Strange Weekend Happenings

Strange Happening FRIDAY:
Happy Hour with several colleagues at the usual watering hole. Everything seemed business as usual, until the waitress brought out a basket of chips with strange suggestive filigree adornments. I'm not sure what kind of snacks this bar is pushing, I'll let you be the judge of that, but it sure brought a smile to my face. These images also brought on a long discussion of a possible book compilation; photos of porn in unexpected places. Expect to see it in stores by next Christmas.
Strange Happening SATURDAY:
After a long day of car shopping with my parents, a night out was in order. Unfortunately, I had missed the Jackon sister caravan to karaoke, but a friend called me Saturday night and invited me to a beer festival being held at a German club in Pittsburgh. The only information I got was that it was a private German club, but was open to the public tonight and there would be German beer. That's all the information I needed. I was in. When he and I arrived, we were greeted in the parking lot by a young man on a cellphone in full Leiderhosen regalia. I knew this would be a good night. Perhaps the strangest and most awkward portion of the evening was when a traditional mens dancing troupe of about 12 took the floor to perform a dance that can only be described as standing 69-position ass slapping in synchronization. Whatever you're picturing is pretty accurate. (Unfortunately I didn't think to take a picture for the new photo book to be published). About 3 pitchers of lager and several German toasts later, I found myself in the after hours Rathskeller drinking with the locals (after we got kicked out once for not being members).Strange Happening SUNDAY:
As I was flipping through the channels yesterday, a caption under John McCain caught my eye on CNN. I certainly think this a valid and winning promise for the next president.

Also, saw this bumper sticker in the grocery store parking lot. I'll let this one speak for itself.

Hello, My Name Is Drewby. Remember Me?

Since leaving my blogging regimen (or better, sporadic blogging) this is what I've been up to:

After what seemed like an eternity, my final day of work finally arrived last Friday and in typical fashion, I celebrated with many drinks with friends. Which made more an interesting Saturday morning when I had to wake up early to make the trek north to my parents for a wedding that night. As you may know, weddings are not my favorite affairs, and I typically go into them with a rather pessimistic "I give it 2 years" kind of attitude. I would like to sat this wedding was different, but I can not. A very old childhood friend of mine married his high school sweetheart in a town next to where we grew up. Lovely wedding, lovely reception (cash bar, but I digress...) blah blah blah. Deez Nuts made the trip north with me, so at least I had some entertainment. What had planned on a weekend trip, be back home Sunday turned into a four day event. Due mostly to various members of my family coming up with plans and events that made me feel guilty for leaving. Highlights included eating huge meals, sleeping, eating more, chilling in the hot tub, or "Cajoozie" as my gramps calls it, eating and then going out to eat. It was a great relaxing weekend, but I was more than ready to leave this morning. So after an early rise this morning and a brief stop in Clarion for breakfast with a former professor (Elisabeth, if you're there, I apologize) I'm back at my place. Unfortunately, I did not get to visit with anyone other than my immediate family this weekend, so if you're from home reading this, don't kill me.

Another highlight of the trip was witnessing the phenomenon of my hometown, the preparation for the 4th of July parade. Presumably because there is nothing else to do or look forward to in this town, locals line the parade route 3 to 5 days in advance with lawn chairs in order to get an excellent view of the mediocre parade. Most are linked together with rope to avoid easy theft, but the good seats, the REALLY good seats are chained to street signs and utility poles. (side note: it has always been a mischievous fantasy for one friend and I to saturate the entire street of chairs with maple syrup the night of July 3rd. Unfortunately it didn't happen this year, but I feel next year might be the year. Just imagine what the people in Meyersdale would say! )(Photos courtesy of Dee from my moving vehicle)

So now I am back at home refreshed and ready to tackle the lazy summer days ahead. I realized the other day that, because of my shortened summer, I had not yet prepared my summer reading stack. So, in order to get motivated, I made a trip to Barnes & Noble this afternoon, which is always an economic disaster. After an hour or so of browsing, reading and Starbucks, I managed to get away with only 3 purchases: "Drown" by Junot Diaz (I really wanted "The brief wondrous life of Oscar Wao, but it won't be in until September), an Isabel Allende novel, and Miranda July's new book of stories (Jen-nay, it's all yours when I'm finished). Any other suggestions for the summer stack are more than welcome!

Update

What have I been up to as of late you ask? Well, not a whole lot, but here's a week-in review submitted for your reading pleasure.

• The Dave Matthew's concert was a smashing success, I think. I'm ashamed to say that I paid absolutely no attention to the performance, but had a great time anyway. The traditional tailgating ritual turned into a frat party about a half an hour into it when it was decided that "shotgunning" beers was in order. That was the downfall of the entire night as I see it. But it was complete with gourmet burgers, peeing in the woods and a visit from some random pot-smoking stranger-friends sporting "Dee's Nuts" tee-shirts. Fast-forward about 4 hours to the concert which included $8 beers, a lost pair of shoes and a French-speaking friend and I running through the crowd jumping over people and yelling "It's O.K.! We Speak French."
• I'm preparing myself for a golf outing for work this coming weekend. My foursome includes myself and 3 middle aged women. All of whom play little to no golf. I've been out golfing maybe three times before, none of which would I ever consider elevated my playing ability. Stay tuned for the embarrassing update and pictures.
• I've been on the hunt for a new place to live with no luck in sight. My current living situation is alright, however I'm growing very tired of living under and over someone. Buying is not an option a) because I have no desire for the financial and physical responsibilities b) I am in absolutely no position to cough up any amount of house-buying cash. My search by word of mouth and online has made me feel frustrated and inadequate on a number of levels and am starting to resign myself to signing over another lease for my apartment, at least for one more year.
• I was told today by a 14 year old that I certainly wasn't the type of person to party or have fun and probably find myself sipping tea instead of "really partying". Actually, I think the term "with your pinky up" was included also. I simply agreed in modest humility and neglected to tell the youngster that I had a hard time remembering my name the previous weekend.
• Yesterday evening, in search for something "Mmm Mmm Mmm Toasty" and over priced, I dropped by Quizno's for dinner. When I asked the kid making my sandwich for the "Turkey Bacon Guacamole" sandwich, his only reply was "Gross", and made my meal in silence. Ok, thanks Quizno's kid, my guamalee was, in fact, quite delicious.
• Along with my housing search, I've also been looking (although with an obvious lack of enthusiasm) for graduate programs to obtain a Master's degree. My specifications are a bit specific, as I want/need an intensive summer program, however, the idea of it all stresses me out to the extent that every time I begin to do some research I have to take a permanent break.
• Over the weekend I watched the entire first season of "Big Love" which I really do love. I'm not sure if it's the creepy/well-written story line or the fact that you're guaranteed a graphic sex-scene in every episode, but I'm definitely a fan of the series.
  

I made my way back to my hometown this holiday weekend to visit the family, and for the first time in a while, I had an overwhelming sense of nostalgia. I think the OT on family visiting coupled with seeing a few friends I hadn't seen in a while really made me miss the old town. However, my weekend was also filled with "This is why I moved" moments. This weekend was all a buzz in the sleepy town too, because it was the annual Memorial Day Jubilee! Yes I realize that it is probably the only place in the free world that still refers to something as a "Jubilee" (and they also have a Juneteenth celebration, but that's another post altogether). So not only did I get to witness a stellar fireworks display, I also got to participate in a 15 minute long parade and a chicken BBQ! I did also snag some awesome stuff for work from one of my oldest and bestests Kato (No, not Kalin).

Besides the awesome festivities, I worked like a bone fide indentured servant landscaping with my father this weekend. The bonding was nice, but the sunburn doesn't really seem worth it.

I also learned that my two neices have developed their own language, which totally fascinates me. A new vocabulary word I learned this weekend: "cheekin' " = kidding. I took this opportunity to introduce them to some Chutney Popcorn vocabulary as well. They now pronounce "chips and salsa" as "chulsa", and I actually taught them that "bear paw" is pronounced "burpah". However, their idea of a bear paw and the literal Chutney to English translation vary quite a bit, I didn't want to let them miss out on any language learning moment.

In other unrelated new, while sitting on my porch this evening, I witnessed a couple pull in and out of the same parking spot a total of 4 times to readjust the car. Then after the 4th attempt, a woman got out of the passenger seat, and directed him how to park, describing in inches how far the car was away from the curb. Please keep in mind this was NOT parallel parking, nor was their a car in the space next to it. Really?

I hope everyone had an excellent and Sucker-free Memorial Day weekend.

	Busta Rhymes - Don't Touch Me
	Found at skreemr.com

On Guamalee Salad And Other Rants

I've been out of the blogging mode for quite some time, and have had a rather hot-cold relationship with the Peace Train as of late. Perhaps it's my social schedule that is keeping me from the blog or perhaps my lethargic and empathetic attitude toward just about everything except procrastination and alcohol. Either way, I need to snap out of it, and fast. I've decided to start yet another photo segment to my blog. I will be posting the first picture that appears on a Google image search to a word that sticks in my head or funny phrase. (Please feel free to contribute search ideas). I think these posts my prove to be quite interesting.

On a side note, on my way home from work everyday I pass an electronic announcement billboard which is placed there to alert of any upcoming roadwork or detours. However, as everyone in, near or remotely associated with the city is suffering from a Penguins victory hangover, the sign reads today "LET'S GO PEN'S!". This grammatical error magnified to 10 feet of flashing LCD lights is about to peak my annoyance meter. If it's not fixed by mid-week I'm calling PenDot.

The Jackson Cookout extravaganza was again a smashing sucess, replete with the surprise appearance of a man who was my roommate my sophomore year of high school in a summer camp. Youth Scholars Camp to be exact (insert "NEEERD" comment here Jen-nay). I had not seen this guy since then, and am actually quite surprised I made the connection enough to remember that we were in fact acquaintances.

Things I learned at the cookout:

• Pre-packaged hamburger patties contain beef hearts.
  
• In an underground version of "Friend/Fondle/Fuck/Watersports" I get watersports every time.
• Everyone in China has a name that ends in "N". (No formal evidence to back this one up yet.)
• Moms can still get down. (I plan on eating poppies with Mrs. J to get a buzz)
• Ina Garten's recipes are perfect for easy-breezy East Hampton dinner parties AND keg parties.
• Don't wear Magenta. Ever.
  
• The difference between "STOOOORIIIES!" and "stoories = ( "
  

Purmin Some Sugar On Me

I decided Thursday afternoon to take a personal day leave yesterday from work, since I couldn't bear the thought of waking up another morning this week. This extra day gave me the opportunity to head home a bit early yesterday to kick off the Easter weekend festivities.

In honor of Good Friday, it's tasteless offensive joke time!!!

Q: Why did Jesus die on the cross?
A: He forgot the safe word.

In the interest of taking the road of least offensiveness and knowing when to call it quits, I'll let the joke stand on it's own.

Not to be outdone by an early Good Friday, yesterday was also Purim. Happy Belated Purim. For yin'z Gentiles that might not know, check it. According to the article, "Gaily wrapped baskets of sweets, snacks and other foodstuffs given as mishloach manot on Purim day...to friends and teachers." My gay Purim baskets must still be in the mail.

Yesterday at the folk's house was all a buzz in preparation for the festivities. I had to prepare the plastic eggs for the Easter egg hunt today (not impressed) and today was also the day of coloring eggs. Easter egg coloring has never been something I really enjoy, but usually tolerate. My father totally digs coloring eggs, for reasons yet to be discovered, and my nieces get a kick out of it. My only excitement for the whole process is opening the coloring kit boxes first and removing all stickers, shrink wraps or any other traces of a cross or the word Jesus before anyone notices. Speaking of which, another Easter tradition is the white chocolate cross everyone receives from my mother in a basket. I'll post a pic, as I'm sure I'll get one.

In other Easter news, I consumed my first whole hard boiled egg yesterday. It was alright, but I'm not sure I'd do it again. I've eaten hard cooked eggs before, but never just sat down to munch a whole one. Check that off my list.

Note: I had taken several pictures to illustrate my excitement around the house this weekend, but my camera is being a bastard. Maybe next time.

I hope everyone has a rockin' Resurrection Eve!

It Rocked...a little too hard

I made it back from Cleveland this morning to the tune of an incredible hangover and complete exhaustion. Which alludes to the fact that I did in fact have quite a good time in the city last night. I was a bit disappointed in the bar scene though, at least the ones we went to. Not too many people out, no real good music and no one really celebrating St. Patrick's Day. The occasional green shirt or shamrock pin made an appearance, but green beer was nowhere to be found. A real bummer. Apparently all the St. Patrick's Day festivities take place tomorrow. We did stay in an awesome hotel, which was a bit luxurious for a place to crash, but I decided to splurge. Some of the highlights of the evening include playing flip cup with a group of kids from Ohio State in a bar, ordering shots of Jamison and getting served rocks glasses filled with whiskey by mistake, and consoling a drunk woman outside because of her baby daddy drama. The museum also was quite cool and something I'm glad I saw. I think the highlights from that portion of the trip would have to be Kurt Cobain's guitar and a hand written version of "Psycho Killer" by the Talking Heads. A jam to end all jams. I hope everyone had a great time with all the goings on this weekend, and remember to wear green tomorrow (if you're horny).

	Talking Heads - Psycho Killer
	Found at skreemr.com

Cleveland Rocks! (sort of)

I'm headed across the border this weekend to the luxurious destination of Cleveland Ohio (or Ohi-a) to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I'm kind of excited to go, since I've never been there before, and have heard many good things about it. It's the final part of a class on Rock and Roll and protest music I took this semester with a colleague. When we signed up for the class, we joked that we would stay and rock out afterwards in Cleveland for the weekend, but never really gave it a second thought. This week, however, another work friend of mine said he felt like road tripping with us if we were serious about staying. Since he did his undergrad in Cleveland he'd be a pretty handy travel buddy. And with that, we booked a room and set our plans to go crazy for St. Patty's Day in Cleveland, Ohi-a. I am a little bummed though since it is St. Patrick's Day weekend, and won't be able to celebrate in Pittsbugh with everyone, (even though last year I swore I would never go back to the parade).

Although I did have fun and probably will be back again next year, reasons why I didn't love the experience:

• It was snowing like a bastard.
• I found myself crammed in a port-a-potty with 4 men, all trying to urinate at the same time.
• I was D.D. and had to sober up too early.
• I man with a Mohawk and green pedal pushers on said "Yinz queer?" in all seriousness. (Oh wait, that was what made the day)
• Because I was sobering up I got in a rare but brutal pissy mood.

But yes, I'd do it all over again. There's always next year.

As I was planning the final details of my weekend escape to the great state to our west this afternoon, I received two phone calls from some friends. The first was my former college roommate who wanted to chat before he left tomorrow for two weeks in Jamaica. And the other from a friend who is, as we speak, in flight to spend two weeks in France. I feel bad for them. Neither one will get to experience the exoticness that is Cleveland. And, since I have no spring break, for now it will have to do. Since I'll be out, chances are there will be no blogging this weekend (sorry NaBloPoMo), but I will make up the posts with exciting stories from the weekend to come!

I Balanced My Checkbook To Sinead O'Connor Tonight

Sounds like a punchline, but it's true.
I apologize (mostly to myself) for not keeping to the NaBloPoMo contract and skipping out this weekend. My weekend was a bit of a blur, and didn't have much time for NaBloPoMo-ing. So, is it possible to make-up the posts just by having 31 posts in 31 days? I think so. Not that my posts are really all that worth-while, but I'd like to say I completed something.

So I had made plans to visit my family up north again this weekend, since my last weekend's plans to do so were botched because of the weather. Come about 3pm Friday and I'm ready to roll. Except my mother called and said the entire family was sick and the weather was bad, so don't come. Ok, thanks Mom. Operation Visit Fam. Attempt #2: Mission aborted. Then, around noon Saturday, right in the middle of my hang-over ritual of tepid coffee and The Food Network, she calls again telling me that miraculously everyone is better and the roads are clear, and I should try to come home. So I ran around like a mad man and made the trip home. In the midst of packing I forgot to pack my computer, thus no blogging this weekend. My trip was rather uneventful, but relaxing. I wish I would have had more time to visit some people, but alas, I had to return to the grind today. FYI, this is a picture I caught of my 5 year old niece trying to meditate. I absolutely love it, and will serve as my Manic Monday post this week.

In other mundane news, I picked up my taxes which I had prepared last week. Thanks Uncle Sam, $800 to blow! I actually think the majority of it is going towards my credit card debt, which is a totally lame and uncool way to spend it, but it needs to be done.

A Quick Rundown Of The Weekend

• I watched the bartender breathe fire last night as I drank my "Flaming Dr. Pepper". Both were a sublime experience.
• A girl asked me for a condom at the bar last night. I bashfully told her I didn't have one on me, to which she replied, "You look like you'd use them all the time". Ok, thanks. ( I think) And to that I said "I don't use them period. It just feels better without."
• In order to not to have a complete claustrophobic panic attack at the tiny packed bar, Dee and I became the only bad asses bump and grind dancing in the entire place. Yeah, we looked like assholes, but at that point in the night, who cares?
  
• I was offered a challenge at Denny's at 3 a.m. that if I could order the "Lumberjack Slam" with a straight face it would be free. Offer extended, offer rejected.
• Dee found a piece of raw meat, about a half an inch big in her "Everything Omelette" this morning. Raw meat in breakfast = comped food and free muffins.
• A nice quiet hang-over breakfast directly next to a table of two families with a whopping total of 8, yes count them EIGHT, children all under the age of 4 is not as fun as it sounds. At the end of their meal, one youngster's diaper was leaking so badly he made a puddle on the chair. Nice.
• It took me well over an hour to pick up a few groceries this morning. Silly me, I forgot about the church rush at Wal-Mart.

How was Yinz's weekend?

Freek A Leek

A brief run-down of the weekend that was.

• I discovered very quickly this weekend, that I can not, in fact, out drink my parents.
• I also learned the phrase "Fuckle-Up and Drive Safely" will undoubtedly make my aunt laugh every time.
  
• I decided this morning to make some vegetable soup. Yeah, I'm not so sure why either. I am cooking with leeks for the first time ever. They looked fun at the grocery store yesterday. Some people impulse buy Kit-Kats. I buy produce.
• I'm trying to justify why I buy a Sunday paper every weekend, because I never read it thoroughly. I don't even clip the coupons. I think I just want the people at the store to think I'm reading it when I buy it.
• Yesterday I bought a cashmere sweater for $8. Quite possibly the bargain of the month.
• This morning, I was awakened by a man in another apartment shrieking. I'm not sure whether to be alarmed, intrigued or concerned. One thing I am sure about though, is that I need to move.
  
• One more thing I learned: a shot of Crown Royal and sweet lime juice is actually not as bad as it sounds.
• I have been burning Nag Champa Gold incense and playing Radiohead CDs practically the entire time I've been in my apartment this weekend. I'm either becoming Indie on the outside, or an emo-stoner. I can't decide which is better.

Tales From The Crypt

Well, I've made the voyage back to my parents house to visit for the weekend, and in my 15 short hours at home it's already been quite an interesting experience. Last night when I arrived, my parents and I decided to go to dinner to this small restaurant close to their house. I have always liked going to this place and the food is very good. It used to be a speakeasy during prohibition and the decor of the place has changed very little since then. (literally) When we got there, around 8 or so, the bar area was already full with the local drunks, which is always a highlight for me. Halfway through dinner my dad started to regale me with stories of his drinking days with "Birdman", a shifty looking man halfway sitting on his stool. And how he and "Birdman" and "Smoker" and "Chunky" used to come to that very bar well before their legal drinking age. (Which, coincidentally, I too can remember imbibing at this bar before my legal age). Then a man named "PeeWee" bought our table a round of drinks, and no one really seemed to know who "PeeWee" was. Ok, thanks for the beer PW!
At some point after arriving home my whole family feel asleep in front of the TV, and I woke up to a Marlon Brando movie at midnight.
Flash forward to this morning. My grandpa and I went out for breakfast at the town's one and only restaurant. The place is always filled with locals for breakfast, usually my grandpas age. Mixed in with our conversation I couldn't help but overhear other table's conversations which included topics such as how a black Muslim or a woman would never be good enough to run our country, the obscene number of abortions that happen and what needs to be done to stop it, and how the cold is really "doin' a number" on the local farms and cows. NOW I remember why I wanted to move far, far away. I also had the opportunity to listen to a conversation between the man who used to drive the bookmobile when I was en elementary school and his friend about flat chested women. Oh, and I forgot I had to park my car (with anti-republican propaganda bumper stickers) in between a large truck with a gun-rack and bumper sticker that said "I am the NRA and I support the President and the troops" and a small pick-up with a "G.W. Bush again in 2008" bumper sticker. Um, I'm getting the hell out of here. Now, I must say although the majority of my morning had to deal with hickish rightwinger bullshit, it's not usually the case the entire time. I guess it was just my lucky day.

Where Yinz Been N'at?

I have been a little busy/have nothing interesting to post lately, thus a week with no post. But, I will give you a slight update.

My Thanksgiving this year was a bit different than usual. Since I have been on strike for so long, I originally thought I would have work on Friday, so decided to make the trek home to my parents Friday evening where we would hold the traditional turkey feast Saturday afternoon. Well, as it turned out, I didn't have to work Friday and came home earlier, but we still did everything on Saturday. Thanksgiving dinner was steaks on the grill with my parents and a few drinks afterwards with some friends. Friday I met up with some other friends from home and finally finished the book Siddhartha, of which I will post more about soon. Saturday was Thanksgiving for me, but half my family was out of town, so it was doubly strange. I decided to take it upon myself to drink up most of the wine sitting around my parents house to make the family bonding time more bearable. Which brings us to here, as I get ready for a brand new work week tomorrow. As per Jen-nay's post on Thanksgiving tradition and fun old TV re-runs, I did happen to grab Saturday Night Live this week which was a "Thanksgiving Leftover" special. (I assume this had something to do with the writer strike). I always like when SNL does this kind of episode with a montage of really great old clips. Some of my particular favorite Thanksgiving skits are Chris Rock's "Pump The Turkey" commercial and Cinder Calhoun's anti-turkey song on Weekend Update.


Hope everyone had a great holiday!

General Musings

Since I have been gone for a while, and don't have anything particularly interesting to post, here are a few things that are on my mind/happened to me lately.

• First, and sadly probably most exciting, a middle aged man called me a "greedy bastard" from his pickup truck yesterday. No matter how true that may be, he was a complete stranger and has no right making such assumptions without ever seeing just how greedy or bastardly I can be.
• I'm very excited to see the new movie Elizabeth:The Golden Age. I can't remember the last time I went to the theater to see a movie, and it always seems like a fun novel thing to me. I need to get out more.
• I broke a very solemn vow I made to myself this weekend and watched Evan Almighty with my mother this weekend. Every time I see my her she brings up the movie, as a sort of insinuation that she wants me to watch it with her. So I broke down and watched it with her. Not bad, but I lost interest and fell asleep well before half way in.
• Along with the movie, I discovered a new decadent delight, Ben and Jerry's Crème Brûlé ice cream. A completely intense experience.
• After some heavy coercing and a guilt trip by my grandfather, I accompanied my parents to church on Sunday. The first time since Christmas at least, and quite possibly the last. Just when I thought I had survived the worst of the service, the pastor pulls out the "anointing oils" and "praying chair" and turned the quiet little church into something off of the Cornerstone Broadcasting Network. Suffice it to say, I do not plan on going back for quite sometime, and my mother is well aware of that fact.
• Work is still currently nonexistent for me, and it appears it will stay that way for quite a while.
• My new favorite seasonal beer is Penn Brewery's Oktoberfest, thanks to a fellow alchy out of work colleague.
• I'm currently watching the Law & Order SVU where Mark Paul Gosselaar is "gay for pay".
  

I think that's enough droning for now. More updates soon.

Culinary Delights For All The Senses

It both amuses me and disturbs me that last weekend while watching "Everyday Italian" with my mother, we both screamed at the TV in perfect tandem: "OK, we get it, you're a Dago!" when she started talking about her bisCOOHti and amaREHTTi cookies for the third straight time. Also, if I hear my girl Ina Garten say one more time that she really likes food to look like what's in it while throwing quartered limes on a platter I'm writing both Food Network and the East Hampton City Council nasty letters.

In my own culinary adventures, I've been all over the globe this week. Started out with an awesome 3 cheese 3 pepper enchilada at Mad Mex. Tuesday was $5 carry-out day at a local pizza place, so I couldn't pass that up. Wednesday I met a friend at a Japanese steak house where I had spicy tuna and cream cheese sushi (which sounds repulsive but really kicked ass). The highlight of my Japanese experience (besides the Saki) was the fact that in the middle of dinner, bright disco lights came one and a Japanese-pop version of "Happy Birthday" started blaring while our waitress brought out a half-empty bottle of Grey Goose with a sparkler in it for a 9 year-old boy. Tonight was Quiznos, the real American treat. And tomorrow I'm going out with Jen-nay for my first Ethiopian dinner. (I've decided I'm not eating out at all next week) When I told a colleague today that I was going to an Ethiopian dinner, she asked how it was possible to have an entire restaurant based on a country that doesn't eat. I do love subtle racism in the work place.

In other work-related news, I overheard another colleague saying that Lifetime movies should be shown in school to teach students real life lessons.

This weekend should prove to be interesting and very indie, so I'm sure I'll be blogging that.

Karma Police

Well the holiday weekend is winding down, which means back to work tomorrow. My weekend was enjoyable yet uneventful, as most time spent at my parents is. I did survive my cousin's wedding on Saturday, which turned out to be one hell of a time; while it lasted. I found it INSANELY annoying that the wedding and reception were approximately 1.5 hours away from each other. The ceremony was quick, and it was off to the party. A very casual affair with an open bar (my favorite) I wasted no time, and was drunk in about 2 hours. It also helps to have a fun family that drinks. By the end of the evening I was slurring my speech and jitterbugging with my sister. And that's about all I remember. My one peeve about the evening: Lights on-everyone out at 10 PM! I was just getting started. But perhaps it's better. After seeing the shape of everyone there, I think if it lasted all night, we would have ended up in the hospital.

Sunday morning I woke up with a headache and headed out with a friend to Lily Dale Assembly which is about 45 minutes from my parents house. Lily Dale is the largest Spiritualist community in the country. People like John Edwards (the psychic, not the homophobe presidential candidate) and Sylvia Brown give lectures there. It is a gated community of mediums, psychics and Spiritualists with a pretty interesting vibe. I don't really believe in psychics or Spiritualism for that matter, but I have always wanted to check this place out, as I have lived in the area all my life and never been there. Since Sunday was the last day of the season, things were pretty quiet, and I didn't even go to a personal reading; something I regret now, but still can't warrant shelling out the 60 bucks to do it. I'm planning to make another trip up there next summer when I can organize and coordinate it a little better. The day wasn't a complete loss, since it was beautiful out and it is a very charming community to stroll around in.

My weekend concluded with a family picnic at my parents house today, and the 3 hour hike back home. Stay tuned for Travel Tuesday and more rants!