injured his finger in the process.
There was a little non-sporty entertainment, of course. We took a walk downtown by the dozens of former mills, and enjoyed a view of the Merrimack River.
So if you are a big baseball fan or are in love with one, it's a weekend I recommend. We also soaked in the homeplate-shaped hot tub (no photo, sorry).
I might be pretty busy this week and not blog so much, so have a good week!
8/10/2007
8/09/2007
Good news
Starting today, Cablevision of New Jersey is getting the 24-hour "Sound of Music" channel! It replaces ESPN!!! I look forward to watching it on Sundays at 10 a.m. instead of "Sports Reporters"...Captain Von Trapp is much more handsome than Mitch Albom.
Anyway, apparently there was a huge storm yesterday morning that wreaked havoc all over the NYC area and even caused a tornado in Brooklyn, and I slept right through it. I've nearly lost the right to call myself a Weather Weenie.
Update: The Boy had this to say in response:
and as for the rest of the cablevision press release..........."not available in all areas, one of them being [our town] and even if it were available in [our county], we would simply move Sports Reporters, along with sports guru/genius Mitch Albom, to ESPN 2." Still not sure what you have against a show you may have spent all of five minutes watching. You are usually doing laundry, bathing or working out when Sports Reporters is on. You probably had to look up the show online to see who the moderators usually are. They tend to vary from week to week, but Albom is usually a constant.
Whatever. The Hillllls are Aliiiiiiiiive....
Anyway, he's wrong...I liked "Sports Reporters" when they were talking about The Sopranos.
Starting today, Cablevision of New Jersey is getting the 24-hour "Sound of Music" channel! It replaces ESPN!!! I look forward to watching it on Sundays at 10 a.m. instead of "Sports Reporters"...Captain Von Trapp is much more handsome than Mitch Albom.
Anyway, apparently there was a huge storm yesterday morning that wreaked havoc all over the NYC area and even caused a tornado in Brooklyn, and I slept right through it. I've nearly lost the right to call myself a Weather Weenie.
Update: The Boy had this to say in response:
and as for the rest of the cablevision press release..........."not available in all areas, one of them being [our town] and even if it were available in [our county], we would simply move Sports Reporters, along with sports guru/genius Mitch Albom, to ESPN 2." Still not sure what you have against a show you may have spent all of five minutes watching. You are usually doing laundry, bathing or working out when Sports Reporters is on. You probably had to look up the show online to see who the moderators usually are. They tend to vary from week to week, but Albom is usually a constant.
Whatever. The Hillllls are Aliiiiiiiiive....
Anyway, he's wrong...I liked "Sports Reporters" when they were talking about The Sopranos.
